Kairi had regained her breath from the last world. Her arms felt heavy but she knew she'd have to keep trudging on to find her friends and the king. He must've been pretty important to have his own search party out to find him, and with their own ship none the less.

"So, this king—what's he like?" asked Kairi. She leaned on Goofy's seat as Donald went crazy with the weapon controls once again.

"King Mickey! He's the king of Disney Castle and is a keyblade master just like you."

"There's more than one keyblade master?"

"If you earn it. We met another keyblade master in the past, didn't we Donald? Her name was Aki…Alba…Allen? You know what, I can't seem to remember."

"You say you have to earn the title of keyblade master, but I barely learned how to use it. Do you really think I have what it takes?"

"Of course ya do! You just have to believe in yourself."

Kairi pressed her hand to her chest, finding her necklace. It was cool to the touch and calmed her. She remembered when it had saved her back on her island. She had always worn it, ever since she was little. It was special to her, especially since she'd had it before she came to the islands. It was the only thing she had that linked her to her past.

Donald flopped into his chair, finished with shooting for now. The heartless had died down to reveal another world that approached quickly. It was another world with sand pouring over the edges, this time a great Arabian city at the top instead of a Greek one. In the center of the city was a palace, so huge you could literally see it from space. They landed simply enough, the hot sun bearing down on them. The walls of the city were high, so once they got there some shade was available.

"Stop that thief!"

Kairi and the others turned their head around in the direction of the commotion. A boy a little older than Kairi was hurdling down the market center followed by at least a dozen guards, all with their weapons at the ready. The boy's hands were full with a large loaf of bread but still he managed to leap and glide over various obstacles such as carts, crates, and market stalls. He was heading right for Kairi, who was standing in the middle of the road, unable to make sense of the situation fast enough to move out of the way.

The boy collided with Kairi, the bread flying out of his hands. Kairi picked it up and looked at the boy in front of her. His skin was a glowing brown, born dark and blessed darker by the sun. His brown hair hung in front of his face, eyes wide as he jumped up, Kairi's hand in his.

"Run!" He exclaimed, heading down the road with Kairi trailing behind. Donald and Goofy had to strain to keep up, but Kairi was rather active living on the island with Sora and Riku, joining in their races every so often. The boy turned the corner and hurried up some boxes to the rooftops and Kairi followed promptly with the others trailing behind. The guards seemed to have lost them, and the four caught their breath in an abandoned building, furnished generously with rugs and drapes.

The boy fell to the ground in exhaustion and Kairi dropped to her knees beside him.

"I'm Aladdin."

"My name's Kairi, and this is Donald and Goofy."

Aladdin took the bread from Kairi and tore it in two, handing half back to her. She nodded her head in thanks.

"Man, those guards are always on my tail. They probably know my face already. I hadn't even stolen anything yet and they were already behind me."

"You stole this bread?"

"I steal only what I can't afford," he fell back and took a bite of the bread, "and that's everything." Kairi grimaced and held the bread out to Donald who took it happily, stuffing it into his beak. She noticed some dust on her skirt and brushed it off while Aladdin stared at the ceiling. "The truth is I'm just acting out. You see, there's this girl," suddenly Kairi was all ears. "I used to climb up on the roofs and peer into the palace gardens and see her every day, but she wasn't there today. She's always there. I think something might have happened to her."

"Wait, the palace gardens? Aladdin, you're not talking about a princess, are you?"

"Yeah, she's a princess. Princess Jasmine. I swear you've never seen a girl more beautiful than her. She's also very independent for royalty, a free thinker, and not to mention fearless! Did you know she has a pet tiger? That's amazing! She's…amazing."

"Have you ever talked to her? She might like you too if she gets to know you."

"Come on. She's a princess and I'm…I'm just a dirty street rat. She'd never fall for a guy like me."

"Well if you're so sure, let's go ask her."

"What?"

"Come on, let's go find Princess Jasmine and ask her! I'm sure a free thinker like her wouldn't mind where you come from."

"I guess it can't hurt to try, but she's missing. Remember?"

"Well, we can ask around the palace!"

"Kairi, you can't just walk right through the palace gates," Aladdin chuckled.

Yet somehow Aladdin soon found himself standing next to Kairi right outside the palace gates. They were intimidating up close, but more so were the large guards standing in front of them, their scimitars fashioned at their sides. When Aladdin, Kairi, Donald and Goofy drew near, the guards reached for their weapons.

