Chapter Nine

Kane's Bargain / Tension

Major Kane cautiously descended down the sand steps, feeling each small impression he made in the sand as he placed his boots on the steps leading down into the cave. It somewhat reminded him of the drab cave in Motunui where he had acquired the snake totem that he now wore on his finger. As he descended further down into the depths of the Cave of Wonders, it seemed to get darker. Kane lightly clenched his left fist and the totem on his finger glowed red, illuminating the surroundings so that he could see where he was heading. As he reached the bottom of the sand steps, he touched down onto more sand. He held his left hand above his head, and looked around him. The cave was huge, extending to far beyond where his eyes could see. The cave was littered with heaps of gold, sparkling treasure and other valuable mystical trinkets.

Kane wasn't surprised though, as he had read and heard much about the Cave of Wonders before he had begun his quest. He knew that the cave held many treasures, which also served as temptation. So that was what the Sand Tiger meant by worthiness. If anyone attempted to claim any of the treasures for themselves apart from the original item that they had set out to obtain, they would be deemed unworthy and remain trapped in the Cave till they died of starvation. Major Kane looked around, and saw numerous skeletons scattered across the Cave. There was the incontestable proof of their unworthiness. There was only one man who had managed to escape the Cave intact many years ago, and that was King Aladdin. Kane was going to be the second. He knew very well that he would be deemed worthy, as he had come to the Cave of Wonders for one specific purpose, for one specific item. The gold, the treasures and everything else held no value to him. What did gold mean to a man like him? He had no use for riches. He saw himself on a path headed towards his destiny, and it had nothing to do with wealth. He only needed one thing from the Cave, and he was going to get it and leave intact. After spending years waiting for this moment and travelling across the world to find the Cave of Wonders, he would not be stopped by petty ambitions or temptations. He would not be denied his destiny.

Looking around, Major Kane ventured further into the cave, stepping over the skeletons that were strewn across the sand and gold. He could sense that the item he was looking for was not in this part of the cave. He came to the end of the room, and walked through a hole in the wall and stood on a stone ledge leading to a larger part of the cave. Kane looked down to see a steep drop into a pit of molten lava. The molten lava was bright orange and it lit up the cave, making the red light from Kane's totem seem like a candlelight compared to the sun.

The pit spanned across at least three hundred metres, and there seemed to be no way to get across to the other side of the pit to the entrance of another part of the cave. Well, at least no way possible for normal men. Kane clenched his fist again, and the red light that used to illuminate the cave became an aura that engulfed the Major, causing him to levitate above the ledge. With sheer force of willpower, he levitated forward and away from the precipice. He looked down at the lava beneath his feet, with no trace of fear in his eyes. Nothing was going to stand in his way. Not even a pit of molten lava. He floated over the large pit towards the other side of the precipice, and landed gracefully on the opposite stone ledge. The red aura around Kane disappeared, and he walked through the opening in the wall.

Kane walked into another even larger room of the cave, which had a very high ceiling made out of rock. Up on the walls laid shelves upon shelves of mystical trinkets, and the ground was covered in more gold. There were only a few skeletons in this room, much less compared to the numerous ones in the first room. He figured that while some men managed to somehow make it across the pit of lava, they eventually fell prey to the temptations that lay in the room that he was now in. He was not going to make the same mistake. Kane's eyes darted round, looking for what he had come for, sensing that it was in this very room. The totem gave him a sixth sense, helping him to know things that were not humanly possible. Kane's eyes looked to the ground, scanning among the sand and gold for the item. He stopped, and used his boot to sweep away the gold and the sand from a certain spot, and stooped down to the ground. Ah, there it was. He picked up a jet black trinket and dusted it off, and admired it.

The Lamp of Jafar. At last. Legend told of a wise royal advisor who was cunning, and sought to overthrow the King and rule Agrabah. He had sought out his own Lamp, using a young Aladdin to get the Lamp from the Cave of Wonders. After Jafar had succeeded in becoming King, Aladdin had tricked him into using his final wish to become an all powerful evil genie, and had trapped Jafar in his own Lamp. The Lamp of Jafar had been cast deep into the Cave of Wonders, buried where it was hoped that the Lamp would never be found, banishing Jafar the Genie forever. But now, Kane had found the Lamp of Jafar which had been buried for decades.

