Story of Origin
Title: Luck of the Sweep
Character(s): Luxord (Rould), Xaldin
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts II, Mary Poppins
Warnings: None
Rating: PG
Summary: Rould falls to the Heartless that have invaded London.
Word Count: 1,560
Thanks to: Ada for beta reading and helping with ideas.
The rooftops of London were generally black with soot from the merrily puffing chimneys…however, the blackness currently coating the sky and all below it was anything but smoke. Through the billows and curling of smoke the London townsfolk had come across a disastrous and foul creature as black as the soot itself and with eyes glowing yellow like dying coals. Everything died at their touch it seemed and the massing of creatures had cornered three more people to take.
“Mary I suggest you get away…now,” a voice cried out through the soot.
There was a woman’s scoff of indignation, “Rould I can’t leave the children.”
“I ‘ate to break it to ya luv but I think the children are already gone,” another male’s voice added. “Watch it!” There was a clatter of a sweeper’s broom and suddenly a man coated in black soot stumbled out from the smoke. He was soon joined by two more figures stumbling back as well. First was a woman in black dress who looked a tad out of place on the rooftop with her parrot-head umbrella. Second, a man with a well trimmed goatee covered in soot but flecks of lighter colored hair could been seen beneath…not to mention his blue eyes practically glowed beneath the black coating on his face. The blue-eyed man looked to his two companions, he still had a firm grip on his broom but it seemed the other had lost his.
The woman stomped her heel, “Bert what do you mean they’re GONE!”
The man named Bert opened his mouth to reply but the other man interrupted swinging his broom out and sweeping the creature that had just lunged out from the smoke, “Now’s not the time to be squabbling. We need to find a means past these bloody things!”
“Rould ‘as a point,” Bert nodded in agreement, trying to peer through the smoke, “Unfortunately they blend right in with the soot…never thought I’d live ta see the day the rooftops would turn on me.”
“Well we won’t be living much longer if we don’t get out of here this very instant…come along you two,” Mary scolded, grabbing Bert’s hand and reaching for Rould’s but was stopped by a horrible creaking sound. Rould’s eyes widened and he looked down at his feet, the building was actually starting to crack a part, darkness seeping through the crevices and he could swear it was attached to a monster much greater. He looked up at the others who were on the other side.
“Don’t just stand there bloody gawking! Go! No need betting all our lives!”
Mary’s umbrella popped open and the wind seemed to pick up, whisking them away. Rould turned his attention to the monster that was looming up from the house, a monster of enormous proportions. He tightened his grip on the chimney sweep broom he still held, he knew he had no chance…and as if on cue the larger monster must have called some of its smaller counterparts because before Rould knew it he was surrounded by the beings. The soot-covered man smirked slightly, “Guess my luck’s run out.”
~*~
Xaldin dropped down lightly on the remains of a chimney pipe. This world was pretty much dead now and he’d been scourging the town looking for…survivors. He’d found the usual…Dusks. Lots and lots of Dusks…all off for the World that Never Was now. He was about to open a portal and head back as well when he suddenly felt the winds change, they were now blowing towards the east and he stopped. “Odd,” he muttered as it whipped through his dreadlocks. He turned the direction it was blowing towards, the leftover smoke curling with it and almost making him wonder if Axel was around…but no…the world was just very industrialized and reliant on such things for warmth. Not that it mattered anymore…the world was dead.
At least, so he thought, because as he began to fly from rooftop to rooftop he began to pick it up, the sound of…humming…now that was particularly odd. He made his way across the darkening sky, not all of it from soot and ash now…most of it actual darkness. He really didn’t have much time before this world blinked out. Xaldin just knew he had to find out who was humming…and why. As he drew closer he began to pick out words instead of just humming…and in the distance he could make out a shape…
Up where the smoke is all billered and curled
…
Where there’s hardly no day nor hardly no night
There’s things half in shadow and half way in light
“You,” Xaldin called out to the man as he landed on the roof, interrupting the song. The man looked over and Xaldin could see that he was covered in soot and his legs were dangling off the roof, apparently a chimney sweep of this world. He could hardly make out any features what with the grime, the only noticeable feature being his electric blue eyes and what appeared to be some piercing in his ear…although Xaldin couldn’t tell if they were silver or gold because that’s how black they were…they might have just been black hoops for all he knew.
“Ello. Can I help you,” the man asked Xaldin after giving him a look over and a smirk crossing his lips. He pushed himself up, easily balanced on the roofs and almost reminding Xaldin of number Two. They couldn’t possibly have similar abilities though, right?
No, Xaldin merely chalked it up to the fact that this man was most likely a chimney sweep…or his Other had been…he still had yet to discover whether this man was a Nobody or not so he would ask, “What’s your name and do you have a Heart?”
The man gave Xaldin an odd look but the Lancer seemed unperturbed, after all, he had asked a simple question…even if to most it would seem a bit strange. The soot-coated man stroked at what Xaldin realized must have been a beard under all the ash on his face, “A name. Well it doesn’t sound particularly right but for the sake of being able to call myself something we shall go with Luxord…and as for a heart---.”
