A breeze was blowing through the Keyblade Graveyard. It was a bright afternoon in the desolate land. A group of five were at a four-way crossroads, surrounded by old and rusted keyblades. Four people in robes and masks surrounded a man in a black coat. He had long black and gray hair in a ponytail and was wearing an eye patch. Maleficent had seen him before.

Xigbar. There was always something different about him.

Beside him was a large black chest. That's exactly what Maleficent was looking for. She and Pete were standing on a ledge, overlooking the meeting. A raven cawed and came down on Maleficent's scepter.

One of the four people in robes, the largest, was becoming quite agitated.

"I've heard enough! Luxu, what was your role?" the robed man asked Xigbar.

'Luxu?' thought Maleficent. A different name, but one she should remember for later.

Luxu turned to look at the black chest.

"I hope you like long stories," he answered.

"Tell me," he continued.

Luxu walked over to the chest and knelt down, unlocking it. The four people leaned in, trying to get a glimpse of what was inside. Luxu pulled out a black book with a strange symbol on it and closed the chest.

Maleficent's scepter began to glow. Thunder rolled. She pointed toward it and her raven cawed and flew down toward the group.

"I guess all stories start from the beginning," Luxu posed. The sky above them began turning black with rain clouds. The group all looked up at the sky.

Luxu looked back down just as the raven snatched the book out of his grip. Luxu growled as lightning lit up the sky. Rain began coming down.

"We gotta get that back," Luxu cried to the other four robed keyblade wielders.

Luxu pulled out his black keyblade, launching a fireball at the bird. A bolt of lightning met the fireball in mid-air and dissolved it. Luxu sprinted toward the raven.

The other four people began running in the direction of where the raven was flying, each launching fireballs and other magic spells to try and knock the bird out of the air. Some were close, but not enough to dissuade the bird, who was flying erratically.

The raven disappeared behind one of the rocks. Luxu was far in front of the other group when he rounded the corner to see the raven hand the book to Maleficent.

"Oh, you again," Luxu whined. Pete took a ball out of his pocket and pressed a button.

Maleficent opened a dark portal behind her and Luxu went after her.

"I don't think so!" Pete said, rolling the ball at Luxu, which began to beep. Instead of running at Maleficent, he ran at the ball, kicking it back with dark energy at the two of them. The explosion knocked both Pete and Maleficent off their feet. Maleficent was still holding the open book, but only by its back cover. Rain was getting all over the pages.

Luxu ripped the book out of her hands and closed it. Maleficent backed away and retreated into the dark portal with Pete clambering behind her.

The portal disappeared as the four robed friends rounded the corner to see Luxu holding the book.

"What was that?" the same robed man asked Luxu.

"Nothing," Luxu lied. He opened the book to make sure everything was ok. It wasn't.

The last page had been ripped out.

Some time later, the dark purple foreboding clouds had returned to the Forbidden Mountain. For the longest time, the mountain sat abandoned on the outskirts of Enchanted Dominion. It didn't matter if the brightest sunny day reigned throughout the rest of the kingdom, it would always be night here. Tinted with a pale green fog at the base, the Forbidden Mountain was off-limits to all. Atop the mountain was a ruined castle, serving as the home of the evil fairy, Maleficent.

Deep in the bowels of the castle, Maleficent walked into a drafty and decaying study. It was just as she had left it.

Maleficent didn't mind the cold at all. It helped her focus. She walked over to one of her old spell books and opened it. She opened it to a bookmarked page with a list that had seven names on it. Rapunzel, Anna, Elsa, Moana, Tiana, Belle, and Kairi. She grabbed a quill out of an ink bottle and placed a checkmark next to Rapunzel's name.

Maleficent turned to the next page which had the crinkled torn page from the Book of Prophecies in it. Not much of the page had been salvaged after having gotten wet. Most of the ink was blotted, but a few words in the middle of the page were very clear - "darkness is the absence of light."

The door to the study opened. Her tall and portly henchman, Pete, threw another log into the fireplace as he walked in.

"Do ya have to keep it so cold in here?" Pete asked. Maleficent didn't reply. "I got the princess from the snow palace."

"And the queen?" Maleficent asked.

"She is a queen," Pete replied.

Maleficent slammed the book shut. She turned slowly, her rage building.

"There are two Princesses of Heart in Arendelle. One is a princess, one is a queen," Maleficent said.

"Oh. No, I uh…" was all Pete mustered. Maleficent's glare was icier than the room they were standing in.

"I'll go back and get her!" Pete said, knowing what Maleficent would say before she even said it. He turned and ran quickly through the door.

Maleficent walked through the door herself and down the steps to her dungeon. Inside one of the locked cells, Rapunzel's hands were cuffed and chained to a wall. Rapunzel herself was knocked out cold. Dark energy surrounded the cell. Maleficent looked in the cell next to hers. Anna had similarly been chained and was knocked out cold and guarded by dark energy. She knew they wouldn't stay that way for long. Her previous plans included chambers for each of the princesses. With the renewed presence at Radiant Garden of Ansem the Wise, she knew she couldn't try that again. She walked back up to the study.

Having walked over to one of the bookcases, Maleficent pulled out a roll of thick parchment. It had been preserved very well. She rolled it out on a long table. The parchment showed different worlds on a map and the lanes between each one. It was a map of the Realm of Light. Next to each world, notes on the inhabitants of each location were scribbled in her handwriting.

