Traverse Town
"Oh, we're back here?" Dani asked as she stepped out of the Gummi Ship.
"Yuh-huh!" Goofy said. "We got some restocking we need to do for the next leg of our journey."
"There are some other things I want to do in town while we're here." Donald said. "We need to get Cid to install the Navi-Gummi, Penny and I have been talking about working on your magic, and we should probably talk to Leon about—"
"Oh! I know that guy!"
Yuffie appeared in front of them in a puff of smoke.
"We're actually having a meeting right now!" Yuffie said. "Come on, I'll take ya to Leon's hidey hole!"
"Are you going to appear out of nowhere and give me a heart attack like that again?" Penny yelped.
"Hmm…nah. That'd be a waste of mana." Yuffie said. "Come on!"
The seven followed the ninja through the streets of the First District.
"So what are you guys having a meeting about?" Sora asked.
"Don't know! Cloud just showed up in town again, and he said he had something to tell us!" Yuffie said.
The seven stopped dead in the streets of the Second District.
"Cloud, you said?" Hanna asked. "Blond hair, one wing, angsty?"
"Yup, that's the guy!" Yuffie said. "It's been a while too, I haven't seen him since…"
And then Yuffie stopped dead in her tracks. For one moment, her usual chipper demeanor dropped. Her eyes darted down to the ground and she bit her lip. But she took a quick breath, and quickly her features returned to normal.
"Well, it's been a long time. How do you know Cloud, anyway?"
"Well, he tried to kill us…"
Leon's "hidey hole" was deep under Traverse Town, a cavern that could only be found by traveling through the aqueduct system of the town. To his credit, it was the last place Dani would expect to find him. She would have never even thought this place would have existed if Yuffie had not brought them there, and she probably would not have forced herself through the aqueduct if it weren't for her prodding. But once you got past the smell, it was rather nice.
"Yoo hoo! I brought some friends!" Yuffie called. Her voice echoed on the cavernous walls.
There was no answer. But as Dani got closer, she saw it was not because the area was unoccupied. Everyone she expected was there: Leon, practicing swings against training dummies with his back turned to the others; Aerith and Cid, sitting on the stonework, each nursing cups of tea; and Cloud, pressed up against the wall like he was a teenager at a school dance too afraid to ask anyone out.
"What's up?" Yuffie asked. "You're gloomier than usual. And that's saying a lot."
"Maleficent's back in town." Cloud said.
The way he said it made it sound like something was serious. But Dani had no idea what he was talking about.
"How'd you get here, Cloud?" Dani asked instead.
"I have my ways."
"No, seriously, we have a spaceship and we didn't get here that fast—"
"Didn't you listen?" Cid asked. "Maleficent's back!"
"Who's that?" Sora said.
"A witch! And other things I shouldn't say in front of you kids!"
"She's the one that controls the Heartless." Aerith said. "We lost our world, because of her."
"Oh." Dani said.
"She's probably here looking for Ansem's research." Leon said. "But we haven't had that for years."
"And who is Ansem?" Sora asked.
"He was our ruler, back in our homeworld. He dedicated his life to studying the Heartless. If anyone knows their weakness, it's him." Aerith said.
"But those reports were lost with our homeworld, too." Leon said. "So who knows where they are now? She might already have most of them."
"Well, we could steal them back from her, right?"
All heads turned to Dani. She suddenly felt really unsure of what to say next.
"Why not?" Sora said. "We're going to be fighting her anyway, right? So why don't we try to stop her plans, too?"
"I don't know what she's planning, but if anyone can stop her, it's you." Cloud said.
"Right!" Dani said. "So let's get those reports and stop the witch's plan!"
"It should be possible." Aerith said. "After all, we all thought Cloud was lost, too."
Cloud buried deeper into his cowl.
Above the hidden waterway, hidden by a door sealed with magic, was a clearing. The clearing was mostly filled by a pond, the water pitch-black in the darkness of Traverse Town. Only a series of stones interrupted the still water, leading towards the ramshackle hut that sat in the center. One would not think that this place was part of Traverse Town, because once upon a time, it was not.
"Yup. A wizard lives here." Katie said.
"How are we even supposed to get over there?" Penny asked. "The stones are too far apart for us to jump…"
"Why, you use magic, of course!"
Penny wished people would stop sneaking up on her like that. But after the initial scare cause her to jump and turn towards the source, she found herself being less afraid. It was just an old man, older than even her grandfather, wearing a blue nightgown, matching pointed hat, and with a beard that stretched all the way down his torso.
