Finally, I have the new chapter put up! Sorry this took so long, guys. Between getting ready for school in a few weeks, working and finishing my online math course I've been extremely busy. This chapter was something I worked on for about half an hour on every other day, so editing and trying to make it flow was a bit of a hard process. Even then I don't feel completely satisfied with it. I must have watched the first half of the Lion King something like ten times just trying to get the scene somewhat accurate.

In a few weeks, things should calm down (ironically, I'm seeing school as a break from the summer). Sorry again for the wait, and thanks for all of your awesome reviews! I love you all!

Slightly Unreleated Note: Many, many people are asking me about the status of Rainy Day, my old FFVII fanfic. If you're one of these folks curious about it, please read the little blurb about it in my profile. Thank you!

Disclaimer: All of these characters belong to Square Enix/Disney.


"That's how you lost yours, isn't it?"

Saix cast Luxord a questioning look as he lay down on the rocky ground just outside the mouth of the cave. They were settled in the shade, just out of the sun's reach and watching the open plain ahead. The thin, dead grass grew larger the further one looked, before the gold and green colours of the Pridelands greeted their sight at the horizon. There was no question as to why Scar wanted to rule those lands so badly. This area where they stayed, the home of the hyenas, was barren and dead.

"I don't understand-"

"Your heart." Luxord cut him off, turning his head to look at the other neophyte. "You seem to know that we'll get a Heartless out of this creature if we fill him with fear and anger. I have never seen anyone so sure about something before." Even if had not possessed that interesting accent, Luxord would still sound worldly and knowledgeable. In the few times that Saix had spoken with him, it had become obvious that he was quick on his feet and knew quite a bit about how the world worked.

"It's one of the few things I remember about my former life." Saix said with a rough chuckle as he looked towards the horizon again. "The last few moments were nothing but rage and fear. I think my hometown was under attack, and being the idiot I was, I fought back with everything I had." Everything else was just a blur to him; sometimes a sickly thin man would appear briefly in his dreams, or a crisp breeze would give him a false sense of nostalgia.

"If you went down fighting, I find that respectable." the Gambler said, his tone cheerless. "If I had known what I really had to lose, I might have put up more of a struggle for it."

"Oh?" Saix curiously looked back to his comrade. "Do you remember how you lost yours?"

"Yes, in spite of how much I'd like to forget." He gave a small laugh and shook his big feline head to himself. "Some shady chap in a tavern won it from me in a game of dice. I remember he wagered quite a bit of coin, and I was in dire need of some. I was careless and probably a bit drunk, so I jumped at the chance and didn't even fully consider what he asked me to wager." He smiled almost bitterly. "I mean, what's a heart worth, right?"

"You lost your heart in a bet." Saix stated in some sense of disbelief. "You're right; that is quite careless. You must have had a lot of faith in yourself."

"I had faith in Lady Luck." The corners of Luxord's lips remained twisted in a small smile. "I think I was always well acquainted with her, but that night was different. The other man won by a long shot. I put up a bit of a fight, because I knew he must have cheated. I know I took a few hits but I couldn't land one on him. All I remember after that moment was pain so intense I thought he was carving my heart out of my chest with a dagger." Luxord's face grew very solemn. "And then Xigbar dragged me out of the darkness."

"The Gambler of Fate." Saix breathed, staring at Luxord with a light sense of amazement.

"Quite appropriate, I believe." Despite how much Number X seemed to wish he could hate himself for his foolishness, he smiled again. "That's the luck of the draw, mate. You win some and you lose some."

Such a conclusion was appropriate for a gambler, but it did not settle well with Saix. He was rarely one to cut his losses and move on. Some would call it stubbornness, but he knew that he would not likely still be alive if it were not for his headstrong nature. Despite himself, he shrugged his shoulders. "I suppose." What was most interesting was the fact that Luxord's heart was not simply taken by force, but by chance. Were the Heartless more intelligent than they believed? Then again, taking someone's heart was not something only Heartless could do.

"You know what would be simply fantastic?" The drawling voice of Xigbar turned their attention to the Freeshooter, who was scaling the rocky hill and walking towards them. "If you two would quit sharing sentiments and helped us out."

Saix snorted, following it with a smirk. "Are the hyenas as incapable of simple tasks as I assumed?" They were horrid beasts; he saw them as an insult to the canine family. The hyenas were crude, cowardly, and extraordinarily thick at best. Xigbar had been sent to lead them in gently herding a cluster of wildebeest to the end of a massive gorge, and judging by his sour expression it had not been an easy job.

