Hey everyone,
And with this chapter I'm going to bring Braig to life – or at least create a backstory for him that will explain how he can be Lea's father, how he couldn't have known about this, how he has the Keyblade with the All-Seeing eye and a few other things. I am also going to bring Lea's grandfather from his mother's side into the picture, but like I said, if he stays, I'm not sure.
We'll see,
Venquine1990
Chapter 43
The History of Braig
1st of January 1996
Ansem's Office, Radiant Garden
Isa's POV
Lea's reaction to Harry reminding him of the meeting with Ansem the Wise instantly alerted me. I remembered how Lea had been growing up, how timid and afraid he had been of everything the first time we met, but how he also had a fire of strength and curiosity to him that intrigued me at the same time and that made me work hard to bring it out of him. I remember my mum and me inviting him over and feeling curious that he never returned the favor. I remember us mentioning his own home life once and his horrified response to it.
I remember agreeing to his begs and pleas to just leave the topic of his homelife alone and how this inspired my mother to motivate him into becoming an Apprentice to Master Ansem. I remember mum telling me: "Maybe if he's surrounded by the guards there, he'll open up and we'll be able to find out what happened through the proper authorities." And this made me agree with her and help her motivate Lea into going to the castle, sneaking in after we discovered the girl.
After Lea and Harry leave, I pull Sirius and Damian aside and tell them about this. "Lea hates his mother with a passion. He lives here, because his birth home is on the other side of town. I haven't seen him even go near that direction once since we got back. Master Ansem obviously wants to see him about his actual father, but I bet his mother will also be brought up again. This is what my mum wanted when we started inspiring Lea to join the Master's ranks. Let's go."
The man nods and the three of us head over. We reach the Master's office, of which the door is actually ajar, just as Lea starts to talk and we listen. The story my best friend tells the master gives me mixed feelings. On one hand I myself am growing to hate the woman that birthed him – alongside the rest of her family – with a burning passion of my own. On the other hand I feel my understanding over Lea and how easily he gave up back then grow immensely.
Hearing him shout Braig's name shocks and startles me and when Lea opens his portal, I want to follow. But Sirius stops me and whispers: "This is a father-son reunion that has been over 18 years in the making. Roxas alone is enough of a third wheel on the wagon. Let's not add to that." I agree with the man, while also wondering if, perhaps, Master Ansem is aware of our presence. I do hear everything that comes over the Gummi phone and thus hear Braig's exclamation.
The fact that the man never knew he had a son or that his son was part of the same Organization as him warms my heart and makes me feel relieved as I had grown a bit of concern over this myself, even with Master Ansem's assurance that Dilan and Aeleus would arrest the man if it came down to it. Yet just as the man ends his rant, I hear something else. "Hide." I hiss as I hear angry footsteps racing at us from behind.
We dive into a small alcove near the office door and I spot a man who is clearly in his late sixties, early seventies, yet who is also still surprisingly fast and strong for his age running past us. The man has auburn brown hair that he is obviously trying to dye to battle against the terrible greying of his hair, yet the bright red highlights only further accentuate the rest of his greying hair. The man barges into the office, not even knocking and starts to yell:
"MASTER ANSEM! Your apprentices are just the worst kinds of idiots this world has ever been cursed with! They have made a huge and terrible mistake and lack the proper skill in judgement most severely. I demand that you bring them here – the ones not already here, I see – and that you help me reprimand them for their foolishness and then order them to release my daughter!" And this makes me feel like another piece of the puzzle fell into place.
"If Lea's mother was like that to him, I can get why he'd rather forget she even existed." Damian whispers and Sirius mutters: "Yeah, that whole family gives my darling mother a run for her money." Yet at the same time, my eyes are locked on the corridor, which I can now see thanks to the open door and which is being guarded by Aeleus and Dilan, both of whom are looking none too pleased.
"Nice to see you again too, sir." Aeleus softly snarls and both the disgust and the sarcasm are clear for all to hear as he says this. "Aeleus, if you were ever a friend –.""That stopped when your daughter graduated." Aeleus interrupts the man, shocking and startling him. Yet then I spot movement coming from the corridor and Braig, Lea and Harry all step out. I take this as my own cue and walk into the office, Sirius and Damian following behind.
Braig's POV
Reuniting with Lea and Roxas and meeting Harry in the Keyblade Graveyard was the last thing I ever thought would happen. Hearing that I was welcome back in Radiant Garden was something I thought would only happen in my dreams. Finding out that Lea is actually my son – making Axel my son by default – was something I had stopped hoping for. Only the look on the face of the man that is Lea's grandfather was something I have been expecting these past few months.
