Aladdin stands before the Sultan of Agrabah, his head bowed low in supplication. All his friends wait and watch with bated breath. The only person in the room who seems happy about anything is Razoul, smirking smugly from his place at the sultan's side.
"I saw it with my own eyes, Your Highness," the guard captain reports, nodding in mock solemnity. "The boy was the mastermind of the King of Thieves' escape. And judging by this blow to my head-" He rubs at the purpling bruise in the center of his forehead "-he had an accomplice."
"No!" Aladdin protests, shaking his head vigorously.
Sora watches with a gut-churning feeling. He and Azlyn had offered to shoulder some of the blame, but Al was having none of that. As far as he was concerned, Cassim is his responsibility alone.
"Then who struck me?" Razoul spits.
The former street rat sighs. "It was my father."
The sultan says nothing for a long time, his face scrunched up in anger. "I must say, my boy, this is most disappointing."
"It is tragic, Your Highness," Razoul agrees, shaking his head. "But it seems my suspicions about the street rat were correct from the beginning. Like his father before him, he is a criminal at the core."
"I say, I say, I object sir!"
Sparkles flash around the throne room, transforming it into a trial court. Sultan sits at a high desk, Razoul beside him in the garb of a bailiff. Jasmine sits by the stand with a typewriter in front of her, and behind her the offworlders sit in a jury box. Genie strides into the room, his hair slicked back and wearing a cheap white suit, complete with a bolo tie. He stops next to Aladdin, standing behind a podium. It's all a bit over the top, but there's Genie for you.
"I object to these outrageous charges!" Genie continues, his voice heavy with a slow southern drawl. "I object to trial without evidence…" He stops by Razoul giving him a mean look. "And I object to this tertiary character hogging all my screen time!" He throws his briefcase at the stunned guard. "Why don't you take this to a higher court?" The attaché case shoots off like a rocket, pulling Razoul along with it.
"Genie…" Aladdin groans. Hearing familiar chittering, he looks down to see Abu taking stick figure sketches.
"I'd like to plead insanity, Your Honor!" Genie screams in his normal voice, poofing to Al's side. "Because I am just nuts about this guy!"
"Cut it out, Genie!" Aladdin firmly declares. As he big blue lug returns the room to normal, Aladdin walks up to the sultan with sad eyes. "This is all my fault, Your Majesty. I brought my father here in the first place, I didn't see who he really was in time." He sighs deeply. "Maybe it would've been better if I'd never known him at all."
"Don't say that!" Jasmine says, stepping up to Al's side. She looks him straight in the eye. "He's your father, Aladdin. You risked everything for him. I would do the same for my father."
The sultan winces at that statement, things finally coming into perspective. He shakes his head, softly placing a hand on Aladdin's arm.
"While your actions were no doubt unlawful," he says evenly, "it is clear that what you did… You did out of love. To condemn you for that, well, I simply couldn't. And furthermore, you returned to take responsibility for your actions. Not many people would have had the courage to do such a thing. So, let's put this ugly business behind us, shall we?"
Aladdin gives his future father in law a huge smile. As ineffectual and bumbling as the man may seem at times, there's an undeniable wisdom about him when it comes to many things.
"Does this mean the wedding is back on?" Sora asks as Aladdin and Jasmine embrace each other happily.
"Sure is, Sora," Al replies with a happy wink.
"HALLELUJAH!" A choir made up of robed Genies sings out before disappearing into the original. "Finally, we can get this show on the road! No more distractions, no more attacks, no more…"
"YAAAAARGH!"
"Exactly!" the big blue lug exclaims. "No more YAAAAAAARGH!"
Jasmine frowns. "Wait a minute, isn't that?"
"Iago!" Telary declares, pointing up to where the red-feathered parrot is streaking through the air towards the palace.
He starts out as a barely identifiable blob of color in the morning sky, quickly growing larger as he approaches. With another scream, he plunges straight downward. Carpet quickly reacts, safely catching the parrot before he can seriously hurt himself.
"What are you doing here, Iago?" Aladdin demands. The parrot is too busy gathering air in huge gulps to answer quickly, giving Al time to come up with his own answer. "My father…?"
"Big trouble!" Iago squawks, any more complicated sentence beyond his capabilities at the moment. "Cassim… Heartless…"
"Heartless?" Sora exclaims. He and the other offworlders step in closer. "Who had Heartless?"