"And that's definitely a wizard!" Katie said. "Hi, my name's Katie!"
"How do you do?" The old man said. "I take it you are the Keyblade wielders who the King wanted me to train."
"The King?" Dani asked. "You've seen him?"
"Oh yes, yes! He stopped by here a few weeks ago and told me there were new Keyblade wielders. I figured you would be showing up sooner or later with all of those stars going out." The man said. "Oh, where are my manners? My name is Merlin. As you can see, I'm a sorcerer. I am here to train you in the magical arts. Come, follow me."
With a wave of his hands, the stepping stones scattered across the pond moved together, making a narrow but effective bridge. If Penny did not believe that he was a wizard before, this sold it.
"So Mr. Merlin, before we started, we had some questions." Hanna said as she followed behind him.
"I imagine you have many questions about the Keyblade. Who forged it, why it chose you, what the Keyblade War was…"
"Actually, we wanna know about those holes we keep finding in other worlds." Dani said.
They stepped inside the small hut. Merlin waved his hands once more, and the furniture went flying. In seconds, there was a nice round table for them to sit at.
"Take a seat, take a seat!" Merlin said. "As for your question, I believe those are Keyholes you are talking about."
"Yeah. We know they're keyholes." Penny said. "We want to know why Sora's Keyblade keeps beaming out a light when we find them."
"No, no. The Keyhole. Think of it as the Heart of the world. The Heartless are after Hearts, yes? And if they take the Heart of the world, then that world becomes lost to the Darkness just like any other person's would. Part of your job as Keyblade wielders is to seal that Heart, to protect the world."
"Okay." Dani said. "So why do we keep getting cool charms out of it, too?"
"I imagine those are your Keychains."
"Of course they are." Penny deadpanned.
"Your Keyblade should have a place for them, right at the end of your hilt. They might be what changes the course of a battle for the better." Merlin said. "Speak of…this might also be of some use to you."
He reached into his big flopping sleeves and pulled out a bright blue gem.
"Poor thing survived the destruction of his homeworld, but he's been stuck in this form ever since." Merlin said.
"There's something inside of that?" Penny asked, eyeing the gem carefully.
"Some-one, actually. Someone blessed with great magical ability. He could also become quite useful in battle, if you know how to summon him."
"Okay!" Dani said. "Can you teach us?"
"It took me forever to find you, Sora."
It was Riku. Save for the sword in his hand, it looked like he hadn't changed at all since they left the island. Still, Sora wanted to make sure…
"Hey, cut that out!" Riku swatted Sora's hand away from his cheeks. "You're supposed to pinch you own cheeks to wake up from a dream, you know!"
"Wow! You're for really real, Riku!" The joy was short lived as Sora looked behind him. "Wait, where's Kairi?"
"I thought she was with you." Riku said.
Riku seemed to sense Sora's disappointment, because he patted Sora on the shoulder. "Relax. She probably made it off the island too. We'll be together soon."
Sora peered over Riku's shoulder. He caught just the glimpse of a shadow.
"Just leave it all to me and-" Riku said, then froze. He sensed it too.
Well, he might as well show off.
Sora jumped past Riku and took care of the Heartless in one single sweep. Riku barely had enough time to turn around before the Heart was released.
"Leave it to who now?" Sora said, posing dramatically.
"Sora...what did you-"
"Hey, I've learned a few tricks along the way!" Sora said. "With the help of my buddies here!"
"A-hyuck! That's right!" Goofy chimed in. "Sora's one of the Keyblade Masters!"
"Hey, you didn't have to tell him there was more than one."
"So this is a Keyblade..." Riku said. There was something different in his tone, but Sora couldn't quite place what it was. It was probably just confusion.
It was then that Sora realized the Keyblade wasn't in his hands.
Riku hummed in thought as he inspected the Keyblade in his hand. Eventually, he wrinkled his nose.
"Catch."
Sora barely did. He could hear Donald and Goofy chuckling behind him, but he didn't care.
"You're coming with us, right? We've got this awesome ship! And...things might be a little cramped but I'm sure we can find room for you!"
"Sora!" Donald squawked. "You just cant' invite people on board!"
"Oh relax! Riku's my friend! Right Riku?"
Sora turned back. Riku was gone.
"Riku?"
"Sora?"
That was Dani's voice. The four girls rushed up to them.
