28. New Friends and False Saviors
A fortress shaped like a giant outstretched hand, its finger-towers reaching up into the sky, glimmered with a thousand windows reminiscent of staring eyes. It was surrounded by a forest adorned with orchids a million strong in various colors.
"Well, what do you suppose this is?" Mozenrath looked curiously at the strange castle.
"It almost seems to have been destined for you," the Huntsman observed. "What with it being a hand."
"So it does," Mozenrath agreed. "And I think you know what that means." He extended a hand toward the castle's gate.
The entryway exploded in a conflagration of blue energy. Mozenrath, the Huntsman, and Yzma strode confidently into the foyer, a grand, dark, arched room. "Knock, knock," Mozenrath announced. "You have company."
No one answered. No one could. The hall was completely empty.
"I SAID," Mozenrath repeated in a growl, "you have COMPANY."
There was still no response but a slight echo of Mozenrath's own voice bouncing off the walls.
"Maybe no one's home," Yzma said with a shrug.
"How can NO ONE BE HOME in a castle this size?" Mozenrath snapped.
"Search it," the Huntsman commanded, drawing his weapon. "We'll flush out anyone remaining here."
Mozenrath gestured to a doorway. "Huntsman, you take that door. Yzma, you take – "
"Splitting up?" Yzma interrupted. "REALLY? That's the WORST possible move, and you know it! That sets us up for some ridiculously overpowered monster to pick us off one by one! For all we know, this castle is a giant trap set up to lure us in and get us to split up inside! For all we know, this castle IS the monster, and it already ate us!"
"You think there's a monster that none of the three of us can handle alone," Mozenrath reiterated, deadpan.
Yzma put her hands on her hips. "Are you really going to risk it?"
Mozenrath thought it over. "We wouldn't have been in any real danger," he mused, "but I suppose we could all use the company. We search together."
"Company," Yzma repeated. "Of course. That's why."
Mozenrath shot her a glare that warned her to stop talking before she made any more insinuations that Mozenrath was, in fact, starting to worry about the off chance that the castle's owner had left a thirdac running around.
The rest of the castle seemed just as deserted as the entryway. It was also incredibly lavish. Silk drapes, ornaments of precious metals, instruments of Dark magic, crystals of all shapes and sizes, and plush furniture adorned every room. Whoever had left the castle behind had a definite preference for the colors red, black, and purple. Suits of armor vaguely shaped like bipedal beetles were lined up against the walls of the hallways, and Mozenrath could pick up the faintest hint of magic radiating off of them, but they remained still, and none of the three could figure out their significance.
"Whoever lives here," Yzma remarked, "I like their style! Perhaps, if they're not coming back, we could take it over."
"This castle does have a strangely homey feel to it," Mozenrath added. "You don't think the owner was a kindred spirit to us, do you?"
The Huntsman had walked ahead into the next room. "I believe this may be a clue toward your answer," he observed, looking at something on the wall.
Yzma and Mozenrath followed to find the Huntsman staring at an enormous oil portrait that stretched across the wall from ceiling to floor, framed in elegantly wrought coral. The subject of the portrait was a woman dressed in purple, her hair braided up into a complex coiffure; most striking of all was her heterochromia, with one eye red as her hair and the other green as emerald.
"The witch from the story in the library," Mozenrath realized. "This must be her fortress. I have to say I'm already impressed."
"Yes, yes," Yzma waved off, "but where IS she? Why did the library take US here when SHE isn't? Let alone literally anyone else!"
As if to answer the question, there was a great loud sound – the combination of booming voices and heavy footfalls – emanating from the direction of the entryway. "We're not alone," Mozenrath stated with a smirk. He put up a hand, forming a small portal that allowed himself, Yzma, and the Huntsman to look upon the foyer from a bird's-eye view without its new intruders ever noticing.
The newcomers formed a trio, all wearing shining armor and carrying swords and shields, with bows and arrows slung across their backs. One was thick with muscles. One was short and slight, with red hair. And one was tall and lean, looking as if you could snap his arm in two simply by seizing it, though given the bearing with which he carried himself, this was obviously not the case.
"Do you really think he's here?" the redhead asked.
"He hasn't been anywhere else we've looked," the thin one pointed out.
"Someone broke down the door," the muscular one observed. "You don't suppose it was him?"
"They don't look very magical," Mozenrath whispered to his own companions. "I don't think an ambush should be too hard."
"We'll make short work of this," the Huntsman agreed in a whisper.
"Say when," Yzma replied, drawing her atlatl.
"Ladies first," Mozenrath replied. "Also, 'when.'"
A dart came sailing down from the ceiling, causing the three armed men to scatter as it planted harmlessly into the ground. Yzma gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, making growls of frustration.
The next thing to drop from the ceiling wasn't so harmless. The Huntsman himself, staff blazing, plummeted, striking out at the muscular man. The warrior's sword was raised to block the staff; as the Huntsman landed on his feet, his weapon clashed repeatedly with the blade of his opponent. Yzma came dropping next, pinning the redhead to the ground and using him to cushion her fall. She aimed a punch to his face; he rolled, shaking her off, and dealt her a blow with his shield that sent her staggering. Meanwhile, the thin warrior rushed the Huntsman from behind, forcing the Huntsman to abandon his duel and sidestep a few paces to avoid being impaled.
Watching from above, waiting to make his next move, Mozenrath realized quickly that this trio was made up of no ordinary warriors. They were a match for the Huntsman, and utterly besting Yzma, who was getting thrown about the field and scurrying to avoid chopping blades. However, the one thing all three seemed to lack was any sort of magic. Mozenrath's eyes flitted about the room, seeking out whatever tools the witch who owned the hand-shaped fortress had left behind.
A host of spears then came raining down from above, luminously blue, circling the trio of warriors and fencing them in, forcing them back-to-back-to-back. They tried to strike out at the levitating, spinning spears, but the weapons blazed with a thick magical energy that repelled their blades and shields. Mozenrath chose that moment to reposition the portal so that he could step out onto stable floor rather than dropping from the ceiling. The warriors could see that his right hand was glowing the same shade of blue that clothed the spears. "Before you ask," he said tauntingly, "yes, I'm the one making the spears levitate. But no, I'm not the one making them repel your swords. THAT was conveniently there beforehand." He then turned to the Huntsman; "You brought healing potions?"
The Huntsman produced one from a pocket; Mozenrath flicked it at the rather battered Yzma, who gulped it down thirstily.
"Who ARE you?" the muscular warrior demanded. "Speak, villains!"
"I am Mozenrath," Mozenrath introduced. "Soon to be lord of Fantastica. These are my companions, Yzma and the Huntsman. And you would be?"
"Who we are isn't your business!" the thin warrior snapped.
"Well, that's rude," Mozenrath scoffed. "After I was polite enough to tell you our names and what we're doing here. And apparently WE'RE the villains in this scenario?"
"I am Hysbald," the redhead said at last. "My companions are Hykrion – " With his head, he indicated the muscular warrior. "And Hydorn." His head tilted toward the thin warrior. "We were former companions of the Savior, Bastian Balthazar Bux. He disappeared after the great Battle of the Ivory Tower, and we seek him. We thought he might have returned here, to the site of one of his great victories, where he acquired his traveling companion Xayide."
"Xayide," Mozenrath repeated; the name rolled off the tongue pleasantly. "That would be the witch who lives here?"
"Lived," Hykrion corrected. "Xayide is now dead, though no one can explain exactly how."
"Tell me more about this Xayide," Mozenrath demanded. "You say she was a companion to the savior."
"We once thought she was an evil witch," Hydorn began.
"Actually," Hysbald admitted, "there were those who believed she never stopped being evil, but we have no proof one way or the other."
