Chapter 10: Setting the Stage

WHAM! Riku screamed as he slammed into the wall. Wincing, he pushed himself forward, taking two steps forward before the winds launched him back again. His friends sat down on the shaking ground, struggling to get back on their feet. Up above, Jafar continued to watch them with a sickening smile. The surrounding sands began to rise and fall, like an ocean current. The ripples drew closer with each passing second, rapidly increasing in size. They stretched high into the sky like tidal waves, rushing in from all directions. Once again, Riku pushed himself to his feet, but the quivering ground sent him tumbling back.

Up ahead, the Replica drove the tip of his Keyblade into the ground, leaning against its hilt. 'Sora' stumbled closer, bumping into his side, but soon he joined his friend in latching onto the weapon. As the waves neared, the Replica's eyes widened, and he stepped back, dragging the Keyblade through the sand.

"What are you doing, Jafar?" He scowled, pointing at Riku and the others. "I told you to…"

"Drown the 'fake' in an ocean of sand…" Jafar chuckled. "I know…"

"Then don't drag me down with him!" He gnashed his teeth, staring into Jafar's glowing eyes. "He's the one you want! And… Aladdin."

"Oh, but I have every intention of going after them, boy." Jafar floated in a circle, shaking his head. "But if you do wish to be spared, perhaps it would be wise to wish for my freedom…"

"Riku, forget this!" 'Sora' shook his head, throwing his arm out to the side. Ttendrils of darkness curled up into the air, wrapping around one another to create a dark corridor. He tugged on the Replica's arm, but he stood perfectly still, continuing his stare-down with Jafar.

Meanwhile, tremors continued to shake the ground, while gusts of sandy wind pressed Riku and his friends stiffly against the wall. Biting his lip, he swept the Keyblade through the air, pushing the storm back with some wind of his own. This bought the others enough time to get back on their feet, latching onto each other for added support. Then, a flash of purple zipped down from above, stopping just inches above the ground. While the others immediately hopped onto the carpet, Riku stood still, keeping his eyes locked on 'Sora'. Biting down hard, he took off in their direction, watching as 'Sora' kept tugging on the Replica's sleeve. It was only when the waves plunged down over them that the two rushed towards the corridor. At that point, Riku stopped in his tracks. A part of him wanted to hurry over there, to try and get another word with 'Sora,' but with the impending danger, there just wasn't time.

The ground rumbled once more, and pressed his feet down firmly to avoid toppling down. From on top of the carpet, Kairi reached for his hand, pulling him towards her and the others. After taking one last look at the portal, Riku shut his eyes and threw himself at the floating rug. With everyone on board, the carpet shot up like a rocket, right as the waves slammed into the wall.

"Whew," said Aladdin, "that sure was a close one!"

"But who says it's over?" said Riku. "This is Jafar we're dealing with."

"No, you're right. Knowing him, that was probably a warm up." Narrowing his eyes, Aladdin looked over his shoulder. "…Yep. Definitely a warm up!"

Riku and the others turned around, gazing down at the city below. Heaps of sand flowed over the wall, and the sound of concrete cracking and splitting caught Riku's ear. Oh, and it didn't stop there. Another series of waves smothered buildings, blocking off all access to the doors. Stands collapsed under the pressure of the sand, as evidenced by the split boards poking up from beneath the surface.

Still, the carpet continued to zoom through the air, flying off in the direction of the palace. Unfortunately, rough winds pelted them from the sides, pushing them in zigzag fashion, while walls of sand clouded their vision. It figured that things would only get worse. Shaking his head, Riku looked over his shoulder at Donald, who immediately pulled out his staff. Seconds later, the air cleared, swept away by a spinning breeze just in the nick of time; before they could crash into a nearby building, Aladdin yanked on the carpet's tassels. It swerved to the side and continued straight ahead, even with the waves rapidly pursuing them down below.

Pillars of whirling dirt and debris closed in from behind, carrying tattered cloth, splinters, and chunks of stone and clay. Once again, the carpet swerved from side to side, swooping up and diving down in the mad dash away from certain danger. A cover of grey concealed the once blue sky, preventing even the slightest ray of sun from shining down on the city, and the sound of crumbling stone continued to fill the air; whenever Riku gazed down at Agrabah, he found more sand slamming into the foundations of buildings. Was Jafar really going to trash the town just to get them?

…Knowing him, probably.

