So I’ve made a topic like this in the past, but figured, with some new ideas, it’d be appropriate to make a new version. Basically this is comprised of various smaller theories which string together to paint a picture of who Xehanort is over the span of the KH series.
Let’s start at the beginning.
We’ve got Master Xehaort, and we’ve got Terra. Master Xehanort possesses Terra’s body with his heart, creating the entity we refer to as Terranort. Straightforward enough.
Then we run into our first speed bump: Apprentice Xehanort. Who is he? And what is the state of his memories?
For starters, I reject the popular notion among the fandom that he is his own entity, separate from MX and Terra, as I feel this unnecessarily muddles things (what happens to this new consciousness?). By no means is there any suggestion that a new consciousness is formed. Terra and MX’s hearts fusing doesn’t mean a thing in that regard. After all, it’s not as though Sora became a different person when his heart fused with Ven’s.
So, the mystery apparently becomes a 50/50: is Apprentice Xehanort MX or is he Terra?
To which I say... why not both?
For starters, there is evidence that Apprentice Xehanort is both MX and Terra.
For MX:
- “Muscle and sinew that once obeyed you now rebels against you.” (Sort of vague when this is said, but it seems to be after BbS, meaning that at the time he said this, MX was probably in control)
- “My people and I are all but prisoners of this tiny place.” (AR7- Sort of speaks for itself.)
- The ARs, originally written by Apprentice Xehanort, end up being written by Xehanort’s Heartless, and he appears to have the same knowledge gained from Apprentice Xehanort. I don’t think there’s any question that, for the most part, Xehanort’s Heartless is MX.
For Terra:
- “Any mental immaturity is surely due to his young age.”
(That AtW would note how he acts young/immature points to Terra more than MX)
- “You’re gonna get shown the door, old man. [...] I’m not afraid of what the darkness holds now. Even if you do wrest control of my heart from me- Even if you cast me into the deepest, darkest abyss- You’ll never sway me from the one cause that pushes me to keep on fighting. Whatever the cost, I’m willing to pay it.” (This seems to suggest that Terra intends to take MX’s heart out of his vessel, even if he has to lose his own in the process.)
- Would Aqua really save Terra if she wasn’t confident that he could regain control of his body? We do see him do so for an instant after their fight, so it stands to reason that he could do so later, especially knowing that the darkness in Terranort’s heart was weakened (notice how the Guardian was destroyed).
But whether you think Apprentice Xehanort is MX or Terra, in both cases, it paints an incomplete picture. Why? Because there is one key question unanswered:
If Apprentice Xehanort was just MX or just Terra, how could he produce two separate sets of memories of Apprentice Xehanort?
We know that Xemnas retains memories as Apprentice Xehanort, as revealed through his conversation with AtW. We also know that Ansem retains memories as Apprentice Xehanort through the Ansem Reports. Two sets of the same memory. How? It would be one thing if we were talking about MX’s and Terra’s memories, which can be split between Ansem SoD and Xemnas. But for Apprentice Xehanort, there can only be one set of memories, leading me to this conclusion:
Apprentice Xehanort is, at times, Terra, and, at times, Master Xehanort. It’s back and forth. Think of it like Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In this case, both Xemnas and Ansem SoD can get memories of Apprentice Xehanort, and all the evidence for the two separate theories (of him being Terra or MX) adds up.
How does this work? What allows Terra to regain control of his body for instances?
I believe MX’s control is weakened by his amnesia.
It becomes clear that, after reading the Ansem Reports, with Apprentice Xehanort having no prior knowledge of the Keyblade, Heartless, or Kingdom Hearts, that there must have been legitimate memory loss.
Why has he lost his memories, though? Because of the Keyblade stabbing. Instead of extracting Terra’s heart, he ended up locking the memories in his heart. Since Terra and MX’s hearts had merged, to remove Terra’s heart, he would need to separate them. But unlike Sora (who had several hearts and could separate them with the Heart Unlocker), Terranort only had a normal keyblade. It struck at the darkness in his heart, killing the Guardian, and sealed away his memories.
As Namine says in CoM to Riku, to seal away the darkness in one’s heart, one will also lose the memories associated with this darkness. Since MX was in control of the darkness, he lost his memories.
Bit by bit, though, through the experimentation with AtW and the apprentices, the seal was lifted and Xehanort began to remember more. While Terra was in the most control at the beginning, he began to lose it more frequently.