"When the Savior began his journey through Fantastica to meet the Childlike Empress," Hykrion continued, "he came across this fortress, Horok. It was here that Xayide took us prisoner, and he launched an invasion upon the castle to save us. Xayide admitted her defeat and threw herself at the Savior's feet, begging his mercy and swearing her loyalty to him. Then she joined us on our quest."
"She attempted to help crown our Savior the new emperor of Fantastica," Hydorn spat. "Something YOU can never be! Only Bastian was meant to be such a thing!"
Mozenrath was reminded of the narration the great crystal in the Enchancian library had provided for him in regards to the coronation, and he began to put two and two together. "You know," he remarked, "I'm starting to think maybe we should arrange a little friendly reunion between you and Xayide."
"Don't you dare lay a finger on her!" Hykrion hissed.
"I won't," Mozenrath promised, smirking. "If anything, it'll be a spear." He pulled a single spear out of the circling ring, holding it tightly in his right hand. He then leaned it against the wall, picking out an appropriate spot to conduct his spell.
"You're sure about this?" Yzma asked him, fixing him with a pointed glare.
"Mostly," Mozenrath told her. "But more importantly, it's worth a shot, isn't it?"
The Huntsman tightened his grip on his weapon just in case.
Mozenrath drew his right hand in an upward direction, and a form rose from a circle of blue on the floor, rising to human height. As it solidified, it took the form of the woman from the upstairs portrait. She blinked her eyes open; the red and green irises glowed even more brightly, like gems beneath sunlight, in person. Surprised, she extended her hands to look at them, then twirled a slow circle, looking down at her body.
"I'm alive…" she muttered.
"Just so you know, you have me to thank for that," Mozenrath told the woman. "Xayide, if I'm not mistaken?"
Xayide completed her twirl, halting to look Mozenrath directly in the eye with her piercing gaze. "You're not mistaken at all," she stated. "And who are you to bring me back from the world of the dead?"
"The next prospective emperor of Fantastica," Mozenrath told her. "Though you can address me as 'Mozenrath.' I'm planning to take this whole world by storm, and I'm going to do it with my friends Yzma and the Huntsman here at my side. However, these three trespassers who thought they could just waltz in and do whatever they liked in your fortress once you were dead seem to have a problem with me doing that."
"…A new emperor?" Xayide's eyes sparkled. "This is a surprising development." She tilted her head, examining Mozenrath. "You aren't a Fantastican," she noted. "No Fantastican would propose such an act against the Childlike Empress. However…" She tilted her head the other direction; it was a miracle that her hair stayed perfectly coiffed in place. "You aren't human, either."
"What do you mean, I'm not HUMAN?" Mozenrath growled.
"None of you are," Xayide stated. "I had thought there were only two sorts: Fantasticans and humans. You…are something else."
"We are purely human," the Huntsman snarled, "magical or otherwise, and I won't stand for any suggestion that we are anything lesser."
Xayide very nearly told the Huntsman that she was hardly one to classify whatever he was as something 'lesser' based on her observation alone, but she could tell from the tone of his voice and the fire in his eyes that such talk might get her thrown right back where she came from in the land of the dead. She had accepted her fate at long last, but the idea of a new emperor, someone to walk Bastian's trail and pick up where he left off, gave her a renewed sense of being. "You won't be able to do it alone, you know," she said sweetly. "Not just the three of you. You'll need followers. You'll need a silver tongue to convince Fantastica that you are the new Saviors."
"Gee, I wonder where we could find a magical campaign manager who knows the lay of the land to guide us along?" Mozenrath teased.
"Don't listen to him, Xayide!" Hysbald pleaded. "Remember Bastian! Remember your friends! Remember US!"
"You have strong enough magic to defeat him!" Hydorn urged. "Slay him, and free us!"
Xayide turned to the three captives with an even more sickeningly sweet smile upon her face. "Friends," she repeated. "Now that Bastian is gone forever, there is no more point in pretending."
There came the sound of an army of metal footsteps marching in unison. A battalion of the buglike suits of armor Mozenrath, the Huntsman, and Yzma had seen scattered throughout the fortress came striding into the room. They easily plucked Mozenrath's spears away from the warriors…only to surround the three men themselves, removing their weapons and subduing them, gripping them tightly.
"All this time?" Hysbald moaned. "It was a charade?"
Xayide nodded. "I'll give you time to figure it out in the dungeons."
The armor bore Hykrion, Hysbald, and Hydorn away, out of sight and out of mind.
A few suits lingered behind, and Mozenrath ran a finger down the side of one of them. "Interesting constructs," he muttered. "I take it they're completely empty."
"They are powered by my will," Xayide told Mozenrath. "They do as I wish. What power do you bear that allowed you to best Hykrion, Hysbald, and Hydorn?"
Mozenrath raised his right hand. "This." With a flick of the wrist, he split the suit of armor into pieces, causing it to collapse. "Just a little something to remember in case you get in the mood to trick me the same way you tricked them. But that won't be a problem, will it? Because you and I both know you want someone to take the throne of Fantastica. You practically want to take it yourself. You help me, and you get what you want. Fairly simple concept, don't you think?"
"It sounds almost too good to be true," Xayide admitted. "But I will go with you. I wish to see where your journey ends. Perhaps you will succeed where Bastian Balthazar Bux failed. After all, I can tell you have a stronger will than he."
"You mentioned followers," Yzma brought up. "Where exactly are we supposed to find them?"
"You have to know where to look." Xayide grinned, her eyes twinkling. "And I do. Follow me."
Outside the fortress, a great covered litter, four times the size of an ordinary palanquin, carved of coral was borne by a host of the black suits of armor. Several more empty suits fell in step behind, ready to obey their mistress' whims. "If you trust me," Xayide urged, "step aboard."
"We don't yet trust you," the Huntsman growled. "But we are willing to accept your aid until such time comes as we can."
He, Mozenrath, Yzma, and Xayide climbed into the litter, which was laden with cushions on the inside. They settled back for a comfortable ride as Xayide announced, "The first stop on our journey is the Silver City of Amarganth. Or, I should say, the Formerly Silver City of Amarganth."
The armor took off at a quick clip, and the reserve troops followed close behind.
...
For the trip to Agrabah, Cid Highwind had arranged a rather vast Gummi ship that could seat all of the passengers he was taking. However, there was only one restroom aboard, and this soon led to trouble when Jaune became almost immediately airsick upon launch. Jaune had rushed to cling to the toilet, emptying out his stomach. But as the ship climbed higher and higher, leaving Radiant Garden behind to hurtle through the multicolors of interspace, it soon became apparent that Yuffie Kisaragi was indeed prone to airsickness as well, and she threw open the door to the small toilet room violently with a cry of "Move it!"
"Can't move it," Jaune moaned, still clinging to the bowl. "Too sick."
"Yeah, well, I need that WAY more than you right now!" Yuffie grabbed Jaune by the shoulders and wrestled him out of the room.
"HEY!" Jaune stumbled backward as Yuffie took his place, heaving her previous meal into the bowl. Spying Nora approaching, he called out, "Nora! She threw me out, and I NEED to use that room! You're gonna stand up for me, right?"
"Nope," Nora told him with a dismissive shake of the head. "I actually came here to get you out of the way." She shoved Jaune lightly, indicating he should find somewhere else to be sick.
"WHAT?" Jaune was stunned. "WHY?"
"Because Yuffie's sick, that's why!" Nora barked.
Jaune shuffled back to his seat, clamping his lips shut so that no fluids escaped him and ended up in an inappropriate place.
"Yuffie?" Nora crouched outside the restroom. "You okay in there?"
"Yeah," Yuffie called back. "I'm fine. I'm just – " She was interrupted by another stomach upset.