The whirling tornados continued to chase them, one rushing in from the left, and another from the right. A third closed in from the front, forcing Aladdin to pull the carpet straight up and over the obstacles. As they swooped back down, a red and blue speck blasted straight at them. Then, before Aladdin even got the chance to turn away, he met with a face full of feathers. The carpet shot forward, straight at another building. Teeth chattering, Goofy latched onto Donald and swallowed hard. Kairi shut her eyes and took hold of Riku's hand. Aladdin, grumbling under his breath, wrapped his fingers tightly around Iago's tail and ripped him off of his face. Narrowing his eyes, Iago opened his beak, probably ready to shout something obnoxious, and then…

BAM! The carpet passed straight through a window and met with a rock hard wall.

Everyone rolled over the edge. Though Aladdin grasped at the rear tassels of the carpet, he missed his mark and plummeted down to the ground. Taking a deep breath, Riku squeezed Kairi's hand and reached out for Aladdin's arm. Once he took hold, he leaned down and began a slow, circular glide towards a dusty rug down below. Donald and Goofy followed close behind, while Iago, fortunate enough to have wings, fluttered right after them. Once they made it all the way down, he circled around the group, eyes narrowed and feathers ruffled.

"You guys have got a lotta nerve leaving me back at the palace!" He leaned forward, staring straight into Aladdin's eyes. "Do you know how close I was to being cat chow?"

Really? Was that all he was worried about? Heaving a sigh, Riku sent him a scowl. "Look, we kind of had more important things to worry about. Besides, you were probably safer back there."

"Oh, sure, if by safe you mean getting chased down by a giant fur ball and getting tail feathers plucked out by the guards!" He turned around, pointing at his rear. Sure enough, only a few feathers remained. Talk about demeaning.

"Aw, shucks, Iago." Goofy's lower lip poked out, and he tilted his head. "We're awfully sorry about keepin' ya locked up there! Ain't that right, fellers?"

Sorry for Iago? Well, maybe keeping him in a cage with a tiger close by was a little extreme, but did he really deserve better? Claiming he'd turned over a new leaf and showing it were two different things… but it's not like he could've proven his worth while they were off in the desert, anyway. And with the Replica in charge of Jafar's power, that kind of lifted the blame off of Iago, at least a little bit. So, while a part of him wasn't too keen on idea, he'd at least give him a shot.

"Yeah," he said. "We are. Guess we did get a little carried away."

From behind, he heard Kairi's soft giggle. Before long, she waltzed right up to him and gazed at Iago. "I think we were all little caught up back there, and things are still pretty tense right now."

"Believe me, lady, I can tell." Iago groaned, slapping a wing on the top of his head. "Hard to miss a bunch of crazy tornadoes flying right at ya!"

"So you really didn't know about Jafar?" said Aladdin.

"Jafar?" Iago blinked, sliding back towards a nearby shelf. Coughing and sputtering, he bumped into a pot, sending it down to the ground with a CRASH! Then, his eyes widened, and his beak hung wide open. "You mean he's been freed?"

"That's right." Riku's brow furrowed, and he gazed at the door. "A certain idiot I know thought it'd be a great idea to use his power. He even wished to turn the whole desert on us."

"Uh oh." Iago gulped. "This is bad! No, this is beyond bad. This is a nightmare! If Jafar's free, then…" He clasped his wings together, teeth chattering. "Then he could come after me! And after I ditched him back at the—"

"Hey, calm down." Aladdin gave him a lopsided smile. "It sounds like you really want nothing to do with him, and if that's the case, then we'll just have to make sure he doesn't lay a finger on you."

"Easy for you to say." Iago sneered, leaning over the edge of the shelf. "But we're not talkin' about the old Jafar. In case you forgot, he's a genie now, and that means he can do just about anything!"

"Anything except kill." Riku brought a hand to his chin. "Guess that makes things a little easier for us."

Iago shook his head, looking up at the ceiling. "Maybe he can't kill, but you'd be surprised what you can live through."

"So now whadda we do?" Donald scowled, pacing back and forth. "If we go back out there, then we'll be waltzing right into a storm."

"But we can't say here forever." Kairi frowned, clutching onto her necklace. "What if something happens to the city? Jafar might be after us, but that doesn't mean he'll stop there."

"She's right." Aladdin winced, trudging up to the door. "If Jafar's a genie, then he'll have no trouble turning over the whole city just to find us."

