Well, I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas season!

I'm looking forward to starting off this new year with a new story!

Thank you Leafeon13 for following and favoriting!

Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!

Aladdin © to Disney!

Chapter 21: Agrabah- Father and Son

The atmosphere on the gummi ship was far different than it had been. No one really felt happy, but they kept up appearances for the sake of one. Kairi sat in the back of the ship, writing furiously in a journal. Drawings lay about her after her attempt to follow her doctor's orders.

She didn't look up as Sora stepped into the room. "Hey, Kairi…"

"Hi."

"Have you had anything to eat today?"

"No."

"I kinda figured." He knelt beside her, holding a plate of steaming food. "It's some of my grandma's Sardine and Tomato noodle soup(1). I know how much you like it." Kairi didn't move. "You have to eat. I'll feed it to you myself if I have to, but I won't let you starve yourself."

The girl looked up at him. "Thank you…" She leaned against him before taking the spoon from the bowl.

As she ate, Sora smiled. "We're heading to Agrabah to check on Aladdin. Since it's a place you're familiar with, we thought you might be more comfortable. And you'll have Jasmine to talk to."

"I like that idea."

"By the way," Sora watched her eat, "have you talked to Jiminy about all this. I'm sure he could help a little."

The girl shook her head. "No..."

When the group landed in front of the palace, they could see Genie pacing in front. "Hey, Genie!"

"Sora!" The magical being turned, stretching his arms as he pulled them all into a massive bear hug. "You brought your friends! And a new one at that!" He set them upright and held his hand out to Ven, "Hello, and who might you be?"

He laughed, "My name is Ventus, but you can call me Ven!"

"Ven huh, you remind me of someone I saw a few years ago… but whatever(2)." He shook his hand. "Now, what brings you back here? Is it because you want to meet Aladdin's father?"

"His father?"

Genie smiled, "Yes! Aladdin found him!"

"He rescued him from the Forty Thieves then, that's good news…"

"Hold on there partner!" Genie turned into a cowboy and covered Sora's mouth with a bandana. "It's a bit more complicated than that. His father wasn't a prisoner of the Forty Thieves… he's…" His voice lowered to a whisper, "He's the King of Thieves."

"WHAT!"

Riku raised an eyebrow, "Are you serious?" The blue man nodded. "That's certainly a surprise. Where is he now?"

"Inside, Aladdin is introducing him to the Sultan. I'll take you to see them." In a puff of smoke, they found themselves outside the throne room.

Aladdin and an older man who greatly resembled him jumped at their sudden appearance. "Hey, guys!"

"And who might these familiar faces be?" The older man mused.

"Dad," Aladdin smiled, "This is Sora, Donald, Goofy, Aqua, Riku, Mickey, Lea, and… actually, I don't know him."

Aqua smiled, "This is Ven."

The man bowed to them, "Hello, though we have met before, it was on the wrong foot. My name is Cassim. Now son, let's go meet your wife-to-be and her father."

The group walked into the throne room, catching Jasmine and the Sultan's attention. "Aladdin!" The woman embraced her love before she noticed Cassim. "Who's this?"

"Jasmine," the young man smiled, "This is my father, Cassim."

Cassim bowed to her, "My boy Aladdin must have been born under a lucky star to find such a treasure."

"You are most definitely Aladdin's father." She giggled slightly.

Genie made a DNA strand appear. "I have the DNA to prove it."

"It must have been dreadful," The Sultan approached Cassim, "Trapped by the Forty Thieves!"

"Uh oh…" Everyone tensed slightly.

Aladdin's father played it off well. "I try to block out the memories…"

"Say no more, not another word on the subject!"

Cassim picked up the Sultan, "Yes, let's turn our attention to happier thoughts. The blessed union of our children!"

Aladdin turned to the group, "It worked guys! They love him!"

"It's the hat." Genie took off his scalp, "Nothing does the trick like a smart chapeau."

Cassim smiled back at his son and friends, "Ah, back among civilized people, back among family…"

Sora smiled, "All he needed was a second chance."

"Yeah!"