"I'm right here for ya if you need me, okay?" Nora told her.
Yuffie pushed the door open just enough to see Nora through the crack of it. "Thanks," she said gratefully.
Back at his seat, Jaune was focusing on his churning stomach, shutting his eyes and wallowing in misery. A sudden voice jarred him; "Jaune? Are you okay?"
Jaune looked up to see Kairi regarding him with some concern. "No," he moaned. "I'm trying not to throw – " He was overtaken by a wave of nausea, and clamped his hand over his mouth. After a moment of panic, he removed it long enough to say, "You should probably leave if you don't wanna get thrown up on."
Instead of doing as Jaune suggested, Kairi sat right down next to him, reaching over to gently rub her hand over the back of his shoulder that was exposed by his armor. "Does this feel better or worse?" she asked softly.
"Better," Jaune replied, his own voice quiet.
"Just breathe slowly," Kairi advised him. "Count to three while you breathe in and out. That'll help."
It took a few counts of three before Jaune noticed that his nausea was rolling out ever so slightly. "Thanks," he said somewhat sheepishly.
"It's okay," Kairi assured him. "I used to get sick on long boat rides before I got used to them at the Islands. It happens to everybody sometime or another."
She was too kind, Jaune thought. He appreciated her greatly, and he found himself wanting to be in her company more and more. At the beginning, he'd been sure he would fall for her, but reality ensued; every time he felt that he'd drawn closer to Kairi, Pyrrha's eyes would suddenly surface in his mind's eye, or her long red ponytail would swing by in a sudden flash of memory. He couldn't give his heart away. Though, he supposed, he'd apparently put his stomach in Kairi's hands on this particular venture. He wanted to repay her in kind for comforting him. He wanted to repay her for much of how she'd treated him, and how she'd assisted him in battle after battle on Remnant.
Cid's eyes flicked back and forth between the view out the front window of the incoming obstacles he had to steer around and down at the monitors on the dashboard. It wasn't long before he felt a looming presence behind him; someone was peering over his shoulder. "Y'know how goddamn creepy it is when ya do that?" he snapped without even looking.
"She's even more beautiful than Sora's ship," Stork said by way of reply.
"Who, the ship?" Cid nearly laughed. "Made her myself. Put a lot of sweat into these gears."
"You…BUILT…this?" Stork was awed. "Atmos could use more engineers like you."
"Heh…maybe sometime I'll pay 'em a visit and show 'em a thing or two about how to put together an airship," Cid mused.
"So is this how things are all the time for you?" Stork asked. "This crazy, I mean. With all of them."
"Yeah. Pretty much," Cid confirmed. He took a slight moment to look back over his shoulder before turning his focus back to the path ahead. It was enough to take it all in: Nora talking to Yuffie through the restroom door. Kairi comforting Jaune. Luna and Ren silently looking out the windows at the colors and the interstellar formations that flew by. Xander, Madison, Chip, Ruby, and Papyrus starting up a game of I Spy with the limited objects on board the ship ("Something…red!" "IS IT RUBY'S CAPE?" "Nope." "IS IT MY CAPE?" "…Yes."). Cadance trying to urge Nick to join in the fun, then eventually giving up and just joining the game on her own when Nick refused. "Bet you never have to put up with this."
"Oh, you'd be surprised," Stork sighed. "Back home, I'm a pilot for what must be THE most aggravating crew in the entire Atmos. But…they're also the best crew in the entire Atmos."
"You care about them a lot, don't'cha?"
"Yeah. Lemme guess: you know because…"
"'Cause I care about them," Cid confirmed, giving a nod back to the passengers of his ship. "And most of all the Committee. I'll tell ya somethin' if ya promise not to repeat it."
"My lips are sealed," Stork vowed.
"Sometimes…" Cid admitted, "I do feel kinda like their dad. Like they're all my kids. Yuffie, Aerith, and Leon. I get worried for 'em when shit happens. And now they made me adopt Lea, Ienzo, Aeleus, Dilan, and Even, and that just went and made me worry about THEM. Ridiculous, ain't it? Even's as old as I am, and here I am tryin' not to let it show that I'm freakin' out 'cause he up and got himself on the wrong side of Maleficent. And I'm scared to death that the same thing's gonna happen to one of the others. But ya can't let fear run ya, y'know?"
"Actually, you can," Stork replied. "You just have to learn how to live with it. It can make you more careful. Better prepared to deal with things."
"Hadn't thought of it that way," Cid admitted, "but I don't think I'm gonna let it get to me, all the same. For their sake. What about you? You get nervous about yours?"
"I only know for sure that two of them are alive," Stork admitted. "Of the Storm Hawks, anyway. And I'm currently plagued by continual visions of how those two will meet their terrible and grisly end without me there to help them. But now I have Sora, Ruby, and Papyrus to look after, and they're probably even WORSE without me. They need me, and…I…well, I need them. They pulled me back from the edge." He gave a short, nervous laugh. "Literally."
"They take people like us for granted," Cid huffed.
"Yeah," Stork agreed.
"But it's worth it."
Stork smiled. "Yeah."
After a while, Stork pointed out, "You didn't mention Merlin."
"That's because he can go fuck off," Cid replied. Stork waited until Cid sighed and admitted, "Okay, things wouldn't be the same without that old loon around, either. But don't you go tellin' HIM that!"
"Lips still sealed," Stork vowed.
Nick finally decided he was in the mood to socialize, but as ridiculous as the game of I Spy was getting, he still didn't want to join in. Instead, he made his way to Ren and Luna. "Looks pretty unreal, doesn't it?" he greeted.
Ren nodded. "I saw a bit of this on the trip to Radiant Garden. But it's still amazing."
"Kinda reminds me of when I used to travel," Nick recalled. "I saw a lot of different places on the road. Nothing like this, though."
"You traveled around your world?" Ren asked. "Why?"
"Well, I didn't think I had anyone," Nick told him. "No friends, no parents. So it just became me, my bike, and the open road. That all changed when I pulled into Briarwood. I found friends there, and my real parents, too. It ended up not being the place I wanted to stay, but it did turn into the place I always wanted to come back to. I still ride, but this time, Mom and Dad come with me. And no matter how far we go, we always come back to Briarwood."
"You're lucky," Ren told him.
"Why?" Nick asked.
"Because…" It took Ren a moment to find the words. "Because you're lucky enough to get to travel with your parents."
"Your parents are homebodies?" Nick guessed.
"My parents are…gone," Ren answered.
"Oh," Nick said somberly. "Sorry, man."
"As am I," Luna piped in.
"It's okay," Ren assured Nick and Luna. "I miss them, and I wish they were still around. But at least I have some good friends, too. They're like my family now."
"Friendship is one of the most potent magics of all," Luna confirmed. "I have witnessed this firsthand. I think we are all very lucky that we can take this journey together and use the time to make new friends."
"Real lucky," Nick agreed.
Ren just gave a nod and a sincere smile. Then the three went back to gazing out the windows as the Gummi ship continued on.
...
Though as the ragtag band of heroes made their way to the Seven Deserts, they were unaware that the enemy had long beaten them to that world.
A Corridor of Darkness emptied out two tall figures in the atrium of the Citadel of the Black Sands. "Yeesh," Hades remarked, looking around. "What, was this guy tryin' to go for some sorta neo-Underworld color scheme? Because it isn't quiiiiiiite there. Missing a bit of that homey morbid flavor, ya dig?"
"A lackluster abode for a pathetic excuse for a sorcerer," Jafar spat. "Still, it is the closest territory we have in possession to Agrabah, and that is its real value. Not to mention the army it comes outfitted with."