"Or to lure us out." Riku shut his eyes, leaning against a wall. "Heck, what's stopping him from attacking the palace? I bet he'd love to take his revenge out on the Sultan."

"…And Jasmine." Aladdin's shoulders shook, and he rolled his hands into fists. "We have to hurry! If anything happened to them…"

"Oh, puh-lease." Iago sneered. "You march out there, and you'll be putty in his hands. Believe me, I know Jafar better than any of you."

"So we're at a standstill…" Riku slammed his fist against the wall. "Great. And unless we get our hands on his lamp, we can't do a thing to stop him."

It was one perk Jafar had over enemies like Mim and Maleficent; phenomenal cosmic power and immortality. And to think the Replica was dumb enough to give Jafar free reign over the city! Sure, they could lock him back up again, but if he'd been freed once, he could easily bust loose again and again. Unless there was a way to destroy a genie, they'd never be rid of him for good.

It wasn't like his power could compare to Jafar's. He was a pain to deal with even as a sorcerer, and now he had the universe in his hand. Once again, Riku slipped his hand into his pocket, feeling around for a metal handle. When he pulled out Genie's lamp, a frown crossed his lips. Of all the times for that blue goofball to be missing in action…

BAM! The walls trembled. A waterfall of sand flowed down from one of the windows, and Riku's eyes flew wide open. He glanced around the room, watching as two more pots shattered into a million pieces. His friends all leaned against the walls, and Iago bounced off of the shaking shelf, beating his wings to stay afloat. BANG! Seconds later, the walls rumbled again, and what once was a trickle of sand became a current. The door rattled and shook, prompting Aladdin to throw himself flat against it, but it still continued to shake. With a groan, Donald waved his staff at the door, and a ticking sound filled the air; no effect. Taking a step back, Goofy reached for his shield, while Kairi brandished her sword. The carpet began flailing its tassels and flying loops around the room, while the Keyblade flashed into Riku's hand.

They inched closer together, forming a loop at the center of the room. Shutting his eyes tightly, Aladdin took a deep breath and pressed his back against the door. Sand crept beneath it, reaching out for the group, while the window continued to seep steady flows onto the floor. The sand rose up above their ankles and continued to climb each passing second. The door shivered one more time before flying open, throwing Aladdin directly at Goofy's chest. Then, out of the blue, a tidal wave of sand burst into the room…

…along with a familiar, blue figure on a surfboard, dressed in shades and flowery swim trunks with two overstuffed suitcases in his hands.

"Whoo-wee!" said the Genie, hopping down to the ground. The wave stopped just inches from the group and caved in on itself. "I'll tell ya, airline security is the worst!" He rifled through one of the suitcases, tossing out pillows, blankets, a laptop computer… and a tube of toothpaste, for some reason. "Sorry I missed your call, kid, but—"

"Genie!" Right on cue, Aladdin flung himself at the Genie. After staring for a few moments, Goofy let out a soft chuckle and rubbed the tip of his nose, while Donald wore a crooked smile on his beak.

To think that Genie took this long to show up… Was he just waiting on the right punch line? Whatever the case, Riku smirked and headed his way. "Way to give us a heart attack, Genie."

"A heart attack?" Immediately, the Genie flung off his shades and whirled around. In place of his tacky trunks, he donned a white doctor's coat along with a stethoscope that he planted against Riku's chest. "Well, your pulse is a little speedy. Better take some deep breaths, relax, and…"

"Aw, c'mon! This is serious." Donald huffed, pushing the sand around with his staff. "While you were gone, we got into a whole heap of trouble!"

"That explains the exotic weather we're having." An umbrella poofed into Genie's hand, and he snapped in his fingers. Within seconds, the sand along the floor began to creep backwards, rising and falling as it slid out the door. "But don't you worry your grumpy little face off. Now that I'm back, why don't I take care of this pesky storm?"

"That'd be great, Genie, but there's something else…" Aladdin frowned, rubbing the back of his neck. "See, Jafar's back, and that means—"

"Oh, so somebody let that cuckoo out of his cage?" Genie narrowed his eyes and threw back his arms. "Well, tell you what, Al. I'll clean up the town and go mano a mano with Jafar, free of charge."

"There's just one more thing…" Turning towards the shelf, Aladdin took a deep breath. However, besides a single pot and a few stray feathers, it looked completely empty.

