#vomiting someone else's (BAD. NO GOOD) analysis into a link without even the care to restate their points

[carlyraejepsans]

you are my.... hero.....

doctor's prescription: delivereddd

[asiifisms]

so @duskisms is indulging me and asking me about Xig’s betrayal SO. I’m just gonna ramble for a bit, and you’re gonna have to deal with an essay.

(This is going to quickly devolve into a mixture of scene analysis and headcanons, so, this is strictly how my Xig’s handling things, but I do try to stick to canon. I apologise for the word vomit I’m unleashing.)

THIS GOT OUT OF HAND COUNT: 5798 words

TO SAVE TIME, read the ‘plans’ subsection of this ask, ‘cause I’m gonna be referring back to those same scenes a lot, and it’s easier on both of us if I don’t type all that out again.

Long story short, there’s not a ghost of a doubt in my mind that Braigbar’s going to betray ‘Nort. He’s also probably gonna die in the end, but he’s okay with that.

Here’s the thing: He’s not rebelling for himself. He doesn’t really care what happens to him (in fact, he’s planning to die, but, more on that, later). You’ll note that he gives the information that’s likely essential to Xehanort’s fall to Zexion, he said his plans were on track while he was still possessed, but the other apprentices were recompleted, and he keeps himself all but glued to Xehanort’s right hand. Now, I think that the latter is also important to the plan itself, but, again Braig/Xig isn’t rebelling for himself. He’s doing it for the other apprentices - for his friends, the family he never had. If they make it out okay, then, the plan worked.

But let me start at the beginning.

I’m gonna drop a big old bomb on you: Braig was not a bad guy to start off with. Was he kind of an ass? Ab-so-fucking-lutely. Was he a handful? So much so there are no hands in the multiverse big enough to contain him. I know what you’re all thinking: The first time we see him, he’s fighting Terra. Antagonising him, working with Xehanort, all the stops. But, let’s consider the dialogue of that scene. (I talked about it a lot, here, and included a link to the scene on youtube, so, feel free to scope that out)

Specifically, the lines

“I’m just lucky he didn’t steal my heart like Princess– Whatever-It-Was. Heh. That would’ve ruined my week, for sure.”

and 

“So wait- You mean… He’s not the one who stole her heart?”

Braig went into the confrontation(s) with Terra fully believing Terra was stealing peoples’ hearts. We can gather from the entire conversation with Xehanort that he [Braig] has a basic knowledge of what ‘hearts’, in this sense, are - not the literal blood-pumping organ, but, more like a soul, as far as I’ve imagined it. We can also assume he has some idea of what losing it does, since he knows it’s a very bad thing, and he has a basic knowledge of what ‘light’ and ‘dark’ are, in this sense, as well (given that Xehanort speaks as though he expects Braig to understand these concepts, and Braig is in fact able to follow along with the conversation). I’m not entirely sure how much the end of this lil ramble meant, since I can’t pin down how much Braig did or did not know about light, dark, and the nitty-gritty of hearts (in fact, I’d wager BBS is the one game so far he’s utterly clueless in), but, this is a fact that many people (including myself) often gloss over, or don’t realise the impact of.

Braig fought Terra, as I said, believing Terra was ripping peoples’ souls out of their chests. And not just any people, a princess.

Royalty.

So, it follows that Braig, a royal guard, might think, huh, there’s some guy going around with what I understand to be an all-powerful weapon and the ability to cross realities, and he is attacking royalty in a really fucked-up way. I should probably do something about it before he gets at my royalty. 

Whether he [thought he] was protecting King Ansem, or Kairi flexes angst muscles @ kai, or even just the other guards, who would also have had to fight this all-powerful warrior, I can imagine he did a brief calculation and figured someone was going to be a lot safer if he could ‘deal with the problem’ before it got out of hand. So, when the ‘wise old man’ he clearly trusted says ‘We can stop this without involving anyone else, everything will be fine, you’ll be okay’ (’You said I wouldn’t get hurt!’) and, as a bonus if Braig wins, he gets the super weapon and related magic powers, why would he say no? His response would be something along the lines of ‘I’m down. You point, I shoot, man, what’s the plan?’

