Lea

Lea is the human form of Axel. He first appeared as a teenager in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep alongside his best friend, Isa, and he became a Nobody some time later.

In Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Lea is reborn in Radiant Garden, his home world, and he teams up with Master Yen Sid in order to become a Keyblade wielder. Lea returns to Radiant Garden to protect it from the dark forces that are sure to invade it as a result of Master Xehanort's return at the start of Kingdom Hearts III, and he has sworn to do everything in his power to save whom he believes to be his former best friend Isa from the elderly Keyblade Master's clutches before it is too late.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
''A likable, upbeat boy who tends to jump into things without consulting anybody else-sometimes with disastrous results. He seems to be hung up on other people remembering him, and taught Ventus the importance of making friends.''

He and his own best friend, Isa, have bigger plans.

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
The human form of Axel, one of Organization XIII's Nobodies.

He has awoken in Radiant Garden.

Kingdom Hearts III
The human form of Axel, and a Keyblade wielder who protects the Radiant Garden from the dark forces that attempt to penetrate its walls using his newfound powers.

''Lea remembers a promise his Nobody made long ago to always bring his friends back to where they truly belong. For this reason, he searches tirelessly for his childhood friend Isa and has sworn to do all in his power to save him from Master Xehanort's clutches before it is too late.''

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
In Radiant Garden, Lea and his friend Isa conspire to break into Ansem the Wise's castle. After Terra and Aqua's respective journeys in the world and while on his way to bring his scheme to fruition with Isa, Lea notices Ventus in the town square and picks up the Wooden Keyblade the boy drops. Lea gives the toy weapon back to Ventus, and Isa reminds him that they need to hurry if they are to carry out their plan successfully. Lea tells Isa to lighten up, and he proceeds to call Ventus a kid for playing with a wooden toy. Lea takes out his frisbees, calling them real weapons, and he introduces himself and Isa. He asks Ventus for his name, and after introductions are finished, Lea asks the young Keyblade wielder to battle him. This confuses Ventus intially, but he agrees with a smile on his face. Isa chuckles, amused. Ventus beats Lea, leaving him winded. The boy tries to dismiss this fact by calling the fight a draw, only to be teased by Isa. The three boys laugh, and Isa again reminds Lea that they have to go. Lea tells Ventus that they will meet again someday, and he tells him they are friends. Isa asks Lea why he keeps "picking up stray puppies," and Lea tells him that he wants to live forever in the memories of everyone he meets. The two boys then proceed to look up at Ansem the Wise's castle, and they head off together.

Some time later, it is revealed that Lea and Isa fail to break into Ansem the Wise's castle, for they are thrown out by two of the scholar's apprentices, Dilan and Aeleus. Later, the two boys purchase Sea-salt Ice Cream from Scrooge McDuck, and the pair looks to the sky above as they eat.

Between Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
At some point, Lea is taken to Ansem the Wise's castle alongside Isa, and both are struck down by Xehanort, one of the missing scholar's apprentices. Xehanort uses his Keyblade to unlock Lea and Isa's hearts, and they are consumed by the darkness, producing Heartless. Because Lea and Isa are of strong heart and will, however, they are able to live on as Nobodies, who are named Axel and Saïx and come to be recruited by Organization XIII. While Axel comes to find that Saïx changed after becoming a Nobody, he works with his former best friend on a plot to overthrow their Superior, Xemnas, and take over the Organization. However, Axel soon comes to develop a bond of friendship with the Organization's thirteenth member, a Nobody named Roxas, as well as with the Organization's mysterious fourteenth member, Xion. This all but destroys his alliance with Saïx.

After Roxas comes to know of a boy he is connected to named Sora, whom Axel had met during his time at Castle Oblivion, the Keyblade-wielding Nobody betrays and deserts Organization XIII. It becomes Axel's job to retrieve Roxas and destroy him if necessary. The two battle in Ansem the Wise's simulated Twilight Town, and Roxas ends up sacrificing himself to awaken Sora. Desperate to be reunited with the one being who made him feel like he had a heart, Axel betrays Organization XIII as Roxas had. This puts him at odds with Saïx, and in the end, Axel gives his life to save Sora and grant him passage to The World That Never Was so that the young Keyblade wielder might destroy the Organization once and for all.

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
Some time after Axel sacrifices himself to give Sora safe passage to The World That Never Was, Lea has a dream of Roxas reminding Axel about the promise he made to him and Xion, to always be there to bring them back, and he awakens in Radiant Garden with his memories of his time as Axel intact. Discovering that four of the founding members of Organization XIII, Aeleus, Even, Dilan and Ienzo, have been reborn as well, Lea notices that Braig and Isa are missing and decides to look for them. After talking with Aeleus in Ansem the Wise's study, he finds out there is no one else in the castle. Deciding to check the castle grounds, Lea is told by Aeleus not to bother. Ienzo then explains to Lea that if Braig and Isa were reborn, they would have appeared in the same place as the others. This makes Lea wonder if Braig and Isa could have been "blasted off to some other world," which Ienzo explains is possible if the world they come from no longer exists when they are reborn; they'd reappear in Traverse Town or a similar place if this was the case. Lea then finds the remnants of Ansem's notes about the Door to Darkness, and he leaves to bring back Braig and Isa, complaining that he always gets stuck with the icky jobs. Lea uses a Corridor of Darkness to travel to Disney Castle. From inside the dark corridor, he disrupts the hostage situation taking place in the Library, blocking the evil fairy Maleficent's attack against King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy and distracting her lackey Pete long enough for the captive Queen Minnie to escape his clutches. Once Maleficent and Pete flee, Lea reveals and introduces himself to Mickey and his friends.

