Hello friends! Here's the latest chappie ready for reading! Sorry about the really long hiatus, I really didn't expect it to go on this long :( I'm really enjoying writing about King of Thieves so far and I'm glad to see you guys are still so interested in the story as a whole. Over 500 reviews?! Thank you all so much for all the support! I'll keep on writing! I still own nothing other than the plot and my OCs. And without any further ado; enjoy!

Chapter 56: Father And Son

Deep within the sea outside of the forty thieves lair, the waves moved back and forth in a choppy movement. But just at that moment, a body burst out of the water, gasping for air. The figure was easily identified; it was Sa'luk who was still alive and well but furious about his previous defeat at the hands of Aladdin and Sora. The man released a growl of anger as he made his way back to shore, wipeing the salty water from his brow.

Then, just as he stepped out of the sea, a familiar feminine laugh reached his ears. "Real nice work back there. You got beat by two brats, so glad I wasted giving the power of the heartless to a weakling like you!" Sa'luk looked up to find a blonde woman with two "antennae" strands of hair leaning against the cliff wall.

"Oh put a sock in it, Relena!" Growled Sa'luk. "You failed to warn me of the power that young boy had with that weapon of his; I could have handled it otherwise."

"Yeah, sure." Laughed Relena. "And I'm sure you could have handled the wedding without the heartless too."

Sa'luk simply scoffed in annoyance as he stormed past her. "I don't have time to deal with you. If you'll excuse me, I have to be going back to Agrabah. The King of Thieves will pay for his treachery. First I'll turn the forty thieves against him, then I'll steal the ultimate treasure he worked for so many years trying to find. And then, I'll take his son's life."

Relena only watched as Sa'luk wandered further and further away and darkly chuckled under her breath. "Well, he was a lost cause. Not a lot of use for him to Master Xehanort. Still, this trip wasn't a total waste; it was fun to watch a wedding get completely destroyed." The blonde laughed evilly as she summoned a corridor of darkness and vanished through it.

~*KHIII*~

Back at the lair of the Forty Thieves, the celebrations for Aladdin joining them had just ended. Cassim took the time to take Aladdin, Sora, Lea, Max, Goofy, Capet, Abu and Iago through a series of dark tunnel for some privacy. The group followed the King of thieves by the light of the torch he was carrying, eagerly awaiting somekind of explanation.

explains Sa'luk was the one who brought the heartless to the forty thieves and controlled them so he never had access.

"I find my son, and lose my enemy. You did your old man proud, Aladdin." Cassim smiled as he turned to face his son.

Aladdin responded with a glare. "I was just trying to stay alive."

Cassim laughed. "Ha! If you didn't fight, you would have been killed. So says the code of the Forty Thieves."

"Uh, by any chance does this code have any rules that don't end in death?" Asked Sora with a slight squirm.

Cassim shrugged as he stopped in front of a stone wall covered in markings. "It's a strict code. But there's one thing that I added; we never hurt the innocent."

Iago cleared his throat as he sat atop Lea's shoulder. "For future reference, I'm as innocent as the day I was hatched." He said with a clearly forced innocent smile. The group all rolled their eyes.

"Oh brother..." Muttered Abu.

Lea shook his head as he glared at Cassim. "'Never harm the innocent' huh? Then what were you guys doing with the heartless at the wedding? You know they were actually trying to kill us, right?"

"The heartless were Sa'luk's doing." Cassim explained. "He was the one who brought them into the Forty Thieves and he was the only one who could control them; we never had access. And now that he's been defeated I see no reason to use those creatures at all." Without saying another word, Cassim pulled the gold broach off his cape and placed it into an identical carving on the wall. "My men don't even know about this place." He said as the wall slid away to reveal a secret room filled with Cassim's personal items including treasure maps, spare robes and large piles of his share of stolen goods which Iago was eyeing. The walls were lined with torches and there was an open area that led to a large body of water.

Once everyone had entered the room, Cassim shut the hidden door behind them so none of the rest of the thieves could listen. "Now, listen. There is a treasure. The Ultimate Treasure." He said as he gestured to his large piles of gold. "Compared to this, a pharaoh's tomb is a pauper's grave. A sultan's fortune nothing but... lunch money! And I am so close to it..."

"Ooohh! How close are we talking?!" Questioned Iago excitedly.

"Tantalizingly close." Replied Cassim as he walked over to his closet and pulled out a rolled-up rug. "But, it's on an island that is never in the same place twice; Vanishing Isle."

Max nodded his head. "That... would be a problem. I can see why you're having trouble."

Sora admittedly found himself getting curious and spoke up. "What is this Ultimate Treasure?"

