Character Corner: Axel

Name: Axel (Lea)

Age: Undetermined.  Physical age: early-to-mid-twenties

Weapon: Chakrams.  Preferably flaming ones.  Also, fire.  And, if dark corridors can be considered a weapon, those as well, because he does use them.  (Much to some people’s chagrin.)

Quote: "Congratulations, Axel.  You've just found the world’s Keyhole and you are lacking a Keyblade wielder to come seal it.”

The Pyro who Wants to Leave a Legacy.

Axel has had quite the journey since becoming a Somebody again.  He had retained his ability to wield double chakrams, even after his Nobody-state’s death.  He regained his ability to both wield fire, form dark corridors, and control the Assassins after Xehanort messed with the darkness inside his heart in an attempt to win him back over to his cause.  Axel refused to side with Xehanort once again, however, choosing to remain on the side that Roxas was on: Sora’s side. 

In regards to controlling the Assassins, Axel cannot tell them to attack something with a heart because it will cause the darkness inside of his heart to rear up painfully.  Axel does not like pain.  He has also been warned many times that forming and using dark corridors will be detrimental to the state of his heart.  Since the Battle of Castle Oblivion, Axel has been doing his best to keep dark corridor use to a minimum, travelling by star shard whenever possible and dark corridor only when necessary. 

Axel has moved past almost all aspects of his “dark past” that was his time spent in the Organization.  He knows that there are still a select few members of the Organization that are alive and not at all sympathetic to him.  However, he is confident that since he has eluded death in the past, he will continue to do so in the future; he simply has no fear that anyone who used to work for the Organization could possibly harm him now. 

Axel is still as cocky as he always has been.  He has no sense of self-preservation and is often the cause of headache for people like Kairi and Riku, who worry for both his safety and the status of his heart.  He has completely reformed his friendships with Roxas and Xion and the three of them are still known to meet up on the Clocktower in Twilight Town after a long day of work.

Currently, however, most of Axel’s time is taken up by trying to track down a mysterious woman named Kuin.  Most of what Axel knows about her are things that he has had to figure out for himself.  He does know that she has quite the history with Xehanort and that she can pack quite a punch with her pistols.  He kinda likes her, but refuses to admit it. 

Axel also has a tiny obsession with trying to figure out what Saix’s last words to him meant.  “Remember me as I was,” were the words Saix had said as he was consumed by darkness during the Battle of Castle Oblivion.  Axel is now thinking quite often about his past with Saix, and before Saix, Isa.  He is on a mission to determine that Saix was not always all bad, something that he refuses to believe, despite feeling as though Saix had forsaken him at times.  Saix is easily Axel’s biggest loss. 

Generally, Axel doesn't care about what happens to other people.  He will not go out of his way to help others.  However, there are certain people whom he will answer to.  He doesn't consider himself to fight for any given side, just the side that most pleases him at the time.  He's determined to live out the rest of his existence in a way that pleases him and no one else.  Currently, that life is a life on Destiny Islands; where he spends most of his days off travelling, but he has a bed to come home to at night.  

Character Corner: Xion

Name: Xion

Age: 15 

Weapon: Kingdom Key

Quote:  "You know what, on second thought, Roxas and I are just going to go get ice cream.  You two can join us when you get this sorted out."

A replica with quite a bit of spunk.

No longer afraid to speak out, Xion is quite spunky, witty and sarcastic.  She is no longer afraid to stand up for what she believes in.  She is very kind and accepting and generally believes the best about people.  She takes her friendships very seriously and would do anything to make sure her friends remained safe.  The only thing that she takes more seriously, is her relationship with Roxas, for obvious reasons.

Xion and Roxas have been through a lot since their Nobody days.  Xion was restored by Roxas giving her all of her memories back, seeing as he was the one who absorbed the majority them upon her original destruction.  (Namine was the one who had the rest of them.)  However, given her state when she was destroyed, upon her awakening, she still thought she was programmed to destroy Roxas and tried to run away.  It takes both Namine and Axel to convince her that this has been changed.  She then wasted no time in hugging Roxas because she knew she was no longer a danger to him.

Xion has proven herself to be very resilient during battle.  In the Battle of Castle Oblivion, Xehanort cut off her arm.  Yes, she passed out initially, but when Axel drank a Mega-Potion she got right back up and continued to fight, left-handed, no less.  Xion’s arm was rebuilt after the Battle and she parades it around like a wonderful battle scar.  Xion also is the only one currently residing on Destiny Islands who can form Dark Corridors with no detriment to her heart.  This skill becomes invaluable for travel to and from the Realm of Darkness, which is necessary on occasion. 

