Organization XIII: Difference between revisions

{{Game|FM1|COM|REC|KH2|FM2|358|BBS|FMB|DDD}}

[[File:Organization XIII KHD.png|right|400px|thumb|The members of Organization XIII]]

{{nihongo|'''Organization XIII'''|XIII機関|Jūsan Kikan|lit. "XIII Order"}} is a group of thirteen powerful [[Nobody|Nobodies]] who seek to reclaim their [[heart]]s and become whole again. They are the antagonists of ''[[Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories]]'' and ''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]'', and all are playable in the game ''[[Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days]]'' which happens after Roxas's birth.  

Organization XIII debuted in ''[[Kingdom Hearts Final Mix]]'', as [[Xemnas]] was a secret boss at [[Hollow Bastion]]. The group officially debuted in ''Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories'', then known as simply, ''the Organization''. In [[Sora]]'s story, the player was introduced to [[Marluxia]], [[Axel]], [[Larxene]], and [[Vexen]]. In Reverse/Rebirth, Riku's story, [[Zexion]] and [[Lexaeus]] were added to the cast.

The Organization's remaining members appeared in ''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]'' as the main antagonists. In this second installment, the player meets [[Xigbar]], [[Xaldin]], [[Saïx]], [[Demyx]], [[Luxord]], [[Roxas]], the returning member, [[Axel]], and the leader [[Xemnas]]. Another "member" of Organization XIII was added in ''[[Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days]]'', when [[Xion]] was added to the group.

 

Because all the members are Nobodies, they lack hearts, meaning they also have no emotions. The Organization yearns to discover the secrets of the heart and fill the empty void inside themselves by gathering hearts to form [[Kingdom Hearts]] so they can become full beings again. Each member is aware of their lack of emotions, and many of them pretend to have emotions, for example, Saïx's enraged battle style and Larxene's giggling and winking. The ''Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories'' manga and several other media forms provide an alternative view, saying that they ''do'' have emotions, but are plagued by a feeling of uncertainty and emptiness due to not having hearts. The manga further displays this "plagued" feeling by showing the members engaging in tasks like jigsaw puzzles, cooking, and reading to try to fill their emptiness.

 

This group's inclusion to the ''Kingdom Hearts'' storyline marks the more mature nature of the ''Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories'' and ''Kingdom Hearts II'' storylines, as they introduce the concepts of duplicity among the villains, minor physical abuse, manipulation of sentimental matters and, on some level, real death. A notable example is the Heartless invasion of Hollow Bastion, Organization XIII's doing, which inadvertently incapacitates [[Goofy]] for a short time, leading even [[Sora]], [[Donald Duck]], and [[Mickey Mouse|Mickey]] to falsely believe that he is dead.

===Origin===

Organization XIII was formed by a group of scientists working under a man called [[Ansem the Wise]], the ruler of [[Radiant Garden]], and worked from Ansem's castle, Hollow Bastion. The head of this group was Ansem's apprentice, [[Xehanort]], with the others being [[Braig]], [[Dilan]], [[Even]], [[Aeleus]], and [[Ienzo]]. Ansem the Wise began initiating tests about the human heart, focusing mainly on Xehanort, with the hopes of recovering his lost memories. At the urging of Ienzo, he constructed a massive laboratory under the castle. However, Ansem the Wise soon ceased his experiments, for he feared that going too deep would have grave repercussions, also noting Xehanort's apparently-superhuman abilities.

[[File:Nobody.png|right|150px|thumb|Symbol of Organization XIII and the Nobodies]]

However, his six apprentices, still seduced by the desire for knowledge, conducted their own dangerous experiments on countless subjects. Eventually, they discovered the beings called [[Heartless]], those that are born from the darkness in a heart and seek others as well. Xehanort, having taken on Ansem's name and writing his findings under it, opened a door he discovered, breaking down the barriers between worlds and allowing travel between them. When a king named [[Mickey Mouse|Mickey]] arrived, the six men's desire for knowledge eventually caused Xehanort to abandon his body, becoming a Heartless (though he was unusual in that he had a human form and retained his memories), with the other five soon following. Thus, the first six members of Organization XIII were born, and they banished Ansem to a [[Realm of Darkness]].