"The big one, boy. The Hand of Midas. A single touch will turn any object to solid gold." At that, Cassim unraveled the carpet revealing it to be marked with a large design of a turtle with a golden hand in the center; Sora noticed it was the same symbol that was in Casim's broach and the hilt of Aladdin's dagger. Sora, his friends, Abu, Iago and Carpet appeared to be intrigued by the reveal of the Ultimate Teasure but Aladdin just rolled his eyes.

"It's just a myth!" Aladdin scoffed.

"It's not a myth, boy!" Snapped Cassim as he grabbed a torch and pulled aside a green curtain, revealing steps leading to an underground river. Cassim then made his way down the stairs and angled his torch toward the water, revealing the reflection of a golden ship. "It was once right here, look, there's your proof! From stern to stem, every piece of rigging every peg and board, all of it! Solid gold! Touched by the Hand of Midas." Abu and Iago gazed down in awe at the golden ship but Aladdin was anything but impressed.

"And sunk by it..." Grumbled Aladdin as his father glared at him.

"You don't understand. You don't know what it's like to have nothing. To stare up at the palace and know you deserve more. To be called 'street rat'." Spat Cassim.

At that, Aladdin cringed in discomfort. Obviously what his father had said had brought back some old memories so Sora took it upon himself to step in.

"Actually Cassim, Aladdin does know what it's like. He did have to grow up on the streets." Said Sora.

Understanding what Sora was saying, Cassim took a breath and began his explanation. "I knew exactly what I wanted for my family, the best. I couldn't give up and go back empty handed. But the weeks turned into months and the months turned into years... I came back to Agrabah one night, but I couldn't find my wife, or my son. I thought my family was lost forever. At that moment, I would have traded anything to get your mother back..." Sora could have sworn he saw a small tear begin to form in the corner of Cassim's eye.

"We never wanted gold... we wanted you." Aladdin spoke softly as he approached Cassim. "I wanted a father, I still do. Come to my wedding. This time, you have an invitation." In all honesty, Aladdin's offer didn't surprise Sora one bit but Lea looked a little surprised.

Cassim shook his head. "Aladdin, I just don't know..."

"Dad, we're not going back to Agrabah until morning. At least think about it?" Said Aladdin as he left the room followed by Abu, Carpet, Sora, Lea, Goofy and Max. After a long day, the group was happy to get some sleep despite them still being in the lair of the forty thieves. Most of the group headed back towards their pre-assigned sleeping area except for Max and Goofy.

"Hey, Maxie?" Goofy asked as Max turned to look at him. "I just want to say I'm sorry for trying to get you to stay behind back home."

"Where'd that come from?" Max asked curiously. "I thought we already talked about that."

Goofy nodded. "I know, I just felt like I had to say it. You really have come a long way and I am proud of you. And I'm happy to have you here with me. And to call you my son."

Max smiled. "And I'm happy to call you my dad. Really, I mean it. I know I don't say it a lot, but I really do love you."

On that final note, Goofy pulled his son into a tight hug then they walked the same direction to go to bed. Without saying another word, they knew they were lucky to have each other.

~*KHIII*~

The next morning, the large group had met up with Cassim, who had decided to join them on their journey back to Agrabah. But, Cassim was anything but willing to ride on Carpet, much to the magic rug's disappointment. Cassim proclaimed that they could break their necks riding Carpet so he insisted that they take horses back to Agrabah. Aladdin accepted taking the horses, happy that he finally had a father that was concerned for his safety. Of course, Lea and Max were anything but blessed with taking a longer way back to Agrabah.

The road back to Agrabah was longer on horseback and they had to fight quite a bit of heartless. But other than that, the trip went smoothly and eventually they arrived back at the palace Pavillion which had been completely repaired. There was no evidence that the Forty Thieves had even trashed the place to begin with.

"Woah!" Lea exclaimed. "Did we come to the right palace?! Where's all the destruction?!"

Aladdin smiled and nodded. "That's Genie for you. He definitely knows how to clean up." Abu nodded his head in agreement.

At the the mention of a genie, Cassim immediately snapped to attention. "Genie? You have a Genie? Have you used all three wishes yet?"

"Oh, please, don't go into it. It's just too painful." Iago rolled his eyes.

Sora glared at the parrot. "Exactly how is it painful that Aladdin used his last wish to free Genie?"

"He freed the Genie?" Cassim questioned. "Interesting choice."

"Welcome back you guys!" Kairi's voice exclaimed. The group spun around, finding Kairi, Riku, Mickey, Donald and West running towards them. "You guys were gone awhile, we were starting to worry."

"Come on, when have we ever let you guys down?" Laughed Lea.

Just then, Genie magically appeared in front of Aladdin with a giant smile upon his face. "Oh, Al! You're back! And you're front! You're both here!" Genie then pulled Aladdin into a tight hug.

