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"Hey, it's okay. This is all connected to the ancient Keyblade War, isn't that right? Whatever. I got my hands full with my own plans. So, which poor soul will it be?"

—Braig playing dumb to Young Xehanort

Braig^[1] is a supporting antagonist inKingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. A vessel of the ancientKeyblade MasterLuxu, he is one ofAnsem the Wise's apprentices and the human form ofXigbar.

Story[edit]

BeforeKingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep[edit]

Having been instructed by his master to transfer hisheart from one vessel to the next until the fated "Dark Master" appeared to reenact theKeyblade War, Luxu's final role was to become an ally of this individual,Master Xehanort, and aid in his plans in order to continue to observe the future. Luxu decides to pose as a braggart seeking the Keyblade, and chooses Braig as his final vessel.Secret Report 13

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep[edit]

As Braig, he served as an apprentice toAnsem the Wise, the king ofRadiant Garden. He engineered a "chance" encounter with Xehanort,^[2] in which the Keyblade Master agreed to make Braig aKeyblade wielder in exchange for assisting in his plans to create theχ-blade, and later serving as one of Xehanort's thirteenSeekers of Darkness.^[3] As part of their bargain, Braig pretended to take Xehanort captive in order to cultivateTerra'sdarkness.

Braig explains Master Xehanort's capture to Terra.

Braig locates Terra after he separates from Aqua and Ventus, and leads the skeptical Terra toward the Purification Factory to show him Master Xehanort chained up, much to Terra's horror. Braig then engages Terra in a duel under the pretense of trying to take the boy'sKeyblade. Terra is initially reluctant to fight back out of fear of succumbing to the darkness, but Xehanort goads him on by insinuating that Terra is shaming himself. Conceding to Xehanort's provocations, Terra fights back, in the process drawing on his darkness and scarring Braig. After Terra leaves, the bandaged Braig furiously attempts to gun down Xehanort for setting him up as "collateral damage", but Master Xehanort threatens him into backing down. Sometime later, Xehanort infuses a piece of his heart into Braig's.

Braig later appears in theKeyblade Graveyard, his body having adopted Master Xehanort's yellow eyes and pointed ears; his hair has also grayed somewhat, and he now has a patch over his eye. He appears in front ofAqua andVentus, who taunts them and attempts to turn them against Terra by bringing upEraqus's demise. After mocking the angry glare Ventus gives him, Braig is challenged by Aqua and defeated. Since he only needed to buy time forVanitas to arrive, Braig promptly flees to Radiant Garden.

Braig carries Terra-Xehanort, asking Dilan to take in the armor andKeyblade.

Braig later discoversTerra-Xehanort andAqua had fought in Radiant Garden, leadingDilan and Ansem to an amnesiac young man who resembles Terra, but with silver hair. The youth gives his name as "Xehanort", to Braig's delight. He asks Dilan to gather Aqua's discardedKeyblade Armor andStormfall Keyblade as he carries Terra-Xehanort to the castle on Ansem's order.

Braig later approaches the new Xehanort, now an apprentice under Ansem, and is dismayed to find that the new Xehanort does not recognize him, and Braig's attempts to help Xehanort remember to serve only to annoy him. At one point, Braig questions if this new Xehanort is actually Terra, but Xehanort still does not respond, much to Braig's relief. Nevertheless, Braig promises to look out for Xehanort.

BetweenKingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep andKingdom Hearts 358/2 Days[edit]

After Ansem began performing tests on Xehanort's heart, Braig convinces the other apprentices to aid him and Xehanort in conducting inhumane experiments on the human heart and the darkness within it, in the attempt to remove one's sense of self, which would allow them to create vessels for Master Xehanort's heart. These experiments led to the mass release ofHeartless into theRealm of Light.Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance Among the subjects was a girl dubbed "Subject X" with no memory of her past aside from the phrase "May your heart by your guiding key" and that she needed to meet five certain people again. Braig freed her for an unknown reason.Secret Report 1^[4]

After being stabbed by Xehanort, Braig falls to the ground and loses his heart.

Soon after, Braig, Xehanort, Dilan,Aeleus, andEven banished Ansem the Wise to theRealm of Darkness,Secret Ansem Reports tellingIenzo that Ansem had gone mad and abandoned them.Kingdom Hearts III They continue their experiments in the meantime until Even and Ienzo are overcome by darkness in Ansem's computer room. Braig demands an explanation from Xehanort, who summons hisNo Name Keyblade and stabs Braig in the chest, removing his heart.Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance Not long afterward, Xehanort, taking the name "Ansem", gave his own heart over to darkness, becoming a Heartless and Nobody. Although his heart was removed and became a Heartless, Braig's strong will enabled his body to continue existing as theNobody Xigbar. UnderXemnas, Xehanort's Nobody, and Xigbar, the Nobodies of the six apprentices formedOrganization XIII.

