Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

At the edge of creation, powerful forces began to stir. Destiny, after all, was never left to chance, and though the Master of Masters failed to restore the timeline to his grand design, other forces were still quite unhappy with the course fate had taken.

Once, in his mortal life, he was known as Sise-Neg, but he'd had many other names since then: Genesis, Cagliostro, Yaldabaoth, Jehovah, just to name a few. But the name he preferred above all others was the Demiurge, a title that meant "creator." And so he was. The entire cosmos was his creation, his intelligent design. Many judged that design as cruel, but to him, it was a glorious masterpiece where before there had only been an Age of Chaos crawling with putrid Great Old Ones.

But the Demiurge was a jealous god, and in his universe, a universe that should bow down before him, a renegade element had disrupted his design: the Overtakers. That could not stand. And so, taking his usual form as an immense golden serpent with the head of a lion, the Demiurge called forth his own glittering assemblage, a few of them even from the depths of oblivion.

In a flash of light, five figures took form upon the floating mass of land.

"What... what's going on?" Zeus asked as he examined his newly revived body. "I'm.. I'm ME again!"

"As am I," Odin confirmed. "Long have I been in the foul clutches of Hela, but now the All-Father lives once more!"

"Hmm... how peculiar," King Triton agreed, thankful that he'd been given a large rock to sit on so that he could meet the others eye to eye. "I always thought death was the end for merfolk, but somehow here I am."

"You all were dead? How odd...," Oberon mused. "I myself am very much alive. Unless...."

"No, I too am alive and well and have been so for time immemorial," Bahamut the Draconian bellowed. "Whatever brought us here did so without concern for whether we lived or not."

"Indeed so," the Demiurge declared, and the five deities finally noticed his presence floating above them. "You have been brought together by my will alone."

"Then let me be the first to thank you for your generosity!" Zeus said with a grin.

"Do not be so quick to give thanks, Zeus," Odin cautioned. "This creature did not restore two kings of the gods without expecting something in return."

"Wisdom worthy of the Well of Mimir, All-Father," the Demiurge remarked. "Yes, I do indeed ask for a boon in return, but my price is not one that you will find objectionable."

"Is that so?" Triton asked suspiciously.

"Look around you," the Demiurge urged. "All of us here have ruled our dominions with strength and power as only fathers can. Despite our differences, we each understand the gravity of what it means to hold absolute power and to do so with divine justice."

"You speak the truth, but what of it?" Oberon asked.

"There is a plague upon our universe," the Demiurge answer, "a scourge that destroyed three of you in attendance, sealed one of you away in a crystal for months, and circumvented the divine ordinance of the other. The Overtakers."

Thunder clapped, and Zeus was visibly fuming at the mere mention of the Overtakers. The others in attendance felt a similar way, but none of them had quite the same personal hatred as Zeus.

"Those evil usurpers will fall at the hands of my thunderbolts!" Zeus declared.

"Save me a pound of flesh," Odin beckoned. "I've my own vendetta to fulfil."

"As we all do," the Demiurge declared. "They were formidable enough to defeat even the Olympians and the Aesir because they are united in strength. But if we work together and combine our might, we can end their destructive and repulsive existence once and for all. Then, together, we can restore order to a universe gone mad."

"You don't even have to ask," Zeus declared. "After what Hades did to our family, he deserves everything he's got coming to him. I'm in!"

"As am I!" Oberon said as he stepped forward. "We owe the Overtakers recompense for their occupation of Avalon, and we would see it done swiftly."

"My wrath is the stuff of legends," Odin boasted. "It is high time Loki and his perverse friends learned that lesson."

"The Adagium defied his fate and stole a second chance to spread his ignominy throughout the worlds," Bahamut declared. "That cannot go unpunished! You will have my blades!"

"Excellent!" the Demiurge beamed with pride before he and the others turned their gaze upon Triton. "And what say you, sea king?"

Triton stroked his beard thoughtfully as he considered his options.

"I am no stranger to war," Triton said, "but with a second chance at life being given... well, I'm not eager to waste it. I want to see my daughters again. To hold them. That matters more to me than any paltry revenge."

"I know how you feel, Triton," Zeus nodded. "I want nothing more than to see my boy, Hercules, again. But with the threat of the Overtakers, none of our children are safe. If we stand together now, we can leave the universe a safer place for all of our children and all of our children's children."

"You know the one called Ursula better than any other," the Demiurge added. "Don't you wish to reclaim your trident? Your dignity? Think of what the sea witch did to your youngest daughter! How she tempted her away from your protection. Does that not warrant your righteous fury?"

Triton closed his eyes as he considered his options before opening them back up again with a fierce determination.

"You're right, of course," Triton said. "Let us put an end to this evil at long last."

"That's the spirit!" Oberon said as he applauded Triton's decision. "Now then, when do we begin?"

The Demiurge chuckled at that question, shaking the cosmos with his laughter.

"Immediately!"

"The dresspheres are even more successful than I'd hoped," Arthur Watts declared as he gestured to the data on the screen of his computer monitor.

Steve Newlin and Cruella De Vil leaned over Watts's shoulder. Once, long ago, this laboratory belonged to Ansem the Wise, but since Radiant Garden fell and the Overtakers restored Hollow Bastion to its dark glory, Watts had taken to utilizing the lab space for his own. At present, it was being used to monitor the dressphere technology that sold Cruella's House of De Vil fashions to the masses. They'd managed to corner the fashion market by exploiting Maleficent's old contract with Yuna, Rikku, and Paine to force the Gullwings to become pop stars and promote Cruella's fashion line. Of course, making the population of Epcot more fashionable was not the primary objective of the dresspheres.

"Naturally, darling," Cruella declared. "They're using my fashion designs, after all."

"That's not what I meant," Watts huffed. "The surveillance devices we secretly installed in the clothing are collecting even more data than I'd hoped."

"Good. That's good to hear," Steve nodded. "Anything interesting that I can use for my talk show?"

"Undoubtedly," Watts confirmed. "However, the program that I designed to sort through the data is not yet finished. We'll have a more comprehensive read on what we have in an hour or two."

"If it's going to take an hour, why did you bother me to call me here now?" Cruella asked with a roll of her eyes. "Is my time a joke to you, doctor?"

"Yes, it is," Watts said smugly with a devious smirk.

Steve was about to interject to prevent his allies from fighting when his vampiric hearing picked up a sultry jazz song playing in one of the upper floors of the castle.

"Is Caleb Covington here?" Steve asked.

Watts rolled his eyes and sighed. "Yes. I finally managed to convince the Green Goblin to move his operations elsewhere, yet clearly peace and quiet was too much to ask for. Caleb, Imperious, and the Sanderson Sisters decided to use the upper levels to rehearse some extravagant musical number that they're working on."

"Well, maybe we can convince them to choreograph some new performance for the Gullwings," Cruella suggested. "That would certainly help sell more dresspheres."

A large rumble suddenly began to shake the castle.

"What's going on?" Cruella asked.

"Are they using pyrotechnics up there?" Steve asked.

"Not to my knowledge," Watts said.

The rumbling suddenly grew much louder and more intense.

"Something's not right," Steve declared.

The Inner Circle of the Overtakers gathered on the deck of the Jolly Roger, floating in the middle of the Etherium as the ten Overtakers returned from their mission.

"Behold!" Maleficent declared as she held a ruby aloft. "The Mystic Amulet of Hogswineboar is now ours!"

"Hogswineboar?" Fish Mooney asked. "What kind of a name is that for a magical artifact?"

"Perhaps the sort that is often served with a side of pork?" Loki suggested.

Jafar shrugged. "Unfortunately, one cannot always pig and choose what one considers absurd."

Captain Hook groaned. "Bloody Hell, Jafar, we've talked about this!"

"Eh, he's always been a big ham," Hades said slyly.

"Don't you start too!" Ursula snapped.

"Absurd though the name may be, the mystic power within is no laughing matter," Doctor Doom interjected. "My scanners confirm that a great deal of magic is contained within the ruby."

"Loathed though I would be to part with my ruby necklace," Queen Grimhilde said as her hand drifted up to the medallion, "I would not be opposed to wearing such a powerful gem around my neck."

"Once we return home, we shall discuss the best use of the ruby," Maleficent said. "Captain, set course for the Overtaken - "

"Hang on a sec, I just got a text from Steve," Russell Edgington interrupted. "Seems like something's wrong at the Hollow Bastion base."

Russell held up his phone to show the message to the other Overtakers: S.O.S. At Hollow Bastion!! Need all core Overtakers ASAP!! Meet me at the edge of the Rising Falls, NOT the castle!

"All the core Overtakers?" Loki asked. "I take it this is not merely a matter of a stubbed toe."

"Steve Newlin would not request such a thing lightly," Maleficent stated. "Quickly, captain! Set course for Hollow Bastion!"

Hook activated the Carina Hawkins Portal Device salvaged from the ruins of Treasure Planet and opened a portal back to Hollow Bastion. The ship sailed through and docked at the top of the Rising Falls, where Steve, Watts, Cruella, Caleb, Imperious, and the Sanderson Sisters were waiting. Maleficent spread her arms, and in a flurry of green flames teleported herself and the other core Overtakers off the ship to rejoin their other allies.

"We have arrived," Maleficent declared. "What urgent matter required our immediate attention?"

"Uh... darling, turn around," Cruella replied.

Maleficent did so and her eyes widened in horror at what she saw. The ferocious face of the Demiurge was floating in the sky above, and from his hot breath, the world below was changing. The twisted spires of Hollow Bastion were slowly morphing back to how they appeared when Ansem the Wise was in power, and houses and shops galore began to once again decorate the once barren landscape. Beautiful flowers bloomed and shimmering fountains flowed as Hollow Bastion slowly morphed back into the form of Radiant Garden.

"How can this be?" Maleficent gasped. "Our castle! Our world!"

"What is that foul thing?" Hook asked.

"That is something we want to be as far away from as possible," Hades offered.

"Indeed," Loki agreed. "Though its visage is quite different from my last encounter with this abomination, I saw a vision of what it would one day become. If you've ever threatened to send an enemy to 'meet their Maker,' this would be to whom you were referring."

Russell's eyes widened. "Wait a fuckin' second! You're telling me that THAT is - "

"The Demiurge," Doctor Doom answered. "The creator of our cosmos."

"Oh my God," Steve said.

"And so it is," Jafar sneered. "Now, what do we DO about this beast?"

"Do? You do nothing!" the Demiurge bellowed as he turned his gaze upon the Overtakers. "This is but the first phase of your reckoning! The end of the reign of the Overtakers! What once you set wrong shall now be made right. Radiant Garden will be as it was before your malevolent shadow descended upon the city of light."

"Perhaps we can come to some arrangement," Loki offered. "I am certain there are a myriad of mutually beneficial conclusions that can be drawn if you'll just indulge us a friendly conversation."

"This is not a negotiation; this is retribution!" the Demiurge roared as it returned to its task of restoring Radiant Garden.

"We must stop this beast at once!" Doom declared.

"Yeah, sure, you just go right ahead and do that," Hades said with a roll of his eyes. "Are you just conveniently forgetting what happened with Galactus? And this thing is supposedly even more powerful than the globe gobbler."

"We cannot simply do NOTHING!" Doom argued.

"I fear this is perhaps the lesser of our concerns," Ardyn said as he and Blackheart appeared amidst a Corridor of Darkness.

Maleficent raised an eyebrow when her other allies arrived on the scene. "What are you implying?"

"The Overtaken Kingdom's under attack," Blackheart said. "It's... well... you might want to see it for yourself...."

Maleficent quickly brushed past Ardyn and Blackheart and passed through the Corridor of Darkness back to the Overtaken Kingdom. She emerged on the rooftop of a building on the outskirts of the dark city, and the sight that greeted her filled her heart with a mixture of despair and fury. A host of angels clad in golden armor had descended upon the Overtaken Kingdom, and they were not alone. In the sky above, Zeus and Bahamut towered over the Eminence Palace, unleashing lightning and immense blades upon the Overtakers, and down below, Odin and Oberon were unleashing their full power and battling alongside the army of angels. The other Overtakers and their armies of henchmen were putting up a fight, but they were clearly outmatched and overwhelmed by the divine power descending upon their home world.

"WHAT? ZEUS?" Hades roared. "He- He can't be ALIVE! He CAN'T BE!"

The other Overtakers had followed Maleficent through the portal and were watching the warfare unfold with varying levels of shock and outrage. Seeing all of their faces just made her think about the fates of all the Overtakers who were not present.

"Those fools think to take my kingdom from ME?" Maleficent bellowed furiously as she turned her gaze back to the carnage in front of her. "It is time they learned the power of the MISTRESS OF ALL – "

But a firm hand held her back. She glanced behind her to see that the hand belonged to Loki. He simply shook his head when he met her eyes, not a hint of mischief or playfulness in his expression.

"Do not be a fool," Loki warned. "It took all of our powers combined to match Odin and Zeus alone, and now they've company."

"No!" Maleficent snapped as she pulled away from Loki. "We cannot allow them to take our kingdom with impunity!"

"Then live to fight another day so you can make them pay," Hook urged.

"WATCH OUT!" Ursula cried.

The sea witch conjured up her trident and quickly blasted an angel out of the sky before it could swoop down upon the group of Overtakers.

"Someone will have seen that," Ursula declared. "We need to get out of here before – AGH!"

Ursula's trident sparked with lightning and flew out of her hand. King Triton then grabbed the trident out of the air and held it up above his head as it flashed with magic in recognition of its true master.

"Back where it belongs!" Triton bellowed.

"Ugh, TRITON!" Ursula shouted in fury. "I should have KNOWN you'd come crawling back, like a bad sand dollar!"

"Never again will you or yours threaten my family!" Triton declared as he charged his trident with energy.

However, before Triton could attack the Overtakers, Maleficent extended her arms outward and erected a wall of green fire between Triton and her allies.

"Fall back! At once!" Maleficent commanded.

The other Overtakers didn't have to be told twice. All of them quickly ran back into the Corridor of Darkness and vanished into the shadows. Maleficent glanced back at the Eminence Palace wistfully one last time. Her mind drifted back to the swarm of Heartless engulfing Villain's Vale back when this journey with the Overtakers first began. Here she was again, only this time she had much more to lose.

"I will be avenged," Maleficent swore before proceeding into the dark corridor and closing it behind her.

The remaining Overtakers retreated back to the Jolly Roger and sailed the pirate ship around the Etherium randomly until they were certain that they hadn't been followed. With the Overtaken Kingdom captured, Hollow Bastion gone, and the rest of their empire in shambles following the agreement made with King Mickey, the assemblage of villains was uncertain where they had left to go. They needed someplace familiar that would provide them with resources and human shields in case of another attack. Once Diablo, Flotsam, and Jetsam confirmed that Radiant Garden had indeed been restored in full with its entire population returned and that the Demiurge was no longer hovering about, the obvious solution presented itself. The Demiurge obviously had plans for Radiant Garden, but hiding wasn't an option. No matter where they went, the Demiurge and his allies would find them eventually; nowhere in the cosmos was truly safe from one who might as well have been considered God. 

Maleficent sighed as she exited the Corridor of Darkness into the courtyard of Villain's Vale as the sun began to rise over Radiant Garden. The small castle towered above her, just the way it had after Hades rebuilt it all those years ago. At the very least, it was good to see that it remained in tact.

"It seems as though no matter how far I come, I always find myself returning to this castle," Maleficent said with a sneer of disdain.

One by one, the few remaining Overtakers filed out of the dark portal after Maleficent: Hades, Ursula, Loki, Doom, Russell, Fish, Jafar, Hook, Grimhilde, Cruella, Steve, Ardyn, Blackheart, Caleb, Imperious, the Sanderson Sisters, and Watts. Though all were grateful to be the elite few left, the weight of what had transpired to their friends and allies weighed on them heavily.

"Not exactly the upward mobility anyone was hoping for," Hades agreed. "But, hey, at least we're not all having to cram in Persephone's mansion again."

"In large part thanks to a certain Lord of the Dead's temper tantrum causing the mansion's destruction," Doom grumbled under his breath and earned a chuckle from Loki.

"Unfortunately, our standing here in Radiant Garden is pretty bad after Russell basically caused the apocalypse on this world," Steve sighed.

"Sorry 'bout that, baby," Russell apologized.

"It's fine; it was a long time ago," Steve said. "But I don't think even I can spin that to make us not be pariahs in town."

"And we'll need to have some standing with the locals if we're gonna make this world our temporary base of operations," Ursula declared.

"Regina may unfortunately be out of commission, but would it not be possible to cast a memory spell?" Hook asked. "Surely if she can manage such a feat, the dark forces at our disposal can match it."

"Hmm, yes, that could work," Maleficent said. "Winifred, I am entrusting you and your sisters with the task of preparing a memory spell potent enough to affect the entire town. Can you manage the feat?"

"Of course we can, your excellency!" Winnie boasted.

"Umm... Winnie, are you sure?" Mary asked. "A spell like that seems a bit – "

"Silence!" Winnie snapped.

"Imperious and I will help you lovely ladies out," Caleb offered.

"As usual, the important matters fall to me," Imperious declared.

"I'll get to work purging any digital records of our malfeasance," Watts offered. "It'll do me some good to keep myself mentally occupied."

Watts didn't say it, but everyone knew that he was thinking about Ironwood. While most of the surviving Overtakers escaped with their paramours, Watts had to leave his lover behind. Watts and Ironwood had been through quite the myriad of hurdles to get back to a good place, and now they were separated, perhaps for good. It seemed like their fate was always to lose one another.

"Very well, then," Maleficent nodded. "Newlin, would you please do the honors of showing Covington and Watts around the castle grounds. They were not with us the last time we dwelled in this base of operations."

"Really? You two are that new?" Fish asked Caleb and Watts. "You two feel like you've been with us forever."

"Feel old yet?" Caleb asked with a laugh.

"Well, at least I don't look it," Fish said with a laugh.

Steve escorted Caleb, Watts, Imperious, and the Sanderson Sisters into Villain's Vale, leaving the Inner Circle, Cruella, Ardyn, and Blackheart behind.

"Let me guess, you want us to hit the road now too so that your little Inner Circle can talk amongst yourselves about what comes next," Cruella said with a smirk.

"That would be appreciated," Jafar replied.

"No, there is no need for a formal Inner Circle at the moment," Maleficent said. "We are the only remaining Overtakers, and thus we should all collaborate together to set right that which has gone wrong."

"That we should," Grimhilde agreed, "but perhaps we should do so after getting a bit of sleep. It's been a long night for all of us."

None of the other Overtakers could argue that point. They all proceeded into Villain's Vale and retired for the "night."

Maleficent carefully removed her horned headdress and set it gently upon the mannequin head on the vanity. She then glanced into the mirror and fluffed up her short hair with her hand. She always felt that she appeared less formidable without her headdress, and that was a large part of why she was rarely ever seen without it. Though her mind knew she'd escaped the Demiurge's wrath, her heart felt as though she were still in the middle of the attack on the Overtaken Kingdom, and thus being without her headdress made her feel far more vulnerable than she ordinarily would. For a few minutes, Maleficent just kept staring at her reflection, unable to look away from her hornless countenance.

Hades emerged from their shared bathroom, breaking her concentration and pulling her back to reality.

"You about ready to hit the hay, babe?" Hades asked.

"In a moment," Maleficent nodded. "Hades...."

"Yeah?"

"Your brother... he was one of the deities amongst the force that attacked our world," Maleficent stated.

"Oy, don't remind me," Hades groaned. "What about him?"

"I simply wished to ensure that this revelation has not afflicted you in any way," Maleficent answered. "Are you quite alright?"

Hades made an uncertain gesture. "Not gonna lie, it was not a good feeling seein' Bolt Boy up in the clouds again. Felt like one step forward, two steps back, if ya know what I mean."

"I do indeed," Maleficent agreed.

"But, I gotta say, part of me actually missed him," Hades saw the perplexed look in Maleficent's eyes and quickly added, "not like that. I mean... I spent nearly an eternity plotting and scheming to knock his orange tuchus off the throne of Olympus. When he died, a big part of what kept me goin' for thousands of years went ka-boom. Now that he's back on the scene, it's like slippin' back into an old comfortable role. I know the game we've gotta play, I know who I hate and why I hate him, and with you by my side, how can I lose?"

Hades leaned in and gave Maleficent a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Your confidence is reassuring," Maleficent said. "Let us hope it is not misplaced."

"Well, we can't worry about that anymore today," Hades shrugged. "Everybody's worn slap out. Get some rest, and we'll deal with it tomorrow."

Maleficent agreed, and she and Hades both changed into their sleepwear, extinguished the torches, and got into bed.

"Goodnight, Hades," Maleficent said.

"Night, babe," Hades replied.

Hades then blew out his own hair, casting the bedroom completely in darkness. Though Maleficent willed her body to sleep, it did not come naturally to her. Part of her longed for a sleeping curse of her own, but that was a coward's way out. No, this was a problem she would handle head on, and her mind felt ready to do so. It was simply her body that felt the weight of exhaustion. As Maleficent tossed and turned, her foot brushed up against Hades's leg, and she became keenly aware of his presence.

Hades was lying there beside her, and with him by her side, how could she lose? She smiled slightly to herself at the thought, and sleep came shortly thereafter.

Chapter Text

After a day of trying to sleep and take their minds off of what happened with the Demiurge, the remaining Overtakers awoke and gathered in the dining hall, expecting breakfast to be served... only to find empty plates and no one in the kitchen. After the Divine Patriarchs' attack on the Overtaken Kingdom, Maleficent's goblins were captured, and without the goblins to perform the mundane chores, they simply weren't done.

"I am starving!" Ursula declared. "Can anyone here cook?"

"I can cook worm and cricket pie!" Mary Sanderson boasted.

Fish gagged at the mental image. "I think I speak for everyone when I say Mary, please don't cook."

Mary looked dejected at that, but the others paid her very little mind.

"I'll stick with a liquid breakfast," Cruella said as she headed over to the liquor cabinet. "Anyone else want gin?"

"Aye! I'll take a glass," Hook answered.

"Too bad, darling!" Cruella replied with a laugh. "It's all for ME!"

"Acquiring castle servants must become another priority of ours in the coming days," Maleficent declared. "In the mean time, we should make other arrangements for food."

"Why don't we order pizza, eh?" Hades asked. "My treat!"

"Can I eat the delivery boy?" Russell asked.

"Yeah, but you gotta share with Steve," Hades said as he started flipping through the Radiant Garden yellow pages. "I'm not springin' for two delivery boys."

Steve shrugged. "We can share, can't we baby?"

"Of course, sugar lumps," Russell said as he gave Steve a quick peck on the cheek.

"Gross, yeesh, keep the PDA outta my vicinity, Capiche?" Hades grumbled. "Okay, so, who wants pepperoni?"

After twenty minutes (and not a second more or the pizzas would have been free), the Overtakers spread the six large pizzas out on their dining room table, and Russell and Steve propped up the corpse of the pizza delivery boy in the seat between them so both could drink from him. Maleficent prodded the pizza with her fork, scowling with uncertainty as the cheese pulled off in strings.

"This dish seems to have an excessive quantity of cheese," Maleficent remarked.

"As I understand it, that is the point," Ardyn remarked as he folded his slice in half and took a bite.

"Whilst we enjoy this... enticing meal," Doom said. "Perhaps we should further discuss the next phase of our plans."

"Very well," Maleficent said as she dabbed her mouth with a napkin. "Hades, have you confirmed my suspicions regarding the fate of the others?"

"Yeah, so, the good news and the bad news is that all of our friends are still alive," Hades announced, "meaning I can't resurrect any of them. They're bein' held captive, which, unfortunately, is a fate worse than death in this case. We can get 'em all back, but we gotta go through the god squad to get there."

"Then, as I see it, our present goals are clearly the defeat of the Demiurge and his godly allies and the rescue of our fellow Overtakers from their foul clutches," Maleficent stated. "However, at the moment, we lack the necessary means to do so. Therefore, it stands to reason that we should focus on rebuilding our strength and influence."

"And how are we to do that?" Watts asked.

"Firstly, there is the matter we discussed when first we arrived at this castle," Maleficent explained. "We must restore our foothold of power in Radiant Garden. Winifred, you were tasked with casting a memory spell over the kingdom. Have you had any time to consider the matter further?"

"Yes, your excellency," Winnie said, covering her mouth to hide the fact that she was still chewing. "Book has a spell for amnesia that we can alter to be more particular. We can cast it one citizen at a time, but - "

"No, no, that will not do," Jafar interrupted. "You'll need to cast the spell over all of Radiant Garden at once."

"I'll be able to help with that," Caleb offered. "Imperious and I have a few ideas for amplifying the spell's reach. Cruella, if we can have your help as well, I think we can get that done within the week."

"Of course, darling, anything you need," Cruella said, not quite sure what help she could possibly be to whatever Caleb was planning.

"Wonderful," Maleficent grinned. "To the second matter, we require servants for this castle to replace my imbecilic goblins, and we must also determine if any of our fellow Overtakers escaped the wrath of the gods."

"Whatever else has happened, I'm still the Empress Witch!" Grimhilde, back in her old hag form, declared. "I'll handle the matter of our castle staff and start scrying for any wayward Overtakers."

"We'll work together on that job," Fish Mooney offered. "I need to pop over to Gotham anyway to see if Penguin was there during the attack. I can, at the very least, get us a kitchen crew and custodians while I'm there."

"Very well then," Maleficent agreed. "The final matter before us today is that we must begin to devise a plan to defeat the Demiurge and his godly allies. Loki, I believe you have encountered this being before, have you not?"

"Indeed, though when last we fought, he appeared as a man, not as a lion headed serpent," Loki confirmed. "He was Sise-Neg then, a sorcerer from the distant future moving backwards through time, absorbing magic across history so that he could remake the universe. Only then when he arrived at the dawn of time did he realize that he himself had created the universe. I presume this monstrous form of his is whatever remains of the all powerful version of himself from the beginning of creation."

"I'm still havin' trouble wrappin' my mind around all this," Russell admitted. "You're telling me that God is a time traveling wizard from the future who sucked up enough magic to create the entire universe?"

"In a manner of speaking," Doom nodded. "Though whether he is the only 'God' remains to be seen. In Gnostic theology, the being known as the Demiurge was merely the god of the Old Testament, a false and wrathful tyrant who deceived his followers into believing he was the true God. However, there was said to be another, more omnipotent being above even the creator of the universe. Perhaps that is indeed the case, or perhaps it is but a partial truth. However, we should not distract ourselves by subscribing to whatever dogma this being has imparted upon the cosmos. We should approach his defeat as we would any other adversary."

"And how do you propose we do that?" Blackheart asked.

"If what Loki saw was indeed the same being," Doom began, "then we know that this Demiurge gathered magic backward across time to make himself powerful enough to reach the beginning of time. That means, in moving forward through time, he will have by nature progressively weakened, making him more easily matched than an entity capable of creating an entire reality."

"How comforting," Hook scoffed. "So instead of the deity who created the universe itself, we only must contend with an entity powerful enough to recreate dead gods and restore an entire world to its former glory in a matter of minutes."

"Hook's got a point," Ursula agreed. "Even if he's not as daunting as he could be, he's still far out of our league, even with all of us combined."

"Then it stands to reason that we must either obtain the means to elevate our power or to lessen his," Ardyn mused.

"Or both," Loki pointed out. "If we were to somehow take the power he commands... imagine what we could accomplish! It would be a purpose more glorious than any this universe has ever borne witness to!"

"Let's not forget the teensy-weensy tiny detail that he's got Zeus and an entourage of other macho gods at his beck and call," Hades pointed out. "And need I remind you how much mishegas we had to wade through to defeat each of those guys on their own! We've gotta deal with them too, and this time we don't have little miss sun-drop to get around that pesky immortality. Gonna need a new game plan there too."

"You turned Hercules mortal once, didn't you?" Grimhilde asked. "What's there to stop you from doing the same to Zeus and the other gods?"

"The fact that I only had the one mortality potion in my coffers, and I used every last drop of it on Blunder Boy," Hades sneered.

"A potion, eh?" Grimhilde asked, perking up at the word. "If you've got the recipe, I'm sure we can brew more."

"Unfortunately, babe, I don't have the recipe," Hades explained. "If I did, I'd whip up another batch for Zeusy. But that stuff was ancient and hard to come by."

"Perhaps there may yet be other means to acquire that potion," Maleficent mused. "Hades, take Ursula, Russell, Ardyn, and Blackheart to delve deeper into the matter of the mortality potion. If we recreate it, that would be a powerful weapon to wield against our enemies."

Hades nodded. "Of course! No prob, babe. Not sure what we'll find, but, hey, can't hurt to look, I guess."

"The rest of you, Loki, Doom, Jafar, and Hook, shall accompany me to search for other means of obtaining power enough to rival the gods," Maleficent declared.

"A task I'm certainly well suited towards," Jafar boasted.

"So long as your involvement does not end with us all shackled and bound to a magic lamp," Loki teased, earning a frustrated glance from Jafar.

"What's our port of destination?" Hook asked.

Maleficent smirked devilishly. "We shall visit the former dwelling of an old friend."

Loki waved his hand over the crystal ball, and the image of Thor and Odin emerged from the fog. The long lost father and son embraced, and happy tears were shed. A knot of disgust and hatred churned about in Loki's gut at the "happy" sight. He'd never truly had a place in that life, and here he was once again on the outside looking in. Loki's heart then sank when Odin seemed to notice something and waved a hand in front of Thor's face, shattering the subtle mind control spell that Loki had placed upon his brother some months ago. In an instant, his secret hold over Asgard was gone once more.

"BAH!" Loki huffed as he dismissed the image.

"Something troubling you?" Doom asked as he entered the chamber.

"What else but Odin and Thor?" Loki scowled at the sensation of saying their names aloud. "They've had their joyous reunion and thwarted my hold over the kingdom, all in one miserable day."

"If it is any consolation, I have no intentions of allowing Odin to go unpunished," Doom assured Loki. "After the fate he left us to in the Hall of Nastrond, his death was far too great of a mercy. This time, he will suffer."

"True, it was a merciful end last time," Loki agreed, "although I quite enjoyed your proposal in front of his hanging corpse."

"I do hope that the undoing of his death does not nullify that proposal," Doom said. "I would hate to think our marriage could be dissolved by the actions of a cosmic abomination."

"Certainly not," Loki shook his head. "No fear of that. Though I do loathe that such a beautiful moment is now somewhat tainted by my father's refusal to stay gone."

"Perhaps his return to oblivion will suffice for an anniversary present," Doom said slyly.

Loki chuckled a bit. "You certainly know the way to a man's heart, don't you?"

Loki sauntered closer to Doom and placed his hands on Doom's chest, petting the cloth of his tunic seductively. Following the signals Loki was giving, Doom removed his mask and leaned in for a kiss, meeting Loki's lips and pulling the Liesmith even closer to his body.

"Ahem," Hook coughed as he knocked on the open door.

Doom and Loki pulled away from their kiss and glared at their uninvited interrupter.

"What is it?" Doom asked harshly.

"Maleficent is ready to depart, and she sent me to gather you both," Hook said as he turned to walk away. "Let's get underway, shall we?"

Loki groaned as Hook departed once more. "I swear, Maleficent must have a sixth sense about when I am in the mood. Her timing is always inopportune."

"We will make time later tonight, I promise you that," Doom swore. "Chateau d'Onterre, after all, remains uncompromised, and she will not disturb us there."

"I intend to hold you to your word," Loki said playfully as he gave Doom a quick peck on the lips. "Now, come, we mustn't keep Maleficent waiting. Patience is not a virtue she extols."

Doom returned his mask to his face and nodded in agreement. He then fanned out his cape and gestured towards the door.

"After you."

Loki smirked and proceeded forward, putting a sway in his hips to draw attention to his backside.

"I know you hate for me to leave yet love to watch me go," Loki teased.

Doom couldn't object to that, and the view was certainly not an unpleasant one.

A Corridor of Darkness opened amidst a lush valley with towering cliffs on all sides. Exotic plants littered the area, and large white marble columns connected to nothing in particular stood as the final reminder that a once mighty temple had been in this place long ago. Hades emerged from the dark portal and waved Ursula, Russell, Ardyn, and Blackheart out after him.

"Where are we, Hades?" Ursula asked, studying her surroundings with uncertainty.

"We're back on my world, right past Mount Parnassus," Hades answered, "the same place I got the mortality potion back in the day."

"Ooh, headin' right back to the source!" Russell said. "I like it! But, uh, where is the source."

"I bought it off the guy who calls this place home sweet home, Briarius, one of the Hecatoncheires," Hades explained. "He's who we've gotta have a lil' chit-chat with."

