The Witch's Keep

[MeadowSong]

***From A Dark Alliance***

[glow=Purple,2,300]Though the witch had been kept out of the loop for some time, MeadowSong was not angry when she was summoned as 'Maleficent'. An image soon appeared within the Crystal ball, that of the Black Faerie herself. She looked anxious, as if she were busy with other things, and narrowed her eyes.

"Yes, Elphie, this better be important."[/glow]

[Leckseeuh]

Miiaxra kept her arms crossed and her lips into a pout. She sighed at the Witch's plans. Such a cliche, I've heard it so many times and mainly in fairy tales. She said under her breathe, yet loud enough for her to hear. She shook her head in disbelief and chuckled.

Yes, Elphie, this better be important...

Miiaxra moved so she could see behind the witch into the crystal ball. She stood up and brushed off her skirt, and her stomach of the dust that already started to form. She looked at Maleficent and smiled a little under her bangs.

So you are the Maleficent everyone has been speaking of...and not entirely in a good way...

[Secondary Characters]

What was with everyone telling her she was cliche today?? First the Prince, then this Nobody! She growled a bit, placing a hand in her face and pushing her away from the crystal. "Sit down before I put a binding spell on you!" she threatened, getting her away from her conversation before looking to the woman on the other end.

"Maleficent...?" she asked, blinking. She was... different. "What the devil happened to you??" she asked, but shook her head indifferently, moving on before the woman could answer.

"I have one of those no-hearted things you told me to keep an eye out for. I still owe you for this little monkey enhancement you've done for me, and I also have something of yours..." she flapped the Keyblade Notes she had gotten from Oeilvert for the woman to see. "Send someone to get these things out of my castle so I can get back to my own affairs..." she finished, her hand on her hip.

[MeadowSong]

[glow=Purple,2,300]MeadowSong regarded the Nobody with a narrowing of the eyes before turning back to Elphaba. She chuckled merrily at the witch's update and, from the other end of the screen, her hand tore straight through. Something she hadn't even known she could do. But being new at being completely Heartless, and absolutely one with the darkness, she gave it a shot.

And when her hand reappeared on the other end of the connection, she opened her hand and spoke quietly.

"Hand them straight to me, Elphie. I can take it from here. And also," she used her powers of darkness to speak directly into the mind of the Wicked Witch this time. "Keep that girl there, comfortable, at least. Atticus would like to speak with her, and I don't need her running off to wander that strange and erratic world of yours. A house-falling storm? Ridiculous."

"And you may call me MeadowSong, Mistress of All Darkness. Now, was there anything else?"[/glow]

[Leckseeuh]

Miiaxra sat back down like she was ordered. The Witch was skilled in magic - but Miiaxra had strength and magic. She puffed a breath, flipping up her bangs. Once the Witch's back was turned she pulled down her eyelid with her finger and stuck out her tounge like a child would do.

She looked at the Notes that she had, tilting her head. She heard something about those notes...and for some reason she just wanted to see what information, whatever information it had whether it was important or no. Someone would need it somewhere.

[Secondary Characters]

The Witch was stunned a moment. She hadn't expected a hand to suddenly protrude from her crsytal ball, much less for the woman on the other side to be connected to it. She looked from it to the notes in her hand and shrugged. "That's all I had to say..." she muttered, then shoved them into MeadowSong's hand.

She then blinked, hearing the woman's voice in her head. Well. This hadn't been done in a long while. It used to be their private little thing, talking to one another while that old windbag of a teacher of theirs went on about the "morals of magick" or some other nonsense. And when the woman used that name... well...

"Not using nicknames anymore, MeadowSong?" she asked, then tapped the crystal lightly. "You never liked that name..." She turned the spell off, then looked to the Nobody.

"Out of respect for an old friend, I'm prepared to offer you a stay in my humble home. I only ask that you follow some simple... Ground rules..." she walked over to her, holding a finger up demandingly. "First and foremost, do not mess with anything you see. A lot of the potions here are... volitile. I don't want some no-hearted butterfingers going around ruining my spells! Rule two, don't leave the castle! Trust me, the haunted woods are no place to be alone... And finally, rule number three, stay out of my way!"

