"Alright you two, wake up, we're here," Namine said, shaking the two keyblade wielders awake. Roxas and Xion get up and look out the cockpit window to get a better look at their destination.
"Oh! It's Agrabah!" Xion said in surprise.
"Another world you two have been to?" Namine asked.
"Yeah. We were sent on many missions here." Roxas explained,
"It's also the world where we first met Pete," Xion added on.
"Oh right! I forgot about that!" Roxas said as if a long forgotten memory had been unlocked again. "Me and Axel spied on him as he looked around for some sort of hidden area, and then Xion and I ran into him again at some strange ruins."
"Yeah. The last time we were there the place was still recovering from the constant sandstorms." Xion said.
"Hey, at least we didn't have to deal with that Jafar guy mentioned in the book Yen Sid gave to us," Roxas noted
"Yeah, maleficent was enough for me thank you very much," Xion said. The two keyblade wielders collected a few supplies and prepared to descend to the world below.
"By the way Namine," Xion said, turning around before leaving
"Yeah?"
"Don't fall asleep again, alright?" Xion said, half-jokingly. The three are able to share a laugh for a moment before Roxas and Xion descend. The two enter the city of Agrabah slowly, the hot weather already tiring them out.
"I see it's still as hot as ever in Agrabah," Xion says, waving her shirt in an attempt to cool herself off.
"You can say that again," Roxas says, doing the same thing. "We really should have brought some Ethers, I could go for a blizzard spell right about now."
"Watch out!" A loud raspy voice yells before multiple bandits heartless appear around them. The two react in time to draw their keyblades. The two fight off the bandits with the best of their abilities, but are overwhelmed as more begin to appear. Just as things begin to get tricky, however, crates and vases suddenly fall over from where they stood, and crush the heartless, seizing this opportunity, Roxas and Xion run into an abandoned house nearby and hide.
"Are you two okay!?" said the unknown Raspy voice. Roxas and Xion look around the room but find no one. "Hey! Up here!" says the voice. The two look up to find a Parrot perched on a high shelf. The parrot is completely red, save for his purple tail feather and blue-tipped wing feathers.
"Oh, hey little fella, are you the one that helped us out back there," Roxas asked.
"Don't call me that! I'm Iago. And yes that work back there? All me!" Said Iago proud of his act of kindness, a bit too proud in all honesty.
"Wait, Iago? Aren't you that parrot that worked alongside Jafar awhile back?" Asked Roxas. The parrot hunched over. "Oh, you two know about that huh?" Said Iago disappointingly.
"Yeah. Our uh- friend Sora told us about you." Roxas said. He's not really that good at making up lies on the fly.
"Listen, I'm sorry about everything that happened back then. I've turned over a new feather! I want to make it up to Jasmine and Aladdin for the trouble I caused them." said Iago.
"Have you talked to Jafar was sealed in the lamp?" Xion asked. Iago sat there for a second, before shaking his head. "Well, why not talk to them now? We'll come with you if you'd like," said Xion. Iago is taken aback by their willingness to help him
"Are you sure?" Iago asks.
"Of course! You helped us out, it's only fair we return the favor." Said Roxas
"All right then. Jasmine and Aladdin live in the palace. You can't miss it." Iago says, exiting the house. The two follow cautiously, as to avoid any unwanted attention from the heartless. The three make their way to the Palace and see a girl, Jasmine, outside. She hears the three approach and turns around
"Oh! Sor-" She cuts herself before realizing her mistake and continues. "Hello there. Is something wrong?". Iago doesn't make himself known, Hiding behind Xion to avoid Jasmine's gaze, despite the reason they came here. Xion notices Iago's anxiousness and chooses to make up a lie on the spot.
"We're looking for our friend Sora." Says Xion. "He disappeared recently, so we're searching all the past worlds he's visited to see if he's here," Xion explains.
"Hmm, sorry. I haven't seen Sora since he locked the keyhole in Hollow Bastion." Jasmine claimed.
"What about Aladdin? Has he seen him?" Roxas asked.
"I don't know," Jasmine says worryingly. "He hasn't quite been acting like himself lately."
"Hmm, Could it be because of the heartless?" Xion asks.
