Editing Lea

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{{cleanup|KH3 section is script regurgitation}}

===Between ''Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep'' and ''Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days''===

One day, Lea and Isa successfully snuck into the castle in order to investigate the mysterious cries coming from within. They found their way into the Heartless Manufactory and down into the [[Chamber of Repose]], where they encountered a young girl known only as "[[Subject X]]".{{storylink|Secret Report 5}} They befriended the girl and made plans to help her escape, but found that she had been moved elsewhere. In order to locate her, they decided to become apprentices to Ansem the Wise.{{storylink|Secret Report 6}}

At some point during [[Sora]]'s journey, he destroys Lea's [[Heartless]].<!--cite to Nomura-->

Lea uses a [[Corridor of Darkness]] to travel to [[Disney Castle]], hoping King Mickey would help him in his search. From inside the Corridor, he disrupts the hostage situation taking place in the library, blocking [[Maleficent]]'s attack against [[Mickey Mouse|Mickey]], [[Donald Duck|Donald]], and [[Goofy]] and distracting [[Pete]] long enough for [[Minnie Mouse|Queen Minnie]] to escape his clutches. Once Maleficent and Pete are gone, Lea reveals and introduces himself to Mickey and his friends. Revealing his motives, Lea asks for their help in his search. Lea travels to the [[Mysterious Tower]] with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, being brought up to speed regarding Sora and [[Riku]]'s [[Mark of Mastery exam]] and [[Xehanort]]'s inevitable return. Seeing they need more help, Lea requests that [[Yen Sid]] make him a Keyblade wielder, shocking everyone present. Yen Sid warns him that the road he has chosen will not be easy, but Lea decides to "jump right in" anyway. He is then helped with his training by [[Merlin]], along with [[Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather]], by using their [[magic]] to compress the time his training would take.

Learning of the danger everyone else is in, Lea arrives in [[The World That Never Was]], just in time to save [[Sora]] from becoming [[Master Xehanort]]'s final vessel in the [[Real Organization XIII|new Organization XIII]]. His appearance shocks [[Xemnas]] and [[Xigbar]], the latter of whom calls him "Axel". Lea explains that when he was Axel, he promised Roxas he would always be there to bring back his friends and intends to make good on it, then jokes to Master Xehanort that he had plotted his "script" so well, but forgot to "write the sequel". Lea is attacked by a hooded member wielding the [[Lunatic]]. After deflecting the attack, the member's hood blows back to reveal Saïx, leaving Lea shocked to see his former friend as one of Master Xehanort's vessels. Regrouping with Mickey and [[Riku]], Lea gives up on correcting people about his name and says they should escape while they have the chance. After Donald and Goofy arrive and defeat the [[Dark Figure]], the new Organization begins disappearing, its members returning to their proper place in time. As they leave, Lea shares a final look with Saïx.

===''Kingdom Hearts III''===

While training in the [[Secret Forest]], Lea catches Kairi writing a letter to Sora. He presents Kairi with some sea-salt ice cream to celebrate summoning their Keyblades. Kairi gets excited to duel in the ring, telling Lea to promise not to hold back; however, it stirs memories of Xion, causing Lea to drop his ice cream in shock before shedding a tear.  When asked to stop apologizing to her, Lea agrees on the condition she calls him "Axel".

Sometime later, the pair receive new outfits from Yen Sid, but unlike Kairi, Lea decides to stick to his [[black coat]]. The pair concur that [[Naminé]] and Roxas deserve their own lives, and Lea confides in her about his old friend, [[Ventus]], and how he decided not to inform Roxas of the similarity out of fear that he would also vanish.

The next day, Lea and the other guardians travel to the [[Keyblade Graveyard]] and fend off an immense swarm of Heartless, Nobodies and [[Unversed]]. However, Lea gets knocked out protecting Kairi from [[Terra-Xehanort]] before a [[Demon Tide]] swallows him and the rest of the Guardians. Sora manages to retrieve Lea's heart from a projection of [[San Fransokyo]] within [[The Final World]] by using the [[power of waking]], which causes a time loop to occur.{{?}}<!--cite to nomura--> This time, Terra-Xehanort and the Demon Tide are fended off with help from the [[Lingering Will]] and the spirits of the [[Dandelion]]s, followed by Yen Sid walling off the Heartless summoned by [[Dark Riku]], allowing the guardians to chase after the Organization.

At the Skein of Severance, Lea and Kairi pair up to fight Saïx and Xion but are overpowered by Saïx shortly after Sora catches up to them. Xemnas appears and forces his Keyblade to vanish, and orders Xion to kill Lea. However, Roxas's heart stirs and calls out to Xion, causing both their hearts return to their designated Replicas and displacing the heart of the past Xion from the [[replica]], causing it to return to its proper place in time. At the same time, the memories of Xion also return as her heart was released, causing Lea to remember her.

During his youth in Radiant Garden, Lea looks about the same age as Ventus. His hair resembles his Nobody's, but shorter and with the spikes styled upward. Lea has a slight {{w|widow's peak}}, a trait he also shares with Axel, though Lea's is more noticeable. Lea's eyes are also more of a blue-green color than Axel's striking green. He wears 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 are a much darker shade of orange than the rest of it. He also wears a yellow and brown {{w|keffiyeh}} around his neck. The pattern of this keffiyeh changes abruptly near Lea's neck, from stripes to a very organized checkerboard pattern. Similar to [[Braig]]'s scarf, the tip of Lea's keffiyeh is frayed slightly. He bears a curious resemblance to [[Hayner]].

After being revived following Axel's demise, Lea wears the [[black coat]] he wore during his time as Axel and appears identical to his former Nobody, only lacking the tear-shaped markings below his eyes, and having a slightly darker skin tone.

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As a teenager, Lea is mischievous and childish. He conspires with Isa to sneak into Ansem the Wise's castle and flailing childishly upon being caught and thrown out by Dilan. Lea is smug and sarcastic, as shown he teases Ventus upon meeting him and exhibiting a competitive streak by challenging the latter to a duel. Lea seeks to live forever through the memories of those he meets, and he promises to always be there for his friends. Due to this, Lea often says, "Got it memorized?" as a catchphrase, emphasizing his desire to be remembered by those he meets.

 

 

As an adult, Lea acts as cocky as his Nobody counterpart. He retains his competitive streak, demonstrated when he challenges Master Xehanort while defending Sora and states that he intends to compete with Riku in the art of the Keyblade. After his restoration, Lea is often referred to as Axel by Sora and his allies, much to his exasperation, prompting him to correct them. Eventually, Lea relents to being referred to as Axel after Riku addresses him by the wrong name. Ultimately, he decides to go by Axel after seeing Kairi as Xion for a moment, believing that being called Axel was important in remembering what he'd forgotten.

File:Bond of the Blaze KHIII.png|[[Bond of the Blaze]].

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==Notes and references==