A/N:

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Shadow, Kurai, & Night.

Kingdom Hearts 2, Shadow's Story

Chapter 21

Return To Agrabah! Jafar's Back?!

We returned to Agrabah, arriving in the Peddler's Shop. As we looked around, Donald knocked into a vase, almost breaking it.
"Wak!" Donald yelped.
"You break it, you buy it!" the Peddler said from behind the counter. "Oh! Hello there, friends." We noticed he had piles of gold behind him, and I immediately was hooked on wanting some of that treasure.
"Wow! You made out like a bandit!" Sora remarked, seeming impressed.
"Please…I am but an honest merchant. What you see is merely the reward for my hard work," he told us.
"Gawrsh, they sure are nice," Goofy commented.
"And they're on sale! Interested?" the Peddler offered.
"No thanks. Listen, have you seen a guy in a black coat? Someone from Organization XIII?" I asked.
"Who me? Most certainly not…" he said, but I could tell he was hiding something.
"Okay. We'll keep asking around, then," Sora told him. Suddenly, Iago, Aladdin, and Abu ran into the shop.
"Sora, Shadow! Don't let him get away!" Aladdin yelled to us, but when we looked, the Peddler was gone. Aladdin sighed heavily.
"What's going on?" Sora and I asked, bewildered.
"Can't believe it…That stupid peddler let Jafar out of the lamp!" Aladdin told us with some disbelief in his tone.
"Jafar?!" we all four gasped. What I remember the most clearly about Jafar was his psychotic laugh.
"You guys better be careful," he warned us.
"Huh?" Donald said, confused.
"I'm sure Jafar wants to take over Agrabah again, but I know he's out for revenge, too," he explained.
"I guess he's still sore about the whole lamp thing, huh," Sora guessed.
"Iago was there when Jafar was released. Okay, Iago. Spill it," Aladdin ordered the bird.
"Hey! I told you everything I know!" Iago protested.
"This is your one and only chance, Iago. If I find out later that you've been lying or hiding things from us, we're through. I'll never speak to you again!" Aladdin threatened him.
"I can't take it! I know where Jafar is!" Iago finally cracked.
"Where?" Goofy demanded.
"Uh, er, I mean, that is, I, um…Ack! I really shouldn't…" he spluttered, and I could tell inside his head he was scrambling.
"Iago!" Aladdin snapped at him.
"He's in the desert ruins," Iago sighed.
"Let's get the jump on him. Lead the way!" Sora said. We left for the outskirts of the city, but at the Palace Walls, we saw a large windstorm surrounding the desert ruins.
"What a disaster! We're just gonna hafta turn back," Iago said simply.
"There's gotta be a way…" Aladdin murmured.
"Aw, c'mon, kid, that's an easy one!" Genie's voice rang out from the sky. He flew in and hovered near us. "Al, ol' buddy, ol' pal!" He swung around Aladdin. "This is what having a genie for a best friend is all about! I mean, how can you leave me on the sidelines in a time like this?" He vanished, and then reappeared almost as big as the palace wall. "Live large! Wow 'em, Al!" He teleported back to Aladdin, but smaller this time, his normal size. "Give 'em the old razzmatazz! What do ya say, kid?"
"Hey, Genie!" Sora and I said in greeting.
"Sora! Shadow!" he said, and darted over to us. "Wanna see something I call 'Sandstorm Sweep'?" he asked us. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and I nodded.
"Take it away, Genie!" Aladdin encouraged.
"Alakaza—uh…You know? One lousy sandstorm is just too easy," Genie said, looking disappointed. He pointed a finger at the sandstorm, and magic twirled around it, making it disappear. We were still amazed, but when we looked to thank Genie, he wasn't there. "How about giving me a challenge next time, eh Al?" We walked to the Sandswept Ruins, which were in a gigantic hole in the ground.
"Now what do we do?" Aladdin wondered when Carpet flew in and pointed to itself.