"What do you want?" spat one of the guards. Kairi looked confidently between the two guards.

"I'm here to see Princess Jasmine, of course."

"No one is allowed in the castle without permission. Especially an outsider like you. Where do you come from? Your clothes are not from around here."

"I do have permission. Straight from the sultan himself, in fact. I'm one of Princess Jasmine's closest friends—Princess Kairi. You may not recognize my clothes, I am from another kingdom, you see."

The guards looked at each other raising their brows.

"And the others? I'm sure this street rat is no prince."

"He is obviously my trusted servant. He basically lives for me, you understand I couldn't leave him at home—I mean, at my palace. Next to him are my knights—Donald and Goofy. The trip is long I needed protection lest anything happen to a princess like me."

Kairi kept her head held high as she spoke. She held herself like royalty while still seeming sweet and approachable. The guards nodded and opened the gates for Kairi and the others. Aladdin's face was in awe as he followed her through into the palace. When they were a good way inside, he turned to Kairi with a big grin on his face.

"That was amazing, Kairi! I can't believe it! I thought you were an actual princess for a moment."

"Why thank you," Kairi giggled. "Now, let's ask someone if they've seen Princess Jasmine."

A man passed by them at the end of the room. He had a scowling face and his beard was twisted. He stood tall with a scepter in his hand, a bird perched on his shoulder. He looked toward the four and raised an eyebrow, heading toward them slowly.

"Who are you, and what are you doing in the palace?" He said, his face seemed to be drawn into a permanent frown.

"I'm Princess Kai-"

"I don't care."

"But you're the one who asked!"

"I will have guards escort you out of the palace immediately."

"No, I'm not leaving unless we see Princess Jasmine."

"The princess? What would you want with—" the man gasped and rushed off, everyone following. They entered a garden, beautiful and green compared to the rest of the desert. The man called out for Princess Jasmine but she was nowhere in sight. The distracting sound of birds could be heard off to the left. There was a delicate cage filled with exotic birds making a racket. The man went over to them, yelling at them to be quiet. He opened the cage in rage and the birds flew out, circling around the fountain, chirping erratically.

"Jasmine was kidnapped!" yelled Aladdin.

"What are you on about, boy?" spat the older man.

"The birds, they said she was taken by two strange boys."

"You know what the birds are saying?" asked Kairi. Aladdin smiled.

"Well sure, you learn a lot from having a pet monkey."

"You have a pet monkey!?" Donald and Goofy awed at the same time.

"Where is he?" asked just Goofy this time.

"He's off doing some…monkey business. Otherwise he'd be here helping us look for Jasmine."

"The only thing you'll be looking for, boy, is the door." The man turned his scepter on Aladdin.

"Oh yeah? Says who?"

"Me—Jafar, royal vizier."

Aladdin didn't seem to be impressed, though he should have been at such a title. Kairi sweated nervously, looking back and forth between them.

"Wait," said Kairi, "two strange boys? What did they look like? What were their names? Please, you have to tell me!" Kairi yelled up at the birds. They chirped on and on as they watched them circle the sky. Aladdin translated.

"They were two young boys, one with silver hair—"

"Riku!"

"And one with black hair."

"Black hair?"

"They say the two boys were both wearing black as well."

"That's not right…"

"Where did they take Jasmine?" Aladdin called up at the birds. They circled the group, chirping a long reply. Aladdin searched the ground. "What…?"

"What did they say?"

"They just keep saying the word 'darkness' over and over again."

Images flashed through Kairi's mind. Darkness—it surrounded her world's sky as she made her way around the island. It was behind her, in front of her, coming out of the door back on the island. It had knocked her over. Her head hurt. Kairi winced and looked down, grabbing the back of her hair. She didn't want to deal with darkness. After she had seen what it could do—she was so afraid. She remembered not caring for Sora's fear of darkness. He had come to her in confidence and while she said she was there for him, she just didn't get it. Kairi had never been afraid of anything—until now. She clenched her fists and turned toward Aladdin.

"I'll do everything in my power to get Jasmine back to you, Aladdin." Jafar scoffed.

"Why would you return her to this dirty boy? You should return her where she belongs—to the palace under my hand."

Guards appeared at the door to the garden, their swords tied to their sides. They raised an eyebrow at Kairi and the others.

"Is this them, Jafar?"

"Yes. Please escort these brats out of the palace at once."

