*Chapter 3: The City of Agrabah*

A young man and his trusted friend, a small monkey, dashed through a bustling market, grinning victoriously. They stopped to see if their pursuers were still chasing after them.

"Stop, thief!" a tall, burly man commanded.

But they were too fast, safely escaping to their hidden retreat without catching the guards' attention. The young man, Aladdin, takes out a ripe, red apple and tosses it to his companion.

"Breakfast is served," he said.

The monkey happily bit onto the apple and enjoyed the taste as the young man turned his attention to the view of the castle far out in the distance.

"Look, Abu."

Abu stopped himself from taking a bite from his meal to join his friend in the midst of romanticizing a life far from their reach.

With a wistful sigh, Aladdin muttered "I wonder what it would be like to live there."

Their fantasy was interrupted by distant cries and screams from the city.

"Run!" someone shouted.

Aladdin jumped. "What's going on?"

"Monsters!" another person screamed.

"What?! Come on, Abu. Let's go check it out!"

Scouring through the city, assisting any passerby to let them escape from harm, the two finally confronted the creature behind the chaos and destruction in the city. In the desert just outside the city, they encountered the strange, bejeweled monster.

"So, you thought you could attack my city and get away with it? Not on my watch!"

Aladdin swung his sword with all his might, but the creature shoved him away, bringing Aladdin to his knees. In a desperate attempt to save his friend, Abu latched onto the monster, covering its eyes with his small arms and hands. In a state of confusion, the creature vanished into the shadows, dragging the tiny monkey along with it.

"Abu! No!" Aladdin cried.

He tried to get back up, but his vision began to fade, the world spinning before him. Too weak to maintain consciousness, he blacked out on the sand.

"Phew! Who turned up the heat?" Luan complained. "Where are we now?"

"I think we're in Agrabah. I remember hearing about it from some past party members," Aelia explained.

"Aaaauugghh! It's too hot! You got some kinda cooling trick or something?"

"No, sorry... Daybreak Town doesn't get warm all that often so it never really occurred to me to try and come up with one. I doubt I'd have the time either with all the other spells I was working on. Although, I won't lie it would be nice to have one..."

"Aaaww man, of all the things you didn't have prepared..." he whined.

"Just what exactly do you take me for...? Hmm?"

Squinting her eyes, Aelia spotted a peculiar shape in the distance.

"Hey, there's something over there. I think it may be a person."

"You sure it's not some kinda mirage?"

"Maybe. Let's check to make sure."

Approaching the peculiar shape, they made out the shape of a young man with dark hair lying passed out in the searing heat. They rushed over to his side to examine his condition.

"Are you okay?" Aelia asked.

Thankfully, it didn't take long for him to wake up and get back to his feet. He still looked somewhat worse for wear, but it seemed like he'd pull through.

"Phew, thanks! I'd been in real trouble if you hadn't come along," he said gratefully. "By the way, my name's Aladdin. I don't think I've seen you around before. You're not from here are you?"

It was pretty obvious from looking at their clothes, but his observation made Aelia stiffen for a quick second.

"I'm Luan, and her name is Aelia," Luan replied. "We just arrived here."

"We've been traveling for a while now," Aelia continued.

"Then, you should probably go home. There's these strange monsters in the city, so it's not safe. Look what happened to me," Aladdin warned. "I can't just stay here: I have to go back. Agrabah's my home. If I don't protect it, who will? Promise me you'll both go home, okay?"

Before they could reply, he took off back to Agrabah.

"Haaahhh... That was close. Sorry for not mentioning this yet, but make sure not to mention the fact that we came from a different world."

"Huh? Why's that?"

"The worlds may be separated from people aside from us Keyblade Wielders, but there could come to a point when those boundaries can be crossed by other means," Aelia explained. "And if someone without any good intentions finds out, what do you think might happen?"

"Oh... yeah, that would be bad..."

"Right. Luckily we were able to get by with the excuse that we're just a couple of travelers, but be careful not to let anything slip."

"Got it. Anyway, think we should follow Aladdin? He didn't seem to be doing so well, and it sounds like there's some trouble in this 'city' he mentioned."

"I agree. If there's anything we can do, I think we should help."

Luan nodded and as they made their way to the city using Aladdin's footprints to guide them, Aelia shut her eyes and paused.

"Hey, Luan? While we're here... I think it would be best if I take the lead and you cover for me."

"What? Why?! Shouldn't we-?"

He cut himself off, recalling the memory of the Heartless tearing Aelia's side. He clenched his fists and sighed in defeat.

"Okay... I understand..."

