More pain for you means more fun for me!
Larxene, the Savage Nymph (非情の妖姫 Hijō no Yōki?, lit. Callous Vixen), is the Nobody of Elrena, Rank XII of Organization XIII, and Rank VI of the real Organization XIII. Larxene is the original Organization's only female member, and also has a very sadistic nature. She controls lightning, and uses it to thrash opponents with rapid attacks while also attacking them with her weapons: electrified throwing knives. She commands the Ninja Nobodies.
She is one of the members stationed at Castle Oblivion during Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and is part of an internal struggle between the senior and rookie members. However, her ploy to overthrow the Organization with Marluxia is derailed by Axel, and Larxene is ultimately destroyed by Sora, making her the second member of the Organization to fall. Larxene also appears as a playable character in the non-canonical Mission Mode of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and is the first playable female character in the series.
Despite the role she played in attempting to overthrow the original Organization, Larxene was brought back to become a member of the real Organization XIII, having joined in order to follow Marluxia. Larxene was sent to Arendelle, where she was tasked with overseeing Elsa and Anna, as they were two of the New Seven Hearts, a group of new princesses who would be used in place of the guardians of light should they fail to assemble their ranks. Once the guardians and the Organization completed their ranks, the two factions met at the Keyblade Graveyard, where a new Keyblade War began in the Skein of Severance. Larxene would participate in one of the battles in the Trail of Valediction, and would fade away at the hands of Sora and Mickey following her defeat.
Personality[]
The heart is a mysterious thing, Axel.
Larxene, in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
Although Larxene is normally smiling in-game, she can be undoubtedly cold, ruthless, and uncaring, and appears to love nothing more than to bring other people down. Described the most as a domineering woman of strong personality, who does not ask, but tells, she has sharp wit and sardonic remarks ready to spite others on purpose. Her jokes tend to be more ill-humored as well, enabling anyone to successfully get irritated, and sometimes if pushed far enough, yell or charge at her in anger, a reaction which she seems to find humorous. In the Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories manga, Larxene was seen reading a book about the infamous French writer Marquis De Sade, the namesake of sadism, which is clearly related to her sadistic nature.
Larxene congratulates Axel.
Along with the callousness, however, she oddly displays childish and playful behavior, laughing and giggling excessively. She, although recognizable with her overall behavior. Laid back and almost passive to those she likes, or refers to as good company, Larxene expresses herself in a dramatized manner, constantly making outrageous expressions and hand movements.
She taunts Vexen incessantly after he is threatened with charges of treason and incompetence from Marluxia, though that could be connected to her personal dislike of the man, and toys with Sora before fighting him the first time. In fact, she even leads Sora to believe that she is a nice person, just trying to help point him in the right direction: "The bad guys are holding her deep within the castle. And you, the hero, have to go save her." She then smiles and attacks him, sending him flying with a powerful kick and informs him that she is a "bad guy", mocking his failure to remember Naminé.
After she discovers Axel's unexpected betrayal and sees that Marluxia's and her plans have fallen apart, while affected negatively and almost seemingly disappointed when speaking of it, her friendly manner vanishes and she attacks Sora in a rage. Nevertheless, surprisingly in death, she sounds out a cry of what appears as sadness as she is fading instead of what is expected to be a usual villainous end, especially with her acts throughout the game. It showed a different side of her that had yet to be seen before that compares to Saïx's own demise. This brings to question if she truly is what she has presented herself to be the whole time, or if there is more to her.
In what may be a connection, written in one of the many Kingdom Hearts novels that correlate with the series, she meets Marluxia for the first time and has just joined the Organization as the sole female. The topic of the Organization's goal is spoken of. Being that she was the newest recruit and was asking questions, complaining that there was nothing to do around the castle, and that it was "boring" all the more, Marluxia repeated to her what Xemnas once told him; which was that they were here to regain back their hearts. She had gone silent in thought at the answer, before saying that a heart was not really necessary. She felt having one was painful, and she was fine with the way things are now, perhaps implying that she was hurt emotionally for most of her original self's life, and that lacking a heart keeps the pain at bay.