He rubbed the side of the black Lamp and a black mist escaped from the spout of the Lamp, rising into the air. The black mist however did not evaporate into the atmosphere, but instead bonded together, forming the image of a towering bearded man with red skin and black hair tied back into a small ponytail. Kane looked up at the genie in awe. "Jafar?"

The genie appeared confused and discombobulated, looking around cluelessly as if he didn't hear Kane calling him.

"Jafar?"

He heard Kane the second time, and looked at him in confusion, as if he was experiencing the five senses for the first time. "Where am I? Who am I?" Jafar asked in bewilderment, looking at the golden bracelets on his wrists, and then back at Kane.

Major Kane looked up at Jafar. "You are Jafar the Genie. You have been trapped in your Lamp for decades, that's why you're confused. Give it time to set in."

The genie clutched his head, trying to think. "I-I remember. That boy, Aladdin!"

"He banished you. And he's the King of Agrabah now."

Jafar looked up in anger, his eyes burning with rage. "I remember now." He looked down at Kane. "Who are you?"

Finally, he was getting somewhere. "My name is Major Kane. I have travelled across the world to find you, because I need your help." Kane replied.

"And why would I help you?"

"Because I am the one who found you, so I am now your master." Kane answered boldly. "You will grant me my three wishes, for it is your duty."

"Yes, Master." Jafar having no choice but to obey, bowed before Kane. "Just one thing I ask of you, Master." Jafar looked at Kane. "Allow me the opportunity to destroy Aladdin."

Kane looked back at Jafar. This genie had passion, conviction, and purpose. Not unlike himself. "You and I are not dissimilar," Kane began. "We both have a clear purpose and we see obstacles in our way. Help me with mine, and I promise you, I will use the final wish to free you so that you may seek vengeance against King Aladdin."

Jafar nodded gratefully, and noticed the snake totem on the Major's left ring finger. "That totem," Jafar pointed to it. "It channels your black magic. If you're already able to tap into the dark arts, why do you need me?"

"I may know how to harness the darkness, but some things are above me." Kane explained. "You were a sorcerer once. And yet you craved the power of the Genie."

Jafar scoffed, looking at the bracelets on his wrists that signified his bondage to the Lamp. "Look where that landed me."

"I fear that the more I use the black magic, the more it changes me into something horrifying."

Jafar sighed. "Alright then, there are only two rules, Master. First, you only have three wishes, after which I will be rendered useless to you. And second, you cannot wish for loved ones to be brought back from the dead. That is a task I cannot perform for you."

Major Kane looked at Jafar and nodded in agreement. "I understand."

###

Santos and the rest of the mercenaries waited by their horses, freezing in the cold night.

"So d'you really think the Major is going nuts?" the first mercenary who asked the question back in the city asked again.

Santos looked at him. "I don't know." Santos grimaced. "I have to admit he's wilder than before, ever since he got that snake totem from the island."

"Wilder?" the mercenary scoffed. "Before the totem, he didn't even want us to bring our weapons to 'deter' the villagers. And now he's torturing people!"

"Yeah, all that black magic stuff is messing with his head." another mercenary chimed in.

"The only reason why we're on this crew is cuz the Major promised to release us with riches when the quest was done." the first mercenary continued. "And now, at this point, the only reason we don't leave the crew is cuz he'll enjoy killing us slowly if we do!"

"Look!" Santos said. "There's nothing we can do about it. I've known the Major a long time, from our days back in the navy and on The Hanedale. You remember too, don't you?" he pointed to one of the other mercenaries, who nodded. "He used to be a good soldier who cared for his crew. But if he's changed, what can we do about it? We just have to follow his orders and hope that at the end of his quest, he will keep his promise to us."

As the other mercenaries continued to chat among themselves, Santos sighed. He had only said that to try to give the others hope. He was fairly certain that the man that he had once known five years ago on board the naval ship was gone. The Major, who had offered him solace when they were both grieving the loss of their families in the wake of the terrorist attack mounted against their village, had changed into a ruthless kleptomaniac who sought after mystical items for his insane quest. Santos could no longer recognize the military leader who he had once looked up to.

At that moment, the mouth of the Sand Tiger opened, and out from the darkness of the cave walked a tall figure. Santos and the others squinted at the figure. It was Major Kane, with the Lamp of Jafar in one hand, his face stoic and unflinching.

