Luck be a Lizard [Arc]

[Nothingness]

Luxord couldn't help but be amused by this rather strange bit of irony. He was ordered to capture, and then contain Heartless within treasure chests. With luck, when the Heartless infested chests were opened, the greed of the pirates would draw more of the dark creatures. He could vaguely remember joining that traitor, Roxas, on a mission here where the young Keyblade-bearer released Heartless from chests to collect hearts. Then in Port Royal he had to manipulate the greed of the pirates to summon a Heartless. "Life has a funny way of repeating itself," he said thoughtfully. "Still, the odds certainly are against me. Ah well, tedium is all a part of the game. With luck, a larger payoff awaits me."

Stepping out of the Dark Corridor, he found himself on the largest island of Neverland, standing in the middle of a large clearing. With thick jungle on one side and towering mountains on the other, he was quite literally between a rock and a hard place. Now, if only there was an easy way for him to attract the Heartless. He had already "borrowed" the boxes from nearby pirate ships and had them waiting in rather nice lines, as well as having in possession quite a few treasure maps to mark each box's location, but now it was the hard part.

Taking out his cards he let them form into a table and chair before sitting down. Resting his elbows on the table and his chin in his hands, he wondered how to go about collecting those pesky monsters. Lady Luck certainly wasn't going to be on his side, it seemed. "You win some, you lose some," he wistfully thought. "Perhaps an opportunity will arise in due time. I do have all the time in the world." He was almost wishing that Fate hadn't intervened with Roxas...almost.

[Administrator]

The Paths had brought him here. Again. It was strange, to see a different part of this world this time, and to know that Zexion would not be here this time. The drake sighed, his facial features seeming the same to a casual onlooker, but truly, they expressed sadness. Well, that wasn't precisely the right word for it. Rather, it was a wistfulness, a wishing of being able to speak with Zexion again, one whom he had made friends with, quite unexpectedly.

Looking around, the draconian being noticed that he was in a jungle. Of course, Arc knew that being in a jungle by one's self in a strange and new environment was not the brightest idea, so he made for the nearest clearing. Of course, once he got there, he realized he was not, after all, truly alone. There was another in this clearing, one who seemed to be wearing the cloak that, from what Arc has seen, placed one as a member of the Organization, and he was obviously not a former member. He wasn't Marluxia or Axel, and didn't fit the description for Roxas.

Walking into plain view, the drake bowed his head. "Hello. My name is Arc Draco, and I can tell you are of the Organization. Due to this, I bear you no malice." Arc let his mouth curl upward, forming sort of a sheepish grin. It was endearing, in a 'looks like he is about to eat you' way. "I have met one of your members, a Nobody named Zexion. He is an ally of mine, and due to his explanation, I have judged your goals to be just." At this point, Arc was just getting the man up to speed. Rather, the Nobody, but the concept held.

Continuing, Arc began walking closer to the Nobody. "I have been chosen by the Keyblade, as he likely has already informed you." Summoning his keyblade, Arc watched as the flaming sword-key appeared in his hands. It was entrancing, the keyblade of his, his Sacred Flame. Even so, there was still more to be said. "At this, I end my lengthy introduction. All I now ask is your name, and I must inquire as to whether you will inform me of your goal here, and whether or nor I can be of use to this goal." Bowing his head again slightly, the drake politely waited for his answers, knowing this to be a fortuitous meeting, and that he might just be able to find Zexion again, with this Nobody's help. That was, after all, one of the goals which he had.

[Nothingness]

Ah, a Gentleman

Luxord turned his head a little to the side as he heard a rather odd, gravelly voice come from behind him. Standing up, he returned the summoned cards to the deck and turned to face his guest. Despite the newcomer's "interesting" appearance, he seemed to have the manners of a refined gentleman. What truly made Luxord glad (as close as he could get to the emotion, anyway) was that Arc was a Keyblade-bearer, which was precisely what he needed. That he knew Zexion was both a curse and a blessing. On one hand, he was most likely some unwitting tool of the Schemer's. On the other, it meant that Luxord wouldn't be fighting him.

As Arc finished his introduction, Luxord began his with a formal bow of his own. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Arc, chosen wielder of the Keyblade. My name is Luxord, the Gambler of Fate." Raising himself up from his bow he continued, giving Arc one of his wily smiles. "I am afraid my resurrection comes a little late, and as such Zexion has never made mention of you to me. Then again, the Schemer rarely fills others in on his plans. Still, it seems that Fate has decreed our meeting here." Gesturing to the boxes he began to explain his mission. "My job today is to gather Heartless in these boxes, and then scatter them about this island in hopes that the greed lying dormant within the pirates' hearts call about more of these beasts." A cruel smile crossed his lips, "Of course, a little conflicts between various buccaneers certainly may summon more of these dark beings." Pointing to draconian's Keyblade, Luxord ended his own long-winded speech. "That is why our meeting is so serendipitous. Heartless are drawn to you due to the nature of your weapon, and that shall make my job much easier. So, if you and I can enter into some sort of accord, then all the better." Clapping his hands together he made one last statement. "So, are you in, or are you out?"