"It's a miracle…"

Kairi and Aqua stood with Jasmine and the Sultan in the hallway outside the throne room. Jasmine wore her wedding dress and the other girls wore purple dresses with a blue lining.

The Sultan paced about, but Aqua smiled hopefully, "Your majesty, I'm sure they'll be here soon."

"Oh, where could he be? I do hope nothing's wrong. Perhaps we should dispatch a search party?"

Jasmine cut off her father's pacing, "Now, father Aqua's right he's… on his way." She let out a worried sigh before noticing Kairi, who stood silently by. "Kairi, is something the matter?"

"It's nothing…"

"That's not true." The older Princess of Heart took Kairi's hand. "Tell me, what happened."

The boys stood beside Aladdin and Genie in the wedding pavilion waiting on Cassim, but he was nowhere in sight. "Where is he?"

Genie shrugged. "My guess is he wants to make an entrance."

The Sultan and the girls entered the room. Sora locked eyes with Kairi and saw that she had been crying. He went to her as Aladdin's fiancé sighed, "Do you think something is wrong?"

"Genie," Goofy asked, "Can you find him?"

"I'll sniff him out." The genie turned into a dog and began sniffing around, "I need a scrap of his clothes or a lock of his hair…" His nose hit a pair of shoes in his path. "Or shoe, a shoe is good…" All eyes looked at the wearer of the shoe.

"Huh!?" The largest and most stubborn of all the castle guards, Rasoul, held Cassim in cuffs.

"Rasoul, what is the meaning of this?"

The guard pushed Cassim forward, "Your majesty, meet the King of Thieves."

"Dad!" Aladdin, Sora, and Ven moved towards him, but other guards held them back.

"We seized him in the Treasury. He was after this… again." Rasoul held the Oracle's rod out to the Sultan.

"No…" Cassim sighed at his son's horrified expression.

"And this is his accomplice." Another guard, Nahbi, pulled out Iago, his wings pinned by a cuff.

"Iago…"

"Big misunderstanding!" The parrot squawked, "It's a slap on the wrist and, uh, community service kinda thing!"

Aladdin turned his face away, "Now I know why you really came back…" His father hung his head.

"Your father is the leader of the Forty Thieves? This is most… ooh!" The Sultan closed his eyes, trying to really understand the situation.

"Aladdin, did you know?"

"I thought I could change him, I had to try!"

"You can change my clothes Aladdin," the King of Thieves said, "You can't change who I am."

Rasoul, enjoying Cassim and Aladdin's misery, grinned, "And the law is crystal clear on what we must now do!"

"Father," Jasmine pleaded, "Isn't there another way?"

He shook his head sadly, "I'm afraid there is not. Take the prisoners to the dungeon."

"Dungeon?"

"For life."

"LIFE?" The guards led the two away.

Genie put a hand on Aladdin's shoulder, "There are some wishes that even I can't make come true…"

"The Oracle was right," Aladdin plopped down on a cushion in his old home in the city. Behind him stood Genie, Carpet, Abu, and the other boys except for Sora, "My dad was trapped in the world of the Forty Thieves. Trapped by his own greed. I was so stupid to think I could change him."

Goofy put a hand on his friend's shoulder, "Trying to show him a better life wasn't stupid, Aladdin."

"Leaving him alone with the parrot," Lea cut in, "That was stupid." He shrugged as Donald glared at him.

Aladdin stared up at the stars, "Everything was perfect before he came into my life. I just want things the way they were." He stood up, turning to the others, "Genie, I need my father's clothes."

"Al, what did you wrap the turban too tight?" He made a twisting motion with his fingers.

"Yea, why would you want to dress in the 'King of Thieves' ensemble?" Ven cocked an eyebrow.

Cassim's blue robe appeared; Aladdin took it and began putting it on. "Uh, Aladdin… might I suggest something that doesn't actually say, 'Arrest me'!?"

Aladdin smiled as he put the hood on, looking exactly like his father, "It fits, good!"

Genie turned into the Oracle and said, "I'm seeing, I'm seeing…" He changed back. "Nothing for your future if you dress like this!"

