That Old Black Magic (Grimhilde)

[Queen Grimhilde]

Grimhilde smiled glad she was coming up with some good ideas and seeing Maleficent in a better mood.

"Hmm. I think we should try to kidnap some of the villains. We've had members kidnapped from our army three times now. The only villain we had was Pinocchio and he was rescued." said Grimhilde.

She paused trying to think of something as an idea came to her turning to Maleficent.

"Perhaps one of Mechakara's daughters we could try to capture. Or even both would be better. He hurt you, Tony, Linkara, Iheart, and many others in this army. Even if we get no information from them it'd make him pay just the same." said Grimhilde.

She paused at her suggestion to repair the forest was met with a sigh. She looked at her and smiled.

"I know it's not what you usually do. If it were up to me we could burn down the whole forest. But we're not in our old worlds. My title as queen means nothing. And our magic would just make us feared and hunted." said Grimhilde.

[Deleted]

“Can we really count Pinocchio?” Maleficent griped. “Considering the treatment he received from our teammates.”

Her mood was immediately lightened by Grimhilde’s suggestion. Of course – it was such an obvious plan. If you wanted to hurt someone, you struck their heart. For most people, that was their family. No one knew that better than Maleficent.

“Indeed. And it will make Mechakara suffer.”

A wonderful bonus in the fairy’s eyes.

“I know it's not what you usually do. If it were up to me we could burn down the whole forest. But we're not in our old worlds. My title as queen means nothing. And our magic would just make us feared and hunted.”

Being hunted and persecuted was another thing Maleficent was familiar with, something that she didn’t want to have happen here.

“I know,” she replied. “It’s just the principle of the thing.” She sighed. “But I’m willing to bend them for the sake of covering our tracks.”

[Queen Grimhilde]

Grimhilde frowned at that and sighed.

"Well he was a child. I do think they coddled him so. They're not doing that to Iheart and the others that's for sure. I guess we should avoid kidnapping children in the future. At least not for captives. I think Critic and the others probably think the children were tricked or deceived and perhaps they were. But it was their choice. Children aren't really a threat anyway so we shouldn't focus on them." said Grimhilde.

Which was true. Even their weakest members she felt could handle children. But it's not like the children were in any battles lately. She heard of one where Lilo and Pinocchio both got hurt and there hadn't been children on the battlefield since then. She smirked seeing Maleficent's reaction to taking one of Mechakara's children.

"After what Dark Heart's done to Ma-Ti and Iheart I don't think anyone would object to capturing her or the other one Seven. But we need some captives. They've taken members from us several times and the only we managed to take was a child that was quickly taken back from us. We need to change our tactics if necessary." said Grimhilde.

She heard Maleficent and nodded.

"If it would make you feel better no one else has to know. We could just say we were out for a walk or practicing with swords." said Grimhilde.

[Deleted]

“I suppose you have a point,” Maleficent admitted, albeit a little reluctantly. Children were unlikely to know anything of any real significance and in the long run didn’t pose that much of a threat. “However, children or not, they still chose to become a part of all this, and their treatment should reflect that.”

Besides, we don’t know for sure that they’re all that they seem to be.

When she had (briefly) faced Pinocchio down in battle, his form had been that of a teenage boy. Only after he had been struck down did his appearance change, making him look like the child they were now familiar with.

“After what Dark Heart's done to Ma-Ti and Iheart I don't think anyone would object to capturing her or the other one Seven. But we need some captives.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Maleficent remarked, smiling coolly. “I doubt even our comrades would be able to argue with us where he’s concerned.”

“If it would make you feel better no one else has to know.”

“I wasn’t planning on letting anyone know what we’d done anyway.”

[Queen Grimhilde]

Grimhilde nodded.

"They treated him like a guest more than a prisoner just because he was a child. But avoiding children would be for the best. Although at times I'm tempted to form my own army but I don't think I'd get a big enough group to make it." said Grimhilde.

She paused as Maleficent agreed with her decision to target Dark Heart and Seven.

"Any prisoner would be great. But if we happened to get one of them it would really hurt Mechakara." said Grimhilde.

