This. Chapter. Is. LONG.

I think maybe my longest so far. Forty-five pages! Whoa! Hopefully that makes up for the wait? I've gotten maaaaany concerned messages from you guys asking if I've forgotten this story haha and no! Guys! It's only been a month, I thought I was doing pretty okay! Don't you worry, I promise I will not stop writing this! Sometimes each installment just takes me a little while… Especially when the chapter is super super super longggg. Thank you guys for being so into this story though, seriously! I love you all!

Also… Okay, I'm nervous. I don't like this chapter. I think my writing is bad in this one, I dunno, it just like, wasn't working and I feel like my sentences are WAY confusing. I'm so sorry if they are. Also I feel like the fights are boring. ALSO it has a lot of non-Kingdom Hearts plot stuff so I'm kinda like, oh gosh this isn't gonna make sense to anyone but me. But like… none of Kingdom Hearts REALLY makes sense, right? So this will fit in nicely… RIGHT?!

I dunno. Gah. Also I listened to "What Have You Done?" by Within Temptation for like, all of Aila's fight scene in this. In case you were interested. Which you probably weren't. But yeah. Fun fact?

Anyway, enough talk. I talk too much, I know.

Let's GO!


"Don't hold on to anger, hurt or pain. They steal your energy and keep you from love."

― Leo Buscaglia


Chapter 51: Love Hurts, Love Heals

"Aila? Are you in here?"

Nine-year-old Aila sniffled a little in response to her father's call, watery blue eyes peering over her knees and out at the entrance to her backyard hideaway. John ducked down, entering the little wooden room under the slide at a kind of awkward squat, a smile gracing his features when he spotted his adopted daughter. "Well hello there," he chuckled softly. Aila just sniffled again, pulling her knees in tighter, her back pressed against the old wood of her backyard play set. John made his way over to her, settling himself next to her, his back against the wooden wall as well. For a few minutes neither of them spoke, Aila glaring down at the floor as if it was the source of her anger while John took solace in the isolation of the shaded room.

"Alex told me you and Danny had another fight," John finally said, his voice calm, even, and not accusatory in the least. He never was.

Aila shifted a little, pigtails brushing against her shoulders. "He started it," she mumbled, her glare deepening.

"He usually does, doesn't he? He can be a bit of a hot-head," John chuckled. His smile faded, and he looked down at Aila very seriously now. "Alex says you told him you wished he was dead."

Aila winced, her little fingers clutching the fabric of her denim romper. "…Maybe…"

John sighed. "Aila, you can't say things like that."

"But he was being a big stupid jerk!" Aila shot back, finally sitting up straight and looking pleadingly up at John. "He was making fun of me, a-and… and…!"

"And you really want him to die for that?"

Aila bit the inside of her cheek and looked away. "…I don't want him to really die…"

John paused for a moment, gazing out at the sky through a little window on the side of the room. "…Sometimes, when we're angry, or hurt, we say things we don't mean. But you can't take words back, once they're out."

"I know," Aila mumbled, picking at a piece of grass that had managed to poke its way through the wooden slats in the floor. She sighed. "I was just… he just made me really angry, and…"

John smiled. "It's okay to get angry. And it's okay to stand up for yourself. But you need to realize how much words can hurt, and you should never say something you don't mean just to do someone else harm."

Aila mulled his words over as she plucked up the grass. She knew he was right, and she did feel bad about what she'd said to Danny… but she was still angry at him, too.

A weight appeared on her head and she looked up to see John smiling down at her, his hand ruffling her hair fondly. "Siblings fight, Ailagator. That's just part of growing up together. But you need to remember that that anger will fade. You love each other in a way only a brother and sister can. And at the end of the day, you'll always be brother and sister, no matter what kind of disagreements you get into. Just remember that, okay?"

Aila sniffled. "Kay."

John smiled a little wider. "Good. Now, do you think you can come apologize to Danny? He's waiting to apologize to you, too."

Aila sighed before at last replying glumly, "…I guess."

John crossed his arms. "Come on now, that's not the happy girl I know. Why don't you give me a smile before we leave?"

Aila shook her head stubbornly. "I don't wanna."

"You don't? Well, I think I know someone who'll fix that…"

Aila's eyes widened, her heart giving an anticipatory thud as adrenaline spiked through her. "No no, wait!"

"It's the Tickle Monster!" John cried, grabbing Aila and tickling her sides. Aila squealed and laughed, doing her best to try and retaliate by tickling John back. Eventually she was able to squirm away and stood in the center of the little room, giggling and tensing her muscles in preparation to run should the Tickle Monster go for another attack. John continued to laugh as well, smiling fondly at his daughter. "There's the Aila I was looking for! Now come on, let's go make up with your brother."

Aila stopped laughing, but her smile remained. "Okay, dad."

With John's help, Aila and Danny made up, just like they always did. Because at the end of the day, they were brother and sister.

And brothers and sisters loved each other.

No matter what.

KHKHKHKH

Time seemed to have stopped in the palace courtyard, Aila temporarily forgetting how to breathe, or blink, or do anything but continue to stare at the villain before her. "…That's… impossible," she finally choked out. "Danny couldn't have freed you. The peddler… the peddler's the one who…" Her tongue felt dry, too big for her mouth. She felt sick. Dizzy. This… this was a lie. Some kind of trick. It had to be.

…Didn't it?

"That peddler is as dumb as a brick," Jafar scoffed with a roll of his eyes. "You really think he could have found my lamp by himself? That he could have moved that heavy stone lid of the coffin I'd been placed in all alone? Really, that's a preposterously stupid theory. Though I suppose you are a child. And a woman. So perhaps I shouldn't expect more from you in the thought department."

Offense jolted Aila back to the present, and she clenched her fists angrily as she met Jafar's gaze. "You're lying. You're trying to trick me, to throw me off. That's what you do."

Jafar chuckled. "Guilty as charged, generally speaking. But alas, this time I am being honest, something I strive to be only on very rare occasions." He vanished, reappearing right behind Aila, wrapping his spindly fingers around her shoulders. "You see, your brother and that peddler worked together to break into the palace. Seems they struck up some kind of agreement on the matter – your brother would get the one thing he wanted, and then the peddler would have the remaining two wishes to do with as he pleased." Aila jerked away from Jafar, spinning to face him as she stumbled back a few steps toward Jasmine. Her heart was racing, her fingers twitching with an urge to attack the genie before her, but… a spark of curiosity inside her kept her still and silent, waiting for Jafar to continue his story. Jafar smirked, as if realizing he had Aila on the hook now, and continued, "They got ahold of my lamp, your brother the one to actually do the deed and give it a good polish. Naturally, at first I tried to ignore the two in favor of my own vendettas, but, well, your brother seemed to have a rather annoying amount of knowledge regarding how genie lamps worked." He frowned darkly, grimacing at the memory of whatever Danny had done, but then quickly continued. "He told me he had only one wish, and that, once it was granted, I could do as I pleased. And that wish… was for your death."

Aila heard Jasmine gasp behind her. Aila herself felt like she might pass out, the edges of her vision beginning to blur as she listened to Jafar. That last word seemed to echo in her mind like a curse, her ears practically ringing just from the sound of it.

Death, death, death, death, death…

"Unfortunately for him, I could not grant such a wish, since I'm bound by the incredibly annoying rules of genie-hood," Jafar huffed. "Killing is not allowed, otherwise, believe me, everyone in this palace would be dead by now." He sneered at Jasmine, his eyes flashing dangerously as he met her gaze. "Except perhaps for you, Princess. After all, I will need a lovely queen to help me rule over Agrabah…"

"You're sick," Jasmine spat back, her eyes hard and defiant despite the position she was in.

"You're too kind," Jafar shot back cheekily. "Anyway, where was I? Ah yes. Your brother got quite frustrated upon the realization that I could not grant his wish, and passed the lamp off to that peddler fellow. After that he stormed out, and I can't say I know where he ran off to. He seemed awfully distraught over the whole ordeal. Poor boy."

Aila's legs were trembling now. This… this was too much. Her mind wasn't comprehending what Jafar was saying. Was it because she was tired, so her faculties were moving slower than usual? Or was it just because she refused to believe with any ounce of her being that any of what he was saying could be true?

"I do feel bad that I couldn't fulfill his wish…" Jafar continued, pouting dramatically. "As a genie, it pains me so." A smile snaked its way onto his face, a dangerous, sadistic smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I feel the need to atone for such a thing, so now that I've run into you, my dear, perhaps I can at least assist that brother of yours, make it a little easier for him to do the deed himself. I may not be able to kill you, but, well…" Before Aila could even blink, Jafar was in front of her once again, his face mere inches from hers, so close that she could see each of his pointed, yellowed teeth as he whispered his next words to her:

"You'd be surprised what you can live through."

"Aila, attack him, NOW!"

Celina's cry sent Aila into motion, and in the next breath she was striking out at Jafar's midsection with her staff as quick as lightning. But Jafar was faster, pulling back just barely in time to avoid the bite of Aila's attack, and then he was on the offensive, lashing out with his own staff at Aila's head. Aila ducked and leapt to the side, putting some distance between her and the villain. With a yell, she slammed her staff down onto the ground, feeling the tingling warmth of light shoot down her arms and through her weapon before erupting across the ground in a thick, lethal stream of white. Jafar vanished just before it hit, Aila's light continuing harmlessly across the ground before dissipating as it hit the opposite wall. Aila cursed under her breath, clenching her teeth as she searched the area for the villain.

Pain erupted between her shoulder blades and she was sent stumbling forward with a scream, only barely able to keep her footing as she spun to face Jafar. For a fleeting moment, she wondered why his attack had been so weak – she was still standing after a completely unblocked attack, after all. But then she saw the sneer on his face and the glimmer of amusement in his eyes, and she knew.

He was toying with her.

Like a lion playing with its food.

"My, you are a feisty one," Jafar drawled, not even bothering to hide the amusement lacing his words. "You really are your brother's sister. He has quite a temper, too."

"Shut UP!" Aila shouted, holding her weapon out in front of her with both hands. "FIRE!" she shouted, the anger in her heart prompting a fireball bigger than any she'd ever been able to summon before to shoot out of her staff and fly at Jafar. With a mocking yawn, Jafar vanished once again, Aila's fireball hitting the wall at the side of the courtyard with a bang, leaving nothing but some smoking shrubbery in its wake. Aila stomped her foot in frustration, letting out a sound somewhere between a growl and a shriek as she spun around in search of the genie.

"Now now! That's not very ladylike," Jafar's voice chastised, seemingly from everywhere at once. "You should take some lessons from the princess, my dear, and… keep still."

Aila gasped as she was suddenly airborne, her body floating above the ground as it was encased by Jafar's red magic. The magic pooled around her wrists and ankles, forcing her arms above her head and creating kind of midair binds for her, as if she were chained up against something like Jasmine was, albeit an invisible something in her case. Aila's weapon clattered to the floor as her hand was forced open, the now useless staff vanishing in a few sparkles of light a moment later. She struggled, pulling against the binds so hard that her arms and legs ached from the strain, but no matter how much she twisted and pulled, her wrists and ankles wouldn't budge an inch.

"Come now, don't struggle," Jafar cooed, materializing at last in front of Aila, eyelevel with her now that she was suspended. "I know you're angry my dear, I know. You were betrayed! Believe me, I understand." He snaked an arm around Aila's shoulders, feigning empathy as he pouted mockingly at her. "Perhaps I'm going about this all wrong. Maybe I shouldn't be helping your brother. Maybe I should be helping you!"

"I don't want your help, you slimy piece of—!"

Aila was cut off by a strip of red magic materializing over her mouth, Jafar tutting disapprovingly at her outburst.

"Teenagers are so very difficult," Jafar lamented, taking a few steps away from Aila and stroking the snakehead of his staff like it was his pet. "All I'm trying to do is offer you some assistance, and you take to name calling! How hurtful." He turned around, flashing Aila an overdramatic pout. His expression then shifted again into that snake-like smile, and Aila felt her heart thud with a thrill of fear. "Perhaps I can… persuade you to be a bit more cooperative, hm, my dear?" He lifted his staff up, so the snakehead was right before Aila's face, and immediately she knew what he was planning. He wanted to hypnotize her, like he'd done to the Sultan in the Aladdin movie! She squeezed her eyes shut tight, refusing to look at the staff before her.

