Xion

Xion is a character originating from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and serves as the tritagonist of the game. She is Rank XIV within the original Organization XIII, although she is only a nominal member. Rather than being a Nobody, she is an imperfect Replica of Sora created from his memories as a failsafe in case both Sora and Roxas proved to be useless to the Organization's plans. Her physical appearance resembles that of Kairi, since Sora's most important memories are related to her at the time of Xion's creation.
==Background==
===Development===
Xion's name was coined by Tomoco Kanemaki, one of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days's scenario writers and the writer of the Kingdom Hearts novels. Tetsuya Nomura took a liking to it and notes that it has many meanings. Xion's name contains the Japanese words for , fitting the oceanic naming theme of Kairi and Naminé, and , which, according to Japanese floriography, means "I won't forget you" or "remembrance".
It is also revealed within the Secret Reports that her "original name" was "No.i", her ID as an experiment of the Replica Program. The "i" used here is, in fact, the imaginary number.
===Personality===
First arriving at Organization XIII, Xion is a shy, secluded individual. When going on a mission with Roxas, Xion begins to open up to him, and later Axel. She does seem to express emotions due to her nature of existence and is always happy to be with her friends. However, she is somewhat emotionally fragile, becoming deeply enraged with the right provocation. After finding out the origins of her existence, she also becomes deeply confused and lost. She has a strong sense of justice and generosity, seen in the way she willingly gave up herself to join with Sora. She resembles Kairi and Naminé in the way that she fights to protect those she has come to care for.
Xion seems to take an interest in seashells. While Roxas was in a coma when Sora was put to sleep, Xion placed a seashell on his bedside table every day he was asleep. In her nightmare on Destiny Islands, Roxas is in the dream and picks up a shell while whispering her name. After Xion died and returned to Sora, all that was left of her was a single seashell. This is likely a reference to how Kairi also had a liking for seashells too.
===Physical appearance===
As Sora's memories are the basis of her being, Xion initially resembles Kairi, who was Sora's strongest memory at the time of her creation, although her hair is black and her bangs part on the left side, like Kairi's longer hairstyle in Kingdom Hearts II. She is slightly shorter than Roxas. Her physical appearance eventually changes depending on who is viewing her and who they have connections with. If someone's relationship with Xion changes, how they see her changes as well; for example, Axel stopped seeing Xion as a hooded doll after accepting her as a friend. Roxas, Axel, and Riku see her as Xion (and later as Sora), Xigbar sees her as Ventus, Xemnas sees her as Sora, while Saïx sees her as her doll form.
Xion's Organization coat is similar to the one Roxas wears, with slightly pointed shoulders and closer-fitting sleeves. She also wears the more feminine, heeled boots that Larxene wears and the basic black gloves.
Once the events of the Keyblade War in the Keyblade Graveyard are over in Kingdom Hearts III, Xion trades her Organization coat for a black, trench coat-like, sleeveless dress and white mini-skirt to symbolize her new life as a separate individual with her own life and memories instead of being merely a shell or pawn of Master Xehanort's grand scheme.
===Powers and abilities===
As an indirect Replica of Sora, Xion's fighting style as a playable character is very similar to his. After absorbing many of Sora's memories using the Organization XIII Devices, Xion is able to replicate Sora's Limits from Kingdom Hearts. However, Xion's movement is quite similar to Limit Form's, jumping back and stepping forward between attacks and slashing through the enemy in the finisher. Like Roxas, she thrusts with one hand and her finisher resembles the Vortex ability. Before Xion obtains the Keyblade herself, she is limited to simply shooting magic out of her hand.
Xion can wield the Keyblade due to being Roxas' replica. Xion proves adept at handling the Keyblade, being able to fight with it using her right or left hand. Her boss battle depicts her using many powerful melee attacks she seemed to have inherited from Sora. She also uses light much more often during her boss fight, such as creating spiraling circles of Light that suck in the player, leaving them vulnerable to one of Xion's aforementioned physical attacks. She can also use a Light spell similar to Ragnarok and can envelop her weapon in Light to make her other attacks even more powerful.
Xion's Limit Break, , involves covering her Keyblade in an aura of Light and performing a devastating combo. Xion can also call down elegantly shaped pillars of light to attack nearby and far away enemies.
Kingdom Key KH.png|Xion's Kingdom Key
Xion (First Form) Weapon KHD.png|Xion's weapon while being in her first form
Xion (Second Form) Weapon KHD.png|Xion's weapon while being in her second form
Xion (Third Form) Weapon KHD.png|One of Xion's weapons while being in her third form
Xion (Final Form) Weapon KHD.png|One of Xion's weapons while being in her final form
==Appearances==
===Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days===
A week after Roxas joins Organization XIII, Xemnas introduces Xion to the other members. After looking at the other members, she smiles up at Roxas, puzzling him. As Roxas departs for his first training mission, he spots Xion shyly watching him nearby, and Saïx formally introduces her to Axel and Roxas.