[Administrator]

Help will be given, though it pains me.

Ah, another of the Organization whom uses proper etiquette. It was quite refreshing to hear another who was able to use speech properly, rather than veing rude about it. It appeared this one was named Luxord, and he was called the Gambler of Fate. The Nobody was here on a mission to collect Heartless spread them, to attempt to create more of them.

Arc knew why this was occurring, of course. The Nobodies knew as well as he did that things were out of balance. The light had grown much too powerful in the time since the temporary fall of the Organization. Arc, as a wanderer, could see the effects it had on rulers of kingdoms. He could even see the kind of effect it had on the common people, causing a very sociopathic view.

Zexion hadn't told the Gambler of him, it seemed. The drake wasn't entirely surprised by this, as they had a friendship, which most Nobodies would have frowned upon, likely. Then, Luxord asked if he would join him on this mission, as it would make it much easier to collect Heartless while they would be attracted to the Keyblade. "I would be honored to join you. Let us collect the Heartless."

He was not precisely pleased with the fact that he would be helping to create more of the monstrosities that had caused the destruction of his people, but it was necessary in the end. If the light grew too strong, it might collapse upon itself, and none wanted that fate to occur. If that happened, then there would be a time where life went to darkness entirely. And if that came about, then all life would be painful and tortured. It was best to help solve the problem now, rather than let it fester.

One could only hope it is not too late.

[Nothingness]

Time to Punch Your Cards

Luxord was delighted to have this Keyblade-wielder's help. Of course, deals like this were a two-way street: one must give if they were the taker. "In exchange for your service, if Fate decrees we both survive, then I shall, to the utmost of my ability, attempt to seize you a counsel with our dear Schemer." Almost as if some intervening, universal force heard Luxord's words, a batch of eight Pirates and two Artful Fliers came romping out of the forest. Looking at Arc with his customary mischievous grin, Luxord said, "You're doing a fine job already. Just weaken them, please. Although, I don't think a few hearts lost will be much of a problem." Naturally, he meant two things by that last sentence, but he doubted that Arc would pick up on it.

Sauntering over to one of the Pirates (the others were far more concerned with Arc, naturally), he took his deck of cards out and slipped them beneath its feet. With a quick flick of the wrist, the cards "bridged" and knocked the dark creature a few feet into the air. As it reached the apex of its flight Luxord began to, quite literally, shoot cards out of his sleeve. The barrage of attacks lifted the swashbuckling Heartless higher and higher until all 52 cards were spent, and it plummeted back to earth, dazed. Now he had a choice--collect each separately and waste a lot of time and energy doing it, or stun them just long enough to collect multiple Heartless and risk them waking up. "I'm feeling lucky today." He thought as he went to attack another Pirate.

[Administrator]

A meeting I much desire.

The keybearer nodded. As the Heartless approached, Arc readied Sacred Flame. He charged into the midst, the blade flashing in and out of Heartless, the creatures of darkness being blown backwards away from him, some of them stunned. He managed to knock out at two of the Pirates, or they seemed to be knocked out judging by their status on the ground, at least.

Arc looked up at one of the Artful Fliers that had decided to rush him. The draconic being lifted his weapon, blocking its assault, and jumped through it. It wavered slightly before falling to the ground. The rest of his maneuvers went into dodging the varied Heartless still striking at him. "I would appreciate should you find a way to bring I and Zexion together."

Zexion was his friend, though it was interesting to call a Nobody that. He and the Nobody had a connection that was different from those he had had with those of his people he had met, and one that he had never had duplicated anywhere else. It would be nice to see the Nobody again after the time it had been since their last meeting.

[Nothingness]

I Can Squeeze You In

The other Pirate Luxord had chosen to take on was far to busy focusing on Arc to notice Luxord running up to him. Digging one hell into the ground, and using the other to twist his body, he jumped in the air and surrounded himself with cards. Catching the Pirate unawares, it was launched skyward with the Gambler, and before long was plummeting towards the ground at least fifty feet up. While the Heartless violently crashed into the earth, Luxord descended quickly above the creature before jumping off the card at the last second. The card in question drove the Pirate into the ground, knocking it out cold.

Dusting his hands off, he took five cards, enlarged each, and slipped themselves under each of the unconscious Heartless. Then, forming into a bowl-shape, each was carried off and dropped into a box. The cards took care of slamming the tops over them. Hearing Arc ask again for a meeting with Zexion, Luxord replied, "As with all requests, work must be finished first before pleasure can begin. That said, I think I can expedite this process."

Opening a Corridor of Darkness, a Dusk slithered through the air out of it. Luxord nodded at the Nobody before asking it to carry a message to Zexion. "One Arc Draco wishes for a meeting with the Schemer. If you could please convey that message to him, that would be much appreciated." The Dusk bowed before leaving the way it came. "Now then, back to work."

Turning around to find two of the Pirates vainly attempting to free their allies for their wooden prisons, Luxord smirked before saying with a subtle amount of threat in his voice, "Oh no, you can't take cards for the dead pile yet. You can only join them while it's my turn." This wouldn't take long at all...