Villains

The Villains are a group of scoundrels from various worlds who seek to harness the power of the Heartless. They are led by Maleficent, and originally had the goal of capturing the seven Princesses of Heart and taking control of Kingdom Hearts, to rule all worlds. After their first defeat at the hands of Sora, they are much less organized, and while they occasionally cooperate on a one-on-one basis, they no longer work in concert and follow their own goals.

Each Villain is usually the boss battle for their native world.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Maleficent was contacted by Master Xehanort at some point before Terra, Aqua, and Ventus left the Land of Departure. He told her about other worlds, the Princesses of Heart, and Kingdom Hearts, explaining how they could be used to rule all worlds. Identifying Aurora as a Princess of Heart, Xehanort takes her heart for Maleficent on the condition she tricks Terra into thinking he had taken it. However, Aurora was saved by the combined efforts of Ventus, Aqua, and Prince Phillip.

Realizing the search for the Princesses would take a while, Maleficent resolves to gather others to help. Finding Pete, who had been banished to another dimension by Queen Minnie, she decides to free him and make him an ally.

Although neither were officially associated with Maleficent at that point in time, Hades and Captain Hook both encountered Terra, Aqua, and Ven.

Between Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep and Kingdom Hearts
Maleficent spends the next decade gathering potential allies to aid her in their search for the Princesses of Heart. She eventually recruits Captain Hook, Ursula, Hades, Oogie Boogie and Jafar. The group also learns about the power of the Heartless and use them as minions in their quest. However, while the group was aware of the dangers posed by using the Heartless, they failed to realize they were just puppets of the Heartless who only obeyed them in an attempt to gain control of Kingdom Hearts.

The Villains have two main goals: find the Princesses of Heart and send the Heartless into the Keyholes of many worlds, destroying them in the process. Using the Heartless, the group makes Hollow Bastion their base and successfully imprisons Aurora, Belle, Cinderella, and Snow White there while destroying their Worlds.

Kingdom Hearts
Becoming aware of Sora and his Keyblade, the Villains observe his progress. They observe Clayton as a possible member, but he is consumed by the darkness. The Villains begin to realize Sora may pose a threat to their plans due to his ability to seal Keyholes.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
While searching for Jafar's Lamp in Agrabah, Pete is followed by Axel and Roxas when they come across the villain in the Marketplace as he was looking for a secret entrance out of town to the Cave of Wonders. Later, Pete encounters Roxas and Xion during another mission in Agrabah in the the Cave of Wonders and engages them in battle.

Later, Pete appears in Neverland, making fake treasure maps for Captain Hook to follow, relying on the pirate's greed to conjure up tons of Heartless in his mad quest for riches.

Kingdom Hearts II
After Maleficent was resurrected, she and Pete try to reunite a new group. Pete contacts a former member, Hades, and try to get Jafar back, in addition to trying to find new members, such as Barbossa or Scar. Maleficent resuscitates Oogie Boogie and collaborates with him, however, he seems to have lost respect for her. After losing their base in Hollow Bastion, Maleficent thinks about turning the Castle That Never Was into her new base.

Kingdom Hearts coded
Maleficent sends Pete to Disney Castle to spy on King Mickey, and when Data-Riku transports Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy Cricket into the Datascape, Pete gets pulled in as well, appearing in a hub between the data worlds. He calls Maleficent, who uses her magic to enter as well.

Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance
At Disney Castle, Maleficent reveals to Mickey how Xehanort once told her of other worlds and the seven hearts of pure light that would enable her to rule them. However, due to the complexity of the worlds, Maleficent decides to take a different approach, using the worlds' data. When Mickey refuses to yield, she attempts to attack him with her magic. However, the magical flames are blocked by one of Lea's Chakrams, while the other surprises Pete and allows Minnie to escape.

Kingdom Hearts III
At the time of Xehanort's final push to assemble the χ-blade, only Pete is still interested in allying with Maleficent. Although he does share information with her on the location of a "black box", Hades has no interest in following her losing plans anymore, and Barbossa has, despite some ribbing for his past misdeeds, chosen to ally with Elizabeth Swann and the other pirates.

Trivia

 * The track "Villains of a Sort" is used for most cutscenes involving the Villains.

Notes and references
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Assemblée obscure