Getting To Know You

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“Agreed.”

Maleficent nodded curtly. The last thing they needed was another incident like the one with Pinocchio. She suspected the others were still harboring anger with her for her (completely reasonable) suggestion.

The fairy watched as Grimhilde approached the hall mirror and recited an incantation. The resulting glow the mirror took on might have startled someone else, but Maleficent had seen and done far too much magic to even be fazed by something as simple as this. Nor was she at all surprised to see that the Nostalgia Chick and Morpheus had been imprisoned in a cage of sorts. Such tactics – and even more brutal ones – were fairly commonplace where she came from. She herself was a frequent user of many of them.

“Yes, but we can’t guarantee that they’ll remain unharmed for much longer. We have to move quickly if we’re to rescue them.”

[Queen Grimhilde]

"Yes. I've heard whispers of a plan but no one's ever talked about it much because they don't want Critic to know. I understand. Having him along would only slow us down. We should talk to Cinema Snob and some of the others. We need to figure out who's going and move quickly. At night would be best. It would give us the element of surprise and I'm sure most of them would probably be asleep or worn out from training." said Queen Grimhilde.

She frowned as the image vanished. Unfortunately her spell was only temporary. She wished she had the Magic Mirror here as her spell was only a pale imitation of what it could do. She turned back to Maleficent glancing at the kitchen and seeing it empty. Perhaps it was time to make some potions as the rescue could happen anytime and it was better to be prepared.

"Perhaps we should begin making potions as well. I know you may not need these but I do. And I'm sure the others will need them as well. I've heard there are a few sorcerers on the other army. These should give us some help. Even a temporary distraction would be useful. What do you think?" said Queen Grimhilde.

(ooc: The potions can be made in the background while they talk as I wouldn't know what goes in each one anyway. So they would just mix up the herbs and other ingredients and make say a sleeping potion, a freezing potion, or whatever. xd)

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Maleficent nodded in agreement. It was obvious that the Nostalgia Critic cared deeply for the Nostalgia Chick – he’d very nearly fallen apart when she’d first been captured. If they brought him on the rescue mission, he would likely let his emotions get in the way, thus potentially jeopardizing the mission – and their lives. No, it would be much better for everyone if he was left behind. Even if he would be annoyed with them later.

Her eyebrow arched a bit at the mention of potion-making. Generally speaking, Maleficent didn’t make potions. When she needed to get something done, she either sent her minions or went after the problem with a curse or equally unpleasant spell. As such, her knowledge was a little rusty. Still, she would do what she could.

“Yes, all right. Which do you suggest first?”

[Queen Grimhilde]

(ooc: I completely forgot about this thread. Glad I saw it now.)

"Perhaps some intangible potions to make us ghostlike. They could come in handle sneaking in without being detected. Just a few sips would make us that way for a few minutes. But too much and we could be like that for hours. But it would be useful especially if we got caught or needed a a quick getaway as well." said Queen Grimhilde.

She smiled as she began gathering ingredients for the potion.

"We should also make some smoke bombs or explosives. After all there are a few sorcerers there and these should give the rest of us an edge against them. Even a small window of distraction could save us from getting killed or seriously hurt." said Queen Grimhilde.

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Intangibility? Maleficent arched a brow, intrigued. She had her will-o’-the-wisp form for when she wanted to sneak into places unnoticed, but the ability to walk through walls was certainly something that could come in handy. The smoke bombs, too, interested her for the reasons Grimhilde had mentioned. However, she thought that there might be a flaw. If one was surrounded by enemies pointing weapons and moved at all, there was a good chance of being stabbed before the bomb had time to be dropped.

“We’d have to insure that the smoke bombs wouldn’t be noticeable to enemy eyes, otherwise they could be taken away in the event of a capture and defeat the purpose.”

[Queen Grimhilde]

"I agree. Perhaps we should put in something modern they would't suspect what it is. But it should be small enough you could fit in your pocket if necessary." said Queen Grimhilde.

She paused glancing around looking for something to use it. She found a bottle of perfume lying on the counter. She picked it up and sprayed it into the air and it let out a wonderful fragrance.

"This smells like flowers. A wonderful invention. This would be perfect. No one would suspect something simple as this to hold a weapon in it." said Queen Grimhilde.

She took out an empty spray bottle from under the cabinet and poured the perfume into it.

"There. Now someone can use whatever this was and we can use this bottle for the smoke bomb." said Queen Grimhilde.

She rinsed out the empty perfume bottle and set it aside so she could add the smoke bomb into it later.

