Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ Kingdom Hearts Route B ❯ Agrabah ( Chapter 5 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, nor any of the Disney Characters in this story. The following is purely fan made. Please support the original work.

 

 

 

Chapter 5: Agrabah

 

 

 

Castle Oblivion felt colder. All of Donald's feathers ruffled when they returned through the door. Goofy's ears flopped backward as though there was a breeze. Something moved along the wall in the corner of Sora's eye and he turned to look but all he saw was the regular, boring white wall of the castle. Looking around the room one more time, just in case, he noticed something odd.

He neared the wall, the one that once had the door they had first entered through. The exit hadn't returned, but the wall seemed less solid. Putting his hand on the wall, Sora felt the cold marble under his fingertips. The stone seemed flimsier then that of the other walls, as though it were made from thinner material.

Curious, Sora knocked on the surface. There was an echo.

"That's weird. Was this wall always like this?"

Goofy shrugged. "Maybe it has something to do with all the worlds we've been visiting."

Donald went to the door at the top of the stairs. "Why don't we go back into another world and see if anything has changed when we come back?"

Sora and Goofy agreed, and they went through the door one more time without noticing the green smoke that slithered along the floor of the room. As the door closed behind them, the shadow of a thin man moved along the walls. It laughed without a voice, and then slid under the door, following Sora, Donald and Goofy.

 

 

 

"Okay, let's try one more time," Oswald said.

Kairi gripped the wand tight in her hand. "I'm ready!"

Oswald positioned her hand higher.

"That's better. Are you thinking of a fire? Feeling the heat from inside your chest?"

"Yes."

"Now concentrate! See it moving toward your hands."

"Got it."

"Now the incantation!"

Kairi lifted the wand in the air like Oswald had instructed, and then swung it down with as much force as she could.

"Fire!"

The wand didn't even spark. Kairi growled.

"Why can't I do it?"

"Magic is tricky to a lot of people. Maybe you're thinking too much. You gotta feel it with your gut."

Kairi sat down. "Things were so much easier when I was ordering Sora and Riku around to do all the work." She grinned sheepishly. "I'm good at giving commands not following them."

"Sounds ta me like you're just lazy."

"So you noticed."

Next to Kairi, Pluto yawned.

"Don't agree with him," Kairi huffed.

Oswald laughed.

Pluto ducked his head, looking at Kairi with guilt stricken puppy-dog eyes.

Unable to resist, Kairi scratched him behind the ear.

"Okay," Kairi stood, "one more time."

She held up her hands, and tried more time to do as Oswald had instructed, but every time she tried to imagine a flame in her chest, tried to move it down her arms and release it from her hands, there was nothing.

Kairi pouted. "Are you sure I have magic in me?"

Oswald's fur stood on end. "I'm a master mage. I know magic when I see it! Plus you got a lot of light in ya. That automatically means magic."

"Lots of light," Kairi repeated. "You know, on my last journey, my heart was with my friend Sora, and I learned about the worlds through his eyes. The people he met told him about the seven princesses of heart and that I'm one of them. But I don't know what means, or what kind of power I have and...what?"

Oswald closed his mouth but his wide eyes burned into her like the sun on a hot summer day.

"You're a princess of heart, and you're in here? But that's impossible."

"What do you mean?"

Oswald sat down next to Kairi. "Once, long ago, a great man tried to destroy the realm of darkness for good. He bought warriors, mages, and even hunted down all the princesses of heart to battle the darkness here. But the princesses couldn't enter where there was no light, and the darkness fought back. Many of the fighters lost their lives. Some even disappeared into the darkness. The leader was the only one to survive."

"What happened to him?"

Oswald's eyes narrowed. "Fighting the darkness changed him for the worse, and he was imprisoned somewhere no one could enter and escape without a special key."

Kairi closed her eyes, remembering her grandmother's story. Fighting over the light brought darkness into the world, but fighting against the darkness did nothing but bring people pain. She remembered Ansem, and how he had taken over Riku's body. Did that mean that Riku wouldn't be able to fight the darkness? Did he have no choice but to give in?