"I'm not so sure. Usually, he's so kind and cheerful. But recently, he's been quite sad. He leaves the palace and goes off by himself more and more. I've asked him about it, but he says nothing's wrong." Jasmine explains. Iago, ever the pessimist, and perhaps out of habit chimes in.
"Maybe he has some sort of secret girlfriend! I know, I'll go find out who she is-" Jasmine is shocked at the sight of Iago jumps back.
"Iago! Quick, catch him! I'll alert the guards and warn everyone in the palace." Says the princess, running off before Roxas and Xion can explain the situation. Iago looks towards the floor.
"Wow, looks like I blew it huh?" said Iago, saddened
"Maybe it was just something you said. we can try again some other time" Said Roxas.
"What do we do now?" asked The parrot'
"Hmm." Xion thinks for a moment, before responding. "Let's try and find Alladin. He's probably somewhere in the town," says Xion. As the three walk back into the town, they hear someone yell really close by
"Stop! Thief!" suddenly, a small monkey holding a black lamp runs by. The monkey is quickly followed by Aladdin,
"Hi, Sora!" Says Aladdin, not even taking a glance at the three while running.
"Come back here!" sats a small man in blue robes, wearing a turban. The three quickly follow them. "If you can't control that thing it should be on a leash!" says the small man, walking back from where he came, holding the black lamp. The three continue to walk into the alley and see Aladdin
"You should be ashamed of yourself Abu." Says Aladdin, scolding the monkey. Abu is sad for a moment, before his expression changes after seeing Roxas and Xion, Iago hiding behind Xion once again. Aladdin turns his head to see what Abu is looking at and gets up, while Abu runs to the two. "Hello! Sorry for the commotion, Abu couldn't keep his paws off that lamp." Abu proceeds to shake his head and wave his hands around, attempting to explain. . . Something. "No talking your way out of this one!" Says Aladdin. The three of them have a good laugh before Roxas brings up what Jasmine said earlier.
"You don't seem to be down in the dumps," Roxas says
"Who said I was?" Aladdin asks, confused.
"The princess, Jasmine." Says Xion. "She's worried because you're always in the town."
"Do you have a secret girlfriend or something?" Says Roxas, attempting to play it off Iago's question as sarcasm.
"What? No way!" Says Aladdin, shocked at such a claim. "Still. . . There's no foolin' Jasmine, huh?" Aladdin takes a deep breath, "You see, Genie and the Carpet took off to see the world. It's what Genie always wanted. I wished him the best and all, but-"
"You miss them?" Roxas asks. Aladdin nods before his eyes open wide as he notices something, or rather someone behind Roxas and Xion.
"Iago!?" Roxas and Xion turn around to see Iago trembling on the ground, facing the opposite direction from them.
"Oh, yeah. . . Iago wanted to apologize for everything he's done, but he's . . . well, Nervous to say the least." Says Xion"
"Oh, he does?" asks Aladdin, his expression becoming more friendly. Suddenly Iago speaks.
"Th-th-that lamp!" Iago stutters and points in the direction the peddler walked in.
"What about it?" Aladdin asks.
"You don't recognize it!? That's Jafar's lamp!" Iago says, getting up from the ground and flying towards him.
"Are you sure? There's a million like it." Aladdin says, skeptical.
"I was locked in that thing FOR MONTHS! I know its appearance like the back of my wings!" Says Iago, full of confidence.
"Oh no, we'd better go back and talk to that peddler." The three walk back to the peddler's shop. Roxas and Xion talked to the Peddler while Iago and Aladdin stayed outside. After they're finished, Roxas and Xion give Aladdin the bad news.
