Chapter 11

INTERMISSION Radiant Garden MEANWHILE, IN RADIANT GARDEN, DILAN LED RIKU and Mickey into the courtyard where they had apparently discovered Terra-Xehanort. “So, this is where Aqua fell into the realm of darkness after she dove in to save Terra?” Riku asked Mickey, taking in the sights around them. “Yeah, she said he was acting strange.” “Strange how, exactly?” “She sensed darkness in him, and they ended up getting into a big fight.” That was food for thought. “Around the same time, the guards found a stranger with white hair lying unconscious here in the square—a man calling himself ‘Xehanort,’” Riku mused. “All three of them had been here together, but he was the only one who remained…” Mickey continued the story, perhaps trying to organize his own thoughts. “Ansem the Wise took the stranger in, but that was a mistake. Xehanort betrayed his master, stole his research, and along with his fellow apprentices, separated his heart from his body.” At the end of their first adventure, Sora had ultimately defeated a man who went by the name Ansem. However, he was actually Xehanort, an apprentice of the true Ansem the Wise who had taken his name. Sora had bested the impostor back then, but as fate would have it, that wasn’t where it ended. “Xehanort’s heart took his master’s name, ‘Ansem,’ and traveled to the past to give his younger self instructions. He even briefly had control of you.” Mickey was referring to the mysterious man in the brown robe who Riku had encountered just prior to his first adventure, before Xehanort had been defeated. “His empty body stayed in the present, took the name Xemnas, and founded Organization XIII. Their goal was to prepare thirteen vessels for Xehanort’s heart. Until we put an end to the Organization. But all the while, young Xehanort had been visiting the future to choose thirteen vessels of his own—hearts with strong enough ties to him to make a new Organization—the real Organization XIII.” During Riku and Sora’s second quest, the Organization had tried and failed to gather those thirteen vessels. Their final opponent then had been Xemnas—Xehanort’s Nobody, the empty husk left after his heart fell to darkness. “And now they’re looking for a fight with us. But what happened to Terra? I thought you said that Aqua saved him.” Riku mulled over the facts they had so far. Is this where Terra vanished…? Something didn’t fit. “Yep, she did. The problem is we didn’t notice.” Mickey had noticed the problem, too, but he was starting to put the pieces together. “You remember the end of the Mark of Mastery exam, when Master Xehanort made his grand return? That’s the Xehanort I remember. He was already a pretty old man then.” Oh, I remember. The bald old man— He was creepy. “But how do you explain Ansem and Xemnas, his Heartless and Nobody? Isn’t it strange how young they look? Why aren’t they old men? It’s because Xehanort was using a different body when the split happened. That face from the portrait I mentioned—it wasn’t just some stranger Ansem the Wise took under his wing. It was the young man whose body Xehanort had possessed.” Riku realized what Mickey was trying to say. “No way! That was Terra? Master Xehanort was using Terra?” Mickey started speaking faster as everything fell into place. “Yep. Master Xehanort told us ‘another on our list’ belonged to him. He was talking about Terra. Turns out, Aqua saved more than just her friend that day.” If he was right about all this, then that would explain everything—except for one unanswered question. “Okay, but Master Xehanort is an old man again now. Where did Terra’s body go?” “Hmm… It’s ’cause Master Xehanort’s collecting vessels! He claimed to have two of our seven lights.” Master Xehanort had indeed said as much during their encounter in the Sleeping Worlds, and one of the two he mentioned turned out to be Sora. Meaning… Mickey couldn’t hide his shock at the conclusion. “We got Sora back, but Terra must still be on Xehanort’s side.” “He’s with Organization XIII? We should warn Sora.” Was Master Xehanort still on the hunt for his thirteen vessels? Or had he found them all already? Riku and Mickey had discovered the enemy’s plan, at least, and they shared a grim nod.