The Overtakers all gathered in the high tower meeting room of Villain's Vale. Maleficent and Hades stood together atop the raised platform whilst the other Overtakers filled in the area below. All were present: Loki, Doctor Doom, Ursula, Fish Mooney, Russell Edgington, Steve Newlin, Jafar, Captain Hook, Blackheart, Cruella De Vil, Queen Grimhilde, and the Sanderson Sisters.
"Listen well!" Maleficent said firmly. "My friends, it is time for us to move forward with our plan. We need only find the Author and the ink to take control of destiny itself. Jiminy Cricket's journal came into contact with the Author's powers. Thanks to Ursula's infiltration, we know Jiminy Cricket has returned to his home world. Half of you will be going there to find out what he knows by any means necessary.
"The rest of you will seek out the magic ink. Cruella's hair contains the ink, but her hair alone cannot provide what we need. Yet the enchantment's signature can be utilized to track a fresh source. Meanwhile, I will be pursuing another lead personally. Make use of Doom's communication devices to stay in contact. I want everyone reachable at a moment's notice. I've chosen your teams already."
Grumbles from the crowd started at that with the various romantic pairs and typical friend groups looking at one another longingly.
"What is this, middle school?" Hades said with a roll of his eyes. "Trust Malef. She doesn't do anything without good reason. C'mon, find your name and group on the handy dandy doohickey that Doom gave you and get goin'."
Fish Mooney was placed in charge of the first team to the surprise of no one. The second the first mission was announced as requiring extracting information from someone, she knew that her mind control toxin was first on Maleficent's mind. Truthfully, she'd have preferred just going on the mission alone so that she could get in and get out quickly and easily, but she was saddled with back up regardless of her wishes. On her team, she had Loki, Blackheart, Grimhilde, Steve Newlin, and the Sanderson Sisters (who were ecstatic to have been placed on the same team together).
Fish knew it was the smart choice for Maleficent to avoid sending any of the Overtakers who Sora had encountered in the past just in case Jiminy recognized them, but Fish couldn't help but wish that she could have at least had Ursula on her team. Fish could have learned a new sea witch spell with Ursula there, and it would have been more fun heading a big group with Ursula by her side. Still, there was little use pouting over what didn't happen. As the group filed out of the Corridor of Darkness onto a hill overlooking the cricket's home town, Fish took a head count to make sure everyone was present.
"Alright, if all goes according to plan, there should be too many of us," Fish said. "We're not gonna crowd the cricket or swarm him. I'm going to casually approach him, use my toxin to get him to chirp, and then get right back out. Steve – you're good with people and it wouldn't hurt to have someone who can glamour a target on hand, so you're going to be with me. Sandersons – you three are our eyes in the skies. Keep a bird's eye view of the situation. You see heroes, Norts, or anything that could be a problem, you send the word out to the rest of us. Loki, Grimhilde, Blackheart – you three are patrolling the streets. Same thing. Loki and Grimhilde, anything you can learn by talking to locals would be useful. Blackheart... just... don't kill anyone unnecessarily."
"If I may be so bold as to interject," Loki said. "I think it would be better if you allowed me to take point in making contact with the cricket. I can disguise myself as the Key bearer and obtain your information without having to resort to mind control. That'll make the cricket much less likely to have cause to alert the others."
"Why? So you can find out who the Author is an abandon us?" Fish asked with a raised eyebrow. "Because that's not going to happen."
"You don't trust me?" Loki asked offendedly.
"I'd have to be a fool to," Fish answered.
"Well, then why should any of us trust you?" Loki asked. "After all, you've chosen everyone's roles so specifically. Perhaps it's you and Mr. Newlin conspiring together against the rest of us!"
The rest of the group murmured among themselves. Fish scowled at Loki. She could see exactly what he was doing. If she threw her weight around and tried to get everyone to go along with the original plan, she'd look guilty to the others and could find everyone going against the plan out of self-interest. Fish was stuck in a position where she had to concede to Loki's wishes in some fashion.
"Fine," Fish said. "Loki has a good idea. Here's the new plan: Loki approaches disguised as Sora. But he's going to have me and one other person with him disguised as Donald and Goofy. Just so there's no accusations of me being biased, we'll take the first volunteer with us."
