Chapter 25
Diamond in the Rough
Riku leaned against the banister on the high tower of the old bastion, staring out at the crimson sky and the purple mountains on the horizon. He pictured Kara flying around, with himself tagging along, their arms wrapped around each other's backs. He imagined himself and Sora climbing one of the mountains, and him pulling Sora back to his feet when the latter slipped on a steep point. That image transformed into Sora running past him and cutting through a falling rock with the Keyblade.
He shook his head and sighed, trying to drive the thought away.
"You seem troubled, boy." Riku turned to see the rail-thin man from the council approach him. He had a bronze skin tone with a pencil-thin moustache that curved toward the nostrils in the middle and a black goatee that came to a jagged tip just off of the chin. His brown eyes were surrounded by dark kohl eyeliner. He wore a black robe with pointed shoulders over a dark red garment with bell sleeves, under which he wore a tight-fitting black long-sleeved shirt. A dark red sash was wrapped around his waist so that the robe hugged his bony frame. A black cape with a blood red interior side hung from the shoulders of his robe. He wore a tall black mitre headdress with a thin yellow line design around the middle which arced down at the front, a ruby inset just above the forehead, and a long red feather that shot upward from the ruby, along with a red-violet cloth that draped down over the back of his head. A yellow cloth was wrapped around his neck, with a point coming down over the top of his chest. In his right hand, he carried a tall, brass snake staff with rubies in place of the eyes. A red parrot with a large beak and blue feathers at the tips of its wings sat on the man's shoulder, appearing to stare at Riku with a smarmy look in his eyes.
The figure (What was his name again? Jafar? That's right.) regarded Riku with a piercing gaze. "What seems to be on your mind?" he asked.
Riku considered telling Jafar what was bothering him. Everyone he met thus far—Maleficent, Jafar, the guy with the flaming head, the octopus lady—seemed somewhat suspicious, but they had all been civil at the very least. From what he had gathered, Jafar was a vizier—a royal advisor—in a kingdom on a desert world, so he supposed someone had to think he was trustworthy. And he might as well talk to someone about what he's thinking.
He sighed. "When we were together at home, Sora, Kara, Kairi, and I, we always stuck together. I was the oldest and the strongest—well, except for Kara, but she wasn't around as long—so they kind of looked up to me. I guess it felt nice having them rely on me. When we were planning to leave the islands, I figured it would be the same going forward as it was then. But when I ran into them yesterday, they were getting by perfectly fine on their own, and they had other people helping them out. And now Sora has that Keyblade and cut through one of those Heartless things like butter. And Kara's already really powerful, too. So I just…" He trailed off, thinking that Jafar would find what he was going to say to be ridiculous.
"Oh, I think I get it," the parrot said in a loud, raspy voice. "You're afraid that if you can't keep up with them, they'll leave you behind."
"Hm. I see. Well, perhaps I know just the solution," Jafar said. "There is a legend where I come from, passed down for hundreds of years. It tells of an artifact hidden in a cave buried in the desert. Perhaps some stories have carried over to other worlds, so you may have heard of such an item. It contains such a power that may grant its master whatever his heart desires. I have been searching for it for quite some time, and I believe I am very close to finding where it is hidden. I may let you accompany me, and you can get some use out of it. Perhaps it might provide you with the power you would need to stand even with your friends. What do you say?"
Something that could grant one's heart's desires. Maybe it could help me find Kairi, too, Riku mused. "What is this 'artifact'?"
Jafar's smile widened. "A djinn's lamp."
Sora steered the Gummi Ship around a trio of asteroids that had floated into its path. "Nice job, Sora!" Donald commended.
"You're really getting the hang of this," Kara added.
"Thanks," Sora replied. "So, would it be alright if I fly to the next world?"
"Sure," Donald agreed with a nod.
"Okay. So, where should we go?"
"Hmm…" As Donald checked the world map on the radar screen, a notification box appeared, accompanied by a high-pitched "Kupo!"
"What was that?" Kara asked.
"Mognet mail delivery," Donald answered. "An interworldly mail system run by Moogles. The short of it is, we have something in our mailbox. Sora, pull over!"
"Sure thing." With help from Donald, Sora parked on the side of a large asteroid. Donald ran down the hall and into the storage room that doubled as a mailroom, then returned with an envelope that had a stamp which depicted a Moogle's head. Everyone noticed the Greek lettering written on the envelope before it shifted in their minds' eye to English.
"It's from Phil in Thebes," Kara said. Goofy took a letter opener from his vest pocket and opened the envelope, taking out and unfolding a sheet of papyrus. He began to read aloud:
A New Tournament Begins at the COLISEUM of GREECE
A new season of competitions begins at the famed Coliseum in Thebes. Watch as warriors do battle against fierce monsters and each other to determine who will win the PHIL CUP!
Hosted by PHILOCTETES
Any registered warriors may sign up to compete. Prove your strength and dazzle us with your skill and power in the GAMES! Winner or Winning Team will receive a prize of 10,000 Munny
Registration closes at SUNSET on SUNDAY. The Tournament begins at 10:00 in the morning on MONDAY.
"Looks like they're all set to start the Games," Sora said. "We should go sign up."
Kara nodded in agreement. "Sounds like fun."
"And we can train with Phil and Hercules, too," Goofy added.
"Yeah. We'll definitely need it if we're going to take on Maleficent," Donald agreed.
"Alright! Let's go!" Sora retook the pilot's seat and prepared to take off, a grin spread across his face. Donald selected Olympus on the map and set the course. Sora took off and flew the Gummi Ship on the route.