If she could just break through his binds…! She willed light to shoot down her arms, hoping that maybe she could manipulate it into somehow breaking the magic around her wrists. But the light had just barely reached her hands when pain shot through her, red lightning encasing her body as she was suddenly electrocuted by her binds, her resulting scream muffled by the magic covering her mouth.

"Oh dear me, we can't have you trying to break free," she heard Jafar chuckle as the pain subsided. "You really think your power can rival that of an all powerful genie like myself? My magic is much stronger than yours." Aila forced her eyes to remain closed, feeling moisture prick the edges of them as she took a few steadying breaths through her nose. That had really hurt.

"Leave her alone, Jafar!" Jasmine shouted, her voice filled with rage. "It's not her you have a vendetta against, it's me! So leave her!"

There was a pause, and then Aila heard Jafar shuffle away from her. She chanced a peak out of one eye to find that he'd taken up position in front of Jasmine instead, and though she now worried for Jasmine's safety, Aila couldn't help but sigh in relief at the fact that she was no longer about to be hypnotized. That would have been a bummer.

"Just wait Jafar! You'll get exactly what's coming to you!" Jasmine continued fiercely, her binds clinking a bit as she spoke.

"Indeed I will, Princess," Jafar chuckled. He leaned in close to Jasmine, who cringed away with an angry grimace. "All of Agrabah will belong to me, while you…" He laughed before continuing, "You, my queen, will weep at my side for all eternity!" He reached out toward the girl, as if to stroke her hair, much to Jasmine's obvious disgust.

"Mmph!" Aila shouted, trying to stop Jafar from touching her friend. Her eyes blazed with anger, her mind buzzing with only thoughts of wanting to hit, to punch, to kick, to destroy. This man… this genie was the source of her anger, she was sure! He was a liar, a sicko, the most despicable person she'd come across, and she needed to make him pay!

"Aila…" Celina whispered, sounding hesitant. "Are you sure he's the one you're angry with…?" Aila scoffed internally at the ridiculousness of Celina's question. "I'm not saying he's in the right, and if we could break free I'd be in full support of going after him right now. But I… I think you need to calm down… I don't think your anger is proportionate to the situation, and…"

Aila shook her head fiercely, trying to get Celina to shut up. Her vision was turning red, her blood practically boiling as anger coursed through her veins. Jafar. Jafar was the reason. He needed to pay! He needed to die!

Jafar smirked, deigning to glance back at Aila for a brief moment. "Calm yourself, little girl. You'll give yourself wrinkles."

"Aladdin is going to destroy you!" Jasmine spat, her chocolate eyes flashing with an anger of her own.

"Oh please," Jafar scoffed. He turned back to Jasmine, clutching her chin between a spindly thumb and forefinger. "Right about now, your precious Aladdin is whispering your name… with his last breath." He hissed the last few words, Jasmine pulling out of his grasp as he smiled that same, snake-like smile down at her, knowing he'd won…

"THUNDER!"

A thunderbolt arced down from the sky in a beeline for Jafar's head, the earsplitting crack of its creation making both Aila and Jasmine jump. Acting quickly, the genie summoned a barrier of red magic above himself at the last moment, the lightning striking the barrier instead and dissipating harmlessly across it. Jafar, looking vaguely annoyed, turned toward the castle gates, Aila turning her head and Jasmine arcing their neck around the man to follow his gaze. Jasmine gasped happily and Aila blinked, the red in her vision receding a bit as Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Aladdin ran onto the scene, Donald's staff still sparking a little from his attack, their eyes all hard as they took in the situation.

"What was that you were saying, Jafar?" Aladdin taunted as they all came to a stop in the middle of the courtyard, the boys each falling into a fighting stance. Aila saw the trio's eyes flash toward her, and she instinctually struggled a little against the magic holding her again, wanting to be by their side. After a few moments she relaxed, sighing through her nose in annoyance. She was beginning to get really sick of being trapped whenever the guys rejoined the scene – being the damsel was so lame.

And frustrating.

Especially when she was feeling such an urge to hit things.

Ugh.

"You dare defy me, you useless bird?!" Jafar was shouting, having spotted Iago hiding behind Goofy.

"J-Jafar!" Iago stuttered fearfully, shaking in his feathers. Aila saw the boys flash angry looks the bird's way; clearly Jafar wasn't the only one feeling betrayed by the parrot.

Betrayed…

'And that wish… was for your death.'

Anger flared in Aila's heart once again at the memory of Jafar's claim. How dare Jafar try to fool her! Danny would never wish for something like that! Never ever ever! He may be acting like a total jerk lately, but he would never want her dead!

…Right?

"SILENCE!" Jafar bellowed, holding up his staff. "You've failed me for the last time!" The eyes of his staff glowed and Goofy held up his shield, bracing himself for an attack coming his and Iago's way. But at the last second, Jafar shifted targets. Maybe it was because he realized Goofy's shield would block his strike, or maybe he just didn't think Iago was worth it, who knows. Whatever the reason, it was suddenly Aladdin who found a bolt of red lightning shooting straight at his heart, the young man widening his eyes as the magic neared him but not processing the attack quickly enough to dodge or retaliate in any way. In fact, no one seemed ready for such a move, everyone in the group having shifted in anticipation of blocking an attack aimed at Goofy on their right, not Aladdin on their left. And now it was about to be too late—!

"AL!"

Iago was suddenly in front of Aladdin, the magic striking him dead on in his friend's place.

The magic faded and a stunned silence seemed to cling to the air as Iago hovered there, suspended where he'd been struck, time seemingly frozen for a devastating moment until he at last fell to the floor in a heap of smoking feathers with a dull, echoing thud.

"Iago!" Goofy exclaimed, the boys all crowding around the fallen parrot, looks of shock and horror lacing each of their faces.

"Wh… why would he…?" Sora choked out, sounding like the wind had been knocked out of him as he stared down in disbelief at the little bird's deathly still form.

"You'll all be joining him VERY soon!" Jafar bellowed, calling everyone's attention back to himself. Heavy red magic began to seep out of his pores, forming a thick, sparking cloud around his entire body. The magic holding Aila was sucked toward the genie it belonged to, releasing her and allowing her to fall to the floor in a painful heap, the girl yelping as her body made contact with the stone. She groaned, pushing herself to her knees and glancing back toward Jafar only to feel herself pale at the sight of him morphing into his behemoth of a genie form, his crimson, muscled body growing bigger and bigger with each heartbeat, until he was larger than a tree, a building, the entire palace, his body knocking into a turret of the palace as he grew passed it, sending cracks shuddering through the structure as it threatened to fall apart—!

"Aladdin!" Jasmine screamed, just barely visible through the haze, her chains still unbroken despite Jafar's transformation.

"Jasmine!" Aladdin cried back, rushing to his love and trying as hard as he could to pry her free from the door she remained bound to.

"Get Aila and Iago!" Sora instructed Donald and Goofy before leaping into the cloud as well, quickly tapping Jasmine's binds with his Keyblade to release her. The princess fell into Aladdin's arms, Sora grabbing her shoulder to steady both his friends as the ground began to shudder beneath Jafar.

"Get up, Aila!" Donald urged, suddenly before her, grabbing her arm and attempting to pull her to her feet. Aila stumbled upright with his help, the two of them bracing themselves as the ground gave a particularly violent lurch.

"C'mon, we gotta skedaddle!" Goofy called, scooping Iago's limp form into his arms. He then glanced into the sky, his eyes widening in alarm. "Look out!"

Aila looked up to see that the turret Jafar had knocked loose was tipping, the marble cracking like thunder as gravity took hold and it began to fall.

And it was falling right toward them.

"Sora!" she screamed, her eyes darting fearfully toward the Keyblader.

In a flash the boy was between her and Donald, grabbing each of them by an elbow. "Come on, move it!" he urged, the level of alarm in his voice setting Aila's nerves on fire. They all began to run, Goofy in the lead as he made a beeline for the gates, Aladdin and Jasmine a step or two behind him and Sora, Donald, and Aila bringing up the rear. Aila urged herself to go faster, but no light appeared on her heels like it usually would. Why?! No!

"You're not focusing, Aila – you're too panicked, too tired!" Celina scolded. "I warned you, I WARNED you…!"

"Shut up, shut up!" Aila shouted, shutting her eyes tight and grabbing at her head in frustration and panic. She stumbled, and she felt Sora tug harshly on her arm.

"Aila, keep moving!" he scolded, his words holding a rare, demanding edge that he only used to lead their group in the direst of circumstances. Aila did as he said, blinking and focusing on the ground before her as her feet pounded the path, doing everything in her power to keep that burning urge to panic pushed down as deeply as it would go.

"Carpet!" Aladdin shouted, and to her relief Aila spotted Carpet flying onto the scene, moving quick as lightning as it made a beeline for the group. It leveled off next to the front of their pack, keeping pace with everyone as they continued to run, the ground practically growling beneath their feet as Jafar's power grew. A shadow fell upon them, and Aila didn't need to look up to know it was from the turret. It was getting closer! "Get on!" Aladdin shouted, pulling Jasmine aboard with him as he hurried onto Carpet, Goofy quickly following his lead.

"Wait for us!" Donald squawked, picking up the pace to try and catch up to Carpet, the shadow of the falling turret growing larger and larger around them all.

"Hurry!" Goofy urged, holding out a hand toward his still running friends, Iago still tucked in his other arm.

In an instant Sora was grabbing Donald by the scruff of his shirt, the duck squawking indignantly as the Keyblader suddenly hurled him at Carpet. "Catch!" Sora called as Donald flew threw the air, Aladdin, Jasmine, and Goofy doing just that and pulling the duck aboard. Aila noticed with a sickening feeling that, with the addition of Donald, Carpet was basically full to capacity. So how would she and Sora…?!

"SORA YOU IDIOT WHAT IF YOU'D MISSED!"

Sora forewent a retaliatory quip for once, the situation too dire for such things as one end of the turret collided with the ground behind him and Aila. The ground lurched violently from the impact, the turret's other end continuing to fall downward toward the teens. Aila made the mistake of glancing over her shoulder and nearly froze in fear as she took in the massive piece of the palace that was just moments away from crushing her; there was no way they'd survive this!

Sora's grip shifted from Aila's arm to her hand and she faced forward again, focusing on running, just running and nothing else. Everyone aboard Carpet was shouting at once, imploring Aila and Sora to get on, holding out their hands toward the pair, reaching out for them as desperately as they could, the turret only moments away from crushing them now. Her friends' cries sounded muffled in Aila's ears, her own heartbeat drowning them out as Sora reached out with his free hand, straining to close the gap between them all. Multiple hands wrapped around his arm, and in one frightening movement he and Aila were lifted off the ground, Carpet angling upward to dart over the palace walls just as the turret made its final impact.

"Don't let go, Aila!" Sora called down to her, his fingers tightening around hers in an almost painful vice as the two of them hung down from Carpet, everyone aboard doing all they could to keep Sora from slipping through their grasp. Aila grabbed at his arm with her other hand, locking eyes with the boy above her, too scared to reply. "Don't look down," he shouted, holding her gaze. "I've got you!" Aila clung to him with both hands, forcing herself to remain looking at Sora rather than the ground below, even as a cloud of dirt and dust from the turret's crash to earth blew over them, engulfing them within its shadowy haze. Her eyes watered, assaulted by flecks of dirt and debris, but neither she nor Sora broke their gaze until at last Aila felt the ground rush up beneath her, Carpet having deemed it safe to land again. She and Sora stumbled into clumsy heaps on the floor, everyone releasing the Keyblader and breathing a sigh of relief as Carpet touched down just outside the palace walls. They'd done it. They were okay. Aila took a moment to let that fact sink in, the world spinning around her as she lay in the dusty streets of Agrabah, a thin film of dirt settling upon her from above as the cloud the turret had displaced began to calm as well.

"Everyone okay?" Aladdin panted, brown eyes shining with concern as he took in the group.