She paused as her mind shifted to thinking of the villains.

"Is there a way to block someone of their magic? Even temporarily? It could help us kidnap a magical opponent like Facilier, Malachite, or Rita. With one of their leaders under our control might be useful." said Grimhilde.

[Deleted]

“I’m afraid you’ll have an army of three if you formed your own,” Maleficent warned.

She wasn’t against the idea – quite the contrary – but they were surrounded by enemies as it was, and splitting up again would only make things worse for them in the long run. When cautioning Grimhilde, the dark fairy had counted only herself, the queen (obviously), and Diablo, who would follow his mistress to whatever side she chose. Jasmine might be able to tolerate them, but Maleficent was certain she would never abandon the army for them, and she knew no one else would.

“Besides,” she added with a smirk, “What do you think those fools would do without us?”

“Any prisoner would be great. But if we happened to get one of them it would really hurt Mechakara.”

“Agreed.”

“Is there a way to block someone of their magic? Even temporarily?”

“If I knew that, don’t you think I would have used it on those do-gooding fairies?” Despite the slight edge that had crept into her voice, the possibility being presented intrigued Maleficent. Grimhilde was right; such a technique would be extremely useful against their magical foes. Maleficent’s mind had immediately shifted to Facilier and Malachite, who seemed to pose the biggest threats.

[Queen Grimhilde]

Grimhilde nodded as she listened to her.

"Yes. A very small army indeed. It wouldn't be worth it." said Grimhilde.

She sighed and then chuckled at Maleficent's words.

"You're exactly right. They need us. Without my potions or your magic they'd have been lost long ago. Sure we have some stronger members now but they only came here recently." said Grimhilde.

She smiled as Maleficent agreed with her about the prisoners. She then paused as Maleficent seemed to not know about her idea. But the idea was a good idea to consider.

"Perhaps someone else in the army might know. Like Jasmine. She may not have magic but she's friends with a Genie. And she did fight a lot of sorcerers." said Jasmine.

[Deleted]

It was true, at least in her own mind. Between Maleficent’s magical abilities and Grimhilde’s wide array of potions, the two of them were easily the most powerful members of the army.

Grimhilde seemed to still be considering the concept of magic blocking. Suddenly, she smiled.

“Perhaps someone else in the army might know. Like Jasmine. She may not have magic but she's friends with a Genie. And she did fight a lot of sorcerers.”

“Hmm.” Maleficent considered this newest suggestion. Beforehand, she hadn’t considered Jasmine as a source of magical information, but Grimhilde had a point. If the princess’s stories were to be believed, she had faced off against many magical beings in her world with various degrees of strength, one of which seemed to be almost as powerful as the dark fairy herself. It was therefore reasonable to consider that she might know how to keep them at bay, or at least weaken them.

“It’s definitely worth looking into,” she admitted. “We’ll have to ask her.”

[Queen Grimhilde]

Grimhilde nodded as the idea turned to her.

"Perhaps we should have the word spread in general. Just because not many have magic here. They could have fought magical beings like Jasmine had. If any of them know of a way to block magic even temporarily it would help us out." said Grimhilde.

She paused as Maleficent said it'd be worth looking into and to ask her.

"You seem closer to her. Perhaps you can ask her." said Grimhilde.

She paused as an idea came to her.

"Of course. My Magic Mirror. If it doesn't know the answer maybe it could point us to the right person. Or where to find a book or scroll or something to help us." said Grimhilde.

[Deleted]

“You may be right,” Maleficent mused. Others in the army utilized magic, after all. “The Critic and some of the other reviewers fought against Malachite before all of this began, after all.”

Granted from what she understood that battle ended with Ma-Ti’s death and Malachite’s defeat had ultimately been circumvented, but it was still worth looking in to. Even if they didn’t know anything, perhaps this would motivate them to try and find a method of magic-blocking themselves.

“The Mirror?” Maleficent echoed, annoyed that she hadn’t thought of that solution before. “Yes, that would probably help us find something. We’ll have to consult it when we return. Speaking of…”

Maleficent allowed herself to trail off, the beginnings of a scowl forming on her face as she surveyed the slightly burnt woodlands. Oh, this was going to hurt.

