AUTHOR'S NOTE: This fanfic was suggested by "retro mania" who provided me with several ideas and a rough draft via Private Message. We discussed this for the past few weeks and the time has finally come to start the story- and we're starting it off with the prologue we made. Please note that I'm rating this fanfic Fiction T, due to certain elements that some people may be sensitive to, like coarse language and dark themes. If there's something in this story that sounds off or obscene, please tell me via Private Message so I can fix it. At this time, get comfy in your seats and grab a snack as "retro mania" and I proudly present "Villains' Revenge"!
DISCLAIMER: All elements of "Disney's Villains' Revenge" are property of Disney Interactive Studios; all other media under the "Disney" name are property of the Walt Disney Company.
A bipedal sheep, wearing an orange jumpsuit and thick glasses, wandered through the darkness. She was not walking in a dark room or down a dark street; she was surrounded by pitch darkness. This brought a powerful sense of fear and many questions upon her. Overtime, however, the sheep managed to cut the number of questions down to three.
Was she walking on air? Impossible. Her feet were stepping on something solid; yet she felt nothing when she bent down to feel some type of texture.
Was she dreaming? Also impossible. The last thing she remembered before finding herself swallowed in darkness was a prison brawl that got way out of hand and a gigantic object falling on her.
Was she dead? Most likely.
The sheep had heard many stories about the wicked's final resting place. If this was that place, where was the fire and the anguished screams? This wasn't Heaven; and this wasn't what she imagined Hell to be like. Where was she?
She glanced around and debated whether or not to shout. From her perspective she was the only one for possibly miles.
This caused the sheep to groan. "How long do I have to keep walking?" she whined aloud.
"Not that far, thankfully," said a menacing voice.
The sheep instantly halted and her head snapped in every direction trying to find whoever spoke. When she tried to calm herself, her eyes caught a pair of piercing green eyes staring directly at her. Slowly, a large, feline figure appeared, advancing straight towards her. It was a lion with brown fur, a jet black mane, and a scar over his left eye. His stare made it clear he was glad to see her in the way all predators were at the sight of a good meal.
The sheep backed away as the lion stepped closer to her. Then, from behind, another sinister voice added, "In fact, you're at a very good distance."
The sheep trembled as the lion and the character behind her, who revealed himself as an enormous tiger, circled her. She began murmuring to herself as in a prayer. "Don't get weak in the knees, Dawn. You are Dawn Bellwether. You are more strong-willed than these savage beasts."
"SAVAGE BEASTS?!" the lion roared, making Bellwether jump and yelp.
The tiger was just as offended. "You dare call us such an insult?!" he snarled. "You will pay for that!"
"STAND DOWN!" demanded a voice that echoed throughout the darkness.
Bellwether and the two felines froze in place. A third figure appeared in the direction the lion came from. Instead of an animal approaching them, it was a tall man with gray hair, wearing a robe as black as his eyes. He glared at the lion and tiger who slowly stepped away from Bellwether.
"Be lenient towards this...defenseless soul," the man exhorted. "You are much bigger than she is. She only expresses concern of her safety- seeing that you two are the only beings around at the moment."
"And what gives you the right to decide someone's fate?" the lion growled.
"I am Claude Frollo, Minister of Justice," the man proclaimed. "It is my duty to ensure the guilty is rightfully punished."
"Now that is my type of job," Bellwether remarked.
"But it's still not as powerful as being a king," the lion scoffed. "That's what I once was, a king. And then my nephew showed up and seized it from me! Not only that, my loyal army of hyenas torn me to pieces after I lost my throne! After all my promises to them, they turn against me! The savages!"
"So, you had ultimate power and lost it all to someone else?" said Bellwether. "You're not alone, Mister..."
"Scar," the lion muttered.
Bellwether proceeded to tell her story of rising to power by deeming all predators of her city as savages and the rabbit and fox who exposed her plot and sent her to prison. Scar and the tiger still loathed the fact that the sheep had called them savage beasts, yet they agreed that she deserved a better position than an assistant mayor who was bossed around from morning to night.
After Bellwether finished, the tiger, who called himself Shere Khan, shared his story with the group. He was the most feared inhabitant of the jungles of India. While everyone was afraid of him, Shere Khan was afraid of hunters, and this fear soon morphed into hatred; and he vowed to kill any man he came across. The last man he attempted to kill was a child (or man-cub in his words) who set his tail on fire. He could've been successful if the man-cub hadn't outwitted him and sent him plunging into a pit of lava.
