Welcome back. For those who have been wondering how this story matches up with Sora and his journey I will soon be writing a timeline of what was going on in the rest of the story while Melody has been journeying. And for those who have been waiting for some certain characters to show up, your time is coming…
I do not own Kingdom Hearts.
Ding dong, Jafar is dead! Read On…
A rumbling shook the palace and the floor sealed itself back up. Aladdin carefully stepped onto the floor and Melody pulled herself up. She winced but walked over to where the red parrot sat hunched over guiltily. Without any warning she swept him up sending feathers flying and hugged him close.
"I knew it! I absolutely knew it!"
"Hey take it easy, a bird can only take so much lovey dovey!"
An urgent pecking noise alerted them to the large pot on which Trickster perched. He was angrily tapping at the lid and a hollow ringing filled the hall.
"Jasmine!" said Aladdin hurrying forward. Melody followed a step behind, foreboding filling her heart. Aladdin lifted the lid. Melody looked over his shoulder as Aladdin cried out in horror.
"She's gone!"
The pot was indeed empty, but a wisp of green smoke curled upward from the bottom. Melody glared.
"Maleficent."
She turned and faced Iago.
"Jafar said he had a use for Jasmine, something Maleficent wanted him to do." Iago shrank back. Melody sighed. "I'm not blaming you Iago, I just need to know what's going on." The little red parrot bristled but Trickster landed beside him for encouragement.
Iago said, "she was looking for princesses from different worlds. I don't know why, just she needed 'em and we had one. So Jafar gets into this club she kinda was forming with other bad guys and Jafar starts using the Heartless and thinking he could take over and do what she was doing since she didn't know about the lamp." "Jerk," he added for what seemed like good measure.
Aladdin groaned. Melody looked at him and saw how distressed he was.
"I never got a chance to say how sorry I was for lying to her," he moaned. "Melody we have to go after her."
"Aladdin," she said softly. "We both know you can't take on the Heartless with your kinds of weapons. They'd kill you before you got a chance."
"Hey Al!" said Genie quickly. "You know you still have one wish left. Just go on and use it to get your girl back."
"Genie I promised you I'd wish you your freedom," said Aladdin. He bit his lip but he stayed firm.
"Yeah but-" began Genie.
"Genie I wish for your freedom!"
The genie's mouth dropped open. Then he shivered like a gentle wind had blown past unexpectedly. Little gusts of sparkling magic rushed past and enveloped the genie's blue form congregating around his gold cuffs. Then with a click- the cuffs snapped apart and deteriorated into thin air. Genie stared at himself.
"I'm free?"
"If I did things only because I had the power to," said Aladdin. "If I forgot what I owe to others, I'd be just like Jafar." He glanced over at Iago who ducked his head.
Melody turned to the bird. "Thank you Iago, for your help. I ask nothing in return. If you ever need anything-"
"Now wait a second who said that the brave parrot didn't feel like he owed anybody anything," asked Iago grumpily. Melody was confused.
"What does that mean Iago?"
"It means maybe I don't want you guys to get rid of me. Maybe I want to get away from this dirt heap." Melody started to smile. "And you know if there's any kind of treasure to be found, or rewarded if we say, save the princess, then maybe a certain parrot would like his share instead of staying here like some kind of chump!"
Melody laughed out loud.
"Of course you can come with us Iago," she said. "Why didn't you say so?"
The bird sat stunned as the other birds crowed around him. Zazu hobbled up, his wings a little charred.
"Now see here sir, our Melody is a very determined girl so if you laze about or cause her any undue problems I see no reason why we don't drop you off on some abandoned planet!"
Iago rolled his eyes at the stuffy hornbill.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah you guys won't even notice I'm there."
Melody approached Aladdin.
"I'm sorry you can't come with us."
"Don't worry about it. Just bring Jasmine back Melody."
The Sultan hurried forward.
"What ever you do my dear, please see to it my daughter is not harmed."
"I promise," said Melody. They said their goodbyes. Melody considered how many things she was trying to figure out. How many promises she had made to others and to herself. It was a huge responsibility. She studied her reflection in her sword. It seemed older, more experienced. She stored it away, heart set on finding out where Maleficent had gone with Jasmine.
Iago was a strange new member to their ship. Melody noted with a smile that their ship had now developed a pot belled hull in bright red. Iago fluttered through out the cabin, admiring the shiny buttons and jumping whenever one of them made a noise. Zazu maintained a disgusted supervision of everything Iago did which goaded the parrot on to make some more rude comments.
"So do all birds like you have a nose like that or were you on your way to costume party when your world was destroyed?"
Hunter remained aloof in the upper reaches of the cabin. It was Trickster Melody noted, that Iago effected the largest change in. Instead of his fearful observance from Melody's shoulder the raven was sitting on the control board watching Iago's antics with a humorous gleam in his eye, carrying his wings a little less slouched.
Melody noted a few more features were added to the ship since Iago had arrived. She pressed a button on the control board and was pleasantly surprised to discover it was a comm. Link to Traverse Town. Cid's face appeared on the screen.
"Melody, kid! Where have you been? That isn't my ship."
"Yeah, sorry Cid. We kind of crashed it being attacked by Heartless," said Melody guiltily.
"Do you have any idea how far out you are. I can't believe you could send a communications link from this far out."
Melody looked back at the bird. Zazu listened attentively while Iago fluttered around in the back ground. She shrugged at the screen.
"Many wings better reception?" she mused smiling.
"Wow, these seats have that new carpet smell!"