"Are you guys okay? You're just standing here in the middle of the street." Hanna said.
"Yeah. I'm fine." Sora said.
He would be. He didn't know why Riku would run away like that, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was that he was alive and okay. Now he just had to find Kairi.
Agrabah
"I don't know. I mean, she's perfect, you know? Why would she want to go out with someone like me?"
"Well, if you keep putting her on a pedestal like that, definitely not." Katie said.
"She's right." Penny said. "If you keep thinking she's some unattainable goddess or something, you're never going to get enough courage to ask her out."
"Yeah..." The man said. "Yeah, yeah! You're right! Thanks! It means a lot to get that off my chest."
"No problem!" Donald said. "Now, can you GET US OUT OF THIS QUICKSAND!"
The man's eyes shot wide open as he realized the situation.
"Oh! Sorry!"
Just as the sand was going up to Katie's chin, the man dug out an oddly shaped lamp from his pockets.
"Come on out Genie, and save these guys from the quicksand!"
Sparks of blue and smoke spilled from the tip, forming a great creature.
"AND A BIG CONGRATULATIONS TO TODAY'S CONTESTANT, A-LA-DDIN! RUB-A-DUB-DUB OF THE LAMP AND HAVE YOUR DEEPEST WISH GRANTED!"
"WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR YOUR INTRODUCTION!" Dani shouted before her mouth was filled with sand.
"Oh, alright!" The creature sighed.
It snapped its fingers, and Katie found herself collapsed on the slow sand.
"Thanks," Sora said as he scrambled back to his feet. "You're a life saver."
"You're lucky we came by when we did." Aladdin said. "Caravans almost never come out this far."
"Yeah," Penny said. "What were you doing out here again?"
"It wasn't entirely optional." Aladdin said. "But hey, I managed to get this pretty cool lamp out of it."
"Not to mention the prize inside." The blue creature said. "Anyone of your deepest desires granted; three wishes courtesy of the one and only, GENIE OF THE LAMP!"
It leaned in close to Goofy, but Katie could make out the words anyway. "Somerestrictionsapplyofferwhilesupplieslast."
Maybe Katie imagined it, but she thought she saw its eyes light up a little when she and the others laughed.
"So you're a djinni?" Penny asked.
"No, didn't ya hear me, kid? G-E-N-I-E." The djinni said. Letters appeared next to him as he wrote it.
"Yeah, but djinni is spelled D-J-I-N-N-I in a Latin alphabet." Katie said.
"Yes, but that's not my name."
"So you're a djinni named Genie?" Sora asked.
"Sure, let's work with that!" Genie said.
The djinni shifted the nebulous blob it had of a body to sprout a second head, and turned its attention to Aladdin. "So, what'll be wish number 2?"
Aladdin hummed in thought. "Well, you said I could have any wish I wanted?"
Genie shifted again getting rid of his second head.
"But of course! Well, you can't force anyone to love yourself, and ooh—whatever God you believe in help you if you try to wish for infinite power-"
"No love..." Aladdin mumbled. "Well, let me think about it for a minute."
"Not a problem!" Genie said. "Gives me more time to enjoy this fresh Agrabah air!"
Katie wasn't an expert, but she could tell that the fresh Agrabah air smelled a lost like camel poop and felt a lot like dying.
"Don't get out much?" She asked.
"Oi, kid, I'm lucky if I get out every century or so." Genie said.
"Sounds rough." Sora said.
"No kidding. INFINITE COSMIC POWER! Itty bitty living space. Completely at the mercy of whatever smuck finds the lamp. Like you, Al."
Aladdin tilted his head in thought. "Well, what if I fixed that?"
Genie, for the first time in possibly his life, froze.
"What?"
"Can't I use my last wish to set you free?"
"A-Al...you would really do that for me?"
"Sure. But let's focus first. For my second wish, I want you to make me a wealthy prince!"
"You've got it!"
"Alright, alright, Prince Ali is getting' ready for his walk down downtown Agrabah! LET'S DO ROLL CALL! 75 golden camels, 150 golden camel carriers, 53 peacocks, 10 peacock gurls, 95 white Persian monkeys, 95 white Persian monkey carriers, 60 elephants, 10 drum camels, 24 bell carriers, 18 swordsmen—CAREFUL WITH THEM SWORDS!-5 dancers the original animators had a little too much fun with, 12 flag carriers, 4 fanning gurls, 12 carriers manning the giant gorilla balloon, 20 guys ta carry the needless plates of riches, 3 llamas, 3 bears, 3 lions, 6-piece brass band, 40 fakirs, 3 cooks, 2 bakers, 4 bird carriers, 40 tropical birds who warble on key...alright that's all of us! Ya sure this is necessary, kid?"
