for pyramid_dares Level Two-B
Sand. He was supposed to be dead and instead he was half buried in sand. It wasn’t like the sands of a desert though because it was cool…yet the sun was still out…or at least it was very bright around him from what he could tell behind his closed eyes. ‘Perhaps, I’m not really dead,’ he thought, eyelids flickering a bit. No, that was impossible or at least extremely improbable since he had felt that Keyblade tear through his cards and through HIM, slicing him apart and sending him to oblivion.
An oblivion of sand…and now that he listened; he could also hear the ticking of clocks. ‘What sort of strange world have I landed in,’ he thought, shifting under his thin blanket of sand. He knew now that he must get up…he had to see where he was and what sort of condition he was in now and of course figure out where he was…that was important. He could FEEL things so sensibly that meant he had a body…but why did he still have one when the Keyblade master had destroyed it? ‘And if I have a body…does that mean the others do as well…if they are even here that is…which is another problem entirely,’ he thought again, however these thoughts did little to actually get him to move. The sand shifted again, he was moving, but slowly, time seemed to be at a standstill and for once, it was actually affecting him.
Then the clocks began to chime, some muffled by sand, others chiming loud and clear. It was as though a spell had been broken and immediately, with a grunt of effort, Luxord pushed himself out of the fine layer of sand that had buried him. He sat up, blinking sapphire eyes and wincing as they adjusted to the bright light that appeared to have no source. He brushed the sand off his shoulders and hair and was surprised to find that it was not normal sand…it was orange. There was no reason for it to be such a color and he plucked a grain from his hair to examine it closer, a frown on his lips, “Orange. Bright…orange,” he muttered before letting the grain of sand fall. He stood up now brushing the rest from his Organization coat and looking around.
Just as he had suspected all around him, stretching out in all directions where clocks and watches in all shapes, sizes, colors, and types. A faint smirk spread across his features as he put the orange sand together with the clocks, “A Clockwork Orange…amusing.” He’d read the book once and found it strange that it should occur to him now. He sighed and looked down at his feet only to find his collection of cards and dice strewn out around him. He examined them sadly and knelt down to carefully pluck up the nearest card, which was different from the rest and didn’t appear to belong to his deck. It was correct assumption because when he flipped it over instead of a suit he found a note:
Welcome. To the Sands of Time
“Oh, well that’s original,” he muttered a bit sarcastically, flipping the card over and back again, eyebrow quirking when he saw an added piece of text he hadn’t noticed before.
Time is ticking Luxord. You best find the proper Clock if you want to make it back in Time.
He reread the sentence again, puzzled, was this…a game? Or a test? But for what purpose? Who was leaving this message and why? Numerous questions and it seemed the only answers were coming from a small card he held in his hand and as ridiculous as it was he felt he should ask…the card, “What do you mean exactly? Are you saying this is some sort of game?” He wondered if he should be angered or not…perhaps he should wait for the answer. He glanced back down at the card:
The Clock. Your Clock. Ticking your life away while you dally here.
It’s only a game if you view it as such.
Luxord resisted the urge to rip the card in half, as it would not solve anything. Instead, he shoved it in his pocket and began to look around at the different clocks, “My clock…what the bloody hell is MY clock supposed to look like?” It really was a lost cause…but Luxord had not played a game yet that he had lost…well…except to Sora but he wasn’t going to think about that. His eyes jumped from clock to clock, each one ticking away at the same pace…perhaps…he was supposed to find a clock that wasn’t set like the rest. He turned on his heel, choosing a direction at random, this place seemed infinite…impossible to find one specific clock. Luxord stopped and looked at the clocks around him now, one bearing the roman numerals on it and reminding him of the Organization. He sighed and pulled out the card again.
It is not as futile as you think. All is within reach if you know what you are looking for.
“And to think I used to like riddles,” he muttered, once again shoving the card away and out of sight. He closed his eyes, trying to think…
Tick.
Of course this was rather hard to do-
Tock.
-when all the clocks were ticking around you.
Tick.
Wait…there was something-
Tock.
-else.
Tick……Ba-bump.
His eyes shot open and he turned to his right, looking over the clock that made him think of the old Organization. Eyes darted over the sands it was-
Tock….Ba-bump.
-a heartbeat? It wasn’t from his chest…that was still missing and he knew it. Did that mean it was out there? In the sand? It made a sick sort of sense…his heart lost in the Sands of Time. The heart was a sort of clock as well…at least…it worked like-
Ba-bump.
-clockwork. Luxord started slowly in the direction of the heartbeat. Stepping carefully over clocks, watches, and hourglasses as he went, the thumping growing louder than the ticking of the clocks, the pull at his chest greater. It was here. He could feel it now. His eyes flashed over one of the clocks and he saw it was nearing the hour and a feeling of panic swept over him causing him to pull out the card again.
Time is short. The hour soon chimes. Can you reach it?
He didn’t bother tucking it away again and the card slipped from his hands, drifting down into the orange sand. It was louder than ever now and then, as if on cue, the chimes began. It was impossible to hear the heartbeat now and he closed his eyes again, focusing on it…on the feeling.
Ba-bump.
Luxord stopped abruptly. There. In the sand before him, half-buried, was a clock that was not ticking. He dropped down and started to brush away the sand and as soon as his hand touched, it the hand moved and it actually made him smile. Slowly he pulled it out, it wasn’t very large for a clock but it was heavy. The shape was a heart and it was crystalline in nature, light pink as well. He would have called it girly…but really, it was more of a classy nature once you got a proper look at it.