Xigbar skulked into the shade and slumped to the ground beside Luxord, looking exhausted. "The mould under my bathroom sink is smarter than those mutts."

"Lovely." Luxord quipped with a wrinkled nose. "In any event, I went back to the castle and informed Zexion that we will be needing his help. He will join us shortly."

"Oh, well then, don't you feel accomplished." In his thick sarcasm Xigbar went the extra mile and imitated X's distinct accent. Luxord, ever the calm gentleman, simply sneered and offered no other reaction. It was clear that II was simply in bad spirits. His attention hen turned to Saix. "Where's Scar?"

"He's gone to fetch the cub." Saix's eyes returned to the horizon, having yet to see the soon-to-be-king walking back across the plain with Simba in tow. He would take his trusting nephew to the gorge and leave him alone as bait. His father would not hesitate to save the poor boy from a closed-in wildebeest stampede. The plan was simple, yet genius. Still, all Saix was concerned with was the fact that Mufasa would be in the right state of mind for the Heartless to attack.

"I suppose we'd better get to the gorge now." Almost reluctant to stand up and face the sun that glared down upon the land just beyond the shade, Saix hauled himself to his feet and stretched. He could easily see why lions slept most of the day. With most of the sluggishness out of his muscles, he began walking.

"I can't wait to get back on two feet again." Xigbar mumbled, savouring laziness for another moment before dragging himself after Saix and Luxord.

The gorge was a massive canyon many miles long, and the steep rocky walls made escape nearly impossible. There were only narrow ledges on which they would stand watch. Luckily the three lions were not very visible from their perch; if the King saw them there might be some trouble. It was not long after they arrived and settled that Zexion emerged from a dark corridor. He was rather surprised at the four paws that he now possessed.

"Yup, this has been our life for the past few days. Aren't you glad you joined us now?" Xigbar grinned bitterly, bringing a paw up and ruffling the significantly smaller Nobody's dark blue mane. Zexion's true age was made quite clear in this world, as he looked more like an adolescent lion with a thinner mane and less body mass.

"You three are asking a lot from me." The schemer growled as he batted Xigbar away. "The illusion you want me to make will take a lot of energy, and I have important things to do." Apparently preparations for the new castle were not going as smoothly as he would like. Vexen's picky nature likely had something to do with it.

"We appreciate your help, Zexion." Saix cut in, not exactly eager to discuss this now. "Be sure to get a good look at this creature before he heads into the stampede." They would need an exact replica of Mufasa's would-be corpse for Scar to show the pride as proof of the King's death. In making a permanent, tangible illusion, Zexion would indeed be likely to tire himself out. It was a favour VII knew he would have to return in the near future.

They quieted then, as two creatures slipped into view at the bottom of the gorge. The familiar dark and lanky shape of Scar was visible along with a small cub bounding along beside him. The empty canyon juggled echoes of the excited boy's chatter as he talked to his uncle. He asked several times about some surprise he had been promised. Watching this youth walk to his doom, Saix wished he could pity him. Scar left Simba on a flat boulder under the shade of a tiny tree and stalked away. He glanced upwards at the group, knowing exactly where they planned to stand watch. Even from a great distance, Saix nodded knowingly to the usurper and then turned to his group.

"Xigbar, go give the hyenas the signal." The Diviner said, beginning to walk away from them as he gave out the orders. "Zexion, get higher up so you can see Mufasa clearly when he arrives." His eyes then turned to Luxord. "You make sure the cub does not leave this gorge before his father comes to the rescue."

Although II and VI looked uneasy with taking commands from a lower-ranking Nobody, nods were exchanged with no conflict and everyone went their separate ways. Saix found a better vantage point where he would wait for Scar once he fetched the father. For now it was a waiting game. He watched Simba go through several stages of childish impatience; he pouted a little, likely from a comment his uncle made, then he paced on the boulder. After that he resumed sulking in boredom before entertaining himself with harassing some small critter that had dared come close enough.

Eventually, a rumble made itself evident in the ground. Even though he had been waiting for it, Saix felt unnerved by the tremors that made the stone walls vibrate. It felt as if the entire world was being 

shaken like a snow globe in the hands of a relentless toddler. Soon enough the wildebeest came tearing over the gorge entrance, blind in terror as they fled from the snapping jaws of three hyenas and one mono-eyed lion. Like raging waters in a river, they were channelled in a straight and deadly line; hundreds of powerful beasts all running towards the helpless cub.