"Hecatoncheires?" Blackheart asked. "Wait... weren't those the giants with a hundred - "

The valley began to shake and rumble, cutting Blackheart off short. Masses of land and rock abruptly burst out of the ground, and each and every one took the same shape: giant hands.

"Yeah...," Hades sighed. "He's one of the Hundred-Handers."

The five Overtakers huddled together, back to back, as the giant hands closed in around them.

"Should we fight?" Ardyn asked.

"No, not yet," Hades ordered. "We came here for a chat, remember?"

"Tell him that, because he's squaring up!" Russell said as he bared his fangs at the giant hand closest to him.

"Hey! You guys down there!" a man's voice bellowed from atop the cliffs. "You're trespassing on the home court of Briarius!"

The giant hands grabbed ahold of the five Overtakers roughly and snatched them each up off of the ground.

"Hey, hey, watch the hands, big boy!" Ursula snapped.

"This is humiliating," Blackheart hissed.

The Overtakers were then passed along from giant hand to giant hand all the way up the cliffside to where the giant was waiting. Once the Overtakers got closer, they could see that Briarius appeared as a thirty-foot tall muscular black man wearing an animal skin chiton and gold manacles around his wrists. He cut an imposing figure, albeit more normal than the tales of his hundred hands would lead one to believe.

"BRIARIUS! PUT ME DOWN NOW!" Hades shouted furiously.

"Huh? Oh! Hades! Didn't recognize you!" Briarius said as he looked closer at his captured quarry. "Last time we crossed paths, your hair wasn't quite so... y'know... on fire."

Briarius's giant hands released the five Overtakers and set them down on top of the cliff at Briarius's feet. Ursula dusted herself off and glared daggers at Briarius. He paid her very little mind.

"But what gives?" Briarius asked Hades directly. "This is my arena! You tryin' to go double-or-nothin' on my game?"

"Wait, what?" Ardyn asked.

"Long story, I'll tell ya later," Hades promised before turning back to face Briarius. "And no, I'm not, because there's nothing you've got that I want... Unless you happen to have more of the mortality potion you gave me back during the Titanomachy."

Briarius shook his head. "Sorry, man, fresh out."

"Thought so, but, hey, had to check," Hades shrugged.

"Yeah, I feel you there," Briarius nodded.

"Permit me to inquire. How does a hundred-handed giant manage to brew a potion capable of turning the very gods above mortal?" Ardyn asked.

Briarius shrugged, and his myriad of hands appeared to shrug with him. "Eh, it was an old family recipe. Cronus commissioned it during the big war, and times being what they were, I cooked it up."

"Do you still have the recipe?" Ursula asked.

"Yeah, sure, somewhere in my recipe files," Briarius replied. "How come?"

The five Overtakers shared a knowing glance and grinned wickedly. They all were thinking the exact same thing: Jackpot!

"Well then, hey, why don't we make a little deal?" Hades offered. "You give me the recipe for the potion, and I'll hook you up with whatever your giant little heart desires. Eh? How 'bout a hundred gloves, eh? All those hands gotta get cold in the winter time. And if anybody knows how to maintain body heat, it's ME!"

Hades ran his fingers through his flaming hair to illustrate the point.

"Sorry, no can do! That's not how things work here, Hades!" Briarius said. "You want the goods? You gotta play my game!"

"What is this game I keep hearing about?" Russell asked before glancing at the giant hands. "Wait, don't tell me. Rochambeau?"

"No," Briarius said. "If you want my recipe book..."

From a nearby cave, Briarius's giant hands began passing a dusty old cookbook from one hand to the next. They passed it all the way up to the highest peak and set it there in the clutches of a fist made out of water in the middle of a spring. Then, suddenly, a hundred hands emerged on the path between the Overtakers and the cookbook.

"...then you've gotta scale the cliff and get past me," Briarus boasted, "ALL of me!"

Hades glanced back at his allies, and all four gave him a nod of assent. The Lord of the Underworld turned back to face Briarius with a confident smirk.

"Bring it on, babe!"

Cruella found Caleb Covington looking over a spell in Winnie's spellbook with Imperious and the three Sanderson Sisters. Normally, the clopping of her heels and the smell of cigarette smoke alerted people to Cruella entering a room, but the other Overtakers seemed too deep in their conversation to notice. Cruella pouted and loudly cleared her throat.

"Darlings!" Cruella said with open arms when she managed to pull their attention. "I don't want you to think me ungrateful for including me in your plan, but I'm not quite sure why I'm even here."

"Cruella! Come on in!" Caleb said with a charming smile. "I'll explain everything."

Cruella strutted into the room over towards the other villains, and she glanced over at Imperious with a judgmental expression.

"Caleb, you know I live for you and your fashion," Cruella began, "but you need to have a long conversation with your boyfriend about what he's wearing."

Imperious gasped with outrage. "How dare you! My style is beautiful and dramatic!"

"Darling, I love fur trim and the concept of 'more is more,' but even I have to admit there are limits," Cruella said as she gestured to Imperious with her cigarette.

"Hmph! I see this for what it is! You're simply jealous that I have outdone you in your own field!" Imperious huffed. "No one is ever looking at you when you stand next to ME!"

"Ugh, is this truly the most productive use for our time?" Winnie asked, exasperation dripping off every word.

"Tis, at least, most entertaining," Mary giggled.

"Imperious doth look quite like the strange devices the mortals of Salem didst use to halt and activate the bus!" Sarah said as she grinned widely and nodded vigorously.

"We all have our own styles and opinions," Caleb said, eager to moderate and to keep Cruella and Imperious away from each other's throats. "And that actually segues beautifully into the reason I wanted you for this scheme, Cruella. The work you've done with the dresspheres is fantastic, and using the Gullwings to model your designs in live concerts was a stroke of genius!"

"Oh, darling, do go on," Cruella said with a girlish giggle.

"In fact, I think your Gullwings, Yuna, Rikku, and Paine, would be perfect for helping us cast the memory spell," Caleb said.

"Erm... come again?" Cruella asked.

"As the current Leading Player, I always keep my eyes peeled for talented new musical groups," Caleb said. "There's just nothing quite like having fresh faces in the house band!"

"Yes, too bad those ghost boys rebuked you," Imperious said with a catty laugh.

Caleb glared at Imperious from the sides of his eyes. "Not the point, Imperious. As I was saying, the Gullwings already have a sizable fanbase, and they can draw in the crowds. Meanwhile, Winifred and I both are adept at casting magic through music. You see where I'm going with this?"

Cruella grinned wickedly. "Oh yes, darling, we'll throw a concert that Radiant Garden will NEVER forget! ... Oh wait! They WILL!"

Cruella burst into evil laughter, and the Sandersons couldn't help themselves but to join in. Even Caleb and Imperious had to crack a smile at the infectious enthusiasm.

"Exactly!" Caleb said. "We'll write an earworm that'll top the charts across the kingdom and cast our spell. Meanwhile, we'll make the Gullwings a big hit on a whole new world where you can sell your dresspheres, and the heroes will be none the wiser!"

"This plan is rather brilliant!" Imperious declared with a laugh. "It's a wonder I didn't come up with it!"

"I was going to say the same thing," Winnie agreed.

"I'll need all of your help to get a concert or festival organized," Caleb said. "Make sure Steve Newlin and anyone else who the Radiant Gardeners know lay low and keep their face out of the promotions."

"Easily done, darling! Leave it all to me!" Cruella declared. "You five just focus on making my girls their hit new song!"

"Perhaps I couldst perform as well?" Sarah asked. "Boys love it when I sing!"

Caleb shrugged. "Sure, I don't see a reason why you can't be the opening ac- "

However, Caleb glanced behind Sarah to see Winnie and Sarah both shaking their heads and vigorously mouthing "NO!" at the idea. They both remembered all too well what happened in Salem last time Sarah decided to perform.

"Er... well... we'll discuss the set list in greater detail later," Caleb quickly corrected.

The Jolly Roger flew through the portal and emerged in the Etherium near the Mysterious Tower, passing through a phantasmal cloud of oranges and blue. Once, the Mysterious Tower was the home of Yen Sid, an old sorcerer and former lover of Maleficent's, but after he met his demise at the hands of Xehanort, his tower stood abandoned. Ferns and ivy had already began to grow up the side of the tower, threatening to one day swallow it in a tangled mess of foliage.

"I see lawn maintenance was not a priority for King Mickey following his master's demise," Doom mused as he and the other Overtakers disembarked. "Then again, I suppose we have been keeping the heroes quite busy of late."

"Those doddering fools Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather should have tended to these grounds," Maleficent sneered as she looked over the overgrown area. "They once accused me of simply using Yen Sid for his power, and yet they have disregarded his memory so. I shall remedy that."

The orb atop Maleficent's staff began to glow green, and then with one sweeping motion of her staff, a wave of green fire began to consume the unruly foliage. The tower was illuminated in eerie green light for a moment as the plants were burned away, and once the flames cleared, a smoldering route to the tower became visible.

"Shall we proceed forward?" Loki asked.

"In a moment," Maleficent nodded. "First, there is something I must do."

Maleficent walked over to a small nook off to the side of the tower. With the overgrown vegetation gone, a stone with star and moon patterns was now visible, and as the Overtakers drew nearer, they saw it was a grave marker. Maleficent conjured a black rose in her hand and gave the flower a kiss before laying it on top of the tombstone.

"You are not forgotten," Maleficent swore. "Would that our current adversaries had but a fraction of the integrity you always possessed."

"Hear, hear," Hook nodded, and he took a swig from his flask in tribute to their fallen enemy.

Jafar, Doom, and Loki were less keen on the sentimentality, but they kept their opinions to themselves.

"Now then, let us begin our search of the tower," Maleficent said as she turned away from the grave. "Yen Sid collected magic and research from all across the cosmos. If anyone found the means to defeat the Demiurge, it would have been him."

The five Overtakers proceeded into the tower and made their way up to the loft where Yen Sid's former workshop was located. They wasted no time rifling through the dusty bookshelves and examining the various artifacts around the room. However, what they found was less than satisfactory.

"Everything of value has been removed!" Jafar complained loudly. "The only things left are the likes of..." Jafar glanced down at the cover of the nearest books, "...How to Knit Like Magic and The Common Sugarplum Fairies Index."

"No wonder the heroes left those particular tomes behind," Loki sighed. "Unfortunately, it would appear that this is a dead end."

"Perhaps, but I am not yet prepared to give up on this hunch," Maleficent declared. "There may no longer be items of value in this workshop, but this tower was not the only hiding place the old sorcerer possessed."

Maleficent swept up herself and her allies in a flurry of green flames and teleported them down to the chamber of doors beneath the tower. Hook immediately recognized one door in particular. After all, he'd had extensive experience on the other side of it.

"Aye, his mansion in Storybrooke may hold secrets we've yet to uncover," Hook agreed. "Alas, because of Emma's banishing spell, I cannot accompany you to that manor."

"I'm certain our combined magics can break the banishing spell if need be," Jafar offered.

"My magic alone could break it," Loki boasted smugly.

"Fear not, the Storybrooke mansion is not the destination I had in mind," Maleficent explained. "Given that the heroes have clearly picked over the outposts of which they are aware, it would serve us well to investigate an outpost they would not readily think to search."

"A sensible suggestion," Doom agreed. "But which of these doors matches that description?"

Maleficent glanced around the room until she saw a door that resembled that of an old cottage.

"I've a good feeling about this one," Maleficent said as she gestured to the door. "Call it a woman's intuition."

"In so much as an immortal fae can be considered a 'woman,'" Doom chuckled to himself.

"Quite true, and yet...," Maleficent grabbed the handle of the rickety old door and opened the portal to another world.

The five villains crossed the threshold and by magic were instantly carried away to the Enchanted Forest. At the foot of the dark mountains sat a tiny humble cottage, unremarkable in almost every way. However, what truly made this cottage extraordinary lied beneath the surface, for the cottage's cellar was no ordinary basement but, rather, an ancient underground temple that had likely once been beautiful and majestic in its prime. The doorway from the tower opened into the ruins of this once proud chamber.

"A bit of a 'fixer-upper,' as they say," Jafar said as he glanced around.

"Appearances can be deceiving," Maleficent warned.

"Wait! Look!" Hook interjected. "There, in the center of the room! Is that – "

Maleficent, Jafar, Loki, and Doom all saw what Hook was referring to and immediately dashed over to the pedestal in the center of the chamber. A top it sat a small circular box with gold edges and a dark blue lid with white stars decorating the surface. Though it currently didn't look like much on the outside, all present knew what lied inside the box.

"Well, well, well," Maleficent said with a devious grin. "It appears the sorcerer's hat has returned to its former resting place."

Chapter Text

The small box containing the sorcerer's hat sat atop the pedestal in the center of the underground chamber. It didn't appear to be much, but the power emanating from inside confirmed that they'd hit the jackpot. All five Overtakers present knew that the hat had the power to capture and accumulate magical power, and if they could fill the hat with enough magic, it could conceivably become powerful enough to match the Demiurge. Unable to contain his excitement, Jafar eagerly reached out to pick it up.

"Jafar! Wait!" Maleficent warned. "There may be a – "

But Jafar didn't listen. When he wrapped his fingers around the box, a pulsating flash of light radiated off of it and threw Jafar across the room into a column. Doom and Loki couldn't suppress a mocking bout of laughter at their ally's misfortune.

"Oh dear," Maleficent said with a sigh.

"My viper!" Hook cried out as he ran to Jafar's side. "Are you alright, mate?"

Jafar groaned as Hook helped him sit up. "Ugh, I'm fine! It'll take more than that to harm the most powerful man in the cosmos."

"Oh dear, Jafar, that was rather humiliating," Loki teased. "It would simply be a shame if some mischievous prankster were to show the other Overtakers a replay of what just occurred. Fortunately, you have nothing to worry about as no such footage exists."

"My armor records a detailed video diary of all within my immediate vicinity," Doom stated.

Loki mockingly winced. "That is an unlucky break. Well, at the very least, it would not be in character for Doom to publicly humiliate you... A shame that the same cannot be said regarding others present."

"If you DARE show the others that video, I will make whatever petty torments Odin crafted for you look like child's play," Jafar threatened as he used his staff to help himself back to his feet.

Maleficent rolled her eyes at her allies' squabbling and turned her attention back to the hatbox. "So, an enchantment of light magic protects the sorcerer's hat, but any spell can be broken. It is merely a question of how...."

Doom leaned in close to the hatbox and studied it intently. He ran his hands around the box without ever getting close enough to share Jafar's unfortunate fate as he read the energies surrounding the hat.

"Hmm, it seems as though the nature of the spell is to repel any who have yielded to the darkness within their heart," Doom announced. "Only one who has faced their inner darkness and turned away can break the spell."

"Well that certainly rules out any of us," Hook said with a sigh.

"Indeed, and that caveat is oddly specific," Loki sneered. "It won't be enough to simply trick a hero into retrieving it for us. They have to have grappled with darkness and chosen not to follow the left-hand path."

"How clever of Yen Sid," Maleficent grumbled under her breath.

She knew firsthand that Yen Sid himself had faced his inner darkness in his youth and turned away. His darkness, ironically enough, had been his affection for Maleficent. He'd chosen his insipid self-righteousness over her, and then he weaved that very choice into a protection spell to add insult to injury. If he were still alive, Maleficent would have killed him for that.

"What about that boy, Riku?" Jafar asked. "Surely he meets the requirements for the spell."

"Do you think anything through?" Loki asked in disbelief. "Truly, I wish to know how your mind operates. Because I cannot fathom a single scenario in which a viable solution to a protection spell would be alerting a Keyblade Master to our movements. Particularly not one who has proven himself capable of holding his own in battle against all of us combined."

"I applaud you for saying it so that I did not have to this time," Doom chimed in.

"Fine, fine, then if you don't want my input, then I'll just sit here quietly and let you fools figure it out by yourselves!" Jafar pouted and crossed his arms indignantly.

"Best idea he's had all day," Loki sneered.

"Gentlemen, are you villains or merely petulant children?" Maleficent asked. "We are all masters of manipulation and intimate with the ways of darkness. Surely the five of us can tempt some wretched light-hearted fool into providing us with exactly what we need."

"Aye, that we can," Hook agreed. "We just need to find a suitable mark. Alas, this world's populace was ravaged by the Dark Curse... and then again by the second Dark Curse. Our selection here may prove slightly limited."

"That's only if we limit ourselves to the locals of the Enchanted Forest," Doom pointed out. "We may find greater success on another world."

"That may be," Maleficent said, "but there may yet be one on this world of use to us if we only look closely."

Maleficent extended out her hand, and in a flash of green fire and darkness, her faithful raven Diablo appeared perched on her wrist.

"My pet, I have need of you," Maleficent said to her familiar. "Scour the skies. Find me one pure of heart whom I might use to break the protection spell."

Diablo nodded and took off, flying away towards the exit with focused determination.

"So, Hades, what exactly IS our strategy going into this?" Ursula asked as she, Hades, Russell, Ardyn, and Blackheart huddled up off to the side.

Briarius was currently in the process of stretching before the game, and his various hands protruding from the earth were stretching along with him. He looked intimidating, but that couldn't deter them now. They needed his recipe book, and winning was the only way to get it.

"Yeah, you said you beat this guy last time," Russell said. "What happened back then?"

"Back during the Titanomachy, Zeus caught wind of Cronus hiring Briarius to make the mortality potion, so he sent little old me to make sure that stuff never made it to dear old dad or any of the Titans," Hades explained. "We made a deal that if I could beat his game and make it past him to grab the potion, I'd get to keep it, and he and the other Hundred-Handers would throw their loyalty behind Zeus in the war."

"And you won, right?" Blackheart asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I did," Hades said, "but, uh, not exactly fairly. Ya see, I had a magic helmet of invisibility forged by the cyclopes. I slipped it on mid-match, disappeared from Briarius's sight, grabbed the potion, and took it off before he had any idea what just happened."

"You possess a helmet of invisibility?" Ardyn asked. "What a marvelous tool! How is it that we've never seen you use it? Well... I suppose we wouldn't see you use it at all, but the question remains."

"I had a helmet of invisibility," Hades corrected. "Past tense. It got stolen years ago by some hero name Perseus. It was one of a kind too! Custom made to fit my head and engraved! That sort of detailing does NOT come cheap!"

Ursula groaned and glared at Hades. "So, the only way that you won this challenge was with a trick that we can't duplicate? That about sum it up?"

"Babe, relax, we've got this!" Hades said. "There's five of us this time."

"And he has a hundred hands!" Russell argued. "That's ninety more than we do!"

"Eighty-four," Ursula corrected as she waved her six tentacles to illustrate her point.

Blackheart shrugged. "I like our odds, personally."

"HEY! Overtakers! We playin' or what?" Briarius called out. "Your time for a team huddle is up!"

"We're coming!" Hades called out before quickly turning back to his friends. "Look, just use your natural talents, and keep your eyes on the prize. We've got this!"

The other Overtakers were hardly convinced, but there was no time to craft an alternate plan. The five made their way over to the starting line where Briarius was waiting.

"Alright, you ready to play hard?" Briarius asked. "The recipe book's on top of the cliff. You get the book, you get to keep it, but if I catch all of you, it's game over."

"We've got the concept," Hades said.

"Then game on!" Briarius replied.

Russell was off like a shot. He zipped forward at vampiric speeds, moving so fast that he appeared to be a blur. In a matter of seconds, he zipped past Briarius's hands and ascended the cliff.

"YES!" Hades shouted, his fires flaring up with excitement.

However, just as Russell reached the top of the cliff, one of Briarius's hands emerged from the rocks and spiked Russell like a volley ball. The vampire fell hard and fast right into the clutches of one of Briarius's other hands down at the bottom of the cliff. He struggled to break free, but even with his vampiric strength, he wasn't strong enough to escape the giant's clutches.

"NO!" Hades roared as he turned bright orange.

"That's one down!" Briarius boasted.

Ardyn and Blackheart opted for a more direct approach. Both knew that they wouldn't be fast enough to get past Briarius's many hands, and that meant the only way forward was through them. Blackheart unleashed waves of hellfire and dark energy, and Ardyn called forth the glowing pink blades of the royal arms. Together, they unleashed their full might on Briarius's many hands, shattering the hands and little by little clearing the path forward. Unfortunately, for every hand they managed to destroy, more popped up in their place.

Hades glanced around to make sure Briarius's attention was focused on fighting off Blackheart and Ardyn before disappearing in a plume of gray smoke. He teleported up to the top of the cliff and glanced back at the battle raging down below.

"HA! Sucker," Hades laughed. "Y'know, for me, this is just smooth sailing."

Hades felt a tap on his shoulder. When he turned around to see who it was, one of Briarius's hands waved hello. Then, before Hades had time to put up a fight, the giant hand flicked Hades right on the nose, causing the Lord of the Dead's face to cave in. Hades groaned with pain and, with some effort, managed to pop his face back out to its normal state, but by the time that he did, Briarius had already grabbed ahold of him. The giant hands tossed him down to where Briarius already had a solid grip on Blackheart and Ardyn.

"Oy, he got you too?" Hades asked.

"Unfortunately, it would appear so," Ardyn lamented.

"Alright!" Briarius boasted. "Four down, and one to – "

"Oh Briarius!" a sultry voice called out.

Briarius glanced over to the source of the voice and saw that Ursula had grown into her giant form and was waving playfully at him. The seashell of her necklace glowed with golden light, and a mist of the same color poured out of the shell and began to fill Briarius's eyes.

"Holy Hera!" Briarius said, his mouth hanging slack. "A giant woman with all those hands to hold!"

Six of Briarius's giant hands emerged from the ground and gently held each of Ursula's tentacles. She grinned playfully and leaned her bosoms up against his muscular chest, allowing her face to get in close to his.

"Aren't you a big strong man?" Ursula asked as she felt up his muscles. "I'll bet you can get that recipe book for me!"

Briarius nodded excitedly. "Yeah! Of course! Sure thing!"

Briarius's hands grabbed the recipe book from the top of the cliff and passed it down to Ursula. She greedily snatched it up and proceeded to shrink herself back down to her normal height. The book shrunk with her, taking it from being the cookbook of a giant to a cookbook any mortal could read. Once she was back down to her normal height, she cleared her throat loudly.

"Huh? Oh! Sorry! I know what you mean," Briarius said.

The four hands grabbing onto Hades, Russell, Blackheart, and Ardyn all released their grip, setting her allies free. Satisfied that the game was well and truly over, Ursula snapped her fingers and released her hold over Briarius.

"Wha- what happened?" Briarius said as he shook the fog from his head.

"I believe I just won!" Ursula boasted as she held up the recipe book triumphantly.

"Ha HA! Ursie, babe, you are too much!" Hades remarked. "Good work, we couldn't have done it without you."

"No, you really couldn't have," Ursula scoffed. "You four ended up being dead weight."

"And she knows weight," Blackheart whispered to Ardyn, only to receive a smack on the back of his head from one of her tentacles. "OW!"

Ursula turned her glare away from Blackheart and back over to Hades. "So, what have we learned?"

Hades slumped over and sighed. "Always have a game plan."

"Exactly," Ursula nodded.

"Uh... I don't know what happened, but fair is fair," Briarius said. "You got the recipe book, so it's yours to keep. Good game, Overtakers!"

"Yeah, yeah, I want a fucking rematch," Russell declared. "I was almost there!"

"That's gonna have to wait," Hades said as he cracked his fingers and proceeded to summon up a Corridor of Darkness. "We're on a tight schedule, remember?"

The Overtakers proceeded towards the portal, but one of Briarius's hands emerged to block their path.

"Hold on a sec," Briarius said. "Um, just... real quick, before you go... Ursie, is it? Well.. I was just wondering if you might wanna go out with me sometime?"

Ursula laughed loudly at the question. "Oh, handsome, you're sweet, but I'm already in a long term relationship."

"Aww man," Briarius whined. "Ain't that always the way? The hot girls are always taken."

"Keep looking, tall stuff," Ursula advised. "One of these days, you'll find a woman who can measure up! HA!"

Blackheart winced at the pun. "Ugh, you're starting to become as bad as Jafar."

Laughter could be heard echoing from the green room of the Epcot theater from all the way down the hall. Rikku handed a couple beers to Paine and the other bandmates, and they gratefully accepted. Exhaustion did nothing to dull the natural pep in her step that Rikku always seemed to have.

"That was the best we've EVER sounded!" Rikku said happily.

Everyone raised their drinks to toast to that, and even Paine couldn't suppress a slight smile.

"It was a pretty good set," Paine agreed.

"You guys should really be proud of yourselves," the drummer chimed in. "You sounded amazing!"

"Thanks! But we couldn't have done it without Yunie!" Rikku said as she gestured dramatically to Yuna, only to realize that Yuna wasn't there. "Um... Yunie?"

After a brief moment of searching, Rikku and Paine spotted Yuna out on the balcony, leaning against the guardrail and staring wistfully out at the night sky. Physically, she was present, but mentally was another matter entirely.

"Hey," Paine said as she and Rikku came out to the balcony and stood to either side of Yuna. "Mind if we join you?"

"Hmm? Oh. No, go right ahead," Yuna said as she was brought back to reality.

"Why don't you come back to the party, Yunie?" Rikku asked. "Everyone thinks you did really good! Honest!"

"Thank you, but I don't much feel like celebrating right now," Yuna sighed.

"You want to talk about it?" Paine offered.

"Maybe," Yuna admitted. "It's just... I can't shake this feeling that we're doing something wrong. Like, really wrong. The whole reason we're doing these shows is because that's what the Overtakers want, and they don't do anything without an ulterior motive."

"Well... yeah... that's true, but... they told us why, right?" Rikku replied. "Cruella wants to sell her fashions. She might not be a very good person, but it's just clothes."

"Is it really just that?" Yuna asked. "Because I don't think it is. They have to have another reason."

"Maybe so, but we can't think about that right now," Paine said. "Whatever they're up to, if they even are up to something, we don't know, so we can't take that on our consciences."

"I can't accept that!" Yuna snapped. "That kind of thinking is what got us into this mess in the first place! If we'd just thought beyond Maleficent's offers of treasure and seen her for who she truly was, we wouldn't be indebted to the Overtakers today!"

Rikku and Paine both hung their heads and avoided Yuna's eye. They knew she was right, and the guilt weighed on them both. They'd been the ones obsessed with treasure, and they'd dragged Yuna along with them on their adventure to lift her spirits and to give her a new purpose after the tragedy she'd experienced. Yet, somehow, their best intentions led to Yuna being in this spot, worse off than ever before.

"Oh... I... I'm sorry, I don't... I'm not trying to blame either of you," Yuna said apologetically. "I... I guess I'm just tired from the show. That's all."

But before either of the girls had a chance to respond, the potent stench of cigarette smoke wafted out to the balcony.

"DARLINGS!" Cruella shouted as she burst into the green room. "Fabulous work tonight, everyone! Now, I need everyone out! I need to talk to my girls alone."

The band cleared the room in a matter of minutes, and the Gullwings came back inside to see what Cruella wanted.

"I have BIG news, darlings," Cruella said without waiting for them to ask. "Radiant Garden has been restored to its former glory once again!"

The Gullwings gasped, and their eyes widened with disbelief.

"Our home... it's back?" Yuna asked.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure it's quite an emotional thing for you, but that's not the important part," Cruella said with a dismissive wave of her cigarette. "The real news is that there's going to be a festival to celebrate the world's return, and as your manager, I've arranged for you to headline the concert!"

"No!" Yuna snapped.

Cruella's eyes widened in disbelief at what she'd just heard, and she slowly turned a furious glare upon Yuna.

"What?" Cruella asked, drawing out the vowel dramatically.

"We agreed to perform for you here in Epcot, but now you're asking us to trick the people of our home world," Yuna argued. "We're not going to help you take advantage of our people!"

Cruella laughed lightly at Yuna's insistence. "Oh, I see what the confusion is all about. I wasn't asking you to do anything; I was telling you what you're going to do."

"You can't force me to sing, Cruella!" Yuna shouted. "So I'm not going to – "

But Yuna didn't have the chance to finish before Cruella smacked her across the face with the back of her hand, making sure that the ring on her finger hit skin. Yuna clutched the side of her face in shock and pain and gasped with disbelief.

"Yunie!" Rikku cried with concern.

"Now listen, you idiots!" Cruella snapped. "You three joined Maleficent of your own volition, and you're going to hold up your end of the bargain. Because, if you don't... well, if you think getting made into a celebrity and singing in front of adoring crowds is torture, then you don't even know the least of what we can do."

Cruella held the burning end of her cigarette up close to Yuna's eye to illustrate her meaning.

"We understand, Cruella," Paine said as she pulled Yuna back and positioned herself between Yuna and Cruella. "We'll do the concert."

"Smashing!" Cruella said with a grin. "That's all I wanted to hear."

Cruella then turned away from the Gullwings and began to pace around the green room, admiring the décor (or, rather, redecorating it in her mind).

"Now then, we've made arrangements to put you up in the Gardener Suites, and Caleb Covington is working on your new single that you'll debut at the concert," Cruella explained.

"New single?" Yuna asked. "But we always write our own music!"

Cruella scowled at Yuna. "And this time, Caleb is writing your music. It'll sound more professional and better promote my garments this way. Speaking of which, I've a new line of dresspheres coming out next month, so I'll send you over preview samples to wear during the show."

"Can't wait!" Rikku said, trying and failing to muster enthusiasm.

"Now then, I've got to run, darlings," Cruella said as she flicked cigarette ash onto the ground. "Keep up the good work, and rest those voices! Cheerio, darlings, cheerio!"

With a mass of fur flouncing about and a cloud of putrid second-hand smoke following after her, Cruella departed the room through a Corridor of Darkness, leaving the Gullwings to reflect back on what just happened.

The purse containing Graham's heart fell into the time portal, and without the Overtakers to guide it to a specific location, no one could say where the items were headed. Graham Humbert realized very quickly that his heart had passed through the portal. He could feel Regina's control over him vanish, and his own free will was returning. Graham knew he couldn't let his heart be lost to him again, and so he ran to the well and dove into the portal himself. He didn't know where he was going, but he hoped to all the powers that be that he and his heart were connected enough to wind up in the same place.

"Graham! NO!" Regina's voice echoed from behind him, but he paid her no mind.

He felt himself enter the raw energy of the timeline, and though he vaguely felt as though he were descending through a tunnel, he could hardly say if that were real or just his mind's way of making sense of his surroundings. The purse was a hundred feet ahead, but Graham could still feel the beating of his heart within the bag. He extended his arm out in front of him, but he could not reach the bag no matter how hard he tried.

A pinprick of light began to shine out in front of the falling purse, and though the light started small, it very quickly grew bigger and closer with every passing second. The light quickly swallowed Graham, and for an instant, everything went white. Then, as quickly as it had come, the light vanished and Graham found himself sopping wet as he manifested in the middle of a forest currently experiencing a nighttime rainstorm. Though the woods were dark, they felt familiar to him, and somehow he just knew he was back in the Enchanted Forest, his real home.

The memories were still a bit fuzzy, but his dive through the timestream had caused his past to come back to him. Graham remembered his history as the huntsman, being raised by wolves, being an outcast among men, getting recruited by Regina to kill Snow White, sparing Snow White's life, losing his heart to Regina, and.... His heart.

Graham frantically looked around for Regina's purse, praying that it made the journey back to the Enchanted Forest with him. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the designer handbag sitting in a puddle of mud. Graham eagerly picked up the bag and removed the metal box sitting inside it. After undoing the heart and dagger shaped latch, Graham peered inside to see the glowing pink aura of his heart shining within. He was no sorcerer, so he wasn't exactly sure how to return the heart safely to his chest, but that was a solution for another day. He was free, he had his heart back, and he was home. That was what truly mattered the most to him.

The storm had let up and become a light drizzle when Graham heard a "CAW" sound from overhead. He glanced up, and his blood ran cold when he saw black wings flapping overhead. Graham couldn't tell if it was a raven or a crow due to the darkness, but he wasn't willing to take any chances. Regina used crows as spies from time to time, and though he didn't know when in the history of the Enchanted Forest he'd arrived, he refused to risk being caught by Regina again.

Graham ran deeper into the forest, clutching the box containing his heart tightly to his chest. He ducked and weaved through the brambles and foliage with the deft footwork of a wolf. How long had it been since he'd run like this? Despite the dread in his heart, he felt alive and like he could breathe for the first time in years... until the eruption of a flurry of green flames stopped him dead in his tracks and took his breath away.

"Well, well, well," Maleficent said as she, Hook, Jafar, Loki, and Doom emerged from the fire. "What have we here? A little lost huntsman?"

"Maleficent? Hook?" Graham asked as he looked between them. "Did you... did you follow me through the portal?"

