The ruined halls of Villain's Vale stood as monument to how far Maleficent fallen. No longer was she the type to hold host in the grand hall of a magnificent palace. Now she was simply reduced to dwelling within a pile of rubble left behind by the reconstruction of the Hollow Bastion castle. Admittedly, the Vale had grown on her. It was humbling and provided an adequate representation of her current relevancy, for Hollow Bastion had never truly been hers. It was all a part of Xehanort's plan. She'd been reduced to a puppet, but now the strings were cut. Her advancement now would be of her own making.

Beating Xehanort at his own game was a fool's errand. The Darkness and the hearts were too complex, even for Maleficent's great powers. Trying to conquer the worlds like Xehanort would simply result in failure or further enslavement to the old man's desires. That would not be tolerated. Not again. No, now was the time to go about conquering worlds in her own manner. Once she obtained The Book of Prophecy, the very rules of the game would be in her hands, not Xehanort's. His perfectly arranged chessboard would be flipped over. He'd be left with nothing more than rubble, just as he left her. Turnabout is fair play, after all.

Maleficent stood out on the balcony, looking at the Great Maw through the clockwork Heartless crest adorning the tallest spire of the Vale. Truthfully, there wasn't much of a sight to behold, but the Maw's blue and purple stone had a certain beauty to it that allowed the mind to wander. The sound of a Corridor of Darkness from behind broke the evil fairy's concentration.

"Truly this is the lap of luxury," a male voice with a British accent said from behind her.

Maleficent whirled around to face the intruder. The man was dressed in strange gold, black, and green armor with a long, flowing green cape trailing behind him. Covering his ebony hair was an extravagant golden helmet with curled horns atop it. In his hand, he held an ornate spear befitting a king. Maleficent scowled at the man and allowed flames of green to radiate from her torso.

"You dare intrude upon my domain?" she growled. "A fatal mistake, worm."

"Such histrionics," the man said with a smirk. "I come not to do battle with you, mistress. On the contrary, I believe we can work together to some mutually beneficial conclusion."

Maleficent allowed her fires to subside. "Speak your business quickly. I have no patience for dawdling."

"I am Loki, King of Asgard," he introduced himself. "Well, the true king, anyway. You see, I must rule my domain under a guise of falsehood, masquerading as my father. The people of Asgard are not exactly positively predisposed towards me, despite the fact that the throne is mine by right. I wish to end my deception and rule with my own face, yet I am not powerful enough to hold my position from the rebellion that would inevitably ensue."

"And you believe I hold such a power?" she asked.

"With all due respect, m'lady, I do not," Loki replied. "You see, Asgard is a world of gods, many of who are seasoned warriors with over a millennium of battle experience. Your might is known far and wide, and I do not doubt your strength, yet I do not believe it would be enough to hold my kingdom."

Maleficent sneered. "Then why have you come here, King of Asgard?"

"Rumor has it that you seek the tome known as The Book of Prophecy," Loki continued. "The book's power is known even on Asgard. I believe it can win me total control of all Nine Realms, and I'm prepared to swear allegiance to you for the chance to use it. I have a kingdom and a vault of cosmic weaponry at my disposal. I shall put them both in servitude to you in exchange for reaping the benefits of the book's power. What say you to that?"

In truth, this encounter was most fortuitous. After all, with her current quest to obtain the Book of Prophecy, Maleficent had only Pete to aid her. He'd proven useful in the past, but this Loki figure seemed far more powerful and intelligent. Though that factor in and of itself presented problems. Pete was easy enough to keep loyal, but this Loki character was clearly ambitious, devious, and dangerous. Controlling him might not be so easy. Still, should he get out of hand, Maleficent was certain she could destroy him.

"Very well then," Maleficent spoke up, "I accept your generous offer. Though we shall need new allies for this quest. Most of my previous contacts are either dead or worthless. There are two whom I suspect may still be willing to aid in my cause, but they are not quite enough on their own."

"I have a few ideas," Loki nodded. "I shall depart at once to gather their aid."

"As shall I," Maleficent seconded. "You are dismissed. Go forth, Loki of Asgard."

Just as quickly as he had come, Loki vanished into another Corridor of Darkness, taking his leave. The sound of heavy footsteps running in the balcony became audible and, after a moment, Pete came into view, panting with exhaustion from running up the tower stairs.

"I heard voices, m'lady," Pete said. "Wanted to make sure you didn't need no back up, see? Was somebody up here with ya?"

"A new ally in our quest for The Book of Prophecy," Maleficent announced. "It would appear that our cause has found ignition anew. Can you travel to the Underworld to meet with Hades?"

"Of course, m'lady," Pete nodded. "Ol' flame top's just as angry and ambitious as ever. He's a natural ally for this job."

"Meanwhile, I shall travel to Atlantica," she said. "Ursula must be brought back into the fold."

"Umm, 'scuse me there, Maleficent," Pete said timidly, "But Ursula got turned into sushi by that twerp with the Keyblade. You plannin' to revive her?"

"No," Maleficent shook her head. "The previous instance in which I attempted a resurrection, the subject suffered from madness and amnesia. He bit the hand that fed. Obviously the nature of hearts is too complex for my powers to fully recreate. No, I do not believe reviving Ursula will be necessary. You see, I was able to cheat death by tapping into an ancient dark magic that sustained me. Ursula had similar abilities. I have no doubt in my mind that she's still out there, biding her time."

"Ya don't say?" he said with a chuckle, "Well then I think things are startin' to look back up for us!"

"Indeed," she nodded. "Soon, Xehanort will know how it feels to fall from power hard and fast."

A/N: This is just something new I wanted to try. It might turn into something, or it might not. We'll see how things go. Continuity notes: this story is set post-Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance and post-Thor: The Dark World, meaning at the time I'm starting it, it's current with both franchises.