…Heyyy. What's up guys? Long time no update…? What's it been… almost two months? Yikes. I'm SO sorry about that. My excuse is that I enrolled in a class called "Write a Novel in Ten Weeks" and, what do you know, it turns out writing a novel in ten weeks is like, hard and time consuming and stuff. But I wrote one. In ten weeks. It sucks. Maybe someday I'll publish it. Or not. Who knows. It was an experience.
BUT FOR NOW, I can finally return to my baby! I missed it so much! And I missed YOU GUYS so much! I'm sorry that I didn't reply to a lot of reviews last time – again, I'm gonna plead the "drowning in novel writing" excuse. But I did read them all! And now I'm back! Hooray! Just in time for school… Sorry…
ANYWAY.
I was actually planning on this chapter being longer (actually I originally thought I could maybe fit this whole world into one chapter, but apparently no…), but I feel really bad about not updating for so long AND this is already like 28 pages, so I decided to just end it here. Most of you suggested we continue on to Agrabah, so that's what we're doing! Thanks for the feedback – see, I listen! Let me just say, I re-watched Return of Jafar for the first time in like fifteen years for this chapter and have concluded that it is notttt such a good movie. But I still loved it because it was awful. But it made me confused for this chapter. Which added to the slow update. MORE EXCUSES. I dunno. So hopefully this chapter ended up okay. I'm not entirely sure about it. I have like three versions with all different things happening in each one… but in the end this one works the best I think. I dunno it's late and I'm very sleepy. Just like Aila. Heyooo! Good timing for me to work on this chapter?!
I'm gonna shut up now. See you after the chapter.
"Sometimes, though, we let ourselves get so used to being 'fine' that we lose track of how 'not fine' we are."
― Martina Boone, Compulsion
Chapter 50: Fine
Aila fell through the air, twisting her body in a tight circle as she pulled her staff back over her shoulder, striking the mosaic floor and urging white light to burst out into the ground from the point of impact. The light exploded outward with a five foot radius, flickering dangerously like white flames before fading away, leaving Aila panting on one knee in its wake.
"Maybe we should stop," Celina suggested for the tenth time, arms folded as she watched Aila train. "You're exhausted."
Aila straightened up, her legs shaking a little as she tried to catch her breath. "It's fine. I'm technically sleeping right now anyway. Win-win."
Celina frowned heavily. "Aila, we've been over this. Your body may be asleep, but your mind gets no rest while you're here. You should allow yourself to actually sleep for a while… Or at least try to…"
It was Aila's turn to frown now, resting her staff on one shoulder as she turned away from Celina. "I did try," she mumbled bitterly, glaring out into the darkness around the mosaic they stood upon.
It had been a week since they'd left Yen Sid's. A week since Aila'd left Alex behind, since she'd gotten the warning about her future from Yen Sid, and yet… it seemed like it had been so much longer already. They'd initially had two options – make a stop at Hollow Bastion, which was pretty nearby the old sorcerer's tower, or head back toward Agrabah, which had been their next stop on their journey before the whole Luxord-trying-to-kidnap-Aila's-sister fiasco had thrown them off course. The boys had really pushed for them to visit Hollow Bastion for at least one night, clearly thinking that it might do Aila some good to see everyone there again, but she'd staunchly refused. The trio didn't really understand why, but she was so intensely against it that they eventually agreed to just continue back toward Agrabah and let the subject die without any further prodding. The truth was, she didn't want to face the Committee right now. They'd ask her how things were going, and frankly, she just didn't want to get into it. With anyone. It was easier to just ignore it all, and so that was what she'd been doing… or at least trying to do. Not to mention she hadn't exactly apologized for what had happened the last time she'd been on Hollow Bastion, and just the idea of seeing the destruction she'd caused made her stomach churn with guilt and regret, bringing up even more things that she didn't want to think about.
And so they'd set out on this week-long trek through space, with Aila coming to realize rather early on that she and sleep were not exactly on friendly terms at the moment. She'd woken up the first couple nights in Sora's arms, afraid and confused, and it was only later that she realized what was happening – his room was right next to hers, and he'd heard her having nightmares. She must have been screaming in her sleep. That realization, along with the images that had been haunting her whenever she closed her eyes (Luxord standing above her, Alex crying in the darkness, her parents' hands slipping through her fingers…), had made her a little fearful of falling asleep. So instead, she'd decided to focus on training with Celina whenever her body forced her to close her eyes, transporting herself to that same familiar mosaic she was emblazoned upon and keeping herself busy with figuring out her powers rather than running from her nightmares.
"I know it's hard Aila, but you need to get some rest. Even just an hour or so would do you good," Celina insisted. "We'll be at Agrabah soon, and if you're not rested…"
"I'm fine," Aila insisted, turning back toward Celina. "Did you see that cool move I just perfected? That'd take out multiple Heartless at once. I'll be totally good in Agrabah. I don't need sleep."
"You don't feel the full effects of your fatigue here," Celina disagreed seriously.
"Look, my body's resting at least, what more do you want from me?" Aila snapped haughtily. "You know why I'm not sleeping, so just drop it, okay?"
"Aila…"
Aila and Celina glanced up toward the darkness above them. "I think Sora's trying to wake you," Celina said with a sigh. "We must have arrived." The boys had figured out the difference between Aila actually sleeping and just 'meditating' or whatever to train with Celina (apparently her body would glow a tiny bit when she was with Celina, which she thought must look very strange), and while they tried not to disturb her during these sessions, they'd discovered that they were able to call her back if they needed to. Sora doing so right now could only really mean that they were getting ready to land.
"Must have," Aila shrugged, dismissing her weapon. She caught Celina's eye, the Spirit gazing at her with heavy concern, and sighed. "Look, I'll be careful, okay? I just… don't wanna sleep right now. It was messing up Sora's sleep schedule too…"
Celina pursed her lips a little, clearly not thinking that excuse was a very good one, but at last let the subject drop with a sigh. "Be cautious on this world, Aila."
"Yeah, I will," Aila replied, putting a hand over her heart and shutting her eyes, allowing her mind to be pulled back toward outside consciousness. At the last second, however, she felt a hand on her arm and opened her eyes again to see Celina right in front of her, brows knitted together with a worried frown.
"You should really consider talking to your friends about what's been going on," she implored gently. "It might help…"
Aila pulled away with a shake of her head. "I told you, I'm fine. I don't want to talk about any of it. You know that. Besides, talking about it just seems like it'll make it all worse…"
"You can't live in denial," Celina whispered. "If you don't deal with what you're going through…"
"I have to go," Aila interrupted roughly, turning away and shutting her eyes once again, willing herself to wake. She'd had this conversation with Celina plenty of times before, and she didn't need to go through it again. Sure, the boys had tried to talk to her about Luxord and Alex and everything, but she'd just said that she was fine, that she was over it, that everything was good. That was her story and she was sticking to it. She was sure that if she just ignored it all for long enough, then everything would feel okay again.
Eventually.
She felt the pull of consciousness finally envelope her, and in the next second she was blinking up at Sora, his hands behind his head as he waited for her to wake up. He smiled as her eyes opened and chuckled, "Way to keep me waiting, Flashlight."
Aila stuck her tongue out at him as she sat up. "Calm down, I'm up." She rolled her neck, noting how heavy her head felt. A side effect from her lack of actual sleep…
"Getting some training in?" Sora asked as she stood, Aila doing her best to hide her obvious fatigue. Celina had been right – she felt it much more out here in the real world, her mind feeling sluggish and foggy.
She flashed Sora a smile to hide how she was really feeling, trying to sound as upbeat as possible. "Yep! I learned a new trick!"