"What!? Treasure beyond imagination!?" Aladdin says in surprise. "There is the royal treasury, but it's not mine, and I don't want to worry Jasmine or the Sultan," Aladdin says, thinking out loud. Suddenly, Iago has an idea
"What about the Cave of Wonders? That place is full of treasure!" Iago exclaims
"Sounds like our only lead. All right, Iago. You lead the way! If this goes well I might even believe your apology." Iago nods and flies in the direction of the cave, the four trailing behind him. After some time running through the desert and slaying ambushing heartless, the five make their way to the cave of wonders, its large tiger-head entrance is unmistakable. The five traverse the Cave of Wonders with great efficiency, opening anything that looked valuable along the way. Suddenly, the four find themselves in a dead-end, with walls of flowing water, a floating gemstone, and a statue. The four investigate the floating gemstone and Abu, perhaps out of habit, grabs it. Suddenly the floor shakes in the water disappears revealing main more statues, the statues eyes glow red, as does the gemstone, and ice shards begin to fall from the ceiling, as the room begins to shakes wildly, causing waves to form and crash around like crazy. The waves push everyone around, knocking them off balance. Abu, dodging the ice shards and jumping over the waves when he can, is quickly able to reach the statue at the end of the hallway, and puts the gemstone in a socket, soothing the wrath of the cave. The statues glowing eyes disappear and the statue at the end of the hallway turns to dust, revealing a new path.
After exiting the hallway the four find themselves in a tall chamber, at which they are near the top. The five go down the stairs and find a floating platform with a sign in the middle written in the ancient text, which Aladdin attempts to translate.
"Complete your task within the time allotted." Says Aladdin confused. Suddenly the sign turns to find gold dust, and the platform begins to descend, with heartless appearing out of thin air. Roxas, Xion, and Aladdin fight off the heartless with the best of their abilities, able to slay the last heartless just as the platform stops descending.
The five find themselves in front of a large door, with no other options, they choose to open it. Upon entering they find themselves in a chamber, filled with piles and piles of gold coins, bars, and other miscellaneous items. At the end of the hall lies a large trophy-like decoration, with many large bright gemstones held within.
"There, that one should do it." Says Aladdin, walking over to it and grabbing it. "Now let's go back and get that lamp!" Exclaimed Aladdin. "If we don't get it and lock it away, Jafar will eventually escape, and destroy Agrabah!" Suddenly, the five hear a snapping sound and the room goes dark, as many heartless appear. Unbeknownst to them, Pete, who had come to the caves looking for the lamp, was right outside the chamber and heard everything, distracting the heroes with heartless, Pete runs off to get that lamp from the Peddler. Roxas, Xion, and Aladdin deal with the heartless with relative ease, before running back to Agrabah as fast as possible. The five arrive at the peddler's shop and find it empty. "Hello? Anyone home?" Says Alladin, before hearing a voice familiar to Roxas and Xion
"Stop your whining and hand it over!" says the muffled voice of Pete
"Ohh no! I'm trading it for treasure. This lamp is going to bring me riches!" Says the peddler. The five turn around, realizing the noise is coming from outside. The five-run outside to see The peddler fleeing from the large cat.
"Pete! Quick everyone, After him!" Says Roxas, the five pursuing the foe. Until they eventually reach the palace doors. And see the peddler lying on the ground, and Pete holding the lamp.
"Heh heh, I win!" Exclaims Pete. He doesn't stay winning for long, however, as Iago flies at top speed, and takes the lamp from Pete.
"Nice one, Iago!" Xion exclaims
"Don't drop it!" Yells Roxas. Pete, enraged, grabs two explosive balls and throws them at Iago's direction.
"Watch out!" Says Aladdin, Drawing is Simitar and running towards Iago, but the balls explode, knocking Iago into a wall, and causing him to drop the lamp. Pete grabs the lamp from off the ground.
"Nice job bird brain!" Pete taunts. "Just wait till Jafar's free! He's gonna make one beauty of a Heartless!" Pete exclaims. Roxas, Xion, and Aladdin draw their blades when something catches their eye, a familiar blue friend flies down from the
"I'm Home!" The genie shouts, running right into Pete and knocking him over as he goes to hug Alladin. After hugging his pal, the genie turns and to face Roxas and Xion. "Welcome to Agrabah you two! Much better than the cave of wonders I tell you, doesn't collapse nearly as often." says the genie, his cheerful self.
"Argh! Nobody makes a fool Oughta me!" says Pete, the genie faces to turn the cat he had previously run over. "Time for plan B!" Yells Pete, slamming his fist to the ground. , suddenly, from a spout of water and igniting flames appear too large heartless, the Volcanic and Blizzard lords.
