Summary: Watching someone die was never easy. It was harder to watch yourself die. It wasn't the real Zexion Repliku had killed, and Axel realized that too late. Now his plans to overthrow the Organization are shattered as Zexion escapes the fallen Castle Oblivion to report to Xemnas, but will he be able to make it in time? What if Axel gets there first?
Warning! This fanfic contains blood, gore, mentions of death, violence, cursing, dark imagery, betrayal, character death, slight hints of yaoi, and other things that make this rated T. Rating may go up in later chapters.
Disclaimer: I, KradsLover, do not own Kingdom Hearts. If I did I would not be writing fanfics and what I write would have happened.
Zexion had never met an opponent like this. Never had he been given such a challenge. He knew Riku was strong and wore a very strong scent of darkness, but he never imagined he'd have such power!
They both gave it everything they had. With every dodge, with every attack, with every surge of darkness, they got closer and closer to the finish. Zexion was growing tired of this little game. Pages flew around the two, folding into spikes as they dived down for the silver-haired boy.
They never made contact. Riku swung the Soul Eater, ripping the pages to pieces. He thought he had him, but it was a trap! Aqua eyes widened as a tornado of darkness erupted under him, throwing him high into the air.
Zexion laughed sadistically, sending his lexicon high above Riku. It opened, attempting to swallow him into its pages. He smirked, he was going to win!
Or so he thought.
The darkest aura Zexion had ever seen surrounded Riku and he broke free of the binding spell the lexicon had. Zexion watched in horror as his lexicon exploded; the pages falling uselessly to the ground.
It wasn't gone forever though. Zexion knew that. He'd just have to wait a while before he could summon it. It had to repair itself.
Riku focused the dark energy into his palm and ran at the distracted Zexion, punching him in the stomach. All of his illusions fell. The battle was over.
Zexion knelt on the ground, coughing and panting heavily. He had to get up! The Schemer growled, looking up at the teen.
"After all your protests... You're still like us, on the side of darkness." he smirked, wanting to see if he could pull one last trick.
"I know who I am!" Riku yelled, clenching Soul Eater tighter.
"When did that happen?" Zexion asked, shakily getting to his feet. "You were always terrified of the dark before."
"Not anymore!" Riku screamed, running forward to deliver one final blow.
Zexion couldn't move nor could he block the attack in time. His cerulean eyes widened in terror and he screamed as he felt Soul Eater cut through him. Not physically but through his very existence.
"G-auugh!!" Zexion choked, his body shaking heavily. He quickly opened a portal to escape. He would not die here!
-
He returned to that room. The room where he once stood with Vexen and Lexaeus. Where just earlier he talked with Axel about what to do with Riku.
He panted heavily as he limped over to the wall. He needed something to lean against or he would fall. He had failed to avenge Lexaeus death.
A snarl passed over the Schemer's lips. "What is he?" he gasped, regaining his breath. One hand rested on his chest, on the spot where his heart should have been. There was no pulse, like always."No one's ever worn the Darkness, the way he has- It's impossible!" he slammed his fist against the wall. He wasn't the strongest member physically, but with his Nobody strength he left a pretty good dent.
A familiar smell hit his nose. Darkness, flames, and a sudden rise in temperature. Axel was coming.
Coming to get rid of him.
Zexion gasped and closed his eyes. He had barely any strength left but he could still do something!
-
Axel smirked as he and the Riku Replica -or Repliku as he liked to call it- portaled into that dark room in the Underground. He saw Zexion gasp as he looked at them. A scream of terror passed over his lips upon seeing Repliku.
"!!" Zexion pushed himself against the wall, staring at the Replica. He then realized what it was. "Oh. Oh yes.. The Replica, of course! We can use this Riku to defeat the real one." he said. He waited for a response from the pyro. ".. Axel?"
Axel's smirk fell into a blank face as he spoke, not to Zexion, but to the Replica. "Wouldn't you like to be real?" As he expected, Repliku nodded. "All you need is the kind of power that the real Riku doesn't have. If you can get that, you can be a new person. Not Riku, nor anyone else." he resisted the urge to laugh as he filled the Replica's head with ideas. He saw those dull aqua eyes get the gist of what he was telling him.
"You won't just be a copy of someone. You will be unique, your own self." That was the deal-making sentence.
Zexion gasped. "Axel! What are you saying to him!?" he yelled, still clinging to the wall. He couldn't move.
"Y'know..." Axel said, putting a hand on his hip. "He's a good place to start as any."
Zexion's look of terror turned to one of anger. "You can't do this!" his words were cut short as the Replica grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground. He gasped and choked, struggling against the strong grip.
