Whew! I didn't anticipate this chapter being this long! Lot of stuff in the chapter, and there might be some mature content so be warned!
I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters here; cept for Ankoku.
Enjoy!
Chapter 10: An Arabian Night
"Sora! We're here!" Roxas said, waking Sora from his deep trance.
Sora looked out the window and saw Agrabah in front of him. He quickly entered in the command to land, and the gummi ship began its descent. The ship touched down on the outskirts of the desert city, and Sora quickly left the ship. A blast of hot, dry, air greeted Sora as he stepped down on to the sand. He quickly made his way into the city with Roxas close behind.
"So where are we going?" Roxas asked floating along.
"We need to find Aladdin and Jasmine." Sora stated.
They walked along the busy streets, seemingly unaware that they were being gawked at by numerous bystanders. They continued along the streets making their way towards the palace. Eventually they began noticing that the citizens were staring at them. Sora grew uneasy, but Roxas didn't seem to care much.
"I guess they aren't used to seeing guys like us around here." Roxas said.
Sora didn't respond, merely focusing on two younger women, who were talking to a guard. The guard listened to what they had to say and stared at Sora. He suddenly began to quickly walk off. Sora started to walk a little faster, and Roxas had some difficulty keeping up with him.
"Slow down Sora!" Roxas called out.
Sora continued to power walk down the busy Agrabah streets. He looked to his left and saw numerous guards coming out of different entry points. The all seemingly were heading towards him. He looked to his right and saw a corner alley. He watched the guards make there way towards him, and quickly darted into the alley in a full blown sprint. The guards chased after him.
"STOP CRIMINAL!!" One of the guards called out after Sora.
Sora raced down the alleyway, but as he neared the end of the alley he saw that guards had blocked off the exit. He quickly stopped and turned around only to be caught in between two sets of guards. He looked around for somewhere else to go, but he was caught.
"Alright, ya got me…" Sora said.
The guards converged on him and grabbed him by the shoulders. They drug Sora off, back into the main street; and headed towards the palace. The guards brought Sora up to the palace gates, and Sora gazed up at the huge ivory walls.
"Bring the scumbag inside! The sultan wants to see him!" One of the guards ordered.
Sora was drug by the scruff of his neck through the courtyard and into the palace. He was ushered through the main room and brought to a halt in the throne room.
"Bow your head!" The guard ordered, forcefully shoving Sora's head down.
"You stand now before the Sultan of Agrabah! May you tremble in his…" The guard began before he was interrupted by a new voice.
"That won't be necessary."
The guard bowed and backed away from Sora. Sora rubbed his sore neck and looked up to see the sultan. What he saw made his jaw drop.
"Aladdin?!" Sora said.
Aladdin sat in front of him, wearing bright white pants with gold trim, and a similar looking vest. A white cape adorned his shoulders and his trademark hat was replaced by a similar style, except this one was gold. His shoes were also gold as well, and his primate friend Abu was perched on his shoulder. He stared at Sora with soft, stern eyes.
"You're the sultan?" Sora asked.
"Yes Sora, the former Sultan was growing tired of ruling over Agrabah, and wished to relax for the rest of his life. Being next in line, I assumed the throne. He still serves as an advisor of sorts, as does Genie, when he's not out seeing the world." Aladdin explained.
"How is Jasmine?" Sora asked.
"The status of my wife is of little concern to you at this point." Aladdin said sternly.
Sora was a bit taken aback by this, but slowly realized what this meant.
"You don't trust me do you?" Sora asked grimly.
"I don't know Sora. On one hand, I remember you as the brave young man who not only saved Agrabah twice, but also saved my wife as well." Aladdin began.
"But…recently your character has come into question, and I have no doubt that you know why this is." Aladdin said.
Sora nodded sadly. Roxas suddenly jumped out of Sora, quick to defend his friend.
"Those charges are complete crap!" Roxas cried.
"SILENCE!" Aladdin said with authority, before controlling himself.
"Roxas; I will not have outbursts like that in my court!" Aladdin warned.
Roxas opened his mouth to protest but Sora was quick to silence him. Aladdin turned back to Sora.
"I have orders; that state that you are to be apprehended on sight, and turned over to the proper authorities…and that is what I intend to do. You will be placed in the dungeon, until I can find a way to transport you to Disney Castle." Aladdin stated.