Aila struggled to her knees, almost on autopilot, Sora doing the same at her side, and she at last allowed her fingers to loose around his. Her hand felt stiff as she pulled away, they'd been holding on so tightly, and she couldn't help but breathe out a relieved chuckle as she caught Sora's eye. She hadn't meant to laugh – in fact she felt like bursting into tears, which honestly was probably the more appropriate response when you're nearly crushed to death by part of a palace. But the relief coursing through her veins manifested itself into laughter, and so she just went with it, nearly falling back over again as her body shook and shuddered, from laughter or fear she couldn't be sure. Sora blinked, and then he was laughing too, shaking some dust-laden hair from his eyes as he allowed himself to relax, even if for just a moment.

"Ouch," he finally breathed, falling back into a cross-legged sit as he shook his hand out, still chuckling as he did so, seeming unable to stop. That for some reason just made Aila laugh harder, wrapping her arms around her middle as she struggled to take in enough air. Donald and Goofy scurried off of Carpet and ran up to the teens, baffled looks plastered across their faces.

"Why are you two laughing?!" Donald squawked, grabbing Sora's shoulder and giving him a rough shake. "Knock it off! This isn't funny!"

"You're r-right, it's not," Sora agreed, making no move to stop Donald from shaking him as laughter continued to spill out of him.

"We were almost crushed!" Aila giggled, allowing herself to lay back down on the ground and staring up at the sky as she attempted to calm herself.

"Gwarsh, did Jafar cast a spell on you two or somethin'?" Goofy fretted, hugging Iago's limp form a little tighter.

"No, no, we're good," Sora replied, and at last he began to sober. "Just a weird adrenaline thing." He pushed Donald away and crouched over Aila, smirking down at her. "Feels good to actually let something out, right?"

Aila quirked an eye at him and took a deep breath, her laughter finally subsiding as well. "Hm…?"

"Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

Aila was sitting up again in an instant, everyone's gazes locked onto the massive, red form of genie-Jafar above the city. Oh, right. That was also a thing that had just happened. Sora leapt to his feet, Keyblade materializing with a shing in his hand.

"No time to rest," Aladdin said, eyes narrowing as he glared up at the villain. His arms were wrapped around Jasmine protectively, his muscles tensing a bit as the ground shook once again.

"How do we fight him?" Donald asked, gripping his staff as tightly as he could. "Our magic can't even touch him from here…"

"Then we'll have to get closer," Sora said, gaze darting back to Carpet. There was a crash, and Aila caught sight of another of the palace's turrets crumbling to the ground as Jafar continued to gather his power.

"Father!" Jasmine shrieked as the turret fell, the terror in her voice hitting everyone like a whip. She grasped at Aladdin's vest. "Aladdin, he's still in there! And Abu and Genie and, and—!"

"They're all inside?!" Aladdin asked, his face paling a little at that revelation.

"The dungeon," Aila supplied quickly, pushing herself to her feet. "Jafar told that peddler they were in the dungeon!"

"What if the whole thing collapses?!" Jasmine cried, obviously beginning to panic. "We have to get them out!"

"Right," Sora agreed with a hasty nod. He turned to Aila, Donald, and Goofy. "If I keep Jafar busy, you guys think you could get to them?"

"Sure we can!" Donald replied, fire in his eyes.

"But Sora, you can't defeat Jafar without his lamp," Goofy said, face scrunched up with worry.

"The peddler has the lamp," Aila said, the words leaving her mouth as quickly as she could get them out. "And he should be with the others, he was supposed to watch them or something. If we get to them, we'll get the lamp."

"Sora, I'll help you distract Jafar," Aladdin said, untangling himself from Jasmine.

"Aladdin, no!" Jasmine tried to protest, but Aladdin was quick to interrupt.

"If Sora and I are together, Jafar probably won't go looking for the rest of you until we're taken out. If we're separated he may get bored with one of us and go looking for the other."

"But he could want to go after anyone!" Jasmine retorted, brows furrowed in frustration.

"Aladdin and I were the ones to ultimately seal him back up," Sora replied with a shake of his head. "He'd want revenge against us the most." He shot a cheeky grin at Donald and Goofy. "No offense to you two, but you were kinda knocked out when that fight ended…"

"Hey, go right ahead, take on the wrath of the giant evil genie all you want," Donald replied, holding up his hands. "We don't want any of it."

"Aw, you care so much," Sora cooed mockingly. "Such good friends!"

"Ah, shaddup!"

"Sora, if you get too close to Jafar…" Goofy breathed seriously, his expression still one of unbroken concern. He was clearly on the same page as Jasmine when it came to not liking this plan.

Sora's expression fell back into a serious one as well. "We'll be fine, Goofy, promise. You guys be careful too. Don't lose focus in there, what with everything falling apart…" His gaze shifted to Aila, just for a second, but for long enough that she easily caught the doubtful look in his eye.

"I'm fine, I'm focused," she assured.

"If you're too tired…" Donald began.

"No, no, don't even say it," Aila replied quickly. "I'm not letting you guys go in there alone, okay? My shields will help if things start falling on top of us."

'If I can actually create them…' she thought fleetingly, her heart giving a panicked thud before she pushed the thought away. No, no, when they were running before, that had been a fluke. She'd been caught off guard was all. She was okay. She was fine.

"I'm going too." The declaration came from Jasmine, whose face was now a mask of steely determination.

"No way!" Aladdin protested. "Jasmine, you need to get out of the city, get somewhere safe!"

"I'm not leaving my father or my friends behind!" Jasmine retorted, all traces of panic gone. Aila couldn't help but be impressed – wasn't Jasmine scared? She didn't even know how to fight, did she? And yet even so… "This is my home, Aladdin; my family's in there. I can't just abandon that. I won't."

Aladdin hesitated, looking torn. At last, he sighed, resigned to the fact that he wouldn't be able to change her mind. "Please, Jasmine…" he tried one last time, though the tremor in his voice revealed that he knew he'd lost this argument.

Jasmine put a hand on his cheek, locking eyes with him. "I love you, Aladdin."

Aladdin blinked furiously a few times, trying his best not to look pained. "I love you too. You come back to me. Promise?"

"And you to me," Jasmine promised with a nod. Aladdin nodded back, and they embraced, so fiercely that Aila wondered how much they really believed the promise they'd just made to one another.

The ground shook again.

Jafar roared.

"That's our cue," Sora said, his eyes darting back up to the sky. Jafar seemed to be done powering up or whatever he'd been doing, a smile pulling at his lips as he finally looked down upon the city that lay before him.

"Come on!" Donald shouted, taking charge of the ground crew as Sora and Aladdin boarded Carpet.

"Be quick, you guys!" Sora instructed. And then Carpet was off, carrying him and Aladdin up and away into battle.

"Right, quick," Aila breathed, steeling herself for the task at hand. "We'll just get in, get everyone, grab the lamp, and get out."

"Sounds like a plan," Donald agreed, his expression one of intense worry as he watched Sora fly away. He shook his head a few times, perhaps to try and get rid of any troublesome thoughts he was having about his friend's safety, and then he was all business. "Okay, let's go!"

The four of them ran back into the courtyard, forced to stick near the walls in order to find their way around the fallen turret that had smashed up most of the courtyard's center.

"Is Iago…?" Jasmine asked as they ran, eyeing the bird in Goofy's arms.

"He's breathin'," Goofy assured.

"Jafar can't kill us, remember?" Aila reminded her, everyone scurrying over some rubble where a line of flowers used to be. Jafar roared, the air sparking above them as he either landed an attack or took one from their friends. No one dared look up to check which side had made the hit. "Genie rules or whatever."

"Yeah, so he'll just almost kill us instead," Donald huffed, leaping down from the pile and making a beeline for the palace doors. "Great."

"Jasmine, how do we get to the dungeon?" Goofy asked, obviously wanting to change the subject.

"Through here, straight down the hall in the back, then a right at the very end," Jasmine breathed, being the first to reach the palace doors in her haste. She pushed against them, straining to open them. "Come… on…!" she muttered, gritting her teeth. Aila, Donald, and Goofy all hurried to help, the doors seeming to have jammed amidst all the destruction.

"Open up, you stupid…!" Donald hissed, and then at last the doors gave way, he, Goofy, and Jasmine all falling over the threshold in a tangled heap.

Aila was the only one to stay upright, somehow having managed to catch herself right as the door swung forward. She blinked. "…Am I suddenly coordinated?!"

"WATCH OUT!"

Goofy's cry startled Aila, but not as much as the sound of something heavy slamming into the front of the palace, the sound of stone on stone ripping through her system like lightning and sending her muscles into overdrive. She leapt back right as a large piece of rubble smashed down upon the palace's front wall, the impact blowing her off her feet and sending her tumbling a few feet away.

"Ow," she hissed, pushing her face up off the ground and shaking her head a few times to clear it. She blinked, looking back toward the palace doors, only to feel her heart stop when she realized that the doors were gone – crushed by what looked to be a different piece of the palace, the dust settling around the rubble like a heavy blanket. "Guys?!" she cried, the word catching in her throat. They'd been there, right there, right where—!

"Aila!"

Aila leapt to her feet at the sound of Donald's muffled cry, rushing up to the pile of what used to be a piece of building as quickly as her legs would carry her. Without a second thought she began to climb, slipping ever few feet as debris was displaced beneath her, until at last she reached an opening in the crumbling wall. Heart pounding, she looked inside and nearly screamed in relief at the sight of Donald, Jasmine, and Goofy inside the palace, all looking a little shaken but otherwise unharmed, the tiny form of Iago still visible in Goofy's arms.

"You're okay!" she shouted in to them through the opening she'd found.

"You too," Jasmine replied, sounding very relieved. "Thank goodness no one got crushed…"

"But you leapt the wrong way!" Donald shouted, hopping up and down as he looked at Aila. "Now you're stuck out there!"

"No, I think I can fit through here," Aila said with a shake of her head, examining the opening in the wall a little closer. It certainly looked like she'd fit…

"NO!" Donald called, so sharply that Aila jumped and nearly fell back down the rubble in her surprise. "If that wall collapses while you're halfway through, you're done for! You need to find another way in!"

Aila huffed, blowing her bangs out of her face in annoyance. "Donald, I think you're being a little too intense about this hole here…"

"I'm serious Aila, I don't want you to risk it," Donald replied sternly. "Find another way."

"He's right Aila, we don't want ya gettin' hurt…" Goofy agreed with a nod.

Their surroundings shook again, Aila bracing herself against the rubble. "We really don't have time for this!" she shouted in frustration.

"Then be quick about it!" Donald shot back.

"We can't stay here…" Jasmine breathed, brows knitted together in worry. "We need to get to the others… This place could collapse at any moment…"

Aila bit the inside of her cheek, thinking Jasmine's words over. "She's right," she agreed after a moment. "You guys need to keep going. I'll turn back and see if I can help Sora out."

Donald and Goofy frowned at this, but neither seemed to be able to think of a better plan, and so they reluctantly agreed. "Be careful, Aila," Goofy warned, eyes shining with concern. "If yer not payin' attention, Jafar…"

"I'll focus, Goofy, I promise," Aila assured. "Now go! Get the others, and get that lamp!"

"We'll meet you outside," Jasmine said with a swift nod, and then the three of them turned and ran down the hall, leaving Aila by herself to try and figure out her next move.

"Okay, cool, switching teams," she muttered to herself as she slid down the rubble, searching the sky for Carpet. "No big deal."

"Aila, you need to take a moment to gather yourself," Celina urged. "Your mind is too tired – you can't keep your emotions in check."

"What're you talking about," Aila mumbled back, scurrying back the way she'd come through the courtyard. "Look at me, it's like calm city up in here. I'm totally chill, emotions in check and all that good stuff. I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine…"

"…Are you lying to me now, or to yourself?"

Aila paused at the far end of the fallen turret, bracing herself against the cracked marble surface. "Why are you trying to psychoanalyze me right now? In the middle of a boss fight, if you weren't aware?"

"I'm not, Aila, I'm trying to make you be honest with yourself. If you keep going on like this, you're going to get yourself hurt, or worse…!"