Frollo was next to tell his story. As he stated earlier, his job was to have criminals charged for the crimes they committed. A dark fact he revealed to the trio was he despised a group of people he called gypsies- according to Frollo, they did nothing but perform in the streets all day and night. Scar, Bellwether, and Shere Khan were skeptical about his prejudice and the description of the ethnic group; however, it was brushed aside as Frollo told them of the deformed bell ringer he took in as an infant who risked his life to protect one of the gypsies, who had been accused of witchcraft. The bell ringer had stopped the woman's execution and hidden her in the towers of Notre Dame. Frollo confronted them and tried to kill them both himself, only to fall from the balcony to his death in a sea of molten lead.
"How much of a coincidence it is the three of us died overwhelmed in fire," Shere Khan remarked.
Scar and Frollo responded with apathetic nods and words uttered in quiet tones.
"I think what's really coincidental is that the four of us had total power of others," said Bellwether; "and that someone we either knew or deemed the enemy deliberately ended our leadership, even if it means spilling the blood of others."
"Absolutely true," said Scar. "I could've started a new kingdom with my loyal hyenas; if only they hadn't turned on me."
"And I could've given that gypsy witch a chance to redeem her sinful ways," said Frollo. "Then that bell ringer showed up and stole her opportunity. Damn that monster!"
It was then that the group heard a chuckle somewhere around them. They looked in every direction but could not tell where exactly the chuckle was coming from.
"Who's there?!" Shere Khan demanded loudly. "Speak now or we'll find you ourselves!"
"Over here," a feminine voice with a British accent responded.
The four characters turned and saw a woman sauntering towards them. The woman wore a massive fur coat over her black dress, and she shared Frollo's black, piercing eyes. Though they were glad to see another character, Shere Khan, Bellwether, Scar, and Frollo still felt unsettled because the woman's voice did not match the chuckle they had heard.
"I guess you heard it too," said the woman.
"We did," Scar replied. "And we'd like to know who it came from."
"It did not come from me," the woman stated. "I've been searching for the voice since I first arrived in this wretched place."
"I believe we all want to know why we've been sent here," said Frollo.
"Gee, you think?" Scar said mockingly.
Almost immediately, twenty or more characters emerged from the darkness- most were human, some were various animals, and about four characters could only be defined as "mythical creatures". It was quite a shock for the group as they didn't stop to wonder just how many characters (if there were any) they would find in the world of blackness. Astonishment was swapped with delight as everyone began to communicate with one another. Conversations were brief since topics changed every few moments; regardless, it was a nice moment for the characters.
At one point, Frollo was talking to the woman he and his companions had recently met, who revealed herself as Cruella de Vil. Cruella had explained her desire to create a glamorous fur coat using the fur of Dalmatians and the duo of imbeciles who failed to help her make her wish come true. Frollo did criticize her idea of a dog-fur coat, but he agreed that the two men's stupidity led to her downfall.
"You know, it seems to me that everyone here had something good in mind," Cruella said; "and then it was taken away from them. Wouldn't you agree?"
"I do agree," Frollo replied. "It was made clear long ago and everyone sees eye to eye that the lives we had were entirely unfair."
"Excellent," a new voice hissed.
In an instant, all conversations ceased and the characters scanned the darkness in hopes of learning once and for all who else was there. Their anxiety was visible and, as a result, some of the characters bumped into each other, and the chuckle Bellwether, Scar, Shere Khan, Frollo, and Cruella heard earlier returned.
Gaston, a muscular hunter, withdrew a dagger from his belt and held it up for all to see. "SHOW YOURSELF!" he demanded.
Clayton, another burly hunter, pulled out a large machete and, just like Gaston, held it in the air, ready to fight whoever was toying with them.
"Your failures make me laugh," the voice remarked. "Even though you all suffered ghastly fates at the hands of you enemies."
"Reveal yourself at once!" a pirate named Captain Hook ordered.
"None of you can control me," the voice responded. "I however can control your minds."
"Oh, ha ha, that's very original," an entity named Hades retorted. "Now do be kind and come out of hiding!"
"Do you all wish to know my true form?" the voice asked.
"Enough stalling!" Shere Khan roared. "Come out of hiding so we can look at you! Don't be a coward in the face of-"
A column of fire erupted from the center of the group, not only interrupting Shere Khan but scaring him to death, as well as everyone else. The glare of the fire was incredibly bright, causing the darkness to dissolve and, for a brief moment, exposed a charred, destroyed world to the horrified characters. When the light faded, the fire surrounded the group and slowly grew in height.