"Portal? You mean the one in that alternate past version of Storybrooke?" Hook asked, furrowing his brow with confusion. "No, that was months ago."

A wry smile crept onto Maleficent's lips. "For us, perhaps, but it seems that the huntsman has only just arrived."

Graham studied the Overtakers intently. He'd met Maleficent and Hook briefly back in Storybrooke, but the other three men were strangers to him. However, judging by the company they kept, it was reasonably safe to assume they were enemies as well.

"Did Regina send you to get me back?" Graham asked cautiously.

"Regina does not have the power to send me anywhere," Maleficent said sharply with a tone that conveyed how offended she was by the mere insinuation.

"Or any of us, for that matter," Doom added. "We do not do the would be queen's bidding."

"And, fortunately for you, she's at present the prisoner of a cosmic deity," Hook added. "We couldn't return you to her even if we wanted to."

Graham visibly relaxed slightly upon hearing that. "Then what do you want from me?"

"What indeed?" Loki asked as he circled around Graham like a vulture, admiring the huntsman's various attributes. "I can think of a great many uses for you...."

"Loki," Doom scolded, shooting his husband a glare.

Loki rolled his eyes and sighed. "Must you spoil all my fun?"

"If he didn't, I was going to have to," Jafar sneered.

"I thought you weren't talking anymore today?" Loki retorted. "Can we return to that state? I was enjoying the peace and serenity of a universe healing without your foul breath polluting the air."

"Here we go again," Hook sighed as he massaged his eyes.

"Oh, was that supposed to hurt me?" Jafar asked, putting on a mocking air of despondence. "Bah! Not good enough, Liesmith! You may claim to have a silver-tongue, but from where I'm sitting, it is nothing more than common copper!"

As the Overtakers became enraptured in their argument, Graham eyed an opening to his left and swiftly made a move to escape the villains. However, as soon as he took a single step in that direction, a violet bolt of lightning struck the ground in front of him, causing Graham to stumble backward.

"I did not dismiss you," Maleficent said as she glared intensely at Graham.

"I have nothing to give," Graham argued. "And if you're not giving me back to Regina, then I'm of no use to any of you."

"That is where you are mistaken," Maleficent stated. "We know your tale quite well, huntsman. You were sent to kill the fair Snow White, yet you refused and spared her life. One might even say that you faced your innermost darkness and turned away."

"What of it?" Graham asked.

"We had thought to tempt one pure of heart into doing precisely that," Maleficent explained, "but with you having come along at the most opportune moment, I believe you will suffice for breaking the protection spell."

"What protection spell?" Graham pressed further.

"An insignificant yet annoying little spell placed on a hat," Loki answered, "and you have the power to break it."

"Why do you want it broken?" Graham replied. "Is this a part of some sinister plan?"

"Bloody Hell, you're asking too many questions," Hook groaned. "You're going to come with us to break this spell, or you'll suffer a fate worse than whatever pain Regina put you through. Are we clear, mate?"

The orb atop Maleficent's staff began to glow green menacingly, the eyes of Jafar's snake staff seemed to spiral, Loki flexed his fingers and grinned devilishly at Graham, and Doom simply crossed his arms confidently. Graham swallowed hard as he realized that making another break for it was a fool's errand. Whatever it was the Overtakers were planning, he had little choice but to go along with it.

"Tell me what I have to do."

Chapter Text

"Oswald!" Fish called out as she entered the Iceberg Lounge. "Oswald, are you here?"

At night, Penguin's nightclub was one of the hottest places to see and be seen, but during the daylight hours, it was something of a ghost town. That in and of itself was not unusual, but with the possibility that Penguin had gotten captured by the Demiurge, the quiet sent shivers down Fish's spine.

"Fish is that you?"

Fish breathed a sigh of relief as Penguin came hobbling out of his office.

"Ah, Fish, good to see you! To what do I owe this pleasure?" Penguin asked before picking up on her uneasy demeanor. "Is something wrong?"

"You don't know," Fish shook her head. "There's been an attack on the Overtaken Kingdom. Most of our forces have been captured, and the Eminence Palace was taken from us."

Penguin's eyes went wide and his jaw hung slack. "No! H-how can this be?"

"Never mind that part right now," Fish said. "Has anyone been with you here in Gotham?"

"Just Ed," Penguin said, shaking his head.

"Damn, damn, damn!" Fish spat. "I was hoping Kieran and Sid might have escaped with you, but it's looking more and more like they were captured with the others. Wait... where is Riddler?"

"He's off dealing with a problem we were having with some lunatic moron calling himself the 'Clock King,'" Penguin explained. "Should I have him come here?"

"No, that's not necessary, but make sure he knows to stay away from the Overtaken Kingdom," Fish ordered, and Penguin quickly sent Riddler a text to relay the message.

"Dare I ask who all escaped?" Penguin asked.

"At the moment, we're still trying to get a head count," Fish answered. "Aside from us, the ones we know made it out of there are Ursula, Maleficent, Hades, Doom, Loki, Russell, Steve, Jafar, Hook, Grimhilde, Cruella, Ardyn, Blackheart, Caleb, Imperious, Watts, and the Sanderson Sisters. Everyone else is still MIA."

"That's about fifty Overtakers unaccounted for," Penguin said, utterly horrified as he did the mental math. "What could have done that to us?"

"A creature called the Demiurge," Fish replied. "He's... well, you know how Grimhilde is the source of the stories about the Evil Queen and Loki's the source of the Norse myths about him?"

"Mmhmm," Penguin nodded.

"Apparently this guy's the inspiration for the stories about God," Fish said nonchalantly.

Penguin blinked twice slowly before replying. "I'm sorry... what?"

"Yes, it was weird for me too," Fish said. "Don't let it get in your head. He's not what you think, and we've got a couple ideas for how to bring him back down to his knees."

"What can I do?" Penguin asked.

"For now, you and Riddler need to stay in Gotham," Fish ordered. "The other surviving Overtakers and I are holed up in Villains Vale, and it's already a tight squeeze without trying to make room for you two. Besides, wars against gods... that's not even really in my league, let alone yours. No, I need you here in this city keeping our operations running so that we have a steady flow of resources."

"Done and done," Penguin agreed. "But are you sure there's nothing more we can do? I hate being so disconnected from the rest of the team."

Fish wagged her finger and clicked her tongue twice. "No, keeping all of our eggs in one basket was what went wrong last time. I'm not risking you sharing Kieran's fate."

Fish swallowed hard at saying Kieran's name. Out of all the potential losses, his hurt the most. She'd gladly trade every other lesser Overtaker just for Kieran if she had the power to make that trade, and Penguin knew it well. He placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder.

"He might have made it out," Penguin said. "We don't know for certain what happened. I'll have my men keeping a close eye on the city in case he turns up here."

Fish forced herself to smile. "You're a good boy, Oswald. I'm glad you're okay."

"Likewise," Penguin nodded. "And if there's anything else I can do to help with this fight, name it!"

"There is one thing," Fish said.

Penguin made a gesture as if to say that the floor was hers and that he was listening.

"I need a kitchen staff and a cleaning crew."

Jafar roughly shoved Graham towards the pedestal in the center of the underground chamber, the small box containing the sorcerer's hat sitting on top of it looking out of place and yet somehow of great importance all at once. As Graham glanced back behind him, he saw that Doom, Loki, Hook, and Maleficent formed a wall blocking the only exit. No running away.

"Go," Maleficent ordered. "Remove the box and break the enchantment."

Graham looked back to Maleficent with an intense glare. He hated being ordered about like a pet, but there wasn't anything he could do. The Overtakers outnumbered and overpowered him, and though he longed for nothing more than to escape without helping their evil ambitions, he had no idea how to go about doing that. His only hope was to do as he was told and pray that they would leave him be after they got what they wanted.

Graham clutched the box containing his heart tightly against his chest with one hand and then with the other reached out to grab the sorcerer's hat. However, as Graham's fingertips touched the lid of the hatbox, a magic barrier sparked and pushed his hand away.

"Agh, it didn't work," Graham said as he shook his free hand to alleviate the pain.

"Hmm, isn't that odd," Maleficent mused as she tapped the orb atop her staff in contemplation.

Jafar growled with frustration. "Why is it that he only got a slap on the wrist, whilst I was THROWN ACROSS THE ROOM?"

"The enchantment was designed to repel those who have yielded to the darkness," Doom answered. "You practically swim in shadows; the huntsman clearly does not."

"Are you certain you understand the nature of the protection spell?" Hook asked. "What if we got it wrong?"

"Doom is NEVER wrong," Doom snapped. "It must be the huntsman. He must have more darkness in his heart than we thought."

"I fear you may be correct," Graham said, earning a suspicious glance from Loki. "But if I'm of no further use to you, then perhaps you might- "

"No, we were not mistaken about either the enchantment or the huntsman," Maleficent interrupted. "The spell should have lifted for one who has turned away from their inner darkness, as the huntsman has. Something else is interfering with the magic...."

As the other Overtakers contemplated the spell, Loki smirked and slowly began to cackle.

"Something you wish to share with the rest of us?" Hook asked.

"Just that I've figured out the reason for this little roadblock," Loki said. "Dear huntsman, you've been carrying around that little box since we found you. Why don't you allow me to hold onto it?"

In a blur of green light, the box containing Graham's heart disappeared from under his arm and reappeared in Loki's clutches. For a moment, Graham didn't fully register what had just occurred, but when he realized that Loki had stolen his box, he made a move to attack the God of Mischief. However, before Graham could do so, Hook drew his sword and pointed it at Graham, warning the huntsman not to try anything further.

"Just as I thought," Loki mused as he cracked open the box to peak inside. "The reason our huntsman did not pass the test of heart is simply because his heart is not within his chest!"

Loki held up the heart dramatically to illustrate his point.

"Yes, yes, that would explain it," Maleficent said.

"What a naughty huntsman withholding such a profound secret from us," Loki scolded, "but you cannot trick a trickster! Come forward!"

With Loki holding his heart in his hand, Graham had no choice but to obey. He walked over to Loki, and with a rough thrust, Loki shoved the heart back into Graham's chest. Graham winced in pain and suddenly began to tear up. After years of living without his heart and without emotions, getting to feel again was overwhelming.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure this is quite the emotional moment for you, but we are on a tight schedule," Loki said as he guided Graham back over to the center pedestal. "Get me the hat, or I will remove the heart from your chest again."

Graham swallowed hard and nodded. "I'll do it. Don't worry, I'll do it."

Graham reached out for the small hatbox, and this time, as his fingers touched the metal siding, he was able to grab ahold of it. The box flashed with golden light before fizzling out as Graham removed it. Loki wasted no time before snatching the box out of Graham's hand.

"I do believe I'll be taking that," Loki said as he admired the box.

"Wonderful work," Maleficent beamed. "This should prove to be quite useful for our plans."

"Then my job here is done?" Graham asked. "I'm free to go?"

"Free to go?" Loki asked coyly as he passed the hat over to Maleficent. "Doth mine ears deceive me? Surely the huntsman jests!"

"Please," Graham begged. "Have mercy! I'm of no further use to you. Please don't send me back to Regina!"

"Regina? Now, who said anything about Regina?" Loki asked. "With Ironwood taken from us, the Overtakers are down a huntsman, and you will do quite nicely filling the void. Should you serve us well, I will personally ensure that Regina is never able to take you back."

Green magic snaked from Loki's hand to Graham's before solidifying into a green mystic chain linking the two men's wrists together. Graham struggled to break free, but Loki's grip was far too strong.

"Now then," Loki said with a grin as he turned to face the other Overtakers. "Shall we return to Villain's Vale and gloat about our triumph to the others?"

Grimhilde scowled as she looked upon her hideous reflection in the mirror's glass. She hadn't had the time to transform back into her queenly form in days, and that didn't seem likely to change in the foreseeable future. Thus far, the only Overtakers that she'd been able to confirm had escaped the Demiurge were Penguin and Riddler by virtue of them being in Gotham at the time of the attack. The others seemed to be lost, at least for now, and Grimhilde wasn't sure how to even begin to get them back.

"Trouble with the Mirror, darling?" Cruella asked as she entered their shared bedroom where Grimhilde had placed the Magic Mirror. "It's not telling you that horrid shrill-voiced little girl is prettier again, is it?"

"Thankfully, it hasn't," Grimhilde said with a chuckle. "No, I fear it's a matter of greater concern to our assemblage as a whole. I've been scrying for allies who escaped the Demiurge, but I've yet to find anyone of value who managed to evade capture. Those of us who made it to Villain's Vale may indeed be the last Overtakers left."

"At least we ended up together," Cruella pointed out. "I would be simply miserable without you!"

Grimhilde smiled, showing off her missing teeth. "Flattery will get you everywhere, dearie. But I must concur. Even facing the gods above becomes a bit less daunting with you by my side."

"Of course! I'll, at the very least, make sure no one is buried in anything less than fabulous outfits," Cruella declared with a laugh.

"That you will," Grimhilde nodded. "Speaking of which, how are things with your songstress fashion models? I do hope you've been having greater luck at your task than I have with mine."

"I'm having to crack the whip, but the Gullwings are starting to get the memo," Cruella relayed. "Although, that Yuna's going to be difficult. If she weren't the star of the show, I'd have terminated her contract already."

"Perhaps she simply needs a touch of... motivation," Grimhilde said slyly. "When Snow White was a little girl, I found it necessary to break her spirit. I took away her toys, her beautiful dresses, and the luxuries she'd enjoyed as a princess, and then I had her work as a scullery maid for her supper. She fell in line quite nicely."

"Hmm," Cruella mused as she tapped her cigarette holder against her chin in contemplation. "You might just have a fabulous idea there, darling! She still has her two little friends, and that means she has something to lose."

Grimhilde and Cruella cackled wickedly at the notion.

"There you have it! There you have it!" Grimhilde declared.

A knock at the door interrupted their jubilant moment.

"Who is it?" Grimhilde asked, not even bothering to mask her irritation at being interrupted.

"It's me," Watts said as he opened the door and slipped into the room. "I heard laughter, and I thought I'd come see if you'd made any progress on finding the missing Overtakers."

Grimhilde shook her head and looked away. "No such luck. Your lover, my huntsman, is still beyond our grasp."

"More's the pity," Watts sighed. "I suppose I should have expected as much... or as less as the case may be."

"Watch yourself," Grimhilde warned. "I enjoy your company, doctor, but I don't care for what you're implying."

"I... meant no offense," Watts backtracked. "Merely expressing frustration at our circumstances."

"On that, we can certainly agree," Grimhilde nodded.

"Well, since there are no updates to be had, I should return to my work," Watts said, forcing a smile. "Public records of our nefarious endeavors won't erase themselves, after all."

Once Watts had left the room and shut the bedroom door behind him, Cruella turned back to Grimhilde.

"He's not taking this well at all, is he, darling?" Cruella asked.

"Are any of us?" Grimhilde huffed.

"True enough, but as we said before, at least we have each other," Cruella pointed out. "The poor doctor needs a little reminder that he's not all by his lonesome."

"And what are you suggesting?" Grimhilde asked. "No, wait, let me guess. You want to throw a party."

Cruella grinned widely. "You know me so well! Nothing's better for the soul than loud music, heavy drinking, and dancing until you drop!"

"Speak for yourself," Grimhilde snarled. "Last time I danced until I dropped, I was strapped into a pair of red hot iron shoes."

Cruella winced at the thought. "Ew, sorry darling, poor choice of words. But you know a party would be good for morale. Besides, we have a good excuse to throw one since it's about to be the first week of April."

Grimhilde's eyes widened and she clutched her forehead with exasperation. "AGH! It is almost April! I'd nearly forgotten! A curse on the sign of Aries for producing so many Overtakers at once! How many birthdays do we still have to concern ourselves with as of the Demiurge attack?"

"Let's see...," Cruella said as she opened up her phone to check the calendar. "There's Loki on the first, of course."

"The original April fool," Grimhilde muttered.

"Then Hades is on the fourth," Cruella continued. "Both Maleficent and Jafar are on the fifth, Russell's is on the ninth, and then finally Hook is the thirteenth. Oh, and Ardyn's is on the thirtieth, but that's at the end of the month."

"He's a Taurus; he doesn't count," Grimhilde said. "We have to deal with the six Aries first."

"And deal with Jafar and Maleficent being divas about having the same birthday," Cruella reminded her girlfriend. "If we just plan one big party in early April, we can get them all out of the way in one go."

Grimhilde contemplated this for a moment before finally saying, "Fine, fine! One party for all the infernal birthdays. But are you certain you'll be able to plan the party and the Gullwings concert?"

Cruella shot Grimhilde a look and said, "Darling, did you really just ask me that? This is what I do!"

"Then I'll leave it to you," Grimhilde nodded.

"Smashing!" Cruella declared. "But I need one favor first!"

"What's that?" Grimhilde asked.

"You've been in that wretched old hag form for too long," Cruella sneered. "Go take a break and turn yourself back into the Queen. You'll feel much better, and I'll reward you with a kiss when you get back... and maybe even a little bit more."

Grimhilde chuckled to herself. "As you wish, dearie. As you wish."

Hades opened Briarius's recipe book and laid it out on the large table in the center of his throne room in the Underworld. Ursula and Russell gathered in close, and Ardyn and Blackheart lingered off to the side so as not to crowd.

"Well, this is all Greek to me," Russell said slyly, earning a swat on the shoulder from Ursula.

"Honestly, you're as bad as Jafar," Ursula groaned. "What does it say, Hades?"

"Looks like the mortality potion is made outta the entrails of a monster called the Ophiotaurus," Hades explained. "There's a bit more to it, but that's the main ingredient that makes it all come together."

"Hmm, how odd! In all my travels, I cannot say I have ever encountered or even heard of an Ophiotaurus," Ardyn remarked.

"Me neither," Ursula agreed. "But, given the etymology, I'm guessing it's a creature that's part bull, part snake."

Hades clicked his tongue and pointed at Ursula. "Got it in one, babe. The head and front legs of a bull and the business end of a snake to be precise."

"And I'm guessing it's not exactly a common creature, is it?" Blackheart asked.

Hades shook his head. "No such luck. The Hecatoncheires hunted them to extinction back when Olympus was new."

Russell groaned. "So you're tellin' me we've hit another dead end?"

"Out of all the worlds in all the cosmos, surely there's at least one with an Ophiotaurus," Ardyn suggested. "Perhaps we simply must ask her majesty for the use of the Magic Mirror?"

"It's as good an idea as any," Ursula nodded. "Put a pin in that until we get back to - "

"Pardon us, your diabolicalnesses," Panic interrupted as he and Pain scurried into the throne room.

"Oy, WHAT IS IT?" Hades shouted as his flames turned bright orange. "I've TOLD you two IDIOTS not to bother me when I'm involved in OVERTAKER BUSINESS! And WHAT does it look like I'm doing right now?"

"Uh... Overtaker business?" Pain asked.

"BINGO!" Hades snapped. "So you'd better have a VERY GOOD reason for interrupting!"

"Well, um, you remember Auron, right?" Panic asked.

"The guy you brought up out of the Underworld's dungeon to fight Hercules," Pain reminded Hades, "but then he betrayed you and teamed up with Sora and said 'this is my story and you're not part of - '"

"I KNOW!" Hades snapped as the other Overtakers stifled a giggle. "You don't have to rehash every little itsy-bitsy detail. I remember that punk. Wish I didn't, but I do. What about 'im?"

"He's been spotted wandering around the Underworld again," Panic reported, flinching prematurely to avoid Hades's wrath. "We're not exactly sure what he's doing down here, but he's cut down every single one of your monsters that have gotten in his way."

"Even Cerberus?" Hades asked, his eyes widening at the thought.

"Uh-huh, yup," the two imps said as they nodded in unison.

Ardyn just barely managed to erect a shield of energy around himself, Blackheart, Ursula, and Russell to avoid being caught in the fiery explosion of Hades's temper tantrum. Pain and Panic were not so lucky, and their screams of pain echoed even louder than Hades's roars of anger. Russell pulled a pair of sunglasses out of his jacket pocket and slipped them on as the fires blazed brightly in front of him.

"What? Just because I can daywalk doesn't mean these vampire eyes of mine aren't still a bit sensitive to bright lights," Russell said after he noticed the expression on his friends' faces.

"You'll hear no judgment from me. I only wish that I'd thought of that myself," Ardyn replied.

Finally, Hades's fires died down, and he was left panting and steaming in the center of the chamber. Pain and Panic, on the other hand, were covered in ash and essentially welded to the wall.

"He killed my dog! That son of a Pasiphaë killed. MY. DOG!" Hades growled.

"Um... you're the Lord of the Dead," Blackheart pointed out as Ardyn let down the barrier spell. "Can't you just snap your fingers and bring Cerberus and your other monsters back from the dead?"

"Helloooooo, anybody home in there?" Hades asked as he tapped Blackheart's forehead. "OF COURSE I can! And I'm gonna do that. But that's a real pain in my flame, and that means I'm gonna have to settle with Mr. Guardian MYSELF!"

"Not just by yourself," Ursula declared. "We're still here to give you a little back up. You know what they say, many hands make light work, and many tentacles make for drowned heroes. HA!"

"Yes please! I haven't gotten to kill anyone in weeks," Blackheart said. "I wanted to slaughter that Briarius guy, but I'll settle for carving out Auron's skull and wearing it as a hat."

"Mmm, sounds tasty," Russell remarked. "Be sure and leave me his blood."

"I too look forward to ending the misguided reign of one who fancies himself a hero," Ardyn agreed. "Shall we venture forth?"

Hades grinned devilishly as he looked over his allies. "I like the way you folks think. In that case, let's get a move on, people! We've got a Guardian to catch off guard!"

"Alright, let's take it from the top!" Caleb ordered. "Five, six, seven, eight!"

Yuna, Rikku, and Paine began to go through the motions of the intricate choreography that Caleb had given them, twirling and posing dramatically to the beat of his song.

"Yuna, are you having fun?" Caleb asked.

"Yes," Yuna lied.

"Then tell that to your face," Caleb ordered. "You've got to sell this; all eyes are on you. If you look uncomfortable, the audience will feel uncomfortable, and that's bad for everyone. So, keep going, this time with a big smile, and make me believe it!"

Yuna put on a big fake smile and tried to lighten her expression as she continued dancing.

"Now you just look like you've got bad gas," Caleb groaned. "Soften it up. You've gotta look glamorous, sexy, fun, and joyful all at the same time. Come on, I know you can do it."

Yuna wasn't exactly feeling the joy that Caleb wanted to see in her performance, and trying to make herself look happy when she wasn't was a daunting task. Fortunately for her, before Caleb could chastise her further, Paine mistepped and tripped mid-dance, pulling Caleb's attention away from Yuna.

"Stop, stop, stop, stop!" Caleb said, and the Gullwings did as he ordered. "Paine, what's going on? You were off beat and off your mark. Here..."

Caleb transformed into a wisp of lavender smoke and flew into Paine's mouth, causing Yuna and Rikku to gasp in horror. Paine's eyes turned deep purple as Caleb began to possess her.

"See, what you're doing is this," Caleb said through Paine's voice.

Caleb, wearing Paine's body like a meat suit, recreated the same exact misstep and trip that she'd just done.

"But what you need to be doing is this," Caleb as Paine said as he made her do the correct choreography. "You feel the difference? See how much more fluid that is? It's all one motion. Alright, your turn."

Caleb's soul flew back out of Paine's mouth and resumed his usual form in front of her.

"What the Hell was that?" Paine asked. "You have no right to - "

"I'm not seeing the dance move," Caleb interrupted. "Do you want me to tell Cruella you're not being cooperative?"

Paine huffed but said nothing. She repeated the same dance move that Caleb had just done, this time doing it perfectly on her own.

"See, I knew you could do it," Caleb said with a debonair grin. "Alright, let's take it from the top. Happier Yuna, Paine on beat, and Rikku... you just keep doing what you're doing. Okay. Five, six, seven - "

"I was not aware that dancing was the height of our ambitions," Loki said as he, Maleficent, Doom, Jafar, Hook, and Graham entered the chamber. "Truly the most sinister of our exploits."

Maleficent glared intensely at Yuna, Rikku, and Paine, and the Gullwings did everything they could to look away from her. Clearly, there were still a plethora of hard feelings for the trio's betrayal during the Battle of Hollow Bastion. Caleb knew Maleficent wouldn't want to speak of her plans in front of the three women, and rehearsal would have to wait.

"Ladies, take five, please," Caleb said to the Gullwings.

Yuna, Rikku, and Paine quickly scurried off to the parlor that Caleb had designated as their temporary dressing room in Villain's Vale. Once the trio shut the door behind them, Caleb turned his attention back to Maleficent and flashed her a charming smile.

"I know what it looks like, but this is actually a very important part of the amnesia spell," Caleb explained. "You see, the song I wrote them is actually- "

"I do not micromanage," Maleficent interrupted. "So long as your task is completed, I care little for how it comes to pass. You have earned a great deal of trust from me, Caleb Covington. See to it that I have no reason to doubt that trust."

Caleb bowed graciously. "Thank you, your excellency. Did your trip to Yen Sid's tower go well?"

The Overtakers began to discuss the events that transpired in the Enchanted Forest, but the eavesdroppers weren't listening. Yuna moved away from the crack of the parlor door and covered her mouth with her hand.

"Did you hear what they said?" Yuna asked Rikku and Paine. "The song we're performing is an amnesia spell!"

"We don't know that for sure," Rikku argued. "Maleficent cut Caleb off before he could say what our song - "

"Oh, wake up and smell the darkness, Rikku!" Yuna snapped. "We can't keep helping them hurt people and feigning ignorance! I know in my heart that I'm right."

"Yeah, you probably are," Paine admitted. "But what can we do about it? You saw what Caleb did to me when I made a mistake."

"Yeah!" Rikku nodded. "And think about what he'd do if we actually tried to go against him! He could like... take over our bodies and make us jump into a piranha tank or something! And that's not even taking into account the other Overtakers and their powers!"

"It's a lose-lose situation," Paine added.

"You two might not be brave enough to do anything about it," Yuna said, "but I'm not gonna let them have their way."

Rikku and Paine looked down in shame, and for a moment, the three just stood their in silence until Caleb teleported into the parlor.

"So sorry about that, ladies," Caleb said. "Just had to have a little chit-chat with my friends. Now, let's get back to rehearsal! I know you're going to just wow me at the show!"

Caleb put his arms around Rikku and Paine and escorted them back out to the main hall, all the while humming the tune of his song to himself. Yuna hung back for a moment as she checked to make sure the piece of sheet music she'd tucked into her dress was still there, and she smiled when she confirmed that it was.

"Oh, I plan on wowing you at the show, alright...."

Chapter Text

"Oh this is going to be perfect!" Caleb said as he admired the stage that had been set up in the Castle Gates area of Radiant Garden.

There was plenty of standing room out in the courtyard to draw in a sizable crowd, decorations had been hung up all around to give the area a festive feeling, and vendors had already begun setting up booths along the edge of the courtyard. The festival to celebrate the return of Radiant Garden was gearing up already to be a smashing success.

"You've truly out done yourself this time, my dear!" Caleb declared as he gave Cruella a pat on the back.

"Of course I have, darling," Cruella agreed. "I'm Cruella De Vil!"

She punctuated her statement with a villainous cackle that echoed throughout the courtyard.

"I hope my girls haven't been giving you too much trouble," Cruella added.

"Nothing I couldn't handle," Caleb confirmed. "They picked up the routine pretty quickly once I gave them the necessary push. I'm sure they're going to kill it tomorrow night!"

"Mmm, don't threaten me with a good time," Cruella laughed.

Caleb joined her in laughter before noticing Imperious strolling past the vendors, admiring the various booths whilst fanning himself dramatically.

"But you'll have to excuse me," Caleb said to Cruella. "I have... something else I need to do."

Caleb teleported away from Cruella and reappeared by Imperious's side, just as the mummy wizard was examining a rather gaudy necklace at one of the accessory stands.

"Tell me the truth, do you think I could pull it off?" Imperious asked.

"Pull it off?" Caleb repeated. "I think I'd have to kill you if you put it on."

"I suppose it would clash with my... well... everything else," Imperious said as he tossed the necklace unceremoniously back to the vendor. "Is everything ready for tomorrow?"

"I think so," Caleb nodded as he led Imperious out of earshot of the various vendors. "The song should work, the girls have the choreo down, Cruella's got the event set up, and the Sandersons have put fliers all over town to get people to come out. I think that rounds off the to-do list!"

"A pity we had to waste such an opportunity on a memory spell," Imperious bemoaned. "We could have used the song to make the two of us the kings of this world! We still could, if you're so inclined...."

Caleb shook his head. "It's that line of thinking that led to your dismissal from the Overtakers the first time. I doubt Maleficent will be as forgiving if you double-cross her again."

"No, I suppose not," Imperious sighed. "Though it is amusing. Even after my return to the Overtakers, I have been looked upon as duplicitous, excluded from the new Inner Circle in favor of sycophants. But now look! They're gone, and I'm still here!"

"A lucky windfall!" Caleb agreed. "As terrible as this dilemma with the Demiurge may be, this could be a golden opportunity for you to win Maleficent's favor."

"I suppose so," Imperious nodded. "The only question is how to go about doing that...."

"Well, helping with the amnesia spell is a good start," Caleb pointed out. "I'll be sure to give you ample credit for your contributions."

"Yes, but the spell is mostly your doing, my dear," Imperious said. "I need something that'll show her exactly how valuable I truly am."

Caleb thought for a moment before answering. "Well, I don't know if you've heard yet, but Maleficent's scouting party has returned with a magic hat capable of absorbing magic that she believes they can fill with enough power to match the Demiurge. If you were to know of a source of power to fill up the hat...."

"Ahhhhh!" Imperious's mouth crept into a devious grin, and he chuckled to himself as possibilities danced around in his head.

In the topmost tower of Villain's Vale, Maleficent placed the small box on the circular stone table in the center of the chamber. She waved her staff over the box, and in a blur of light and purple smoke, the sorcerer's hat emerged, conical and with what appeared to be a swirling galaxy of stars within its fabric.

"The sorcerer's hat is finally ours!" Maleficent declared triumphantly.

Jafar, Loki, and Doom looked on with varying degrees of excitement and hunger for power, but Hook regarded the magic hat with a look of distrust and uncomfortability.

"Aye, I'd recognize that treacherous headpiece anywhere," Hook stated, scowling at the sight of it. "That's the very same hat the Dark One attempted to sacrifice me to in order to cleave himself from the dagger."

"Hmm, perhaps we should finish what the Dark One started," Loki said slyly, earning him an annoyed glare from Hook.

"The stars shimmering in the hat bring back fond memories of the cosmos bending to my will," Jafar mused.

"Unfortunately, the hat does not contain the power to do that just yet," Doom stated. "Once we fill it with enough power, that will change."

"Indeed, it will," Hook declared. "I've seen it firsthand. But it took the Dark One an entire convent of fairies and a sorcerer's apprentice to become powerful enough for his spell, and our task is considerably more daunting."

"Defeating a being whom many consider their God was never meant to be a simple task," Maleficent said. "However, we are better equipped than any to achieve it. All the worlds of the cosmos are at our disposal, as are all the magics housed within."

"We should prioritize magical wellsprings beneath the notice of the heroes or the gods," Doom added. "The longer we can delay their meddling, the better."

"I know better than to believe we can stave off their infuriating presence for long, but you're right," Maleficent agreed. "We should at least attempt to make headway bereft of interference, and I have a few potential targets that we may consider."

"As do I," Jafar chimed. "We should all begin compiling a list of targets for the hat's power."

"A task that you four..." Loki said before glancing at Hook, "...three can more than handle on your own. I, on the other hand, have another task that requires my attention."

Doom narrowed his eyes at Loki. "The huntsman you brought back with us? You are playing with fire with that one, and you well know it."

Loki laughed a little at that. "My dear Victor, fire may burn, but it also brings life with it, and what use is living if you cannot feel alive?"

Doom simply shook his head and waved Loki along. "Go then. Doom does not micromanage."

Loki gave his allies a quick bow and took his leave, vanishing in a flash of green light and rematerializing in the dungeons beneath Villain's Vale. Absent Maleficent's goblins, the dungeons had no guards, but given that all of the Overtakers' prisoners were kept in the now lost Eminence Palace, that wasn't really an issue. Loki supposed the Demiurge or one of his godly allies had attended to them. Sarah Newlin, at least, would deludedly consider it her salvation or the Rapture or some other religious nonsense that Loki had no time for. None of them mattered anymore.

Loki removed the protection spell from the cell door and let himself in. Inside the chamber, Graham was sprawled out on the small cot he'd been given for a bed and quickly pulled the sheets over himself to cover up when Loki entered.

