"Ansem!" Riku yelled at the figured standing before him.
The villain smirked at Riku's realization.
"So that's what your darkness looks like," the figured said sinisterly.
Riku clenched his fists in rage, ready to attack the figure. As if sensing Riku's desire to attack, Ansem fired a blast of darkness at Riku which knocked the hero onto his back. Ansem pulled up his hood and disappeared into darkness. Mickey finally caught up to Riku.
"Where did he go?" Mickey asked, looking around.
"He got away," Riku spat.
"Who was that guy anyways?" Mickey asked.
"It was Ansem... I mean... Xehanort's Heartless," Riku responded.
Mickey gasped in disbelief.
"But we already defeated him!" Mickey said, "How did he come back?"
"I wish I knew...," Riku said, pondering, "So. Where to now?"
"We find Sora and catch him up on things," Mickey responded.
Riku nodded and pulled out his star shard. Mickey did the same. In two flashes of light, the Realm of Darkness was empty of life once more.
Kairi peeked around the corner into the second district. While the first district of the town was relatively quiet, the second district was bustling with unsavory figures. All of them seemed to be congregating in a building called The Hellfire Club.
Kairi and Pluto sneaked-up the tavern as quietly as possible and peered in. The whole place was swarming with villains. Kairi was well versed on the names of the villains but she knew that this crowd was trouble. She ducked back into an alleyway with Pluto.
"Okay," Kairi said to Pluto, "This place is swarming with villains. I'm going to go inside in disguise to see if I get any information and what's been destroying worlds. You wait out here. Got it?"
Pluto barked in recognition. Kairi smiled and look around in the trash of the alley. After a few second of searching, she found a discarded cloak like ones Organization XIII wore. She put it on and walked in. She looked around at the various shady deals going on.
"And all that treasure is only a boat ride away. So who's with me?" said a large man with a robotic arm to a crowd of ugly looking creatures.
"...And I takes 'em to Pleasure Island," an Italian man said to a clothed fox and cat.
"Now I lent ya money, Mr. Edgar, and I don't see it," said an intimidating man smoking a cigar to a bald man in a suit that looked like a butler.
However, one table in particular caught Kairi's eye. Four villains were sitting at it. One of them was a woman with black and white hair wrapped in a fur coat. Another was a muscular man who was surprisingly handsome for a villain. Next to him was a large and intimidating man wearing purple armor. The last person was a woman whose face was hidden under a red cloak.
"Tell me more about Sora," the cloaked woman said.
"Oh that wretched boy gave Maleficent herself a run for her money," the woman in furs said, "And that boy rounded up those blasted dogs that my minions spent so much time hiding. Take my advice, steer clear."
"I don't think he's all that tough," said the handsome man, "I could whip his butt with my eyes closed. I'd shoot him down in his tracks. Unlike that would-be hunter, Clayton."
The cloaked woman flinched a bit as if trying to resist hitting the handsome man.
"I hear that kid has powerful magic," the armored man said, "I'll need to have my Grubs conduct more tests on him before I can say for sure if the kid is any trouble."
"Now when I get to the jungle, how will I recognize him," the cloaked woman asked.
"Well he has spiky hair," the woman in furs said, "And carries around a giant key. Personally, I think he's trying to compensate for something."
Kairi held back a laugh and made a mental note to warn Sora about these four. Kairi sat down at the bar.
"What can I get for you, my pretty?" the old hag bartender asked Kairi.
"Information," Kairi responded.
"What kind of information?" the old hag asked in almost a whisper.
"I want to know who's been destroying the worlds," Kairi replied back in a whisper.
"I'm sorry," the old hag replied, "I've heard of no such plots in my bar."
"Okay," Kairi said, disappointed, "Thanks anyways."
Kairi hopped up and walked out of the bar. The old hag immediately walked into the back room of the bar. It was dimly lit and inside were Hades and Maleficent conversing with a French man named Judge Claude Frollo and a skeletal man known only as the Horned King.
"Speciosus morvosus precarious," the hag said as her aged form gave way to the form of a beautiful woman with black hair, a silver tiara, and a long flowing purple dress.
"What is it, Narissa?" Maleficent asked the woman.
"A girl was just here asking about the destruction of the worlds," Narissa replied.