===''[[Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories]]''===

The Organization make their first appearance in the series (apart from [[Xemnas]]'s appearance in ''Kingdom Hearts Final Mix''). The neophytes, [[Marluxia]] and [[Larxene]], tried to take control of the Organization by using [[Sora]] as their puppet, while the senior members, [[Zexion]], [[Lexaeus]], and [[Vexen]], tried to oppose them by using the darkness in [[Riku]]. However, all of them, save [[Axel]], were eliminated.

===''[[Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days]]''===

The story largely focuses on [[Roxas]]'s time as a member of the Organization XIII, and thus, all the members are present here. This and ''Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep'' are the only installments to date where the fourteenth member, [[Xion]], is ever mentioned.

Only eight members ([[Xemnas]], [[Axel]], [[Demyx]], [[Xaldin]], [[Xigbar]], [[Luxord]], [[Saïx]], and [[Roxas]]) of the Organization remained at the beginning of ''Kingdom Hearts II''. Sora and his friends took every single remaining member down, save Roxas, who became one with Sora, and Axel, who sacrificed himself so that Sora and his friends could save Kairi. In the end, Organization XIII is ultimately destroyed when Sora and Riku defeat Xemnas.

While Dilan, Even, Aeleus, Ienzo, [[Isa]], and [[Lea]] appear in the game in minor roles, Braig serves as a major player in [[Master Xehanort]]'s ruthless ambitions, acquiring his signature scars and eyepatch following a battle against Terra. Of Ansem's apprentices, Braig plays the largest role overall in the story until the appearance of Xehanort. Axel, Roxas and Xion also appear in the game's secret ending, and Xemnas appears briefly in the ''Final Mix'' version of the game.

===''[[Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance]]''===

Following the Organization's defeat, Dilan, Even, Aeleus, Ienzo, Lea and Isa are revived, though the other members' original selves are not shown. However, the threat of Organization XIII turns out to be far from over, as Sora learns through his confrontations with [[Young Xehanort]], Xemnas and Xigbar that the true purpose of Organization XIII was to create an Organization of thirteen different incarnations of Xehanort himself, though this plan initially failed due to the members' unforeseen independence. Under the leadership of the newly reformed Master Xehanort, the new Organization XIII is formed by Master Xehanort himself, Young Xehanort, Xemnas, Xigbar (who claims to already be "half-Xehanort"), "Ansem", Isa, and six other hooded figures. Master Xehanort almost succeeds in making Sora into the final vessel for the Organization, but Riku, Mickey, Lea, Donald and Goofy succeed in saving Sora and driving Master Xehanort to retreat. In the game's secret ending, [[Yen Sid]] implies that Master Xehanort has successfully formed his new Organization XIII.

==Inner workings==

===Dress===

[[File:Mysterious Figure KHFM.png|thumb|124px|left|The traditional black coat of Organization XIII]]

Each member in the Organization dons the same uniform, regardless of whether they are male or female. The uniform consists of a [[Black Coat|single black leather hooded coat]]. It is plainly adorned with a silver zipper and seemingly pointless silver beaded pull strings for the hood that form a semi-circle in the middle. Each member wears their zippers at differing points.

Not much is known about the under garments of the Organization. It is known, however, that they all wear [[wikipedia:hakama|hakama]]-esque black pants and knee high silver trimmed boots, with the exceptions of Roxas, who wears sneakers of the same color, and Larxene and Xion, who wear a more feminized version of the boots with heels. In addition to this, they all wear black leather gloves of some unknown length, as they disappear under bell shaped sleeves. Some members have different looking coats, for example Axel, whose sleeves are tight around his wrists. Upon closer inspection, it can be seen that the hems of each coat are each slightly different, as well as the shoulder pads (such as those of Demyx and Xigbar, which seem to be slightly pointed).

Other known characters to wear the coat are King Mickey, Riku, Xehanort's Heartless,  

and [[Moogle]]s. Riku obtains his coat from DiZ and it is presumed Mickey also obtains it from him. It is unknown how DiZ or the Moogles obtained them.

The reason that Organization XIII wears black coats is because [[Master Xehanort]], one of Xemnas's original beings, once wore one. As Xemnas regained his memories, he remembered the black coat that was worn by Master Xehanort, and incorporated the coat into Organization XIII.<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts Ultimania|Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Ultimania]]''''' "...the Nobody Xemnas was born, and the Organization which he creates take a lot of things from his memories as a human... The coat used by the Organization was something that Master Xehanort originally wore."</ref>

===Ranking===

[[File:Organization XIII's Weapons (Art).png|right|thumb|250px|Artwork of Organization XIII's weapons respectively (excluding Xemnas's, Zexion's, and Xion's) by Tetsuya Nomura]]

Ranking within the Organization is based solely on seniority, not the skill of the member or their place in the hierarchy. While the #1-ranked [[Xemnas]] is the most powerful member of the Organization, the #4-ranked [[Vexen]] is set as a subordinate to the #11-ranked [[Marluxia]], and the #7-ranked [[Saïx]] is Xemnas's second-in-command.