Crossing the desert and fighting the Heartless slowed them down a bit, but they had finally reached Agrabah. At the entrance of the large stone city was the office where the city guards resided. Beyond that consisted of a marketplace at the front, the alley to the left, and a large castle up north. It didn't take long for them to spot Aladdin.

"You're still here?!" Aladdin yelled, surprised by their arrival.

"Weeeelll... you didn't exactly wait for us to give you a 'yes' or a 'no' soooo..." Luan argued.

"We couldn't just leave you on your own to protect the city," Aelia explained.

"Well, I guess it's too late to turn back now. Just… be careful. It's weird. Agrabah's like a ghost town. Everyone got scared and left. Hey, I've got an idea. The palace guards always know what's going on," Aladdin suggested. "But you'll have to ask them yourself. They… Well, let's just say they're not my biggest fans."

Judging from his tone, Aladdin must have gotten into some trouble with them on one or more occasions. They agreed, and per his directions, they entered the guard's headquarters where they were greeted by a fairly short and scrawny guard.

"Hello there. We're here to investigate the sudden occurrence of these monster outbreaks," Aelia said.

"Can you tell us anything odd going on lately?" Luan asked.

"Well, I've heard strange noises coming from the storehouse lately. With all the monsters around, I can't help but think it's one of them…" he replied. "If you insist, then you have my permission."

"All right, thanks for the help."

They went inside the empty storehouse to find a large group of Bandit Heartless. They split up with Luan fighting the ones in the front, and Aelia taking care of the ones in the back. Once that was finished, they returned to the guard to report what they had found. He thanked them for their efforts, and they returned to Aladdin who was hiding in a nearby alleyway.

"You're okay? That's a relief. But what brings you here?" he asked.

"We wanted to see how you were doing," Aelia replied.

"Me? Well, I heard the Red Bandit monster's out in the desert," Aladdin explained. "I'm just grabbing a few things for the road. That monster and I have some unfinished business"

"If that's the case, why don't we both come and join you?" Luan offered.

"I appreciate it, but I can't let you do that. Of course, I can't really stop you either… Just try not to get hurt, okay?"

"Hraaaah! There that should do it," Aelia sighed, wiping some sweat from her brow.

"Wow... I never would've guessed she was that strong..." Aladdin muttered to Luan.

"Yeah..." Luan replied, disheartened.

Per Aelia's suggestion, she took on most of the enemies they encountered as they crossed the desert. Luan could only watch, for the most part, internally berating himself over the current circumstance. Twice now, she had to step in to save him and worse, she got hurt because of it. They barely spoke a word to each other during this journey. She wasn't giving as much advice as usual either. The way things were right now, it was like he was playing catch-up with Aelia. He couldn't imagine what was going on in her head.

There had to be something he could do to make things up, but what…?

Aelia lifted a hand over her eyes to block the sunlight, when she suddenly felt lightheaded. She stumbled a little, before catching her balance.

"Woah! You okay there?" Aladdin asked.

The sudden dizziness quickly faded away.

"Yeah, I'm good! I just slipped on some sand is all," Aelia answered.

"If you say so... Anyway, things are gonna get rougher going forward, so let's be careful while searching for that Red Bandit."

The further they went the more treacherous the terrain and weather became. Jagged rocks surrounded the area and the wind kicked up the sand and dirt, hindering their vision. Slowly and with great effort, they finally managed to spot the Red Bandit hiding between the rocks. But it wasn't alone. It was backed up by a large pack of Heartless.

Aelia tightened her grip on her Keyblade. Between walking through the desert and the battles on the way it was beginning to become more difficult to maintain her strength and composure.

She took a short glance at Luan and took a deep breath.

"You two focus on the smaller ones. I'll handle the Red Bandit."

"Huh? Are you sure? He looks pretty tough," asked Aladdin.

"I'll be fine. Just follow my lead."

With incredible agility, Aelia ran past the other Heartless, aiming for the boss at the farthest end. Meanwhile, despite their combined efforts, Luan and Aladdin struggled to dwindle the large number of enemies surrounding them. It took a while until there were less than a dozen Heartless scattered around the area.

"Hey, something doesn't look right over there!" Aladdin exclaimed.

From the corner of his eye, Luan realized the dire situation over on the other side.

Aelia couldn't keep her focus straight, her head spinning. She could barely steady her balance, her mouth felt dry, and her hands were covered in sweat. The heat was starting to take its toll, and the battle only made things worse.

She tried to parry the Heartless's blade but the strong wave of nausea made her too weak to withstand the blow. The force of the impact sent Aelia crashing into a boulder several feet away. She slumped against the rock, searching for her Keyblade, but was too dizzy to make out its distance. The Heartless raised its sword past its shoulder, ready to swing down on the defenseless girl.