Like all of the best tragedies, he went into that fight thinking he was the good guy. 

Yeah, he knew he was playing dirty (’not the most polite way to go about it’), but, that didn’t matter, he knew and openly admitted that he wouldn’t be able to beat Terra in a fair fight. He knew the guy was a beast, and that was probably another part of the reason he decided to go with this. From what we’ve seen, Aeleus and Dilan are on door duty at least once in a while. That means. if Terra were to attack RG, those two - Arguably, Braig’s favourite people in the known universe(s) - would be the first to be mowed down by a soul-stealing super soldier. Does Braig think the two of them are strong? ‘Course he does. Does he think they’re keyblade-master strong? He has no idea. For all the little tidbits of info Nort-Report seems to be feeding him, I don’t think Braig really has any idea what a keyblade is actually capable of. He doesn’t know if Aels and Dil would survive an encounter with a keyslinger, and he doesn’t want to run the risk. 

Now, I’m not saying he didn’t have a hand in the pot for his own, selfish reasons.

“All I’m asking is that you hold up your end of the bargain!”

... Definitely implies he thinks he’s getting something, personally, out of this, in my book, and I’ll be damned if he didn’t think he was gonna get a keyblade. (That’s a headcanon I’ve had for years, and I’m sure I’ve explained it over a few posts, but, it’s neither here nor there as to why I think that, right now). But, he absolutely thought he was on the moral end of the scale. He thought he was doing the right thing. After all, Terra was stealing hearts, right?

...

Right?

Now, let’s get into the visuals of the scene, since I think I’ve run the dialogue and such into the ground. (Or, the dialogue relevant to the betrayal point.)

Let’s take a look at visuals. 

I’m lazy as shit with this one, but, look at his face. This is right in the middle of his realisation that Terra wasn’t the one stealing hearts, and look at him. Does he look triumphant to you? Jovial, arrogant, the mildly unnerving Freeshooter we all know and love? No. 

No, to me, he looks angry. He looks visibly upset. That’s not a ‘hell yeah, we did it’ face (even though we could easily argue this is exactly the outcome Xehanort wanted), this is a ‘what the hell have you made me do’ face. And, of course, right before we fade to black, Xehanort grins and chuckles; Braig does not. As I said, I think Braig’s completely clueless for this one game. And he’s just realising that this isn’t what he wanted; This isn’t what he thought it was.

But, hey.

Even Lucifer was an angel before he fell, right? 

The next time we see Braig, he’s antagonising Ven and Aqua, and then fights Aqua, like a good henchman.

But wait, can we get a screen cap comparison?

Well, no, but we can compare icons!

Here’s Braig, right after the Terra fight:

(him so sad ;n;)

Now, let’s get a close-up on his eyes.

Those are his eyes. Big, beautiful, warm puppy-dog brown eyes. 

...

Eye.

Whoop.

But, now, let’s get a look at his face during the Aqua fight:

And, enhance...

Little more...

That’s right, he’s fucking possessed. Braig goes from fighting Terra because he thinks Terra’s the bad guy, to questioning and even openly defying Xehanort, only backing off when threatened with death, to going blithely along with his plans because Xehanort frickin’ body-snatched him.

No, I’m still not over this.

Yes, I’m taking this as further evidence that he’s not on board with Xehanort’s plans. (Yes, I know I’ve used it, before.)

