Editing Heartless

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{{cleanup|Story and origin (focus on important uses of Heartless and events important to Heartless as a whole; not every single Heartless appearance needs to be given a detailed synopsis)}}

[[File:Heartless Emblem.png|200px|thumb|The Heartless Emblem]]

The {{nihongo|'''Heartless'''|ハートレス|Hātoresu}} are beings of [[darkness]] that manifest in two forms, "Pureblood" and "Emblem". While most Heartless are, in fact, manifested [[heart]]s, they behave entirely devoid of emotion, and thus were named "Heartless".<ref>'''''[[Ansem's Report 3]]''''': "One thing I am sure of is that they are entirely devoid of emotion."</ref>

The Heartless are the primary enemy type in the ''{{c|Kingdom Hearts|series}}'' series, with various subspecies appearing as enemies in nearly every game.

===Before ''Kingdom Hearts χ''===

 

 

 

 

 

===Between ''Kingdom Hearts Dark Road'' and ''Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep''===

As [[Aqua]] wanders the [[Realm of Darkness]] following her battle with [[Terra-Xehanort]], she encounters a group of [[Darkside]]s. Although she initially summons [[Master's Defender]], she decides to let the Darksides come at her without resisting. However, Terra's and Ventus's Keyblades come to her rescue, a last symbol of hope from her old friends. Her spirit returning, and in hopes of returning to her home, Aqua presses on through the Realm of Darkness, along the way encountering many [[Pureblood Heartless]], including [[Shadow]]s, Neoshadows and [[Darkball]]s. During this time, she is stalked and attacked by the massive [[Dark Hide]], engaging it in combat and emerging victorious after a strenuous battle.

Aqua fights off numerous Purebloods in the Realm of Darkness, which included Darksides, Neoshadows, Shadows, and a huge swarm of Shadows called [[Demon Tower]]. Extremely rare elemental Heartless, such as [[Water Core]], [[Flame Core]], [[Earth Core]], and [[Fluttering]] attack Aqua as she journeys through the realm. While in the remains of [[Enchanted Dominion]], Aqua [[Flowmotion|railslides]] through a forest of thorns, evading the punches and energy blasts of numerous [[Darkside]]s. A swarm of Shadows called the [[Demon Tide]] attempts to attack [[Riku]] when he tries reaching the [[Door to Darkness]], but Aqua holds it off and ultimately destroys it as she renews her convictions to defeat the darkness.

During the experiments, Xehanort discovered the Heartless and named them.{{storylink|Ansem's Report 3}} One of them leads him to the heart of [[Radiant Garden]]. After further study, he built the Heartless Manufactory inside Ansem's castle and created the first artificial [[Emblem Heartless]].{{storylink|Ansem's Report 8}}

[[File:Leon 01 KH.png|thumb|200px|A Heartless steals a man's heart.]]

[[File:Sealing the Keyhole Hollow Bastion 01 KH.png|thumb|200px|left|Sora seals the last Keyhole.]]

Ansem challenges Sora in order to claim [[Kairi]]'s heart and complete the [[Final Keyhole]], but Sora defeats him. Sora then uses Ansem's Keyblade on himself, in order to free Kairi's heart and complete the Keyhole so it can be sealed. Although he succeeds, he loses his own heart and becomes a Shadow Heartless in the process. Kairi's [[light]] restores Sora to his human form, and he soon travels to the [[End of the World]] to stop Ansem from reaching Kingdom Hearts.

[[File:Darkness Released 01 KHRECOM.png|200px|thumb|Xehanort's Heartless, Ansem, is one of the only ones to have a mind.]]

In the memory-copy of [[Agrabah]], the Heartless caused enough mayhem for [[Jafar]] to take control of the city, and attempt to force [[Aladdin]] to waste his wishes stopping them.

[[File:Heartless 01 KHD.png|thumb|left|Marluxia teaches Roxas about the Heartless.]]