Riku shivered as the nighttime desert wind blew past him. Even with a cloak wrapped around him, the biting chill still cut into his face, hands, and ankles. Jafar was better dressed, and he was in his native environment, so he were more accustomed to the night's cold as well as the day's heat. They both stood beside a pair of horses that they had ridden to their current position. Riku wondered how long they were going to continue waiting.
As he completed his impatient thought, he saw Jafar's parrot fly out from over the wall surrounding the city that the man called home. As he came closer, Riku noticed that he was gripping something in his talons. The parrot dropped it into Jafar's open palm, and Riku stepped closer to see what it was, identifying it as half of a golden scarab.
"I got it, Jafar," the parrot said. "Let me tell you, it wasn't easy. The chump was not eager to part with it. He didn't even know what it really was. Nearly lost some feathers trying to sneak it from his pocket. I was finally able to get it after slipping something into his drink. He was out like a light after that, and only then was it smooth sailing."
Jafar smiled. "Thank you, Iago," he said, tuning out his companion's account.
"What is that?" Riku asked.
"This, my boy, is a piece of the key that will guide us to the lamp. And I so happen to have the other piece in my possession," Jafar explained. He reached into a pocket in his robe and pulled out a similar-looking golden trinket, which looked as though it would fit together with the first piece. Holding the pieces between his fingers by the legs, he linked them together, completing the scarab.
Suddenly, the golden trinket began to glow. Its legs curled out of Jafar's grip and its wings flapped rapidly. It flew around him, Riku, and Iago, then flew off into the desert, away from the city.
"After it!" Jafar ordered. He climbed into the saddle on his horse's back and flicked the reins hard, inciting the horse to run after the light in the distance. Riku followed his example and drove the horse to follow its companion while the parrot flew after both of them.
Having no equestrian experience, Riku simply trusted his horse to go where he needed it to as he held on tight to the reins and kept his eyes on the bright glow of the flying scarab. The minutes dragged, and he lost track of time completely, knowing only that the scarab was guiding them further into the desert, leaving behind a trail of gold sparks in its wake.
Finally, the scarab split back into two pieces, each piece circling a large mound of sand before pressing itself into the hill a few feet from its companion. Riku and Jafar's mounts came to a stop before the hill. The ground shook, and the pieces' glow turned a bright white as the hill rose up. Sand swirled around the hill and added to the mass as it shaped itself, becoming a tiger's head that towered above them. Its great maw hung open, an orange light shining from the interior deep within.
"At last, after all my years of searching," Jafar mused as he climbed off of his horse, marveling at the sand structure. "The Cave of Wonders." He glanced up at Riku, who sat frozen in awe. "Well, boy? Go ahead. The lamp awaits."
Riku snapped out of his stupor and climbed off of his horse. He cautiously approached the cave's entrance, still in disbelief. This was real magic. The shadowy portals and Maleficent's glowing staff were impressive and strange, while the castle's teleporting transports were disorienting. But this was something that was straight out of a fairy tale. He had left his island and entered a world of actual magic!
He stepped up onto the tiger's lip, holding the tall incisor to keep himself steady, and peered down into the mouth. The sandy tongue shifted and transformed into a set of stairs that led deep underground. As he was about to step over the front teeth, the tiger head shook, causing him to stumble backward and fall over.
"Who disturbs my slumber?" Riku looked up, squinting in the eyes' blinding light. He realized that the tiger head was the one who spoke, its tremendous voice coming from the cave itself.
He coughed on the sand that the guardian spirit breathed. "R-Riku Malverne," he answered. He no longer felt cold from the night air, instead feeling heat from within the Cave of Wonders blow over him.
"Know this: only one may enter here," the spirit warned. "One whose worth lies far within. The Diamond in the Rough."
Riku continued to stare up at the tiger head, its words repeating in his mind. The Diamond in the Rough. He hesitated. Would it allow him to go in? What would happen if he was not worthy?
He looked back at Jafar uncertainly. "What are you waiting for? Go on!" the vizier hissed.
He turned back to the cave's entrance and took a deep breath. Get ahold of yourself, he told himself. Of course I'm worthy. I can do this. Back in the right headspace, he approached the tiger's mouth again. He climbed up onto the lip, then cautiously stepped over the teeth.
As soon as he put his foot down on the tip of the tiger's tongue, however, the earth shook beneath his feet. Sand rained down around him, and he felt a flash of heat coming from the cavernous throat as a roar bellowed from deep within the cave. Instinctively, he backflipped out of the mouth, just in time. The spirit slammed its jaw shut and threw itself down to the ground, angry grains scratching at Riku's wrist. He stumbled upon landing and dropped to a knee, coughing as a cloud of sand was kicked up around him.
"Seek him out," the spirit said, its voice echoing around them despite no longer having a form, "the Diamond in the Rough." The two halves of the golden scarab tumbled down what was now nothing more than a hill of sand, their glow fading. Riku stooped down and picked the pieces up, staring at them.
Iago stuck his head out of a pile of sand that had buried him, coughing and sputtering. He shook himself clean and knocked sand out of his ears. "I can't believe it! I just don't believe it!" he complained, flying up to perch himself on Jafar's shoulder. "We are never going to get ahold of that stupid lamp!"
"Patience, Iago, patience," Jafar said calmly. "Evidently, we did not have the worthy one with us, at present. We shall resolve that in due time. But not all of this day's efforts have ended in failure." His voice dropped to a whisper. "You did also make sure to drop them into the pots around the palace and the city, correct?"
Iago nodded and snickered. "Oh, yeah," he said in as close to a whisper as he could manage. "Those bozos won't see it coming!"
Jafar smiled and climbed onto his horse. "Riku! We will be returning to Agrabah. I suggest that you join us," he called.