Xion and Roxas’ relationship came about rather quietly.  It was only after the Battle of Castle Oblivion that the two of them could even consider such a thing, even though it was quite obvious that they’d had feelings for each other prior to this.  She and Roxas have a quieter relationship compared to the other couples living on Destiny Islands, but that does not mean it is any less important.  She and Roxas have the relationship where a typical date may very well include slaughtering Heartless followed by ice cream.  And both of them are content with that.

Xion is quite content to be living on Destiny Islands where she can go out during the day with Roxas, or Namine, or Kairi and kill Heartless, followed by an ice cream break on the Clocktower and then return back to Destiny Islands at night to sleep.  (Or read, since she doesn’t need nearly as much sleep as anyone else.)  This is something that she jokes about with people like Roxas or Riku.  

Character Corner: Roxas

Name: Roxas

Age: 16

Weapon: Mostly Oblivion, but has been known to hold other Keyblades

Quote: "Yeah, maybe let's all just go get ice cream and call it a day."

The Keyblade Wielder's Other.  He's got a temper.

Roxas does have a bit of a temper, but he’s calmed down quite a bit now that his life makes sense.  For once, his life isn’t confusing.  He’s not a Nobody who is a part of an Organization with a purpose that he doesn’t know.  He’s not sharing a heart and mind with Sora where there are more levels of consciousness than anyone can keep track of.  Now he simply lives on Destiny Islands and goes out during the day to take care of darkness problems as they spring up. 

At any time, he can go out with Axel or Xion.  Or he can go out with Kairi or Sora.  He has options.  He’s also currently training to be a Keyblade Master, a dream that both he and Xion share now that Sora’s a Master.  Roxas is mostly just grateful that he gets to spend his life with Axel and Xion.  The whole reason why he split himself from Sora permanently was because he knew he could save Xion and be fully friends with Axel once again.

He is a tad jealous that his best friend, Axel, is spending a lot of time going out searching for the mystery woman: Kuin.  But, ultimately, he forgives Axel for this because he’s tired of holding grudges.  He spends a lot of time with Xion as well, considering the two of them are who they are to each other.  He never really admitted to anyone his feelings about her.  However, his feelings for her are quite obvious and everyone knows it.  Xion is the only one that matters though, and she knows just how much he cares about her. 

Roxas also spends some time building friendships with everyone else who has taken to living on Destiny Islands.  He and Sora are very brotherly-like.  They are not nearly as telepathic as Namine and Kairi however.  This is probably due to the fact that Sora lives in a state of hyper consciousness and it is more effort than either boy is willing to make to establish a stable telepathic connection.  Regardless, the two boys tease each other and yet look after each other as brothers would do.  And why wouldn’t they? They’re two sides of the same coin.

He and Namine also bicker like brother and sister.  He cares for Kairi purely because Sora cares for her.  He and Riku are good friends.  He jokes with Ven about the fact that they look nearly identical and offered to be Ven’s double if he needed one.  He’s adjusted quite well to this life that he currently lives.

However, in the event that anything comes to disrupt this, do not doubt for a moment, that his temper will return.  You saw how vigorously he went after Xigbar when he mocked Xion’s injuries.    

Character Corner: Namine

Name: Namine

Age: 16

Weapon: Memories.  Also a Keyblade, she just cannot summon one on her own.  She will use Riku’s or Kairi’s when they are handed to her.  Also, in a combo she has with Kairi, she wields not one, but seven Keblades.    

Quote: “I’ll show YOU worthless.”

The Absolutely Adorable and yet Completely Scary Master of Memories

Namine grew up quite a ton during the time that she spent sharing a heart and mind with Kairi.  Her determination lead to the restoration of many lives and hearts.  Namine’s own separation from Kairi was purely for selfless reasons so she could better restore others.  Namine now has the ability to see and sift through everyone’s memories, regardless of a connection to Sora.  She does not abuse this power, though.  She only looks through memories when she is given a reason to or if she has permission (which Riku will give her on occasion.)

Namine knows basic magic attacks, most notably Cure.  She can also perform light attacks because she holds a part of Kairi's heart.  An interesting thing to note is that Namine may be viewed by some to be part-Princess of Heart because she holds this part of Kairi's heart.  Currently, Namine is working on honing in on her white magic skills, taking lessons from people like Aerith and Rinoa, but also learning together with Kairi.  Namine may not look like much, but she is easily very, very dangerous.

She once gave Xehanort a splitting headache because he was about to split Riku’s heart in-two.  She could have shattered him, given enough concentration; however, she stopped because she did not want to shatter another person’s memories again.  She was confronted with the same situation with Captain Hook in Neverland, where she realized just how simple it would have been to shatter him, but she refrained again, for the same reasons.  She still feels guilty about shattering the Riku Replica’s memories. 

