Axel (Lea)/Main

**Axel** is a major character of the ***Kingdom Hearts*** video game series and its following manga/novel series. He is the Nobody of **Lea** and serves as an anti-hero throughout most of the manga.

As Lea, he was originally born in Radiant Garden and spent time with his former best friend Isa. However, when Xehanort began performing dangerous experiments related to darkness, Lea was turned into the Nobody "**Axel**" alongside the 6 other apprentices of Ansem the Wise.

During his years as a Nobody, Axel would serve as **No.VIII** of Organization XIII. Confident and somewhat cocky, the assassin is often tasked to eliminate anyone who attempts to interfere with the group's plans. He later forges a special bond with Roxas and Xion, resulting in him regaining his emotions, and later chooses to help Sora defeat the Organization.

Axel's main weapons of choice are his **Eternal Flames**, red and gray colored chakrams used for close and long-ranged combat. It is also wielded for boosting his power over fire. Axel eventually acquired his own Keyblade after being re-completed into his original self during the events of **Dream Drop Distance** and became a member of the **Seven Guardians of Light**.

## Appearance

Axel (Lea) is a tall young man with red spiky hair that includes a widow's top, emerald green eyes, and a smug expression on his face. Axel possesses a lanky build to his body compared to the other Organization members. His original self Lea formerly wore a sleeveless orange jacket with a white, sleeveless shirt underneath, and tan, baggy pants with red and white sneakers and black socks. He also appears to have two purple-colored reverse teardrops on his face, what this means is clearly unknown.

Axel wears the iconic black coat Organization XIII dons on every occasion. Axel's coat appears to have a more casual design in terms of appearance. He wears the occasional black gloves and boots to keep up with his image of the Organization. Unlike other members, Axel isn't seen with his hoodie that often, giving him more of an iconic look compared to those who do.

Upon being re-completed as his original self, Lea's appearance looks the same as his Nobody counterpart. He also dons Axel's black coat to further establish his time as Organization XIII's assassin. It's also notable that he lacks the reverse teardrop marks his Nobody once possessed. Lea seems to have a calmer, laid-back appearance due to the fact he no longer has to worry about serving the Organization and ready to help out his allies against Xehanort's Seeker of Darkness.

## Personality

Axel's personality is mainly confident, cocky, and hot-blooded during most of his appearances. As the *Flurry of Dancing Flames*, Axel is shown to be rather sarcastic at times when the Organization orders him to do the "icky jobs" or dealing with Sora's obliviousness. He takes great joy in taunting others and even exaggerates some of his sarcasm just to mess around for laughs. Axel was originally a ruthless pyromaniac when carrying out orders to exterminate the Castle Oblivion traitors. He also shows off a stoic persona around his coworkers, meaning he takes the title of the Organization's resident assassin seriously. These characteristics carry on to the point of expressing no qualms over killing his comrades, showing signs of a cold-hearted persona to those such as Larxene and Vexen.

Despite this, Axel slowly grows out of his ruthless personality once he starts spending more time with Roxas and Xion. He notably adopts a cool, level-headed persona towards the two young Keyblade wielders, acting as a source of wisdom, and often looks after them like a big brother. Axel even expresses genuine joy when Roxas admits he's one of their best friends. He also shows signs of being flustered and laid-back when relaxing on the clock tower or when Xion tells him he's sweet.

However, Axel becomes more concerned for them once he learns of Xemnas' plans to control the two Nobodies. From that point, Axel begins to regress back to his original persona, distancing himself from Roxas and Xion for the sake of their safety. He ultimately chooses to drop his facade and desperately tries everything he can to save his friends, showing more of his dedication to protect those that he cherishes. This is shown during his climactic fight with Roxas and Xion, revealing how devastated he feels upon learning that the two are resigning to their tragic fates.

Upon his revival as his complete self, Lea appears to have a laid-back and chill persona. Lea is also more friendlier towards his friends, most likely from remembering his bonds with Roxas, Xion, and Sora as a Nobody. Lea takes great pride in his abilities and is rather overconfident at times, such as when he believed he could take on the revived Organization XIII when he saved Sora from their clutches. Although he's mainly bright as the sun, Lea seems to be quite saddened over the loss of his friends but resolves to get them back with fierce determination, showing no fear in taking action against stronger forces.

## History

Lea was born in Radiant Garden, spending most of his time hanging out with his childhood friend Isa. The two would often act as troublemakers, causing mischief among the citizens and attempting to break into Hollow Bastion for pulling off pranks. At some point, Lea and Isa encountered Ventus  during one of their strolls around the block. After challenging Ventus to a duel and losing, Lea decides to befriend Ventus and promises him they'd always be friends no matter what.

At some point after Birth by Sleep, Lea and Isa succeded in entering the castle, only to be thrown out by Aeleus and Dilan. Regardless, the two still remained focus on learning more about the secrets of Hollow Bastion for unknown reasons. A few years later, Lea would eventually become one of Ansem the Wise's apprentices but fell victim to Xehanort's dangerous experiments involving darkness and hearts.

Like Ansem's other apprentices, Lea was split into both a Heartless and Nobody. Lea's empty body later became the Nobody "Axel". He was then recruited into Organization XIII by Xemnas at some point. For the following years, Axel spends time carrying out his duty as the Organization's assassin. However, Axel and Saïx (Isa's Nobody) decide to plan a rebellion against Xemnas and find out the truth behind their missing friend, Subject X.