Episode 10: Hidden In Plain Sight:
The Lanes Between – Captain Hook's Pirate Ship
August 10, 2015
Maleficent seethed with fury as she paced the top deck of the Jolly Roger. In the last month, her plans to begin her conquest of the worlds anew had come crashing down, thanks to that madman Xehanort and those foolish Keyblade Wielders. Aside from Hades' marriage proposal, the last few weeks were a string of upsets and disappointments. Still, she reminded herself after taking a deep, calming breath, this is why I have backup plans. All things considered, her situation could've been worse.
With her death faked, the Keyblade Wielders wouldn't be actively seeking her out, although they may suspect she still lives. A sizeable portion of her army remained free, and hopefully, after meeting with her contact today, they would have a new base from which to plan their next attack. She smiled as her fiancé came up from their shared cabin and gave her a good morning kiss.
"The Etherium always looks rather calming in the early mornings," Captain Hook commented as he emerged from his private quarters. "Anyway, Maleficent, we've reached the rendezvous coordinates and there's still no sign of your contact. If they haven't shown up in 24 hours, I don't think they'll be coming at all."
"She'll come," Maleficent replied knowingly as she gazed out into the distance. "She hasn't let me down yet." An hour later, her mysterious contact was still a no-show. Hook was anxiously pacing the poop deck while Mr. Smee kept the ship steady. Cruella had gone back down to nap while Helga came up from doing a morning workout in the hold, with Gaston taking her place. Hamsterviel remained on the lookout in the crow's nest while Diablo flew back and forth along the deck to relieve the boredom.
Meanwhile, Scroop and Randall skittered up and down the masts to keep themselves busy. Yzma stayed below deck getting her very-much-needed beauty sleep. Maleficent was about to head below deck for some breakfast when Hamsterviel finally announced that they had a ship incoming off the starboard side. After an hour of waiting, everyone practically raced to the railing as they peered out into space. Cries of "FINALLY!" rang out across the deck as a small, grey, single-occupant space craft pulled up alongside the Jolly Roger.
After tying the edge of the spaceship to the side of the Roger, the cockpit opened. Out of the cockpit rose a Luphomoid woman, her blue skin predominantly hidden under purple combat gear. Her left arm was entirely mechanical, and lines visible beneath her skin indicated cybernetic implants all over her body. Although word of her deeds had never before reached Coalition space, even Maleficent's allies were instantly wary of her, stepping back out of caution.
"You're late," the dark sorceress said, her calm demeanor masking her irritation with her contact.
"Couldn't be helped," Nebula replied as she hopped down onto the deck of the Jolly Roger. "The Galactic Armada impounded my ship before I could make my way over here, and I had to fight through their troops in order to steal a new one." Maleficent scowled. This could bring unwanted attention that they didn't need at this vulnerable stage.
"And were you followed?" the green-skinned fairy demanded impatiently. Everyone else looked nervously at each other. If anyone learned of their location now, while they were busy licking their wounds, their forces would crumble. Any of them could be captured or killed, and those who survived would face Maleficent's unrestrained fury. A prospect that induced nightmares in all of them.
"I'm the daughter of Thanos, remember?" the blue-skinned assassin retorted. "I was trained to make multiple stops to sweep for trackers before moving on to my destination. We're perfectly safe here." Everyone else bar Maleficent breathed a collective sigh of relief at having escaped the Mistress of all Evil's potential wrath. With that matter settled, Maleficent moved on to debriefing her spy on her assignment. While the lower ranked members of the group headed below deck to find something to do, the green witch lead Nebula and the inner circle of the Hellfire Club (they'd finally decided on a name for their cabal and just decided to go with something catchy) into Hook's Cabin to plan their next move.
"The Kiln has been completely abandoned," Nebula reported. "After Ronan's attack on Turo, the Galactic Council opened an investigation into the corruption of their off-world prison. This resulted in the corruption of the prison guards being exposed. The bodies of the guards and inmates were removed, but the prison was never reopened. The Grand Councilwoman decided that normal criminals should just be kept in planetary prisons, and built a new space station to house those too dangerous to incarcerate on planets."
"The Kiln was left to rust," she continued as she finished her report. "And it is ripe for the taking, Maleficent." Once the assassin delivered the results of her reconnaissance mission, Maleficent smiled insidiously. An abandoned base with working technology and ready access to prison cells to detain captives, she thought to herself. This is better than I could have hoped for. It's not the ideal headquarters for an interstellar empire, but it's a decent place to start considering the hell we've all just been through.
"I think it's time we claim this facility as our own," she said with a malicious grin. The rest of her inner circle all nodded their heads in unanimous agreement. Neubla smirked, and her smile grew even more when Maleficent presented the assassin with her payment: the severed head of her "father", Thanos the Mad Titan. Before the Jolly Roger got underway, Maleficent dispatched Diablo for a reconnaissance mission to retrieve one of Xehanort's remaining prisoners from the World That Never Was. After he left, the cabal completed their preparations, and with the combined strength of Maleficent, Hades, Yzma, and Cruella, the Hellfire Club tore open a Corridor of Darkness large enough to transport the entire ship and all its occupants to their new (if temporary) base of operations.
For clarification, yes, this is Nebula from Guardians of the Galaxy. But in the universe of The Xehanort War, Guardians of the Galaxy doesn't take place exactly the same as in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's not that different though. Just replace Xandar and the Nova Corps with the Galactic Federation from Lilo and Stitch. Other than that it's pretty much the same. Except for Sephiroth murdering Thanos afterwards (an epic duel that is periodically referenced by the One-Winged Angel throughout TXW).For those of you who have read TXW, yes, Ripple Effects will show that epic confrontation in great detail.
TXW spoiler explanation: For those who haven't read TXW and are wondering just why Maleficent has Thanos' severed head, in the universe of The Xehanort War, Sephiroth does some mercenary work when he's not going after Cloud. Maleficent and Xehanort frequently hire him to eliminate potential rivals who cannot be used as pawns, be they Disney or Marvel. Throughout TXW Sephiroth makes repeated mention of the fact that Young Xehanort (under MX's instructions), hired the One-Winged Angel to kill Thanos, and he succeeded. Later in the story, Maleficent has captured one of the Princesses, with the remaining six split between the heroes and the Organization. Maleficent tries to auction Snow White off to the highest bidder, and Xehanort offered her the Mad Titan's head on a platter. (Because since in KH dead people don't always leave bodies behind, he'd naturally require Sephiroth to bring some form of proof that Thanos is dead)
As for how Nebula and Maleficent came to know each other, that's another thing that will be covered in Ripple Effects. And for those wondering which prisoner Maleficent is referring to, if you've read The Xehanort War then you know already. If not, his last name is Schmidt, and he's associated with the color red. That's the only clue you're going to get.
Coming next Chapter: Mickey goes through Yen Sid's Tower one last time, while Ven finally regains his lost memories. I'm not including an Epic Mickey world, but expect a few shout outs and references.