One of the guards grabbed Aladdin and the other grabbed Donald and Goofy, one under each gigantic arm. They didn't lay a finger on Kairi, trusting her to follow them out peacefully. Kairi pouted, knowing they were treating her like this because she was a girl, not that she minded not being picked up and thrown out onto the streets. Back on the island Riku and Sora always treated her like an equal, so it threw her off that while the guards didn't touch Kairi, her company was thrown as far as the guards could manage. They nodded at each other and headed back inside the gates. Aladdin dusted himself off and turned toward Kairi and the others.

"Thanks for all your help, Kairi, Donald, Goofy. I'll trust you to find Princess Jasmine. Please, just bring her back to me."

"We'll do our best, Aladdin."

"Alright, I'm going to go find Abu."

"A-who?"

"My monkey!" Aladdin chuckled. He waved at the three of them and ran off down the street. Goofy tapped Kairi on the shoulder.

"What do we do now?"

"Weren't you there? We have to find Princess Jasmine."

"Along with the king and your friends?"

"As long as we're looking anyway, it should be a—"

Kairi felt a chill run down her back. It was cold and creeping and once again it carried her mind back to the island.

"What's wrong, Kairi?" Asked Donald.

"I sense something weird." She felt cold. "Darkness? Is this darkness?"

"D-d-darkness? Where?" shuddered Donald. Kairi closed her eyes and felt around with her hands in the direction of the sensation. Her hands pressed against something rough and she opened her eyes to face the palace walls once again.

"Here, help me up."

The three of them piled up on top of each other's shoulders with Kairi on top so she could peer back over the walls. She was looking into the garden where she saw Jafar with a mysterious guest. She stood taller than him, but only because from the top of her head grew two long horns. Her eyes were heavy with shadows—with darkness. The woman held herself very highly, making Jafar seem a little less composed than Kairi had initially thought him to be. Kairi could just barely make out their conversation.

"It's too soon, my lady."

"I've waited countless years, Jafar, I am not going to wait any longer. I finally have the tools I need to acquire what I want and no one will stand in my way—not even someone as close to me as you."

"We may be close, but no one is more special to me than Jasmine. Please, can't you save her for last? I want to spend a little more time with her before she's gone."

"I'm sorry, Jafar. Riku and Vanitas have already made their move. Do not worry, I will take good care of the girl while you miss her."

The woman turned away from Jafar, a corridor of darkness opening in front of her. She entered, her body leaving into the shadows.

"She can't be gone yet! Please! Maleficent!"

Jafar was unsteady and he leaned on his scepter for support. Kairi put her hand to her mouth and called down to the others.

"Did you hear that? She said Riku! Riku was here!"

Jafar must've heard her because he whipped around after she'd spoken, glaring at her. Kairi lost her balance and the three of them fell to the ground, but instead of getting up right away, Kairi remained on the ground groaning.

"Kairi, are you okay?" asked Donald.

"I've already hit my head a couple of times today. You think I'd be used to it but it's just getting worse."

"I have an idea," Donald said, raising his staff to the sky. "Cure!" he called out. Kairi's vision went green and she saw sweet bells of flowers above her. Her body flowed with energy and her head felt lighter. She sat up and rubbed the back of her hair and felt no pain at all.

"Wow! What was that?"

"Magic!" Donald exclaimed gleefully.

"Yup," Goofy said, "Donald's the king's Royal Magician!"

"That's so cool," Kairi said in awe. "Do you think you could teach me how to do magic? I mean, the keyblade is magic, so casting something like a cure spell would be something I could do too, right?"

"Cure is a very high-level spell! Let's start you off with blizzard, or fire," Donald thought.

"What am I going to do with fire? Light some candles?"

"You never know when it'll come in handy."

"I also want to learn how to drive the gummi ship."

"Now, now," laughed Goofy, "one thing at a time."

Kairi laughed a joyous laugh strong enough so that it rivaled her famous giggles. She was having so much fun on this adventure. She was learning new things, making new friends. She wished Riku and Sora were with her, they would've loved to see all these new worlds with her. Kairi looked up to the sky—bright and cloudless. She wondered how long it would stay light and sunny in this world. The trio had to get moving, quickly, before the darkness swallowed more worlds than it already had. She had to find Riku and Sora. Kairi thought back to what that woman had said—Maleficent. She wondered if Riku could be in danger, and if he was, what was Sora going through?

Kairi jumped to her feet and dusted herself off. She had a determined blush on her face and as she clenched her fists she turned toward Donald and Goofy with furrowed brows and a well sized smile.

"Let's go find our friends."