"Yeah. Sure," was all that Riku replied with. He heard Jafar and Iago ride off, but he did not move, still staring at the scarab pieces and reflecting on how the cave's guardian spirit had judged him. I wasn't worthy after all, he thought, those shameful words playing back in his head for a long time before he finally put the pieces in his pocket and mustered the will to climb back onto his horse and ride back the way he had come.
Phil and Hercules were happy to see Sora, Kara, Donald, and Goofy when they arrived at the coliseum. Phil was too busy setting the tournament up to train them, but Hercules offered to spar with them and see what they were made of as soon as they were registered for the Phil Cup. Hercules complimented them on their technique and skills, but there was not much that any of them, save for Kara and some of Donald's spells, could do to so much as offset the mighty hero. Kara noticed that Hercules was taking a particular interest in her compared to the others, but when she asked about it, he avoided the question.
The following morning, the party filed into the arena along with the other competitors. They recognized some, such as Antiochus, Castor, Iphitus, and Mala, while others were unfamiliar, evidently warriors who had registered for the Games as a whole in earlier seasons. Cloud was not among the group, although Goofy saw the blond among the spectators.
When the first match was called, two middle-aged competitors with broadswords stepped onto the platform as the hypogeum gates were opened. Sora, Kara, Donald, and Goofy jumped in shock when Heartless stepped out into the sunlight. Two large metal boots that resembled the Guard Armor's legs (being identical save for the red and pink color) hopped forward, followed by six Powerwilds. Iron fences rose up from the sand to flank the Heartless and force them toward the platform. When the Heartless were on the platform, Phil walked over to a statue of an armless man and pressed its nose in, causing a magic barrier to materialize around the platform.
As the two men fought against the Heartless (given the team name "Big Feet"), Sora sidled over to Phil. "What are the Heartless doing here?" he asked.
"I told you already about the monsters that are hunted and brought here for people to fight," Phil reminded him. "Having these warriors fight each other is good entertainment, sure. But what the crowd really loves to see is man fighting beast. The great odds are really exciting, and seeing these guys take on dangerous monsters and win makes them feel that mankind can take on any challenge. And with the reports of all the trouble these freaks have been causing all over, they're a popular enemy to see get vanquished."
"But how do you capture them?" Donald asked. "They can appear out of nowhere and disappear the same way."
"You know, I don't really know how they do it. The guys who bring them come into port and sell them by the crate."
"Huh. Weird." A collective "Aww" drew Sora's attention back to the center of the arena, where the Hammerlegs kicked the competitors and knocked them both down. Before one of them could finish the job, Phil whistled into his fingers and lines of golden cable shot from the hypogeum and wrapped around all of the Heartless (Sora noticed that two of the Powerwilds had been slain), tying them up in nets and dragging them back into the basement.
Phil pressed the statue's nose again, bringing the barrier down. Phil's employee ran to provide the competitors with Potions and help them to their feet while the satyr approached the center of the arena. "Ooh, tough break for those two. Looks like they're out of the running for this tournament. Let's hope that the others can do better."
The tournament continued, with each remaining warrior or team of warriors getting a turn. Sora, Kara, Donald, and Goofy faced four Powerwilds and three Soldiers, dubbed "Jungle Vice", in their first round, and won handily, having experience with both types of Heartless. They fought the "Big Feet" team, which was still short by two Powerwilds, in their third round. Just like when they had faced the divided Opposite Armor, they found that it was easy to defeat the pieces. They fought Antiochus and Castor in their fifth match and defeated them, then fought a pair of red-and-pink Guard Armor Gauntlets along with four Shadows and three Blue Rhapsodies, a team called "Hard Hitters".
Their next opponent was Mala. Sora put up a better fight against her than he did in the preliminaries, but the woman greatly outclassed him and Donald. Goofy was better able to match her blows, while Kara simply overpowered her when it reached the point for her to intervene.
The final round brought in the Armored Torso that was left over from the other pieces of the Guard Armor (Jiminy would label it as a Red Armor in his journal to distinguish it, even though it was only different from its purple cousin because of its color), along with four Blue Rhapsodies and four Yellow Operas. Kara opened the fight by grabbing the Torso by the collar and throwing it at one of the Operas. Donald and Goofy focused on the spellcasting Heartless while Sora and Kara pummeled the Armored Torso. When miniature explosions burst from the openings in the torso and the big Heartless collapsed and faded away, only a few minutes after the other Heartless had been vanquished, the match was over and it was clear who the winners were. The audience cheered and applauded.
"Well, wasn't that a good show?" Phil shouted for the crowd, causing the cheering to die down to let him speak. His employee brought out a gold trophy that had two curved horns on top and handed it to Phil. "The Phil Cup goes to Sora Danvers, Kara Danvers, Donald Duck, and Goofy Goof!"
The crowd broke out into cheers again, their shouts of praise and excitement filling the arena. Sora twirled the Keyblade with one hand by the grip before resting it on his shoulder. "Nothing to it!" he boasted. Kara twirled while hovering before landing and putting her hands on her hips. "No sweat," she said. Donald bowed to the audience, then hopped and flexed his biceps. "Oh boy!" he cheered. Goofy rolled his shield across his shoulder before catching it and putting his hands on his hips. "Not bad, huh?" he remarked.
Phil gave the trophy to Sora, and he and Kara held it up together while Hercules and Phil's employee tossed confetti into the air. "We're the champs!" Sora shouted. The cheering redoubled. Sora turned to his sister and saw that her grin matched his own. It might not have been what they expected to be doing when they planned to set out for other worlds, but the praise and recognition of their accomplishments, having people on their side as they faced their challenges: it felt good.