Xaldin shook his head causing Luxord to stop, “You’ve already answered my question.”
“Did I? Because I was fairly certain I only provided you with my name,” Luxord said, dropping his hand from his chin, “And alas…I have yet to receive yours. Can’t be mates if I don’t know your name.”
This neophyte was definitely an odd one…well perhaps not when compared to Demyx…but still a tad strange. The large man growled out his name as a means of introduction, “Xaldin.”
Luxord nodded in comprehension, “An interesting name. So now that we are introduced I can tell by your look that you have a proposition for me and I can only further assume that this particular proposition has something to do with my jumbled recollection of memories as well as my…lack of heart.” He hesitated on the last statement because, like most of the recently turned Nobodies, the idea of lacking such an important organ was mind boggling to say the least. Xaldin could sense it on him…the search for fear that should be there but wouldn’t come. That’s how they all were…though Luxord was doing a good job of masking it.
“You are a Nobody,” Xaldin began, and then proceeding to explain the hand that had been dealt to the potential number Ten. He wondered if perhaps this would be enough members for the Superior…though he wasn’t about to get his hopes up. Xaldin pushed these thoughts aside and continued…moving on to his favorite part of the ‘introduction.’ “And one last thing,” in a burst of wind one of his lances appeared and aimed itself at the man’s chest, “joining isn’t exactly a request. So what do you say?”
The man studied the lance for a moment and Xaldin was slightly disappointed by the lack of fear. Apparently, this particular neophyte was quick to adjust. Luxord then looked up at Xaldin. A faint grin brushed across his face and he gently pushed at the lance but the wind just seemed to pick up and the lance jerked forward, pressing against Luxord’s throat. He gulped and muttered, “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”
Xaldin blinked, “What?”
Luxord looked up at him again, “Ah…pardon I was at a loss of words.” Xaldin’s silence stretched out and Luxord shook his head in mild amusement, obviously it was Xaldin who was at a loss of words now, “I don’t suppose I have much choice in the matter if you’re only going to off me here if I oppose you and I’m not one to be so disagreeable. You say the Organization you are allied with can return my Heart? Well who am I to oppose such a cause?” The man looked around at his surroundings, taking in the ever-darkening sky and the sound of creaking earth and nodded solemnly, turning his eyes back to Xaldin, “Alright I suppose I can accompany you.”
Xaldin smirked and nodded, holding out his hand and opening a black portal. Luxord looked at it curiously before glancing at Xaldin who indicated he should pass through. The former chimney sweep shrugged and strolled into the darkness, Xaldin following behind and closing the portal.
Character(s): Luxord (Rould), Xaldin
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts II, Mary Poppins
Warnings: None
Rating: PG
Summary: Rould falls to the Heartless that have invaded London.
Word Count: 1,560
Thanks to: Ada for beta reading and helping with ideas.
The rooftops of London were generally black with soot from the merrily puffing chimneys…however, the blackness currently coating the sky and all below it was anything but smoke. Through the billows and curling of smoke the London townsfolk had come across a disastrous and foul creature as black as the soot itself and with eyes glowing yellow like dying coals. Everything died at their touch it seemed and the massing of creatures had cornered three more people to take.
“Mary I suggest you get away…now,” a voice cried out through the soot.
There was a woman’s scoff of indignation, “Rould I can’t leave the children.”
“I ‘ate to break it to ya luv but I think the children are already gone,” another male’s voice added. “Watch it!” There was a clatter of a sweeper’s broom and suddenly a man coated in black soot stumbled out from the smoke. He was soon joined by two more figures stumbling back as well. First was a woman in black dress who looked a tad out of place on the rooftop with her parrot-head umbrella. Second, a man with a well trimmed goatee covered in soot but flecks of lighter colored hair could been seen beneath…not to mention his blue eyes practically glowed beneath the black coating on his face. The blue-eyed man looked to his two companions, he still had a firm grip on his broom but it seemed the other had lost his.
The woman stomped her heel, “Bert what do you mean they’re GONE!”
The man named Bert opened his mouth to reply but the other man interrupted swinging his broom out and sweeping the creature that had just lunged out from the smoke, “Now’s not the time to be squabbling. We need to find a means past these bloody things!”
“Rould ‘as a point,” Bert nodded in agreement, trying to peer through the smoke, “Unfortunately they blend right in with the soot…never thought I’d live ta see the day the rooftops would turn on me.”
“Well we won’t be living much longer if we don’t get out of here this very instant…come along you two,” Mary scolded, grabbing Bert’s hand and reaching for Rould’s but was stopped by a horrible creaking sound. Rould’s eyes widened and he looked down at his feet, the building was actually starting to crack a part, darkness seeping through the crevices and he could swear it was attached to a monster much greater. He looked up at the others who were on the other side.
“Don’t just stand there bloody gawking! Go! No need betting all our lives!”
Mary’s umbrella popped open and the wind seemed to pick up, whisking them away. Rould turned his attention to the monster that was looming up from the house, a monster of enormous proportions. He tightened his grip on the chimney sweep broom he still held, he knew he had no chance…and as if on cue the larger monster must have called some of its smaller counterparts because before Rould knew it he was surrounded by the beings. The soot-covered man smirked slightly, “Guess my luck’s run out.”
