Instead of fighting, Axel decided to watch this battle. He liked to do that sometimes – to relax in some nook or cranny where normally it was unlikely he'd be spotted, and even more unlikely when people were locked in a life-or-death struggle. People tended to be focused on other things than him at those times.
Perched in a third-story window, Axel smirked at his own humor and rested his chin on his fist while he watched the young man in baggy white pants desperately fight off the Heartless on the streets below. A few paces behind him, a beautiful dark-haired woman in a blue outfit cowered behind a fruit stand with a screeching monkey. Axel really liked that monkey. He kind of wished he could keep it for himself.
He'd always wanted to know what a skinned monkey looked like.
"Aladdin!" the woman in blue yelled. "Behind you!"
In one fluid movement, Aladdin ducked the Heartless's swing, spun, and kicked its legs out from beneath it. One stab with his broad-bladed sword finished it, and he was on to the next adversary. As he fought, Axel could see the frustration and confusion on Aladdin's face. He knew exactly what the boy was thinking: why were the Heartless back? Hadn't that boy, Sora, locked the heart of this world and saved it from the darkness? As the doubt and, later, anger filled Aladdin, Axel couldn't contain himself any longer and he chuckled. This really was too much fun.
Suddenly, Axel was struck with an idea. Creative inspiration, if you will. He quickly opened a portal and was gone, reappearing again on the roof of the building above where Jasmine and Abu cowered. There was an old wooden balcony on the second story that jutted out over the fruit stand Jasmine hid in; Axel grinned and hopped from the roof to the balcony, which shuddered and groaned from the impact. Humming some nameless tune, Axel began a strange, halfhearted jig that caused the old timbers to creak and rattle ominously. His song finished, Axel gave the floor one final stamp and was immediately rewarded by a sharp crack as the support beams finally gave way.
"Oops," Axel said, lightly jumping back up to the roof. He watched the balcony tumble to the ground in a pile of lumber and dust, heard Jasmine's scream rise up from the street.
"Jasmine!" Aladdin cried, chancing a peek over his shoulder as he battled two Heartless at once. "Hold on, I'm coming!" Fueled by desperation, he made an incredible leap into the air over the Heartless, slaying them both before his feet touched the ground. One flying creature remained; Aladdin hurled his sword at it with deadly accuracy and immediately ran to the pile of broken timbers.
The monkey Abu, swifter and more agile than Jasmine, had escaped the collapse and was frantically using what little strength he had to dig the princess out. Aladdin soon joined, calling Jasmine's name as he heaved debris out of the way. Axel watched with mild curiosity. Amazing, really, what emotions would make humans do for each other – do to each other, too, for that matter. The lucky bastards.
A hand appeared amidst the rubble, then an arm. Aladdin braced a large beam with his shoulder and pulled Jasmine's limp body out, taking her gently in his arms and wiping the blood and dust away from her face. "Jasmine? Jasmine, can you hear me? Talk to me, Jasmine!" Despite his pleas, however, she did not respond.
Axel floated to the ground as Aladdin gave out a strangled sob and hugged his beloved tightly. "Oh my," Axel said as he walked up to the boy, his face the expression of purest sorrow and regret. "What a horrible thing to happen." He put his hand on Aladdin's shoulder. "I'm terribly sorry." It wasn't a lie, really, but it certainly wasn't the truth either.
Stricken though he was with grief, Aladdin still realized that Axel was a stranger and shot him a suspicious, albeit tear-streaked, look.
"I came to check up on the condition of this world's heart," Axel responded. "But I had no idea things had gotten this bad…" Half a lie, though Axel would be damned to reveal which half. "However," he continued, "I think I can help you." He reached into a pocket of his long black coat and pulled out a small glass vial. It was filled with a golden fluid that shone like liquid sunlight. He held it up high for Aladdin to see. "You know what this is?"