The buildings in the common sectors of the sultanate of Agrabah were built with a yellow-orange stone, while the palace was distinguished by its white marble walls and gold onion domes at the top of its towers. Jafar and Iago lived in the palace, along with the sultan and the princess, as well as several servants. Guards watched over the entrances and patrolled the halls, ensuring that no intruders were able to sneak in and attack the sultan or princess or steal from the treasure room.
The sun was setting, around the time Jafar had prepared his trek to the Cave of Wonders. Guards, dressed in black sleeveless tunics with flared-up shoulders, white pants, red sashes that wrapped around their waists, brown shoes with curled-up toes, and white turbans, continued their usual patrol, looking out the windows at intervals in hopes of spotting someone whom the guards in the street were searching for. Each guard carried a scimitar, which was kept in a scabbard at the hip which had a strap that wrapped over the right shoulder. One guard saw Iago standing on top of a red clay pot; despite the fact that the bird was rarely seen away from Jafar, the guard paid him no mind as, like everyone else, he believed that he was simply a dumb bird who ignorantly repeated words and phrases that he heard. He did not notice that Iago had a small pouch clutched in his talon. When the guard was out of sight, Iago dropped his expression of fake senselessness and removed the lid of the pot with his free talon, then reached into the pouch and dropped a smoky glob into it before closing it back up. As he replaced the lid, he saw the glob expand and form a face with four purple spikes, a pair of white eyes, and a jagged red mouth. Iago snickered as he flew off to put the remaining Heartless blobs into more pots around the palace, and soon enough the town.
After Iago left the palace, a servant approached the pot in order to bring it down to the kitchen. When he hoisted it up, the pot being almost as big as he was, four large bony spider-like legs burst through the ceramic, breaking small holes in the hardened clay in the process. The servant dropped the pot in fright, and the Pot Spider landed on two legs while impaling the other two into the man's ribs. The man let out a cry of agony before he lost his heart and faded away.
A guard came around the corner upon hearing the scream, only to see the Pot Spider as well as a Heartless that had appeared in the servant's place. This new Heartless had blue skin, and it wore a purple vest and baggy pants as well as numerous golden bangles, bracelets, and rings. Its head was wrapped up in bandages, with only a slit of a black epidermis and yellow eyes exposed. It brandished a scimitar in front of itself and leaned from side to side, eager for a fight.
"Intruders!" the guard shouted just as another guard came into view on the other end of the hall. He drew his scimitar and charged toward the Heartless. His sword clashed with the Bandit Heartless', and they each managed to get a few glancing strikes in. He parried the enemy's scimitar and prepared to deliver a more decisive slash, but the Pot Spider rammed lid-first into him, knocking him down. As he tried to pick himself up, the Bandit pounced and brought its sword down on his head.
The second guard could only watch in horror as his friend faded away, his heart floating off and vanishing into shadowy smoke. Seconds later, a second Bandit materialized where he previously stood, and the three monsters turned in the guard's direction. Recognizing that he was not dealing with ordinary thieves, he turned and ran the direction he had come from. "Shayāṭīn! Demons in the palace!" he shouted for anyone nearby to hear. As he ran, he heard screams echoing through the halls and even from the courtyard below, coming through a window as he passed it. He cast a quick glance down to the courtyard and nearly stopped as he saw two of the possessed pots attack a gardener and a guard.
He tried to shake his head clear, but he could not forget any of what he had just seen, so he instead used it as a motivator. Fiendish creatures were attacking the palace; he needed to do his job.
He ran through the palace, warning and gathering anyone he could find, as he made his way to the sultan's study, which is where he knew the nation's leader would be at this time of day. Dodging some Heartless and shattering a Pot Spider (an encouraging sight, until he saw the smoky blob that rose up from its remains enter a nearby pot) on the way, he barreled into the sultan's study, which was really more of a playroom filled with all sorts of toys, where he found the monarch idly playing with a clockwork model of Agrabah.
Sultan Hamed Bobolonius II, was a portly old man with bronze skin that matched the common tone of the people of Agrabah, brown eyes, and a large, thick white beard along with similarly-thick black eyebrows. He wore a cream-colored robe, a cream-colored turban with a red gem and large blue feather inset, an ochre-colored sash slung over his neck, an ochre-and-blue striped belt, brown shoes, and a blue diamond ring on his left hand.
"Your Highness!" the guard called to get his liege's attention.
The Sultan turned around, his sad face showing that his toys had done little to distract him from his concerns. "Oh, hello. Have you found—"
"Your Highness, we must evacuate the palace, quickly!" the guard interrupted. "Monsters have invaded, and we are no match for them. What's more, their victims appear to be transforming into more of them."
The Sultan gasped. Without a moment's hesitation, he followed his detail of guards and surviving servants out of his room and down the hall. After running down a flight of stairs, they found themselves cornered by half a dozen Bandits and two Pot Spiders. They stopped in their tracks, seeing that their only way to safety was blocked off. The guards took defensive positions at the front, with some sticking to the sides and rear of the group.
"Out of the way!" a loud, gruff voice yelled. A very muscular guard with a distinct black beard charged up the steps and cut through a Bandit from shoulder to hip from behind, then slammed the butt of his scimitar into a Pot Spider, smashing its ceramic body. Captain Razoul, the strongest of the guards, beckoned them forward. "This way!" he ordered, wincing at stress on a cut on his arm. He let everyone past, parrying Bandits' strikes and pushing them back to prevent them from attacking as they ran down the stairs before joining them.
"Which way, Razoul?" the Sultan asked.