When Axel is sent to Castle Oblivion, Xemnas entrusts Roxas with the task of looking after Xion, who quickly bonds with him. After only a couple of missions together, Xion removes her hood, surprising Roxas by her gender. She reveals her ability to wield the Keyblade to him and looks after him when he falls into a coma for several weeks in conjunction to Sora being put to sleep to regain his memories. After discovering that Sora and Riku had slain all of the Organization members (except Axel) that were in Castle Oblivion at the time, Roxas, Axel, and Xion all begin spending more time together as per Roxas' suggestion and become fast friends, such as enjoying sea-salt ice cream together. After Xion asks Axel to be her friend, and he accepts, he stops seeing her as a hooded figure and begins seeing her as the black-haired girl that Roxas sees.
However, a series of events begin to split the trio apart: While DiZ and Naminé oversee the restoration of the sleeping Sora's memories (moving him from Castle Oblivion to Twilight Town to keep him out of reach of the Organization), Roxas begins to experience the process for himself, and begins to ponder over how he is able to wield the Keyblade and doubt the Organization's motives; Axel is reprimanded by their superiors for placing his friendship with Roxas and Xion before the Organization's goals; and Xion is thrown into disarray after a confrontation with Riku, who questions who she is and why she wields the Keyblade; he later finds her unconscious on Destiny Islands, and explains to her that his friend Sora needs Xion to return him his memories if he is to ever awaken. She doesn't understand why she has Sora's memories, to begin with, causing her to become torn between staying with her friends in the Organization or leaving to merge with Sora as Riku suggests.
Xion travels with Riku for several days before being captured by Axel and brought back into the Organization. However, Naminé's attempts to restore Sora's memories are soon halted when Xion starts absorbing them faster, causing Roxas to weaken while she becomes stronger, as Xemnas intended so his plan will come to fruition. Eventually, after being tricked into fighting Roxas by Saïx, Xion decides to take Riku's advice and leaves the Organization.
After her departure, Xion comes into contact with Naminé in Twilight Town's Old Mansion, questioning her own existence and the fate that will soon befall Roxas. She discovers that she is not a Nobody, but a puppet, or replica of Roxas, as part of a continuation of the Replica Program that Marluxia had been working on back at Castle Oblivion. Naminé also tells Xion that due to her existence being based on memories, she will be forgotten by everyone when she dies, and that fate is not preventable. Furthermore, Naminé's attempts to restore Sora's memories not only affect Roxas, but Xion as well, stating why they both keep having memory relapses throughout the game. Xion accepts the facts and decides to go back to Sora. Before she does, though, DiZ barges in with the news that an Organization member has followed her, in which Xion says she will take care of it, despite Naminé's protests, and heads out of the mansion.
It is Axel who has arrived, having finally tracked Xion down. Not only is Axel curious of Xion's motives, but he is also given specific orders to capture her again, which would possibly convince Roxas to return to the Organization. Xion refuses, leaving Axel no choice but to accomplish his mission with full force, leading to a heated battle. Having defeated Xion, Axel brings her back to The World That Never Was but soon faints from fatigue. Xemnas then steps out from the shadows and carries the unconscious Xion away to reprogram her to use the devices he had planted throughout the worlds.
Soon afterward, Roxas finds Xion at the Twilight Town train station, and after she reveals her face, which now resembles Sora's, she explains that she has Sora's memories inside her, and will eventually turn into a Sora copy for the Organization: And in order to do that she must defeat Roxas and absorb the memories inside him as well. It is explained in her Secret Reports that this is somewhat of a ruse, a farce—if she continues to exist, Roxas will disappear and Sora will never wake up because she contains the memories he needs, which is what Xemnas wants. She then transforms into monstrous versions of Sora using Xemnas' devices, and attacks.
During the battle, Roxas and Xion are transported to Wonderland, Halloween Town, and Agrabah, before returning to Twilight Town. In each world, Xion absorbs power from the "devices" that were placed there, which contain memories of Sora's battles in each world. After a long and grueling battle, Roxas manages to defeat her, while she regains her original appearance in his view. His memories of her start to fade as he forgets her name, but Xion assures him he will be better off. Cradled in Roxas's arms, Xion reveals the reason for her sacrifice and her refusal to aid Xemnas in his plans. Her body begins to crystallize, and she begs Roxas to set Kingdom Hearts free, as she no longer can. She says her goodbyes and reminds Roxas that he and Axel will always be her friends and that he must not forget it. Her hand soon falls limp, indicating her death. Despite Roxas's pleas, the rest of Xion's body crystallizes and disappears into the light, leaving behind nothing but a single Thalassa Shell, which causes Roxas to cry.
