Chapter 4: Freeze

Vexen had made the decision to wait for his partner at one of the more prominent cafes in the mall. He had no desire for his partner to find the location of his lab.

The fact that the tea at this particular cafe was rather decent didn't hurt either.

Taking a sip, his eyes focused on a small creature making its way towards him. Vexen watched the creature approach him, setting down his tea when the creature was within five feet of him. "Experiment 627, I presume…"

"Evil," the Experiment replied with a nod. Vexen, already forewarned about his partner's speaking problems, was not surprised with the reply.

He rose to his feet and began to walk, making a gesture indicating that the Experiment should follow. "We have much to discuss, and very little time to do it," Vexen began as he walked forward, towards the cafe's counter, nonchalantly moving behind the counter and into the bowels of the cafe. "And the trap needs to be set."

--Battle Tournament--

Vexen leaned against the store's door and stared down at the fight below. A small part of him was interested in the bout below, while the rest focused on what he had to do. Waiting always was the hardest part of any plan. Act too early, and the entire plot was deterred. Act too late, and you were dead.

"You're blocking the door."

Vexen looked down. A teenage girl was glaring up at him, her arms crossed. The scientist took in the girl's appearance, before cooly inquiring, "Miss Block, I presume?"

The girl looked confused for the briefest of moments, before a mask of sarcasm crossed onto her face. "The one and only," She stated in a way that made it seem like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Vexen fought the urge to scowl. He had the feeling that this was going to be worse than dealing with a sugar-high Demyx.

He forced himself to smile politely. "We need to talk."

--Battle Tournament--

Argent cautiously examined the cafe before her. She had yet to find her partner, or to find either of her opponents. A lilac-haired man had said that he had seen a girl matching Massie's description at this cafe. She thanked the man, and had walked here.

There was no one out front. The door to the bowels of the cafe was left open. Perhaps Massie was in there. Or maybe she wasn't. Argent decided to proceed. Neither of her opponents looked strong to her, one an old man and the other a small creature. If it was a trap, she could easily fend off the attack.

The kitchen was empty, bare of any person. Only a large door was cracked open, cold air seeping out through the opening. A freezer, Argent decided. This was enough, Argent thought to herself, turning around. Massie obviously wasn't here.

A girl's shriek pierced the dead air, making the hairs on the back of Argent's neck stand straight up. She whipped around, staring at the freezer, the source of the sound. "What the hell?" she said to herself, approaching the door. That shriek… she couldn't just stand by. It might be Massie.

The door swung open easily and Argent walked through slowly, all her senses on full alert. The room was dark, almost pitch black. The only light source was from the kitchen, beyond the door. To remedy the lack of light, the Goth summoned forth a small ball of plasma using it to illuminate her path.

The plasma lit up a figure in the back of the freezer. Shaking off the cold that was already trying to permeate her body, Argent quickly walked over to the still figure. "Hey are you all right?" she inquired, leaning over and holding the light in front of the figure's face.

It was a dummy. Argent whirled around and started to run out of the freezer, but the door slammed shut with a click. Argent shook the handle roughly. It was locked. Argent grimaced, taking a step back, preparing to use a plasma blast to get her out of there.

A shot of ice stopped her, encasing her arm. She looked over her shoulder, using a quick burst of plasma to melt her arm, rivulets of the liquid running down the appendage.

A pair of eyes was staring at her. The creature. Argent shifted into an offensive position. She couldn't risk it attacking her while she tried to open the door. "Bring it on," she stated boldly.

Experiment 627's eyes narrowed in amusement. "Evil," he said, before launching at the girl.

--Battle Tournament--

Vexen was certain that he had developed a permanent tick under his eye. He had revised his opinion of this girl. She was worse than a sugar-high Demyx. She was the devil incarnate. The girl was babbling on about his clothes now.

"And those boots are soo clunky!! Honestly, where did you get them, a dumpster?? And your hair…"

Vexen strove to block the girl's comments out. He had thought this would be simple. Her profile in the database had said Massie was fashion oriented, with a mean streak, but Vexen had never thought the girl would be this bad.