"The courtyard," Razoul replied. "That's our best option." The group followed Razoul's lead. The guards pushed back against Bandits, Pot Spiders, and Shadows as they fled. They finally ran out into an open courtyard, only for a massive Heartless to appear before them. A counterpart to a Large Body, it wore an orange vest, green pants, a yellow sash around the waist, white soles, yellow arm bands, a necklace made of large off-white rocks, and a turban that looked similar to the necklace. Razoul swung his scimitar at the Fat Bandit's stomach, only for it to bounce off ineffectually. The proud guard rubbed his wrist to sooth the pain. All seemed lost, until a Bengal tiger tackled the Heartless from behind and clawed at it before chomping down on its head. The Heartless dissolved into black smoke, and the tiger dropped to the ground.
"Why, thank you, Rajah," the Sultan said, petting the tiger.
"This way, your Highness. Hurry," Razoul beckoned. However, before they could get far, a shadowy portal opened up ahead of them. They froze, wondering what sort of demon would come out of it. Rajah growled, ready to attack. After a few tense seconds, Jafar stepped out of the portal, smiling proudly.
"J-Jafar?" The Sultan was perplexed. "Wh-What's going on?"
Still smiling, the vizier bowed, although it was clear that he was mocking the Sultan. "Apologies, your Highness. But Agrabah now belongs to me, and the Heartless." He slammed the bottom of his staff against the ground, summoning more Heartless to surround the group. The guards fought back, but they were quickly overpowered and disarmed. The Heartless prepared to strike them down and take their hearts, but Jafar, raised his hand to silently command them to halt. Rajah lunged at some Bandits, vanquishing them with clawed swipes, but a Heartless, which resembled a belly dancer dressed in pink and black attire with gold wrist and ankle bands and which balanced on a ball of frosty magic, cast Blizzard magic to trap the tiger in ice.
Jafar approached the Sultan and took his hand. "Now, I do believe I will be needing this," he said, slipping the blue diamond ring off of the Sultan's finger. He would use it later in an alchemical procedure to divine the identity of the so-called "Diamond in the Rough". Clutching the ring in his fist, he looked around at the group of would-be escapees. "And there is one more thing I need. Where is Princess Jasmine?"
The servants gasped. The guards looked at each other, uneasy. "Wh-What do you want with her?" the Sultan asked, afraid for his daughter's safety.
Jafar's smile faded and his gaze turned into a glare. "I will ask you again," he said coldly, stroking the base of his staff's head with his thumb while holding it in front of the Sultan's face. The cobra head's eyes glowed; if one looked closely enough at it, like the Sultan currently did, they would see small lights swirling around within the rubies. "Where is Princess Jasmine?" he repeated, enunciating his words.
The Sultan's face went slack. His body, tense with fear only a moment before, relaxed, as he simply stared up at the staff's head, entranced. "I could not tell you," he answered in a dazed voice. "No one has seen her all day… I think she might have snuck out by herself…"
Jafar frowned. The Sultan was not lying; he could not lie, not when under his hypnotic trance. Jasmine was not in the palace. She was most likely somewhere out in the city. No matter, he thought. The city will fall very soon. The Heartless will find her and bring her to me.
He sighed and deactivated the hypnotic glow. "Very well. Heartless, bring them to the dungeon." Some of the Heartless visibly deflated, denied the chance to feast on their captives' hearts. The Bandits took the prisoners by the arms, four of them hoisting the frozen Rajah up, and brought them inside.
"There's one coming from the left!"
"Got it!" Donald veered the Gummi Ship up to avoid the asteroid that had been blown toward them. Lightning arced above them, generating in a swirling storm cloud and shooting toward the largest rocks in the area. Thankfully, the ship's fuselage was meant to be insulated, so the lightning did not immediately target them and fry the ship, but they still had to make sure they stayed out of its path. The floor shook as small rocks were blown or blasted against the hull, but Kara assured the others that the shields held against the impacts.
"Go left!" Sora instructed. Donald took the ship around an asteroid that was ahead of them without driving straight into another rock or a lightning current.
"I'm going to have to teach you how to check the weather patterns," the duck remarked. This negligence was the reason they had followed the planned route only to fly straight into a storm that raged in the ocean between worlds, rather than go around it.
"Smart," Sora agreed.
"How big are these storms?" Kara asked.
"They vary, but we should be about halfway through by now," Donald answered. "Assuming we haven't gotten turned around too much."
"We haven't," Sora verified.
"So it shouldn't be much more trouble."
"Good. All these jolts and explosions are kind of…" Kara froze as some particular turbulence and explosions flashed in her memory.
Sora turned, wondering what had caused her to stop, and saw her hyperventilating and trembling—and not from the jolts. He realized what was happening immediately. "Goofy! Take the radar!" Without waiting for a response, he unbuckled his seatbelt and ran to his sister's side, stumbling as the hull was jolted again. Goofy scrambled out of his own seat, momentarily forgetting to undo his seatbelt, and took Sora's place, but the boy was not paying attention. He put a hand on Kara's shoulder and squeezed her hand. "It's okay, Kara. I'm here," he said soothingly, saying the last phrase in Kryptonese. Kara started to relax. "Just breathe. Do it with me. In. Out. In. Out."
Kara took deep, controlled breaths, focusing on Sora's voice, and finally calmed down. "Thanks," she said.
Sora nodded. "You all right?" he asked.
"Yeah." That was not entirely true, but she knew that they had other problems to deal with than a trauma-induced panic attack. "We… should really get out of this storm."
"Okay. I'll take Goofy's seat. I'll be right here if you need me."
Kara nodded, then paused. "You know, how about I take that seat? Blowing asteroids up could be therapeutic."
