Kingdom Hearts

Ch. 82

Agrabah

One More

In the chasm created from the battle, Dust and Tarzan tried to escape the fire caused by Zisa and Donald. They both made it out unscathed but were still paranoid about whether the other would try an ambush. Dust climbed on top of a large piece of marble to get a good view of the area. She saw massive flames scattered around the area. She then looked up hearing screaming. Tarzan also came too looking up towards the chasm. They both witnessed someone fall from above crashing down to the ground like a meteorite.

The dust settled revealing what it was. Seeing who was lying in a small crater Dust shouted, "NO. Zisa!" The Sultan's royal magician was taken out of commission. His body was burnt and scared as a result of his fight. He was out cold staring up towards the ceiling like a child drifting to sleep.

Dust clenched her hand thinking angrily, "Why? Zisa you failed us."

Tarzan smiled remarking, "Good job. Duck."

He then looked back up seeing more items fall from above. Tarzan saw something white fall with more marble pieces around it. It was Donald who'd fallen after Kurt. Tarzan's smile turned to fear. With little thinking Tarzan climbed up the wall a few feet and using his spirt powers to jump a large distance across the room. He leaped towards Donald's direction grabbing the duck moments before he hit the ground. He wrapped his arms around Donald's feathery torso carrying him away from the crashing debris.

Dust also noticed her ally was in peril as she realized some marble rubble was about to crush him. She jumped up towards the falling marble and kicked it breaking the debris into small pieces.

She landed next to Zisa facing away from him. She turned around facing her fallen ally again. Her face covering hid her true feelings of sadness and disappointment. Tarzan on the other hand felt proud of his comrade. He set an unconscious Donald on the ground letting his friend rest. He walked back towards the center of the room witnessing Dust mourning Zisa. Tarzan stood up straight giving Dust an ultimatum, "It's over. Jafar's time is up. Let's stop fighting so you don't end up like your friend."

Dust cackled, "Friend. Zisa was like a brother to me. He, Kurt, and Jafar were all my family. You really think I'm going to stand by and let you go alive?"

Tarzan became confused at Dust's claims, "Family. Jafar is a monster. Why would you think of him as such?"

Dust looked up to him. "Yeah, Jafar maybe rough around the edges and far from lovable. But he's a better Father to me then my real one ever was."

Dust began to remanence about her past.

"My family was quite well off in my tribe. Being born in the Tribe of Gold was a privilege in of itself. But I was the youngest of 8. I was always treated as a lesser person who never was allowed to be an equal. My family never wanted anything to do with me. When I was 11 my parents admitted I was an accident and was a burden on them. They spend too much money providing for me.

A few years later, I woke up with 2 men dressed in sandy clothing in front of my bed. They dragged me from my room and onto the sands outsides without hesitation. I yelled and screamed calling my parents for help. I looked to my parents tent only to see my Father shaking hands with a strange man with similar clothing to the men before he handed him a satchel of sliver. My Mother was beside him shaking his hand too. I called out to them, but they did not even tilt their heads. They seemed almost happy. I struggled to break free of the two men's grasp but they were too strong. I began to cry louder. And looked over to my siblings who all were hiding in their tents. Some just looked at me but did nothing. I thought it was some kind of nightmare and I'd wake up in my bed like I always have.

But no I didn't. It wasn't a dream. The men brought me on board a sand ship where they handed me over to a woman wearing tattered clothes and had her face covered. I soon realized what was going on when I recognized the boat. It was a vessel manned by sand pirates. My own parents sold me as a slave, their own daughter.

I heard horror stories of parents who got rid of the kids they didn't want on the black market. I had that fear in the back of my mind ever since my parents told me I was a mistake. But I'd never even dream they'd go so far. That their own daughter was worth as much to them as a small pouch of sliver. The Sultan banned these types of transactions over 100 years ago. But it was so common place people just did it anyways.