"Was it the man in red?" Telary asks.
Iago nods. "Him, and that big guy who tried to nab Jafar's lamp last year."
"Pete!" Azlyn yells venomously.
"Gets worse," the parrot continues, his breathing under better control now. "That guy Al fought, Sa'luk, he ain't dead! He nabbed Cassim!"
"Your father's in trouble, Al!" Sora says.
Aladdin just shrugs. "So? He made his choice. Serves him right, far as I'm concerned."
"Aladdin!" Jasmine chastises her fiancée. "How can you say that, he's your father!"
"Not done." Everyone turns to look at Iago once more. The parrot shivers, his eyes wide and terrified. "Sa'luk just wants the ultimate treasure, but Pete… He, he wants… He wants…"
"What does he want?" Kairi demands.
"Jafar's lamp!"
"WHAT?" everyone but Kairi simultaneously exclaims.
"How could he possibly get that?" Jasmine asks, horrified. "Genie dropped it into the ocean!"
Iago shrugs, shivering. "Well apparently he's got great aim, 'cause the Oracle said that the hand and the lamp are in the same place!"
Telary nods. "That's actually quite probable. Magical resonance and all that." Everyone but Genie gives the wizard a funny look. "I'll uh, explain that one later."
"What're we standing around here for, then?" Azlyn demands. "C'mon, we've got a universe to save!"
KH-KH-KH
The heroes fly across the ocean, following the very obvious trail of white light the Oracle quite conveniently left behind. Aladdin and Jasmine sit on Carpet, while the offworlders ride in the open-cockpit of Genie, transformed into an old-fashioned aeroplane.
"Okay, Tel," Azlyn says, turning to look at the wizard, "explain this magical resonance thing, then?"
He nods. "Sure. Okay, so the basic theory is that magical items of a similar nature want to be together."
"Want?" Kairi asks with a frown.
"Sure," her brother answers with a shrug. "In the same way that magnets 'want' to stick together. Well, not exactly the same, since magnets require opposing poles and magical resonance obviously implies correspondence. Anyway, we've been using it for years, even if you didn't know it. Why do you think we always land in a part of the world near the Keyhole?"
Sora nods thoughtfully. "Huh. I always thought we were just really lucky!"
"Magic lamp in a cave that changes its layout every time someone goes inside," Azlyn mutters. "Magical hand on an island that never shows up in the same place twice. Seems pretty damn similar to me."
"Exactly!" Telary declares. "So when Genie poofed to a random part of the ocean, he was naturally drawn to this 'Vanishing Isle'. It's not an exact science, obviously, but I guess it worked out in this case. Or didn't work out, I suppose."
"There they are!" Jasmine cries out, calling everyone attention to below.
A spotlight shines downs from the heavens, illuminating a very large portion of the ocean. A small ship sits near the edge of the spot, waiting.
"Lucky break," Aladdin declares with a smirk. "If we go now, while they're just sitting there…"
The Oracle suddenly appears in the midst of the light, towering twenty feet in the air. Everyone present can only look up at her splendor in silent awe.
"You have arrived."
With just those three words, she and the spotlight vanish. The second they're gone, the sea begins to churn and bubble. The small boat is rocked by the growing waves, and after a few moments Pete has to lean over the side and puke his guts out. Sa'luk and Gilgamesh maintain better composure, but even they have to reach out and grab whatever's closest to keep from falling. Cassim, secured to the mast by a long coil of rope, just watches it all with undisguised glee.
A column of water bursts into the air, revealing a tall, elegant white tower rising from the depths. It continues to climb into the air, other towers joining it within moments. They go ever higher, entire buildings raising themselves to the surface once more, with seawater streaming from every window and opening. From above, the heroes begin to discern a pattern of streets, lined with trees and shrubs and all manner of greenery.
"An entire kingdom!" Kairi declares, unable to contain her awe. It's a spectacular sight, if not quite comparable to the restoration of the worlds after sealing the Door to Darkness.
"Not the weirdest thing I've seen," Sora notes with a shrug.
Finally, something else breaks free of the water. A wide expanse of some strange brown material no one can immediately identify stretches underneath the buildings and streets. One last thing rises in a burst of water; a massive green turtle's head pops out of the waves, huge black eyes staring at nothing.
Sora's mouth drops open a little. "Top ten though, definitely."
