Chapter 33: Once upon a dream
Sora was sitting in the throne room where everyone had been before. It was now dark and Aladdin had gone back to his run down home in the middle of Agrabah to think some things over. Kairi was with Jasmine talking about some stuff; properly for the wedding. Donald and Goofy felt bad for handing Cassim in so they went with Genie, Abu, Carpet and Iago to help cheer Aladdin up. The Sultan had a meeting with the guards so it was only him.
Sora sighed out of boredom and looked at his hands; he soon looked more at his right hand. He looked at it with the same curiosity as he did before when Donald had pointed it out. Sora just looked at his claw before he heard the voice again. Before Sora could reply, he started to get a strong headache and blackout.
BOWBOWBOW
Sora started to slowly open his eyes to see nothing but darkness. He quickly got up and looked at his surroundings. He then noticed that he was in the Station of Awakening and looked at the stained floor that he was standing on. This mural was different from the ones he had seen before.
This one had him in the middle, sitting on the floor and was looking at his claw. To the left of him, Roxas stood while facing at Kairi, Riku, Brian, Hikari, Donald and Goofy pictures that were in circles like on the mural Sora had fought Roxas on. To the right of him, there was the guy from his dreams, the one who tried to save Kairi. He had a smirk on his face while his white shadowed claw rested on Sora's shoulder. The guy was facing pictures of his worse enemies including Xehanort, Maleficent, most of Organisation XIII and Col Devil. Sora looked at the mural closely, trying to figure out what it could mean.
"It's your balance."
Sora looked next to him to see Roxas looking at the Mural with more worry than curiosity. "Every heart has a balance, the same as every world does."
"What do you mean?" Sora asked. Roxas didn't answer as he continued to look at the mural.
Roxas pointed to the side that he was on and Sora noticed that the background of it was Destiny Islands. "On this side is light. On this side are your dearest friends, your heart's home and the person who helps you understanding the light."
"But why is Brian on there?" Sora asked as he looked at Brian's picture. "I can understand why Hikari is on there but Brian and I are not on the best of terms."
"Maybe there is something to Brian that is familiar to someone close to you." Roxas suggested. Sora gained a thoughtful look as he looked at the picture of his friends constantly.
"This side is your darkness." Sora stopped looking at the picture of his friends and looked on the other side of the mural where Roxas was explaining again. "This shows your worse enemies, your fears and someone who can convert you to believe that Darkness is the way to go."
"How come the mural isn't showing the guy's face?" Sora asked. It's true; the guy's face was blurred out like it was in Sora's dream. Before Roxas could answer the mural started to crack and Roxas faded away. "Wait!" The mural broke and Sora fell onto a new mural.
Sora stood up and looked at the new mural; it seemed to be a mural of the Order. In the middle of the mural was a person wearing Heartless type of armour. Sora guessed he was the leader. There was also Col Devil, Sgt Abroc, Lt Skullo, Maj Snake, Lizza, Nikolai, Cpt Link and three other members that he didn't recognise. He noticed that there was blank spaces and cross out spaces as well, and that Nikolai's face looked like he was in pain.
The Order will be in your way
Sora took his sight away from the mural and started to look around him, looking for the source of the voice.
But your so-called friends will be as well
"Who are you??!!" Sora raged, he was getting sick of this thing constant riddles, "Show yourself!"
Instead of raging at me, you should try to restore the balance
Sora was now confused, "You want to help the worlds?"
Without the balance, history will repeat itself and more keyblades will appear
"Is this the Keyblade war you mentioned before and about the Keyblade Knights?" Sora asked.
Yes
"Then tell me how to stop it!!" Sora demanded
I do not know any more than you do! It is best if you locate that Knight that seems to know you.
"Ven? You think that we will know?" Sora asked. No answer, instead light was appearing like before and pushed the darkness and the mural away.
BOWBOWBOW
"Aladdin's gone!"
"What?!?"
"Aladdin went to free his father."
"We tried to stop him but he said it was something he had to do."
"I'm telling you, it was the cape talking."
"Sora, wake up…"
Sora groaned in pain and held his head as he pushed himself up. He opened his eyes to see Kairi and Abu by his side. To see if Sora was okay, Abu jumped on his head and pulled his spikes to make him get up faster. Kairi grabbed Abu off of Sora and held him in her arms. Sora opened and closed his eyes a couple of times before speaking, "What happened?" Sora asked weakly.
