Second Life
Author's note: HAAAAAPPPPYYYY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! It's now officially 2015! Man, time flies. To celebrate, I'm posting a new chapter to oen of my stories, which is this one! The others will follow, so don't worry. In the meantime, let's continue our adventure, and remember, I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy.
CH11: Questions and Unexpected Answers.
Once the Forty Thieves were gone, everyone looked around in shock and desbelief. The wedding that was supposed to happen and to be a wonderful day turned into a nightmare and that the wedding is ruined and thus, in this case, further delayed due to the damange. The Pavilion was completely destroyed, several gifts were most likely broken, and those who fought to protect the Kingdom were exhausted, and the Sultan was dismayed.
As for Iago, well, he was just annoyed as usual. For him, it was just one of those days for the red annoying parrot. He was on the Sultan's shoulder while the said man was looking around in despair.
"Good luck gettin' back the catering department." said Iago, before he flew away, as Jasmine, Xion and Namine joined the Sultan.
"Oh my." Sultan muttered.
Xion, shocked at the destruction, asked, "Isn't there anyway to fix this?"
Suddenly, Genie, hanging upside-down like a bat(or Possum), appeared and says, "Fear not, little lady! We can rebuild!" before he poofed back on the ground, and turned into a construction worker with a muscular chest, before it fell and dropped into a beer-gut. Mildly disappointed, Genie then shrugs to himself, before he suggested, "Maybe it's time to put in that swimming pool."
"Actually, please just fix it." Xion giggled, shaking her head. She recalled during her time inside Sora that Genie wanted to make a freeway or something in Agrabah.
"Good grief, you people have no imagination." Genie sighed, before he brings out a clipboard and a pencil, saying, "All right, a wedding pavilion it is, my man." before he casted magic on Iago, Abu and Carpet who all turned into construction workers, with Iago eating a dougnut, Abu drinking coffee, and Carpet reading a newspaper.
Genie then whispered to Xion, Namine and the Sultan, "Hey, I want to see some resumes on these guys. And don't let the one with the beak near any power tools."
While the two girls shrugged at each other, Sultan nodded, before turning to his daughter, "I am sorry about all this, Jasmine." only to find that the young Princess wasn't around. "Daughter?"
Seeing this, Xion and Namine agreed to go and look for her, and looked around, easily finding Jasmine near the treasure table, with Aladdin, Roxas, Lea and Isa.
"What were they after, the gifts?" Jasmine asked, trying to hide her disappointment that her wedding day is ruined and delayed until everything is fixed up. So, she tried to turn her concern to the attackers.
"Not all of them." Roxas answered as he gazed at the strange rod in his hand. "I think the King of Thieves wanted this." as Lea approached him.
"Mind if I take a look?" Lea asked, and at his friend's nod, the redhead carefully took the rod and examined it. He then stated, "Looks pretty useless, if you ask me."
"With all the other great stuff, why go for this thing?" Iago asked as he landed onto Lea's shoulder.
The red-haired man shrugged, "Don't know." before gazing at the emerald stone, and softly asked, mostly to himself, "What could that guy want with this?"
Not a second later as soon as he asked this, the rod's stone suddenly glowed in light, which scared him. "Whoa!" he exclaimed in fright, as he suddenly lets go of the rod which it hovered away from them before stopping in the centre of the room, and a strange woman's voice echoed, "Your question is mine to answer!" while everyone tried to shieled their eyes from the light.
At that moment, a spirital form of a woman in a white robe and headress appeared above the rod, very much like a ghost, as she answered Lea's question, "The King of Thieves sought my sight to find the Ultimate Treasure."
Everyone in the room gasped, as Iago then asked, excitedly curious, "Did someone say treasure?" and the woman replied, "Yes."
"Genie?" Aladdin asked, uncertainly. He's seen strange things before, but this is was another new thing to him, and only his blue-skinned friend can answer most of these strange legendary things.