"Or maybe it's because our newest member likes to talk a lot?" she said.
Cid's image wobbled. "Well where are you going now? Most navigation gummies don't go out that far." The screen fizzed and came back into focus. "There are a lot of Heartless out there, Melody. Are you sure you want to-"
Suddenly they lost Cid again. Melody fumbled with the knob next to the comm. Link button. A rushing noise and Hunter's screech made her turn around.
Black and green fire swirled around a spot on the floor. Suddenly Trickster was very still. The fire rose and took the form of a person. Two dark horns rose from their head and a staff was gripped in her hand. In a moment Maleficent stood in their ship.
"I'm not impressed Melody," she said smoothly. "You set out to find me without the least knowledge of my location." She laughed. "It's just, well, sad."
Melody rose to her feet. "Get out of my ship now," she said glaring at the woman. "Or tell me what you did with Princess Jasmine." Maleficent smirked.
"You're not being very hospitable. I came here for what's mine but you don't see me demanding it and ordering you to stay away from my castle. You're not setting a very good example for your pets," she said.
Melody's eyes narrowed. Around her three of the birds were bristling at the term pets. One however was frozen perfectly still.
"What's yours?" she asked raising her sword. Maleficent looked down her nose at Melody and sniffed.
"Of course what's mine. You don't honestly think I gave you him as a gift? Right, Diablo?"
Trickster shuddered as if a curse had been thrown at him. He shuffled away behind Melody. Maleficent continued:
"You didn't honestly believe that he was there as your friend," she said laughing. "If I hadn't told him to spy on you he never would have joined your little world tour. I wanted my Diablo to keep an eye on you." She spread wide her hands smiling at Melody. But as she took a step toward the bird Melody raised her sword.
"His name is Trickster," she said softly. "And you're not having him!"
The sorceress paused and sneered at the girl.
"Do you not believe it, girl? When the proof is right there for you to see? He knows it himself. He's been lying to you from the start." She shrugged. "Not that it matters what you think. A bird knows its mistress."
She raised her wrist and beckoned with one long green hand. Trickster tensed and Melody saw a wisp of green smoke drift off his feathers. Melody hurried to his side, horrified as Maleficent worked her influence over him. The raven's head tossed and he shook his feathers. His body began to shake. He opened his eyes wide and stared at Melody. The girl locked eyes with the bird and the horrible twisting and shuddering of the bird's body stilled for a moment.
Then Trickster ducked his head and looked away and in a glowing green light and a burst of feathers the raven lifted off and flew to its mistress. Maleficent chucked softly and stroked the shuddering raven on her wrist. Melody glared at her.
"I don't care what kind of claim you have to him," she said. "You have no right to control him like that."
Maleficent's eyebrows raised.
"No right?" she hissed softly, then raising her voice. "Why you ignorant, insufferable girl! What in the universe do you know about right?" She sneered. "You simply arrived and saw a problem and said 'I guess I'll show how good I am by helping these people?' Where you came from you went about your life committing little sins and never worrying because in your heart," she lowered her voice and lifted it mockingly. "you knew that it didn't matter as long as if the choice came between good and evil you would pick the light." She laughed harshly. "Would you really have cared if I had been the owner of this bird in your world and had been mistreating it? Well examine your heart Little Melody, because I think you would find if you did, that you really were glad your world was taken so that you could start playing a hero with a visible enemy."
Melody stared at her, her fist shaking clenched around her sword. She wasn't right, she couldn't be right, she was just mocking Melody because… Melody couldn't think of a better excuse.
"You're wrong," she said taking a step forward. She stumbled when the floor of the gummyship shuddered and she saw traces of black fire running along the seams. Maleficent struck the floor with her staff and smiled at Melody.
"Take a dive to the heart Melody. And when you become a Heartless, I'll be sure to look you up again."
Cackling the witch burst into green flame and the ship split apart. Melody reached out for the birds but she felt herself wrenched away, and found herself encircled by a green blaze. With the laughter still echoing through the empty space the green blaze hurled Melody through space, speeding past many worlds and stars. Suddenly she was flung flat on a small floating cluster of rocky island.
Take a dive to the heart Melody. And when you become a Heartless, I'll be sure to look you up again. The green fire flared up and then vanished and the evil laughter with it, and Melody was left alone.
The small rock island and two others were the lone masses in the dark colored corner of space. Nothing else was seen in any direction. Melody slowly got to her feet.
Maleficent had abandoned her in the middle of nowhere. Melody looked around to see if one of the birds had somehow come along but she was alone. Suddenly Melody could not hold herself up. She sunk to her knees and felt tears run down her cheeks. The dark expanse of space around her slowly shifted from blue to purple to black and back again as she let time pass without thinking. For if she thought about what had just happened she might actually agree with that evil woman.
She stared at the sky and let the tears slide down her cheeks, leaving them sticky and soaked. Then she got up and walked to the edge of her island when the next of the three rocks orbited below hers she stepped down and landed only a few feet below, a few seconds later she stepped up onto the third. She circle the three rocks because walking was better than doing nothing. It took enough concentration to not miss her step that Melody's mind was kept occupied and her heart beat achingly in her chest.
At last, back at her first rock again Melody rested. She struggled not to sob as her thoughts turned to just how imprisoned she was on this little patch of rocks. The sword flickered in and out of her hand as she indecisively considered it. Finally she let the weight drop into her hand and then, she gripped the hilt and thrust the sword away from herself. It skidded across the island.
Suddenly a burst of black darkness erupted on the third rock.