After the celebration was over, Cassim led the group down a underground passage of the hideout using a torch to light the way.
"I find my son and lose my enemy. You did your old man proud Aladdin. Sora and Riku, you boys fought well."
"Thanks."
"I was just trying to stay alive."
"If you didn't fight, you would've been killed. So says the code of the Forty Thieves."
"Does this code have any rules that don't end in death?" Iago asked
"It's a strict code. But there is one thing that I added: we never harm the innocent." He removed the gold brooch from his cloak and placed it on the door "My men don't even know of this place."
The door opened allowing them to enter. Cassim used the torch to lit a small cauldron allowing light to fill the room full of artifacts and treasures.
"There is a treasure: the ultimate treasure." He threw the torch into a nearby bowl of water and continued his explanation "Compared to this, a Pharaoh's tomb is a pauper's grave. The Sultan's fortune nothing but lunch money. And I am this close to it."
"We've heard of it. Where is it?"
"It's on an island that is never in the same place twice." He opened his wardrobe and pulled out a tapestry "The Vanishing Isle."
"What is this ultimate treasure?"
"The big one boy." he unfolded the tapestry displaying a turtle and in the center of its body was a gold hand "The Hand of Midas."
"It's just a myth."
"It's not a myth boy." He pulled a curtain and showed them a pool. In the depths of the water was a golden ship "Look there's your proof! From stern to stem, every rigging, every peg aboard, all of it solid gold!"
"Whoa, there really is an ultimate treasure." Sora was in awe as well as Abu while Iago was barely containing his excitement.
"Touched by the Hand of Midas"
"And sunk by it." Aladdin scoffed at the ultimate treasure's power and walked back into the room
"Oh you don't understand. You don't know what it's like to have nothing. To stare at the Palace and know that you deserve more!" Cassim threw his torch into the pool and continued to recall bitter memories of the past "To be called street rat!"
"Yes..I do" Aladdin knew all too well what his father felt as that was how he lived his life all this time.
"I knew exactly what I wanted for my family; the best. I couldn't go back home empty-handed. But weeks turned into months and months turned into years. I came back to Agrabah one night, but I couldn't find my wife or my son." Regret was on Cassim's face "I thought I lost my family forever. At that moment, I would have traded anything to get your mother back."
"We never wanted the gold. We wanted you. I wanted a father, I still do." Aladdin assured his father "Come to my wedding. This time you have an invitation."
"Aladdin..." Cassim was unsure of himself "I'm just not sure."
"We're not going back to Agrabah until tomorrow morning. At least think about it."
"I'll only tell you this." Riku spoke to Cassim "There are more important things than treasure."
Cassim pondered on Riku's words but he quickly dismissed them "Oh they don't understand. It just wouldn't work. I don't belong in Aladdin's world"
Iago perched on Cassim's shoulder "The Oracle doesn't belong in his world either. It belongs in the hands of enterprising treasure hunters like you and me."
Cassim shooed him away "The Oracle...Probably just another dead end."
"It works!" Iago flew after him "That's how the kids found you. It knows everything!"
Cassim suddenly became intrigued "Everything?"
"And I know where they stashed it. Cassim, we are talking about the wedding of your only son. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity."
Cassim rubbed his chin as he thought it over then he came to his decision "How can I pass it up?"
Meanwhile, back in Agrabah the palace guards were doing their regular nighttime watch routine through the city. Razoul was walking through a district due to getting word from his men that a man could give him a tip about the Forty Thieves.
"Captain. Over here."
Razoul heard the whisper and replied "Show yourself!"
It was Sa'Luk, he miraculously survived the fall "You're alone. Good."
"Are you the one with information about the Forty Thieves?"
"What would you say if I handed you the King of Thieves?"
"I'd said what's in it for you?" Razoul asked as he knew that if something that sounded too good to be true, it usually is. And that there is always a catch.
"I'll just sleep better knowing that he'll be off the streets." Sa'Luk smiled "And on the executioner's block."' His true intentions were to get revenge on Cassim his former leader and his son Aladdin for shaming and eliminating him from the thieves.
Razoul crossed his arms in disbelief "Everyone knows that the King of Thieves cannot be caught. What miracle do you possess?"
"Two words that will make you Agrabah's greatest hero: Open Sesame!"