After Maleficent and Ansem's defeat, the Heartless run wild without a guiding will behind them, although villains like [[Pete]] are able to summon and control small groups of them. As a Keyblade-wielding member of [[Organization XIII]], [[Roxas]] is often sent on missions to defeat them and collect hearts. During one of his early missions, [[Marluxia]] introduces Roxas to fighting Heartless, explaining to him the difference between Pureblood Heartless, which contain no hearts, and Emblem Heartless, which release hearts upon defeat. He tells Roxas that the hearts he collects will gather to form Kingdom Hearts, the ultimate goal of the Organization. Marluxia and [[Zexion]] emphasize the importance of Roxas's role in collecting hearts for the Organization's purposes. [[Xemnas]] creates [[Xion]] to duplicate Roxas's abilities, as a failsafe should Roxas have proved inadequate for the purpose of collecting hearts.

[[File:Ansem's Apprentice 02 KHII.png|200px|thumb|Sora charges into battle against the Heartless.]]

In [[Halloween Town]], [[Dr. Finkelstein]] creates an "artificial" Heartless called [[The Experiment]]. When it comes to life, it chases presents, hoping that the joy of the presents would be enough to give it a heart.<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]''''', '''Sora:''' "Santa Claus thinks maybe it left because it was trying to find a heart." / '''Dr. Finkelstein:''' "That's quite possible. Unlike my Sally, it wasn't equipped with a heart." / '''Sora:''' "But if it wanted a heart, why was it going around stealing all those Christmas presents?" / '''Sally:''' Maybe because...presents are a way to give your heart to someone special.</ref> The Experiment is eventually defeated by Sora, Donald, and Goofy when they arrive in Halloween Town the second time.

Kingdom Hearts is damaged when Ansem the Wise fails to encode it as data, causing hearts to rain down over the Dark City, spawning a great swarm of Shadows that attack the castle. Maleficent and Pete take on the swarm, sending Sora and company to defeat [[Xemnas]], atop the castle.

Digital representations of the Heartless appear within the  [[datascape]] of [[Jiminy Cricket|Jiminy]]'s [[Jiminy's Journal|Journal]], just as they had appeared in the real worlds. The bugs infecting the Journal also appear as various species of Heartless. The source of the bugs, the digital representation of [[Sora's Heartless]], absorbs the defeated Heartless in order to increase in power, but it is defeated by [[Data-Sora]] and King Mickey, and the journal is repaired.

Ienzo reveals to [[Lea]] that when a Heartless and Nobody are destroyed and their hearts find their vessels, they are returned to the place they became a Heartless and Nobody. However, if that world is destroyed or otherwise unavailable, they would appear in Traverse Town.<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance]]''''', '''Ienzo''': "When someone who's lost their heart is recompleted, they should return to the place where it happened. And if that world is unavailable for whatever reason, a refuge is made for them in the realm between—a world called "Traverse Town". They would be sent there."</ref>

According to legend, the people of the universe once lived in harmony on one world, with their hearts full of light. Unfortunately, they began to selfishly fight over the light, and darkness grew within their hearts, covering everything and destroying the world. The light survived in the hearts of children, who were able to rebuild the broken fragments of the one world into many, smaller [[world]]s. However, the true light was still hidden in the darkness, so the worlds remained separate.<ref>'''''{{c|Kingdom Hearts|game}}''''', '''Kairi's Grandmother''': "Long ago, people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of light. Everyone loved the light. Then people began to fight over it. They wanted to keep it for themselves. And darkness was born in their hearts. The darkness spread, swallowing the light and many people's hearts. It covered everything, and the world disappeared. But small fragments of light survived...in the hearts of children. With these fragments of light, children rebuilt the lost world. It's the world we live in now. But the true light sleeps, deep within the darkness. That's why the worlds are still scattered, divided from each other. But someday, a door to the innermost darkness will open. And the true light will return. So, listen, child. Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be a light to guide you. Believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you. Your heart will shine with its power and push the darkness away. Do you understand, Kairi?"</ref> As manifestations of that Darkness, natural Heartless have existed within the Realm of Darkness ever since. However, due to the walls between the worlds, they could initially only enter the Realm of Light when summoned.

