Chapter 37
Guest Chapter - Cards at Dusk
Luxord was in no hurry to reach Maleficent's castle. The moment Hinata and her friends had arrived, an entirely new plan had come together in his mind. There was no question that they were here for that rogue replica, but now he felt certain that they would not be able to destroy her. This afforded Luxord a golden opportunity.
Walking carefully through the foggy forest leading towards the castle, he could hear Hinata and her friends not far off in the distance. They would be sure to draw the bulk of the attention from those unstable monstrosities the Replica seemed to produce, and in doing so they would make it easier for him to sneak past unnoticed. The infernal spell cast upon this world felt as though it sapped at his magic reserves, so the unwitting assistance was not unwelcome. He felt confident that he should be able to make do with what limited resources he had.
The forest began to clear, and up ahead he could see Hinata and her friends battling the Replica's monsters on the bridge. He paused, taking stock of the layout of the castle. Across the spike-laden moat he could see the castle walls, which seemed as though they should provide easy access to the interior. Nearby were two stone brick towers that stood proud, almost as high as the exterior wall on the castle. With a self-assured smirk, Luxord made his way over to the nearest of these round towers, summoning a deck of his magic cards with a circular wave of his hand. He twisted his fingers abruptly, and one of these cards enlarged, then snapped sideways, embedding itself into the mortar between the bricks. He stepped up onto this make-shift step, creating the next step and the one after that with more of these twisting flings until finally he had ascended the entire tower.
Standing up here, he could see that Hinata and her friends had made it inside, and the remaining creatures on the bridge did not seem to be in pursuit. Good. He removed one of his gloves momentarily, holding a finger up to verify that there was still no wind. Nothing. He replaced his glove, and took a few steps back.
With a running start, Luxord took a spinning leap off the end of the tower roof, melding his body into a large, magic card as he did. The card spun through the air, sailing across the gorge well above the sight lines of any of the sentries below - a simple trick for Luxord, but quite effective. As the card sailed over the castle parapets, it flickered abruptly as Luxord returned to his normal shape, landing on the stone wall with a gentle thud.
He could hear the sounds of combat from within the tower, and wasted no time in finding an entry into the dark structure. As he walked across the third floor overlook, he could see Hinata and her friends far below. A chittering ahead caught his attention, and he pressed up against the wall as a pack of more monsters came in through the window and jumped down into the fray.
Hunkering down, Luxord pressed on carefully and quietly. Sneaking wasn't his usual sort of game, but it was the right strategy this time. Sticking to this low profile, he slunk his way carefully across the great hall to an exit on the other end.
This door led to a bridge outside, this seemed to lead directly to the main building of the castle, in which he could sense the Replica clearly. Vexen may have made mistakes when creating her, but the basic template used for all the Organization's replicas were solid enough - and any of the Organization's numbers could sense the location of these replicas from a distance. He couldn't be sure where exactly in the castle she was, but it would get him close enough.
Luxord stepped out onto the bridge, covering his eyes as they adjusted to the waning but still-bright rays of the permanent sunset of Enchanted Dominion. The time stop magic had left this world stuck in dusk perpetually, and for just a moment he stood to observe the peculiar phenomenon. The castle below was obscured by the dark cloud that shrouded the area, and the sky above was thick with black clouds that seemed to be punctuated by a frozen bolt of lightning. If he'd had his heart, he may have admired such a thing.
Down below and to the side, he could see a large courtyard. A group of enormous, winged monsters sat comfortably on the balcony railing, facing towards the main building. He was higher than they were, and for the moment had little reason to worry that they might see him, but made a mental note to be sure to keep it that way. Hunkering down yet again, he crept across the bridge obscured by the wall.
About halfway across, he heard a loud squawking sound and paused in his tracks, listening closely. The birds were active, but it sounded as though they were engaged in battle down in the courtyard, and so he pressed on ahead with haste.
Approaching the end of the bridge, another screech broke out, and from higher up on the castle wall one of the Replica's monsters jumped down onto the bridge ahead of him. The monster reared back and began to charge, but Luxord sent a streak of magic towards it with a sweep of his hand; and in the monster's place a multi-sided die the size of a large melon rolled towards him. He stopped this with his boot, stepped back, and with another wave of his hand a stream of cards sprung up from the ground underneath this die and launched it off the castle bridge.
Up ahead in the castle he could see another pair of glowing eyes waiting for him, this time attached to a dark form that seemed to have taken the shape of the Replica, or perhaps to some, the shape of Hinata. This dark form took a plodding deliberate step towards Luxord as he entered the room, but as it did Luxord's body disappeared in a flash of light, replaced with a half a dozen cards two meters in height. These cards spun out into a circle around the dark form, rotating tauntingly around it.
The false visage of the Replica stepped forward with a growl, slashing at one of these cards with annoyance; but the card merely dissipated. With a howl, the dark form prepared to strike another when Luxord stepped out from a card behind it.
"Wrong move," Luxord said, snapping his finger. Two of the cards smashed together against the monster, melding together and trapping it within. This new card shrunk down and fell to the ground in a puff of smoke, and Luxord picked it up off the ground. His new card now had the image of the form of darkness on it, and he pocketed it with a smirk. "You shall make for an interesting play, I'm sure," he said.