"I'm breaking my father out of the dungeon. The guards will never know I was there. Tonight, the King of Thieves will make the most miraculous escape ever… out of my life." He leapt out the window and vanished

Sora sat in the palace, waiting for Kairi to change out of the dress given to her by Jasmine. The girl came out, in her normal clothes. "Sora, I thought you'd be with the others."

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

Jasmine and Aqua followed Kairi out, but as soon as they saw Sora, the two turned leaving the young couple alone. Kairi sighed. "I just… talked to Jasmine about what happened."

"And?"

"And what? She can't do anything but feel sorry for me. No one can." Kairi bit her lip as tears came to her eyes again. "I gained everything and lost it again. I found out who I was, and then those joyful and sad memories came to life in the form of torture."

Sora walked to her, wrapping his arms around her. "I promise I'll save them…"

"Can you really promise that?"

"Maybe not, but I can promise that I will free them from Xehanort… one way or another."

"One way or another?" Kairi looked at him. "I don't think I could do that…."

"You won't have to." The boy kissed her forehead. "I won't make you do that. If the only way to save them is to finish them, then I'll do it, so you, Sasuke, Lea, or anyone who knew them doesn't have to. But I will try my hardest to find a way to save them without harming them."

"Thank you, Sora."

The two smiled, but it broke as the others came inside, heading directly for the throne room, their faces covered with worry. The two followed, finding Aladdin, standing before the Sultan with Rasoul beside him, grinning cruelly.

"What happened?"

"Aladdin broke Cassim out of prison."

"What!?"

The Sultan frowned down at his future son-in-law. "Frankly, my boy, your actions were most disappointing."

Rasoul could not seem to hide his joy, "It is tragic your highness, but the street rat has obviously followed in his father's footsteps. Aladdin is a criminal."

Genie popped up, dressed as a lawyer, "I object, your honor." The throne room turned into a courtroom with the Sultan as judge, Rasoul as bailiff, and the rest of the gang as the jury. "I object to that outrageous statement. And I object to a tertiary character having any lines during my big courtroom scene." He shoved a briefcase into Rasoul's hands, "Take this to a higher court, chow!" With a blast of magic, the guard disappeared. "Your honor, if I may enter a plea of insanity because I'm crazy about this kid!" He gave Aladdin a noogie.

"Genie," the young man pushed him away, "I can handle this myself. Sultan, I convinced my father to come here. It was my fault. I would've been better off if I'd never known him."

"Aladdin, you found your father. A father who risked his freedom to see your wedding. And you risked everything to save him. Just as I would for my father." Jasmine hugged her fiancé.

"Your father?" The Sultan's face softened, "Well… well yes… Aladdin, I could not overlook your father's crimes, but what you have done, well, you did it out of love. And you came back to take responsibility for your actions. Let us put this matter behind us. I believe we have postponed the wedding long enough."

Everyone smiled as Genie conjured a giant set of hands which led the Sultan away, "Let's give a big hand for the wise and generous Sultan!"

Everyone giggled before familiar scream rang out; Iago fell from the sky, looking battered. He bounced off Carpet and into Kairi's hands. "Al's dad… Sa'luk…"

"Hey, just take a deep breath, Iago. Now, what about Aladdin's father?"

The bird coughed, "It's Sa'luk, the guy Al beat. He's not beat, he's back."

"Who's Sa'luk?"

"You numbskull," Iago yelled at Riku, "It's that big dude with the gold claws… you know, the one who threw you into a pillar at the wedding! That guy! He's back and he's got Cassim!"

Aladdin frowned, "That's his problem. He chose to go back to that life…

"Aladdin, your dad's made a lot of bad choices, but that doesn't mean you have to."

Sora agreed, "He is your father, how can you do anything else?"

"I'm being as stubborn as he was…" Aladdin turned back to Iago, "Show me the way!"

Dawn broke to find the group flying across the sea, following a strange light trail in the water, probably created by the Oracle, to find the island that never appeared in the same place twice.