Dumbstruck with a combination of anguish and shock, Aladdin opened his mouth to speak but no sound came out. His throat worked painfully for several seconds before he managed to whisper, "…Give me that… please…"
"It's a Phoenix Down," Axel continued, apparently oblivious. "If used soon enough after death, it can bring the victim back to life and even restore some of their pre-mortem wounds. It has to be given soon after death, however, because once the heart and soul of a person are gone, they can't ever be revived. Got it memorized?" There were a few exceptions, of course, but Axel wasn't going to mention that. He clenched the vial in his fist, his leather gloves creaking softly. "And I'll give it to you, too… for a price." He grinned, and suddenly he was less like a concerned citizen and more like a hungry wolf.
"What do you want? I'll give you anything – I swear – "
"That monkey of yours. I want it."
The absurdity of the request caught Aladdin off-guard, and he blinked with surprise. "Abu?" he asked.
"If that's the monkey's name, then yes."
Abu took one look at Axel and, shrieking in protest, hid behind Aladdin. "What would you do with him?" Aladdin asked, his gaze darting from Jasmine to Abu and back again.
There was the hungry-wolf smile again. "Well, to be perfectly honest, I'd probably perform all sorts of hideous and painful experiments on him. Dismemberments, organ transplants, you name it. I'll get some knowledge out of it, but most of it will be just for fun."
Aladdin paled visibly at the description. He stared at Axel, trying to figure out if it was some sort of cruel joke, but realized that such was not the case. If he gave Abu to this strange redheaded man, the poor creature would almost certainly die a horribly painful death. Wracked with indecision, he looked down at the ground as if searching for an answer there. His hand closed around Jasmine's cold fingers.
"Tic-toc, tic-toc," Axel sang. "Decide quickly, or this Phoenix Down won't work anyway."
Sorrow and resignation flitted across Aladdin's face. He let go of Jasmine's hand and reached behind his back, where Abu was still cowering in fear, and gave the monkey a reassuring pat. Just as Abu let out a sigh of relief, however, Aladdin grabbed him by the scruff and held him up for Axel. Screaming in surprise and fear, Abu clawed frantically at his master's hand, carving dozens of parallel red lines into Aladdin's skin. His mouth set in a grim line, Aladdin didn't so much as wince at the wounds; instead he took them as a small punishment for what he was doing.
Axel took the writhing and screeching Abu by the scruff with one hand and tossed the Phoenix Down to Aladdin with the other hand. "Pleasure doing business with you," he said. "See you around." Without a backward glance, he began striding down the street, ignoring Abu's attempts to tear his way free. The monkey's little claws couldn't even pierce the leather of his gloves, anyway. Speaking of leather… Axel grinned as another idea that coincided with skinned monkey came to mind. Oooh, this was going to be fun.
Suddenly, Axel noticed a change in the tone of Abu's wailing. He glanced over his shoulder just in time to see a large Neo-Shadow rip Aladdin's red, glowing heart from his chest. Jasmine, newly revived, began screaming hysterically. A second Neo-Shadow rose up from the dusty earth, pushed Jasmine to the ground, and stepped on her throat, cutting her scream off with brutal abruptness. It flexed its claw-like fingers for an instant before plunging its hand into the princess's torso.
For once, Axel was truly stunned. He hadn't intended for the Heartless to attack; he was genuinely going to let Jasmine and Aladdin live. "Oh," he said, turning to watch as the Heartless tore out Jasmine's heart and began devouring it. "Well." He noticed that Abu was tugging at his pocket, where he had several more Phoenix Downs. "Sorry, monkey," he said, shaking his head. Was that a hint of remorse in his expression? "A Phoenix Down won't help them now. Theirs is a death worse than death."
It took a moment for Axel's words to register with Abu; after a moment, the monkey curled into a ball and began emitting a long, low keening. Curious, Axel held Abu up to get a better look. Was this creature crying?
How remarkably human.
Inspired by this new discovery, Axel turned and walked away without a second thought, leaving behind the crowd Heartless that fought and scrabbled over the two new hearts and the bodies they once belonged to, which laid together, inert and forgotten, in the dust.