"Nice timing, Carpet!" Sora praised. I grew in size to accommodate Sora on my back while the others rode on Carpet. I launched myself into the air, spreading my wings wide and luxuriating in the feeling of the sun's warmth on my back. We flew down there, and Jafar's shadow appeared near a ruin on the other side of the hole. Sora and I flew towards it, but when we got close, the shadow vanished with a puff of red smoke. Heartless appeared shortly after, so we fought and beat them. The shadow reappeared in an archway nearby, and we chased him all the way to the top of a tower. The shadow vanished in the red smoke again, and Heartless showed up. We fought the Heartless, taking them down easily. Once they were all gone, a monument appeared at the top of the tower. We checked it out, and used it to find the locations of three switches around in the ruins. We found them all, activated them, and quickly flew to a now open doorway in the tower. We all flew into the tower and regrouped there. Once ready, we ran into the room in the tower.
"The game's up, Jafar!" Sora announced as we ran in. Jafar wasn't there, though.
"You sure this is it?" Aladdin asked Iago.
"Iago?" Donald pressed. Iago flew over and landed on a stone, hanging his head in shame.
"Ya gotta understand. It wasn't my idea!" he wailed. "It was Jafar. He made me bring you here. You don't know him like I do! He can be VERY convincing! He said if I didn't cooperate, he was gonna—"
"Where is he?" Aladdin demanded.
"C'mon Al, you gotta forgive me!" Iago begged.
"Where's Jafar?!" Aladdin demanded again, this time scaring Iago into flight.
"Well…um, let's see…right about now, he's probably attacking the palace," Iago guessed. "I had no choice! His eyes, they got all creepy and WEIRD!"
"Whatever. Iago, you're supposed to be our friend. But you've been playing both sides, just to make sure you save yourself," Sora said, and I bristled angrily, shaking my head slowly with shame towards the bird.
"I knew you were still a bad guy!" Donald yelled at him.
"I'm SORRY!" Iago shrieked, and he knocked into an urn as he flew. When he knocked it over, the whole place started to rumble and collapse. Carpet quickly flew in, and the others climbed on as Sora and I flew out as a pair. We flew as fast as we could out of there, and made our way back to the Palace Walls. Once we got there, Carpet slumped to the ground.
"Get some rest, Carpet. You earned it," Aladdin told it.
"C'mon, let's get Jafar!" Iago said.
"And who asked you?" I spat coldly.
"The palace is through there. Hurry!" Aladdin said urgently. We ran into the city and interrogated the Peddler.
"I guess you know everything now, eh?" he asked, looking slightly nervous. He was caught red-handed, simple as that.
"You can't keep shady stuff secret for long," Sora pointed out validly.
"So true. I had just snuck into the Palace to, er, borrow some treasure when I heard this…voice," the Peddler explained. "It said: 'Release me, and I will give you an even greater reward.' 'Who are you?' I asked. The voice spoke again. 'The true Sultan of Agrabah,' he said. 'Imprisoned by villains.' Oh! Why did I believe such a tall, tall tale? Perhaps I was under Jafar's spell. Yes! That must be it!"
"And I'm sure the treasure had nothing to do with it, right?" I asked sarcastically, rolling my eyes.
"Maybe a bit. But Jafar, he never gave me a thing…" he replied.
"So where did you get all your treasure?" Sora asked.
"Why, the man in the black coat, of course," the Peddler answered.
"Organization XIII?! I KNEW it!" the brunette cried out.
"The treasure was a gift, so I would tell no one about Jafar's return," the Peddler explained. "He said he would destroy Jafar after turning him into a…'Heartless.' So there was no need to upset Agrabah."
"And you bought that?" I demanded in disbelief.
"I'm a merchant. And a good one, at that. I'll buy anything if the price is right. It would have been a successful transaction if I hadn't been seen…" he said, and glanced at Iago.
"Oh, you're so kind…" Iago muttered. We looked at Iago, and he looked down shamefully. We raced to the palace, where Jafar had Jasmine in chains against the door.
"Just wait, Jafar! You'll get exactly what's coming to you!" Jasmine yelled at him defiantly.
"Indeed I will, Princess. All of Agrabah will belong to me, while you…You, my queen, shall weep at my side for all eternity!" he told her. She struggled at her chains. "Oh, please…" He touched her chin. "Right about now…you precious Aladdin is whispering your name, with his last breath." Jasmine saw us and gasped expectantly, making Jafar turn around.
"What was that you were saying, Jafar?" Aladdin asked. Jafar looked away from us as if disgusted, but then he spied Iago on Goofy's shoulder.