As they approached the end of the trail, they could see a boat containing four thieves, Sa'luk, and Cassim. The water tossed as a city began rising out of it. "The Vanishing Isle!"

"On the back of a giant turtle!" The castle sat atop a giant turtle that was now coming up for air.

"And never in the same place twice. Let's get closer."

They zipped in and could see Cassim in chains, led by Sa'luk. Genie turned into a muscular man and parachuted down, "Prepare to rock and roll, dudes!" He began firing lasers towards the thieves; as they tried to run, they found themselves blocked by Abu, Carpet, Aqua, Kairi, and Jasmine.

The thieves laughed but soon found themselves no match for the rug, monkey, and ladies.

Genie appeared beside them as a monk. "I am here…" He vanished and appeared on their other side, "I am here." This kept them distracted enough so that Kairi and Aqua could push a griffin statue down on them. All but one large thief found themselves. Again Genie jumped in; this time as a hillbilly with a large beer-belly. "How 'bout a packet of Nutty Buddies?" Using his huge stomach, he bounced the thief back.

"Genie, we need a distraction!"

"Survey says: Show me turtle!" He flew off toward the turtle's mouth.

Whatever he did caused the entire island to shake, throwing Sa'luk and Cassim to the ground. Aladdin and the boys jumped down, facing Sa'luk as Cassim looked on in surprise. As the gray-skinned thief got up, Aladdin uppercut him, knocking him out. "It took me years to find my father. I'm not losing him again!"

"You came to help?" Cassim gasped as Sora unlocked his chains.

"How could he do anything else?"

"Yea," Sora gave him a thumbs up, "Now, let's get that treasure of yours."

The air around them tingled as a group of Unversed and Heartless appeared around them. "Well, this is just great!"

"We think it is!" Vanitas stood above with a man in a black coat, his hood covering his face.

Aqua and Kairi joined them as Ven yelled. "Sora, Riku, go with Aladdin and Cassim. We'll handle these guys!"

"Gotcha!"

The four split off, going down into a large stone cavern. "Amazing!" Cassim pointed upwards and they could see a giant golden hand floating above them.

Suddenly the cavern shook violently. "Whoa!" Riku steadied himself, "Feels like Genie got carried away!"

"No! It's the Vanishing Isle! The turtle is diving! We must climb higher!" Water began pouring into the cavern. The four of them clung to a wall and began climbing as water came in from all sides. As they neared the hand, Cassim looked down at his son, "Almost there! Can't you see Aladdin? We were meant to do this together! Come on!

They reached a cleft on the wall at the same level as the floating golden hand, but the hand floated a good distance from them; now they could see that golden statue of a man, holding a golden hand with a blue handle stood on the giant hand. Cassim looked at it with sadness and amazement. "Pity I didn't find this place years ago. The would have been much easier if I were younger. He got ready to jump the gap but, before he could, Aladdin zipped past him and leapt towards the hand.

"ALADDIN!"

The young man grasped the edge of the hand, pulling himself up. "See," Riku looked at Cassim with a smug smile, "It pays to have junior partners!"

"Be careful!" the father watched his son with worry, "Don't touch the golden hand."

Aladdin pulled on the hand's handle until the hand slid out of the statue's grip. He smiled at his dad, "Heads up!" He threw it, and Cassim caught it in his cape; as soon as the hand touched his cape, turning the fabric into pure gold.

"Whoa!"

"Ha ha! The Hand of Midas!" The King of Thieves held it by the blue handle as he touched the hand to the floor. Instantly the entire cavern turned to solid gold.

Sora turned to his smiling friend who still stood on the hand, "Time to go, Aladdin!"

Aladdin moved to jump back, but suddenly Sa'luk leapt down, grabbing Aladdin, his golden claws at the young man's throat. "Nobody's going anywhere. Give the Hand of Midas to me, Cassim or your son dies."

"Sa'luk, your battle is with me!" Cassim stood tall at the boys beside him summoned their Keyblades.

"Don't worry," Aladdin called to them, "I can take 'em alone."