"Enjoying your time in the dungeon?" Loki asked slyly.

"Don't you knock?" Graham asked gruffly.

"No, I do not," Loki shook his head. "And here I thought you'd have been more pleased to see me."

"And why would I ever be happy to see you?" Graham asked in disbelief.

"Ignoring certain... tell tale signs," Loki said with a knowing glance, "I've come to let you out of your cage... temporarily, that is. Get dressed. I have something I wish to show you."

After Graham put on the clean clothes that Loki had given him, the two made their way into Radiant Garden proper and began to leisurely stroll through the marketplace. While not exactly bustling with people the way that it had been before the fall to darkness, the marketplace had already begun to return to normalcy following the Demiurge's restoration. There was a slight sense of trepidation in the air, almost as though everyone was afraid that this was too good to be true, but that didn't stop the Radiant Gardeners from going about their day to day lives. Loki snaked through the crowds with Graham in tow, eavesdropping on the various conversations being held around him.

"I heard the gods interceded on our behalf! Can you believe it?"

"But why now? Why not before? I'm telling you, something strange is going on."

"I see the end and new beginning of the world hasn't prompted McDuck to lower his prices."

"I'm trying to sell my condo in Traverse Town, but no one's buying. Property values are dropping rapidly!"

"I hear the Gullwings are performing this weekend. You going?"

"Why are we here, Loki?" Graham asked, breaking Loki's concentration.

"Such ingratitude!" Loki replied. "And here I thought you would enjoy being out and about in a bustling town once again."

"I've never been one for people," Graham said as he sneered at the sight of a woman loudly berating a store clerk about their shop's quality of merchandise. "They're self-serving and lack honor."

Loki had to laugh at that reply. "You'll hear no arguments from me. I suppose you'd prefer a romp in the woods, then?"

"I would," Graham nodded.

"I shall have to keep that in mind," Loki mused as he beckoned for Graham to follow him into a coffee shop.

Immediately upon entering the small café, Graham was greeted by the sweet smell of coffee that instantly made him feel more awake and alert. The display case of doughnuts behind the counter practically called out to him, and his stomach began to rumble. This did not go unnoticed by Loki.

"Here," Loki said as he took Graham's hand and conjured a handful of munny in his palm. "Buy whatever you'd like, and get a drink for me as well."

"What do you want?" Graham asked.

Loki shrugged. "I'll simply have whatever you're having."

Graham eyed Loki suspiciously but did not argue. If Graham didn't know any better, he'd think he was on a coffee date, but even though they'd only just met, he knew Loki too well for that. The only way to find out what the God of Mischief was up to was to follow where he led. Graham took the munny and bought two regular coffees and a bear claw for himself. Loki then waved him over to a dimly lit table in the corner, and they had a seat.

"This is a good vantage point to see the room," Graham remarked as he slid the spare coffee over to Loki. "No one can come or go without you knowing."

"Naturally," Loki remarked as he had a sip of his coffee.

Graham drummed his fingers on the side of his coffee cup, unsure of what to say or what their insidious purpose here even was.

"Tell me about yourself, huntsman," Loki finally said. "You must have quite the tale to find yourself in service to Regina."

"A story you already know," Graham argued.

"Yes, but I've only heard one side," Loki said as he levitated a sugar packet to empty into his cup. "I often find it much more enlightening to hear the perception of events from all angles."

Graham looked at Loki, uncertain if the God of Mischief was being genuine or if this was some sort of trap. Still, given his current predicament, what did he really have to lose from walking into it?

"Fine, you may ask whatever you wish," Graham said. "If you'll answer my questions in return."

"You wish to ask the Liesmith to answer your questions?" Loki asked with a devilish grin. "What a novel concept."

Graham shrugged. "Even if you lie to me, sometimes a lie can be even more telling than the truth."

"Good answer," Loki said with a chuckle. "Very well, I agree to the terms of your game, but I shall ask the first question."

"Hmph, that's not a surprise," Graham replied. "What do you want to know?"

"I was told you were raised by wolves," Loki began. "How did that come to pass?"

Graham swallowed hard and stared into his coffee to avoid meeting Loki's gaze. "Not much to tell, really. The people who gave birth to me abandoned me in the woods when I was just a baby. A she-wolf heard my cries and took pity on me. Wolves aren't what you might think; they're loyal creatures who value their pack. Even though I wasn't one of their kind by blood, they taught me how to be one of their own by heart."

"How kind of them," Loki said, his words lacking sincerity as he thought back to his own adoption by Odin. "But surely you must have felt like quite the outsider growing up. The ignorance of childhood could not have shielded you from your obvious differences for long, could it?"

"True, I became keenly aware that I was not born wolf at a young age," Graham nodded. "But the wolves showed me an unconditional love and acceptance that people aren't capable of."

"Quite fortunate for you," Loki sneered, rolling his eyes at the sentiment.

"Indeed, and that was two questions, and I have two of my own," Graham said, meeting Loki's eyes with a determined glare that reminded Loki of a wolf. "If you're not going to give me back to Regina, then why did you really bring me back with you?"

The side of Loki's lips crept into a smirk. "As I told you before, we're in need of a new huntsman to replace James Ironwood whilst he is away."

"Bullshit," Graham snapped. "What's the real reason?"

Loki couldn't help but laugh a bit at how forward Graham was. For a man who claimed that Loki's lies would be telling, he wasn't exactly making an attempt to read between the lines. Still, Loki had to admit that he was impressed by Graham's audacity, and such bravery deserved a reward of honesty.

"I saw something in you that intrigued me," Loki answered. "A noble honorable heart that served at the pleasure of a wicked villain."

"Not by my own choice," Graham argued. "Regina took my heart, remember?"

"I have not forgotten given how frequently you see fit to bring it up, but you aligned yourself with her before she made you her slave," Loki pointed out. "Do not speak as though your fate was entirely out of your hands. You straddle the line between hero and villain in much the same way you straddle the line between man and wolf, belonging to both and yet neither all at once."

"And that's why you took me?" Graham asked, unable to tell if Loki was being honest this time.

"I've often found that which proves interesting inevitably proves useful," Loki explained. "Now then, did you have a second question to ask of me, or were you going to continue to doubt my answer to your first?"

"My second question is what are we really doing here?" Graham said. "Are we waiting for someone?"

Loki smirked deviously at that question. "Oh, no, nothing of the sort. We are here solely because I wished to observe you."

"What? Me?" Graham asked. "You could have done that back in the castle."

"Yes, but I thought you might become more of an open book were I to get you in a more neutral location," Loki said smugly as he took a sip of his coffee. "And I was right."

Graham couldn't shake the feeling that he'd been beaten at some strange game of chess that he hadn't even known he'd been playing. The only question he had was what the consequences were for losing.

"But... why?" Graham asked. "I don't understand."

"Few mortals do," Loki said as he finished his coffee and rose from his seat. "Spend as much or as little time in the town as you wish. I have other matters to attend to."

"You're... leaving me here?' Graham asked. "Not back in the dungeon? What if I decide to never come back?"

Loki smiled widely. "Where can you go that I cannot easily find you? Ta-ta, dear huntsman. We'll continue our game at a later time."

Loki then vanished without a trace, leaving Graham alone at the table with his coffee, unsure of how to feel about his current predicament.

With a deft slice of his katana, Auron sliced the throat of the blue-skinned cyclops. The beast clutched its bleeding throat as it collapsed to the stone floor, and after losing enough blood, the cyclops dissolved into blue fire before burning out of existence entirely. Auron knew quite well that the cyclops's soul would simply go to Tartarus to await resurrection by Hades at the Lord of the Dead's earliest convenience, but it wasn't Auron's job to rid Olympus of the beasts that conspired against the gods. That job was for heroes, and as Auron had told Sora when last they met, he was no hero.

Without the cyclops standing guard, the demonic-looking black iron gates were all that stood between Auron and his destination. As he gave the gates a push, he found that they were not locked and swung open with an eerie creaking noise. Just beyond the gates, situated beneath what appeared to be the rib cage of a once immense creature, was the Lethe Pool, the infamous pool of forgetfulness. The low roar of the waterfall feeding the pool was the only sound in the cavern, and the sickly green glow of the water cast the entire pool deck in the same shade of green.

"So this is where he gets it from," Auron mused to himself as he walked toward the banks of the Lethe.

However, before Auron could reach the pool, five plumes of smoke erupted in his path, and Auron took a step back and prepared himself for another battle. He'd already fought his way past Hades's other minions. What were five more? Unfortunately for Auron, these were no mere minions.

"Auron, babe, long time, no see!" Hades said as he, Ursula, Russell, Ardyn, and Blackheart emerged from the smoke. "Y'know, if you wanted to come over for a pool day, all you had to do was ask! I'd've been happy to let you swim until you forgot all your problems."

"And your first name," Russell added with a laugh.

"Actually, do you even have a last name?" Hades asked, suddenly growing concerned. "I never quite got to the point of writing up our contract after bringin' you up outta the dungeon, and I'd like to know so I can dot my iotas and cross my thetas."

Auron glared directly at Hades. "You still talk too much."

Auron jumped forward, sword drawn, ready to strike against Hades, but before he could reach the Lord of the Dead, there was a flash of magenta light. When the light cleared, Auron found his blade clashing with one of the blades of the royal arms, and Ardyn's mischievous smirk was staring back at him.

"Ah-ah-ah!" Ardyn scolded as he forced Auron back. "You mustn't spoil a civilized conversation by jumping straight away to violence. Think about what people might say!"

"Besides, we're not exactly the type of guys you want to rush into a fight against," Blackheart warned as black fire began to radiate around his hands.

"This does not concern any of you," Auron insisted, never loosening his grip on his sword.

"Um, hellooooo babe, this is MY Underworld, and those were MY monsters you killed," Hades said as his fires began to flare up. "It very much DOES concern me!"

"Wait, wait, I want to hear him out," Ursula said. "This sounds like an interesting story."

"Yeah, and apparently I'm not part of it," Hades huffed. "But fine. Say your peace! Tell me what you're doin' down here, and if I like what I hear, hey, maybe I'll make your trip back to the deepest dungeons a relatively painless experience."

Auron wasn't much one for talking, but the odds were currently stacked against him. Hades, he knew, was a sloppy fighter because he relied on simply overpowering his adversaries, and if the other four standing by his side were the same, then he had a chance to beat them by having superior battle tactics. However, to formulate a winning strategy, he needed time, and keeping his enemies talking was the only way to buy that for him.

"I'd heard legends of the Lethe, a pool containing water capable of erasing one's past," Auron answered gruffly. "I had hoped to investigate a... personal matter."

"Let me guess, you just couldn't get some cutie-patootie outta your head, and so you needed a little Lethe shower to get over her?" Hades asked. "Happens more often than you'd think."

Auron scoffed at that insinuation. "No. I wanted to confirm my suspicions that you were really behind it."

Hades raised an eyebrow. "Eh... what? I mean, hey, assuming I'm behind anything is usually a fair call to make, but you're gonna have to be more specific. I've been up to a lot lately!"

"You know what you did," Auron insisted. "You're the reason for what happened to Yuna."

Hades snapped his fingers and pointed at Auron. "Ah! That! Yes! Well, hey, that's actually not my department on the Overtakers; you gotta talk with Cruella and Caleb about that. But, yeah, that's us. What are you gonna do about it, tough guy?"

Auron tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword. "Well... I suppose, I'll just have to - "

But Auron quickly cut himself off and without warning leapt into the air before coming down and stabbing his sword into the ground, unleashing his powerful Dragon Fang attack on Russell and Blackheart. The vampire quickly flew out of the way of the blast, but his comrade was not so fortunate. The fiery shockwave struck Blackheart and knocked the demon prince off his feet. Blackheart, however, was not about to take a hit without making his enemy bleed for it, and with a sickening contortion of his wrist, a tendril of black energy snaked out of his palms. Auron simply sliced through the dark tendril as if it were nothing.

"GET HIM!" Hades shrieked as his fires flared up bright orange.

Ursula raised her arms, and behind her, a spigot of swirling waters rose out of the Lethe pool. The sea witch beckoned for her typhoon to fly after Auron, the ominous threat of its forgetful waters hanging heavy over the grizzled warrior. Flames began to dance along the edge of his blade, and then with a powerful swing straight down the middle of the typhoon, Auron unleashed a fiery explosion, pushing the Lethe water to either side and striking Ursula in the process.

"WHOA!" Hades yelled as he grabbed ahold of one of the pool umbrellas and used it as a shield to prevent the Lethe water from splashing him. "Oh, that's how you wanna play it? You wanna play with FIRE? Well have I got a lil' somethin' for YOU!"

Hades began to rapidly conjure fireballs in his hands and threw them at Auron, forcing the guardian to jump and flip away from the fiery explosions that burst around him. Russell, meanwhile, made his way back into the fray and charged at vampiric speeds for Auron's back, hoping to sink his fangs into Auron's neck before anyone was the wiser. Auron, however, heard him coming and swiftly whirled around with his sword, slicing a deep gash across Russell's chest.

"AGH!" Russell cried out as he clutched his bleeding chest and dashed away to heal his wounds.

But Auron had no time to catch his breath. Pink blades made of energy rained down from up above, and Auron just barely managed to roll out of the way to avoid being skewered. A single blade struck mere millimeters from his head, slicing off a few stray strands of Auron's graying hair.

"What is a guardian without something to guard, I wonder," Ardyn, the source of the mystic blades, pondered as he appeared before Auron. "I suppose without one's purpose, one must simply end."

Dark energy radiated around Ardyn's hands, and with a thrust forward, he unleashed a wave of darkness upon Auron that sent the guardian tumbling back, dangerously close to the Lethe pool. Blackheart summoned up several souls of the damned and beckoned for them to swarm on top of Auron. The demonic black skeletal spirits grabbed and tore Auron's face and clothing, trying to drag him into the Lethe pool where he would forget himself and lose his past. Blackheart cackled with sadistic glee as he ran to join the fray and to push Auron over the edge.

Auron swung his sword wildly but accurately, slicing through the demonic souls and causing them to evaporate into a dark mist, and when Blackheart reached out to push Auron, he slid beneath the demon prince and used his sword to trip his opponent. Blackheart stumbled face first directly into the Lethe pool, and Auron was careful to avoid being splashed by any stray splatters of water.

"AWW NO!" Hades said as he slapped his forehead. "That YUTZ threw Blackheart into the drink!"

Blackheart emerged from the Lethe with a dazed and confused look on his face. "Where am I? Who ARE you people? ... Who am I?"

"Oh dear," Ardyn sighed.

"Keep the pressure on him!" Ursula ordered as she beckoned for bolts of lightning to strike down at Auron. "We'll fix Blackheart later!"

Auron danced around the battlefield, evading Ursula's lightning bolts, new onslaughts of fireballs from Hades, and energy blades conjured by Ardyn. He could barely dodge all at once, and it was keeping him from controlling the battlefield. To make matters worse, Russell had finished healing from the gash across his chest and was re-entering the fray as well. If Auron couldn't pull off something quickly, he ran the risk of being overwhelmed and taken down by the relentless Overtakers. He only had one shot at this, and he intended to make it count.

"No mercy!" Auron said as energy began to radiate around him.

Auron spun himself and his sword around, and winds began to pick up and spin along with him. Auron directed the twisting wind forward with his sword, and it grew into a powerful tornado, picking up dust and debris from all around. The Overtakers attempted to evade the tornado, but Hades, Ursula, Ardyn, and Russell all found themselves swept up into the storm. As the villains were spun about wildly through the air, the tornado around them erupted into flames, and though the fires were a comfort for Hades, it was an excruciating experience for Ursula, Ardyn, and Russell.

Battered and burned, the four Overtakers fell back to the pool deck as the debris and fires began to clear out. However, when the dust settled, Auron was nowhere to be found.

"I really REALLY hate that guy!" Hades shouted as he peeled himself up off the floor.

Her skin stung and her joints ached, but Ursula managed to pull herself up and cast a healing spell on herself, Ardyn, and Russell, undoing the damage that Auron's ultimate attack had done.

"I am so fuckin' DONE with bein' smacked around and left beaten at every FUCKIN' turn!" Russell complained as he spat a glob of his own blood out of his mouth. "I need to kill somebody NOW!"

Ardyn walked over to the edge of the Lethe pool and helped Blackheart out of the water.

"You're kinda hot," Blackheart said as he stared into Ardyn's eyes. "Have we met before?"

"What are we going to do about him?" Ardyn asked Hades.

"He's an immortal, so all he's gotta do is sweat the water off," Hades answered. "Put him in the sauna; he'll be fine."

"That doesn't solve our little intruder problem," Ursula pointed out. "This won't be the last time that Auron fellow sticks his nose into our business."

"He seemed quite vexed by the state of Yuna," Ardyn pointed out. "Perhaps we should alert Cruella and the others that he may be coming for them next."

"Oh, good point," Hades nodded. "Kinda weird he thought I was behind it all. Don't know why he was pokin' around the Lethe pool either."

"Maybe he knows something about the memory spell?" Ursula suggested. "He could've thought we were using Lethe water for it."

"In that case, we've got a leak to plug up," Hades said. "Nobody outside of the Overtakers should know about that."

"There could also be somethin' else goin' on that we don't see the full picture on just yet," Russell argued. "Our best bet is to capture that fucker and string him up by his toes until he starts tellin' us what we wanna know."

Ursula snapped her fingers, and Flotsam and Jetsam appeared floating beside her in a cloud of ink. She scratched Jetsam under the chin while making kissy faces at Flotsam.

"My precious little poopsies," Ursula cooed. "Mommy's trusting you to find that big bad man who hurt me. Track him down, boys, and we'll handle the rest."

The two eels nodded their heads and began to fly off deeper into the Underworld to begin their search.

"In the mean time, we've got a recipe to cook up," Hades chimed in, reminding everyone of the mortality potion. "Better head back to Villain's Vale to give Malef and the others the IV-I-I."

The clopping of Grimhilde's high heels against the cobblestone floors echoed throughout the castle's hallways. Annuvin always felt dead, but today in particular, it felt like a tomb, silent as the grave. The Black Cauldron sat in the center of the throne room, seemingly unguarded. Luminous green wisps of smoke poured out of its mouth, feeding the Cauldron Born that patrolled the land of Prydain.

"I am impressed that you evaded the sight of my mirror," Grimhilde said, her voice echoing off the vaulted ceilings, "a talent I presume you seduced out of King Magnifico. But as you can see, I am not so easily kept in the dark."

Out of the corner of her eye, Grimhilde noticed a small black snake slithering in the corner of the room.

"I am not ignorant to your tricks, Death-Lord," Grimhilde declared as she approached the snake. "I know that is you!"

The snake stopped and seemed to sigh before vanishing into a cloud of darkness and growing back into the true form of Arawn the Death-Lord. Thanks to the Amulet of Cnawd Adferedig worn clasped around his neck, Arawn still appeared as a mortal man despite the fact that he truly was a skeletal lich beneath the surface.

"So, you did survive the Demiurge's attack," Grimhilde said, glaring at the Death-Lord with a silent rage.

"And you found me," Arawn said with a slight bow. "I am impressed, your majesty."

"Why did you not find us?" Grimhilde asked.

"The last time a host of gods of that magnitude assembled, I was thrown alive into a crucible of molten iron," Arawn explained. "I was not eager to risk such a fate again."

"So it was cowardice then?" Grimhilde accused.

"Call it what you may," Arawn shrugged. "I simply consider it the most rational course of action."

"Well, fortunately for you, your absence can be overlooked if you simply return with me now," Grimhilde offered.

"And why should I?" Arawn asked as he walked over to the cauldron and ran his hands through the mist. "I aligned myself with the Overtakers when you held a mighty empire and were at the precipice of conquering the cosmos. Your forces have since been defeated by the Demiurge, and now it appears to be time for us to all go our separate ways."

"We have a plan to return to power and rescue those we have lost, Death-Lord," Grimhilde assured him. "We are not defeated, and we have not given up!"

"I admire your determination, and I enjoy the Overtakers' company," Arawn admitted. "However, it is not reason enough to shackle myself to your cause once more or to risk the wrath of the gods."

"You think independence from the Overtakers will spare you from the gods' fury?" Grimhilde asked. "Odin imprisoned your spirit in the Black Cauldron long ago. Do you truly think he will turn a blind eye to your freedom, particularly given that you escaped from the Overtaken Kingdom?"

Arawn scowled and looked away. Grimhilde placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.

"Alone, they will pick us off one by one," Grimhilde said. "Our only chance of surviving the gods is by standing together with all our powers combined."

"We will lose," Arawn sighed.

"Perhaps we will," Grimhilde admitted. "But, at the very least, we can make them bleed for it."

Arawn nodded. "I suppose you are right. Very well, I will return with you to Villain's Vale, and I will stand alongside the Overtakers once more. See to it that I have no reason to regret my decision."

"Very well," Grimhilde nodded. "Thank you for your cooperation."

Arawn scoffed and stared into the bubbling cauldron as the weight of his decision dawned upon him.

"You may thank me if we survive...."

Chapter Text

When Jafar entered the kitchen, Hook was standing over a sizzling pan and was dressed in a plain black t-shirt and black pajama pants with a skull and crossbones pattern. He glanced up from making breakfast to notice that his boyfriend had wandered into the room and nodded his head in acknowledgement. Jafar raised his eyebrow and wordlessly gestured at the stove in confusion.

"Couldn't sleep," Hook answered the unspoken question.

Jafar nodded, satisfied with that answer. The Overtakers all had peculiar sleep schedules. Most of their business took place under the dark shadows of the night, but night for one world was inevitably afternoon or morning time for another. As a result, the Overtakers mostly just slept whenever they found the time, which wasn't particularly conducive to having a consistent schedule.

"I rolled over in the bed and found that you weren't there," Jafar explained. "Out of all the places I expected to find you, this wasn't one of them."

"Didn't know I could cook, did you?" Hook asked with a playful grin.

"Well, the subject hasn't exactly come up," Jafar shrugged. "After all, we ordinarily have a full staff of goblins to serve our every whim."

"Aye, that's true," Hook agreed. "As a boy, I served as a cabin boy on a ship, often under the care of the cook, and I picked up a thing or two by watching him. But let's keep this our little secret, love. Should the others learn of this, I'll surely be relegated to kitchen boy until our staff is returned to us."

"My lips are sealed," Jafar chuckled. "But that smells delicious. What are you preparing?"

"An odd recipe I learned in Storybrooke, but quite delicious and simple to make," Hook answered. "I believe they're called 'pancakes.'"

Hook served one of the pancakes to Jafar and slid the other onto his own plate.

"The dark viscous liquid contained within the entity known as 'Mrs. Butterworth' is poured on top," Hook explained as he demonstrated by pouring syrup on his pancake.

Jafar followed suit and took a bite of his food, uncertain at first. However, the minute the pancake entered his mouth, his eyes lit up.

"Mmm, that is one of the most exquisite things I have ever tasted!" Jafar declared.

"I was startled to discover it as well," Hook nodded.

"Delicious food notwithstanding, why are you having difficulty sleeping?" Jafar asked as he dabbed his mouth with a napkin. "Surely it was not merely hunger that kept you awake."

"Indeed not," Hook confirmed. "I fear my dreams have not been particularly pleasant since the Demiurge's attack."

"Nightmares? Is that all?" Jafar asked. "I can create a potion made from the essence of a Dream Eater that will relieve you of such an affliction. It is only too simple a task for the most powerful sorcerer in all the worlds."

"I would appreciate that," Hook said as he took one final bite of his pancake. "But I fear my affliction goes beyond the purview of the dream realm, for it has awakened a fear that plagues me even in my waking hours."

"And what might that be?" Jafar probed further.

"During the attack on the Overtaken Kingdom, we saw Zeus, Odin, and King Triton all fighting on the Demiurge's behalf," Hook explained. "We killed all three of them, and yet there they were, alive and well."

"You speak as though you and I both haven't transcended death," Jafar pointed out.

"Aye, that's true, but cheating death has always been our ace in the hole," Hook said. "Now our enemies are using it as well. Hades, Loki, and Ursula all got their revenge, and yet their vengeance was undone by the Demiurge. Do you really think he'll stop at three? What if he brings back Rumplestiltskin? What if he's already done so?"

"Hypotheticals and nothing more," Jafar said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "What use would the Demiurge have with the former Dark One? The beast seems to have a distaste for those who dwell in shadows."

"He has a vendetta against us," Hook argued. "That sort of hatred can drive one to compromise any morals they extol. If he truly intends to challenge us with the ones we hate most, Rumplestiltskin would be the best way to counter me."

"Perhaps, perhaps," Jafar stroked his beard thoughtfully. "But in your paranoia, I fear you may have overlooked a more obvious trap for the beast to set."

Hook furrowed his brow. "And what would that be?"

"According to the Demiurge's holy texts, he bears a connection to a being known as 'The Savior,'" Jafar pointed out, "and you just so happen to have a former lover with that same title. She also happens to be a powerful reservoir of light magic and possesses a similar judgmental morality."

"Swan," Hook spat. "Bloody Hell, you're right."

"Indeed," Jafar nodded. "It would behoove us to ensure she becomes another embroidery on the sorcerer's hat before she becomes a powerful warrior at the Demiurge's side."

"Aye, you're right," Hook agreed. "I spared her when last we met, but circumstances have indeed changed. But she knows all about the hat, and she's friends with Sora and the other heroes."

"Hmm, true enough," Jafar said. "She would be precisely the sort of target Maleficent had hoped to avoid. Perhaps if we - "

"Wait, wait!" Hook said as an evil smile crept onto his lips. "I know how we get to Swan quietly. She told me a secret on one of our intimate evenings together when we were discussing past dalliances."

"Oh? And what might that be?" Jafar asked.

"We have a secret weapon to wield against her," Hook said, "an old paramour of hers, the huntsman that Loki brought back!"

Jafar burst out laughing evilly at the notion. "Oh, that is delicious!"

"What's so delicious?" Fish asked as she entered the kitchen. "Wait... are you two eating... pancakes? Where the Hell did you get those?"

"Ah, take out," Hook lied. "I fear I only purchased enough for the two of us."

"Uh-huh," Fish nodded skeptically as she glanced at the dirty pan still on the stove. "You two are up early... er... up late? Which one is it for you two?"

Jafar shrugged. "At a certain point, it no longer matters. I see you've returned from your trip to Gotham city."

"Yes, and I brought back a full kitchen crew and janitorial staff, so you're welcome," Fish declared. "They're getting suited up in their uniforms as we speak."

"Ah, perfect!" Hook grinned. "I'll leave the task of cleaning the galley to the proper staff."

"Somehow I thought with Demyx gone, we wouldn't have to deal with laziness anymore," Fish shook her head. "Guess I was wrong."

"At any rate, Jafar and I must be getting back to bed," Hook declared as he began to usher Jafar towards the door.

"I thought you said you couldn't sleep," Jafar asked.

Hook grinned slyly. "I never said we were going to sleep in our bed."

"Agh, that Auron yutz is tougher than he looks," Hades groaned as he recounted the tale of his excursion. "Held his own against all five of us and still managed to get away."

Maleficent made a face of disgust and glanced back at Ursula and Russell to confirm that the story was true. The two of them reluctantly nodded.

"How disheartening," Maleficent sneered. "Whatever was he after? Revenge against you for your manipulation of his soul?"

Hades shook his head. "No, he was actually torn up about what we've been doin' to Yuna. Weird that he came after me when it's Cru-Cru and Caleb behind that, but, hey, I guess I'm just an easy scapegoat for things goin' wrong. Didn't even know that he knew her, though!"

Ursula shrugged. "Well, you know how those heroes are. They think a person they've met once is a near and dear friend, and they'll fight to defend anyone they judge to be 'innocent.'"

Ursula used her tentacles to make air quotes on the word "innocent," earning a laugh from Russell.

"I am not quite convinced," Maleficent stated. "Given Auron's apparent interest in the Lethe pool, a wellspring of forgetfulness, there may yet be more to this tale than we know. Perhaps we'd best keep a more watchful eye on this Yuna."

"I gave Caleb the heads up about what happened," Russell said. "He and Imperious got the concert venue protected with some powerful magic that'll keep Auron out if he tries to crash the party."

"Very good," Maleficent nodded. "After she serves her purpose tonight, we can further investigate this matter."

"Sounds good. You going to the concert?" Hades asked.

Maleficent shook her head. "It would not do for any of us who are known in Radiant Garden to attend the affair. I will leave this matter in our allies' hands. Besides, I have much to consider regarding the sorcerer's hat."

"Probably for the best," Ursula agreed. "Starting tomorrow, we'll have free reign to hit the town. Might as well focus on things back here before then."

"Not a fan of the Gullwings' music myself," Hades added. "It's too much of that nyeh-nyeh-nyeh bubblegum pop."

"What? You more of a Dead Head?" Russell asked, laughing at his own joke.

"Touché," Hades replied. "And don't you forget it!"

"Speaking of forgetting," Maleficent began, "where are Ardyn and Blackheart?"

"Blackheart took a little tumble into the Lethe pool," Ursula answered. "Fish got him into a sauna back in Gotham to sweat the water out..."

…And so she did.

Back in Gotham, The Turkish Bathhouse was once a respectable establishment, but after Jeremiah Valeska bombed the bridges, its previous owners evacuated the city. Given that the bathhouse was right smack dab in the middle of territory belonging to the Golum gang, the black light and body paint loving criminals made the bathhouse their own. Even after reunification, the former owners made no attempt to reclaim the facility, and so it remained firmly occupied by the Golums. Since all gangs in Gotham currently owed allegiance to Penguin and Fish, that meant the bathhouse really belonged to them, and though the dingy walls were covered in neon graffiti and skull patterns, the bathhouse was still fully functioning.

"Ah, this is the life, is it not?" Ardyn said as he leaned back and enjoyed the steam room.

"Yeah, I could get used to this... Ardyn, right?" Blackheart asked, his memory still fuzzy.

Ardyn raised an eyebrow at Blackheart knowing his name. "Well, that's a start, at least, but not nearly good enough. Better keep at it then."

Clothing was optional in the sauna, and given that Ardyn and Blackheart were never ones for modesty, they'd opted to wear nothing. As they sat there, enjoying the steam, Ardyn began to notice Blackheart's eyes tracing every inch of his body.

"Have you spotted something that you particularly enjoy?" Ardyn asked playfully.

"I'd have to be blind not to," Blackheart replied. "You've got a nice body for a guy pushing two-thousand years old."

"Yours is rather handsomely sculpted as well," Ardyn said, reciprocating the gesture. "However, this is far from the first time I have seen it."

Blackheart grinned at that. "You and I... we're together, right? Like a couple?"

Ardyn paused a bit at the question. "In a manner of speaking. We are close friends and allies, and we also partake in carnal pleasures with one another. However, we do not partake in romance or any similar sentiment."

"Oh," Blackheart said as he looked away.

"Is... that disagreeable to you?" Ardyn asked.

"Don't get me wrong, I may not have all my memories, but I know that lovey-dovey romance is for idiots and saps," Blackheart answered. "I just thought we might've had something more like what the other Overtakers have... the evil version of love."

Ardyn shifted uncomfortably at the notion and fidgeted a bit with his hands. "Well, we hadn't discussed things elevating to that level. Is that... something you would want?"

"More like something that I know I feel," Blackheart confessed. "Maybe there's something in my memory that was holding me back from admitting it, but at this moment, that's what I feel in my dark heart."

Ardyn nodded at that, but he wasn't entirely sure how to respond to that admission. On one hand, Blackheart wasn't truly himself at the moment, and once his memory was restored, the confession would likely be brushed back under the rug. However, if that was truly what the demon prince felt, then Ardyn had to grapple with that knowledge regardless of whether or not it was retracted. And then there were his own feelings to consider....

The subject of love always made him think of Aera and her betrayal, of her stabbing the trident repeatedly into his chest at the behest of Bahamut after he'd refused to submit to the gods' authority. Could he even risk having to endure such a betrayal again? And though he remembered that she'd loved him and that Somnus killed Aera, Ardyn never could be truly certain that his memory was correct. He'd absorbed so many memories over the centuries, and it all seemed to blend together past a certain point. Had he ever really even tried to feel love?

"Well... let's not get ahead of ourselves," Ardyn replied. "Your memory has not fully recovered. We can speak of the matter more extensively once it has."

Blackheart groaned a bit but nodded. "Fine. I am starting to remember things. Mephisto, Ghost Rider, the other Overtakers, but they're all kind of... fuzzy. Like a dream you can't quite bring yourself to recall."

"Then it sounds as though you need to sweat more of the water off," Ardyn said.

"Yes, but the steam room is only doing so much," Blackheart argued. "I need to do something physical to get my blood pumping... something intense."

