[center][h2][color=dcf3ff]The Ice Queen Cometh[/color][/h2][/center] Ready to step through the Corridor she had opened, Mal paused... Something was amiss in this world. Throwing her cloak into the air like the reveal to a stageplay, Mal transformed into Maleficent, no longer hiding behind disguise as she peered around. From the moment Alias had stepped through the corridor, there was a quiet unease about this world. He had a strong light within him, but with that gone, there was something else here. It had been some time since she felt this presence, but off the top of her head she couldn't remember where from. She turned and looked around, and couldn't help but notice an unusual chill in the air. In fact, after only a few moments she could see her breath in front of her. Holding out her hand, a single snowflake fell, landing in her palm, and in that moment she remembered. With a twirl of her robe, she turned back to the Corridor, and stepped through it. It couldn't be happening here... could it? - [color=ed1c24]"Find him! Find him find him findhimfindhim!!!!"[/color] The Queen of Hearts was absolutely fuming, face so red there was practically steam shooting out of her ears. How could an entire army of soldiers not find one foolish boy? When one of the Card Soldiers approached her, bowing low, she was hopeful of news that they were about to drag the boy back to her. But, with his hands trembling on his spear, all he could say was: [color=#e97451]"Y... Your Majesty. There is absolutely no sign of him. We have searched every corner, under every bush, behind every tree, and questioned everyone who could possibly be sheltering him. It's as if he disappeared from this world entirely!"[/color] The Queen practically vibrated with anger, face boiling to a red. [color=ed1c24]"Find... him... or it will be off with YOUR HEAD!!!"[/color] She swung her scepter around like a lunatic, before pointing it at the soldier. She opened her mouth, no doubt ready to make another threat, but a snowflake drifted in front of her face, falling slowly, gently, and landed on the red heart of her scepter. Blinking in bewilderment, she looked around, before she felt a chill run up her spine. There was no way it should be snowing, not this time of year! Why, it was so warm just moments ago! [center][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=algmZ_YeoOk&list=RDalgmZ_YeoOk&start_radio=1[/youtube][/center] [color=ed1c24]"What is happening, why is it snowing? Is this too that boy's doing?!"[/color] She was only getting angrier, forcing her throne to spin so she could stand and walk away, but as she turned around to do... something, even she didn't know what, far behind her throne, a dark corridor opened, and someone, or, some thing stepped through. A figure adorned in a black and blue robe, a crystal crown on their head, and their face obscured by some sort of veil, only bright glowing blue eyes barely visible on the other side. The Queen was about to ask the question 'Who are you', but her eyes landed on the crown on their head, and her inner insecurities boiled to the top. So the question that actually came out, was [color=ed1c24]"What are YOU doing here?! There is only room for ONE ruler here! Nobody gets to wear a crown in Wonderland but me! Guards!"[/color] Without even thinking for a second longer, as card soldiers with spears lined the walkway all the way down to this newcomer, she pointed at the Veiled stranger, and screamed [color=ed1c24]"OFF WITH HER HEAD! BRING ME THAT CROWN!!!"[/color] Soldiers at either side of the stranger leapt forward, not bothering to try to arrest her, but simply stabbing their spears forward. And yet, it was like they faded into slow motion, their movements starting normal, but as they lunged forward, they became slower, and slower, until they completely froze in place. And quite literally so, as they became encased in ice from head to toe! The Veiled stranger began walking forward, each step an echoing click, and each step another duo of guards from either side lunged for the attack, only to freeze in place without so much as a hand being lifted. As she drew closer and closer, the Queen's fury started to turn to fear. She had not dealt with a situation like this! She was the power in this world, her soldiers were the danger, not anyone else. She had never so much as learned what it felt like to be threatened. She backed away, barely managing to keep her footing as she found the steps that lead up to her throne, only to stumble over the last one, and land squarely in the seat. All the anger was gone, as both lines of soldiers were completely frozen in place, mid leap to defend their Queen. She shrank into her throne as much as she could, shaking with fear, as the Veiled stranger came up the steps, painfully slow, one step at a time. And when she reached the top, she stood there, one hand on top of the other in front of her. There was a slick cracking sound as ice formed in the air, what looked like eight large spikes. The Queen of Heart's trembling words were barely a whisper, as she said [color=ed1c24]"B... but... I... I am... the Queen..."[/color] before the spikes shot out like a barrage, stabbing through the throne straight to the other side, and into the stone floor, leaving the entire thing impaled with ice. And for the Queen, the gruesome sight that only the Veiled stranger would behold for but a moment, there was a flash of light, and her body shimmered into crystal, before shattering. In that moment, there was a blast that radiated from the Queen, and everything it touched seemed to dim. From the roses in the gardens to the trees in the distance, they wilted and darkened. And from where she once cowered, floated a heart, glowing with an odd light. The stranger reached out, and the heart floated in their hand, only for their other hand to come up, and seem to grab at an invisible string, pulling the light from the heart until it formed into an orb, leaving the heart looking shriveled and pitiful. A heart, blackened by hatred and selfishness. Wordlessly, they tossed the heart from the throne into the court it overlooked, and a pool of darkness grew on the floor, only for some sort of gaping maw to lash out, and snap shut around the heart. What rose from the darkness was a massive beast, empowered by the Heart of a Queen, however shriveled and pitiful it was. Turning away without any further care, the stranger stepped into a Corridor, which snapped shut, leaving only the carnage behind. - Far too late, another Corridor opened, and Maleficent stepped through standing atop the Queen's Court, staring down to see dozens of Card Soldiers fighting a massive Heartless. And it didn't take her long to sense the traces of darkness, drawing her eyes to the frozen Soldiers, leading her right to the throne, impaled in ice. Her eyes were wide for but a moment, as she realized she had missed much. And when she felt someone step out of the Corridor behind her, she knew she had failed in her charge... [color=9e0b0f]"You were supposed to earn the Queen's loyalty, or claim her heart, if necessary. Now it would seem, that is no longer possible."