While mostly all the characters cowered in fear, Frollo and Hades stood still, stunned at the sight before them. They couldn't be sure but, to them, it looked as if there were images within the dancing flames. One was of a deformed man clutching an unconscious woman while crying "Sanctuary!" from the balcony of a massive church. Another showed a muscular man, glowing bright as the sun, carrying the seemingly lifeless body of a thin woman out of an eerie cavern. These two images stuck out to Frollo and Hades who were quick to realize they were the last memories they had before their lives came to an end.
"God almighty," Frollo said under his breath.
"I remember that brat," Hades said, referring to the glowing man in the fire.
The instant Hades spoke, the fire hissed and soared up to the black sky. Everyone watched in amazement as the flames were magically extinguished, revealing a gray, thin-outlined face composed of two devilish eyes and a diabolical grin full of long, serrated teeth. The sight of the face alone was enough to send shivers down everyone's backs. Though it did, the characters did their best to keep their composure as to appear strong and fearless.
"Are you all satisfied?" the face asked.
"We are more surprised than satisfied," Scar replied after clearing his throat. "We did not expect you to be a...an entity."
"I am more than an entity, Scar," the face said, sporting a sinister grin.
"How do you know my name?!" Scar demanded, his voice spiced with fear.
"The Formidable Zovuta knows all about you. I know your traits, your memories, you desires," the face answered. "That's what you all have in common. Every character that stands in my lair once longed for something- wealth, power, love, revenge. Whatever it was, you all wanted it, and you did everything you could to get it. And what happened after you got it all? You lost it, as well as your lives. Aren't I correct?"
The characters nodded without breaking eye contact with the entity who called herself Zovuta.
Hades pondered for a moment. "Zovuta?" he said. "Never heard the name before."
"I am not a God like you, Hades," Zovuta explained. "I am fear, misery, and iniquity mixed together. You all must've felt either one or all three upon your defeat. I overheard some of you talking about it, and I certainly made the right choice in bringing you all here to hear my offer."
"Your offer?" Cruella inquired. "What offer?"
"A simple, pleasant offer," Zovuta responded. "I shall not give a speech about your mistakes. Not only do I want to cut to the chase as it were, I wish to know what your reactions are when I say, you all deserve what you desire most of all."
Everyone's reaction was quite obvious. It was a combination of confused looks, gasps, and elated small-talk.
Some characters however, like Captain Hook, were skeptical about Zovuta's offer. "How do we know this isn't a trick?" he questioned the entity.
"I understand your concern, good Captain," said Zovuta; "but I assure you- every last one of you -this will work. Your enemies shall fall and you will rise. The only way this plan won't work is for the heroes (if they dare call themselves heroes) to claim victory again, if they can when my power intervenes."
This drained suspicion out of the characters and filled them with intense exhilaration. The deal was too good to be true. Yet the experiences they had long before entering the afterlife told them not to ponder but to automatically accept.
Zovuta gazed down at the characters below and smiled as she saw them all voice their agreements about taking her offer. "Splendid," she said. "I knew you would respond with positive attitudes. All you have to do now is wait. Your rebirth is on the horizon. The fools who sought to defeat you shall watch you triumph. Show the world who truly deserves power and respect!"
Zovuta's words were met with a marvelous ovation. This was the last thing the characters did before they vanished into the darkness. Zovuta spent a few seconds relishing her success in convincing the villains she brought to her lair to trust her. If there was one thing the entity loved most, it was seeing people, the innocent and guilty alike, suffer mentally and physically. This immoral admiration had its roots in her own origin. She was birthed from the fears and dark imagination of the young and old, and she depended on these two factors to exist.
After becoming acquainted with the stories that ran under the name of Disney, Zovuta developed a plan to seize control of every young mind on the planet. She was yet to determine the next course of action, but accomplishing her goal came first, and she reveled in the possibility of global domination.
Who needs to pray when you know nothing can stop you? Zovuta thought. I'll take a person of the strongest mind to stop me. Even if they take down a couple villains, it won't be a fun ride when I come to play. Now, if I'm correct the last time I checked up on the wretched boy, the countdown is soon to begin.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Just in case you're wondering, the name "Zovuta" is actually the word "terrible" in Chewa (also called Nyanja, Chichewa, and Chinyanja), a language spoken in several African countries, like Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
