Jafar lifted his cobra staff, firing a massive laser from the eyes.

Aris immediately equipped his strongest shield and lifted it to block.

So powerful... he thought. My arms are going numb from the impact.

"Hmph," Jafar scoffed as his laser died down. "Even for a false hero, you are quite...persistent. Yes, quite."

"Where is he getting the mana for this?" Lesty wondered aloud.

"I've battled Jafar before," said Sora. "He's a powerful wizard, so he's probably got a lot of it."

"But even some of the most powerful wizards in the world can't just throw around magic that powerful willy-nilly," said the unnamed mage from Motoyasu's party.

As if he had heard the hushed conversation between the heroes, Jafar gestured to the crowd of hypnotized bishops and nuns behind him. "I am a stellar mage, truly. But magic of this caliber would not be possible - even for one such as myself - without my devout followers." He turned to his army of disciples. "Offer your prayers to me, and grant me the mana and strength to purge all who stand against my dominion!"

The eyes of his cobra staff flashed yellow and red, forcing the bishops and nuns to carry out Jafar's bidding. Many of them knelt before their new god, praying to him as their mana was siphoned from their bodies and into Jafar's.

"Wait, Ness!" said Filo. "Don't you have that one PSI ability that lets you put people to sleep?"

"I couldn't do it on a crowd like that," Ness replied. "And even if I could, with the amount of mana they have, it'd be hard for me to get past their magical resistance with my PSI."

Motoyasu stepped forward. "I won't stand for this! Biscas T. Balmus was a good man, even if...a little egocentric. But you manipulated him into carrying out your own depraved desires and cast him aside like refuse the moment he failed! As a Cardinal Hero, it is my duty to eliminate any who attempt to bring evil upon this world!"

Filo sighed as Motoyasu continued his tirade. "That spear guy is really annoying."

"Agreed," Cloud muttered. "He probably doesn't mean any of the shit he's saying."

"Ready yourself, Jafar!" Motoyasu roared. "I shall slay you by the power vested in me as the Spear Hero! Today...the lives of Ren Amaki and Itsuki Kawasumi shall be rightfully avenged! Lightning Spear!"

Crackling electricity hurtled from the two-pronged head of Motoyasu's spear and blasted at Jafar, who didn't even bother moving. A barrier of dark magic blocked the projectile with ease.

Jafar chortled arrogantly.

"We won't be able to scratch him through that barrier," Raphtalia reasoned. "So...we need to get rid of the mana at the source."

"Copy!" Motoyasu readied his spear, and his party imbued it with wind and fire once more. "Air Burst Flare Lance!"

A whirlwind of fire burned from his spear and crashed against Jafar's barrier with a blast of smoke.

"That oughta do it."

Aris sighed. "No...No it didn't."

The dust and smoke cleared, revealing Jafar still standing. He cackled. "Disgraceful."

"You don't want disgraceful!?" Motoyasu shouted. "Then try this on for size! Meteor Thrust!"

He reared his spear and mimed throwing it like a javelin, sending a beam of blue plasma at Jafar. The barrier blocked it effortlessly.

"Not even that was strong enough!?" the Spear Hero exclaimed.

Jafar chortled, "This barrier is no mere shield. I believe you'll find that it is utterly impregnable."

Behind him, a few priests and nuns fell into the dirt, their mana and life energy exhausted completely.

"Well, if you are quite finished," said Jafar, "I believe it is my turn."

He flicked his wrist with his staff. A wave of fire crashed down onto the party, barely missing them.

"Hah!" Jafar laughed. "And all that took was a mere stroke of my wrist. Soon, you lot will be cowering in fear and soiling your pants at the wrath of my pinky finger."

"Another attack, and we're doubtlessly done for," Aris realized. "What now? Is...Is this it?"

"Now," Jafar crooned. "Let's try that again, shall we? Please kindly stay still so I can quash your pathetic lives and move on with my-"

"Hundred Swords!"

"Meteor Shot!"

A salvo of energy swords and a barrage of powerful arrows pelted Jafar's barrier. It shattered immediately.

"No...No!"

"Looks like our timing was perfect!" Itsuki mused as he and Ren slid into the crater alongside Aris, Motoyasu, and everyone else.

"Well, a few minutes ago wouldn't have been so bad either," Raphtalia quipped.

"Wait, did you guys...come back from the dead?" Motoyasu seemed confused.

Ren ignored him. "Hundred Swords!"

A hundred energy swords surrounded him and shot through the air, lighting up Jafar's dark barrier.

Jafar addressed the head bishop without bothering to turn around. "Bishop. Dedicate half of my followers' mana to preserving my barrier."

"W-With all due respect, your holiness," said the hypnotized head bishop, "doing so would delay our mana supply to you."

Jafar turned around and grabbed the head bishop by his collar. "Are you deaf, or just braindead? You heard me!"

The head bishop fell as Jafar let him go. He staggered to his feet. "Y-Yes...your holiness."

