Maleficent was still unhappy, and to be honest she had every right to be. She had barely escaped the data world and had returned to the Enchanted Dominion in order to recover what was left of her strength. Pete had left of course. She didn't care to be honest though. That good-for-nothing imbecile could slink off and crawl into whichever world he wanted to. She had never planned to share her power with him anyway. The thing was Pete was gullible and Maleficent had used that to improve her plans (or would have done were he not so useless).
The Nobodies had gone, however. That was her only conciliation. She knew that once she had mastered back enough of her former strength she could possibly win back the Heartless and begin her plans once again. At least that boy with the Keyblade will have long since gone home to his islands and as long as the Heartless didn't go there she would be fine. The witch looked from the window of her tower over to the castle of King Philip. How it made her skin crawl? She couldn't leave her castle until she had enough power to challenge the king and his queen: the queen she'd tried to kill so many years ago. She hated being captive like this. She stroked the head of her raven pet and continued to glare towards the castle. One day he was going to pay: both of them were.
Rumours from other worlds had reached her ears though. Tidings of the other lands had many wings (although her Pet could tell her most things). Hollow Bastion (no, Radiant Garden as it was now) had had very interesting news come from it. Despite the old news that all members of the Nobodies' Organisation had died there had spread word that a new member was amongst their ranks. People had spoken about a woman wearing the Coat of the Organisation (a fifteenth if the rumours were to be believed), who had been seen in both Hollow Bastion and through other worlds. Maleficent smiled to herself. Some people were still afraid of them. Honestly. If the Nobodies had returned she would have known. The Heartless would have sensed it. She turned away from the window, her raven jumping onto the end of her wand and she walked up the steps to her tower. She turned her head slightly as a flicker in the shadows amidst the green fire in the hearth caught her eye, but there was no one there. Maleficent narrowed her green eyes and turned away. She had definitely seen something. Someone was here. But no one could have made it past the thorns guarding her gate. Maleficent whirled around and swiftly walked back to the window and looked down the black stone walls to see the thorns gathering at the bottom. There was nothing wrong with them. They had not been cut away or burnt or receded by some form of magic. They were perfect. Maleficent was wary. Unless the thorns had let someone through... They couldn't. It would need someone with magic more powerful than hers over the thorns themselves in order to...
"Maleficent, I take it," came an emotionless female voice from over by the fire. Maleficent smiled without turning around.
"The Fifteenth," she smiled, and turned to confirm her assumption. A young woman stood silhouetted by the fire dressed all in black, the hood of her dark coat drawn up so that he face was hidden in shadow. Maleficent looked towards where her face would be. "I thought you were just a rumour." The Fifteenth gave a short and quiet snigger.
"The thing about rumours," she responded in her monotone, "Is that more often than not, they are true." Maleficent raised her wand. "I wouldn't bother," said the Fifteenth, raising her left hand in a gesture of unfriendly warning. "If you want to call for your guards I doubt they'll be able to hear you. I had to silence them on the way up here." Maleficent lowered her wand again as the Fifteenth moved away from the fire and walked around the edge of the room, running her gloved fingers across the rough stone of the walls. Maleficent watched her carefully.
"Why are you here?" she asked. The Fifteenth paused to look at her.
"To speak to you, Maleficent. Why else would I be here. If I was going to kill you surely I would have done it already?"
"But how did you enter my castle without being detected. My castle is protected. You cannot open one of your Dark Corridors inside my domain."
"I didn't," replied the Fifteenth, walking over to the balcony and out of the window towards to Royal Castle. "I opened my Dark Corridor outside of your 'domain' and walked from there."
"Impossible," stated Maleficent. "No one can pass the entrance of this castle so long as my thorns..."
"Oh, yes, the thorns," said the Fifteenth, sounding amused. "I would be your exception. The thorns obey me alone when I am present. You think that they are yours to command and in most cases they are, it is just when I am here. Any plant that grows is under my protection, and therefore is mine to command. A talent of my father's before me, you might say it's in my blood."
"And therefore you arrive undetected," deduced Maleficent. "I have to say I am rather impressed, considering you're a Nobody."
"My name is Roxenasha," said the Fifteenth with a hint of contempt for the witch in her voice. "But I am not here for a social visit. I have business that needs discussing with you, Witch."
"I want nothing to do with your Organisation," snapped Maleficent. "They stole away my Heartless and left me to rot. Why should I now associate myself with you?" Roxenasha lowered her hood, revealing her thin face, blue eyes and blonde hair, tinged with pink.
"Xemnas was a fool," she said. "Both he and his loyal Second-in-Command are of no importance to me or to anything in the Grand Scheme of things. Marluxia is the only one I answer to as my Superior, and Larxene his Second-in-Command."
"Your power-scrambles amongst yourselves are no concern of mine," said Maleficent, in a tone which made it clear that she was not going to be swayed. Roxenasha looked back at her, he blue eyes shining malevolently.
"But you don't yet know what exactly I plan on doing," she said. "I shan't bother you further once I have what I need."
"And that would be what?"
"Well, two things," put in the Fifteenth. "Firstly to be able to speak to the Heartless Leader, safely without fear of betrayal; and secondly I would like to learn some of your dark magics: only specifics, not much."
"You are asking for more than you know, girl," said Maleficent. "The Heartless Guardian is not one to trifle with. He could destroy you."
"But I am more powerful than you," smiled the Nobody. "And when he hears my offer, I'm sure he'd be happy to agree to my terms."
"If in the case of our power you are correct, why would you require my magic?" Roxenasha smiled.
"Because you have the dark magic of resurrection: something I do not possess and I need." Maleficent raised her thin eyebrows slightly.
"And you wish to obtain this knowledge from me so that you can bring back your Organisation and claim Kingdom Hearts as yours? You won't. Kingdom Hearts is mine! A place great enough to be called Kingdom Hearts shall belong only to me!" Roxenasha threw back her head and laughed a high, cold, cruel laugh that didn't suit her pretty face.
"Oh, I still knew you would say that," she said. "And believe me, Witch, this is going to make things so much easier."
Before Maleficent had even the thought to move, the girl had vanished. There was no Dark Corridor or portal. She had left by herself in a flash of lightning. Maleficent whirled around on the spot to try and find out where she'd gone, but any sign of the Nobody had gone. The witch was uneasy. She would not have given up, and her parting words made it clear she hadn't left. She was still in this room, somewhere, moving at the speed of light, undetectable. Maleficent felt a glove touch the back of her neck.
"Thank you," smiled Roxenasha, and began to drain away her power...
Dropping the motionless body of the witch to the floor, Roxenasha inspected her hands, seemingly gloved not only in her black Organisation gloves, but in green flame. She smiled and walked over to the hearth and drew out a stick, the flames licking at the wood.
"Fire," she murmured, examining it carefully. "And with the amount of people in whose memories you reside, Number VIII, you will serve as the perfect test subject for this magic." She gripped the stick more tightly and watched it dissolve into petals, tiny sparks of electricity flowing through their veins. The fire on her hands was fading now and Roxenasha cried upwards to the vaulted ceiling. "HEARTLESS! Come to me!" Two Heartless soldiers materialised in front of her. Roxenasha smiled. "Good," she said. "Now... take me to your leader."