"That's great Genie-" Aladdin said but before he could finish! Genie covered his mouth, silencing him.

"Security's tight. No big crowd, immediate family and friends only!"

Once Aladdin's mouth was free, he tried to speak again, "Perfect, because this is my-" But Genie interrupted him again.

"No lowlifes this time, other than the parrot and the duck of course!" Genie continued as Iago and Donald glared at him.

Riku nodded in agreement. "The Slutan wants us to help with security so he's letting West, Lea, Donald, Goofy and Max have their weapons on them for the ceremony."

"And we'll definitely be ready for anything with our Keyblades." Said Mickey.

"Yeah!" Exclaimed West excitedly. "The only thief allowed in will be in will be me!"

"I'd like to see one of those Forty Thieves get within an inch of your wedding!"

Iago smirked and cleared his throat and gestured toward Cassim. "Allow me to introduce..."

Cassim chuckled. "The King of Thieves."

Genie didn't react at first, then screamed in terror. "Ah!" He screamed as he pulled a walkie-talkie and shouted into it. "All units, we have a code red!" Then, a giant solid cage appeared around Cassim in a puff of smoke. Genie then transformed into a modern police officer and pointed a gun at Cassim. "Don't attempt to move, pal or I'll shoot!"

"Genie!" Aladdin exclaimed, moving beside him.

"Back off, Al! This creep has a yellow sheet as long as my arm!" Snarled Genie as he kept his gun pointed at Cassim.

Aladdin shook his head and gestured towards Cassim. "Genie, meet my dad."

"What?!" Donald, Mickey, Kairi, Riku and West exclaimed all at the same time.

"Are you serious?!" Exclaimed Kairi as her jaw dropped. "Aladdin's dad is the King of Thieves."

"Woah, I definitely didn't see that coming." Mumbled West.

Genie said nothing but glared at Cassim as his police uniform, gun and cage vanished in puffs of smoke. Once those were gone, Genie slowly approached Cassim with a dangerous look in his eyes. "If you're Al's dad, and the King of Thieves, I just wanna know one thing." Growled Genie.

"Yeah?" Asked Cassim, refusing to show any emotion.

Just then a tuxedo and bow tie appeared on Genie. "Will you be having the chicken or the sea bass?" He asked with a smile on his face.

"Seriously?!" Exclaimed Donald. "He's the King of Thieves you big palooka! How can you be so calm?!"

"Well, Genie sure got over that quickly." Said Max. "Took us a little while before we got over the shock."

Sora nodded. "We spent some time with him, he really is an okay guy." At that, Donald started grumpily mumbling under his breath about stupid untrustworthy thieves, which earned him a dark glare and a punch in the shoulder from West.

Aladdin laughed as he took Cassim's arm. "Come on, Dad. I can't wait for you to meet Jasmine and the Sultan." Aladdin was just about to leave before Kairi's voice interrupted them.

"Aladdin, do you really think that's a good idea?" She asked.

Lea nodded in agreement. "She's got a point, I mean he is the King of Thieves."

"Maybe we should loose the 'Agrabah's Most Wanted' look?" Suggested Genie.

Cassim glared up at them. "What's wrong with the way I look?" He growled, obviously taking offense.

Aladdin shook his head. "When you're here, you're not the King of Thieves. You're my dad. All you need is a second chance."

"I've had more practice being the King of Thieves..." Mumbled Cassim, a sad look in his eyes.

Genie smiled at Cassim. "Oh, Come on, enough of this dark past. Let's roll out something a little new." Genie then waved his hands as a puff of sparking smoke appeared around Cassim. When it cleared, Cassim's clothes had changed. He was now dressed in blue, red, black and gold robes that looked like something a member of the royal family would wear. Even with his clothes changed, he looked considerably different.

"Okay now that's more like it!" Said Kairi. "Now you definitely look the part of father of the groom."

"Well, what are we waiting for?!" West exclaimed excitedly. "Let's hurry up and introduce you to Jasmine and the sultan already!" Aladdin and Cassim nodded in agreement as they, Genie, Iago, Abu and Carpet made their way back towards the palace.

"Wow, someone's excited." Said Sora as he and his team followed.

"What? I wanna be a bridesmaid again!" Smiled West. "Speaking of which, I'd better be one for yours and Kairi's wedding!"

Sora blushed deeply and turned away. "Woah! Where'd that come from?!" The entire group burst into laughter at Sora's reaction.

Kairi giggled. "I've already decided; you and Xion are my bridesmaids and Naminé's my maid of honor."

"Yes!" Exclaimed West happily.

"You better make me your best man, Sora." Laughed Riku.

"What?! Seriously you guys?!" Sora exclaimed in embarrassment as his friends laughed at him.