"Of course!" Aladdin said. "Gotta impress her somehow."
"Yeah and nothing impresses a girl more than needless plates of riches." Genie muttered under his breath.
However, Genie was not going to break character that easily. It was too long since he was able to practice in front of an audience, and even if the kid from fantasy land Persia would not recognize a modern worker from Queens, he wasn't going to lose his chance.
"Alright then! Just like we practiced, people! LET'S MOVE OUT!"
Genie kicked down the gates to Agrabah. But instead of the adoring fans he was expecting to woo, all they saw were streets full of Heartless.
Hanna jumped to the front of the parade, summoning her Keyblade.
"You guys stand back!" Dani said, following her lead. "We'll take care of this!"
The others leaped into battle, but Hanna held back, weighing her options. Her Keyblade, the gold and silver one that matched her sister's, had served her well. But Merlin had said something about how the right Keychain could change the course of battle.
Hanna equipped the Ace of Hearts.
She was still not used to fighting, but Phil's training had helped. She felt more confident as she made her strikes, more like a novice sword-wielder than a kid at a pinata. She carved through the sea of Bandit heartless that blocked her path from getting to her sister, who was facing down some kind of Large Body.
Some kind of Large Body that threw them both for a loop when it opened its mouth and breathed fire.
Without thinking, Hanna held her Keyblade out in front out of her. Magic emerged from the tip, a thick geyser of water magic. It caused the Large Body to stumbled backwards and fade into Darkness.
"Nice shot!" Dani said.
"How'd you do that?" Donald asked, in-between firing Thunder spells against the floating Rhapsodies.
What?
"You don't know?" Hanna asked.
"Never seen water magic before!"
That was…interesting. But did it really matter right now?
She fired another Water spell at another Large Body. There. That was all of them.
"Is everyone okay?" She asked, still getting her breath.
"Yeah, we're…" Aladdin stopped mid-sentence. "Where's Genie?"
"My first wish, djinni, show me the Keyhole!"
"Hey, Al, what's the big deal, I thought we agreed on the last wi-" Genie froze as he saw who he was talking to. "Oops. Uh...wrong guy."
"We have to go find him!" Aladdin said. He turned back to the desert, the constructs of his parade fading into magic smoke as he walked through them.
"How? We'll be combing the entire desert at this rate!" Penny said.
"And I didn't bring a hairbrush!" Katie added.
Aladdin stopped in his tracks. But he did not move or turn back towards them as he considered this.
"The Cave of Wonders." He said finally. "That's where I got the lamp, maybe it'll know."
"'It?'"
"I think it talks. It's shaped like a tiger."
"That's awesome!" Sora said. "Let's go!"
"But how are we going to get there? That's still a whole desert we have to deal with!" Hanna said.
To answer, Aladdin placed his fingers close to his mouth and let out a low whistle. Nothing happened for a moment.
"Wait!" Sora cried. "Up in the sky!"
Dani followed his finger upwards. Sure enough, there was a figure barreling towards them.
"It's a bird!" Donald said.
"It's a plane!" Goofy said.
"It's a Persian rug?" Hanna asked.
"Found this guy in the Cave of Wonders, too." Aladdin said as the rug landed beside them. "Think you can take all of us, buddy?"
The carpet stiffened, as if it were worried at the possibility. Dani didn't blame it.
It took some effort before all eight of them (plus Abu, now monkey-sized) could fit comfortably on the rug. It took to the skies again, flying noticeably slower than before but still at a speed where Hanna had to grip onto her arm for comfort.
They were all so distracted by the uncomfortable riding situation that they did not notice the Heartless until it was too late.
Dani was not even really sure on what had happened. One moment she was staring at the back of Aladdin's head, the next she was flung forward and into the sand. The landing was far from the most graceful she had had, but she was beginning to get used to the feeling of recovering quickly to continue the fight. She glanced up.
That…was a big Heartless. Even taller than the Trickster they had encountered in Wonderland had been when they were short. But it was big around as well, with two humanoid legs, a round torso, more arms that a spider that stuck out at all angles, and two scimitars that stuck out like fangs.
