Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts (although that would be pretty awesome!)
As soon as Vexen's ship touched ground in the Neverland Jungle, he knew that the mission would be far more vacation-oriented than work-oriented. The island was a tropical land, but unlike the Deep Jungle, the nearby ocean provided a cool breeze, mitigating any oppressive heat. The designated building location was on the coast, meaning Vexen would be able to fully enjoy the ocean locale as well as the jungle.
Upon getting off the ship, Vexen and his crew immediately got to work in preparing their base. The base was to be built closer to the jungle, while Vexen's residence was to be nearer to the great Never Sea. Vexen's home was not in need of constructing, as he had brought a portable home, developed in his lab for just such an occasion. Placing a rectangular metal object no larger than a deck of cards on the ground, he then pressed the Nobody Insignia button on it, starting up the piece. The rectangle continued to unfold itself exponentially, until a floor-like base was erected. Once the base of the home was complete, a wall started to build. As this process continued, a small cottage was formed, complete with proper furniture inside. "Positively excellent. I am a genius," he crowed.
"Most certainly," Dusk, who had just walked up by Vexen, agreed.
"Now let's set up the laboratory. But first, I need to change. I'll melt if I stay in my coat." Going to the spaceship, he grabbed his bag and went into his cottage.
Dusk immediately got to work, calling out instructions to the Nobodies that were unloading materials from the ship. After a couple minutes of this, he turned to the cottage, where he saw his master coming out. But Dusk had to do a double take to determine that it was him. His master was dressed in flip-flops, and very short, nude colored, shorts that caused Dusk to briefly question if Vexen was wearing any pants at all. To top it all off, he was wearing a blue Hawaiian shirt decorated with snowflakes.
"So what do you think?" Vexen asked Dusk. "Is it me?"
"More than you can imagine," Dusk retorted.
"Alright, let's get to work on this outdoor lab." Dusk and Vexen then went ahead and set up the lab. The lab was then constructed under a large canopy tent, as Vexen wanted to spend some more time outdoors to "get his fresh air for the year" in his words. By the time the lab was completed, it was nearly evening time. Vexen allowed the other Nobodies to stop construction on the base for the night, and they had returned to the ship.
Vexen had wanted to see the sunset, so he was standing on the beach right behind his home with Dusk, martini in hand. "Isn't it lovely, Dusk?" he asked.
"Indeed, sir. Very pretty," Dusk answered while Vexen took a sip from his martini.
"Hi there!" a new voice rang out.
Vexen choked on his drink and did a spit-take. "Who was that?" he sputtered. Looking towards the sea, he saw a young girl waving to him not too far from his location.
The girl had long, flowing black that had light streaks of purple, a flower in her hair, seashell earrings, and a rose tank top on. She gave a wave to Vexen and Dusk and swam over towards them.
"Is that…a little girl?" a concerned Vexen asked. Dusk shrugged, having no clue either. Finally, the little girl made it close to the pair. "Isn't it a little late for you to be swimming out here all alone?" Vexen asked the stranger.
She giggled. "Of course not! It's always a good time to be swimming! I'm always swimming."
"Always?" asked Dusk.
"Well, duh. That's what mermaids do."
"I beg your pardon?" replied Vexen, flashing Dusk a confused look. "You're a mermaid?"
"Yep!" She then jumped out of the water, showing off her green mermaid tail, leaving Vexen and Dusk agape. "My name's Marina, what's yours?" Her cheerfulness seemed to be just as unlimited as her energy.
"I'm…Even and this is…"
"Um…Earl," Dusk managed to get out.
"Even and Earl, huh? Double 'E's!"
"Indeed. Now, Marina, are…" Vexen began.
At that moment, an orange starfish came out of the water, surprising Vexen into silence. The starfish whispered into Marina's ear, and her eyes grew wide. "Sandy told me that Mom's looking for me 'cause it's almost bedtime. Nice meeting you, Double 'E's! Gotta go!" And with that, Sandy the Starfish and Marina dove underwater.
Vexen turned to Dusk. "Well, I'll be damned. A mermaid, here."
"Let's hope she doesn't get our cover blown."
"I'm not too worried about that." Vexen turned to head back to the cottage, followed by Dusk. "Earl? What sort of a name is that?"