Kairi rubbed her arms. Even if she found Riku and Sora, would things be the same between the three of them after all that had happened? After Riku had lost his way? Would he even still want to be friends?

She thought about Sora's promise. He swore to come back. He still had her lucky charm, that lazy bum! Plus, Kairi remembered, if Sora had faith in Riku, that he would come back, then Kairi had to believe in him too. There had to be light still in him somewhere, even deep in the darkness.

"You said that the princesses of light couldn't enter here, because they couldn't go where there was no light."

Oswald nodded.

"So, that means there must be a spec of light in here somewhere. Maybe, I can find it. Maybe, that light is the person that wrote the letter I have."

Or maybe it could be Riku. Kairi knew she had to find him. Besides, she thought with a smirk, she owed him a good talking to after all the stupid choices he had made on Sora's last adventure. But how to use her power to find him was the question. Maybe she could feel light nearby?

Kairi looked at Oswald. He was patting Pluto's back with a tiny smile on his face. Carefully, Kairi put her hand on Oswald's shoulder and concentrated.

There was warmth, like the tingling of laughter, that spread all through her chest. That must have been Oswald's light. Kairi pulled her hand back. She had also felt something else, a jolt like a cold rock hitting her skin. Oswald had darkness in him, not as much as the light, but it was there still. It happened so fast that by the time Oswald had felt her hand on him, she had already pulled away.

Kairi didn't have time to answer Oswald's questioning stare. Her mind was already turning. Standing, she closed her eyes and moved away from Oswald and Pluto. She turned in a circle until she felt something soft on her skin. Opening her eyes, she saw that she was facing Oswald again.

"I have an idea."

"Well, let's hear it."

"Move around me. I'm going to see if I can find you with my eyes closed. Oh, and try not to make any sounds."

Oswald patted his foot on the ground. "Soundless walking? That's a rabbit's specialty. Okay, no peeking!"

Closing her eyes again, Kairi concentrated on her ears, her sense of smell, and the feeling of the air around her. The realm of darkness was somehow damp and dry at the same time, the atmosphere didn't have any spice or stink. When she tried to sense a change in the airflow around her, there was nothing, so she tried imagining the joy and excitement she had felt in that split second when she had touched Oswald.

The back of her left ear felt warm. Kairi turned and stopped when her ear no longer tingled. She moved back into her original position, following the sensation with her steps. As she got closer, her body filled with the same tingly sensation, and she to press her teeth together to keep herself from laughing. Kairi reached out with her hands. Her fingers felt warm.

She touched something soft.

Opening her eyes, Kairi wanted to laugh and groan. She hadn't found Oswald, but Pluto wagged his tail excitedly at the fact that she was holding his cheeks. Kairi scratched his muzzle.

"Well, at least I can sense you. Good boy." She moved back, and pointed to the ground. "Stay."

Pluto sat down and didn't move even when Kairi had taken a few steps back. Again she tried to find Oswald. A few more steps and Kairi felt the familiar warmth of light on her toes. As she got closer, the warmth moved up her ankles and legs.

But then it was gone.

Cold needles worked their way up her legs, the warm laughter being replaced by pain and sorrow. The air around her sizzled with sinister energy. Kairi opened her eyes.

Heartless were coming.

The first one appeared at the ground near her feet. Its yellow eyes rolled to pinpoint her. A muscular arm, black as soot, reached out to grab her shoe, claws digging into the material. Kairi slipped her foot out of her shoe, falling backward as the rest of the heartless climbed out of the puddles of darkness on the ground.

Pluto must have deciding that staying wasn't a demand he needed to follow. He raced to Kairi, grabbed the back of her shirt and tried to pull her back, but the heartless that had grabbed her shoe reached out and clamped its claws around her ankle. Kairi screamed, but it only brought the attention of the other heartless.

Neon blue veins pulsed over the heartless' faces and arms as they moved slowly toward Kairi like lions stalking their kill. Pluto jumped over Kairi and bit the heartless that was holding her ankle, but the heartless only pulled Kairi harder. The other heartless moved to converge on Pluto. One more inch and the heartless would be on him. Kairi raised her arm, trying to imagine a fire, reciting the incantation over and over, but the magic refused to appear.