"Will you SHUT UP!" Aila bellowed, anger flaring up within her so quickly that it almost burned. "I don't need this right now, Celina, I don't! How many freaking times do I have to say it to the guys, to everyone, to you?! I'm fine, I'm fine, I'M FINE!"

"You don't sound fine to me."

Aila's heart nearly stopped at the voice that seemed to cut through the chaos around her, any awareness she had of her surroundings seeming to fade away as she turned toward the speaker. Her bright blue eyes locked with his, and for a moment all she could do was breathe out his name. "Danny…"

Danny stood a few yards away from her, sword resting casually against his shoulder, as if there wasn't some crazy fight going on around him. In fact, everything about the way he was standing screamed nonchalant, like he had just dropped in on a stroll Aila'd been taking to have a chat with her. It was unsettling, under the circumstances, and Aila immediately felt Celina's nerves spike along with her own. "Hey."

"…H… hey?" Aila breathed, the word almost lost as Jafar let out another angry roar, the ground rumbling again as a result. Aila blinked a few times, the anger in her heart that had already been lit a moment ago sparking to life once again. "Hey?"

"It's called a greeting," Danny replied, speaking slowly, as if to a toddler. "It's what people do when they haven't seen each other in a while."

Aila balled her fists at her side. "Don't be smart with me, Danny. Not now."

"Would you rather I be dumb?" Danny quipped back easily. "Makes sense, I guess, considering the characters you've surrounded yourself with lately…"

"Don't you dare insult them, not after everything you…" Aila hissed, biting her tongue to keep herself from finishing her thought. An image of Alex flashed through her mind, and she took a deep, calming breath, trying to quell her anger. She'd promised that she'd try to make up with Danny as soon as possible… After a long moment, she locked eyes with her brother again. "Look, okay. Now isn't the time. Let's just… how about you just apologize, we'll hug it out or whatever, and then we can talk about everything after this whole Jafar situation is under control, okay?"

"Apologize?" Danny asked, quirking a brow. "For what?"

Aila blinked again, trying to stay calm. "For… for Dem…" Her breathing hitched, the name catching in her throat as Demyx's final moments played before her eyes, as they had so many times before.

Danny scoffed. "Are you serious? I thought you were gonna apologize to me for that."

Aila recoiled a bit at that. She almost felt like she'd been slapped. "What?! Why on earth would I apologize to you?!"

"Uh, how about the way you totally flew off the handle and attacked me, when you knew all along that that was what had to happen?"

"No it didn't!"

"Uh, yeah, it did. We've played the games."

"Weren't you listening to Mickey at all?!" Aila screamed, feeling her blood begin to boil beneath her skin. "This isn't the same! Things don't have to play out the same way they did in the game, Danny!"

"Well that's bad news for your friends that do have hearts, then," Danny growled, seeming equally as frustrated. "You'd better hope things play out the same if you want them to win."

Aila stomped her foot, letting out a frustrated shriek. Part of her knew this wasn't the time to devolve into tantrum mode, but the words just kept flying out of her, loud and hot, all of her anger and frustration and pain she'd been feeling spewing itself out toward her brother. "Shut up! Don't talk like you know them, like you know anything! You were totally out of line interfering like that!"

"You interfered first!"

"To try and save someone I cared about, not to murder someone!"

Danny opened his mouth to retort again, but then seemed to think better of it, instead planting the tip of his sword in the ground and running a hand over his face. He took a deep breath, and then finally spoke again. "Look, Aila… I don't want to fight, okay? If you want me to say I'm sorry for killing Demyx, then fine, I'm sorry. Does that make you feel better?"

"It would if it sounded at all like you actually meant it," Aila hissed, her fists clenched so tightly in her anger that her knuckles were beginning to hurt. Danny turned away, seeming like he was trying to keep his anger in check as well, his hand clenched tightly around the handle of his sword.

"…This wasn't how I wanted this to go," he whispered at last. Aila was caught off guard by the tone of his voice, for it was no longer one of anger, but one of… of sadness. A profound, deep sadness that Aila'd never heard from her brother before. It was so intense, his words so filled with grief, that it scared her. Danny looked back at her again, and the pain in his eyes quelled the fire in Aila's heart almost instantly. "Aila… please… I don't want to fight. Not now. Please, not now."

"…Danny," Aila breathed, taking a step toward him. She paused, unsure of what to do. "Danny, I… Okay, you're right. Let's not fight. Not now." She looked away. "I promised Alex we wouldn't…"

Danny's expression seemed to lighten at that. "You found Alex?"

Aila looked back at him, forcing a half smile. "Yeah. She's safe."

"Good, that's good," Danny mumbled, his expression clouding into something more complicated. He seemed to be thinking quite deeply about something, and with a start Aila realized that he must be talking to Cyrus.

"Aila, it's not safe here."

"Ah, right," Aila breathed, taking in her surroundings once again and remembering that she was in the middle of a disaster zone. "Danny, we shouldn't talk here. We should go help Sora, and then when it's safe…"

"No!" Danny cried, so intensely that Aila took a step back in surprise. "No, I mean… No, Aila, this will only… Only take a minute… I had to get you away from those guys, get you alone, so we can't…" His bangs had fallen over his eyes, hiding his expression from Aila, but something about his demeanor made Aila hesitate. "You're quick. You dodged really well."

"…What are you talking about?" Aila asked slowly, cautiously, trying to ignore the spark of unease that was beginning to ignite within her. "Danny, come on, we need to go—"

"Jafar told you," Danny interrupted, facing Aila fully once again, his eyes still hidden from her. "He told you, right? So you… you already know…"

"Danny, what…?" Aila began. Jafar told her… what? He'd told her lies; was that what Danny was talking about? "Danny, if you're worried that I believed Jafar, don't worry, I didn't."

Danny's grip tightened on his sword, his muscles tensing at Aila's words. At last he looked up, locking eyes with his sister again, and when he did Aila felt her blood run cold. His eyes… they seemed so… empty… "He was telling the truth, Aila."

There was a pause, in which Aila felt like Danny had spoken another language. She couldn't quite decipher what he was saying; it sounded so ridiculous. "…What did you say?"

"I knew that peddler would know how to break into the palace, so I enlisted his help to get the lamp," Danny continued, not breaking eye contact with Aila. "I needed it, Aila, it was the last thing I could think of… I've tried everything, but all my other options came up short. Ursula was no help at all, or Hades… I thought maybe I could find some sort of loophole in the Underworld, but there was nothing. Don't you see? It has to be like this." He covered his eyes with a hand now, looking pained as he continued. "I didn't want to have to do it myself, Ai. I thought if I could just wish it, then it'd be quick, painless… but I forgot about those damn rules."

'His wish… was for your death…'

"D… Danny…" Aila choked out, taking another step back at Celina's insistence. "What… what're you… saying…?"

Danny removed his hand, and Aila realized he'd begun to cry. She'd only ever seen him cry once before… "There's no other way, Ai. I've looked, I have, but this… this has to be what Cyrus, Celina, and Mia were planning when they chose us! When they chose three people so close together… siblings… Celina must have told you how crazy that is! So there had to be a reason, right? And that reason was so one of us would have the power to finish this, to set them free, and end all this suffering for good! So no one else would have to endure this pain, this despair that we're bound to because of them!" He took a step forward, and Aila mirrored the movement with another step back. "I can see it in your eyes, Aila. You're in pain; you're hurting already. This curse is already taking its toll on you, pulling despair into your life. We're destined to suffer, Aila! Alex is destined to suffer! But I can save her, I can save you! I can take that pain away before it gets to be too much for you to bear!"

Aila couldn't breathe anymore. This wasn't real. This couldn't be real. She must have fallen asleep. This was another nightmare, and any minute now she'd wake up in Sora's arms. She'd have to apologize to him again for waking him, for worrying him over nothing but a bad dream. Because that's all this was. A very, very bad dream. And any minute now…

"Cyrus and I figured it out," Danny was continuing, the words spilling out of him fast and free. "The moon is a reflection of the sun's power, right? We can see the moon because of the sun's rays bouncing off of it. So in a sense, the sun lends the moon some of its light. But if the moon weren't there, if the sun had all its power to itself, then its strength would be all its own!" His eyes seemed to slide into a relaxed state, a gold light tinting the irises now. "Sister, our lifetimes have always flowed too closely to one another – I was never of an age where I could use my power when you were choosing another vessel. But if I were to release you now, I would have a window where that power would be all mine to bear! And with that, I could finally take back what is ours, and take revenge upon those who forced us onto this path! We've searched these lifetimes for a way to fight against those who've bound us here, and now we've found it! This was our plan all along! Don't you remember?"

"You're wrong!" Aila shouted back, though she knew the words were not her own. This time, however, she gave herself over to Celina willingly, letting the Spirit speak for her. She doubted she would have been able to form any words for herself anyway… But it was okay, because any minute now…

Any minute now…

"Cyrus, you can't really believe that was what we were planning?!" Celina continued through Aila. "I don't remember why we chose Aila and Danny, it's true, but I know you don't remember either! I sensed that confusion within you when we last clashed – you're spouting nonsense, filling that boy's head with truths you yourself invented! All because you're too impatient, too selfish to find the real answers!"

Any minute now, she'd wake up…

"This was his idea as well," Danny replied. "He couldn't bear the thought of his sisters suffering throughout their lifetimes. With this, Aila's life will end, but so will her pain. And Alex – she will be free of Mia, free of our curse as soon as I destroy those who laid it upon us! She will live a happy, full life! Isn't that what Aila wants, too? To give Alex that gift? To avoid the tragedies she herself is destined to suffer through?"

Any… minute now…

"You would sacrifice one life for another?" Celina asked darkly. "After all this time…? …You really have learned nothing, Brother…"

Danny's expression darkened. "Nor have you, Sister."

That was when something within Aila snapped.

Emotions welled up within her – anger, pain, despair, frustration, confusion – all of them so potent and powerful that she could hardly stand to feel them. Her heart burned from them, and white-hot light blossomed from her chest as a result, encasing her entire body in that same white glow it had held back on Hollow Bastion. Her weapon materialized in her hand, the dust billowing out around her in response to her sudden power spike, her now entirely white eyes boring into her brother.

Danny raised his sword, a golden glow encasing him, his bangs falling low over his eyes. "I do not wish to fight you. But if you insist…" He raised his head to meet Aila's gaze, his eyes no more than two pools of golden light now. "So be it."

As if on instinct, Aila and Danny sprung forward, kicking up dust and dirt as their bodies met and their weapons clashed. The clang from the hit was almost ear piercingly loud, the resulting shockwave from the strike kicking up even more dust and debris around the two. They both leapt back, sizing one another up after that first strike, gauging each other's strength. Danny was strong, even stronger than he'd been on Hollow Bastion…

Aila gasped, blinking a few times as images of the destruction she'd caused in Hollow Bastion assaulted her. No…! She couldn't let that happen here too! The white glow around her flickered and faded, her eyes returning to their normal state.

"Aila, we… we need to keep our emotions in check," Celina whispered, sounding strained. "I… I need you to keep a level head here…! I can't…!"

"Celina!" Aila gasped, but then Danny was back on her, suddenly right in front of her again, slashing at her in such quick succession that she was only just barely able to block his strikes in time. Forced into the defensive, she parried and pushed Danny's weapon to the side so he stumbled, allowing herself a moment of breathing room to scurry up onto the fallen turret. She pulled herself onto its cylindrical top and hurriedly backed up a few steps toward the palace, her heart pounding as she watched Danny turn to look up at her, his blank, golden eyes sending chills down her spine.

"Aila!"

Aila looked up to see Carpet flying past her overhead, Sora and Aladdin giving her questioning looks. "What're you doing out here?!" Sora called, cupping a hand around his mouth.

Before Aila could answer, she saw Danny's gaze shift to Carpet, his teeth clenched in anger as he watched them fly past. "Don't interfere…" she heard him mutter as he thrust his left hand out toward her friends, golden light pooling in his palm.

"No!" Aila cried, throwing her staff at Danny without a second thought. It struck his outstretched arm and he let out a curse, his attention again returning to his sister. "Don't hurt them!" she yelled, feeling herself begin to slip back into her rage-filled state.

