Fanfic / Kingdom Hearts: The Antipode

Art by Dorked

Kingdom Hearts: The Antipode is an ongoing Kingdom Hearts Alternate Universe fanfiction series by MegaFlameHedge (AKA Dorked) that was first published in 2012.

It begins with the premise of Riku obtaining the Keyblade as fate intended and explores the consequences and aftermath of the choices he makes as hero. While Riku must overcome his hubris and grow into the hero the worlds need, Sora grapples with his own kindness being exploited by malicious forces. Their choices and the consequences therein have radically altered the course of destiny for better and for worse.

Antipode can be read on Fanfiction.net and Archive of Our Own. It also has its own dedicated Tumblr.

There are four installments:

• Act 1: The Antipode
• Act 2: Fragmented Truths
• The Year Between
• Act 3: All That's Left

In addition, there is a series of Side Stories that explore events between the main plot threads and characters who don't always see the spotlight.

While the first installment follows a similar story structure to the original Kingdom Hearts, subsequent entries diverge completely from canon, borrowing elements from the other games when appropriate. As revelations in newer games directly contradict established plans in the long-running series (notably Xemnas's characterization), Antipode is not canon compliant with Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] onward.

---

Kingdom Hearts: The Antipode contains examples of:

• Adaptational Backstory Change:
  • Rather than being a puppet of the Organization, Xion was created by DiZ from Riku's memories while the latter was recovering in the Simulated Twilight Town.
  • Lea and Isa were test subjects in Terra-Xehanort's experiments as opposed to apprentices of Ansem the Wise as Kingdom Hearts III revealed.
  • Cloud and Sephiroth were also test subjects in the experiments. The latter was also a guard in Radiant Garden at one point.
  • Rather than being guided by his future self, Young Xehanort chose to Time Travel of his own accord while studying ancient and forbidden magic.
  • Hans' backstory is given a twist; namely that he willingly cast away his humanity and became a Nobody prior to the events of the story. Notably, he's from a different world entirely, and infiltrates Arendelle alongside Xaldin as a member of Organization XIII. Overlaps with Adaptational Species Change.
  • An unusual case in that the plot of Bravely Default was adapted into the Kingdom Hearts universe as the basis for Ringabel's backstory. Namely, the four Elemental Crystals were linked to the world's keyhole and the Crystal Beasts themselves were Heartless. When the party entered the Holy Pillar, a direct path to the keyhole was opened, thus allowing the Heartless to plunge the world of Luxendarc into darkness. The party was separated (with Tiz ending up in Pacha's Village), leaving Ringabel captaining Grandship (which itself serves as a mobile Traverse Town), searching the worlds for his friends whilst taking on refugees from lost worlds and reuniting them with their loved ones.
  • In canon, Xemnas was created when Terra-Xehanort cast away his heart to become Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. While the same is true here, in this continuity, Terra manages to temporarily break free from Xehanort's control with the help of Zack, thereby stabbing himself with the former's Keyblade and expelling both Xehanort's heart and his own. This results in Xemnas incarnating as Terra's Nobody instead of Xehanort's.
• Adaptational Badass:
  • All That's Left reveals that Xemnas has all of Terra's abilities, though he chooses not to use them in order to hide his identity. Though he can wield the No Name Keyblade, Xemnas avoids using it as its a reminder of the man who ruined his life.^note It should be noted that the Birth By Sleep Ultimania suggests that Xemnas can use a Keyblade but intentionally chooses not to, though this was not touched upon in the games.
  • Jafar uses his second wish to become the most powerful sorcerer in all the worlds, resulting in a battle more reminiscent of the animated film. As well as summoning Heartless, Jafar magically turns Donald into a rubber duck and Riku's Keyblade into a wooden toy sword, all while spouting awful puns. He also transforms into a giant cobra.
  • The Titans are depicted as nigh-invulnerable deities so powerful that the Cyclops alone almost singlehandedly wiped out the entire party, who were only able to prevail due to the intervention of the Genie.
  • Hades counts too. As in the animated film, he successfully entraps the other Greek Gods in ice and gains the power of the entire pantheon, thereby becoming the single-most powerful being in the universe. On top of Nigh-Invulnerability, the rules of Keyblades don't apply to him, allowing him to steal Aqua's Keyblade and turns it into the χ-Blade. Had it not been for Hercules regaining his power thanks to Xemnas's intervention, Hades would very well have won.