Oswald jumped down in front of her and obliterated a team of heartless with a golden flash of lightning. He raised his wand high, ready to take out the rest, but arms appeared from the ground and grabbed his legs, dragging him down. Kairi tried to reach out and grab him, but the moment her hand shot out, a heartless wrapped its long fingers around it.

Arms mummified her body. Pluto's whining reached her hears but she could no longer turn her head as another heartless wrapped its fingers around her neck. She couldn't breathe; she couldn't say the incantation for fire. Instead of heat, every bit of her body felt cold.

They were melting into the floor, and Kairi felt darkness seep up into her nose and ears until she heard nothing but silence. Kairi was drowning, every part of her body dissolving into an ocean of darkness that was ready to wash her away. Her arms and legs felt like jelly, like she was mixing with the sea of blackness, turning into liquid, liquid, liquid.

Kairi's neck and shoulders ached as she fought against the heartless that tried to push her back down. She wasn't ready to fade away, she was going to go back to the islands with her friends, she was going watch the ocean with them again, and she was ready to bring the full fury of the sea with her.

She pulled out of the heartless swamp just in enough to be able to scream.

"Water!"

A flood washed over her body, making her tumble head over heels underwater before she found herself sitting on the ground, staring at the massive puddle and the writhing, confused, dripping heartless trying to regain their wits. Oswald rose up from the puddle, shaking off the water from his fur.

Without wasting time, he dashed toward Pluto, picked up the dog and pushed Kairi several steps away before he pointed his wand at the heartless and shouted.

"Thundaga!"

Conducted by the water, blue and gold lightening cracked in the air and over the ground, charring the heartless. When the flashes faded, the heartless were gone.

Before Kairi could even catch her breath, Oswald jumped up and thumped her so hard on the back that she bent forward.

"That was amazing! You did it! Told you ya got magic!"

Kairi looked at the puddles of water, watching as they slowly evaporated.

"I did that? Cool!"

She grabbed Oswald's hands spun him around, laughing.

"That was so close! We would've been swallowed!"

Oswald laughed back, his ears flopping in the air. "We were almost got taken over by darkness!"

"This is crazy!"

"I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay!"

Kairi slowed down and put Oswald back on his feet. Once he was no longer swaying from dizziness, Oswald put his wand in her hand.

"You still need to practice."

"Right." Kairi picked up her shoe and put it back on.

"And we still have a lot of searching to do."

"Okay. But, I'm still going to keep my senses open, see if I can find any light. Let's go."

 

 

 

Of all the places that Castle's Oblivion's door spit them out into, did it have to be in the middle of a desert? Sora, Donald and Goofy trudged over the sand dunes, sweating and swearing as the heat bore down on them like an evil child with a magnifying glass.

Sora licked his lips, but his throat was too dry to produce much moisture. "I think I know where we are. It's flat and immense and the heat is intense."

"It's barbaric," Donald huffed.

"It's Agrabah."

Goofy perked up. "Sure hope we get ta see Aladdin and Jasmine."

"If we ever find our way out of this desert," Donald grumbled.

Jiminy hoped onto Sora's shoulder.

"I charted maps in my journal when we were here the first time. Let me see if I can direct us."

Sora, Donald and Goofy all stared at him, making the poor cricket raise his shoulders nervously.

"Is something wrong?"

"You make maps?" Donald said.

"That's amazing, Jiminy!" Goofy smiled. "What else have been keeping track of in there?"

Jiminy beamed. "Well, other then the chronicles of our journey, I also keep track of treasures we find, scores on any games we play, and the number of heartless we defeat. I thought it would be good data for His Majesty."

At the mention of the King, Donald and Goofy deflated.

"I hope we can get to the realm of darkness to find him soon. I'm so worried," Goofy said.

Donald slumped forward. "But you heard was Alice said. Maybe it's not the best idea."

"Come on guys! I'm sure we came back to Agrabah for a reason. Maybe we should ask another princess of light what she thinks."

