A/N: For you crazy mofos that decided to follow this thing…voila, my second chapter
Anyways, enjoy the read, and leave some love.
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Chapter 2: Ominous Undertones
Drunken strands of old songs floated through the alleyway to Nevixk's ears. Lamps blazed as throngs of people placed the streets, especially those around the palace. The mood was merry and relaxed, and the drink flowed freely among the people as they danced and sang in celebration. The streets of Agrabah were alive with the sound of music and paved with broken liquor bottles, for tonight was the eve of Aladdin's Day of Two Blessings, which in Agrabah, was the wedding and the coronation of the prince. Tomorrow, Prince Aladdin would join Princess Jasmine in marriage, and then would be crowned king that same night. It was tradition in Agrabah for the King to step down once his child married and then pass the crown onto the next generation. For the lucky man who would marry a beautiful princess, this became known as their Day of Two Blessings, and the evening before was full of drunken revelry for the people of Agrabah, for tomorrow, it was forbidden by custom to either work, or to drink alcohol in excess (a cup of wine was permitted, nothing more), as a sign of respect for the prince.
Tonight was no different from most of the Eve's of Two Blessings throughout Agrabah's history. The people were merry and drunk and loud and the crowds throbbed and moved, snaking through the city and spilling out the windows. Merchants hawked their wares, teenagers laughed and flirted with one another, and the local guard was doing their best to keep order, despite obviously being understaffed. This was all mildy interesting to Nevixk as he crouched on the roof of an apartment complex near the palace. For now, he was waiting for a certain witch to make her appearance…
The air around the spot next to him blackened and warped as Maleficent appeared next to Nevixk. Maleficent appeared, and began to survey the crowd with a mild interest.
"I see you got my message" said Nevixk disinterestedly
"Yes, and I thank you, otherwise I would have been stuck here all day waiting for you."
"You would have waited all day for me? How sweet of you!" Nevixk remarked sarcastically
"But please, remind me why you moved this ahead by 12 hours?"
"My plan got postponed." said Nevixk. His scanning had become more focused as he talked to Maleficent, like he was searching for something specific in the mass of people below him.
"What is your plan exactly?" Maleficent said
"Kidnap Princess Jasmine on her wedding night, frame Jafar for the crime, force him to turn to us in his inevitable war against King Mickey. First membership in the League of Villains"
Maleficent laughed "Very devious, my hooded friend. Except one thing: Sora and his clown posse have had Jafar sealed in a lamp for the last 5 years, there's no way he would be a suspect in the princesses disappearance. Besides, why not take the princess now, and skip this stupid game?"
"As a member of the Order of the Keyblade, Sora can actually "feel" the presences of the various Princesses of Light. It's a skill that took time and maturity to develop, but he has developed it." Nevixk answered, still scanning the crowd "Kairi also possesses this skill, and hers is even stronger. If any of the princesses is in danger, she knows immediately, and has a very strong sense of their location. Therefore, we cannot take the Princesses until we can hold back a full scale invasion by the forces of the various worlds."
"I see…" Maleficent said, nodding "Until the League of Villains is reformed"
"Yes, we will need them to create Heartless, and build an army."
"You've done your homework" Maleficent said, a hint of a smile playing on her lips
"What can I say? I'm very thorough" said Nevixk as he continued to scan the drunken revelers in the streets "Plus, I returned Jafar to his human form just a few weeks ago. Gave him a cloak, some food, some munny, and set him up in the ruins outside town. Perfect lair for him, really."
"Oh, now did you really?" Maleficent said "My, you are thorough. One thing: how do you plan on getting us into that castle? I could shrink us, but that would just get us trampled by the crowd. Invisibility won't help us push our way in, hmm, let's see…"
"I've got you covered, Maleficent, see that caravan there?"