Nine years before the events of ''Kingdom Hearts'', she sent a swarm of Heartless to conquer the Radiant Garden, causing it to be lost to darkness so completely that only the castle that became known as Hollow Bastion remained, even in the survivor's memories.<ref>'''''{{c|Kingdom Hearts|game}}''''', '''Leon''': "[Maleficent's] the reason this town is full of Heartless. Don't take her lightly." / '''Aerith''': "She's been using the Heartless for years." / '''Leon''': "We lost our world, thanks to her." / '''Cid''': "One day, a swarm of Heartless took over our world!" / '''Leon''': "That was nine years ago."</ref><!--KH2 Radiant Garden reveal

===''Kingdom Hearts III''===

During their closing research into the [[New Seven Hearts]] and [[Replica]]s, the [[real Organization XIII]] regularly employs Heartless, alongside [[Nobodies]] and [[Unversed]], to both further their experiments and rebuff [[Sora]]'s attempts to stop them.

When the [[Seven Guardians of Light]] arrive at the [[Keyblade Graveyard]], the Organization sends the remaining reserves of their armies to quash the heroes. Sora and his friends are able to repel the first assault, but after [[Terra-Xehanort]] confronts them and leaves them in disarray, the swarm attacks again and is able to extinguish the guardians. However, before the [[Lich]] can consume their deaths, Sora exploits the [[power of waking]] to bring them back, and in the process generates a singularity that returns them to before the battle. This time, the [[Lingering Will]] drives off Terra-Xehanort, allowing the spirits of the fallen [[Keyblade wielders]] to rise up and help Sora finish off the massive swarm. In one last attempt, [[Dark Riku]] summons a final swarm of Heartless, Nobodies, and Unversed to overwhelm the guardians, but [[Yen Sid]] arrives and uses his powers to clear a path to the waiting organization.

==Design==

[[File:Symbol Character - Riku.png|thumb|100px|A Heartless emblem variation.]]

In general, Heartless are beastly creatures with beady yellow eyes.

As naturally occurring Heartless, Pureblood Heartless look more primitive and tend to use more chaotic fighting styles. When they are not possessing objects or using them as armor, Pureblood Heartless are predominantly dark-toned with eerily-colored veins, antennae, and tendrils on their bodies. In addition, they generally do not cast shadows onto the world. Some Pureblood Heartless have chains hanging off their bodies. Particularly strong Pureblood Heartless look somewhat humanoid and possess a heart-shaped hole in the center of their torso.

Emblem Heartless have more varied shapes and colors than their Pureblood cousins. They are branded with an emblem, which resembles a heart with a ''fleur-de-lis'' at the bottom and a spiky "X" crossing through the center. The physical appearance of Emblem Heartless is influenced by the world they appear in. Unlike Purebloods, these Heartless generally do have shadows.

==Nature==

{{Q|Pitiful Heartless. Mindlessly collecting hearts.|Saïx}}

[[File:Up Until Now and From Here On Out 01 KHII.png|200px|thumb|left|A Shadow, a Pureblood Heartless.]]

Pureblood Heartless are natural Heartless, born from the darkness in people's hearts. They are native to the [[Realm of Darkness]], and they are more common in other places that are close to or saturated in darkness, such as [[End of the World]] and [[The World That Never Was]]. Upon their destruction, they simply disappear in puffs of darkness, without a heart leaving its body.<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days]]''''', '''Marluxia:''' "The ones you just defeated are known as Purebloods. Purebloods don't release any hearts when you defeat them. In other words, don't bother with them."</ref> While Purebloods have less variety, they are far more numerous in quantity and often attack in swarms.

