Disney: Darkness Falls

Maleficent

Within the deep, twisted abyss of a broken world, Maleficent, Empress of all Evil, was seated majestically upon her throne. Around her were the misty visages of her fellow Coalition members, magical avatars that projected the images of her followers. It was a communications system set up via a combination of her own dark magic and Jafar's powers as a djinn, a way for her and the rest of the Coalition to converse and meet up, without having to leave the safety and comfort of their own individual domains.

"This Council will come to order." Maleficent's measured voice announced, bringing the attention of the other villains to her. The demonic witch inclined her head to the former Prince of the Southern Isles, as she continued on. "First order of business, an update on the continued conquest of all of Creation. King Hans, you are first."

"Of course, my dark Empress." Hans gave her what she assumed to be a rather charming smile, though it did little to affect her. "Arendale and the surrounding kingdoms are all under m--our control, and wiping out any dissidents has proven very affective. The demon army has now reached the borders of Mother Gothel's territory, and with that, they are heading south now, to begin the conquest of the Desert Tribal fiefdoms."

Maleficent took in what he said, nodding her head once. She knew all this already, of course, but these meetings served more purpose than just a pure debriefing and share of knowledge. The Eternal Empress was always curious if any of her servants would leave anything out of their reports, or if they might otherwise hold back information. It was a good way to indicate which lesser members of the Coalition she should keep an eye on.

"Good, very good. And you, Hades?" Maleficent turned her gaze to her 'partner' and co-founder of the Coalition, eying him with great curiosity. "How go our efforts toward discovering a way toward weakening, and eventually killing, the other Greek pantheons?"

This much she knew already as well, but it wouldn't do, to ignore such an...important member of her Coalition. Even if she did find the God of the Underworld grating at times, he was still a very useful ally, and quite the powerful 'partner'. It would be in her best interests to placate him as much as possible before his inevitable betrayal.

And betray him, he would. They all would, given the chance. Maleficent was not so foolish as to believe that an organization founded by petty and power-hungry titans would last long, before it fell to infighting. Still, the Coalition was serving its purpose quite nicely, and more importantly, she was more than confident she could take out any of the people here, if they sought to overthrow her.

Well...mostly everyone here, at any rate. Hades was the one man in this Coalition who Maleficent felt she could rightfully be wary of. He was a god, immortal, and very, very powerful. And, much to her distaste, he wasn't under her control at all, unlike the equally threatening but 'loyal' djinn Jafar.

Still, the Coalition would hold, for the time being. They were still united in common goal, and it would take quite some time before the eventual splintering began. And Maleficent would take advantage of this fragile peace, while it lasted.

The Gatekeeper

In a dimension that existed outside of regular space and time, The Gatekeeper, protector of the vast Multiverse, waited. He waited for the perfect opportunity to enact his desperate, one last plan to save the entirety of the Multiverse from being overrun by the Coalition of Evil.

Three months had passed for him since Maleficent's initial incursion, and things were not getting any better. Heroes great and power, from across the universes, had fallen one by one against her Coalition, leaving entire worlds defenseless and ripe for conquest.

But that would end here, for good. The Heroes of the lands may have been slain, but all hope was not yet lost. There were many people, many brave and righteous souls, who could take the places of their fallen comrades, and push back the tide of evil that was threatening to swallow all of Creation.

And here, today, he would assemble them, and begin the eventual downfall of the Coalition.

"Genie." the Gatekeeper turned his attention to the blue-skinned djinn, his most useful and helpful ally in these dark times. "It is time. Bring forth the Champions to this Realm, so that we may begin."

Hades

Hades seemed to consider the question for a moment, steepling his hands in front of him, and leaning forward in his, decidedly less ostentatious, chair. In truth however, the matter didn't really warrant much thought. After a second or two, he eventually settled on "Well, I'll have to consult with our brainstorming department, " that did not exist, "but, considering the fact that it's basically just me mulling over the same thing I was mulling over before, without any additional help or input... Not great."

While Hades had had a few thoughts on the subject, not counting the plethora of plans from the thousands of years before the coalition was formed, he wasn't quite ready to share any of them. Some were unfinished, some would invite the ire of some of the others, and some would provide far too much advantage to the... uh... chairwoman? To be frank, Hades couldn't quite remember what role Maleficent claimed to have. While she was officially just a third of the main triumvirate , the fact that she was the one running these meetings might say different. As for what she thought she was, the God of the Underworld was fairly certain that was obvious to everyone.

Speaking of which, he intended to find time to talk privately with some of the others. He had no intention of making a move yet, hopefully they could at least weaken the other gods before the Coalition went the way of Thebes and descended into chaos, but it was better to be prepared.

Why did that sound familiar?

Mulan

Three months. Three months since everything had changed, and her life had gone to hell. Three months since the impossible return of the Hun Army to live. Three months since the fall of China. Three months since nearly everything Mulan had loved or cared about had been torn apart, and burnt to the ground.