"ME!" Mary Sanderson shouted immediately before shrinking back when she noticed Winnie glaring at her. "I, uh, I wanna go."
"Mary, Loki, and I will be the group who takes point," Fish said. "The rest of you, keep to the original plan. Steve, take Loki's place. Is everyone satisfied that no one is going to double cross anyone?"
No one had any complaints to lobby, albeit Loki wasn't thrilled about having to have Fish and Mary accompany him. At that small victory, Fish smiled.
"Then let's move out!"
Loki, Fish, and Mary approached the door of Geppetto's workshop underneath an illusion spell that made them look like Sora, Donald, and Goofy respectively. Loki as Sora was the only one of the trio who looked confident in his new form.
"I'm starting to regret this decision," Fish said, looking disappointingly at her now webbed feet.
"My spell only changes your appearance," Loki said in a near perfect imitation of Sora's voice. "You need to work on your duck voice, my dear."
Loki rapped three times on the door and was greeted by an elderly man with white hair, glasses, and a mustache. The old man's face lit up with happiness at the sight of his guests.
"Ah! Sora! Good to see you again!" Geppetto said, pulling Loki into a hug. "Oh my! You've been working out, my boy! You're a lot more solid than I remember. Or maybe I'm just getting old." Geppetto laughed and let go. "Donald! Goofy! Good to see you two as well! Won't you all please come in, come in."
Geppetto ushered the three imposters over to the sofa by the fireplace. "Pinocchio! Pinocchio! Come downstairs! I have a surprise for you!"
"How is Pinocchio doing?" Loki asked.
"Oh he's such a good boy!" Geppetto said with a warm smile. "He's growing like a weed, he is! Can I get you anything? Some drinks? A snack?"
"No thanks," Loki replied as he heard footsteps barreling down the stairs.
"I smell a child!" Mary said, making no attempt to mask her voice at all.
Fish elbowed the disguised witch firmly as Pinocchio ran into the room with Jiminy Cricket on his shoulder.
"SORA!" Pinocchio said happily.
"Well, as I live and breathe!" Jiminy said. "What are you fellas doin' out here?"
"We had something important we needed to talk to you about, Jiminy," Loki said.
"Somethin' important?" Jiminy asked, hopping down onto the coffee table. "Well, gosh, what is it?"
"It's Maleficent," Loki said. "She's after something called the Book of Prophecies, and she thinks it's somehow connected to your journal."
Fish spoke up with a series of incoherent quacks. Jiminy shot "Donald" a confused look.
"He's gotten so much harder to understand lately," Loki whispered to Jiminy who nodded in understanding.
"Well, I don't know why she might think my journal has anything to do with the Book of Prophecies," Jiminy said. "It's just an ordinary leather journal with stories of our adventures written down."
"She thinks it had some contact with somebody called the Author," Loki explained. "We want to get to him first to protect him. Can you think of anybody else who mind have used the journal?"
"Hmm," Jiminy said, scratching his chin. "Well, y'know what? There was somebody! Remember how the pages of the first journal were blank after we woke up? That was Naminé!"
"Uh, who's Naminé?" Mary asked, overly deepening her voice.
Loki and Fish shot Mary a venomous glare for fear that she'd just spoiled the entire operation.
"She must've done a real number on your memory, Goofy," Jiminy said with a laugh. "She was a good witch with power over our memories. She was always drawin' something new that she hadn't ever seen before. Oh no! Sora! If Maleficent's after Naminé, that means she's gonna go after Kairi!"
"Then we've got no time to waste!" Loki declared. "Thanks for your help, Jiminy. Geppetto, can you take Jiminy and Pinocchio someplace safe to hide?"
"Why can't we go with you to help?" Pinocchio asked.
"No, Sora's right, my boy," Geppetto said. "Pack your things up, and we'll head out soon."
"Thanks for everything!" Loki said as he, Fish, and Mary darted out the door.
"Take care, now!" Jiminy said with a wave. "Keep her safe!"