Terra knew he would lose control permanently. He needed to devise of a way for his will to go on. However, his heart was too deeply merged with Xehanort’s to be separated. So, he turned to his ace in the hole: Eraqus’ heart. Eraqus’ heart, which had little darkness in it, was out of the reach of Xehanort’s heart.
Gradually, then, Terra, in the instances where he could take control and experiment with his memories, shifted the memories in his heart. He took as many as he could and stored them in Eraqus’ heart. And then he made the ultimate sacrifice. He allowed Xehanort to take over, to consume his heart. This would end up producing Xehanort’s Heartless.
And it’s in line with what Terra said:
He knew he couldn’t salvage his heart. But Eraqus’ heart stayed within the vessel. It was untouched by Xehanort’s darkness, and thus wasn’t pulled out.
In other words, I’m say that, yes, Xemnas had a heart. Eraqus’ heart.
But before we get to that, let’s go back to Ansem SoD for a second.
What exactly is he?
He’s mostly MX’s heart.
But he is not the Heartless, per se. The Guardian is.
And it is better to classify the Guardian as Terra’s heartless rather than Xehanort’s heartless (though he probably feeds off of Xehanort’s darkness).
Where am I pulling this all from?
Take note of the Guardian in BbS. A heartless, no doubt. But, where did he come from? Remember, a heartless comes from a heart lost to darkness. So whose heart was lost to darkness? Terra’s, of course. A bit unconventional, considering it was still in his vessel, but this occurred due to the fact that MX’s heart latched on to it.
So it goes without saying that Terra’s heart would produce the same kind of Heartless a second time. As for MX’s heart, I believe that it was so resilient to darkness, that it actually survived the process. This accounts for how he could retain memories, his sense of self, and humanoid form.
Since the Guardian is the Heartless of Terra, and Terra’s heart has been consumed by MX’s dark heart, then naturally MX’s heart would be in control of the Guardian.
In short, Xehanort’s Heartless is actually, as ironic as it is, the heart, and the Guardian is the Heartless. This relationship is best symbolized in the final battle, when Xehanort’s Heartless (with the Heartless emblem) occupies the chest cavity of the Guardian.
Now back to Xemnas.
He has a heart? Doesn’t that contradict what he says?
It does.
“Unlike me, you have a heart.”
I think he may either be lying (wouldn’t be the first time) or he simply doesn’t know. Roxas, who could quite clearly feel emotion, was unaware that he had a heart. I think it’s more probable that he’s lying, considering that Xemnas has kept many secrets from those around him.
But if Xemnas has a heart, why doesn’t he feel emotion?
Who said he didn’t?
It’s true that he says “I cannot feel sorrow.” But that’s just one emotion. And remember, curiously, he also says that he doesn’t remember there being more to a heart than anger and hate.
Think about that. WHY would he only remember hate and rage? Because he only has memories which fill him with hate and rage. As LS says, that’s all that’s left.
When Terra’s side of the heart was trying to salvage memories so that his vessel could go on enacting his will, he only managed to keep the memories produced from his strongest feelings, ones that he would need in order for Xemnas to complete his objective. Hate and rage for Xehanort. In Eraqus’ heart rests the memories of what Master Xehanort did. Furthermore, I think Terra was able to take some of MX’s memories in the process, such as those associated with his knowledge of Kingdom Hearts and building a “new world.” In other words, Ansem SoD is MX, but has some of Terra’s memories (like those of choosing Riku, which is why he went to Destiny Islands and was able to manipulate him). And Xemnas is Terra, but has some of MX’s memories.
As I’ve said on previous occasions, we never learn of Xemnas’ true goal:
“I must become one with Kingdom Hearts. I will become a higher existence. All of my true ambitions begin there.”
It was not just power. It was to use the power of Kingdom Hearts for a higher goal. Should he attain that power, he would be able to, I’m sure, heal Ven’s fractured heart and pull Aqua out of the darkness. He could save his friends. And with only memories that fill him with anger and hate, Xemnas pursued this goal bitterly and, in Terra’s words, no matter what the cost. Even if he had to sacrifice millions to get there, he would save Aqua and Ven. He had, after all, sacrificed his own heart to do it.
