"URSULA! STOP!" Sora yelled as he drew his Keyblade and pointed it at Vance.
His body ached and he was still in incredible pain from the poison, but after his confrontation with Riku, Sora knew he couldn't stay bedridden. He took to the streets and, after some searching, came across Vance. Sora was determined to end the sea witch's spell... he just didn't know how.
"Sora... what the Hell?" Vance asked. "Is this more of your crazy? Honestly, I have no idea what Riku sees in you."
"Drop the act, Ursula," Sora said, unwavering. "I know it's you. The new face and altering Riku's memories was a neat trick. You almost had me fooled, but you just had to sing Ariel's song, didn't you?"
Vance just laughed at that, and in that moment, Sora could hear Ursula's voice ringing at the end of each chuckle. Now there was absolutely no doubt in Sora's mind as to what was going on.
"I couldn't resist the delicious irony of it all," Vance admitted. "It was just the perfect song to employ for a dramatic flourish. Once a showgirl, always a showgirl, I suppose."
"I'm not gonna let you get away with this," Sora warned.
"HA!" Vance scoffed. "You don't have much of a say in that matter."
Sora suddenly felt his arms being gripped tightly by two pairs of firm hands. Sora struggled to break free of the hold, but with his strength still weakened by the potion, he couldn't. Sora looked up at his attackers to see two skeletal faces looking down on him. He shuddered in terror.
"Meet the Cauldron Born," Vance said. "Proving that being down to just skin and bones isn't always a bad thing. HA! And now, dearie, you're mine."
Hades may have sealed off the Underworld to his allies, but Mephisto was not so easily deterred. There were many secret passageways between the lands of the dead, and all Mephisto had to do was find one that would serve his purposes. With Hades away playing with Mr. Shadow and the Overtakers barred from entry, Mephisto knew that it was the perfect opportunity to help out an old friend. Once inside the mansion, it wasn't hard for the demon king to find Doom's lab. The stench of Doom's magic was all over it. Mephisto greedily reached from the door, but found himself zapped by the protection spell that Doom left in place.
"Impressive work, Victor," Mephisto spat as he rubbed the burn on his hand. "I should have never underestimated you. But, my old friend, you have underestimated me."
Though it was extremely difficult to do so out of the confines of his Hell, Mephisto allowed his physical form to melt away. From where he stood emerged a sight impossible to truly describe. Mephisto's true form was an abstract portrait of all the evil in all the worlds. Power burned and shimmered all around, and any soul unlucky enough to gaze upon the sight lost their vision to the unnatural and incomprehensible form. The Overtakers' mansion shattered and dissolved at Mephisto's touch.
Though Doom's spell protected the contents of his laboratory from destruction, with no physical lab to hold them, the artifacts and mechanical devices tumbled onto the banks of the Styx, exposed. Mephisto returned himself to his standard demonic form and cracked his neck. It really was nice to stretch the true legs every once in a while. Mephisto then turned to see Morgan le Fay clapping at his display of power, finally free from her stasis spell.
"Bravo, Lord Mephisto," Morgan said. "Should I flatter myself by assuming that was all for my benefit."
"But of course, dear," Mephisto replied. "You and I are partners, remember? We look out for each other!"
"HA!" Morgan scoffed. "And if you expect me to actually believe you value such a thing, then you greatly underestimate me."
Mephisto smirked. "So, tell me, is any of the rest of this junk worth anything?"
Morgan did not answer right away. She scanned the sandy banks looking for something in particular. Once she spotted it, she walked over and plucked the shard of red stone from the ground.
"This will prove most useful," Morgan said, showing the Red Lyrium to Mephisto. "And I've just the idea of how to use it."
The Jolly Roger dropped its anchor along the side of Suledin Keep but remained airborne. Doom and Loki stood side by side and observed as Jafar flew down with Hook levitating behind him. Loki had half expected Jafar to be carrying Hook bridal style upon their return, but, alas, it seemed that such fancies were nothing more than fancies.
"Quite an impressive feat, wouldn't you agree?" Jafar asked, gesturing to the flying vessel.
"If you think that is a grand feat, you should see my fleet of aircrafts that I designed myself back in Latveria," Doom retorted.
"So how did the little test run go?" Hook asked. "Is the lyrium proving to be as formidable a mineral as we'd hoped?"
Loki couldn't help but smirk at that bit of irony. The poor captain truly had no idea that he was to be the "little test run." Loki almost pitied the mortal. It did seem a shame to waste so fair a face on the Red Lyrium, but Victor's desires outweighed the captain's potential for momentary diversions.