I continued to scream and cry. But nothing would change my fate. The sand pirate lady lead me down into the bunker of the ship. My bare shivering feet were forced down the steps as I continued to struggle but the woman knew how to handle me. She eventually just pushed me down the steps. I screamed falling down the wooden stairs gaining several bruises on my knees and elbows. I fell face first on the floor only to look up to see a cell in front of me. I saw two girls also occupying the cell. The sand pirate woman forced me to my feet with tears still streaming down my face. She took a key and opened the door. I laid eyes on the two girls that were in a similar situation of my own. They both wore their pajama's same as me sitting in the cell. One sat in the corner whimpering. The other sat next to the left wall giving no signs of life. Her face made it seem like she was already dead.

The sand pirate pushed me in the cell and locked the door behind me. I screamed loudly getting up and running to the door banging on it begging to be let out. But the woman did not say a single word to me. She just turned around and left me alone with the others. I collapsed in despair mimicking the other girls in the cell. I remained in the cell for two whole days getting only a little food and water. Two other girls joined us all giving similar reactions to my own.

Evenutally they let us out but not before chaining us together. We were lead out of the ship in broad day light. I was almost relieved to feel the sun on my skin. They lead us to a secret tavern hidden deep in a cave out in the desert. This is where we were to be sold to the highest bidder. Looking back I have to say I was the lucky one. They dragged our bodies onto a stage like cattle with a bunch of dirty men staring at us. The others were sold to be used as servants or for other purposes to the rich underbelly of the world. I was lucky and was bought by a talent agent.

He brought me to a theater in Agrabah. Hidden secretly in the underground taverns for criminals and other rowdy people. There I was forced to learn the art of belly dancing to perform for the masses.

Ever since my parents sold me, I hoped and prayed for a savior to release me from my cursed life. But over the years nothing changed. Forced into a situation I had no control over. Then one day my master came home bitter and angry because I was not making him enough money. He beat me. After he ceased his attacks on me once I stopped crying. I laid helplessly hoping someone would finally free me. But then a thought occurred that would change my life forever. That instead of waiting for someone to save me. I'll do it myself. This one thought gave me the determination that would finally allow me to achieve freedom.

After I healed, I secretly began to train and teach myself how to fight. I used the art of belly dancing as a fighting technique. This made it seem like I was practicing dancing instead of fighting. But over sometime of training and utilizing the fighter class to get stronger. I managed to develop some crude and novice skills of the belly dancing fighting style. I walked up to my boss in his corridors and demanded he let me go. He then laughed at my face and told me he'd never release me. But I insisted just to irritate him. He got fed up with me and got up intending to beat me. But it didn't go as he hoped. In the end I beat him using my skills. He couldn't lay a finger on me.

I kicked the man who once held power over me. Knocking him out cold on the ground. Seeing his beaten bloody corpse on the ground satisfied me. I helped myself to all his money and left with my head held high. I walked out onto the streets as a free woman smiling.

I decided I'd hunt down my parents and make them pay for what they did too me. This desire for revenge caused darkness to fill into my heart. This is how I met Jafar. This power and potential lured him to me. He offered me everything I could ever want and more.

Together we would take over this world with the power of darkness on our side. I overthrew the original Dust and hid my face behind a veil. I earned the title of Immortal in the Sultan's court.

I pleaded with Jafar to finally take my vengeance on my parents and the sand pirates who took my freedom. Despite slavery being strictly outlawed for years it was still practiced in secret. Jafar made it clear anyone dealing in this business would be killed and used the heartless to track the darkness in people's hearts. We were able to find several slave markets. The heartless fed on the sand pirates hearts as well as the people they did deals with amassing the number of heartless in our command.

I used the heartless to track down my family. When I discovered them, they didn't even recognize me? They all seemed happy with my siblings all now having kids of their own. This made me feel happy because it made my revenge all the more satisfying. Behind those happy faces were people with hearts of darkness. I revealed myself to them unveiling my face. My family didn't even believe it. Without a moment of hesitation I sent the heartless onto them. They fed on the darkness in their hearts transforming them into my slaves joining the ranks of the heartless. I then burned everything they owned leaving no sign they ever existed. I didn't need anything from them. They were worth less to me then money.