Though Naminé states that everyone's memories of Xion will vanish as she does, Roxas, Riku, Xemnas, and Saïx manage to retain some memories of her into the next day. By then, Roxas has returned to the World That Never Was in order to set Kingdom Hearts free, which he hopes will reunite him with Xion. However, he is being stalked by a swarm of Neoshadow Heartless, as well as a determined Riku, who has arrived to capture Roxas to finish Sora's memory restoration on orders from DiZ. Riku looks down upon the Nobody before Roxas starts his path up the skyscraper. Through him, Xion is able to throw the Oblivion Keyblade to Riku in order to tell him to stop Roxas before he can reach Xemnas because she believes Roxas is not yet strong enough to face him. In turn, touching the Oblivion causes Riku to recall flashbacks of the time he spent together with Xion, putting him in shock for a moment. The flashbacks then reoccur when he reaches the ground to face the Neoshadows, but this time turn blurred and grainier as they continue, until only film static remains, most likely meaning their total withdrawal from Riku's memories.
When Roxas and Riku finish eradicating the Heartless, they turn on each other for a battle. By this time, it is a struggle for Roxas to even remember Xion's name, but he wants her back. While Roxas is able to knock Riku down first, Xion then projects her words to Riku, somehow telepathically, to stop Roxas at any cost, and so he does once he removes his blindfold and transforms into Riku-Ansem and subdues Roxas. Unconscious, Roxas hears Xion talking to him through his mind, telling him not to be sad, as she is now one with Sora, and Roxas will be as well. She also states that she will be forgotten, but the memories, inside Sora forever, will never go away, and will always be there. As Riku knocks him out, Roxas' last memories of Xion fade.
===Kingdom Hearts coded===
In the Data Castle Oblivion, Data-Naminé reveals to Data-Sora and King Mickey that Xion is one of the people that, while gone, is still connected to Sora's heart.
===Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance===
After Sora catches up to Naminé in his dream in the World that Never Was, her appearance suddenly changes into Xion's. Although Sora doesn't recognize her, he suddenly sheds a tear, to his own surprise and confusion. Xion raises her hood and runs off.
After catching up to Xigbar, Sora comments on how Axel, Roxas, Naminé, and "that other girl" all must have had hearts, saying "You need a heart to cry." When Sora reaffirms to Xigbar that his strength comes from his friends, Xigbar sees an image of the many individuals connected to Sora standing behind him, including Xion. Unnerved, Xigbar leaves Sora to Xemnas and leaves.
After Riku dives into Sora's heart and defeats the Armored Ventus Nightmare, he appears on a memory of the Destiny Islands. After meeting Roxas and Ventus, who each ask him a question, Riku finds Xion sitting on the Paopu tree. She asks him what he wishes, and disappears once he answers. Sora then awakens in the real world.
===Kingdom Hearts III===
Xion returns in Kingdom Hearts III, once more as a member of the Organization, but this time under Master Xehanort's True Organization XIII.
In a cutscene exclusive to the Re:Mind DLC, during a meeting at the the Keyblade Graveyard with Master Xehanort, Saïx, and Xigbar, Xion was chosen to serve in Sora's place as the final member of the True Organization XIII due to needing the last member to have some connection to Sora and Saïx revealed that, despite her fading from everyone's memories, she, as part of the Replica Program, was still listed in Vexen's records and would be suitable for this role due to her connection with Sora's memories. As a result, a past version of her from just after she first joined the original Organization under Xemnas is brought to the present, implanted in a replica vessel, and made a vessel of Xehanort's heart, now fully under Xehanort's control and not having any free will like she originally had, sporting the same golden-yellow eyes as all of Xehanort's other vessels of his heart, just hidden by her hood.