"The initial test on a lowly farm hand proved insufficient," Doom replied. "Thus the next test requires one with a stronger will and more durable form."
"And where are we to find such a subject?" Hook asked, oblivious.
Jafar, however, did not miss Doom's meaning and put up his arm between Hook and Doom to make his opposition to this course clear. Jafar's glare was venomous and unwavering, bearing down upon Doom with an intensity that Loki had never seen from a mortal (not that Jafar was truly mortal). Doom responded in kind, unblinking.
"Me?" Hook asked, reading the gestures for what they were. "That bloody stuff could kill me, and I hardly relish the opportunity to experience death for a second time."
"You have your answer," Jafar said to Doom. "And you will accept it."
"It was not a request," Doom warned.
Jafar clenched his teeth and held his staff in position. "Aram kaza-"
But Doom was quicker to the draw, blasting Jafar back with a concussive beam of energy from his suit.
"Loki, get the revenant," Doom ordered.
Despite seeing Loki not budge an inch from Doom's side, Hook felt cold and firm hands wrap around him from behind. Hook struggled to break free, but despite Loki's thin frame, the Liesmith was shockingly strong and solid. Hook couldn't even get Loki to budge even the slightest bit.
"Now then," Doom said. "Bring him over to the-"
But Doom was slammed into by the force of Jafar's genie transformation, sending the good doctor hurdling into the air. Jafar was relentless, hurling bolts of bright yellow magic at Doom over and over and over again. If Hook didn't know any better, he'd have assumed that Doom perished in the onslaught. When the smoke cleared, there hovered Doom, unharmed and surrounded by a viridescent energy field.
"That was a mistake, sorcerer," Doom warned.
Doom then unleashed a handful of tiny pebbles. Such a sight made Jafar throw his head back in laughter. The great Doctor Doom thought to best him with pebbles. Doom was undeterred, and, using his molecular expander, grew the tiny pebbles into an avalanche of immense boulders. The first boulder slammed into Jafar's head, causing the genie to recoil in pain. Then, before Jafar could recover, a second boulder slammed into his chest.
"ENOUGH!" Jafar shouted, clapping his hands together and freezing the bounders in midair. "ZABA KABUDABRA!"
At Jafar's command, the boulders collected in Jafar's grasp and solidified into a mass of molten rock. Jafar hurled the massive lava ball back at Doom, but the mass shattered into a million tiny pieces as Doom came rocketing through it from the other side. Doom extended his arms and fired a blast of green energy directly for Jafar. The evil genie, however, merely returned fire with a blast of golden lightning from his eyes. The two beams collided in midair as Doom continued to rocket towards Jafar.
Hook watched in utter disbelief as they collided and energy exploded outwards from where they were in waves. From the flash of light, a dark mass was falling rapidly back down to Suledin Keep. At first Hook hoped against hope that it was Jafar, but as the mass approached, it became clearly recognizable as Doctor Doom. Doom landed on his feet in front of where Hook and Loki were standing.
"A pity," Loki remarked. "Jafar was a most useful ally."
"A necessary sacrifice," Doom said. "Now then. To the matter at hand."
However, it was just then that Hook noticed a purple orb of light floating downward near to where they were standing. The pirate captain couldn't help but grin as Jafar, once again in his sorcerer form, manifested out of the orb of energy.
"Don't count me out just yet," Jafar forewarned, drawing his staff for another round.
Doom prepared to attack once again. Loki simply looked on in amusement. Loki could tip the scales of the battle into the favor of one or the other, but he rather enjoyed watching the display of power. Besides, Loki knew that each man could easily hold their own against the other. However, before Doom and Jafar could continue their dance of power, a terrible roar echoed throughout the keep. All four Overtakers looked up to see a dragon flying their way. Doom, with his armor's advanced sensors, was the only one privy to the knowledge that the dragon was being ridden into battle by an enemy the doctor had not expected to see free.
"Morgan le Fay," Doom growled.
Persephone and Hades stared each other down from their separate chariots. Hades hadn't seen the Goddess of Spring since Zeus "rescued" her from the marriage. She'd been a girl then. Now she was a fully matured goddess with all the power and elegance that entailed.
"You look good, 'Seph," Hades remarked. "The spring shtick agrees with ya. And me? Well, hey, still dead on my feet, if you know what I'm sayin'. HA!"