No more time to stare at it. The Heartless charged towards them, spinning and kicking up a whirlwind of sand. Dani felt herself tossed into the air again as it approached, tossed even farther as one of those scimitars hit her in the stomach and sent her flying again. This fall was even less graceful than the last.
"What on earth is that thing?" Dani asked as she recovered.
"That looks like a Kurt." Katie said.
"Don't name our enemies!" Penny said.
"How are we going to fight it?" Hanna said.
No more time to think about it. Kurt charged forth once more, scimitars twirling like a cheerleader's baton. Dani tried to take aim at one arm, but the other just held her back and tossed her again.
Dani stood up again, this time on shaking legs. She was getting really tired of getting tossed around like that. She took a step forward, then stopped as something else caught her eye. The gem Merlin had given her had stumbled out of her pocket, sparkling like the sea against the Arabian sun.
That's right. Merlin said that whoever was in that gem could help them in battle. It was worth a shot. Carefully, she scooped the gem out of the sand and into her cupped hands.
"Please, we need your help!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, her vision was obscured by light blue light. She felt the gem leave her hands, its shadow morphing and changing into something else. It was a bird, it was a plane, it was…
"A baby elephant?"
A baby elephant with ridiculously large ears, nearly as large as he was. He looked back at her, eyes shining like the sun, then turned and ran between her legs. Dani found herself sitting atop the poor thing. But it looked like her elephant friend knew exactly what he was doing. His ears flapped, and in seconds Dani was taken into the air.
Oh…she got it now!
The elephant flew towards Kurt. He extended his trunk out in front of him, expelling a jet of water that struck the Heartless. The Heartless was so distracted by the water that it did not have a chance to counter for Dani as she jumped off of her ride and flung herself at it.
She didn't really know what she had hit at first. Obviously this thing had to have had a head, but it was so small compared to the rest of its body that Dani had easily missed it. She certainly did not expect to be scooping out a snake from the crevice.
The rest of the body collapsed without its head, giving the others enough time to tear into it. Dani, meanwhile, focused her attention on the snake. She gave a nod to her ally, who eagerly shot out another spell from his trunk, this time a fire spell that incinerated the creature on the spot.
"There, that out to be the last of that." Dani said. "Thank you!"
The elephant gave an eager little honk before he faded back into magic.
"How'd you do that?" Penny asked.
"It was that thing Merlin gave us." Dani said. "I just…asked for help."
"Well, at least that thing is taken care of." Sora said. "Now we just need to find the Cave of Wonders…"
No need. The ground rumbled under them. Out of Kurt's dissembled body rose a giant obsidian monolith, carved in the shape of a tiger head.
"Key-bearers...Diamond in the rough..." A booming voice came out of the mouth-shaped opening. "You know why you are here. Save the Princess, and seal the Keyhole. Take nothing but the lamp."
Its jaw unhinged, allowing them passage into the Cave of Wonders.
"Wow." Katie said. "Our caves don't talk to us. And they're much less impressive. The best we have is that mountain carving shaped like a bear in California."
"Let's not waste any time." Aladdin said as he led the group.
The second Dani took a step into the Cave, it became clear that it was even bigger than she gave it credit for. The ceiling above was as high as the sky, and the chamber stretched on for miles. However, it also appeared very small due to how much stuff was in it. Piles upon piles of gold and treasure were stacked through the cave, reaching as high as the ceiling. Only a few small paths had been carved out through the floor.
And it stretched on for literal miles.
"She could be anywhere at this point!" Donald said.
"This way!" Sora said. He was already halfway through a path.
"Where are you going?" Dani asked.
"I don't know why...but I know to go this way!" Sora said. "I think they Keyblade might be telling me!"
"Well I also have a Keyblade and I have no idea what you're talking about!" Penny said.
Sora turned over his shoulder. He was giving them a Look. On any other person, it would look almost childish. Sora, precious ray of sunlight incarnate, on the other hand…well, they couldn't say no to that face.
They ran off after him. The Cave of Wonders turned out to be even bigger than the last room, alternating between rooms of treasure, rooms full of death traps, and both. Just as Dani was beginning to doubt Sora, she started to hear something.
Maniacal laughter. "Excellent work, Genie! If you keep this up, we can rule the world together!"
Genie muttering under his breath.
"Why Jafar, are you intending to strike out on your own?" This voice was a lot different. Feminine. Cold. Sinister. Dani fought the feeling of the hairs on the back of her neck rising.