"I don't know, Sora." Jiminy said. "I know we want to find our friends, but the King wouldn't want us to open the door to darkness after we have just closed it. Even if the door in Castle Oblivion does send us out into the dark realm, we can't be certain that nothing else will go through it."

Sora thought about Destiny Islands, about how one wrong decision from Riku, how opening one door, had destroyed their entire home. Jiminy had a point, but still, he couldn't just abandon his best friend. He still needed to apologize to Riku, for putting their rivalry over Kairi first, for not being a better friend and noticing that Riku was getting deeper into darkness.

Sora felt his chest tighten, like a needle was pressed into his heart. Would he have to decide between keeping the worlds safe as keyblade master, or his best friend?

"Hmm, according to my map, Abrabah should be that way." Jiminy pointed.

"Oh boy! We get to see Aladdin and Genie again!"

"And no Jafar this time," Donald added.

Sora shook his head. He had to have faith that he would find Riku again. If he could reunite with Aladdin, after the worlds were divided from each other, then he was sure he would find his best friend.

They walked for so long under the blistering heat that Donald casted blizzard spells over and over to cool down his feathers and provide water for Sora and Goofy. Jiminy assured them that they were going in the right direction, but still Sora couldn't help but doubt, until several men on camels passed them by. Then they walked over a mountain-sized dune and, on the other, the towers of Agrabah's palace rose up in the distance.

When they entered the city, it was nothing but bustling noise and a whiplash of color as the outskirts of the town were filled to bursting with merchants and stands filled with exotic fruit, fresh fish, sugar dates and peas, pretty necklaces for pretty ladies, all manner of carpets and silk, and the smell of sweet spice that made the desert heat just a bit more bearable.

Goofy's stomach growled and Donald excitedly ran to an apple merchant and then stuffed his face with three whole apples before he even thought about sharing with Sora and Goofy. While eating his apple, Sora looked around the bazaar.

It was so different then the city they had visited the first time they had come to Agrabah. Instead of a deserted town with only heartless to fill the empty space, now he saw veiled women carrying pots on their heads, merchants at their stalls restocking and haggling with customers, shoppers jostling through the crowds with their purchases stuffed under their arms, and camels that were eating hay by their caravans.

Sora looked at the wares at the stand next to him and saw all kinds of shawls, and beaded necklaces. Sora nearly chocked on his apple. There was a thalassa shell in among the beads. He leaned closer to the caravan, hardly believing his eyes. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out Kairi's good luck charm. The shells on the charm matched the color and shape of the one on the merchant's table.

"Where did you get that?"

The old man behind the counter pointed to the shell. "Ah, I see you're interested in the exceptionally rare. This shell was brought to me by one of the traveling caravans that venture over the sands that surround Agrabah. It's a mysterious thing, isn't it? I've never seen a shell this colorful. Think of the jewelry it will make."

"Where did the caravan travelers find it?"

"Lots of mysterious things can be found in Agrabah's deserts."

"Really? Where in the desert?"

The merchant began to tap the table. "Young man, I don't know where my suppliers get their items. Do you want the shell or not?"

"Do you know where the supplier is? Can I talk to him?"

The merchant smiled. "Of course I do, but that information doesn't come cheap."

"Really?" Sora opened his munny pouch with a huff. "How much do you want?"

"I don't want munny. I'd like for you to find me a rare jewel the likes of which I have never seen. I'll even throw in the shell as a bonus."

Donald came over to the stand and gave the merchant a glare. "Hey, you cheapskate!"

The merchant's smile became sweeter. "That will be two jewels, young man. Find them, and I'll tell you where to find the caravan."

Donald fumed. "Hey!"

"Make that three jewels."

Donald's face turned red, his entire body shook. Goofy and Sora grabbed him and dragged him away before he could throw a temper tantrum the size of a volcanic eruption. When they were several stalls away from the merchant, and Jiminy had finally managed to calm Donald down, Sora called for a huddle.

"How is there a thalassa shell in this world? Agrabah doesn't have any oceans, and I've only ever seen those shells on my island. I didn't even see any of those shells in Atlantica."

"Do ya think that Agrabah is connected to Destiny Islands somehow?"