Danny launched himself up toward her, Aila falling down onto her back and using her legs to kick him up and over her, his body tumbling once on the turret before he was able to twist himself in a way that allowed him to land back on his feet. Aila rolled into a crouch, summoning her staff back to herself and baring her teeth at the boy before her. How dare he try to attack Sora and Aladdin… Sora and Aladdin! What was wrong with him?! Danny loved Sora and Aladdin! He'd lost it, completely lost it! She needed to knock some sense into him… That was a good plan, right? But what if she couldn't do that, what if he was just stuck like this and, and…! She pressed her palm into the marble of the turret, trying to keep herself grounded, to keep herself from spiraling into a panic. Right now, she needed to focus on knocking Danny's stupid senses back into his stupid head.

She willed light to flow down her arm, planning on sending it through the turret to Danny to try and knock him off from underneath or something, but to her dismay nothing happened. "Again?!" she hissed under her breath, lifting up her hand and glaring down at it. She didn't have long to dwell on her unreliable powers as Danny launched himself toward her, running down the length of the turret with incredible speed. She brought her weapon up just barely in time, the two clashing again with a loud clang!

"Aila, don't make this more difficult than it needs to be," Danny ground out through clenched teeth as he pressed his sword into her staff. "Please… This isn't what I wanted!"

"Oh, and what did you want, for me to just roll over and let you murder me?!" Aila shot back, standing and pushing her brother back and away from her on her last two words.

"I don't want to do that!" Danny replied hotly, steadying himself, shoulders squared in her direction.

"Then don't!"

"I have no choice!"

"Bull!"

Danny huffed in frustration and leapt into the air, summersaulting over Aila's head and lashing out with his sword as he landed behind her, clearly trying to catch her off guard. Aila spun around and ducked out of the way of the attack, kicking out at Danny's legs and sending him to a knee. She took off running the other way across the turret until she was at the palace's front wall, leaping onto a broken piece of the palace and pulling herself up onto it, trying to gain the advantage of higher ground so she could maybe cast some magic Danny's way. Magic would probably still work for her, right? Or if her powers were out, was her magic out too? She turned around just in time to see Danny's sword hurtling toward her and gasped, spinning to her left just before the golden weapon embedded itself into the wall behind her. She needed to get some distance between them, and quick…!

White light sparked at her heels, and she blinked. "Oh, so now you work?!" she scoffed in annoyance, but, deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth, she used that light to bolt to her left, leaping and climbing up and up and up the fractured palace as quickly as she could. At last she reached the top, which was currently comprised of half of the largest bulbous, circular golden roof part of the palace (the other half having collapsed in a way that had created a rather convenient ramp for Aila to run up), and she swung around to the far side of the pointed top of the structure to catch her breath for a second.

Danny wasn't far behind her, alighting to the other side of the point just a few moments later, glaring at her with hard eyes. "Stop running, Aila! You're only making this harder for both of us!"

"Not until you stop being a psycho!" Aila shot back, pressing her back up against the point and shutting her eyes in frustration.

"Well well, what have we here?"

Her eyes snapped open in shock at Jafar's booming voice, only to see the genie's massive face level with her own. Uh oh.

Jafar sneered, straightening up a little higher again as he gazed down at the two tiny humans before him. "Looks like you found each other after all, hm? A family reunion… how quaint…"

"Stay away from her, Jafar!" Sora called, he and Aladdin flying near the genie's head, Sora shooting a quick Blizzaga spell his way. Jafar raised a hand to block the ice, frowning darkly at the two boys aboard their magic carpet before swiping out at them, the resulting air current he kicked up sending Carpet for a loop and forcing Sora and Aladdin to hold on for dear life.

"Sora!" Aila cried fearfully, taking a few steps forward and contemplating if she'd be able to catch her friends if they happened to fall. 'No' was the obvious answer to that, but maybe she could use her light to—!

Something slammed into her from behind, and suddenly she was the one falling, tumbling off the palace roof and through the air, catching only a quick glimpse of Danny standing where she'd just been as she spun head over heels toward the ground. She grit her teeth, refusing to accept that this was how she'd meet her end and trying to regain her bearings to at least stop her spinning, throwing her hand out as if she might be able to grab onto something. Light blossomed from her fingers, weaving into a rope and wrapping around a nearby piece of the palace that was jutting up into the sky. She felt the pull of her light rope begin to slow her and for a moment relief washed through her, but then, to her horror, the light flickered, and in a flurry of sparkling motes her rope broke apart and faded away to nothing. A scream escaped her as she once again fell unhindered, the realization that her light had failed cutting into her gut like a knife. No—!

Arms wrapped around her, and she blinked in surprise as she realized someone had caught her mid-fall. She shifted to see Sora gazing down at her, concern in his eyes as the air passing by her altered and they began flying sideways rather than straight down, Carpet having changed direction once she was safely aboard.

"You okay?" Sora asked, his voice raised a little over the roar of wind in their ears.

"You caught me…" Aila replied dumbly, blinking a few more times. She then frowned. "I was planning on catching you guys…"

Sora smirked a little. "Whoops, sorry we messed that up!"

Aila twisted out of the Keyblader's arms into a kneeling position between him and Aladdin, the latter putting a steadying hand on her shoulder to assure she didn't take another dive. "Who is that?" Aladdin asked, glancing back up at the top of the palace. Aila followed his gaze to see Danny still standing there, watching her like a hawk.

"My brother…" Aila breathed, her heart giving a painful thud.

"What the heck is he doing?" Sora growled, glaring at Danny as they circled around the palace. "He could have killed you!"

"He was trying to," Aila growled darkly. Sora and Aladdin started at that, shooting Aila alarmed looks.

"What?!" Sora gasped, looking at Aila with wide eyes. "No way, that can't be right…!" She met his gaze very seriously, wishing Sora's doubts were valid… but…

"Carpet, DIVE!"

Aladdin's call startled Aila and Sora, the two teens looking back out to see that Danny had leapt toward them, surrounded by golden light that was propelling him forward like a bullet, his sword parallel with his body, its point angled directly at Aila and glinting dangerously in the sunlight. Aila only barely got her staff in front of her in time when Danny slammed into her, sending the two flying off of Carpet and over the rooftops of Agrabah. Aila just vaguely heard Sora and Aladdin call out to her, but her attention was on Danny, whose golden eyes were narrowed into angry slits at her as they continued to push against one another in midair. Finally, Aila felt herself slam into something hard, tumbling along the rough surface as Danny bounced off and away from her before finally, with dust and rubble kicked up all around her, she came to a stop. Her head pounded intensely, her muscles screaming from the impact; she was sure that fall had done some serious damage (in all honesty she was a little surprised she was still conscious), though in her delirious state she couldn't quite pinpoint where the majority of her pain was coming from.

"H… heal…" she croaked out, wrapping her fingers gingerly around her staff at her side. Green light engulfed her, easing her aches, but her head continued to swim and throb regardless.

"Why even bother healing yourself?" Danny was asking as Aila pushed herself onto her knees, her vision spinning dangerously as she did so. She felt a bead of sweat run down her brow, reminding her of just how hot it was out here. The heat combined with her fatigue must have been making her dizzy… Or maybe it had something to do with those drops of crimson all around her… "You're only prolonging this, you know."

"That's the point," Aila choked back, trying to keep her hands from shaking as she braced herself on the ground. She glanced over to Danny, who was standing a few feet away from her now. "I'm not ready to die."

Danny frowned. "No one ever is. Not really. But Aila… I have to do this. For Alex. And for Celina and Mia, and…"

"And Cyrus?" Aila spat, glaring hard. "Danny, he wants this to happen. He wants to be free, right? This is all for him, not for Alex or anyone else! He's doing this so he can gain power; he isn't doing any of this for us!"

"Shut up!" Danny shouted, his voice harsh. Aila realized for the first time that they were on a rooftop, flat and dusty, somewhere in town. The palace was so far away… she turned her head ever so slightly, trying to see if maybe Carpet had followed her… "They won't come," Danny said, as if reading her thoughts. "Jafar's keeping them busy. I thought this would be perfect, that I could get this all… taken care of amidst the chaos of a boss fight, but…" He ran a hand through his hair, looking frustrated. "I didn't expect you to put up so much of a fight."

"…You didn't think I'd put up a fight?" Aila blinked at him. "Then you never really knew me at all." She lowered her head, her bangs falling over her eyes. "Maybe… I never really knew you, either, if you're actually okay with something like this…" She clenched her fists on the ground. "How can two people grow up side by side… but still be total strangers…?"

She heard footsteps, slow and steady, and looked up to see Danny stop right before her. "We're not strangers, Aila." He knelt down and reached out, putting a hand on Aila's cheek. Aila winced at the touch – her brother's fingers were so callous, so much rougher than she remembered them… "I'm doing this to save you. I… I love you, Aila. I love you too much to watch you suffer. Don't you understand that?"

Aila wrenched her head away, feeling tears begin to pool in her eyes. The world spun before her once again, and she tried to focus on a spot on the ground to steady it. "So instead of trying to help me, to work together, your solution is just to get rid of me. To make it all stop." She looked up, fire in her eyes. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. That's the easy way out, Danny. You really think I'd want to stop existing, just to avoid having to fight a little harder?!"

Danny stood up, frowning down at his sister. "I know you'd never do it yourself. That's why…" He raised his sword. "That's why I have to do it for you. Believe me, Aila… this is what needs to happen. For everyone. You're going to help save so many people from this fate…"

Aila grabbed at her staff, but when she tried to stand, her legs gave way. The world spun around her once again, her vision starting to tunnel as she braced herself on her knees once more. "Danny, please… Please don't do this…"

Danny braced himself, pressing his heels into the dirt. "I love you, Aila."

And then he was swinging down, his sword seeming to move in slow motion as it arced toward her head. Acting only on instinct, Aila raised a hand, and right before his sword hit a ball of white light burst forth from her palm, hitting Danny in the gut and sending him flying backwards, tumbling right off the roof. Aila took a few deep, shaky breaths, her eyes glued to the spot where he'd gone over. That wouldn't be enough to keep him from coming back again… She'd only stalled…

"Allegra!"

Aila turned her head at the voice, quirking a brow at the call. Iago was flying toward her, looking totally flustered. "Iago?"

"What the heck are you doing over here?!" Iago asked, hovering right in front of Aila's face. "Shouldn't you be, oh I dunno, helping with the whole Jafar situation?!"

"Shouldn't you?" Aila replied, entirely confused. "Wait, what're you even doing out here anyway? Shouldn't you still be with Goofy and them, inside the palace?"

"I came around," Iago replied easily. "Helped get everyone freed up, and then we booked it outta there – the place was comin' down around us! Then when we got outside, I saw this weird golden light slam into this place and figured I should make sure it wasn't another one of Jafar's tricks…"

"Oh," Aila breathed, glancing back to the edge of the roof Danny had flown off of. It was still empty. "No, it's not Jafar. Iago, you should get out of here, I'm worried that Danny might take you out if he thinks you're in the way… maybe not if he's still hell bent on not meddling too much, but I don't…"

"Who the heck is Danny?" Iago asked, cocking his head to the side. Just then, said boy leapt back up onto the roof, landing in a crouch on the side opposite of Aila and looking absolutely livid as he stared her down.

"That is," Aila replied. She glanced quickly at Iago. "Go on, go! He's dangerous!"

"And leave you here alone? Fat chance!" Iago replied firmly. "C'mon, get up!"

Aila tried again to stand, but before she even got out of a squat she knew it was no good. Her vision darkened at the edges, everything swimming before her eyes. "I-I can't," she whispered, her entire body shaking.

"Whaddya mean you can't?!" Iago squawked in indignation. He cast a wary gaze at Danny, who was very slowly standing up again. "We gotta get outta here, pronto!"

"I told you, I…!" Aila began, her words catching as she met Iago's gaze. She'd lost, she realized with a twinge of horror. She'd lost this fight.

Game over.

Iago seemed to see the terror in her eyes, his wings seeming to start moving double-time as his own eyes widened in fear. "I-I'll go get help! I'll be right back, Aila, just… just don't move!" And then he was off like a gunshot, heading back toward the palace to alert their friends of Aila's predicament.