Each of the thirteen true members recieve a title; only Xion, the unofficial fourteenth member, is without one. These titles specify the role of the member, and often reference their elemental attribute or weapons as well.

# [[Xemnas]]: "The Superior of the In-Between;"<!--add ref note that this is translation--> Controlled [[Sorcerer]]s, used the attribute of Nothingness and weapons called Ethereal Blades which he himself calls Interdiction. Nobody of [[Xehanort]].

# [[Xigbar]]; "The Freeshooter;" Controlled [[Sniper]]s, used the attribute of Space and Arrow Guns called Sharpshooters. Nobody of [[Braig]].

# [[Xaldin]]; "The Whirlwind Lancer;" Controlled [[Dragoon]]s, used the attribute of Wind and six Lances called Lindworm. Nobody of [[Dilan]].

# [[Vexen]]; "The Chilly Academic;" used the attribute of Ice and a Shield called Frozen Pride. Nobody of [[Even]].

# [[Lexaeus]]; "The Silent Hero;" used the attribute of Earth and an Axe Sword called Skysplitter. Nobody of [[Aeleus]].

# [[Zexion]]; "The Cloaked Schemer;" used the attribute of Illusion and a Lexicon called Book of Retribution. Nobody of [[Ienzo]].

# [[Saïx]]; "The Luna Diviner;" Controlled [[Berserker]]s, used the attribute of Moon and a Claymore called Lunatic. Nobody of [[Isa]].

# [[Axel]]; "The Flurry of Dancing Flames;" Controlled [[Assassin]]s, used the attribute of Fire and twin Chakrams called Eternal Flames. Nobody of [[Lea]].

# [[Demyx]]; "The Melodious Nocturne;" Controlled [[Dancer]]s, used the attribute of Water and a Sitar called Arpeggio. Original persona unknown.

# [[Luxord]]; "The Gambler of Fate;" Controlled [[Gambler]]s, used the attribute of Time as well as Cards called Fair Game. Original persona unknown.

# [[Marluxia]]; "The Graceful Assassin;" used the attribute of Flower and a Scythe called Graceful Dalhia. Original persona unknown.

# [[Larxene]]; "The Savage Nymph'" used the attribute of Lightning and eight Knives called Foudre. Original persona unknown.

# [[Roxas]]; "The Key of Destiny;" Controlled [[Samurai]], used the attribute of Light and wielded up to three different Keyblades (due to being [[Sora]]'s Nobody). He initially wielded the [[Kingdom Key]] but soon acquired the [[Oathkeeper]] and [[Oblivion]], which represent [[Kairi]] and [[Riku]], respectively.

# [[Xion]]; used the attribute of Light and the Kingdom Key Keyblade. Although she is referred to as the fourteenth member, she is not actually considered to be part of the Organization, and she is not a Nobody. She is an imperfect replica of Roxas created from Sora's leaked memories.

Most and possibly all members of the Organization have control over a specific type of lesser Nobody. Like their titles, each member's lesser Nobody has some similarity to them. The Lesser Nobodies are named after recurring Final Fantasy job classes, and match their Organization member's general role.

{{-}}

A common thread between all of the members is the "X" that appears within each of their names. As revealed by [[wikipedia:Tetsuya Nomura|Tetsuya Nomura]], the director of the game, by removing the "X", the remaining letters form an anagram of the members' original names from when they were humans. For instance, "Roxas" is an anagram of "Sora", and "Xemnas" is an anagram of "Ansem". Xemnas's true name is Xehanort; his name is an anagram of 'no heart' or 'another' with an X added. Xion, being an artificial Replica, had no original name. The name "Xion" came from her label as Replica No.i of the [[Replica Program]].