Looked being the key word.

Judging by the sound of chattering teeth, Iago couldn't have gone too far, and so Riku moseyed right up to the shelf, reached for the pot, and yanked it away. Sure enough, Iago lay curled up in a ball with his wings wrapped tightly around his chest.

"Iago?" A flash of red surrounded Genie's hands, and he threw a few punches at the air. "You want me to give him the old one-two?"

Kairi stepped in front of the shelf. "No, don't. We don't know if he had anything to do with Jafar's freedom."

"It's true." Riku folded his arms. "Unless Iago bust loose when my Replica snatched the lamp, he probably had nothing to do with this mess." That, or he was lying, but for now, they needed to stay focused. Kairi was right about not pointing fingers.

For a moment, the Genie said nothing and stroked his chin. He stomped right up to the shelf, leaned over Iago, lowered his brow, and… laughed. Out of the blue, he just started chuckling, giving the bird a light pat on the back.

"Well, that's a twist! Clones, destruction, and a change of heart? Now all it needs is some tear-jerking romance, and we've got ourselves a hit!"

"I think I've got that covered, Genie." Aladdin shut his eyes and smiled, turning towards the door. "But right now, let's focus on cleaning up this mess."

"Say no more!"

Genie tilted his chin up, puffed out his chest, and marched right out the door. He stopped just a few yards away, gazing up at the sky. The sand around him rippled and stretched high above the ground, launching straight at the building. Grinning, he reached out his hand, creating a cloud of smoke that trailed down to the ground. In no time, the smoke revealed a long hose attached to a small, rounded base. At the tip of the hose, a wide nozzle began sucking up sand. Letting out a loud hum, the vacuum slurped up the incoming waves. When bits of whirling wood and stone came rushing in, Genie pressed one little button, and the humming grew louder, faster, and those little bits of debris flew down the hose with ease.

Bit by bit, the sand, the wind, and the wreckage all met their end thanks to a silly gag. Sand that had piled up all around the city vanished without a trace, while battered up planks and torn up cloth straightened and reformed with just one snap of the Genie's fingers. Soon, even a few rays of sunlight shone down on the city as the clouds rolled away. In just a matter of minutes, the chaos and destruction gave way to peace and quiet. And while one last wave rolled down over the Genie, one wave of his hands sent it reeling back.

With the coast finally clear, he floated down to the ground and took a bow. Immediately, Riku along with everyone else came rushing out the door. Everyone except Iago, anyway. For a few seconds, he just sort of hovered beneath the door frame with his eyes open wide. What was he afraid of? It wasn't like they were going to turn on him now. Briefly, Riku watched him from the corner of his eye. When Iago didn't move an inch, he shrugged and turned his attention back to Genie.

"Well, that's one mess down," he said, "but what about Jafar? Soon as he figures out what you did, he'll probably whip up an even bigger storm."

"True," said the Genie. "For all his bad qualities, I have to give Jafar credit for his cleverness. He's about as sharp as a tack."

"But that's not the real problem." Donald clenched his fists and stomped his feet. "As long as he's a genie, it doesn't matter how smart he is!"

"Yup!" Goofy's brow furrowed, and he scratched his head. "But at least we've got a Genie on our side, too. That oughta even things out—"

"If we're lucky," said Riku, "but let's not get ahead of ourselves. If we're going to stop him, we'd better prepare for the worst." He looked up at Genie. "We can't just rush after him without a plan."

"Well, there is one thing you can do." Genie placed his hands behind his back, and he floated back and forth. "If you destroy his lamp, then Jafar's history. Only trouble is, you'd have to find him first."

"But where do we start?" Kairi took two steps forward, looking left and right. "This is a big city, and the last thing we need is for anyone else to get hurt."

"You're right." Aladdin reached for his sword, pointing it at the palace. "Right now, we need to hurry up and find him. If that means spreading out, then I'm all for it."

It was a decent idea. Given Jafar's powers, he could easily pop up anywhere in Agrabah, giving them way too much ground to cover and no time to time to do it. Of course, the palace was always an option. With Jasmine and the Sultan concealed behind its walls, they'd probably managed to withstand the sandstorm. And since Jasmine was easily one of Aladdin's top priorities, it only made sense for him to take off in that direction via flying carpet. On the other hand, the city and even the desert were viable options. Without anyone to cart his lamp around, just how far could Jafar go in the first place?