"That's crap!" Roxas shouted, before Aladdin silenced him with a hand.
"Be glad that I don't adhere to Agrabah law in this instance. If I did, then the punishment would be death." Aladdin said flatly.
Aladdin looked over at two guards and nodded. The guards rushed over and carried Sora off towards the dungeon. Aladdin watched Sora leave, and then watched as his aide walked up to him.
"I'm sorry your majesty…" He began before he was cut off.
"It's better he be kept here, rather than getting hunted down like a common thief out there." He stated.
He turned to his aide.
"Have all the other prisoners been moved out of that dungeon and into the other one?" Aladdin asked.
"Yes my lord." The aide stated.
"Thank you, you may take your leave." Aladdin stated.
The aide nodded, and walked off. Aladdin sat in his throne, feeling disgusted with himself.
"I hate this damn job." He spat as he walked off.
Aladdin walked out of the throne room and into another courtyard that led to Queen Jasmine's private area. He walked through a set of glass doors, and out onto a terrace with a large fountain in the middle of a meadow. The sun was almost fully down over the city. He spied the Queen sitting on the edge of the fountain, with her faithful tiger, Rajah, at her side. Rajah growled when he sensed an intruder, but went back to normal when he saw that it was only Aladdin. Jasmine looked up at her husband. She could see the discomfort in his eyes.
"What's wrong?" She asked gently.
Aladdin looked at his beautiful wife and sighed.
"I just had to send Sora to the dungeon." Aladdin sighed.
Jasmine sighed.
"You did the right thing…" She said.
Aladdin took a seat next to her.
"Did I really? I don't even know…I mean…I can't believe that Sora would do such a thing…but I have to rule without bias like your father taught me." He lamented.
"Yeah…it's a tough job, but you can do it Aladdin…I have faith in you. You are a brave man, an excellent ruler, and you will be an excellent father." Jasmine said, while smiling.
Aladdin smiled a bit at the thought of him becoming a father. It was only a few weeks ago that he found out that she was pregnant with their child.
"Thanks Jasmine…" Aladdin said, kissing her forehead.
Jasmine smiled and yawned.
"I think it's time for bed…" She said sleepily.
"Okay, let's go." Aladdin said as they walked off.
Sora was sitting down in the dungeon. His legs were bound, to prevent him from moving. He was alone, as Roxas had gone to bed. Sora was exhausted, but he couldn't sleep. The guards had informed them that they would be leaving for Disney Castle in the morning. He sighed as he stared out the metal bars and gazed into the rising moon. He rested his head against the brick wall and thought about how that's happened.
"Why the hell am I even trying anymore?" He said aloud.
"Nobody believes me, and I don't have the Keyblade! What good am I going to do?" Sora lamented.
"I'm not a hero…I'm nothing!" He cried.
He crashed his fist onto the ground, and stared at the ground.
"What's the point of fighting…especially when the only thing you truly care about…" He stopped as the tears came streaming down his face.
Meanwhile:
The doctors were running all over the place grabbing various pieces of equipment.
"Her heart rate is dropping!!!" A female doctor cried.
Dr. Rogers was doing everything in his power to keep Kairi alive, but nothing he was doing was working. Everything in her body was operating fine, except her heart, but there was no medical reason why it shouldn't be. It was as if she just didn't want to live.
"Hold on Kairi!" He said, wiping the sweat from his brow.
Back in Agrabah:
Sora was beating himself up, and Roxas had finally had enough. He came out of Sora, and stared him down.
"Sora…stop it now!" Roxas stated firmly.
"You need to focus! You still have shot! You can redeem yourself!" He urged.
Sora looked up at Roxas.
"What's the point? We're locked up in jail, Riku is hunting us down, I don't have the Keyblade, and Kairi…" Sora trailed off as he thought about Kairi.
"Sora…you need to keep a positive attitude…especially in a time like this! Look…do you remember the first time you went to Hollow Bastion, and Riku took your Keyblade? You had nothing but a wooden sword; but did you quit? No! You worked even harder to overcome the obstacles!" Roxas said.
Sora thought about this.
"That's what you need to do now! Life has kicked you down, but now you need to rise up and fight back!" Roxas said passionately.
Sora looked up at Roxas.
"But what is left to fight for…Kairi is…" Sora began.
"In no worse shape then when she lost her heart. You didn't know her status then, and you don't know it now. The big difference between then and now is that back then you didn't give up when life kicked you down." Roxas said firmly.