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Other than wrinkling her nose a bit at the overpowering aroma of flowers – not one of her favorites – Maleficent found Grimhilde’s idea to be more than workable. However, she still felt as though they needed something more, something she couldn’t quite put her finger on at the moment. Absentmindedly, she started to toy with the gold-and-onyx ring on her finger. In the process, she moved it closer and closer to her fingertip until it was accidentally loosened and hit the floor with a faint metallic ping. With an agitated sigh, the fairy bent down to pick it up and felt her eyes widen in something like an epiphany.

“Grimhilde!” She stood straight up, holding her ring out to the queen. “What if we were able to put a smoke bomb into something like this? No one thinks twice about jewelry, unless it’s that ring Ma-Ti has. The wearer could loosen it with their thumb, and the bomb would be activated when it hit the floor.”

[Queen Grimhilde]

Queen Grimhilde turned to Maleficent and smiled liking the idea.

"That sounds like an even better idea. Bottles like this one can break easily. But if we use jewelry we have a better chance of success. All my money and jewelry are back in my world so I don't have any way to get them. I'm sure one of the must have some jewelry we could use for this. Or can you conjure some?" said Queen Grimhilde.

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Maleficent paused. To be perfectly honest, she didn’t really know. In general, her magic didn’t work in that way. It could produce things like thorns and lightning – things that could cause harm to others – but she had never once attempted to use it to gain something as frivolous as jewelry. Her ring was sufficient.

But if this is to be used for use in war, perhaps it will work.

Closing her eyes and allowing the magic to flow to the emerald orb on her staff, she tried to imagine a duplicate of her ring, with silver in place of the gold. She opened her eyes and found it sitting on the counter next to the empty perfume bottle. Her red lips twisted into a triumphant smirk.

“Will that suffice?”

[Queen Grimhilde]

Queen Grimhilde watched as Maleficent conjured a duplicate ring of her own. She smiled and nodded.

"Perfect. How many of these do you think we should make? Not too many otherwise they'd get suspicious a group of us started wearing rings. Maybe like 4 or 5 perhaps?" said Queen Grimhilde.

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Maleficent nodded, and minutes later, the duplicate ring was joined by five more. Each of the rings had some sort of variation in color, design, or something else so as to make sure that no two looked exactly alike. That would most certainly be a giveaway that they weren’t simply pieces of jewelry. Despite herself, the fairy was getting excited for this plan.

“We should distribute these among the children as well as the soldiers. They won’t be able to defend themselves as well, and they definitely wouldn’t be able to withstand torture.”

That being said, Maleficent made a mental note to create something that could be attached to a dog collar.

[Queen Grimhilde]

Queen Grimhilde smiled seeing the rings were duplicated.

"Excellent. As for the children I think it would probably be best to leave them here. The only human child I've seen so far is Lilo and she's probably still hurt from our last battle. I suspect they'll try to keep the children here where it's safe. But it wouldn't hurt to make a few extras and give it to them to protect themselves." said Grimhilde.

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“That may be, but the children have already participated in one battle, and if Ask ThatGuy and his army are anything like me, they won’t show mercy because of their age.”

It was true. While Maleficent thought that children had no place on the battlefield – they were too young, too inexperienced – she would still retaliate if attacked and none too gently. Just as she would to any adult foolish enough to challenge her. No matter what their age, they would all meet the same fate.

“Besides that, it’s my experience that children are curious creatures and prone to wandering off, even if they are told not to. They might find themselves in peril by accident.”

[Queen Grimhilde]

"You may be right. I suppose we can give some to them just in case. But we should have at least a couple for our group if we need them.." said Grimhilde.

She soon finished the batch turning to Maleficent.

"How do we get this inside it without damaging the rings? Can your magic put this batch in the ring?" asked Queen Grimhilde.

She got another bowl and began mixing up a second patch of potions while she spoke this time of intangibility. She figured if they had locked doors they could sneak inside without wasting time picking locks or being discovered.

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At Grimhilde’s question, a secretive smile crossed Maleficent’s face. She had planned for that. Wordlessly, the fairy plucked one of the faux rings from the counter and pressed one blood red fingernail in a small crack in the ring. Like a locket, the top of the ring snapped open, revealing a small, hollowed-out area. Maleficent found a spoon in a nearby draw and carefully filled the compartment with the finished smoke bomb potion before snapping it shut again.

Now, all that’s left is to test it.

Still holding the ring, Maleficent walked out to the backyard and dropped the ring. Like clockwork, it opened, spilling thick black smoke everywhere. It was nearly impossible to see through, but Maleficent was able to get to the back door.

“It works,” she announced when she had gotten inside. “However, I suggest we train the others to be able to pick their way through the smoke, just to ensure this won’t go to waste.”