Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts (although that would be pretty cool!).
Another couple of minutes of experimentation showed the former Luxord that he was indeed in his Ludor state. In addition to not being able to summon Portals of Darkness, he could no longer summon cards or dice. Likewise, he could no longer control time. He truly had returned to when he was simply just a man with a strong heart. The loss of his powers frustrated him, although he attempted to hide it from Paul. The one thing that he didn't mind was that he was dressed as Ludor was, wearing a black tailcoat, red cravat, and white gloves.
Paul didn't appear to be particularly fazed by the unusual antics of a man trying to summon cards or dice at will (he was used to seeing weird people show up in Traverse Town all the time). "So, feeling better?"
Ludor looked at him with a bemused expression. "Not particularly, but I suppose I'll get over the trauma. So you said we're in Traverse Town?"
The beefy man nodded his head. "Yes. This place serves as a haven to those whose worlds no longer exist. So wherever your home world was, it's no longer there. Most likely destroyed by those awful creatures."
Ludor wasn't sure if Paul was referring to Heartless or Nobodies, but he assumed the Heartless. He was momentarily confused, as he thought it was quite surprising to hear that The World That Never Was had been destroyed, but then he realized that, as Ludor, The World That Never Was wasn't his home world. "It certainly no longer exists," he agreed.
Thinking about his home world immediately triggered a flood of memories to return to him. As previously mentioned, members of the Organization did not immediately remember the events of how they became a Nobody. Vexen theorized it was because the events were too traumatic, but he didn't know for sure. Now that he was Ludor again, he remembered it all, including the moment where a Heartless attacked him as his world crumbled into darkness.
The pain of those memories caused Ludor to stumble, but Paul grabbed him before he could fall over. "You're not looking too well, eh? We should get you something to eat."
Paul led Ludor out of the alley and into the main square of the First District. He led him over to some table and chairs that were set up as a little café near a store labeled ITEM SHOP. Ludor sat down at a table, but Paul didn't join him.
Walking over to the pair was a brunette woman with large gold earrings. She looked to be in her late 20s to early 30s and wore a white tube top tucked into a floor-length green skirt. "Who'd you bring over here, Paul?"
"New guy in Traverse Town. Says his name is Ludor. Looking a little faint, so I brought him over to you, Cassandra."
"Well, I'll see what I can do. What do you want, handsome? And what can I get'cha, Paul?"
"Oh, nothing for me. I gotta go meet Clyde over in the Third District." Turning to Ludor, he said, "Been a pleasure meeting you, Ludor. See you around."
Ludor nodded at Paul and then the man waddled away. "Just some water right now, please."
She disappeared and then quickly returned with a glass of water. "Thanks. You run this café?" he asked Cassandra.
She laughed. "In a sense. I used to run a restaurant on my old world, so I know a thing or two about this sort of stuff. What about you? What did you used to do on your old world?"
"I used to run a casino. Then I moved into…corporate work for an Organization for the past few years. And now, I'm here," Ludor explained.
"That's nice. Sorry to hear that you ended up here. They said that all of the worlds would be restored after Sora beat the darkness, but that doesn't appears to have happened."
"Sora?" Ludor asked. He was immediately concerned that he might have to see the boy, although that panic subsided when he realized that Sora would never recognize him without any of the Organization gear.
"Yeah. Some kid with a…Keyblade, I think is what they call it. Nice kid, but he's like 15 and apparently saved the world. Pretty impressive stuff."
"I imagine so. But your world hasn't returned?" he asked.
"Nope."
"I'm very sorry," he replied.
"But that's okay, I guess. I've been here in Traverse Town for a couple years now. Not too bad of a place." Her wistful look suggested her words weren't entirely true.
"I'll have to take your word for it. I, however, would like to get off of this world as soon as possible. I have some…pressing business to attend to."
Cassandra shot him a skeptical look. "Is that so? And where could that be?"
Ludor quickly recognized his mistake and worked to cover it up. "I have family on another world. I need to see if they're okay or not."
She nodded her head, convinced. "A right gentleman, you are. But you'll be needing to get a ride off of this planet and that's tricky to find."
Luxord nodded, clearly disappointed. "I suppose you're right. You wouldn't, perhaps, know a way off?"
"Well, Mr. Ludor, it may be your lucky day yet. The Captain has arrived back in town with his gummi ship to pick up some supplies, and he may be willing to take you somewhere. I suppose it depends where."
