Axel

Axel, the Flurry of Dancing Flames (おどる火の風), is Rank VIII within Organization XIII. He wields fire and enchants his weapons, twin chakrams, with his pyrokinesis to unleash powerful rapid attacks. He commands the Assassin Nobodies.

Considered a Trump card by the rest of the Organization, he acted as Xemnas's double agent in Castle Oblivion, keeping track of Marluxia's plans for the other members, then betrayed the Organization for his friendship with Roxas, acting of his own accord to try and see him again once Roxas joins with Sora. Axel appears in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days as a playable character.

Axel is the Nobody of Lea, which was revealed in the Day 356 Secret Report and also mentioned by Saïx. It is highly theorized that this man had a connection to Saïx's original persona.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
No. VIII AXEL

''An assassin who puts his own agenda first, and everything else on the back burner. Wields fire.

Weapon: Chakrams

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
A mysterious figure who stands in Sora's path.
 * Sora's Story

''Hard to read, half the time Axel seems to just be messing around... but for all we know, he's done more thinking than everyone else put together.''


 * Reverse/Rebirth

No. 8 in the Organization.

He is a Nobody whose intentions and secrets are hidden from all.

''Axel has no qualms about exploiting others to suit his needs. He used Sora and Naminé to silence Marluxia and halt his plot against the Organization.''

Axel claims he and Sora have something in common, but that connection is unclear.

Kingdom Hearts II
''Organization XIII's Number VIII. He commands fire and carries a uniquely-shaped weapon.''

He has proven to be an odd duck of sorts within the Organization, lashing out against treachery, yet stirring troubles with his own betrayals all the while.

He claims he and Sora share some sort of bond, but Sora can't imagine what that might be.

Origin
Before becoming a Nobody, the character we know as Axel was a man named Lea (pronounced "Lee"). Lea was friends with Saïx's original persona, the two planning to take over Organization XIII together. Once Lea joined, his name changed to Axel, Saïx's original persona's name changed to the latter. Identities weren't the only things that changed, however, as Saïx changed to an emotionless, calm Nobody in terms of personality, Axel's staying the same. This caused the bond Axel and Saïx shared as humans to break. Over time, Axel possibly forgot about their human selves' plans or chose to keep them secret and not think about them, as Saïx became Xemnas' second-in-command. He was later reminded by his old friend, however, after the creation of Xion, Saïx stating the lines that would reveal to the public for the first time that they had, in fact, been allied at one point, along with Axel's true name. Lea and Saïx's original persona's friendship later turned into a hostility, as seen in Kingdom Hearts II.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days / Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
After inducting Roxas into the Organization, Xemnas places him under Axel's tutelage. The Nobodies begin to bond, eating sea-salt ice cream together at the Twilight Town Train Station after missions. As their friendship grows strong, Axel began to demonstrate emotions due to his time with Roxas. Axel is also present when Xion joins the Organization, but is sent to Castle Oblivion to deal with the traitorous Marluxia and Larxene.

Castle Oblivion
In Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories while Sora and Riku wandered around in Castle Oblivion, Axel worked for the two parties of the already divided Organization in the castle. One side, Larxene and Marluxia, sought to use Sora's powers to usurp Xemnas and the rest of the Organization while using Naminé to alter Sora's memories. Those who stayed in the castle basement were Vexen, Lexaeus, and Zexion—three of the original members of Organization XIII. The three realized Marluxia's ambitions and tried to counteract by using Riku to destroy Sora. At first, Axel joined the rebel group, though his intentions at that decision point remained unclear.

Upon throwing the first battle with Sora, Axel admitted to testing the Keyblade master's strength. Being the first Organization member to reveal his face, Axel gave up a card created from Sora's memories for him to progress further in the castle. After leaving Sora bewildered, Axel holds a serious conversation with Larxene in which he professes an interest in the fact that Sora retains his self-consciousness even after becoming a Heartless.