After a moment of stunned immobility, Simba finally found his feet and scrambled into a run. He ran as fast as his little legs could carry him, with no hope of a quick exit amongst the steep walls around him. The panic and terror of all creatures in the gorge was unmistakable, and Saix could sense the excited skittering of Heartless right in the middle of all the chaos. Xigbar returned once the disaster was in full swing, and soon departed again to aid the Gambler in his task of watching the prince. The Organization always ran things quite smoothly, even when worlds were in turmoil.

Scar and Mufasa came into view quickly, and Saix slinked back further out of view until the doomed king spotted his son and threw himself courageously into the stampede. By now Simba was climbing a half-dead tree in attempt to escape the deadly hooves of the herd. Everything was happening so quickly that it felt dreamlike. Scar, finished with playing the part of the concerned uncle, joined Saix in watching the tragedy unfold. Wordlessly they stalked along the cliff's edge, keeping their eyes on the trapped ones. They waited for the telltale roar of pain over the deafening thunder of hoof falls, but it was not coming.

Mufasa snaked through the stampede and managed to jump up onto a safe edge and deposit his son, much to their disappointment. "Saix-" Scar began with an air of annoyance and expectation. They could not afford to let the King get out alive. Before he could say anything else, however, the problem was taken care of. Luxord and Xigbar, using the Freeshooter's expert abilities to warp space to his liking, made a brief appearance to drag the large lion back into the fray before disappearing just as quickly.

As the young prince called after his father, the terror in his voice was almost enough to stop Saix in his tracks. Phantom guilt caused that gap in his chest to ache. Seeing a child scared was something he felt familiar with, but in a different sense. The frights he knew best in his almost nonexistent memories were accompanied by laughter. What he was witnessing in this one was genuine fear and loss. It dawned on him that in his missions, he had never seen the weight of his actions affect the lives of the young ones. That could be a reason why he so willingly avoided Namine and the fearful way she looked at him.

But no, guilt was something that he was incapable of. It was a memory and nothing else. Taking notice of the Diviner's sudden hesitance, Scar looked back at him and sneered. He muttered something about softness and returned his eyes to the stampede. Mufasa had managed to break away and scale halfway 

up a steep rock wall, well above the danger of the wildebeest. With an acidic growl Scar announced that he would take care of the problem and slinked off. Saix only watched as several things happened; Simba began running up a rocky slope in hopes to meet his father at the high ledge, Scar beat the boy there by a longshot, and Mufasa was greeted at the end of his climb with the smug scowl of his younger brother.

With the King still hanging and scrambling with his back legs to stay up, Scar singlehandedly ensured that his grip 'slipped' and that his fall back into the stampede was one that he would not be getting up from. The sheer coldness of the act made Saix wonder if there was a heart to be taken from the dark lion if they had made him their target.

What happened then was fast yet structured; like a calm blur. The excited heartless swarmed the doomed King before the herd animals could even harm him further, and the agonized roar of a heart being ripped out from a beast was unmistakable. Between that and the horrified cries of the prince who had witnessed the fall, not a single Nobody could deny the chills they felt crawling down their spines. The large lion was not only made into a Heartless, but a Nobody as well. As the herd soon cleared out of the area, a still silence hung over the gorge once again. The dusty air made it difficult to see, but before long every Organization member was present on the canyon floor. The confused Heartless was herded back into a Dark Corridor by Xigbar, Luxord departed to find the Nobody in the darkness between worlds, and Zexion left behind an exact replica of the deceased king as a corpse.

The Schemer seemed to keep the gore from Mufasa's 'fatal wounds' minimal as he created the illusion. He would never admit it, but it was likely for the sake of the child. Just was the dust was clearing and Simba's choked calls reached their ears, Zexion and Saix took their leave as well. They slipped through a discreet portal, leaving the new King to deal with his final obstacle.


Just a final note: I'm thinking of writing a similar story to New Moon, but with Luxord's past. From just thinking up the little bit of information used at the beginning of this chapter, I've brainstormed and collected a lot of ideas for Luxord's backstory (like, a LOT). Any comments? I'd like to know if it's something you guys would be interested in reading. Thanks!