Round 2 - Riku Replica Vs. Lightning.

[Kadaj]

”Ladies and Gentlemen!! Thank you for your patience!”
The small goat-man said as he strode back out into the middle of the arena, several assistants dashing out either side of him to help the injured fighters from the last round to leave and to clean up any debris and fix minor damage to the fighting area itself. A few others were checking out the shielding system not too far away, to make sure the magical barrier continues to hold in the upcoming fights. Phil glanced from left to right, keeping a close eye on his workforce, before grinning and kicking one of his hoofs against the floor. He rose up his makeshift megaphone and brought it to his stubble-covered face.
”Give a big hand to the winner of the last round!!”
Phil himself clapped, half-arsed at that while the rest of the audience cheered and roared, clapping and chanting for their favourite fighter to reappear and show off more of their fighting moves and techniques. The massive crowd continues to wave flags and banners with various fighters names and faces on, roaring and chanting endlessly for the matches to continue.

Phil took a moment to look at one of his assistants, who ran up to him with a sheet of paper. The goat-man took the paper and glanced at what was written upon it. After a couple seconds, he nodded and handed the paper back before returning his attention to the crowd.
”Ladies and Gentlemen, are you ready for Round 2?!!”
Phil yelled into his megaphone, grinning with delight as he did so. He could hear the mountain of Munny he’d be making from the Second Tournament already. After listening to the deafening roar of the crowd yelling ‘YEAH!’ back at him, the small goat-man turned around, making sure he got to speak to the whole of the audience.
”Then will you please welcome to the stage, the return of our contestant, victorious from Round 1. He’s a copy of the legendary Keyblader Riku who is supposed to be in league with the mysterious Organization XIII. Will he be able to make it past this next contestant?! There is only one way to find out!! Please put your hands together for, Riku Replica!!!”
The crowd cheered loudly and waited the arrival of their fighter, waving their flags and banners continuously all throughout.
”And his opponent, who has beaten all odds and for now seems like the one most likely to win this whole tournament!! Having beaten the awesomely powerful Sephiroth in the last round, could there be anyone else in this Tournament who can stop her?! Give it up for the one and only, Lightning!!”
Phil bowed to the audience and quickly scurried off out the arena before either fight came in and made themselves known.

[Lightning]

The last round...Lightning had absolutely no idea how she had won in the first place.

When she had first walked into the battle, she didn't have any confidence that she would win at all. She had taken one look at her opponent. The tall and strong man Sephiroth. He was twice as strong as she was probably. Lightning was able to tell that just from the look of him. Lightning was still a bit shocked that she had managed to defeat him. It had been a huge obstacle that she had overcome. She had defeated the man with the single wing. The 'angel' had been taken down. By her. This gave her much more self-confidence. Maybe now...she could overcome the obstacles she had to face. And maybe she could protect her sister Serah better. Lightning felt like she was becoming stronger not physically, but more mentally and emotionally. And it was all because of something that she learned to keep with her.

Light. Lightning had struggled with overcoming light several times before. Not so much overcoming it but keeping it with her. The darkness seemed so prone. So hard to fight against. And it was easy to get lost in it. Lightning only knew about keeping the light with her thanks to the meeting that she had with the keyblade master Sora and the Goddess of Harmony, Cosmos. Both of them had been very nice to Lightning and both of them had been very strong users of the light. While Lightning was physicaly strong, she wasn't exactly strong when it came to keeping her light close at hand. She had envied the two of them for their ability to keep the light close at hand. She didn't think that she would ever be able to do something like that. But Lightning had learned a lot. And she felt like she was becoming not only a better fighter but also a better person as far as character went.

She was still in this tournament to prove herself. Lightning was the kind of person who was never fully satisfied with something until she went well and beyond. She was proud that she had conquered her light of course. And she was proud that she had managed to defeat Sephiroth in the last round. But she still had a lot to prove to herself. If she wanted to accomplish all of her goals and take down the government, she'd have to be stronger. Plus she had to look out for Serah and be strong for her. She was Serah's older sister. She had to look out for her and protect her. Especially now that their parents had passed away. Serah was the only family that she had left in all of the worlds. Lightning naturally had more of a reason to care about her.

Lightning waited until she was called out. She was in the dark watching the crowd that had come to watch. She was curious to see who she was going to be fighting this time. She didn't know what to expect this time. She had been surprised to see Sephiroth last time. Lightning knew not to judge her opponent soley on looks or what she saw. You could expect a lot out of people if you didn't know what you were going to expect. Lightning knew better then to underestimate her opponent. After all she was an ex-soldier. And she had fought many people in her life before and she knew better then to underestimate them.

Lightning heard the name get called. Riku Replica. The man mentioned that he was a copy of the original Riku. A copy...Lightning had never heard of something along those lines before. She wondered about this orginal Riku character. He must have been pretty strong to have a replica made of him. Lightning took this into consideration and she moved out when she heard her name called. She watched her opponent. He didn't look much older then Hope. She was going to fight the replica of a kid? Lightning shook this off and she knew not to underestimate her opponent. She didn't think of him as anything less then an opponent. She did the same thing as last time letting her opponent attack first.