Blackheart flashed Ardyn a sly seductive smirk; Ardyn merely laughed.

"I suppose I can accommodate that desire," Ardyn replied.

Blackheart grinned devilishly and wasted no time getting up from the bench. He began to straddle Ardyn's hips and sat down on his lap so that the two were face to face. Blackheart and Ardyn leaned in at the same time and began to kiss, tasting the salty sweat on each other's lips.

"Yeah man, I'm just gonna hit the steamer for a second," a voice from outside said. "I'll meet you after I - "

But the heavily painted Golum stopped short when he opened the door and saw Ardyn and Blackheart there.

"Oh! Fuck! Sorry guys," he said. "I didn't mean to - "

"Oh goodie!" Blackheart said, chuckling evilly, "an appetizer."

The Golum's eyes went wide as Blackheart got up and began to stalk towards him.

"Yo, man, be cool," the Golum said as he slowly started to back up. "I'm just – Wait! Wait, wait, wait! No! NO!"

Blackheart lunged forward, his demonic laughs echoing throughout the steam room as he ripped the man to shreds, and in that moment, Ardyn had to admit that in his heart, he felt more than just lust for his companion.

Caleb Covington, Imperious, Cruella De Vil, Arthur Watts, and the three Sanderson Sisters filed into their seats in the private VIP section adjacent to the stage. The Radiant Garden courtyard was filled to the brim with people, all of them eager to see the Gullwings perform for the first time since the world's restoration. Practically everyone in town was here in attendance, and Cruella smiled as she looked out at the fruits of her labor.

"If this doesn't get them all under our spell, nothing will," Cruella declared with a laugh. "We're already a smashing hit!"

"I haven't attended a performance since Orpheus self-immolated on stage," Imperious said as he fanned himself. "This one has quite a tough act to follow."

Caleb made an expression of disgust. "The Grand Finale? Really? That tired old act? It's overdone and stale."

"I suppose, but it was nice to see my man usurping the Eternal Patrons of the Arts during the show," Imperious argued.

Caleb grinned slightly. "Yes, I did put my unique spin on it, didn't I? But this show is going to be much fresher and more dramatic. This time, you're gonna get to see an entire world's memories being rewritten by a song!"

"Let's not count our chickens before they hatch, shall we?" Watts warned. "The reviews should come after the show."

"Spoken as a true neophyte to magic and the dramatic arts," Winnie said with a cackle. "We hath rehearsed this performance so that the spell will work perfectly!"

"And the refreshments available art perfect as well!" Mary declared as she took a bite out of a giant soft pretzel covered in cinnamon and sugar.

"Shh, darlings, it's starting!" Cruella hushed her friends as the lights in the area began to dim.

Yuna, Rikku, and Paine emerged on stage to thunderous applause, and they began to perform their greatest hits, all the while modeling the latest and greatest fashions from the House of De Vil. They were the envy of everyone in the audience, and Cruella's mouth practically watered at the new sales she would have tomorrow morning as the Radiant Gardeners attempted to dress just like their idol. However, clothing sales were a small matter for the Overtakers, and the real reason for the concert was slowly creeping forward.

The Gullwings made their way through their set list until only one song remained: Caleb's new song, ready for a show stopping finale. The crowd whooped and hollered after Yuna finished her penultimate song, and all of the Overtakers found themselves on the edge of their seats. When the roar of the applause died down, Yuna took up the mic and flashed a charming smile at the crowd.

"Thank you, Radiant Garden, for an incredible homecoming," Yuna said. "I couldn't have asked for a better show. But before we go, I have one more extra special song to sing for you all."

Cruella leaned in close to Caleb and whispered excitedly. "This is it!"

"This song means a lot to me," Yuna continued. "I wrote it especially for all of you here tonight. It's an anthem for anyone who has ever felt overlooked and beaten down, and it's a reminder that you're more valuable than you could possibly know."

Caleb narrowed his eyes a bit, unsure why Yuna was taking credit for writing his song or why she was characterizing it this way, but he decided to just let her have it. The people who mattered already knew the true genius anyway. Rikku and Paine got into position to perform Caleb's song, but Yuna shook her head at them. She walked over to the large piano on stage and sat down after attaching her microphone to the stand.

"We had a different number planned to wrap up the show," Yuna admitted, "but... I want you all to hear this one. I don't know if we'll get another moment like this together, and if we don't, I want to make sure you don't forget me."

"What is she doing?" Caleb hissed at Cruella.

Cruella shrugged. "I don't know, darling."

The crowd went completely silent as Yuna began to play a beautiful melody on the piano, and Caleb glared with cold fury at Cruella as he immediately realized that it wasn't his song.

"They thought they could dispose of me," Yuna began to sing softly. "They tried to make me small. I suffered each indignity, but now rise above it all."

Yuna looked out at the audience and immediately locked eyes with Cruella, allowing her to see the look of defiance in them.

"Yes, the price I paid was all I had, but at last I found release," Yuna continued. "And if something good can come from bad, the past can rest in peace."

"This is going to stop, NOW!" Caleb said as he rose from his seat only to be pulled back down by Watts.

"We can't make a scene," Watts snapped.

"So, if you sees someone's hurt and in need of a hand, don't forget me," Yuna began to sing more confidently. "Or hear a melody crying from some baby grand, well, don't forget me."

"She's telling them NOT to forget!" Winnie declared furiously. "Tis a SPELL!"

"I know," Caleb growled under his breath. "A protection spell to prevent ours from reaching its full effect. Clever girl."

"When you sing happy birthday to someone you love," Yuna continued as the crowd began to sway back and forth to the music, "or see diamonds you wish were all free, please say that you won't, I pray that you don't forget me!"

Rikku and Paine joined hands and silently cheered Yuna on.

"But forget everyone with dark in their hearts," Yuna sang, her tone growing more resentful. "'Cause they only live to control. For a crown they'd pay a thousand, yet they paid fifty cents for my soul."

Cruella rolled her eyes at that accusation. Of course, it was true, but what was the point of whining about it?

"They took their piece," Yuna said as she pointed directly at the Overtakers' box, "the price of fame that no one can repay. Ah, but they didn't buy me when they bought my name, and that is why I pray..."

Yuna stood up from the piano, which continued to play by itself, and she began to spin around as she activated a new dressphere. The black and white fur House of De Vil ensemble that she'd been wearing disappeared in a swirl of magic and was replaced by a more understated outfit that consisted of a white and pink top with wide sleeves and a long indigo skirt with a leaf and vine pattern embroidered into it.

"That when you see someone's hurt or in need of a hand," Yuna belted out as the crowd broke out into uproarious applause, "you don't forget me! Or hear a melody crying from some baby grand, you don't forget me! When you sing happy birthday to someone you love or see diamonds you wish were all free, please say that you won't, I pray that you don't forget me!"

"Winnie, what are we going to do?" Mary sobbed. "This crowd reeks of light and love."

"Pull thyself together, woman!" Winnie snapped. "Caleb surely has a plan!"

Caleb, however, was watching the performance intensely, his jaw clenched tight and his eyes filled with rage. He never looked away from the stage, and when Imperious attempted to pat his boyfriend on the hand, Caleb yanked his hand away without ever looking in Imperious's direction.

"There are some in this world who have strength on their own," Yuna declared as she approached the edge of the stage and reached out to touch the outstretched hands in the front row, "never broken or in need of repair. But there are some born to shine who can't do it alone, so protect them and take special care!"

Rikku and Paine cheered loudly and beckoned for the crowd to follow suit.

"TAKE CAAAAARE!" Yuna declared over the crowd going wild for her. "And don't forget me! Please take care! And don't forget me!"

And in her heart, Yuna felt that they wouldn't. All who heard her song would be safe and protected, and that made her feel warm inside. It didn't matter what the Overtakers would do to her; all that mattered was this singular moment.

"When you look to the heavens with someone you love," Yuna sang as she gestured up to the sky. "And a light shining bright from afar! Hope you see my face there, and then offer a prayer!"

The stars above shone brightly, and Yuna saw several couples in the audience kissing their significant others and others crying tears of joy as they took her message to heart. That was worth more to her than anything else in all the worlds.

"And please let me be," Yuna sang as she brought her song to a dramatic conclusion. "Let me be THAT STAR!"

The crowd rose from their seats and gave Yuna a standing ovation. Touched by the incredible response to her song, Yuna couldn't help but tear up a bit. Rikku and Paine weren't sure how this was going to go, but they trusted and supported Yuna with all their hearts.

However, the feelings of love and joy didn't extend to the Overtakers. Caleb jumped up from his seat and rounded angrily on Cruella.

"You! THIS is on you!" Caleb snapped. "You were supposed to keep them under control, and you FAILED!"

Cruella was too stunned to speak and couldn't bring herself to formulate a response.

"Whatever shall we do?" Winnie asked. "She hast placed them all under her protection spell."

"We have stronger magic!" Imperious insisted. "Our plan can still work."

"Perhaps you didn't notice that our pop star just went rogue," Watts chimed in. "I don't think she'll be doing another song tonight."

"Then we will," Caleb declared. "Imperious, Watts, make sure nobody leaves! Winnie! Sarah! Mary! You're with me! We're going on, NOW!"

"But... weren't we meant to remain hidden so as not to arouse suspicion?" Sarah asked. "Was that not the plan?"

"The plan has changed," Caleb snapped. "Now let's GO!"

After Yuna took her final bows, Caleb appeared on stage in front of her and snatched the microphone out of her hand.

"You're not gonna like what happens to you next," Caleb whispered in Yuna's ear before looking out at the audience with a forced smile.

"Wasn't that wonderful?" Caleb asked, earning another cheer from the crowd. "Yuna, you are truly an inspiration! But the night is still young, and we have a fabulous grand finale to treat you all to!"

"I won't be part of this," Yuna said firmly as she stormed off the stage.

Caleb turned to face Rikku and Paine, and despite their initial hesitation, the two of them followed Yuna offstage. The crowd seemed a bit confused, and the band seemed equally unsure of what to do as the Sandersons came up on stage with Caleb. However, after Caleb made a gesture towards them, the band began to play his song involuntarily.

"Abra-ca-dabra, abracadaaaaabra," Sarah and Mary began to chant. "Abra-ca-dabra, abracadaaaabra."

"Pay the toll to the villains drawing circles in the clouds," Caleb sang as swirling purple clouds began to obscure the stars in the sky.

"Keep your mind on the distance, when the devil turns around," Winnie sang as she turned to face the audience.

"Hold me in your heart tonight," Caleb and Winnie bade the audience, "in the magic of the dark moonlight! Save me from this empty fight..."

"In the game of life," Caleb winked at the crowd as the uncertainty began to melt away, and they began to vibe with the song.

"Like a poem said," Winnie sang.

"By a lady in red," Mary added as she gestured to her crimson attire.

"You hear the last few words of your life," Winnie threatened.

"With a haunting dance," Sarah joined in, "now you're all in a trance."

"It's time to cast our spell on the night!" Caleb belted out.

"Abracadabra," Caleb and the Sandersons began to chant and dance together. "Amor oo na na. Abra ca da bra. Morta oo gaga. Abracadabra. Abra oo na na."

"In our tongue we said," Caleb sang, "death or love tonight!"

"Abra-ca-dabra, abracadaaaaabra," Sarah and Mary chanted once more, and several people in the audience began to repeat it back. "Abra-ca-dabra, abracadaaaabra."

"Feel the beat under your feet," Winnie commanded as she beckoned for the audience to dance. "The floor's on fire!"

"Abra-ca-dabra, abracadaaaaabra," her sisters chanted once more as the crowd began to dance wildly.

"Choose the road, on the dark side," Caleb suggested. "As the dust flies, watch it burn!"

"Don't waste time on a feeling," Winnie said as she gestured dismissively towards Yuna. "Use your passion! No return!"

"Hold me in your heart tonight," Caleb and Winnie repeated, and they could see their magic taking hold despite Yuna's protection spell, "in the magic of the dark moonlight! Save me from this empty fight..."

"In the game of life!" Caleb declared, and he could feel his powers breaking through the blocks.

"Like a poem said," Winnie reminded the crowd

"By a lady in red," Mary sang as she posed seductively.

"You hear the last few words of your life," Winnie sang as she placed a hand to her ear.

"With a haunting dance," Sarah spun around giddily, "now you're all in a trance."

"It's time to cast our spell on the night!" Caleb sang, focusing his intent fully on making everyone who heard his spell forget about what happened in the past.

"Abracadabra," the four Overtakers repeated, and slowly but surely the memories of Radiant Garden's fall to darkness began to erode away. "Amor oo na na. Abra ca da bra. Morta oo gaga. Abracadabra. Abra oo na na."

"In our tongue we said," Caleb sang, "death or love tonight!"

"Abra-ca-dabra, abracadaaaaabra," the audience began to repeat as they became totally enraptured by the spell. "Abra-ca-dabra, abracadaaaabra."

"Feel the beat under your feet," the Overtakers sang as they conducted the crowd. "The floor's on fire!"

"Abra-ca-dabra, abracadaaaaabra," the audience repeated again, and Yuna's heart sank as she realized her efforts might have been all for naught.

"Phantom of the dance floor," Winnie sang as she and her sisters made room for Caleb to come to center stage. "Come to me! Sing for me a sinful melody!"

"Ah ah ah ah ah," Caleb sung, and the beautiful melody of his voice became a siren's call sucking all who heard it into his power. "Ah ah ah ah!"

"Abracadabra," the four Overtakers and the crowd sang together in harmony. "Amor oo na na. Abra ca da bra. Morta oo gaga. Abracadabra. Abra oo na na."

"In our tongue we said," Caleb, Winnie, Sarah, and Mary sang together this time, "death or love tonight!"

Purple fireworks began to go off behind the stage, and the crowd roared with excitement and applause. Caleb bowed dramatically to his adoring public, and Winnie cackled hysterically as she basked in her own devious power. Offstage, Yuna, Rikku, and Paine looked on in despair and fear at the turn of events.

Sarah stuck her tongue at them.

Chapter Text

"You double-crossing IDIOTS!" Cruella shrieked.

A whip of lightning shot out of Winnie Sanderson's hands and blasted Yuna, Rikku, and Paine off their feet. Sarah and Mary giggled sadistically at their sister's malice being turned on anyone other than them. Caleb Covington, Imperious, and Arthur Watts were lingering behind the four women, but they were no less enraged, particularly Caleb.

"I made you three stars, gave you all the fame and fortune you could possibly want!" Cruella continued to shout. "And THIS is how you betray me?"

Rikku and Paine looked away to avoid meeting Cruella's eyes, but Yuna rose to her feet and matched Cruella's gaze with an intensity of her own.

"You wanted me to cast an evil spell over Radiant Garden!" Yuna snapped. "I could never be part of something so evil!"

"Unfortunately, thou hast rebelled in vain," Winnie laughed. "Your little protection spell will not save thy friends from our bewitching song."

"If it keeps just one person safe from your clutches, then it was worth it," Yuna insisted. "You can do whatever you want with me. If you're going to kill me, then I can die knowing that I stood up for what was right."

"I will happily oblige!" Winnie threatened.

"Wait!" Cruella said before Winnie could attack. "Unfortunately, we still need her. She's our headlining attraction, after all, and it wouldn't do to have the star of the show go missing."

"Cruella, get real, it's time to cut our losses," Caleb chimed in. "After what happened tonight, she's a liability, and actions need to have consequences."

"Besides, do you really think that little tramp will continue to sing for us now?" Imperious asked.

"I won't!" Yuna confirmed. "Your days of controlling me are over."

A wicked smile crept onto Cruella's lips as she thought about her conversation with Grimhilde the other day. Grimhilde had reminded Cruella that the best way to motivate an unruly servant was to remind them that they had something to lose.

"She wants to be destroyed," Cruella said. "Now what sort of punishment would it be if we were to give her what she wants? Sandersons, darlings, turn her two little friends back into fairies."

"What?" Yuna asked, taken aback. "No, wait, they weren't a part of this! It was my decision alone!"

"Then you should have thought of that before you betrayed us," Cruella sneered before nodding again toward the Sandersons.

Winnie and her sisters began to chant a spell in a strange demonic language. Yuna made a move to try and protect her friends, but Imperious held the Gullwings in place with a quick paralyzing spell. As the Sanderson Sisters' dark magics took root, Rikku and Paine's human bodies began to shrink down to about a foot tall, and their appearance morphed back to how it was before the Overtakers turned them human.

"Aww man, we're small again!" Rikku whined. "This is a bunch of foofie!"

"Not the right time, Rikku," Paine warned.

"What did you expect?" Caleb asked. "Her timing was off in the choreography too. But since you two won't be singing like a bird any more..."

Caleb snapped his fingers, and a small purple bird cage manifested around Rikku and Paine. Cruella grabbed ahold of the cage and held the two pixies aloft in front of Yuna.

"I think I'll hold onto these for a little while," Cruella said. "That way, the next time you even think of betraying us, we'll poison them, drown them, bash them on the head. Whatever works, really."

"No, please, don't!" Yuna begged. "I'm the one who did this; this was my mistake, not theirs. Let me take full responsibility for going off script. Punish me!"

"Oh, I am, darling," Cruella laughed. "This is your punishment. And now you've got two perfectly good reasons to be a good little girl and do as you're told."

Stray tears began to streak down Yuna's face, and the sight of her crying brought a warm, fuzzy feeling to Cruella's heart.

"Cheerio, darling. Cheerio!"

"Abracadabra. Amor oo na na. Abra ca da bra. Morta oo gaga. Abracadabra. Abra oo na na. In our tongue we said, death or love tonight!"

"That was 'Abracadabra' by Caleb Covington and the Sanderson Sisters, the showstopping number that's capturing the hearts of Radiant Garden," the radio DJ announced as the song came to a close. "It's the top of the hour, and you're listening to 358.7 the Bloom, Radiant Garden's number one music station. Looks like we've got a request call-in; Maroda from Castle Town, thanks for calling in!"

"Hey man, thanks for having me!" Maroda said. "Listen, 'Abracadabra' is great and all, but I was wondering if you could play that 'Don't Forget Me' song that Yuna sang at the concert."

"Sorry, man, wish we could, but we don't have the radio rights to play it," the DJ explained. "Yuna's probably saving it for a concert exclusive track. Maybe next time. Tell you what, though, we're not gonna let you Seagull Feathers go without your fix of Yuna this afternoon. Next up is 'Real Emotion' by the Gullwings! But, first, a word from our sponsor, What's New With Newlin?, Radiant Garden's premier political talk show, now back on the air every day starting at noon!"

Maleficent turned off the radio and grinned proudly at her two fellow Overtakers gathered in the tower chamber.

"It seems our allies have succeeded," Maleficent declared. "By now, everyone in town will have heard the song and forgotten all about the obliteration of this world."

"If only they'd managed to have Yuna sing the song," Grimhilde lamented. "Having our allies' actions so readily seen will draw the unwanted attention of the Restoration Committee, and that protection spell she wove into her own song is weakening the dark magics. Those for whom her song resonated are retaining pieces of their memory."

"Let those fools have their fragmented past," Maleficent sneered. "It will do them no good, and so long as only those who attended the concert heard her counterspell, the repeated playing of Caleb's song will take care of any substantial loose ends."

"And don't worry about the Restoration Committee," Ursula assured her. "Fish and I came up with a fabulous work around for them. We'll keep their noses out of our business."

"See to it," Maleficent nodded. "Absent their dearly departed leader, Leon, they are considerably less formidable, but Merlin has ever been a sly fox of a sorcerer. I will not have him jeopardize our position in this world."

"You can count on me, Mal," Ursula declared with a confident shimmy.

"As I have always known," Maleficent nodded. "But we need not concern ourselves further with matters that have already been attended. Filling the sorcerer's hat with power and brewing the mortality potion must have our full attention."

Grimhilde and Ursula exchanged a knowing glance.

"Actually," Grimhilde began, "there is another matter that requires your immediate attention. Madame Leota, my acolyte in the Haunted Mansion, has observed an... anomaly with the spirits of the dead. Something very odd is transpiring"

Maleficent raised an eyebrow. "Could it be connected to the Demiurge?"

Grimhilde gestured vaguely. "Perhaps, or perhaps it is nothing. Either way, she has requested our presence at once, and I feel that we should comply with her request."

"I agree," Ursula chimed in. "Can't afford to let something like this go unexamined for too long."

"Indeed not," Grimhilde nodded. "We should depart at once. The three of our magics combined may be required."

Maleficent looked back and forth between her two friends, suddenly a bit suspicious regarding their intentions. She detected no hint of betrayal or backstabbing, and against all odds, she trusted both Grimhilde and Ursula completely. All the same, there was something going on that they were not telling her.

"Very well," Maleficent agreed. "We shall go if it is indeed so serious a matter."

"It is," Grimhilde confirmed. "But here, I'll summon the portal myself."

Grimhilde waved her hand, and a Corridor of Darkness opened.

"After you," Maleficent said to her allies as she gestured to the portal.

Only after Ursula and Grimhilde entered the Corridor of Darkness did Maleficent follow suit. The three witches emerged in the hallway just outside of the ballroom in the Haunted Mansion and found Hades, Loki, Jafar, Hook, and Russell standing there waiting for them.

"Good, you've already arrived," Grimhilde nodded at the five men.

"I don't appreciate being kept waiting," Jafar sneered.

"Yeah, I've got an Ophiotaurus to be trackin' down," Hades insisted. "Whatever this is, Malef could probably handle it all on her own."

"Quit your carping, boys," Ursula snapped. "This is important!"

"This task is severe enough to require all of them?" Maleficent asked. "What, pray tell, are we contending with?"

"It will be easier to show you," Grimhilde insisted. "Come, all of you, follow me!"

"Onward to adventure!" Russell laughed.

"What, oh what, could this possibly be about?" Loki mused in a tone that suggested that he knew exactly where this was going. "I'm most assuredly in the dark with the rest of you."

Hook furrowed his eyebrows. "I thought we already knew why we're here. Aren't we here to help Madame Leota with some strange matter plaguing the spirits?"

Loki sighed and rolled his eyes. "Captain, count your blessings that you are fair of face."

Grimhilde and Ursula opened the doors to the ballroom and led their allies into the pitch dark room. The two witches quickly vanished into the shadows, leaving Maleficent, Hades, Loki, Jafar, Hook, and Russell to linger in the doorway with uncertainty.

"Is this an ambush?" Jafar asked, holding his staff up defensively.

"Honestly, you're as bad as your paramour," Loki sneered. "And that'll be three... two... one...."

"SURPRISE!"

The lamps and chandeliers snapped on, and the fireplace came to life, bathing the ballroom in an eerie yet fully visible light. Grimhilde and Ursula were standing in the middle of a crowd consisting of Doom, Fish, Cruella, Steve Newlin, Ardyn, Blackheart, Caleb, Imperious, Watts, Arawn, the Sanderson Sisters, and a collection of a myriad of ghosts and living trees from around the mansion. A large multilayered cake with purple and black icing was set out on the table, and matching balloons and decorations littered the ballroom. A pair of bats held up a banner that read "Happy Birthday Loki, Hades, Maleficent, Jafar, Russell, and Hook!"

"Happy Birthday!" the Overtakers called out to their friends.

"Here's to the early April crowd!" Steve raised up his glass of blood to toast to his friends.

"This is... a party?" Jafar asked, lowering his staff cautiously.

"Well then! How lovely," Maleficent beamed.

"I was wonderin' why I heard so many heartbeats inside," Russell laughed.

"Hey, I like it; let's get the party started!" Hades said as he started dancing.

Hook glanced back at Loki with surprise. "You knew?"

"Captain, it's April, and the six of us all have something very obvious in common," Loki sighed. "It was not Midgardian rocket science to deduce."

"Yeah, yeah, you figured it out," Ursula said as she slithered over to give out some birthday hugs, "but you have no idea how hard it is to surprise any of you! We had to book the Haunted Mansion just to have a fighting chance."

"Which was my idea, darlings!" Cruella boasted. "In fact, this whole party was all my careful planning."

"I'm surprised she didn't throw in a few dead puppies for good measure," Russell whispered to Hades.

"How old is everyone turning, by the way?" Watts asked.

"Umm."

"Erm."

"Well..."

"That's a good question..."

"Carry the one... hold the three... divide by pi...."

"What year is it even?"

Watts sighed. "Right. I forgot. Best not to ask a room full of immortals and people who spent a century not aging how old they are."

"But... Jafar hast only aged in numerical sequence," Mary pointed out. "Surely he knows how old he- "

A piece of red duct tape suddenly appeared over Mary's mouth, silencing the witch.

"Let's not delve too deep into that subject, shall we?" Jafar requested.

"Oh, trust me, I know what you mean," Cruella laughed. "I even sometimes don't like admitting that I'm already in my early thirties."

"In what, Cruella? Dog years?" Watts asked, earning a venomous glare from Cruella and a round of laughter from everyone else.

"Well, this party isn't going to start itself!" Fish interjected to diffuse the situation. "Let's dance, eat, have fun!"

The Overtakers dispersed and began to mingle and enjoy the party. Maleficent decided that, as the birthday girl and leader of the Overtakers, the honor of the first slice of cake should go to her. She made her way over to the table and picked up the serving knife to cut herself a piece, only for the blade to vanish in a flash of crimson light. Maleficent's expression darkened as she glared at Jafar standing on the other side of the table, now holding the knife in his hand smugly.

"Beauty before age, my dear," Jafar said coyly before shouting, "OUCH!"

Jafar dropped the knife as sparks of purple lightning began to shoot off the blade and sting his hand.

"Regretfully, Jafar, I am your superior in both," Maleficent teased as she reclaimed the knife for herself and began to cut the first slice of the cake.

Jafar crossed his arms and began to pout. "Why was I cursed to share my birthday with you of all people?"

"Because you're both so much alike?" Mary offered.

Jafar and Maleficent slowly turned to see Mary waiting patiently for a slice of cake with her plate already in hand. If looks could kill, then Jafar and Maleficent would have soaked the cake in blood by now.

"Sorry, I'm wrong, don't pay attention to me," Mary quickly apologized.

Jafar cut the second slice of cake for himself grumpily, and he and Maleficent had a seat at the table.

"I suppose I should be accustomed to sharing this day," Jafar sighed as he began to prod at his cake with his fork. "Nasira always used to make our birthday about herself when we were children."

"Your sister?" Maleficent asked. "She too was born on the fifth of April?"

"Yes, she's my twin," Jafar reminded Maleficent. "If only mother had managed to hold her in until after midnight... or better yet drowned her at birth."

"You rarely speak of your sister," Maleficent remarked. "An anomaly for an Overtaker with siblings; Loki and Hades rarely stop speaking of their hated brothers."

"I don't hate my sister," Jafar corrected.

"Of course, how foolish of me to believe that you hated the woman you wished had been drowned at birth," Maleficent scoffed.

Jafar smirked. "And that is how I know you're an only child... if it wasn't obvious enough already."

"I suppose that is fair," Maleficent admitted. "I cannot claim to understand the nuances of sibling rivalry. My childhood was one of solitude, and I never had the opportunity to celebrate my birthday."

"Well...," Jafar began as he reached for his glass, "I suppose here's to never having to spend another birthday alone."

Maleficent smiled. "And here's to, at the very least, not having to endure sharing a celebration with your sister."

The two clinked their glasses together, and in that moment, they saw one another quite clearly.

"Maleficent!" Watts said as he slid into the chair next to her. "I was hoping to have the opportunity to speak with you."

"Of course, doctor," Maleficent nodded. "What did you wish to speak about?"

"Before the Demiurge attacked Hollow Bastion, I was on the verge of uncovering something interesting," Watts began, "a database that somehow survived the destruction of the town. I suspect it was housed in some underground bunker in the mine shafts running beneath the castle."

"And you believe it to be of some use to us?" Maleficent asked, skeptical of anything to do with "data" after her foray into the "date escape."

"I wasn't able to get very far into my investigation before we were forcibly evicted, but yes," Watts answered. "The data on that server is powerful. If we can harness it and apply it to our own endeavors, we can certainly use it to take Radiant Garden back from the heroes, and beyond that, who knows?"

"Can you still access it without the castle?" Jafar asked.

"Yes, but my computer in Villain's Vale can't process a database that large," Watts explained. "However, if we find and take control of the original terminal, that becomes a non-factor. I'm aware that resources are thin at the moment and our primary goals are the hat and the potion, but if you can spare the manpower, I think this'll be worth it."

"I suppose that is reasonable," Maleficent nodded. "Very well, you shall have what you need, doctor. I will personally see to it."

"You are most generous," Watts grinned as he took a bite of cake.

Cruella and Russell were currently in the process of seeing who could chug their drinks faster (gin and a fairy blood cocktail respectively). Russell managed to swallow his whole within the first second of the contest, but he was polite enough to pretend it was taking him longer to make it a close contest and only beat Cruella by a second.

"Ha HA! That'll be MY point!" Russell laughed, and he already began to feel the intoxicating effects of the fairy blood.

"Oh poo!" Cruella spat as she started digging around in her purse. "Here you go, you horrid hustler. Happy Birthday or some other such shenanigans."

Cruella handed Russell a wad of cash, and he gratefully took it.

"Careful," Fish warned as she walked over. "Keep that up, and he'll be the new CEO of the House of De Vil by the end of the night."

"Don't threaten me with a good time," Russell said with a laugh.

"Yes, darling, you're right," Cruella nodded in Fish's direction. "Besides, all I really want from tonight is to drink until I forget all about that wretched Yuna and her shenanigans."

"I hear that," Fish nodded. "But you fixed things and put them right at the end of the day, and that's all that matters now."

"You're too kind, darling," Cruella said. "Also, I have to say, I adore this dress on you. The gold scaled patterns are beautifully done, and I love the way the strap comes up and circles your neck like a gold necklace. It's simply stunning!"

"I thought so too," Fish said as she spun around to give Cruella a full three-sixty view. "I've had it for a while, but it always impresses. And, of course, this number you've got on is to die for! It looks like they painted fire right onto your skin out of jewels and sparkles, and the giant skirt? Perfection!"

"Yes, this is what disgusting wealth can get you," Cruella boasted with a villainous cackle. "But you really have such fantastic style, darling. We should spend more time together. After all, we are quite a bit alike, aren't we?"

"In some ways," Fish winced. "The difference is you didn't have to climb your way out of poverty through the Gotham mob. Must've been nice being born to a rich white family with ties to the aristocracy."

"Yes, it rather was," Cruella replied.

"Now, now, let's not get caught up in politics," Russell said as he put his arms around Cruella and Fish. "It's my birthday, remember? And I want both of my favorite fabulous gals to get along."

"Well then, in that case, let's get back to drinking!" Fish said with a grin.

"YES!" Russell shouted with a laugh. "Round two! Let's go!"

Across the room, Winnie Sanderson made her way over to the punch bowl and poured herself a glass to drink.

"Winnie! Babes!" Hades said as he approached her. "Nice work on the song! You've got a good set of pipes on ya!"

"Thou art too kind, Lord Hades," Winnie said with a bow and a girlish giggle.

"I know Yuna was the plan, but I'm glad you and Covington got to belt it out," Hades said. "Always more of a showstopper when the Overtakers get to perform."

"I quite agree," Winnie nodded.

"And, hey, I might need your help for my project in the near future," Hades stated. "You've got a knack for mixin' up potions, don't ya? Well, have I got a brew for you!"

"I'll do whatever I can," Winnie affirmed. "Thou needest the entrails of an Ophiotaurus, dost thou not?"

"So you've heard," Hades confirmed. "Got any clue where to start lookin'?"

Winnie tapped her long index fingernail against her buck teeth thoughtfully. "Hmm, tis a beast beyond the sight of the gods, but my ungodly book tells of many dark passages. Perhaps there may be a plane of existence where one may yet dwell."

"You got that book from Mephisto, right?" Hades asked. "If it can track down the Ophiotaurus, I'll take back almost everything bad I've ever said about that sleazeball."

"He's of no concern of mine any longer," Winnie assured Hades. "Lord Blackheart is my master now, and he is far more aligned with my wishes."

"Ahem," Hades said as he gestured behind Winnie.

Winnie turned around to see Blackheart balancing Madame Leota's crystal ball on his nose like a seal as she loudly protested the indignity.

"Well... you know... he's a special case," Winnie said sheepishly.

"That was never in question, babe," Hades agreed.

On the far side of the room, a ghost in a top hat sat at the pipe organ and played a haunting waltz, and with each and every note, ghostly faces emerged from the various pipes. Caleb Covington lingered over the organist's shoulder, watching the musical aficionado at his work.

"You know, if the gig in this Haunted Mansion ever gets to be a bit stale, there's a place waiting for you at the Hollywood Ghost Club," Caleb said. "I could use a specter of your talents for some backing tracks."