After Vexen nearly reveals the existence of Roxas to Sora, Axel was ordered by Marluxia to dispose of him. Axel did so effortlessly, and was at last accepted by Marluxia and Larxene into their conspiracy. Using this to his advantage, Axel allowed Naminé to escape and contact Sora. He later confronted Marluxia, allowing him to figure out that he acted as a double agent during their entire time in the castle. Citing his previous order to rid the Organization of traitors, Axel readied to attack Marluxia, even after Marluxia used Naminé as a shield, but was interrupted by Sora, whom he eventually fought for the last time. At the end of the battle, Axel pretended to be defeated and confused Sora with the words "It was worth saving you after all," and vanished.

After his battle with Sora, Axel met with Zexion in the castle basement. Zexion brought up the subject of Riku and requested data on Destiny Islands in the form of a card. Despite their previous collaboration, Axel later offered Riku Replica the honor of killing Zexion, promising the duplicate that he would gain new powers and be able to defeat the real Riku. The exact reason for Axel's betrayal is not stated, and seems self-contradictory after he had helped stop Marluxia's betrayal, though it was true that both sides of the Organization members in Castle Oblivion had their own ideas for betrayal. Axel commented that it would be more interesting to see Sora and Riku's future than to save Zexion; however, this may have had something to do with Axel's friendship with Roxas, which could have been the reason why he effortlessly destroyed Vexen—to prevent either Sora or Roxas from meeting. In Re: Chain of Memories during the scene known as "Tactician's End," Axel stated the reason for his betrayal of Zexion, saying: "You just found out way too much." This seems to be quite ambiguous, as in Re:Chain of Memories Axel and Zexion were shown to be friendly with each other (e.g. in one scene it was shown that Zexion and Axel were making bets on which Organization members in the Castle would be the next to die, something that Axel wins when he accurately predicts that Marluxia will be the next to fall).

Return to the World That Never Was
When Axel returns to the World That Never Was, he feels that Roxas has replaced him with Xion. Axel becomes jealous, not sure exactly what to make of Xion. At Roxas's suggestion, the three begin to spend time together as a trio.

Some time later, Axel finds himself before Saïx, the second-in-command, and reveals that he regrets not being able to talk with Saïx as he could with Roxas and Xion. Saïx reminds Axel of the friendship they shared before becoming Nobodies, and the plans they had to take over the Organization.

After discovering who and what she was, Xion began wanting to leave the Organization. She ends up battling with Axel in front of the Old Mansion of Twilight Town, with Axel claiming he would do "whatever it took to bring her back". Though Xion escapes, Axel chases her throughout the town and eventually catches up to her in front of Roxas, continuing the brawl despite his pleas. Axel manages to knock Xion unconscious and bring her back to the Castle That Never Was, but Xion later escapes again and attacks Roxas in a crazed state. She ends up being absorbed by Roxas, convincing him that he needs to leave the Organization and learn about his true self. Though Axel catches up to him and pleads for him to stay, Roxas leaves anyway. After returning to his quarters, Axel discovers a popsicle stick which reads "WINNER", a gift left by Roxas.

Kingdom Hearts II
Plagued with questions as to why he has a Keyblade and subconsciously seeking out Sora, Roxas leaves the Organization. Axel, who found companionship in Roxas, is distraught by this decision.

Shortly afterward, Roxas is captured by Riku and put in DiZ's Digital Twilight Town where his memory is wiped and replaced with an artificial one, leading him to believe he is a normal teenager. Axel is sent to the simulated town to bring Roxas back to the Organization; however, his first effort failed due to DiZ's appearance and the restarting of the Twilight Town program. Roxas was dumbfounded by Axel's appearance, lacking any memories of him and awareness of what was going on. Pressed by the threats by Xaldin and Xemnas, Axel again tries to recover Roxas without killing him, keeping in mind the Organization's order to either eliminate Roxas or be destroyed himself. Roxas learns that the two had been best friends from Naminé and mentions this to Axel, but his bluff is called when he is unable to remember "their boss' name." DiZ then intervenes and Roxas escapes for the Twilight Town mansion. The two meet again at this mansion in the computer room basement. Despite Roxas's recovery of his memories, Axel is hurt from his previous encounter with Roxas and fights him and his dual Keyblades. Axel loses the fight and disappears, choosing not to carry out his mission.