"Nice!" Sora complimented, giving her a thumbs up. "Just in time, cause we're about to land."
"Thought so," Aila replied, rolling her neck again. The movement had become somewhat of a tick for her in this last week, a way for her to attempt to relieve the constant tension that had settled between her shoulder blades since leaving Yen Sid's. She thought she saw Sora frown the tiniest bit as he watched her and she quickly straightened back up, grinning at him once again. "Well, what're we waiting for? Let's go!"
Sora nodded. "Sure…" They left Aila's room, and as they took a few steps down the hall Aila braced herself for what she knew was coming. Sora had that look again… "So… did you get any real sleep, or just train?" Sora asked, trying to sound as casual as he could about the question.
Yep, exactly the question she'd been expecting. Aila laced her hands together behind her back. "I'm plenty rested, don't worry," she assured brightly, smiling reassuringly at the boy. That hadn't actually been an answer to his question, but she hoped it was close enough to make him drop it.
Sora eyed her carefully as they walked. "You know… if you wanted to stay back for a couple hours and get some more rest…"
"I'm fine, Sora," Aila insisted, getting a little annoyed about having to repeat herself on the subject to everyone she talked to. "I wanna see how everyone's doing in Agrabah and get off this ship for a while – I'm not staying behind."
Sora ran a hand through his hair and breathed out a small laugh. "Yeah, didn't think you would…" he mumbled almost to himself. His expression clouded for a moment, but then they were walking into the control room and the conversation was dropped, much to Aila's relief. She knew the boys were worried about her, and she hated that; it seemed maybe her forced smiles weren't as convincing as she hoped they would be, even after practicing them in the mirror…
By the time Sora had landed the ship, Aila was really starting to feel the effects of her lack of sleep. It had been a few days since she'd gotten actual sleep, not just meditation in order to train with Celina, and while that might have been enough to keep her going for the most part, the way the world spun a bit as she stepped out into the sandy dunes did seem a bit… foreboding.
"You need to be careful, Aila," Celina reminded her for the umpteenth time. "If you don't have your wits about you in a fight…"
'It's fine,' Aila thought back as she shielded the sun from her eyes, blinking hard to bring everything back into focus around her. 'I'm pretty sure the only fight here is gonna be Jafar, and that's on Carpet, so I won't even have to move much.'
Celina grumbled a little about that, clearly not appeased by Aila's reasoning, but Aila ignored her as best she could. Celina's nagging wasn't going to help make her less tired or anything anyway, so what was the point of listening now?
"I always forget how hot it is here," Sora sighed, squinting up at the sun beating down upon them all.
"Don't look at the sun," Donald scolded, cloaking the ship near the outer wall.
"Don't look at the sun," Sora mocked with a roll of his eyes, doing a terrible impression of Donald. A small lightning bolt zapped Sora right on his arm, Donald not even bothering to look at the boy as he cast the spell. "Ah! Ouch!" Sora leapt away a couple feet, rubbing his arm as he glared at his friend. "At least hit me with a Blizzard or something to cool me down!"
"Where's the punishment in that?" Donald asked with a smirk. Aila and Goofy chuckled.
They made their way into the city and out of the sun and sand as quickly as possible, Aila and Sora lamenting the fact that their outfits were black as they went and earning another couple zaps each from Donald for their whining.
"Why do you hate us?!" Sora cried, dodging another Thunder spell, Aila squealing and hiding behind Goofy to avoid the attack as well.
"We're being attacked from within our own ranks!" Aila whimpered, Goofy chuckling and clearly unbothered by her using him as a shield.
"Stop your belly aching and I'll stop attacking!" Donald shot back with a huff. "It's too hot for all your complaining!"
"Couldn't you do something like you did for us in the snow, but like… in reverse?" Aila asked, feeling the sweat pool on her brow even now that they were in the shade of the city's buildings.
"I'm not gonna waste magic on that unless it gets too hot to survive," Donald said, crossing his arms and shaking his head.
"But it is too hot to survive!" Sora whined dramatically. "I'm dying!" He joined Aila behind Goofy a moment later, hopping away from another of Donald's spells. Aila saw Sora smirk a little and realized he both fully understood how much he was annoying Donald and was thoroughly enjoying it. She rolled her eyes, a small smile pulling at her lips. He was such a kid sometimes.
"Uh, Donald, aren't you wastin' magic now too though by castin' all them Thunder spells?" Goofy asked, cocking his head curiously to the side.
"Don't make me attack you too, Goofy," Donald warned with a glare.
"Injustice! Goofy's done nothing!" Sora announced, peering out at Donald from behind the dog-man. "The heat is making you angry!"
"What's his excuse for when we're not in the heat then?" Aila asked.
"…It's making him angrier," Sora corrected with a cheeky grin.
"You guys—!" Donald squawked, raising his staff above his head. Aila and Sora yelped and hid behind Goofy again, the dog man looking unsure if he should summon his shield or not, but an attack never came. "Huh?" Donald mumbled, and after a few tense seconds Aila and Sora decided they felt brave enough to chance a peak in his direction.
"What's up?" Sora asked when he saw the absolutely perplexed look on his friend's face. Donald didn't answer, just pointed at something behind the teens, and they all turned to face a very fancy-looking door.
"Pretty," Aila breathed, running a hand along the intricate design in the woodwork.
"What's so weird about this?" Sora asked, quirking a brow. "It's a nice door, but…"
"Uh, wait, wasn't this that merchant feller's store…?" Goofy asked, putting a finger to his chin. "Gwarsh, guess he musta moved…"
"Unless…" Donald mumbled, marching toward the door and throwing it open. They broached the threshold, and everyone's jaws dropped.
What was once a dusty, dingy, smelly interior had been transformed into a room that seemed to be made of gold; gold floors, gold walls, gold counters, gold everything! Intricate designs wrapped around the walls, sparkling blue stones making the swirling golden accents pop and the room look perhaps twice as big as it had seemed before. Or maybe it really was bigger now – it very well seemed like it may have been expanded… somehow. Golden goblets and vases lined the shelves, the jewels laden into them sparkling brilliantly in the room's golden light and drawing the gang to them like moths to a flame, all of them enthralled with the beauty of the objects.
"Wak!" Donald squawked, having bumped into a large vase sitting on the floor as he'd distractedly (and perhaps a bit greedily) examined some of the objects on the shelves. The vase wobbled dangerously for a moment but thankfully didn't fall, Goofy placing a steadying hand on the thing just in case.
"You break it you buy it!"
Everyone turned to the front of the shop to see the little peddler from their last visit on the other side of the counter polishing up a giant… something. Statue? Piece of art? Whatever it was, it was at least twice as tall as the little man and seemed to be made of pure gold (of course), with massive gems of different colors embedded into it here and there. It looked expensive, that was for sure, much more expensive than anything that peddler would have been able to get his hands on last time they'd met him. Around the peddler lay small mountains of gold coins, more than probably anyone in Agrabah had ever even seen in one place before, the mounds also much taller than the man they apparently belonged to. The peddler finally turned to face them (probably to make sure the vase wasn't broken) and gasped in recognition. "Oh! Hello there, friends," he greeted with a toothy smile, his little eyes glinting in a way that made Aila feel like he was totally about to swindle them.
"Wow! You made out like a bandit!" Sora exclaimed, eyes wide as he took in the entirety of the shop.
The peddler chuckled. "Please… I am but an honest merchant," he assured with a little too much syrup in his voice. "What you see is merely the reward for my hard work."
"Gwarsh, they sure are nice," Goofy commented, putting a hand to his chin as he examined his reflection in a particularly shiny goblet.
"And they're on sale! Interested?" the merchant asked eagerly, his lips curling up into a practiced smile.