What about Eraqus’ heart, though? Surely, having such a light heart would allow him to experience a range of emotions. And you would be right. But with Eraqus’ memories sealed away in the heart (like how Ven’s memories were sealed away in Roxas/Sora), and only dark memories, all Xemnas could remember to feel was anger and hate. It was all he needed in pursuit of his ambitions.
Wrapping up with Xemnas and Ansem SoD, I’ll address one more topic: the Keyblade.
Why didn’t either of them use keyblades?
Well, first, there are three keyblades that they could potentially use: Terra’s keyblade, Eraqus’ keyblade, and MX’s keyblade. The first two cannot be used. Terra’s keyblade is with LS (or flying around the RoD) and Eraqus’ keyblade is with Aqua. In any case, just as the KK can switch owners, I believe Xemnas/Ansem lost the ability to wield those keyblades. The keyblades rejected them.
While Secret Report XIII says Keyblades can act for either the light or darkness, I still believe they have some sort of sentience and a moral compass (ie they may be able to use light and darkness, but they can pick a side, good or evil, which is an entirely different dichotomy). Neither Eraqus’ nor Terra’s keyblades would obey Ansem SoD because he is evil, and those keys are “good.” They would not cooperate with Xemnas either because, while not evil per se, his motivation has been warped. He utilizes negative emotion rather than positive ones, and is willing to hurt others. He is more amoral than immoral, but those keys are moral.
That leaves MX’s keyblade. One would figure Ansem SoD is the rightful owner. But, if that were the case, he would have definitely used it. So, I think Xemnas is the one that ended up with MX’s keyblade. In the struggle over memories, I believe Terra may have taken MX’s memories of his keyblade, which shifted the ownership.
However, as Nomura has hinted, Xemnas chose not to use it. Why? Well, would you use the weapon that allowed your body to be taken over, that killed your mentor, that split your friend’s heart in half, that led to your friend being trapped in the Realm of Darkness? Even if it would benefit him greatly, Xemnas refused to use it. He despises that keyblade, and sees it as a curse that he can even use it, as it is a constant reminder of what happened. It is the object of his hate and rage. He would sooner die than use it.
At this point, I think it’s best to stop, as I’m being exceptionally long winded. I have more to say about future developments (what happened to the mishmash of hearts/bodies/memories after KH2, how Mysterious Figure plays a part), but stopping where the series has left off seems appropriate, so I’ll leave that for a later date.
Let’s start at the beginning.
We’ve got Master Xehaort, and we’ve got Terra. Master Xehanort possesses Terra’s body with his heart, creating the entity we refer to as Terranort. Straightforward enough.
Then we run into our first speed bump: Apprentice Xehanort. Who is he? And what is the state of his memories?
For starters, I reject the popular notion among the fandom that he is his own entity, separate from MX and Terra, as I feel this unnecessarily muddles things (what happens to this new consciousness?). By no means is there any suggestion that a new consciousness is formed. Terra and MX’s hearts fusing doesn’t mean a thing in that regard. After all, it’s not as though Sora became a different person when his heart fused with Ven’s.
So, the mystery apparently becomes a 50/50: is Apprentice Xehanort MX or is he Terra?
To which I say... why not both?
For starters, there is evidence that Apprentice Xehanort is both MX and Terra.
For MX:
- “Muscle and sinew that once obeyed you now rebels against you.” (Sort of vague when this is said, but it seems to be after BbS, meaning that at the time he said this, MX was probably in control)
- “My people and I are all but prisoners of this tiny place.” (AR7- Sort of speaks for itself.)
- The ARs, originally written by Apprentice Xehanort, end up being written by Xehanort’s Heartless, and he appears to have the same knowledge gained from Apprentice Xehanort. I don’t think there’s any question that, for the most part, Xehanort’s Heartless is MX.
For Terra:
- “Any mental immaturity is surely due to his young age.”
(That AtW would note how he acts young/immature points to Terra more than MX)
- “You’re gonna get shown the door, old man. [...] I’m not afraid of what the darkness holds now. Even if you do wrest control of my heart from me- Even if you cast me into the deepest, darkest abyss- You’ll never sway me from the one cause that pushes me to keep on fighting. Whatever the cost, I’m willing to pay it.” (This seems to suggest that Terra intends to take MX’s heart out of his vessel, even if he has to lose his own in the process.)
- Would Aqua really save Terra if she wasn’t confident that he could regain control of his body? We do see him do so for an instant after their fight, so it stands to reason that he could do so later, especially knowing that the darkness in Terranort’s heart was weakened (notice how the Guardian was destroyed).