"Ooh, looks like Oracle!" says Genie in awe.
"Oracle?" Roxas asked to the Genie, before turning to the apparently Oracle and asked, "So, um, how'd you know about what happened?"
The Oracle explained, "I see all that has been, and all that will be."
"So she knows about the past and the future." Isa thought.
Lea blinked, as he crossed his arms, and chuckled, "Whoa, there. So that means you know who we are and wants going on, right?"
And a second later, Iago also asked, "Okay, you know all, so tell all. Where is the treasure? You know, the ultimate one?"
"I am bound by the rule of one. One question, one answer." The Oracle says, to both Lea and Iago.
Seeing this, and realising that his question that was mainly to himself in thought, was still a question, and Lea sighed, disappointed that he already wasted his chance to ask about what's going on, now that the Oracle is helpful, but is unhelpul now as well. "Damn it." he muttered to himself, irritated. "It was worth a shot."
Iago on the other hand, was just as stupid as usual, as he shouted, "I only want one answer! Where is the Ultimate Treasure?"
"Don't borther, polly." Lea sighed, having also heard Iago's earlier question. "You already asked about that, and you asked if somebody just say treasure and she answered yes."
"You mean before?" Iago asked as he flew up to the red-haired man, before staying unconvincingly, "Oh, that wasn't a question! That was uh... thinking out loud." before Genie suddenly grabbed him.
"Very loud!" Genie said in annoyance, before letting the bird go. Isa smirked at this and shook his head.
Roxas also realised that he too wasted his question, and sighed, "I should've just saved a question for what I really wanted to ask, like about why Xion and I are seeing Ventus' memories and not Sora's, or who that man who attacked Ventus is."
"Or that other boy in the mask." Xion added.
"Or about that X-Blade thingy." Lea agreed.
"Who's Ventus?" Aladdin asked to the trio.
Isa was the one who answered, "Someone who Lea and I met twelve years ago when the two of us were teenagers."
"He's also one of the people Sora is the one to rescue." Lea added, quickly adding, "That is a very long and complicated story."
"Aladdin," Jasmine says to her husband-to-be, "We could learn anything. About our lives, our future."
"You have but to ask." says to Oracle wisely.
Aladdin pointed out, "I know what my future is." he turned to Jasmine and added, "My future is you." before looking at the ceiling, adding, "But my past, is blank."
"What do you mean?" Roxas asked.
"My mother died when I was a little kid." Aladdin answered, staring at the dagger that was left by his parents, and added, "And I never even knew even knew my father. I don't even know where I come from."
Lea sighed as he held a hand onto his forehead, before looking at Aladdin and said, "Knowing the truth won't change anything, ya know? About, where you come from, I mean. If anything, that just makes the situation a lot worse in the end. There are questions that can never be answered, because not everyone knows the answers to those questions."
He should know, because Roxas and Xion both questioned about their existances back in the Organization, and, despite Axel trying to protect them and keep them safe from disappearing, he failed because they both left, and fufilled DiZ's wishes to awaken Sora from his slumber, before the final battle against Xemnas, which resulted Axel being recompleted as Lea, Sora and Kairi's hearts and his wishes restoring Roxas and Xion into existance and turning the two of them and Namine into complete human beings with hearts of their own.
"The young man speaks the truth," the Oracle agreed, "However, your questions are your choices. But remember the rule of one; choose carefully."
"Oh sure," Iago grumbled, rolling his eyes, "Mr. Fire-head and the Oracle warn Al' about the one question thing." before he was kicked away by an annoyed Carpet who had enough of his compliants for at least a week.
"I just don't know." Aladdin sighed, before admitting, "My past isn't just one question. That's a million questions."
"Sometimes it's better to try and figure it out yourself." Roxas says, before admitting, "At least, I tried to."
The Oracle seemed to know beyond that, because she said, "Ah, but mere questions about what you seek and about your past can only be answered by those who are lost by Xehanort, and by your father."