Sora laughed. "Good idea." He let her get up from the status station and take the gunner seat, then took the now-open seat.
"Go under the river!" Goofy instructed. Donald steered the ship down so that they passed under a river that flowed through the ocean between, its current spinning around itself to keep itself contained and allow sea life to follow its course from one sector to another.
The storm made them lose time, in addition to the hour-long break that they decided to take in order to decompress after that ordeal. They ate dinner, then decided to park and call it a night, intending to finish the trip to the next world late the following day. Sora and Kara retired to their bedchamber, their beds on opposite walls from one another, and settled in for a good night's rest.
Or, that was what they hoped. Kara was not so fortunate.
The floor shook as the earth trembled with devastating quakes. Buildings collapsed as the planet's crust crumbled. Two single-passenger space pods were set up in a hangar, its tube shape designed to allow small vessels to take off and land. But none would land there again.
This was the day of Krypton's destruction.
Eleven-year-old Kara Zor-El stood beside her pod, her eyes locked on her parents, Zor-El and Alura. In the present, she still remembered their faces vividly: Zor-El's brown eyes and hair and his warm smile; Alura's blue eyes, long and wavy hair of an unbroken brown, sharp cheekbones, and gentle expression. The wall behind them served as a cover from the chaos and destruction taking place just outside; she could not bear to glance toward the openings on either side, not even as Jor-El and Lara placed the two-year-old Kal-El in a similar pod and set it to fly off away from their doomed planet.
"Your pod's coordinates are interlocked with Kal-El's, so you will follow him," Zor-El explained, a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"I'm not afraid, Father," Kara assured him. That was not quite true. She was terrified. Everything around her was quite literally falling apart, and she was about to lose the people she loved. But she knew that there was no other way, and she found resolve in that Kal-El will need her when they land.
Her parents shared a look as if to say "That's our girl" before Zor-El went to finish setting the pod up. Alura bent down so that she was at eye level with her daughter. "The trip is long, but you'll sleep most of the way, and we'll be with you in your dreams," she said, taking Kara's hands. "You'll reach this new world and take care of your baby cousin, Kal-El. I know it will be strange and difficult, but don't be afraid. You will do extraordinary things."
"I won't fail Kal-El or you," Kara said.
Alura kissed her daughter on the forehead. "I love you, Kara."
The hangar shook. All eyes turned to the exit, where a jet of rock and fire shot up from an underground explosion, a reminder that there was not much time. "You must go, now," Alura insisted.
Kara turned to the pod, but then turned back around and embraced her mother. They hugged, doing their best to hold back tears, knowing that it would be the last time they would see each other.
"Go!" Alura pushed Kara toward the pod. Kara climbed in, and the windshield materialized over the cockpit. Following preset commands, the rear thruster activated and the ship magnetically lifted off of the ground. It then shot forward, flying out of the hangar and up into the sky.
As Kara's ship flew, she heard explosions with greater frequency as her planet came apart. When she exited the atmosphere, her pod was hit with a massive shockwave that she quickly determined was the final explosion. The pod spun out, and she lost all sense of direction. Then the black, starry sky transformed into a strange space. It was a void of dark blue and purple clouds in the distance. There were rock formations floating in the void, but the ship did not approach any of them.
Rather than haunt her through the night as it often did, the strange space melted away. She heard a distant mumble, which became clearer until she could make out words.
"Kara." Kara opened her eyes and saw Sora crouched next to her. She realized that he had been gently shaking her by the shoulder.
"I heard you talking in your sleep," Sora said. She had been mumbling in Kryptonese, but he did not have to bother translating it, as he had memorized that pattern of phrases long before he had fully learned the Kryptonian language. "Did you have that dream again?" Kara nodded. Sora began stroking her hair. "It's okay. I'm here. You're not stuck in that pod anymore. Whatever nightmares come for you, I'll always be here."
Kara sat up and hugged him. "I miss them," she said, tears welling up in her eyes. "I miss them so much."
Sora nodded. "I know." He took a seat on her bed and let her rest her head on his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her and held her close.
"Sorry I woke you up," Kara said.
"Don't be. I wasn't exactly sleeping much better than you," Sora admitted.
"You had a bad dream, too?"
"Mhm. The Heartless were attacking the islands. Kairi flew into me and disappeared. Riku was getting swallowed by that dark pool. I tried to grab his hand. This time, I was a hair's breadth away from reaching him, then a pillar of green fire shot up between us and he was gone. And then I heard Maleficent laughing all around me. Then I woke up."
"Maleficent's in there too now? That's great. As if that night wasn't scary enough."
"Yeah. But I think the worst part was what happened to Riku in my dream."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, we saw him in Traverse Town, so we know he's fine. But maybe something's telling me that something isn't right. I don't know what or how I would know this…"
"Well, let's keep an eye out for him. Next time we see him, we'll bring him with us, no matter what Donald says."
Sora chuckled. "Yeah. Let's do that. And for Kairi, too."
They continued to sit together in silence. After some time, Kara yawned. "I think we should try to get back to sleep."
"You sure?"
Kara nodded. "Thanks for being here with me."
"Anytime." Sora kissed her on the forehead, then returned to his own bed. Kara laid back down and pulled her blanket up. She did not have any more nightmares that night.
Civilians ran through the streets of Agrabah as Heartless pursued them, filling up the city like an infestation. When they thought they found a street that was clear, Pot Spiders broke from their hiding places to corner them. Some made it to their homes and blocked entrances with boards and furniture, but a few of them were still made prey to Shadows, which simply flattened themselves and crawled under them. As per Jafar's orders, most of the Agrabans were taken captive and dragged up to the palace, as the vizier-turned-dictator was not interested in having them all wiped out as of yet (he also needed to find the princess alive), but many still had their hearts taken.