"A moment, Covington," Ardyn said as he tapped Caleb on the shoulder.

"Of course! Anything for you, Ardyn!" Caleb grinned.

Ardyn pulled Caleb aside, off to the corner of the room, away from the rest of the party and lowered his voice almost immediately.

"I have had an... experience recently," Ardyn whispered. "One that has left me quite aghast."

"A haunting experience?" Caleb asked. "Because if it's ghosts, I can handle that for you, lickety-split."

"Not that sort of experience," Ardyn sighed. "You are, I trust, familiar with my arrangement with Blackheart."

"The friends with benefits thing, right?" Caleb asked.

"Yes, I had thought that was the extent of things," Ardyn replied. "However, recent developments have cast that assumption into question. You see, when Blackheart temporarily lost his memories, he confessed that he longed for a deeper connection, one that he even dared to use the word 'love' to describe."

"Oh! Well... that's different," Caleb said. "Are you sure he was sincere? It wasn't one of his...."

Caleb glanced over at Blackheart spinning Madame Leota around on his finger tip as if she were a basketball.

"...Blackheart-isms, for lack of a better term?" Caleb asked.

"He seemed quite earnest to me," Ardyn answered. "It was... unusual behavior for him to say the least."

"So where do I come in?" Caleb asked. "Affecting enchantments aren't exactly my forte. Normally I'd point you in Amora's direction, but since she's in the Demiurge's clutches...."

"I don't require your magic, but, rather, your advice," Ardyn interrupted. "You and Imperious seem to be quite content in your relationship. How exactly does that work... whilst maintaining your villainy and evil, that is?"

Caleb paused for a moment and scrunched his nose in contemplation. "Hmm, never really thought about it. We just sort of intuit it. But, I suppose, if I were to pin it down, it's because his evil is one of the many things I love about him. Watching him plot and scheme and do his thing is like having front row seats to a fabulous theater production, and who wouldn't love that?"

"What an intriguing notion," Ardyn mused. "From my experience with Aera, love was always meant to be something sacred, a sacrament of unselfishly surrendering oneself to another in the grace of the gods above... a redemptive purity of heart and soul."

"Ugh, that sounds exhausting," Caleb remarked, making a disgusted face.

"It truly was," Ardyn said. "But you say that your version of love can exist and thrive without any such sacrifice."

"That's correct," Caleb nodded. "We treat each other as equal partners, keep true to ourselves, and center our love around our passions. From there, everything else just falls into place, and from where I'm standing, you and Blackheart are almost there yourselves. You're just the last people to see it."

"Hmph, it seems that even after all this time, the whims of the gods still keep me in the dark," Ardyn sighed. "I suppose I've still yet to unlearn every bit of my forsaken faith."

"If it's any help, you're an immortal fallen savior banging a demon prince," Caleb pointed out. "And I'm a ghost with the power of the Eternal Patrons of the Arts who is hopelessly in love with a mummy sorcerer. We're all basically gods in our own right, and whatever we say in our religion is what goes. The rules are ours to write, and our destinies are ours to chart."

Ardyn smiled at the notion. "Yes, I suppose they are."

Imperious, meanwhile, had taken a break from dancing with the spirits of the ballroom to spend time with two of the party's wallflowers, Doom and Arawn.

"I had thought you'd be in a more festive mood, Doom, seeing as this is your husband's birthday," Imperious remarked.

"I have never been one for frivolous merriment," Doom replied.

"Nor have I," Arawn agreed. "When I returned to the Overtakers, I had thought our attentions would be focused on restoring our power, not throwing parties to distract from our defeats."

"And it has been," Imperious argued. "We've made astounding progress of late! But we cannot cease to enjoy ourselves and stew in our misery all the time. Well... maybe you can, but I can't!"

"I am glad you decided to return at all," Doom said to Arawn. "When I heard that you'd also escaped the Demiurge, I feared that would be the end of our alliance."

"It almost was," Arawn admitted. "Grimhilde convinced me that such a decision would be unwise."

"Smart choice," Imperious laughed. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask you about your shapeshifting abilities. Just how extensive are they?"

Arawn closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His body blurred into darkness, and right before Doom and Imperious's eyes, Arawn became an exact replica of Imperious.

"Does this answer your question?" Arawn asked, laughing loudly in Imperious's voice as he twirled around, showing off his Imperious form from every angle.

"What a handsome face!" Imperious cooed.

Arawn then conjured a silver fan exactly like Imperious's. "My powers also allow me to mimic your innate magic and abilities. Any spell you can cast, I can cast in this form."

"Impressive!" Doom declared. "I knew your abilities allowed you to take on the powers of the magical creatures you shifted into, but I never would have guessed you could mimic another sorcerer's magic."

"Yes, but surely he can't do it with the same flair and talent that I can," Imperious argued.

Arawn's shape blurred again, and he returned to his usual form. "Regrettably, that is correct. Having power and having the knowledge to effectively use it are two different things. I am no novice in the art of sorcery, but it is rare that I find it useful to battle an opponent in the form of that same opponent. Most know themselves and their abilities far greater than I ever could."

"And their exploitable weaknesses," Doom added.

"Indeed," Arawn nodded.

"Then you should travel in my shape at all times, for I have no weaknesses!" Imperious boasted.

Arawn smirked. "So you say. But that is precisely why, in battle, I prefer to use the forms of creatures whose abilities I have studied and know well. The faces of others are more useful for manipulation and infiltration than for combat."

"But if you desired to do so, could you not simply transform into the Demiurge?" Imperious asked. "Make yourself God and have all others at your mercy?"

"Look to one of our very own birthday boys," Arawn said as he gestured over to Jafar. "His is an effective cautionary tale against choosing to become a magical being that you do not fully understand. Ultimate power always comes at an ultimate price."

"That is precisely why I prefer to steal power from such unworthy divinities than to alter my own form," Doom nodded. "It is far less inclined to go wrong."

"You say that as though your track record was not equally abysmal, Doom," Imperious taunted. "But what of your amulet, Arawn? It allows you to appear flesh and blood rather than as a lich, but if your powers are truly as great as you claim, why bother with the amulet? Why not make yourself appear in whatever form you wish?"

"You would have me perpetually expending my energies and limiting my power to maintain a façade?" Arawn asked. "No, I would much rather not."

"I would be most intrigued to know how you developed such a potent magic," Doom probed further. "Real magical power seems a bit scarce in Prydain. However did you acquire such an ability?"

"I'm sure you've heard tale of the Skinwalkers," Arawn began. "The process to obtain my power was not dissimilar to theirs. I then amplified and emboldened my dark powers after slaying and siphoning power off of the gods of my people. There is a very good reason why many of what you would call 'Celtic' gods have faded from memory and record."

Doom, however, was less interested in Arawn having slayed most of an entire pantheon. Another detail in Arawn's explanation caught his attention.

"You mentioned the process was similar to that of the Skinwalkers," Doom stated. "In Navajo tradition, a Skinwalker had to murder a close loved one to obtain the power."

Arawn nodded. "The Skinwalkers have their own process and traditions for gaining a similar power, but that element, at the very least, is the same."

Imperious regarded Arawn with intrigue. "Then... who, pray tell, did you kill?"

Arawn smirked devilishly as he recalled the murder. "My twin brother, Hafgan."

Out on the dancefloor, Hook was waltzing to the music with Sarah Sanderson in his arms. Jafar was never much one for dancing, and Sarah was always eager to do anything with an attractive man. It was nothing more than a friendly dance between friends... or at least, that was Hook's intentions. Sarah, on the other hand, was rubbing her hands all over Hook seductively and doing everything she could to accentuate her breasts.

"Sarah, perhaps you'd be more comfortable dancing with Blackheart," Hook suggested, eager to get the witch off of him.

"Dost thou not find me a satisfactory dance partner?" Sarah asked, hurt present in her eyes.

"No, not at all! You're a wonderful dancer," Hook quickly assured her. "I simply wouldn't wish to deprive another of the opportunity to dance with you!"

"Thou art the birthday boy!" Sarah said as she petted his chest hair. "I am all yours this evening."

A tentacle tapped on Sarah's shoulder.

"Mind if I cut in?" Ursula asked.

Sarah frowned. "Well - "

"No hogging the man of the hour!" Ursula scolded.

"Oh, so sorry, Sarah, but I can't very well be rude, can I?" Hook asked as he unceremoniously twirled Sarah out of his arms.

Hook began dancing with Ursula before Sarah could fully realize what had happened. The blonde witch pouted and stormed off to find another boy to flirt with, and Hook breathed a sigh of relief.

"I am in your debt for the rescue," Hook whispered to Ursula.

"Ordinarily my debt is the worst place for a poor unfortunate soul to be," Ursula said with a chuckle. "But since it's your birthday, you get a freebie!"

"You are a paragon of good form, m'lady," Hook replied.

"Oh! That reminds me!" Ursula said. "Grimmie's got a little something she whipped up for you."

"Lead the way!" Hook said.

The two waltzed across the dancefloor over to where Grimhilde was sitting in a large armchair. A red box with a gold heart and dagger latch sat on her lap.

"Have you brought me the heart of one of my enemies?" Hook asked as he and Ursula approached the queen.

Grimhilde laughed lightly at the question. "Afraid not. This is but a small thing, yet one I believe you will enjoy."

Grimhilde opened the lid of her box and held it out in front of her. Hook reached in and pulled out a glass flask filled with a yellow liquid.

"I thank you, your majesty, but... what manner of potion is this?" Hook asked.

"It is not a potion, Hook," Grimhilde explained. "The bottle contains spiced apple rum. I brewed it myself."

"I hope that doesn't mean I'll be falling asleep even faster after drinking this rum," Hook said suspiciously.

"No fear of that, I assure you," Grimhilde stated. "Simply a treat that I thought you would appreciate."

"I do," Hook nodded. "Thank you again, your majesty. It was a lovely thought, and I can hardly wait to taste it. I haven't had apple rum since I left Storybrooke; Regina used to always have some on hand."

"I can assure you, mine will be far more delicious than whatever swill she concocted," Grimhilde promised.

"No doubt about that," Hook laughed. "Having been through my share of alternate tales, I can say with utmost confidence that there is no Evil Queen... or Ursula, for that matter, who I would rather celebrate my birthday with."

"You are such a sap, you salty sea dog," Ursula teased as she pulled Hook into a side hug. "But that's why we love you!"

"Indeed. I would not have brought you a gift if I, even for a moment, feared otherwise," Grimhilde added.

Blackheart had progressed from spinning Madame Leota on his finger to tossing her up in the air and catching her mere moments before she hit the ground and crashed. However, when he tossed her into the air a second time, a green aura began to radiate around Leota that gently carried her back over to her spot on the table. Blackheart looked around for the sorcerer who'd ruined his fun and spotted Loki waving coyly back at him.

"Let's leave the fortuneteller be, shall we?" Loki scolded.

Blackheart growled and squared up. "And why should I?"

"Because it's my birthday," Loki said with a smirk, "and I asked you to."

Blackheart huffed but backed off. "Fine. I'll find someone else to torment."

"Before you do," Loki said, halting Blackheart in his tracks. "Tell me, how fares your memory? I heard you took a spill into the Lethe pool."

Blackheart smirked to himself. "Back at the Orlesian Ball when you were doing that Judgment of Paris scheme, you had me banish Amora to Hell in exchange for control over the Disir, and when I came to collect, you pulled some exact wording nonsense to cheat me out of my prize. That answer your question?"

"You must still be lacking some memories," Loki said with a roll of his eyes. "My offer was only ever to ask if you wanted the Disir. I never truly promised them to you."

"Like I said, exact wording nonsense," Blackheart reiterated.

"Don't hate on exact wording bullshit," Steve Newlin said as he approached the duo. "It's given me more material than anything else for stirrin' up trouble."

"You say that like it doesn't prove my point exactly," Blackheart scoffed.

"Newlin! I'm glad you were able to attend the party," Loki said as he placed a hand on Steve's shoulders. "I heard you've an important television appearance to prepare for."

"Yeah, it's exciting!" Steve beamed. "I'm gettin' right back where I left off with Radiant Garden. Shouldn't be too hard to have 'em all eatin' right out of the palm of my hand."

"I do hope you'll allow me to appear on your show," Loki added. "After all, sowing seeds of sedition is what I do best."

"Always happy to have a helping hand around the studio," Steve said with a grin.

"Wonderful," Loki said with a grin before noticing something behind Steve. "But, if you'll excuse me, I see someone else who I must greet...."

Lingering off to the side of the room awkwardly, unsure if he should even be there or not was none other than Graham Humbert. Loki teleported next to Graham abruptly, causing the huntsman to jump slightly in surprise.

"I did not think you would be in attendance," Loki said, a mischievous grin plastered on his face.

"I had not thought to be here either," Graham admitted. "However, your friends insisted."

Loki's face fell. "Ah. And here I thought you'd come for me."

Graham realized what he'd just implied and immediately attempted to backtrack. "No, wait, that's not what I meant. I should have said that I was invited by your friends on your behalf even though I hadn't expected to receive an invitation."

"We are very cognizant of invitations in this faction," Loki stated. "Either way, I am glad to have you here to celebrate my day of birth."

"It's quite the party," Graham remarked as he glanced around. "I'm not sure what I expected, but the idea of villains having a birthday party seemed a bit absurd to me. I suppose I saw you all as entirely focused on your goals."

"We make ample time to indulge in all that this life has to offer," Loki explained. "After all, what use is ultimate power and the death of one's enemies if one does not take the time to enjoy it?"

"I suppose I never thought of it that way," Graham nodded. "Happy birthday, by the way."

"Why thank you," Loki beamed. "Come. Let us get you a drink!"

However, before Loki and Graham could make their way to the refreshments table, a shock of energy passed through the ballroom, causing everyone to fall silent. The ghosts ceased their dancing, and the Overtakers looked around, uncertain if this was to be another Demiurge attack or one of their own playing a trick.

"Something is coming from regions beyond," Leota said ominously.

A spark of ruby energy began to sputter into existence in the center of the ballroom, and a plume of crimson smoke began to billow out of the floor, causing everyone nearby to take a step back. The Overtakers drew their weapons and prepared their magics, but they all began to relax their guard when they saw a familiar black pointed hat emerge from the smoke.

The Wicked Witch of the West manifested, frantically clicking her heels together and repeating over and over, "Get me back to the Overtakers! Get me back to the Overtakers! Get me back to the Overtakers!"

Maleficent quickly ran over to the witch and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Wicked, my friend, you've arrived! You may stop now."

The Wicked Witch opened her eyes widely, and instant relief washed over her as she gazed upon Maleficent's face.

"Maleficent? Is it really you?" the Wicked Witch asked.

Maleficent nodded. "Yes, yes it is. You've made it to the Haunted Mansion."

The Wicked Witch breathed a sigh of relief and pulled Maleficent into a hug. The physical contact clearly took Maleficent off guard, but she did not object... not verbally anyway.

"Is she allowed to do that?" Blackheart asked.

"Oh, it was horrible!" the Wicked Witch said as she broke free of the hug and glanced back at the other Overtakers. "The Demiurge and his flock of flying fools rounded us all up! Made it impossible to use our powers! He still has my sister, my flying monkeys, and everyone else!"

Loki conjured a dagger behind his back, just in case he needed it. "And... how did you manage to escape?"

The Wicked Witch smiled and wagged her fingers triumphantly. "My slippers! The Ruby Slippers! They'll never come off as long as I'm alive. Even he, with all his power, couldn't change that!"

"And he couldn't kill you without sending you straight to the Underworld," Hades added. "Just had to lock ya up and hope his magical defenses held."

"Yes, exactly!" the Wicked Witch nodded. "It took a few tries, but these shoes took Dorothy to a land without magic. I knew they'd have the power to help me escape!"

"Escape from where?" Fish asked. "Where are Kieran and the others, Wicked?"

The Wicked Witch gulped hard and shook her head somberly.

"It's not like it used to be," the Wicked Witch explained. "He's twisted it. Reshaped it into a prison of light. All our beautiful wickedness is gone."

"Where?" Maleficent asked firmly, although she feared she already knew the answer.

"The World of Divine Judgment...," the Wicked Witch answered, "formerly known as The Overtaken Kingdom."

Chapter Text

Grimhilde and the Wicked Witch emerged from the mirror chamber to find Maleficent, Loki, Jafar, and Hook waiting patiently for the results of their little test.

"She is genuine, and the Demiurge has no hold over her," Grimhilde confirmed, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"That is indeed wonderful news," Maleficent nodded.

"It is... although I would have enjoyed ending her life if findings had come up to the contrary," Loki said, flashing a sinister grin in the Wicked Witch's direction.

The Wicked Witch scowled and bit her thumb in Loki's direction. "That's all I have to say to that, trickster."

"Mate, count your blessings that she's on our side," Hook said to Loki. "I've had personal experience with another green skinned wicked witch, and I can promise you that ours is better and far less inclined to curse my lips."

Jafar shot Hook a confused look. "She cursed your lips?"

"Don't ask," Hook said with a deep sigh of exasperation.

"Now that any concerns have now been set aside," Maleficent said, attempting to pay the others no mind. "We must focus our full attention on the tasks at hand. Radiant Garden is now safe for us to traverse, and we've a castle staff to attend to our needs. Now, we must fill the sorcerer's hat with magic and brew the mortality potion."

"Is that why you've allowed Watts a small party to investigate something unimportant in town?" Jafar asked.

Maleficent glared at Jafar but did not dignify his insubordination with a response.

"Regarding the hat, I'd an unfortunate premonition that I fear we'd best get ahead of," Hook said. "Emma Swan, the Savior. She's a substantial source of light magic and could easily fill the hat, and with her pedigree, abilities, and ties to me, she's almost certainly the sort of hero the Demiurge would seek out to use against us. Best if we take her off the board before that can occur."

"She also has ties to Sora and the other heroes," Grimhilde warned. "If we are discovered whilst targeting her, or worse yet, if we fail, we risk the interference of the heroes. I know you desire your vengeance, but I cannot see how it would be wise to strike now."

"Because we have a secret weapon to wield against her," Hook explained. "The Huntsman whom Loki favors."

"Graham?" Loki asked. "Perhaps you're a bit confused, captain. You brought Graham out of the timeline nearly twenty-eight years prior to the Savior coming to Storybrooke. He has no history with her."

"Aye, but she has history with him," Hook explained. "They were friends and even shared a kiss when Swan first came to town. She mourned him greatly after his untimely demise."

"Hmm, yes, I suppose that would be a useful tool for manipulation," Loki mused, "if Graham could be convinced of it, and given his exhausting sense of honor, I doubt that is likely."

"If only we had a master of manipulation who had already begun to dig his claws into the man," Jafar bemoaned sarcastically. "Oh wait!"

Loki smirked. "As ever, you would all be lost without me. But such a task is not done overnight. I suggest we table the matter of Emma Swan for a later date and turn our attention towards other sources of magic fit to fill the hat."

"We could stuff Glinda in there," the Wicked Witch suggested. "I'd love to see her frilly dress and arrogant smile disappear into the hat."

"It would be more beneficial for us to look to the powers Sise-Neg used to become the Demiurge," Loki said. "As I understand it, the final source of power Sise-Neg siphoned off magic from was a Great Old One known as Shuma-Gorath. Whilst it would be unwise to target that same entity, Shuma-Gorath had a myriad of lesser Great Old Ones serving him on Midgard. Taking their magic would be a fitting place to start."

"Will doing so invite the unwanted attention of Doctor Strange or the Avengers?" Maleficent inquired.

"Doubtful," Loki shook his head. "Midgard is vast, and a myriad of other supervillains will be more visible threats for the heroes to toy with. And without Heimdall's keen sight, we need not fear Odin's interference either."

"Then it is a perfect place to begin," Maleficent declared. "Gather any of our allies you feel would be useful and venture forth. I shall be along shortly to join you."

Maleficent vanished in a flurry of flames, leaving Loki to smugly smirk at Jafar, Hook, Grimhilde, and the Wicked Witch.

"You're all welcome to come along on my excursion," Loki offered with an air of condescension dripping off his words.

Hook rolled his eyes. "As if we have a choice."

Watts was barely watching where he was going; his eyes were glued to his tablet. Despite this, Doom, Steve, and Ardyn followed after him, allowing him to blindly lead them wherever they were going. The four Overtakers made their way up the walkway towards the castle postern under cover of nightfall. The path leading behind the castle was supposed to be an access road only for authorized personnel, but the Overtakers did whatever they pleased.

"According to my scanners, the mysterious server is nearby...," Watts said, never looking up from his tablet. "It's not inside the castle, but it is close, which likely allowed it to remain undetected for so long."

"Um, Watts," Steve said.

"Don't worry, I assure you it'll be worth our while," Watts said as he honed in on the signal. "I've never seen data quite this powerful."

"Oh Doctor!" Ardyn called out.

"We're getting closer," Watts sighed. "Honestly, you're acting like children. A little walking never hurt any- "

But Watts suddenly found himself aggressively yanked backwards by his shirt collar by Doom. At first, Watts was terrified, and then he was utterly offended.

"What are you doing?" Watts sputtered angrily.

Doom released Watts and gestured directly in front of them to a rock wall that Watts was about to walk head first directly into.

"Oh...," Watts said sheepishly. "Thank you...."

"Next time, Doom will simply allow you to crash," Doom huffed as he approached the rock wall to examine it. "Your scanners show that the server is just beyond this wall, is that correct?"

"Yes," Watts nodded. "No more than twenty feet further."

"Back when I had Operation Repose, the city maps showed orichalcum mines all around this area," Steve explained, "some of which weren't even fully documented. Whatever you're picking up on, it's probably in one of the mineshafts."

"That was my thinking as well," Watts said. "But finding the entrance is another matter."

"Far be it for me to state the obvious," Ardyn said. "But if the server is but a few paltry feet in front of us, perhaps we should simply make our own entrance."

"Without knowing what's on the other side?" Watts asked. "We could cause a cave in or worse."

"There is a doorway here," Doom said as he placed a hand against the wall. "An enchantment has blocked the way and made this rock face appear as a solid wall, likely to force one to venture through the mines to reach the server."

"Then why have a shortcut here at all if it is not accessible?" Ardyn asked.

"To make it accessible to the right people," Steve guessed. "Which I'm sure doesn't include us."

"Nothing is inaccessible to DOOM!" Doom boasted.

Doom's hands began to glow green as glyphs began to appear and disappear all over the rockface. To Watts, who had no real knowledge of the occult, it appeared almost as though Doom was slowly unsealing a giant combination lock. The implications intrigued him. A doorway in front of Doom became engulfed in light, and when the light dimmed, the rock wall became translucent and revealed a secret hallway that looked like it had come right out of The World That Never Was.

"Incredible!" Watts declared. "Even after all this time, I'm still amazed by the feats your magic can achieve."

The four Overtakers proceeded into the newly revealed chamber and found themselves in a large circular area surrounded on all sides by waterfalls from the Rising Falls. The cavern was largely metallic and gray with Nobody insignias all around the room. Overhead, the Overtakers had a clear view of the sky and the castle looming above.

"Does this mean we could have just flown in here?" Steve asked, slightly exasperated.

Doom squinted as he examined the sky above him and unleashed a bolt of energy from his hand. The plasma bolt flew upwards until it hit a solid ceiling and momentarily distorted the image of the sky before fizzling back into focus.

"It is an illusion," Doom explained. "An enchantment to provide a glimpse of the sky above this cavern."

"Why would anyone go to all that trouble?" Steve asked. "Feels a little like a waste of magic."

"Many with magic use its powers for trivialities," Doom stated. "Whoever built this cavern, and I have my suspicions as to who that may be, obviously desired a more grandiose aesthetic."

Watts, however, was barely listening. His attention was focused directly on the object he came for, a computer terminal sitting in the center of the room. As Watts turned on the computer, words began to flash on the monitor: "Welcome to the Garden of Assemblage."

"Garden of Assemblage, hmm?" Watts muttered under his breath.

"Is it at least a glittering one?" Ardyn asked slyly.

The room around them began to shake and rumble, and slowly, thirteen Keyhole shaped windows emerged around the perimeter of the room. The windows were pink and fuzzy with data, and in the center of each window was a silhouette corresponding to different weapons.

"What the Hell?" Steve asked.

"Just as I thought," Doom nodded. "These windows each correspond to members of Organization XIII. Look to windows IX and XI should you require further confirmation."

"Demyx's sitar!" Steve declared.

"And Marluxia's scythe," Ardyn added. "How fascinating."

"So... what?" Steve asked. "Is this a safehouse that Xemnas built? Somewhere he could escape to if the Castle That Never Was got compromised."

"No, it's not that," Watts said as he began to pour over the data after hacking into the computer. "It looks to me like these are simulators."

"Simulating what, pray tell?" Ardyn asked. "Organization XIII?"

"That is what I'm trying to figure out," Watts said. "But if this is connected to Organization XIII, Maleficent will want to know about it."

Watts took out his phone and dialed Maleficent's number.

"Hello?" Watts said after she answered. "Yes, we've found the server, but there's something you need to see. How soon can you arrive at my current location?"

A flurry of green flames erupted a few feet next to Watts, and Maleficent emerged from the fire.

"Does that answer your question?" Maleficent asked slyly before glancing around her. "What is this place?"

"The Garden of Assemblage," Doom answered. "It appears to be some form of massive simulator created by Xemnas for a purpose as of yet unclear."

"Xemnas indeed," Maleficent scowled as she noticed the Nobody insignias around her.

"Maybe the only way to really understand what these things are is if we go into them ourselves," Steve suggested. "I mean, it can't be more powerful than us, can it?"

"Nothing is more powerful than Doom," Doom sneered.

"If you four are willing to test one of these things, that would be helpful," Watts said. "I'll remain out here with the computer and monitor the situation."

"Shall we try Marluxia's portal?" Ardyn asked. "Given that we know him personally, it would likely be the most informative and the least hostile."

"You speak as though Marluxia has ever been non-hostile," Maleficent scoffed.

"We could always try Demyx's door," Steve offered. "He's so lazy it won't matter."

"A far wiser choice," Maleficent said. "Come, let us investigate this matter."

Maleficent, Doom, Ardyn, and Steve stepped into the light of the pathway marked by Demyx's sitar and suddenly found themselves in the middle of a ruined version of the Castle Gates area of Radiant Garden. The area looked exactly the way that it had appeared before the Restoration Committee finished rebuilding it, back when Sora first battled Demyx.

"Did... we just get teleported back outside?" Steve asked.

"No," Doom confirmed, "we are still in the Garden of Assemblage. This is a data based projection."

"Of this town's recent past," Maleficent added. "Fascinating!"

Several white squares of data and randomized numbers appeared in front of the four Overtakers and began to spin around. A beam of white light flashed, and when it cleared, Demyx appeared standing in front of the Overtakers with his sitar in hand.

"Ah, Demyx! How lovely to see you!" Ardyn called out. "Did you manage to escape the Demiurge?"

Doom shook his head. "That is not the Demyx we know."

Data Demyx spun his sitar around and began to play. "Dance water, dance!"

From the sitar, countless water clones emerged, and in the sky overhead, a thirty-second long timer began to count down.

[Destroy seventy-five water clones within the time limit]

"What is going on?" Maleficent asked.

"Destroy the water clones," Doom ordered as he began to blast them with his suit's lasers. "Ask questions later!"

Maleficent, Ardyn, and Steve obeyed and began to attack the clones. Ordinarily, when Demyx's water clones were hit, they would transform into water shaped musical notes, but this time, the water clones began to fight back quite potently.

"Uh... this isn't going well!" Steve called out.

"Get back, you fools!" Maleficent roared with fury as she unleashed a wave of green fire that evaporated every water clone in her vicinity.

One lone water clone, however, managed to survive and danced over to the edge of the arena. Doom attempted to fire on the survivor, but the timer above hit zero.

"Got ya now!" Data Demyx's voice taunted as everything faded to black for the Overtakers.

In a flash of light, the four Overtakers returned to the Garden of Assemblage to the sound of slow clapping coming from Watts.

"Remarkable," Watts mocked his friends. "Four of the most powerful Overtakers in the cosmos, and you just lost to our faction's biggest moron."

"Be SILENT!" Doom roared furiously. "Demyx has never before been that powerful."

"Indeed not," Maleficent agreed. "But at least now we know the purpose of these doors."

"Yes, they're battle simulators," Watts nodded. "But they're not just training courses; they're even more powerful than their real selves."

"Whyever would Xemnas devise a battle simulator with more powerful versions of his subordinates and himself?" Ardyn asked. "That seems a bit counterintuitive."

"Why does Xemnas do anything? Because he's a dumbass, that's why," Steve answered.

"My working theory is that he intended to replace his fallen minions with their digital counterparts," Watts explained, "but I'll need more time and more research to say anything for certain."

"Xehanort had many contingency plans," Maleficent reminded her allies. "This may indeed have been one of them."

"Regardless, it's ours now," Watts announced. "And I have a few ideas for how to use it already in mind!"

"Then I shall leave you to it," Maleficent nodded. "Loki has a plan to fill the hat with magic, and I promised I would be along shortly to help."

"Best of luck," Doom nodded. "The rest of us will remain with Watts. Notify me if my services are required."

"Very well," Maleficent agreed.

And in a flurry of green fire, she was gone.

"Come in, come in!" Winnie said after Hades knocked on the Sanderson Sisters' bedroom door.

Hades entered the bedroom to find that the trio of witches had decorated their chamber to be an almost identical replica of their cottage back in Salem with a large smoking cauldron set up in the center of the room. At first Hades was confused when he only saw one bed on the far side of the room with a green patchwork quilt on it, but his answer regarding Mary and Sarah's sleeping arrangements were answered when he noticed the makeshift loft featuring one red and one purple sleeping bag.

"Kinda cramped in here, isn't it, babes?" Hades asked.

Mary began to respond in agreement, but Winnie quickly cut her off. "Oh no, Lord Hades, it is quite comfortable!"

"I'm sure," Hades mumbled sarcastically. "So, let's get down to bronze tax. You told me you thought your book could help me find that elusive Ophiotaurus. Don't tell me you already failed, because, lemme tell ya, that is NOT gonna end well for you!"

"Fear thee not, Lord Hades," Winnie said as she gestured to her cauldron, "for this brew shall be the solution to thy problem! Mary, explain it!"

"The mist we have conjured is the Veil of Vassago," Mary explained. "Physically traversing the Infernal Planes is both taxing and tedious, and we risk drawing the attention of Mephisto... or worse."

"Got me there, babes," Hades nodded. "Last time I went to Hell, I had to go toe to toe with Lucifer. Time before that, I got locked in a cage and used as bait to try to get Doom to sacrifice Loki. Would just assume avoid all that mishegas this go-round."

"And we shall!" Mary declared. "The Veil of Vassago invites a trance and allows the mind to scour the circles of Hell for that which one seeks without ever departing from Villain's Vale! Also good for avoiding the blood sucking fireflies!"

"You and I, Lord Hades, will inhale the enchanted mists and search for the Ophiotaurus," Winnie added. "Sarah and Mary will remain behind to protect our bodies and ensure our safe return."

"Thou art in good hands," Mary promised Hades.

Sarah, meanwhile, didn't appear to be listening and was chewing at the frayed hem of her apron, trying to bite the stray threads off.

"Uh-huh," Hades said, not entirely convinced. "See, I might actually be worried if I wasn't a god, but since I am, the only one in trouble if you flub up is your sister."

"And thou shalt NOT make ANY mistakes," Winnie warned her sisters, "lest I throw thee to the gwythaints to allow thy eyes to be clawed from thy heads!"

"Tempting though it may be, thou hast nothing to worry about, sister," Mary huffed. "Lord Hades, please, whenever thou art ready, step forth!"

Hades and Winnie stepped forward, and Winnie gestured for Hades to take her hand, which the Lord of the Dead reluctantly did. Mary and Sarah stood on the opposite side of the cauldron and made a motion with their hands as though they were fanning the smoke towards Hades and Winnie. Red and black mist began to billow out of the cauldron, and Hades and Winnie inhaled a deep breath of it. Their eyes glazed over red, and in an instant, the two villains found themselves hovering over the Mountain of Oblivion in the topmost circle of Hell. Their "bodies," however, were translucent, as they were not truly there.

"Oy, this place is the most cliched realm in the entire cosmos," Hades sighed. "Say what you will about the Underworld, but at least we're not this basic."

"I've always found it quite lovely, myself," Winnie replied.

"Well, hey, you can admire the scenery later," Hades said with a roll of his eyes. "Right now, we've got an Ophiotaurus to find... but, uh... how exactly do we go about doing that?"