Aladdin's eyes widened in shock, as he turned around, exclaiming, "My father?" but how was that possible? His father died when he was young. But it that's true...
To everyone's shock, as the Oracle spread out her arms, an image appeared, of a man well into his late forties, black hair and graying temples, with a moustache and goatee, wearing a block coat. Everyone examined him carefully, their eyes widening as they realised that he strongly resembled to an older version of Aladdin.
One good look at the man, and Aladdin instantly knew, in disbelief, about who this man is. "My father's alive..." he trailled off, in shock.
Lea sighed. "Yup. I knew this would happen."
Later that night, Aladdin, with the help of the Oracle, left to find his father who was apparently captured by the Forty Thieves, with Iago and Abu with him, while Lea, Isa and Roxas went to the streets of Agrabah before going out into the desert to find Braig. Jasmine already told the guards to look out for a man in an eye-patch, scar on the side of his face and a red-scarf, which they patrolled the city. Xion and Namine remained with Jasmine and the Genie back at the Palace.
They followed the trail of the Forty thieves as part of their clue, as Lea, Isa and Roxas stopped near a cliff that over-looked the ocean, and another island. While they were looking carefully for Braig, down below, Roxas gasped and pointed at something. Looking at what the young blonde was seeing, Lea and Isa saw the Forty Thieves, and, hiding behind a rock near the enemies, were Aladdin, Iago, Abu and Carpet. Crouching to avoiding being seen, the trio watched.
"If they're just standing there, perhaps their secret base is on that island." Isa whispered.
"Yeah, probably." Lea muttered in a whisper. "Wouldn't surprise me if there was a secret door or something."
"Are they gonna swim on those horses?" Roxas asked softly.
As if to answer that, the King of Thieves, on his horse, went up the edge of the water, and shouted out, "Open Sesame!"
Then the sea started churning starting at the point where the ocean water met the rocky island. The earth trembled underfoot and a high crack appeared in the side of the island. The waters split apart at this crack and separated. In seconds there was a path of sea bed leading to the very base of the island with high walls of salt water on either side.
Instantly, the Forty Thieves rushed down the path toward the new opening in the rock. It seemed to be glowing. The moment the last one entered the walls of water began to fall into the opening that they had formed. Shortly after this, Aladdin and his group quickly followed on carpet, making Lea and his group worry that Aladdin wouldn't make it, but thankfully, he made it just as the walls closed. Lea's group sighed in relief.
"Well, it's up to Al' to save his old man now." Lea stated.
But before any of them could continue the conversation, Lea suddenly sensed something, sharply turned around and demanded, "Who's there?" causing Isa and Roxas to turn around as well. Standing, the three of them looked to see who the sudden intruder is, or rather, are. Or maybe is.
It was the silver-haired youth from before, who says, "The darkness inside your hearts are the reason for the unexpected connections."
"You again?" Roxas snapped, "What are you doing here?" before he gasped as suddenly, for a few seconds, a figure that looked like Sora but with black hair and yellow eyes that matched the youth's, stood there, and he was wearing the same uniform the boy in the mask in his nightmare appeared.
"Even if you are Sora's darkness but with Ventus' light." said the Silver-haired youth and the raven-haired boy who was gone the moment he appeared. Roxas blinked on confusion, while Lea and Isa narrowed their eyes.
The silver-haired youth walked passed them, adding, "Soon, everything will fade back to where it all belongs; into nothing, forever, just as it should always be." before he disappeared into the portal of darkness. This left the trio puzzled and confused.
"Sora's darkness and Ventus's light?" Roxas asked to himself. "What did he mean?"
"He was probably trying to mess with your head, Rox'." Lea stated, approaching the teen. "Don't let it get to you. Got it memorized?"
"If he does have a head." Another familiar voice spoke out, causing Lea, Roxas and Isa to turn again, and their target was standing there, cocky as usual, as Braig continued, "So you think Roxy is his own being now? As if! All what Sora did was make himself whole and created a nobody of somebody Xehanort's looking for, but that'll come when the time's right."