The group zips down to a plaza about halfway up the towering city. Everything's a bit damp, obviously, but for the most part it feels like any other city they've visited. A giant bronze statue, depicting an eagle, looms over the square.
"The bad guys probably split up," Sora says, looking over the troops. "We should too."
"I'm going after my father," Aladdin declares. Reaching down to his belt, he plucks Cassim's dagger from its sheathe
The Keybearer nods. "Okay, good." He hesitates a moment, knowing what he has to do but hardly liking it. "I should go with you, leave the others to search for the lamp. With all those Heartless around-" He gives a significant look to Kairi, smiling a little, "-we'll want one Keyblade wielder per group."
The redhead smiles back at him. Her flowery Keyblade is already in hand, and in anticipation of heavy battle he's wearing knee-length tights underneath her dress. Though Sora still, and probably always will, imagine her as the sweet and gentle girl he'd known growing up, he can't deny the fierce determination shining in her eyes.
Sound suddenly bounces up from a staircase leading downward, a familiar basso voice yelling something defiant sounding. Cassim, it has to be!
"I guess we're going low," Sora announces, Aladdin already rushing off after his father. "Just get as high up as you can!"
The Keybearer is about to take off after his friend when a sudden tremor shakes the ground, the entire island vibrating with the force of an avalanche. Sora stumbles, Aladdin only barely stopping him from plummeting down the stairs. As the shaking fades, the giant turtle beneath the city unleashes another keening bellow.
"So," Telary says, frowning at everyone, "how long exactly do you wanna bet this giant turtle stays topside?"
"With our luck, not very long," Azlyn answers with an exasperated shake of her head.
"Genie, see if you can keep the island topside," Aladdin orders his shapeshifting friend.
The big blue lug gives his best buddy a snappy salute. "Can do, skipper!" In a flash, he's gone.
Fairly reassured that the tremors won't be a problem any longer, Aladdin and Sora charge down the stairs. They rush past another plaza and down a street, a new giant golden eagle statue seeming to appear with every turn. Eventually they reach a dead end, a balcony with an ornately carved white marble railing overlooking a rolling green hill, another plaza at the bottom. Standing in front of a building that looks basically like a large stone shed, Cassim and Sa'luk appear to be having some sort of disagreement. Heartless flank the two men, looking on to the confrontation hungrily.
Sa'luk snarls something the young men above can't quite catch, stepping towards the King of Thieves with his golden claw raised. Grimacing tightly, Aladdin leaps from the balcony. Sora follows a moment later, landing just in time to see Al knock Sa'luk to the ground. The burly thief goes flying, knocking into the base a statue and losing consciousness.
Their leader gone, the Heartless fly into a frenzy. They leap directly for Sora and his allies, their swords flashing in the morning light. The Keybearer quickly blocks a strike, slipping past the Bandit's guard and running it through. Behind him, Aladdin locks his father's dagger with another creature's blade, giving Cassim enough time to attack and subdue it from behind.
An ice crystal as big as a fist slams into the King of Thieves' back, the first sign of a pair of Fortunetellers descending from above. They begin to fire off more projectiles, but Sora leaps forward and deflects them with two quick swings of his blade. Concentrating, he unleashes a blast of fire. His aim is clever and true, shooting through the gap between the flying Heartless and melting the magical ice orbs they ride on. The creatures fall to the stone street, Aladdin quickly rushing in and putting and end to them.
By now Cassim is on his feet again, the boys rushing to his side to help.
"You okay, Dad?" Al asks, putting an arm out in case his father falls back down.
The sound of concern and tenderness in his son's voice brings a smile to the older man's face. "I'm alright, son," he declares with a shrug. For a moment he hesitates, then adds, "Thank you, my boy. For coming to help. I've given you no reason to."
The former street rat shakes his head affectionately. "You're my father. That's reason enough."
"The treasure is this way," Cassim says, turning and heading to the stone temple at street's end. "C'mon, lads. Let's see this through!"
Aladdin sighs. "Dad, no. There are more important..."
Noticing Cassim's suddenly surly expression, Sora bumps his shoulder into his friend's. "It's okay, Aladdin. That lamp could be anywhere, including in with the Hand. Besides, the others can take care of things just fine."
"Come along then, lads!" Cassim exclaims, once again marching for the stone building with a wide grin. "The ultimate treasure awaits!"