"No thanks," Sora said with a shake of his head. The merchant's smile fell. "Listen," Sora continued, walking up to the counter now, "have you seen a guy in a black coat? Someone from Organization XIII?"
"Who me? Most certainly not," the merchant sniffed, seeming much less interested in talking to his 'friends' now that they didn't seem about to buy his merchandise.
"Okay, we'll keep asking around then," Sora shrugged, glancing back at Donald. The duck was looking quite longingly at a certain ruby encrusted vase, his eyes almost as big as saucers as he examined it. "We'll get out of your hair since we're not buying anything… right Donald?"
"Huh?" Donald asked, blinking and breaking out of his kind of greed-induced haze. "Did you say something?"
Aila stifled a yawn, blinking away the blurriness at the edges of her vision as she too examined a few items around the room. Her exhaustion seemed to come at her in waves, and it was making that big pile of coins in the corner look like an awfully cozy spot to curl up in right about now… She shook her head a few times, trying to push the ridiculous longing from her mind. A pile of coins would not be comfortable to nap on! Well, maybe for Scrooge McDuck… Besides, she didn't need a nap! She was fine. Totally fine.
Aladdin burst through the shop door at that very moment, making everyone jump in surprise. "Sora! Don't let him get away!" he cried, reaching out toward the counter, and presumably the merchant behind it. But when they turned to look again, the little man was gone.
"What the heck?" Aila gasped as Sora hopped over the counter and began searching for the man they'd literally just been talking to. He was gone?! How… Oh. Right. Jafar. Aila pinched the bridge of her nose, realizing that if she'd been paying more attention she might have remembered that detail and been able to stop this whole mess they were about to deal with before it began…
"It's because you're so exhausted; you can't keep your thoughts straight," Celina said with a sigh. "I told you you should have gotten some more rest…"
"It was just one slip up," Aila mumbled back under her breath. "I'm fine…"
"He's not here," Sora was saying, looking absolutely perplexed. "How'd he do that?" Abu hopped over the counter to join the boy in his search for the merchant, but just shook his head and held up his hands in defeat when he too came up short. Aladdin sighed, putting a hand to his head in frustration. "What's going on?" Sora asked, climbing back over the counter to rejoin the group, Abu scurrying up onto his shoulder as he did so.
"Can't believe it…" Aladdin huffed. "That stupid peddler let Jafar out of the lamp!"
"Jafar?!" the boys all exclaimed, Aila jumping a little at their synchronization. Whoops. Should she have joined them in that?! Okay, time to focus. She blinked a few times before putting all her energy into focusing on the conversation before her, trying to figure out the right times to interject without letting anyone know she knew more than she should.
"You guys better be careful," Aladdin sighed.
"Huh?" Donald asked, taken aback.
"I'm sure Jafar wants to take over Agrabah again, but I know he's out for revenge, too," Aladdin explained. Okay, that seemed like a good moment to say something…
"So, wait, what'd you guys do to make Jafar so angry again?" Aila asked, cocking her head to one side and looking hopefully as innocent as possible as she asked yet another question she already knew the answer to. "I know we didn't want him to get out of his lamp last time we were here, but why would he specifically want to come after you guys?"
"Oh right, I guess we didn't really go into it much last time…" Sora said, rubbing the back of his head as he turned to face her.
"Basically, Jafar got ahold of Genie's lamp before I'd freed him and used his wishes to try and take over Agrabah," Aladdin said, crossing his arms as he spoke.
"But he got greedy and wanted to be the most powerful being in existence, so he wished to become a genie himself in order to make that happen," Donald continued, holding up a finger as he told the tale.
"But genies that haven't been freed have a weakness," Goofy explained with a wink.
"Their lamp?" Aila guessed.
Sora grinned. "Yep! They're bound to their lamp, and have to obey whoever holds it. So, we got our hands on his, wished him back inside, and tada! Agrabah was safe."
"You make it sound so easy," Aladdin chuckled, smirking at the Keyblader.
"So I'm guessing he didn't like that then," Aila said with a smirk of her own. "Now I get the whole 'revenge' comment…"
"Yeah, he was pretty angry about the whole thing…" Sora admitted. "I kinda figured we'd never see him again though cause I thought no one would be dumb enough to let him out of the lamp…"
"You figured wrong," Donald huffed, glaring at the spot the merchant had been previously. "Stupid peddler…"
"Okay, so, all-powerful genie bent on destroying you all and then ruling Agrabah," Aila said with a nod. "Got it. Bad job, tiny peddler."
"Iago was there when Jafar was released," Aladdin said, gesturing to the bird in question, who was hovering in the middle of the room and being awfully quiet throughout all this. Aila blinked, having missed his entrance entirely. Whoops. "Okay, Iago. Spill it."
"Hey, I told you everything I know!" Iago insisted, flapping a little higher as everyone turned to look at him.
Aladdin frowned. "This is your one and only chance, Iago," he warned. "If I find out later that you've been lying or hiding things from us, we're through." His eyes narrowed, no traces of joking in his voice as he finished, "I'll never speak to you again." Yikes, harsh.
Iago shut his eyes tight, his feathers looking a little ruffled as his face screwed up into one of intense guilt. Finally, after a few tense seconds, he burst out, "I can't take it! I know where Jafar is!"
"Where?" Goofy asked. Aila yawned. The ruins, that was where he was. She remembered very clearly that they would be heading there next. She hoped they'd make it through this world kinda quick so she could get back to lying around and at least pretending to sleep.
"Uh, er, I mean, that is, I, um…" Iago stuttered, looking entirely flustered. Clearly he hadn't really meant to say what he'd just said, his expression caught somewhere between guilt and panic. "Ack! I really shouldn't…" he mumbled, flapping furiously as he avoided eye contact with everyone in the room.
"He's acting awfully shifty…" Celina commented as Aila stifled yet another yawn. Aila just shrugged. Iago just was afraid of betraying Jafar, that was all.
"Iago!" Aladdin insisted, glaring at the bird.
Iago met Aladdin's gaze for a few seconds, a pained expression on his face, until finally he sighed and allowed his gaze to fall. "He's in the desert ruins."
'There, you see? The ruins,' Aila thought to Celina smugly.
"Are you sure you're thinking clearly…?"
'He just said exactly what I knew he'd say, so yeah, I am,' Aila thought back haughtily. She huffed through her nose, glaring at nothing (since she couldn't glare at Celina directly) as her annoyance grew. Celina was being really frustrating today! She saw Goofy give her a questioning glance, but she just smiled sheepishly at him and shrugged, hoping he wouldn't ask what Celina was pestering her about.
"Let's get the jump on him," Sora was saying eagerly to the group. He faced Iago and gestured to the door. "Lead the way!"
Iago hesitated once more before heaving a great sigh. "Fine, yeah, okay. Follow me."
They made their way out of the shop and into town, Iago leading them through the streets at a somewhat slow pace. Aila thought she could hear him muttering to himself every now and then. Man, he was really losing it. What a birdbrain. Birds for brains… brains for birds! Zombie bird, ahh! Aila giggled, her train of thought for some reason ridiculously funny to her even though she knew it shouldn't really be.
"What's so funny?" Sora asked, noticing her laughing.
"Nothing," Aila giggled back, hopping over to a narrow shady strip of ground and pretending it was a balance beam. She giggled again as she made her way across it. "I'm so coordinated!" she cooed proudly. She then promptly tripped and stumbled back into the sunlight, off of her 'beam' of shade. "…Oh…"
"You're a mess," Donald sighed, shaking his head at her.
"You sure you don't wanna wait on the ship, Aila?" Sora asked tentatively.