  • To a lesser extent, the Hydra, which has the additional ability to breathe poison; a callback to the original myths.
  • Prince John puts up a fight against the heroes, wielding both a sword and dark magic before succumbing to darkness and transforming into a Heartless.
  • Non-combat example: On top of being a fashion designer for superheroes, Edna Mode also designs Keyblade Armor.
  • The late Captain Flint was a Keybearer whose last action was to stab himself with his Keyblade and connect his heart to the heart of Treasure Planet. His skeletal remains (now his Nobody) arose from a throne of Keyblades to fight the heroes whilst his Heartless (a humongous six-armed skeletal monstrosity) was buried deep within the world's heart, emerging after his Nobody's destruction.
  • Hans is not only a proficient swordsman; as a Nobody, he wields enchanted glass powers (a callback to the original fairy tale) that range from amplifying a person's darkest nature to replicating the abilities of his opponents.
• Adaptational Explanation:
  • Terra-Xehanort's experiments on the heart are explored in videotapes.
  • All That's Left reveals that the Wayfinder Trio's Keyblade Armor was designed by none other than Edna Mode.
• Adaptational Jerkass:
  • Syndrome somehow manages to be even worse in this continuity. As if forcing Mr. Incredible to watch as his family is seemingly killed in a missile strike wasn't bad enough, Syndrome then replays the footage four times just to break his spirit further.
  • Downplayed with Elsa. Though her personality remains unchanged, Elsa isn't considered a candidate for a Princess of Heart, instead possessing a regular amount of darkness in her heart much like any other person. Thus, instead of protecting her for her heart of pure light, the Organization tries to push her to succumb to darkness with the intent of turning her into a Heartless and recruiting her as a Nobody. Zig-Zagged later, when Elsa is stabbed in the heart with a shard of enchanted glass, amplifying her darkest feelings. In this possessed state, Elsa verbally rips Anna to shreds before trying to kill her. However, in the climax of the Arendelle Arc, Elsa manages to wrestle back control long enough to apologize to Anna before freezing her own heart to rid herself of the glass' corruptible influence.
• Adaptational Karma:
  • The Coachman is trampled to death after summoning a Behemoth Heartless.
  • Inverted with Hans, who escapes scot-free through a dark corridor instead of being arrested. Fitting given his Rogues' Gallery Transplant.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: As this iteration of Organization XIII was not written with Dream Drop Distance's revelations in mind, Xemnas and Ansem's plans do not overlap at all. Rather than being allies with a mutual goal, both are confident in their own plans and see each other as inferior.
• Adapted Out: Deep Jungle is the only world from the original game that does not appear in any capacity, though Jane, Archimedes and Tarzan have cameos in Traverse Town.
• Arc Villain:
  • Act 1: The Antipode has Maleficent and Ansem, Seeker of Darkness as a Big Bad Duumvirate, not unlike the original Kingdom Hearts.
  • Act 2: Fragmented Truths has Riku Replica and XIII/Roxas, though they later defect to the side of the heroes. It also marks the beginning of the Organization's meddling in the worlds.
  • The Year Between has Marluxia and Larxene for Riku Replica and Naminé's plotline and Ansem, Seeker of Darkness for Riku's arc.
  • Act 3: All That's Left depicts the heroes' final stand against Organization XIII, with Xemnas AKA Terra as the main antagonist.
• Author Appeal: The author is a massive Disney fan. Thus, the series is filled to the brim with Disney Saturday Morning Cartoon references. This is also the reason why Gargoyles was included in The Year Between and why Ringabel is a recurring character.
  • In addition, Riku Replica is one of the author's favorite characters; thus he plays a significant role in the series.
• Bittersweet Ending: Every entry so far has ended with this.
  • By the end of Act 1: The Antipode, Sora is missing and trapped in the form of a Heartless and Riku refuses to close the Door to Darkness until they find him.
  • Act 2: Fragmented Truths ends with Naminé shattering Riku's heart in a desperate attempt to save both his life and the Replica's. After making peace with the heroes, the Mirror Trio deserts the Organization, with XIII leaving on his own to find out who he really is. Meanwhile, Riku is sent to the Simulated Twilight Town to recover while DiZ introduces to the heroes a new ally: Xion.
  • By the end of The Year Between, Riku has both recovered and come to terms with his darkness, and the heroes celebrate his return with a reunion party. However, the worlds are still in danger, with Twilight Town being desecrated by the Organization. Unbeknownst to them, Riku was scarred with the Recusant's Sigil during his battle with Ansem, allowing the Organization to monitor his every move.