"We focus our intentions on the Ophiotaurus and dive deeper into the mists," Winnie instructed. "Like so...."

Winnie reached out in front of her and used her fingernail to tear a hole in the fabric of reality, revealing more of the red and black mist. The witch then dove headfirst into the Veil of Vassago, and Hades cautiously followed suited. The pair almost immediately found themselves in a flaming swampy part of Hell with a perpetual putrid steam hanging in the air.

"Where are we now?" Hades asked as he glanced around with uncertainty.

"I believe this is the nameless Realm of the Dykkors," Winnie announced after a quick glance around.

"Whoa! Hey! Watch the language there, Winnie," Hades teased. "Pretty sure they prefer to be called 'sex-positive lesbians.'"

"Thou art truly hilarious," Winnie said sarcastically with a roll of her eyes. "The Dykkors, however, are the most grotesque and putrid demons in the cosmos, exiled here by the Ancient One!"

Several Dykkors emerged from their hiding places to prowl about the bog. The demons were bestial in nature with slimy nappy fur and exposed bloody muscles and bones adorning their twisted frames.

"Yeesh, no kidding on the grotesque part," Hades scowled. "Didn't Dormammu take over this part of Hell at one point? I seem to remember it bein' a big scandal amongst the Lords of the Dead back in the day."

"Yes, but the Dreaded One has long since abandoned this plane," Winnie assured Hades.

"Can't imagine why," Hades grumbled sarcastically. "I don't see anything that looks like an Ophiotaurus here, so it seems like your mist is a dud."

"No, the Veil of Vassago cannot have led us astray!" Winnie said. "There must be a clue to the prize we seek somewhere within this accursed plane, even if the beast itself is not here...."

Winnie reached out in front of her, grabbed ahold of a clump of mist, and threw it out in front of her. The mist swirled into the form of a serpent and began to fly off into the distance, leaving a trail of red in its wake.

"Ah! Come! We follow the trail!" Winnie declared. "I knew my spell worked perfectly!"

Hades and Winnie flew along the trail of red mist across the filthy landscape, both incredibly thankful that in their non-corporeal form, they couldn't smell the putrid dimension. The Dykkors they flew past seemed vaguely aware of their presence but did not regard them with much interest. However, something strange happened as Hades and Winnie proceeded further and further along the trail; the deformed and bizarre landscape gave way to one of beauty. Lush vegetation and brightly colored flowers quite unlike the rest of Hell coated the land, and the mist led the two Overtakers into a small green cavern nestled within a thicket of trees.

"What's with the change of scenery?" Hades wondered aloud.

"This... was not like this before," Winnie remarked as she glanced around her.

"Dykkors!" a voice called out. "I warned you before not to trespass with your filthy claws in my garden sanctuary, and this time I will - "

But the man stopped short when he saw that it was not any Dykkor that had intruded, but the transparent forms of Hades and Winnie. The man was an odd looking fellow. His style of dress and general appearance reminded Hades and Winnie of Jafar, but this man seemed to be made entirely of flora. His face and skin were made of tree bark, his turban a lush bush, his robes red and green leaves, and his beard a smattering of moss.

"Oh! You are not from this realm," the man said, his tone immediately changing.

"By the looks of things, neither are you, babe," Hades said. "Name's Hades, Lord of the Dead. This is my associate, Winnie Sanderson. And you are?"

"Arbutus," the man answered. "The Ever-Blooming Artist of the Seven Deserts!"

"The Seven Deserts? Thou art from the same world as Jafar!" Winnie declared.

Arbutus merely shrugged. "That name is not familiar to me. Then again, I spent very little time amongst humanity; I preferred to keep to myself in my gardens."

"How'd a sorcerer from the Seven Deserts wind up in the Realm of the Dykkors?" Hades asked. "I mean, hey, I know the cosmos ain't exactly tidy about who goes where after they kick the bucket, but that's an odd jump."

Arbutus scowled as he recalled the memory. "An insolent and pigheaded boy by the name of Aladdin cut me down."

"Oy, there's a familiar name," Hades sighed.

"Yet even after I withered and decayed, my spirit found solace within a fresh new blossom planted by a fair and tender-hearted princess," Arbutus explained. "I was content to simply continue to be. That is, until the fallen angel Lucifer restored my body and sought to commission me to create for him a new Eden. Naturally, I refused. I am, after all, an artist! My vision cannot be ordered about by the whims of others, devil or otherwise!"

"Nor shouldst it!" Winnie agreed.

"As punishment for my refusal, the fiend cast me into exile in this grotesque realm," Arbutus continued. "He said that if I refused to create beauty for him, then I should be condemned to exist only in a realm of pure ugliness for all eternity!"

"Well, I mean, hey, the location ain't the prettiest, but it seems like you've done good work gentrifying the neighborhood," Hades argued. "This little hideaway ya got here looks like somethin' outta my ex-wife's wildest dreams."

"Ah, but it doesn't last," Arbutus sighed. "Observe what happens when I cease to concentrate on maintaining the garden."

Arbutus released his hold over his surroundings, and immediately the garden around them began to wither and die with fire, steam, and blood seeping in to everything around them.

"It is like tensing a muscle," Arbutus explained. "And when I stop, my art is destroyed."

"Ooh, that's gotta hurt," Hades flinched.

"Beauty is always painful," Arbutus said wistfully as he stared off into the sky above.

"Well, look, babe, we didn't mean to get all up in your hair... er... leaves," Hades said. "We're lookin' for an Ophiotaurus, and the spell we used to find it led us right to you. Got any clue as to why?"

"An Ophiotaurus, eh?" Arbutus asked. "Yes, I know of the beast. My plants have roots in many dimensions, one of which being a world where the beast you seek grazes."

"Tell us where we might find it!" Winnie ordered.

Arbutus, however, smirked and stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Perhaps we can make a deal. You are the Lord of the Dead, are you not? Surely you possess the power to free me from this accursed realm. If you help me escape, I will tell you where to find the creature you seek."

Hades scowled at the request. "You're tryin' to extort me. Not a great plan, babe, especially not when fire burns wood."

"Threatening a man with nothing left to lose," Arbutus sighed. "How disappointing. Well, if you've no interest in the deal, then we have nothing more to discuss. You should be on your way."

"Lord Hades, a word," Winnie said as she pulled Hades aside. "I think we shouldst grant his request."

"I don't make deals with talking salads," Hades huffed.

"The mists led us to him," Winnie said. "He may be the only one in all the worlds who knows where to find the Ophiotaurus. We cannot so readily dismiss him, unless thou wishes to forego the creation of thy potion."

Hades groaned. "Ugh, I hate when you're right."

A wave of flames washed over Hades, and his translucent body became fully flesh and blood once more.

"Alright, Arbutus, you win, we have a deal," Hades sighed. "Come here, let's shake on it."

"The location of the Ophiotaurus for my freedom back to Agrabah," Arbutus clarified as he took Hades's hand.

Rays of blue light began to shine from their joined hands as they confirmed the deal, and both Hades and Arbutus could feel the magic working. All around them, the surge in power did not go unnoticed by the Dykkors who observed with fear and intrigue.

"This magic is binding," Hades clarified, never letting go of Arbutus's hand. "Once you reveal where the Ophiotaurus is, it'll take you back to your home world."

"Very well," Arbutus nodded. "I have observed the creature you seek in the Serpent Dimension. It grazes upon the vegetation that grows at the bottom of the river that flows through that realm."

With the information now revealed, a flash of blue magic engulfed Arbutus, and when it cleared, the plant-like man was gone, transported back to his world.

"Oy vey," Hades sighed. "We're goin' back to the Serpent Dimension? That's not gonna go over well. Hope Serpentina stayed dead, at least."

"We have the location, and you just used magic in the sights of the Kingdom of Hell," Winnie pointed out. "We shouldst leave this place at once."

"Go ahead and return to your body," Hades said. "I'm here in person now, so I've gotta find a Nexus point to summon a Corridor."

Winnie nodded and vanished without a trace, leaving Hades alone in the infernal realm. As Hades began to walk to the nearest Nexus point, he pondered the situation aloud.

"Serpent Dimension?" Hades sighed. "Snakes, why did it have to be snakes?"

Chapter Text

On the world of Midgard, just north of Massachusetts's Quabbin Reservoir, sat a ghoulish little coastal town named Starkesboro. This eerie little backwater town was no stranger to dark threats of the supernatural variety, but even after all the horrors it had seen, nothing could have prepared it for what was about to emerge from the Corridor of Darkness that formed on the outskirts of town.

"Ah, back on Midgard's lowly soil," Loki sighed as he emerged from the darkness and took a deep breath of the salty sea air. "Had this world not birthed my husband, I'd call it nothing more than mud."

Behind Loki, five other Overtakers emerged from the darkness, Jafar, Hook, Grimhilde, the Wicked Witch, and Blackheart.

"There has definitely been some demonic presence around here," Blackheart remarked as he glanced out at the town. "Makes me a bit homesick for Christ's Crown, the town where I was born."

Jafar smirked. "What an ironic name for such a town."

"Speaking of, where are we, Loki?" Hook asked.

"Starkesboro," Loki answered before quickly adding, "no connection to the Stark you're no doubt thinking of. This unassuming village may not look like much, but there is great darkness here. Dear Captain America found himself transformed into a werewolf when last he was here."

"A shame he got turned back," the Wicked Witch laughed. "His lover was already a heartless Tin Man. Would've been poetic justice to get to terrorize a little dog too!"

"A werewolf is hardly magical enough to fill the hat with power," Grimhilde sneered. "I'll not have my time wasted, Loki."

"Fear not, lycanthropy is the least of our concerns here," Loki assured her. "Before this town went to the dogs, it was ruled by a cult worshipping the Great Old Ones, and a few such abominable entities walked these very grounds... that is, until Doctor Strange made short work of them."

"I presume those were the entities working for Shuma-Gorath that you mentioned," Jafar surmised.

"So your brain does work," Loki teased. "I am impressed!"

Jafar rolled his eyes at the insult. "It's good that mine does considering yours seems lacking. After all, if Strange has already destroyed the acolytes of Shuma-Gorath, they're of no use to us."

"Who said anything about them being destroyed?" Loki asked coyly. "I believe you ought to have your ears examined! We should all know well that completely ridding oneself of a Great Old One is no simple task, even a lesser Great Old One, or need I remind you all of the numerous times the Ten Terrors have vexed us."

"You do not," Grimhilde nodded. "If we are to absorb these entities into the hat, we'd best get on with the task of locating them."

"Indeed," Loki nodded. "I had thought a spell from the Darkhold might - "

"I've got it covered," Blackheart interrupted. "The evil aura over this town is demonic in nature and thus my area of expertise. I can sense where we need to go. Come on, follow me, we're wasting valuable night time here!"

Loki frowned but gestured for Blackheart to lead the way. "After him, I suppose."

Jafar made a move to follow the group, but Hook gently but firmly held him back.

"You all go on ahead," Hook said to the other Overtakers. "We'll be along shortly."

Loki shrugged and pressed onward. "Do not delay. This town is not the place to remain idle."

Once Loki and the others were out of earshot, Jafar glanced at Hook with a puzzled expression.

"What troubles you, my sea snake?" Jafar asked.

"You saw what Loki did back at the castle, did you not?" Hook asked. "I suggested my plan to use the huntsman to capture Swan and absorb her power into the hat, and Loki immediately redirected our course away from that heading and pointed us toward this backwater port instead."

"Yes, he's unfortunately quite adept at redirection," Jafar agreed. "It's infuriating, but it's nothing new. He's always been this way for as long as we've known him."

"Aye, but he rarely does so without reason," Hook argued, "and while being an irritant pest is hardly uncharted waters for his motivation, I've a suspicion there's more to this tale than meets the eye."

"You think he has other plans for the huntsman that he's keeping from us?" Jafar asked.

"Perhaps," Hook nodded. "Or perhaps he has feelings for Storybrooke's former sheriff."

"Feelings? Loki? BAH!" Jafar scoffed. "Doom is the only person Loki seems capable of having any affection toward for longer than a week's time."

"Then perhaps it's more a fascination," Hook suggested, "like a cat to its prey. Either way, he bristled at the notion of Graham and Emma being reunited, even for manipulation. That doesn't strike you as odd?"

"I suppose a little," Jafar admitted. "Although Emma Swan has been known to distract ruggedly handsome men from their true purpose in ways that are quite troublesome to our cause."

"You'll hear no arguments from me," Hook nodded. "I'd hardly find myself surprised if I were to learn there was some sort of savior magic in her nether regions."

Jafar made an expression of disgust at the notion. "Perish the thought!"

"Just keep a weathered eye on Loki," Hook warned. "Whether we'll need to intercede to protect our own interests or save him from himself, I know not, but I fear one or both may prove necessary."

Jafar nodded, and the couple proceeded after the rest of the group. The other Overtakers, meanwhile, made their way deeper into Starkesboro until Blackheart stopped in front of an eerie looking church. Despite being a place of worship, the Overtakers had the distinct feeling that this was not the Christian establishment that it purported to be on the outside. Blackheart knelt down, ran his fingers across the ground, and sniffed them suspiciously.

"This is where Doctor Strange slew one of the Great Old Ones," Blackheart said. "I can smell the echoes of the struggle."

"You can smell it?" the Wicked Witch asked suspiciously.

"Clairalience," Blackheart answered. "Seems like Strange turned the creature's own powers against it and dissolved it back into primal ooze."

"How lovely," Grimhilde remarked sarcastically. "Can you ascertain as to what became of the creature? Does it indeed live again?"

"Hard to say," Blackheart admitted. "But the ooze would have made its way back to the ocean, which is where this abomination originated."

"The ocean? Maybe we should go tell Ursula and let her handle it," the Wicked Witch suggested nervously.

"My dear witch, are you afraid of getting wet?" Loki asked coyly. "Will you melt for a second time?"

"Not with the power of the Ruby Slippers," the Wicked Witch shook her head. "I should be perfectly safe. Still, I'm not one to test my luck with water if it's not necessary."

Grimhilde's expression grew instantly concerned. "Does that mean you have not been bathing regularly?"

"Yes, that's why her skin is green; it's covered in grime," Blackheart offered.

"Oh how very funny," the Wicked Witch sneered. "NO! That's not how it is! I bathe daily; it's just not the same process as the one humans do."

"It's also not relevant to the task at hand," Loki interrupted. "We've no need to send for Ursula; we've ample magic to pursue the creature into the sea ourselves. If the witch's cowardice colors her yellow rather than green, she's more than welcome to stay behind."

"I'm coming with you; I'm coming with you!" the Wicked Witch barked. "No need to twist my arm. I may not like the plan, but I'm a team player."

"Team player for what, pray tell?" Jafar asked as he and Hook rejoined the others.

"Ah, good of you to finally make it," Loki scoffed. "We were just discussing pursuing our quarry in the depths of the ocean."

"Venturing underwater again?" Hook sighed. "I had hoped Atlantica would be the first and final time I'd be forced down into the fathoms below. But I suppose I've little choice in the matter."

"None, in fact," Loki confirmed.

"You gave Wicked a choice," Blackheart pointed out.

"Yes, but Hook is far more essential to the task at hand," Loki said.

"That's surprisingly kind of you to say," Hook grinned.

"Indeed. Pretending that we need him and then using him as bait is necessary for our success," Loki added, causing Hook's expression to fall.

"And there's the Loki I know," Hook said with a shake of his head.

"I have never left," Loki declared with a laugh. "Now then, shall we proceed to the shore?"

"Wasn't Maleficent coming?" the Wicked Witch asked. "Shouldn't we wait for her?"

A flurry of green flames appeared next to the Overtakers, causing them all to jolt a bit with surprise.

"That will not be necessary," Maleficent said smugly as she emerged from the flames.

"Do you just wait around until someone mentions your name so you can make an entrance?" Blackheart asked.

"I know nothing of which you speak," Maleficent replied. "Now, tell me, have you located a suitable power source for the hat."

"Yes," Loki answered.

"Not yet," Grimhilde replied simultaneously. "We have found the site of Doctor Strange's battle against a Great Old One, and we believe the creature may have reformed itself under the sea. However, as of yet, we are only operating on Loki's theories."

"Which will, inevitably, prove correct," Loki argued. "I see no reason to speak so dismissively of my contributions."

"We shall conduct a thorough investigation," Maleficent assured him. "If what you say is true, we cannot allow so powerful a target to go unclaimed. You say the creature lies beneath the seas? Then lead on!"

Loki nodded, flounced out his cape, and began to walk toward the beach, gesturing for the others to follow. Hook and Jafar rolled their eyes and shared a knowing glance.

"Mistress, a moment," Hook said, stopping Maleficent before she could follow Loki. "After such time as we satisfy the hat's hunger with the Old One, perhaps we can turn our attention towards Emma Swan, per my previous suggestion."

"It shall be as we discussed back at Villain's Vale," Maleficent replied. "Miss Swan is much too connected to the other heroes for a direct attack to serve us well. Only through the use of the huntsman can we obtain our goals, and Loki does not yet believe the time is right to exploit our connection to him."

"And you trust Loki's judgment?" Hook asked with a scoff.

"It's not a matter of trust," Maleficent shook her head, "but of viability. Have patience. Neither your revenge nor your concerns over her usefulness to the Demiurge are a matter I take lightly. I will see them addressed in their proper time. Now, come, we have delayed long enough."

Maleficent turned away from Hook and began to walk after the rest of the group. Hook wanted to argue further, but he knew it would be an exercise in futility. There was no arguing with Maleficent after she'd already made up her mind.

"Yes, your excellency," Hook sighed.

While many of the Overtakers were out on various missions, those who were not otherwise occupied were gathered in the common room of Villain's Vale, enjoying some down time. A collective groan passed around the room when Hades teleported in and cleared his throat loudly.

"Alright, babes, time for the next phase of the potion plan," Hades said. "I found out where the Ophiotaurus is hiding, and it's time to go get it!"

"And where is the creature?" Fish asked.

"See... that's the thing, it's kinda sorta maybe in the Serpent Dimension," Hades said quickly, "but we can handle goin' back, right? So, let's get a move on and go get that Ophiotaurus! Who's with me?"

Hades groaned loudly as he stood in the middle of the dense jungles of the Serpent Dimension all by himself.

"Nobody, that's who! Nobody's with me," Hades huffed. "And I ain't talkin' about Odysseus either."

A snake fell out of a tree overhead and landed on Hades's shoulder. The Lord of the Dead brushed it off, completely incinerating the tree snake in the process.

"Yeesh, why do I get stuck doin' all the leg work every time?" Hades asked. "I mean, really, is anyone workin' harder than me?"

Two vipers, one magenta colored and one teal slithered up to Hades and transformed back into Pain and Panic.

"We've been combing through this entire dimension for you, boss, but still no sign of the Ophiotaurus!" Pain reported back.

Noticing the furious expression on Hades's face, Panic quickly added, "But we'll keep looking! We won't rest until we've searched every inch of this place and found what you're looking for!"

"Good, and don't keep me waiting!" Hades warned. "I don't wanna be here any longer than I have to!"

"Yes, your perniciousness!" Pain said as he bowed before Hades.

"Oh! I almost forgot! We got your coffee for you!" Panic said as he conjured a black and blue thermos with a skull pattern along the side. "Just the way you like it!"

"About time!" Hades sighed as he snatched the coffee out of Panic's claws. "And don't forget to pick up my dry cleaning after you find the Ophiotaurus, capiche?"

Pain and Panic nodded, transformed back into snakes, and slithered back into the grass to continue their search.

"Oy, I tell ya what, I deserve a temple built in my honor for all the hard laborious work I'm out here doin'," Hades mused before taking a sip from the thermos. "Ooh! That's good java!"

A Corridor of Darkness opened next to Hades, and with a dramatic twirl, Imperious appeared beside him.

"Heh. Nice of you to join me, bandage-brain," Hades scoffed. "I've been out here bustin' my backside while you've been back home fanning yourself and having Covington hand feed you grapes."

"Some of us are built to do the grueling labor, and others are better equipped to live life luxuriously," Imperious shrugged. "I know that I'm certainly the... AGH!"

An asp had already begun to coil around Imperious's feet, and the dark wizard wasted no time transfiguring the snake into stone. Then, with a vengeful kick, Imperious shattered the statue into a pile of rubble.

"Ugh, disgusting creatures," Imperious sneered indignantly.

Hades shrugged. "I mean, hey, with those silver bandages you've got on, it probably thought you were one great big coil party, like a bunch of silver snakes standing on top of each other in a trench coat to get into a Rho-rated play at the theatron."

Imperious scoffed but did not dignify Hades's attempt at a joke with a further response. "At any rate, have you located the Ophiotaurus yet?"

"No, but I've got my minions on it," Hades answered. "I give 'em about an L-L shot at success."

"Generous," Imperious said with a laugh, "but suppose I know of a faster way?"

"Then I would remind you that as an Overtaker, you should be furthering our causes out of the goodness of your black heart... assuming it's not in some canopic jar somewhere," Hades argued.

"HA! Can you imagine?" Imperious chuckled. "But very well. Come on out, boys!"

Imperious gestured to an open area in front of him with his fan, and a dark magic spell seal appeared on the ground. From the dark purple light, six figures rose from the seal: a green chain-rattling phantom, an old witch dressed in a purple dress, an extraterrestrial skeletal creature in a glowing blue space suit, a vampire who was the spitting image of the classic movie version of Dracula, a ghost in an old fashioned diving suit covered in glowing algae, and another phantom that looked like a stereotypical sheet ghost. Cosgood Creeps, Zeb Perkins, Henry Bascomb, Big Bob Oakley, Captain Cutler, and Bluestone the Great.

"Okay... um, Imperious? What's with the monster mash?" Hades asked.

"Like them?" Imperious asked. "They're a team of criminals who masqueraded as ghosts and monsters. That boy Kal transformed them into the creatures whose disguises they took, but the Cromwells sealed them away in a pocket dimension... that is, until I set them free!"

"Ah, some Undertakers, eh?" Hades asked. "Nice! Most of 'em got swooped up in the whole Demiurge fiasco."

"Kal betrayed us!" Cosgood Creeps, the Green Ghost, huffed. "He used us as a distraction, leaving us to be captured by those miserable Cromwells!"

"Yeah, the kid's a bit impetuous," Hades shrugged, "comes with the territory of bein' young. But you're in with the Lord of the Underworld now, and as long as ya do your job well, you've got job security."

"I suppose we're not in a position to refuse," Big Bob Oakley, the vampire, said.

"And besides," Bluestone, the Phantom, began, "it could prove to be a grand use for my unsurpassed talents!"

"Yes, that's the spirit!" Imperious applauded.

"Oy, not you too," Hades groaned. "You've gotta stop hangin' around Jafar. His puns are rubbing off on you."

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean," Imperious said slyly.

"Mmhmm, sure ya don't," Hades said before turning back to the six Faux Ghosts. "Anyway, back to Bronze tax! I've got my minions lookin' all around this whole snakey dimension for an Ophiotaurus, that's a half-bull, half-serpent for those of you who skipped your mythology lessons. I need you boys to do the same. Find it, kill it, but take care not to damage it too much. I need its entrails for a potion. Consider this an audition to prove that you're worth not being left behind. Got it? Good! Off ya go!"

The six monsters shared a look but ultimately did as they were told and ventured off into the Serpent Dimension.

"You really think these guys'll be worth it?" Hades asked Imperious once the others were out of earshot.

Imperious merely shrugged. "Who knows! Either way, it should prove to be entertaining!"

Hades nodded and shot a small fireball at the copperhead rearing back to strike at his feet.

Blackheart's boots sloshed in the shallow sea water as he ran out past the shore and stared off into the distance at the eerie green looking ocean and the dark clouds looming up ahead.

"Looks like a deadly storm is brewing," Hook said as he and the other Overtakers caught up to Blackheart. "Perhaps we'd best find shelter and continue our search in more favorable weather."

Loki simply rolled his eyes at the suggestion.

"It's a demonic omen," Blackheart said as he pointed to the storm brewing. "That means our target is definitely beneath the waves nearby. If we come back later and the sky doesn't look like that, we'll have wasted our time."

"Fear not," Maleficent said as she placed a hand on Hook's shoulder. "No harm will come to us. The Great Old One is no match for our power!"

"Forgive me for not finding that reassuring," Hook grumbled.

"HEY!" a woman's voice cried out.

From down the beach, a woman ran towards the Overtakers. Loki quickly cast an illusion spell over himself and his allies, dressing everyone in more mundane clothing and uniform shirts. As the woman came more clearly into view, the Overtakers could see that she had brownish-black hair pulled back into a ponytail and wore a blue flannel shirt and a beat up black aviator jacket. What appeared to be a police badge was hanging from a necklace.

"Detective Agnes O'Connor, Starkesboro P.D.," the woman said once she reached the Overtakers. "You folks shouldn't be out here; we've got a severe thunderstorm warning and tornado watch currently active. You should get inside and shelter in place until it passes."

"Ah, officer, yes, of course," Loki said. "I thank you for the warning, but you see, my associates and I are storm chasers for the National Weather Service. We're collecting critical data that will be used to save lives and provide better forewarnings in the future."

Detective Agnes crossed her arms and squinted suspiciously at the Overtakers. "The National Weather Service, huh? Let me see some I.D."

"Of course," Loki said, flashing Agnes a smile as he pantomimed reaching into his back pocket and proceeded to discreetly conjure an I.D. Badge and hand it over. "Here you are."

As Agnes examined the badge, Loki noticed a small blue and white brooch pinned to Agnes's flannel. The brooch seemed to depict three women, and it was only after studying it for a moment that Loki realized that it was a bas relief of the Triple Goddess, maiden, mother, and crone. Fascinating. Not the usual accessory for a police woman.

"Thomas Locke, huh?" Agnes asked. "Well, Mr. Locke, everything seems to be in order. You guys stay safe out here, okay?"

She passed the badge back to Loki, and he gratefully took it.

"Thank you, officer; we will," Loki nodded.

Agnes started to walk away but stopped short. "Y'know, your face looks really familiar, Mr. Locke. Have I seen you someplace before?"

"Probably on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s ten most wanted list," Blackheart suggested.

The Overtakers froze as an awkward silence fell over them. If Blackheart had just blown their cover, each and every Overtaker resigned themselves to murdering Blackheart after disposing of the detective. However, much to their relief, Agnes burst out laughing at Blackheart's suggested.

"Right, that's gotta be it," Agnes said sarcastically. "Well, I'll leave you folks to it. You take care, now!"

Once Agnes had left, Loki's illusions cleared, and everyone turned to glare venomously at Blackheart.

"What?" Blackheart asked. "The truth is always the hardest to believe."

"Do you and I need to have another little talk regarding your behavior?" Grimhilde asked, only barely keeping her fury under control.

"That woman intrigues me," Loki mused aloud.

"First Graham and now this Agnes woman?" Jafar asked. "Are you simply enamored by police officers?"

"No, Jafar, that is not what I am referring to," Loki sighed. "She wore a brooch depicting the Triple Goddess."

"So what?" Blackheart asked. "New Age spirituality got popular on this world in the nineties. She was probably just some bored housewife who converted to Wicca and posts bullshit like 'love and light' on her MySpace."

"Aye, perhaps you're right," Loki conceded. "All the same, I wonder if this is in fact the last we shall see of this 'Agnes O'Connor.'"

"Why don't we worry about her later?" the Wicked Witch asked. "It's about to rain, and if I'm gonna have to get wet, I'd rather it be from getting in the water with one big plunge."

"I quite agree," Maleficent said. "Now then, to the matter of us breathing underwater...."

Maleficent waved her staff, and a green wisp of magic snaked into each Overtaker's mouths one by one and then finally into her own. She'd cast this spell on Hook once before, but that didn't exactly make Hook feel any less uneasy at the adventure.

"Come along, all of you," Maleficent ordered. "We've a hat to fill with magic!"

The seven Overtakers proceeded into the water and walked into the waves until one by one, their heads vanished under the sea.

"Are you sure you know what to do?" Ursula asked.

"Give me a modicum of credit, sea witch," Arawn huffed. "You are not the only one who has played this game before."

Arawn then vanished into a Corridor of Darkness, leaving Ursula behind in Villain's Vale.

"What the fuck was that all about?" Russell asked as he entered the room.

"Don't worry your pretty little head over it," Ursula said slyly. "The Death Lord's just running an errand for me."

Russell smirked. "Alright then, keep your secrets. By the way, is Hades back yet?"

Ursula shook her head. "As far as I know, he's still in the Serpent Dimension. Oh, I feel just awful none of us went with him!"

"Do you really?" Russell asked in disbelief.

"No," Ursula answered flatly before bursting out laughing. "But it sounds like something I should say, doesn't it?"

"It does! But I, for one, had my fill of that fucking place last time," Russell replied. "We did our time in the Serpent Dimension! ...But maybe we should have forced one of the others to have a turn. Covington or the Sandersons, perhaps."

Ursula merely shrugged. "Hades is a big boy; he can handle it himself. Or, at least, his minions can. HA! Besides, the Ophiotaurus entrails aren't the only potion ingredients we need, and sitting this excursion out gives me a chance to start looking for the rest."

"For fuck's sake, we're always trackin' down ingredients these days," Russell sighed. "Whatever happened to the days of killin' and conquerin' whatever we damn well wanted to?"

"The Demiurge happened," Doctor Doom growled as he and Ardyn entered the room, "or have you forgotten so readily?"

Russell groaned. "Oh yeah. Fuck that guy!"

"I would prefer not to," Ardyn said, winking at the innuendo he'd just made.

"Well, look who the catfish dragged in," Ursula said as she glanced back and forth between the new arrivals. "So, tell me, was Watts onto something, or did you two get your time wasted?"

"We discovered a secret Organization XIII facility containing powerful data replicas of the original Organization," Ardyn explained.

"Soooo... is that a yes, you wasted your time or...?" Russell asked.

"The data is quite powerful, and I can think of several applications for such deadly combat programming," Doom explained. "One way or another, this will aid in our cause."

"Glad to hear it!" Ursula cooed.

"Now then, Maleficent mentioned that Loki had a plan to fill the hat with magic," Doom said. "Do you know where they have gone?"

"Back to your world, I think," Ursula relayed. "Loki said somethin' about a disciple of Shuma-Gorath."

"He said WHAT?" Doom bellowed, his tone suddenly quite frantic.

"I think Shuma-Gorath, but that's such a hard name to say that I couldn't be absolutely certain," Russell shrugged.

"How could he do such a thing?" Doom shouted. "Of all the idiotic schemes he's concocted! And worse, not even telling DOOM!"

Doom conjured a Corridor of Darkness and stormed into the dark portal, cursing Loki's name with every breath. Ardyn glanced at the dark portal and then back at Ursula and Russell.

"Do you think, perhaps, we should accompany him?" Ardyn asked.

"Not when he's like that," Ursula chuckled before slithering away to attend to other tasks.

"If you're feelin' particularly helpful, though, Hades is in the Serpent Dimension," Russell said as he too began to walk away. "He could probably use a hand siftin' through all those snakes."

Ardyn cringed at the notion and made no motion to aid either ally.

"Those sharks better not mess with me!" the Wicked Witch huffed as she and the Overtakers walked along the sea floor past a trio of hammerhead sharks that seemed to have very little interest in the Overtakers.

"Despite the tales of the sea you might have been told, sharks are usually indifferent to people," Hook explained. "It's the squids you have to worry about. Many a sailor I've sent to walk the plank has been dragged under by those foul beasts, never again to resurface."

"I've seen enough erotic Japanese artwork to know what happens after that," Blackheart remarked.

"You mean drowning? Ear drums bursting from the sudden change in pressure? Quite literally being devoured?" Hook asked, unsure what Blackheart was implying.

"Only if you're really kinky," Blackheart winked.

"I neither know nor wish to know what you could possibly be referring to," Maleficent sneered, her cloak fanning out in the water like a lion fish, "and before you say another word, I command you to drop the subject now."

"I was just trying to educate everyone on Ursula and Fish's personal life, sheesh," Blackheart grumbled under his breath.

Loki stopped walking and held up a hand to halt his companions.

"We have arrived," Loki said ominously as he gestured to a large underwater cliff looming in front of them.

"Here?" Jafar asked. "But this is merely a dead end!"

"I wish you hadn't phrased it like that," the Wicked Witch said as she noticed a pile of fish bones clumped up near the cliff.

"Look there!" Grimhilde said, and when she gestured toward the cliff, her wide sleeve flapped out like a fin. "There is an outline of a large door carved into the stone!"

"A door?" Hook asked, suddenly growing concerned. "That outline is thirty feet tall! What sort of abomination needs a door that large?"

The sea suddenly began to shake, and all manner of sea creatures began to swim in the opposite direction. The immense door groaned and creaked before sliding open, revealing a pitch black void on the other side.

