Disclaimer: The Mad Doctor claims no ownership to the Kingdom Hearts franchise. It belongs to Disney and Square Enix.

Notes from the Mad Doctor: Greetings readers. Bet you weren't expecting to hear from me again so soon! I actually had this chapter mostly done awhile ago. Just needed to finish and edit it. So here is the first interlude chapter in which things are about to become more difficult for Kairi. Enjoy!

Chapter 7: An Old Enemy Gets Involved

Destiny Islands

After Kairi's departure, the Play Island was silent. There was no trace that she and Pluto had even been there save for a few footprints in the sand that would eventually be blown away by the wind.

But their departure had not gone unseen.

Perched high in one of the palm trees was a black feathered raven. It was an unusual sight since ravens were not indigenous to the Destiny Islands. But this was no mere raven.

It was Diablo, faithful servant to the Mistress of All Evil herself.

From his perch, he stared down intently at the spot where Kairi and Pluto had vanished from. Then with a flap of his wings, he took off into the air and soared over the sea.

He had news for his mistress.

Enchanted Dominion

In her castle on the Forbidden Mountain, Maleficent sat on her throne deep in thought. Her mind was trying to formulate a plan to acquire the Black Box from Xehanort's former second-in-command and his companions in animal masks.

'There must be a way to steal that Box. These Keyblade Wielders must have some kind of weakness I can exploit. My ambitions of conquest depend on it,' she thought.

Suddenly, a loud caw was heard and Maleficent snapped out of her thoughts. She looked upward to see Diablo fly in from a window. He flew directly toward her and landed on the ball of her staff.

"Ah, my faithful pet. You have been away for quite some time. What news have you brought me?" she asked as she stroked Diablo's feathers.

The raven began to caw. Maleficent listened closely for she could understand her pet as if he spoke actual words.

After Diablo finished his wordless tale, Maleficent's brow furrowed in concern. "Are you certain?" she asked to which Diablo let out a caw of affirmation.

"Then we must take action immediately. Pete!" she called out as she rose up from her throne.

Almost immediately, the roly-poly cat came running. He huffed and puffed as he stopped in front of her.

"You called, Maleficent? Did you finally find a way to get that Box from those animal-masked bozos? Boy, it's hard to believe that old man Xehanort's own right-hand man was pulling his strings the whole time. The only thing that would be more surprisin' is if I were plottin' behind your back. Wouldn't that be somethin'?" he asked with a chuckle.

But seeing that Maleficent was in no mood for jokes, Pete immediately changed his tune. "Not that I would actually do such a thing. I mean, after all we've been through together, I wouldn't dream of stabbin' ya in the back like that."

Then he noticed Diablo. "Hey, your flyin' feather duster's come back. Where's he been all this time?"

Diablo cawed angrily in response to the insult while Maleficent scolded, "Kindly refrain from insulting Diablo, Pete. He has been away doing important surveillance for me."

"Really? What might that be?" asked Pete

"He has been on the Destiny Islands keeping an eye on the Princess of Heart who lives there: Kairi."

"What? Her? Oh, come on! She's hardly worth the trouble. I mean, she went down pretty easy during all that fuss at the Keyblade Graveyard. Why even bother with her?"

"Because I learned that after the Heartless incarnation of Xehanort, the one who called himself Ansem, used the powers of the Princesses of Heart, the powers were passed onto other worthy maidens. All except Kairi who has held onto her power even after her temporary demise. There must be a reason for it and that is why I saw fit to have Diablo watch over her."

"Well, I guess that's a good enough reason. So why is he here now instead of watchin' her?" asked Pete.

"According to Diablo, Kairi has left her home world with the aid of a magical talisman. Apparently, she believes that it is the key to bringing Sora back," stated Maleficent.

Pete suddenly burst out into a fit of laughter. "Oh boy! Talk about chasin' your wild geese! What is that girl thinkin'? Her boyfriend's six feet under and gettin' fitted for a halo! There ain't no way he's comin' back!"

But then Pete noticed that Maleficent wasn't laughing along with him. In fact, she looked very serious.

"Maleficent? He can't come back, can he?" he asked.