~*~
Xaldin dropped down lightly on the remains of a chimney pipe. This world was pretty much dead now and he’d been scourging the town looking for…survivors. He’d found the usual…Dusks. Lots and lots of Dusks…all off for the World that Never Was now. He was about to open a portal and head back as well when he suddenly felt the winds change, they were now blowing towards the east and he stopped. “Odd,” he muttered as it whipped through his dreadlocks. He turned the direction it was blowing towards, the leftover smoke curling with it and almost making him wonder if Axel was around…but no…the world was just very industrialized and reliant on such things for warmth. Not that it mattered anymore…the world was dead.
At least, so he thought, because as he began to fly from rooftop to rooftop he began to pick it up, the sound of…humming…now that was particularly odd. He made his way across the darkening sky, not all of it from soot and ash now…most of it actual darkness. He really didn’t have much time before this world blinked out. Xaldin just knew he had to find out who was humming…and why. As he drew closer he began to pick out words instead of just humming…and in the distance he could make out a shape…
Up where the smoke is all billered and curled
…
Where there’s hardly no day nor hardly no night
There’s things half in shadow and half way in light
“You,” Xaldin called out to the man as he landed on the roof, interrupting the song. The man looked over and Xaldin could see that he was covered in soot and his legs were dangling off the roof, apparently a chimney sweep of this world. He could hardly make out any features what with the grime, the only noticeable feature being his electric blue eyes and what appeared to be some piercing in his ear…although Xaldin couldn’t tell if they were silver or gold because that’s how black they were…they might have just been black hoops for all he knew.
“Ello. Can I help you,” the man asked Xaldin after giving him a look over and a smirk crossing his lips. He pushed himself up, easily balanced on the roofs and almost reminding Xaldin of number Two. They couldn’t possibly have similar abilities though, right?
No, Xaldin merely chalked it up to the fact that this man was most likely a chimney sweep…or his Other had been…he still had yet to discover whether this man was a Nobody or not so he would ask, “What’s your name and do you have a Heart?”
The man gave Xaldin an odd look but the Lancer seemed unperturbed, after all, he had asked a simple question…even if to most it would seem a bit strange. The soot-coated man stroked at what Xaldin realized must have been a beard under all the ash on his face, “A name. Well it doesn’t sound particularly right but for the sake of being able to call myself something we shall go with Luxord…and as for a heart---.”
Xaldin shook his head causing Luxord to stop, “You’ve already answered my question.”
“Did I? Because I was fairly certain I only provided you with my name,” Luxord said, dropping his hand from his chin, “And alas…I have yet to receive yours. Can’t be mates if I don’t know your name.”
This neophyte was definitely an odd one…well perhaps not when compared to Demyx…but still a tad strange. The large man growled out his name as a means of introduction, “Xaldin.”
Luxord nodded in comprehension, “An interesting name. So now that we are introduced I can tell by your look that you have a proposition for me and I can only further assume that this particular proposition has something to do with my jumbled recollection of memories as well as my…lack of heart.” He hesitated on the last statement because, like most of the recently turned Nobodies, the idea of lacking such an important organ was mind boggling to say the least. Xaldin could sense it on him…the search for fear that should be there but wouldn’t come. That’s how they all were…though Luxord was doing a good job of masking it.
“You are a Nobody,” Xaldin began, and then proceeding to explain the hand that had been dealt to the potential number Ten. He wondered if perhaps this would be enough members for the Superior…though he wasn’t about to get his hopes up. Xaldin pushed these thoughts aside and continued…moving on to his favorite part of the ‘introduction.’ “And one last thing,” in a burst of wind one of his lances appeared and aimed itself at the man’s chest, “joining isn’t exactly a request. So what do you say?”
The man studied the lance for a moment and Xaldin was slightly disappointed by the lack of fear. Apparently, this particular neophyte was quick to adjust. Luxord then looked up at Xaldin. A faint grin brushed across his face and he gently pushed at the lance but the wind just seemed to pick up and the lance jerked forward, pressing against Luxord’s throat. He gulped and muttered, “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”
Xaldin blinked, “What?”
Luxord looked up at him again, “Ah…pardon I was at a loss of words.” Xaldin’s silence stretched out and Luxord shook his head in mild amusement, obviously it was Xaldin who was at a loss of words now, “I don’t suppose I have much choice in the matter if you’re only going to off me here if I oppose you and I’m not one to be so disagreeable. You say the Organization you are allied with can return my Heart? Well who am I to oppose such a cause?” The man looked around at his surroundings, taking in the ever-darkening sky and the sound of creaking earth and nodded solemnly, turning his eyes back to Xaldin, “Alright I suppose I can accompany you.”
Xaldin smirked and nodded, holding out his hand and opening a black portal. Luxord looked at it curiously before glancing at Xaldin who indicated he should pass through. The former chimney sweep shrugged and strolled into the darkness, Xaldin following behind and closing the portal.