Aila glared at the two. "What are you guys talking about? I'm totally good! Did you just see me balance on that shadow? You know, before that end bit. Skills, I've got them!"
"Um… what's going on?" Aladdin asked, quirking a brow at Aila as she hurried over to another batch of shadows, trying this time to hop from one to the next like the sunlight was lava. She was suddenly feeling great! Not tired at all! She felt like she could take on a hundred Heartless all by herself, no problem! Bring 'em on!
"She's really tired," Sora mumbled quietly, clearly trying not to let Aila overhear him. She did hear him though, and so she turned back to face him, hands on her hips and a frown on her lips.
"I'm not tired at all, Keychain," she huffed, kicking some dirt in his direction. "I was a little tired earlier, but now I'm totally good! Never felt better, actually!"
"Sounds like you just got a second wind," Donald sighed. "It won't last."
"Why're you so tired?" Aladdin asked curiously. The boys hesitated and Aila tensed at the question, turning away from the group again with a frown. Aladdin didn't need to know that she hadn't been sleeping – that knowledge would just prompt more questions, which would be quite detrimental to her plan of not thinking about any of the things that were contributing to her not sleeping.
"I told you, I'm not," she replied tersely. "Can we just hurry up please?"
There was a pause before Aladdin finally said, "You know, I'm sure Jasmine would like to see you again, Aila… She's at the palace…"
"No," Aila said, turning back to glare at the young man.
"That's a good idea, actually," Sora agreed with a nod. "Aila, you can go make sure nothing happens at the palace while we're gone."
"U-uh! Are you sure that's really necessary?" Iago asked, hovering nearby. "I mean, Aisha clearly doesn't want to split up, so…"
"It's Aila!" Aila corrected exasperatedly. "But yeah, he's right, I don't wanna split up. So I'm staying with you guys."
"But Aila, if we're goin' after Jafar…" Goofy began, rubbing the back of his head nervously.
"You're in no condition to be fighting a genie right now!" Donald clarified for his friend, narrowing his eyes and wagging a finger at Aila.
"This is so unfair!" Aila shouted, full on stomping her foot in her anger, Donald and Goofy starting at her outburst. She was very close to a temper tantrum – it seemed when she was this sleep deprived her maturity levels dropped a bit…
"Aila, come on," Sora said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You're tired, whether you want to admit it or not. If we were just going to fight a few Heartless, then fine, whatever, we'd let it slide. But Jafar's dangerous. Really dangerous. And if you're not totally thinking straight, you could get yourself, or someone else, hurt."
Aila's eyes widened a little, her glare softening at Sora's words. He was right. She'd only been thinking about taking care of herself, but… Her not being totally focused could potentially cause one of her friends to get hurt as a result. And that definitely wasn't something she was okay with, no matter how much she wanted to come along.
"Abu will go with you," Aladdin said, the monkey in question giving him a questioning look. "Go on Abu, you like Aila, don't you? You don't mind keeping her company, right?" Abu looked over to Aila, sighed, but then scurried up onto her shoulder and smiled at her, chattering something that sounded amicable enough.
"It's okay Aila," Sora said with a kind smile. "You'll have fun with everyone at the palace. And once we take out Jafar, we'll come join you. Okay?"
Aila looked away, the sleepy, immature part of her still kinda upset with the guys even though the rational side of her understood that this was the smarter choice for everyone. "Fine," she grumbled, scowling at the ground.
Sora squeezed her shoulder and she glanced back at his face to see him still smiling at her. "Thanks, Aila," he said softly, the kindness in his voice almost making her feel guilty for having such a bad attitude about all this.
Almost.
"Er… um…" Iago was stuttering, his feathers seeming a little ruffled by this turn of events.
"Something wrong?" Aladdin asked, crossing his arms as he eyed the bird.
"I… I mean… no," he sighed, turning away from the group and flying a little further down the street. "Those of you who are coming, come on!"
"Yeah yeah, we're coming," Donald called irritably after him.
"Be safe, Aila!" Goofy called as the boys turned to leave.
"You too," she mumbled with a sigh. Iago glanced back at her one more time, looking like he desperately wanted to tell her… something. Aila quirked a brow, a nugget of a memory beginning to claw at the back of her mind. She wasn't missing anything here… was she?
"Have a nice time!" Aladdin called over his shoulder before quickly adding, "Oh, and uh, don't tell Jasmine or the Sultan what we're doing, okay? I don't want them to worry…"
"Sure," Aila agreed dully.
Aladdin smiled gratefully. "Thanks. Well, be back soon!"
"Yeah… be back soon…" Iago mumbled heavily. And then the group was gone, disappearing around a corner, and Aila and Abu were left alone on the dusty street.
"Well, guess it's just you and me," Aila sighed to Abu. She put a hand above her head, shielding her eyes from the harsh rays of the sun. "Let's get inside and out of this sun, hm?" Abu chattered an affirmative response and climbed up onto Aila's head, wrapping his tail around her ponytail to steady himself. Sitting cross-legged, he pointed toward the palace and chattered something that sounded vaguely like 'land ho!', making Aila giggle a bit before heading off in the direction he was indicating.
They made their way through the city, Aila continuing her shadow-jumping game with much less gusto than she'd had before. She felt a little saddened by the boys' rejection (though the more rational part of her mind knew that 'rejection' wasn't what this was at all), and her heavy sigh did not go unnoticed by the little monkey atop her noggin.
"It's nothing," Aila mumbled when Abu leaned down and quirked a questioning brow at her. "I'm just a little down, I guess…" She immediately perked up, flashing the monkey a grin. "But it's all good! I'm okay!"
"You realize you're now putting effort into lying to a monkey, right?"
"Shush," Aila huffed, puffing out her cheeks and blushing a little at Celina's words. Abu looked even more confused at this, but thankfully didn't prod any further. Uh, as much as a monkey could have prodded, anyway.
They were almost to the palace when she saw it. A flash of red-orange hair, the rustle of a brown coat out of the corner of her eye. She paused, backing up a few steps to glance back down the alleyway she'd just passed. "…Danny?" she breathed, peering into the shadows. She could have sworn…
"Hey, you!"
Aila looked forward again to see three very large, very muscly palace guards headed her way, blocking her path to the gates a few yards behind them. "Um… hi," she greeted with a small wave.
"Where are you going, young lady?" the guard in the middle asked, his eyes narrowed suspiciously at her. 'Young lady'? Aila frowned, squinting a little at the guard. He looked… kind of familiar…
"To the palace," she answered finally, lacing her hands behind her back as she gazed up at the men.
"The palace is off limits to commoners," the same guard said, a twinge of hatred lacing the word 'commoners'.
Aila frowned. "Uh… well, I'm friends with Aladdin, so…"
The guard scoffed, his fellows narrowing their eyes at the girl before them. "All the more reason to keep you out," he said, hand on his hip. "We don't need any more street rats mucking up the palace. Move along, little girl."
Aila glared at him now, and she could hear Abu growling atop her head, the little guy also clearly insulted by the guard's words. "Okay, well first, I'm no street rat. Second, I'm also friends with the princess, if that's more to your liking, so I'm sure if you just go bring her out here—"
"Princess Jasmine doesn't need to be bothered with trash like you," the guard huffed, unsheathing his sword now. Whoa. What?! That had escalated so quickly! "Now I'm only going to tell you one more time: move along. Before I make you move."
"Razoul!"
They all turned to see Hakeem marching toward them, the guard Aila and co. had talked to last time they'd been on this world. A relieved smile broke out onto Aila's face, and she waved in greeting.
"Aila! So good to see you again," Hakeem said with a warm smile.
"You too," Aila replied, lacing her hands behind her back once again.