"But you're not alone. Not anymore." Cassim smiled. "You want the Hand of Midas, Sa'luk? Take it!" He threw the golden hand to the large thief.

Sa'luk dropped Aladdin and caught the hand, laughing, "The Hand of Midas is mine! And also, the life of your brat." He turned to Aladdin and saw the fear in the boy's eyes. "What are you staring at?" Following Aladdin's gaze, the thief saw, to his horror, that he caught the Hand of Midas by the golden hand itself. His arm had already begun turning into solid gold. "No… no… no… NO… AHHH!" He released the hand, but the damage was done. Sa'luk fell off the hand, turning into solid gold as he fell.

"Hurry, son!" Cassim yelled, "We're running out of time!"

Suddenly the ground shook, and a booming voice yelled, "NO… YOU'RE OUT OF TIME!"

Out of the rising water rose a giant golden version of Sa'luk with the symbol of the Heartless in his chest. "NOW I WILL DESTROY YOU CASSIM, YOUR BRAT, AND THOSE MEDDLESOME KEYBLADERS!" Darkness began pulsing around him. "BE DESTROYED!"

Vanitas grinned down at the other warriors as they battled the Heartless and Nobodies.

"I have missed this. Just like old times, isn't it?"

"Shut up!" Ven slashed a Flood to shreds; his eyes caught a slight shudder that went through the black-haired boy.

The ground shook as the turtle began to dive. Mickey turned to the two, leaping up to challenge them. Vanitas didn't react, but let the other man with him handle it. The figure summoned a dark Keyblade and blocked Mickey's attack. The mouse reached past the hood, casting Aero to unmask the man before leaping away.

His heart sank as he saw the face under the head of silver hair. "It can't be…"

"Oh, but it is." Vanitas grinned as everyone looked up, but the greatest joy came to him when he saw the faces of Aqua and Ven turn to horror.

"Terra!?"

"Or as Braig and I like to call him, Terranort." Vanitas laughed. "Isn't that right."

Terranort's face split into a smile. "Indeed it is. Now, I would suggest you stop gaping and move to higher ground. I would hate it if you died by drowning; I'd like to kill you myself."

A portal opened behind them and the two sunk into it as water began to pool around the group.

"Aqua, Ven," Lea called out to the stunned friends. "We can think about this later! Let's go!" He dragged them off.

Sa'luk's Heartless sent a blast of energy at the four; they dodged. "Watch it!" Riku warned; when they looked back, the ground on which they had been standing was now solid gold. "If he hits us, we'll become gold statues!"

"Noted!" Again they dodged another blast of energy.

Sora glared at the golden titan, "Let's do this!" Sora charged forward, slamming his Keyblade into the monster's face. The Midas Giant Heartless roared in pain and grabbed the spikey-haired Keyblader. "Ahh!" Sora's body began to feel heavy and solid; he looked down and saw his lower body turning to gold.

"SORA!" Riku jumped up and hit the Heartless's hand with a Dark Fiagara. He grabbed his friend as he fell from the titan's grip, stumbling as Sora's lower half was now solid gold. The boy's face contorted in pain, but as he stood there out of Sa'luk's grip, his body slowly turned back to normal. "You ok Sora?"

Sora nodded slowly, clenching and unclenching his feet as they returned to normal, "I never want to feel that much pain EVER again!"

"I bet…" Riku left his friend to recover as he joined Aladdin and Cassim. Aladdin jumped up and cut Sa'luk under the symbol on his chest. Again, the Heartless roared and grabbed Aladdin.

"LET GO OF MY SON!" Cassim ran up Sa'luk's arm and roundhouse kicked him in the face. Riku followed the King of Thieves up the monster's arm and to his face. After Cassim jumped back, Riku drove his sword directly into the Heartless symbol. Sa'luk unleashed an unearthly roar as he vanished, and a heart floated away into the sky.

Aladdin picked up the Hand of Midas from the floating golden hand. He tore off a piece of his sleeve, wrapped the Hand in it, and the cloth turned to gold; he stuck it in his belt and came back over to his father and the other boys.

