Bear with me. I have a tendency to ramble, but I just want to explain myself completely.
The question is twofold. The first, the already-identified members of the True Organization, and the second, the writers themselves of the Kingdom Hearts storyline.
The twists and turns of the series have been many and shocking. And now, we find ourselves here, with the resurgence of both old friends and foes, going to do battle--presumably--at the end of the world.
When I first played DDD, I was floored by the turn the story had taken. To this day, I think it's the biggest twist I've ever seen in a storyline. I mean, we all knew Xehanort was coming back--but who would have guessed that his Heartless form was going to give his young form the power of time travel to create a whole new Organization XIII using all of his incarnations throughout history, as well as new vassals willing to take on his evil?
Since then, I've been curious as to how much of this was actually hinted at. Obviously most of the hints--if there are indeed any to be found--would come from Xemnas and Xigbar, since the two of them literally have seen all of this unfold, and were instrumental in the decline of the World.
In KHII, Xigbar definitely drops a ton of hints about what happened ten years ago. When he says stuff like, "you don't look like half the hero the others were," or in KH358, when he asks Xion why she always gives him that angry Ventus look (which, it's funny, they threw a little reference to that into BBS itself during the final battle when he says, "he's got the angry look down"). So, he talks about the past a lot. But, after playing DDD, I started to notice weird little things about the future, too.
Notice how, when Xigbar dies, he doesn't mourn. He doesn't look distressed. There is no anger. He laughs, and in response to Sora's bewilderment, he goes, "wouldn't you like to know." Remember that, by this time, he had already accepted a piece of Xehanort's heart. I think this is the earliest reference to the True Organization. Also--and this is a stretch--Xemnas' final word is "Keyblade." How possible do you think it is that he was actually talking about the X-Blade, and forging it with the Seven Lights and Thirteen Darknesses?
Master Xehanort himself seemed very calm in the final scene when he and Terra are battling for control of his heart in BBS. He bragged about his many plans. We know from MX himself that his master plan was to A) summon Kingdom Hearts and the X-Blade--and our trio of keyblade wielders thwarted that--and B) live to see beyond the Keyblade War--which unfortunately he succeeded in through capturing Terra's body. So, originally, I'd assumed that Xemnas' defeat in KHII was the end of these original plans.
But, thinking about it, for how long was the True Organization the endgame? And, by BBS, we know that the time travel aspect had been solidified, since you do battle with Young Xehanort. And, by the final battle, Braig's eyes and ears had the distinct Xehanort look.
The big piece of evidence that makes me wonder if they--again, the villains and the writers--knew as early as KHII is Saix's defeat. He definitely mourns--as much as a Nobody can--his lack of a heart, and his defeat before receiving one. Meanwhile, his eyes and ears have the MX touch to them. This is strange. Why would they design the character similarly to Xigbar and Xemnas in that sense, and nobody else, if Saix wasn't slated for the True Org. at that time? If he was, why would his defeat have upset him? Why didn't he just mock Sora's ignorance like Xigbar did, their distinct personalities notwithstanding? And, going through the games, it doesn't seem that many of the villains are aware that their lives will be spared through plucking them from time. Ansem SoD was horrified to have been defeated.
The only other thing I can think is that, in the spots where Young Xehanort pulled the villains from the timeline, it caused a split in the timeline, creating another one where that villain isn't present. But then, it isn't specified whether or not the villains are returned to their times, or the exact moment in time when they were pulled out. Or--even further of stretch--some villains were defeated and returned to their times in the knowledge that they had run out of second chances, while others found some way to go on in this upcoming last battle.
So my supposition is that, at the very least, Xemnas, Xigbar and Master Xehanort were aware of the plan--and that the writers, as early as KHII, knew as well.
When you think about it, KHIII has a TON of stuff to resolve--several character arcs, a battle between all the heroes and villains from nearly fifteen years worth of gaming, several decades of Disney, and over thirty years of Final Fantasy. I often wonder how they'll fit it all in one game.