On the deck of the Jolly Roger, the second team of Overtakers gathered: Captain Hook, Cruella De Vil, Hades, Ursula, Jafar, Doctor Doom, and Russell Edgington. Hook was quite pleased that he and Jafar were the only couple amongst the Overtakers who got assigned to the same team, not that they would likely have time to take advantage of that fact. Still, Hook couldn't stop himself from thinking back to how wonderfully forceful and dominant Jafar was with him. It made the relative boredom of waiting for the others to get ready to get underway that much more bearable.
Hades and Russell slouched around on couple barrels sitting on the deck. Hook prayed to whatever gods were out there that the barrel Hades was sitting on wasn't filled with gunpowder. That would be a rather unfortunate twist on the day. Ursula, meanwhile, plucked a strand of hair from Cruella's head, which the fur clad fashionista complained about rather loudly, and gathered with Doom and Jafar at the bow of the ship.
"It'll take all three of us to make the enchantment strong enough to cross worlds," Ursula said as she extracted the ink spell from the hair.
"Just ensure your magic can keep up with mine," Doom said, shooting a sideways glance at Jafar.
Jafar sneered. "Your impertinence does you no credit. I seem to recall you relying on technology in your battle against me, and still we fought to a stalemate."
"Boys, boys, I'm sure both of you are equally well endowed, but we have an important spell to do," Ursula interrupted. "By the power of three!"
From the palm of Ursula's hand, a stream of violet energy propelled the ink spell out past the tip of the bowsprit. From the eyes of Jafar's snake staff, a deep crimson bolt joined Ursula's spell. Finally, from Doom's fingertips extended a forest green laser that connected to the other spells to complete the enchantment. Empowered by the three sorcerers, the ink spell flew off into the Etherium to find like-magic, leaving behind a multi-colored trail for the Jolly Roger to follow.
"We have our heading, captain!" Ursula shouted.
Hook relayed the orders to his crew, and the Jolly Roger took off along the path marked ahead. After an hour or so of travelling, the trail led them to a world. Hades pulled out his inter-world Atlas to identify it before anyone was permitted to descend to its surface.
"That world is Eos," Hades announced. "It used to have two world powers, Lucis and Nifleheim. No connection to your Niffleheim, Doc."
Doom grimaced all the same.
"But it sounds like things got royally messy," Hades continued, "and everything fell into eternal night. The whole place has been totally ravaged by daemons for the past nine years."
"How wonderful," Cruella chimed in. "So we're going to go down there to stumble around in the dark and hope that the daemons don't murder us?"
"That gonna be a problem, hair-dye?" Hades asked.
"Oh, not at all," Cruella said with a roll of her eyes. "I just wanted to make sure I had the right of it."
"Good news for you, though," Hades said. "Some of the daemons are corrupted animals so your breath should do the trick to get 'em on our side. The ones that used to be human should still be vulnerable to glamouring, so Russell, you're gonna be on the ground floor too. Anything as valuable as ink that can rewrite the cosmos is gonna be heavily guarded, so we need the big guns ready to fire. Ursie, Doc, that means you. Jaffy, you and the pirate need to stay on the ship. Keep the daemons off it and keep it ready for a quick get-away if necessary."
The Jolly Roger descended and dropped anchor above what used to be Insomnia, the capitol and crown jewel of the Lucian Kingdom. Hades, Russell, Cruella, Ursula, and Doom all hopped into a dory and descended down to the dark and ruined city below, leaving Hook and Jafar on the deck of the ship.
"A stroke of good fortune that the two of us should end together hanging back," Hook remarked.
"If you believe that, then you're a fool," Jafar replied. "Holding us back from the acquisition of the ink puts us at quite a disadvantage for when the time comes to take the Book of Prophecies for our own."
"Wait what?" Hook asked. "Take the Book of Prophecies? I thought we were all going to share in its spoils. That was the whole point of the Overtakers working together. Betraying that bond would be bad form."
"Hmph," Jafar sneered. "Your honor is a weakness, captain. Everyone in the Overtakers worth their salt is plotting to take the book. After all, why share in the spoils on Maleficent's terms when you can control the cosmos yourself?"
"In that case, I'll leave the rest of you to squabble over the book," Hook said. "Then I'll swear allegiance to whomever gets it."
Jafar smirked. "Perhaps you're not as foolish as I'd anticipated."