During the final battle in the Keyblade Graveyard, Xion faces Lea and Kairi alongside Saïx. Once Lea has been overpowered by Xemnas and Sora and Kairi incapacitated by Saïx in his berserker mode, Xemnas prepares to strike down Lea for his past treason against Xemnas' Organization XIII as Axel regarding everything he did at Castle Oblivion and during the events of Kingdom Hearts II, before Xion intervenes, and Xemnas grants her the option to strike down Lea. However, as she points her Keyblade at Lea, Sora calmly intervenes, causing her to attack him, until he says her name. As she clutches her head in pain, her heart from the present moves from Sora's to the replica vessel and sends her past self's heart back to the past. Xemnas is forced to take matters into his own hands, kicking her and Sora away, causing her hood to fall and reveal her face, with her eyes back to their normal blue alongside her black hair. Lea soon remembers Xion himself and tries pitifully to stop Xemnas, but he kicks him away and prepares to finish off Xion, but before he can, he is forced back when Roxas reappears, having regained a body of his own. After Roxas explains how he got a physical form back through help in Sora, Ansem the Wise, Even/Vexen, and Ienzo with the Replica Program, Xemnas cares little as he manages to grab and kidnap Kairi, leaving the still berserker Saïx to deal with the Keyblade bearers. Xion teams up with Roxas and Sora to take down Saïx, who is able to share one last moment with Lea regarding why he teamed up with Xemnas and Master Xehanort if it was only to be with Xion again, before fading away, presumably to be reborn as Isa again. After Sora leaves to save Kairi, Lea has a moment to reunite with Roxas and Xion again.
They later arrive with Terra, Ventus, and Aqua, only to discover that, through Master Xehanort murdering Kairi in cold blood, provoking Sora, Riku, and Mickey to engage him, he has successfully reformed the χ-blade and used it to open Kingdom Hearts. They act as moral support for Sora as he prepares to deal with Master Xehanort once and for all. Before Sora departs to face Xehanort, Xion assures him that Kairi will be fine as she can feel that Kairi is alright and Master Xehanort did not truly kill her. Together with Roxas, Lea, Terra, Ventus, Aqua, Riku, and King Mickey, they are able to paralyze Master Xehanort before Sora, Donald, and Goofy take him into Kingdom Hearts for their final battle in the world within: Xehanort's old home of Scala ad Caelum.
Unfortunately, in Re:Mind DLC, when Sora defeats Master Xehanort's armored form, the replicas of the True Organization XIII go after Xion and the others. Though they manage to defeat them, they are scattered through Keyhole portals until Sora is able to restore Kairi and rescue them, allowing them to arrive in Scala ad Caelum just after Sora had defeated Master Xehanort once and for all. His wounds catching up to him, Xehanort is finally convinced by Eraqus to give up, and surrenders the χ-blade to Sora for safekeeping before passing on to the afterlife with Eraqus. Xion then helps Sora use the χ-blade to seal Kingdom Hearts once more, ending the Second Keyblade War.
After the battle against Xehanort, Xion would go to Twilight Town with Roxas and Lea and meet up with a revived Isa. They hang out with Hayner, Pence, and Olette at the Central Station clock tower, before being picked up by Riku to celebrate at Destiny Islands. Xion would collect seashells with Naminé, before watching Sora disappear after bringing Kairi back, having misused his power of waking one time too many and violated the Master of Masters' prophecy in regards to the Keyblade War, banishing him to the realm of Quadratum as punishment.
In the Re:Mind DLC it was revealed by Riku to Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, and Cid a year later that Xion, along with Roxas, are under the care of Hayner, Pence, and Olette, who are examining their memories in looking for clues to Sora's whereabouts in Twilight Town, using the equipment in the Old Mansion left behind by Ansem the Wise during his time as DiZ to help.
==Other appearances==
===Blank Points===
After Aqua speaks with Ansem the Wise about Sora, Xion is seen sitting atop the Twilight Town clock tower, eating sea-salt ice cream with Roxas and Axel. Then, Xion and Roxas say Sora's name while watching the sunset together.
==Gallery==
==Trivia==
*Since everything about Xion was based on Sora's stolen memories of Kairi, nobody would be able to remember that Xion ever existed following her death and the return of the memories.
**However, the memories of her do still exist, sleeping deep in the hearts of others.
**Xion's was able to return by taking a replica body that housed her heart from the past as her new body. This allows her to exist as her own person in a stable form.
*On her third mission with Roxas, Xion is seen removing her hood. However, others still saw her with it on, leading many fans to wonder if she actually did so, or Roxas only believed he saw this.
**However, as Xion naturally looks like Kairi, this may very well have actually happened.
**Xaldin, Saïx, Demyx, and Luxord are not close to her. Hence, they only see her as a hooded puppet. Xemnas has no true connection, thus he sees her as she was meant to be - a clone of Sora. Roxas and Axel are her friends, allowing them to see the person Xion became.
*Xion was a part of the second Organization before they attempted to induct Sora. Nomura explains that this is an unintentional oversight on his part.
*In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Xion's spirit is represented by Female Robin, with a smaller Male Robin with a Killing Edge representing Roxas and a larger one representing Axel.
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