Yet the knowledge that almost half a year has passed since the old man met his end is still quite startling and that, combined with my new knowledge, makes me very desperate to make up for lost time. And because I know that Master Ansem and the others must be highly curious, I speak up after leading my son and his mate out of the corridor. "You know, for someone who claims to be from high society, you sure have piss-poor manners, pal."
The man bristles angrily and snaps: "I'm not going to take an insult from anyone, especially not a lowlife rapist like yourself." And while the accusation alone quite startles me, the reaction of the others – including the two new arrivals – really astounds me. The two strangers along with Harry all draw their magical wands from their pockets and Lea even summons his fiery Keyblade, all of them aiming their weapons at the man.
Yet then Master Ansem stands up and says: "Everyone, let's calm down and sit down. Dilan, please take a stand between the gentleman over here and the rest, to ensure both of their safety. Braig, I think now is the ideal time for an explanation and perhaps – a history lesson into your life." This is something I had already expected and I give the man an understanding nod while Lea angrily snaps his fingers, dismissing the Corridor.
The two strangers head for where my son and his mate are standing with me and the grown man with long black hair reaches his hand out to me as he says: "Greetings. The name's Sirius. Sirius Black. This is my son by blood, Damian and you've already met my adopted little boy, Harry. Nice to finally meet the father of the young man that makes my boy so happy." He turns to look over his shoulder as I shake his head and honingly says:
"Also, I'm not going to take one word seriously out of the mouth of someone who thinks they can insult family members – when they themselves have never met said family or even played a part in their lives. And Lea's never met you, but he's known Braig for years, so that says everything in my eyes.""Sirius, let us at least give the man a chance. Perhaps hearing Braig's side of the story will give him a new perspective on everything."
And thanks to my years of having known the man I can easily hear what the man isn't saying. "Perhaps it will make him change his mind about you all." Yet for some reason I don't believe this to be possible. Still, the fact that I am being given this chance, not just to come clean, but to teach a child of my own about his past and his family is not one I am willing to just let it pass me by and so I lean back in my seat and start to talk.
"If you really want a history lesson, I am not going to be the one to deny you in that. However, in order to understand everything about me, especially everything I have done over the years, why I did it and why I've been in the Keyblade Graveyard for the past few months, I need to go way past my own date of birth. I need to explain you the origin of my own family line, which I can properly and successfully trace it back all the way to the Master of Masters and his Apprentices."
The fact that my story goes that far back seems to really catch the interest of Mr. Black and his son and the fact that my lineage goes back to such prominent historical characters really amazes Master Ansem and his apprentices and astounds Lea's grandfather. I smirk at this, having always wanted to have this kind of experience, even if my dreams and fantasies of this only included my own future offspring. Yet this feels even better and I continue.
"My family descends from Luxiu, the apprentice that disappeared shortly after the Master of Masters did, just before the great Keyblade War broke out. However, before he vanished, the Master bequeathed him two items. One was a Keyblade that held the All-Seeing Eye, the Eye that has the ability to see the past, present and future. The other was a box that Luxiu was never allowed to open. Now after the war, Luxiu settled down and had two kids. One inherited the box, the other inherited the Keyblade with the Eye."
And with that I summon the Keyblade once again, a very small part of me expecting that one vision I have been waiting for these past few months and this small part dies out right away as nothing happens. Instead of that I just continue talking: "Now over the course of the centuries that have passed since, my family have started and managed to, more or less, perfection a tradition of their own, a tradition that centers around their heirs earning their own rights to the blade.
In their youth, the heirs are allowed to just be kids – rebels even in some cases – but once they reach a certain age, one that differed only slightly between each generation over the years, they would be gifted with a special Sixth Sense by the All-Seeing Eye. After this, they would be tasked with proving that they could be responsible, after which they would start a training protocol to earn the right of wielding the Keyblade.
When I was given this task, this sense, I decided I would prove my own responsibility by settling down. So, for a few years, I started dating, looking for someone who I thought might be nice starting a family with. Only, none of my relationships ever lasted beyond half a year and it was always for the same reason; my Sixth Sense telling me that it just wouldn't work out. Most of those who I told this to when I broke up with them understood this and I even became friends with a few of them.