I also wanna go on a brief sidebar here, and say that Braig got ‘Norted before he lost his heart. I believe, aside from Xemnas, he’s the only one we see this happen to. I also think this is why Xigbar and Braig look so different, since in the 2.5 secret ending (link to that clip in the Plans post I mentioned at the top, if you wanna give it a scope), he’s back to himself, mostly, in terms of looks, and then shortly after, he’s Nobody’d again, and back to having long hair, looking older, etc. When he’s recompleted, he’s going back to the form that was just ‘Braig’; Even if he has Xehanort’s heart shoved in his chest, that was his body first. But Xigbar? Xigbar’s form was created from removing the horrific amalgamation of both Braig and Xehanort’s hearts from the same person. When he says he’s ‘half Xehanort’, I don’t think he’s just talking about possession (though he absolutely is at least half Norted), but he means he, as Xigbar, is literally tempered from Braig’s heart and Xehanort’s heart - two halves to make a whole nobody. Like a Steven-Universe style fusion, but like seven times more ungodly than most of them. Or maybe like a more stable Malachite. (Another reason why I think Xig has the potential to be the singlemost terrifying person in the series, if he wanted.)

I’m getting off topic here.

Anyway, back to Braig’s revenge plans. It’s my personal headcanon that Braig’s not really... Lucid, in the beginning stages of the possession. We can see a few bits of this in canon - like, he makes such a big deal about not being collateral damage, then in the Aqua fight seems totally fine with throwing himself into battle with Aqua to buy Xehanort time?? I mean, like I said at the top, this is gonna devolve pretty quickly into headcanon material, and this is about the point where that happens, but, I dunno, he just seems really- Off, to me, from this point on. Way too happy to go along with things, too eager to just run off and isolate himself with Terra/Apprentinort, all that. 

You know when I think we see the ‘real’ Braig again? When he seems to break through the haze of darkness, goes back to the mouthy, but lovable, if not somewhat of a twat, guardsman, when he starts questioning Xehanort, noticing that things aren’t adding up, looking like he’s about to throw down the freaking guantlet and thunderdome it right there?

Right here, when he gets his heart stolen.

More specifically, right before that, when Even and Ienzo are fading. When the other Apprentices got hurt, that seems to snap Braig out from under Xehanort’s thumb enough to try confronting him again (Worth noting that himself getting hurt, ie the fight with Aqua, didn’t do it. It was the others getting drawin into the line of fire that woke him up). Didn’t work, but hell, boy put in a good effort. Another part of my headcanons that are pretty much gospel for this blog and my portrayal of this muse is that Braig loved the other Apprentices more than anything. Even, Aeleus, Dilan, and Ienzo were kind of all he had in the family department - and yeah, he low-key secretly thought of them as family. Did they get on each others’ nerves? Hell yes. Did he do the majority of nerve-trodding? Well, he thinks he did, at least, and he does have a talent for it. But, those four were still his people, and he adores them endlessly. And Xehanort took them from him. Xehanort hurt them (and, as it becomes more clear to him, as his brain adapts to the darkness, he realises, he hurt them, too. This is his fault.)

Also, can we stop here a second, again, so I can talk about something? This scene, right here, is further proof to me that Braig was not a bad person. 

We know what Darkness looks like, in the KH sense, when it’s manifested in its purest form.

It looks like this.

And this.

And also this.

(one of these things is not like the other)

For bonus comparison, I went and looked up what it looks like when someone with a Dark heart gets Keybladed - Maleficent, specifically, since we know she’s steeped in the stuff. (Darkness, I mean. Not Keyblades. ... Maybe Keyblades too. Depends on where in the story you are.)

(three cheers for awful cap quality amirite)

Meanwhile, look what’s happening with Braig when he loses his heart.

Look how bright that is.

Look how much light was in this poor boy’s heart.

Look at how pure and bright and warm and good Braig had the potential to be, how his heart literally shines with this white sort of halo-esque deal, even after being possessed by Xehanort for a good deal of time. I dunno how long, exactly, but I imagine it took a bit of time between Braig’s first intro as a ‘Nort, to Terranort becoming Apprentinort and one of Ansem’s Trusted, to this. 

