Union (2022 film)


 * "To discover the end, a journey must start at the beginning."
 * —Tagline
 * —Tagline

Union is a 2022 American computer-animated adventure film produced and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It serving a story of in the ancient past and during the "age of fairy tales".

Synopsis
This era was a golden age where the world was whole and light prevailed. One of the eldest Keyblade Masters, the Master of Masters, trained apprentices of his own known as the foretellers, who formed their own Unions with their own roles. With Ira becoming the leader, Aced as Ira's supporter, Invi as the mediator, Gula attempting to find the traitor, Ava gathering wielders devoid of unions into a separate group, and Luxu observing from afar. Those that fled from the war became a separate group called the Dandelions. Five of them became Union leaders as they were the only ones who remembered the past.

Plot
Long ago, in the "age of fairy tales," the world's light is protected by seven individuals who reside in Daybreak Town and wield unique weapons called "Keyblades": the Master of Masters and his six apprentices. A devastating conflict has been foreseen, and the world's end is imminent.

One day, Ira discovers a dark Chirithy. This suggests someone has submitted to darkness and a traitor is present. Aced is the primary suspect, and it is soon discovered this was not foretold in the Book of Prophecies written by the Master, even though the latter had previously warned the Foretellers about the implications of the appearance of a dark Chirithy: if the rogue Chirithy is not stopped, it will plant darkness in the hearts of others, causing the appearance of a horde of Nightmares.

Aced convinces Gula to form an alliance with him so that they can fight the encroaching darkness together, even though alliances are forbidden. Gula makes clear that he does not want any of his Union members involved, and that the alliance is just between the two Foretellers. Ava witnesses this in horror, as this goes against the Master's teachings. Invi, whom Aced had invited to their meeting, has deepening suspicions of Aced after he explains to her that he wants to form an alliance.

Some time after this meeting, Ava sits alone at the Fountain Square, worried that the Foretellers might turn against each other. Ephemer joins her. Ava reminds him about a question he once asked her, about why the Unions compete against each other. Ephemer wonders if it is not simply because the Master said so, but Ava questions this, making reference to Ephemer's desire to solve the mysteries of this world. She expresses her belief that people should question things and think critically, leading Ephemer to remark that Ava is not herself. After trading jibes, Ava expresses how great it would be if all the Unions could work together and be friends. Ephemer tells her that he met a friend from another Union, and that they will meet again the next day. Ava tells Ephemer to go home and get some sleep, and Ephemer tells Ava to cheer up. Once she is left alone again, Ava thinks aloud, saying that she would be glad to leave the world in the hands of the children who see the world in the same way Ephemer does.

After a few months, Gula voluntarily dissolves his alliance with Aced, stating that the impending darkness he thought they were going to fight has not come, that there have not been any suspicious incidents of late, and that Aced has not rallied any newcomers to their cause. Gula sighs, saying that the alliance is meaningless and that "even Invi agrees." Aced questions Gula in anger, asking if Invi was the one who asked Gula to break their alliance. Gula denies this, saying that he himself decided to dissolve the alliance. Aced still insists upon the alliance, as they do not know who the traitor is yet, but Gula says that this is precisely why he decided to dissolve it — that he cannot trust anyone but himself. An enraged Aced asks Gula if he realises that he would not stand a chance against the darkness on his own, but Gula leaves, saying that his mind is made up. Still suspecting that Invi is the traitor despite Gula's words, Aced clashes with her, saying that it is time for him to fulfil his "true role." He disarms Invi and demands answers; Invi tells Aced that she is protecting the balance just as the Master had ordered her to do, and that he needs to come to his senses. Aced asserts that the apprentices need to defy the Master's teachings to protect the world, as he is no longer here. Invi and Aced violently clash again, while Gula looks on.

Ava rushes close by, and Gula calls her to the scene of the battle, where they both intervene. Invi tells Ava that she has found out who the traitor is, but Ava cannot believe it. Gula turns his Keyblade against Aced, and urges Ava to do the same, telling her that there is no time to lose. Ava reluctantly turns her Keyblade against Aced. Aced intones his Master's mantra, "May my heart be my guiding key," and battles the three Foretellers at the scene. The battle appears to have done considerable damage to a section of Daybreak Town, at least causing a bridge to collapse.

Invi asks Ava what Ira wanted of her, but Ava simply says that she does not know. Ira just asked her to give up Gula without stating why. Ava remarked that Ira's eyes were "scary," and that she was afraid that he might do something terrible. Ava tells Invi that she sent Ira away; in reality, she had placed herself in front of Ira to shield Gula, just as she had done with Aced, prompting Ira to leave. Invi then asks after Gula, but Ava, who had been tending to his wounds, says that Gula has disappeared.

