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DISCLAIMER: Despite the slightly abrasive title, I'm really not trying to get under anyone's skin with this one - just trying to keep the magick alive for those who complain it's gone. So please take it all in good sport.

So. Ever since the first game, there have been a lot of Keyblade wielders. Well more than the initial two. The number keeps climbing with every installment until we're up in the double digits, and what's more, it's said that in the history of the worlds there were once thousands of people runnin' around beatin' each other to (one of several wacky flavors of) death with giant door openers.

But hold on though! That can't be right! Sora's the only proper Keyblade wielder! The people of the original Kingdom Hearts wouldn't shut up about that little bed-headed, clown-footed kid being the chosen one, or some malarkey like that (hehe... malar-key). Doesn't it de-value that whole plot thread that there are now innumerable hordes of bright-eyed little scamps with poor fashion sense who don't know what an actual weapon looks like?

Well... No, not really. Because there's still this.

​

Key of keys. The one, the only. Bequeathed to the only one who could've wielded it. Now, I can already hear the questions and criticisms flying, but just hold your horses. Let's hit the high notes:

• The Kingdom Key isn't unique to Sora! Riku, Roxas and Xion all had it too!

Ah, but who'd they get it from? Riku stole it, and Roxas and Xion borrowed it. Of all the people who've held the thing, only Sora can truly be said to own it. He was the first in the series to wield it. He can call it back in times of duress. It answers to him.

• Sora wasn't chosen to wield the Keyblade, Riku was!

Correct! ...Sort of. There's a semantics issue here. Passed down to Riku were the ability to wield a Keyblade, and Terra's own, specific instrument. But the key here, no pun intended, is Riku inherited the ability. Sora came across the ability, yes, from another source - that bit may not have been destiny. But it's the weapon that's important here. Nobody else was given the Kingdom Key. That's Sora's by right.

• But chronologically, this isn't the first time the Keyblade has appeared! Didn't other people have it first?

Sure. But...well, they're dead now. Not to be morbid, but the point is we are not operating in that time frame; we're reflecting upon it. Kingdom Hearts is set in a time where those Keyblade wielders are gone, and the only one left to hold the key is Mr. Color Vomit himself, friendship and all. It was a matter of significance for the Kingdom Key, of all Keyblades, to come into his possession, and that's what matters most.

• But there's another key just like that one! Why isn't there all this hype surrounding Mickey's key?

This is part of the trick! And I will go into more detail on this farther down. Mickey's key definitely is crucial to the formula, and it may even be a source of the conflicting prophecies Triton mentions - of the Keyblade wielder either bringing peace or ruin. But it's not the key of light. It's the key of darkness. Both will be important, of this much I can be reasonably certain - but as Sora said himself, "Kingdom Hearts is light," and the key most precious to the source of all light is one which harnesses that light. That doesn't mean it needs no dark counterpart, it just means that it in particular is special for that particular reason.

And now, the last question, which is one I pose myself:

• If the Kingdom Key itself is significant, and not the ability to wield it...why? What makes it so special?

This takes some speculation, but it's a hypothesis I've been working on since the earliest titles in the series. It may seem obvious to say, but the fact is that I've heard no one say it yet. People put some of the pieces together, but never all of them. So here it is, all cards on the table, all pieces assembled:

The Kingdom Key will play a role in unlocking Kingdom Hearts, and Sora was chosen for that task.

The thing that first put this in my head would come to be the unlikeliest of clues: Early on in Kingdom Hearts II, when the player still controls an oblivious Roxas, he comes face-to-face with a Dusk for the "first" time (to his knowledge). And it says something to him. Something I've been pondering ever since.

"We have come for you, my liege."

This doesn't seem all that complicated to explain, but that's because there are red herrings in the way. Some say it was the Dusks' way of acknowledging him as their leader, but he doesn't lead the Dusks; he leads the Samurai. Some say they generally treat the Organization with loyalty, but that's not true either, because they just follow whoever's got the smarts to lead. Knowing what they are, why would the Organization garner the lesser Nobodies' unquestioning fealty? And why would they be referred to as "my liege?" Some explain it as the Dusks trying to retrieve Roxas because the Organization wanted him back; well, no, he crossed them, and they wanted him dead. Axel tried to retrieve him because they were friends, and the Organization later tried to "liberate" him from Sora because they figured a backstabber who could be turned was better than someone who was out-and-out against them. None of the answers quite fit; it's just too specific a line in too strange a circumstance.

