Hey, everyone, I whipped out this short one-shot based on a concept I had in mind while writing Birth by Darkness. It revolves around Isa and Lea as the face off in their final battle. It's kind of an exploration of their past and my own take on how they became friends. With Kingdom Hearts 2.8 right around the corner, I'm going to be picking up writing more often. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

Broken Brothers

Floating slowly down Lea finally landed on the solid footing, standing within the dark depths of his once best friend's heart. He turned around to observe his surroundings but there was nothing to see. His friend's heart had been filled to the brim with darkness, almost completely consumed. He could feel the emotions of his friend swirling all around him. Anger, jealousy, and pain, all that pain hung within his heart and its presence was of such magnitude that they threatened to overwhelm even Lea's resolve.

He closed his eyes and felt the flow of emotions run past him finally targeting the source from which they came. He opened his eyes

"Isa," he said calmly.

Lea turned around to see his once best friend before him. Isa stood with his back turned dressed in his traditional Organization coat. He stood in a disciplined demeanor that screamed authority. Lea knew as a child Isa developed the hardened personality in a futile attempt to curve Lea's fiery personality. Perhaps he had thought that his discipline would rub off on Lea. Lea smiled knowing it had never worked, he would always be known as the wild card. Lea took a tentative step forward

"So is it always this dark in here or did Larxene forget to pay the electric bill," he joked.

Back when they were Nobodies, teasing Larxene was one of the few things that brought a trace of a smile to his friend. But Isa made no acknowledgment that Lea had said anything, nor did he acknowledge that Lea was even there.

Lea took another step forward as tension filled anticipation crackled through the air.

"Come on man, you still can't be going through that whole emo I-don't-have-a-heart-phase," laughed Lea.

Again, Isa made no acknowledgment, not even a fraction of movement came from his friend. Slightly annoyed, Lea walked up to his friend and put his hand on his shoulder

"Isa, come on, snap-" he stopped in mid-sentence as Isa roughly pushed Lea's hand off his shoulder.

Finally, Isa turned around and his eyes told a better story the Lea ever could. They were cold and blank completely devoid of empathy or understanding. He wore a blank stare, as if he were looking right through Lea, not comprehending that one of his closest friends was right before him. The scar on his forehead, one that Lea knew all too well, completed the menacing look. As Lea took a couple of cautious steps back Isa finally spoke.

"My name is not Isa!" He snarled.

He lifted his hand and effortlessly summoned his signature weapon the mighty claymore The Lunatic.

"My name is Siax" he cried.

Lea took a leap backward, positioning himself into a battle stance, while simultaneously summoning his Keyblade.

"Don't do do this Isa!" Lea cried.

But Isa charged head on with an overhead strike that Lea just barely managed to block. Pushing back Isa's attack, Lea managed to create some distance between the two.

"This doesn't have to happen Isa. I can help you!" cried Lea

But even as the words left Lea's lips, he knew the fight was inevitable. If he were brutally honest, he knew it was coming from the moment he first summoned his Keyblade. Despite being able to save Roxas and Xion, he knew deep down that Isa was going to be the one person he could not save.

Without a conscious thought, the two simultaneously charged forward. Both their weapons surged with such power that they knocked each other backward. Both men got back to their feet and went in for the second charge. Lea swung his Keyblade in a heavy uppercut motion, anticipating for Isa to swing his claymore from the side, as he had when they sparred many times in the past. However, Isa was no fool and almost in mid-swing switched directions and slashed his claymore in a heavy overhead arc, slamming into Lea's Keyblade, knocking it to the floor. Kicking it to the side Isa moved in, swiping at Lea with a series of powerful flurries.

Lea, with apt swiftness, avoided each swing with ease. Isa flipped in the air in attempted to use his momentum to deliver a powerful slam. Lea, however, managed to summon his chakrams and catch the powerful blow just in time. Lea ignited his chakrams and threw them at Isa, momentarily catching him off guard. Using the distraction to his advantage, Lea rolled behind Isa and grabbed his Keyblade, swinging fiercely. He landed a powerful blow on Isa that sent him staggering backward. Isa, however, was nowhere near finished, he quickly recovered and charged Lea, staggering his guard with a powerful uppercut that launched Lea into the air.

Isa twisted into the air, using the force of his spin to strike Lea with punishing force. Lea managed to block the hit but the force was so powerful, he was still slammed back to the ground. Isa landed on his feet and attempted to go in for the kill, but Lea blocked his strike. He rushed forward and as he had many times before, ducked under Isa's guard and used his arm to sweep Isa off his feet. If the battle wasn't of such serious nature, Lea would have smiled that his friend still fell for that trick.