As Aladdin and his father pry open the huge double doors, Sa'luk's eyes snap open. It takes a moment for him to get his bearings, his head throbbing. The sound of voices, the King of Thieves and his brat, echo around the building they've entered and filter back out.
With those hated sounds echoing in his head, Sa'luk rises to his feet.
KH-KH-KH
"It's not up here!" Jasmine calls down, standing atop Carpet like a surfer. The flying rug descends, Jafar's lamp not found atop the eagle statue hanging over this particular plaza.
"It's not… Aaargh!"
With a series of loud crashes and rustling leaves, Telary falls from the tree he'd climbed up to examine. He thankfully manages to land softly, though his inadvertent cushion hardly thinks so.
"Watch it!" Azlyn snaps, pushing the redhead off of her. She turns to scowl at him, but one look at his face has the expression shriveling up into concern. "Are you okay, Tel? That was a nasty fall."
The wizard's eyebrows raise hopefully. This tender tone is one he hasn't heard in a while. "Um, I'm fine," he answers quickly, shrugging. "You know me. Falling off stuff is just, y'know, par for the course."
Placated enough, Azlyn snaps her gaze over to Iago, scowling at the parrot. "Why didn't you fly up there to check, you lazy bird!"
"Well excuse me, Princess," he shoots right back. "With the possibility of Jafar's comeback hangin' over my head, you should consider yourselves lucky I ain't just flown the hell outta here and left ya to him!"
"This may not sound very 'Keyblade wielder"-y," Kairi comments with a sigh, backing off from some bushes she'd been inspecting, "but this isn't gonna work! The place is huge, and it's just us searching. Pete probably has Heartless all over the place."
"Iago already did a flyover of the island," Azlyn reminds her. "He couldn't see it from the air. This is all we got, much as I hate to admit it."
Telary frowns thoughtfully. "But it really isn't, is it?" He looks back and forth between Kairi and Jasmine. "Part of the Princess of Heart package is sensing Darkness, right? I mean, you both knew when the Heartless were attacking the treasure room."
A smile spreads across Kairi's face. "Of course! If this Jafar guy is as bad as you all keep saying..."
"And he is," Iago notes with a shudder.
"Then with a little thought put to it, it shouldn't be too hard to locate him!"
The Princesses of Heart come together, clasping hands and closing their eyes in concentration. Azlyn and Telary watch, hoping for a positive outcome. The girls' eyes snap open as one, grimaces on their faces.
"Good and bad news," Jasmine reports.
"The good news is that Tel was right, we found the lamp," Kairi adds. "The bad news, of course, is that there are a bunch of Heartless not far from where the lamp is."
"A race then, eh?" Azlyn declares with a boisterous laugh. "That's the kinda shit I live for!"
Carpet zooms over and the four heroes jump on, taking into the air with Iago close behind. Kairi and Jasmine direct them to land near a huge plaza very high up, the courtyard of the massive fortress atop the island's hill.
"This it," Kairi announces as she hops off, surveying the area with a critical eye. "Somewhere around the huge fortress. Or maybe inside?" She sighs, shaking her head. "Sorry we can't be any more specific."
"Aww, don't you worry yourself about that, Missy."
The group whirls around, Pete and a cohort of Heartless standing across the plaza. The fat cat looks smug as always, his minions at his back giving him the advantage of numbers.
"Ya sure helped me out plenty," Maleficent's minion continues to gloat. "I knew all we had to do was keep an eye on you hero-types and you'd lead us right where we wanted to be."
"A strangely clever plan," Azlyn comments mockingly, drawing her shield off her back. "If you need a minute for your brain to cool back down..."
Suddenly the plaza shakes, the sound of crackling stone filling the air as the huge fortress above weakens. Another loud, plaintive cry echoes all around.
Genie poofs in front the heroic group. He looks exhausted, wearing a bright yellow poncho and holding a truly enormous fishing pole.
"Everything's fine!" he assures the group, blatantly ignoring Pete and his Heartless band. "Small setback, minor issue, it's being fixed!" His report given, the big blue lug pops back out of existence.
"Seems like we got a bit of a time limit on our hands," Pete grumbles to his troops. In flashes of Darkness, more Bandits and Air Soldiers appear. "Youse check the place for the lamp. The rest 'a ya, distraction duty." He points across the way to the heroes. "Go, Heartless, go!"