When she becomes a member of the real Organization XIII, Larxene seems more and more sarcastic to her enemies, though her temperament has not changed significantly; however, she is still as sharp and rude in her meetings with other members of the Organization. After being defeated, she slightly opens up, revealing that she had no interest in Xehanort's plans and that she was merely "along for the ride". When Sora implores Larxene on who she was with, she smiles and fades into darkness, saying "my secret".
Physical Appearance[]
Larxene wears the normal Organization black coat and gloves, but her black boots are more feminine and are heeled. Her bright, blonde hair is slicked back and about jaw-length, with two long strands styled into distinctive antennae-like strands. Larxene's eyes are Emerald Green, and she is very slim with an hourglass figure when compared to other members due to her gender, though this belies her true strength. In her appearance in Jiminy's Journal in Kingdom Hearts II, Larxene looked a bit different, as her hair was lighter, almost white, and she seems to be wearing lipstick. After gaining a fragment of Master Xehanort's heart in Kingdom Hearts III, her eyes turn golden-yellow as opposed to her usual greenish-cyan.
History[]
Kingdom Hearts Union χ[]
A data recreation of Larxene can be fought during the New Organization XIII Event in the month of December.
358/2 Days[]
Larxene makes a minor appearance in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, only present for a short time in the beginning tutorials. She was disgusted when Roxas awoke on the seventh day and was present when Xion joined the Organization. Larxene trained Roxas in Twilight Town before being sent away to Castle Oblivion. While tutoring Roxas, it was her responsibility to teach him how to wield magic.
Larxene showed a true hatred of having to train Roxas, and seemed to loathe every moment of it. She slipped out the fact there was another Keyblade wielder besides Roxas. Upon being asked who it was, she replied, "None of your beeswax." However, if the player speaks to Larxene later in the Grey Area, she seems to begin to acknowledge Roxas's skill, and even considers telling him about her and Marluxia's plot.
Before Axel left for Castle Oblivion, it was revealed that Saïx knew about Marluxia and Larxene's plans to overthrow Organization XIII. This is why he sent them and the other "useless" (or rather those he wanted gone so they would not interfere with his and Axel's plans) members to Castle Oblivion, along with Axel who had orders from Xemnas to eliminate those who planned to betray the Organization.
Chain of Memories[]
Larxene confronting Sora.
Larxene is assigned to Castle Oblivion to help conduct experiments on memories; within this castle is Naminé, a young girl and Nobody with the ability to manipulate memories. Sora is led to Castle Oblivion by Marluxia as part of his and Larxene's plan to obtain the power of the Keyblade with which they could take over the Organization. Joining in on this plot is their fellow member Axel, one of Larxene's closer friends; however, unbeknown to her or to Marluxia, this is all a ruse on Axel's end, as he is assigned by the Organization as a double agent to gather evidence of their plan and, if their suspicions proved true, eliminate them.
As soon as Sora enters Castle Oblivion, Naminé began manipulating his memories as per Marluxia's orders; soon he begins to gain false memories of Naminé being a childhood friend until all he is unable to remember is her name. At that point, Larxene confronts Sora directly, revealing Naminé is being held hostage in the castle, and attacks him viciously, revealing a lucky charm Naminé had apparently given him years ago, motivating him into remembering her name. In reality, the charm is that of his friend Kairi, having changed shape by Naminé. Larxene fights Sora, taunting him and calling him heartless for "forgetting" about Naminé, before being defeated (something she would never admit) and escaping.
Larxene is later approached by senior member Vexen, who offers to help her, Axel, and Marluxia evaluate Sora's power with a replica of Sora's best friend, Riku. As per Larxene's suggestion, Vexen decides to have Naminé alter the replica's memory so that it would think it is the real Riku, much to the replica's chagrin. She even goes as far as beating up the replica to subdue it when it tries to resist. As a result, Sora clashes with the replica over protecting Naminé, thus motivating Sora into ascending further up the floors of Castle Oblivion.
Larxene fading away into darkness.