"So, you proved yourself worthy." the Sand Tiger boomed, his voice echoing and eyes glowing like fire. "Congratulations." With that, the Sand Tiger crumbled and disintegrated before the men that stood before it.

"I have what I came for." Kane said in satisfaction, placing the Lamp of Jafar into his bag. "Move out."

The mercenaries knelt on the sand with their right knee to the ground and their right arm crossing over to the opposite shoulder with clenched fists, their heads bowed, before getting up and saddling up their horses.

Kane let out a small smile. He had completed the second part of his quest. Two mystical items down, two to go.

###

Elsa sat on the deck and placed both hands over her ears. Moana and Tracy were locked in a heated argument over on the other side of the deck. Tracy had been experimenting with her magic while Moana had been brooding not far away. Somehow, Tracy's magic got out of hand due to her lack of expertise, and Moana ended up with purple goo in her hair. She was wary of Tracy before, but Tracy's magic mishap was the last straw for Moana, and she had gotten up, ready to skewer Tracy alive.

"What, you couldn't do your sorcery somewhere else?" Moana shouted. "You just had to practice near me didn't you?"

"It was an accident!" Tracy protested indignantly. "How was I supposed to know that my magic would get out of hand and spray goo all over you?"

"I'm willing to bet you knew," Moana shoved Tracy with hostility.

Tracy smacked her hand away. "Hey, I already said I was sorry! What more do you want? What's your problem anyway?"

Moana pointed her finger close to Tracy's face, much to her annoyance. "My only problem is with you, witch."

"Enjoying the show?"

Elsa looked up to see Maui approaching her and silently groaned. She just wanted to be left alone in peace to enjoy the quiet night, but then the two girls had begun quarrelling, disrupting the quiet, and now Maui, the talkative demigod, had shown up. At this rate, she was never going to get her peace and quiet!

"What's up with them?" Maui asked, sitting down beside Elsa.

"They want nothing to do with each other," Elsa replied, hoping that Maui would get the extremely indirect hint. "Why don't you help break up the fight?" Elsa held her breath, hoping that Maui would at least prove himself useful in stopping the two girls from destroying the ship.

"Nah." Maui chortled. "I would rather watch the show and see how this all pans out."

Elsa rolled her eyes and exhaled quietly in annoyance. It was going to be a long night.

"Oh, and about yesterday," Maui started, sounding slightly hesitant. "I'm sorry if I pushed you too far. When I asked about your story, I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's fine. I would prefer if we not talk about it." Elsa replied shortly.

"I mean, if you do wanna talk to someone, I'm always here to lend a listening ear." Maui beamed brightly, but Elsa acted as if she didn't hear him.

She melted a little on the inside, feeling horrible for being so cold towards the friendly demigod, but she really did just want to be left alone. Besides, she was afraid that if she started to talk to him again about her problems, she would get emotional, and she didn't want anyone to see her that way. She had been brought up to conceal her emotions in order to control her powers, and she also didn't want to risk letting her powers getting out of hand again. Well, given Maui's outgoing and thick headed nature, he wouldn't take her icy attitude too personally. At least, she hoped he wouldn't.

"What's going on up here?!" Melody cried, running up onto the deck fully geared up with her bow and her quiver on her back. She had been trying to sleep down in the ship's quarters, only to be awakened by yelling and screeching from the deck above. Down from her quarters, it sounded like the ship was being ambushed by pirates and her friends fighting them off. To her dismay, she saw Tracy and Moana trading blasts of magic, purple fields of energy from Tracy, and yellow beams of light from Moana.

Fortunately, both sides were not strong enough in magic manipulation, for if they had been, they most likely would have brought the ship down. The two girls' magic sparked and faded, failing them when they needed them the most. Tracy had reverted back to her octopid form, her blue tentacles fending off each of Moana's inconsistent light magic blasts. She returned the attack with her own spurts of black magic, which proved to be equally ineffective.

Just as they were about to clash with both of their magic blasts at the same time, Melody ran towards them, and shot two flat-headed arrows at Moana and Tracy. The arrows, which were attached to bolases, wrapped around both girls and incapacitated them, preventing them from mounting any further attacks that could endanger the ship and everyone else on it. "What's wrong with the both of you?" Melody glared at Tracy and Moana, who continued to stare daggers at each other. "Do you want to destroy the ship and sink us to the bottom of the ocean?"

"I'll survive." Tracy replied nonchalantly, and Melody ignored her, turning to Elsa.