~*KHIII*~

After the large group had entered the palace, they wasted no time in introducing Cassim to Jasmine and the Sultan. Needless to say, they hit it off rather quickly. He had complimented Jasmine in a way that made her say he definitely had to be Aladdin's father. The Sultan liked Cassim but had made the assumption that he was a prisoner of the Forty Thieves to which Cassim led them to believe was true. Aladdin was just so relieved and happy.

Because of Cassim's arrival, they had decided to go through with the second attempt on the wedding that day. So, after everyone got dressed in their ceremonial clothes, they all gathered in the palace wedding pavilion. Everyone that is, except Cassim and Iago. It had been nearly over an hour since the time they were supposed to meet fit the ceremony and there was still no sign of the father of the groom and Aladdin and the Sultan in particular were starting to get really worried. The Sultan even started pacing, leaving Jasmine to try and calm him down.

"Where is he?" Aladdin asked out loud, his voice showing that he was clearly on edge.

Sora turned to his team. "Has anyone seen him?" They all shook their heads.

"Not since we separated to get ready." Said Goofy.

Max sighed. "Sorry I haven't either."

"My guess is he wants to make an entrance." Genie suggested.

"After an hour? I really doubt it." Argued Riku.

As the group continued to talk back and forth, Jasmine and Sora noticed the worry in Aladdin's eyes had significantly increased so they wandered over to comfort him.

"Do you think something is wrong?" She asked with concern.

"Maybe we should go look for him. We can have Genie help track him down and-" Sora started to suggest before he was cut off by another voice.

"That won't be necessary, boy." The entire group turned their heads, gasping to find Razoul storming into the wedding pavilion and dragging a handcuffed Cassim beside him.

"W-what the?!" Was all Sora could vocalize as the rest of the group looked on in shock. Fortunately, the Sultan stepped up to speak.

"Razoul, what is the meaning of this?" Commanded the Sultan.

Razoul responded with a smug grin as he pushed Cassim towards the group. "Your majesty, meet the King of Thieves. We seized him in the Treasury. He was after this-" He said as he reached behind his back and pulled out the Oracle's staff. "-Again."

"No..." Aladdin shook his head in disbelief.

Razoul ignored Aladdin and turned towards one of the other guards who entered the room with him who revealed a chained-up Iago. "And this is his accomplice."

"Iago! What were you thinking?!" Exclaimed Sora angrily.

"Yeah!" Donald exclaimed. "How could you think of looking for the Ultimate Treasure without me?!" In response, West smacked Donald upside the head.

Mickey shook his head. "Really not the best time, Donald." He sighed.

"Sora, it's a big misunderstanding! It's a slap on the wrist and, uh, community service kinda thing!" Iago tried to hastily explain but Sora and his friends just shook their heads in disappointment.

Aladdin, however had his eyes narrowed in anger at Cassim. "Now I know why you really came back..." Cassim hung his head in shame.

The Sultan and Jasmine looked at Aladdin with shocked expressions on their faces. "Your father is the leader of the Forty Thieves?!" The Sultan gasped.

"Aladdin, did you know?" Jasmine asked softly.

Aladdin sighed. "I thought I could change him, I had to try!"

Cassim shook his head. "You can change my clothes Aladdin, you can't change who I am."

"And the law is crystal clear on what we must now do!" Razoul said with another smug grin on his face. Obviously, he was very proud of himself for catching the King of Thieves.

Jasmine put her hand on her father's shoulder. "Father, isn't there another way?" She pleaded as the Sultan shook his head.

"I'm afraid there is not." The Sultan sighed. "Take the prisoners to the dungeon."

"Dungeon?!" Iago asked.

"For life." The Sultan nodded.

"Life?!" Cried Iago as Razoul dragged him and Cassim down to the dungeon. No one found it in themselves to say a single word. Except for Genie who put a comforting hand on Aladdin's shoulder and murmured,

"There's some wishes that even I can't make come true..."

Aww, this part of the movie always made me upset. Just ugh! Why?! On to a happier note; anyone else try Kingdom Hearts Unchained X? I'm loving it so far! My avatar's so cute and I get to summon my friends' and boyfriend's avatars into battle! Stay tuned for the next chappie!

Anoymous reviews;

-Tashasaurous: I will check it out when I get the chance. Glad you loved the chapter!

-Mysterygirl145: I'm sure you noticed, but I unfortunately couldn't fit the scene with Genie and Jasmine in. I'll try to keep it up and thanks for reading!

-Guest(Apr 12): I know the issue of world selection lol. I had the same issue when I first started this story!

-Guest(Apr 20): Glad to hear it! Thanks for the review!

-D: that's a good idea, but unfortunately I can't fit any more worlds in other than the ones I already planned.