Chapter Four Desert Wind
A young man sat outside the walls that protected the city of Agrabah. The sand was carried in the wind and mixed with his dark hair. He shook his head before leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. It was so boring…
"Hey Abu?" he said sleepily. His monkey friend, Abu, was half-buried in the sand, smacking the sand around with his tiny hat lazily. It was then the ground began to shake. Abu jumped out of the sand with a startled cry and climbed up his friend's leg and arm onto his head.
"What the?!"
The horizon that had shown an endless sea of sand dunes began to distort. The very sand underneath it began to disperse outward. A portal seemed to open right in front of the two, the ground now trembling with intense power as a bright flash enveloped the area. Aladdin shielded his eyes and as sand blew into his clothes and all around. He felt like he was in the middle of a raging sandstorm. But, then it began to calm down. The sand in the air began to descend slowly while whirling around like a small tornado. Aladdin dusted his clothes off and looked in front of him to see a large vehicle lay on the ground. He stared at it for quite a while until it struck him.
"Wait…could that be-?" he began. The cockpit opened up and Abu peeked out from underneath Aladdin's hat. Sora jumped out but lost his balance and fell onto the sand. Donald and Goofy hopped out after him and someone unfamiliar joined them. Aladdin's mouth twisted into a grin as Sora looked at him.
"Sora?!" gasped Aladdin.
"Aladdin!" yelled Sora as he got up. Donald waved while leaping in the air and Goofy laughed. Roxas stood next to Sora.
"Donald and Goofy, too!" said Aladdin. Abu jumped off of Aladdin and scratches his furry head, confused at the sight of Roxas.
"Hey, long time no see!" said Sora.
"So, who's your new friend?" he asked. Sora looked over to Aladdin's gaze to realize he never introduced Roxas.
"Oh! Sorry. This is Roxas, my nobo-"
Donald elbowed Sora's knee and he almost lost his balance again. He glared at Donald.
"I'm Sora's good friend. Nice to meet you…?" said Roxas.
"I'm Aladdin and this is Abu," he said, gesturing towards his monkey friend.
"So what brings you here, Sora? I thought we'd never see each other again after you left," said Aladdin. Everyone had a serious look on their face as the desert wind shuffled the sand they stood on.
"Not good, huh?" chuckled Aladdin, scratching the back of his head.
"We came to look for someone," said Donald.
"Umm…have you seen any Nobodies or Heartless recently?" asked Sora. Aladdin shook his head and crossed his arms.
"I haven't had any problems here since Jafar," he replied.
"Oh…"
"I guess we should look somewhere else," said Goofy.
"Sorry I couldn't help you guys," said Aladdin, sadly. He turned to head back into the city. Abu followed. The other four turned to get onto their gummi ship and leave, but something caught their eye. In the churning sea of sand there was a figure; it was black in color and it seemed to run towards the desert. Sora immediately reacted.
"The Organization!" he shouted. Donald and Goofy gasped and Roxas held his Keyblade.
"Quick, let's get Aladdin!" said Sora. Donald rushed into the gates as fast as he could with his webbed feet and spotted the young man.
"Donald?!" he said. He sounded busy.
"We've got trouble! Hurry-!" said Donald. He couldn't finish the sentence as a menacing-looking Nobody rushed at him. He let out a loud yell and the other three outside rushed inside the bazaar. Aladdin was struggling to fend off the Nobodies that appeared suddenly. They were armored and held large spears. They were the Dragoon Nobodies.
"Aladdin!" shouted Sora as he summoned his Keyblade. Roxas was ready with his and they both rushed inside with Goofy stumbling behind, shield in hand. Donald barely got out of the way of the Dragoon's spear and he angrily cast a flurry of ice spells at it.
"BLIZZARA!" he cried. From his staff came a blue light and harsh, cold ice crystals shot out impacting the Nobody. It froze in a block of ice before it fell onto the ground, crashing into several pieces. The remnants of the Nobody disintegrated. Aladdin defeated two of the six that appeared, but was exhausted. Sora and Roxas made quick work of the other two while Goofy merely dived at the last one, with his shield forward.
"You okay, Aladdin?" asked Sora. He nodded. The bazaar was a mess; stands were broken, goods were scattered on the floor and all seemed quiet for a moment.
"Just wait 'till the owners come here…" said Aladdin, quietly. Sora took a moment to catch his breathe.
"Tired already?" said a voice. Roxas was startled by the familiar sound. He turned to see a man in a black cloak appear by the entrance to the city.
"Another one?!" cried Donald. The man had black hair in the form of dreadlocks and a ponytail. He had thick sideburns that ran across his cheeks.
"Xaldin!" shouted Roxas. Xaldin raised his hand while walking towards the five and six small tornadoes appeared from out of nowhere and touched the ground, hurling about objects and debris. He paused for a moment before the funnels of air dispersed with trails of darkness. Six lances appeared in their place and they began to hover around him.
"I know him," said Sora. He readied himself with his Keyblade as he recalled the last time he fought with Xaldin.
"How could they be revived to fast?!" exclaimed Donald. Xaldin took no time to converse and immediately began the assault with a flurry of strikes with his spears. Roxas fended off two of the four that came and Goofy knocked away the last two with a Goofy Tornado. Xaldin sped forward into the air, knocking Goofy away with a quick attack with his spears in hand. He shielded himself, but was hurled back from the force of the attack. Donald retaliated by slinging a quick Fira spell, but Xaldin reflected it with Aeroga.
"Watch out!"
Xaldin's weapons danced around in the hot, dry air swooping this way and that way trying to cut at Sora and Roxas. Aladdin struggled to help Goofy off the ground as one tried to knock him off his feet.