"Hades," Persephone said, a twinge of sadness present in her voice. "I had always hoped you'd give up your pursuit of evil one day. You know, I really did like you at first. You made me laugh. But I could never love a man who inflicts pain onto poor innocent defenseless people and animals. I'm too big on cruelty free! That's why I'm a vegan."
"Yeah, you've only mentioned that like a zillion times," Hades said, "and I'm too big on the barbeque for that. Geez you broads are judgy. Too evil for you. Too nice for Malef. What am I? Goldilocks?"
"Hades, please," Persephone begged, "I know you're still upset about what happened all those years ago. But you cannot take it out on this world. It won't change anything."
"Eh, it'll make me feel better," Hades said. "So, hey, go right ahead and take down that barrier, so I don't have to, y'know, go down there and burn everybody one by one. That's a real pain in tuchus, if ya know what I mean."
Persephone exhaled loudly, not fully believing what she was about to do. She brushed her golden hair aside and tucked it behind her ear.
"Listen, Hades," she said. "If you swear on the River Styx never to destroy another world, then I will go with you to be your bride in the Underworld... forever. Willingly."
Hades hadn't expected that offer. He scratched his chin and let his eyes drift between Persephone and Mr. Shadow. Clearly this was Persephone's attempt at a heroic sacrifice to spare countless worlds, and Hades was sorely tempted to accept. After all, Mr. Shadow had been nothing more than a diversion to blow off steam, and he'd get Persephone's heart in return. But one question haunted him: did he even still want her hand in marriage? On one hand, it felt right to reclaim what had been taken from him. Yet, on the other hand, she'd constantly nag him over being evil, and he had very little use for a pretty distraction. He wanted a real partner in crime, and Persephone would never be that.
As Hades pondered this offer, he saw something off in the distance. A giant snow cloud sailed through the Etherium on a direct collision course with the forest world. Hades and Persephone both watched as the wintery cloud encircled the world. Persephone's force field turned to red and orange autumnal colors before finally turning a sickly brown and dissolving. Persephone herself seemed to shrink as well. The springtime world had been thrust into a deep enchanted winter. Hades briefly wondered if Boreas had just thrown him a bone until he laid eyes upon the true culprit behind the enchanted winter. Standing triumphantly atop a stone platform was Maleficent.
"A winter to sting the Goddess of Spring," Maleficent declared. "Sometimes my powers surprise even me."
With his pathway open, Hades knew exactly what to do. He pulled out the model of Mr. Shadow and ordered the ultimate evil to proceed full steam ahead.
"NO!" Persephone screamed as the dark mass pierced the forest world.
Persephone watched in utter horror as the home world of her friends Bambi and Thumper was torn apart amidst flames and smoke. She wept profusely as Hades and Maleficent looked onward with sadistic glee.
"Now this is a sight I find most agreeable," Maleficent declared.
Persephone wiped the tears from her cheeks and rose up to the reigns of her chariot as regally as she could. "You may have done this atrocity, but I won't let you destroy a world ever again."
Persephone whipped her twin stags, and she flew off towards Mr. Shadow. Hades and Maleficent watched in curiosity as she disappeared into the smog. There was a flash of pink light and the debris cleared, leaving only Mr. Shadow present. Yet he was now different. His flames had completely gone out. His charred surface seemed more richly colored and more fertile. Hades could even make out the beginnings of green saplings. After a few seconds, the ceramic model shattered in Hades's hand, signifying that the Underworld Lord's hold was broken. Persephone was gone, but Mr. Shadow was now no more. In both of their places was the fertile beginnings of a new world.
Hades's temper flared up to red. "OF COURSE. Even when I win, I LOSE! It's like the entire UNIVERSE wants to put the kibosh on me!"
"Do not despair," Maleficent said. "Once we have the Book of Prophecies, all of that will change."
"We?" Hades asked, instantly cooling back down to blue. "There's a 'we' again?"
Maleficent nodded. "Perhaps I was too hasty before. Witnessing your wrath upon the worlds... Well, let's just say I appreciate a man with a fiery disposition far more than one showering me with gifts."
Hades grinned at that. "Well, hey, let me tell ya something, I get mad a lot. I'm just all the time mad. That's me. Ask anyone."
Of course Maleficent knew that already. She'd known him for years, after all. Yet Hades wanted to make doubly sure that she did. Maleficent's rejection had somehow only made Hades want to earn her affections even more. Hades was at her mercy completely, yet somehow he was okay with that. Maleficent tapped her staff on the platform and summoned a large Corridor of Darkness in front of them. Maleficent gestured for Hades to follow her as her platform flew through the portal. Hades followed after in his chariot, because of course he did.