But whether you think Apprentice Xehanort is MX or Terra, in both cases, it paints an incomplete picture. Why? Because there is one key question unanswered:
If Apprentice Xehanort was just MX or just Terra, how could he produce two separate sets of memories of Apprentice Xehanort?
We know that Xemnas retains memories as Apprentice Xehanort, as revealed through his conversation with AtW. We also know that Ansem retains memories as Apprentice Xehanort through the Ansem Reports. Two sets of the same memory. How? It would be one thing if we were talking about MX’s and Terra’s memories, which can be split between Ansem SoD and Xemnas. But for Apprentice Xehanort, there can only be one set of memories, leading me to this conclusion:
Apprentice Xehanort is, at times, Terra, and, at times, Master Xehanort. It’s back and forth. Think of it like Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In this case, both Xemnas and Ansem SoD can get memories of Apprentice Xehanort, and all the evidence for the two separate theories (of him being Terra or MX) adds up.
How does this work? What allows Terra to regain control of his body for instances?
I believe MX’s control is weakened by his amnesia.
It becomes clear that, after reading the Ansem Reports, with Apprentice Xehanort having no prior knowledge of the Keyblade, Heartless, or Kingdom Hearts, that there must have been legitimate memory loss.
Why has he lost his memories, though? Because of the Keyblade stabbing. Instead of extracting Terra’s heart, he ended up locking the memories in his heart. Since Terra and MX’s hearts had merged, to remove Terra’s heart, he would need to separate them. But unlike Sora (who had several hearts and could separate them with the Heart Unlocker), Terranort only had a normal keyblade. It struck at the darkness in his heart, killing the Guardian, and sealed away his memories.
As Namine says in CoM to Riku, to seal away the darkness in one’s heart, one will also lose the memories associated with this darkness. Since MX was in control of the darkness, he lost his memories.
Bit by bit, though, through the experimentation with AtW and the apprentices, the seal was lifted and Xehanort began to remember more. While Terra was in the most control at the beginning, he began to lose it more frequently.
Terra knew he would lose control permanently. He needed to devise of a way for his will to go on. However, his heart was too deeply merged with Xehanort’s to be separated. So, he turned to his ace in the hole: Eraqus’ heart. Eraqus’ heart, which had little darkness in it, was out of the reach of Xehanort’s heart.
Gradually, then, Terra, in the instances where he could take control and experiment with his memories, shifted the memories in his heart. He took as many as he could and stored them in Eraqus’ heart. And then he made the ultimate sacrifice. He allowed Xehanort to take over, to consume his heart. This would end up producing Xehanort’s Heartless.
And it’s in line with what Terra said:
He knew he couldn’t salvage his heart. But Eraqus’ heart stayed within the vessel. It was untouched by Xehanort’s darkness, and thus wasn’t pulled out.
In other words, I’m say that, yes, Xemnas had a heart. Eraqus’ heart.
But before we get to that, let’s go back to Ansem SoD for a second.
What exactly is he?
He’s mostly MX’s heart.
But he is not the Heartless, per se. The Guardian is.
And it is better to classify the Guardian as Terra’s heartless rather than Xehanort’s heartless (though he probably feeds off of Xehanort’s darkness).
Where am I pulling this all from?
Take note of the Guardian in BbS. A heartless, no doubt. But, where did he come from? Remember, a heartless comes from a heart lost to darkness. So whose heart was lost to darkness? Terra’s, of course. A bit unconventional, considering it was still in his vessel, but this occurred due to the fact that MX’s heart latched on to it.
So it goes without saying that Terra’s heart would produce the same kind of Heartless a second time. As for MX’s heart, I believe that it was so resilient to darkness, that it actually survived the process. This accounts for how he could retain memories, his sense of self, and humanoid form.
Since the Guardian is the Heartless of Terra, and Terra’s heart has been consumed by MX’s dark heart, then naturally MX’s heart would be in control of the Guardian.
In short, Xehanort’s Heartless is actually, as ironic as it is, the heart, and the Guardian is the Heartless. This relationship is best symbolized in the final battle, when Xehanort’s Heartless (with the Heartless emblem) occupies the chest cavity of the Guardian.
Now back to Xemnas.
He has a heart? Doesn’t that contradict what he says?