"No!" Luan cried.

Just before the blade could land its hit, Luan jumped in between them, blocking the attack with his Keyblade. He clicked his tongue in irritation before grabbing it by the throat with his free hand and slamming it directly into the rock finally defeating the Heartless.

Just as the Red Bandit disappeared, the remaining numbers dwindled, until finally all the Heartless were gone.

Luan knelt beside Aelia and frantically searched for any serious injuries. "Aelia! Are you okay?!"

"Yeah… I'm fine…" she replied, exhausted.

"Let me take a look," Aladdin said. "It looks like the first signs of heat exhaustion. If we get you under that rock over there and give you some water it should help. Think you can make it?"

"Yeah, I think I can manage that." With Luan's support, Aelia carefully got back up to her feet. "Hey, what about that Hea- uh, monster? Was that the one you were looking for?"

Aladdin shook his head sadly. "That wasn't him. That wasn't the red monster I was after. I wonder where he could be…"

"Let's keep our focus on getting you out of the sun, okay?" Luan interjected, guiding Aelia to the shade.

Sometime later, just as Aladdin had said, Aelia's fatigue began to subside. However, he informed them it may take a day or two for her to fully recover. Their best option would be to find a safe place for her to rest as soon as possible. Luan reassured him that they could make it back home on their own and Aladdin agreed to head back to Agrabah.

"Anyway, thanks for your help, but I'll let you guys know if I'm ever in trouble. You do the same, okay?"

"We will. Take care," Luan replied, shaking Aladdin's hand.

As Aladdin walked away toward Agrabah, Luan took a seat next to Aelia.

"You sure, you're feeling all right?" he asked.

"Much better now. I mean I still feel a little dizzy, but I think as long as I take his advice, I should feel better in no time," Aelia assured. "I'm sorry for the trouble, but thanks for helping me out back there."

He took a deep breath, working up his courage.

"Hey, there's something I wanna talk to you about."

"What is it?

"I haven't properly apologized or thanked you for saving me back in Wonderland, yet. So um... you know... thanks for saving my skin back there and I'm sorry... No… not just that… It's only been a few days, but you've already helped me so many times. But… I think after all this time working together, I realized something…"

Aelia cocked her head, confused.

Luan tugged on her cheeks. "You… really gotta stop trying to handle things all on your own."

"Owowowow! Stop it already!" Aelia protested, trying to pull his hands away from her face. "What are you talking about?!"

"You heard me. I get that you're trying to help, but it's not doing anyone any favors if you keep pushing yourself to the brink of collapsing. I know I've caused you some trouble, but if we're gonna keep working together, I need to learn more about how to fight. And that also means you need to trust me and let me fight my own battles. Literally," he explained, all the while stretching and squishing her face.

Aelia blinked in surprise, then shifted her gaze away. "It's not so much as that I can't trust you. It's just… I'm scared of you getting hurt because of me."

That wasn't what he expected her response to be.

"Before… back in the other parties I was in, people got hurt because of all the Heartless that I attracted. And after seeing you in danger twice, I got scared. I thought I had to take care of the tougher fights to keep you safe. But... you're right. I have to start relying on you more if we're going to work together as partners."

"Okay, sounds good."

"Of course, that means you can't act recklessly like before," Aelia said, glaring at him. "If you want to get stronger, that means you'll have to listen to me at times. I'll have to give you some more training of course."

Luan flinched but knew she was right. This whole mess started because he had misjudged the situation and his capabilities.

"Yes, ma'am…" he replied, sullenly.

"Good. Now can you let go of my face already?"

"Hmm… I dunno, it's kinda fun just messing with it like this. It's surprisingly malleable."

Finally having enough of his tomfoolery, Aelia cast a strong gust of wind to send the boy rolling across the sand. Satisfied with his sputtering, she hopped back up, opening a portal back to Daybreak Town.

"Well! If you're done playing in the sand, I say it's about time for us to get going!"

"Pleh! Plpth! Okay, okay! I'm coming!"

Luan quickly scrambled to his feet, chasing after Aelia as she entered the portal. As he did, he caught a glimpse of her giggling to herself. He couldn't help but wonder why she was smiling like that.

Aaaahhh! Sorry for not getting this uploaded sooner! I really wanted to get it up on the 25th, but I got really busy and I wanted to make sure this turned out well. Still, I hope I managed to give a proper moment for Luan to shine. He's still got a long way to go, but I'm sure he'll get there someday.