Maleficent

"There's no question about it, Master. She's skilled, really skilled. She may not be up to our standards but she's got a lot of experience under her belt."

"Or maybe you let your guard down around her."

The Master raised one hand, interrupting the brawl before it could start. "Now, now, Aced. That's not fair to Gula. I'm sure that any surprise he encountered was through no fault of his own."

"Thank you, Master." Gula nodded in gratitude.

"Now, you were saying?" The Master gestured.

"Well, she seems to have no clue what a Door of Light is, meaning whoever taught her doesn't know as much as they should have. A Keyblade Wielder is capable of traveling to any world as you have taught us." Gula continued.

"I did mention that one time, didn't I?" The Master raised a hand to his hidden chin, acting as he had forgotten.

"Still, she knows how to keep herself in the fight and it looks like she's still learning." Gula finished. "If she's open to it, I'd suggest she joins Invi's or Ava's factions."

"You offer an outsider who we know nothing about a chance to join us?" Aced questioned, glaring at Gula from under his mask. "You have no authority to make that call."

"It's only a suggestion." Gula rebuked.

"And she's from a world you say is located deep in the Realm of Darkness." Aced retorted. "Meaning she can't be trusted. We should capture or eliminate her."

"That is not the Master's wish, Aced." Ira stated. "She has been in our world for no more than two days and according to Gula, it was only because she wished to heal someone who was dying."

"Yeah, too bad she had to choose between healing the sick guy or the dead lady who really wasn't grateful to be alive." Gula shrugged.

"And you said they have magic there?" Invi recollected.

"Oh yeah, impressive magic too. Those three with the golden weapons were definitely wielding some mighty fire power. In fact, I think they were created by a deity." Gula nodded. "She managed to hold her own along with that woman and the sick knight guy. Pretty impressive, huh?"

"Very. Did you get a good look at their magic?" The Master asked.

"Well, they don't seem to need vocal commands for their spells. The knight guy was using a scepter in battle, likely to better channel his magic and they seem to be basic elemental manipulation. No time or spatial magic from what I could see." Gula informed.

"Fascinating. An entire world of magic users without Keyblade and weapons of magic forged by deities." The Master mused. "This is really getting interesting."

"So what is our next move, Master?" Ira asked.

"For now, let the little lady have a small break. Sounds like she's been through a lot and whether she came from the Realm of Darkness or not, she is a Keyblade Wielder and even the mightiest Keyblade Wielders need breaks. If she comes back, let her have some time to rest and figure things out." The Master stated.

Aced didn't look like he approved of the Master's instructions one bit. Once the Foretellers had left, the Master stood by the window as a familiar presence appeared behind him.

"Not just a world in the darkness, but a Nexus of Worlds. I have seen it. From this world, many others can be born from it, protected by from the darkness by a barrier." The Darkness spoke.

"Fascinating. A world hidden away like that." The Master remarked.

"Yes."

"So if a Nexus of Worlds exists in the Realm of Darkness, it could open a pathway to many other worlds never before encountered." The Master mused, rubbing his hidden chin. "Though I have to wonder why you made no move yet."

"From what I have seen, the darkness of that world seeks to mindlessly destroy, not grow and propagate. This was not foreseen by you." Darkness noted.

"No, it wasn't. And yet the woman's heart is of light, not darkness. So is she truly from that world or was she brought there by a twist of fate?" The Master wondered.

"It is something wonder." The Darkness agreed. "And what will you do?"

"I think the bigger question is what will you do, old friend. Will you go into that world and try to help the darkness grow?" The Master glanced over his shoulder.

"I admit to being interested but I am not interested in the destruction this form of darkness weaves." The Darkness noted.

"Really? Seems right up your alley." The Master turned away.

"…" The Darkness just hovered there, seemingly 'staring' at the Master.

"That woman seemed like the perfect vessel for you." The Master continued. "How easily she felt anger towards young Aqua for such a hard choice. Hardly seems fair, doesn't it?"

"And yet that anger gave her focus and the drive to find a way to revive him." The Darkness replied. "She indeed does have great potential."

"So will you approach her?"

"Will you try and stop me?"

The Master shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. On the one hand, I probably should intervene to stop you from spreading. And on the other hand, this world is cut off from all the rest despite existing deep in the Realm of Darkness to the point I almost thought it existed on the Other Side. I'm not sure that anything that happens there can affect this world and the other worlds out here."

"So you would give me free reign to do as I please?"

"Who am I to stop you?" The Master shrugged. "After all, you only wish to survive."

The Darkness just hovered there, silent from the Master's reply for over a moment. "You are a very strange man at times."

