As they arrived in front of the Keyhole, the first thing that Aladdin did was look around desperately. "Jasmine?" But sure enough, there was no sign of the princess. "Jasmine!" he futilely called out to her, hoping in vain that it wasn't true. That she wasn't taken away. "Oh no...Aladdin, I'm so sorry." Ruby apologized, lowering her head with the rest of her friends. They tried so hard to save her from Jafar, and now she was gone. As much as Sora regretted not being able to help Aladdin, the Keyhole still needed to be locked. Though they couldn't save Jasmine, they could at least prevent Agrabah from suffering from the Heartless anymore.

With his Keyblade aimed forward, a bluish-white beam of light shot straight out to the Keyhole. Nora watched it in awe as Ren seemed somewhat intrigued. The Keyhole glowed with a spiraling golden light then faded until a faint clicking noise resounded through the chamber. Another display of light came from the bottom most part of the keyhole shaped carving on the wall until reaching the top. As the light dimmed, the Keyhold was gone. Thus, Agrabah would not fall to the darkness.

The group didn't have time to bask in their objective being completed as suddenly, the cave began to shake. "Uh oh. Guys?" Nora said as she and the rest of her team looked up anxiously. "The cave is collapsing!" Weiss exclaimed as she and her team did the same. "Whoa, we'd better get out of here!" Goofy said worriedly as he raised his shield over his head beside an equally worried Donald.

"Carpet! Help!" Ruby shouted as loud as she could. In seconds, the magic carpet floated by them. "Genie! Can you-"

"Way ahead of you and free of charge!" Genie said with a snap of his fingers. To everyone's relief, the genie emblazoned carpet replicas poofed into existence. Everyone quickly clambered onto them as Sora, Donald, and Goofy had to force a distraught Aladdin onto Carpet.

"Jasmine!" Try as he might however, the princess to whom his heart belonged would not answer him. And they had no time to search, lest the Cave's warning prove true and they be trapped forever. They had to leave.

"We're right behind you!" Yang said as she and everyone else followed behind Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Aladdin. As they flew through the cavernous passageways with all due speed, the group was forced to avoid and defend themselves from the falling fragments of rock that attempted to hamper their progress. But as they flew along their way, Donald let out a shocked "WAK!" as he saw another obstacle attempting to ruin their attempt to leave with their lives. Where there was once pools of water, now there were jets of lava shooting up toward them! Worse still, the lava seemed to be filling the cave!

"Jeez! Where's the exit?!" Jaune asked, nearly panicking. "Just keep going, Jaune!" Pyrrha called out, using her Semblance to pull the larger, more solid treasures as a way to intercept the crumbling rocks as everyone else did their part to get them out alive. Zwei and Abu were particularly worried by the cave's collapse with Zwei whimpering worriedly in Ruby's backpack, and Abu freaking out as he clung to Aladdin's vest. Ruby gently whispered reassuring things to Zwei as she tried to focus on getting them out alive, though Abu was downright inconsolable by comparison. The geysers of flame shooting up from the ground and the piles of gold certainly weren't helping.

Fortunately, before too long, they found it. "There it is!" Sora called out, pointing the the tiger fang and uvula adorned staircase. By the skin of their teeth, the group made it out of the Cave of Wonders, flying out through the open tiger head, which gave a final roar before collapsing into a mound of sand, with two halves of what looked to be a golden scarab slipping out from what used to be the cave's eyes. It was a close call, but they managed to escape the Cave of Wonders. They could only hope that Genie's words were true and that Jafar wouldn't be getting out of there any time soon.

When they got back to Agrabah, the first place the party stopped was at Aladdin's house. Things had thankfully quieted down, though it would likely be a long time before Agrabah got back to some semblance of normalcy after what Jafar allowed to happen to it.

"So, Jasmine's no longer in Agrabah..." Aladdin said sadly after a very...delicately approached explanation. "Sora, let's go find her!" Aladdin said, voice full of determination. If only it were that easy. As much as Sora wanted to say yes..."Sorry, I can't take you with me." he knew he couldn't. "Wh-Why not?" Aladdin asked, shaken by Sora's denial. "I sure wish we could..." Goofy said sympathetically. "But we can't." Donald reminded, though deep down he wanted to help too. Goofy nodded apologetically. "If we take him to another world, we would be..." "Muh...mudd-" "Meddling!" Donald berated Goofy. How could he not remember that single word?

"Wait, so we can't bring people from other worlds with us?" Ren whispered to his friends and teammates. "But how come you guys are going with them to other worlds?" Nora inquired shortly after. That didn't seem very fair in her eyes. "It's...complicated." Jaune said. "We'll explain more about it when we leave, Nora." Ruby whispered. Hopefully Nora would be able to follow everything.