She turned on her heel, grabbing her broom nearby. "I have a prince to tend to... The monkey will show you to a room. If you have any needs, just tell him." With that, she stormed out of the room. She was going to pay Oeilvert a little visit...

Meanwhile, one of the heartles monkeys jumped up and down next to the Nobody, looking up at her curiously before leading her down the hall...

[Leckseeuh]

Miiaxra nodded at all of the Witch's rules, and once she stopped speaking she replied. Yes, ma'am. If you need any help you can just ask me in case these...things, whatever they are...aren't enough. She turned up the corners of her lips just a little into a smile that lasted a second.

Meanwhile, on the inside, that sadistic laugh wanted to burst out. She absolutely couldn't stand this woman - the way she was being ordered around made her go crazy.

She looked down at the Heartless and smiled a bit more. Ode? Oh, thank you... Even as a Heartless she kind of thought they were cute...she stood up and followed the Heartless down the hall.

[MeadowSong]

[glow=Purple,2,300]***Returning to A Dark Alliance, at The world that Never Was***


***Notes #12 have been added to the record***[/glow]

[Atticus the Fallen]

The Heartless creature would lead her to a door, and stand beside it to allow her to enter. When she did, it would scamper off to find more duties to perform, but that did not mean that her experiences with the Heartless were done for now. The room she entered would be comfortably furnished, with a large four-poster bed and a few comfortable seats. A fire burned pleasantly in the fireplace, and candles were all around, giving the room a cozy, albiet gothic, appearance.

However, when she stepped foot over the thresh hold, the fire would woosh lightly, as though being blown from an unseen wind, and go out. The candles would flicker, and just as the roaring fire had, blink into darkness. As soon as the entire room was thrust into shadowy hints of black and blue, she might notice a man sitting in the chair, who wasn't there when the lights were on. He wore dark robes, feathers accenting his collar and cuffs. His sharp-fingered hands were criss-crossed lightly in front of him, resting on his lap. On his chest, the symbol of the Heartless was proudly displayed, and his face was concealed under a large, twisted hat. Behind him, raven wings were neatly tucked to provide him some level of comfort as he sat there. Aside from the little moonlight allowed into the room through the windows, the only illumination how came from his frightening yellow eyes, which glew from under that hat, watching her...

"Hello, Miiaxra..." the Fallen whispered, as though he had been waiting for her. "Please, come in... I have a great deal to discuss with you..."

[Leckseeuh]

Miiaxra slowly looked around the room, even the darkness was too dark for her to see in. She sighed a little stepped in slowly before Atticus spoke, causing her to scoot back a little. She stayed silent for a minute until she stepped a few steps closer.

May I just ask how you know my name? And how you knew I was here, if that's no problem?

[Oeilvert]

Masheck awoke the second time, his leg attached at the ankle with a ball and chain in one of the many dungeons of the Wicked Witch's castle.
He looked around; he was numb, cold to the touch, and feeling rather ill. The dagger wound, as well as the poison delivered alongside, was still eating away at the 'Prince', but for some reason kept him alive.

The Witch's curse also held the sorcerer in place still, so the chains were a bit unnecessary. He frowned, thinking of what might happen should Locke be harmed. He thought back to the process in Oz on how to create a familiar. Masheck was, for all intents and purposes, a Heartless--but not your ordinary Heartless, no--a literal Heartless. His heart was a living creature all itself, manifested in the form of his companion.

"Ungh..." he groaned. Please just kill me now...

[Secondary Characters]

The Witch was nowhere to be seen, but in those dungeons, in the cell across from him, the bird would be seen hanging in a smaller cage. It was still unharmed, as the Witch wanted to prolong the Prince's suffering a little while she dealt with other concerns. The only one there to keep an eye on the Prince and the Bird was a single flying monkey heartless, who snoozed lightly with a set of keys tied around its waist with a length of rope.