The Master chuckled. "I suppose I am."

"I might not intervene directly yet, but I would rather test this world first. And I know who can do it thanks to the data simulation you set up to ensure the past cannot be erased, thus contradicting your Book of Prophecies."

"So that's your plan. Well done." The Master snapped his fingers and gave a few claps to the Darkness. "An effective loophole around my little trap. You truly are a cunning adversary."

"I am sure you would have predicted my idea." The Darkness stated.

The Master chuckled again. "You flatter me."

The Darkness began to vanish back into the shadows. "I know that you will be watching. What happens when an entire world becomes endangered from the darkness? Will you stand by and do nothing? Or will you count on the young woman to save it?"

The Master remained silent as the Darkness completely vanished. "I wonder what I might try as well."


After her battle with Gula, Aqua just wanted to find a place to rest and she had an idea where to go.

With Heimdallr's help, she returned to Daybreak Town and went back to the same inn she stayed at before. The owners were kind enough to give her the same room as before and she just plopped herself down on the bed, too tired to move.

It was only after she lied down did she allow herself to feel sadness for Ozma's passing.

Though she hadn't known him as long as her other friends, she considered Ozma a good friend all the same after all he had done to help her and the few times they fought together against Sidorak who later became Surtr. Salem's anger towards her was completely unfounded but Aqua could understand that the younger woman was only looking for some kind of way to cope with her pain.

Still, she wasn't sure about the way Salem had so suddenly turned on her like that.

Had Salem been harboring such feelings towards when they had met?

She hadn't sensed any initial darkness from the woman at the time, aside from the usual darkness that exists in people's hearts but that was a far cry from the darkness she had felt in others like Maleficent or Xehanort. In fact, Salem had sounded so interested in her tales about her adventures to the point she looked like she admired Aqua. Ozma had mentioned her father had kept her locked up at the top of a tower for her entire life. She knew that likely wasn't good for the young woman who likely had no friends growing up.

She had lived in the Land of Departure, a world only the size of a small mountain and a temple for most of her life but she had her friends and Master to keep her company and they had quickly grown into a family. Sure it was only the four of them but she was never alone and her Master said that her abilities as Keyblade Wielder would only grow stronger as more and more people connected and bonded with her heart.

Still, there was the question of the hearts who had somehow bonded with her.

A girl in a red cloak and a scythe.

A girl with white hair.

A girl with black hair and cat ears.

A girl with golden yellow hair.

A boy with blond hair and sword.

A young boy with eyes as green as a forest.

And the girl with brown and white eyes with her color both brunette and pink.

What was their connection to all of this and her?

Were they part of this world or the one she had fallen into?

She felt something with each heart she touched, a sense of loss, despair and sadness.

What had happened to promote such feelings from all these hearts?

Aqua sighed as her eyes finally closed, wondering if she will find her answers tomorrow.


(Kingdom Hearts Maleficent Theme Starts)

Little did Aqua know, the world she had just left was about to receive another visitor.

In the middle of a field, a dark portal opened and from it stepped out a woman. Fair and green skinned, she had shining yellow eyes that were heavily shadowed with violet make-up and her lips were painted red. Her head was topped with a black horned headdress and she wore a long, tattered black robe with a purple trim and maroon edge which flared out. She carried a staff with a glowing green orb at the tip. On the index finger of her right hand she wore a golden ring with a circular black stone on it.

Her entire appearance would give the impression of a dragon if anyone was there to meet her.

"What is this place?" She asked once she was out of the portal. "I do not recognize this world."

She last remembered…

Being stabbed in the chest by a key shaped weapon.

Transforming as she felt the darkness empower her.

The infernal boy fighting her…

And stabbing her in the chest again.

Screaming as she died and dissolved in darkness.

"Then I reappeared back in my world and then…" She growled as she banged her staff on the ground. "Why….! Why does the ending…never alter?!"

Before she could think any more, a miasma of darkness appeared before her.

"Because I knew you would come from the future, Maleficent." The Darkness spoke.

The woman named Maleficent narrowed her eyes. "And who are you?"

"You can call me…Darkness."

"Darkness?" Maleficent raised an eyebrow. "How curious."

"It is clear why you are here, Maleficent. You want to erase your humiliating defeat from history…and collect the seven hearts of pure light. But changing the past is not easy as you think. There are rules when it comes to time travel." The Darkness stated. "You can only return to a time where a version of you exists. But to do so, you must first separate your heart and body. When that boy pierced your heart with his Keyblade…You remembered what you learned from the old Keyblade Wielder, didn't you? You thought you could finally use it traverse time."

Maleficent glared at the being who seemingly knew so much about her.