"Hey!" shouted Roxas. Xaldin was keeping everyone at bay and none of them could get through the Whirlwind Lancer's tactics. Roxas tried to grab a hold of one of the spears and held on as it began to drag him across the Bazaar.
"Watch out!" he cried as it headed straight for Sora.
"!"
Sora, on instinct, lifted his Keyblade into the air and shouted out a spell.
"Reflega!" he shouted. The moment his words left his mouth, a white, transparent barrier appeared all around him. Roxas cried out as the spear slammed headfirst into it. But, instead of bouncing back and Roxas being knocked away, the spear almost immediately made a u0turn and headed straight for Xaldin.
"What the-?!" he cried before rolling out of the way. It crashed into one of the stands with Roxas still clutching it, the wood and goods tossed into the air. Goofy took this moment and took a running start before slamming his shield into Xaldin's back. He was knocked forward towards Sora, who smiled deviously. Xaldin, with just a thought, commanded two spears to attack Sora from Behind.
"Ack!"
Sora turned and cast another Reflega spell and the two were also knocked away into their opposite direction. They seemed to have to control over themselves and cut right through the door to one of the houses. They struggled to break free, but could not.
"What's this?!" shouted Xaldin. He grabbed Sora by the collar and raised him to his level. Xaldin let out a mighty shout before Sora was engulfed in a whirling mixture of debris and wind. Xaldin let go and Sora was carried into the air, the debris smacking him around. Donald reacted to by using his own wind spell.
"Aeroga!" he cried and from his wand came a small burst of air. Sora, who was still high above the ground, was enveloped in a barrier of wind. It swirled around him in the opposite direction of the funnel and their directions clashed with ach other. The small tornado stopped, but left Sora to fall onto the ground.
"Sora!" shouted Goofy and Donald. They both ran towards him and halted, trying to find a position to catch him. Instead, Sora landed on the two of them, all three crashing down onto the ground.
"Ow! Hey!" cried Donald as he shook his head. Goofy laughed while Sora moaned.
"Thanks a lot you guys," said Sora sarcastically. Xaldin was angry now.
That's when Aladdin made his mistake. He turned to see the three on the ground and laughed. Nothing was attacking him and Xaldin saw the perfect opportunity. He ran towards him like an elephant charging. He made loud steps as they landed on the ground. Aladdin turned to look and was met with the full force of Xaldin's charge.
"Augh!"
Aladdin was knocked off his feet and was thrown into a doorway, destroying it and was knocked out cold. Sora and the other two got up.
"Your time alive should end right here and now," he said, gritting his teeth. His eyes narrowed as three of the six spears he had gathered around him. Roxas climbed out of the debris and rubbed his head before getting out. Sora, Donald, and Goofy got together in a triangle formation in front of Xaldin.
"You're the one who's going to die," yelled Roxas as he came from behind. Xaldin stifled a laugh.
"Hey, you guys," said Sora. Donald and Goofy opened their ears.
"I've got an idea," he said smiling. Goofy blinked and scratched his head. Donald understood almost immediately. Roxas, oblivious to the "plan", jumped at Xaldin, attacking furiously with Keyblade.
"Goofy, you ready?" asked Sora.
"I hope so," he replied. Goofy held his shield in front of him with both his hands while Sora and Donald got into position.
"Ready?" asked Donald. Goofy timidly nodded. Roxas knocked one of Xaldin's spears away and continued to fight, ignoring his injuries.
"GO!"
Goofy began to rumble and shake. He held his shield out in front of his head with one hand, taking on a flying position. Sora and Donald held his steady for only a moment before Goofy blasted off with a huge burst of energy.
"YAHOO!" he shouted. Goofy sped immediately at Xaldin who turned unsuspectingly. Goofy slammed right into Xaldin's chest, knocking him back and Goofy returned to strike him again. Goofy was rocketing all across the Bazaar, attacking Xaldin one strike after another. Xaldin had no time to collect himself as he was struck in all directions. Goofy stopped in mid-air for one final strike.
"For the king!" he shouted awkwardly. He brought himself back and then threw a fist forward, shield in hand and took on a "superman-position" and headed straight for Xaldin with blinding speed. Xaldin held his chest as he looked up, the bruises on his body aching. Goofy made a beeline for him as he took off.
"Damn…"
Goofy's shield collided with Xaldin's chest, the impact causing him to be lifted off his feet. He seemed to just be carried away by the force of the attack and landed straight on the sandy ground. He made a loud thud as he fell. Roxas, breathing hard, was finally relieved when the spears suddenly stopped moving and landed on the ground with a clang. Sora shouted praise to Goofy, who landed onto the ground safely.
"Yeah, Goofy did something right!" shouted Donald.
"Did we…win?" asked Roxas. He held his swinging arm as he walked towards the fallen Xaldin.
"…"
Xaldin's body began to move. He shook as if in pain and he opened his eyes. He turned over into his side and propped himself up on his knees and stood up, seemingly fine. A disturbance appeared behind him in the empty space. Xaldin turned his head slightly as the very familiar portal of darkness appeared and out stepped a man wearing the cloak of the Organization. Sora and others gathered together in case of another fight. The man had long hair tied into a ponytail behind him and wore an eye patch on his right eye. He had one, long scar run up the side of his left cheek.
"What, Xigbar?" asked Xaldin, irritated.
"Hey, no need to get mad at me," replied Xigbar. Sora recognized Xigbar as someone he definitely defeated sometime ago. Roxas balled his fists together but made no move to attack.
"Xaarga wants us to leave this world," said Xigbar. He didn't bother to whisper as he purposely wanted Sora to hear. The both of them turned to leave until Sora spoke out.
"Wait…I don't remember that name…who is Xaarga?" demanded Sora. Xigbar turned around and gave Sora an impish smile.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" he asked brusquely. The two Organization members then vanished in a vortex of darkness.
End of Chapter Four
