"Aladdin!" Sora called, searching through the busy bazaar in search of his friend. Since their encounter with Sadira, Sora had lost him in the congregation of potential customers.
"There you are!" shouted a voice from the crowd. Oswald rushed to Sora, chastising him like almost like a mother would a child. "Don't run off like that!"
"Oh, Oswald!" Sora replied, still looking around in every direction. "Did you see Aladdin? I can't find him."
Oswald shook his head in disappointment. "Remember what we're here for, Sora. Donald and Goofy, your friends? We can't waste time!"
A series of screams sounded through the crowd, shortly followed by a stampede of shoppers. When the crowd had cleared, a group of familiar shadows filled their place.
"Heartless!" Sora stated, summoning his Keyblade as Oswald drew his wand. Firion wasn't far behind, already wielding his sword.
"Sora!" Aladdin called, rushing to their side with a scimitar. "Let's take these guys out!"
The quartet of heroes made quick work of their umbral foes, bringing peace back to the city streets in barely a minute. Agrabah's guards, Razoul included, rushed to the scene, examining the extent of the damage caused by the battle. Jasmine also appeared, joining Sora's group with a worried expression.
"Is everyone okay?" she asked Aladdin.
"Everyone's fine," he assured. "There weren't that many of them. Besides, I had a little help."
"Oh, Sora! It's good to see you!" Jasmine had been so preoccupied with the safety of her people that she failed to notice the return of her old friend. "I see you're still fighting the Heartless."
"Someone has to do it," Sora crowed.
"We've had quite a bit of trouble with them recently," she mentioned.
"I could go take them out if you want," Sora offered.
"Don't worry," Aladdin assured, "I've got everything under control."
"See? Nothing to do here, let's get going," Oswald insisted.
"Aladdin, you're so brave!" Sadira joined the group with the same whimsical look as before, almost leaping onto him.
"Uhm… Jasmine, I'd like you to meet a new friend of mine," he stuttered. "This is Sadira. Sadira, this is my girlfriend, Jasmine."
"Oh…" Sadira murmured, realizing why he had been so nervous before.
Jasmine politely introduced herself, outstretching her hand to initiate a handshake. "Hello, Sadira! It's nice to meet you."
"Good afternoon..." Sadira sighed, reluctantly accepting the gesture.
"Everything seems to be in order…" Razoul observed, still examining the damages. Not paying attention, he bumped into Sadira, angrily turning around. Upon seeing her face, however, he quickly took a passive stance. "Oh, madam bread inspector! I do hope everything is up to standards."
"Yes, everything is just fine," she confidently reported, doing her best to keep up the ruse. "You may carry on."'
Jasmine thought for a moment before speaking up, mentally checking her facts. "Agrabah doesn't have a bread inspector."
Razoul stopped in his tracks, his fists clenching.
"Of course it does. How would you know?" Sadira boldly questioned.
"Because my father is the Sultan," Jasmine quipped, draining the color from Sadira's face.
"Wait… then you're… Princess Jasmine?" Sadira whimpered.
Jasmine and the guards nodded as Razoul approached Sadira from behind. "Bread inspector, eh?" he asked, furious that he had been fooled.
With a quick jab to Razoul's chest, Sadira ran back into the streets. "After her!" Razoul commanded.
Aladdin couldn't take a step before being held back by Razoul, receiving a nasty glare from the head guard. "You stay out of it this time, boy!" Razoul joined the chase as Aladdin could only watch.
"Aladdin, what did you do?" Jasmine queried, wearing a stern look while crossing her arms.
Aladdin gave a nervous chuckle in reply, struggling to come up with an explanation. "I, uh… I couldn't tell you."
"Aladdin," she reiterated. The look in her eyes told Aladdin that there was no way out of this one.
"I… I saw her being chased so I thought I would give her a hand," he admitted.
"Aladdin, we've been over this," she chastised. "The guards still don't completely trust you. You have to let them do their jobs."
"I know, I know. It's hard to do when you've been there."
Jasmine let out a sigh as a small smile replaced her scowl. "Just be careful. The last thing I want is for you to get in more trouble with them."
Aladdin scratched the back of his head with a chuckle. "I'll try."
Jasmine turned to Sora. "So, what brings you to Agrabah?"
"I was hoping Donald and Goofy were here," Sora said with a twinge of sadness. "I lost them a while back."
"That's awful!" Jasmine sympathized. "Have you had any luck here?"
"No, but it's fine," Sora replied, the sadness fading away. "I'm sure I'll find them soon. Anyway," he trailed, taking note of Oswald's impatience, "I guess we should go soon."
"But didn't you just get here?" Jasmine exclaimed. "At least stay for dinner! I'll have my chefs prepare a feast!"
Sora was already sold. It had been quite some time since his last freshly cooked meal, largely due to spending a great deal of time on the Gummi Ship. His mouth watered as his mind concocted images of delicacies and entrees, even if he had no idea what would be served.
Before Sora could say a word, Oswald curtly interjected. "I'm sorry, princess, but we are on a mission. We can't afford to waste time."
"Awww, please!" Sora begged, practically on his knees.
"Hmmm…" Jasmine pondered for a moment, trying to come up with a way to appease Oswald. "Your mission is to find Donald and Goofy, right?"
"Uhm… yes…" Oswald hesitantly responded, almost as if there were more to it.
"How about this. If you have dinner at the palace, I send some of my best guards to search for them. Agrabah is a big place, after all. I doubt either I or Aladdin know about everything that happens here."
"See, Oswald? It'll be fine!" Sora said with a giant smile.
"I… uhhh…" Oswald doubted that Donald and Goofy could be there without their friends from Agrabah knowing. If they came here, they'd probably try to get help from someone they knew, he thought. They wouldn't just wander around…
Even thinking that, however, didn't seem to be enough to convince him leaving was the right thing to do. Oswald couldn't place it, but something was making him hesitate. Perhaps it was that smile, a smile that reminded him of an old friend.
"Fine…" Oswald relented, prompting a cheer from Sora. "But after this, we're leaving!"