If Oeilvert looked around, he'd spot a small, wind-up robot looking thing laying discarded on the floor of his cell. Clearly, it was one of the Witch's discarded little projects, but as for why it was here was anyone's guess. Everything else was silence, save for the snoring of the monkey nearby...

[Oeilvert]

Soon the witch's seal would break, leaving the stiff-boned prince aching, but free to move about his cell. He quickly grabbed at his open wound and clutched it tight. Seething, he crawled over to the bars separating him from the hallway. He stared across his cell over at Locke's cage and frowned, a small tear trickling down his cheek.

"Locke..." he whispered, reaching out, his palm outstretched, even though he knew he'd be unable to grab the cage from several feet away. Even if he were able to use his powers, Mage Hand was definitely out of the question, for both the bird or the keys hanging from the Heartless' belt. He'd exhausted himself from before, and even going unconscious wouldn't bring back his powers for the day.

Instead he turned, leaning against the uncomfortable black iron bars and dropped his head slightly, staring over at the construct nearby. When he saw it was a tik-tok machine by nature, he wondered about its origin, and its make, as well as why it was here in the dungeon of all places. Slowly, the sorcerer crawled over to the thing, dragging the heavy ball and chain with him, and plopped quietly at the golem's side. He pulled Livevus from his pouch and opened it. The book began glowing with a bright, emerald aura, and spoke.

[glow=Green,2,300]"Why, this is a tik-tok,"[/glow] it said quietly. [glow=red,2,300]"A bit trashy, in need of serious repairs and all that, but I doubt its condition is irreversible. Wind 'im up. See what happens; just be sure to not wind up its voice key right now, since these creatures don't know how to level their volume, and it appears his dial's broken."[/glow]

Masheck nodded, and began twisting the keys on its back: one for movement, another for thought, and several others for comprehension, emotions and sight.

It sprung to life and the Prince helped the golem to its feet. It was heavy, and loud, but Masheck was sure if the machine could listen and proceed quietly and slowly, there would be little to no problems.

"Now you listen to me, golem...I am Masheck Octavian, Prince-Regent and Grand Advisor of Ozma, Queen of Oz. I need your assistance. My power is exhausted and I need you to either bend these bars or use an extending arm--if you have one--and quietly grab those keys off the monkey. Can you do that for me, Tik-tok? It would be very honorable of you, as this could potentially save Oz from the looming threat...you'll be a hero."

[Atticus the Fallen]

"Of course..." Atticus whispered, lifting a hand lazily to light the candles near him by simply touching the wicks. As he spoke, he touched one at a time, his fingertip instantly igniting the candle as he spoke.

"I know your name because you're a Heartless... and as such, we share a very special connection, you and I. You'll find that if you concentrate, you'd know my name as well..." he paused, then looked to her as that small, flickering light cast eerie shadows in the room.

"As for how I knew you were here... I saw you in a shadowscreen, when the Witch was talking to another of our kind. I'm the reason you were shown to a room... I'm the reason you haven't been obliterated just yet." His hands came together again and rested on his lap.

"You're a very special Heartless, aren't you, Miiaxra? You gave yourself willingly to darkness, without anyone asking you to do so. And so young... the darkness is appealing to you... and as such, I have great need of your... uniqueness." He closed his eyes a moment, taking a moment to consider if he should tell her or not... of his plans.

"Do you know of the Princesses of Heart?" he asked hintingly.

[Leckseeuh]

Miiaxra watched intently at the fire being lit at the touch, letting her eyes relax at the dim light. She smiled slightly watching them, listening to Atticus along the way.

You'll find that if you concentrate, you'd know my name as well. He said, making her perk her head up. She tilted her head and looked at him for a second. It's on the tip of my tongue... She said quietly, but loud enough for him to hear. She watched him for the rest of the while as he spoke, chuckling slightly at the last thing he said.

Do you know of the Princesses of Heart?

Miiaxra tilted her head yet again, slipping her eyes shut and thinking. She opened her eyes again and set a finger on her lip in thought, looking towards the ceiling.

...I think I have...of the Princesses from other worlds stripped of their hearts? She asked quietly and curiously, like a child would ask.