"We came in here and found you passed out, we have been trying to wake you up." Kairi explained. Sora looked at the time on the communicator to find that he had been in the Station of Awakening for at least 3 hours. Sora sighed as he pushed himself to his feet. He then realise what the other voices were talking about.
"Wait! What happened to Aladdin?" Sora asked
BOWBOWBOW
Cassim, Iago and Aladdin headed out of the city gates and started to ride away on the horses. Aladdin's original plan was to free his father so he could never be in Aladdin's life again but he got caught by one of the guards and that guard would most properly tell the Sultan so he had to get out as well. Aladdin halted the horse and thought for a minute. He didn't want to do what he father had done to his mother; He didn't want to walk out on Jasmine.
Cassim halted his horse when he noticed that his son was not following, "What are you doing?" he asked
"I'm going back to Agrabah." Aladdin replied
"You can't!" Cassim argued
"Watch me!" Aladdin rejoiced, "If the Sultan is gonna punish me for it, I'll take it."
"The moment that guard saw your face, your life in Agrabah was over."
"I won't walk out on Jasmine!" Aladdin shouted as he jumped off the horse.
"Kid, it's over." Iago told Aladdin. "You're a criminal now."
"I won't do what he did!" Aladdin shouted, referring to Cassim. "I won't run away."
"I never ran away from anything in my life!" Cassim rejoined.
"You ran away from you family!" Aladdin snapped.
"I told you what happened!" Cassim cried in self-defence. "What else could I do? What else can you do?"
"The right thing." Aladdin riposted. He removed his father's dagger from his belt and threw it at Cassim's feet. "You should take this back."
"You can't!" Cassim pleaded.
Aladdin turned his back on his father and jumped on his horse again. "I won't walk out on Jasmine. I'm your son, but I can't live your life."
"We have the Oracle!" Iago implored his friend. "The treasure's just waitin' for us!"
"The Oracle?" Aladdin asked, raising a brow.
Cassim lowered his head. "I had nothing left to lose." he told him.
"Yes," Aladdin said coldly, riding away from his father for what he hoped to be the last time, "you did."
"This was supposed to be a father-son outing!" Iago begged.
Aladdin took Iago from his perch atop his shoulder. "Go with him, Iago."
Iago stared at Aladdin as though he were crazy. "What? You mean it? Seriously?"
"Go." Aladdin repeated.
"Good luck, kid." Iago shrugged before going off with Cassim.
Aladdin watched his father ride away while he headed back to Agrabah.
BOWBOWBOW
"From 40 thieves down to seven. What are we going to do?" Thieve No 1
"How did the guards find us? How did they know the magic words?" Thieve No 2
The entrance began to open again and the 7 thieves prepare themselves for another raid. "It is a good day to die." Thieve No 3 said
"Or a good day to come back from the dead." The entrance closed and Sa'luk was revealed to them.
"Sa'luk!!" The thieves called out. They got a better look at him and saw that half of his chest and his right arm looked completely shadowed. "What happened to you?"
"I'm a survivor, like all of you." Sa'luk approached the seven. "No thanks to Cassim"
"What does he want us to do?" Thieve No 1 asked
"He wants us to rot in the palace dungeon or to be turned into a heartless." Sa'luk as he fisted his golden claw to is left hand.
"Bah! The King has loyal for us until the end." Thieve No 4 argued. Sa'luk just went up to the thief and clawed him in the gut, leaving him out cold.
"He was the one who betrayed you! He sold you out!!" Sa'luk lied to them
"But you have always hated Cassim and he would never use Heartless." Thieve No 5 pointed out.
"Why should we believe you?" Thieve No 6 added
"How do you think the guard got the magic words?" Sa'luk told them.
"The King told them the magic words???" Thieve No 7 said confusedly
"I don't believe it!" Thieve No 3 protested
"Me either!" No 7 agreed. The other 5 thieves agreed as well and started to walk away from Sa'luk.
"Fine! Don't believe me but soon you will see the truth." Sa'luk said coldly as he clicked his fingers. Unbirths appeared and grabbed the other thieves. "You have two opinions; either join me with this power or die." Sa'luk then stood on the rock to over look all of the thieves.
"Are you In or Out."
