Oh god, this is a sucky week. Thankfully, at least I can look forward to the release of Batman: Arkham City on Teusday.

Zexion: (Flipping casually through his tome) "Just don't kill yourself until this entire story is posted."

You're such a nice boost, Zexion.

Zexion: "You expected me to care? DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else."

!

Chapter 107: Second Chances

The streets of Agrabah were dark, lit only by the pale light of the moon and stars. The homes were all dark, and the streets were completely empty.

This suited Rasoul just fine. As he approached a street corner, scimitar in hand, he heard, "Captain. Over here."

"Show yourself!"

"You're alone. Good."

He approached the short, shadowy figure in the doorway of an abandoned house. He brandished his sword threateningly, but the figure didn't seem intimidated.

"So, you're the one with information about the Forty Thieves?"

"Captain, what would you say if I handed you the King of Thieves?"

Rasoul sheathed his weapon. "I'd say, 'What's in it for you?'"

"Oh, I'll just sleep better knowing that he's off the streets, and hopefully on the executioner's block. That's reward enough for me, Captain."

He scoffed. "Everyone knows that the King of Thieves cannot be caught. What miracle do you possess?"

"Two little words that will make you Agrabah's greatest hero." Zexion said, stepping into the street. "'Open sesame.'"

!

It was a bright morning back at the island of the Forty Thieves. At the top stood Sora, Nehrut, Bariss, Cassim, Iago, and Abu. From the shore, Aladdin cruised toward them on Carpet.

"Hop on, Dad!" He said.

"Oh no, I'm not getting on that thing." He said. "It's a rug. You sweep dirt under it, you don't fly on it. At least I don't."

"Ah, don't be afraid, it's fun!"

"I am not afraid! Now get off that thing before you break your neck!"

Sora found himself struggling not to laugh, and by the way that Nehrut and Bariss looked, it was plain that they felt the same way.

"We'll take horses." Cassim said, in a decisive tone. "Horses were good enough for my father, and for his father before him. And they were always good enough for me."

"This guy is definitely his father." Sora muttered, summoning the Keyboard.

!

The beautiful pavilion had been completely restored since the Forty Thieves had attacked the wedding. This time, however, there were noticeably fewer people around. There were only eight people at the pavilion stairs, and they seemed to be waiting for them.

Kairi was the first one off the stairs, flying toward Sora. He leapt off the Keyboard, and met her halfway. She immediately crushed him in her embrace, and planted her lips on his. They collapsed onto the polished tiles of the pavillion walkway, as the rest of the group came out to greet the new arrivals.

"Alright Kairi, you've had him long enough, now let him breathe." Riku said, smirking.

Reluctantly, she removed herself from Sora, and Riku helped him to his feet. He immediately put him in a headlock and gave him a noogie. "We missed ya, Spiky."

"What, nobody missed us?" Nehrut asked, in mock hurt. When Donald and Goofy hugged him after they had done the same to Sora, he added, "Eh, I'll take it."

"Oh, Al!" Genie was saying. "You're back, and your front! You're both here!"

"That's great Genie, uh-"

"Security's tight. No big crowd. Immediate family and closest friends only."

"Perfect! Because this is my-"

"No lowlifes this time! Other than the parrot and duck, of course." Genie didn't seem to be hearing anything he was saying. "Observe!"

From beneath the ground a few meters away, a panel opened, and a large blue, very futuristic robot with Genie's face emerged from it. Arming two laser cannons on either side of its 'head' it said, "You have violated the perimeter of the Aladdin and Jasmine wedding. Prepare to be vaporized. Thank you!"

It fired, and Nehrut threw up a hasty telekinetic shield. "Armed and dangerous!" Genie said, proudly. "I'd like to see one of those Forty Thieves or Brotherhood agents get within an inch of this wedding!"

"Allow me to introduce-" Iago began.

Cassim chuckled. "The King of Thieves."

While this news surprised the majority of the group, Genie took it to the extreme. After a second of stunned silence, a walkie-talkie appeared in his hand. "All units, we have a code red!"

Within seconds, several dozen Genies in SWAT team uniforms, and carrying assault rifles were swarming over the area. Somewhere, an alarm klaxon was going off. Helicopters that shouldn't have existed in Agrabah were hovering overhead, snipers inside. Aladdin watched it all with an expression that suggested he had seen it all before.

Dozens of Genies surrounded Cassim, clumped close together, and rifles aimed. "Do not attempt to move, or we will be shooting ourselves."

"Genie." Aladdin interrupted, squeezing through the mass of Genies.