Sora sat back and took all of this in. After a few moments he looked up at Roxas.
"You're right…I need to stop moping around…and fight back." Sora said with a hint of determination.
Roxas smiled.
"That's the Sora that I remember!" Roxas said with a smirk on his face.
For the first time in what seemed to be forever…a small smile crept on Sora's face, and it actually looked like he was happy.
"Thanks Roxas." Sora said.
"Nothing at all." Roxas responded.
"Whew! We definitely dodged a bullet there! He may not be 100 back, but he's in much better shape now." Roxas thought to himself.
"We might actually have a chance now!"
Back in the hospital:
To say that the doctors were astonished would be putting it mildly. Never in any of their lives had they witnessed such a rapid change in a person's heart rate. In a period of twenty minutes Kairi's heart rate had gone from near flat lining to that of a normal person's heart beat, and for now, had seemingly stabilized itself.
"In all my years as a doctor, I have never seen anything quite like this…" Dr. Rogers stated with awe.
He looked at all the monitors, and they all read the same thing. The big question though was why Kairi hadn't woken up yet. All her vital signs were right were they should be, but she still lay in bed with her eyes closed. The doctors had decided against attempting to wake her for fear of another collapse in heart rate. Whatever the case, Dr. Rogers knew three people in the waiting room that were going to be relieved to hear this news. He chuckled a bit; imagining their reactions as he walked out of the room to check on a few other patients.
"I guess she found a reason to stay alive!" He said quietly to himself.
Back in Agrabah:
One of Aladdin's aides raced into his chambers. Aladdin was standing out on the balcony, while Jasmine was sleeping. Abu, Aladdin's faithful primate companion, was asleep in his little bed as well. Aladdin eyed the aide with curiosity as he tried to catch his breath.
"Your highness! Someone has broken into the palace searching for the prisoner!" He cried.
Aladdin tried to shush him, but it was too late as Jasmine stirred awake. Aladdin sighed.
"Where is the intruder now?" Aladdin asked.
"In the north end of the palace!" The aide stated.
"Fetch my sword." Aladdin said.
The aide raced off to fetch his sword, and Jasmine came up to Aladdin.
"What's going on?" She asked.
"There is an intruder in the castle looking for Sora; I need you to stay in here and stay safe. I will have guards stationed outside the door." Aladdin stated.
Jasmine nodded and kissed her husband on the cheek.
"Be careful!" She stated.
The aide came back up with the sword, and Aladdin quickly exited the room. Jasmine looked at the aide.
"I need to get dressed, so could you please leave?" She asked.
The aide nodded and quickly walked out of the room. Jasmine smirked and quickly walked over to her dresser.
"As long as Sora remains here this palace is in danger…so we will have to rectify that situation." She said to herself.
Aladdin was racing towards the north end; and as he drew closer he could hear the sounds of a struggle taking place. He raced around a corner to see a silver-haired young man drive his sword right into the heart of a guard. The young man turned around and faced Aladdin, who recognized him immediately.
"Riku! Why are you doing this!?" Aladdin demanded to know.
"I want Sora…NOW!" Riku said, seemingly deranged.
"We have Sora incarcerated, and tomorrow morning I will be transporting him to Disney Castle, personally." Aladdin stated.
This seemed to enrage Riku further. He drew his Keyblade, which was dripping with blood, and adopted a fighting stance. Aladdin drew his sword as well.
"Don't do this Riku!" Aladdin urged.
"I want Sora!" Riku stated again.
"I can't allow that…" Aladdin said slowly.
"Then prepare to die!" Riku roared.
Riku flew at him and Aladdin quickly went into defensive mode. Steel clashed with steel, as the two traded blows, with Riku seemingly having the upper hand. Riku pounded Aladdin with vicious blows left and right. Aladdin's sword got knocked out of his hand, and a swift kick to the sternum put Aladdin down on the ground. Riku raised the Keyblade to Aladdin's chest.
"I want Sora!" Riku repeated his demand.
"No!" Aladdin stayed firm in his decision.
"Wrong answer!" Riku said, as he plunged the Keyblade into the right pectoral muscle of Aladdin.
Aladdin cried out in pain, as the blade pierced his skin. Riku wore a sick smile as he slowly twisted the blade, causing Aladdin even more pain.