"Your move..." She said in her usual almost emotionless tone.

[rr]

The Replica had not won that fight.

He didn't even have a full memory of the end, just dim recollections of jolting pain, sickening falls, and his entire body clenched around impact. The darkness had shielded him from most of the magic; it had been his strength, his ally, and his weakness when Zexion turned it against him.

Blue-black fingers flicked the water disgustedly. He hadn't won. The battle, maybe, but not the war. It wasn't over.

Leaning in the doorway and waiting for it to start all over again, he considered the fighters on the field at the moment. Here he was, cloaked in darkness. Giving in to it for a second meant he could lose his heart, but rejecting it meant throwing away his only strength. It could shatter him like a porcelain doll, or it could keep him alive. Wasn't everyone like that, though? Everyone carried chemicals inside that a single rupture, a single malfunction, could release and kill them. Everyone walked around without even thinking about it, delicate machines of flesh and blood, gears fixing themselves and pulleys knitting back together. It would take nothing to kill them. Nothing.

But they lived anyway, he thought as the stubby goat-man started to address the crowd and they all cheered without even feeling their vocal cords deteriorating, eardrums straining, dying just that little bit more with every passing second. One day they'd be deaf from this. Did they care? Would they, if they knew?

I don't think they would, he thought as he headed out with a nonchalant wave, Soul Eater resting across his shoulders just for show. Normally he wouldn't, either--if he were Riku, he wouldn't, because what was there to care about? He was here, it was now. Maybe he'd die right here on this arena, but he didn't know that yet.

So instead he looked to his opponent. His first thought was of Larxene, but she didn't have that malicious air--in fact, she reminded him more of Naminé, if Naminé were a lot more serious and icy. She was no Sora, but that didn't mean he couldn't have fun with this. If he didn't, there was no reason to stick around. He shot her a smirk that wasn't Riku's--not Sora's, or Kairi's, or Vexen's, but his. "Already?" he asked in a tone meant to rile, shifting his weight almost idly. Then he moved in at a run, direct as always, because he'd noticed her weapon and knew she wanted him far away and he wanted her close up. A feint from up close and then he flipped up over her head to bring Soul Eater down from above, and for an instant in the air, he thought, I get it now, Sora.

[Lightning]

Lightning was still weighing in the factors of why she was in the tournament. She wasn't here for the glory or anything along those lines. Lightning was just looking at the whole situation as a chance for her to prove herself. Prove herself and the ability that she truely had. It was sort of like a test for her. To learn of the skill that she had and what she needed to use to work on. Lightning often did measures like this. She didn't believe her thoughts at all. She had to prove herself through her own actions. Lightning sometimes did go a bit far in her actions though. She went to all ends to do what she thought would prove her true strength. Measures that could probably push herself too far. Lightning had always been this way though. Even moreso after the death of her parents.

She thought that she had to be stronger then she was before. For the better of her little sister, Serah. She even changed her name to lose all of those emotional tides that would weigh her down. She had planted the thought in her mind that emotion was a sign of weakness. When she showed her emotion...she was just making herself appear weaker and more vulnerable. She didn't want her opponents to see this emotional side of her. She didn't want anyone too for that matter. The only person who could really let any emotion out of her was Serah. Mainly because Serah was the only person that she really had a true love or connection for. She did like to think that she had care for her friends as well...but it just didn't stand out quite as much like it did for her sister.

Lightning didn't even acknowledge the cheers that the crowd gave her. She just stood, looking ready and prepared. Her icy blue eyes focused on the entrance opposite from the one she came from. She studied the man as he walked out carefully. He looked young. Roughly about the same age as Hope she'd say. It'd be a bit odd to fight Hope. Especially since she was supposed to be the one protecting him. But she didn't get the same vibe from Hope from this boy at all. He seemed rather cold. Different from the kind of cold that she had. His felt a bit more dark in comparision. He had silver hair that was similar to that of her last opponent. Sephiroth. She wasn't sure what to think of him yet. Just because he was younger then her, didn't mean that he was weak. Lightning learned more then anything not to underestimate her opponent or get overconfident. Lightning was far from overconfident. That was more of a trait from one of her comrades, Snow. And out of all of her comrades, she was probably the most opposite with Snow.

Lightning heard him speak and give her that smirk. Lightning really wanted to just wipe it off his face right now. She didn't like the look that he was giving her at all. It seemed to have a bit of overconfidence. She didn't appreciate being underestimated at all. She would have to just unleash her ability more. Lightning watched as the replica started running at her. He seemed fast. Usually, speed was an ability that Lightning excelled at. She had mastered many speed up techniques and usually had her speed aid her. Lightning studied his weapon for the moment. It didn't seem like anything that different. It just looked like a sword. But the design made her question a bit. It had a bit of a resemble to the darkness. Lightning wondered if he would ploy around with the darkness during this battle. Sephiroth had tried to get her to fall to the darkness last time. And she had been able to use the light. But would she be able to do it a second time? She didn't now.

