Recap / Freedom Fighters NEO Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance

• Adaptational Angst Upgrade: After Young Xehanort's defeat, Sora (and Metallix) have nearly lost hope that Kairi's story can have a happy ending. Sonic snaps Sora out of it, explaining him that hiding his angst will only make this worse, and that if he has something on his chest, he should take it off. Sora reveals the X-shaped scar Young Xehanort put on him, dooming Sora to become a Soul Jar for Xehanort. However, Sonic and Emerl quickly use Chaos Energy to heal the scar.
• Big Damn Heroes: Zigzagged. Mickey, Riku and Lea all barge in the Castle That Never Was to save Sora and Emerl, only for Xehanort to encage the heroes so they won't stop him from possessing Sora. Emerl sacrifices himself to stop Xehanort, but then Xehanort benches Emerl (read: makes him a reserve) and proceeds to possess Sora anyway. However, right before he does it, the Master Hand announces that the reign of darkness is over, "for the Knight has arrived". Xehanort, believing Master Hand was bluffing (as there was nothing about any Knight written anywhere, though he didn't read the Light Prognosticus), proceeds with possessing Sora, only for Sonic to destroy that piece of Xehanort's heart. Young Xehanort then attempts to stop time and possess Sora himself, only to learn that Sonic is so fast, time stops don't affect him. Ultimately, Sonic saves the day.
• The Chosen One: Sonic is revealed to be a warrior known as "The Knight". According to Crazy Hand, The Knight is a warrior free as the wind, who shall lead light to victory in a battle that, according to the Dark Prognosticus, will be inevitably won by darkness. Fridge Brilliance kicks in when you consider that, since Sonic is The Knight and Emerl is the Golden Master, and if it's true what Crazy Hand says that it's the Golden Master's choice whether light or darkness prevails, then Sonic fulfilled his role, having convinced Emerl to choose the victory of light.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: The battle between Sonic and Young Xehanort was extremely onesided. Turns out that without his Time Master powers, which are a No-Sell for Sonic, Young Xehanort is nothing.
• Evolving Weapon: In the climax, Sonic's sword becomes a Keyblade.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In his battle with Young Xehanort, Sonic is nothing but rage. No witty banter, no attitude. Just pure rage. If you've seen your son sacrificing himself for a friend, and the Big Bad then claims this sacrifice was for nothing, you too would be pissed.
• Scars Are Forever: Averted. Sonic managed to heal Sora's X-shaped scar that Young Xehanort placed by using Chaos Energy despite the fact magic can't heal the scar. He couldn't heal the scar created by the Keyblade of Heart, however, but that's because Sora wanted to keep it as a reminder of his sacrifice for Kairi.
• Shout-Out: Sora having an X-shaped scar on his chest is this to Keys to the Kingdom (Kingdom Hearts).
• Spanner in the Works: Sonic and the Chaos Energy itself.
  • First off, Sonic being The Knight would screw up Xehanort, as he didn't anticipate The Knight's existence. In the epilogue, he state that, despite Sonic stopping him, that doesn't mean The Knight exists, but his refusal to believe it ended up being his undoing.
  • Secondly, Xehanort made sure that Sora's scar won't be a le to be healed by magic. However, Chaos Energy can't be considered magic. Word of God explain that this is because there are religions based on Chaos Energy, and that you should ask the echidnas about it.
• Took a Level in Badass: As if Sonic wasn't already badass enough, he becomes a Keyblade Wielder in the climax. (Well, his sword becomes a Keyblade, but still.)
• Unskilled, but Strong: Sonic demonstrates himself as a downplayed case while facing Young Xehanort: he does have rather good swordsmanship skills, but he has no magic; by contrast, Young Xehanort is a master in magic, although he mostly uses time magic. Because of his lack of magic, Sonic relies on his speed, and he is a Lightning Bruiser even without his sword or his newly-acquired Keyblade.
• The Worf Effect: Inverted: Young Xehanort is portrayed as an extremely dangerous villain, yet he's easily curb-stomped by Sonic.
• Your Mind Makes It Real: The Recusant's Sigil Young Xehanort placed on Sora became a X-shaped scar when Sora returned from the Realm of Sleep.