"Where're Sora, Donald, and Goofy?" Hakeem asked, quirking a brow and glancing around the area, as if he may have just missed them.
"Oh, they'll be by later," Aila said with a shrug. "I came by a little early to see how everyone's doing."
Hakeem smiled. "Of course, well go right in. I'm sure everyone will be very happy to see you."
"Hakeem!" the angry guard, Razoul, snapped, drawing Aila and Hakeem's attention back to him. "We can't just let her in the palace!"
Hakeem raised an eyebrow. "And why not? Don't you remember her? She's one of Sora's team."
"That boy's a troublemaker if I ever saw one," Razoul growled.
"If you believe that, then you're a terrible judge of character," Aila deadpanned, crossing her arms over her chest.
"All of that street rat Aladdin's friends are trouble!" Razoul bellowed, glaring harshly at the girl before him. "Just because he lives in the palace now doesn't make that any less true!"
"Stand down, Razoul," Hakeem said, narrowing his eyes at the other guard. "I'm allowing Aila inside, and that's final."
Razoul growled, grinding his teeth a bit before finally relenting with a huff, "Fine. But if she causes any trouble, even the smallest bit, it's on you."
"As you wish," Hakeem replied with a nod, his glare unfaltering until he glanced Aila's way and shot her a friendly wink. "Now then, go ahead, miss. I'll keep an eye out for the boys so they don't have any trouble either."
"Thanks, Hakeem," Aila said, breezing by the other guards with her head held high. She heard Abu stick his tongue out at Razoul and she giggled, practically skipping through the gates and into the palace courtyard. "Good thing Hakeem came along. That Razoul guy's a huge jerk," she said. Abu sighed and chattered something along the lines of 'you have no idea'.
Aila approached the palace doors, opening them a little tentatively. Was it okay to just walk in like this? "Uh… hello?" she called, her voice echoing around the entrance hall. She got no answer, but after a few moments of listening, she thought she could hear voices coming from a room off to the left. Having nothing better to do, she decided to go investigate, hoping she'd see some familiar faces.
And that was exactly what she found.
"Focus… focus…"
She pushed a purple curtain aside to see a smaller, though still very lavish room, with plush chairs and various beautiful potted plants littered throughout. But the thing that caught Aila's eye was the pool table in the very center, with a very familiar blue friend lining up his pool cue to take a shot.
"Focus… focus…" Genie continued, all decked out in a very country club-esque billiards outfit, complete with a visor and protective goggles. Aila raised a brow. Pool seemed like a kinda out of place game here, for some reason… But whatever. Carpet was leaning on the opposite end of the table, watching Genie take his turn in what seemed to be a very bored manner, if the rug's posture was anything to go by. "Aiming… and… SHOOT!" Genie cried, hitting the white ball with all his might. His pool cue struck too low, scratching up the green felt of the table and sending the ball flying straight for Aila's head. She and Abu screamed, both of them ducking down just in time to avoid getting clobbered by the thing, the heavy white ball sailing over them and into the hall with a dull clatter. "Whoops!" Genie said, poofing out of existence before reappearing right in front of Aila. "Aila! Long time no see!"
"H-hey, Genie," Aila stuttered with a shaky smile, trying to calm her heart after the scare of nearly being hit in the face by a heavy pool ball. Abu leapt to the ground, shrieking and angrily waving his fists at Genie in order to show his annoyance at what had just occurred.
"Sorry little buddy," Genie said, rubbing the back of his head a bit sheepishly. "I coulda sworn I had that shot all lined up…"
"Genie, what's all the commotion in here?" Jasmine asked, poking her head in through an archway on the opposite side of the room. Her eyes landed on Aila and immediately lit up, a grin spreading across her face. "Aila!" She turned, calling over her shoulder, "Father! Aila's back!"
"Oh?" the sultan asked, tottering into the room behind his daughter. "Oh! Aila! Hello dear!"
"Hey! Er, I mean um, hi Your Majesties," Aila greeted with a small wave and a smile.
"Please, Aila, no need to be so formal," Jasmine said kindly, crossing the room and taking the younger girl's hands. "How are you?"
"Um, pretty good," Aila said with a shrug and a smile.
"Are you sure? You don't look so well," Sultan said with a frown, coming to a stop at his daughter's side.
"Hm, yeah, you're looking a little under the weather," Genie mused, putting a hand to his chin. "You sick?" In a flash of magic he'd transformed his clothes into that of a doctor, white coat billowing out around him importantly. "Nurse!" he called, and with a screech Abu was transformed as well, the little monkey now wearing a tiny female nurse's outfit complete with lipstick and fake eyelashes, much to the little mammal's chagrin. Before Aila could protest Genie had pulled her into the middle of the room, leaving her a little dazed by how quickly everything had just transpired. "Say 'ah'," he instructed, a thermometer popping into existence in his hand.
"Genie, I'm not—" she began, but was cut off by the thermometer being shoved into her mouth.
Genie was then suddenly listening to her back with a stethoscope, humming as he made his diagnosis. "Could be a problem with the heart," he mused, his stethoscope (as well as the thermometer in Aila's mouth – the unlooked at thermometer, she noted with a twinge of annoyance) vanishing as a defibrillator magicked into existence at Genie's side. He grabbed the paddles and rubbed them together a few times, the electricity on them sparking rather menacingly as he did so. "Clear!"
"Ah! Wait, Genie, I'm not sick!" Aila cried, scurrying back a few steps in her haste to get away from the paddles. She tripped over her own feet and fell backwards, only to be caught by a quick-moving Carpet, who very gently helped her stand again. "Thanks, Carpet," she sighed gratefully. Carpet gave her a thumbs up with one of its tassels.
"Oh, you're not?" Genie asked, the defibrillator vanishing with a small poof!
"I'm not," Aila repeated with a vehement shake of her head. "I'm just, ah, a little tired I guess, that's all."
"Oh." Genie snapped his fingers, and at once he was back in his billiards outfit, Abu back to his normal little purple vest and hat.
"Do you want to rest for a while? We could set you up in a guest room," Jasmine offered.
"No no, it's okay, really," Aila said hastily, waving her hands in front of her, desperate not to find herself in a situation where she'd have too much time to think on her own. "I'd much rather catch up with you guys, if that's okay."
"Well of course, dear," Sultan said with a smile. "Though, if I may ask, where are Sora, Donald, and Goofy?"
"Oh, they're, um, just helping Aladdin with something…" Aila replied vaguely, rubbing the back of her head as she shrugged. "They wanted me to come on ahead and see how everyone was doing."
"Hm, is that so…?" Jasmine said, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. Aila chuckled nervously, hoping the princess wouldn't ask her for more details as to what the guys were up to. Aladdin had asked her not to tell Jasmine or the sultan, after all…
"They didn't come immediately here to say hi to moi?!" Genie gasped dramatically, sounding offended. "Well, I never!" His offence was short lived though, dissipating almost immediately as a grin broke out on his face. "Think I'll pop over and say a quick hello. Get the table set up for a new game, will you, Aila?" he asked gesturing to the pool table.
"Er… sure," Aila said with a nod, not entirely positive how to do that.
Genie leaned down to her, putting the back of his hand near the side of his mouth and whispering rather loudly, "And watch the carpet. He cheats." Carpet put its tassels on its hips, looking quite miffed by the accusation. There was a pop!, and then Genie was gone.
"Oh, it's so much fun having Genie around again, isn't it?" Sultan chuckled, seeming entirely tickled by everything he'd just witnessed. Abu huffed, looking much less enthused.
"So, tell me Aila, what have you been up to since we last saw you?" Jasmine asked, heading over to the pool table and beginning to gather all the balls together for a new game.