Look at that, though. There was a beacon in this kid’s chest. He was like a maglight. (I love him so much someone hold him and tell him he’s worthwhile for once in his life)

Anyway. Again, that was a bit off-track, so, back to the facts. 

Braig loves the other Apprentices. Whether you wanna take it as romantic, or platonic (it’s usually platonic, here. Emphasis on usually, though [eyyy Jess B)]), he loves ‘em. And this bright-hearted young man, who, as I said, maybe kinda did want to get something out of it for himself but also wanted to keep his home safe, just realised that he’s destroyed everything he cared about. 

His home is destroyed.

His friends are worse than dead.

And, as far as he’s concerned?

It’s all his fault.

But damn if he’s gonna take this lying down. 

But, he’s learned that openly challenging Xehanort gets him nowhere. The first time he tried? Keyblade to the throat, then possessed. Second time? Keyblade to the chest, heart stolen, homeworld destroyed. Like, how’s your streak going, there, bud? Not good, it seems. And, you know what? He’s not putting those four at risk, again. 

He knows a bit about hearts, and he knows a bit about keyblades. Not a lot, I don’t think; But enough. Probably a bit more than he did to start with, thanks to Ansem and the Apprentices’ research on the subject. All the experiments, and stuff? He had moments of clarity, not enough to realise what was wrong, but, he’s a curious guy, he did some poking around. He also knows that Xehanort will tell him exactly enough to stay useful, and to help the Old Coot’s plans along in the most seamless way possible. As Xehanort’s right hand, he’ll learn as much as he can. As his henchman, his flunkie, his assassin, his loyal tool to use and discard as he sees fit, Xigbar will learn, and be trusted with access to, things he would never be able to get his hands on, otherwise. As a recon and stealth-ops specialist for the Organisation, the same is true. The worlds are his oyster, and damnit if he’s not diving for pearls. 

And, what do you know? He finds one.

A few of them, in fact. 

Most notably, a way that the others can be made whole, again. 

The reason he’s not too torn up about Castle Oblivion? He wanted it to happen. He wanted members 3 through 6 to bite it. That was the plan, that was how they’d go back to being ‘whole’ again. He knew enough to know being whacked around by a keyblade wasn’t too bad, and, he sure as hell couldn’t off them, himself - Too risky. Too many ways it could go wrong. But if they’re ‘gone’, they’re safe from Xehanort, and they’ll be ‘themselves’ again. ... He wouldn’t be too happy if he learned what Axel had done, though. Not happy at all. 

But, before I get side-tracked again, I do very much think he wanted the others to recomplete. Like I said, his revenge isn’t for himself. Why? Well, there are two reasons, and they kind of go hand-in-hand. 

First, let’s go back to the 2.5 secret ending (also linked in the Plans post, way up there). 

In this scene, all of the boys are recompleted, and I, personally, am so happy for them. With the exception of the littles (Ienzo, Lea, Isa) growing up, they all seem to look like themselves.

Well.

All of them except for Braig.

Because, when we see Braig in this scene, what does he look like?

(Skipping right to the point with a close-up on his eye)

That’s right, even right after recompletion, he’s still possessed. Maybe that’s cause he went and got Norted again, but, I don’t think so. I think it’s because, like I mentioned, earlier, Xigbar was made from Braig’s heart, tainted with Xehanort; So, when he ‘recompletes’, he recompletes as Braig, tainted by Xehanort. There’s no way out, for him. I mean, the good news is, he’s adapting. He’s used to it enough that he can think and act with some degree of freedom, but, he’s still possessed. There is no ‘out’ for him until Xehanort is gone; and Xehanort can’t be ‘gone’ until Braig is, as well. (He thinks so, anyways.) So, his revenge isn’t for himself because he doesn’t think it’s possible for him to escape. He’s doomed to carry a part of the Old Coot with him, potentially forever. 