Ba-bump.
But more important than its looks…it was his.
An oblivion of sand…and now that he listened; he could also hear the ticking of clocks. ‘What sort of strange world have I landed in,’ he thought, shifting under his thin blanket of sand. He knew now that he must get up…he had to see where he was and what sort of condition he was in now and of course figure out where he was…that was important. He could FEEL things so sensibly that meant he had a body…but why did he still have one when the Keyblade master had destroyed it? ‘And if I have a body…does that mean the others do as well…if they are even here that is…which is another problem entirely,’ he thought again, however these thoughts did little to actually get him to move. The sand shifted again, he was moving, but slowly, time seemed to be at a standstill and for once, it was actually affecting him.
Then the clocks began to chime, some muffled by sand, others chiming loud and clear. It was as though a spell had been broken and immediately, with a grunt of effort, Luxord pushed himself out of the fine layer of sand that had buried him. He sat up, blinking sapphire eyes and wincing as they adjusted to the bright light that appeared to have no source. He brushed the sand off his shoulders and hair and was surprised to find that it was not normal sand…it was orange. There was no reason for it to be such a color and he plucked a grain from his hair to examine it closer, a frown on his lips, “Orange. Bright…orange,” he muttered before letting the grain of sand fall. He stood up now brushing the rest from his Organization coat and looking around.
Just as he had suspected all around him, stretching out in all directions where clocks and watches in all shapes, sizes, colors, and types. A faint smirk spread across his features as he put the orange sand together with the clocks, “A Clockwork Orange…amusing.” He’d read the book once and found it strange that it should occur to him now. He sighed and looked down at his feet only to find his collection of cards and dice strewn out around him. He examined them sadly and knelt down to carefully pluck up the nearest card, which was different from the rest and didn’t appear to belong to his deck. It was correct assumption because when he flipped it over instead of a suit he found a note:
Welcome. To the Sands of Time
“Oh, well that’s original,” he muttered a bit sarcastically, flipping the card over and back again, eyebrow quirking when he saw an added piece of text he hadn’t noticed before.
Time is ticking Luxord. You best find the proper Clock if you want to make it back in Time.
He reread the sentence again, puzzled, was this…a game? Or a test? But for what purpose? Who was leaving this message and why? Numerous questions and it seemed the only answers were coming from a small card he held in his hand and as ridiculous as it was he felt he should ask…the card, “What do you mean exactly? Are you saying this is some sort of game?” He wondered if he should be angered or not…perhaps he should wait for the answer. He glanced back down at the card:
The Clock. Your Clock. Ticking your life away while you dally here.
It’s only a game if you view it as such.
Luxord resisted the urge to rip the card in half, as it would not solve anything. Instead, he shoved it in his pocket and began to look around at the different clocks, “My clock…what the bloody hell is MY clock supposed to look like?” It really was a lost cause…but Luxord had not played a game yet that he had lost…well…except to Sora but he wasn’t going to think about that. His eyes jumped from clock to clock, each one ticking away at the same pace…perhaps…he was supposed to find a clock that wasn’t set like the rest. He turned on his heel, choosing a direction at random, this place seemed infinite…impossible to find one specific clock. Luxord stopped and looked at the clocks around him now, one bearing the roman numerals on it and reminding him of the Organization. He sighed and pulled out the card again.
It is not as futile as you think. All is within reach if you know what you are looking for.
“And to think I used to like riddles,” he muttered, once again shoving the card away and out of sight. He closed his eyes, trying to think…
Tick.
Of course this was rather hard to do-
Tock.
-when all the clocks were ticking around you.
Tick.
Wait…there was something-
Tock.
-else.
Tick……Ba-bump.
His eyes shot open and he turned to his right, looking over the clock that made him think of the old Organization. Eyes darted over the sands it was-
Tock….Ba-bump.
-a heartbeat? It wasn’t from his chest…that was still missing and he knew it. Did that mean it was out there? In the sand? It made a sick sort of sense…his heart lost in the Sands of Time. The heart was a sort of clock as well…at least…it worked like-
Ba-bump.
-clockwork. Luxord started slowly in the direction of the heartbeat. Stepping carefully over clocks, watches, and hourglasses as he went, the thumping growing louder than the ticking of the clocks, the pull at his chest greater. It was here. He could feel it now. His eyes flashed over one of the clocks and he saw it was nearing the hour and a feeling of panic swept over him causing him to pull out the card again.
Time is short. The hour soon chimes. Can you reach it?
He didn’t bother tucking it away again and the card slipped from his hands, drifting down into the orange sand. It was louder than ever now and then, as if on cue, the chimes began. It was impossible to hear the heartbeat now and he closed his eyes again, focusing on it…on the feeling.
Ba-bump.
Luxord stopped abruptly. There. In the sand before him, half-buried, was a clock that was not ticking. He dropped down and started to brush away the sand and as soon as his hand touched, it the hand moved and it actually made him smile. Slowly he pulled it out, it wasn’t very large for a clock but it was heavy. The shape was a heart and it was crystalline in nature, light pink as well. He would have called it girly…but really, it was more of a classy nature once you got a proper look at it.
Ba-bump.
But more important than its looks…it was his.