However, out of the ten girls that this happened with, eight of them understood, one of ten didn't and we argued and even fought – those relationships were usually quite short. And the last one out of ten – those were usually one-night stands. And even then it was usually a mixed bag. Some understood that I was just out for a quick fling and accepted, others didn't."
"Of course my daughter wouldn't accept such a thing, so you –." But while the man obviously wanted to insult me again, he gets stopped by Dilan who summons an actual lance and aims its pointy tip at the man's throat. "No one insults anyone while they are talking, understood. We are respectable adults and will behave in such a manner.""You are threatening me with bodily harm.""You called me, my friends and the Master idiots. I am merely venting a bit of anger."
This makes Mr. Black and his son snort and his son whispers: "Lost the battle even before he tried to start it, really." I smile at the lad in a mix of intrigue, pride and appreciation over this and continue my tale. Yet while I do, I turn my gaze from the room at large to my son, as I instantly noticed that Lea tensed in resigned disgust when his mother was mentioned. I send the young adult man a consoling and comforting look and start this part of my tale:
"On the night I met your mother, she was out with a friend of hers, who was apparently out on a date at the same time. Obviously it was meant to be a double date, only your mother –." But then I notice a hint of anger sparking and growing in Lea's eyes every time I call the woman by this name and hold silent for only a few seconds, my mind whirling and coming up with a suitable compromise. I make sure to lock my eyes with his and continue:
"Only your daughter –." And as I say this, my eyes shoot from my son to the man that was supposed to be his grandfather and back and I continue, feeling very proud with myself when I spot Lea sending me a grateful smile as I do: "Had either missed the memo of this being a double date or had gotten into some rotten luck with trying to get a date of her own that night." I sigh as talking about this reminds me of that night and makes me feel like an idiot, yet I just continue.
"Now, a little something you should know about my parents. My father – was an alcoholic before he became responsible. And after having me and me growing old enough to understand what he was talking about, father trained me. And we found out that, like him, his father, grandmother and a few ancestors of ours, I too have a certain weakness with alcohol. Specifically, with the scent that can linger on one's breath after they consume the liquor."
I can tell that the grandfather of my son wants to have another go at me, but Dilan is also aware of this and sending the man a silent glare of warning. I too turn to him as I want to address him directly at this part of my story. "When I sniff up this scent, that only comes from certain liquors and other kinds of beverages, I black out. And over the years before I met your daughter, sir, I learned to recognized which liquor did this to me, even from a distance. I became a liquor expert – without ever getting drunk. And I am willing to call out people who can testify for this."
The man seems upset that I actually know people who can prove this, yet I don't care much as this part, to me, is a bit irrelevant and just background noise, yet still something I consider to be important for later parts of my tale. And while I really wish that that friend of mine from back then and I had actually realized what had happened, I continue to talk. "Because of this, on the night I spotted your daughter at the restaurant bar where I usually hung out, I was easily able to discern her chosen beverage – and spot the danger behind it."
"What's that supposed to mean?" The man snaps and I answer: "She had chosen a wine that even made the bar tender look at her concerned, lets keep it at that. Unfortunately she had not only ordered a whole bottle, obviously feeling sorry for herself for being the third wheel on the wagon, so to say, her friend was also so crazy over her date, she didn't pay her friend any attention. Not even when your daughter almost fell out of her chair and onto the stone platform the bar was standing on."
This startles everyone and Dilan says: "But you did, kept her from falling and then tried to get her to sober up again, am I right?""Right on the mark, Dilan. Heck, I even took her, her friend and her friend's date to my table and ordered large portions of food as that normally helps a person sober up. Only her friend saw my actions and misinterpreted them entirely. And so, by the time dessert was meant to be ordered, they were gone."
The man on the other side of the office slaps his hand on his face at this and I can just tell by the look on his face that this is nothing new to him, proving that the friend has done this to his daughter before meeting me. I want to shake my head at this, but my memory of what happened after that makes me just want to continue talking. And so I just turn back to the one person in this room that, with only a small bit of intel, has come to mean the world to me and I go on.
"So yeah, like the gentleman I was growing to be, I put my date's arm over my shoulder, let her direct me towards her home, helped her with her keys and that was meant to be that. I had her lean against the wall in the hall as apparently even the large plate of appetizers and extra large plate of pasta – penne, not spaghetti. As if – didn't entirely get her sober. But when I turned around, ready to leave and call it a night, she pulled me on the back of my shirt and I caught a whiff of her breath – which still smelled strongly of that damned alcohol.