You see Jafar gave me a family and my very own desires. He recognized my true potential and I became more then I could ever dream of. And now I'm free.

Jafar's right, this world is a horrible place to live in. It's mercy to end all the suffering and struggle for the people who live here."

Dust's long speech finally ended with Tarzan staring blankly listening to his enemies life story. "You wish to be free?" he muttered.

"Free from this cursed world forever. But we must be the ones to take intuitive. This world will be flung into darkness. Freeing these people of their struggles for habiting this world. And no good for nothing hero can do anything about it even if you defeat us," Dust declared.

Dust pulled away her veil revealing her face to Tarzan. She was smiling with a scar across her lips and another over her nose. She jumped back towards the fire left by Donald and Zisa's fight. She lifted her leg up high and began spinning like she did in the throne room. Air and dust began to be sucked towards her. Tarzan's dreadlocks waved swiftly in the wind as if a storm was coming. He then noticed that fire began to be blown towards her. The flames spread around her body as if she was a spinning top lit on fire. Using the fire around her she modified her attack to an even more deadly one. Dust then began to move like a rapid tornado of fire towards Tarzan. The ape man gritted his teeth quickly moving out of the way. He felt the intense heat come from the women's attack.

She immediately changed directions following him where ever he goes. Tarzan did his best to dodge but it kept getting worse every time. It was if the heat was getting stronger with the air that blew around her. Tarzan watched carefully as the tornado came after him again but then swiftly took a new direction. Tarzan watched in confusion as Dust changed her path heading left away from him. Then Tarzan realized she was charging at Donald still lying unconscious in that direction. "NOOO!" shouted Tarzan.

Running quickly in front of Dust's attack. He ran in front of her reaching his arms out trying to stop her with his bare hands. She hit him hard, Tarzan normally would have the strength to overcome this, but the blister heat burnt his hands. He yelled in pain before giving in. Dust then pile drived through him launching the ape man in the air. His hands were burnt from the encounter, but he did manage to alter Dust's course away from Donald.

Tarzan slammed down on the ground. His palms were burnt pretty badly. He managed to sit up only to see Dust's tornado of fire facing back at him. She then charged at him preparing to finish him off. Tarzan stood on his feet trying to think of a way to get out of this. He could try to dodge but her flames get stronger the longer this goes on.

He thought desperately for an answer, "Spirt of the Jungle, help me."

Tarzan then remembered something from his childhood. Back in Deep Jungle, he remembered Kerchek saving his family from a falling tree. He remembered Kerchek using the spirt to manifest a giant gorilla's fist to destroy the giant tree smashing it into pieces. "Kerchek, please guide me."

The Spirt of the Jungle coursed through Tarzan's arms as he clenched both burnt hands making a fist. He raised his arms in the air as if he was going to slam the ground. The energy flowed through Tarzan's hands creating a giant fist of energy above his head. He waited for just the right moment to end the fight.

As Dust closed in on Tarzan, he thrusted his hands down making the giant fist come with it. In a brief second, the fist slammed into the ground right on top of Dust. It crushed Dust impeding her attack sending her to the ground. Tarzan remained vigilant as the heat subsided. Dust's assault was halted by Tarzan in a single blow. He stood over her burnt unconscious body in a crater similar to Zisa's. All her clothes were burnt or shredded off leaving her naked in the rubble. She was lying face first with her head facing to the right.

Tarzan did not give her a word but just looked away as he tended to his own brunt skin. He limped away towards Donald. He stood over him kneeling down and picked the duck up under his arm before heading out the exit.

Donald soon came too lifting his head up muttering, "Did we win?"

Tarzan assured Donald, "The two of us had won. But there is still one more that's going to make all the difference."