The Cauldron Born locked the shackles chaining Sora to the stone platform. Vance had taken Sora away to the Rising Falls, Radiant Garden's uncanny waterfalls whose water flowed upwards against gravity. This particular platform was the very same spot where Riku had stolen Sora's Keyblade years ago. It seemed only fitting that the sea witch would bring Sora back here as she took Riku from him. The Cauldron Born had shackled his hands, but Sora found that he could still reach his phone from his back pocket. If he could just get a text message to send...
"He is a quiet boy, isn't he?" Vance asked, referring to Riku. "A fine quality to have. After all, what is idle prattle for?"
"He's not quiet when he's with someone who gives him something to talk about," Sora replied. "Maybe you're just boring, Ursula."
"Me? Boring? HA!" Vance replied. "I'm the most exciting thing that's ever happened to him!"
Sora shook his head. At her claim? At the situation? He wasn't entirely sure. It just felt like an appropriate response.
"How can you even do this?" Sora asked. "Pretending to love someone? Messing with their heart? How broken are you, Ursula?"
Vance scowled at that. "I can do it because it gets me what I want! I can assure you that's all that really matters."
"You have so much power," Sora said. "So much that could actually make life better for people. But you just keep hurting them and using them."
"Of course! It's more fun that way," Vance declared.
Vance didn't seem to have anything further to elaborate, but Sora had to buy himself more time. He didn't know what Vance was planning on doing to him, but it wouldn't be pleasant. Sora knew that the sea witch loved to have an audience. If he could keep her talking, maybe she'd delay ending him.
"If you're feeling so chatty, how about you answer this question for me," Sora said. "Why'd you save my life? You had me at your total mercy. You could've killed me, but you didn't."
"What? No 'thank you'?" Vance replied with mock offense. "Contrary to what you might think, killing you is not my ultimate endgame. Tell me, handsome, do you remember that first Heartless you defeated in Traverse Town all those years ago? What was it? The Powered Armor?"
"The Guard Armor," Sora supplied.
"That's the one!" Vance declared. "Well, that was when we first started watching you. You know what I suggested doing at that very first meeting? I suggested turning you into a Heartless and being done with it. And we could have too. So easily. But Maleficent said something I've never forgotten. She said that no matter whether you conquered the darkness or got swallowed by it, you'd still be useful to us. I didn't really get the whole useful part when you chopped me up into sushi, you understand. But now? Now I do.
"After all, look around you, sweetcheeks. You made an ill advised deal that let me into Riku's heart. A Key bearer under my throng! Can you imagine? And then, as I was plotting on how to use this little advantage, I figured why not pull the same trick over the entirety of Radiant Garden? Get them all to welcome us into their hearts and turn away from those who'd genuinely earned it. It's only a matter of time before I parlay both into total open control. I'm going to serve Maleficent both Riku and the Hollow Bastion castle on a silver platter! Get back what was rightfully ours to begin with!"
Sora felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He knew he'd made a mistake with his deal, however well intentioned he may have been, but he never expected it to have consequences this severe. He was supposed to be a hero who protected the worlds from evil, and yet Ursula was right. His screw ups were more help to the villains than his heroism stopped them.
"Now, now, cheer up, sweetie!" Vance said once he saw how crestfallen Sora was. "Your role's not done yet! Maleficent's gonna concoct an extra special torment just for you!"
"Over my dead body!" Riku declared as he leaped down onto the platform.
Vance was utterly flabbergasted by this turn of events; Riku had heard her entire spiel. Sora couldn't wipe the grin from his face. After their fight earlier, it felt amazing for Sora to have Riku back on his side.
"I should have known you were too good to be true," Riku sighed. Sora couldn't help but feel a sting of pity at that.
Vance clutched the silver octopus necklace, tapping into its power. "Riku, remember! You love me!"
Riku clutched his forehead and tried to shake Ursula's influence out of his mind. "No. You... won't... use me anymore! Never again!"
Riku unleashed a blast of light from his Keyblade that shot directly for Vance. The beam hit its mark, shattering Vance's necklace and breaking the spell. The clouds in Riku's mind lifted and he saw the truth for the first time in days. Vance's body molted off of Ursula as if it were nothing more than a layer of dead skin. The handsome young man was gone, and in his place, there was only the sea witch. Before Ursula could reorient herself, Riku ran across the platform, kicked the Cauldron Born warriors off the platform into the waterfall, and sliced through Sora's chains, freeing him.