"Oh, you know, fighting Heartless, saving people, all that stuff," Aila said as she joined the princess, finding the little… triangle thingy and putting all the colored balls inside. That was what you were supposed to do, right? She'd never really played pool before…
"How exciting," Jasmine commented, her lips pulled into a wry smile.
"What about you? How've things been around here?" Aila asked, not wanting the topic of discussion to stay on herself for too long.
"Things have been marvelous, simply marvelous!" the sultan said joyfully, rolling a few of the balls Aila's way with a chuckle. His smile then fell, a look of annoyance suddenly gracing his features instead. "Though I could have done without that Iago loafing around here as of late…"
"Oh, Father," Jasmine sighed. "You promised you'd give him a chance, remember? Aladdin and I trust him; he really does seem to be on our side now."
"Yes, well, I'm still not sure," the sultan huffed. Aila vaguely remembered the sultan having a mini freak out when he'd seen Iago at the party they'd had last time they were here, Sora and Aladdin having had to really plead the bird's case to keep the sultan from calling the guards on him. Seemed he still wasn't quite warmed up to the idea of Iago being a good guy yet. Aila frowned, something once again pulling at the back of her mind. It almost felt like she was forgetting something… Something important…
There was another pop! and Genie was back, two pool cues in hand. "Okay! Carpet, you and me. Mano a Carpeto." He threw a cue to Carpet, who caught it in one of his tassels. Genie snapped his fingers and the order of balls in the triangle switched around (apparently Aila had arranged them wrong… whoops), the white ball popping back onto the now undamaged table as well as Genie took the triangle thing away. He then cracked his knuckles and laced his fingers atop his pool cue, resting on it like a cane. "Your shot," he said to Carpet, who began lining up. "Pool's a man's game, so you being a rug will be at a disadvan…" Carpet hit the white ball and knocked it into the rest, every single colored ball rolling directly into one of the table pockets and giving him an automatic win. "…tage. Ah, pool's a dumb game anyway," Genie grumbled, his billiards outfit vanishing as he returned to his normal self. Aila and Jasmine giggled.
It was decided shortly thereafter that a picnic was in order, seeing how it was such a lovely day (Aila'd had to keep herself from laughing when the sultan had said that – it was so hot and dry outside! Was this weather really considered lovely here?! What was it like when it wasn't lovely?!), and so, with Genie's help, they'd set themselves up in a garden behind the palace, a picnic blanket laid out under the shade of a few trees and Genie, Abu, Jasmine, Sultan, and Aila settled around it. Carpet, who had no mouth or stomach and therefore no reason to stick around for a picnic, had taken off elsewhere, and Aila wondered if it was going to see what the boys were up to. They'd need its help, probably sometime soon, so she figured it was good timing.
"I met Belle a while back," Aila was saying to Jasmine, taking a sip of some amazing lemonade Genie had conjured up. She was officially over the boys not letting her go with them to the desert – just imagining them trekking through the sand under the harsh sun while she sat in the shade drinking lemonade made her quite sure that she'd gotten the better end of the bargain here.
"Oh?" Jasmine asked, an excited glint in her eye. "How is she?"
"She's good. Very good," Aila replied coyly. "She's in love."
Jasmine laughed. "Oh is she? That's wonderful!"
Aila nodded, making a face as she watched Genie and Abu begin an eating contest with some potato salad as Sultan cheered them on. "Yeah. You know what's weird, she actually said something similar to what you said to me last time I was here."
"Did she?" Jasmine asked, sounding very intrigued by that.
"Mmhmm, something about how she sensed I was different or whatever…"
"I see," Jasmine said with a nod. "And what did she have to say about that?"
Aila took another sip of lemonade, her taste buds practically dancing as the delicious liquid washed over them. "Well, I figured out that you guys were probably sensing Celina, and she agreed, so… Mystery solved?"
Jasmine quirked a brow. "Celina?"
Aila nodded again. "She's like, a Spirit that my heart is linked to… I didn't realize it when I met you last time, but now that I do, I can do things like this." She held out her hand and let a ball of white light form above her fingertips, grinning at the awed look on Jasmine's face.
"How beautiful," Jasmine breathed. She smiled at Aila. "You very well might be right, this may be what we've been able to pick up on."
"Right, because as Princesses of Heart, your hearts are full of light," Aila replied with a smile of her own. "So it would make sense that you might be able to pick up on Celina's light too."
"Ooh! Neat trick, Aila!" Genie exclaimed, leaning over to put his face right in front of the light in Aila's hand. His eyes sizzled as he stared directly into the light (like actually sizzled, like eggs in a frying pan) and he yelped, jerking back and shaking his head, his eyes poofing back into their un-sizzled state after a few shakes. "Let me try!" He waved a hand and a light bulb appeared above Aila's head, shining with white light. "Ooh, have you got a good idea? Well don't hold out on us!" he taunted, wiggling his eyebrows at her. Aila giggled and let her own light fade, but that giggle turned into a yelp as the light bulb exploded, everyone ducking to avoid the shards of glass that rained down upon them. "Whoops," Genie said, hurriedly magicking the remnants of the bulb away and pushing his forefingers together sheepishly. "Sorry 'bout that…"
"What happened?" Aila asked, quirking an eyebrow at him.
"Oh, well uh, ever since Al freed me from the lamp, my magic power isn't quite as phenomenally cosmic as it used to be…" he replied, rubbing the back of his neck and shrugging as he talked.
"It's kind of like a trade off situation," Jasmine explained further. "He's free to use his powers however he wants to now, but he's not as strong as he was when he was bound to the lamp."
"That's a bummer," Aila said with a frown.
"Don't go feeling sorry for me though! I've still got quite a few tricks up my sleeve," Genie said, grinning as he pulled his entire arm up like a sleeve, leaving his now severed hand floating out in front of him. "Here, have a drumstick," he said, pulling five large, steaming chicken legs out of his arm-sleeve and passing them around to everyone.
"Oh-ho! Thank you, Genie!" Sultan exclaimed, eagerly taking his, everyone else following his lead.
"These smell delicious," Jasmine complimented, taking a small bite of hers. "Mm!" Abu greedily began ripping into his as well, sounding quite satisfied by the food.
"Um… should I dwell on the fact that these just came out of his arm?" Aila asked the princess quietly, eying her own drumstick distrustfully.
Jasmine swallowed and smiled at her. "It's best not to."
Aila fell quiet after that, listening to everyone else converse as she slowly ate her food. She was beginning to feel her second wind wear off, just like Donald had predicted it would, and with that came a rush of heavy thoughts about the cause of her exhaustion. She wondered how Alex was doing – was she eating lunch with the Good Fairies right now too? She hoped Stitch was being a good companion for her… Mostly she hoped that the young girl was indeed as safe as everyone kept assuring her she would be, that no Organization members were paying Yen Sid any visits… A shiver ran up her spine at the thought of the Organization, and suddenly she found herself no longer hunger, her current bite of chicken feeling dense and overwhelming as she tried to swallow it.
"Aila, would you mind coming with me, please?"
Aila blinked and turned her head to find that Jasmine was standing up, brushing some dirt off her blue pants and giving Aila a pointed look.
Aila finally swallowed her bite and placed her half eaten drumstick down. "Um, sure, okay," she stuttered, more than a little confused as she too hurried to her feet. Had she missed some important bit of conversation that would explain where Jasmine wanted to go? Abu swiped Aila's drumstick, opening his jaws wide to finish it off before catching Aila's eye and smiling sheepishly up at her. "It's fine, you can have it," Aila chuckled before following Jasmine back toward the palace, Abu's happy chirping following her across the courtyard as she caught up to the princess.