The second reason his revenge isn’t for himself is because he wants Xehanort gone. He doesn’t care what it takes, he wants the Coot wiped from existence. And despite the fact that I’d argue Xig is one of the most powerful people, magically, in the series (physical reality is his playground, it’s amazing), he knows he doesn’t stand a chance. If he tried ti take the old guy out, he’d be dead. No, he’s come to put a lot of faith in prophecy, these days, one way or another; The Seven Lights have to fight the Thirteen Darknesses for the whole thing to come to an end. And there has to be thirteen of them. If Braig could get out of those ranks, he wouldn’t. Why? Because, as Xehanort’s right hand, not only is he learning things, like I mentioned above, but he’s manipulating things. He’s in the prime position to tug along the puppet strings and make it so the old man falls. If he’s one of the Seekers of Darkness, he can wreck things from the inside, and make sure Xehanort gets taken down - and himself with him, since, again, he carries traces of Xehanort inside his heart, no matter what he does. 

He knows he’s expendable.

It’s one of the only things Xehanort told him that stuck. 

He’s expendable. nobody would miss him if he was gone. They don’t need him, any more. 

That so, old man?

Fine, then. 

He’ll be expendable.

He’ll let himself be cast aside and thrown away, he’ll throw himself under the bus, but he’s dragging you down, with him. He’ll let himself be obliterated, and he’ll cling to that shred of you that leeches off of him, and make sure neither of you ever see the light of day, again. 

If he lets himself be one of the Darknesses, and lets himself be killed, then, Xehanort won’t be able to hurt anyone else, ever again. 

Let me quote two of my favourite musicals, to help sum up Braig’s attitude (because I find lyrics really helpful for getting this sort of thing across):

The entire end-section of ‘Twisted’, from the musical of the same name, by Team Starkid, actually sums Braig up really hecking well:

What remains of a man, when that man is dead and gone? Only memories and stories of his deeds will linger on But if a man's accomplishments aren't in the tale they tell Are the deeds that go unheralded his legacy as well? If a war breaks out tomorrow, we'll all have hell to pay Why protect my reputation? I'm a dead man either way How will they tell my story? How will they tell my tale? Will anybody even care? The question then is whether 'tis nobler in the mind To be well liked but ineffectual, or moral but maligned? I'll never be a hero! All the citizens adore But if I hide to save my life What has my life been for? What has my life been for? The road ahead may twist, but I will never swerve I'll give them all the unsung anti-hero they deserve I've nothing left to lose So the only path to choose is twisted Let them twist my words, let the people scorn me Who cares if no one will ever mourn me? Let them bury the side of the story they'll never learn Let the truth be twisted Let my life be twisted I'll be twisted It's my turn...

But, if you want a shorter one? The start of ‘Dead Girl Walking (Reprise)’ from Heathers also sums it up nicely:

I wanted someone strong who could protect me I let his anger fester and infect me His solution is a lie No one here deserves to die Except for me and the monster I created Yeah! Yeah! Heads up, J.D., I'm a dead girl walking! [ALL BUT VERONICA] Hey, yo, Westerberg! [VERONICA] Can't hide from me, I'm a dead girl walking! [ALL BUT VERONICA] Hey, yo, Westerberg! [VERONICA] And there's your final bell It's one more dance and then farewell Cheek to cheek in hell with a dead girl walkin'!

(The chorus’ lines stricken out ‘cause they’re not relevant)

I mean, the difference here is, Braig didn’t want Xehanort to protect him, he wanted strength himself. But, the rest of it (pronouns/gender/names/etc aside)? That’s Braig to a T as things spiral towards the war. The Darknesses dying is the only way to get rid of Xehanort, and he can only make sure that happens if he’s one of the Darknesses. 

So, sure, he’ll be expendable.

Making him that way was Xehanort’s biggest mistake. 