KH-KH-KH
The shaking tremor throws Sora off balance, and Aladdin only barely manages to keep the boy on his feet. He rights his friend, checking to make sure he's okay.
Cassim is not so concerned, keeping pace despite the rumbling. The man is on a mission. The mission, to him. The others will keep up, or they won't. The hallway ends just up ahead, and if the soft glow shining from the next chamber's entrance is any indication…
"Dad, c'mon!" Aladdin yells, his voice bouncing off the close walls of the small hallway. "If you're not careful, this place could… Whoa!"
Aladdin stops dead in his tracks, standing at his father's side and taking in the chamber around him. It's absolutely cavernous, easily rivaling Agrabah's throne room. Giant statues of robed men with the heads of eagles rise a hundred feet in the air, a skylight letting in the sun.
Everything in this chamber is magnificent in its own right, but the room's focal point is obvious: high above the trio's heads floats a giant golden hand, gently spinning in midair.
"That must be it!" Cassim declares, his voice giddy as a schoolboy on the weekend. "The hand is there, we just need to get to higher ground..."
A loud noise cuts the King of Thieves off abruptly, thundering down the hall they'd just come down. Looking over his shoulder, Sora pales as he spots a huge wall of water sweeping its way toward them.
"High ground, right!" the Keybearer agrees. Everyone rushes to the base of the nearest statue, grabbing what handholds they can and scrambling to outpace the ever-rising water.
Halfway up the chamber, yet another tremor rocks the island, and the flood of water suddenly stops. It also vibrates the statue everyone's climbing, and Sora loses his grip. He drops a few feet, screaming for help until he feels the comfort of a hand around his wrist. Looking up, the Keybearer sees Al smiling down at him. With some help from the former street rat, Sora continues his journey up.
Cassim is already standing atop the statue's head when they arrive, staring at the golden hand platform with tears in his eyes. A statue about twice as tall as a man stands in the middle of the platform, one hand raised as if making a pledge. One golden, gleaming hand.
"Finally," the King of Thieves breathes, feeling his son's hand come to rest of his shoulder. "After all these years." Suddenly, the man frowns. "If only I'd discovered this place much sooner." Shaking off Aladdin's hand, he steps back and prepares for a running leap to the platform. "This would have been a lot easier!"
Aladdin holds out a hand in front of his father. "Don't worry yourself about it, Dad," he says with a grin. "It's time you took advantage of having a junior partner!"
The former street rat takes a running leap, vaulting across the gap with an outcry of joyous adrenaline. He catches the edge of the floating hand, pulling himself up. But it seems the platform isn't quite stable, his weight tipping it to the side. Startled, Aladdin nearly slides straight off before he corrects his grip. Through the whole ordeal, Cassim watches with wild panic and worry encroaching on the corners of his expression.
Finally, Al manages to pull himself up onto the platform. Cautiously, he approaches the statue with the golden hand.
"Careful now!" Cassim calls out with fatherly concern. "Don't touch the hand!"
Heeding his father's advice, Aladdin examines the statue in detail. The man is dressed in long robes and elaborate headdress, fitting for a great king such as Midas. The area around the Hand bears further examination, and Aladdin quickly realizes that the shining appendage is meant to be removed. The bottom of the Hand is a ring of plain wood, with a long handle underneath. With a single gentle twist, Cassim's son removes the ultimate treasure from its elaborate casing.
"Yeah!" he cries triumphantly, holding the Hand of Midas up to the light streaming in from above. Rearing his arm back, he gives Sora and his father a sly grin. "Catch!"
The Hand goes sailing through the air, turning end over end as it flies. Not willing to risk its ill effects, Cassim holds out his cape as a makeshift net, the Hand landing neatly in the cloth. Instantly, golden sparks surround the fabric, starting at the Hand's point of impact and spreading, until the entire cape is made of twinkling gold.
"Whoa!" Sora exclaims, his eyes bugging out. It's a good thing Azlyn isn't here, he thinks. The girl would have fainted right on the spot.
Still grinning like a loon, Cassim grab's the Hand's handle and lifts it high like a blitzball victor displaying his trophy. "The Hand of Midas!"
Just as Sora's about to about to remind everyone that there's still evil to thwart, Cassim lowers the Hand to the statue's head. He presses his treasure against it, and just like the cloak, a wave of energy begins transmogrifying the stone. It spreads along the statue like wildfire, but that's not the end. The wave continues to spread around the chamber, until every last inch of every last surface is solid gold. Even the pool of stagnant water below shines.