"It was the first name that came to my mind!"
Roxas looked up in awe at the large statues that stood intimidatingly before him. Although he had ventured to the Olympus Coliseum multiple times, those heroic gladiators still gave him chills every time. There was nothing he strove for more than to be a real hero. Often ridiculed by other members of the Organization, he wanted to prove to everyone that he could be a hero and well respected.
To Xion, the Olympus Coliseum represented competition and intensity, both things that Xion was very fond of. Xion endeavored to prove her worth to the Organization by becoming better than everyone else. Thus, she always loved a mission at the Coliseum, as it allowed her to show her strength.
The two of them had been sent to the Coliseum on a simple Collect Hearts mission. Due to the seemingly endless numbers of Heartless that competed in the Games, the Coliseum was a popular place for this type of mission. In their case, it helped that both of them were acquainted with Philoctetes, the famous satyr who had trained Hercules. The Organization had allowed these two to appear as prospective trainees for Phil, so they had no need to be secretive about their movements on the planet.
"What do you think Phil's got in store for us this time?" Roxas asked.
"Meh. Probably some useless training and some more of his rules," Xion replied.
Normally, Roxas and Xion went on missions to the Coliseum independently, so Phil never had the two at the same time. In an attempt to keep the charade that Xion and Roxas did not know each other, Roxas headed in first.
Roxas found Phil standing on ladder, posting up a list on the wall of the Vestibule. "Roxas, long time no see! You're just in time. Got a new tournament right here, and there's one spot left. Let's get you in this one and see what you can do," the old satyr said.
"Yeah, I think that'd be cool."
"Competition looks to be pretty stiff. I don't where there they keep pulling these bozos out from," Phil grumbled. "It's important that…"
At that moment, Xion came into the Vestibule. "Hey there Phil! Got anything exciting for me?"
"Xion! Good to see ya, kid!"
"Who's this?" she asked, indicating Roxas.
"This is Roxas, another competitor. You two seem to share the same fashion style and weapon choice," said Phil, noting the black coats that the both had been wearing. "I'm surprised you haven't run into each other earlier."
"As am I," Xion responded, eyeing Roxas suspiciously, which was enough for Phil to believe they hadn't met before now.
"Well kids, I happen to have a new tournament here. But there's only one spot open and two of you. I got an idea, though. Since you both haven't trained in a long time, we'll kill two birds with one stone." Both Roxas and Xion groaned at the prospect of going through another one of Phil's training regiments. "Here's the deal: I'll set up identical barrel courses. Whoever destroys all of their barrels first gets the tournament slot. Seem fair?"
"I think so," Xion answered for the both of them.
Phil proceeded to bring Xion and Roxas into the arena, where he then worked on setting up identical barrel formations.
Meanwhile, in an upper-level suite, the competitors were being watched. The Lord of the Dead himself, Hades, was in his box with his minions, Pain and Panic. The trio had been observing the training sessions the various other competitors of the upcoming tournament (all Heartless brigades supplied by Hades).
"Well boys, I think we've got a good crop this time," Hades told his minions. He rose out of his chair preparing to return to the Underworld until he saw Phil, Roxas, and Xion enter the arena. "What do we have here?"
"It looks like some new competitors, your lugubriousness," answered Pain.
Hades facepalmed. "I know!" he responded in frustration.
Pain looked to Panic. "Isn't that what he asked?" Panic shook his head, indirectly telling Pain to drop the subject.
As Phil set up the barrels, Roxas and Xion warmed up, drawing their Keyblades and swinging them around. "Keyblades?! This just got interesting," Hades remarked. Summoning himself a worm martini, he settled into his chair. "Let's watch a bit, shall we?"
After finishing the set up, Phil came back to address the participants. "All right, here are the rules: when I say go, it's a race to destroy all of your barrels first. You may use any means necessary. Whoever wins gets the last slot," he announced, fortunately loud enough for Hades to hear what was going to occur. Roxas and Xion nodded their approval. "On your marks, get set…go!"
Roxas immediately went to work. Not one who did a whole lot of strategizing for a battle, he simply moved on instinct, destroying barrels left and right as he saw them. Sometimes, this forced him to have to run a bit to another barrel, but he still was going through the course with great speed.
