Fittingly, the weather at Disney Castle was foreboding and cloudy in the days following Sora's death. The world's namesake had shuttered for the afternoon in anticipation of the impending rain; servant broomsticks had busied themselves shutting windows and doors, as well as climbing the towers to place lightning rods at their summits. Even before news of the defeat of the light's greatest warrior, the atmosphere in general was grim. It was a perceptible gloom that even Queen Minnie in her spacious, lavishly furnished dining hall could not ignore. The Queen and Daisy Duck were eating an uncomfortable lunch that day, discussing the sudden meteorological shift – "And after such a wonderful round of croquet the other day!", Daisy remarked – and speculating on its origin.

"Now, if you ask me, it's nothing more than one of those freak summer storms," Queen Minnie asserted, delicately bisecting a pork chop. "You know how those are – always rolling in overnight and catching you by surprise."

Daisy, who up until then had been absentmindedly toying with her fork, grimaced. "I wish I could agree with you, Minnie. But I've seen a lot of storms in my time, and this one's nothing like any old thunderhead."

Minnie nodded in agreement, picking at her lunch uncertainly. "There's something different…something in the air that I don't think I like."

"You mean besides the imbalance in the elements?"

Minnie shot Daisy a questioning glance, unsure of what she meant. The purple-bedecked duck took a sip of her wine, and made a series of gestures with her free hand. Three symbols appeared, hovering over the table: a sparking yellow lightning bolt, a smoldering crimson flame, and a slowly revolving blue snowflake.

"Disney Castle is one of the more magically inclined worlds in the known universe. What everything boils down to here is a delicate balance between fire, lightning, and cold," Daisy explained, motioning with her glass to the flame, which grew and blazed hotter. "Depending on the season, one prevails over the other two, which both exist in equal measures. Fire is vitality – it represents the lifeblood of this world, and is most prominent in the spring. Lightning," she continued, indicating the bolt, which mushroomed into a self-contained thunderstorm, "prevails in the summer, and governs this world's magic. The more lightning at work in the world, the more powerful magic tends to be – and the greater the chance of it going awry." At Daisy's next gesture, the snowflake spun slower, engulfing the air around it in an increasingly large and intricate pattern of ice crystals. "Cold is the opposite of the other two, symbolizing death and entropy. It's there primarily to keep the other two in check, and wipe the world clean for the arrival of spring. That's why it prevails in winter, and therefore why autumn is the most balanced of all the seasons."

Minnie eyed the elemental display, surprised at how much she still had to learn about the forces governing their world. "So what's the imbalance?" Minnie asked, her food forgotten for the moment.

Daisy put her glass down, leaning back and steepling her fingers. "That's what I'm confused about. Right now it's the middle of July, so logically lightning should be strongest. But I'm also detecting a marked reduction in fire – even less than cold." At this, the lightning storm hovering over the table spread toward the flame, which shrank and threatened to gutter out entirely.

The Queen studied the interplay of elements over the table, clearly troubled. "So there's a lot more magic around, and that's somehow messing with the world's life?"

Daisy nodded in confirmation. "But I don't know what's causing it. Least likely, of course, is that the heart of the world has somehow gone haywire, and tomorrow will be the blizzard of the century. It seems to me that this could only be caused by an outside force." The mage sat up in her chair, returning to her salad. "I'd have to get a little closer to the storm to really study it. If only Donald were here to help me observe…" she said, with a forlorn glance at her husband's usual seat next to her.

Minnie brightened at the mention of her husband's best friend. "Well, I wouldn't worry about that, Daisy! I'm sure he, Goofy, and Sora are doing just fine on their quest! They're the best at what they do. Although I do wish Mickey would come home," Minnie sighed. They ate in silence for the next three minutes or so, each one thinking of their respective soul mates, until they were interrupted by a tapping at one of the windows.

It had started pouring down rain by now; as Minnie rose and crossed the room to answer the tapping, there was a flash of lightning, which was answered almost immediately by the roar of thunder. "Who could possibly be calling today?" she wondered aloud. "And at one of the windows, of all places. It's unlocked, whoever you are!"

No sooner had Minnie confirmed this than the window burst open, the shutters banging against the walls and splattering everything nearby with rain. Minnie cried out in alarm, jumping back from the window; Daisy leaped to her feet, sprinting to help the Queen regain her balance. The wind howled through the open window, inviting buckets of freezing rain inside. Something black had broken into the castle, and soared majestically around the banners hanging from the ceiling. Daisy and Minnie rushed to close the window, all the while looking skyward and trying to guess at the thing's identity. The creature, a massive raven, banked left, diving towards the pair, both of whom twisted in opposite directions to avoid it. It let out a harsh Caw!, and released something small and silver from its talons before landing gracefully on the back of King Mickey's ornate chair. The object clattered across the marble floor, skidding to rest at the feet of the cowering royals. After a moment's hesitation, Daisy picked it up.

"What on earth...?" she wondered, examining it carefully. It was a necklace - a sterling silver crown on a chain of the same material. Neither Daisy nor Minnie had ever seen it before; however, the strange delivery was not Minnie's primary concern at this moment. The Queen had gone rigid with indignation, and pointed a threatening finger at the raven, which preened itself and seemed to smirk at her. "I know you!" she shouted. "You're Diablo - Maleficent's pet!" Minnie stalked across the dining hall, stopping within reach of Diablo and meeting its gaze with her own glare. "You aren't welcome here," she stated. Daisy followed her, placing a hand on Minnie's shoulder as she reached her side. "Careful, Your Majesty - wherever it is, its master is never far behind..." A high, bone-chilling laugh confirmed Daisy's fears, echoing throughout the entire room without an apparent source. Minnie and Daisy whirled to find it, freezing when Diablo left its perch and flew to the double doors at the room's entrance. A column of green fire erupted before the doors, casting sinister shadows across the walls and floors and finally coalescing into a familiar enemy: Maleficent.