"Enough," Vexen snapped. "I am tired of listening to your assessments of my so called 'look' and I am tired of your flippant attitude towards your elders. Are you going to surrender or not?"

Massie looked affronted. "Give up?! Puh-lease!!"

An eerie smile grew on Vexen's face. "Good," he replied, his hand dipping into a pocket.

--Battle Tournament--

Argent staggered back as 627's body collided painfully with her chest. His mouth snapped open and an icy breath emerged, freezing the girl's shoulders. Argent jerked her arm at the elbow, sniping 627 with a shot of plasma. In the few seconds she had, Argent melted the ice on her shoulders, the water soaking her shirt, and jumped to her feet. She wasn't as quick as she would have liked. The cold was setting into bones swifter than she had thought.

Argent had no time to contemplate further, as 627 rushed her again, using his ice breath on her feet, freezing her in place. Argent let out a curse, and materialized a bat to try to knock 627 away. She swung stiffly at the experiment, trying to ward off the weird experiment.

627 dodged most of the blows, and what blows he didn't dodge, he took in stride. Dashing forward, he jumped, spraying another burst of ice, freezing her stomach. "Evil!" He screeched in glee, charging another for his next attack.

Argent grimaced, quickly melting the ice once more. Now her shirt was drench with water. Argent could feel the water on her the various parts of her body slowly refreezing. She needed to get out of that freezer fast.

Twisting around, Argent started to shoot at the door with her plasma, only to have her hand frozen solid, and to be tackled by a red blur. They crashed into a shelving unit, frozen food falling on their heads.

--Battle Tournament--

Vexen stepped over Massie's unconscious body with ease, slipping the syringe back into his pocket. The girl hadn't gone down without a fight though, and the scientist was quite sure that he now had a black eye.

"Rather cheap, don't you think?" a voice called out.

Vexen tilted his head to look at the speaker. "Says the demon…" he replied, eyeing Death by Chocolate. "What brings you here? I haven't broken any rules… my opponent is alive, and the sedative was made by myself."

"Defensive, aren't we?" Death by Chocolate stated, walking past the blonde. "I was just walking to view the fight below, and you happened to be there. Relax."

"Hmm… good day," Vexen stated tersely, striding off. He had more important things to do than conversing with demons. The scientist ignored the demon's laugh.

The cafe was silent when Vexen arrived. He peered around, checking to see if anyone was loitering around, before proceeding.

The scientist was appreciative of the fact that if he arrived at the wrong time, he could mess up the entire plan. On his way over, he had stopped to confer with Zexion. The lilac haired man had confirmed that he had indeed directed Argent to the cafe, although whether she had taken the bait was unknown to him.

Vexen approached the freezer door, shut and locked. A smirk formed on his face as he strode up to it. He paused, listening for sounds of a struggle. Hearing none, the scientist cautiously unlocked the door.

627 swung it open. The experiment strode out of the freezer, and with a comment of "Evil," stalked off, evidently finished with his task. Vexen gazed into the room. Argent was buried in a pile of frozen food, shivering even though she was knocked out.

The scientist strode into the room, unaffected by the low temperature. Hooking an arm under both of her armpits, he dragged her out. He didn't need her to die of hypothermia. She was dragged as far as a table, where Vexen sat her in a chair for others to find.

Stepping back, Vexen nodded to himself, before turning and walking away.

He was done here.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Death by Chocolate belongs to Avatarjk137. Vexen, the creation of Square Enix. Argent is owned by DC I believe. Massie is the property of the author of the Clique series. Last but not least, 627 is the invention of Disney.

Author's Note: A duel duet this time. Vexen's partner, 627, is being written by Kinger810. Argent and Massie are being written by Movie-Brat and Yellowfur respectively. Everybody's doing a great job so far!!

Not much to say about this one… I almost didn't finish in time due to personal matters. But I did. Thank you God. Also, many, many, many

thanks to Kinger810. Thank you so much for putting up with all of my emails. A thanks goes out to Skipper1313 as well, for his help with editing.

And of course, thanks to the readers for reading.