“I suppose we should start repairing the damages.”

[Queen Grimhilde]

Grimhilde nodded.

"If there is a way we'll find it. Even if we can't get rid of their magic permanently it would help us out." said Grimhilde.

She paused as Maleficent spoke again asking about the mirror.

"Yes. It has always helped me before in my old world. I haven't used in much since we came here. But it is something our enemies don't have. We have sorcerers and gods in the other armies. We need a way to take them out or at least weaken them." said Grimhilde.

She paused glancing at the area and nodded.

"How quick can you come up with a spell? I don't think any of my potions would be good at restoring this forest." said Grimhilde.

[Deleted]

“No, I suppose not,” Maleficent replied with a sigh, her scowl deepening. Secretly, she had been hoping that Grimhilde would be able to repair the forest herself, thus relieving her of the duty. It would seem that she had hoped in vain.

She stepped away from Grimhilde and raised her staff, gripping it with both hands and beginning her chant. Though it wasn’t very obvious, the fairy was speaking a little slower than she would have when casting one of her usual dark magic spells. “Good” magic, particularly “good” nature magic, wasn’t something she indulged in often (or at all, before coming to Chicago), and so she wasn’t as well-versed in it as other fairies might have been. As such, she had to take care to make sure that the spell was spoken correctly or something might go wrong (which would be amusing, but would also give away their secret).

When the last word had been spoken, Maleficent touched her staff to the ground and watched as a white wave appeared from its end, growing steadily larger before moving in a circle around them.

The effects were immediate. Firstly, the damage caused by Maleficent and Grimhilde’s target practice was repaired, the trees becoming whole and the earth losing the scorched look it had started to take on.

Secondly, Maleficent felt as though she had been slammed into an invisible wall. She nearly lost her balance and gripped her staff tighter for support, forcing herself to stay upright. She had not come out here to collapse again, not when she was supposed to be proving that she had gotten stronger.

[Queen Grimhilde]

Grimhilde paused as Maleficent sighed and began repairing the forest. A white wave flew through the forest as the trees became whole again. Then Maleficent looked like she was going to fall as she rushed forward on instinct.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize what affect this magic would have on you. I should have thought of something else. But I can help you." said Grimhilde.

She paused pulling out a potion in a red vial as she handed it to her.

"This shall restore your energy and make you feel good as new. I call it a restoration potion." said Grimhilde.

She paused waiting for Maleficent to reply and take the potion.

[Deleted]

Maleficent could feel her grip on the staff begin to slip, but rather than land on the hard ground as she’d expected, she felt Grimhilde’s hands grab her arms, keeping her from falling.

“I'm sorry. I didn't realize what affect this magic would have on you.”

It’s a little late for an apology, the dark fairy thought bitterly, though she didn’t say as much out loud. She really couldn’t when her friend was the only thing holding her upright.

When Maleficent had regained her bearings, Grimhilde offered her a red vial filled with an apparent restoration potion. She didn’t recognize it as one that they’d collaborated on, but the queen insisted that it would help her regain her energy. As she wasn’t in any position to turn it down, Maleficent uncorked the vial and drank its contents.

It took only a few seconds for the potion to kick in. Just as Grimhilde had said, her energy was replenished, putting her strength back where it had been before they had started the training session. That disappointed Maleficent just a little – a part of her had been hoping that she would get her energy back completely – but she wasn’t going to argue with these results.

“Thank you, Grimhilde,” she said instead, smiling at her friend. “I do feel much better.”

[Queen Grimhilde]

Grimhilde smiled at her as the took the potion and heard her say she felt better.

"Your welcome. Perhaps we should find a place we can use to train that we don't need to rebuild. We should talk to Critic and the others about that. Using this woods as a training ground and battle ground is bound to get us discovered eventually." said Grimhilde.

And she knew that would be bad news. The public would panic. The goverment would show up trying to stop them and end up capturing some of them probably. But in the end the government wouldn't stand up to the likes of Facilier, Rita, and the other powerful members of the villain armies. It would be absolute chaos.