Emblem Heartless, on the other hand, are artificially created. They were first created from a machine designed to reproduce the process of a heart being consumed by darkness.<ref>'''''[[Secret Ansem Report 5]]''''': "The six traitors were operating a laboratory that churned out those cursed shadows. Not only did they generate "pureblood" Heartless from living hearts, but they then used those Heartless to synthesize artificial versions of the creatures as well. These synthetic Heartless bore insignias and were called "Emblems." Pureblood or Emblem, these Heartless act only to fulfill their instinctive needs. They single-mindedly detect hearts and swarm around them."</ref> They are more common in the worlds within the Realm of Light, and they can adapt their appearance to fit the world they are in, often mimicking the shape of creatures or objects within that world. Powerful Emblem Heartless can also be created directly from the influence of darkness on a creature or individual.<!--Storm Rider, Skoll, Grim Guardianess-->

Heartless – Emblem or Pureblood – are dark creatures that act on instinct alone. They will attack others to consume more hearts, and will target wielders of the Keyblade.<ref>'''''{{c|Kingdom Hearts|game}}''''', '''Leon:''' "The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade. That's why they'll keep coming after you no matter what."</ref> However, a powerful user of darkness can summon or control Heartless.<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Ultimania]]''''' "As Yen Sid says in ''Kingdom Hearts II'', the Heartless cannot be separated from the darkness in people's hearts, and have been around for a long time. Beings of darkness can draw out the darkness in the heart, so Master Xehanort could summon the Neoshadows with his own hands. In the same way, when Xehanort and Ansem the Wise's students begin to perform the first experiments on the darkness of the heart, artificial Heartless were created in large numbers."</ref> The Heartless will obey a powerful enough force, but they are only loyal as long as the leader remains strong-willed. <ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]''''', '''Saïx:''' "The Heartless ally with whoever's the strongest."</ref><ref>'''''{{c|Kingdom Hearts|game}}''''', '''Maleficent:''' "Don't steep yourself in darkness too long. The Heartless consume the careless."</ref> Additionally, some Heartless are able to command fellow Heartless.

[[File:Sora, Donald, and Goofy 01 KH.png|thumb|200px|A Soldier, an Emblem Heartless.]]

Heartless possess the ability to travel between worlds using [[Corridors of Darkness]]. They naturally seek out the heart of the world to corrupt it with their darkness. A Keyblade can lock the heart of a world away from the Heartless; while this prevents the Heartless from destroying the world's heart, it does not keep Heartless out of the world itself.

If a Heartless is slain by a Keyblade, the heart will be freed and reunite with the body and soul it left behind (provided there is no corresponding Nobody). Magic and certain weapons can also destroy Heartless, but only temporarily.<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days]]''''', '''Xion:''' "But if I don't defeat Heartless with the Keyblade... the hearts they release just find their way into other Heartless instead. I swat them in one place and they just pop up in another."</ref> No method of eliminating Heartless is capable of stopping them forever, for as long as darkness lingers in the hearts of individuals, Heartless will continue to form.<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]''''', '''Yen Sid:''' Your past endeavors did prevent an immense effusion of Heartless from the great darkness; make no mistake about that. However, the Heartless are darkness made real---and darkness lingers yet in every heart. The Heartless are fewer. But while darkness exists in a single heart, it will be difficult to eliminate them."</ref>

The strength of a Heartless is proportional to the depth of the darkness from which it was born: the darker the heart forming a Heartless, the more powerful and more monstrous the resulting being will be.<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days]]''''', '''Pete:''' "I'll give that pirate somethin' he can reeeally be greedy about. Then I'll summon a great big whopper of a Heartless!"</ref> For those with no darkness within their hearts, such as the [[Princesses of Heart]], they cannot create Heartless. The process of creating Heartless occasionally also forms [[Nobodies]], which are born from the [[body]] and [[soul]] left behind when the heart is lost.<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]''''', '''Yen Sid:''' "At times, if someone with a strong heart and will---be they evil or good---becomes a Heartless, the empty shell they leave behind begins to act with a will of its own."</ref>