The sorceress cut an imposing figure; her purple and black robes appeared to drain the light from the room, and in the dim area around her the crystal atop her staff cast an ominous emerald glow. With her horns bringing her to a full six feet two inches in height, she was easily the tallest in the room. The lightning storm, which was steadily increasing in intensity, illuminated her every few seconds as she moved down the central aisle of the dining hall. Diablo landed on her shoulder, eyes on Daisy and Minnie as if daring them to attack now that its master had arrived. It took a monumental effort for the two current inhabitants of the castle to keep their panic from becoming evident in their faces, but they held their ground as their old enemy advanced. In fact, it was Daisy who made the first move. "So you're the outside force," she opened.

Maleficent laughed once more, and her ruby lips curled into a triumphant smile as she came to a halt before the Queen and the mage. "Your majesties! Such an honor to meet you, and to be a guest in your home," she taunted, with a sweep of her arms to indicate their surroundings. With a sudden movement, she clasped both hands on her staff, slamming the end of it into the marble. "Your prison!" she roared, her cry of victory dissolving into another long cackle. The floor cracked with the force of the magic emanating from the staff; Minnie and Daisy rushed Maleficent, but were forced back by a wave of green fire. The hall's windows were thrown open, the storm's wind extinguishing every candle in the room; in another second they were shut. Unseen to those within the hall, black thorns rose from the ground around the castle, criscrossing the walls and sealing all exits. Maleficent's laughter died away in the darkness, and after a few seconds of blindness the lights came back on. All the candles blazed twice as brightly as before, with green fire instead of red. Minnie and Daisy shared a mutual gaze of disquiet as Maleficent towered over them.

Finally, Minnie found the courage to speak. "You certainly weren't invited, Maleficent! What business do you have here?" Her eyes locked with Maleficent's, hungry for an answer.

Maleficent let go of her staff; it stood straight where it was as she withdrew something from her voluminous robes. In her hands she held a shield shaped like the King's royal seal, and a staff fit for someone Daisy's height. "I merely wished to return these," she drawled cruelly, casting them at Minnie's feet. "Their owners have no more need for them." Almost immediately, Daisy cried out in anguish. "That staff...that's Donald's!" She snatched it off the ground, pointing it menacingly at Maleficent. "What did you do to Donald!?" she shrieked, on the verge of tears. Minnie sank to her knees, picking up the shield; it trembled in her hands. "Where's Goofy?" she asked, her voice quivering with barely-controlled rage. She stood, brandishing the shield at Daisy's side. "Where's Mickey?"

Maleficent lazily tapped her fingers against her staff as she answered. "That necklace Diablo gave you? It belonged to the Keyblade wielder who was looking for your king. Your friends suffered the same fate as he: consumed by the darkness I command!" Diablo cawed in agreement, taking wing and flying up to roost in the rafters.

Daisy could take no more. With a scream of "You heartless witch!" she leaped, swinging her husband's staff at Maleficent with strength fueled by sorrow and hatred. Maleficent rolled her eyes, summoning a force field which Daisy smacked into with an audible WHACK. The duck fell to the ground, and Minnie rushed over to help her up. "Daisy, stop it! You don't know what she's capable of!" But Daisy shrugged off the Queen's helping hand, picking herself up as if nothing had happened. "She's capable of killing Donald! FIRAGA!" A massive fireball shot from the staff, but was deflected effortlessly by Maleficent's own weapon. "Do what you like," Maleficent declared, sidestepping another charge and striking Daisy to the ground. "It won't change the fact that he's gone! They're all gone, and you've lost!"

Daisy rose once more, leaning on Donald's staff for support. "You're wrong! The King will hear of this, and he'll be back!" Minnie raised Goofy's shield to defend herself, and agreed. "My husband's fought worse than you!" She stepped forth, daring Maleficent to attack her.

Maleficent shook her head, her smile ripening to a wicked grin. "Donald, Goofy, and their Keyblader friend are no more; yesterday the forces of light suffered the ultimate defeat, at the hands of my champion!" With a gesture, a portal of darkness manifested in the castle floor. "The light shines weaker with their demise, and thus I bring the war home." Heartless climbed out of the portal by the hundreds; first Shadows, then Soldiers, then innumerable and unnameable legions of corruption. They swarmed across the room, throwing wide the doors and scampering throughout the castle. The Queen and the duchess watched in shock; the Heartless had never been able to breach Disney Castle's defenses in the past, and certainly not in these numbers. Both contemplated fighting, but a shared glance communicated what they both knew: there were too many to take on by themselves. Maleficent left them finally, following her army into the hallway. She turned to deliver one last gloating address. "Oh, but I'll be merciful. I'll hold my Heartless off from the heart of your world, and you'll live to bear witness to my conquest of all the rest!" With a final delighted cackle, she strolled leisurely towards the throne room. The doors slammed shut, and a force field of flickering green flames spread across it. There was no escape for the remnants of King Mickey's court.

Daisy let her arm fall, clutching the staff like it was the last thing in the world that could keep her alive. Minnie turned, and lay the shield on a nearby table. They slowly made their way across the hall, empty now except for them and Diablo, the latter of which remained on guard in the rafters. The mouse and the duck embraced, each one the other's last comfort in a world that suddenly appeared to be at an end.


I know, I know, this chapter is boring. I'm suffering from myriad distractions lately, academic and otherwise, but things should get better when we get back to Organization XIII. I find them a lot easier to write, as they're deeper than Maleficent's "I WILL RULE ALL BAHAHAHA" personality. I tried.

Love and thanks to all the readers,

Zellarius Burvenia