• Break Them by Talking: During the Arendelle arc, Hans taunts Elsa (whom he corrupted with a shard of enchanted glass) with the intention of pushing her to succumb to darkness, so she can reform as a Nobody and be recruited into Organization XIII.
• The Cameo: Has its own page.
• Chivalrous Pervert: Ringabel. It helps that he's matured a fair bit since the start of Bravely Default.
• Climax Boss:
  • Like in the original Kingdom Hearts, Maleficent serves as this in Act 1, being fought during Riku's first trip to Hollow Bastion while Sora discovers her true nature.
  • Act 2: Fragmented Truths has Riku and Kairi face off against XIII/Roxas in the skies of London prior to the climax.
  • The Year Between has Xigbar and Demyx launch an ambush in Disney Town to pressure the heroes into rebrandishing their Keyblades. This takes place in the climax of Riku Replica's arc, where he comes to terms with his identity crisis and adopts the name "Xiruk".
  • All That's Left: Immediately following the reveal of Xemnas and Marluxia's backstories as well as Ventus' reawakening, Xemnas/Terra, Aqua and Xiruk face off against Marluxia, Larxene and Xion in Castle Oblivion.
• Death by Adaptation:
  • As mentioned under Adaptational Karma, The Coachman is trampled to death by the very Behemoth he summoned.
  • Shere Khan is notable for being the first Disney Villain to turn into a Heartless.
  • Governor Ratcliffe is eaten by a giant Heartless known as the Gilded Shark.
  • Prince John is consumed by darkness during his fight.
  • The Duke of Weselton is unceremoniously killed by Larxene.
  • A more tragic example in the same world: Marshmallow turns into a Heartless after Elsa is forcibly corrupted by a shard of Nahxs's enchanted glass.
• Dies Differently in Adaptation: Megara is killed by Xemnas in order to foil Hades's plan for godhood and ensure the Keybearers' survival.
  Don't take it personally, but I need them alive.
• Disney Death:
  • In the fight against the Cyclops Titan, the entire cast save for Kairi is seemingly killed off in a drawn-out sequence complete with Kairi doing a Skyward Scream and preparing a last stand before the Genie (who was present as a summon) has a Big Damn Heroes moment and knocks the Cyclops into space while dressed as Naruto. The entire cast is then revealed to be alive.
  • A justified example due to the nature of the character: Hades kills Tinker Bell with the simple phrase "I don't believe in you", causing the poor fairy to drop dead in Sora's hands. After Hades and the Titans are defeated, the heroes revive Tinker Bell by simply believing in her.
  • At the end of the Arendelle arc, Elsa freezes her own heart to rid herself of Nahxs' influence, turning to ice in the process. Anna hugging her while pleading for her not to leave is what revives her.
• Friendly Enemy: Unsurprisingly, Kronk is this, chatting with Goofy in Yzma's Lab and offering the heroes spinach puffs.
  Yzma: Kronk, quit fraternizing with the enemy!
  Donald: You too, Goofy! This is serious.
  Goofy: Aw, but we were just startin' to get to know each other…
• Hate Sink:
  • Some of the Disney Villains are just as bad, if not worse than their portrayals in the source material.
    • The Coachman and his cronies run an interworldly crime ring, making a profit out of turning young boys into donkeys and selling them into slavery. Even worse; the children who can't be sold are fed to The Heartless.
    • Much like Scar in Kingdom Hearts II, Ratigan has so much darkness in his heart that he becomes one of the only villains (the other being Terra-Xehanort) to retain his identity as a Heartless.
    • Syndrome somehow manages to be even more of a Jerkass than his canon counterpart. Not only does he order a missile strike on the Highwind, seemingly killing Bob Parr's family while forcing the poor guy to watch; he then orders Mirage to replay the footage four times, just to torment him. Syndrome later expresses a desire to become an interworldly Arms Dealer and sell his inventions to bidders across the worlds for profit. He also sends the Omnidroid and The Heartless into a crowded city as part of his Engineered Heroics scheme. And then there's the whole "kidnapping the infant Jack-Jack in a last-ditch attempt to spite the Parr family" thing.
    • Hans' lust for power is so great that he willingly cast away his heart and became a Nobody. Adopting the name 'Nahxs', he joins Organization XIII who in turn offers him dominion of an entire world in exchange for his aid. Blending seamlessly into the world of Arendelle, Nahxs manipulates Anna into falling in love with him whilst secretly arranging for her sister Elsa to be forcefully possessed with darkness. Nahxs even goes as far as to taunt Elsa by gloating over his supposed plans to slaughter Anna at their wedding altar, with the intend of hastening her transformation into a Heartless. When Anna discovers his true colours, Nahxs tries to follow through on this threat lifting her up by the neck before she retaliates by stabbing him. Once his treachery is exposed and his plan goes awry, Nahxs leaves Xaldin for dead, escaping through a Dark Corridor and ensuring that he'll remain a threat to the heroes in the future.