As Isa got up, Lea summoned his chakrams, igniting them to full force. He made the chakrams fly around the two at such speed that they literally became a wall of fire. Isa swung his claymore over his head and swung down but at the last minute, Lea jumped onto the claymore, running up the large blade. Then, using Isa's head as a vault, he jumped through the wall of fire. Once outside, he snapped his fingers and the chakram firewall closed in on Isa, torching him.

As the fiery wall dissipated, Lea dematerialized his chakrams and looked to where Isa lay in a heap smoke still pouring off his coat. Thinking the fight was over, Lea carefully walked toward his friend, only for Isa to start glowing with a harsh light. Lea retracted, readying his Keyblade as Isa's eyes glowed in rage and his claymore grew in size.

Once more, the two were locked in combat, sparks flew as the two men clashed their weapons at full force. They parried and blocked each other's strikes, anticipating each other's moves before they even made them. The two had become true equals in combat, as neither man gave the other even the slightest of edge. Flurries of strikes flew at an almost superhuman speed, the two fought with a ferocity only seen by Lea in the few times he had watched Sora and Riku spar. The two were fighting to the very brink of exhaustion and Lea knew, he only had enough for one final attack.

As if both on the same wavelength, the two men jumped backward, creating a gap of distance between themselves. Isa began channeling all of his power into his claymore, preparing to deliver one final blow. Lea, in turn, charged up his Keyblade, channeling all his firepower into his Keyblade. As he did so, he felt a stab of sadness, a tear sliding down his cheek, he knew that not only was this final attack but the end of his lifelong friendship.

"It wasn't supposed to be this way, Isa! You were my best friend!" Lea cried.

In that moment, he felt the air change, he felt a new emotion in his friend's heart.

To his surprise, Isa spoke.

"It was always going to be this way. You were always able to choose your own path, while I was always handed mine," he said, a lone tear slid down his face, his hardened exterior melting away.

He lowered his weapon and charged; Lea did the same. Right before the two strikes met, Isa pulled his strike away while Lea slashed with all his might, slicing right past his friend and he knew that it was over.

Lea stood with his back Isa, his Keyblade hanging limply in his hand, then suddenly he felt a sharp stabbing pain in his back. He turned around, Isa had used the last of his strength to stab him in the heart. Isa and Lea collapsed to the ground when something incredible happened. Out of Lea's body flew a fragment of a heart, which upon exit, shattered into nothingness. Lea suddenly felt better and in that moment he understood. He looked over at Isa who lay next to him.

"Was that?" asked Lea.

"Yes, Xehanort always liked having backups." said Isa weakly.

Lea sat up, tears streaming down his face, upon the realization that Isa had used the last of his energy to save him. Sadness flowed through him as he realized that the combination of Lea's blow and Isa's sacrifice, spelled the end for his friend. He reached over and grabbed his friend's hand, but his body was already starting to fade.

"Hey Isa, do you still got it memorized?" Lea asked.

Isa looked at his friend as the two both recalled how the got to this point.

Flashback Lea's POV

Lea looked at Isa

"Hey, just because you're too chicken to go find out what's going on down there, doesn't mean I'm going to back off," Lea said.

" But Lea we need a plan first we can't just-"

But Lea cut Isa off and ran off without warning.

"LEA!" cried, Isa.

But Lea ignored him, he had to find out where they took that girl.

...

Lea struggled against his captor, a powerfully built man with silver hair, who tossed Lea over his shoulder with little effort.

"LET GO OF ME YOU CREEP!" screamed Lea.

The man spoke in a deep enigmatic voice.

"You have much fire perhaps you will be suitable. Perhaps you will be the one to let go," he said.

Lea continued to struggle. In hopes, his friend might hear him, Lea screamed Isa's name. His captor put Lea down suddenly and held his hand out, materializing a sword in shape of a key. The last thing he saw was the man swing the key at Lea's head before he passed out.

Flashback Isa's POV

Isa was about to leave when he heard his name shouted. He was sure that it was Lea and without any hesitation, without any notion of planning, he ran down the stairs into the dark basement. He ran fast, desperate to save his only friend from whatever trouble he landed himself in. He ran through a narrow hallway and turned a corner, right smack into a man with a black coat. Isa fell down and dusted himself off, he looked up at the man his mouth agape. The man was middle-aged with black hair that had a streak of silver running through it. He had a couple scars on his face and wore an eye patch. He moved slowly toward Isa.

"What's a matter kid, you look like I just drowned your goldfish," he said.

The man swung at him and knocked him out.