Following the enchanted trail, the dory containing the five villains landed in the courtyard of a tall skyscraper that had once been the palace of Lucian royal family. Whatever the trail was leading to, it was inside the building.
"No daemons so far," Cruella said, taking a look around.
Just as Cruella made her remark, three iron giant daemons emerged from the ground, brandishing immense swords.
"You just had to say that didn't you?" Ursula scoffed.
"I've been itchin' to tear something apart," Russell said, cracking his neck and dashing into the fray.
The closest giant swung it's sword at Russell, but the vampire sped out of the path of the weapon, caught the creature by the wrist, and twisted the sword out of the daemon's grasp. With a few swift and forceful strikes, Russell sliced the iron giant into ribbons. The other two went to avenge their fallen brethren, but Russell's incredible speed and strength ensured that they were on the losing end. The vampire impaled them both on his sword at the same time and hurled them into the air through the window of a nearby building.
"What happened to glamouring the daemons?" Hades asked with a sigh.
"Wouldn't have worked," Russell said. "I could already tell they were too far removed from humanity for my powers to work."
"Yeah right," Hades replied with a groan. "More like you were just itchin' to kill somethin' so you figured it'd be more fun this way."
"You may think that," Russell said with a grin, "but I couldn't possibly confirm or deny such accusations."
The five villains made their way into the building and followed the enchanted trail up through the tower until they reached a large throne room. The room was dark, and Russell immediately noticed the corpses suspended in mid air by chains and magic. Beyond them, a man with unruly magenta hair and a flamboyant sense of fashion sat on the throne. He smiled warmly at the five as they entered.
"I had wondered who was on their way to visit me in my loneliness," the man spoke up. "Never would I have anticipated such a colorful and fair group of travelers. Had I known, I might have tidied things up a bit."
"I actually quite enjoy your vibe," Russell chimed in. "We must talk franchising, mister..."
"Izunia," he answered. "Ardyn Izunia. Well, technically not, but let's keep things simple for now. I do so hate it when those who I've barely met feel the need to share their entire life stories, don't you?"
"Oy, try working the graveyard shift down under," Hades said. "Everybody thinks they're important and special and that I wanna hear their memoirs. News flash, hello, not my job. Anyway, movin' right along to business here, we're here for the magic ink, and given that our little tracking spell led us to you, I'm guessing you've got some here. Name your price, give us the goods, and we'll be out of your hair."
Ardyn smirked. "Ink you say? Ah, so you seek to create a Book of Prophecies. How interesting. But now I'm curious: how much do you actually know about the ink? I see one of you at least has had a first hand experience with it."
Everyone followed Ardyn's gaze to Cruella De Vil who ran a finger through her hair unconsciously.
"Yes, nasty business caused by a horrid little scribbler," Cruella said. "Though truthfully, I don't know much about the blasted concoction other than that it doesn't wash out. Isaac didn't see fit to reveal to me the nitty gritty details."
"Isaac, yes, good fellow, a little boring for my tastes," Ardyn replied. "Well, you see, the ink you seek is the blood of a savior turned dark... my blood."
Doom and Russell both immediately readied themselves for a battle, but Ardyn hand waved their gesture away.
"You won't need to claim my blood by force," Ardyn said. "I'm happy to share it with you, but you should know the costs. I'm sure you noticed the rather bleak state of this world around us. Such a thing was caused by a devastating scourge that I took into my own body back when I earned the title of 'savior.' I see clearly that none of you are strangers to the dark, but I feel compelled to warn you that should I give you my blood to craft your Book of Prophecies, you will unleash more darkness on all the worlds you touch than you could possibly know."
"Pretty sure that was Malef's plan from the get-go," Hades said. "We accept the terms and conditions and sign on the dotted line and all that yadda yadda. The blood, please."
Ardyn summoned a glass vial and a dagger to his hands. He set the vial gently on the arm rest of the throne and sliced his hand with the knife. Dark black blood dripped from the cut and filled the vial. After Ardyn squeezed out a few final drops, he corked the vial and held it triumphantly in the air.
"However, I would ask a boon of you, Lord of the Dead," Ardyn said, drawing the blood back close to his chest. "You see, a final confrontation with a hated enemy approaches. There are many potential outcomes to this confrontation, yet there is one I fear above all others. After centuries of immortality, part of my soul longs for death and rest. Yet, even that desire cannot assuage the primal fear of the end. Should I fall in the upcoming battle, I would like the power to resurrect myself once more if the afterlife is not to my liking."