"Maybe the worlds aren't as divided from each other as we think," Donald said. He angrily tapped his foot. "But we're not going to get any information out of that rotten merchant unless we pay him."

"Hey, fellers, what about the Cave of Wonders? Can't we get a couple of jewels there?"

Jiminy popped his head out of Sora's hood and opened his journal. "There was a lot of treasure in the Cave of Wonders the last time we were there. But keep in mind; Jafar's lamp might also be there. It's dangerous. We might need some backup."

Sora couldn't help but grin. "Now we really don't have any excuse not to go see Aladdin. Let's go find him!"

Finding Aladdin's house was an easy thing. Finding Aladdin himself, however, was like trying to catch air. Sora, Donald and Goofy had gone through the entire town before they arrived at the palace gates to see if they could talk to Jasmine instead. The burly, bearded guard standing at the gate glared at them when they neared.

Feeling a little nervous, Sora motioned for Donald and Goofy to stand back as he neared the gate.

"Excuse me? We'd like to enter the palace to see Princess Jasmine. I'm her friend, Sora."

"And I'm Captain Razoul and I say no one gets into the palace without an invitation."

"If you tell her I'm here, I'm sure she'll let me in."

Captain Razoul smiled. For a tall, brutish looking guy, he had surprisingly straight teeth. He bowed.

"Oh I see. A friend of the princess eh? Well in that case."

He grabbed Sora's shirt and lifted him up into the air.

"Do you take me for a fool boy? No one enters the palace."

Sora kicked and summoned his keybalde in his hand, glaring down at the guard. "I'm warning you, if you don't put me down."

"Oh, of course, how rude of me."

Sora felt his stomach flip when the guard threw him backward. He braced to hit the sand, but landed on something soft instead. Blinking, Sora looked down at Donald and Goofy. Their eyes rolled in their heads.

Still dizzy, but the first to always worry, Goofy reached up to pat Sora's head. "You okay, Sora?"

"Thanks for catching me, guys."

Donald shook his head, finally recovering. Back on his feet, he jumped up and down with his fists in the air.

"I've had it up to here with this big, dumb, rude, waaaah!" Donald pulled back his sleeves and charged at Captain Razoul.

The guard responded by unsheathing his scimitar and pointing it at Donald. Raising his staff in the air, Donald's body buzzed with electricity. Razoul swung his sword. Goofy leapt forward and managed to catch Donald just before he could become duck kabob, but Razoul's sword still swung down. It didn't hit Donald and Goofy.

Sora stood between his friends and the guard, his keyblade pushing the sword back.

"What's with you?"

"I'm merely doing my job as a palace guard. I've already failed this city once, I will not allow anyone to bother the royal family again, and that includes you, street rat!"

"Come on, Razoul," said a familiar voice. "Do you really have to be so suspicious of every new face in Agrabah? It's kind of sad."

Razoul's face wrinkled at the speaker. He put away his sword and glared at someone over Sora's shoulder. Sora didn't get the change to turn around, because at that very moment something soft and fluffy landed on his head. Yelping in surprise, he only relaxed when a monkey's upside down face appeared in front of his eyes.

"Abu?"

"The only sad thing here," Razoul growled, "is that the princess still has you in her good graces, street rat."

"You'll never change eh? Stubborn old guard."

Sora finally got a hold of the monkey, transferring him to his shoulder just as the guard stomped away from the gate. Turning, Sora saw Aladdin, with a very smug look on his face, shrugging as the guard harangued on and on about how lawless outlaws like him did not belong in the castle, much less in the company of the princess of Agrabah.

"Bla, bla, bla. Razoul, seriously," Aladdin put a hand on the guard's shoulder, "take it easy. You're going to burst a blood vessel."

Like brushing off a fly, Razoul slapped Aladdin's hand off his shoulder. "The sooner you get out of my sight the better, street rat."

"Oh, I will. Just open the gate and let my friends pass."

At first, Sora thought he wasn't going to do it. Razoul's face was puffy red with so much annoyance that Sora worried that the guard would throw Aladdin into the dirt. Finally, Razoul whistled to the other guards high up on the wall. The gates groaned open and Sora hustled Donald and Goofy through before the guards could change their minds. Aladdin strolled in easily behind them, bowing to Razoul for good measure.