Xion tended to be more strategic about her attacks at the barrels. This would have made her slower than Roxas, but she was innately faster than him, put them at about equal footing. She zipped along, striking barrels quickly, keeping up with Roxas' torrent pace.
"This is getting good," Hades commented while watching the action unfold.
It soon became clear that the competition would come down to the very end and who could move quickly enough to take out that last barrel. As Xion approached the final barrels, she internally debated how to eliminate the last single barrel, which was the farthest barrel away from the pack. Roxas, meanwhile, was just focusing on hitting any and every barrel he could, not planning on how he intended to take out the last barrel. His powerful swings were sending barrels flying, and soon, one barrel was flying towards that far away barrel. Xion froze, unsure how to take care of her last barrel, unknowing how close Roxas was. The second or two pause was followed by her decision to cast a Fire spell at the barrel. However, as soon as she cast it, she heard Phil call out "Done!"
She turned to see that Roxas' barrels were all gone. The pure force and speed of the other barrel Roxas had hit was enough to destroy the final barrel right before Xion cast her spell. In essence, her indecision cost her the competition.
"Roxas wins narrowly! You guys match up well, though," Phil noted.
"Congratulations Roxas!" Xion cheered, masking her true emotions. But Hades was able to see through her and notice her disappointment.
"This could be the opportunity I'm looking for. Hello, Miss Blackbird," Hades commented, followed by a dark chuckle.
"Alright Roxas, come with me. We'll get you signed up. Xion, I'm sorry, but I can't make any more spots in the tournament. Next time, kid." Phil then headed back for the Vestibule.
Roxas and Xion followed together, but a bit behind. "You did really well," she told him.
"Thanks, I'm just sorry that both of us can't compete," he responded.
"Well, I know how to make it up to me."
"How's that?"
"How about you win the tournament for me? Oh, also chocolate."
Roxas laughed. "I'll see what I can do."
"I'll wait for you by the Gates," she told him. They entered the Vestibule and Xion continued though the room, putting herself back outside. She walked towards the large leaderboards, until a voice stopped her.
"Such a shame. You were this close."
She wheeled around to see Hades standing there, smiling at her. "Who are you?"
"Name's Hades, Lord of the Dead, hi how ya doing? Let me guess, you want to enter the tournament, right?"
Xion was suspicious of the stranger, but did answer, "Yeah."
"Well, then, hey, get a load of this. I just heard that one of the competitors just dropped out. Who'd of thought?"
"That's impossible, Hades. I just spoke to Phil."
"Lord Hades. Worked a long time for that title. And I wouldn't be so sure. Accidents happen."
Not getting his drift, Xion asked, "What do you mean?"
"Okay kiddo, here's the deal: I'll get you in the tournament, just like you wanted."
"And what do you want in return? My soul?"
Hades laughed. "Funny, I like that. No, not your soul. All I want is you to give me a good show. Very innocent."
"I doubt that immensely," she scoffed at him.
"Hey, you want in the tournament or not?"
Xion thought about it. "Fine."
"Good." Hades snapped his fingers. "There, done. A spot just opened up."
Xion looked around, nothing had happened. "Are you sure?"
"Wait for it. 3, 2, 1…" Hades disappeared at the same time Roxas and Phil rushed out the door.
"Hey Xion! Good news! Just got news that one of the competitors just dropped out. Said his team got sick and won't be ready. You in?" exclaimed Phil.
Xion smiled. "Of course!"
Roxas was beaming with happiness. "Then let's have Phil sign you up too!" Phil and Roxas then returned into the Vestibule.
Hades reappeared. "I don't know how you did that, but thank you," Xion told him.
"No problem. Good luck, kid. I'm pulling for you, my little blackbird." She started to head towards the Vestibule, but Hades stopped her. "One more thing. Let's keep this our little secret, huh?"
"You got it." Xion then headed in.
Pain and Panic appeared next to Hades. "You're just going to let her in for nothing?" Panic asked, shocked that his master, notorious for deal making, was seemingly getting nothing out of this deal.
"It's a process, boys. And I like this first step."
Hey everyone! We get to see the return of Vexen and Roxas this chapter, and it's always fun to write about them. Next chapter: The State of Affairs in Toontopia.
See ya real soon,
The Mustachioed Academic