"Hurry back, ladies! We've still got dessert to get to!" Genie called after them, and Aila glanced back to see him magicking a pie into existence, much to the sultan and Abu's delight.
Jasmine didn't say anything until they were back inside, their footsteps echoing around the vast, marbled walls as they stepped out of the sunshine. Aila was still trying to remember what she may have missed amidst the conversation outside to prompt this sudden venture into the palace, and so almost ran into Jasmine when she at last stopped in the middle of the hallway.
"What's wrong," Jasmine demanded, crossing her arms as she turned to face Aila and giving the younger girl a very hard look.
Aila was taken aback. "Uh… what? Nothing's wrong, I mean…"
"Don't even try it, Aila," Jasmine said, poking Aila hard in the shoulder in a very un-princessy fashion. "I've spent enough time with Aladdin to know when someone's not telling me the whole story." Aila took a step back, rubbing the spot Jasmine had poked her. Jasmine sighed. "Look, I know Aladdin is out doing something I wouldn't approve of with Sora right now, and he probably told you not to tell me what it is. But what I don't get is why you're not with them. Or at least I didn't get it, but after watching you it's clear that something isn't right with you. So, talk."
Aila hesitated. "It's… it's nothing, Jasmine. I just haven't been sleeping well, so the guys wanted me to sit things out here at the palace. That's all."
Jasmine maintained eye contact with Aila, seeming to be contemplating her words very carefully. "Are you talking to Sora, Donald, and Goofy?"
Aila shrugged. "Sure, we talk all the time."
"About what's been bothering you," Jasmine clarified, putting a hand on her hip. "You know that's what I meant, so stop it."
Aila bit her lip. Jasmine was being very forward right now, and it was making her really uncomfortable. "They don't need to hear about all that…"
"Of course they do!" Jasmine said, throwing her hands up, exasperated. "You're just like Aladdin, you know that? You think keeping things to yourself is helping those around you, but it's not. Usually it just makes everything worse."
"That's not true," Aila shot back, frowning deeply at the princess. "The guys are always smiling things off. They're never complaining. I'm just doing the same as them. It'd be worse if I went on and on about things that we can't change – it'd just hurt them, make them worry."
"They're probably worried anyway," Jasmine sighed, shaking her head. "When you care about someone, you know when something's not right with them. And if they don't talk to you about it, then sometimes that just makes the worrying worse. Believe me, I know." She ran a hand through her hair, looking away with a frown tugging at her delicate lips. "I've told Aladdin about this so many times. And he's working on it; on talking to me, on not keeping secrets. And… I know it's hard for him. I know it is. But when he does talk to me, he always says how much better he feels after, and I feel better too. Even if the subject is hard to broach. It's always better to get it out in the open than to keep it inside. Inside it'll only eat away at you, at your heart and soul, until you can't take keeping it in anymore. And that's when things get really dangerous." She met Aila's gaze again, her eyes earnest. "For everyone."
Aila was silent throughout Jasmine's speech, letting her words roll over her. She supposed… that maybe Jasmine had a point… but what if she was wrong? What if talking to the guys opened wounds that were only just starting to close, for all of them? She remembered the looks on their faces after they'd left Port Royal, the pain and fear she'd caused them… Could she really justify doing that to them again just to make herself maybe feel a little better, while also risking just making everything feel a million times worse?
She blinked as she felt Jasmine's hand on her shoulder and looked up to see the older girl smiling sadly down at her. "Listen, you don't have to talk about it with me. You don't know me nearly as well as you know Sora, Donald, and Goofy. But you should talk to them, and if not them then someone that you trust." She squeezed Aila's shoulder, her voice soft and calming. "You don't have to face things alone, Aila. Remember that." They were both silent for a moment, Jasmine continuing to smile at Aila as Aila pondered the princess's words. "Now come on," Jasmine said at last, breezing past the younger girl and shooting her a smile over her shoulder. "Let's get back for some of that dessert Genie was talking about, hm?"
"…Okay," Aila breathed, her voice only coming out just above a whisper as she returned Jasmine's smile. Somehow… Jasmine confronting her had made her feel better.
Just a little bit.
The girls made their way back out onto the backyard patio, and Aila's blood froze at what she saw. The sky had darkened significantly, blood-red clouds having rolled in over the span of just a few minutes, thick and unnatural, but that wasn't what made Aila grab Jasmine's arm and pull the older girl behind a pillar. No, what prompted that was the thirty-foot figure of an older man dressed all in red, eyes as sharp as his goatee, glowering down upon their friends and the now ruined picnic.
"Jafar!" Jasmine breathed, hands flying to her mouth as she and Aila peered around the pillar. "But… how?!"
"This doesn't make sense," Aila muttered, her brows furrowed and her heart racing as she tried her best to comprehend what she was seeing. What the… Weren't the guys supposed to be fighting him in his genie form underground somewhere right now?!
And then an awful realization hit her, the realization that she'd gotten her timelines mixed up – the underground location she was remembering Sora fight Jafar in was from the first Kingdom Hearts game, not the second! In the second game… She slammed a hand over her eyes, groaning in despair. In the second game they fought Jafar in Agrabah. At the palace. AKA where she was right now. The ruins were just a decoy location! Shoot shoot shoot!
"If you'd been thinking clearly you would have remembered things more accurately!" Celina chastised, sounding very frustrated. "You should have seen this coming! Now we'll have to fight him without any support!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Aila whispered frantically, Jasmine's eyes darting to the younger girl.
"What should we do?" Jasmine asked, seeming torn between confronting Jafar and running away. Aila was feeling torn too – there was no way she could take on Jafar alone! But… wait, she wasn't alone! She had Genie as backup! And with him by her side, then maybe—!
Genie's scream called Aila's attention to him, and she watched in horror as her blue friend was sucked into a glass, circular container, about the size of a basketball. Jafar laughed, and Aila's heart sank as she realized Genie had been trapped. Jafar snapped his fingers and Abu and the sultan were magicked away somewhere, with an incapacitated Genie being poofed away shortly after them.
"Father!" Jasmine gasped, putting a hand over her mouth, her eyes widening with terror.
Aila grit her teeth and grabbed Jasmine by the wrist. "C'mon, we have to get you out of here!" she urged, beginning to pull the princess back into the palace as quickly as she could.
"But…!" Jasmine began, glancing over her shoulder as if her father might still be back there, waiting for her to rescue him.
"He's not here anymore," Aila said, urging Jasmine to move a little faster. "We have to find the guys – we can't fight him alone!"
"R-right!" Jasmine agreed, at last picking up the pace and running with Aila.
"Oh princess! Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Jafar's voice boomed through the castle, sending shivers up the girls' spines.
"Quick, back here!" Aila whispered, ushering Jasmine over to a large potted plant in the front entrance hall. The girls crouched behind it, keeping themselves hidden as they tried to figure out where Jafar might be lurking. They needed to get out without him seeing them… they were so close, but if he caught them…!
"Do you have any way of contacting Sora?" Jasmine whispered, fear shining in her chocolate eyes.
Aila shook her head. "No… and I don't know when they'll be back…"
Jasmine balled her fist, the fear on her face suddenly being replaced with staunch determination. "Well then, we'll just have to figure this out ourselves."
Aila frowned. "But how?! No offense Jasmine, but do you even know how to fight…? Because I know I'm not good enough to take on a genie by myself!"
"Maybe I don't need to fight," Jasmine said, crossing her arms and thinking hard. "He has to have some kind of weakness. If we could just figure it out…"
Aila gasped, realization making her heart flutter with relief. "His lamp!" Her realization was very short lived, however, and she groaned. "Ugh, but we don't have any idea where that is…"
"I do," Jasmine said, eyes narrowed as she peered around the pot they were hiding behind. Aila blinked before following the girl's gaze, her eyes widening at what she saw. The little peddler, pushing his way through the front door.