Ursula seethed with anger as the two Keyblade wielders stood ready for battle. "You little fools! Fine! Have each other back! It'll all come crumbling down around you, and we've still got the town wrapped around our little finger!"
With that said, Ursula dove off the platform into the water, disappearing into the current. Once they were sure that she wasn't coming back, Sora and Riku did the one thing they knew was long overdue: they hugged each other. The two young men stayed there in each other's arms for a while, neither wanting to leave after what they'd just gotten through.
When Morgan le Fay came into view, Hook immediately felt Loki release his grip. From what Hook had seen, usually the trickster god wasn't the type to run headfirst into a battle the way that Doom and Jafar were, yet something about Morgan le Fay prompted Loki to forget his restraint. Loki materialized along the back of the dragon's neck, facing Morgan directly.
"Now, now, I see the swine has escaped her cage," Loki taunted. "If I knew no better, I would think the swine wished to become ham." A silver dagger appeared in Loki's hand. "I fear the meat may be less succulent now that she has seen the knife, but perhaps the fires upon which I roast her corpse will rectify such a careless oversight."
"Foul wretched false god!" Morgan spat. "BEGONE!"
Morgan blasted Loki with a bolt of lightning, causing his illusion to dissipate. As soon as Morgan saw the vanishing illusion, she knew what was coming. Loki's dagger pierced her neck from behind without further warning. Morgan gurgled and sputtered and choked on her own blood as she fell from the dragon's back and plummeted into the ravine below.
Loki pressed his tongue to his still crimson blade and sampled his victory. "I should not have allowed her to see the knife beforehand. I can taste the fear in her blood."
"T'is not fear, you taste, Loki, but your own failure!" Morgan declared as she reappeared and bound the trickster god with a spell sigil. "Victor's heart did not choose wisely."
That wasn't possible. She was dead. She was supposed to be dead. Loki hid his surprise and frustration behind a façade of smug confidence, an old trick he'd used well over the centuries.
"That was no mere illusion," Loki said, observing the sigils holding him in place. "You actually perished at my hands and returned. Did Mephisto teach you the secret to effective immortality?"
Morgan smirked. "Hardly. I returned through no powers but my own. You see, Victor may have needed his toy to travel back to visit me, but I came to this time on my own raw magical power alone."
"Time magic?" Loki said with a chuckle. "You are playing with fire, witch. For you see..."
A second Loki appeared on the dragon's back. Morgan lashed out at him with her magic, but the trickster was able to expertly dodge and shatter the seal holding the first Loki prisoner. Now free, the first Loki absorbed back into his other self amidst a wash of magic.
"...Time is nothing more than an illusion, my dear," Loki declared with a dramatic bow as if he were a parlor magician performing rudimentary tricks for an audience.
Morgan sneered. "I should have expected no less. Come then, little Loki. Let us see which sorcerer is truly powerful enough to sate Victor's appetite."
Loki simply laughed at that. "You assume his appetite is the insatiable one? Oh, no, my dear. It's mine!"
Within a flash of magic, the sorcerers vanished into the time stream to continue their dance. The dragon, however, was not so occupied. With a mighty roar, the dragon unleashed a stream of crimson energy breath that decimated the watch towers of Suledin Keep. Red Lyrium breath, Doom realized. If Morgan le Fay was running free, then she'd almost certainly stolen the lyrium sample Imshael gave to Doom. Doom refused to admit that he never even considered bonding the element to a dragon.
"Morgan le Fay's beast will not fall easily," Doom said to Jafar and Hook. "It is empowered by Red Lyrium. Jafar. Between the two of us, I'm sure we can conjure enough power to weaken the beast if we-"
"Excuse me, but do you really expect us to help you after what you tried to do to me?" Hook asked. "We'd be better off returning to Villain's Vale and letting your scorned woman decimate you."
"Quite so," Jafar echoed. "You think me a mongrel pup you can strike and then order about? You've got another thing coming!"
Doom's forcefield only barely managed to protect the three when the dragon's breath of death turned on them. Hook looked uneasily at the green energy, fearing that it would not hold against the dragon's wrath. Jafar and Doom were each unphased, never breaking eye contact from one another.
"I expect you to put your petty emotions aside to allow us to subdue the beast," Doom said firmly. "We conquered Emprise du Lion together. Are you willing to throw it aside for the sake of a pirate?"