Now, Namine knows that the Riku Replica is safe in another universe.  She is grateful for this and would like to see him happy.  However, she knows that appearing to him would be bad for him given his current emotional state, so she will patiently wait.  From that other universe, though, she has almost met her match when she runs into Sora’s Shadow—which she has done twice now.  She doesn’t quite know what to do with him and has since resolved to feel almost sorry for him. 

She and Riku are becoming quite the team.  They would easily do anything for each other.  Promises mean everything to them.  Everything from the promises to see more worlds to the promises to never keep anything from the other.  Promises mean everything to them.  Namine and Riku may have taken a while to realize they like each other, but they have quickly grown into a powerful force to be reckoned with.

Namine herself is a force to be reckoned with, no matter how you look at it.  She is no longer afraid to speak her mind.  Her battle prowress is impressive.  Not only can she take out massive amounts of Heartless at once in battle with only a little bit of backlash, but she can also carry around a Keyblade without it disappearing and destroy enemies that way as well.  She is not afraid to take risks, yet she is also very kindhearted.  She is… Namine.

Character Corner: Riku

Name: Riku

Age: 17

Weapon: Way to Dawn

Quote: "It took me a bit to realize just what protecting the things that matter entailed, but I think I have it figured out now."

The Keyblade Master with a Dark Past.

Riku has quite the interesting past, including fighting on the side of the Darkness.  However, he fights on the side of Light now and is working towards atoning for his past sins.  He’s even getting better about not brooding so much.  He knows it is his duty to protect the worlds and he goes to do so without question.  He doesn’t dive head-first into problems like some of his friends do, rather he steps back and examines the best course of action.  However, if he is angry, all bets are off.  No one wants to cross Riku when he is angry. 

It took Riku quite a bit to realize that brooding was not the best response to his past actions.  Kairi and Sora told him repeatedly that no one held his actions against him.  Traveling around with Axel, someone who has done his own slew of bad things, put Riku’s life into perspective.  Aerith told Riku to forgive himself.  But it was Namine who finally broke through Riku’s walls and told him to simply “stop being so guilty.”

Riku’s attraction to Namine was slow-coming.  During Namine’s Nobody status, it wasn’t something that Riku was thinking about in the slightest because he was too busy trying to get Sora back.  While Kairi and Namine shared the same heart and mind, it just wasn’t something that was possible.  Riku could admire certain aspects about Namine, but he could hardly begin to admire her as her own person.  (Though, during this time period, everyone else noticed that Riku had some sort of feelings for Namine.)  It is only after Kairi and Namine are separate that Riku and Namine end up having a slightly awkward conversation in which both of them admit that they have affections for one another. 

After the Battle of Castle Oblivion, Riku comes up with the idea of going out to individual worlds and taking care of enemy problems while using Destiny Islands as a base.  He has come to the conclusion that there really is no place like home when he is alongside his friends and loved ones.  He knows he fights for the side of light now, and nothing is going to stop him from doing so.  Riku is a very powerful fighter.  He is easily the strongest Keyblade Wielder that is based out of Destiny Islands, though that doesn’t necessarily make him the best.  He accepts this and does his best to do just that—his best.  

Character Corner: Sora

Name: Sora

Age: 16

Weapon: A vast array of Keyblades.  Currently he uses Oathkeeper as his main one.  Though other Keyblaes like two Become One, Oblivion, Bond of Flame, Wayward Wind and Lost Memory have been seen recently.  **During Drive Forms, Sora takes on not only his own Keyblade, but the Keyblade of the other Wielder.  Wisdom form is natrually exempt because Namine does not wield.

Quote: "There's something about you that I just don't like.  And my hunches have hardly been wrong before.  Maybe it’s because I know I’ve fought you before because that’s what Kairi said.  Maybe it’s because, somewhere, deep down inside of me, I remember exactly who you are and I don’t like you.  Or maybe it’s because I don’t like seeing Namine scared like that.  Whatever way it ends up being, I don’t think we’re leaving without a fight."


The Light-Hearted Keyblade Master.

Sora is still as light-hearted and easy-going as he always was.  He has a habit of throwing himself head-first into any problem presented to him.  He is always willing to help a friend, even if he just made the friend five minutes ago.  That hasn't changed about him, even since becoming a Keyblade Master.  

His best friend is Riku.  Though the two boys have competed since they first met each other, they are quite close and would do anything for the other.  His other close friends include Donald, Goofy, King Mickey, Namine, Xion, Axel, and his other persona: Roxas.  Roxas and Sora separated shortly before the Battle of Castle Oblivion where Xehanort was defeated.  This happened right after Ven was released from Sora's heart and right before Xion was recreated.  After the Battle of Castle Oblivion, Sora's heart was quite empty compared to the hearts it once contained.  