BOWBOWBOW
The guard had reported about seeing Aladdin escape with his father to the Sultan and everyone else, making everyone miserable. Sora, Donald, Goofy and Genie assured them that Aladdin will do the right thing and Kairi and Jasmine trusted them on that but the Sultan wasn't so sure. Jasmine decided to wait for news in her room and spend some time with her father and her pet tiger, Rajah. Goofy was sitting with Donald, saying that this situation reminded him of his and Max's troubles. Sora was in the other room doing something and Kairi was on the communicator, talking to Hikari.
"Are you sure about this, Kairi?" Hikari double-checked, "As much as I like to see the look on Riku's face and see Brian get beaten by him, I don't think it is harsh enough. They should be forced to watch something girly and childish like 'My Little Pony' in a closet."
Kairi giggled at the thought, "I think that is going a bit too far, Hikari."
"Well, you just remember that plan when one of the guys decides to be a prick."
"We'll just stick with the plan we discussed earlier." Kairi replied
"Okay okay I'll……ah ha……ah ha…..Brian said, 'have you had any luck finding the item?'."Hikari asked. Kairi told her about what happened at the Caves of Wonders apart from the bit about Ven. "Man, you're lucky. Did Brian tell you what the item is called?"
Kairi thought about it for a moment, "Now that I think about it, he didn't tell us what it was called. Only that it was a golden hand."
"Okay, I'll ask Brian to find out and call you or Sora back. Speaking of Sora, where is he?" Hikari asked
"He said that he wanted to practice something for the wedding. He wouldn't tell me what it was." Kairi said
"The only way you'll know what he's doing is to spy on him. You never know, it might be funny." Hikari suggested
"I don't know…" Kairi said quietly
"I've gotta go. Max is doing his victory dance again because he just beat Riku and Brian on a computer game. If I was playing then it would be a whole different story." Kairi laughed at Hikari's comment and said goodbye to her before hanging up the phone. She decided to take Hikari's suggestion and go see what Sora was doing.
When she quietly walked in the room, she held in a giggle when she saw what Sora was trying to do. There was a mat on the floor with a number of footprints and some sort of waltz music was playing. Kairi had to hold a giggle because Sora was trying to learn how to dance but ended up tripping up his own two feet. After about 5 seconds, she let a giggle slip.
Sora's eyes widened and turned around to see Kairi at the entrance. He started to feel his face heat up and used his arms to cover his face while crossing his legs like a school boy. Kairi walked over to him with her arms behind her back and giggled again at the way he was acting.
"So…This is what you doing." Kairi smiled
"Doing what?" Sora played, "I'm just sitting here."
Kairi walked over to the stereo and turned off the waltz music while picking up the dance mat. She then walked over to Sora again. "If you were sitting around, what are these for then?" Kairi giggled.
"errr….."
"You were trying to dance." Kairi said. Sora slowly nodded as a response. "I thought you knew how to dance."
"I did but that was along time ago." Sora sighed
"Why are you trying to learn how to dance anyway?" Kairi asked, it was unlike Sora to suddenly take an interest in dancing.
"I didn't want to be a klutz when I'll dance with you." Sora looked up at Kairi, "I didn't want to ruin your fun because of my horrible dancing skills."
"Sora, I…." Kairi was speechless, "No one has done that for me." Kairi then gained an idea. She placed the stereo back on the floor, played the waltz music again and walked over to Sora, who was still sitting on the floor.
Sora raised an eyebrow. "Kairi, what are you--"
"I'm going to teach you how to dance." Kairi cut in
"Kairi, I don't think--"
"C'mon, you lazy bum, It will be fun." Kairi said as she held out her hand to him. Sora chuckled at her determination and smiled warmly at her as he grabbed her hand and got up. "Okay, now I'm the teacher and you're the student." Kairi informed
"You're enjoying this, are you?" Sora laughed, he knew what she meant.
Kairi laughed as a response before she carried on, "Okay. You have to place one of your hands on my shoulder while the other one in my hand." Kairi instructed.
Sora gulped out of being nervous and places his hands in the places where Kairi suggested. "Like this?" he asked
"Yeah, you got it." Kairi said warmly, "Now, the movement."
"I'm not sure about this, Kai." Sora warned her, "I have big feet."
"C'mon Sora. You're not gonna let this one thing bring you down. You have to be confident." Kairi encouraged him. Sora smiled at her and thanked her. "Now, I'll lead."