"But the Master knew you would use that method to come to the past. That's why the Enchanted Dominion was never created…in the real world before the Keyblade War."

"Enough!" Maleficent barked. "Are you saying this is a trap?!"

"Indeed. You see…Before the Keyblade War Keyblade Wielders defeated monsters and gathered light…from the worlds of the future seen in the Book of Prophecies."

"Impossible! Are you implying this isn't the real world?" Maleficent questioned.

"No. This is a world trapped within the Realm of Darkness, a world never seen before by you or I. It has not been written in the Book of Prophecies and thus nothing has been changed." The Darkness answered.

This seemed to surprise and intrigue Maleficent. "A world in the Realm of Darkness? So you trapped me here, away from the outside world, because you fear my power?"

"Not quite. It wasn't your power I feared…but the act of you taking knowledge of the past into the future. That why only six world containing of hearts of pure light were created in the world I was originally going to send you to a copy of. I didn't want you learning what happens in the seventh world."

"How interesting." Maleficent mused. "Now, what do you intend to do with me? Keep me trapped in this new world?"

"I have the option of doing so but I offer a proposal first." The Darkness answered. "I will return you to your world if you examine the power of this world."

"The power?" Maleficent raised an eyebrow.

"This is no ordinary world. It is a world of magical beings, beasts and gods. It was created by two brothers, a God of Light and God of Darkness. The God of Light is attuned to the power of creation, creating life wherever he goes and the God of Darkness is attuned to the power of destruction, destroying anything he wishes when he wishes." Darkness began.

"Oh?" Maleficent looked intrigued. "And what does that have to do with me?"

"Another being has arrived in this world, one whose heart is naturally attuned to light. I have brought you here for your heart is attuned to darkness." Darkness continued. "Explore this world for a time, seek out the Brother Gods if you wish. It will interest you to know of a force of darkness on this world similar to the Heartless known as the Grimm."

"Grimm? An interesting name." Maleficent brought a hand to her chin. "And how will you return me to my original time?"

"Does this mean you accept my proposal?"

"I shall consider it." Maleficent answered, turning away from the Darkness. "However I am doubtful of your claim of returning me to my original time. Travel into the future is impossible."

"There is a way."

(Kingdom Hearts Maleficent Theme Ends)


After her failure with the God of Light, Salem opted to try his brother.

Almost no one visited the domain of the God of Darkness and for good reason. His realm that was of darkness and death.

Essentially the opposite of the Domain of Light.

Salem steeled herself and walked through the dark foreboding environment, stopping at a stairway leading up the mountain, similarly mirroring that of the Domain of Light's. The difference was that the stairs were made of a strange purple crystalline like substance. She stopped when she noticed a skeleton at the bottom of the stairs with a sword embedded in it.

Salem stopped when she heard a great roar up the stairway, hesitating for a moment before calming herself and taking a single step forward.

And then another.

And another after that.

With each step, Salem grew a little braver, reaching the top of the stairs and started down next, approaching a blacked pool of tar-like liquid. Surrounding the pool were numerous monsters, Grimm in various shapes and sizes but all of them were equally terrifying. Salem slowly walked down the stairs and approached the pool, feeling the eyes on her.

These Grimm were not like the ones she had seen and read about.

Many of them were bigger and looked much stronger. Salem stopped and watched as from the blackened pool, the God of Darkness emerged, his body twisted and consorted. Salem gasped in fear at the sight as the dark deity crawled towards her in an unnatural position. The Grimm were also inching closer to her.

"How curious. So rarely does a mortal choose to enter my domain and not only does one recently do so but now another comes before me." The dark God said in interest.

Salem quickly knelt before him. "Great God of Darkness, I beseech thee to hear my pleas. I have lost my love who was taken unfairly from me. I beg thee to return him to me as I miss him so dearly to the point, it is painful with each second he is not with me."

"You come to me, hoping your dearly beloved is restored to you?" The God of Darkness tilted his head slightly, surprised someone would come to him with such a request.

"I know you are the only one who can do it, Great One." Salem nodded.

She knew that if she had told the dark one that she had already gone to see his brother and had been turned away, all hopes of him reviving Ozma would be lost.

"Please, I beg you." She held out Ozma's scepter to the deity. "Will you answer my prayers?"

The God of Darkness seemed pleased. "Rise child and let your faith in me reward you."

Salem stood as requested and watched as the God of Darkness conjured a purple sphere and from it, Ozma's body appeared.

Salem slowly approached him and Ozma gasped back to life. "Where am I?! What is this?! WHERE AM I?!"

Salem was at his side, hugging him with a smile. "It's okay. Everything's going to be okay."

