Round Two: Seeing Double
Vexen stood hunched over what lay on the table before him, examining the experiment before him. Zexion lounged nearby, leaning on the counter, his lexicon held indolently in his hands. This silence continued for several minutes, before Vexen ceased his examination. "It appears to be unharmed," he stated.
Zexion rolled his eyes. "I brought it through a portal, straight from your lab. There was no chance for it to be hurt."
Vexen hmphed and walked over to the counter, rustling through the various items that rested on top. Finding what he wanted, he returned to the table, hovering over the experiment. The laptop had been consulted, and the file on Avatar Roku pulled up. Vexen had frowned slightly when he had read the file. A man who could control the four elements… would be an excellent test for his next experiment. A smirk had grown on his face when the idea first struck. A chance to test one of his newer ideas and progress farther in the tournament… a win-win scenario. His smirk acquired a triumphant edge as he activated the experiment.
Roku found his next opponent standing near one of the many areas where the waterway emerged from underground. The man was silent, his eyes piercing the Avatar with an odd gaze. Roku frowned slightly… there was something off about this man.
The Avatar had no more time to think about the oddness, as several spikes of ice came rushing at him. He stepped out of the way of the sharp spire, only to have the deadly icicles follow him. Slipping into the correct stance he jabbed forward with his hands, fire flowing out and melting the attack.
Roku stared at the man opposite of him. The only thing he had known previously was the man's name, Vexen, and his appearance. Now he knew several more things about the man. The first being that the man was a waterbender of some sort. The second was that he wielded a shield. Vexen's emerald eyes were narrowed in concentration, his shield held before him defensively, covering his torso. His deep concentration left his back open, and Roku decided to press forward with an attack. He shifted his foot forward and slipped.
Vexen had made a patch of ice underneath the old Avatar's feet. He kept making it larger, until the patch surrounded Roku so that he couldn't step onto unfrozen ground. Vexen smirked mechanically, as he raised a hand and formed an stake of ice in the air above his head and sent it flying at Roku.
Roku's feet slid across the slick surface, fighting for a firm foothold and finding it. He swept his arm in a horizontal motion in front of himself, melted the ice surrounding him, and with a graceful forward push of his arm, reformed it before him as a wall. Vexen's strike impacted upon the newly formed wall and shattered. Roku augmented his defense with another elegant motion, melting the water and whipping a rope of water at Vexen.
Vexen raised his shield, skidding backwards slightly as the whip connected, jarring the arm that held his shield. Vexen rose a few inches in the air and skimmed just over the floor, retreating to the side at a rapid pace.
Roku pursued, firing fireballs at the retreating scientist. Most were blocked by the shield, but a few connected, one with Vexen's cloak. It had been extinguished quickly, but a large portion towards the bottom of the cloak was missing now.
The fight continued this way for several minutes more, until Vexen disappeared through a metal door. Roku paused, before following in after. He was met by a strange sight. The room was small, enclosed, with the door appearing to be the only way in or out of the room, except for a small air vent towards the top of the room. Roku's eyes swept the room, before focusing on his opponent. The lights in the room illuminated the fact that Vexen was standing still, his shield held limply in his hands. Even his eyes were dull.
There was something wrong. Roku took a few steps forward, ready to conjure a fireball to attack. There was no need. The Avatar simply prodded Vexen and the man collapsed face first, the shield bouncing out of his hands. Roku looked down at the fallen form in shock. He had barely done any damage to the man, and already the man was unconscious? There was something very wrong with this…
Roku knelt down to further examine the body, when the door shut behind him with a click. Roku noticed nothing, the lights in the room bright enough to conceal the change. He flipped Vexen's form over. The eyes were still open, staring lifelessly up at the ceiling. Roku frowned, noticing stitching around the other man's neck. The stitching descended down the man's upper chest, disappearing into the cloak. Roku wondered absently what wound would require what appeared to be superficial stitching.
It was about then that the soft hissing attracted Roku's attention. He rose to his feet, glancing about him for the source. He couldn't identify it. In his search, he noticed the door was shut. A trap. The Avatar strode over to the door, grasped the knob firmly, and tried to open the door. The door didn't budge. Roku touched the metal door. Ice cold, most likely frozen from the other side. He took a few steps back, studying the door and blinking weariness from his eyes. Why was he so tired? Roku shook his head in an attempt to clear his head, shifting into the correct stance and shooting a fireball at the door. That did nothing but serve to activate the sprinklers, which turned on, and rapidly turned off as the fire was gone. Roku glanced up at the fire fighting machines, desperately trying to stay conscious.
The sprinklers ruled out firebending, and the door felt cold enough to freeze any water that came in contact with it… perhaps if he cut it fast enough with the Water knife Technique… His stance shifted once more, and faltered. The fight to stay conscious was becoming too much. He saw now, what was causing the problem. Gas. There was an almost invisible gas flowing into the room. Roku persisted in trying to get out, fighting to stay awake. His arms stretched, and the world spun. Roku sunk to his feet, the gas finally achieving his purpose.
Roku was unconscious.
A few minutes later, the door creaked open. It was left open for several more minutes, allowing the gas to diffuse out of the room. Vexen strode in, followed by Zexion. He stepped over the sleeping body of Avatar Roku and looked down at his experiment. His eyes narrowed as he glared down at the replica at his feet. "The Replica was a failure…" he scowled, kneeling down beside the replica. "No vocal abilities, miniscule fighting ability, low endurance, running from a fight…" He rose to his feet, as displeased a Nobody could be.
Zexion observed from the door. "It was the first time the replica fought in battle. The experiment will improve after a few more trials," He stated calmly.
Vexen nodded in agreement, before grabbing the arm of the replica and levering it so that he could carry it over his shoulder. He glanced absently at Avatar Roku, before stepping over the man again and exiting the room via a portal, with Zexion following after.
Disclaimer: If I owned Kingdom Hearts… let's just say a bibliophilic fangirl would be popping in to 'follow' Vexen around.
Author's Note: Hello!! And welcome to Round Two. This time, the corresponding entry will be written by Alius111. Good luck!!
Justification for those who don't know Vexen and how he operates and SPOILERS!! Don't read the following if you don't want SPOILERS!! In Chain of Memories, Vexen creates a Riku Replica. As much as I admire Vexen, I doubt that he could create a successful replica in the amount of time that COM takes place in, which is about… I figure two days at Maximum, as the gang is just climbing, and going through old memories… and other stuff…
In the manga, there is also an omake short in which Vexen Replicas appeared in. That's where the idea came from.
Also… about Vexen floating… that's how he moves around when he fights. If you watch videos, or even play the original GBA game, Vexen doesn't walk around a lot, he floats about. It was really annoying when you went to try to attack him. SPOILERS END!!
Thank you for reading my chapter, and I hope you enjoy it. If you have any problems, or anything else, leave it in a review. I'll get back to you as soon as I can.
Have a nice day!!