By this point, the water lapped at the bottom of the hand. They leapt to the walkway and ran up and outside; as they ran Cassim fell behind. "Come on old man!" Riku stopped to wait for him, as the water lapped at their heels.

"Yes," the older man called, "But it would be a lot easier without this…" He took off his solid gold cape and flung it behind him, into the water. "And if you call me 'old man' again, I'll shave that pretty silver hair off your head."

"I'd like to see you try…"

The group made it outside; Aladdin pulled out the Hand of Midas and unwrapped it. "After all these years, you finally have your treasure."

Cassim took it and scoffed, "This thing? No. This wretched thing almost cost me the Ultimate Treasure. It's you, son. You are my Ultimate Treasure." He embraced Aladdin in a loving hug. "I'm just sorry it took me this long to realize it. The Hand of Midas can take its curse to the bottom of the sea!" With a smile, he threw the Hand over the edge of the island and into the boat of the other thieves, making it sink with them in it.

The rest of the group stood atop a pillar. Iago flew up and landed on Aqua's shoulder, "I didn't see where they went it, they could be anywhere!"

"There they are!" Aqua didn't respond but both Princesses of Heart pointed up towards the top of the island.

"Get up here you blasted rug!" Carpet flew up and picked up the four.

"Ven," Mickey looked at him. "We need you and Aqua to summon your gliders."

Carpet flew by as the two Keyblade wielders summoned their gliders, taking the rest of the group. They watched as the island sunk below the ocean.

"Genie?"

The turtle raised its head out of the sea and took one last breath of air; as it did so Genie came out with a black and white steamboat looking like he came out of Timeless River.

"Genie?"

Genie flew up beside Carpet with a huge grin. "Present!"

"Let's go home." Aladdin looked to his fiancé, "We have some unfinished business."

The wedding went off without a hitch(3), but Ven and Aqua couldn't focus. The moment Jasmine and Aladdin left, everyone went back to the gummi ship.

Mickey explained to Sora and Riku what happened with Terranort; Aqua and Ven disappeared into their rooms.

"So, now we know where Terra is," Riku sighed. "Xehanort is just trying to hurt us at this point." He could've found other vessels to use, but he picked Terra, Kairi's parents, and Sasuke's father."

"He claims to be doing this all out of curiosity for what happened after the war, but at this point, he is just trying to spite us."

Kairi wrung her hands. "I understand how Aqua and Ven feel… he is using the people we love against us…"

"We'll have to stop him!" Sora clenched his fist. "We can't let him get away with doing this! I won't let him!"

Everyone stared at the boy. He looked beyond angry. "Sora, calm do…"

"No! Xehanort has ruined too many lives! I won't let him ruin anymore!"

Suddenly the ship lurched. "What the heck!?"

"Brace yourselves!" Donald yelled from the pilot seat, "We're caught in a supernova blast!" The ship rocked again, this time more violently; the force threw everyone against the walls.

Aqua and Ven stumbled out of their rooms just in time to look out the window with everyone else. A huge explosion suddenly began imploding back in on itself, turning into a black vortex. "The supernova collapsed into…"

Ven's eyes widened as their ship moved towards the vortex, "… A black hole!"(4)

Well, this is just in time for the new year!

Please Review!

Footnotes:

(1)I looked up island dishes and this came up.

(2)If you remember, Genie met Roxas and Xion.

(3) No PoH kidnapping this time.

(4) The world will remain the same as the old one.

Legacy

With the end of the year quickly approaching everyone is thinking the future. People are making their resolutions, but the future is more than just what you do.

My family met today and we had 33 people in the house (with a lot missing) and 12 of them were kids from the ages of 2 months to 9 years old.

This made me think of the legacy that we all leave behind. While some of you are like me and don't have any kids yet, I assume that most of you have family or friend who have/are young kids. They are the next generation and they are your legacy. Even if you are not a Christian, I would assume that you want the kids to be good people. As we are older than them, the kids look up to us. They look at us and see what they want to be like.

I know this is short, but as this year comes to a close, take a look at the examples you set and the legacy that you're leaving behind.