"Now…where is Sora?" Riku asked, his eyes hardening.
"G...GO TO HELL!" Aladdin said through gritted teeth.
Riku laughed a little bit, the sick smile not leaving his face.
"You first!" He said, pulling the blade out, and taking a swipe at Aladdin's neck.
Aladdin quickly dodged it, but caught a sharp blow to his left shoulder. He grimaced in pain, which caused Riku's smile to grow wider.
"You moved…big mistake!" Riku said raising his Keyblade one more time. A group of guards came into the area and saw what was going on.
"STOP!!!" One of them cried as he raced up and threw himself in front of the blade as it came crashing down.
The guard lay motionless, slain by Riku. The rest of the guards ran up and attacked Riku. Aladdin's aide came up and helped his master up and out of the room. Riku fended off the attacks of the guards, and was beginning to lead the offensive strike on them. Aladdin was helped back into his chambers, and placed in his bed. The aide told one of the guards to fetch the royal doctor. Aladdin looked around the room. Abu had awoken from the commotion and was looking at Aladdin with considerable concern. Aladdin forced a smile.
"It's okay Abu, it's just a scratch." Aladdin forced out.
He looked around but noticed that Jasmine was missing. Aladdin grew fearful.
"Guards! Go find Jasmine!" He ordered frantically as he shot up from his position, his shoulder and chest still throbbing.
"But sire…this will leave your room unprotected!" The aide stated.
"I DON'T CARE! GO FIND MY WIFE!" Aladdin roared.
The aide quickly nodded and the remaining guards left his room to search for the missing queen.
"Allah knows what I would do if I lost her…" Aladdin said laying back down in bed.
While all this was going on:
Down in the dungeon, Sora was growing restless.
"I need to get out of here!" He moaned.
Suddenly the door opened, and Sora heard someone descending the steps quickly. Sora watched a figure come into view, and he recognized the raven-haired beauty immediately.
"Jasmine!" Sora cried.
She raised her mouth to shush him. She quickly undid the shackles that bound his legs together.
"We need to get you out of here now." She said flatly.
Jasmine quickly raced over to the wall of the dungeon and pushed aside one of the stone blocks. She motioned for Sora to quickly follow her out, and Sora did just that. They raced along the back alleys of the city, before eventually making their way to the gummi ship. Sora thanked Jasmine and quickly got on the ship. Sora fired up the engines and quickly took off. Jasmine watched him fly off, and then quickly raced back to the palace.
Back to present time:
Riku was tearing the palace apart searching for Sora. He was ripping up the main hall when he heard the door crack open. He turned and saw Jasmine walk in. She stopped like a deer in headlights upon seeing Riku. She tried to scamper off, but Riku was too quick and cut her off. He sneered at her, and she trembled in his firm grip.
"Please don't hurt me…I'm pregnant…" She pleaded.
"I don't give a crap that you're knocked up…I want Sora!" Riku snarled.
"He's not here! He just left in his gummi ship…" Jasmine told him.
Riku grew incensed with rage. He gripped her tighter, forcing her to her knees. He called forth his Keyblade.
"Why you filthy…!!" Riku stated as he raised his Keyblade to strike her.
Jasmine closed her eyes, and waited for the blow…but it never came. Jasmine opened her eyes and was puzzled by what she saw. Riku was still there, and the blade was still raised; but there appeared to be some hesitation in his body, as if there was an internal conflict going on. Eventually, several of the guards came into the room, and Riku quickly raced out the front door and into the streets of Agrabah. Most of the guards went after him, but one stayed behind to help the Queen. Aladdin's aide rushed up and quickly began checking out the Queen for injuries.
"I'm fine…" She assured the aide.
"Where is the Sultan?" She asked.
"That young infidel attacked and seriously hurt him! He's being looked at by the royal doctor in his chambers!" The aide responded.
Jasmine quickly raced back to the bedroom, and arrived to see Aladdin sitting up, with the doctor stitching up his wounded chest. His shoulder was all bandaged up, and his eyes seemed quite relieved to see Jasmine unharmed. He tried to get up but the pain put him right back down. Jasmine walked over and kissed her husband.
"Where's Sora?" He asked.
"He left in the gummi ship." She responded.
Aladdin let out a small yelp as the doctor applied another stitch.
"What about Riku?" He grimaced.
"Gone too." She said, while pondering what she had witnessed.