"Shut up!" Isa shouted, summoning his claymore, while Lea summoned his chakrams and Roxas summoned his Keyblade, all ready to fight if they have to.
This only made Braig mock with a grin, "Oh! So you all really don't know what's really going on? Roxas and Xion are nothing but puppets-not human."
"You don't know anything about my friends!" Lea snapped, "As far as I'm concerned, old man, you're the one who doesn't get it! I want to know more about Xehanort and his stupid plan that you mentioned a year ago. What did you mean by that?"
Braig chuckled, and said, "Sorry, hate to give out spoilers." before he frowned and grumbled, "And thanks to you, my plans for this world is ruined. But I'll have a prize on the magical item that can turn anything and anyone into soild gold, which will be useful to get rid of my enemies."
"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" Roxas snapped, before something in his mind indicated that someone said the same thing, but who and why?
The one-eyed man continued to smirk, before he began to teleport away, as he too could still use the power of darkness, "Be good boys now." despite Lea wanting to throw his chakrams at him, but he missed, and ended up catching his weapons in irritation.
"Damn it!" Lea cursed. "Missed!"
"We should get back to Agrabah." Isa suggested. "I have a feeling that Xion, Namine and Princess Jasmine might be at risk."
Seeing that his childhood friend had a point, Lea nodded, "Yeah, good idea."
"Right." Roxas nodded, though he was starting to ask himself mentally on what he heard, and starting to think that maybe he's still not completely human at all. For one thing, Roxas is dead worried. Maybe he is still a Nobody.
The question is; he is still Sora's nobody, or a puppet?
Xion was at the balcony with Jasmine, both staring out at the night sky, both lost in their own thoughts. For Jasmine, it was her worry about Aladdin's safety. For Xion, she just had more troubling visions and nightmares. She wanted them to stop, but they kept on coming, and it was scaring her even more. Namine was sketcing on her notepad, probably trying to find more clues.
"I'm asking you, as a friend. Just...put an end to me." was what Ventus had said in her nightmare just now. Xion sighed, sad and afraid.
Neither of the two black-haired girls heard Genie behind them. "Boy, and I thought I was blue." he whispered, sensing the depression on the two girls. Neither of them were surprised at his sudden appearence.
While Jasmine talked to the Genie, Xion's mind wandered more into the nightmares. She knew that, despite her worries, Roxas, Lea and Isa would be just fine, as long as they were together. She also noticed that there was a figure besides this Terra, like Roxas had invisioned earlier.
It was a girl, but at the moment, it was blurly. Why did Xion think about the girl she met in the Realm of Darkness instead of the girl Ventus is friends with? Was there a connection? Buring her face in the palms of her hands, Xion felt depressed all over again. She'll never figure this out at this rate.
Sa'luk, who was no longer a member of the Forty Thieves and is thought to have been killed by his enemy's son, had survived his fall from the cliff and had returned to Agrabah with a plot in mind. He had approached the captain of the guards who had no idea about his former place, and was given advice to capture Cassim at the hide-out. After that, the gray-skinned man was on a balcony of an abandoned building, which was also a place to an unwanted familiar man.
"So, you're leading that guy and his men towards your old hideout for revenge, huh?" Braig asked as he approached.
The only reply he got was Sa'luk holding out his claws just an inch from Braig's throat, causing the one-eyed man to gasp, and had a flash of deja vu, and realising his mistake. "Okay, okay! I made a bad call for not telling you about those guys! I thought they wouldn't even consider on being near the Palace! Just put those claws down!"
Sa'luk does so and turns away, much to Braig's relief, so the latter relaxes.
"I mean, how was I supposed to know that those guys would be there, anyway? I'm just lucky that, that viser, whatever-his-name, didn't control my mind with his snake-stick. That would've ruined my week for sure." Braig was saying.