"You… said my name right," Aila whispered after him, a faint smile tugging at her lips. "…'Bout time…"

"Aila, what are we… you can't seriously be thinking of…!" Celina whispered, sounding strained. Aila flashed back to a memory of how Celina had been after Sarabi had died, how totally out of control she'd seemed, and wondered if the Spirit was trying to hold herself together, to keep herself from losing control.

Aila sighed. "I… I don't know how to beat him… He won't listen…"

"Then MAKE HIM listen! You cannot die here Aila, you can't!"

"Talking to my sister?" Danny called, though his voice had shifted now into that strange, echoy version he'd held on Hollow Bastion, and Aila realized she wasn't sure if it had really been her brother who'd just spoken. Danny huffed. "I didn't really expect either of you to understand… but this is what we were planning, Celina. This was always our plan."

"No it wasn't," Aila whispered, echoing Celina's thoughts.

"Aila was always just a sacrifice for a greater cause. You chose her knowing that."

Aila shut her eyes tight, feeling a sting in her heart at the boy's words.

"He's lying, Aila, I would never…! You know I wouldn't, not after Lucy…!"

Aila nodded shakily. "I… I know, Celina…" She opened her eyes, trying to focus again on her brother's form, but everything was so blurry… "I… guess you were right, about me being too tired," she breathed, trying to steady her shaking arms. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you…"

"Aila…!"

Danny hefted his sword. "Let's end this before Jafar stops being a distraction… I don't want to interfere with Sora's journey any more than this…"

Aila blinked slowly, remembering the words Danny had spoken before he'd left Hollow Bastion. "…Is this really… our story…? The one you wanted to find…?"

Danny shifted just slightly. "…Unfortunately… yes."

And then he was racing forward, golden light surrounding him as he cut through the air between them. Aila raised her staff, but a part of her knew it would be no good. She didn't want to die here… But… how…? She shut her eyes, waiting for the impact, hoping beyond hope that somehow her body could sustain the blow…

CLANG!

Aila's eyes shot open in surprise at the sound, her vision clearing after a few moments to reveal that Danny's sword had been intercepted by something a few feet away from her.

A weapon.

A round, red weapon, covered in silver points.

A chakram.

Aila's eyes widened as hope began to blossom in her heart. Axel…?

The Nobody landed before her a moment later, his coat billowing out around him and kicking up a little halo of dust at his feet. "Sorry to interrupt," he drawled, shoulders squared toward Danny, "but I think you've gone far enough."

Danny leapt back, skidding in the dirt and glaring at the intruder. "You," he growled angrily as Axel caught his abandoned chakram, the Nobody twirling it around easily in his hand. "What're you doing here?"

"You could call it a favor, I guess," Axel replied easily with a shrug. "I owed your sister, so I agreed to keep an eye out for you. Seems like she kinda beat me to the punch, though…" He glanced quickly over his shoulder, giving Aila a measured look. "You okay, kid?"

"Axel…" Aila breathed, trying to keep his silhouette from splitting into two before her. "You're… you're here…"

"'Course I'm here," Axel replied with a small smile. "I couldn't let you have all the fun, could I?"

"Stay out of this, Nobody," Danny growled, golden eyes narrowed dangerously at the man before him. "Aila shouldn't be any of your concern."

"Ah, right, because you know what all of my concerns are, don't you?" Axel asked, summoning his second chakram in his other hand and giving it a casual spin. Danny's eyes widened a fraction in surprise. "Yeah, that's right, I know about you, and what you know. Kinda creepy of you, spying on me like that…"

Danny's gaze shifted to Aila. "You told him?!"

"Of course I didn't," Aila shot back with a scowl. "He's just…" She glanced at Axel and smirked a little. "…Really good at his job."

Axel chuckled. "That I am. Now, let's say we all put our weapons down and talk this out, hm? Haven't you had enough fighting for one day?"

Danny growled angrily. "Step aside."

"Sorry, no can do," Axel replied easily. "Let's try this again…" His tone suddenly darkened, his shoulders tensing as he stared Danny down with total seriousness now. "Stand down."

Danny paused for a moment, seeming to be thinking something over. Eventually, his grip tightened on his sword, and his eyes narrowed once again. "I didn't want to mess up Sora's timeline… but killing you here shouldn't alter too much. I'll help him out in the Realm Between if he gets overwhelmed without you to jump in…"

Aila's eyes widened. "Danny, no!"

Axel flexed his fingers around his weapons, tightening his grip. "You think you can take me? Bring it, kid."

And then Danny was rushing forward one more time, but this time his target wasn't Aila: it was Axel. Images of Demyx's final moments flashed before Aila's eyes. Danny was going to kill Axel…! No, no no no no—!

"NO!"

Before Aila even realized what had happened, she was standing before Axel, Danny's sword colliding with her staff rather than Axel's chakrams. She felt herself slide back a few inches, but she just dug her heels into the ground even more, pushing against Danny with all she had. "Don't you dare hurt him," she hissed, only vaguely aware of the slight echo in her voice.

"The hell?!" she heard Axel exclaim, but she wasn't focused on him. No, she was focused on Danny, this golden-eyed shell of the boy she once knew. White light blossomed from her chest, surrounding her once again, but this time she knew it wouldn't fade. Brighter and brighter it became, until she could see Danny squinting against the glare.

"Stay away…" she hissed, her voice echoing even more. "Stay AWAY!"

White light exploded from her body, blasting Danny as it shot outwards and sending him flying back. In the blink of an eye she was on him again, hacking away at him so quickly that her strikes were nearly invisible, Danny just barely blocking as many as he could. She held out her left hand and suddenly Danny was encased in white, being lifted up into the air by Aila's power. With a quick downward swing of her hand Danny was slammed into the ground, the roof they were standing on creaking and cracking a little from the hit. Aila didn't stop there though, throwing her hand out to the left and sending Danny tumbling in that direction, the white light around him fading only after she'd released him to let him roll for a few meters unhindered. Danny coughed, struggling to his hands and knees as the dirt his body had kicked up settled around him.

"Aila, hey, whoa, that's enough," Axel tried, putting a hand on Aila's shoulder, but the only thanks he got was Aila turning and shooting a ball of light into his gut. Her eyes had become nothing but pure white light, but her vision was nothing but red – she wanted to hurt. To destroy. To destroy everything. It was as if everything she'd been holding in was bursting out of her, all the anger and pain and fear all at once, and it was bursting forth as white-hot power from every pore in her body.

She turned again to Danny, who was stumbling to his feet. "I will not let you take another life," she hissed in a voice not her own. "Do you hear me, brother? You're done."

Danny ran at her with a yell, but she was ready. Quick as lightning she countered, catching his weapon with her own and then sweeping his legs out from under him, following him down as he slammed into the ground and pinning him there, face up.

"A… Aila…" he croaked out, his eyes flickering back to their normal state. He looked scared, scared of her.

"Why don't you ever listen?!" Aila screamed, her voice echoing around them both like a banshee. "You don't understand, you never understand! And I won't let you keep destroying everything we've worked toward!"

Danny shoved Aila off of himself and was on his feet again in the blink of an eye. He grit his teeth, watching Aila warily, seeming very torn. At last, he held out a hand to his side, a portal of light appearing at his fingertips. "I guess we'll have to work this out another time," he said, and then in the next breath, he was gone.

"NO!" Aila screamed, lunging toward the portal, but it faded in her fingertips before she could breach it. Anger welled up within her, searing hot, her entire body shaking as it filled her up. She was angry, so angry, and her outlet for that anger had just gotten away! She screamed, white light bursting out around her and swirling around her body like a deadly tornado. The tornado of light continued to grow, faster and brighter, concealing her within it as it kicked up dirt and debris around the girl it held captive, tearing pieces of the roof she was standing on away in its ferocity. Aila vaguely realized that she should stop, that she needed to calm down… but she couldn't. After forcing herself not to feel anything for so long, the emotions within her were bursting forth like a hurricane, ripping out of her, unwilling to be restrained any longer. If this kept up, her power could do some serious damage to her surroundings…

She was totally out of control.

"Aila!"

She felt a hand on her arm, felt herself being pulled backwards. She tried to fight back, but another arm just wrapped around her, holding her tight, not letting go.

"It's okay!" she heard a voice say. Was that Axel…? "It's okay, Aila! I'm here!"

She felt her body relax slightly, and at last she allowed the arms around her to pull her out of the tornado she'd created. The light slowed as she fell back into someone's chest, the two sinking to the ground together as Aila's power finally began to fade.

"I've got you," Axel said, wrapping his arms around her from behind a little tighter, holding her steady. "I've got you. You're okay."

Tears were running down Aila's cheeks, though when they'd begun to fall she couldn't be sure. Her entire body was shaking, and as she allowed Axel to hold her the glow around her body finally faded away. "No," she choked out in a broken whisper. "I'm not okay…" She turned her head, pressing her face into Axel's chest as her sobs increased. "I'm n-not okay…! I'm not okay, I'm not okay, I'm not…!"

"Shhh," Axel cooed, holding her tight. "I know… I know…"

Sora found them like that a minute later, Aila launching herself into his chest when he got close enough and holding onto him for dear life. He wrapped his arms around her as her mantra of 'I'm not okay' continued to tumble out of her in broken whispers, he and Axel sharing helpless glances as all they could do was hold her, and wait for her tears to stop.

KHKHKHKH

Axel and Aila were waiting outside the city limits, sitting in the sand and gazing up at the cloudless sky. Well, Axel was gazing up at the sky. Aila had her eyes closed at the moment, her head lolling against Axel's chest as the two waited for the gang to meet up with them. She wasn't really sure how long they'd been sitting there, but it seemed like a long time, neither one of them having said much since exiting Agrabah's walls.

A few pops sounded overhead, making Aila jump a little.

"Huh… looks like a celebration," Axel commented. Aila peaked through her lashes to see colorful lights in the sky above the city. Fireworks. Genie's doing, she guessed. "Guess everything's all good in there now."

"Guess so," Aila mumbled, closing her eyes again. Sora had loaded her and Axel onto Carpet and taken them all out to where the Gummi ship was parked, Sora and Carpet leaving the two there temporarily while they regrouped with everyone else. Jafar had been finished off and everyone had made it out of the castle unharmed, he'd said, but Aila had insisted that she didn't want to see the Agrabah crew again. Not now, anyway. She couldn't. They'd have questions about Danny, and she didn't have answers. She didn't even have the energy to give any answers, anyway, even if she had had them. No, she just wanted to leave. To get off this world and away from people.

And to take a shower. A shower sounded really nice.

"You can sleep if you want," Axel said gently. "…Promise I won't kidnap ya or anything." He chuckled lightly. "Too soon for that joke?"

"It's okay," Aila mumbled. "Can't sleep…"

"Can't sleep?" Axel parroted. "What, so you haven't been sleeping, then? Huh… well that explains a lot…"

Aila snuggled into his chest a little more, the coolness of his body very comforting under the hot desert sun. A perk of not having a heart, she supposed. "You feel nice," she mumbled woozily.

"Thank you, all the ladies tell me so."

Aila huffed and punched him in the chest half-heartedly. "Don't be gross."

"What? You said it."

The sound of footsteps made Aila open her eyes again, her vision adjusting to show Sora, Donald, and Goofy heading her way.

"Everything good?" Axel asked.

"Yep, all back to normal," Sora replied. "Genie fixed up the city and the palace, too. It's like nothing ever happened."

Aila snorted. Made sense for a storyline based on the stupidest sequel ever…

"Aila," Goofy said, kneeling down before her. "Are you okay? We heard about Danny and how…" He trailed off, seeming unsure about how to finish that sentence. Aila stared back at him, not really sure how to answer.

"No, she's not okay," Axel replied for her. She glanced up at him to see him giving the trio a hard look. "What the hell have you guys been doing? How'd you let her get like this?"

"Us?!" Donald squawked. "We didn't do anything! It was your stupid Organization that—!"

Sora put a hand on Donald's shoulder, stopping the duck's rant before it could really get started. "It's not important, Donald." He looked at Aila sadly. "What is important is that… yeah. We shouldn't have let things get this bad, Aila. I didn't really realize…" He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Well no, I did, I guess… But you wouldn't…" He shook his head before looking at Aila again. "We should get you out of the heat. That'll help."

