Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and all related characters are property of Square Enix. I claim no ownership to them. "Oogie Boogie's Song" is from The Nightmare Before Christmas and is property of Tim Burton, Danny Elfman, and Disney.

Note(s): I wrote this about a year ago for Halloween. I thought about waiting until then to post it here, but alas, I couldn't wait that long. :F Have fun!


A Point in Time
by The Eleventh End

At one point in time, Luxord realized that eventually, he would have to acknowledge that he did some stupid things.

Calling Zexion a blathering idiot to his face had been one of those things, as the shorter man had quickly gotten Lexaeus to hit Luxord around a few times, rather than dirty his own hands. Insulting the size of Larxene's breasts had been another stupid thing to do; hundreds of volts of electricity coursing through one's body isn't the most pleasant experience. And, he had to admit, making a pass on Xemnas' tendency to pontificate was a death wish; he still wasn't sure why he had thought that would be a good idea.

This, though, took the prize.

Lately, there had been a decreasing lack of missions for the members of Organization XIII to carry out. Xemnas had said something about being close to a breakthrough, and they would have to momentarily halt progress until they could assess the new information concerning hearts, Darkness, and various other things concerning their lack of being. They hadn't seen much of the Superior in the past week or so. Saïx, who had been recently appointed as the second-in-command, was in charge until further notice, and most of the time, he left to experiment with his ridiculous methods of divination.

Taking this into consideration, it was only understandable that they had grown bored. Most of them passed the time with frivolous activities; Zexion and Lexaeus had their puzzles, Demyx had his music, Larxene had her books, Marluxia had his gardening, and so on and so forth. Luxord, though, had quickly tired of his cards, and none of the other members were interesting enough to converse with - either they were too dull or too longwinded.

Left to his own devices, Luxord had decided to travel to the other worlds, eventually ending up in Halloween Town. He had wandered around for a while, exploring the graveyards and the forest. The townsfolk were strange and the architecture even stranger, but for whatever reason, he had been enjoying himself.

That is, until three little delinquents had run up, thrown him in a gigantic sack, packed him up into a walking bathtub and taken him away. Where to, he wasn't sure, having not been able to see anything. When his sight had been restored to him, he was strapped onto a spiked, circular platform in the center of what appeared to be a giant roulette wheel.

Nothing had happened since, and by now, Luxord was struggling as best he could in an attempt to free himself. For some reason, he couldn't access the Corridors of Darkness, thus preventing him from escaping through a portal. His powers over time wouldn't do him much use in this condition, and he doubted he'd be able to cut through steel with a playing card.

A frustrated sigh left the gambler as he gave up again. This hadn't been what he'd expected when he'd left the castle. Yet before he could open his mouth to complain loudly to the flashing lights around him, a thumping bass beat reverberated in the large room, the wailing of a saxophone entering after a few moments. He caught a glimpse of two red die being tossed out of the shadows, rolling across the ground until they came to a stop: two skulls were facing upwards.

Luxord all but gaped, trying to comprehend just what the bloody hell was going on. Even as he did so, he could make out a figure approaching him. Whatever it was, it was large and bulky, and the stench of something rotten filled his nose as it drew closer. All train of thought he had, though, was interrupted as the thing began to sing.

"Well, well, well. What have we here?" it said, bending over the table in order to examine him. From his position, Luxord could see that it was made of a brown canvas material, and inside... it seemed to be filled with bugs. "A Nobody, huh? Oh, I'm really scared! So you're the one everybody's talkin' about, ha, ha."

Luxord valiantly searched for something to say, but all he could do was stare at the creature. It continued enthusiastically, slapping a pointed limb to its forehead. "You're jokin', you're jokin'! I can't believe my eyes! You're jokin' me, you gotta' be. This can't be the right guy! He's ancient-,"

"Excuse me?" Luxord exclaimed, startled into speaking. Really, he wasn't old. At least, he was younger than Xigbar, Xaldin, and Vexen, which he considered an accomplishment.

"-he's ugly-,"

"All right, you wanker-,"

"-I don't know which is worse! I might just split a seam now if I don't die laughing first!"

"Good, I hope you do die-," the blond started, but he was once more cut off as the song continued.

"When Mr. Oogie Boogie says there's trouble close at hand, you'd better pay attention now, 'cause I'm the Boogie Man!" it sang, circling the table, "And if you aren't shakin', then there's something very wrong! 'Cause this may be the last time now that you hear the boogie song!"