"Help me out here?" Elsa shook her head quickly. The last thing she wanted was to get involved in whatever heated argument the others were having. She just wanted her peace and quiet.

Melody sighed. "Maui?"

"Well, to be fair, I wasn't here when the argument started, so I don't know who's to blame."

Melody rolled her eyes. Since no one was going to help her out, she was going to have to attempt to resolve the conflict by herself. She looked at Tracy and Moana, who had both simmered down, and cautiously untied them. Melody finished untying Tracy, and began working on Moana's bolas.

As the bolas loosened, Moana violently tugged it off herself, not waiting for Melody to finish untying her. "Stay out of my way." She hissed, lashing a finger out in Tracy's direction.

Tracy had already morphed back into her human form, and was walking towards the stairs leading down to the deck. She completely ignoring Moana's last spat.

"I think it's time we headed down too." Maui whispered to Elsa.

For the first time, she agreed with him. It was better that she left, as she figured that she wasn't going to get her peace and quiet that night, and that she had a better chance down in her own quarters. Elsa and Maui got up off the beam of the deck, and walked down the stairs to the quarters, leaving Melody and Moana alone on the deck.

"What were you thinking, starting a fight on the ship?" Melody asked Moana, who was still red with rage.

"You don't get the right to lecture me," Moana replied rudely. "You lost that right when you brought that sea witch onto this ship."

"Hey, she's not a bad person," Melody protested. "I'm sure that whatever she did to make you angry was an accident. She's not like other sea witches."

"Yeah, sure, like you've had the luxury of meeting other sea witches," Moana retorted.

Melody bit her lip. She had met another sea witch before, Tracy's mother in fact, but she didn't see the point in bringing that up. "Look, when I found Tracy in the Bermuda Triangle, all she wanted to do was break free from her family's cycle of violence. By bringing her on board, she has a shot at redemption. Isn't that why we're all here? A chance to right our wrongs?"

"You always see the best in people, don't you, Princess?" Moana continued sarcastically.

"What's your point?" Melody was starting to get a little irritated.

"Your little optimism is going to cause our downfall. I mean, what did you expect? You're bringing a failed sea witch to take down the Major."

"What's your problem?" Melody could feel herself losing patience, having had enough of being antagonized by the hot headed village girl.

"My problem," Moana began, staring at Melody with hostility. "Is that I never asked for any of you to help." With that, Moana brushed past an incensed Melody, heading down to her own quarters.

Melody put the two arrows back into her quiver, exhaling deeply. Truth be told, she did not like Moana. Sure, Melody felt sorry for Moana who had just lost her people to the Major's attack, but she was being so hostile when she didn't have to be. She would just have to try to stay out of Moana's way to avoid further arguments on their quest.

Writer's Commentary:

To be honest, this was actually a tough chapter to write, as I had no clue how to describe the Cave of Wonders. I had to dig down pretty deep in creating an underground magical world for Major Kane to find his way through as the chapter progressed. For the first time, I had no idea what Kane would encounter next, and I winged it as Kane pushed further on. But it was fun, for sure. By having Kane resist all manner of temptation, I proved that he was a man of superior will to the common folk, many of which had died in the Cave. I wanted to paint Kane not only as a formidable man, but also one with extreme willpower, not letting anything get in the way of his goals. Money means nothing to a man like him, for his goals are bigger than riches. I enjoyed writing about how Kane knew about the legend of Aladdin who had become King of Agrabah, and also re-introducing Jafar the Genie from the movie.

Something to note about this continuity, I chose to ignore the second movie in the franchise "The Return of Jafar", as it kind of undermined where I needed the character of Jafar to go. So, just take it that this story takes place after the events of the first movie, and that the second movie doesn't exist in this timeline.

The second part of the chapter was a true joy to write. We see more conflict between our heroes. Moana and Tracy simply can't get along, and Melody tries to break up the fight. Meanwhile, Maui takes another shot at a conversation with Elsa, which doesn't exactly go any better than the first time. We get an insight into Elsa's thoughts, and understand why she's being so cold. She wants to keep her emotions in check by shutting her problems and others out. She's afraid that her powers will get out of control if she allows her emotions to run wild.

And then, Melody confronts Moana and cement their hostile relationship. This adds another dimension of conflict to the already rocky relationships that our warriors share. How are they going to get along and face the Major together?