When the gates closed behind them, Abu climbed off Sora's shoulder and landed on Aladdin's head.

"You picked the wrong guard to be polite to." Aladdin held out his fist. "It's been a while, Sora."

Bumping fists with Aladdin, Sora's cheeks hurt from grinning.

"It's a good thing you were walking by."

"You got that right."

"Hey, don't forget us," Donald whined.

Aladdin lead the way through the outer gardens of the palace into the white, marble interior. "No way I'd be forgetting you," he said. "What are you doing here? Jasmine said that the worlds were divided again. Is something going on?"

By the time they had finished explaining, Aladdin had led them through the palace and into a throne room so pearly white and spacious that for a moment, Sora's head spun. All the way at the other side of the throne room was a single throne. A lovely young woman with midnight-black hair was sitting in it, reading a scroll so long that it rolled off her blue, puffy pants and onto the floor.

As Aladdin neared, she looked up, smiled, and handed the scroll to the ornate carpet that had been floating at her side. The carpet's corner tassel moved like a hand, and he accepted the scroll before floating upright to stand like a person.

The girl came forward with her arms outstretched.

"Sora, Donald, Goofy! It's so good to see you!"

The trio bowed. Even Jiminy, back on Sora's shoulder, removed his hat and bent forward. "Your Highness, Princess Jasmine."

Jasmine huffed. "Stand please. I should be the one bowing to you, after all you've done to get me back home and after you helped Aladdin defeat Jafar."

"All in a day's work," said Sora, straightening. "Seems Agrabah is back to normal now."

"Of course. There hasn't been a heartless attack since you were here last. And Aladdin and Carpet have been keeping a watchful eye on the city."

"What about Genie?"

Aladdin chuckled. "He's off, exploring the world, enjoying the great outdoors."

"That's great," Goofy said.

"So," Jasmine began, "are you on another journey? What brings you here?"

Sora dug into his pocket and took out Kairi's good luck charm. "Well, actually. We wanted to get your opinion on something, as a Princess of Light."

As Sora explained, Jasmine's expression hardened.

"I can understand how you want to find your friend, but I agree with Alice. It's risky."

"But there's so much we don't know about the heartless and the darkness. Can it really be all bad?"

Goofy tapped his forehead thoughtfully. "Gee, if it weren't so dark at night, we wouldn't be able ta sleep, so it can't be all bad, I think."

Donald tapped his foot. "I don't think that's what Sora meant."

"But Goofy still has a point. Darkness exists in every heart. It's in every world too. How do we keep the darkness in but the heartless out?"

Jasmine shook her head. "Sora, as the keyblade master, you should know more then anyone how dangerous heartless can be, especially to a world out there with a keyhole that hasn't been locked yet." Jasmine's eyes became soft. "It know it's a hard choice to make, between your friends and your duty. Think about all the worlds you may be putting at risk."

"But I've beaten back the darkness before. I can take it down again. We can take it down again. Don't you believe in us?"

Jasmine smiled despite herself. "I do, but just because you can doesn't mean you should."

"She's very wise, Sora," Jiminy said. "I think you should heed her advice."

Disappointment bubbled in Sora's gut. His logic warred with his heart. Jasmine and Alice were both right, but if he didn't keep going, how else was he going to find Riku and the king. Did he really have no choice to abandon them? He had sworn that he would keep searching until he had reunited with both Riku and Kairi, but, when he faced the issue truthfully, he knew that Kairi wouldn't approve of him releasing so many heartless into the worlds just to get Riku back.

Yet he couldn't help but feel as though it were his fault that Riku had sunk so deep into the darkness in the first place. If only Sora had tried harder to reach him, to support him. If only he hadn't turned against him back when they reunited inside Monstro the whale, if only he hadn't been trying to one up him on the islands. When had they gone from friends to rivals?

"Sora? You okay?"

Sora looked up at Aladdin and pasted a smile on his face. "I'm just fine. Jasmine's right. I won't open the door to the realm of darkness. A-anyway, the three of us have to go to the Cave of Wonders for a bit. See ya."