"I cannot say for certain. But I do know that it is possible to revive the dead seeing as how I've done it myself before with Oogie Boogie," said Maleficent.

"Oh, that's right. But wasn't he not right in the head after you brought him back?"

"Aside from that, it was an almost perfect revival. And he wasn't the only one. Through some unknown means, Ursula returned from the dead to carry out her plans against Atlantica."

"And weren't you dead for a time after those pipsqueaks destroyed you?" asked Pete.

Maleficent glared daggers at her cohort. Pete cowered.

"Sorry about that. That's probably not something you prefer to be reminded of."

"What happened to me after that was…complicated. But my point remains that it is possible to come back from the dead. I also happen to know that miracles tend to happen for that boy especially when that girl is involved. Did you know that she was able to restore him when he was turned into a Heartless?" asked Maleficent.

"Really? Huh. Who'd a thunk she could do that?"

"Yes. If anyone could pull off such a feat and bring Sora back from the dead, it would be Kairi. And that is why we must, for the time being, put our plans for the Box aside and focus our efforts on stopping her."

Pete was surprised. "B-but Maleficent, how are we going to do that? We don't even know where she's going."

"That is no cause for concern at all, Pete. Diablo can find her," said Maleficent as she walked toward a doorway leading to an outside balcony.

"Him? How can he do that?" asked Pete as he followed her.

"When I learned about Kairi's retainment of her Princess of Heart status, I went to the Destiny Islands in secret and placed a spell on her," said the evil fairy.

"You did? Hmm. Guess old habits die hard, huh?" asked Pete.

"The spell I placed on Kairi is nothing like the curse I placed on Princess Aurora in the past. It was small enough so it would go unnoticed. All it does is enable Diablo to find her no matter what world she goes to."

Maleficent stepped out onto the balcony and gazed outward. From the distance, she could make out the castle where Princess Aurora, Prince Philip and their family were living their happily ever after.

As often as that sight disgusted Maleficent, she set it aside. She turned her attention to Diablo.

"Now, my pet, it is time for you to continue to watch over that girl. Find her and then report back to me on what world she is on. If we can discern a pattern to her travels, then we can prepare to act against her. Do you understand?"

Diablo responded with a bow. Maleficent smiled wickedly.

"Now go with a curse and serve me well."

Diablo left his perch on Maleficent's staff. The evil fairy watched as her faithful pet flew away while Pete came up to her side.

"If you don't mind my askin', Maleficent, why do we even need to bother with stoppin' that Princess? Won't nothin' be able to stop us once we have that Box?"

Maleficent clutched her staff tightly. "Let me remind you, Pete, that Xehanort succeeded in acquiring the χ-blade and the power of Kingdom Hearts. He too, thought he was unstoppable. And yet, in the end, he still was defeated by the meddling boy and his companions. I will not make that same mistake and risk having my success ruined the same way!" she roared.

Pete was so startled by Maleficent's outburst that he stumbled backward. He landed hard on his rear.

"Well, when you put it that way, then by all means we'll stop her. We'll hit her with everything we got!" exclaimed Pete as he picked himself up.

Maleficent continued to look out from the balcony as the thought of the possibility of Kairi causing Sora's return plagued her mind. It caused her rage to grow immensely.

'You should never have left your home, Kairi. If you think that I would allow you to bring your precious Sora back from the dead, you are sorely mistaken. I will do all in my power to stop you and in the end, he will have sacrificed himself for nothing.'

With the threat of Maleficent on the horizon, the quest was about to become even more dangerous for Kairi.

Notes from the Mad Doctor: So, after a few games of pretty much being on the sidelines (much like Kairi herself), Maleficent takes on the main antagonist role for this fic. Wish I knew what was in that Black Box. For all we know, it could be Infinity Gauntlet level power much like the χ-blade. I'd like to point out that Xigbar or Luxu (whatever he's calling himself), the Foretellers and the Black Box won't be involved in this story because I don't know exactly what to do with them. Union Cross is a hard game to understand. Next chapter is Kairi and Pluto in the first Disney world of the quest! Reviews are much appreciated! Stay tuned!