Now Sora's really glad Azlyn isn't here. For some reason, he suspects her reaction to this would have been decidedly unfamily-friendly.
"Great, we got it!" the Keybearer shouts, pumping his fist in the air. "But this isn't over yet. We need to go help the others get..."
He doesn't get the chance to finish his sentence. Aladdin suddenly cries out, a loud thunk resonating through the golden chamber as he hits the floor of the floating hand platform. Looking up, he sees Sa'luk standing over him.
"Nobody's going anywhere," the brute sneers, holding up his claws to glitter in the light.
"Sa'luk!" Cassim roars.
The brutish thug jabs the heel of his hand into Aladdin's chest, sending the boy sprawling to the platform floor.
"I have your whelp, Cassim!" he threatens, placing a foot on Al's chest and holding out his hand. "Give me the Hand, or I'll cut him to ribbons!" His foot twists, grinding into Aladdin's guts and eliciting a cry from the young man.
Sora steps forward with the Keyblade ready, wondering if he can make a move before Sa'luk can try anything. Cassim holds out his arm though, stopping the boy in his tracks.
"You want the Hand, do you Sa'luk?" the King of Thieves roars, brave and defiant as he rears back his arm. "Go ahead and take it!"
Cassim throws, the Hand of Midas leaving his grip and once again tumbling end over end through the air. Sa'luk's eyes light up as the artifact approaches, abandoning his dominance over Aladdin to catch his prize. As it finally arcs down, the brute is there to catch it.
Reaching out, Sa'luk nabs the Hand of Midas from thin air. Unfortunately for him, it isn't the hilt that lands neatly in his hand.
"Finally!" Sa'luk cheers, painfully unaware of the fate he's just sealed for himself. "The Hand of Midas is mine." Smirking smugly, he turns to look at Aladdin, who's just regaining his feet. "And so is your life, you worthless little..." The brute pauses, staring at the odd expression on his soon-to-be victim's face. It almost looks like… Pity? "What are you staring at..."
Light explodes in Sa'luk's hand, golden energy spreading across his skin. Staring down at his hand in shock and disbelief, he can only watch as his body rapidly transforms from flesh to gold. He drops the Hand, his frozen fingers no longer capable of holding on. The change just spreads and spreads, making its way down his body and up his neck, until it reaches his eyes, and Sa'luk can see it no more.
Aladdin stands frozen, staring up in mute horror at the sight before him: A perfect golden statue of Sa'luk, his expression twisted in horror. The frozen brute teeters back and forth once, then twice. Finally, with a loud scrape of gold on gold, the shining remains of Sa'luk fall backwards off the platform.
Sora's eyes follow the thing that used to be his enemy, wincing as it splashes into the golden water below and sinks down to its depths. Certainly the man had been his foe, but to lose your life in such a horrendous way… The boy simply shudders to think about it.
Aladdin, quickly regaining his composure, tears the sleeve from his tunic and grabs the hand lying at his feet. He carefully wraps the artifact's business end in the cloth, which of course rapidly turns to gold. After checking to make sure he hasn't missed anything, he tucks the Hand away in his pants' waistband.
The former street rat makes a clean jump back to his father and friend. Just as he lands, though, another tremor shakes the building. Below, the water level begins to rise again.
"We gotta get out of here," Sora declares.
"We can climb out that skylight," Aladdin decides.
They scramble to the wall, an ornately carved mural of a man on a throne thankfully providing enough handholds to scramble up to the exit. Aladdin takes the lead, Cassim close behind and Sora bringing up the rear.
"C'mon Dad!" Aladdin encourages his old man. "You can do it!"
"Of course I can do it!" the King of Thieves snaps. "But it would be easier if I didn't have to deal with this!" Reaching up, he undoes the clasp of his heavy golden cape. It flutters downward, landing in the water with a small splash.
The trio finally scramble out into the sun. Safe, for now.
"That's one problem taken care of," Sora declares with a sigh. "Now we just have to..."
The sound of an explosion stops the Keybearer's speech in its tracks. He rushes to the roof's edge, looking down towards the source of the sound. Below, small enough to look like scurrying ants, the others are locked in combat with Pete and a band of Heartless.