Though Roxas is his other persona, easily noted by the fact that the two boys have no qualms about poking fun at each other, it is not Roxas that Sora is closest with in heart.  That person is Kairi.  Sora largely ignored his feelings for Kairi, writing them off as nothing more than just caring for a friend.  That is, until she was thrown off a cliff by a Xehanort replica and Sora dived after her without a second thought. despite having no idea how he is going to save her.  Both of them are ultimately saved by a well-placed dark corridor formed by Axel and Sora then promptly shoves six Keyblades through the Xehanort Replica's gut.  Sora and Kairi have been boyfriend and girlfriend since the Battle of Castle Oblivion, where Sora almost off-handedly asked Kairi if she would during a giant Dragoon battle.  It was also after that fateful battle that the two of them shared their first kiss, which led to silent applause and relief from all of their friends.  It is no secret that Sora would do anything for Kairi to keep her safe.  

Generally speaking, Sora cares about all of his friends and would bend over backwards to keep them safe.  

Sora's heart still has quite a lot of light in it, though he has begun to notice as of late that there is darkness creeping inside.  Currently, Kairi and Roxas are the only two who are aware of his problem, but both of them are quite determined to keep him from falling into darkness.  The only reason why Sora has yet to tell Riku is because he is afraid of what Riku will say.  But given Sora's history of such a light heart, even a bit of darkness creeping in cannot stop him from fully utilizing light attacks.  

Character Corner: Kairi

For the moment, I'm just using shots from the game.  I'm not too thrilled with my artwork of them anymore (especially since they've changed in my head since the end of AtP).  I will probably (when I have time) re-render them.  I was thinking about doing it digitally.  Anyway...

Name: Kairi

Age: 16

Weapon: Before her Destati: Oathkeeper.  After her Destati: Destiny's Embrace.

Quote: "Remember how I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up? Ever? How I always gave the lame answer of a teacher or a nurse because I just never knew? Well, the Worlds have given me a job, and I don’t need to go to school to do it."

The Princess with a Keyblade.

Kairi grew up quite a bit since Destiny Islands first fell into darkness.  Upon Sora and Riku leaving to take their Mark of Mastery Exam, Kairi insisted on going with, not wanting to be left behind any longer.  Granted, until she had her own Destati, she had to borrow Sora's Oathkeeper in order to fight, but that didn't slow her down.  She also learned magic and combos and spent quite a lot of time trying to catch up to Sora and Riku in their abilities.  All the while, she did not mention to anyone her feelings for Sora.  She knew that she liked him, but didn't want to be the one to make the first move.  Unbeknownst to Kairi, she is the reason why Sora fights.  

While this is all going on on the outside, Kairi also has quite a bit going on on the inside.  Inside her own head and heart, she held conversations with her other persona: Namine.  Namine is possibly more determined than even Kairi, and sometimes, Namine can be seen through Kairi.  The two of them are almost like sisters, and are described as being so to Kairi's adoptive parents.  It is actually because Namine was inside of Kairi's heart that Kairi could not summon a Keyblade.  However, Kairi did not realize this, and Namine only hazarded a guess about it.

After Kairi and Namine are separated, Kairi experiences her Dive into the Heart at the first large Heartless she comes in contact with.  After her Dive, she can weild and summon a Keyblade of her own: Destiny's Embrace.

Kairi can utilize attacks purely made from light due to her Princess of Heart status.  This will eventually translate to her becoming a good "white mage" and healer.  She has minor healing abilities, more than even she knows about.  She does not know the extent of her magical abilities, but she is certainly making an effort to learn all of her abilities.  Currently, she is honing in on her Light Attacks and Holy magic and everyone is giving her an excuse to practice.  

In regards to her and Sora's relationship, one of the most crucial moments was during the battle with the last Xehanort Replica, where Kairi was shoved off a cliff.  Sora jumped off after her and almost told her his feelings for her.  However, she silenced him, telling him that she already knew.  It wasn't until after both Kairi and Namine and Sora and Roxas are separated that Sora and Kairi confirmed their feelings for each other.  During the final battle with Xehanort, Sora asked Kairi to become his girlfriend in the middle of a battle with some Nobodies.  After that final battle, they are prompted by their friends to kiss.  When they do, everyone silently applauds. 

Now Sora is Kairi's trainer for Keyblades.  Sora even trains her in magic, but accepts that sometimes, she needs to go seek the help of people like Aerith and Rinoa, who are professed mages, not hack-and-slash fighters.  However, though he may be her trainer, he is her boyfriend first, and she does not hesitate to remind him of that.

Kairi is still very much a Princess of Heart.  Now she just also has the ability to wield and has the focus to hone in on her magical abilities.  She is quite the promising fighter.