While Ava had been tending to Gula's wounds, she informed him that Ira wanted her to give Gula up. This prompted Gula to reveal his possession of the Lost Page. He told her that the page talks about "the one who bears the sigil," and that he did not know what to make of it. He regrets basing his actions on the Lost Page, as everything in the passage on that page is ambiguous at best. Desperate to find out the meainng of that page, he revealed his intention to summon Kingdom Hearts in order to lure the Master of Masters back to Daybreak Town. Ava failed in her attempts to dissuade him from doing so.

Realizing conflict between the Unions is inevitable, Ava acts in accordance with her role and gathers Keyblade wielders who must go into hiding instead of fighting, dubbing them the "Dandelions". Prior to the Keyblade War, the Master of Masters gives Ava a list of five Keyblade wielders who are to become the new Union leaders; against his orders, she gives a Book of Prophecies to one of them, Brain. Strelitzia, another of the new leaders, attempts to convince the player to join the Dandelions, but she is ambushed and killed by an unknown figure. The Master entrusts Luxu with his Keyblade and a black box, which he instructs him to never open, revealing his plan to end a greater war against thirteen willful embodiments of True Darkness by using his apprentices and the new Union leaders as vessels to contain them. The Master plans to travel into the future and escape into a fictional world with Luxu's help.

Prior to the Keyblade War, the Master of Masters gives Ava a list of five Keyblade wielders who are to become the new Union leaders; against his orders, she gives a Book of Prophecies to one of them, Brain. Strelitzia, another of the new leaders, attempts to convince the player to join the Dandelions, but she is ambushed and killed by an unknown figure. The Master entrusts Luxu with his Keyblade and a black box, which he instructs him to never open, revealing his plan to end a greater war against thirteen willful embodiments of True Darkness by using his apprentices and the new Union leaders as vessels to contain them. The Master plans to travel into the future and escape into a fictional world with Luxu's help.

After the war, the Dandelions reside in a data simulation of Daybreak Town, with all but the Union leaders made to forget what had happened. To prevent another war, the five new Union leaders – Ephemer, Skuld, Ventus, Brain, and Strelitzia's older brother, Lauriam – agree to keep the world's destruction a secret and form a single Union, Union Cross. Meanwhile, Maleficent encounters a True Darkness, who explains the virtual nature of the world she is in. Fearing the damage she could cause with her knowledge of the future, the Darkness instructs her to use a "lifeboat" pod within the tower in Daybreak Town to return to the real world.

Lauriam investigates Strelitzia's disappearance, aided by his fellow party member Elrena, before confronting Maleficent in the tower. Maleficent defeats Lauriam and escapes, but the lifeboat is damaged during the fight. Upon returning to the real world, the True Darkness instructs Maleficent to use another pod to return to the future. Meanwhile, a malfunction causes the datascape to display afterimages of events from before the Keyblade War. While searching the Book of Prophecies for a solution, Brain finds the Master's list and discovers that Ventus is not one of the intended Union leaders. Suspecting that Ventus had replaced Strelitzia, the group learns that a True Darkness possessed Ventus and killed Strelitzia to sow discord between the leaders.

The True Darkness within Ventus emerges and reveals that using the lifeboat triggers a failsafe meant to shut the datascape down with the Darkness trapped inside, but due to Maleficent's earlier use, the process has already begun. Ventus absorbs and binds the Darkness within himself to stop it from attacking. Brain, Lauriam, Ventus, and Elrena use the remaining pods to return to the real world; Ephemer, Skuld and the player stay behind and protect the Dandelions until they can all be rescued. They are confronted by four True Darknesses, but the player pretends to be possessed by one of them and attacks Ephemer and Skuld, who are forced to seal the player and the other Darknesses in the datascape.

In the real world, a True Darkness encounters Luxu, who places a white-cloaked figure into the lifeboat and sends it into the future. Later, the escaped Keyblade wielders use the pods to reach the future, but Brain stays behind and meets Luxu; he is later seen carrying the Master's keyblade and box. Daybreak Town is destroyed, and the remaining Dandelions' Chirithies become Dream Eaters to protect their hearts. The player instead chooses to be reborn in a new vessel; many years later, they become Xehanort's mentor before passing away. The surviving Keyblade wielders each emerge in different time periods, though Skuld is unaccounted for. Later, Brain awakens in Scala ad Caelum, a town founded on the ruins of Daybreak Town by Ephemer.

Cast

 * Ray Chase as The Master of Masters
 * Max Mittelman as Luxu and Brain
 * Matthew Mercer as Ira
 * Travis Willingham as Aced
 * Karissa Lee Staples as Invi
 * Kevin Quinn as Gula
 * Isabela Moner as Ava
 * Michael Johnston as Ephemer
 * Alyson Stoner as Skuld
 * Jesse McCartney as Ventus
 * Meaghan Jette Martin as Strelitzia
 * Keith Ferguson as Laruriam
 * Shanelle Gray as Elrena
 * Lara Jill Miller as Chirithy

Production
On October 4, 2018, Square Enix announced that a movie based on Kingdom Hearts Union χ is in the works to be released on early 2020s.