"You have any idea HOW uncomfortable I am working with zombies?" Hades iterated. "They're supposed to be DEAD. They're supposed to be in MY realm. End of story. But, fine, whatever, okay, you and Malef seem to think they're gonna be useful, so I won't drag them down where they belong THIS time…"
"The Mamluks will provide an excellent line of defense," Jafar pointed out. "Not to mention the entire city is outfitted with crystals that alert its residents to the presence of magic. I would almost call the idea clever if it weren't Mozenrath. And speaking of which, this will be the perfect place to begin our search."
Hades and Jafar had been dispatched to the Black Sands to seek a method of transmuting the captive Keyblades into pure magic that Maleficent could absorb. The Seven Deserts, as all of Maleficent's cohorts either knew or were informed, were nearly bursting with magic of all flavors. If a magical conundrum existed, it was highly likely that a solution to it could be found in the Seven Deserts.
"You don't really think the kid had the answer, do ya?" Hades asked as he and Jafar moved down the hall, looking for anything that could be of use. They opened one door into a room that featured a round table with a map of the Seven Deserts carved into it; the pair began plucking books off shelves here. "I mean, he would've used it if he had it, right?"
"I highly doubt Mozenrath knew how to absorb the magic of Keyblades," Jafar answered, flipping through a tome. "However, I would not be surprised if he were sitting on the answer without even being aware of it."
A third voice pierced the conversation: "A very good observation. Perhaps I can be of some assistance?"
It took Jafar and Hades some time to locate the voice; they eventually located a book with a face on it lying near the map table. "What the Tartarus?" Hades asked as he picked the book up by one cover, letting the pages fan out to see that here and there, some were ripped.
"I will kindly ask you to put me down," the book said gruffly. "Unless you DON'T want to know how to convert Keyblades into magical energy."
"Whoa, dial back the sass a couple notches, will ya?" Hades set the book down. "So whaddaya know that we don't?"
"The knowledge you seek used to be contained within my pages," the book told Hades. "As did a number of other complex spells. However, my pages have been plundered, and many torn out. I do, however, remember the spell you need. And I will provide it for you on the terms that you do something for me."
"No promises," Hades replied, "but whaddaya thinkin'?"
"Free me," the book asked. "Give me back my human body. Release me from the cover of this book, and I shall help you."
"Leave the book alone," Jafar said sharply. "Or better yet, burn it."
"What, you know this guy?" Hades asked.
"The sorcerer Khartoum," Jafar spat. "He is nothing but a liar and a deceiver. No sooner would we set him free than he would find a way to use it to his advantage, and against ours. He is no doubt lying about his knowledge in order to tempt you."
"You have no proof that I am lying," Khartoum said smugly. "There is only one way to find out."
"Sorry, babe." Hades lit up his thumb as one would a match. "But if Jaffie says you gotta burn, then burn, baby, burn."
"Then burn me," Khartoum spat. "It would be preferable to suffering life as the cover of this wretched book."
Hades' lit thumb was inches away from the tome's cover before Jafar put up a hand, signaling Hades to halt. Jafar picked up the book, giving Khartoum a wicked leer. "You most certainly shouldn't have said that," Jafar told the trapped sorcerer. "We can't simply give you what you want. No, I have a much better idea in mind."
He began to take books down from the shelf. Then, when a sizeable space had been cleared, he lay the Book of Khartoum flat with its back against the back of the shelf.
Khartoum knew then what Jafar was about to do. "This won't be the last you hear of the great Khartoum," he growled.
"I'm certain it won't be," Jafar assured Khartoum. "After all, we could discuss how pathetic you are for hours on end." And with that, he reshelved all the books right in front of Khartoum, blocking the book off and sealing it in darkness.
"He was that annoying, huh?" Hades asked.
"More than annoying," Jafar said soberly. "No doubt he somehow already has some sort of destructive scheme in motion."
As Jafar and Hades exited the room to seek elsewhere, Khartoum muttered to himself, "You have no idea."
...
In the absence of Mozenrath, the Huntsman, and Yzma, most of the other residents of the Cyclonian warship decided to meet in the control room to discuss their next move. Vexen and Ravess were absent, the former wanting to spend time alone with his experiments while the latter wished to practice her violin. The others began pitching ideas as to what they could accomplish.
"We could always try to hunt down another artifact," Wuya suggested.
"Where would we even begin?" Snatcher asked her.
"Pick a world, any world," Wuya told him. "There's bound to be something magical on MOST of them."
"Or we could just start up another karaoke session," Aghoul proposed.
"Karaoke?" Snipe said in disgust. "That's no fun! Where's the action in that? Where are the explosions? You know what's REALLY fun? Moto-jousting!"
"Moto-whatnow?" Roman asked.
"Two people get on skimmers in their bike configuration," Snipe explained. "Then they battle until one of them gets knocked off! It usually ends in broken bones. It's great!"
"That sounds altogether too dangerous of a pastime to indulge in at the moment," Snatcher complained.
"I thought we were all about danger!" Snipe argued.
"I'm actually kinda on board for this," Roman admitted. "You mean skimmers like the ones we have here in the base, right?"
"Are we really having this discussion?" Wuya sighed.
Irmaplotz held up a hand. "Hang on. This could actually be interesting."
"You wanna joust me?" Snipe laughed. "I'd crush you like a bug!"
"Okay, that's it!" Roman marched right over to Snipe, staring him down. "You're on! I'll joust you, and I'll kick your ass doing it!"
"Torchwick, I wouldn't…" Snatcher sighed. "There's no stopping you at this point, is there?"
"Well, Snipe did say there would be broken bones!" Mim chirped. "This sounds like it's going to be fun to watch!"
"It could be a nice distraction," Wuya admitted.
"Maybe one of you will even die!" Aghoul said gleefully.
"Probably shouldn't do that until the guy who can actually necromance us back comes back," Irmaplotz pointed out.
"Oh," Aghoul replied. "Right."
A few moments later, the group had reassembled in a lower arena. Two skimmers had been brought up from the hangar and positioned for Snipe and Roman to do battle. As the combatants approached their vehicles, the others stood against the wall, observing with interest. Neo had found the time to make a "GO ROMAN" sign, which she held high.
Roman flashed Snipe a confident smirk as he mounted his skimmer, clutching the Melodic Cudgel tightly with one hand as he draped the other over the steering mechanism. "You know what they say," he mocked. "The bigger they come, the harder they fall."
"Well, y'know what I say?" Snipe boarded his own skimmer, raising his mace high. "Go big or go home!"
"Gentlemen," Snatcher announced. "On your marks…"
Roman's grip tightened on the wheel.
"Get set…"
Snipe's skimmer barged ahead, and he took a great swing at Roman, who only swerved just in time.
"FOUL PLAY!" Snatcher barked, but Snipe didn't care. The purple-haired strongman swiped at Roman again and again, forcing the redhead to go on the defensive. As soon as Roman got far away from Snipe, however, he was able to fire a shot – a shot that missed, sailing right past Snipe and causing Irmaplotz, Yzma, and Aghoul to duck in order to avoid being engulfed in flames. The wall behind them took the brunt of it.
Wheels squeaked against the floor and engines revved as Snipe and Roman danced around each other, swinging their weapons wildly; neither could land a blow. Snipe finally got a lucky shot, swiping the side of Roman's skimmer at an angle that sent the vehicle skidding sideways out of the arena and into the adjacent room. Muttering "NononononoNONONONONO," Roman fought with the skimmer to keep its balance upright; miraculously, it skidded to a halt without tipping. Roman realized he was in the entry room to the laboratory; the dual levers presented themselves next to him.
As Snipe zoomed into the chamber, Roman yanked the correct lever, sending him flipping around with the wall and landing the skimmer on the rollercoaster track, down which he began to zoom. Snipe followed suit, landing just behind Roman on the track.