• Jerkass Gods: Hades implies that the Greek Gods in this continuity are closer to their mythological counterparts.
  Oh, and you think these are just gods? If you kids knew even a tenth of what Zeus and his cronies have done, you'd be begging me to send them to Tartarus! All the innocents they've destroyed with wars, murders, and lies, and for what?! My sister-in-law, Hera? She tried sacrificing an innocent girl to the Kraken on her wedding day all because her mom had a little too much to drink. And Poseidon here—do you have any idea how many cities he's leveled all because of a grudge with that schlemiel, Odysseus? Proportionate response? Not in Fishboy's vocabulary!
• Large Ham:
  • Ringabel fits in perfectly with the Kingdom Hearts universe.
    So you're one of those Nobodies! Well, it was awfully foolish of you to provoke us. Now you'll not only have to face Aqua's ire, but the seething fury of my love!
  • The Genie, of course.
    You may think you can rain terror upon this poor, defenseless city! You may believe you can crush the hopes and dreams of these young heroes, but that all changes now, because I AM HERE! AGRABAAAAHHH-SMAAAASH!
  • Roger Radcliffe's one speaking appearance has him getting into a bar fight with Jack Sparrow.
    Roger Radcliffe: YOU GAVE RUM TO MY PUPPIES?!
  • Anna is perhaps the hammiest princess in Disney history.
    WHAT JUST HAPPENED? WHY IS MY SISTER A SHEEP?
  • An unnamed royal guard in Arendelle gets a moment.
    NO, WE DID NOT BOOK THE FIVE BEAR RUGS FOR THIS WEDDING!
• Mistaken for Cheating: Played for Laughs during the Olympus Arc in All That's Left. Zeus sees Hercules with Aqua and assumes that the former is cheating on his love interest Megara. Not that Zeus sees anything wrong with it.
  Hercules: [Groan] Father, I'm not two-timing!
  Zeus: Of course not! No son of mine only settles for two!
• The Needs of the Many: Subverted. Though he knew the consequences of his choice, Riku couldn't bring himself to close the Door to Darkness until they find Sora. The series explores the consequences and aftermath of this choice.
• Pragmatic Villainy: Unlike most Disney Villains, David Xanatos abstains from using darkness due to the risk of losing one's heart. He also forms a truce with the Keybearers and helps them defeat Demona before she can plunge Manhattan into darkness.
• Punched Across the Room: In Side Stories: Another Night on Grandship, Gaston insults Miss Piggy, who responds by punching him through a table. This is referenced in Act 3: All That's Left where a table with a distinctly man-shaped dent is shown in the tavern. A man-shaped dent that was, in Gaston's pailkiller-addled words, "roughly the size of a barge."
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
  • DiZ gets one from both Zexion and Goofy.
    Goofy: Y'know what, DiZ? You're no model citizen yourself. All you do is shout and push away the people closest to ya. Maybe if you behaved more like a person and less like a Heartless, we'd all be able to talk things out and come up with some way to get out of this mess. You've been holed up in your basement for so long that you've forgotten all about how to treat other people. Ever since we got here, you've treated us like tools to boss around. And Xion, your own daughter—why, I wouldn't be surprised if she never came back after all you've put her through! Not even Ansem was as bad as you.
    Zexion: Ah, but it's Zexion now. And I have to say, Master… I'm almost appalled, looking at you now. (...) True. But just think of how far you've fallen. You were once a noble ruler, the most brilliant scientific mind… and then you failed. Your fear was what ultimately cast you into that darkness. And look at the results! You failed to save your once radiant kingdom, and you failed to save this town… Just like before, your hands are stained with the blood of those around you.
  • Elsa gives a heartbreaking one to Anna after being corrupted by shard of enchanted glass.
    Elsa: You never let me go. Always clawing at my door, driving me insane. You didn't want a sister; you wanted a toy. You'd wake me in the middle of the night, demanding we'd build a snowman. You'd push me harder and harder... Until I finally pushed back.
    Don't you see, Anna? All this darkness… All this rage that I've hidden for so long; it's all because of you.
    Why couldn't you stay dead?
• Refused the Call: David Xanatos and Yzma were offered places in Maleficent's Council of Villains but rejected them in favor of pursuing their own goals.
  • Word of God states that Eda turned down Maleficent's offer due to seeing no point in doing another witch's dirty work.
• The Reveal: Xemnas is Terra's Nobody.