And what should be in his hands but Jafar's lamp.
"Jafar?" he called, his voice echoing around the entryway. "Hello? Are you here?"
"Okay, awesome, this is perfect," Aila whispered with a nod. "So now all we need to do is come up with a… Jasmine?!" Aila balked as she turned to look at the princess only to find that the girl was gone. She floundered for a moment, flailing as she tried to locate the older girl, and then she saw her: Jasmine was running full force toward the peddler, clearly intent on getting her hands on the lamp. "J-Jasmine! Wait!" Aila cried, taking off after the older girl in a panic. Her cry alerted the peddler, who yelped as he saw the girls and immediately scurried back outside, Jasmine hot on his heels.
"Stay away from me!" the peddler cried, booking it across the courtyard as Jasmine barreled down upon him. "Jafar! Hellllp!"
"Jasmine!" Aila cried, busting through the front doors just a couple moments after the princess. For a second, she thought Jasmine might do it, the older girl reaching out for the peddler, almost grabbing him by the back of his shirt…
"Ah ah ah! Now, you're not acting very princessy, are you, my dear?"
Jafar appeared at Jasmine's side, and in an instant he had her trapped in the magic of his staff, a red glow around the girl as it kept her frozen in place, hand still outstretched toward the peddler just out of reach.
The peddler sighed in relief. "That was close…"
"A little too close," Jafar growled, obviously displeased. "What are you even doing up here? You're supposed to be in the dungeon, making sure the sultan and those other ruffians are kept in line!"
"S-s-sorry, Jafar!" the peddler stuttered. "But I, uh, kind of got lost on the way… This is a big castle, you know…"
Jafar scoffed. "Insolent fool. Fine, I'll send you there myself." He waved his hand, and in a puff of magic, the peddler was gone.
Aila hesitated, taking a step back inside the palace. What should she do here? Should she try to save Jasmine, something she felt would probably end poorly for both of them? Or should she try and find the dungeon and get her hands on that lamp? The dungeon seemed like the smarter way to go, seeing how Jafar hadn't even seemed to notice her yet… Hopefully Jasmine would be okay… Steeling herself, she took one more step backwards, preparing to turn and run as silently as she could…
"And where do you think you're going?"
The breath seemed to leave Aila as red light surrounded her, her extremities all immediately feeling locked in place. Her eyes widened as Jafar turned to face her, a smirk on his lips. "You didn't think I'd missed you, hm girl?"
'…Yes,' Aila thought miserably, realizing she was caught. Crap crap crap on a cracker!
With a flick of his wrist, Jafar pulled Aila out into the courtyard while simultaneously sending Jasmine flying back toward the palace doors. The doors slammed shut at his command, shackles appearing upon them and welcoming Jasmine into their binds. Once she was sufficiently restrained, the red glow around her faded, and she stumbled a little as the feeling returned to her body. Aila, however, was still locked in Jafar's spell, the man stroking his beard as he examined her. "Now then, who are you? A friend of the princess? I've never seen you before, and yet… there is something familiar…"
"Jafar, leave her alone!" Jasmine demanded, her voice harsh and strong despite the fact that she was clearly in no position to be giving any orders.
Jafar smirked. "Calm yourself, Your Majesty. You'll make yourself sick with worry." He waved a hand and the light around Aila faded, sending her collapsing to the ground in a heap. She gasped, reminding herself how to breathe for a few moments before pushing herself to her knees, glaring hard at Jafar as she summoned her weapon. His smile grew. "Oh, you want to fight? How fun."
Aila in fact did not want to fight, but what else could she do? She glanced quickly over her shoulder, noting the palace gates right behind her. If she used her speed trick, she could maybe get out into the city before Jafar could stop her…
"Aila, run!" Jasmine implored, straining against her binds. Aila glanced at her, fear gripping her heart as she met the princess's gaze. Jasmine was trapped, bound, helpless… What if Jafar… tortured her? Aila felt her breathing quicken, her heart beating almost painfully fast as flashes of Port Royal assaulted her. She couldn't just leave Jasmine here… She couldn't let Jafar…!
"Aila?" Jafar asked, quirking a brow. "Hm… now where have I heard that name before…?"
Aila shot forward, swinging her staff upward in Jafar's direction and firing off a ball of white light at his face, hoping to temporarily blind him. She didn't watch to see if her hit landed, instead continuing straight for Jasmine and slamming the sharp, bottom tip of her staff into one of the links on the chain around her wrists. Maybe if she used enough force, she could pull Jasmine free!
She had only barely begun to pull when she was wrenched backwards by some invisible force and sent tumbling across the courtyard, skidding to a stop face down a few yards away.
"Ah yes! Now I remember! He used similar magic to you."
Aila forced herself back up to her hands and knees, panting as she glared at Jafar. She was about to tell Jafar to get the heck outta her way (or something perhaps a bit more threatening, but she was tired so really anything might have come out of her mouth), but Jafar's next words caused any insults she'd been forming to immediately die in her throat.
"So you're the one he wanted me to kill."
Aila could have sworn time slowed down for a moment after Jafar said those words, her ears temporarily filled with the sounds of her own heartbeat, drowning the rest of the world out around her. "…What?" she finally choked out. Someone… someone wanted her dead? Who? Xemnas came to mind, but she hadn't realized the Nobody had wanted her dead. No, that didn't make sense – everything the Organization had done so far seemed to imply that they wanted to keep her alive. So then who…?
'He used similar magic to you.'
Aila's eyes went wide. No. No, no, no, no, no. It couldn't be…
"You mean you don't know?" Jafar was asking, sounding absolutely delighted by this turn of events. "Oh dear, how tragic. I thought for sure it was some kind of lasting feud between brother and sister that he wanted me to sort out."
"You… you're lying…" Aila croaked out, her voice trembling despite her best efforts. Her eyes narrowed, her fingers digging into the dirt. "When would you even have met Danny?!"
Jafar's smile was so wide now that Aila could see every pearly white tooth in his mouth, the man looking very snake-like as he let out a hiss of a chuckle. "Why, when he freed me from the lamp, of course."
KHKHKHKH
Dun dun DUNNN!
Are you confused? Hey, ME TOO. You know why? Because the PLOT FOR THIS WORLD DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. Seriously. In the game, the peddler's all "oh lol Jafar didn't give me this gold THE ORGANIZATION DID" but like uhhh that's dumb because they don't show up on this world to follow through with their supposed plans, and also someone needs to have possession of the lamp WITHIN THE CITY for Jafar to be out and causing trouble there, at least according to the movie. Also, it always REALLY bothered me in the game that Genie is just missing for this entire fiasco. Like, HELLO, where are you?! So I tried to put in a bit of the movie to make that make more sense too… but you know what else doesn't make sense? THE PLOT OF THE FREAKING MOVIE. Ugh. Do you guys see what I'm dealing with here?! It's one big nonsensical pile of blah! Also the two plots HARDLY line up, so that was another confusing thing to work with. Raaaaaargh!
…So yeah. I hope I merged things in a way that made sense. Also, obviously I'm adding in my own plot elements… there's a lot going on here. I hope it was worth the wait? I promise the next chapter will be up soon this time!
…Also I wrote the second half of this chapter in one sitting tonight so I'm sorry if it sucks. I just really wanted to get something up for you guys to read.
Please let me know what you think, and THANK YOU so much for reading! This story is freaking long you guys. I know. How have you read this far? You're all crazy. But I love you.
Okay bye~
~Fade