Two figures avoided most of the danger by running and jumping across rooftops. One was a young man with bronze skin, brown eyes and unkempt black hair, who wore an open purple vest, a pair of baggy white pants that was patched up in one spot, a red sash around the waist, and a red and purple fez hat. A small, brown-furred monkey who wore a matching vest and fez clung to the young man's shoulder. The other was a young woman with olive skin and brown eyes, who wore a brown abaya and a matching hijab that covered her hair.
The boy peered over the ledge, then ducked back out of sight until the Heartless below had passed. "Okay. Let's go," he beckoned. He took several steps back, then, brandishing a long pole, ran forward and vaulted over the street to the roof on the opposite side. The girl followed suit.
"They're everywhere," the girl said, looking down in horror at the abominations that stalked the city.
"Hopefully, we'll be able to find some cover." The monkey chattered, and the boy turned to see a pair of Shadows materialize. He ran up to them and slid his pole under one of them, then flipped it up and launched the Heartless off of the roof. He dodged a swipe from the other Shadow and jabbed it on the head with the end of the pole before doing the same thing that he did to the first Heartless. "Thanks, Abu," he said, scratching the monkey on the head. He turned back to the girl. "We should hurry."
They ran across the roof together, then crept over the top of an archway before breaking into their run again. A dark orb popped into existence a few feet ahead of them, and the boy grabbed the girl by the wrist and threw her and himself to the ground, shouting "Look out!" as he did so. A Bandit appeared and swiped at them. The boy kicked its leg out from under it, tripping it and knocking it down, then picked up the surprisingly-light fiend and threw it off of the ledge.
"That's twice you've saved me today," the girl said gratefully as the boy helped her to her feet. "I do not believe I ever asked for your name."
The boy smiled. "My name's Aladdin," he said. "What's—"
They were interrupted as more Bandits appeared. Aladdin tried to strike one of them with his pole, but it sliced the staff in two with its scimitar. "Uh-oh." He looked around for a possible escape avenue, and he saw an opening—but he would not be able to get to the next roof. He turned to the girl and offered his hand. "Do you trust me?"
The girl nodded. "Yes."
"Okay. The only way out is down." He led her through the gap between Bandits and, scooping her up in his arms, jumped off of the roof. He hopped from raised window cover to raised window cover before hitting the sandy alley, then set her down and started running, only to crash into a guard when they reached a wider street.
"Oof! Careful, boy!" The guard reached down to help Aladdin to his feet, but froze as he recognized him. "Hey! You're that thief!"
"Wait!" the girl pleaded, recognizing that the guard was about to turn hostile. Aladdin and the guard turned to her, and their jaws dropped. The hood of her hijab had fallen off, exposing her well-groomed black hair that extended well down her back, a turquoise headband with a gold-framed sapphire in the center, and two large gold earrings that covered her ears.
"P-Princess?" the guard gasped.
"Princess?!" Aladdin parroted, shocked. The whole afternoon, he had been running around with Princess Jasmine of Agrabah?
"Princess, your father has been worried sick," the guard said, both concerned and relieved. "I must bring you to safety." Before he could do anything, however, he screamed as a scimitar found itself impaled in his back. He drew his own weapon and spun around, striking the Heartless that had wounded him, before collapsing. Jasmine screamed as she watched the guard's body fade away and a crystalline heart float up before disappearing. Only his sword was left behind.
Aladdin looked back and forth from the humanoid demon that recovered from the blow and continued to brandish its blood-free weapon to his terrified companion before he realized that the Bandit was staring at Jasmine. They were not simply both in danger; it seemed that the fiend was targeting the princess specifically. He needed a plan. He could not let it get to her, whatever it intended for her. But what was he going to do to get her out of danger?
His eyes fell on the abandoned scimitar on the ground. That'll do, he thought. Just as the Bandit drew its blade back to strike, he lunged for the weapon and picked it up, raising it to block the Heartless' sword in one fluid motion. He pushed the fiend back and swiftly slashed at its unprotected chest. The enraged fiend attacked again, but Aladdin dodged to the side and delivered a few quick strikes that finally destroyed his enemy.
After watching the Heartless dissipate, he turned back to Jasmine and helped her to her feet. "Let's go!" As they ran, he could not help but glance back at her every few seconds, still in disbelief that he had just spent the day with the princess. That this beautiful, smart, funny, charming girl was the Sultan's daughter, the royal princess of the whole sultanate.
While part of him was focused on getting her and himself out of danger, another part of him in the back of his mind with a less clear sense of priorities felt his hopes of potentially being with her for real fall apart.
Focus, Aladdin. If you don't find a place to hide, there won't be much of a difference between a princess and a street rat to worry yourself over.
He led Jasmine through some of the shortcuts that he had grown used to traversing when he wanted to avoid being spotted on the streets or make a quick getaway. He had seen younger urchins pass through these routes when playing, so he was not the only one who had figured them out. However, he noticed that, while the monsters flooded the streets, almost none of them had found their way to these paths. Looks like I know this city better than those things, he mused.
"Where are we going?" Jasmine asked, hoping that there would be a place where they would be safe.
"The old mosque might be a good place to hide out," Aladdin answered. "They might not be able to follow us in there, although that might just be old stories and wishful thinking. But even if they do, we should be able to find places to take cover and sneak out if need be."
As they ran down a street in the eastern part of the city, a Fat Bandit appeared under an archway to block their path. Aladdin cursed, then apologized to Jasmine for it. They turned around only to see a pair of Bandits appear to trap them.