File:Shadow KHIII.png|[[Shadow]]

File:Shadow KHII.png|'''{{ns|Game|Sora's Heartless}}'''

File:Dark Inferno KHIII.png|'''[[Dark Inferno]]'''

File:Dark Inferno χ KHIIIRM.png|'''[[Dark Inferno χ]]'''

File:AntiSora KH.png|'''[[AntiSora]]'''

File:Sora's Heartless - True Form KHREC.png|'''{{ns|Game|Sora's Heartless}}'''

File:Sora's Heartless - Neo Darkside KHREC.png|'''{{ns|Game|Sora's Heartless}}'''

File:Demon Tower KHIII.png|'''[[Demon Tower]]'''

File:Demon Tide KHIII.png|'''[[Demon Tide]]'''

File:Lich KHIII.png|'''[[Lich]]'''

File:Soldier KHIII.png|[[Soldier]]

File:Large Body KHIII.png|[[Large Body]]

File:Sea Neon KH.png|[[Sea Neon]]

File:Blizzard Plant KHD.png|[[Ice Plant]]

File:Creeper Bouquet KHX.png|[[Creeper Bouquet]]

File:Prank Bouquet KHX.png|[[Prank Bouquet]]

File:Crescendo KHII.png|[[Loudmouth]]

File:Trick Ghost KHII.png|{{c|Trick Ghost|KHII}}

File:Rabid Dog KHII.png|[[Bad Dog]]

File:Graveyard KHII.png|[[Graveyard]]

File:Bag O' Points KHX.png|[[Bag O' Points]]

File:Nimble Bee KHX.png|[[Nimble Bee]]

File:Stinging Bee KHX.png|[[Stinging Bee]]

File:Infernal Engine (Archer) (Art).png|[[Infernal Engine]]'s archer

File:Jewel Sorceress KHUX.png|'''[[Jewel Sorceress]]'''

File:Jewel Princess KHUX.png|'''[[Jewel Princess]]'''

File:Gummi Adventurer KHUX.png|'''[[Gummi Adventurer]]'''

File:Werewolf KHUX.png|'''{{c|Werewolf|Heartless}}'''

File:Heartless Tsum KHUX.png|'''[[Heartless Tsum]]'''

File:Gummi Golem KHUX.png|'''[[Gummi Golem]]'''

File:Ansem, Seeker of Darkness (Cloaked) KH.png|[[Robed Figure]]

File:Ansem, Seeker of Darkness 02 KHIII.png|'''{{ns|Game|Ansem, Seeker of Darkness}}'''<ref>Ansem, Seeker of Darkness appears to have characteristics of both Emblem and Pureblood Heartless, in both his human and world forms. In both forms, he bears the Heartless emblem on his chest, though in human form it could possibly be an article of clothing. Notably, though, the otherwise identical outfit worn by [[Master Xehanort]] does not possess the emblem. Furthermore, the [[Dark Figure]] attached to him in both forms possesses the "hollow heart" shared by many other Pureblood Heartless. Though it is uncertain what Ansem's situation is, it is possible that this makes him both an Emblem and Pureblood Heartless.</ref>

File:Scar KHII.png|'''{{ns|Game|Scar}}'''<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]''''', '''Pete''': "Anger and jealousy turned the king of Pride Rock into a Heartless!"</ref>

:'''Note''': ''The [[:Category:Gummi enemies|Gummi enemies]] that appear in ''{{c|Kingdom Hearts|game}}'' are merely [[Gummi Ship]]s piloted by Heartless. Those that appear in ''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]'' and ''[[Kingdom Hearts III]]'' are Heartless themselves.''

File:Ghost KHII.png|[[Ghost]]

File:Ghoul KHII.png|[[Ghoul]]