I blacked out and woke up the next morning in the bushes in front of her place. A friend of mine, who also lived in that street, even saw me walk her inside, walk out and then get pulled back in. He was even the one who found and woke me the next morning." I fell both the father and Lea with a strong stare at this, not wanting the man to interrupt me and needing Lea to listen carefully as I say my next bit: "Now, onto why and how I never realized I got that woman pregnant.
One, my cloths were in the exact same way wrapped around my body as they were when my friend saw me get pulled back in. My cloths were perfectly fine, bar the bit of fabric through which she pulled me back. Two, there were bruises all over my neck, the part of my shoulders near my neck and my face. Yes, I now realize those were meant to be love bites, but they looked and stung like bruises, so that's what we both thought they were.
Three, my friend had seen at least three other men enter the woman's home, only to end up in the same state and those three all told him that they had been trying to get one last kiss in, only to get beat up and pushed out. I simply assumed the same thing had happened and the fact that my cloths didn't show any sign of having been pulled or even ripped off of me – what else was I supposed to think? As far as I knew, she was drunk and not in control of her own actions."
I keep quiet at this, well aware that there is more to my story and that I still need to explain why I've been roaming the Keyblade Graveyard these past few months. But I really want this bit to be clear and understood, especially because I can tell that Lea would rather just leave the topic concerning his mother at this and not mention her again. And considering that the woman is apparently in one of Master Ansem's holding cells, I can get why.
"Well now, I do believe this clears up why Braig never approached either your daughter or you about his relation to Lea or a potential future together. And you may want to be mad at him, but you really don't have that right.""I beg your pardon!" The man yells, but Harry coldly states: "He's right. Unlike Braig, you knew about Lea. You knew he existed, you knew of your relation to him and yet you refused to be part of his life. You agreed with your daughter not to be."
And while I feel quite impressed with the young and – even while pregnant – slightly skinny teen, the man glares at him and snarls: "I won't take insults from an absent father, let alone someone who –." But only a second later Lea is actually in his face, the man's shirt tightly gripped in Lea's fist at his neckline and the tip of Lea's Keyblade burning the man's neck. And the look of raging fury and silent promise for never-ending pain is one I have never seen on his face.
"You will not insult anyone in this room. Not Master Ansem, not his Apprentices, not my friends, not Sirius or my father. And if you value your life, you will never insult my mate." And while the young teen sounds almost callous, reminding me of Axel when he went after Zexion and the other members of the Organization back at Castle Oblivion, there is no denying the dangerous and promising tone of his voice, proving he will come true to his word if pushed that far.
"Lea, stay with your mate. Leave this vermin to me – and my Berserker Rage. Which he will surely experience, up close, if he utters one more insult towards anyone in this room, regardless of who they are." Isa tells Lea as he lies a hand on his best friend's shoulder. Yet this sight makes me scowl and I think: "Damnit, I just lost a perfect chance to be a good father to my son." And instantly I decide I will do better. I get out of my own seat, just as Lea returns to his and motion for him to follow me with just a nod of my head.
The young man looks confused, but I pick up his chair and put it a little closer to my own, Harry and Sirius catching on as I pick up the chair and doing the same with their own, all the while sporting large grins on their faces. Lea gives us all a grateful smile at this, his anger having been replaced with gratitude and I put a warm hand on his knee as we all sit back down. "You seem to have something on your mind, sir. Why don't you express this thought so we can hear the rest of Braig's tale?"
Master Ansem asks the man, who instantly snarls: "I most certainly have something on my mind. What is with all you people constantly calling my grandson Lea? His name is Leonhard. He was given that name upon his birth. My wife, who by the way was also the nurse that helped my daughter when she gave birth to him, and I were there when she wrote this name down on his birth certificate, I'll have you lot know."
Yet I only need to look at Lea's face for a few seconds to figure this one out and I honingly ask the man: "Gee, could it be because even your own grandson didn't know about this? That, by chance, your daughter never saw fit to inform him of this? That maybe, just, just maybe, she herself has been calling him Lea since the day he can remember?" And when the man wants to argue, I just point a finger at Lea, who is nodding with everything I say.
"She would have never thought me worthy to know such a thing anyway. She probably just wrote that name down because it sounded high-society worthy and she wanted to use that to just appease you two. And don't argue, you didn't grow up with her as a mother, I did." Lea argues with the man, who angrily snaps: "I know my daughter." Yet to this Mr. Black retorts: "And I know high-society. And creating a mask out of lies and falsities and hurtful compliments is basically the norm.