They'd never know unless they got searching. So, after they finalized their plans, the rest of the group split off. Donald and Goofy stuck with Riku, and the three of them bolted off towards the desert. Kairi, on the other hand, followed Aladdin's lead over to the palace. Maybe it'd be a little risky without the others backing her up, but at least she had her magic to even the odds.

As for Genie, given his insane powers and tendency to just pop up out of the blue, he opted to go back-and-forth, all while keeping his eyes peeled for anything fishy. For whatever reason, though, Riku didn't catch one trace of Iago on the way out of town, nor did he hear a single peep…

x.x.x

"Oh, sure. Run off into certain danger! As for me, I'll be staying right here, where it's safe."

What did he care if those chumps went off and played hero? It was no skin off his back if anything happened to them. He wouldn't lose any sleep if Jafar got his hands on 'em and got his revenge. He'd played his part by sucking up to them, and now he was really scot-free! …As long as the Sultan and the guards didn't come looking for him, anyway. Until then, he had plenty of time to fly the coop. Maybe if he hurried, he could find a new town with no sultan, no guards, and absolutely no genies.

Just thinking about it brought a grin to his beak, as Iago fluttered back onto the shelf. From here on out, he'd be looking out for himself. After all, who needed friends, anyway?

…But those chumps did stick up for him. Sure, they used their weirdo hocus pocus to freeze him and toss him in a cage. Not to mention the way they left him with that pesky tiger. He was as good as lunch for that furball!

But it was still… kinda nice in a weird sorta way. It was like the minute Jafar bust loose, all bets were off, and he was completely off the hook, no strings attached. Why else would they have let him stay behind and out of their hair?

"Bah, thinkin' like that's just not my style." He groaned, slapping a wing on his head. "Look at me, goin' all soft!" He'd never needed friends before, so why start now? And why did he have a weird tingling in his chest, like staying there wasn't the 'right' thing to do? Since when did right even matter?

All these thoughts were just weighing him down. And the more he thought about it, the worse those thoughts became until he wound up pacing back and forth with his wings behind his back, mulling over those silly thoughts of… alliances with Aladdin and the others. Maybe if he played his cards straight, he could convince him to put in a good word for him. If everyone at the palace started thinking he was one of the good guys, he'd have access to all sorts of riches. Not to mention food!

And to think he was sitting here and missing out on the action when he could just as easily cheer them on and keep up appearances. Now that was clever thinking…

In fact, he started flapping his way to the door in the blink of an eye, until the door SLAMMED shut. Were the winds picking up again? Well, the window was always an option. Except, when he tried swooping up and out of the place, the window suddenly started shrinking until there was nothing left.

Something wasn't right. Windows didn't up and disappear! No, it had to be some kinda magic. Something like…

A lump formed in his throat, and he slowly floated back down to the shelf. The door slamming on him, windows vanishing without a trace. That key-kid's friends wouldn't pull a prank like that, and neither would the Genie! No, there was only one guy who'd go that far just to keep him in place. But why would he waste his time here?

A cold shiver ran down Iago's spine. Teeth chattering, he turned around, eyes darting all over the place. With the window gone, the entire place turned pitch black, save for a few little glimmers of light creeping under the door. Then, before he could blink, two yellow, gleaming eyes appeared right in front of him. He almost leaped right out of his feathers at the sight!

"J-Jafar!"

"Why hello, Iago…" That chilling voice, that sinister chuckle. There was no denying it now. Out from the shadows crept Jafar, dressed in his fancy gowns with that creepy snake staff held tightly in his clutches.

Oh, just seeing him here made his heart race and his knees tremble. Without even thinking, he stumbled back, falling flat against the wall. Taking a deep breath, he tried standing his ground, and he even started laughing to try and hide his fear.

"So, uh." He forced a grin, folding his wings together. "What brings you here? Don't you, I don't know, have street rats to take care of or a Sultan to overthrow? Why would you worry about little old me?"

"Why, Iago. You underestimate yourself." Jafar tightened his grip on the snake staff and leaned in over the shelf. "After all, you've managed to convince those fools that you're on their side. I find that very… remarkable, to say the least."

"Gee, that's great! Really, I'm flattered." He gulped, fluttering his wings. "Now, why don't you run along? Don't let me hold you up when you've got important genie stuff to take care of."

"Ah, but that is precisely why I'm here…"

TO BE CONTINUED