"Good start," Axel agreed, standing and pulling Aila up with him.

"Noo," Aila whined, burying her face in Axel's chest. "Your body feels too good, don't leave me…"

"Ah jeez kid, are you trying to say weird things now?" Axel sighed, sounding a little embarrassed.

"Seriously, don't say things like that!" Donald snapped, stomping up to Aila and grabbing her arm. Aila blinked at him, confused. "People will get the wrong idea!"

Axel chuckled, leaning down a putting a finger under Aila's chin. "Or maybe you're trying to give people the right idea, hm? We could see what you think about my body with the coat off…" he purred, apparently completely over his embarrassment now. Aila winced back and shook her head violently, feeling her face heat up from Axel's implications. She stopped shaking her head almost immediately, putting a hand to her face as everything began to spin again. She felt Goofy put a hand on her shoulder to steady her and shot him a grateful smile.

"Over my dead body!" Donald was snapping at Axel, getting right up in his face now. "Don't you say things like that to her, got it, you big dummy?! She's way too young for that kinda talk!"

"Yeah, seriously Axel! Cut it out!" Sora chimed in, hands on his hips as he glared at the Nobody.

Axel laughed. "C'mon guys, I'm only kidding! Don't get your feathers in a bunch!"

Donald huffed angrily before turning and heading off toward where they'd (hopefully) parked the Gummi ship. "Come on, guys, let's go."

Aila frowned at Axel. "Are you coming too?"

Axel put his hands in his pockets. "Nah, I'm good. I think I'll try and track down that brother of yours again… Seems like he might really need to be kept in check now, you know?" Aila's head drooped sadly. "Hey," Axel said, sauntering up so he was right in front of her again and putting a hand on her head. "Don't worry. We'll figure this all out, okay? I promised I'd help you, and I will." Aila looked up at him to see him smiling down at her, a genuine, kind smile. "You just keep on moving forward, got it?"

Aila bit her lip, but finally nodded. "Okay. Thank you, Axel."

"Of course," Axel replied. A devious smirk then crossed his face and he leaned down, his nose nearly touching hers once again. "If you ever wanna repay me, I can think of a few things you could do for—"

He didn't get to finish his sentence, Sora giving him a good whack on the head with his Keyblade before he had the chance. Axel yelped, putting his hands to his head before glaring at the boy. Sora shrugged. "I told you to cut that out."

"That wasn't even anything dirty!"

"Yeah it was, don't play dumb."

"Come on, Aila, let's get you inside," Goofy said, and Aila glanced up to see him giving Axel a very stern look. She smirked a little to herself. Man, Axel was even starting to get under Goofy's skin… He really wasn't great at this whole being friends with people thing…

"Hurry up, you three!" Donald was calling from behind them, having found and un-cloaked the ship.

"Comin', Donald!" Goofy called over his shoulder. He smiled gently down at Aila. "Think you can walk on yer own?"

"Yeah, I'm good, thanks," Aila replied gratefully. Goofy smiled and nodded in reply, but kept a hand on her shoulder just in case.

"Seriously though, thanks for the help, Axel," Sora was saying, dismissing his Keyblade and holding out a hand to the Nobody. "It's… a good thing you were here."

Axel stopped rubbing his sore head and straightened up, blinking at the offered hand. Finally, he smiled, taking it in his own. "Anytime. I, uh… I'm glad I could help Aila out. And you, too. Er…" He withdrew his hand, suddenly looking a little awkward. "I mean… anyway, right, you guys should get going. I'll try and catch up again if I find anything else out about Danny."

"Sounds good," Sora replied with a smile. "Be safe."

"Yeah, uh… You too," Axel replied, giving Sora a kind of funny look.

Sora frowned. "What?"

Axel started. "N-nothing! You just, uh, reminded me of someone for a sec…" He cleared his throat. "Anyway… take care of her, will ya? I'd rather not have to pull her out of a crazy swirling power cyclone next time we meet."

Sora glanced at Aila and frowned a little. "Yeah… yeah, we will."

"GUYS. HURRY UP."

"We're coming Donald, sheesh, calm down!" Sora called, walking over to Aila and putting a hand on her back. He smiled down at her. "You ready?"

"Yeah," she replied with a small smile of her own. She glanced back at Axel. "Bye Axel."

"Later, kid," he replied, and then he was gone, into a portal of darkness. Off to find Danny. Again.

But, Aila thought nervously as she allowed her friends to lead her back aboard their ship…

Did she even want Danny to be found anymore?

KHKHKHKH

Aila wiped the fog away from the bathroom mirror post-shower, staring at her reflection's long, wet hair. It was getting really long… Maybe she should think about cutting it at some point. Well, of course, not until this whole adventure thing was over – she didn't exactly trust herself or the boys to do any hair styling. She pulled her hair back into its normal ponytail, ringing it out one more time in the sink after it was secured. Steeling another glimpse at her reflection, she caught sight of something white sticking out of her pocket. Furrowing her brow, she looked down to see Alex's ribbon, the one she'd given to Aila at Yen Sid's. She grabbed at it delicately, holding it up before her. "Good thing this didn't fall out…" she mumbled vaguely, staring sadly down at the little ribbon. Alex had wanted her to wear it, but… Every time she looked at it, it just made her sad. She sighed, sticking it back into her pants pocket. At least she had it with her.

She made her way out of the bathroom and across the hall, running her fingers through her hair to work out a stubborn knot and therefore not really paying attention as she entered her room. At last she looked up, and blinked, and then blinked again. Something was wrong in here…

"…Where the heck is my mattress?!" she asked, staring dumbfounded at the empty bedframe before her.

"…Maybe you have the wrong room?" Celina offered helpfully.

"Ha ha," Aila deadpanned. Celina was still pretty shaken up about what had happened earlier that day in Agrabah, so Aila hadn't really heard much from her, but her making quips seemed to be a good sign. They'd talk later. Aila was honestly in no rush to delve into that conversation quite yet. "Seriously though, what the heck?"

"One of the boys must have taken it."

"But… why?" Aila asked, totally confused.

"Don't ask me, ask them."

"Yeah yeah, thank you Miss Helpful," Aila sighed with a roll of her eyes. She made her way out into the hall again and shuffled up to Sora's door, but just as she was about to knock she heard what sounded like a crash coming from the control room. "What the…" she mumbled, quirking a brow and deciding that she'd better go investigate that first. The ship blowing up was probably a bigger priority than her not having somewhere to sleep.

When she opened the control room door, she was confused to find that her way was still blocked by… what appeared to be a sheet hung over the door frame. Growing more and more confused by the second, she pushed the sheet aside and immediately solved both the mystery of the crash and missing mattress all at once.

Well, kinda.

"SORA! I told you to be careful!" Donald was shouting, shaking his fists at a very sheepish looking Sora.

"Sorry, I lost my balance!" Sora was saying, holding his hands out in front of him in a placating manner. "Besides, Goofy's the one that started wobbling! Yell at him, not me!"

"Ahyuck! Sorry fellas, I got distracted," Goofy chuckled, sprawled out on the floor nearby.

"DISTRACTED BY WHAT?!"

The boys were standing on the far side of four mattresses, all pushed together on the floor in a kind of rectangular formation, two by two. There were sheets hung up all over the place, with one kind of half hung up on the ceiling right above where the trio was situated. It was like Aila'd entered an entirely new room, one made up entirely of mismatched hanging sheets, mattresses, and lots and lots of pillows. It was… a very strange sight, to say the least. "Um…" Aila began at last, getting the boys' attention.

"Oh, hiya Aila!" Goofy greeted, pushing himself into a sitting position.

"Why'd you guys take my mattress?" Aila asked, jumping right into things. "And what crashed in here…?"

"We're making a fort!" Sora exclaimed, flashing her a grin. "And uh, the crash you're talking about was probably us falling down…" He pointed up to the half-hung sheet above him. "We were trying to put that one up."

"A fort?" Aila asked, slightly mystified by that response. Taking a better look around, this whole situation did seem… kinda fort like. "Why… I mean… why…?"

"Because it's fun!" Sora replied, leaping onto the mattresses with a laugh. "C'mon, join us!"

"I'll go get the snacks," Donald said, totally over the temper tantrum he'd been having just moments before.

"And I got the cards!" Goofy exclaimed, plopping down next to Sora while Donald made his way past Aila, presumably toward the kitchen. Goofy took out a pack of playing cards and dumped them out in front of him. "Sit down, Aila!"

Aila hesitated, rubbing her arm a little awkwardly. "Ah, guys, this seems fun and all, but uh, I was kinda wanting some time alone…"

"Too bad, cause your mattress is officially fort property until further notice," Sora said, crossing his arms. "You're free to use it, but only in here tonight."

Aila frowned. "Seriously…?"

"Come now, Aila," Jiminy said, hopping into view from the far side of the mattresses. "Spending a bit of time out here won't kill you, will it?"

Aila rolled her neck habitually, trying to free up a little bit of the lingering pressure there. "Ah… I mean… I guess not…"

"That's the spirit!" Sora cheered before patting the mattress next to him. "Come on, join the party!"

Aila sighed. She really didn't feel like a party right now. What were the guys thinking? Did they really think she felt like celebrating? After everything that had just happened?

"I have food!" Donald announced, entering the fort once again. Sora and Goofy cheered, Aila taking a begrudging seat on one of the mattresses as Donald dumped his armload of various snacks onto another.

Jiminy chuckled, and Aila realized he'd relocated to her side. "My my, we haven't had one of these in quite some time… it really was in order, though."

Aila quirked a brow at him. "One of these…?"

He smiled up at her and winked. "Oh, just a game night, I suppose you might call them. They don't really have a name, per se…"

"Okay, what should we play?" Donald asked, reaching for the cards.

"Slap! Slap! Slap!" Sora cheered, pumping his fist in the air.

Donald sighed. "How did I know…?"

"What's Slap?" Aila asked, inching a bit closer to the group. If she was being forced to be in here, she didn't wanna be left out.

Sora grinned. "Okay, basically, we'll each put cards down in the center without looking at what we're putting down beforehand, and then whenever there's a double or a sandwich, which is two of the same number in a row or one number then another number and then the first number again, you have to try and slap the pile, and whoever gets to it first gets the whole thing! The goal is to get all the cards. Get it?"

"Uh… not really," Aila said with a frown.

Sora laughed. "Don't worry, you will. It's easy!"

"Be careful though, Sora gets competitive," Donald warned, shuffling the deck.

Sora pursed his lips. "You were bleeding one time…"

And so began a night of card playing, with Aila slowly starting to have more and more fun as the rounds progressed. Sora was super competitive, and before long he'd managed to claim most of the cards for himself.

"I am the king of Slap!" he declared as he pulled the latest pile of cards he'd acquired toward himself.

"King Slappy," Aila said, popping some chips into her mouth.

Donald cackled. "King Slappy, what a title."

Sora frowned. "Guys, stop trying to diminish my kingship. It's very rude."

"King Slappy Bag," Aila continued, smiling sweetly at the boy. "Is that better?"

"What? No!"

"Gwarsh, my hand hurts!" Goofy chuckled, shaking his fingers out. He'd lost all of his cards a while back and had been trying to slap back in, which was apparently allowed in this game.

"A casualty of war," Sora told him somberly. He then smiled and held out a few cards to his friend. "Here, want back in?"

"Ahyuck! Thanks Sora," Goofy laughed, taking the offered cards with a grin.

"So, Aila, how're you feeling?" Donald asked, looking at his own small pile of cards with a frown.

Aila blinked, caught off guard by the question. "Fine, I guess? This game is pretty fun."

"No no, Aila, for real," Sora said, throwing a card down in the middle of the group to start the next round. "How're you really feeling?"

Aila frowned lightly. "I don't… I don't think now's really the time…"

"O'course it is," Goofy said, putting a card on top of Sora's. He looked up at Aila and smiled softly. "That's why we're doing this, after all."

Aila's eyes widened in confusion. "Wha…?"

"I'll start, if you want," Sora declared, organizing his card stack. He sighed, looking up at the group. "I've been… kind of freaking out about Kairi, lately."