It had been a hard three months, to say the least.

If there was any bright side to these horrid events, it was that she wasn't alone. Her faithful stead Khan remained very much alive, as did Mushu, her ever vigilant guardian spirit. And, best of all, her father remained among the living as well. So if the tragedies that had befallen her recently had any bright side, it was the fact that she wasn't completely alone.

It didn't make the loss of her nation, village, mother, grandmother, and husband any better to stomach or bare, though.

"I will retrieve the wood for the fire tonight, Mulan." the voice of her father broke through her thoughts. The young woman looked up at the older veteran and nodded dimly, watching as he left the clearing they were in and delve into the forest.

They'd spent a lot of nights like this, ever since they had first started running from the Huns. Traveling by day, settling into camp by night. Every day it was the same thing. And Mulan hated doing it; hated retreating, running away. She wanted nothing more than to find the Huns, hunt every last one of them down, especially Shan Yu...but that just wasn't feasible. One woman against an armada of warriors wasn't even a contest. It was a slaughter.

Still, she wished they could do something. Something to help take back their lives, and get revenge on the people that had wronged them.

Rapunzel

"This looks like a good place to sleep for the night, Maximus." Rapunzel commented to her horse, as they came to a slow trot, circling around what she was fairly sure was an abandoned farmstead. She felt a little bad about breaking into another person's house, and sleeping in their bed, but...well, it was fairly obvious they weren't using it.

Besides, she did want to spend at least one night without sleeping on the hard, cold ground.

Rapunzel left Maximus tethered outside (since she couldn't fit him through the small doorframe of the house) and walked into the abandoned building. Later, she might search the kitchen and cellar to see what food, if any, remained inside, but for now, all she wanted was sleep.

It took her a good minute, but she finally found a bedroom, with a particularly inviting bed. The former Princess nearly flopped onto the mattress, settling into sleep, not even bothering to cover herself up.

Much to her regret, though, sleep alluded her. And without sleep, she was left to her own thoughts. Thoughts of the past desperate, horrible three months. Thoughts of her former home....

Rapunzel sniffled a little, and felt her eyes water, but she did not cry. Her tears had long since been spent, and perhaps it was better that way.

It still hurt to think of the past, though. Of Eugene, her parents, her fallen kingdom...all of it hurt so much, and she didn't know when it would stop.

If it would ever stop.

Sitting on top of a tree just beyond the clearing where Mulan, her father, and her cow were staying, Mushu stared up into the sky. After everything that had happened, how could the stars and moon still shine so brightly? He scowled slightly and closed his eyes, but the image was already burned into his mind. Cri-Kee was gone, Shang was gone, the rest of Mulan's family was gone... And how? Shan Yu was suddenly alive and kicking, along with his entire Hun Army. And Mushu could do nothing. Nothing!

Angrily, Mushu lashed out at the tree with his claws. It did nothing to help the present situation, but Mushu felt a little better for it nevertheless. He let out a deep breath and counted to ten in his head. That usually did the trick when he was trying to calm down, and it did this time as well. Instead of being mad at an inanimate object, Mushu focused his anger on Shan Yu. He may be more than four times Mushu's size, but that wouldn't stop him the next time they met. Mushu would make him pay somehow.

The sound of passing feet drew Mushu out of his thoughts. He looked down to see Mulan's father going out into the forest, probably to get some more firewood. That was his cue to return. The only person Mushu trusted to keep Mulan safe was himself and her father. Okay, the horse could be useful as well. But other than that, no one. He slid down the trunk and quickly made his way back to the clearing.

Once Mulan was in sight, Mushu gave a small cough to get her attention. It wouldn't be of any use if she attacked him because she thought they were under attack. He nodded at Mulan, sat down next to her, and softly patted her knee.




Frollo refrained from giving a small grunt of disapproval when Maleficent began to speak. Just because she had helped him return from Hell didn't mean he owed her any favors. And what she was doing right now- witchcraft and associating with demons- was definitely something that would come back to haunt her. At the moment, the only reason Frollo didn't punish her was because she was still useful. After all, the Lord helps those who help themselves.

He listened as several other villains began to give their reports. There were few of them that he deigned to pay attention to, even fewer that he actually liked. But even he had to admit that ridding the entire world of the wicked would have been impossible for one man, even one as qualified as himself.

When Hades began to speak, however, Frollo straightened up. Of the top three in charge, Hades seemed to be the only one with some sense. At least he hadn't made any claims to run the operation, which was basically what Maleficent had done. She might be able to convince others that everyone was a team, but it was obvious to him that she was putting herself above everyone else. Frollo also couldn't help but feel a small amount of respect for Hades. The fact that he was willing to destroy his fellow gods meant that he knew what was right, in a sense. But that didn't mean they were friends. Not by any stretch of the imagination.

Jafar

Jafar

Jafar

Jafar Enters The Room

Jafar Sunny-Skies Enters Hell, Although not his first time here.