Because, let’s face it, he took everything from Braig, and I mean everything. He doesn’t have a home, any more - Even if RG is rebuilt, do you really think he could go back? He doesn’t. He doesn’t have anyone who’d want him there - After everything he put them through, how could his friends even look at him again? It was because he was too foolhardy, he didn’t look hard enough, he didn’t do this or that or some other thing that they went through over a decade of Hell, so, they obviously want him gone, right? And his dad? Well, they never got along, even before Xehanort, he’ll probably be happy Braig’s gone (Wrong, Eadric was devastated by his son’s death, but Braig has no way of knowing that). He doesn’t have his own heart, any more. He barely has his own name. And, even if he is recompleted, even if there’s a day he were to wake up with those same brown eyes that melted so many hearts back in the day, he’s never going to even have his own face again. Never. He’s never going to be able to look in a mirror and see anything other than a mistake. The marks of what Xehanort did to him - No, what he did, marks of his own failure, his own damnation, his own idiocy, for lack of a better word, will be forever scarred into his face. 

He will never see ‘Braig’ again. 

He will never be ‘Braig’ again.

And that, you see, was Xehanort’s downfall. 

And before I elaborate on that point any more, let me just say he’s grateful, in a sick, masochistic sense, that at least some of the other Apprentices seem to hate him. Ferret’s Lexaeus, especially, though Zexion, in the cutscene I highlighted in that first ask, seems irritated and eager to get away from him, too. And, again, he’s grateful. 

It’s easier to play the part, that way, to keep the isolation game going and keep them out of the loop, but, beyond that, it stops Xehanort from acting too suspicious. It stops them from looking like collateral. If it looks like he still cares about the others, they could be used against him. Maybe they still will. But it’s a lot less likely if they all look like they don’t... Necessarily want anything to do with each other. (He savoured any moment of companionship he could get out of them, though. It was nice to have someone.) It’s a lot less likely when he gestures to their fallen forms and seemingly offers them up - “Which poor soul will it be?” - Even if, and I’m convinced on this, everything, right down to the gesture itself, was planned to draw attention away from the four of them in the most subtle manner possible. It also makes it easier for him to come to terms with what he needs to do, because, again, they don’t want him back. It;s not like he’ll be disappointing anyone if he stays. 

Remember that post I made, a while back? 

This one, right here? 

At first glance, it seems pretty relatable, huh? I hate waking up, too, Braig, I gotcha. But, no, that’s not it. The problem isn’t ‘Braig’s not a morning person’ (He’s not, but, not the problem). The problem is, he’s not supposed to be able to wake up. He’s not supposed to be alive. 

Like I said above, he planned to die. He didn’t see any future for himself, and he’s basically Xehanort’s horcrux, so, waking up at the end of it all? It doesn’t make sense. He’s supposed to be dead. The plan was that he would be dead. He’s not lucid enough to figure out what’s so wrong about being awake, but, there’s something very bad about it, and when he wakes up fully, he’s gonna be a mess. He’s been sticking to the plans he’s made for over a decade, and now he’s awake, and things aren’t following those plans, and nothing makes sense any more and he’s not even sure who he is, and it’s awful. It’s a really bad time for him. (He’s also just. Not likely to stick around RG after that, at least for a while, but that’s a story for another post.)

This is another sidebar, because I’m bad at staying on one topic for any too long, but I gotta say, recompletion for Braig? It was probably one of the worst physical moments of his life. Would’ve been very difficult for him, since, he didn’t have his whole heart, even as a ‘somebody’. Xehanort took that from him. With Xehanort gone, the hold on his heart is gone, as well (Or, I like to believe so; Braig’s not convinced), so, he’s gotta re-grow the damaged bits, or however that works, before he’s gonna be back to himself. It’s an awful, awful process, and that’s not even considering the Nort Withdrawal, which Aaron and I discussed before, but. I don’t have the post for that, so, just lemme know if that’s a thing people want to hear about.

But!

Back to the plans. 