He glanced around, thinking fast. He saw a familiar structure of wooden scaffolding down a narrow alley, which had been left in place after a repair job several years ago. He had used it a few times when fleeing from the guards while ensuring that they would not be able to follow. That gave him an idea, albeit one he was not a fan of.
"Princess! There's an old construction site down that alley. Climb up it. It will be able to support your weight, but not much more. These things won't be able to follow you," he instructed.
"Okay." Jasmine quickly realized something. "Wait, but would you be able to?"
Aladdin shook his head. "Afraid not. I'll hold these guys off. Then I'll catch up with you. Go!" He swung his new scimitar and caught the blade of one of the Bandits. He then ducked under the other's swipe and slashed at its wrist. "Go!" he repeated.
Jasmine ran, ducking as the Fat Bandit tried to grab her. Abu leapt up onto the large Heartless' head and started pounding on its noggin with his fists to distract it. Jasmine clambered up onto the scaffolding. She took one last look back at Aladdin, the boy who had saved her from losing her hand to an angry shopkeeper when she had ignorantly "stolen" an apple for a hungry child, the boy who had shown her kindness when he had no idea who she was, the boy who had talked, laughed, and empathized with her.
Having faith that he would be okay, she scrambled across the rotted wooden planks.
Aladdin had little training and experience with a sword; he had snatched one from a more bumbling guard on occasion to fend others off when he had no choice but to fight until he found an opening to escape. However, he was quick on his feet and good at following patterns, which had given him an advantage in the past and allowed him to fend off the Heartless now. By reading their moves, he was able to dodge the Bandits' strikes and retaliate, disposing of them in short order. However, when he turned his attention to the Fat Bandit and his blade merely bounced off of its resilient belly, he realized that he was in trouble.
The Fat Bandit inhaled, preparing a deadly attack, only to explode into dark smoke. Aladdin blinked in confusion as the remains of the Heartless dissipated and revealed a light-skinned teenager standing right behind where it had been, holding a sword in a thrust-forward position.
"Whoa. Uh, thanks," Aladdin said. He noticed that the street was clear ahead, meaning that there were no Heartless around and they would have room to rest. "This way." He led his rescuer down the now-clear street and into a tailor's storage room.
"So the Heartless are here, too," the teen, Riku, muttered.
Aladdin sized the boy up, noticing from his skin tone, his hair, and the shoes and blue pants that stuck out under his cloak that he was not from Agrabah or any city or kingdom in the surrounding desert. "Picked a heck of a tourist destination, huh," he remarked. "I can assure you that it's not like this year-round."
Riku looked down at himself self-consciously, realizing how much he stuck out. "What happened here?"
Aladdin shrugged. "I don't know. Those demons just started showing up around sundown. The guards have tried to fight them, but it doesn't look like they've had much luck." He shook his head. "So, what brings you here?"
Riku reflected on the evening up to that point. He had led the horse to the stable at the edge of the city and then gone to look for Jafar, his only way back to the bastion, when he saw Heartless running through the streets. He recalled Maleficent telling him about them after he had seen some searching through what was left of the deserted town at the foot of the bastion and flying around the fortress, and he knew that they were dangerous. Seeing the monsters swarm the city terrified him, but while he understood a lot of people were in danger, he followed his first instinct to find Jafar, only slaying any Heartless that were in his way.
Right. First sign of a crisis, I run. Maybe that tiger head was right, he thought. Maybe if I had a Keyblade… or heat vision…
"I was looking for something in the desert," he told Aladdin, "hoping I could become stronger, and help someone. But I wasn't worthy to go in." He took the scarab pieces out and contemplated them.
"A miracle? I could really use one of those, for a lot of things." Aladdin sighed and shook his head. "I really need to get back out and find Jasmine."
"Jasmine?"
"We were trying to get away from those monsters, but we got separated right before I ran into you. She's smart, but she doesn't know this city very well." Aladdin paused, unsure if he should try to rally the silver-haired stranger by telling him that she is the princess, although he himself could still barely wrap his head around that fact. "I'm really worried about her."
Riku noticed that the scarab pieces had started glowing. He was afraid that they would fuse together and fly off, but they remained still in his hand. Did they react to something? He looked up at Aladdin, who was in the middle of a monster attack and was chiefly concerned about the well-being of someone he cared for. Did they react to him?
He held the pieces out to Aladdin. "I wasn't able to find the miracle. But you might," he said. "Out in the desert…" He turned himself around, trying to figure out his directions. Which way was the sun when we set out? "Southeast of here, about a half hour on horseback, there's something called 'The Cave of Wonders' hidden in a huge hill of sand. Put these together, and the scarab will fly into the mound and the entrance will reveal itself. It will only let one person in. I think it might be you."
Aladdin blinked in surprise. "M-Me?" He cautiously took the scarab pieces from Riku, and the legs twitched momentarily when he touched them, as if they knew the destined one was holding them. "What's in this cave that's so special?"
"A djinn's lamp," Riku answered, in a tone that indicated to Aladdin that he could hardly believe that he was saying it. This encouraged Aladdin to trust that he was not pulling his leg.
Aladdin stared at the scarab pieces. If the stories were true, a djinn might just be what he needed to save Agrabah and Jasmine. "Jasmine, be careful until I get back, okay?" he pleaded under his breath. Then, looking Riku in the eye and speaking at a normal volume, "Thank you."
Riku nodded. "Good luck." Aladdin cut a length of cloth and used it as a makeshift sheath for his scimitar, then exited the storage room, heading for the city gates to begin his trek to the Cave of Wonders. Riku slumped against the wall and sighed. "Hope you really are more worthy than me," he muttered.