The question is twofold. The first, the already-identified members of the True Organization, and the second, the writers themselves of the Kingdom Hearts storyline.
The twists and turns of the series have been many and shocking. And now, we find ourselves here, with the resurgence of both old friends and foes, going to do battle--presumably--at the end of the world.
When I first played DDD, I was floored by the turn the story had taken. To this day, I think it's the biggest twist I've ever seen in a storyline. I mean, we all knew Xehanort was coming back--but who would have guessed that his Heartless form was going to give his young form the power of time travel to create a whole new Organization XIII using all of his incarnations throughout history, as well as new vassals willing to take on his evil?
Since then, I've been curious as to how much of this was actually hinted at. Obviously most of the hints--if there are indeed any to be found--would come from Xemnas and Xigbar, since the two of them literally have seen all of this unfold, and were instrumental in the decline of the World.
In KHII, Xigbar definitely drops a ton of hints about what happened ten years ago. When he says stuff like, "you don't look like half the hero the others were," or in KH358, when he asks Xion why she always gives him that angry Ventus look (which, it's funny, they threw a little reference to that into BBS itself during the final battle when he says, "he's got the angry look down"). So, he talks about the past a lot. But, after playing DDD, I started to notice weird little things about the future, too.
Notice how, when Xigbar dies, he doesn't mourn. He doesn't look distressed. There is no anger. He laughs, and in response to Sora's bewilderment, he goes, "wouldn't you like to know." Remember that, by this time, he had already accepted a piece of Xehanort's heart. I think this is the earliest reference to the True Organization. Also--and this is a stretch--Xemnas' final word is "Keyblade." How possible do you think it is that he was actually talking about the X-Blade, and forging it with the Seven Lights and Thirteen Darknesses?
Master Xehanort himself seemed very calm in the final scene when he and Terra are battling for control of his heart in BBS. He bragged about his many plans. We know from MX himself that his master plan was to A) summon Kingdom Hearts and the X-Blade--and our trio of keyblade wielders thwarted that--and B) live to see beyond the Keyblade War--which unfortunately he succeeded in through capturing Terra's body. So, originally, I'd assumed that Xemnas' defeat in KHII was the end of these original plans.
But, thinking about it, for how long was the True Organization the endgame? And, by BBS, we know that the time travel aspect had been solidified, since you do battle with Young Xehanort. And, by the final battle, Braig's eyes and ears had the distinct Xehanort look.
The big piece of evidence that makes me wonder if they--again, the villains and the writers--knew as early as KHII is Saix's defeat. He definitely mourns--as much as a Nobody can--his lack of a heart, and his defeat before receiving one. Meanwhile, his eyes and ears have the MX touch to them. This is strange. Why would they design the character similarly to Xigbar and Xemnas in that sense, and nobody else, if Saix wasn't slated for the True Org. at that time? If he was, why would his defeat have upset him? Why didn't he just mock Sora's ignorance like Xigbar did, their distinct personalities notwithstanding? And, going through the games, it doesn't seem that many of the villains are aware that their lives will be spared through plucking them from time. Ansem SoD was horrified to have been defeated.
The only other thing I can think is that, in the spots where Young Xehanort pulled the villains from the timeline, it caused a split in the timeline, creating another one where that villain isn't present. But then, it isn't specified whether or not the villains are returned to their times, or the exact moment in time when they were pulled out. Or--even further of stretch--some villains were defeated and returned to their times in the knowledge that they had run out of second chances, while others found some way to go on in this upcoming last battle.
So my supposition is that, at the very least, Xemnas, Xigbar and Master Xehanort were aware of the plan--and that the writers, as early as KHII, knew as well.
When you think about it, KHIII has a TON of stuff to resolve--several character arcs, a battle between all the heroes and villains from nearly fifteen years worth of gaming, several decades of Disney, and over thirty years of Final Fantasy. I often wonder how they'll fit it all in one game.
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