Lightning watched him flip over her, again reminded of an attack of her own. As he tried to come down at her, Lightning reacted quickly, raising blaze edge above her head to block the attack. She could feel his strength as the weapons clashed. He was stronger then he looked. Lightning attempted to push back on his own weapon to get him away a bit. She had the option to use both short and long range attack due to her weapon. She could use it in both the sword form and as well as the gun form. She would have to use this in a well though strategy, noting that he opponent seemed to focus on short range attacks.

[rr]

[>< Apologies for length, I don't wanna get into the godmod area but there's little thought and lots of action where this one is concerned.]

That initial coldness didn't leave Lightning's demeanor, but her first move was to defend. She didn't flinch from his attack, nor attempt to get out of its way and strike back, but blocked it directly and shoved--resistance. This was not the kind of person who let people in, so the Replica would have to get past her defenses before he dealt any real damage.

He let the motion of his initial jump carry him forward, body bending, and when she pushed at him he used that momentum to follow through in a flip, pulling his legs up in a brief somersault meant to make himself a smaller target before landing. Nonetheless, he'd overshot a little and landed awkwardly, stifling a grunt at the pain that splintered up his left ankle. The landing didn't end there, though, because he was striking out before he straightened, torn white tunic and Soul Eater both fanning out to catch his opponent while his back was turned just in case she was recovering or focused on a counterattack. Then he leapt back, clothes hugging his thighs and then flaring around him. While he wanted to get in close, he didn't know yet what he was up against and didn't need to take any chances. Her weapon looked long-range, but it would still be easier to block ranged attacks than trying to figure out her style from where it was already raining down on top of him.

But that didn't mean he couldn't contribute in the meantime. So, counting the seconds that he could remain immobile, the Replica seized darkness from the thin air near his own head like a snowball. "Drop!" he yelled to Lightning as he hurled it, watching Dark Firaga split off into three bursts of bruise-colored darkness, but the Replica didn't stick around to see them hit. He knew that a good target was a stationary one, and he was already moving, planning his next attack from a run close (but not too close) to the edge of the stage.

[Lightning]

Lightning watched as he used her pushing back to his best ability and flipped back into the air. She slid back a little, due to having been pushing so hard and not having to exert that force on anyone. Lightning handed with her one knee raised, mainly relying on this to support the rest of her body. Her other leg was kicked out, her heel on the ground. Lightning rose to her feet quickly. She was pretty good at landing, mainly because of her gravity control ability. Gravity Bomb. It enabled her to jump and defy gravity in all ways. She had to be able to master landing or this would be pointless. She wore it on her finger to activate it. It wasn't quite time to do so just yet. She knew that she would have to soon though. She had to get to more attacks and less defense.

She spun around quickly to see that he had landed back on the ground. She could have used the gun form of her weapon and aimed a bullet but she noticed how he packed himself tightly as he flipped as well. That had been a smart move on his part. If she had reacted quick enough to aim her bullets at him, he would have been safer in getting hit as opposed to if he kept his legs out. Lightning did notice that he seemed to have a rougher landing then her. He seemed to have landed on his ankle or something along those lines. She could tell by the pained expression on his face. He must not do feats like that very often. Stuff like that was exactly her department though. When she noticed him have his back turned she reacted quickly and took this moment to charge.

Unfortunately for her, he turned around almost the minute that she started running. Lightning watched as he raised his weapon toward the sky. He was summoning...the darkness. Her hypothesis had been correct. She had a feeling that he was going to be using the darkness against her like Sephiroth had in the last round. Lightning felt more intimidated by the Darkness then any opponent. Darkness was hard to defend. And she fell prey to it one too many times. She was able to conquer it once before in her fight against Sephiroth. Why should now be any different. Lightning heard him yell out and then saw the darkness energy zooming right toward her. Lightning activated gravity bomb on her finger, enabling her gravity defying abilities. With this, she could jump higher, stay in the air longer, and even attack while flying through the air.

Lightning jumped up just missing the three orbs of energy coming at her. She saw the replica running to the other side of the stage. He had probably been planning this, if his attack had proven to be successful. She aimed her landing in that area. While in the air though, she turned her weapon into its gun mode and aimed a few bullets at him. She landed right in front of him, the electircal orbs coming from her legs as she landed. Gravity Bomb was able assist her in landing as well so she wouldn't fall. She quickly brought her weapon back to its sword form and aimed she raised her weapon overhead while she jumped up attempting to come down in a hard slash on the replica.

{Gah you didn't godmod at all! I'm just worried that I might have. If you see anything, just say and I will modify it.}

[Kadaj]

Due to running out of time to make her reply to the Tournament, Riku Replica has been removed from the match and Lightning is declared the winner and will advance into the Semi-Finals.