"We need to get down there!" Sora declares, the others coming up beside him and spotting the battle.
Nodding, Aladdin raises two fingers to his lips and lets out a shrill whistle.
KH-KH-KH
Dimly, Kairi takes notice of Carpet snapping to and zooming upward. Where it's going or why is lost to her, considering that she has her own problems to deal with at the moment.
She bats away a Bandit's sword, steps to the side, and lands a powerful hit on its torso. The creature dissipates into shadow, leaving one less combatant on the already crowded battlefield.
Things aren't looking great for the heroic side of this conflict. There are Heartless everywhere, leaving the good guys without anyone free to search for the lamp. Meanwhile, Shadows and Red Nocturnes are combing through every nook and cranny. If this is a race, they're firmly in second place.
A bomb about the size of her kneecap rolls towards the redhead, and she barely manages to back away before it explodes and takes her with it. The force of it is still enough to steal her balance though, and she stumbles back a few steps more than she intended.
"Found anything?" Azlyn calls up to Iago. The parrot is doing his best to search for the lamp, Telary using offensive spells to keep flying Heartless off his back.
"Not yet!" Iago calls from within the thick branches of a tree.
"Needle in a haystack!" Azlyn says like a swear, shaking her head.
Carpet flies down, Aladdin, Cassim, and Sora on its back. The trio hop off, quickly assessing the situation.
"Kairi!" Sora cries out, immediately rushing to his girlfriend with Kingdom Key in hand.
It's really not the smartest move, though. The girl instinctively turns her head at the sound of Sora's voice, an only too perfect opening for Pete. The fat cat lunges out, snagging the girl's arm and knocking her Keyblade out of her hand. She struggles, but a quick headbutt puts sends her into a blurry daze.
Azlyn sees it all going down, starting towards the confrontation. But a Shadow springs out of the bushes as she goes on her way, landing on her torso with enough force to knock her back. The knight desperately swats at the little bugger, brushing it off of her as she stumbles right into something in her path. Judging by the yelp it makes, it's Telary.
The pair go down hard, knocking into a tree branch. For a moment they're too stunned to do anything but sit together. At some point during the fall, Telary had wrapped his arms around the girl, and at the moment she's sitting in his lap.
Absent the situation around them, and still in a bit of a daze, Azlyn can't help but think it feels nice just sitting together like this. Nothing to discuss, no forced intimacy. Just being together.
She turns her head, looking up into Telary's face, his eyes. They shine the same as they ever have, maybe a little bit more considering the dizziness. They're nice eyes. One of the things she loves about him. One of many things.
"I haven't thought about that in a long time," she mumbles to herself.
"Huh?" Telary inquires. He can barely hear what she said over the sound of branches ruffling loudly up above.
"What I love about you," she replies simply. "But, now that I…"
Conk!
Telary winces as something hits his head, bouncing off with a loud noise. Reacting quickly, Azlyn rears back to avoid getting a similar hit. The small, black object lands on the stone with a metallic noise.
Two guesses what it is.
Sora barely notices the Disney Castle pair's predicament, too focused on what's in front of him. His stomach churns just to look at it, especially since it's partially his fault for distracting the girl.
"Let her go!" he demands.
Pete just laughs at the threat. "I'm the guy holdin' the cards here, bucko."
"Sora, we got the…" Telary's excited cries die down as he realizes the situation he's just walked into. In his hands, the wizard holds Jafar's lamp. "Lamp."
"Well, isn't this a nice lil coinky-dink?" the fat cat gloats. "You got something I want, and I got something you want. Maybe a trade's in order?"
Sora hesitates. All his friends have gathered behind him, waiting on the Keybearer to make the call. But how can a person make such a choice? If Pete has the lamp they're all well and truly screwed, but letting him keep Kairi…
He focuses his gaze on the girl, hoping that somewhere in her face he'll find the answer. Surprisingly, he does. In the single wink of one eye.
"I don't think I like your deal, Pete," Sora declares firmly. "But I'd still let her go, if I were you."
Maleficent's minion shakes his head bemusedly. "You're all the way over there, squirt, and I got yer girl right here in my hand. What're you gonna do?"
Sora shrugs. "Nothing. I don't have to."
That statement barely has time to confuse Pete before a bright light flashes in his bottom peripheral vision. A moment later, something slams hard into his gut. He stumbles back with a gasp.