Finally, Larxene and Marluxia goad Vexen into fighting Sora head on before having him killed by Axel so as to keep Vexen out of their way and to test Axel's loyalties. As soon as Axel is let in on their plot, which seems sure to come to fruition, Axel releases Naminé behind their backs, allowing her to confess to Sora. Their plot having fallen apart, Larxene reveals the nature of Naminé and the Riku Replica to Sora before intending to kill him to cut her losses. However, infuriating the youth when she strikes Naminé down when she attempts to reason with her, Donald and Goofy come to Sora's aid and Larxene is mortally wounded in the brutal battle that followed. Mortified of her loss and that she is fading, Larxene impotently babbles near nonsense as she is swallowed by the darkness, and fades away in dishonour and indignity as she is utterly defeated - a victim of her own hubris.
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories manga[]
Larxene's death is depicted in an entirely different way. In this version, after she hits Naminé and Donald and Goofy save Sora, Donald casts a Fire spell to melt Sora's Blizzard spell while Goofy spins them around creating a sprinkler effect, getting Larxene wet. Then, when Larxene tries to use her Thunder magic, the water electrocutes her instead and incinerates her.
Kingdom Hearts II[]
As Roxas begins to reclaim more of his memories after entering the computer room of the digital Twilight Town, he remembers the Organization's meeting chamber, with all of the members gathered there, including Larxene.
Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix[]
Larxene's Absent Silhouette appears before Sora in Isla de Muerta: Rock Face in Port Royal, after Captain Jack has been rescued from Barbossa.
Dream Drop Distance[]
Following her restoration, Larxene's complete self Elrena was approached by Young Xehanort to join the real Organization XIII, despite her history in the previous Organization. Elrena accepts the offer in order to follow Marluxia, and reverts back into her Nobody self, Larxene.
Larxene, wearing the hood of her black coat up to conceal her identity, gathers with the other members of the real Organization at Where Nothing Gathers to welcome the arrival of Master Xehanort and forcefully induct Sora as their thirteenth member. However, their attempt is impeded by the efforts of Riku, Mickey, Lea, Donald, and Goofy, forcing the incomplete Organization to withdraw.
Kingdom Hearts III[]
After the real Organization's departure from The World That Never Was, Larxene is tasked along with Marluxia to locate the "New Seven Hearts", seven new maidens of pure heart who would be used in place of the guardians of light should they fail to assemble their ranks.
Larxene is dispatched to Arendelle, where she encounters Sora, Donald and Goofy, who fail to recognize her as a result of Naminé erasing their memories of their time in Castle Oblivion. Upon reintroducing herself, Larxene explains that she would oversee Elsa, and constantly prevents the heroes from interacting with her, first by trapping the trio in the Labyrinth of Ice and later sending them off the side of the mountain holding Elsa's palace. She later realizes that both Elsa and her sister Anna are two of the New Seven Hearts and tells Sora that if he doesn't gather the rest of the Seven Guardians of Light, then the Organization will attack the new princesses. Sora initially dismisses the warning as the Organization had yet to gather all of their members either, but Larxene claims that they have before warping away, leaving the heroes troubled by her words.
Upon arriving at the Organization's meeting spot in the Keyblade Graveyard, Larxene reunites with Marluxia, asking him why Xehanort offered them positions in his new Organization. Marluxia reveals that, like the previous Organization, Xehanort is collecting thirteen vessels to hold a fragment of his heart; Larxene brushes this aside and jokingly asks if they wanted to attempt another coup, though her suggestion is shot down by Demyx. Larxene bickers with Demyx for a bit before Marluxia reveals that the Organization still wasn't finished filling out their ranks, causing Larxene to sheepishly reveal that she told the heroes that they were ready. Xemnas appears to tell them to keep the charade going, and after explaining the origins of the original Organization's roster to the group, reveals that they, along with Luxord, all harbored an ancient Keyblade legacy within them.