"A-ah! Maleficent! I was only-"
"Try me. I can easily find a replacement for you."
Very awkward silence followed.
"Never mind. I'm taking the Princess."
They were getting close now. Dani turned the corner, and found herself in another room. Three people—or at least one person, one djinni, and someone...something else—stood at the far end of the room, right in front of a large Keyhole.
"Where's Jasmine, Jafar?" Aladdin asked.
Jafar sneered.
"I'm afraid I can't tell you that." His attention turned to the...person standing next to him.
Genie conjured up as many neon signs and arrows as he could to point toward the jar.
"Wait a sec..." Sora said. "You're Maleficent, aren't you?"
The person sneered towards them. In a blink of an eye, she and the jar beside her were gone.
"Djinni!" Jafar turned his attention towards Genie. In a flash, the arrows disappeared, and Genie whistled inconspicuously. "Crush these sewer rats for me!"
"That's a terrible waste of a wish!" Katie said.
"Sorry kids." For the first time, Genie was unnaturally quite. "The one with the lamp calls the shots."
Genie grew. The big hall suddenly felt a lot smaller. Power cracked around them, causing Dani to tighten her grip on her Keyblade.
"ALRIGHT, FIRST BLAST OF LIGHTNING COMING THAT WAY!"
Genie pointed vaguely. A bolt of lightning hit nothing.
"OAKIE DOKIE, NEXT BLAST COMING TO YOUR...RIGHT!"
Katie had to jump out of the way of that one, but just barely.
"NEXT UP, ON YOUR LEFT!"
That one hit Goofy dead on. Nobody worried, because they knew he would be okay.
"What are you doing, djinni!"
"Why, sir, I'm fighting them just like you asked." Genie said casually.
"That is not fighting! If you won't fight them, Djinni..."
Jafar seemed to think to himself. His eyes lit up in a wonderful, awful idea. "Djinni! My last wish! Make me an all-powerful djinni just like you!"
Genie made a face Dani couldn't read at Jafar. He and Aladdin exchanged a look.
"Yes. Do that." Aladdin said, deadpan.
"You've got it, Master!" Genie said. He snapped his fingers.
The power Genie had imposed was nothing compared to Jafar's. The air grew thick with magic. Red smoke filled the room, sending sparks flying erratically at them. Through shadows, Dani saw Jafar's body shift; from one of bone and blood to one of magic and smoke. He grew, nearly twice the size of what Genie had been at his most menacing. Dani felt the Keyblade slip from her grasp, too afraid and distracted to keep it summoned. The djinni laughed manically. The room shook with the vibrations of his voice.
"NOW YOU'LL ALL SEE….JUST HOW-"
Aladdin dove to grab the newly formed black lamp that had appeared in the confusion. The smoke, including the djinni inside, was pulled inside. And in seconds, all signs that Jafar had been there at all were gone.
"The one with the lamp calls the shots, Jafar." Aladdin said.
"Well that was anticlimatic." Dani said.
"The less time we spend in a life-or-death battle, the better." Penny said.
Genie snatched the lamp from Aladdin's grasp.
"Man, I've never been more happy to get rid of a master than that one!" Genie said. "I'm gonna take this lamp and...BURY IT! IT'LL NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY AGAIN!"
Dani watched Genie conjure up some gardening supplies for himself for a minute before she realized the room was now being filled with a bright golden light.
"Sora!" Donald called. "The Keyhole!"
"Right!"
Sora turned toward the large keyhole at the end of the building. A tip of light expelled from his keyblade. A soft click noise filled the air.
Then the room started shaking.
"What's going on?" Katie asked.
"The Cave doesn't like to stay open for too long." Genie said. "The whole thing's gonna collapse in on itself!"
"Then let's not talk about it and get out of here!" Penny said.
Ten people scrambled to the magic carpet. That left Aladdin.
"Al, did you not notice the building's about to fall apart?"
"Jasmine's still missing!" Aladdin said. "I don't want to leave without her!"
"Aladdin, she's gone!" Dani said. "You're not going to find her here!"
"I have to try!"
"She's probably on a different world by now! If you stay here, all you'll find is death!"
Aladdin froze. Dani only kind of realize what she was saying but was distracted by the bits of ceiling falling out of the ground. Genie settled on grabbing Aladdin by the collar and snapping his fingers.
The next breath Dani took was one of fresh Agrabah air. They were back in the desert. All eleven of them watched in silence as the Cave of Wonders closed its mouth and submerged itself in the sand again.
