to collect their hearts. Pete decides to kill two birds with one stone by leading Hook to a final, gold-filled chest, which reacts to the darkness in Hook's heart and becomes a powerful Heartless that Pete hopes will defeat Roxas, though it ends up being defeated instead. Pete disappears again, vowing revenge against Roxas if they ever meet again. Pete makes his first appearance in the series in Kingdom Hearts II, where he first encounters the main group of protagonists—Sora, Donald, and Goofy—in front of Yen Sid's tower, and is disappointed to learn that they had previously defeated Maleficent while he was out gathering Heartless (though he does contemplate taking her place in her absence). However, Maleficent is quickly resurrected, and Pete continues his duties after updating her on what occurred in her absence, traveling to other worlds to recruit old or new villains to either join (or rejoin) their cause, or to turn them into powerful Heartless, but is foiled by Sora and co. each time. Pete is viewed more as a nuisance than a threat by the heroes, Sora remarking that he is "not smart enough to tie his own shoes." He is nonetheless fought as a recurring boss during several portions of the game, though the strategy for beating him is different each time. Pete often incurs Maleficent's relentless annoyance and insults for his comical ineptness, despite his fierce loyalty to her. After one such incident, his yearning for going back in time to experience his wonder years as a steamboat captain again summons a portal to the past, which gives him the opportunity to put himself back in Maleficent's good graces. He goes back in time to steal his younger self's steamboat and alter the past to Maleficent's liking, but is defeated again by Sora and co., who have allied themselves with the younger Pete (who never discovers the older Pete's identity). However, Pete once again proves his worth when he brings Maleficent to the Castle That Never Was, the headquarters of Organization XIII, for them to use as a new base of operations, though he is very much aware that the Heartless will be unruly in this dark realm. In the end, he contemplates running when the castle becomes overrun with Heartless, but decides to stand by Maleficent's side to hold them off and help Sora and his friends defeat Organization XIII, though the castle