Lea travels to the Mysterious Tower with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, and he requests that Yen Sid make him a Keyblade wielder, shocking everyone present. After Lea is brought up to speed regarding Sora and Riku's Mark of Mastery exam and Xehanort's inevitable return, Yen Sid warns him that the road he has chosen will not be easy, but Lea decides to "jump right in" anyway. It is then that the sorcerer Merlin and the three good fairies Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather use their magic to compress the time it would normally take for Lea to complete his training. Learning of the danger Sora, Riku, and King Mickey are in at The World That Never Was, Lea travels to the world just in time to save Sora from becoming Master Xehanort's final vessel in the new Organization XIII. His appearance shocks Xemnas and Xigbar, who calls him "Axel" in his disbelief. Lea explains that he will always be there to bring his friends back to where they truly belong, and he teases Master Xehanort by telling him he forgot to "write the sequel" to the "script" he had plotted so well. Lea is then attacked by one of the new Organization's hooded members, who summons a Claymore and is revealed to be Saïx, much to Lea's surprise. Regrouping with Mickey and Riku, Lea gives up on correcting people when they call him "Axel," and he states that they should escape with Sora while they have the chance. After Donald and Goofy arrive and defeat Ansem, Seeker of Darkness's Guardian, the new Organization begins to disappear, its members returning to their proper places in time. Lea shares a final glare with Saïx before the Nobody vanishes.

Back in the Mysterious Tower, Riku decides to go back into Sora's dream to awaken him. Lea tells Riku if the darkness gets him again, then he will be there to get him out, joking that "Dark Rescue" is his middle name. After Riku succeeds in awakening Sora, Lea joins Sora and the others in a tea party while Riku recovers. Once Riku wakes up and Yen Sid declares him a Keyblade Master, Lea tells Riku that he will catch up to him in no time. Despite Sora and Riku's disbelief, he explains that he came to the Mysterious Tower to learn how to wield a Keyblade, and he even planned to be using one when he showed up to save Sora and Riku, but he has not been able to summon it yet. Wondering if the problem is in the way he moves his wrist, Lea tries one more time and successfully spawns his Keyblade, surprising the other protagonists. After Sora departs on his next journey for some more training, Lea returns to the Radiant Garden.

Appearance
During his youth in Radiant Garden, Lea looked about the same age as Ventus. His hair resembled his Nobody's, albeit shorter and with the spikes styled upward. Lea had a slight widow's peak, a trait he also shared with Axel, although Lea's was more noticeable. Lea's eyes were also more of a blue-green in coloration than Axel's striking green. He wore a sleeveless orange jacket with a white, sleeveless shirt underneath, and tan, baggy pants with red and white sneakers and black socks. The pockets of his jacket were a much darker shade of orange than the rest of it. He also wore a yellow and brown keffiyeh around his neck. The pattern of this keffiyeh changed abruptly near Lea's neck from stripes to a very organized checkerboard pattern. Similar to Braig's scarf, the tip of Lea's keffiyeh was frayed slightly. Lea lastly bore a curious resemblance to Hayner.

Following his rebirth, Lea wears the black coat he wore during his time as a Nobody and appears identical to Axel, only lacking the tear-shaped markings below his eyes.

Personality
Lea is both childish and competitive, willing to disrupt Isa's schedule for his impromptu fight with Ventus. This is also evident during the ending credits of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, when he is seen trying to escape from Dilan's grasp by flailing his limbs around, unlike Isa, who realizes they cannot escape and barely moves. He is also somewhat smug and sarcastic, just like his Nobody, Axel. Lea wishes for everyone he ever meets to remember him so he can live on forever through their memories. Like his Nobody, he uses the phrase "Got it memorized?" on multiple occasions.

As an adult, retaining his memories as Axel, Lea becomes as cocky as his Nobody counterpart, to the point where he actually challenges Master Xehanort while defending Sora, even though he would be using his Chakrams against Master Xehanort's Keyblade. Even so, Lea retains his competitive streak, demonstrated when he states that he intends to compete with Riku in the art of Keyblade-wielding.

Abilities
As a teenager, Lea is not physically shown fighting, although he has an offscreen spar with Ventus and loses. His weapons during this time consist of two red frisbees with black edges, each adorned with a Bomb design, which later influence his choice of weapons in the Organization: Chakrams.

Upon reaching adulthood following his Nobody and Heartless's destruction, Lea wields the fire-controlling Chakrams once used by Axel, and after Sora and Riku's Mark of Mastery exam comes to an end, he reveals his ability to wield a Keyblade that bears features from his Charkrams, as well as the Bond of Flame and Frolic Flame Keyblades, as the result of a magically-compressed training session from Yen Sid, Merlin, and the three good fairies. Kingdom Hearts III reveals this Keyblade to be known as "Firespark."

In his short time protecting Radiant Garden, Lea becomes quite skilled with the Keyblade. He adapts a fighting style similar to that of his Nobody Axel; he is a lithe and swift ally of Sora's in Kingdom Hearts III who teleports around the battlefield to strike from all angles, combining Keyblade strikes with brutal fire attacks.

Trivia

 * In an issue of Famitsu PSP+PS3, Lea's name is misspelled "Lia". It was also once misspelled on the Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep official website, although it was later corrected.
 * Although it was a joke, Lea's statement that he should have been friends with Ventus rather than with Isa foreshadows future events. In the future, his Nobody would choose to become friends with Roxas rather than stay friends with Saïx, Isa's Nobody.
 * A running gag during Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance is whenever Lea meets someone from his past, he or she calls him "Axel" and he has to correct him or her. At the end of the game, when Riku calls him "Axel" again, Lea finally relents.