Kingdom Hearts Re:coded[edit]

Braig asks Young Xehanort which of the former Organization XIII members will become Master Xehanort's next vessel.

Following the destruction of Organization XIII and their Heartless counterparts, Braig, Dilan, Even, Aeleus, Ienzo, Isa, and Lea are restored withinAnsem's Study. Braig is awakened by a time-travelingYoung Xehanort and realizes that he must become Xigbar again to continue Master Xehanort's plan. The two discuss the plan for a short period, then agree to bring Isa with them, asSaïx.Destiny

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance[edit]

When Dilan, Even, Aeleus, Ienzo, andLea, awaken in Radiant Garden, Braig's andIsa's absence causes them to think the two have not returned, which prompts Lea to venture out to search for them.

Later, Xigbar reveals Braig's pact with Xehanort toSora, as well as the fact that he himself is "already half-Xehanort."

Design[edit]

Braig wears a guard's uniform with a dark slate grey jacket, silver highlights, and two rows of gold buttons on the front. He wears a black belt and white gloves adorned with a silver, curled heart symbol. His jacket bears some resemblance to Xigbar'sblack coat, sporting the same pointed shoulders. He also wears black, knee-high boots and a tattered, red scarf. In terms of facial features, Braig sports brown eyes, though they turn to gold upon his acceptance of a piece of Master Xehanort's heart, upturned eyebrows, and dark, shoulder-length hair that he wears slicked back. After his fight against Terra, he loses his right eye and receives a jagged scar over his left cheek, making him and Master Eraqus the only two characters that are seen receiving scars during the story. After he takes the bandages off, Braig wears an eyepatch to cover his lost eye. Braig's ears also gain noticeable points after he accepts a piece of Master Xehanort's heart.

Braig wields two Arrowguns shaped like crossbows. They are colored in shades of silver and a faded, metallic purple and adorned with the same curled heart symbol as his gloves.

Personality[edit]

Since Braig is the original persona of Xigbar, he possesses most of Xigbar's personality. He is shown to have a laidback, cocky attitude, and he often does not take things seriously. Braig often refers to Master Xehanort as an "old coot" and, like Xigbar, punctuates his sentences with, "As if." Braig appears to be cruel and sadistic at times, as seen when he nonchalantly approaches Aqua and Ventus and asks which one of them wants to be destroyed first. He is a skilled manipulator, easily goading Terra into fighting him and successfully stalling for time in his battle with Aqua.

Braig has a deep fascination with the Keyblade and his desire to possess one of his own is what led him to join Master Xehanort in the first place. Ultimately, he allowed Master Xehanort to begin transforming him into one of his twelve vessels just to gain the ability to wield a Keyblade, even at the eventual cost of his individuality. Though normally loyal to Xehanort, Braig attempted to attack the old man after his fight with Terra, angry that he had been hurt despite Xehanort's guarantee to the contrary.

Braig's infatuation with the Keyblade is simply a cover used to join Master Xehanort and serve as his right-hand. With no knowledge of the future or the true extent of Xehanort's plans, Braig follows his master's orders loyally by assisting Xehanort when both serve as Ansem the Wise's apprentices, becoming a Nobody in the process, and aids the villain in recreating the Keyblade War and completing Kingdom Hearts.

The end ofKingdom Hearts III, however, reveals that as a vessel of Luxu, Braig and Xigbar's personality is an entire ruse Luxu made up in order to get close to Master Xehanort.

Abilities[edit]

"You better start running!"

—Braig, during his battle with Terra

The Japanese release on the left, English on the right.

Like Xigbar, Braig wields twinArrowguns in battle, using them to fire a variety of quick shots. He uses a telescopic view in battle and is able to teleport, warp his bullets, and levitate upside-down via space distortion. As with Xigbar, in the original Japanese release ofKingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Braig's HUD display has a silhouette of his Arrowguns in each of the four cardinal directions, which is drastically altered in the Western release andKingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix to show three violet dots vaguely showing Braig's aim. The shots Braig fires when he is sniping are violet like Xigbar's, but they seem to have explosive properties to them. He can also combine his two weapons into one in order to fire powerful shots in rapid succession. Braig is also very agile, able to make high leaps into the air, and quickly run around opponents while leaving after-images of himself.

Gallery[edit]

• 

  Braig as he appeared prior to getting scarred.

Notes and references[edit]

• Entelechy
• Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden
• Original characters
• Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep characters
• Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance characters
• Antagonists