[/color] The voice of an old man croaked at her, making her grit her teeth in anger. [color=800080]"A momentary distraction, and yet for this to happen. You cannot fault me for this, there was no possible way to plan for such a thing."[/color] Her brow twitched in an unusual show of annoyance, as her plans for this world had crumbled in an instant, and she hadn't even been able to arrive in time to stop it. [color=9e0b0f]"This Veiled Queen, you spoke of her before. You saw her in another world too. Do what you must to investigate. Find out anything you can about them. There are no secrets in all the worlds that we cannot uncover, this temporary setback will be no different."[/color] And before Maleficent even had a chance to respond, or so much as look back to see the old man, they were gone. So be it... she would investigate this, Veiled Queen. And there was only one she knew of to ask about them. Though it wouldn't be pleasant. - Merlin had been watching the battle between the Keyblade Wielders and this monstrous Heartless with great interest though a magical mirror that let him see the whole thing. He barely even noticed the darkness behind him, as Maleficent stepped through. It was the Fairy Godmother's gasp, and a loud [b]"MALEFICENT!"[/b] that had him spin around, wand at the ready. [color=800080]"Calm down you imbecile, I am not here to fight with you. Though we may be opposed to each other, I have information you would no doubt want to hear."[/color] Merlin was, to say the least, incredible skeptical, but he lowered his wand, and looked to the Fairy Godmother, giving her a nod. [color=00aeef]"You say this while our town is under attack by Heartless? What are you scheming?"[/color] With a scoff, she looked over at the battle going on through the mirror, simply brushing it off. [color=800080]"This time, I am not involved in this quarrel. Not directly anyway. Now be silent and listen to me. The Queen of Hearts is dead. She was murdered on her throne by one who wields powerful magic. All that was left at the site of the attack was frozen soldiers, and impaling spikes of ice. I will admit, I had my own plans for the Queen, potentially even killing her if I had to. And yet my plans did not even get that far before they were foiled by this, unexpected event."[/color] Merlin listened intently, and his eyes went wide. [color=00aeef]"Queen of Hearts... dead? Why we never saw eye to eye, she was quick to anger, self centered, anything but what a Queen should be. But dead..."[/color] He stroked his beard, thinking [color=00aeef]"I can think of no reason why someone would want to do such a thing. It doesn't sound like they had any intention of taking over her Kingdom. Unless..."[/color] He looked pale in the face, before he said [color=00aeef]"Thank you for this information, but as an agent of darkness, I must still ask you to leave."[/color] He tried being courteous, though his face suggested he was ready for a fight. [color=800080]"I will take my leave, but even as enemies, I ask that you take my kindness into consideration. I have given you valuable information. I ask that should you discover anything of this, Veiled Queen... that you share it with me. She could very well be a common enemy, and I would not be opposed to setting aside our differences to see an end to one who undoes my plans. I will even offer you some more information as a show of Good Will."[/color] She waved her fingers at the mirror, and said [color=800080]"The children there, I believe they are missing a member of their group yes? He was in Wonderland, before the Queen's demise. He has found his way to another world... and is striving to find his way to Olympus."[/color] She turned, and with a snarky little [color=800080]"I do suggest they get to him before the darkness does."[/color] Before she stepped through, and left Merlin alone again. With a sigh of relief that she was gone, Merlin took off his hat, and run a hand over his head. [color=00aeef]"The bad news just keeps coming. What in the worlds is going on these days."[/color] Looking back to the mirror, he said to the Fairy Godmother [color=00aeef]"Keep an eye on them will you? I'm going to reset the wards. It's bad enough to have strangers waltzing into my home, let alone darkness wielding witches!"[/color] [@Crimson Flame] [hr] [center][h2][color=185fad]It's Opposite Day[/color][/h2][/center] The Guard Armor's confidence in its assured victory dwindled bit by bit as more fighters arrived before it completely plummeted. The experienced keyblade wielder was already a problem before he decided he was going to let others have the shine. That would have been fine if one of the fighters the baton was passed to had a blade that was even more deadly than the key. The Armor blocked the throwing stars, but that set him up perfectly for Leon's slash across his torso. He attempted to feign dead but before he could get the chance the strangest characters came charging in with a trident and a too big bazooka held by a large bird and is that a child? What kind of parent would allow such a small child to wield such a thing? Almost regaining memories of a past life the Guard Armor was reignited with a sudden, yet still hidden fury. The child was as annoying as it was fast. It kept firing shots off in places that didn't have any solid matter, but the armor didn't appreciate that one of the targets was directly beneath him and inside his hallowed armor. Tired of the speedy pest he slammed his fist down to crush the child, but it still evaded him and fired off more plasma into its arm. Now was its chance. The Guard Armor collapsed to the ground seemingly defeated from the repeated onslaught of attacks. Smoke and dust filled the area as it slammed into the hard cobblestoned streets. It'd remain silent and still like this for about thirty seconds before a clicking noise could be heard and the Guard Armor started to shake to life. It lifted itself up before slamming down into the ground with both of its gauntlet arms before flipping its torso over to hover above them. The Guard Armor kept its legs hovering in the air where its arms used to be showing that these were its new arms. Even its head and helmet changed causing it to turn upside down and open the helmet to reveal the angry look of the OPPOSITE ARMOR. In this new state gravity no longer had control over it. It floated in the air above them before charging with its leg-arms to ram the entire group. [@mattmanganon][@IAmTheIsland][@Daxam]