"Hmph, you say that as if this frozen rock were some grand prize," Jafar sneered. "But perhaps if you were to abandon your notions of using the captain as your test subject, I might be persuaded to join you."
"Done," Doom agreed, shocking Hook at how quickly he came to that decision after the hard fought battle before. "Now, if you two are quite through, I have a plan of attack that requires you both to be at your best."
The dragon roared mightily as it rounded back for another assault on Suledin Keep. The beast widened her great maw, ready to unleash another blast of her lyrium breath when a cloud of crimson smoke manifested in front of her. She hissed as the smoke took the shape of Jafar's genie form, cackling maniacally. With a thrust of her head not unlike that of a striking serpent, the Red Lyrium Dragon unleashed the fury of her breath on Jafar. Jafar took the hit to the chest, being pushed backwards by the force but otherwise not being harmed.
"ZABA KABUDABRA!" Jafar chanted, causing explosions of fire to litter the skies around the dragon.
Though the flames singed the dragon, her thick armor protected her from taking much of the damage, and the lyrium gave her the strength to avoid being phased by the genie's spell. Though Jafar's attacks did not phase the dragon, they did occupy her attention long enough for Doom to fly up to the dragon's back. As Jafar and the dragon continued their battle, Doom began to enact his power absorption spell, a talent he'd once used on the Silver Surfer and more recently on Odin himself.
Doom could see the red lightning of the lyrium pouring from the dragon into his own body. All of that power was there for the taking. The strength was incredible, unlike anything Doom had ever experienced. Yet from that power, Doom began to notice changes to himself. His rational thought was becoming murky and it was more of a challenge for him to retain his objectivity. His primary thoughts were nothing but thirst for the power. All power came a price, and Doom knew that this one was too expensive.
"Doom's mind bends to nothing!" he spat as he redirected the powers to harmlessly dissolve into the air.
The dragon shrieked as she felt her strength being zapped away. Her breath was returning to the regular icy state and the durability of her armor was failing. Through his spyglass, Hook watched as Doom flew clear of the dragon. That was his signal.
"Get ready, mates!" Hook shouted to his crew. "Let's show the dragon our starboard side."
Hans relayed the orders and Hook steered the airborne Jolly Roger towards the dragon. She hissed at the incoming vessel and would have launched a blast of frost at the mast if Jafar hadn't diverted her attention back onto him through a sudden blast of golden lightning. As the dragon fought to resist the magic, the Jolly Roger got into position parallel to the dragon.
"On your order, captain," Hans said.
Hook smirked. This had always been his favorite part. "FIRE!"
The full might of the Jolly Roger's cannon fire was unleashed upon the dragon. The beast cried out in agony as she was shot through the side and neck, ichor sputtering everywhere. Once a well placed cannon ball crippled the beast's wings, it was all over for her. She plummeted like a stone down into the frosty ravine, landing at the bottom with a sound that echoed horribly throughout Emprise du Lion. The dragon was slain.
Jafar returned to his human form and landed on the deck of the Jolly Roger as the crew cheered for their victory. Doom followed shortly after. As the three gathered at the helm, a time warp portal opened. The three Overtakers braced themselves for Morgan le Fay to step out, but they relaxed their guard once they saw that it was Loki. The trickster god's face was splattered with fresh blood while mud and blood caked his armor. He appeared furious and utterly displeased with himself despite having clearly survived his encounter with the witch.
"Morgan le Fay slipped through my fingers," Loki admitted through gritted teeth. "Our battle took us through time itself, and I was so close to erasing her from history all together. Yet that wretched witch managed to run back to hide under Mephisto's skirt."
"She will be dealt with in time," Doom assured his lover. "Her plans this day were thwarted, and it is for the best she remains alive. She is a part of my past. Ending her could potentially jeopardize my own destiny."
"I'd have left a few pieces of her in tact," Loki added with a smirk. "At any rate, I grow increasingly weary. I should quite like to return to Chateau d'Onterre for a long nap."
"Then we shall," Doom agreed. "Jafar. You and Hook may go as you please."
Doom's meaning was plain: they were not wanted back at the mansion. Jafar had no objections to that. Loki and Doom joined hands and vanished together into a Corridor of Darkness.
"Back to Villain's Vale, then?" Hook asked Jafar once the other two had left.
Jafar smirked. "Yes. Though, perhaps we should... take the scenic route."