There are other things that tip me off. First off, the name of Sora's blade, Kingdom Key; that's pretty clearly hinting at its significance. Secondly, two Kingdom Keys form the hilt of the reformed X-blade. It doesn't matter which one Nomura designed first; knowing that the one is significant, the other must be as well. There's also the fact that another, nearly identical key is held by one of the most prominent figures in the series, and get this: He's a king, too.

So what is all this adding up to? I think that Sora is heir to the throne. What throne? Why Kingdom Hearts, of course! What kingdom is complete without a king? Sora was chosen - I know not by what or whom - to open the door to Kingdom Hearts, using the only key that can do the job - maybe in conjunction with others, maybe not - and not only to open it, but to preside over it; and all the creatures of this world recognize this in him. The Heartless couldn't have vocalized it, because on the whole they're pretty dumb; and none of this is to say these creatures won't try to gut them and eat their juicy entrails. But if my interpretations hold true and even Roxas is recognized as a "liege," the regality runs deep. Deep enough to quake in the bones of any living thing, be they of light, dark, or nothingness.

I am seriously starting to suspect that Mickey knows a lot of this already, and he's not telling anyone. I don't know what set it in motion - maybe Mickey did it, maybe Xehanort did it, maybe it was preordained long before either was born - but he's got the insider track on a lot of things that have yet to be entirely explained. For one, what's the deal with Kingdom Key D? Where'd he get it, and why? What properties does it actually have? Is it just for helping to shut the Door to Darkness? In that case, why does it have power over the DtD at all? Is it one of two pieces of the original X-blade? In that case, wouldn't it make more sense for the forces of darkness to have it, since they're supposed to clash with the light? Is Mickey aware of that and trying to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands? So many questions, and answers are scarce. Whatever he knows, however he knows it, he knew that Sora had the Kingdom Key, so I think he knows the nature of it, too. He knew a king would have to be crowned, and he wanted to help guide the proper person into place. Maybe that's why he reaches out to Sora in the Destati; maybe that's why he serves as a guide for so long. He's paving the way for the next great king.

This, I humbly posit, will be the premise of Kingdom Hearts III: not only the clash that begets the reforged X-blade, but the original chosen one realizing his destiny and assuming control of the most powerful entity in the known universe. I must admit, many of the clues are easy to dismiss; but this is the solution I've derived from problems that as of yet have not satisfactorily been solved. Take it as what it is - my interpretation, my prediction. And if the real ending comes out and this one ends up being way better, hell, maybe I'll write it myself.

So. Questions, comments? Anything I missed? Got any details in your pocket that totally dismantle this huge, deformed mess of a guess on which I spent way too much time and ego? Takin' all comers, let's dialogue about it.

OH YEAH!?

I honestly have no clue if I'm alone on this or not. Maybe people hated it, maybe people loved it, I dunno. But I was so charmed by the original, so... captivated. And when I found out you can't even go there in KHII, I vividly remember being, if you'll pardon my breath, minged right off to Funkytown and back. I mean, good thing they changed the name; what's a Hollow Bastion with no Bastion!? Just Hollow, as it were. Fitting.

Agree/disagree? Longed with all your heart to go back, or said good riddance to bad castles?

About three episodes back I actually thought, "Hey, I wonder when Henriksen's gonna show up again. I miss that plot arc."

And after riding the FUCKING MISERABLE EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER THAT WAS "DREAM A LITTLE DREAM OF ME" AND "MYSTERY SPOT" BACK-TO-BACK I WANT A DAD LIKE BOBBY

I saw both his and Bela's name in the E12 summary.

...

ok FINE

I'll break my five-a-day limit

JUST THIS ONCE

wh Y DO I KEVP FALLIGNG ASLEPP AT 9 PM

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b ye