It does.
“Unlike me, you have a heart.”
I think he may either be lying (wouldn’t be the first time) or he simply doesn’t know. Roxas, who could quite clearly feel emotion, was unaware that he had a heart. I think it’s more probable that he’s lying, considering that Xemnas has kept many secrets from those around him.
But if Xemnas has a heart, why doesn’t he feel emotion?
Who said he didn’t?
It’s true that he says “I cannot feel sorrow.” But that’s just one emotion. And remember, curiously, he also says that he doesn’t remember there being more to a heart than anger and hate.
Think about that. WHY would he only remember hate and rage? Because he only has memories which fill him with hate and rage. As LS says, that’s all that’s left.
When Terra’s side of the heart was trying to salvage memories so that his vessel could go on enacting his will, he only managed to keep the memories produced from his strongest feelings, ones that he would need in order for Xemnas to complete his objective. Hate and rage for Xehanort. In Eraqus’ heart rests the memories of what Master Xehanort did. Furthermore, I think Terra was able to take some of MX’s memories in the process, such as those associated with his knowledge of Kingdom Hearts and building a “new world.” In other words, Ansem SoD is MX, but has some of Terra’s memories (like those of choosing Riku, which is why he went to Destiny Islands and was able to manipulate him). And Xemnas is Terra, but has some of MX’s memories.
As I’ve said on previous occasions, we never learn of Xemnas’ true goal:
“I must become one with Kingdom Hearts. I will become a higher existence. All of my true ambitions begin there.”
It was not just power. It was to use the power of Kingdom Hearts for a higher goal. Should he attain that power, he would be able to, I’m sure, heal Ven’s fractured heart and pull Aqua out of the darkness. He could save his friends. And with only memories that fill him with anger and hate, Xemnas pursued this goal bitterly and, in Terra’s words, no matter what the cost. Even if he had to sacrifice millions to get there, he would save Aqua and Ven. He had, after all, sacrificed his own heart to do it.
What about Eraqus’ heart, though? Surely, having such a light heart would allow him to experience a range of emotions. And you would be right. But with Eraqus’ memories sealed away in the heart (like how Ven’s memories were sealed away in Roxas/Sora), and only dark memories, all Xemnas could remember to feel was anger and hate. It was all he needed in pursuit of his ambitions.
Wrapping up with Xemnas and Ansem SoD, I’ll address one more topic: the Keyblade.
Why didn’t either of them use keyblades?
Well, first, there are three keyblades that they could potentially use: Terra’s keyblade, Eraqus’ keyblade, and MX’s keyblade. The first two cannot be used. Terra’s keyblade is with LS (or flying around the RoD) and Eraqus’ keyblade is with Aqua. In any case, just as the KK can switch owners, I believe Xemnas/Ansem lost the ability to wield those keyblades. The keyblades rejected them.
While Secret Report XIII says Keyblades can act for either the light or darkness, I still believe they have some sort of sentience and a moral compass (ie they may be able to use light and darkness, but they can pick a side, good or evil, which is an entirely different dichotomy). Neither Eraqus’ nor Terra’s keyblades would obey Ansem SoD because he is evil, and those keys are “good.” They would not cooperate with Xemnas either because, while not evil per se, his motivation has been warped. He utilizes negative emotion rather than positive ones, and is willing to hurt others. He is more amoral than immoral, but those keys are moral.
That leaves MX’s keyblade. One would figure Ansem SoD is the rightful owner. But, if that were the case, he would have definitely used it. So, I think Xemnas is the one that ended up with MX’s keyblade. In the struggle over memories, I believe Terra may have taken MX’s memories of his keyblade, which shifted the ownership.
However, as Nomura has hinted, Xemnas chose not to use it. Why? Well, would you use the weapon that allowed your body to be taken over, that killed your mentor, that split your friend’s heart in half, that led to your friend being trapped in the Realm of Darkness? Even if it would benefit him greatly, Xemnas refused to use it. He despises that keyblade, and sees it as a curse that he can even use it, as it is a constant reminder of what happened. It is the object of his hate and rage. He would sooner die than use it.
At this point, I think it’s best to stop, as I’m being exceptionally long winded. I have more to say about future developments (what happened to the mishmash of hearts/bodies/memories after KH2, how Mysterious Figure plays a part), but stopping where the series has left off seems appropriate, so I’ll leave that for a later date.