Soon he went silent as his body faded, the Replica absorbed him and his powers. There were no traces of the illusionist.
"So sorry, Zexion.." Axel said softly. His face held no sign of remorse. In fact he looked pleased with this outcome. "You just found out way to much." he said with a chuckle.
-
Watching a person die was never easy. Watching yourself die was just torture.
Zexion was in the corner of the room, shrouded in shadows. He watched in horror as the Replica absorbed the clone he made. At first he was worried it wouldn't work. It was a hasty job, but it was also dark. Axel and the Replica would never have noticed.
"Come, Repliku." Axel said, calling the thing by a pet-name. "Time to go face Riku.. And show him who's better." he ushered the small clone out of the room, following him.
Zexion's body shook like a leaf as he fell to the ground. That Replica absorbed a fake, so his powers would not be as effective against the real Riku. He would fall to him soon enough.
"I-I... I have to.. " Zexion panted, having difficulty breathing. "L-lab.. Vexen..." he barely managed to open up a portal to Vexen's lab. He emerged from the top of the stares to the icy prison-like room.
No. It wasn't icy anymore. With Vexen gone the temperature had risen to something livable. The experiments he kept frozen were slowly starting to break free of their icy cages. Zexion had to move fast.
He managed to stumble down the steps, holding onto the railing for support. He saw on one of the tables was a small green bottle. A potion. It wouldn't heal him completely of the injuries that were ailing him,b ut it would be better than nothing!
He downed the bottle, gagging at the bitter taste. He groaned, feeling his skin start to heal himself. At least now he could walk.
He had to work quick. It was only a matter of time before Axel came down here. Vexen kept a record of everything that went on in the Castle. He wrote everything from his experiments right down to what the others ate for breakfast. He kept written and hard copies of this.
Zexion had to find those hard copies. The written files he could care less about. In fact he was going to get rid of those so Axel didn't know what they were up to.
He made his way through the lab, avoiding the slabs of melting ice. He passed by those strange tubes that held replicas. He knew Vexen made many of himself but now there was no need for them. They couldn't be taught, so he pulled the plug. They would be killed anyway, might as well kill them before they could regret living.
The master computer. The center point of Vexen's laboratory. Zexion had often had to input data on that thing, making sure everything was 100% accurate. He cracked his fingers and began putting in the correct codes and synchronizes to get past the security walls. Once he was through with that he went to find the folder that kept Vexen's personal files. He put in a disc and proceeded to copy to the disc.
The computer turned on and a beam of light appeared out of some unknown source. There in front of Zexion stood a copy of Vexen, a hologram.
"Halt.." It was as if he was talking to a ghost of his late comrade. "You do not have the authorization to download these files. Please identify yourself and imput correct password." The hazy green eyes stared right through Zexion.
Zexion stuttered. He had seen this thing before. It was an interactive hologram that one could talk to. The computer chip that programmed it could hear you, see you, and react accordingly.
"Vexen! It is I, Zexion. Number 6 of Organization XIII. I need these files. You, Lexaeus, and the traitors have fallen." The hologram showed no emotion as he spoke. "I need to return to the Superior and show him proof of what happened here before Axel can lie to him."
"Access is still denied." The hologram said.
Zexion growled. "Even! Please!" he shouted. "If not for me than for the possibility that Ienzo could someday exist again!"
That seemed to do it. "Alright.. Ienzo." it said, disappearing.
The computer whirred and the disc then ejected itself once finished with it's task. Zexion took it and put it in a protective case before slipping it into an inside pocket of his cloak. He then proceeded to wipe away the computer's memory. No use leaving data for Axel to use.
As Zexion worked on this, one of Vexen's experiments had gotten the upper half of it's body free. It was some kind of eel with monstrous teeth. It hissed and saw that it was close enough to take a bite of the tasty boy that was stupid enough to have his back turned to him.
That was a stupid mistake. Before it could even reach Zexion a scalpel was implanted firmly between it's eyes. The eel shrieked and reeled back, a dark gooey blood spraying from the wound.
Zexion watched with cold, calculating eyes. He reached forward and took out the scalpel. He then slit the creature's throat and it died instantly.
"Hmph." he muttered, walking away. He pocked the scalpel too. He might need it later.
A heavy metallic groan alerted the short male that someone was attempting to open the door to the lab. He smelled sulfur. Axel.
He opened a portal and disappeared.
-
"Time to see what Vexen's been doing down.. here..." Axel's voice trailed off as he saw the dead eel, melted ice everywhere and..
And the sound of a portal being closed.
Author's Notes: There y'go. Chapter two. This one was a little more difficult to do for some reason. I apologize for the shortness.
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