"I need to get to the planet Toontopia. Ever heard of it?"
"Once or twice. Never been there. Never been anywhere outside of my home planet and here. You'll have to take me sometime."
Luxord smiled. "I'll see what I can do."
Cassandra then spotted a young woman walking on the other side of the First District. "Yuffie, come here!" she called out.
The young woman turned to see Cassandra and then walked over. She had short, black hair and wore a metal headband with two green tassels. She also wore a yellow scarf and a green tube top with two blue belts holding it up with shorts. "Hey Cassandra, good to see you!"
"You too, honey. How's the restoration of your town going?"
"Things are settling down in town! The only Heartless left anywhere are the local variety. And it looks like there are fewer than before."
"That's wonderful news to hear. I'd like you to meet our new arrival. His name is Ludor."
"A pleasure to meet you, miss," Ludor formally greeted. He stuck his hand out to her to shake.
She shook his hand with great vigor. "Hi there, Ludor. I'm the great ninja Yuffie!"
"Mr. Ludor is trying to get off-world to go see his family on Toontopia. I was wondering if you and the Captain might be able to take him," Cassandra explained.
"The ship's pretty packed full of stuff, but I think we could probably squeeze this guy in," Yuffie answered. "But we'd better get going, as he wants us to leave immediately.
"Then you best be on your way! Won't have a good chance like this in some time," Cassandra told Ludor.
"Will do. It's been a pleasure, madam," Ludor gracefully added.
"A true gentleman indeed. I'll be here, waiting for that trip you promised me," she said with a devilish smirk. She then sauntered off before the tongue-tied Ludor could respond.
"Don't mind Cassandra, she's a little forward to everyone," Yuffie said. "Now let's get going!"
"By all means, lead the way."
Yuffie led Ludor through the massive wooden doors across from the Item Shop, which lead to a sort of spaceship parking lot. Right now, there was only one ship there, a ship made of gummi blocks with the word Highwind on it. A man with a wrench was working on the ship.
"This goddamn, useless, piece of shit block!" the man roared. "You better fit this time or I swear to Bahamut, I will…" The man didn't get to finish his sentence, as a minor explosion sent a puff of smoke into the man's face. "You motherfucker!" he called out in disgust, coughing away smoke.
"Cid, we're back!" Yuffie called out.
The man turned around, giving Ludor a good look him. The blonde-haired man removed his goggles, putting them up on his forehead. Despite working on machinery, the man had a cigarette in his mouth. "Whose this 'we' you speak of?"
"This is Ludor. He just arrived here on Traverse Town. He's looking to get to some family members on Toontopia. Think we could give him a ride?" Yuffie began.
Cid looked over Ludor and then back to Yuffie. "We're not a taxi service, kid."
She shook her head at him. "Cid, you are a million times worse than a broken record. It's not like Toontopia is that out of the way."
Cid squinted his eyes. "That is true. Not too far away from Disney Castle, I reckon."
"If my presence is inconvenient, I wouldn't want to interfere on your mission, Captain," Ludor finally said. He hoped his politeness might sway Cid.
"Naw, that's alright. Unless you got a bunch of belongings you want to bring?" Cid replied.
"Nothing but myself. I can assist you if need be with the repairs."
"Well, how do you like that? See, that's how you make yourself useful, brat," Cid said to Yuffie.
"You'll have to forgive him. All that old age is getting to his brain. Isn't that right, gramps?" she teased.
"Don't call me gramps," he grumbled. "The name's Cid," he said, extending his hand to Ludor.
"Ludor. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm ever so grateful for your assistance."
"No problem. I'll have this fixed in a jiffy so why don't you and the brat head into the ship."
Yuffie stuck her tongue out at him and led Ludor into the Highwind. "He's really not that bad. Just a little grumpy," Yuffie explained when they were out of Cid's earshot.
Ludor chuckled. "I'm sure." She led him to the cockpit, where there were three chairs waiting. "So, where are you two headed?"
"We're making bringing supplies and materials over to our home planet, Hollow Bastion. Sora freed it from darkness and we've been working to restore it to its former glory. My friends and I had been living here in Traverse Town for the last several years previously," she said very matter-of-factly.
"I see." Luxord was well-versed enough in Organization history to know that Hollow Bastion was the renamed Radiant Garden, and that many members of the original Organization hailed from this planet. He internally chuckled at the irony of working with people who likely were very against the group he used to be a part of.