A sound of thunder echoed through the dark domain and they all looked up to see the God of Light appear at the top of the stairs leading into his brother's domain.

He did not look happy.

"What have you done?" He asked slowly.

"I have done what I please, brother. You may bask in the powers of creation, but you do not own them." The God of Darkness answered.

"This is not creation."

"Do not lecture me!" As the God of Darkness snapped, the Grimm reacted, inching closer towards his brother.

"I will do what I must to maintain order." The God of Light waved his hand and an orange surrounded Ozma's body before it was erased, much to the horror of Salem.

"No! NO! What did you do?! BRING HIM BACK?!"

"You dare enter my domain and show such disrespect?!" The God of Darkness then made Ozma's body appear again.

"Ozma!" Salem cried, holding him again.

"I am abiding by the rules we agreed upon!" The God of Light argued.

"Rules that I now see are even in your favor. And yet the second time a mortal comes to pray at my feet before your own, so do you arrive to lay your judgment upon me!"

The God of Darkness began changing, transforming as wings sprouted from his back and his form grew along with his horns becoming longer and shaper. He was engulfed by a dark purple mist that formed into the shape of a dome before exploding in a dark purple light, taking the shape of a nightmarish dragon that snarled at the God of Light. The Grimm proceeded forward and attempted to attack him but a bright light emanated from him, destroying all the Grimm in the area. When the light cleared, the God of Light had taken the form of a beautiful oriental-looking dragon with his eyes emitting a bright light.

"I know we have our differences, but I have not come here with the aim to control you. The same, however, cannot be said for her." The God of Light gestured to Salem. "This woman came to you only after I denied her pleas. Pleas that would have disrupted the balance you and I created together."

The God of Darkness stopped and then looked at Salem who tightly held Ozma, pondering this revelation and sensed his brother was not lying. "Then it seems I owe you an apology. Allow me to correct my mistake."

"No!" Salem screamed.

There was nothing she could do as the God of Darkness released dark purple fire from its mouth, erasing Ozma again. Salem watched as the ashes of Ozma blew out of her hands in horror, her form trembling before she looked up at the two gods in rage.

"You…You monsters! Give him back to me! GIVE HIM BACK!"

Lightning emitted from Salem's body and surrounded in her what appeared to be a bright dome, looking like she was going to attack them. The God of Light lunged at Salem and the last she saw the golden dragon opening its mouth and devouring her…

And then felt herself falling back.

She woke up as she fell from the sky and landed in what felt like water. She struggled for a moment, seemingly drowning before a strange aura shimmered around her body. Suddenly she found herself on the surface of the water, catching her breath. She looked up and noticed both of the Brother Gods standing side by side.

"When first came to me, I did pity you." The God of Light began. "But it is clear now that your selfishness has led you astray."

Salem managed to stand back up. "What did you do to me?"

She looked down at herself, seeing the strange aura still shimmering around her hands.

"I have made you immortal."

Salem froze and gasped. "Immortal?"

"You cannot die. You cannot be with your beloved." The God of Darkness spoke.

"So as long as this world turns, you shall walk its face."

Salem stared at them in disbelief.

"You must learn the importance of life and death. Only then may you rest." The God of Light finished explaining what he had done.

Salem tried to reach for them but then found herself transported to a vast open field. "No…No…NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

She fell to her knees and cried as dark clouds began to circle above her.


(Kingdom Hearts Maleficent Theme Starts)

"Well, this might do for now."

Maleficent smiled to herself as she approached a rather large looking castle with a tower in the center of it. While it was not as big as the King and Queen's castle in the Enchanted Dominion it would serve its purpose. The swords littering the field told Maleficent there had been a battle here and a rather big one, despite the lack of bodies. She entered the castle through the main entrance, looking around to see scorch marks consisted with magic.

"So, a battle of magic took place here." Maleficent remarked in amusement. "It seems magic is indeed more common on this world than my own. Still, nothing to worry about. Now then…"

She raised her staff as the orb at the top of began to glow.

"A forest around of thorns shall be the wall…To ensure no one enters without heeding my call!"

Around the castle, dark trees with thorns sprouting from every possible angle grew at immense speed under the castle was completely surrounded, blocking any attempt to enter.

"Now then, I believe it's time to do a little research." Maleficent lowered her staff and began strolling through the castle she had claimed as hers for now. "I imagine there is a library somewhere to provide me with some answers."

She didn't like being made to follow the whims of a strange entity like the Darkness but she was interested enough to humor the entity until it fulfilled its end of the deal to send her back to her time.

(Kingdom Hearts Maleficent Theme Ends)