"AFTER THEM!" Wuya yelled, but by the time the crowd was able to catch up, both were already on the other side of the wall.
"So…should we go after them?" Irmaplotz asked.
"Not unless you want to stuff all of us in a single rollercoaster cart that would inevitably overtake both of them in speed and crush them," Wuya replied dryly.
"That sounds like fun!" Mim chirped.
Down in the laboratory, Vexen was in the midst of a complex procedure: the sort where liquids had to be measured in eyedroppers rather than graduated cylinders. As he dripped a purple substance into a beaker, he slowly became aware of a soft sound working its way into his conscious perception: the sound of a violin playing. Curious, he set down the dropper and proceeded back into the depths of the lab. It was there that he found Ravess with a stand set up in front of her to hold sheet music, violin and bow in hand, playing her heart out.
"You play very well," Vexen commented.
Ravess was startled into almost breaking a string. "I didn't know you were here!" she replied. "I thought the room was empty. Which is of course why I thought it would be a good place to practice. I suppose you want me to leave you alone and stop annoying you with all this noise."
"Not so," Vexen told Ravess. "After all, they say that good music can stimulate the mind rather than dull it, and your violin talent is much more favorable for the intellect than what passes for the music taste of everyone else here. You may continue to play, and you may do so wherever you like."
"Well, thank you," Ravess said in near-shock. She set the violin back to her chin and resumed her playing.
It really was quite pleasant to listen to, Vexen thought as he returned to his work. Curious, Ravess moved closer to his table, continuing to play all the while, as she observed his process, grinding up a powder and turning up a burner. She found herself curious about what his end result was, but she knew better than to ask. Interrupting him for that would definitely annoy him, she figured.
Had she asked, though, he would gladly have told her. It was the least he could do to repay her providing him with such a peaceful soundtrack to work to.
Meanwhile, Snipe and Roman careened down the rollercoaster track, each trying to ram the other off the side but both holding their ground as the rush whipped at them. Roman's skimmer leapt off the end of the track a moment before Snipe's, and he zoomed into the laboratory itself, right into the area where Vexen was working and Ravess practicing. Snipe was hot on his back tire.
"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" Vexen barked as he stood up sharply.
Rather than answer, Roman swung the Cudgel to smack Snipe in the stomach. It was like hitting a brick wall. Snipe broadsided Roman with the mace, and Roman went flying. Vexen and Ravess both dashed out of the way as Roman landed on the lab table, breaking every single implement made of glass.
"HA!" Snipe gloated. "I WIN! YOU LOSE! YOU'RE A LOSER! HAHAHAHAHA!" He quickly turned on a wheel and sped back out of the lab.
Vexen and Ravess, stunned into silence, slowly turned to look at Roman, who gave out a groan. "There is definitely broken glass in me," the redhead moaned.
"Don't you have Aura for that?" Vexen snapped. "Get OFF my table this INSTANT!"
Peeling himself laboriously off the table and picking out small glass shards, Roman muttered several curse words on his way out of the lab. His Aura began to kick in and heal his smaller injuries, but for a few moments, he walked with a definite limp.
"I should have warned you," Ravess sighed. "When it comes to my brother, things like this are not uncommon occurrences."
Vexen just stared forlornly at the table. Had he a heart still inside of him, he supposed he would have been legitimately sad to lose all of his progress.
Ravess patted him awkwardly on the shoulder, unsure of if it was appropriate. "There…there?"
"I suppose it's back to square one," Vexen sighed.
...
The small ship containing Mog, Sora, and Riku had made its landing on a world that Sora and Riku had to admit they hadn't even heard of before. "There are a few things I should explain, kupo," the Moogle, sporting a miniature tuxedo for the occasion, informed his human cohorts. "This town has two populations: one that lives aboveground and another that lives underground. They lived apart from each other for years and were afraid of each other. Those who lived aboveground treated the others cruelly, kupo. But only a short while ago, some things happened that caused the two populations to start to come together. Things are peaceful, for the most part, but I should still warn you that the humans who live in this town are still a little afraid of people who are different from them, kupo. Maybe it's a good thing that it isn't the humans we have come to see."
"Well, we'll just put our best foot forward," Sora resolved. "Like we always do."
"Maybe that's what you always do," Riku replied. "I'm not the best at that."
"Aw, c'mon, I heard everyone in the worlds we visited for the Mark of Mastery welcomed you with open arms!" Sora reminded his friend.
"Those people weren't real, remember?" Riku countered. "They were just dreams."
"Well, real people like you, okay?" Sora insisted. "Give yourself some credit!"
When he said it so confidently, Riku couldn't help but be convinced, and he gave Sora a nod with an affirming smile before Mog took up his flower bouquet and his wrench and the group disembarked.
Mog led Sora and Riku through green pastures populated by all manner of grazing cows before bringing them into the reaches of a city built around a hilltop. This town had not yet seen many modern conventions; the construction of its buildings reminded Sora and Riku of a less colorful, naked-of-neon-lights Traverse Town. Men dressed in sharp suits and women clothed in gowns with swishing skirts passed by on the winding cobblestone streets. Some of them gave suspicious sidelong glances at Mog, but eventually settled back into minding their own business.
"Welcome to Cheesebridge, kupo," Mog introduced.
"Huh," Sora commented. "Weird name. But I like it so far."
"Wait until you see where we are going, kupo!" Mog stopped at a circular metal grate set in the ground, beginning to pull it aside.
"Into the sewer?" Riku wondered out loud with obvious distaste.
"Well, it's not like it's the first sewer we've been in," Sora reminded him.
"It isn't a sewer, kupo," Mog explained, finally removing the cover all the way. "Follow me, and remember to have fun!" He gathered up the flowers and the wrench hopped down into the aperture revealed in the street.
Sora and Riku looked at each other. Sora gave a shrug; Riku responded with a less dramatic shrug. Then, one after the other, they descended after Mog.
True to Mog's word, the metal grate led not to the town's excess water but instead to a subterranean slope that Sora and Riku slid down like a playground slide; neither could suppress a laugh of joy. After a drop of some time, both were deposited in a vast cavern.
"Whoa…" Sora couldn't believe his eyes as he looked around. He hadn't kept track of how far down the slide had taken him, but it almost seemed like a place of this magnitude couldn't even fit below the town above. The cavern was crammed with mechanical wonders that boasted of civilization, from a gigantic piecemeal clock constructed of odds and ends to a water wheel that dipped in and out of a clear river that ran nearby. Here, there were electric lights by the hundreds, strung up along every wall and dotting the cavern roof like stars. This sector was even busier than the town above, filled with the hustle and bustle not of humans but of small gray trolls, each clothed in a cardboard box.
"I hear it was even more beautiful last year," Mog explained. "It was destroyed in between now and then. But the Boxtrolls have rebuilt nearly all of it."
"They did a good job," Riku commented.
Three of the Boxtrolls recognized Mog, rushing over to greet him in a language that Sora and Riku didn't know. Mog fluidly transferred his speech to the same language, though he had a definite burbling accent and still peppered his speech with many "kupo"s. The only word that Sora and Riku recognized, though at first they couldn't comprehend why, was "Fish."
The three trolls ran off immediately at the sound of the word, and within the span of a few minutes, a raspy voice called out across the cavern, "Mog? MOG!"
"FISH!" Mog replied, dropping the flowers and the wrench to zoom in the direction of the voice as quickly as his little wings would take him.