Donald, Goofy and Genie were at the door of the room where Sora and Kairi was in. Donald and Goofy was looking for Sora and passed the door when they heard talking and some music. Donald and Goofy slowly opened the door when Genie appeared and joined them. The Dog, Duck and Djinn was now watching Sora and Kairi slowly dancing together to waltz music.
Goofy smiles at the two, thinking that he had never seen Sora happier. Donald and Genie however was talking to themselves and Donald snickered mischievously while Genie zapped the stereo to change the song.
"Hey! I think I'm getting the hang off it." Sora cheered happily, making Kairi laughed. The two stopped dancing when they noticed that the song had changed. "Strange…I only put waltz music on that CD." Sora said as he went to check the stereo. When the music started to play, Sora and Kairi recognised it straight away. "Hey, isn't this…"
"It's that song that we had to dance to in our school play." Kairi squealed. Sora then turned back to Kairi.
"It that the 'Sleeping Beauty' one we did when we were eight?" Sora asked
"Yeah, went I was the princess and--"Kairi replied
"…and Riku was the prince." Sora sighed. Another thing Riku was able to beat him at.
"But you were the understudy and you did practise the dance scene with me." Kairi pointed out. Kairi held out her hand to Sora and he took it, going back in the position he was in before.
"Do you remember the words?" Sora asked.
"Do you remember the dance steps?" Kairi also asked. Sora smiled at the question and started to properly dance with her, similar to when Beast and Belle dance. "I take that as a yes." Kairi giggled. Kairi then started to sing the words.
(A/N: Kairi: Italic Sora: Underline Both: Bold)
I know you, I walked with you
once upon a dream.
I know you, the gleam in your eyes
is so familiar a gleam
Yet I know it's true that visions
are seldom all they seem
But if I know you, I know
what you'll do
You'll love me at once
the way you did once
Upon a dream
They both laughed as they carried on dancing. "I guess that answers my question as well." Sora smiled at her.
"What about you? Do you remember the words?" Kairi asked, "You didn't last time."
"Like you said, I was an understudy." Sora replied. Kairi carried on singing.
Once upon a time,
I dreamed we'd be together...
In love forever.
Once upon a night,
I was wishing for a never...
A never ending.
Once upon a time, once upon a night,
Once upon a wish, once upon a dream...
Sora hugged her and was dancing behind her, while leaving off where she left off.
I know you
I danced with you once upon a night
there we were wishing that this dance
would last forever all time
I hope it's true
this vision is more than what it seems.
Cause if dreams come true
I know what we'll do,
we'll dance once again the way we did then upon a dream
Kairi smiled brightly as she listened to Sora's singing. She then joined in with him.
Once upon a time
I dreamed we'd be together
in love forever.
Once upon a night
I was wishing for a never...
a never ending
once upon a time, once upon a night,
once upon a wish, once upon a dream...
As the song slowly faded out, Sora and Kairi slowed down. The two stopped in front of each other as the music stopped and the stereo turned off mysterious. Sora and Kairi started to smile at each other, unaware that Donald and Goofy was walking while Genie was taking pictures before disappearing.
Kairi pulled Sora closer to her and then faced him, "Sora, there has been something that I wanted to ask you." Kairi said while blushing.
"W-what is it?" Sora asked, almost stuttering. Sora and Kairi no recollection of moving but the two seemed to get closer and closer to each other.
"I-I wanted to ask if---if…." Kairi breathed. Their faces got closer until…
BEEP BEEP
"Hey Kairi, its Brian. Is Sora there?"
Donald and Goofy watched Kairi and Sora move away from each other as Kairi searched for the communicator. Goofy then heard Genie cheering about something and dragged Donald with him to find out what Genie was talking about. After handing Sora the communicator, Kairi went out of the room to see what the commotion was as well.
Sora started to talk to the communicator, "What do you want, Brian!"
"Wow! Someone sounds annoyed. Did I just interrupt something?" Brian laughed
"N-no…" Sora stammered
"Yeah sure…" Brian said, hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Anyway, I've called to ask if you seal the keyhole and to tell you what the item is."
"What are you talking about? Kairi has sealed the Keyhole." Sora replied
"Maybe so but the radar is sensing Unbrith and Endless activity near the off shores of Agrabah. It would be best if you guys check it out when you get the chance." Brian informed him.