Hades snapped his fingers and a contract floated in front of Ardyn. "Make your mark, and you get one 'Get Outta Underworld Free' card."
Ardyn's hand began to glow purple. With his pointer finger, Ardyn drew an 'X' on the dotted line. Once he did, the contract vanished into a plume of smoke and the vial of ink teleported to Hades's hand.
"Well met, my friends," Ardyn said with a smile. "Perhaps one day, we will meet again."
Yen Sid poured his guest a cup of tea and then poured one for himself. He took a deep breath and a sip of tea before looking across the table to face his guest.
"For whatever it is worth, I am thankful we had the opportunity to speak once more," Yen Sid said. "Despite better judgment to the contrary, I still hold a special place in my heart for you, Maleficent."
Maleficent sipped her tea, only to find it too sweet for her liking. She sneered and slid the cup off to the side.
"I did not come to reminisce about old times," Maleficent said. "I came because I finally discovered the truth for myself: you used the Book of Prophecies."
"Your eagerness to jump to conclusions is ever the same," Yen Sid said. "What has lead to such a belief?"
"Your outpost in Storybrooke is filled with blank books meant for the Author," Maleficent stated. "You obviously are harboring him in some fashion. That much I have known for some time. Yet it was only recently, as I recounted our history to Hades, that I finally saw what I was too blind to see before. Your fixation with me and preventing my destiny... you knew what was coming."
Yen Sid took a deep breath before speaking again. "I loved you, Maleficent. I merely wanted to save you from-"
"DO NOT INSULT MY INTELLIGENCE BY FURTHER LYING!" Maleficent yelled as winds and thunder crackled outside the tower.
Yen Sid held her gaze intently, never blinking. For a moment, Maleficent feared they were at a stalemate and she would never hear him confess the truth. But then he relented.
"Yes, I did," Yen Sid said. "Xehanort and I both longed to be all-knowing in our youth. We were naïve boys far too intelligent to bothered by common sense and reason. Together, we found Walter, the Author who preceded Isaac. We convinced him to share his marvelous gift with us. He wrote for us a book that foretold much. We learned the truth of the Keyblade War, Kingdom Hearts, and a great deal of other things. Yet in this knowledge, we also saw a terrible price and burden. We both agreed that the book's power to conjure must never be used.
"Xehanort journeyed forth with his knowledge and began his obsession with the Keyblade War. I, on the other hand, sought to prevent the coming catastrophes at hand. I became 'the Sorcerer' to guard the secrets of the universe and alter destiny towards a brighter path. And, yes, that duty involved my attempts to right your path. But know this: though my actions were informed by the knowledge of predestination, my heart's affections were always true."
Maleficent scoffed loudly at that sentiment, rising from her chair. "You expect me to believe that you could ever love one destined for such wickedness? I am no longer the naïve young fairy banished from Avalon."
Yen Sid snapped his fingers and a large dusty tome manifested itself on his desk.
"This is the Book of Prophecies that Xehanort and I had written for us long ago," Yen Sid explained. "When I first met Sora, I allowed him to read excerpts from it so that he would know the severity of his journey. I offer you the same and more. Take it. If you desire to continue down this path, you should know what that will entail. But be forewarned: this book has been nothing but a great burden to both Xehanort and myself for as long as we have lived. Once read, it cannot be unread."
Maleficent looked hungrily at the book. The temptation was great: ultimate knowledge on par with that of two of her greatest enemies. It was right there for the taking. Yet that knowledge frightened Maleficent. Legends of those who heard prophecies and attempted to evade them were well known throughout all the worlds. What if she read something that deterred her? After all, that was Yen Sid's intent, was it not? He wanted her deterred from her path. That she would never allow.
"Keep your book," Maleficent said. "I will soon have one of my own making."
Maleficent turned and began to walk away, but she stopped herself. "Oh, and thank you for the tea."
With a swipe of her hand, she knocked the teacup onto the floor, causing it to shatter and spill. Grinning smugly, Maleficent vanished into a Corridor of Darkness.