"I fear, my sea snake, that we are about to find out," Jafar said ominously.

Every inch as tall as the doorway, a giant figure began to lumber out of the shadows. Big, muscular, green, and alien, the creature had a singular large black cyclopic eye and dozens of tentacles protruding from its jaw. Its body was lumpy like coral, and its monstrous hands had hideous fingers tipped with putrid suckers.

"Behold! The Shambler from the Sea!" Loki declared. "N'Gabthoth!"

A collective groan echoed throughout the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee headquarters as "Abracadabra" came on the radio... again.

"Unbe-fucking-lievable," Cid Highwind huffed. "It's bad enough Newlin's been draggin' us through the mud in the press; now those Overtaker S.O.B.'s are topping the music charts too?"

"That's the fourth time it's been on today!" Yuffie groaned. "Don't the radio stations have any variety? Like, I know Powerline hasn't put out a new single this year, but his old stuff is WAY better than promoting the Overtakers!"

"Or the Country Bears!" Cid added. "Why the Hell don't they get any air time anymore?"

"Uhhh, probably because the only people who still listen to the Country Bears are OLD," Yuffie replied.

Cid shook his head. "Where the fuck did I go wrong with you, kid?"

"I think it's great that we each have our own unique taste in music," Aerith offered, attempting to mediate.

"Either way, turn that Overtaker shit off," Cid barked, and Aerith happily obliged.

A puff of white smoke materialized in the middle of the small house, and from the smoke emerged Merlin the wizard. He looked around, absolutely stunned at his surroundings.

"Oh my word! It really is back!" Merlin gasped.

"Hey Merlin!" Yuffie said with a great big smile.

"Good of you to show up to help," Cid sneered. "You've been MIA for the past few weeks. Where ya been? On a loony wizard cruise?"

Merlin's amazed expression quickly morphed into one of frustration. "Now, see here, you old cretin! I know I'm not much of one for those GummiPhone contraptions, but you could have at least given me a call when you found out that Radiant Garden was back!"

"Huh?" Yuffie asked.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Cid asked.

"I'm not sure what you mean," Aerith admitted. "Back from where?"

"Back from - ?" Merlin began to ask before devolving into sputtering incoherently. "You know perfectly well what I mean! The town! It's been put back together good as new!"

"Merlin, I think you might be a bit confused," Aerith said as she took Merlin's hand gently. "You were there. You helped us rebuild it."

"All that magic shit and hoppin' around time has scrambled his brains like an egg," Cid sighed. "I knew it'd happen one day. His wires are all crossed!"

"My wires are certainly not crossed!" Merlin insisted. "It's your memories that concern me. This whole world fell to darkness and disappeared for a second time. Surely you must remember! It was the same night that Leon.. Oh... Oh my word! You... you do remember what happened to Leon, do you not?"

Cid, Aerith, and Yuffie's faces fell at the mention of Leon, and as much as it saddened Merlin to bring back up Leon's tragic death, it was at least something of a relief that he wouldn't have to break that news to them as well.

"Of course we remember what happened to Leon," Yuffie said as she wiped away a stray tear.

"Ansem killed Leon the same night he caused Radiant Garden to fall to darkness," Merlin tried to remind them. "We couldn't save Leon or the town that night. We had no choice but to flee back to Traverse Town."

"I mean... it definitely felt like the world ended when Leon died," Aerith admitted. "But I think that's just grief."

"Yeah, I mean, we've been here carrying out Leon's legacy ever since," Yuffie added. "Radiant Garden never went anywhere."

"No, no, no, no, NO!" Merlin huffed. "Think about it a moment. Do you remember Leon's funeral?"

"Sure do," Cid sighed. "It was one of the hardest days of my life... puttin' a kid who I raised like my own in the ground."

"Do you remember where he was buried?" Merlin asked.

"Yeah, of course, the Traverse Town cemetery," Cid answered.

"Think about it for a moment!" Merlin urged. "Why would we have had his funeral in Traverse Town and buried him there? He dedicated his life to this town. Why wouldn't he have been laid to rest here if it had been an option?"

"That... does seem really weird," Yuffie said. "I can't remember why we did that."

"Me neither," Aerith agreed.

"Yeah, but all of us forgettin' the whole world disappearin'?" Cid asked. "And there's no sign of anyone else in town rememberin' that either. It's a little far fetched."

"It's a puzzling conundrum to be sure," Merlin remarked as he stroked his beard. "Could it have been that whatever brought the world back also erased any memory of the world ever being gone?"

"That's not how it worked last time Radiant Garden was restored," Yuffie pointed out, "and if it did, how come you weren't affected, Merlin?"

"Perhaps because I'm native to another world," Merlin suggested. "Or perhaps because I've only just arrived in this town. I wonder if whatever memory magic is at work here will begin to affect me the longer I remain?"

"I still haven't ruled out you just bein' loony and misrememberin' shit," Cid admitted, "but... maybe we oughta do a little diggin' on this."

Aerith's GummiPhone began to ring, and Ienzo's face popped up on the caller ID.

"Hello, Ienzo!" Aerith said as she answered the phone and put it on speaker. "How can I help you?"

"Aerith? I need you and the others to come up to the castle as soon as possible," Ienzo said, a sense of urgency in his voice. "There's something you need to see!"

"Is everything okay?" Aerith asked. "What's going on?"

"It... will be easier to show you," Ienzo replied. "I don't believe there's any danger, necessarily, but you all need to see this."

Ienzo hung up, and Aerith exchanged concerned glances with the others. The four wasted no time making their way up to the castle. Merlin offer to teleport everyone there with his magic, but Cid vehemently shot down the suggestion. When the party of four arrived at the castle, they found Ienzo and Aeleus lingering outside of Ansem's office, deep in a hushed conversation. Cid cleared his throat to alert the two to the group's arrival.

"Good! You've come!" Ienzo said with a sigh of relief.

"What's the matter?" Merlin asked. "What was so urgent that you couldn't tell us on the phone?"

"See for yourselves," Ienzo said as he opened the door to the office and escorted the Restoration Committee inside.

On the far side of the office stood a tall man dressed in robes of red and black. The man had long blonde hair, a beard, and amber colored eyes. When the Restoration Committee entered the office, he turned to face them and smiled warmly.

"It is good to finally meet you all face to face," the man said. "I likely need no introduction for you, but in the interest of good manners, I shall. My name is Ansem the Wise, and I want to thank you all for taking such good care of my city."

Chapter Text

"Are you sure that's really Ansem the Wise?" Yuffie asked Ienzo and Aeleus as they and the rest of the Restoration Committee huddled up away from Ansem the Wise.

"He certainly looks and acts like how I remember him," Ienzo answered, "and the DNA sample I extracted from him is a perfect match for Ansem the Wise."

"Well, if the science says he's Ansem, then that's who he is," Cid declared.

Merlin scoffed at that. "Science? Bah! One big modern mess! I know of some magical means of verifying his identity that we can try."

"How? By turning him into a fucking frog?" Cid asked with a roll of his eyes. "Waste of time if you ask me."

"Ienzo, you knew him better than any of us," Aerith said. "What does your heart say?"

"Well...," Ienzo glanced back at Ansem the Wise, the man who took him in and raised him from the time he was a little boy, and his expression softened. "Yes, yes, I do think it's really him."

"Then that's good enough for me!" Yuffie declared.

The Restoration Committee broke out of their huddle and turned their attention back to Ansem the Wise. He smiled warmly back at them.

"Have you decided whether or not you can trust me?" he asked.

"We have," Ienzo nodded.

"And?" Ansem the Wise pressed.

"I believe it's really you," Ienzo said, looking down in shame, "and that makes what comes next all the more difficult."

"Ienzo?" Aeleus said, reaching out to his younger companion, only to be brushed aside.

Ienzo bit back tears and trembled slightly at the emotions swelling inside of him. "They... Xehanort and Braig... they told me you'd gone mad... that you abandoned us. I was just a boy... but... I should have known better! I should have... I am truly deeply sorry."

Ansem the Wise placed gentle hands on Ienzo's shoulders and beckoned for his young apprentice to look him in the eyes.

"I think what matters is you recognize the mistake," Ansem the Wise said gently. "Peace, Ienzo. It was I who was consumed by hatred, who failed you in my obligations as your mentor. And so I beg for you to forgive me."

"Of course!" Ienzo said, a smile forming on his trembling lips. "You need not even ask!"

"Then let us begin again and move forward," Ansem the Wise asserted.

"Yeah, but I still don't get it," Yuffie said. "Sora told us that you died when your machine exploded in the Castle That Never Was. How are you here?"

"I told Mickey that anything could happen when my machine was destroyed," Ansem the Wise explained. "In the explosion, I found myself thrown into the Realm of Darkness, and there I met a woman, a Keyblade master, by the name of Aqua. We were companions for a time... until Xehanort abducted her for his true Organization XIII. He left me behind to rot until such time as he had a use for me, but that day never came."

"Old bastard," Cid huffed, and the others nodded in agreement.

"However, it seems that some force beyond my understanding pulled me out of that dark realm and returned me to my home," Ansem the Wise said. "I know not what that force may be, but it appeared to me as a divine source of light, a being with the head of a lion and the body of a serpent."

"That sounds... oddly familiar," Aerith remarked. "But I can't remember where I've heard of such a thing."

"Yeah, same here!" Yuffie agreed.

"Yes, there are mighty strange occurrences around this world of late!" Merlin said. "Perhaps your return occurred when this world was restored!"

Ansem the Wise's eyes widened. "Restored? Whatever do you mean?"

"There seems to be a problem with everyone's memory!" Merlin declared. "Everyone has forgotten that - "

But Merlin was interrupted by the sound of sirens echoing from the town, sirens meant to indicate a Heartless attack too big for the Claymores to handle.

"Sounds like you all had better get going," Ansem the Wise said. "Merlin, if you'd like to remain behind, we can continue this conversation in private."

Merlin nodded. "As long as the rest of you can handle the Heartless."

"They're no match for the great ninja Yuffie!" Yuffie boasted.

"We got it covered," Cid agreed. "You eggheads put your big brains together and see if y'all can't get to the bottom of this fuckery."

Cid, Yuffie, Aerith, Ienzo, and Aeleus took off to help the town, leaving Merlin and Ansem the Wise behind in the study alone.

"Now then," Ansem the Wise offered, "shall I put on the kettle?"

Doom landed in Starkesboro in the middle of a downpour. The eerie streets glistened with rain, and Doom's armor quickly came to resemble a soda can covered in condensation. Doom attempted to use his scanners to locate Loki, but the combination of the storm and the dark magics hanging over Starkesboro caused his equipment to malfunction.

"CURSES!" Doom growled as he dismissed the scanner; he would simply have to find Loki the old fashioned way.

"That is one cool Doctor Doom cosplay you've got there!" a voice called out.

Doom turned to see a brunette woman dressed in a purple sweater carrying a purple umbrella smiling at him. The other Overtakers would have recognized the woman as Agnes O'Connor, but without her police attire or gruff disposition, she would have appeared to be a different person altogether... that is, aside from her brooch depicting the maiden, mother, and crone. To Doom, however, Agnes was simply a nosy stranger who had, for some reason, seen fit to approach him.

"What are you prattling on about?" Doom asked haughtily.

"Oh! Wow! You've even got the voice down!" Agnes remarked. "Y'know, my husband Ralph does impressions too. You should really hear his Incredible Hulk! 'IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!'"

Doom winced at the mistake. "That poorly performed quote belongs to the accursed Thing, not the Hulk, you brainless backwater buffoon!"

Agnes just laughed at the insult. "I knew you'd catch me on that! See, that was a test. Oh, you're good! You're definitely smart like Doom too."

Doom merely shook his head at the absurd reaction. "Tell me, common woman, have you seen other similarly dressed individuals in town today? I am looking for... friends of mine."

Agnes scrunched up her nose a bit as she thought long and hard about the question. "No one else in cosplay, if that's what you mean... but I did see a group of unusual storm chasers down by the beach. What did he say his name was... Thomas Locke?"

"That'll be him!" Doom bellowed.

Doom activated the rockets in his boots and took off, flying towards the beach, giving no further thought to Agnes or maintaining the illusion that he was merely a cosplayer. However, Agnes didn't seem to be the least bit surprised and simply waved him off.

"See ya later, stranger!" Agnes called out. "Hope you find your friends!"

Zeb, the Swamp Witch, swatted a water snake aside as he walked alongside the Serpent Dimension's river. Despite all his searching, there was still no sign of the Ophiotaurus, and Zeb could practically feel Hades and Imperious growing more and more frustrated back at camp.

"Any sign of the beast?" Big Bob Oakley asked as he appeared next to Zeb in his vampire guise.

"Not yet," Zeb replied. "Why, oh why, is this my destiny? Always searching through swamps because of someone else's mistakes!"

"Ah, yes, I believe I read about that in prison," Big Bob remarked. "You and your partner in crime stole an armored car and hid it in the swamp, did you not?"

Zeb scoffed. "More like lost it in the swamp. I planned that armored car hijacking perfectly! My lunkheaded idiot of a partner Zeke was supposed to stash it in the swamp until the heat died down. Unfortunately, that dunderhead sunk the armored car and then forgot where he left it!"

"I see I was wise to work alone on my excursion," Big Bob said.

"Indeed so," Zeb nodded. "The witch and the zombie trick was my idea, and it would have worked if not for those meddling kids... and if Zeke hadn't forgotten his lines that I carefully scripted out for him. He just groaned incoherently like a moron!"

"Sometimes the scariest monsters just growl," Big Bob suggested. "Take, for instance, my alternate guises...."

In a blur of shadowy magic, Big Bob transformed from an elegant vampire to a snarling hideous werewolf. Then in another blur, he shifted into the form of Frankenstein's Monster, groaning miserably as he lumbered toward Zeb.

"See, now, you can pull it off!" Zeb declared with a laugh. "I should've partnered up with you instead!"

Big Bob transformed back into his vampire shape before replying. "Yes, we would have made a wonderfully terrifying team, indeed! With your help, I may even have gotten that Frankencastle fortune!"

"Yes, we'd have been rich as kings, not sifting through snake infested jungles at the whims of the gods," Zeb bemoaned.

The sound of harpoon guns firing and a large bovine creature mooing echoed throughout the sounding area, startling the snakes and putting them all on high alert. A spectral form flew towards the source of the noise but stopped and took a detour after spotting Zeb and Big Bob.

"Gentlemen!" Bluestone called out as he floated down beside them in his phantom guise. "Look alive! I believe Captain Cutler has found something!"

Down the river a bit, a horrible creature that was part snake and part bull burst out of the murky waters, thrashing about violently and furiously. Two harpoons with long ropes were wedged into the Ophiotaurus's back, and Captain Cutler held onto the ropes for dear life as he was tossed abut like a rodeo clown. The phosphorescent algae clinging to his suit made him look like a green lantern waving through the misty air.

From out of the trees, Henry the Space Kook and Creeps the Phantom Shadow jumped into the fray. Henry began to fire at the beast with his alien ray gun, and though the lasers missed the Ophiotaurus, they succeeded in corralling the beast in one part of the river. Creeps, meanwhile, conjured rattling iron chains that latched onto the Ophiotaurus's horns and then snaked around its legs to further restrict its movement.

"I can help!" Big Bob declared as he shifted back into his wolfman form.

The werewolf ran towards the Ophiotaurus and lunged for the monster's neck, sinking his claws into its flesh and holding on for dear life as it continue to splash about and roar furiously.

"Zeb Perkins! It is up to you!" Bluestone declared. "You must stop the foul creature before our associates kill it prematurely!"

"Me? Why me?" Zeb asked. "Can't you do anything?"

"My talents are of little use in this singular instance," Bluestone admitted, "but you are a witch! Cast a spell! It is within your grasp!"

"But I've barely done any real magic!" Zeb argued. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Follow your instincts," Bluestone advised. "You chose that disguise for a reason, and now it is time to prove that you were indeed the most suited to the role!"

Zeb took a deep breath and thought about it for a moment. He really had no idea what he was doing, but the others had all been granted dark powers matching their costumes. He knew he could cast spells as well as any natural born witch, but that didn't mean he had the training. Still, he recalled hearing somewhere that the key to magic was harnessing emotions. He mustered up as many feelings as he could and focused them all into achieving his ends.

"Smoke of evil, put that Ophiotaurus to SLEEP!" Zeb declared.

And, in a puff of smoke, it was so.

The Ophiotaurus's eyes rolled back in its head, and it flopped down on the bank of the river with a splash. The creature twitched slightly but did not move, and a low rumbling snore echoed from deep inside the beast. Creeps and Captain Cutler hastily began to wrap the Ophiotaurus up in chains to prevent it from breaking free whenever it woke up.

"Good work boys!" Hades said as he and Imperious appeared along the bank. "Looks like you folks were worth the trouble after all."

"I told you they would be!" Imperious reminded him. "And thus credit for their capture of the creature must go to me."

"Yeah, yeah, take all the credit you want," Hades sighed as he walked over to the Ophiotaurus and gave the sleeping creature a pat on its nose. "It's actually kinda cute when it's not tryin' to kill ya. Almost makes me feel bad that we've gotta cut it up and burn its entrails. Almost. PAIN! PANIC!"

Pain and Panic instantly came running out of the woods, tripped over a sleeping python, and tumbled directly into Imperious.

"AGH! Clumsy fools!" Imperious said before blasting the imps with dark magic.

Pain and Panic shrieked in agony, but Hades pretended not to notice the excruciating torture that Imperious was inflicting upon them.

"Boys, take this thing back to Villain's Vale," Hades ordered. "Just throw it in the dungeon until I get back. And if it gets away, it'll be on your heads! Got it?"

"We won't fail you, boss!" Pain managed to say through gritted teeth.

He and Panic rushed to secure the Ophiotaurus, and Hades turned his attention back to the not-so-Faux Ghosts and smiled devilishly.

"As for the rest of you," Hades said. "Let's keep in touch! Might have more work for you guys down the line, and with me, I can guarantee that it'll be a ghoulishly good time! HA!"

A cheerful ding drew Watts's attention over to his computer to see the "Download Complete" message pop up. Watts smiled to himself as he activated the new AI, and the Titanium Paladin Armor whirred to life with green energy. The helmet began to project a three dimensional hologram that digitally manifested in the form of a man with bleach blonde hair and a long black coat.

"Hmm, now isn't this odd?" Data Luxord mused aloud as he examined his holographic hands. "This isn't my data combat arena."

"Indeed not," Watts said. "You have me to thank for that. I am Doctor Arthur Watts of the Overtakers, and I have ported you over from the Garden of Assemblage to serve as my new digital assistant."

"Is that so?" Data Luxord asked. "Hmm, then I suppose you hold all the cards, but if you'll permit me an inquiry as to why, I'm certain I will function as a far more reliable aide."

"I'll allow it," Watts agreed. "I've been studying the Garden of Assemblage for a few days now, and never before have I seen such powerful data. You may consider yourself a test run to see if that data can be repurposed to adequately serve the Overtakers."

"I see," Data Luxord nodded, "but according to my memory files you installed, the Overtakers previously had two former Organization members amongst their ranks. Why then would you not select Marluxia or Demyx's data selves for your experiment?"

Watts laughed loudly at the suggestion. "And either have an AI plotting to betray me at a moment's notice or one too lazy to do any work? Whyever would I want that? Besides, from what I've heard, you seemed the most amenable to my purposes."

"Ever destined to rot away at the bottom rung where the whispers cannot reach, it seems," Data Luxord remarked.

"I take it that means you don't know the true purpose of the Garden of Assemblage either?" Watts asked.

"I do not," Data Luxord confirmed.

"Damn."

"But, at the very least, the databanks you've installed in my memory have already proven you to be far more forthcoming than Xemnas ever was to the real Luxord," Data Luxord stated, "so I should consider myself grateful."

Watts smirked at that. "A machine can no more feel gratitude than a Nobody. Unless somehow your being both cancels out like a double negative?"

"An approximation of gratitude based on probable responses, then," Data Luxord corrected. "Either way, my parameters are clear that I exist to serve you, and so you may do as you wish with me."

"Excellent!" Watts said.

He took a seat at his desk and began typing something into his computer. A holographic playing card appeared in Data Luxord's hand, and the AI studied it carefully.

"You're already a powerful combat program, but this will give you, and by extension me, a bigger advantage," Watts explained. "That card holds the data an associate and I recovered from a robot called the Omnidroid. It contains detailed combat data on numerous metahumans that various iterations of the Omnidroid destroyed."

"Yes, I see detailed battle strategies and counters for a wide variety of superhuman abilities," Data Luxord said. "As your co-pilot, I can calculate the best strategies for you mid-battle, or I can implement them myself if you see fit to give me a physical form."

"Let's focus on the former for now," Watts said, "but I'm not ruling out the latter. After all, it would be a shame to customize you into the deadliest technologic weapon of murder and not allow you to do just that. But combat isn't the only priority...."

Watts pressed another button on his keyboard, and a second playing card appeared in Data Luxord's hand.

"This is surveillance data on the citizens of Epcot and Radiant Garden," Watts explained, "collected from devices hidden within their House of De Vil fashions. Most of it is boring and trivial, but the algorithm I designed to sort through the data should help point you in the direction of what's particularly useful to us."

"And you want me to learn from it so that I can keep a finger to the pulse of these people and identify potential areas of weakness?" Data Luxord asked.

"You're a fast learner," Watts said with a chuckle.

"It's all one big game," Data Luxord said smugly, "and I pride myself at knowing the rules."

"Speaking of," Watts said as he remembered something else, "could you - "

"Integrate my innate extensive data on gambling and probability with your algorithms?" Data Luxord asked. "Yes, I was just about to. It should prove to make the Omnidroid and surveillance data far more useful."

Watts couldn't suppress a wide grin at that.

"My dear Luxord, I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."

N'Gabthoth, the Shambler from the Sea, let out a horrific roar that sounded like the cry of a dying whale if it had been filtered through an old tape recorder and pitched down so low that the vibration could be felt in one's teeth. Its hideous lumbering form squared up with the various Overtakers walking along the sea floor in front of it, unsure what to make of such odd beings.

"Maleficent! The hat!" Loki cried out.

Maleficent nodded and summoned up the sorcerer's hat box to her hands. Then, with a puff of purple and blue magic, a conical hat of the same color scheme appeared from within the box, its embroidery appearing as a moving galaxy. The opening of the hat began to swirl with golden light, and Maleficent aimed the hat at the Shambler, creating a vortex of light magic that seemed determined to suck the hideous beast inside.

"It's working!" the Wicked Witch declared, clapping her hands and cackling at the sight.

As if determined to prove her wrong, the Shambler's cyclopic eye began to radiate with red energy and fired a bolt of demonic power at Maleficent. The blast missed its mark and struck the sea floor near to where she was standing, but the resulting explosion sent Maleficent tumbling off balance and caused her to drop the sorcerer's hat before it could suck up the Shambler.

"That beast must NOT get the hat!" Jafar shouted as his body grew into the shape of a giant cobra and began to coil around the Shambler to restrain it.

Grimhilde swam after Maleficent and helped her to recover from the blast, while Loki beelined it directly for the hat, which had fallen into a pile of fish bones on the sea floor. The Shambler wasn't entirely sure what the sorcerer's hat was; all he knew was that his assailants had used it against him. That was enough to motivate the demon to fight against Jafar's restraints and begin to lumber after the hat himself.

Hook hacked at the Shambler's ankles with his Blackguard blade, the Wicked Witch clicked her heels together and willed the demon to become disoriented and confused, and Blackheart fired bolts of dark energy directly for the Shambler's head. However, nothing seemed to deter the demon from its pursuit. As Loki managed to swim over and grab the hat, the Shambler fired another optic blast directly for Loki, striking the God of Mischief and causing him to crash hard into a pile of fish bones.

Although Loki seemed to have fallen unconscious, he still gripped the hat tightly to his chest, and the Shambler inched closer. Jafar attempted to stop the demon and struck the Shambler's neck, sinking his sharp venomous fangs into the demon's neck. However, instead of succumbing to the cobra's venom, the Shambler seemed unfazed, and Jafar recoiled in pain with a loud shriek. Primal black ooze dripped off of Jafar's fangs, and he shifted back into his sorcerer form, vomiting up black bile as he sunk like a stone.

"My viper!" Hook cried out as he swam to help his lover, all thoughts of the hat pushed from his mind.

The Wicked Witch managed to catch Jafar and carry him to safety before Hook was able to reach him. Jafar's body shivered violently, stirring up bubbles that made it difficult to see, and Hook feared that he might vibrate right out of this dimension.

"To Hell with this fight," Hook spat. "I'm getting him back to Villain's Vale."

The Wicked Witch nodded. "Go! Go! Make haste!"

Hook scooped up Jafar's shivering form in his arms and whisked himself and his boyfriend away in a Corridor of Darkness. The Wicked Witch wiped the black bile off her hands and turned her attention back to the battle.

Now without the cumbersome coils of the cobra holding him back, the Shambler lumbered over to Loki with much greater speed. Meanwhile, Grimhilde had succeeded in reviving Maleficent, and the two combined their powers into a blast of dark magic that engulfed the Shambler and sealed it within a dark purple aura. Lightning flashed, and the demon slowly began to be transformed into the shape of an immobile pile of coral. However, before the spell could fully take effect, the Shambler burst free of the dark aura, transformed itself back into its normal form, and transformed the remnants of Maleficent and Grimhilde's spell into a riptide that forced the Overtakers away.

Loki shook his head and slowly blinked himself back to consciousness in time to see the immense claws of the Shambler reaching down towards him and the hat. He instinctively fired a bolt of energy to deflect the demon's grasp, but his magic only slowed the Shambler down. Loki attempted to swim away but found his armor caught on a very large bone that was stuck firmly in the sand, and when Loki attempted to teleport away, he found that the Shambler's magic was disrupting his own and preventing his escape.

"This cannot be the end of the God of Mischief!" Loki cried out.

However, when the Shambler reached out once more, three underwater missiles shot directly into the Shambler's chest, exploding and causing the demon to stumble backward in pain. Doom rocketed down next to Loki and helped his husband break free of the bones.

"You can admit that you were a fool to undergo this mission without me later," Doom huffed. "For now, get the hat!"

Green lasers shot out of Doom's hands and pressed against the Shambler, holding the demon at bay. Although it was temting to debate his husband's assessment of the situation, Loki was mostly feeling grateful and quite attracted to Doom in this moment, so he kept his sharp words to himself and did as he was bade. The sorcerer's hat once again began to glow with golden light, and the vortex of energy zeroed in on the Shambler, engulfing it in a mystical whirlpool.

The Shambler let out a horrific unearthly cry as its body began to melt back into primal black ooze that began to snake into the hat like dirty water being poured down the drain. As the last of the writhing slime vanished into the hat, a shimmering sound echoed as the dreaded N'Gabthoth became another star in the hat's galaxy.

"Well done!" Maleficent declared as she, Grimhilde, Blackheart, and the Wicked Witch rejoined Doom and Loki. "We have now added the first bit of power to the hat!"

"Thanks to me!" Loki boasted, before noticing Doom's venomous glare and quickly adding, "and Victor, of course!"

"Indeed," Maleficent nodded before furrowing her brow in confusion. "Now, where are Hook and Jafar? I noticed Jafar was injured during the battle."

"Hook took him back to Villain's Vale," the Wicked Witch said. "He needed immediate attention...."

"SOMEBODY HELP ME!" Hook shouted as he emerged from the Corridor of Darkness in Villain's Vale.

Hook and Jafar were soaking wet and dripping sea water all over the purple floor, and Jafar was shivering so much that Hook was having trouble holding him up. Hook gently laid Jafar out on the ground and continued calling for help until Russell dashed into the hallways at vampiric speeds.

"What happened? What's wrong?" Russell asked.

"He's been poisoned by the Shambler from the Sea," Hook explained. "Help me get him to Ursula!"

Russell looked Jafar over and shook his head. "No time! Here!"

Russell knelt down next to Jafar's shivering body and bared his fangs. Russell took a bite out of his own wrist and blood began to spill out of the open wound.

"Drink!" Russell said as he pressed the bleeding wound against Jafar's lips.

Half-conscious, Jafar greedily began to drink Russell's blood, and he instantly stopped shivering and color began to return to his face.

"Bloody hell!" Hook whispered. "I always forget your blood has such miraculous healing properties."

"More than just healing," Russell said. "Alright, that should be enough."

Russell pulled his arm away from Jafar, and the open wound healed right away. Jafar bolted upright and wiped the stray dribble of vampire blood off of his chin.

"How are you feeling, my viper?" Hook asked.

"I feel... invigorated! POWERFUL!" Jafar said as he rose to his feet. "STRONG!"

"He'll be fine," Russell confirmed.

"Had I known your blood would make me feel like THIS, I'd have requisitioned it long ago!" Jafar declared.

"Don't get any bright ideas," Russell warned. "There's a reason humans back on my world end up addicted to V. It can fuck you up! It's how I control my werewolves, and as fun as it would be to have a genie under my thrall, you're my friend, so I'm givin' you the heads up."

"Oh, very well," Jafar said with a hint of sadness in his voice. "But I thank you for your aid this day!"

"As do I," Hook added.

"Boys? Where are you? Did I hear something the matter?" a voice called out from the other room.

"I handled it," Russell called back.

"We're in here, love," Hook added.

"Oh! Hook! Jafar! You're back!" Ursula said as she came sauntering into the hall. "Hmph, you look like a pair of drowned rats. HA! Did you at least manage to scoop that Great Old One up in the hat?"

Hook simply shrugged. "Not sure. You'll have to ask one of the others when they return."

"You're not goin' back?" Russell asked.

Hook shook his head. "I've rather had enough of dealing with matters beneath the surface of the sea. I provided Maleficent with a perfectly good suggestion for how to best fill the hat with magic. When she's ready to take my proposition seriously, she can come find me."

"That's not exactly being a team player, big boy," Ursula said as she slithered over to Hook and gave his cheek a squeeze.

"I'm always a team player," Hook argued as he pulled away from Ursula. "It's Loki who sees fit to steer this ship off course, and the sooner Maleficent realizes it, the sooner we can find a fitting heading that suits us all."

"I quite like the sound of that," Jafar nodded. "But, in the mean time, how do you propose we occupy our time? I fear I'll become quite stir crazy if confined to this wretched castle."

"Well, our recent excursion to the Enchanted Forest hardly afforded me much time to enjoy my homeworld," Hook explained, "and there is a hideaway Milah and I once stumbled across that may prove diverting for us all."

"A big chance to get away from it all, eh?" Russell asked. "Sounds like fun; I'm in! Let me go grab Steve!"

"I'm admittedly curious to see your old haunts, captain!" Ursula declared. "I'll come along too!"

"The more the merrier," Hook said with a grin.

Jafar grabbed ahold of Hook by the shoulders and drew him in closer.

"You're not about to force me to go back into the sea, are you?" Jafar asked suspiciously.

"Of course not!" Hook answered. "We'll be going next to the sea."

One by one, Maleficent, Loki, Doom, Grimhilde, Blackheart, and the Wicked Witch emerged from the water onto the shallows at the beach near Starkesboro. With N'Gabthoth sucked into the hat, the storms overhead had broken up, and the usual gloomy skies that perpetually hung over Starkesboro had returned.

"This is a victory, but it is but one source of magic bound to the hat," Maleficent explained. "We must not rest on our laurels. Other sources of power must be located at - "

"Maleficent, wait!" Grimhilde interrupted. "We have company!"

Grimhilde gestured a short ways up the beach to Agnes, who was grinning widely and waving politely.

"You folks have a nice swim?" Agnes called out.

Doom growled and activated the weaponry systems in his armor, aiming them all at Agnes menacingly.

"You!" Doom bellowed. "When I had other matters occupying my mind, I dismissed you as some smalltown busybody, but now Doom sees clearly you are more than what you seem!"

"Who? Me?" Agnes asked innocently.

"Yes... the police woman disguise was certainly a clever one," Loki said as green magic began to radiate around his hands, "but I fear such deception has only earned you a watery grave!"

Agnes let out a coy laugh at Loki's threat. "Oh wow, that's a big dramatic threat! Then again, look who I'm dealing with. You boys practically put the 'drama' in 'drama queen!' On the other hand, I guess that's the pot calling the kettle black."

Loki's expression softened and grew curious. "You seem to know well who we are, but you have us at a disadvantage, 'detective.' Perhaps you could share your real name."

Agnes held up her hands and nodded, never once losing her air of chipper confidence.

"Okay, okay, don't gotta ask me twice," Agnes said. "The name's Agatha Harkness. Lovely to finally meet you, dears!"