"Okay okay. What about the item? What is it called?" Sora asked
"Oh, it's called the Hand of Midas." Brian replied. "Did you get that Sora?" No answer. "Sora? Are you still there? Sora! Oh fine! I'm going to bed, see you whenever." The line then went dead.
Sora just stood there in disbelief, if Brian had told them that at the beginning then they would have managed to get and see Aladdin and Jasmine get married all in one day. He sighed with annoyance and was about to call Brian back when Carpet came in and started to push in out of the room and onto the balcony.
BOWBOWBOW
"I know the treasure's limitless! But I'm not crazy about a forty-way split. If it was just, uh... you and me."
Cassim and Iago were beginning the trek back to the Forty Thieves' lair, discussing just what would be done with the treasure once they found it. Iago, of course, wanted as much for himself as he could get. Cassim disagreed. "I would never cut my men out of the deal!" he protested. "They're my family. My only family…I can always count on them."
Cassim walked in the lair and called out 'I'm home' while holding the specter. The thieves came out of the shadows and drew out their swords. Iago gulped at the sight, "Uh, why aren't they happy to see you?"
"We are!" Cassim and Iago turned to see Sa'luk appear out the shadows and summons Blinks. "We're trilled."
BOWBOWBOW
Carpet pushed Sora on to the baloney where everyone seemed to be, including Aladdin. Sora approached the group and saw that The Sultan wasn't pleased about Aladdin's actions. "I am very disappointed in you, Aladdin." The Sultan scowled
Genie then appeared beside Aladdin, looked up at the Sultan and said, "Your honour, if I may enter a plea of insanity, BECAUSE I'M CRAZY ABOUT THIS KID!"
"I can handle this, Genie." Aladdin told Genie before going to the Sultan.
Sora stood with Kairi, Donald and Goofy, he knew that this was one of the things he couldn't with. He watched Aladdin try to explain things to the Sultan.
"Sultan, I convinced my dad to come here," explained Aladdin, "It's all my fault. It would have been better off if I hadn't known."
Jasmine walked up to Aladdin to comfort him, "Aladdin, you found your father. A father who risked his freedom to see your wedding, and you risked everything to help him, just as I would for my father."
"And just as I would for my friends." Sora added. Kairi, Donald and Goofy cheered in agreement.
The Sultan thought about it for a minute before facing Aladdin, "Aladdin, I cannot over look your father's crimes, but what you have done, well, you did it out of love, and you came back to take responsibility for your actions." The Sultan smiled happily now, "Let us put this matter behind us. I believe we have postponed the wedding long enough."
"FINALLY!!" Donald cheered
Everyone then heard a scream; they looked up to see Iago falling to earth. As he was about to hit the ground, Carpet jumped out to save him, catching the distressed parrot. "Iago! What's wrong," asked Aladdin.
Iago was shouting random words which didn't make any sense, "Take a deep breath, Iago." Goofy instructed him.
Iago stopped trying to talk and breathed in before he carried on, "Al's... dad..." he managed to wheeze.
"What about Aladdin's father?" Jasmine asked while scooping him up into her arms.
"It's Sa'luk!" Iago gasped. "The guy you guys beat... he ain't beat! He's back! These blue creatures are on his side now... and he's got Cassim!"
"That sounds like the Unbirth." Kairi concluded
"Unbirth??" Jasmine wondered. She then turned to her father, "Father, was those the creatures that attack Agrabah went I was younger?" she asked
"You know about them?" Donald asked. The Sultan nodded.
"The Unbirth was with this key-weilder like Sora here. Three knights got rid off them and closed the world off from the other worlds to keep them safe." The Sultan explained
"HELLO!!!" Iago yelled, seems that he got his voice back, "Sa'luk had got Cassim!"
"That's his problem!" Aladdin fumed. "He chose to go back to that life."
"Al, I know your dad made a lot of bad choices," Genie reasoned, "but that doesn't mean you have to."
"He is your father!" Jasmine added. "How could you do anything else?"
Aladdin stepped away from his friends. "I'm being as stubborn as he was." he muttered. "Show me the way."
A/N: YAY!!!! ONE DAY TILL MY BIRTHDAY!!! FOR A PRESENT, I WOULD LIKE LOTS OF REVIEWS PLEASE.
Now for message:
Kisdota-The Freak Gamer: I took a while to write because of family stuff, that's all. How was your holiday.
Please review and happy easter
Kingdommad