Before Donald and Goofy could question him, Sora dragged them out of the throne room and all the way back to the palace courtyard.

"Hey," Donald protested, "what about the thalassa shell?"

Goofy pouted. "And what about asking for Aladdin's help in the Cave of Wonders?"

"We're going there alone."

Goofy put a nervous hand under his chin. "We're not going with our friends?"

"We'll be fine on our own."

"Sora? Are you okay?" Donald said.

"It's nothing."

"I want to find the king too," Donald said, "but Jasmine and Alice both have a point. Maybe we should just try to find a way out of Castle Oblivion and see if we can find Pluto. We still haven't read the king's letter. For all we know the king could be out of the realm of darkness by now."

Sora felt the heat rising in his chest. What about Riku? He turned around and opened his mouth but then a shadow passed over his head. The carpet from the throne room hovered down from sky, Aladdin stood on top of it. As the rug came down to the ground, Aladdin came between Sora, Donald and Goofy.

"You three really didn't think you'd go to the Cave of Wonders without me and Carpet did you?"

Sora couldn't think of an excuse fast enough. "Huh? But-"

"You'll need Carpet's help to get through the desert. Hop on."

Donald and Goofy didn't hesitate. Sora got on Carpet as well, but as they flew over the desert, the ambivalence still gnawed at his heart. After everything he had done to save the worlds on their previous adventures, it annoyed him that Alice and Jasmine didn't believe he could take down anything the realm of darkness had to throw at them. Yet, at the same time, he had to remember that both princesses had seen the terror of what darkness could do first hand.

He wouldn't wish what had happened to Hollow Bastion to happen to Agrabah, or London, but didn't they trust him when he said he would be careful and that there was no way he would allow the worlds to fall into ruin?

By the time they reached the Cave of Wonders, night had fallen, and Sora hadn't come up with any answers. He caught Donald and Goofy staring at him from over their shoulders from time to time during the carpet ride. Now wasn't the time to be upset. They still had the mystery of the thalassa shell to figure out. If Agrabah and the Destiny Islands were connected somehow, Sora wondered if he could go home, at least for a little while. Kairi was there. Maybe her advice, as a princess of heart, would be different.

Soothed by the thought, Sora jumped off Carpet with the rest of his friends. The desert sands were still and silent. The air had a chill that bit into Sora's skin. A moment later, a breeze sent needles of pain through his body and made his teeth chatter. The wind pushed the sands, swirling them up into a tornado.

Sora watched as the sands stacked on top of each other, molding into a mountain. The winds slowed down, and the tornado slowly faded away. A giant tiger's head rose up from the sand. The face of the tiger leered down at them with golden eyes, its massive mouth opened wide.

All though Sora had been in the Cave of Wonders before, he still felt a little nervous going down the tiger's mouth every time he neared it. As they rose up onto the Tiger's lips and looked down into its throat, a set of stairs appeared. An orange torch-like glow lighted the walls.

They descended the stairs. The long hallway eventually opened up to underground cave full of raised platforms, traps, and bottomless pits. Sora, Donald and Goofy kept their guard up, walking behind Aladdin and Carpet with their weapons raised but no heartless jumped at them.

"By the way," Aladdin said as they ventured deeper into the cave, "you never told me why you had to come here."

Sora explained about the thalassa shell and the caravan merchant that had found it.

"That's strange. How did something that belongs in your world end up here?"

"Maybe the worlds are connected in some way after all. I mean," Sora put a hand on his chest, "if our hearts are connected, maybe our worlds can be too?"

"Maybe our connection is what is bringing our worlds closer together," Aladdin winked.

"Ayuck! It would be nice if the worlds came together. Then we can visit our friends whenever we like."

Sora felt his spirits brighten a little. "Yeah. That would cool."

They passed through an archway and came out into the deepest part of the Cave of Wonders. As they entered the next cavern, a feeling of awe washed over them. Though it wasn't the first time Sora had seen the treasure room, it still blew his mind whenever they entered. The entire cavern was painted gold. Mountains of coins, gems, jewelry, golden plates, goblets, even giant vases covered every inch of the floor.