Free, Kairi turns and swings her Keyblade again, smashing into Pete's face and throwing the fat cat down to the plaza floor. She stands above him, her blade's tip right in his face.
"I don't know if you've heard 'pal'," she says mockingly, smirking down at her enemy, "but I'm sort of over that whole 'hostage' thing."
Everyone grins at the statement, and Sora feels like his heart is singing. All in all, it's an amazingly triumphant moment. And so, it's only inevitable that hell follows along in its wake.
The island begins to sink in earnest. The ground shudders like never before, not stopping. As everyone stumbles they turn their eyes upward, where the sky is getting farther and farther away as the great turtle holding up the Vanishing Isle retreats to the depths once again.
"We gotta get out of here!" Azlyn calls, holding tight to Jafar's lamp.
"Can Carpet hold all of us?" Jasmine asks with a worried look around.
"We're gonna die, we're gonna die!" Iago mutters to himself. Suddenly, an idea strikes him and he perks up. "Wait a minute, I can fly! Later losers!" The parrot barely gets anywhere before Cassim reaches up a hand and yanks him back down.
"We're just gonna have to try!" Sora declares.
"Seems like a personal problem," Pete says from his place on the ground. Underneath him, a dark portal opens that he immediately begins to sink into. With hardly any time left, the heroes grudgingly decide to just let him go.
Everyone piles onto Carpet, the rug clearly growing more strained with each added passenger. But, somehow, it manages to hold on to enough strength to rise into the air with all seven people squeezed onto its back. Not very quickly, but anything that isn't sinking down into the depths of the ocean is okay by everyone involved.
Then suddenly there's a dip, Carpet swaying drunkenly. Everyone holds on tight to each other, and it's clear things can't last this way for long.
"Where's Genie when you need him!" Azlyn complains, gripping tightly to Telary and trying her best not to rub up against the lamp in her lap.
"Present!" the big blue lug reports, zipping up out of the ocean and hovering in front of the group. "What's going on, guys?"
"Carpet can't stay airborne much longer, Genie!" Aladdin states, gesturing pointedly at the faltering flying rug.
"No problemo, Al!" With a flick of his finger, Genie transforms into a biplane once again. "All aboard!"
The offworlders make a transfer over. Once everyone is safe and secure, they take off.
"Well," Aladdin comments to his father, "you finally did it, Dad. The ultimate treasure is yours!"
Cassim shakes his head, scowling down at the hand of Midas. "No, lad. This thing almost cost me the ultimate treasure. Compared to you, son, it's nothing but worthless junk." Straightening up, the King of Thieves rears back his arm.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa there!" Azlyn pipes up. "I know you're trying to make a moral point here, but..."
"At least consider…" Iago adds in nervously.
With all his might, Cassim hurls the Hand of Midas into the ocean. Sighing, Azlyn and Iago watch it fall.
"Speaking of things hurled into the ocean," Kairi says, looking down to the black lamp in Telary's lap, "what are we gonna do with that?"
"I was thinking Gummi ship airlock," Sora suggests, nodding sagely.
"Nice!" Telary compliments. He leans back, patting Azlyn's shoulder consolingly. "All in all, not a bad day's work! I don't even think we left any loose ends!"
KH-KH-KH
Gilgamesh stands at the prow of the Forty Thieves' ship, seething as he watches the Keybearer and his compatriots fly away.
Today has not been his day by a long shot. He'd let that stupid tub Pete order him around, distract him from his true goal. And for what, some universal takeover nonsense? Bah, good riddance to him and his jade-skinned mistress.
All told though, the partnership was a beneficial one. Control of the Heartless, dark portals, knowledge of the Keyblade. Everything an aspiring recurring villain could ever want.
So today wasn't Gilgamesh's day. No matter. Tomorrow lies just ahead.
Just so everyone knows, I completely intended to use Gilgamesh in the climax here, but every time I tried to insert him it seemed so forced. But I planned for him to come back anyway, so there ya go.
I actually planned several more things for this final battle. Among them was the appearance of the Kurt Zisa Heartless and Jafar actually getting out of the lamp. But, like Gilgamesh, there was just nowhere to fit either of those elements in.
But, hey, whatever. All in all not bad, I guess. Shoutout to Bezerker 21 and Spiderfan626 for their reviews. Next up is all the couples making up, and then we're done with Agrabah and onto the next leg of these adventures!