A Boxtroll who was slightly taller and leaner than most of the crowd, clad in a box that proclaimed the word "FISH" as well as a cartoonish depiction of a tuna, bolted across the cavern from the other end, and when he and Mog met, they practically collided in a tight embrace. Fish planted a welcoming kiss on the end of Mog's bulbous nose, to which Mog wiggled his wings excitedly. The two of them immediately began excitedly conversing in the Boxtroll language; Sora and Riku didn't have to understand the words to know they were discussing how good it was to see each other and catching each other up on the recent events of their lives.
"They're so cute together," Sora quietly gushed.
Riku just nodded, smiling as he watched the pair conversing.
Mog remembered his gifts, then went back to retrieve them and present them to Fish; Fish appreciated the flowers, but found the wrench the altogether more thoughtful gesture. Fish lamented for a while that he had nothing to give Mog in return this time, as he hadn't known Mog was coming, but Mog reassured him that he absolutely wasn't expecting anything in return. Then came the matter of the humans who had followed Mog down; Fish asked about them, and Mog explained that they needed the help of the Boxtrolls to recreate several lost articles that were either metal or mechanical in nature. Weapons, to be exact. Fish expressed surprise; he and his fellows didn't often build weapons. Mog explained further that some of these weapons were unlike any Fish had ever seen or even thought of before, his mind on Stormflower and Magnhild. Fish admitted he was eager to see what exactly Mog had in mind, and Mog led him to Sora and Riku, introducing them. He slipped back into Sora and Riku's native language to state, "Sora, Riku, this is Fish. He's the one who's very special to me."
"Nice to meetcha, Fish!" Sora crouched down to extend a hand, which Fish gladly shook, having picked up the custom from the humans aboveground.
"Same here," Riku added, kneeling and extending his own hand.
"I've told him all about your friends' missing weapons, kupo," Mog explained. "He's glad to help and is curious to see what you have in mind."
"Here!" Sora withdrew a roll of papers containing blueprints that Mog had drawn up based on the requests of the group. He knelt to lay them down on the ground and spread them out. "So…what do you think? Can you help us? Please?"
Fish looked with interest over them, but was soon stunned by how many there were. He stated something to Mog, who relayed the sentiment to Sora and Riku: "He didn't expect so many. This will take some time, kupo. But he says putting things like this together will be fun, especially if we all pitch in. And I think…" He transferred back to Fish's language to say the last part of the sentence: that he looked forward to spending the time bonding with Fish while building the various weapons. Fish, flustered, fought off a blush.
Then, to Sora and Riku's surprise, another human came upon them: a preteen boy with dark hair, wearing a box to complement the trolls' attire. "Mog!" he greeted. "You're back!" He then looked with surprise at Sora and Riku. "Oh, hello! Who are you, then? We don't often get humans down here, you know."
"I'm Sora!" Sora introduced, standing up to full height. "And this is my friend Riku. We're here to ask to have some things built."
"What sort of things?" the boy asked.
Fish drew the boy's attention toward the blueprints. "I see," the boy muttered. "Those are…very strange. Is that a crossbow?"
"Yeah," Riku confirmed. "They are pretty strange weapons. They're for some pretty strange friends. And that's what we like about them."
"You're not from around here, are you?" the boy asked. "You're from that same far-off town Mog is from."
"Sort of," Sora replied, unsure how much the people of this world knew about the existence of others.
"A different town," Mog confirmed. "On a different world."
"Oh, one of those!" the boy realized.
Mog turned to Sora and Riku. "I've told the Boxtrolls all about the world I come from, and some things about a few of the others. But the people aboveground aren't ready to hear that kind of thing yet."
"It was a little hard to take in at first," the boy admitted. "But really, it's just like thinking of it as a town that's very, very far away. When I was younger, I almost thought Cheesebridge was a whole other world from down here."
"I thought all the humans lived aboveground," Riku commented, looking over the boy. "Are you just visiting, or do you live here?" His eyes were fixed on the box that served as the boy's vest.
"I live down here," the boy confirmed. "I might be a human, but…well, I'm sort of not. I'm Eggs, by the way. Eggs the boxboy." Then, in a gesture that completely baffled Sora and Riku, he put up both hands and waved them in the air.
"No, no, nonononononono!" Fish laughed, putting out his right hand as a demonstration.
"Right, right." Eggs put out his right hand for first Riku, then Sora to shake. "I keep forgetting. Calling it 'shaking hands' is really quite confusing, after all."
"Huh," Sora realized. "Never thought of it that way." He experimentally put up his own hands and waved them. "This is 'shaking hands' too, isn't it?" He turned to Riku, waving his hands excitedly. "Nice to meet you, Riku!"
Riku bit his lip to keep from cracking up at the sight.
Eggs turned to Fish. "A bunch of us were going to go up above and see Winnie's next show," he explained. "We won't be gone long."
Fish made a reply of affirmation, then gestured to Sora and Riku. In the same language, Mog agreed.
"Good idea!" Eggs cried. He then looked to Sora and Riku; "They said they want to get started on your weapons, and if you don't want to stand around and wait or watch, then you should come up with me to see Winnie. She's my best friend, and she does put on very good shows. She tells stories all about our adventures."
"Sounds like fun!" Sora said with a nod. He looked to Mog and Fish, who were already poring over the blueprints. "You two have fun while we're gone, okay?"
Fish and Mog both nodded without looking up from the plans.
"This way!" Eggs beckoned, leading Sora and Riku on to another part of the cavern from which they could access a path to the surface.
"I have a lot of questions about this town," Riku admitted. "Why didn't the humans and the Boxtrolls get along? And what happened to change that?"
"Winnie's show answers all that," Eggs replied. "It's easier just to let her tell you."
"All right," Riku relented, though his curiosity was beginning to get the better of him.
...
Chip Thorn had always hated airplanes, and for a very particular reason. Whenever he was on an airplane and it landed, the sudden change in pressure would fill his ears with nothingness, rendering him partially deaf for a while. By the end of the day, the sensation of ears plugged with compressed air would be gone, and his ability to hear restored. However, this phenomenon still annoyed him and made him apprehensive every time he had to board an airplane.
It never occurred to him that interdimensional magical ships would have the same effect upon him when entering the atmosphere of a new world.
"SERIOUSLY, DOES ANYONE ELSE EVER HAVE THIS PROBLEM?" Chip complained as the entire group exited the ship.
"Sorry," Ruby told him with a shrug.
"WHAT?"
"I SAID SORRY!"
"OH. OKAY!"
It was about this time that Chip and Ruby took notice of where they actually were. The team assembled beneath a blue sky, before a great tan-colored wall with a massive gate carved into it. Beyond the gate, a city of sand-colored buildings, accented with multicolored awnings and carts, was visible beneath the gleaming sun.
"WHOA," Chip gasped. "THIS IS ALREADY AWESOOOOOME!"
"You need me here for anythin' else?" Cid asked. "Otherwise, I'll be back in three days by Radiant Garden time to get ya."
"We should be able to find out everything we need in that time," Luna told him, and those around her nodded in agreement.
"Yuffie?" Cid asked with a furrowed brow. "You remember what we talked about?"
"I don't just STEAL anymore!" Yuffie protested. "From people I like, anyway."
"Don't burn up out there, ya got it?" Cid said before turning back to the ship. And under his breath, so quietly the others couldn't hear, he muttered, "Things're gonna be real quiet without y'all."
"Well?" Nick took the lead of the group. "Let's go."
"WHAT?" Chip yelled back at him.
"I SAID LET'S GO," Nick practically growled.
The group moved into the city, where the main thoroughfare was lined with street vendors showing off goods that could only be found in Agrabah: exquisite pottery, necklaces of brilliant gems, swords with curved blades that had been wrought by the hands of masters. Street performers swallowed fire and belched it back out to lend the air a smoky scent. Through all of this, Ruby, Chip, and Papyrus couldn't hold themselves back from "LOOK AT THIS!" "LOOK AT THAT!" "THAT'S SO COOL!"