"Back off Al, this creep's got a yellow sheet as long as my arm."

"Genie, meet my dad."

He gaped at Cassim in surprise. All but one Genie disappeared, and this one got rid of his SWAT uniform. He marched up to him speaking quietly. "If you're Al's dad... And the King of Thieves, I just want to know one thing."

"Yeah?" Cassim asked defiantly.

Genie put his waiter's suit back on. "Chicken or sea bass?"

Breathing a sigh of relief, Aladdin took his father by the arm. "Come on Dad, you've got to meet Jasmine and the Sultan."

"Hold on." Genie interrupted, indicating Cassim's very recognizable clothing. "Don't you think we should lose the 'Agrabah's Most Wanted' look, first?"

"Yeah, besides, the blue cape thing is mine." Nehrut added.

As Genie worked up a new outfit for Cassim, Sora pulled his off-world party to the side.

"He claims that he's turned over a new leaf, but keep your guard up. He might still try to pull something even if he does really care about his son."

"You're the boss." Donald said.

!

One wardrobe change later, the group stood in the Sultan's throne room. Sora had the same sort of feeling that he'd had in King Mickey's audience chamber. The Sultan was a small man, in a very large room.

Cassim was knelt down in front of the Sultan's throne. The tiny man was getting up from it, and Jasmine was standing in front of Cassim.

"My boy Aladdin must have been born under a lucky star to find such a treasure." Cassim said to Jasmine, getting to his feet, and kissing her hand in a gentlemanly gesture.

"You are most definitely Aladdin's father." She said with a sly grin.

"Oh, it must have been dreadful!" The Sultan exclaimed. "Trapped by the Forty Thieves and that awful Brotherhood."

"Oh boy..." Goofy muttered, standing with the rest of the group at the side of the room.

"I try to block out the memories." Cassim said, placing his hand to his forehead, and squeezing his eyes shut.

"Say no more!" The Sultan said. "Not another word on the subject."

"Yes, yes. Let's turn our attention to happier thoughts. The blessed union of our children!"

He scooped the small man up into a brotherly hug.

"Man, this guy can act." Axel muttered, impressed.

"They love him!" Aladdin said excitedly. Looking at him, Sora thought that he had never seen Aladdin so happy. "All he needed was a second chance."

!

"You Brotherhood rats sold us out!" One of the thieves exclaimed from behind the dungeon door. "You'll pay for this!"

Klaxam and Zexion weren't moved by the threats and accusations, and merely walked away back down the hallway of the palace dungeon.

"The palace guards performed surprisingly well." Zexion admitted. "But that doesn't change the fact that we're still short one King."

"I wouldn't have put it past them to have missed a few of them." Klaxam shrugged. "It's not unexpected, but we may as well put on a show for them."

He opened the door to an interrogation chamber, where Rasoul and two of his fellow guards were waiting for them. "You failed to capture the King of Thieves."

"That's because he was not at the hideout." Rasoul spat.

"Really?" Zexion said. "Where else would he be?"

The door leading to the main palace buildings opened. A skinny, nervous-looking guard stepped inside. "Um, captain Rasoul?"

"What?"

"Well, the Sultan said he won't be able to sentence your prisoners until tomorrow."

"What's more important than sentencing my prisoners?" Rasoul asked, sounding as though he didn't believe it possible.

"Why, the wedding!" He said, as if he was surprised that he didn't know. "Princess Jasmine and Aladdin are finally getting married!"

"Aladdin?" Klaxam said, grinning. "You didn't capture him along with the others?"

"Why would he have been with the Forty Thieves?" Rasoul asked.

"His father is the King of Thieves." Klaxam said.

"And didn't you know?" Zexion added. "They just arrived at the palace an hour ago."

!

The wedding (much, much smaller this time) was minutes from starting. While the participants in the main room of the pavilion above were nearly ready to begin, there were two in the palace treasury with different plans.

"Here's the monkey's lock pick." Iago said, handing one of Abu's old 'toys' to Cassim.

Quickly, the father of the groom picked the treasury lock, and pushed the door open. All of the wedding gifts, as well as a great deal of royal treasure were stored in this room. The oracle's rod was sitting on a golden pedestal in the center of the room.

"I promise you, bird," Cassim muttered, reaching for the rod, "After this, I go straight."

"Straight to the dungeon."

Rasoul emerged from behind a golden sarcophagus, looking unbelievably smug. "We've been expecting you."

