A Change of the Heart
Disclaimer: I do not own any original Aladdin characters in this story, nor do I own the settings involved with them. They all belong to their rightful owners.
Chapter One: A Black Heart
Far beyond Agrabah, past the palace and its city, came the high mountains, where the rocky mountains were said to almost touch the sky and all it's glory. But no one would dare tread through the raggedy region of the Seven Deserts now. Not after they heard the news of the eruption.
Thankfully no one was hurt during the explosion of the once dormant volcano, nor were there any fatalities. But the news still startled the people of Agrabah, unnerving them. So they figured it best to keep away from where the volcano was. "The safer the better," they had said. Mother Nature's wrath was always something to be wary of.
The region around the volcano became isolated. The stone was charred and engulfed with dry lava, and the volcano itself was now a black tower protruding towards the sky. But sounds echoed from the inside, sounds of struggling and frustration. Sometimes low rumblings, similar to quiet bellows of thunder, could be heard if everything was completely quiet. But other times there were tornadoes of curses being roared from an angry baritone voice, which could shake the very world if he had the power to do so.
Malcho lay trapped in the volcano, binded by the hardened lava. He had been fighting to get out for over a week now. First the Frozen North, now this! He thought bitterly. With his efforts in the beginning he was able to pry his left wing free. It was a start, of course. One wing down, the rest of his body to go.
He pushed and pulled, fueled by his agonizing humiliation of how he'd gotten here in the first place:
After he had been over powered by Thundra back at his rain forest, Malcho went into hiding, and patiently waited for the chance to get his powers back. Years passed, but Thundra's guard was never down. Until a fateful day when Malcho discovered an idiot, loud-mouthed parrot had fallen in love with her and — something Malcho will never understand why — she returned those pointless affections. Through this Iago's persuasion, Thundra had been convinced she needed a "break" from her responsibilities and was foolish enough to actually leave the parrot in charge. Malcho wasted no time. With the slightest little effort, he got his powers back. But it didn't last long, because it was that same parrot who tricked Malcho into banishing himself to the Frozen North.
Eventually, Malcho broke himself free. And there was only one thing on his mind: Revenge. He traveled back to Agrabah only to discover that that parrot was living in the life of luxury in the palace. Caramba, the humiliation! Each time Malcho came so close to getting his revenge, but every time that sultan named Aladdin kept getting in his way. And just when he believed he was about to get back at the bird, Aladdin, with the whack of a mallet, split open the volcano they were standing upon.
Where Malcho became confined in a new prison.
"When I get out of here," Malcho growled to himself as he tried working his way out of the lava, "they're going to pay for making a fool out of me — Malcho the Great!"
Malcho tried to pull himself out with all his might, yet with no avail. He stopped only to catch his breath. Again he tried, and still he was nowhere close to freedom.
After a few more attempts (and fails) Malcho rubbed a temple. He gave an aggravated sigh. "This isn't going to work."
Then it came to him, suddenly. An idea which seemed to drop out of the sky. That might work. Malcho began to wiggle his way as he pulled himself as far as his body could stretch, like he was reverse-digging out of the ground. After a minute or two his muscles started to get tired, and he was debating whether to give up and think of something else — when abruptly, he heard the sound of breaking rocks!
Bueno! Bueno! At last, he was going to be free!
He twisted himself more and more, until — CRASH! — the lava gave in.
Malcho slithered out of the pit quicker than a heartbeat, catching his breath and shaking grains of dust and debris off his deep purple scales. Malcho tilted his head to the twilight sky, feeling the wind breeze past him. He took it in, and slowly, he spread out his scaly, night-black wings. Malcho heard the choir of cracks go down his spine as he stretched out his body.
Malcho smiled to himself, "Ah, much better. How good it feels to be — OW!"
He yelped and cringed at a deep, sharp pain that shot down his entire right wing that stung him as soon as it unfurled. Malcho winced. Inspecting it, there was no blood or any sign of a broken bone. That only meant one thing — it was a sprain. No doubt.
Damn it all...it must have happened as I was breaking free. He wasn't completely surprised he hadn't felt the pain the moment he sprained himself. Malcho had acquired a very high pain tolerance throughout the years of living in the predatory world of his home. It was one of the many things he was grateful of gaining. Those who felt less pain, no matter how deep or drastic the wound may be, were known to be the stronger fighters in battle.
However, he was feeling the whole pain of his injury now. "Marvelous." Malcho grumbled. It seemed his "high" tolerance slipped a couple inches down over the time he devoted to getting even with that stupid Iago.
He remembered the last time he'd sprained his wing. That tree had the nerve to move in his way as he was flying… He couldn't fly for a while after that.
Bitterly, he thought, Seems I am going to be walking to Agrabah.
Malcho traveled as night fell.
He stopped somewhere in the middle of nowhere, the pain in his wing finally became unbearable. He tried to ignore it for as long as he could as he slithered across the sand, but now he could no longer stand it.