While Sora reawakens with Roxas inside him, Axel is entrusted by Riku to protect Naminé. Naminé's words, about those who are dear to them despite being Nobodies, strangely moved Axel.

A Second Chance With Sora
During Sora's exploits to the different worlds, Axel appeared before Kairi on a beach across Destiny Islands, intending to kidnap her to draw Sora out. Axel's plan was simple; if Sora were to become a Heartless again, then Roxas would be reborn. However, Kairi escaped through a Corridor of Darkness created by Riku and landed in Twilight Town where she stayed for some time in wait of Sora. Axel, however, followed her to the town and stole her away again, but not long afterward she was taken captive by Saïx who was under orders to give Axel something to actually worry about. After the invasion of the Radiant Garden by the Heartless, Sora confronted Xemnas, the leader of the Organization. Xemnas decided to take his leave and Axel later greeted Sora. Axel hinted that the Keyblade caused the hearts that composed the Heartless to flee, but refused to say what Organization XIII would do with those hearts. Sora realized that Axel is Kairi's captor, and Axel confirmed this. Though initially seeming unrepentant for his actions, he soon apologized for kidnapping Kairi, and made a hasty exit when Saïx appeared.

Death
On the way to the World That Never Was, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey are trapped in Betwixt and Between by Nobodies, but Axel arrives to help. Sora and Axel battled the Nobodies, but seeing that the Dusk's numbers were too great, Axel decided to put every bit of his energy into one massive attack to destroy the Nobodies and save Sora, who stayed with him until the moment he faded. He sincerely apologized to Sora for getting Kairi involved. Confused, Sora asked him what he was trying to do and Axel confessed that he wanted to see Roxas, the only one who made him feel like he had a heart. Oddly enough for Axel, Sora made him feel the same way (possibly since Sora and Roxas are one in the same) and used these final words to urge Sora on to rescue Kairi. Axel opened the passageway to the World That Never Was with the last bit of strength he had in him before disappearing into darkness completely. Afterward, Xigbar and Luxord were curious about Axel doing something as foolish as turning against the Organization for the sake of his friendship with Roxas, but Xemnas revealed that Axel's disappearance served to stir Roxas from his rest, claiming Axel's disobedience not entirely meaningless and pitiful. Xemnas also stated that due to contact with Sora's heart, Axel's own ability to feel emotions could have been affected. Naminé, however, backs up this notion in the written novel of the game in which she mentions that Axel never truly died, but rather faded into darkness where he would wander until he would find his heart. Axel made one final appearance in Roxas's flashback where he gives a final farewell to his best friend. In the English language versions, Axel's death scene was edited to remove the flames that were consuming his body.

It is also possible—like the rest of the Organization with the exception of Xemnas and Roxas—that there is a Heartless version of Axel. Whether this will be touched upon in a later game is yet to be seen.

Personality
Axel's personality is very different compared to most other members of the Organization. His attitude also changes during the series. When he is first introduced at the beginning of Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, Axel has a mysterious, stoic, and calm demeanor on par with that of Marluxia. He seems to be a very good liar, as he earned Vexen's, Marluxia's, and even the trust of Larxene in only a short amount of time. He also seems to be very committed to the Organization, shown in a cutscene where he battles Marluxia. He seems quite distant at times during his time in Castle Oblivion, ignoring Vexen's insults and almost completely unfazed by Larxene's flirtatious behavior towards him. While he is seen as collected, intelligent, and even somewhat overconfident, cutscenes from Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories make him sound as if he is acting at times, possibly hinting at his dislike for the other members. Although in Re:Chain of Memories, Axel is shown to hold Larxene and Zexion in good company to an extent. Cutscenes show Axel making friendly conversation with Larxene while Marluxia is not around, and making friendly bets with Zexion as to which member will be defeated next. But eventually Axel betrays Larxene by letting Naminé escape and seemed disappointed yet satisfied upon her elimination. Axel also has Riku Replica annihilate Zexion to ensure that his actions in Castle Oblivion go unnoticed by the rest of the Organization.