Genie broke the silence first. "Congratulations Katie, you got your first wish of not dying."
"Hooray!" Katie said.
"What do you mean she's on another world?" Aladdin asked. It took Dani a minute to realize his attention was on her.
"Way to go." Donald said.
Dani opened her mouth to defend herself to Donald, but thought better of it. "About what I said, honestly. Maleficent probably took her to another world. We can try and find her for you, but..."
"Take me with you! Let me look for her with you!" Aladdin said.
Dani tried to avoid making eye contact.
"We can't." Donald said for her. "We're already interfering enough as is."
Aladdin took a shaky breath. His shoulders slumped. Dani was fairly certain that if she didn't do something now, he would start crying on her.
Fortunately, she didn't need to. Genie got back up and hovered closer to Aladdin.
"Earth to Al? You still have one last wish!"
"But I thought-"
"Hey." Genie's cheery disposition hadn't faded, but the smile seemed unnaturally forced. "Just say the word, Al. Ask me to find Jasmine for you."
Aladdin was lost in thought. After what felt like a very long time, he picked the lamp back up again.
"Alright. Genie...I wish for your freedom!"
"Alright, snap of the fingers and—wait what?"
Magic swirled about him again. Blue smoke filled Dani's vision, obscuring Genie from view. Unlike Jafar, however, this felt almost pleasant. They were breezes in the otherwise scorching desert. The magic flashed, and the smoke faded…
All that had changed about Genie was his gauntlets were gone and he now had legs.
"Al!" He exclaimed.
"Hey! A deal's a deal!" Aladdin said.
Genie looked to be at a loss for words. He settled on pulling Aladdin in a tight hug.
"Ah, heck! All of ya! Group hug!"
The group hug was crushing but Dani couldn't feel quite bad about it.
"Oh man, do I have a multiverse I wanna explore!" Genie said. "Sorry Katie, but you're two wishes are up! I serve no man!"
"Aw man…"
"Don't worry about it kid." Genie said. He took the lamp from Aladdin and handed it to Katie. "That place's still my home, you know? Whenever you feel like you need the help of an all-powerful djinni, just give me a little rub and I'll come running!"
Genie continued to ramble about his trip preparations, but Dani didn't listen. Her eyes were on Katie as she reached into the lid of the lamp and pulled something out.
"Hey Genie, what's this?" She asked.
"Huh? Oh, just some report that someone tried to shove in my lamp about ten years ago. Why don't you keep it?"
SORA obtained THREE WISHES
Penny obtained SCHEHERAZADE'S QUILL
A powerful weapon that will guide you to great treasures.
?
"How are you feeling?"
He was pretty sure that was meant to be a rhetorical question. Nobody answered, at any rate.
"It's pitch black in here. Why don't you turn on the lights?"
"I feel more comfortable in the dark." The other one in the room said.
He shrugged. If it made the other comfortable, he could bear it.
"I see...then are you ready to become a member of our team?"
That one really did not want to be answered.
He decided to speak. "I'm just here to find my sisters. If you can help me do that...then sure."
OBTAINED SECRET REPORT 1
Everyone has their own star of destiny. Although I cannot grasp my star, I continue to look up at the sky.
The stars have made dreams come true before. But my wishes remain unanswered. So it is up to me to forge a new star.
It is up to me to keep our oath. It is up to me to plunge this world into oblivion. If this world is made of Light and Darkness, then I will use the Darkness to keep the Light safe.
Forever…again and again.
Author's Note: The Aladdin stage of KH1 is...strange. It's probably the closest to its movie counterpart than any of the other worlds, but it also skips large sections of the movie or covers it only in gameplay sections. I based this chapter a lot on events in the manga, just so I can have a consistent story flow. By the way, if you aren't reading the manga, do yourself a favor and hunt it down. It's fantastic.
The Genie bit of listing everyone involved in the parade is actually from a video review that I don't think is available anymore. So that means it's mine now, I made it. :]
I originally didn't have Kurt Zisa in here at all, but an opportunity presented itself.
So, why wouldn't Dani call Dumbo by his name? One, unlike her other travelling companions, he's an actual ass elephant and can't talk. Two, why would she? Removed from +60 years of context, and Dumbo is an incredibly mean thing to call your elephant friend that can do magic.
The secret report is based heavily on select songs from Revue Starlight, another anime worth hunting down. As to who's writing them? I'll let you figure it out...