He paused now, crouching down for a moment to catch his breath. His card magic was well-practiced, and he could perform his tricks with a relatively small amount of energy, but nonetheless it seemed to be adding up quickly. The surging darkness inside of him, courtesy of the Organization, seemed to be replenishing this ethereal reserve, but it was incredibly slow.
Once he felt he could afford to rest no more, he stood up and took stock of his surroundings. The Replica was somewhere above him, but the castle's layout was foreign to him and he was unsure the correct way to proceed.
"Dusks, to me," he called, and from the shadows slunk five of his Nobody friends. The slithered up towards him like snakes, standing tall and swaying from side-to-side in a circle around him as they awaited their orders.
"Check the passages for a stairwell leading up towards the Replica," he ordered. "On no account must you be seen by anyone, or… anything."
The dusk's heads bobbed in understanding, and they melted to the ground again and began their search. Luxord walked on, checking the doorways he passed by for some sort of way to ascend the tower. Shortly, one of the Dusks returned to him, taking its upright form only long enough to point him in the right direction before slithering off once again.
Luxord followed along, watching for the Dusks to appear in the distance as they led him up through the castle until at last they came to a flat black wall. Luxord held his hand near to this, but did not touch it, sensing the powerful but chaotic magic that sustained it.
"The Replica hides within," Luxord whispered to himself. He stepped back, seeing that this dark barrier only seemed to be blocking the passageway itself.
From here, he could see an open door leading to a balcony outside. He made his way over to this, stepping out into the outdoors once more. The section of building that the Replica was holed up in seemed to be a large room, and from this balcony he could see several more lining that room with what appeared to be windows. He clambered up onto the parapet, and with a great leap floated across the gap as a card to the nearest balcony.
Landing softly, he brushed the dust off the shoulder of his coat and peered through the window. It was too dark to see anything inside. He knew better than to risk opening it, and stepped back to take a look across the way at the other windows - perhaps one of these was open. He summoned another swirl of cards, wedging them into the mortar between the bricks to create a bridge for himself, traversing the side of the castle wall as he inspected the windows and doors for an ingress point.
At last he found one window that was ever so slightly ajar, open only just wide enough for a hand to poke through. This would do - he had no need to open it further. He held his hands apart, a ring of cards appearing in a flash and spinning in a circle. One after another these cards shot through the slim gap, and with another flicker Luxord melded himself into the last of these as it flew through the opening.
The other cards dissipated silently in the air, leaving Luxord's final, lone card to drift slowly down to the ground in the near pitch-black darkness of the room. The card drifted purposefully, swirling down and behind one of the large stone pillars lining the chamber where it came to rest against the wall. With a sound like a gentle breath, the card expanded to full size and Luxord stepped out from the card's face. The Replica was near, but he wasn't sure yet exactly where.
On the far end of the room, voices began to shout out towards each other angrily - Hinata and the Replica. He paused for a moment, listening for the others, but heard no-one else. Curious. He proceeded with caution, slinking through the shadows as the verbal altercation grew ever more intense.
At last, not far from the pillar he was currently hiding behind, he could just faintly see the Replica hiding behind one of the stone statues. She was thoroughly distracted by her altercation with Hinata - it was an easy win. He flicked his hand, summoning a blank card in which to capture her, and took a step forward, preparing to strike as the two bickered
Hinata's voice sparked furiously. "You had no right—"
"Oh, now it's something I did, and not just the darkness, right?" the Replica yelled. "Which is it, Hinata? Am I a victim? Or am I a monster?"
Luxord paused in his tracks, fingers tightening around the card. He'd expected them to be fighting, of course, but he hadn't expected them to be working through something so… personal. He scowled, shaking his head. He could catch her, but it just seemed… unsporting. Rude. He rolled his eyes, stepping back further into the shadows, remembering Hinata's claims that he owed her.
Technically speaking, she'd absolved him of this debt when he agreed to play her game; but he knew from the start that this so-called game between them was a purely advantageous agreement on his behalf. No, he was going to repay that debt in full, now, and at least let her work through whatever this was. Then he would catch the Replica.
Twenty minutes later, Luxord still stood waiting in the dark corner of the room. He sighed, and leaned back a bit to look past the pillar. Hinata and the Replica were still talking. How? What about? He shook his head, returning his attention to the hand of cards he held. His eyes glanced over these half-heartedly, and he looked up at the Dusk standing a few feet away, holding its own hand of cards.
"...Got any sevens?" Luxord whispered, getting only a shuddering shake of rejection from the Nobody.
"...Damn," Luxord groaned, shaking his head. Go Fish was not by any stretch his game of choice, but it was one of the very few that the Dusks seemed to be able to comprehend.
The Dusk, still swaying silently, considered its cards for a moment. Raising its left arm, it pulled a single card out and turned the face towards Luxord - it was asking for a five. Luxord sighed again, peeking around the pillar to check on the girls.
"Everything's going to be ok," Hinata said reassuringly to the Replica, who began to nod wordlessly.
At last it seemed as though they had reached some resolution. Luxord smirked, dropping his cards to the ground as he rushed off to get into position. The Dusk watched him go, then turned to see Luxord's cards strewn across the ground. It knelt down, turning them to all be face up - there were three fives. It scooped these up, chittering to itself in satisfaction.