Axel's personality changes drastically in between the two games, possibly due to his friendship with Roxas. In Kingdom Hearts II, he has a very laid-back, "go with the flow" outlook on many things, including missions and battles. But he also is shown to have a very kind, heartful side, ironic because he is a Nobody and has no heart. His friendship with Roxas and Xion and his moving final words are examples of this. He also stated that Roxas made him feel "like he had a heart".

In both games Axel has been shown to have a very typical "Nobody" side to his personality as well, being cold, unforgiving, and merciless. In Chain of Memories, he interrupts Vexen's cries for mercy with a cocky "Goodbye" before incinerating him without any hesitation. He also seemed to be amused by the deaths of his comrades as shown in the scene where he is making bets with Zexion. This cruel attitude also occurs when Marluxia uses Naminé as a human shield against him—Axel confidently declared he would kill Naminé to get to Marluxia. Also in Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix he appeared indifferent to angering Xaldin.

In both Re:Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts II, Axel displays emotion, which is unusual given that Nobodies cannot feel anything. He himself notes this in Re:Chain of Memories when he begins laughing, but catches himself and stops. He even mocks his ability to feel towards his death. Whether he, Roxas, Naminé, and Xion all seem have something unusual in common regarding the heart, is unknown. But it has been hinted by Xemnas, and Axel himself, that by being close in contact with Sora's heart, Axel began to feel emotions of his own.

Out of the whole Organization, Axel is probably the most difficult to read. One never knows what he is thinking (as Lexaeus implied) or whose side he is really on. Most of the time he seems to be just messing around, but he may have done more thinking than everyone else combined, as stated in Jiminy's Journal.

Fighting Style and Abilities
As the Flurry of Dancing Flames, Axel uses two uniquely shaped weapons called chakrams, and specializes in Fire manipulation. He can summon pillars of flame at will and strike with rapid combos using his chakrams. He can also surround his chakrams in flame and throw them like boomerangs, spinning and looping them to hit opponents multiple times. In his one on one battle with Roxas in Kingdom Hearts II, Axel also summons a circle of fire to surround them and leaps into the flames to hide, emerging to strike with rapid attacks, and then leaping back to keep his opponents off their guard. Axel, is a powerful member of the Organization, arguably even stronger, or at least a better fighter, than Saïx. This is seen when Saïx is defeated by Roxas, but Axel was able to defeat Xion at the Old Mansion, who at the time was stronger than Roxas from accidentally absorbing to much of his power.

Weapon
Axel utilizes two unique weapons called Chakrams, named Eternal Flames. Each chakram is circular and red, with silver spikes and circles around the edges, and two black handles cross in the middle. Each Chakram has eight spikes, possibly referencing Axel's rank in the Organization. Axel is very adept in the use of his weapon; he has excellent aim when throwing them, and can use them as shields and as melee weapons. He also appears to be able to throw them in a boomerang-like fashion to bring them back after throwing them. With this technique, he performs some unique attacks, including juggling them against an opponent, or throwing one across the entire battlefield continuously.

He also uses them in conjunction with his fire abilities, setting the tips, or even the whole thing, on fire before throwing them. From the new scene in Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, it is implied that he can set his chakrams on fire from afar, acting as a remote detonator.