Regardless, Sora wanted to give Aladdin a vestige of hope before they left. "Aladdin...We'll find Jasmine. I promise." As much as Aladdin wanted to go with them, he understood that he couldn't. But at least he could rely on them. "Well, I guess you have your reasons." he said, choosing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Nobody was really happy about it of course, but it had to be done.

"Uh, earth to Al. Hello?" Genie suddenly piped up with a burst of optimistic cheer that belied the somber atmosphere. "You still have one wish left!" That reminder was enough to make Aladdin slowly perk up in realization. Of course! He didn't make his final wish yet! "Look, just say the word. Ask me to find Jasmine for you."

With how powerful Genie was, he'd certainly be able to bring Jasmine back in no-time, but...amidst his suggestion, Genie's smile was marred by a sad look in his eyes. "But Genie... what about your freedom?" Aladdin asked. He promised Genie to free him with his final wish.

"Hey, it's only an eternity of servitude." Genie responded, his dread at the idea plain to see in his eyes as he weakly attempted to laugh it off. Genie did banish it however, as despite wanting to be free, he cared about the happiness of the first master he had ever considered a friend in...he wasn't sure how many millennia. "The feelings you have towards Jasmine? That's love. It's special. It shouldn't come before anybody or anything else."

Aladdin took a moment to contemplate the offer he was made. And after that moment passed, he took the lamp and sighed. "Alright. Here's my last wish. I... I wish..." he said, finally making his decision. Genie up an imaginary sleeve with his ever jovial smile, preparing to grant that final wish to find Jasmine. "...for your freedom, Genie."

"Al!" Genie's eyes shot open and his jaw dropped as he gasped out his master's name in disbelief. Before he could wonder if he misheard, the lamp floated out of Aladdin's hands, a surge of magic being released from the spout in the form of a small swirling pink whirlwind moving around Genie's tail. Everyone else watched in silent awe as more flashes of light flew around Genie, focusing around his wrists. His body jerked as the tail below his sash turned into a pair of legs with red pointed shoes. A great, liberating shout emerged from Genie as both of his wristbands dissolved into falling sparkles, followed by the lamp lamp ceasing its glow as it fell to the ground with a clattering.

Genie was finally free.

Genie could barely believe what was happening. But sure enough, his former master's next words affirmed it. He truly was free. "A deal's a deal, Genie. Now, you can go wherever you want. You're your own master." Aladdin said with a smile forming on his face. While he did want to save Jasmine more than anything, he knew it was out of his hands. So he chose to trust Sora and his friends, and keep his promise to Genie. And yet, Still...maybe Genie would actually do it for him. "But...if you can, it'd be great if you could go along with them and help Sora find Jasmine." His request, while understandable did worry Sora, Ruby, and the others as they looked at one another. Was Genie allowed to do that? Or would that still count as meddling. Genie certainly had some incredible magic, but still, they were already risking the stability of the world order by traveling to other worlds.

Regardless, Genie seemed to make his decision as he turned away from Aladdin, crossing his arms. "Hmm. Sorry, Al. I'm done taking orders from others." Aladdin went silent, feeling sad about Genie's refusal, but he understood. He deserved to make his own choices. "Buuuut, a favor? Now that's entirely different." he addended, turning with a wide grin. "I guess I could give that a try. After all, we're pals. Right Al?" Genie said, cheerfully slinging his arm around Aladdin's shoulder. "Genie..." Aladdin couldn't believe it. Genie actually was going to go help find Jasmine. Not out of obligation...but out of friendship. "Just leave it to me!" Genie assured him. And just like that, it was as if Aladdin's worry never existed. Instead, there was a smile that Sora, Donald, Goofy, Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren all shared together. They had all become friends in the short time they'd known one another, but there was and would only ever be one Genie.

"I do kinda wish I could've gotten a mountain of pancakes though."

"Nora..."

"Just kidding, Ren!"

But in that darkness shrouded world, Maleficent and the rest of her cohorts stood before the pedestal displaying the image of Sora and everyone in his group. was watched by her, Cinder, Hades and Riku, the middle of the three making a huffing laugh. "That smarmy vizier could have had 'em," he said before smirking to Riku and spoke again as if hinting something. "If somebody had stuck around to give him a hand."

"Hey, I did my part. I brought the princess, didn't I?" Riku countered fire headed god with an annoyed frown. He didn't care about whether these people bit the dust so long as he could get what he needed from them.