"I don't care about those five who are friends of this Sora you told me about," Sa'luk snapped. "All I want is Cassim; All I need is to have him captured, get the Oracle and get my hands on the Hand of Midus."
Braig quirked an eye-brow, asking, "Is it true that thing can really turn anything to pure gold by a single touch?"
The thief only grinned evilly.
After camping out since it was really dark, and wanting to avoid using the corrirdor of darkness, Lea, Roxas and Isa returned to Agrabah the next day and, with the current guards' permission since Razoul had gone with some of his other men on a mission, and the trio decided to check things up at the Pavilion. It was as good as new, and everything is fixed up.
"Wow, that Genie knew what he was doing." Isa commented, clearly impressed by the way things are right now.
"I guess everything's ready." Roxas added.
"Guess what Sora said and what you and Xi' had said wasn't a hoax after all." Lea teased.
"Oh thanks!" Roxas retored jokingly.
They then heard someone calling out their names, and noticed that it was Xion who, along with Namine, and the sudden arrivals of Aladdin, Iago, Abu, Carpet, and a man named Cassim approach them, and the two girls embraced their three friends.
"Sorry we took that long." Isa mumbled, blushing that Xion and Namine trusted him already.
"You're not hurt, are you?" Xion asked, worriedly.
Lea grinned, "Nah, nothin' we couldn't handle. Got it Memorized?"
"Who are these young familiar people?" Cassim questioned his son, having a feeling that he'd seen the blonde-haired boy before.
The others turned their attentions to Aladdin and the others, and Aladdin introduced, "Dad, these are friends of a friend of mine; Roxas, Xion, Namine, Lea and Isa."
To which Lea added, saying his catch-phrase, "Got it Memorized?" then stated, "You must be Al's Dad, right?"
"That's right. I'm Cassim." The older man replied.
"Nice to meet you." Roxas smiled, and the others said their hellos as well.
Aladdin then looked around, impressed that things are fixed up, and he said, "Looks like Genie has everything ready." with Abu nodding in agreement.
Hearing this made Cassim shocked and surprised as he turned to his son, asking, "Genie? You have a Genie? Have you used all three wishes yet?"
Iago, who was still sore from his past crimes with Jafar, and that he seriously wasn't in the mood to be around his blue-skinned annoying friend, groaned, "Oh please. Don't go into it. It's just too painful."
Just then, out of nowhere and scaring Lea and Isa nearly out of their skins, Genie poofed next to Aladdin, hugging and saying happily, "Oh Al'! You're back! And your front! You're both here!"
"Please stop appearing out of nowhere." Isa grumbled, "I was about to have a heart attack."
"What're you trying to do? Scare us to death?" Lea added, placing a hand onto his chest where he felt his heart thump from within.
Ignoring them, Genie states, "Security's tight. No big crowd. Immediate family and closest friends only." and continued before Aladdin could introduce Cassim, "And no lowlifes this time! Other than the parrot of course. Observe!" and pulled out a remote, pushing a botton.
From beneath the ground a few meteres away, a panel opened and a giant, very futuristic robot with Genie's face came up, armed with two laser cannons on both sides of it's head, making the group very uncomfortable.
"You have violated the perimeter of the Aladdin and Jasmine wedding; prepare to be vaporized, thank you." says the Robot, then it fired, and everyone ducked just in time to avoid being vaporized.
Namine, who was freaked out, asked, "Um, isn't that a little too dangerous?"
"Armed, and dangerous." Genie confirmed. "I'd like to see one of those Forty Thieves get within an inch of your wedding." he added, making a gesture with two fingers.
Unforutuntely, he didn't even realise his mistake. Iago proudly gestured to Cassim, saying, "Allow me to introduce..."
"The King of Thieves." Cassim concluded.
"What!?" Lea, Roxas, Isa, Xion and Namine asked in shock. They were stunned to hear this. Aladdin's father...is the King of Thieves!? Trying to get over the shock, Lea muttered, "That's..." before trailling off.
