Disclaimer: Not mine, yay!

Chapter 18- One Last Wish

"Djinn! My final request! I wish myself your equal, a djinn omnipotent in might!!" ordered Jafar with strained breathing.

Sora and the others span around and watched as Genie covered his eyes and reluctantly pointed at the vizier. A spark of swirling magic hit Jafar and the earth under the madman shattered to reveal an underground cavern filled with lava. Jafar descended into it.

Sora gazed over the edge and gulped. He turned to the unconscious form of Iji and bent down. "Stay safe, I'll be back for you." He whispered. With a running start, the Keyblade Master leapt off the platform into the next cavern, followed by his friends.

*****

"Uh, where'd he go?" asked Goofy as they landed.

A deep-throated laugh rippled through the air and from out of the lava Jafar burst out in his new genie form. Glowing yellow eyes glared down at the group from out a red-skinned demon-like face. Jafar held up a smouldering rock covered with magma. "This is it! This is the power I've so long sought! Fear me Maleficent! With such force at hand, the whole of reality is mine to rule!"

"Duck!" yelled Sora as they crashed to the floor and the lava rock sailed over them. Sora glimpsed up and caught sight of Jafar's lamp in the claws of Iago.

Jafar paused after he threw the boulder. He smirked. "Before moving onto anything elaborate, I think a little housecleaning is in order." He raised his arms up in the air and black globe of energy formed. "Vanish, maggots!" Jafar bellowed.

"No…" said Sora calmly. "No, Jafar, you're the one to vanish." Sora clutched Jafar's dark lamp. Iago lay knocked out beside Sora's feet. "Back into the lamp, Jafar!"

"What?! How?!" demanded Jafar. He had stopped stock still.

"Somebody told me a little while ago that genies are bound to serve the master of their lamp. Let's get on with it. My commands are absolute, got it!"

"This can't be!" exclaimed Jafar in disbelief. A pair of golden gauntlets appeared on his wrists.

Sora held the lamp up high. Jafar struggled to get away from it, but was gradually sucked into the tiny space. Muffled cries came from inside. A piece of paper fluttered down from the roof into Sora's spare hand. Sora blinked and read the top line: 'Ansem Report 1'.

"Way to go, Sora!" Aladdin cheered.

"Yeah," Sora grinned as he folded the paper and placed it in his pocket. "Now let's get back to Jasmine and Iji."

*****

"Aladdin?" groaned Jasmine as she crawled over to the platform's edge. A sound behind her made her swing around just in time to see a pair of gloved hands pull her and Iji into a portal. Her last sounds were a strangled gasp.

*****

Aladdin jumped off Carpet onto the platform. "Jasmine?" he asked, looking around. She was gone.

Sora searched the platform, but to no avail for Iji either. "They're both gone!"

"Jasmine!" Aladdin called in a panicked tone.

"We gotta seal the Keyhole first!" interrupted Donald.

Sora quickly ran up the steps to the Keyhole and held out his Keyblade. The Keyhole glowed and locked as a beam of light shot out of the Keyblade. Small stones fell from the ceiling as the cave started to shake violently. Sora, Donald and Goofy heaved a struggling Aladdin up onto the magic carpet.

"Noooo! Jasmine! Jasmine!" yelled the young man as they fled from the place.

*****

Aladdin stared at the peaceful view of the Agrabah Palace from his apartment. "So Jasmine's no longer in Agrabah…" He got up and scrunched his hand into a fist. "Sora, let's go find her."

Sora sighed. "Sorry, I can't take you with me."

"Why-why not?" Aladdin looked shocked.

Goofy scuffed his shoes on the floor. "I sure wish we could…"

Donald shook his head. "But we can't. If we take you to another world, we could be-"

Goofy tried to finish Donald's sentence. "Muh… Mudd-"

"Meddling." corrected Donald.

Aladdin stayed silent for a few minutes, letting it all sink in. A blue hand waved in front of his face, bringing out of his state.

"Uh, earth to Al! Hello? You still have one wish left! Look, just say the word. Ask me to find Jasmine for you!" Genie gave his master a salute.

Aladdin held the Lamp in his hands. He lifted it up slowly. "I wish-I wish for your freedom Genie."

A sparkling whirlwind surrounded the bottom half of Genie. A pair of legs spilt out from the vapour trail Genie had once used. The golden shackles around his wrists popped out and disappeared. Genie stared at Aladdin in wonder.

The Lamp in Aladdin's hands went dull and dropped to the floor with a clank. "A deal's a deal, Genie. Now you can go anywhere you want. You're your own master. But… if you can, it'd be great if you could go along with them and help Sora find Jasmine."

Genie turned his back to the youth. "Sorry, Al, I'm done taking orders from others…" Genie swung back around, a large grin on his face. "But a favour! That's entirely different! I guess I could give that a try. After all, we're pals, right, Al?" He ruffled Aladdin's hair.

"We'll find her Aladdin. I know we will." nodded Sora.

"Yep! Just leave it to me!" Genie gave his friends thumbs up.

*****

Hades growled and paced around in circles. "Haa… That smarmy vizier could've had 'em… if someone had stuck around to give him a hand…" He took the chance to glare at a silver-haired boy, Riku…

Riku looked away. "Hey, I did my part. I brought the Princess, didn't I?" He glimpsed over at Maleficent. "Why'd you let Iji go with that madman? He hurt her, and you did nothing to help."

The witch ignored him. "Jafar was beyond help, consumed by his own hatred." She paused. "One should beware of letting it… burn… too fiercely."

Hades' blinked as he realised who she was talking about. "Whoa, whoa! Lighten up! I'm as cool as they come, okay?" He smoothed out his fiery blue hair and turned his head to Riku. "By the way, kid, have we got something special for you."

The words caught the boy's attention, casting off his thoughts about Iji. "Huh?"

Maleficent smiled in her all-knowing way that irritated Riku. "We had a deal, yes? You help us, and we grant you your wish." An image appeared on the round stone table in front of them. A small hologram of a familiar person spun around.

Riku reached out for it. "Kairi!"

Maleficent continued. "Go to her. Your vessel is waiting."

A man wearing a red overcoat strolled in. He combed his thin moustache with an arm that ended in a hook. "Just remember," He jiggled the hook at Riku. "This is no pleasure cruise. It won't be a pleasant voyage."

Riku's eyes narrowed and he turned to Maleficent. "Why are you doing all this for me? What's the catch?"

Maleficent looked surprised. "Catch? What's the catch? Silly boy," The woman caressed Riku's cheek. "You're like a son to me. I only want you to be happy."

Riku twitched at the touch of her icy hand and slapped it away. "I seriously doubt that…"

Maleficent recomposed herself. "Believe what you wish. But lest we forget, I kept my end of the bargain."

Riku walked off after Captain Hook. He frowned, deep in thought. 'I can't leave Iji here, but I can't bring her with me. She's not in any condition to travel with that head wound of hers. I tried to patch it up the best I could, but I'm no doctor. Stay safe, Iji… Please, stay safe. I don't want the Heartless to get you, too...'