Nevixk pointed to a large, three-car, horse drawn caravan that was now trying to make its way through the partying throng to the king's palace. Two guards were trying to move the crowd so that the caravan would have room, but to no avail. After a while, the caravan got moving, albeit slowly, through the horde of revelers towards the palace gates.
"See that? That's the wine shipment for Aladdin and Jasmine's reception tomorrow. It was supposed to be delivered this morning, but due to an unfortunate delay, they had to make the delivery tonight. That's our ticket in."
"Oh please? The old "Slip onto a trade cart" gimmick? I thought you would come up with better" Maleficent said scornfully
"Don't discount the classics" said Nevixk "but no, I'm not proposing we "slip on" per say. Just come and follow my lead. Oh, and throw this on"
Nevixk tossed her a multicolored, woven robe, with a veil on it. Maleficent looked up. He was wearing a similar robe over his black coat.
"It's better that we blend in to the crowd. Be sure to keep the veil on. Remember, you are at the top of the King's most Wanted List."
"I suppose I am" Maleficent said as she put the cloak on
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By the time Nevixk and Maleficent got down to the street, the place had become a total mob scene. Apparently, some of the partygoers realized that the caravans were shipping lots of wine. Someone told the drunken crowd that there was "free wine" on the carts. The crowd responded by mobbing the guards in an effort to take the wine for themselves. And by the looks of it, the guards (there were 6 of them by now, all armed with heavy staves) were heavily outnumbered. Finally, a large, mean-looking street thug knocked down on of the guards, and he and his friends began to try to break open the carts to get the wine. Fortunately, the other guards came to their fellow's assistance, and did their best to hold back the thugs from stealing Prince Aladdin's wine
"Guess this is our cue" Nevixk said as he pushed his way through the crowd. Maleficent trailed closely behind him as he pushed his way through the chanting crowd to the cart. By now, the crowd had pushed back. There was a clear ring of space surrounding the cart, where the street thugs were fighting the guards in an all-out brawl, the crowd chanting in support of the former. Nevixk put himself between the gang of thieves and the cart/guards (who after being beaten to a pulp dragged themselves behind the cart for safety), staring at them with a cold defiance
"Stay away from Prince Aladdin's wine, you scum!" He hissed
"Yeah, and you're going to make me?" one of the thugs laughed as he drew a club that was hanging from his belt
The thug swung the club at Nevixk in a sideways arc, but in a quick flash of steel, Nevixk drew one of his katanas and sliced the oncoming club in two. The club fell from the thugs hand and rolled away into the crowd. Nevixk then swung low and kicked him the knees, momentarily knocking him down. The guards were gaping from the safety of the caravan, amazed that they were getting help from what seemed to be a very capable man.
Maleficent appeared at Nevixk's side, her face still veiled.
"What are you doing?" she hissed "This is no time to play the hero!"
"Just trust me, and get ready to fight" Nevixk hissed as the thug was getting back up. His friends seemed none too pleased, judging by the clubs and short scimitars they were holding rather menacingly
"Drat" Maleficent said. Without a word, she sent three bolts of lightning out of her staff at the three thugs, knocking them back into the crowd. Nevixk, meanwhile, had a katana at the throat of the lead thug, forcing him to the ground. Maleficent then sent a fireball at two of the thugs moving towards them, swinging scimitars in menacing arcs. At this point, all hell broke loose within the crowd. Many were running from the two newcomers. A few were running forward to fight them
"Come on, let's move! We have to get to the palace! Our lives depend on it!" Nevixk shouted to the guards as they reemerged from the caravan. The head guard shouted something unintelligible, and the guards quickly set to work moving the caravan towards the palace gates, which thankfully had suffered little damage. Nevixk had both his swords drawn, slicing at anyone who tried to get close to the caravan. No one dared to move into his killing range. Maleficent backed him up, sent out lightning bolts and fireballs to anyone who got too close. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the caravan, the guards, Maleficent, and Nevixk were safely inside the palace walls. Panting, the head guard thanked them for their assistance
"Man, I've never see two people fight like you. My boys would've been toast back there if it weren't for you. I've never seen an Eve get this crazy before. What are your names?"