Larxene later walks with the rest of the Organization as they confront the Guardians of Light at the crossroads of the Keyblade Graveyard, where Master Xehanort creates the Skein of Severance to serve as the battlegrounds for the Keyblade War. Larxene soon regroups and fights alongside Marluxia, Luxord and Xemnas against Mickey and Sora. Upon being defeated, she collapses to her knees and gets annoyed that she was defeated by "a bunch of losers" again, but admits that she would have found being Xehanort's "heart tank" worse. When Sora asks why she joined him in the first place, she explains that she was just "along for the ride"; Sora asks who she was going with, though Larxene smiles and tells him that it was her secret before fading out once again, becoming the fourth member of the real Organization to be eliminated.
Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind[]
One year after Master Xehanort’s defeat and Sora's disappearance, a data recreation of Larxene, along with the rest of the Real Organization XIII, is fought by a digital copy of Sora with the hopes of uncovering the real Sora's location from the encrypted data they possessed. After defeating all thirteen data recreations however, the results proved inconclusive.
Abilities[]
Larxene, despite her sarcastic nature, is still a powerful member of the Organization XIII. She has proven to be an incredibly strong an fast hand-to-hand fighter, as in both times she talks to Sora, albeit granted both times she did have the advantage of Sora being either confused or angry and in their last fight weakened from being attacked by Riku Replica, she could easily pressure him without even using her claws and disarm him of his Keyblade with a single kick and the second time she does this, she injures Sora enough to the point that he can barely stand. She is also strong enough to hold the Riku Replica by the head, and easily toss him across the room with one hand. Her strength is clearly known by many of the characters, such as the Riku Replica who claims to fear nothing, yet cowers at Larxene.
Larxene's physical fighting skills resemble that of a ninja. She uses her knives between her fingers to act like claws, and is able to infuse them with electricity and throw them at Sora. She is easily the fastest and most agile member of the Organization with only Xemnas rivaling or surpassing her in that regard, often using quick kicks and jabs to produce extra pain to the opponent. Along with her manipulative nature, this sadism earned her the title "Savage Nymph".
Larxene is a powerful user of thunder magic, able to call down multiple strikes or a single bolt of lightning upon the battlefield and can empower her knives with lightning to increase their power when thrown along with also able to have them fire beams of lightning, as well as to perform levitation and local teleportation. Her sleights and special abilities all involve her use of these abilities.
In Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, she can be battled as an Absent Silhouette and as data, but this time she uses completely different tactics. She can split herself into multiple copies that attack Sora individually or in concert, and her attacks focus more on physical strikes than magic.
However, she still uses some thunder magic, the strongest of which is a revolving wall of ball lightning similar to Hades's wall of fire. By using the Reaction Command "Other Break", Sora can stun her by throwing her "back into herself". This battle makes Larxene one of only five Organization XIII members shown to be able to make full-body copies of themselves, the other four being Marluxia, Vexen, Zexion, and Xemnas.
In Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Larxene has a Limit Break called Voltic Rush. During Voltic Rush, Larxene rapidly slashes away at her enemies, dealing lightning damage.
During Larxene's Final Limit, Larxene darts around the field while enveloped in lightning, making her even faster. She also deals even more lightning damage to enemies.
Weapon[]
Larxene carries a set of eight throwing Knives between her fingers in battle. Her main set of knives are collectively called Foudre, meaning "Lightning" in French. Each knife appears as one of the Organization insignia's spikes in yellow and blue. Larxene will either throw these weapons at her opponent or speed by them, slashing them with the knives still between her fingers.
The knives that she carries can also be used in close quarters combat for finishing blows. All of Larxene's knives have French names, and these names are references to natural phenomena like wind and storms. In the French version of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, all of Larxene's weapons have German names.
Trivia[]
- Larxene is the first female playable character, with her appearance in Mission Mode in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.
- Larxene's knives are often thought to be Kunai, but they are actually French knives called Foudre (Lightning in French).
- Larxene can create pocket dimensions using raw material as the basis. Using Elsa's ice wall, Larxene channeled her lightning into it to block in Sora's group until the Labyrinth of Ice was created.
- Larxene's Japanese-language voice actress, Yuko Miyamura also voiced both Chun-Li and Rose in Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dream.
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