Lea's POV

Lea woke up, tightly secured in a metal machine. His vision was hazy and he was barely aware of what was happening. He saw the silver-haired man who had knocked him out and a dark haired man with an eye patch, both huddled over a machine similar to the one he was in. He almost passed out again, when he saw that it was Isa strapped in the machine. Suddenly the dark haired man spoke.

"So Xemnas, do think this kid will work out?" he said in a bored tone.

Xemnas spoke in a delighted manner.

"Indeed.. the boy is teeming with the properties necessary to become a quality candidate. He shows the seedbed for darkness something his friend seems to lack. We will have to give him the mark before we begin the process, so we can track him once the separation is complete. You have done well Xigbar," said Xemnas.

Xigbar looked over at Lea.

"What about Red over here?" he asked.

Xemnas walked over to Lea.

"Don't worry my fiery friend, you won't remember much of this but know this. We have big plans for the two of you. After all this time, I can finally make you whole again."

Xemnas reached for Lea's face as he felt himself pass out.

...

Lea woke up again to the sound of Isa's screams. He was still in a haze and didn't know where he was or who was there, but the sound of Isa's scream brought him momentary clarity. He saw a silver haired man using a machine to burn an X on Isa's forehead. Blood dripped down his face, as Isa screamed in pain. It was enough to put Lea over the edge, as he passed out again.

Isa's POV

It was pain beyond pain Isa was not sure how he remained conscious but the agony was blinding. He looked over and glanced at his friend as his mind began retreating into the depths of memory.

...

Isa had decided to go for a walk on the beach that day. He found that the sound of the waves calmed his nerves and helped him think. He arrived at the beach, expecting to be alone. He decided to bring two bars of sea-salt ice cream to enjoy, a bit of comfort to his loneliness. However, when he stepped on the sand, he noticed a boy with fiery red hair, sitting on the water with his head on his knees. Clearly, he was moping, which unnerved Isa as he wasn't very good with people. He had a hard time talking to new people and had pretty much become a loner because of it. There was something different about this boy. A magnetic aura that spurred Isa to talk to him. Casually, he walked up to the boy and poked him.

"What's the matter?" he asked, in a harsher tone than he had meant to.

The red head looked up and gave a long exaggerated sigh. He lay back on the sand.

Everyone forgot my birthday again," he said.

"Did you remind anyone?" Isa asked.

The boy looked at him.

"No, I wanted them to remember on their own," he said.

Isa paused.

"So, you're just going to sit here all day, waiting for everyone to remember?" Isa asked.

The boy looked at him and grinned.

"Aren't you supposed to console a friend in need? Instead of making sarcastic remarks," he laughed.

The comment caught Isa off guard.

"We're friends?" Isa asked.

The boy pondered for a minute.

"Yeah sure, we've said more than two sentences to each other so..." He trailed off.

He sprung up.

"Hey, let's go jump off that rock formation!" the boy said excitedly and with that he ran off.

Isa stood there for a moment bewildered, before realizing that the boy was already headed for the off-limit climbing wall. Normally, the wall was fine for jumping into the water, but a recent storm had eroded the integrity of the wall. Now, even the slightest pressure would crumble the rock. Isa ran after his new friend, shouting for him to stop, but the boy kept egging him on. Even though Isa would not admit it, the sense of danger added to the fun of the moment.

They both reached the top of the rock formation when it happened. Isa's new friend made a misstep, and the rock crumbled beneath him. The boy started screaming, clinging with one hand to a barely stable ledge.

"Help me!" he cried.

Isa didn't know what to do, but he couldn't let the boy fall to his death. He slowly crawled toward the ledge, hoping that the whole formation didn't break and send them both to their doom. He reached the red head and extended his hand.

"Can you reach up with your other hand?" Isa asked.

The boy looked down and gulped.

"I think so, " he said nervously.

But as he reached up, the rock began crumbling. Isa quickly grabbed the kid and pulled with all his might. With a rush of adrenaline, he managed to pull his new friend to safety. The two friends slumped down on their backs in relief. They remained still for a few minutes when the red head finally broke the silence.

"Well that will liven up a birthday eh!" he laughed.

There was a pause, then the two boys broke into hysterical laughter. When they settled down Isa pulled two partially melted ice cream bars from his pocket. He handed one to the boy.

"Happy Birthday...umm," Isa paused.

The red head took the ice cream bar.

"The names Lea! Got it memorized?" he asked with a grin.

Lea put out his hand and Isa shook it.

Present Time

Isa smiled and looked back at his longtime friend as tears streamed down his cheeks.

"How could I forget...That was the day I picked up the stray puppy," he said.

Lea smiled down at his friend as his body faded into nothingness. The darkness that surrounded his friend's heart was being illuminated by a brilliant light Lea looked down.

"Goodbye my friend," he smiled and flew into the light.