Madison took in a deep breath, closing her eyes momentarily as she took a few steps. "This place," she gushed. "There's just something about it. It feels so…so…"
"Magical?" Kairi supplied.
"That's exactly it," Madison realized. "Briarwood feels magical, too, but it's different here. It's like this whole planet is just full of magic."
"It practically is," Kairi confirmed. "There's magic around every corner here. Just wait until we get to the palace."
"What's there? Besides your friends."
"You'll see!"
Stork, in the meantime, was doing his best to avoid the things that made Agrabah interesting at all costs. The further they pressed on into the city, the thicker the crowds grew around them, and the more uncomfortable Stork was made by the sheer proximity to so many people he didn't know. He wormed his way into the center of his traveling party, practically hiding behind Jaune.
"You're not much of a social butterfly, are you?" Jaune asked.
"Eh…no," Stork replied.
"Fear not," Luna reassured him. "You shouldn't have to do much of the talking once we reach the palace."
"I think they have that covered," Ren said with a nod toward Chip, Ruby, and Papyrus, who were still gushing in awe over every little new thing they came across.
"They do," Stork agreed. "Very loudly."
At last, the large group reached the palace walls, where a host of guards lay in wait for them. The biggest and burliest of the guards stormed forth, putting out a hand and crying "HALT!" As he spoke, the others could see his missing teeth; "By what order do you come to the royal palace of Agrabah?"
"No order," Nick insisted. "We're here because we need to talk to Aladdin about something. And we're not going back until we do."
"Well, isn't that just peachy!" the guard spat. "Every peasant in town thinks they need to talk to the royal family about SOMETHING or another. And every evil sorcerer for miles around thinks attempting to walk up to the palace pretending to be a peasant who needs to talk to the royal family is worth a try! If you don't have orders to be here, then get back where you came from…" He withdrew his wickedly sharp sword. "Or I'll put you back myself."
"I didn't wanna fight," Nick replied sternly, bracing his body and putting up his fists, "but if that's the way you want it, then – "
Kairi pushed through the crowd to step in front of Nick. "They're with me, Razoul," she said confidently.
The guard's entire demeanor rippled. In place of his sneer was a rather sheepish look, and when he spoke, his growl had settled down into something more pleasant. "My apologies, your majesty!" He bowed deeply, sheathing his blade. "If I had known, I wouldn't have barred your entry. Please forgive me for being rude to you!"
This got everyone to look at Kairi with a sense of awe. Kairi simply smiled. "It's okay, Razoul. I get it. You were just trying to protect Aladdin and Jasmine. Don't worry about it. We've faced some pretty evil sorcerers ourselves. That's kind of why we're here, actually. We think someone who's been attacking us has a connection to Aladdin."
"Then by all means!" Razoul stood, gesturing to the palace gateway. He turned to bark an order to his fellow guards: "MOVE ASIDE!"
"Thanks, Razoul," Kairi said with a friendly nod. She then led the procession through the gate. Nick and Razoul traded an absolutely venomous glare; Vida followed Nick, telling Razoul, "I don't blame you. Nobody likes dealing with Nick when he's in a mood."
"I heard that," Nick called back to her.
"I DIDN'T," Chip said in genuine confusion.
"Just follow me," Kairi called back to the others. "I know the way!"
Kairi proceeded to bring the group through elaborate polished hallways adorned with intricate carvings. Every so often, an open door would provide a peek into a room filled with luxurious furniture and treasures of all sorts. Chip and Ruby's dialogue disintegrated into wordless squealing, and Yuffie had to remind herself that her thieving days were for the most part past.
"WOWIE!" Papyrus exclaimed as he looked around. "THIS IS ALL VERY AMAZING!" He stepped forward to catch up with Kairi. "BUT YOU MUST BE USED TO THIS, AS YOU ARE A PRINCESS YOURSELF."
"Not really," Kairi explained. "I mean, I've spent a lot of time in Radiant Garden's castle, but when I was young, I got transported away from my homeworld and ended up in the Destiny Islands. I actually grew up in an average house."
"HMMMM." Papyrus mulled it over. "I SEE." He turned to Cadance. "WHAT ABOUT YOU?"
"I live in a palace," Cadance confirmed, "but it's a different kind of palace. Every palace is beautiful in its own way, and this one is LOVELY."
The company neared a towering set of double doors. From behind those doors, they caught the tail end of a sentence said by a male voice: "…of course could never be a replacement for him, but you must admit it is much quieter!"
"I wonder what they're talking about," Ruby muttered.
"Beats me," Chip said with a shrug. "Hey! My ears are clear!"
Nora gave him a high-five over that.
Kairi pushed open the double doors only for a clockwork seagull to nearly clip her hair as it soared around the room. She watched the bird fly back to the person who'd wound it up: a short, stout old man clad in white, standing in the center of what was apparently the throne room, where the throne itself was carved in the shape of a golden elephant's head and dominated the round chamber. "Oh, my!" the old man gasped as he collected his new toy in his arms. "I didn't mean for my little toy to hurt…you…" His eyes widened as he recognized the person who had entered. "Why, Kairi!"
A chorus of "Kairi?" went up from around the room: from a tall man dressed in white and violet, from a young ponytailed woman clad in a sea green crop top and pants, from the Genie whom Ruby, Stork, and Papyrus remembered from the battle in Atmos. Even a small brown monkey on the man's shoulder seemed to chirp the name. This was then followed by a "Wait. Who's Kairi?" coming from a bushy-haired young woman dressed in a loose green top and baggy pants.
Xander's eyes were immediately drawn to the tall man, his gaze tracing over his defined chest, strong arms, radiant brown skin tone, and stunningly raven-black hair. "How about who's HE?" Xander asked.
"We have kind of a lot of introductions to make," Kairi laughed. "Why don't you start?"
The (incredibly attractive, as Xander would describe him) tall man began; "Sure! I'm Aladdin, prince of Agrabah. Formerly just prince of thieves."
"My name is Jasmine," the woman with the ponytail picked up. "Princess of Agrabah. Kairi and I know each other from some certain grand adventures through the worlds."
"So when you two say prince and princess," Xander asked as clarification, "you mean like brother and sister, or…?"
"Happily married!" Genie exclaimed, rushing up from behind to put his arms around Aladdin and Jasmine, drawing them closer to each other, which made them both smile. "Though it sure took 'em long enough to tie the knot."
"Oh." Xander's face fell.
"And I'm Genie!" Genie went on, letting his friends go so he could flex for the crowd. "Semi-phenomenal, nearly-cosmic master of magic!" He momentarily changed shape to that of a small blue wooden puppet that Kairi found vaguely familiar; "I've got no lamp to hold me down! To make me fret, or make me frown!" With a puff of smoke, he returned to his true shape in its blue glory.
"Nice to meet you," Madison said with a nod; besides Kairi, the Mystic Rangers were the only ones in the room with a fair understanding of the concept of genies, and Madison was quite attached to the one she knew.
"You may address me as the Sultan of Agrabah," the short, older man introduced. "Jasmine's father, of course. Do step into the room, please! Don't be shy! You're our welcome guests!"
As the company took the Sultan up on his invitation and moved inside, the other woman present gave an enthusiastic wave. "I'm Sadira. Witch of the Sand. And apparently, my friends have been having adventures on other worlds without me." She put her hands on her hips and gave Jasmine and Aladdin a playful glare. "THAT'S gotta change sometime soon."
"You'll get a chance," Jasmine promised.
"Trust me, I can already think of a ton of places you'd love," Aladdin laughed.
The monkey jumped up onto Aladdin's shoulder, tipped his hat, and gave a squeak that sounded distinctly like "Hewwo!"