"You dare defy me! You useless bird!" Jafar yelled at Iago furiously. His snake staff's eyes began to glow, and he aimed it at Iago, but Goofy covered with his shield, the pair of them cringing. At the last moment, however, Jafar switched his target to Aladdin, and shot the energy beam at him.
"Al!" Iago shrieked, and shot in the way and took the blow. He fell to the ground, unmoving.
"Iago!" Goofy gasped as we gathered around him.
"You'll all be joining him…VERY soon!" Jafar said menacingly, and he began to glow with magical energy. Red smoke billowed out behind him, and he lifted his hands and entered the smoke. He changed into his genie form and grew enormous. He ripped off a tower and dropped it over Aladdin, Sora, and I.
"Whoa!" Sora gasped.
"Run!" Aladdin shouted, and I thought, 'I could've thought of that…'
We ran from there, but Carpet flew in and picked up Aladdin, and I grew in size and Sora jumped onto my back. I launched myself airborne, and we raced into the air to fight Jafar. We fought a tough aerial battle against him, but eventually won.
"No…How can I be defeated again, by a pack of filthy street rats?" he screamed as he writhed in the air.
"Don't mess with street rats!" Sora and I said with a smirk, and I snickered as we flew away. Jafar exploded with a burst of magic, and his black lamp faded away. Genie appeared soon after.
"You went mano a mano with Jafar and you didn't invite me, Al?" Genie complained.
"Sorry, Genie. Things happened kinda fast," Aladdin apologized.
"And I had some new moves to show off, too…" Genie grumbled.
"But, Genie, we still need your help!" Donald pointed out.
"Who's gonna fix Agrabah?" I asked.
"Oh, yeah! One super-duper spruced-up Agrabah comin' right up! You won't even recognize the place when I'm through with it!" Genie cried out excitedly.
"Just like it was, please," Aladdin said politely.
"Really? Same old same old?" Genie asked as though he didn't quite believe it. Aladdin, Sora, and I nodded. "All right." He swung his arms. "Ooh, yeah!" Magic flew around everywhere, restoring the buildings in Agrabah. "Et voila! Next time let me put in a few swimming pools, 'kay?" Genie called to us.
"I guess Agrabah's all right now," Sora and I remarked as Aladdin stretched.
"Yeah! Thanks, guys," he told us gratefully. We turned our attention to Iago.
"Hey, you behave yourself, got it?" I called to him.
"I most definitely got it! No more lookin' out for number one. I'm reformed! I wanna be a good friend, like Genie, but I can't do anything to help you. What kind of friend is that?" he said.
"Oh, no—it's not like that, Iago," Sora explained. "Friends don't have to 'do' stuff. As long as you have fun hanging out together, that's all that matters."
"So…what do you guys do for fun?" Aladdin asked us.
"We do this!" Donald said, and he and Goofy each made a silly face. I slapped my forehead and groaned.
"Uh…that's not quite what I meant…" Aladdin replied.
"Well, anyway…" Sora said, and I looked at him with a smile.
"Ow, my beak…" Iago complained.
"Gawrsh, Iago. I hope ya didn't hurt yourself," Goofy said worriedly to the bird.
"Well…at least I can still fly," Iago muttered. Goofy walked beneath Iago as he flew to catch him if he fell, but Goofy wasn't looking where he was going.
"Look out!" Donald warned him, but Goofy still crashed into a market stand.
"Ooh! Was that my cue? Am I on? C'mon, Al, lemme build a freeway or something!" Genie cried out excitedly.
"Everything's fine. Don't panic…" Aladdin tried to say. We saw magic flying around anyway. "Genie!"
"But I can't hold it any longer!" Genie shouted. He spun around in the air, laughing. "Oh, that's good! Sora! Shadow! Donald! Goofy! You guys are too much! If you're ever in the mood for some more cosmic razzle dazzle, gimme a shout, okay?"
"You got it!" Donald assured him.
"Well, you've done it again, Sora and Shadow. Don't forget about us, okay?" Aladdin said.
"We won't," we said in unison.
"And Sora, Shadow…about those friends of yours, the ones you're looking for…You'll find them. Trust me," he assured us. He placed his hand on Sora's shoulder and thus, my back, and we looked at him with a smile. We soon left, knowing this world was at peace.