Tell me, good sir, did your daughter ever take Lea here to a soiree or other kind of high-society event? Or did she always say things like Oh, Leonhard's too busy studying. Oh, he's not quite ready yet to have his entrance. Oh no, my son is just much too young to try and socialize at his age, I'd rather just let him enjoy his childhood a little longer." And just the gob-smacked look on the man's face says a thousand words, Sirius at this repeating his earlier words: "Like I said, I know high-society. Different worlds, maybe, but obviously same rules apply."
And Lea settles the whole thing as he crosses his arms and, with a voice that just screams disgust and annoyance, says: "She would have never considered me worthy enough to join high-society. I was the bane of her existence, a waste of space and human life, a failure of a human being, someone who made snails look smart – and that's what she said when she was in a good mood." And while this shocks and astounds a lot of us, my understanding of why the woman is arrested also grows. And Harry, after recovering, instantly responds.
He jumps over to Lea's chair and envelops my son in a warm embrace, pulling the fiery redhead into a loving kiss full of care and a desperate need to lighten his mate's mood up. And Lea does indeed start to smile in the kiss, the rest of us also smiling at the sight. Only the man on the other side of the room doesn't smile as he just gawks at the sight and whispers: "That – that doesn't make sense.""To the mind of someone who believes lies, perhaps not. But we know the truth."
Isa coldly spats at the man, who looks at him disgruntled. I sigh at this as the spat broke Lea and Harry's kiss and decide to just get the rest of my story over with. "Anyway, after that disaster, I kept on trying to get a partner for a few more months before deciding that I would just start my training and resume my search for a partner after fulfilling the path the All-Seeing Eye would show me. Four to five years later, I got the Keyblade bestowed to me.
I have hated that day ever since." I state with a growl of disgust, self-hate, annoyance and anger and the others all look at me. I release another sigh, this one of defeat as I have no doubt that Lea will grow to hate me after hearing this. "As you know, Xehanort used this very Keyblade in everything he did. He got that chance – because the All-Seeing Eye told me I was to give him the Keyblade. He and his plans for the Keyblade War were my path, my goal, my destiny."
"Why?" Isa is the one to ask this question and I look away as I say: "I don't know. I got the Keyblade, gazed into the Eye and saw it all. Ventus and Vanitas being separated, Xehanort's first attempt at Kingdom Hearts and the X-Blade, what would happen to the three of them, how I helped him and everything else that happened to Sora, Riku, Kairi, Roxas, Axel and everyone else. I saw it all, or at least bits and pieces of it, including my role in it all. Both as Braig and as Xigbar."
"Then why did you do it? Why didn't you try to just change it? That's what Harry was able to do. He was foretold to be the one to take down a Dark Lord that reigned terror over our world for over a decade and his pregnancy helped him down a new path, one that kept him out of the fight the entire time." Young Damian tells me and I moan as I let out another sigh, the whole thing sounding like a whine escaped my throat and I say:
"What I wouldn't give for a chance like that. However, I really had no choice whatsoever. The All-Seeing Eye didn't just show me the future, all that happened the past few years, it also showed me what would happen if I, say, didn't give the Keyblade to Xehanort as that was I first decided on after seeing those events play out. To give just a small example: Xion would never get the chance – to even be created by Vexen."
And this instantly says everything to those who were once in the original Organization, yet the rest turn to them at the same time. I nod and explain: "Yeah. I don't really know how, but – everything Ventus, Aqua and Terra would go through would still happen. Terra would still end up Norted, Ventus would still lose his heart – and Aqua would end up the way Riku and Mickey met her a few month ago in the Dark Meridan. And remember, that wasn't their actual first meeting."
"They met before – when Riku and Sora met at the Doors to Darkness, after Sora, Donald and Goofy managed to defeat Ansem, Xehanort's Heartless." Isa mutters and I nod and say: "Yeah, and trust me when I say this. The vision I had of what would happen if I didn't bequeath the Keyblade to the old man – it was the complete opposite of what happened. That group – they'd be gone. And Radiant Garden would still be Hollow Bastion. And well, you get the picture."
We really do, Braig.
So yeah, instead of Braig being Luxiu, he descends from Luxiu and got the Keyblade bestowed upon him. He saw everything that happened, wanted to change and prevent it, saw what would happen if he did, so played the role he needed to get everyone where they needed to be at the right time and all that. Some of you might call bull on this, but let me ask you this; is this really THAT different from Canon?
I don't think so,
Venquine1990
