The Gathering

The Gathering is the name of the secret ending of Kingdom Hearts II; the same scene is known as simply "Gathering" in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. Sunset Horizons is the piece of backing soundtrack used during the video. The term "The Gathering" first appeared in the Deep Dive video.

Summary
The video starts with the view of a desert. A semi-transparent Ansem's Report scrolls down the screen where one of them explains a detailed article on the Keyblade. There are a few shots of metal objects lying in the sand. The screen shows a man in armor, Terra standing amidst the desert waste, on the remains of a large construct decorated with various spikes. He looks to one side and sees another armored figure, Aqua approaching. Terra turns his head again and sees the third figure, Ventus, also approaching. As Aqua and Ventus come closer, Terra walks towards three Keyblades standing alone in the wasteland, as the thing he was standing on dissipates in the same fashion as a dying Nobody. The three Keyblades are Kingdom Key, Way to the Dawn, and Kingdom Key D. Terra takes the Kingdom Key, Ventus takes Way to the Dawn, and Aqua takes Kingdom Key D.

The screen zooms out to show Terra, Ven, and Aqua standing in the center of a field of Keychain-less Keyblades, one of which resembles the Fenrir Keyblade. They stand still for a few moments before something catches their attention and they all look up. A figure, too blurry to make out in the heat, is walking towards the three Keybearers and words appear, briefly, on the screen in this order:


 * Master of Keyblade
 * The lost two
 * Memory of Xehanort
 * Chasers
 * Keyblade War
 * It all began with...
 * "Birth by sleep".

Possible meanings

 * Master of Keyblade could refer to Master Xehanort, Master Eraqus, or possibly the Mark of Mastery. It could possibly even refer to Aqua, who becomes a Keyblade Master after passing her Mark of Mastery Exam during Birth by Sleep.
 * The lost two likely refers to Master Xehanort and Vanitas, or Ventus and Terra, or even Ventus and Vanitas, as they are two halves of the same whole.
 * Memory of Xehanort refers to the memories that Xehanort lost when he developed amnesia. Nomura has explained that these are related to the reason that Sora and Roxas can dual-wield, and why Roxas seems to have a heart.
 * Chasers could refer to Terra, Aqua, and Ven, who are chasing Master Xehanort and Vanitas. It is possible that "Chaser" is a rank, as well, as in the real world, "chaser" refers to one who engraves metal.
 * Keyblade War refers to an ancient war fought between Keyblade-wielders.
 * Birth by Sleep refers to how everything is "born through sleep". It may refer to the Awakening of new Keyblade masters.

Condition to unlock this scene

 * Beginner Mode: Cannot be unlocked
 * Standard Mode: Complete Jiminy's Journal
 * Proud Mode: Finish the game, lock Keyholes in all worlds.

Application to subsequent games
The most immediate application of the ending is in Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+ as its secret video, Birth by sleep, continues where the previous left off. The next one is in Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep where at the end of each of the three scenarios, though not playable, both endings are seen in the true way that they happened.

Trivia

 * It is not know exactly what Terra was standing on at the beginning of the video.
 * Towards the end of the video, the trio picks up the Kingdom Key, Kingdom Key D, and Way to the Dawn. However, it is not known what happens to each of the Keyblades after the video ends. However, they may each represent the relationships each character has with that specific Keyblade Wielder.