Nevixk shot a look at Maleficent, and then looked back at the guard
"I am Raaj, sir, and this is my wife, Alyx."
"Pleasure to meet you two. I'm sure the prince would like to thank you two for your invaluable assistance. If it weren't for you, we would have no wine for the reception, and what is a reception without wine? Would you like an audience with Prince Aladdin?"
"We would be honored" said Maleficent
"Very well, let me see if he will see you."
And with that, he turned and walked (more like limped) across the courtyard and entered the palace, as Nevixk and Maleficent smiled at each other
"See? I told you I'd get you in" Nevixk said with a know-it-all grin.
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Earlier that day…
"Well, look who's up!" Riku said sarcastically from his seat at the table in the outdoor parlor as Sora and Kairi came out. Riku, Donald, Daisy, Minnie, Mickey, and Goofy were sitting around a sunworn wicker table, piled high with breakfast foods. Donald reached for a cranberry muffin on the plate in front of him, only to have his hand slapped by Daisy
"Not until Sora sits down!" she sharply rebuked him
"Aww, Sora, you kept us waiting, and Minnie's muffins are getting cold!" Donald said with a frown.
"Minnie, you could have started without me" Sora said.
"Now now, it's your birthday, you have to be here in order for it to be a proper celebration" Minnie said in a no-nonsense voice. She took a large ceramic plate of pastries with large pastries coated in a yellow glaze and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Sora took one and handed it to Kairi, and took another which he proceeded to rip apart with his teeth.
"Mmhf, dewifish!" Sora said, spots of powdered sugar on his cheeks.
"What?" said Minnie confused, tilting her head a bit.
"I think he said "delicious"" Kairi said "Here, Sora, you have a bit of something on you cheek…"
Kairi licked her thumb, reached up, and wiped a bit of powdered sugar off of his left cheek.
Sora swallowed, and thanked her with a quick peck on the lips.
"Oh sweetie, I can taste some tart on your lips…" she said as she moved in for another kiss.
"Oh, get a room you two!" Riku said with a laugh. Sora and Kairi jumped back, with embarrassed but happy expressions on their faces.
"…anyways, happy 23rd birthday Sora!" said Goofy with his usual grin
"Yeah you got a bunch of presents in the mail this morning" said Mickey "It took the poor package boy a half-hour to get them all off the Gummi ship".
"With our help too" Riku said laughing "Looks like you're a popular fellow Sora".
"You guys, it's no big deal, I was just born today, that's all" Sora said, his face reddened from embarrassment.
"You've saved the worlds more than once, you deserve this" Riku said" Come on, let's see what you got from King Triton and Ariel…"
He grabbed a large box wrapped in blue and gold paper and threw it to Sora, who put it on the table in front of him.
"Can I open the presents later? I have a ton of back work to get through" Sora said "Simba sent me some papers I have to give to Scrooge. Something about making his Gummi Ships more animal-friendly. Anyways I have a ton of stuff-".
"Sora, I'm not going to let get out of celebrating your birthday" said Mickey "It only comes once a year, and you need to stop working so hard, anyways. You're wearing yourself out.
"But-" Sora began, but the King cut him off.
"No employee or housemate of mine will work on his birthday, and that's final!"
"I'll give the papers to Scrooge." Donald said "Though I doubt he'll do anything if it's too expensive"
"You're working all day tomorrow Sora, so why don't you take today off?" Kairi said
"I would hardly call going to Aladdin's wedding work" Sora said
"You're a diplomat Sora. Attending state functions is part of your job" Mickey
Sora looked upon the smiling faces of his friends. Wow, they really want me to take a day off and celebrate with them, he thought.
Sora smiled "Alright you guys, you win. Now, let's see what King Triton got me…"