Luxord could feel a headache forming. "Oh, this had better be the last time."

Three bats abruptly dropped down from the ceiling, shrieking out a chorus that was echoed by the sack-thing and a group of skeletons. It repeated too long for the gambler's taste, his headache growing worse. He really shouldn't have left Never Was.

Oogie Boogie remedied that by starting up once again. "Well if I'm feelin' antsy, and there's nothin' much to do, I might just cook a special batch of snake and spider stew!"

"That's wonderful. Really, it is. You can stop now," Luxord drawled, jerking futilely at the clamps around his wrists.

"And don't ya' know the one thing that would make it work so nice?" Oogie Boogie hummed, leaning in much too close for comfort, "A roly-poly Nobody to add a little spice!"

The blond's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Listen, you prat, if you're calling me fat...!"

The callback between the bats, skeletons, and the Boogie Man began for the second time. Luxord resorted to bashing his head backwards against the podium until it ended, quickly shouting once he had the chance. "Release me now or you will face the dire consequences! My comrades are expecting me, so please, come to your senses!"

A moment later, he grimaced. "Why the hell am I rhyming now?"

Oogie Boogie took no notice of his question, slapping his knee vigorously. "You're jokin', you're jokin'! I can't believe my ears! Would someone shut this fella up? I'm drownin' in my tears."

"You and me both," Luxord muttered.

"It's funny, I'm laughing-,"

"I'm not."

"-You really are too much-,"

"Look, we have something in common."

"-And now, with your permission, I'm going to do my stuff," Oogie finished, smirking wickedly down at the Nobody.

The gambler lifted a brow, wondering if he had heard that in the correct context. "What are you going to do? Because it had better not be me-,"

"I'm gonna' do the best I can!" the creature shouted.

"Oh, for Darkness' sake, that's something Axel would say..."

The singing paused for a brief interlude, the saxophone executing a solo while the Boogie Man danced around. During that little bit of time, Luxord found himself pondering why it had to be him stuck in this situation. He was sure someone like Demyx would enjoy it, if only for the musical experience. Hell, the brat would probably sing along once he knew the words. But no, it had to be him, who'd prefer being anywhere but here right now. Even solitaire sounded better than this.

He was drawn out of his thoughts as Oogie Boogie's voice filled the room once more, just as loud and annoying as ever. "Oh, the sound of rollin' dice to me is music in the air! 'Cause I'm a gamblin' Boogie Man, although I don't play fair!"

Luxord blinked, somewhat surprised. At least the roulette table made sense now. "Well then! How about you stop this nauseating song and we play a few rounds?" he proposed hopefully, sending a pointed look towards the steel cuffs holding him to the table.

Oogie Boogie looked skeptical, resuming his singing without bothering to reply. "It's much more fun, I must confess, when lives are on the line. Not mine, of course, but yours, old boy! Now that'd be just fine!"

"All right, forget I even asked. If you don't bloody sod off about my age, you'll answer for this heinous act!" Luxord yelled. He was beyond irritated now, and the fact that his words still rhymed with the song didn't help in the least.

"Oh, brother, you're something! You put me in a spin! You aren't comprehending the position that you're in!" Oogie cackled, clapping his hands together. "It's hopeless, you're finished! You haven't got a prayer!"

Luxord sneered at him. "Want to bet?"

"'Cause I'm Mr. Oogie Boogie, and you ain't going nowhere," he finished, leering down at the Nobody as a piano drew out the last few notes of the melody.

Luxord exhaled deeply, letting his head fall backwards again. "Are you done rendering me deaf yet?" he snapped. His eye quickly began twitching as Oogie Boogie answered him.

"Oh, I've barely gotten started!"

At one point in time over the course of his stay in Halloween Town, during which he was subjected to endless singing, terrible gambling puns, and fighting for his existence against the roulette wheel, Luxord came upon another realization. Yes, he did some stupid things, and yes, leaving Never Was for no reason at all other than boredom was one of those stupid things.

However, nothing compared to asking Oogie Boogie if he had always been so bad at gambling, and if he had, why hadn't he quit the game by now. (Incidentally, the only answer Luxord had received was a giant buzz saw swinging towards him, nearly slicing him in half.)

Surprisingly enough, Luxord's realization wasn't to withhold all sarcastic and otherwise offensive comments from those they were directed at, nor was it to be wary when exploring new worlds in which enemies could reside in. No, what Luxord realized was relatively simple, something that he held onto for quite some time.

He needed a new hobby.


- fin.