The Bond of Flame Keyblade, obtained from Axel, is similar in appearance to his chakrams. Axel's Chakrams are among the few Organization XIII weapons that do not bear the Nobody symbol (the others being Xemnas' Ethereal Blades, and Roxas' and Xion's Keyblades), but the spikes on the wheel do bear some similarities to the Nobody logo.

In actuality, chakrams are small razor-edged throwing disks used by ancient warriors in India. Axel's chakrams also bear resemblance to Wind and Fire wheels, wheel-shaped weapons that are used strictly as melee weapons.

The name "chakram" comes from the Sanskrit word for circle and wheel.

Playing as Axel
In Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Axel fights with his Chakrams in fast, versatile combos that are effective in both short and long-range combat. Via the Gear System, Axel can be customized along with all other playable characters, attacking in quick combos that close distance between enemies for even faster ones. Axel's Limit Break, Explosion, causes Axel throw his chakrams at enemies while they're engulfed in fire when activated, creating a small explosion of fire afterwards. While not being thrown, Axel's chakrams spin rapidly, the layer of flames surrounding the unique weapons thickening as they continue to gather. However, they can be thrown at any time, and do not need to charge. During Axel's Final Limit, the Nobody combines his two flaming Chakrams into one enormous flaming version of the weapon, easily many times larger than the two Chakrams. The explosion after the attack is also much larger.

Quotes

 * "You both... Think you can do whatever you want. Well I'm sick of it. Go on, keep running. But I'll always be there to BRING YOU BACK!"

 
 * ''"Now that we're getting to know each other better...don't you go off and die on me now!"
 * ''"But don't waste your time. We Nobodies can never hope to be Somebodies."
 * "Best friends can be inseparable even when they're apart."

 
 * ''"Hey, wait... I'm enjoying this. You guys are something else!"
 * "The Roxas I know is long gone... Fine, I see how it is."
 * ''"You really do remember me this time... I'm SO FLATTERED! But you're TOO LATE!!!"
 * "Silly... Just because you have a next life..." 
 * "We've got something in common, Kairi. You and I both miss someone we care about."

Trivia

 * It has been noted that Axel bears many similarities to Reno from Final Fantasy VII. Tetsuya Nomura commented on the connection between Axel and Reno, stating that he wanted to experiment by placing a familiar character in a new environment and role. Nomura clearly stated in an interview that the two are "different people, but subconsciously alike."


 * Axel shares his voice actor with Reno over a variety of languages: Quinton Flynn in English, Jean Christophe Parquier in French, Víctor Martínez in Spanish, Philipp Brammer in German and Keiji Fujiwara in Japanese.


 * Axel was popular among members of the Kingdom Hearts staff and though he was initially supposed to die at the end of Roxas' Prologue, his popularity caused him to be continued into the main game of Kingdom Hearts II.


 * In the Japanese version of Kingdom Hearts II, there were flames consuming Axel's body at his death. The flames were removed for the English version. In Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, despite keeping many changes made to the English version, Axel's death scene uses the flames.


 * According to the Secret Reports in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Axel and Saïx knew each other when they were humans, possibly also being friends, as Axel states that he should be able to speak to Saïx the same way that he talks to Roxas and Xion, but he can't because Saïx had changed after becoming a Nobody. This is further supplemented by Saïx knowing Axel's original name: Lea.


 * Axel is the only character to technically curse as he says the word 'hell' in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories when he says "Give me one hell of a show!" At the same time it's the only game in the series he appears in where he does not say "Got it memorized?" (yet, he does say this in Re:Chain of Memories).


 * The way Axel saw Xion at first could be debatable. At first, Axel didn't have much of a connection to Sora other than being the best friend of his Nobody, Roxas, who always saw Xion as herself because he was Sora’s Nobody. Being best friends with Roxas may have allowed Axel to see Xion as herself. If not, he might have seen her the way Saïx did, as a hooded doll. But once Axel returned from Castle Oblivion, he saw Xion as herself.

Gallery
Axel