The two launch a multitude of fire and ice attacks at the six heroes. Aladdin charges at the Blizzard lord, who reacts by freezing him in place. Roxas attacks the Blizzard lord from behind and casts a fire spell, stunning it for long enough for Roxas to free Aladdin, and slash at the heartless. Xion Rounds circles around the Volcanic lord, shooting a myriad of blizzard spells at the heartless. Keeping it stuck in a never-ending barrage of frost. Roxas and Aladdin charge from behind and the two cut straight through the heartless. The fire lord collapses to the ground and the three finish it off a coordinated strike.
The Blizzard lord witnesses the death of its brethren and is enraged. Vast winds start to blow into Agrabah and swirl around the courtyard as the blizzard lord sends out vast amounts of frost. The heroes are pushed back towards the walls as the barrage of frost clouds their eyes. They begin to where they stand, unable to move. Xion, realizing the kind of power she needs, Envelopes herself in blue energy, but things go awry quickly as Xion feels a sharp pain in her heart. An awful burning sensation begins to emerge and the blue energy begins to turn a dark purple. Xion shrieks and screams in pain.
"Roxas. . . I can't. . . It hurts!" Roxas' eyes widen in horror after realizing what's happening.
"Xion! Hold on-" but before Roxas can try and do anything, a blast of darkness dispels the blizzard, and the black figure attacks the blizzard lord with great force. The blizzard lord is overwhelmed very quickly and eventually expires. Leaving just Xion in the center of the courtyard, or at least, what looks like Xion. her skin was a dark blue and wisps of darkness were coming off of her. Her face was expressionless, the only noticeable thing being her wide-open eyes, they had no pupils and glowed a bright yellowish-white. Xion had entered Anti-form. Before Roxas could react Roxas had already been kicked in the stomach and knocked into a wall.
"Roxas, be careful. The darkness has made her incredibly strong! Wait there, I'll come as soon as possible" Says Namine's voice within Roxas' mind.
"What can you do? You don't have a keyblade?" Roxas asks, never being told how exactly they stopped him at Beast's castle.
"You'll see when I get there, just hold on!" Namine says before communication cuts off. Aladdin runs to Roxas aide, but Xion charges at him with incredible speed. Aladdin is barely able to block the attack as he's pushed back to a wall.
Xion casts a mighty spell, spewing a myriad of dark-fire at Aladdin, but they're extinguished at the snap of the fingers by the genie.
"You think you can turn her back?" Aladdin asks. The genie nods and as Xion charges at him, suddenly in a puff of blue clouds the darkness disappears and Xion falls to the ground, back to normal."Is she okay?" Asks Aladdin. Roxas gets up from the ground and limps over to the collapsed Xion
"Yeah. This isn't the first time something like this happened." Roxas says. He looks around and sees that Pete isn't anywhere to be seen, he must have run off, but he seemed to have accidentally left the lamp behind, as it laid on the ground. "You take Iago and the lamp to safety. I know what to do with Xion" Roxas says, Picking her up and carrying her in his arms.
"Are you sure you two will be okay? We have doctors in the palace." Says Aladdin
"Yeah, I'm sure." Says Roxas, Limping away from the Palace while carrying Xion. "We'll meet again though, I'm sure of it," Roxas says, grinning, before leaving the courtyard. After a bit of walking Roxas hears footsteps in front of him, and sees Namine running towards him.
"I'm glad you two are okay!" Says Namine, looking at Roxas and Xion for injuries. "There doesn't seem to be much lingering darkness, Let's go to the ship and rest." Says Namine. The two look upwards to the sky and see a keyhole. Roxas grabs his keyblade and aims it at the keyhole. The weapon shoots a beam of light that pierces the keyhole, and the three disappear in a flash of light.
When Roxas, Xion, and Namine reappear in the gummi ship, Namine goes to the front while Roxas sits down and holds Xion in his arms.
"Oh? You're gonna hold her during the ride?" Namine asks.
"After I entered Anti-form for the first time, I started having distressing nightmares. I'm hoping that maybe if she does have one, I can at least comfort her while she sleeps." Roxas says, Looking at Xion. Namine smiles and nods her head, before setting course to a nearby world. "Where are we going?" asked Roxas.
"A nearby world. The gummi ship doesn't detect any nobodies or heartless, So I thought it would be a good world to explore after what just happened." Namine explained.
"Good Idea." Says Roxas. The Gummi ship blasts off as they head towards a world filled with peace. . . hopefully.