Cassim reached for his sword. But no sooner had he placed his hand on the hilt, than he had a blade to his throat. He glared at Klaxam from the other side of his double-bladed weapon.

A dozen palace guards strode into the room, weapons ready.

!

The pavilion was ready and everyone was in place, except for the father of the groom. People were starting to get worried.

"If he's tried anything, he could be half-way back to his hideout by now." Riku muttered to Sora.

"If he's not here in five minutes, we go looking."

"Do you think something is wrong?" Jasmine was asking Aladdin.

"Genie, could you find him?" Aladdin asked the magical being floating near the reconstructed alter.

The doors to the pavilion burst open. The Keyblade had appeared in Sora's hand before he could even think. He nearly threw himself in that direction before he realized what he was looking at. The room's occupants all looked shocked.

Three guards were there, and one of them had Cassim in chains. He marched the King of Thieves into the room, his two lackeys flanking him.

"Rasoul, what is the meaning of this?" The Sultan asked.

"Your Majesty," He said smugly. Sora suddenly found himself disliking the man very much, similarly to how he had disliked Beckett, Clayton, and Larxene, "Meet the King of Thieves. We seized him in the treasury."

Aladdin tried to approach his father, but Axel held him back. Rasoul was holding the oracle's rod. "He was after this again. And here is his accomplice."

Sora wasn't as surprised as he thought he should have been when another guard showed them Iago –stuck inside of one handcuff with his feathers sticking up at odd angles. "Big misunderstanding! It's a slap on the wrist and community service kind of thing."

"Now I know why you really came back." Aladdin said, bitterness and anger in his voice.

The Sultan looked slightly dazed. "Your father is the leader of the Forty Thieves?"

"Aladdin, did you know?" Jasmine asked.

"I thought I could change him. I had to try."

Cassim lowered his head. "You can change my clothes, Aladdin. But you can't change what I am."

"And the law is now crystal clear on what we must do." Rasoul said.

The Sultan sighed, and looked as if he was seriously about to regret what he had to say. "I'm afraid that there is no other way. Take the prisoners to the dungeon... For life."

Iago's objections were silenced when the guard holding his cuffs snapped the other one shut around his beak. As they walked away, Sora called, "Rasoul! How did you find out about them?"

"Hmph." He scoffed. "It's hardly your business, but we received a confidential tipoff from two men."

"Klaxam and Zexion." Bariss growled.

!

It occurred to Sora that Aladdin might have been spending more and more of his time in his old home than he was in the royal palace these days. That was where he, Genie, Abu, Carpet, and the off-worlders were now.

Nobody had said a word for a while, each of them trying to process his or her own thoughts.

Finally, Aladdin spoke his own, "The oracle was right. My father was trapped within the world of the Forty Thieves. Trapped by his own greed." He moved the curtain from the window, and looked out at the palace yet again. "I was so stupid to think I could change him."

"Aladdin," Kairi said, "Trying to show him a better life wasn't stupid. It was noble."

"But leaving him alone with the parrot..." Axel added. "That was stupid."

Kairi threw a rock at him, which he caught. So Sora threw another rock, which got him in the chest.

"Everything was perfect before he came back into my life." Aladdin went on, oblivious to the rocks. "I just want things the way they were." A kind of fierce determination came into his eyes. "Genie, I need my father's clothes."

"Um, Al? Have you wrapped the turban too tight? C'mon why do you wanna dress in the King of Thieves ensemble?" But he summoned the blue cape, hood, and black tunic anyway. "Might I suggest something that doesn't say, 'Arrest me!'"

Aladdin paid him no attention as he hurriedly put the clothes on over his own. When he pulled up the dust-guard that covered the lower half of his face, Sora could have sworn that he was looking at Cassim himself.

Genie had turned into the oracle. "I'm seeing... I'm seeing NOTHING in your future if you dress like this!"

"I'm breaking my father out of that dungeon. The guards will never realize I was there." He stalked toward the exit. "Tonight, the King of Thieves will make his most miraculous escape ever; Out of my life."

He was gone for just a few seconds. "We have to help him, don't we?" Riku asked.

"Afraid so." Sora muttered. "Genie, could you give us some more capes?"

Genie created some differently sized robes for all the human males in the room. While they didn't look exactly like Cassim or Aladdin even with the hood and face guard, they seemed passable imitations, despite the height differences.

"I know I'm going to regret this." Axel muttered, before he followed Aladdin, Sora, Riku, and Nehrut out onto the streets.

!

Not a lot going on here if you've already seen the movie. More action next chapter, though! Stay tuned.

Review, please!