Such thoughts made many fans anxious to try and figure out for themselves the rest of the Organization's members' names. The name of the [[Nobody|Nobodies]]' "other" appears before them in translucent, rainbow colored font (similar to the one shown at the intro to "[[The World That Never Was]]"). Then, an "x" drops down and the letters re-arrange themselves until they form a new name. It is also suggested that [[Xemnas]] is the one who performs this ceremony. Many have suggested that this isn't true, as Xigbar was the one who found Marluxia and named him, but if one listens to the dialogue between Zexion and Xigbar in ''Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix'', it is apparent from the way Xigbar does not know how to pronounce Marluxia's name that he was not the one to name him, rather just found him.

Despite this, however, the reason for the placement of the "X" in the naming process of a new Organization XIII member has to do with Master Xehanort, one of Xemnas's original two personas, and his fascination with the legendary [[χ-blade]]. As Xemnas regained memories of Master Xehanort's past, he remembered the χ-blade, and incorporated the "X" into Organization XIII.<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts Ultimania|Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Ultimania]]''''' "Xemnas gives Organization members names with an X in them. This has something to do with Master Xehanort’s interest in the X-Blade."</ref>

===[[Where Nothing Gathers]]===

Somewhere in The Castle That Never Was, inaccessible to the player, is the meeting room of the Organization. This area can be accessed with a cheat code, though - the platform with the Organization symbol can be walked on, but none of the thrones can. The game calls the area "Where Nothing Gathers" - suggesting it may have been in the final game as a full area, but was dropped later. It is a white cylindrical room with thirteen extremely tall white thrones. The height of these thrones is determined by the amount of missions the respective members complete and the height tends to change depending on the success or failure of those missions. However, Xemnas's throne is always the highest as he is the leader and therefore has completed the highest amount of missions. To his left are the odd-number ranked members while to his right are the even-numbered. Starting from Xemnas, clockwise: Xaldin, Lexaeus, Saïx, Demyx, Marluxia, Roxas, Larxene, Luxord, Axel, Zexion, Vexen and Xigbar.

Ironically, Vexen, Lexaeus, and Zexion have the lowest chair heights out of the whole Organization.  

In the new cutscenes of ''Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix'', every time a missing member is referred to during a meeting, the camera's focus will shift briefly to that said member's throne (such as when Xaldin reminded Axel that, indirectly, he eliminated the traitors Marluxia and Larxene, the camera briefly shifts to view their thrones. The conversation concerns Axel's orders to destroy Roxas and fittingly enough, Roxas's throne is between theirs).

===[[Proof of Existence]]===

In the central tower of The Castle That Never Was, there is a room that is something of a graveyard or a place where beings who can't use the portal to darkness use the doorway-like portals to reach other members of the Organization. This chamber has thirteen portals which lead to a certain area throughout the castle, the portals are placed simultaneously along the walls and glow blue if that specific member is alive but red when that one is dead. Starting from Xemnas's which is actually a path to The Altar of Naught, going downwards are two more, then below them are four and after them are eight with a path cutting half way between the portals. The portals lead to large chambers which are areas that the Organization dwell when they are resting. So far only three are known which are the Altar of Naught, where Xemnas resides and the highest point in the castle, Havoc's Divide which is a large slanted balcony were Luxord resides, and Addled Impasse where Saïx lives, which is a large circular room with a balcony made of glass and looks up towards the moon. Note that for gameplay purposes, the gates to Havoc's Divide and Addled Impasse remain active even after Luxord and Saïx are felled. Also, for the same reasons, Roxas's still-active gate (since he still exists within Sora) is broken and rendered unusable, although it still maintains its blue glow. It may be broken, though, due to the fact that while Roxas still exists in Sora, he does not exist physically. Note that Zexion's tombstone was especially broken to hide his weapon's image, (which was not revealed until the release of ''[[Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix]]''), although its lettering can still be read. It is unknown if Xion has or ever had a tombstone and portal.

==Theme==

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*After Sora obtains the password for the DTD, the Journal entries for the ''Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories'' Organization XIII members are obtained. It is unknown why this is, as Sora had lost his memories of them, although it is believed that this information was obtained from Ansem's computer in Hollow Bastion. In ''Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix'', this is changed: the Journal entries for the ''Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories'' Organization XIII members are obtained only after defeating their respective [[Absent Silhouette]]s, before or after the [[Battle of 1000 Heartless]].

*At least eight of the Organization members were citizens of [[Radiant Garden]], and Sora released his heart, creating Roxas, within Hollow Bastion.

==References==

{{Reflist|1}}