When I say Xehanort fucked up by taking everything from Braig, I mean it. Way back when, Braig had things keeping him moral. He had things he wanted to protect, and wanted to fight for, and wanted to go back to, but now? Everything is either means to an end, or the end goal. He literally cannot afford to stay ‘good’, either because it would compromise his plans, or because of Xehanort’s influence, or a mix of the two. Usually a mix. To quote one of my favourite The Adventure Zone characters (and I’m not saying which one or which arc, because Erika is reading and I’m not spoiling it for her):

“I don’t care. The world is ending, and I don’t give a shit.”

At this point, he’s given himself to Xehanort. He’s killed. He’s lied, cheated, manipulated, and who only knows what else. And he’s done it all with a smile. Not all of it is playing a part, either; The darkness, the wariness, everything’s been weighing down and crushing him. He’s too broken down to care.

No matter what he does, he doesn’t care. 

All that matters is that his home winds up safe, and his friends/brothers/family go back in one piece. 

It doesn’t matter to him if anyone else gets hurt. He’s taken the phrase ‘you can’t save everyone’ to heart. 

Would it be great if he could get everyone safe? YES. That’d be amazing. He’d love shoving it in the old man’s face. But, he’s making compromises and sacrifices for those four. That’s all that matters. (A nice contrast to Sora, I think, who seems willing to sacrifice himself, but only himself, to save everyone, but, I don’t write him, so feel free to correct me.)

He’s so tired.

He’ll keep going, keep fighting, keep doing his self-given duty, but, the longer it goes on? The more he just wants it all to end. I think, by the end of DDD (especially after the ‘my friends are my power’ scene, that took a tole on him), he’s kind of looking forward to the battle? Just so he can rest. He’s tired.

And, you know what else makes me think he’s planning his own downfall, on top of Xehanort’s?

His most explicit acts of defiance, post BBS, all involve him giving the power to somebody else. Which you could argue is a great show of character growth from the ‘ooh let me have the all-powerful weapon this is good’, but, it’s not the best, ‘cause he’s still stringing people along, playing them all like fiddles, making them do what he wants, etc etc. 

But, when he knows how to find Ventus and Aqua, does he use that knowledge, himself? No, he tells Zexion, so Ienzo can put that knowledge to use, later. He absolutely knew more than he was letting on with Namine’s escape, and he let her go, I’m convinced (and then redirected the attention to Saix, low-key calling him out on the fact that Isa’s probably still in there and/or Saix can’t be trusted). Namine was the key to waking Sora up. Sora, the main protag, the brightest light we know. Also, she was responsible for sending Roxas and Xion* back to Sora’s heart - Getting the two wild-card keyblades away from Xehanort, so they’re left without those very powerful weapons under their control. Kinda nasty way to go about it. IMO (’but what can ya’ do?). He really didn’t put a lot of effort into taking Xion out (I mean, granted, she kicked his ass hard, that wasn’t him playing around, that was actually ‘oh shit, where did she go, OH SHIT WHAT’), but, he never fired a single shot. Axel comments on it, too. 

A: “The old man needs to get his eye checked. She just got away.”

X: “I’ll give him that. Can’t toss the blame around.” 

(That scene is here, by the way.)

All of this is to guide other people into helping and creating the seven lights. Unless you’re Zexion/Ienzo, nine times outta ten, you have zero reason to think Xig’s anything other than a loyal Nort. He wants the lights to form up. He doesn’t want it explicit he’s helping them (unless he has no other choice, a la Chamber of Repose/Chamber of Waking with Zex). He’s guiding along the keyblade war, but he’s making it so the Seekers are going to fail. 

He’s expendable.

This is all his fault. 

And he thinks he knows how to make it right.

(*I will say that his motivation on this one can have a double-meaning, depending on verse/thread. Like if it’s with @lostinmemory‘s Xion? There’s definitely the added bonus of her being safe in Sora’s heart, so they can’t keep doing increasingly fucked up things to the poor girl in the Organisation. ... Not that he remembers, afterwards, but, hey. Thought that counts, right?)

Anyway, this is long enough, so! If there’s any points you want elaborated on more, just hmu. <3