"You worried about her being with the Organization?" Donald asked with a sympathetic frown before he put a card on the pile.

"Yeah," Sora sighed. "Especially after what happened with you, Aila," he said, glancing sadly in Aila's direction. "I just worry that maybe… they might be trying to get information out of her, too. Or something. I don't know."

Aila flinched as she thought of Luxord, and the way he'd tortured her in Port Royal. She looked down at her cards, fiddling with them in her hands. "Right…"

"Well uh, what do ya think they'd want her to tell 'em?" Goofy asked, giving Sora an understanding look.

Sora shrugged. "I dunno. My weaknesses or something, I guess? They've got such a weird thing about wanting me to play into their hands…"

"Does she know your weaknesses?" Donald asked. He then glanced at Aila. "It's your turn, Aila."

"O-oh, right," Aila said, flipping a card onto the center pile.

"Not really, I don't think," Sora replied, flipping one of his own cards into the center. "I mean, I wasn't much of a fighter before I met you guys, so as far as fighting weaknesses go… No, I don't think she'd know. But they might not know that."

"It's natural for you to worry," Jiminy piped up, looking up from his journals. He'd opted to not play the game where he might very well be crushed if he tried to slap any of the cards, surprisingly enough. "But there's nothing we can do for her until we figure out how to get to their world. So you shouldn't make yourself sick over it until there's something you can actually do."

"Yeah, I know," Sora sighed. "But still… I worry."

"Kairi's strong," Goofy said, putting a card down. "I'm sure she'll be okay. And uh, I don't really think they'd harm her too much, seein' how she's a Princess of Heart 'n all."

"Do they even care about that, though?" Sora asked with a frown.

"Well if they were gonna really harm her, Maleficent would probably freak out and do something to stop it," Donald offered as he put a card on the pile. "I mean, she wouldn't want Kairi for any better reasons, but I think it's safe to say that she wouldn't want any of the Princesses to be in danger in case she wanted to use them again."

Sora laughed rather humorlessly. "Yeah, true. At least she has multiple villains that want to get their hands on her… I guess in a weird way that sorta keeps her safe?" He glanced at Aila. "It's your turn again."

"Wait… what are we doing?" Aila asked, frowning at the boy. "I thought we were just playing games."

"Yeahhh, we mighta kinda tricked you a little," Sora admitted with a shrug. "Honestly, we used to do this every now and then, when one of us really needed to talk through some stuff. We realized it was easier if we made a night out of it, and were like, having fun and stuff together too."

"It's not good for you to keep everything to yourself, Aila," Donald said with a sad smile. "It's bad for your health. And from what we heard, it's a little bad for your powers, too, in your case…"

Aila tensed. "I get it. So you guys want me to talk about everything, then."

"I know it's hard," Sora said with a frown. "Believe me, I know. Opening up to people can be… really difficult. Even to your friends. But Aila, none of us would be able to keep going if we tried to deal with some of the stuff we've been through on this journey alone."

"It's admirable of you to try an' keep smilin'," Goofy said with a soft smile of his own. "Even when you're hurtin'. But if you keep everythin' in, that'll just get harder and harder for ya. You need to talk to your friends when things get to be too much."

"Yeah, and then we can all smile together!" Donald said with a grin.

"It's not too much," Aila lied softly.

"That's crap, Aila," Sora said, his tone a little stricter than Aila'd expected. "You've been through a lot, like, a lot a lot, in the past couple weeks especially. And after what happened today, with Danny…" Aila winced, and Sora sighed. "Look, you need to find a way to get some sleep. Obviously, you trying to ignore all this isn't working. So, what's the opposite of ignoring it?"

"Confronting it!" Donald answered for her with a nod. "And we're here to help you do that!"

Aila paused, not really sure how to respond. This was… unexpected. She suddenly felt very vulnerable. "I… I don't want to burden you guys…" she finally whispered, staring down at the cards clutched between her fingers.

"We're a team, Aila," Sora said sternly. "We share our burdens. That's how it works. You not talking to us just makes us worry more."

Aila blinked at him. "Jasmine said something like that…"

"Yeah, she's pretty smart," Sora replied with a nod. "She mentioned she'd talked to you before we left."

"They all said ta tell ya to come back and visit soon," Goofy said with a smile. "They were sad they didn't get ta say goodbye. Iago was especially worried about ya."

Aila shifted, her heart slightly warmed by that. "Oh…"

"Glad he turned over a new leaf in the end," Donald mused, searching through the snacks for something new to eat.

"A new feather, you mean," Sora replied with a smirk. Donald rolled his eyes.

"So come on, Aila," Jiminy said softly, having totally abandoned his journals now in favor of the conversation. "Tell us why you haven't been sleeping."

Aila looked between her friends, all of whom were looking at her with expectant but patient expressions. She felt her throat begin to tighten, and she cleared it a little, looking back down at her cards. "I… I guess it's because… when I close my eyes, I see… things I don't wanna see."

"Like?" Sora prompted gently.

Aila squirmed a little, feeling very awkward. "L-like… Like leaving Alex behind, and… and the last moments I had with my parents… and… and… Port Royal…" Her sentence finished in a whisper, a chill running up her spin as the words passed through her lips. She felt a hand on her own, Sora having reached out to take hers.

"What exactly are you worried about?" he asked, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

Aila shrugged. "I… I guess I'm worried that Alex is sad, or lonely; I feel bad for leaving her… and if she finds out that we might never see our parents again, I… I don't know how she'll react. I always thought… I always thought that we'd go home, you know? And I'm sure she thinks that too. But what if… what if we never see them again?" She blinked quickly a few times, trying to stem the moisture in her eyes. "Or what if something happens to Alex because I wasn't there to protect her?"

"I'm sure Alex misses you a lot," Goofy said kindly. "But I'm also sure that she's havin' lots o' fun with Yen Sid!"

"Yeah, remember when he was talking to her about music? He wasn't kidding – he's got a ton of musical stuff there," Donald said with a smile. "I'm sure she's having a blast! And he'll definitely keep her safe, don't you worry about that one bit. No one can get past his magic."

"And don't forget we left Stitch there with her," Sora chuckled. "That's sure to keep things interesting." Aila smiled a little at that. "As for what Yen Sid said about you not seeing your world again… You gotta remember that he said nothing was confirmed yet. So you can't really be sure one way or another, you know?"

"That's true," Aila sighed.

"If there's a way to get you back, we'll do it!" Donald said confidently. "Don't you worry! You got off that world, so there's gotta be a way for you to see it again, right?"

"Exactly! So don't worry about all that just yet, okay?" Sora said with a grin and another squeeze of her hand. Aila smiled a little at them both.

"Now… what about Port Royal," Jiminy asked seriously.

Aila bit her lip. "I-I mean… you guys know, you… were there…"

"Are ya worried he'll hurt ya again?" Goofy asked very gently.

Aila shrugged. "I dunno. I guess…" She winced, folding in on herself a little as memories from Port Royal assaulted her. "I just don't want to see it anymore…"

Sora shifted closer to her, pulling her into a side hug. "Unfortunately… I don't really know how to help with that," he breathed.

"Me neither," Donald sighed.

"I think just getting it out in the open a little will help," Jiminy insisted. "Aila, just talk freely, we'll listen."

Aila could feel herself beginning to shiver, though she wasn't cold. "I-I… He was just so… into it, I guess," Aila breathed, unable to think of another way to describe Luxord's demeanor. She felt Sora tense around her, but he didn't interrupt, so she kept going. "I'd n-never felt like I was totally… totally helpless before, and he… he just kept…" She choked on her words, taking a deep breath. "I did everything I could to keep from telling him, I did…"

"We know you did," Sora said gently. "Seriously, you were so strong, Aila. You held out for so long… and you didn't even tell him, right? Didn't you say he just guessed?"

"K-kinda," Aila sniffled. "I think my face gave it away…"

"That's not your fault at all," Jiminy insisted. "And even if you had told him anything, it still wouldn't have been your fault. Like Sora said, you were very, very strong."

"I didn't feel very strong…" she mumbled.

"We're so sorry we didn't get to ya sooner," Goofy said, sounding very sad. Aila looked up to see him giving her an absolutely heartbreaking look, and she had to take another deep breath to keep herself from just totally falling apart.

She shook her head. "I knew you guys would come. I know you went as fast as possible."

"That sneak," Sora hissed, and Aila could feel him shaking a little. "Next time we see him… It's over."

"You can say that again," Donald growled, punching a fist into his palm. "He'll be sorry he ever laid a hand on our friend!"

Aila bit her lip, trying not to completely lose it and fall into a blubbering mess. These boys… these friends around her… How had she gotten so lucky to have met them? "Guys…"

They spent the next hour or so just talking, the cards laying forgotten before them all. Sora talked a bit about his fears regarding Riku and his potential siding with Organization XIII, Donald and Goofy both shared fears of dying in battle and leaving behind various people waiting for them at home (Aila had not been prepared for that and had nearly broken down thinking about either of them dying), and even Jiminy shared a bit of his worries, most of them regarding Pinocchio. Jiminy also apparently worried quite a bit about the four of them, it seemed, something they all jokingly gave him a hard time for, calling him 'Uncle Jiminy' and assuring him that they'd be careful in battle, if only for his sake.

Aila talked a bit more about everything, about Luxord and Alex, and of course Danny, giving the gang the low down on Danny's bizarre reasoning for wanting her dead. That had come as a real shock for everyone, and had been particularly hard for Aila to get through, but Sora especially seemed convinced that this Danny situation was very similar to what he'd gone through with Riku, and that once they figured out a way to get through to Cyrus and knock some sense into him, Danny would go back to normal. It was much nicer to think that maybe Danny didn't really want her dead, despite the fact that he seemed to think his reasons noble, and though Aila's worries about the whole situation weren't entirely quelled, talking it out did make her heart feel just a little bit lighter.

Eventually they went back to card games, laughing through their tears together as they continued to talk through anything and everything they needed to get off their chests. As the night grew later and their snack pile grew smaller, they at last found their eyelids beginning to droop. Aila winced as unwanted memories began to assault her, as they normally did when sleep tried to claim her, which would usually be her sign to wake herself up again and find something else to do to keep her mind busy. But then in the next moment she was surrounded by her friends, all of them staying close to her, to assure her that she wasn't alone, and her thoughts calmed as the five of them drifted off to sleep side by side.

None of them had any nightmares that night.

KHKHKHKH

So muchhhh writinggggg *falls over*

I really wanted to include that last scene, because I love writing the gang bonding. In my head that scene went on WAY LONGER but then this was forty-five pages and I was like I MEANNN I could cut it. So I did. But I needed SOME of it in there or I'd be very upset. I dunno, I just like when they're all friendshipy and crap. Also I wanted a moment with Axel being all friendshipy and crap too. Basically I want all the friendship. And crap.

Also GOD it was so hard working ALL THE CHARACTERS into this chapter. I'm sorry if any of them seemed rushed. But like ugh so much happening at once! I contemplated switching points of view in this chapter to like show Jafar's defeat, but… That just felt weird. So that just happened off screen. Off page. Whatever. Sorry if you all wanted to see it… heh… Imagine it. I'm sure you'll imagine it awesomely.

Okay SO next world issss Halloween Town again! JUST IN TIME FOR THE ACTUAL HOLIDAY I am really going to try to have the next chapter up BY HALLOWEEN because that seems cool. But don't kill me if I fail. I will do my best! Something goes DOWN on the next world, something that'll make you all go WHAAAAT OH NOOOO! …I just… need to figure out exactly how it happens… Why yes I AM super on top of my own story, thank you for noticing!

Anyway, it's like 3am (perfect time to post, eh?), and I'm a little delirious, so I'm gonna try and take the gang's advice and get some sleep so that if I end up fighting my brother in a death match tomorrow I'll have my wits about me and not go all super saiyan on my city on accident. (Just kidding, I don't have a brother, so I'll just fight a random dude on the street.)

Don't forget to follow this story if you wanna get the new chapter updates as soon as I post them! And leave a review to let me know what you think – reading your guys' thoughts on these chapters totally makes my day :)

Peace!

~Fade