"Jafar was beyond help, consumed by his own hatred," Maleficent said with her back to the group. "One should beware of letting it burn too fiercely." Even before she heard him talk about setting out on his own, Maleficent knew a man like Jafar would eventually meet his end in such a poetic way. A selfish person who connived their way to higher authority and power without thinking ahead was bound fail. She turned to the others with her as she spoke, the accusation toward all of them irritating Cinder, though she kept it hidden behind a mask of neutrality.

Hades frowned at her and seemed offended when replying, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Lighten up. I'm as cool as they come, okay?" His statement earned a skeptical look from Cinder who kept quiet as she continued to listen. "By the way, kid, have we got something special for you."

Unsure what he meant, Riku looked from Hades in confusion then to Maleficent. The specifics were given to him as Maleficent turned and said, "We had a deal, yes? You help us and we grant you your wish..."

The display on the pedestal changed. It showed somebody laying on their back but not directly on the ground itself, floating. Somebody dear to Riku, "Kairi!"

Maleficent smiled at Riku's cry of his dear friend's name before gesturing behind Riku with a nod of her head. "Go to her. Your vessel is waiting."

For once, Cinder showed interest in the conversation. The instant that Maleficent revealed Kairi, she found herself gauging Riku's reaction. He had been the only person that she considered worthwhile among this council of fools. But she kept her thoughts to herself for now. As if on cue, the captain of said vessel made himself known. Clad in black shoes, a pair of white leggings under a pair of wine colored pantaloons, a bright red tailcoat with yellow accents, a white cravat, and a wine colored hat with a white feather, was Captain Hook. Named after his hand-deprived left wrist, which was now occupied by a sharp, metal hook. "Just remember, this is no pleasure cruise. It won't be a pleasant voyage." the long black haired, pointy black mustached captain said with a somewhat thick r rolling accent one might expect from an over-the-top nobleman. Especially with the way he smirked and stroked his mustache.

While Maleficent seemed to have come through for him, Riku wasn't foolish enough not to ask the other burning question in his mind. "Why are you doing all this for me? What's the catch?" Maleficent turned at the sound of Riku's questioning of her intentions. "Catch? What's the catch?" she asked as she approached the silver haired boy. "Silly boy. You're like a son to me. I only want you to be happy." she said in a sickeningly sweet voice as she reached forward and stroked Riku's left cheek. A gesture which made him slap her hand away and step back. A son? Happy? With the questionable things she asked him to do? "I seriously doubt that." His response drew a smirk to Cinder's face. He was much sharper than his friend. "Believe what you will. But lest we forget, I kept my end of the bargain." Maleficent reminded. As much as Riku didn't trust her, Maleficent did help him find Kairi. And finding her was more important than anything else, so he turned and walked out of the room...but not before giving a particularly suspicious look toward Cinder.

As Riku and Captain Hook left, Hades stood beside Maleficent and watched them leave. "You're paying so much attention to that boy. What are you trying to make the kid do?" he said before turning his eyes to his corners and speaking more suspiciously with a sly grin. "I hope you're not hiding anything from us."

Maleficent gave no reply or her attention. She walked off, making Hades scoff. "Trying to ignore me, huh? Oh well. I guess it works both ways." he said as he left with a

As she spent time observing these people controlling the Heartless, Cinder was finding out more and more about them. Each had their own agenda instead of sharing common interest as a team. Then again, she was the same. Once she exited the room, she turned to her side. "Something troubling you Emerald?"

The one she spoke to was a woman younger than her with medium brown skin, dark red eyes light mint-green hair reaching her neck with a straight fringe, bangs and two locks on each side of her back. She wore white pants and brown chaps ending at her calves with with an overlong belt, wrapped twice. She had her back to the wall and looked to the ground. "Well," the young woman said with a frank tone. "These people don't seem very trustworthy. All of them are so selfish and give me the creeps. I don't think we should-"

"Don't think," Cinder interrupted with a warning tone. "Obey."

That sharp tone was more than enough to silence Emerald. "Yes Ma'am." she responded, much more demurely.

A smile came over Cinder's face as she strutted to Emerald and framed lay her right hand on her subordinate's cheek. "I know Maleficent is using them all for whatever she has planned. She hasn't fooled me. She's just a useful asset for now. You, however, have always been my biggest supporter. Out of all the people who could have survived Remnant's destruction, I'm delighted you were one of them. You're the only one I know I can fully depend on. Mercury has his uses, but you have proven far more useful. I need to you to keep in line and do exactly as I say. Understand?"

Emerald grinned, feeling relaxed and tersely nodded. Whatever Maleficent was planning, it wouldn't matter when the time came. For now, all they had to do was wait.