"Unexpected." Roxas and Isa both said together.
Unfortunately, Genie turned hysterical and screamed loudly, before he took out a walkie-talkie, saying, "All units, we have a code red!"
Within seconds, several dozen other Genies in SWAT uniforms come out of all corners of the Palace, the metal gates and cages locking the palace like security alarm in a company, and all of the Genies were all echoing "Code red", much to Aladdin's annoyance, since he was perfectly calm about this. He just fingers the side of his head, eyes half closed.
Unfortunately, for Lea and his friends, more Genies appeared, as Scotsman wearing kilts, as the leader says, "Come on boys, follow me!" and as soon as the Genies marched towards them, playing bagpipes, Lea, Isa, Roxas, Xion and Namine immediately covered their ears, cringing and groaning at the horrible sound that came from dozens of bagpipes which were very loud, shrieky, noisy and just plain horrible, not even an attempt to call it an instument at all.
More Genies appeared, as cowboys, as the leader of that Genie group commands, "Calvary commence!" and his followers followed on horses. A plane then flies over the palace, and more Genie soldiers came jumping down, shouting, "Geronimo! Arapaho! Navajo!" before one Genie, appearing to be dressed as Pocahontas, also jumps out, saying, "Pocahontas!"
Before long, the Genie soldiers surrounded Cassim and Iago, saying, "Do not attempt to move, or we'll be shooting ourselves." holding out guns.
While his ears were still ringing from the horrid bag of noise that was sadly known as an instument, Lea muttered, "Don't you think this is a little too much?" wiggling his pinky in his ear to get rid the last of the ringing.
"When I get old, I'll be having a hearing-aid, no thanks to the bagpipes." Isa grumbled in sarcasm.
Aladdin, in the meantime, squeezed his way through the Genies, and says to his blue friend, "Genie! Meet my Dad."
Hearing this, Genie was now dumbfounded as he stared at the man who was not only the King of Thieves, but also Aladdin's father. At this, telling his clones to stand down and after they disappeared, Genie returned to normal and approached Cassim, inquiring, "If you're Al's dad, and the King of Thieves, I just wanna know one thing."
"Yeah?" Cassim asked, and before long, Genie turned into a butler, asking, "Will you be having the chicken or the sea bass?" much to Cassim's further confusion. Xion and Namine giggled at this, expecting nothing less from the magical being. Roxas laughed, and Lea and Isa now shook their heads.
"C'mon, Dad. I can't wait for you to meet Jasmine and the Sultan." Aladdin says, ready to take his father to meet the others, but Lea stepped in front of them.
"Whoa, there." Lea pointed out, "Don't you think it'll be a problem? I mean, come on, no offence, but by description of your clothes, I think we should lose that thief look."
Cassim quirked an eye-brow at this, asking, "What's wrong the way I look?"
Aladdin agreed with Lea, and said, "When you're here, you're not the King of Thieves. You're my dad."
Seeing how he still has a family member, and, not having a good past with that, Cassim, in slight embarrassment, admitted, "I had more practice in being the King of Thieves."
Lea blinked at this, then mentally sighed. It was almost like how he had the practice and training to be an assassin back in the Organization, being cold hearted, until he met Roxas and Xion, that he began to return to the fun and warm-hearted boy he use to be, and had now turned into the warm-hearted, caring and brave young man he was today. He realised that he and Cassim had something in common.
He smiled and said, "Ah, don't sweat it, man. All we have to do is put you in different clothes and you'll be fine."
"Yeah, let's forget the dark past." Genie agreed, "Let's roll out something a little new." and with a flick of his fingers, Cassim's clothes changed into a blue robe with a red shirt, and it made everyone smile.
Well, everyone except for Iago, but who knows?
With that, the group went to meet up with Jasmine and the Sultan, all unaware that things are not going to go as the should.
A/N: Please review! See you in the next chapter!