She snuggled closer to her husband.
"I hope that Sora can clear his name." Jasmine said.
"Me too…" Aladdin said.
Dr. Rogers came bursting through the door and into the waiting room, and as usual was met with three expectant faces. He smiled, which seemed to lift their spirits, though they still seemed ready for the worst.
"I have great news…Kairi's heart has stabilized." Dr. Rogers finally stated, breaking the silence.
A great cry of joy went up in the room, as Donald was going crazy, and Goofy was racing towards a phone to tell King Mickey the great news. Naminé had begun crying again, but this time, the tears were of joy rather than sadness.
"Can we see her now doctor?" Naminé asked hopefully.
"Unfortunately no…as she is still under surveillance, and she hasn't awoken yet." Dr. Rogers stated.
Naminé's head drooped a little bit.
"Don't worry though, everything appears fine, and it looks like she might be able to see visitors as soon as she wakes up." Dr. Rogers said in an effort to comfort her.
"I don't get it doc…how did this happen?" Donald said, making his way back from partying around the room.
"To be honest, I have no idea…there is no medical data that even suggests that she could be alive at this point. It's the strangest thing. One of the nurses even told us that she saw Kairi's heart rate jump 60 beats and actually move and speak for a brief second, before returning to her usual state." Dr. Rogers stated.
"What did she say?" Donald asked.
"Gibberish, but it was the same thing over and over: the word 'So' and 'Ra'" He said.
Donald thought about it but couldn't work it through his noggin. Naminé got it right away.
"Sora!" She exclaimed.
"Wak! Where?" Donald said bringing out his staff.
"No Donald; that was what Kairi was saying; Sora!" She explained.
Dr. Rogers thought about it.
"Well…this 'Sora' that you speak of might have been the thing that was keeping her alive!" Dr. Rogers guessed, before glancing down at his pager which had begun beeping.
"I have to go, but I will keep you posted." He said running off.
Donald and Naminé looked at each other.
"Why would Kairi be thinking about Sora, after he's the one that attacked her?" Donald asked puzzled.
"I don't know…other than maybe Kairi knows something that we don't?" Naminé offered.
"You live inside her, don't you? You are able to access her memories right? Well, just go in there and find out!" Donald stated.
"No…I don't want to cause her to go back into that state she was in…" Naminé said.
"Well…don't you remember anything?" Donald asked.
"I was outside of her body when Sora attacked, and I was in a corner, frightened while they fought so I don't know much…but I think I remember Kairi saying something about not knowing who he was…but that's about it." Naminé reminisced.
"That's a little strange...I find it hard to believe that she wouldn't know who Sora was…" Donald said.
Just then Goofy came back in the room with a concerned look on his face.
"That's the second time that King Mickey hasn't picked up the phone!" Goofy stated.
"What!? Why didn't you tell us that he didn't answer the first time you called?" Donald asked.
Goofy scratched his head.
"Well…I thought he might be in the tub or something." He said.
"Something seems very fishy here…" Donald said.
He turned to Goofy.
"Goofy…we need to get back to Disney Castle." Donald informed him.
"But Donald…King Mickey told us to stay here!" Goofy protested.
"Goofy…there's something fishy going on, and King Mickey is MIA. Kairi is in capable hands here, and Naminé can stay and keep us updated." Donald said.
"Well…alright Donald!" Goofy said.
"We'll be back as soon as possible!" Donald said to Naminé, who nodded in return.
They raced out to the gummi ship, and Donald quickly got in and fired up the ship. He entered in the launch codes and the ship's engines powered on.
"Sit tight Goofy! We're taking off!" Donald screamed.
Goofy strapped himself in, and Donald pushed the buttons to launch the ship. The ship rocketed off into the night's sky towards Disney Castle.
From out of the shadows, the hooded figure appeared, watching the ship fly off. The figure quickly raced off, towards the gummi ship that it had parked behind a hill near the hospital. The figure quickly boarded the ship and turned on the communications link. Maleficent came on screen with Ankoku and stared at the hooded figure.
"What is your report?" Maleficent asked.
End of Chapter 10
I plan to have chapter 11 hopefully up by Thursday; and then maybe I can get to 12 this weekend, but it depends how fast I get done with 11. So chapter 11 will be up later this week, and chapter 12 will be up either end of this week or early next week! Later! Keep reading and thanks to all my reviewers!