Maleficent studied the map closely, settling on one world in particular. The notes she wrote were 'male doctor - genius-level intellect, but petty and juvenile. Female assistant - possesses ergokinesis, plasma manipulation.'

She smiled as a dark portal appeared next to her. She walked through and the portal disappeared.

Riku opened his eyes.

He was lying face down in an empty street with his gummi phone a few feet away. He picked himself up and grabbed the phone off the asphalt. It wasn't cracked, but he did notice he didn't have a signal anymore. He put it back in his pocket. He heard some cars far down the street from him.

Looking up, Riku saw a city with many skyscrapers, illuminated with bright lights. 'Sora's gotta be here' he thought to himself. But where to look?

He didn't have to think long. Down the street was a tall silver building with the number 104 on top. At the top of the building, he saw red and blue lasers being shot into the sky. Squinting, he could make out two people fighting with swords on top. One of them looked like Sora. Riku ran in that direction as quickly as his feet would take him.

As Riku reached the square where the 104 building was located, Riku headed up the side stairway of the 104 building. Before getting to the top, he heard grunting between the two fighters. One was definitely Sora. As Riku poked his head up to see, the other fighter shot red and blue lasers in his direction. He ducked as the laser shot over his head.

"No chance," the other fighter said.

Riku was determined to help his friend. He peered his head back over, deciding to take a stealthy approach to this. Sora was deflecting the lasers and fighting him off the best he could, but Riku noticed that this fighter was teleporting between attacks, and never in the same place twice. Sora didn't see the blue laser being fired behind him. Had Riku stayed up, that laser would have hit him too.

"You thought you'd win?" the other fighter said as Sora got knocked to the ground. Riku looked back up.

"How could…" Sora started to say before kneeling, wincing in pain. The other fighter finally teleported in front of Sora.

"Sorry, but I don't lose," he said. Riku's eyebrows furrowed. Sora's hand turned as blue as ice, then his arm, then the rest of his body. Riku couldn't believe what happened. His friend had been crystallized. The other fighter walked up to Sora and put his hand on his knee.

"I will save you," he said. Riku had seen enough. He hopped over the stairs and landed on the building.

"Who's gonna save you?!" Riku screamed. The other fighter turned his head to see Riku.

"My fight is not with you," he calmly said.

"It is now. I'm taking him back with me," Riku stated, summoning his keyblade.

"No, you're not," the fighter replied as he pulled his sword and crossbow back out. "Let's do this."

The fighter disappeared. Riku had to focus. There's no telling where he -

"There!" he shouted.

Red lasers shot out of the sky. Riku barely had enough time to put his hands up to deflect his attack. He managed to roll away from the second set of lasers being shot. His attacker grunted and swung at him. Riku saw it coming and was able to block it. Riku put his hands out to guard, this time allowing his attacker to hit his barrier. Riku countered and was able to go on the offensive, slashing his way at his opponent.

"Take this!" Riku yelled, firing a purple fireball at the other fighter. It barely singed him.

"What a pain," he said to Riku before disappearing. Riku kept his guard up. His attacker teleported about 25 feet in front of Riku and rushed him. Riku threw up his barrier just as he disappeared.

"You're done," the voice said as he teleported back in front of Riku and pointed his crossbow at him. He produced a bright red circle, encasing Riku. "Your power is mine," he said as he jumped on top of the encased circle, sending Riku flying. Riku's keyblade swirled in the air, then was digitized into thin air.

Riku hit the deck. He looked up to see his attacker receiving the digitized keyblade in his sword. Riku tried to summon his keyblade in his hand, but couldn't. Riku was forced to guard the oncoming attack, but it broke through his defenses. His attacker landed blows at will, knocking the wind out of him. Riku landed next to Sora's crystallized form. He pulled his gummiphone out, removing a microchip in the shape of a crown from the back. He stuck it in the ice next to Sora.

"Ready for this?" Riku's attacker asked, summoning a giant ball of water and throwing it at Riku. Without a weapon, Riku jumped off the roof of the building, heading for the ground below. He spread-eagled to lower wind resistance. Riku rolled into his landing in the busy street below. To his left, he saw a bus coming. His attacker jumped from the top of the building, right where Riku was. Riku backed away, just as his attacker pointed his crossbow at him. The bus horn sounded loudly, but the attacker wasn't able to get out of the way in time. His crossbow fell to the ground. Riku picked it up and walked over to where the bus stopped. His attacker was gone. Riku ran off into a dark alley and pulled out his gummiphone again. He pressed a button on the front.

The microchip stuck in the ice emitted a small yellow light, indicating it was on.

Riku didn't have much time to think as he was punched by his attacker and was knocked back into a wall in an alley and collapsed on the hard ground in front of him. His lip was bleeding and his left eyebrow had been cut, causing a thin stream of blood to go down the side of his face. He shakily stood up, holding his ribs.

The attacker, whose clothes had been torn, stood a little straighter, despite him favoring his right ankle while walking toward Riku.

"Give it up already," he said.

"Never," Riku growled, holding on to the crossbow and firing at him. He pushed him back off

his feet.

Riku attempted one more time to summon his keyblade. This time it came to him.

When his attacker looked up, Riku was gone.