Itsuki fired off a salvo of energy arrows, only for a new barrier to block them. He clenched his jaw. "Stupid barrier."

"Wait, you never answered my question," Motoyasu suddenly put in. "How are you two alive? We all thought you were dead."

"We almost were," said Ren, "but by some miracle, we're alright. We thought you all would be fighting the Pope. Who's this kook?"

"The guy who killed him," Aris replied. "Jafar over there hypnotized the Pope into trying to kill us."

"Which meant he likely hypnotized him into doing the same to us," Itsuki reasoned.

"But what happened?" asked Motoyasu.

"Itsuki and I both had a bad gut feeling about the church. The Pope had started making fewer public appearances than usual, so we did a...private investigation," said Ren.

"We found a secret file in the church's archives," Itsuki added. "One we later learned was fake, and placed there intentionally to lure us into a trap. It pointed us in the direction of a location - where we fell for it hook, line, and sinker. We were saved by a group who called themselves the Shadows - and claimed they served the Queen. We owe them our lives."

Wow, Aris thought. The Queen has eyes and ears everywhere.

Itsuki turned to Aris. "You were framed. I understand that now. Back when my reward for overthrowing that despot up north was stolen...I thought it was you. But the church - actually, Jafar, I guess = stole it and used you as their scapegoat."

"We can apologize to him later, as much as I'd like to do it now," said Ren.

"Right." Itsuki readied his bow.

Ren charged up the crater slope with sword in hand, leaping over a wave of fire cast by Jafar. Sora followed behind with his Keyblade.

Itsuki fired off a Meteor Shot, piercing through Jafar's barriers and hitting him in the stomach. "Got him!"

"Meteor Slash!"

"Arcanum Hammer!"

Ren's sword gleamed with blue energy while Sora used a Formchange to shift his Keyblade into a massive hammer, both of which were blocked by Jafar's staff.

The glow in Jafar's staff dimmed. He clenched his teeth. "Too much mana..."

Ren and Sora landed back with the others. "The Queen will be here soon with backup," said the former.

"The Queen!?" Aris exclaimed.

No... he thought. How am I going to explain what happened to Melty!? Unless she already knows?

Itsuki addressed Jafar's followers. "Every one of you betrays the crown!" he shouted. "If you surrender now, I'm sure the Queen will have mercy upon you when she arrives!"

Murmurs stirred through Jafar's crowd of followers. The hypnosis had begun wearing off.

Jafar growled, raising his staff to bring them back to his beck and call. "Quiet, all of you whelps! Your leader and god is me! Not this pathetic Queen! You have no reason to turn to her side, for my conquest is inevitable! Join me on the winning side of this war!"

The bishops and nuns fell back under Jafar's spell.

"What's wrong with them!?" Motoyasu exclaimed. "Don't they realize we're the Heroes here?"

"Well, if Jafar could hypnotize the Pope into trying to murder all of us," said Itsuki, "I don't doubt he could somehow do the same to his followers. Either way, we have no choice but to teach them a lesson."

Ren nodded. "If they aren't going to listen to us, then we'll have to fight."

"Yep," Motoyasu agreed. "I'd hate to admit it, but this is gonna be our toughest battle yet, and we're going to need all the manpower we have." He turned to Aris. "Even yours. Especially yours."

Aris nodded. "I'll fight for the good of everyone. We all will."

"The four Cardinal Heroes, finally fighting side by side," Ren mused. "This is going to be interesting."

"Finally working together?" Jafar crooned, feigning endearment. "Oh, how quaint. But I suppose I shall have to destroy you either way. Your teamwork will be futile in the end."

Everyone ignored him.

Aris turned to everyone - his party, the other Heroes, and their parties. "Friends, family, comrades - lend me your ears. Today, we face our greatest challenge yet. We don't just fight for our lives today...we fight for this world and its freedom from Jafar. And we ourselves - we do not fight to keep ourselves from tyranny or oppression...but from annihilation. We fight for our right to live. And should we win this fateful battle, between us, today will be known as the day we said to Jafar, 'We will not go quietly into the night! We will not perish without a fight! We will live on! We will win!'"

Everyone cheered.

"Seriously?" Jafar chortled. "You truly think you have any chance merely because you are all together? How truly quaint. Even combined, you're only second rate. But when I am finished with you, no traces of your pathetic existences shall remain."

Jafar's followers all prayed in one voice, "We pray to our god - the source of all strength and infallible ruler of this world...decipher the laws of nature, bring about ultimate annihilation, and sweep over this world, leaving no resistance."

All around the edge of the crater, darkness seeped from Jafar's staff, filling the air. Magical walls appeared, forming the interior of a dark palace resembling the architecture of a desert people.

"And now, for me to harness my true power! My true form as the god of this world!"

Mana covered Jafar's body, making him grow to multiple times his size. His form changed, replacing his legs with a wisp of dark energy.

"No..." Sora cried. "He...He can't be...!"

When the mana disappeared, Jafar revealed his true form as an all-powerful genie.