"And this is Abu," Aladdin said with a grin. "None of our adventures would be complete without him. So, Kairi. Who are all your friends?"
Introductions on the other side of things were made brief; names and short descriptions were said. "We come from a bunch of different worlds," Kairi explained when all was said and done, "but we've had to work together because of things that have been happening recently."
"What kind of things?" Aladdin asked with suspicion in his voice.
"Maleficent, for one," Yuffie grumbled. "She's up to something new and weird."
"That's never good," Aladdin commented.
"But there's something else," Kairi added. She looked back to the group; "I think Ruby, Papyrus, and Stork better tell you about this one."
The mentioned trio stepped forth, Stork sticking close behind the other two. "WE'VE HAD A FEW RUN-INS WITH A CERTAIN EVIL SORCERER," Papyrus began. "WE HAVE REASON TO THINK YOU MIGHT KNOW HIM." With this, he looked at Genie.
"Uh-oh," Genie blurted. "Almost forgot about this, Al. And it's not good."
"We were hoping you could tell us more about a guy named Mozenrath," Ruby told the Agrabah contingent.
The looks that washed over their faces were more foreboding than they had been when Maleficent was mentioned.
...
Amarganth was once called the "silver city." Floating upon a system of boats in Moru, the Lake of Tears, its silver was polished by the corrosive waters, letting it gleam with a shine that could be seen from miles away. This grand metropolis was ever-changing, its buildings floating around to new rearrangements as its citizens saw fit, and beings from all corners of Fantastica flocked to Amarganth for great celebrations and tournaments of heroism.
That was before Moru dried up. No one in Amarganth knew the truth of why the Lake of Tears had dwindled away to nothing, leaving the silver structures to plant on the bottom of the deep and barren lakebed. None knew it was the absence of the Acharis, those who cried the tears that forged the lake, that caused the lack of water to take its toll upon the silver, the shine diminishing and the metal wasting away. And certainly none knew, as Amarganth fell apart before their very eyes, becoming a place that people flocked away from instead of to, that the reason the Acharis no longer cried was because Bastian Balthazar Bux, the one they had called savior, had thought it humane to end their pain by transforming them into the multicolored Shlamoofs, guardians of laughter and harmful tricksters. As such, the Amarganthians who refused to leave their home city out of stubbornness, nostalgia, or the lack of resources to do so did not blame Bastian for their misfortune, and instead wished him to return. They did, however, hear of the Childlike Empress' departure from the Ivory Tower to mysterious parts unknown, and the timing of this event lined up too well with Amarganth's decline. Obviously, Amarganth had fallen because the Empress had abandoned Fantastica.
Xayide's litter was borne down the sides of the lakebed and down toward the ruined city. "Well," Mozenrath commented as he sized it up, "this takes the meaning of 'fixer-upper' to a whole new level. Are you sure this is where we should start? I'm looking for warriors and magicians to follow us. This place looks like it has nothing but weaklings."
"Trust me," Xayide replied with a smirk. She knew all about the metamorphosis of the Acharis to the Shlamoofs as caused by Bastian, and she had predicted that their absence would do such a thing to Amarganth. To see the city crumbling to tarnished bits before her eyes sparked a sort of glee within her. "This is exactly where we must begin."
"Then impress us," the Huntsman growled.
Yzma looked between Mozenrath and the Huntsman. "Well, I'm willing to give her a chance," she said with a shrug. "She wouldn't bring us to a place this ugly without a reason."
The armor that bore the litter set it down on the uneven ground, and Xayide, Mozenrath, the Huntsman, and Yzma departed. Yzma gritted her teeth as her high-heeled shoes clashed with the rugged pebble-studded terrain. Xayide led the group down the deteriorating alleyways to the center of the dilapidated metropolis. Mozenrath looked around to see the Amarganthian people flitting from alley to alley as though they were shadows, thin from a lack of good food, giving off an aura of fear…and also anger. As he collected stares and glares from the inhabitants, who were mostly human but included some races not so commonly seen in Mozenrath's homeworld, he began to understand what Xayide saw here…and good thing, too, for the people were beginning to crowd around the four brightly dressed newcomers, wondering why they were there and what they wanted, giving hungry stares.
"PEOPLE OF AMARGANTH!" Xayide called out, and Mozenrath simply had to be impressed with the magical spell she had cast upon her own voice. It echoed throughout the entire city, heard by all and gathering all's attention, and yet it did not sound deafeningly loud to those standing beside her. "The Childlike Empress has abandoned you! She has left your city to ruin! Look at what you have become; look how you grovel and scrape for food!"
A mutter of agreement went up through the crowd.
"And what's worse is that the one who could have saved you is gone," Xayide went on. "Bastian Balthazar Bux has returned to his home, worlds away. He could save you in an instant! But he does not even know you suffer! Fear not, gentle people of Amarganth. For I have brought you a different sort of salvation. With Bastian gone and the Empress turning a blind eye, we need a new Emperor!"
The Amarganthians muttered some more, whispering to each other about Xayide's words. Perhaps she was on to something.
"Trust me," Xayide continued, "for I was the closest traveling companion of Bastian: the witch Xayide! Once, I terrorized Fantastica with my wicked ways, but Bastian showed me a new path, and now I have come not to torment you but to save you in your hour of need."
This gathered a more positive response from the crowd; they recognized the name, and believed her story to be true, for it was the version of events Bastian had believed.
"And what's more, I have brought you a new savior…a new Emperor to be," Xayide announced. "Look upon him! He, as Bastian, comes from another world, and he will rescue you from your plight!" She stepped back, gesturing to Mozenrath. The sorcerer felt all eyes upon him, and it was a feeling he absolutely loved. He flashed a smile, and received several in return.
"She's good," Yzma whispered to the Huntsman, who nodded in agreement. "I want to keep her."
"But he cannot do it alone!" Xayide cajoled. "The Ivory Tower will not easily accept a new ruler upon its throne. In order to help you, Mozenrath needs you to help him. Come with us to the Ivory Tower. Speak to those who inhabit it and tell them what we know: that a replacement for the Childlike Empress MUST be found if this land is to prosper. Many other countries within Fantastica suffer the way you suffer, and this is the only way we can save them all!"
She stepped back then, giving Mozenrath a meaningful nod. Mozenrath realized this was where he was meant to speak. "I – "
Xayide waved a hand, and suddenly, his voice was as loud as hers had been, which startled him momentarily. Once he recovered, clearing his throat, Mozenrath announced, "I am the next Emperor of Fantastica. I WILL sit upon the throne of the Ivory Tower. And when I do, I think we'll all find that this story is destined for a happy ending."
"He really does need to work on his people skills," Yzma sighed.
All the same, once Mozenrath said his piece, the Amarganthians erupted into thunderous applause, and his name was cheered from every balcony and window. The citizens already began to mobilize, packing up their things so they could follow the coral litter on its journey to the Ivory Tower.
Yzma rolled her eyes. "Peasants. No matter where you go, they're all the same."
Mozenrath turned to Xayide, making a signal for her to turn down the volume of his voice; she did so, and he told her, "That was pretty impressive."
"And it is just the beginning," Xayide told him. "By the time we reach the gates of the Ivory Tower, we will have an army so large that those who still support the Empress will not be able to turn us away."
"And after we take the Tower?" Mozenrath asked.
"Then you do with them what you wish," Xayide answered. "Come. We have far to go."
When they left, it was with a thick band of followers bearing tents and supplies. Mozenrath reclined inside the litter, proud of himself despite the fact that Xayide had done the heavy lifting. "This story will have a happy ending, all right," he told Yzma, the Huntsman, and Xayide. "For us."