Yuffie and Luxord took the two seats behind the pilot seat. "I must say, I've been in a number of spacecrafts in my time, but never a gummi ship. Although I've heard a lot about them," Ludor noted.
"Cid made his a long time ago, but didn't use for many years. But after helping Sora upgrade his, he decided he wanted to fix his up too," Yuffie replied.
"Oh, Sora. You know him?"
"Oh yeah! Leon, Cid, Aerith, and I helped him out when he first got to Traverse Town. Do you know him?"
"Ah…no, I don't (This was true; although he knew Sora's Nobody). But I've heard a lot about him recently."
"He's a bit of a goofball, but he's a good guy."
Cid entered the cockpit and took his seat in the pilot's chair. "Alright, I think I got that blasted warp gummi installed. That should let us warp between here and Hollow Bastion. But we've gotta head to Toontopia first to drop off Mr. Ludor. We'll warp to Disney Town and then fly to Toontopia from there."
"Again, it is very appreciated," Ludor interjected.
"No worries. Let's get this show on the road." Cid flipped a few switches and hit a few buttons and the ship warped to Disney Town. Without landing, the ship then headed on its way towards Toontopia. "So, Ludor, what did you do on your old world?"
Ludor decided he didn't want to explain how he used to work for an Organization that held the same goal as Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, whom Cid and Yuffie's friend Sora had recently destroyed, so he went with his previous job. "I used to run a casino."
Cid lit another cigarette. "That's my type of job. You must have made big bucks."
"It was a profitable endeavor."
"Oooh, I love casinos!" Yuffie added.
"Kid, you're 16. How have you been to a casino?" Cid asked.
"Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk," was all she replied, a huge grinned plastered on her face.
The ride to Toontopia was only about thirty minutes, but to Ludor, he couldn't get there fast enough. The main question that he faced was what to do next? Ludor had no powers now, and no way to contact the other rogue members of the Organization. He certainly could reach the other members of the Organization by returning to the base, but considering Marluxia had been involved in killing him, he was pretty sure he wasn't welcome there.
The next idea to pop into his head was to go see Jessica and Roger and stay with them until things blew over. But that couldn't really happen, since Toontopia was targeted for destruction by the Organization. He knew he couldn't stand by and let that happen, so action needed to be taken.
And so, Ludor determined that he needed to sabotage the Organization's effort in some way at the Toontopia base. His plan was to find Gambler and see if he could convince him to help him out. A longshot, perhaps, but it was a gamble that he was willing to take.
Cid landed the gummi ship at the Toontopia Interplanetary Spaceport, which was on the outskirts of the main city. The pilot and the ninja accompanied Ludor to the taxi stand.
"Well, here's your stop, Ludor. Best of luck finding your family."
"Thank you kindly. And good luck with the restoration of Hollow Bastion," Ludor answered. He shook Cid's hand.
"If you ever have the chance, you should stop by!" Yuffie encouraged.
"That would be…very nice," Ludor answered. He shook Yuffie's hand as well. "Taxi!" he called out.
Cid and Yuffie took their leave, with Ludor watching them as they headed back to the gummi ship. "Do you think we could stop at a burger place before we go to Hollow Bastion?" Yuffie asked Cid.
"Nope. I already ate before we left."
"Come on, Cid! Can you throw me a bone here, please?"
"Let me think….yeah no."
"You're the worst!" she shot back.
Ludor chuckled. He liked both of them. There were so many fun people out in the world and he had spent the last several years wasting away on The World That Never Was, thinking there was no way to get his heart back other than helping a shady Organization get Kingdom Hearts.
"I hope there is still time to make things up," he said to himself.
The squealing of tires shook Ludor from his thoughts and he was delighted to see that it was Lenny the Cab, whom he hadn't seen since he first arrived to Toontopia.
"Hey, it's the detective! I've heard you've been all over town helping find my buddy Roger!" Lenny greeted.
"It's good to see you, Lenny. I'm in urgent need of your services."
"Where can I take you, boss?"
"To the old McDuck Tower. I need to take care of some business."
"You got it!"
Ludor hopped into the cab and Lenny sped off. He only hoped he wouldn't be too late.
No Kingdom Hearts game would be complete without a couple cameos from Final Fantasy characters and this story is no different! Thank you to all who read this story! I'd greatly appreciate if you gave the story a like or a follow if you haven't and reviews are always appreciated.
See ya real soon,
The Mustachioed Academic