• Sad Battle Music: Fractured Mirror; an original composition made for the Final Battle of Fragmented Truths, where Riku faces off against Riku Replica in Castle Oblivion. A Lord of the Castle-inspired number that is as emotional as it is climactic; it perfectly encapsulates the conflict between Riku and Riku Replica.
• Show Within a Show: Dinosaurs exists as a TV show in both Manhattan and The World That Never Was.
• Shout-Out:
  • Prior to arriving in Atlantica, Riku and Goofy fight over the radio until it explodes, much to Donald's ire.
  • Genie is channeling some serious All Might energy. His entry under Large Ham says it all.
• Sliding Scale of Anthropomorphism: Discussed in The Emperor's New Groove adaptation.
  Goofy: So, anyway, [Donald] was gettin' so hungry he started goin' bonkers! He tried eatin' dishes, and he threw a big ol' tantrum. His eyes got all swirly, and he scooped up an axe, and then we tried choppin' up our cow! That's how desperate we were before—
  Kuzco: Wait. You guys are talking animals, and you had a cow. Am I the only one who finds this weird?
  Pacha: Well, they are from a different world.
  Kuzco: So? They're a duck and a dog, and I don't care if they wear crazy clothes. That's just wrong.
  Goofy: But our whole world's full of talkin' animals! King Mickey's a mouse, and then there's Horace Horsecollar and Clarabelle Cow. She sure is purdy, but—
  Riku: Wait, so was this cow your pet or your girlfriend?
  Goofy: Oh! Clarabelle's a different cow, Riku! The cow I was talkin' about didn't talk or nothin'. We just raised her for her milk.
  Kuzco: Okaaay. So there's talking cows and normal ones? Just what kinda world is this?
• Spared by the Adaptation: Though his fate is left ambiguous in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, Zack is confirmed to be alive in this continuity and a subplot in All That's Left revolves around the heroes' efforts to locate him.
• Starter Villain: Hades in All That's Left. Not that this makes him any less of a threat.
• The Stations of the Canon: Act 1 follows a similar story structure to the original Kingdom Hearts. Subverted with the following entries, which do their own thing whilst borrowing elements from the games when appropriate.
• Swallowed Whole:
  • While Riku was unable to save Prankster's Paradise, Monstro survived and in The Year Between, swallows the Gummi Ship and Riku, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy as he did in the original Kingdom Hearts, leading to a Womb Level identical to the original game.
  • Cy-Bugs make an appearance in the story. As in the source material, Cy-Bugs devour their victims to take on their traits by eating them whole, something King Candy once again learns the hard way.
• Team Member in the Adaptation: In the latter half of All That's Left, Hans is recruited into the Organization under the name "Nahxs".
• Time Travel: The rules of time travel are simplified significantly compared to Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance]. Namely, time travel is an immensely powerful form of magic that only the highest level mages can use. A novice can only use it sparingly due to the immense strain it creates. Once you set forth time traveling, you can only move in one direction at a time, unless you return to your destination. If you die while time traveling, you return to your destination with all memory of having traveled gone.
• Wham Episode: Quite a few.
  • Act 1: The Antipode
    • The ending of the Pleasure Island arc, which marks the first time Riku fails to save a world from darkness. This is also the point when he works things out with Donald and Goofy and they become a team for real.
    • The Hollow Bastion arc, where Sora realizes that Maleficent was manipulating him all along and helps Riku take her down. Afterwards, Sora willingly sacrifices himself to revive Kairi, and in the process is transformed into a Heartless with only Ventus for company. Unlike in canon, this transformation sticks and Sora goes missing, prompting Riku and Kairi to look for him.
    • The ending. Riku chooses not to close the Door to Darkness, instead leaving it open in favour of searching for Sora. This is the point when the story diverges completely from canon.
  • The ending of Act 2: Fragmented Truths. In the aftermath of the Final Battle, Riku Replica, XIII and Naminé defect from the Organization while Sora is reunited with his friends. Meanwhile an incapacitated Riku is placed in the Simulated Twilight Town to recover from having his memories shattered by Naminé, and DiZ introduces the heroes to a new ally: Xion.
• What If?: Riku obtains the Keyblade on Destiny Islands before he can give in to darkness. Thus, he ends up in Traverse Town and spends the story exploring different worlds with Donald and Goofy while Sora ends up being manipulated by Maleficent. By the time Kingdom Hearts II would take place, the Door to Darkness is still open, Sora is trapped in the form of a Heartless with only Ventus for company, Kairi and Riku Replica/Xiruk are Keyblade Wielders and Aqua is out of the Realm of Darkness.

---