"Damn." Malcho winced. "At this rate, it will take weeks for me to get to Agrabah." He gripped his aching wing.
As if a gracious force had heard him, the clouds parted, exposing the bright moon and its light upon the cold and dark desert. Something far in the distance caught Malcho's eye. He followed it and blinked in disbelief at what lay far a head. Could it really be a…?
The moon's light shined down on an oasis. And where there was an oasis, there had to be one thing — something Malcho was dying for.
Water!
In a flash, Malcho slithered in the direction of the oasis like there was no mañana. As soon as he reached it, the first thing he went for was the pool of water. He shoved both his head and wing in it. Malcho sucked up as much water he could, taking in its cool and refreshing taste. He had no idea how thirsty he was until he saw it; his mouth felt dry as sand. And the water eased the sharp pain in his twisted wing.
With his thirst filled, Malcho lifted just his head out of the pool. His long coal-black hair fell in his bright yellow-green eyes. He brushed it back with his good wing. Drops of water ran down his neck, and dripped off his nose and the edges of his hair.
Now that the throbbing of his sprain was slowly drifting away he could finally think.
The serpent thought back to Iago and Aladdin. His fangs clenched in anger just recalling their faces. That was twice he fell for such an obvious trap! Malcho should have known better. He should have listened to his instincts when he saw the parrot tied to that pole and the boy just smiling as he said, "He's all yours, Malcho. In return for leaving Agrabah alone."
Caramba, could Malcho have been any more gullible?!
A venomous hiss rumbled in his chest.
As soon as I get to Agrabah, that boy and idiot parrot will pay! And nothing will get in my way. Not this time.
He didn't care if he had to face all the palace guards, the genie, even all of Agrabah — Malcho would get his revenge. He wanted to devour Iago, so he would never have to hear the obnoxious, screechy sound of his voice ever again. He wanted to watch the life fade from Aladdin's eyes for imprisoning him in that damned volcano. And once they were taken care of, Thundra would be next. Malcho would get his medallion back no matter what it would take. She could summon the greatest storm to ever be summoned, and he'd fight through it. She could attack him with a deadly blizzard, he would strike back. He didn't care.
Malcho deserved what was rightfully his!
And those who wronged him deserved to pay!
"Si…" he said aloud, musing as he gazed coldly at the moon. "They all deserve to pay. Every last one of them…."
Malcho watched as a clump of clouds drifted in front of the shining moon. Their shadows casted upon the godforsaken desert, engulfing it and Malcho in darkness.
While an even darker shadow casted over Malcho's cold-blooded heart.
She walked on, even though her legs begged to stop.
Keep going, she told herself. She wrapped her cloak tighter around her body, trying to stay warm as she made her way through the dark and disturbingly quiet desert. Though her long cloak was a sweaty hazard during the day, she was grateful that she had it when night fell. She couldn't believe that a place, which was burning hot during the day, could become so cold once the sun went down.
She licked her chapped lips, feeling a sting from a tiny crack on her bottom lip. She looked around the barren desert, hoping to spot a place to rest for the night, but alas, all she could see were hills of sand as far as her eyes could see.
At last she dropped. She lay there, shaking and catching her breath as the muscles in her legs throbbed. Three days after running away and she was still alive. She had to praise herself, maybe she could survive this after all.
"I...I just have to stay positive." She breathed. "Th...that's all."
When a cold breeze swept through her, she trembled and wrapped the cloak even tighter around herself. Slowly, she sat up on her knees, shifting the cloak so that she wasn't exposed to the cold. Her chapped lips and dry tongue begged for water, while her stomach demanded for food. She tried to think when she had either, but she recalled a blank.
As always, she found the will to ignore them. Getting warm was her first priority at the moment.
Gradually, she felt her body start to warm itself up. She gave a tiny sigh of relief. It was a start , a small one, but still a start.
Then a sudden howl echoed around her, causing her to jolt. Worriedly she looked around, but she saw nothing, thankfully. Oh, she hated hearing those howls. She always heard them when her guard was down, making her jump and frantic. She figured she'd be use to them by now...
When she felt it was safe, she settled back down again, trying to calm her racing heart. When was she going to get the chance to relax out here?
It was then she noticed a light slowly shine around her, and a very bright one at that. She tilted her head up to the sky, curiously.
Black clouds were gently drifting away from the bright full moon.
She gazed at it, fixated by its glowing beauty. I didn't know there was a full moon tonight, she thought. Her stomach, her thirst, and the cold no longer bothered her, as if they were never there to begin with. And, for a minute, she felt a serenity overwhelm her, putting her mind and body at ease.
As she continued to stare at the moon, she nodded to herself, pushing away all the doubts that were running through the back of her mind.
Yes, she could survive this...she would survive this. If striving through this desert meant that she would never have to go back to that cage, that she would never have to see him again, then she would survive.
And nothing would stop her. Absolutely nothing.