The sparkle of the treasure reflected in Donald's eyes and he couldn't help reaching out to try to grab a handful like a child being tempted to steal cookies from the jar.

"Donald," Sora and Goofy scolded.

Donald turned around quickly from a treasure pile, his hands behind his back, giving them a sheepish look. "I'm just looking for the jewel that merchant might like."

Sora loomed over Donald. "Oh really?"

"Yes really."

"Then you wouldn't mind if I do this." Sora grabbed Donald by his feet and held him upside down, shaking him.

"Ah! Put me down!"

Coins, jewels and anything he could get he grubby little hands on, tumbled out of Donald's pockets. Sora was amazed the little duck had managed to stash so much treasure in such a short amount of time. Now that was talent.

Donald wailed, trying to grab all the gold and stuff it back in his pockets, but Sora's shakes made it hard to catch the treasure out of the air.

"Stop it! My treasure!"

"We don't need it! We have tons of munny! Stop being so greedy!"

While Sora was busy trying to convince Donald that they couldn't just take all the gold in the cave with them, Goofy and Aladdin were distracted by Carpet. As soon as they had entered the treasure room, the carpet had flown out of sight and was diving into the mountains of gold. Finally, Carpet resurfaced from under the treasure and flew across the air to land at Goofy's feet.

Carpet was holding three star-shaped rubies in its tassel. Brushing the rubies off, Carpet gave them to Goofy.

"Gosh. It's pretty. Thank you, Carpet."

Sora, still holding Donald upside down by one leg, walked over to inspect the jewels. Bright red and glittering, he could see his multiple reflections in the jewels' facetted surface.

"Wow. I'm sure that merchant won't be able to say no to this."

"Can you put me down now," Donald growled.

"Sure, except this time, you're carrying Jiminy."

Donald groaned, but didn't complain when Jiminy moved to sit on his hat. Sora was sure the cricket could keep Donald in line, at least until they left the treasure room. Goofy pocketed the gems and the group turned to leave. Just outside the archway, Sora saw something move over the treasure in the corner of his eye.

"Did you see that?"

Donald put a hand over his eyes, looking around. "See what?"

"There," Aladdin pointed.

A shadow moved over the treasure.

"A heartless?" Goofy said.

Aladdin whistled and Carpet put itself flat on the ground. Jumping on top of Carpet, he waved for Sora and the others to climb on. "If it is a heartless, we have to get rid of it. Jasmine's been working so hard to get Agrabah back to normal. I don't want all her hard work to go to waste."

They flew over the gold, keeping their eyes peeled for shadows where there shouldn't be. Then Carpet flew deeper into the caves, beyond the treasure, through a dark blue tube, and out into a gloomy cavern with a lake. Carpet lay flat on the ground, allowing Sora, Donald, Goofy and Aladdin off. Once free from his burden, Carpet bounced up and down, pointing with its tassel.

Following the direction Carpet had indicated, Sora saw a shadow slithering along the cave floor. It wasn't the familiar shape of a heartless. In fact, it was the shape of a tall, thin man in a top hat. The shadow moved toward the lake, over the stepping-stones toward a high pillar of rocks stacked one on top of each other.

Aladdin looked up at the top of the rock pillar. At the summit, there was a raised stone under a spotlight. "No! That's where the lamp is!"

Sora felt all of his muscles seize. "Jafar's lamp?"

Aladdin hopped onto Carpet. "He's a genie now remember! This is where he would be kept!"

The four friends jumped back on Carpet and flew through the sky toward the top of the pillar. Something flashed, and a ball of green light flew right at them. Carpet swerved out of the way, but its fabric caught fire. Donald and Goofy tried to pat down the flame, but the fire only grew, the green flames burning Carpet's back end to cinders.

Unable to fly, it floated weakly toward the lake. The water doused the fire. The four friends swam back to the bottom of the stone pillar. Donald and Goofy dragged Carpet out of the water.

The poor rug was half singed. It lay flat on the ground, trembling. Goofy held one of its tassels.

"Are you okay, Carpet?"

The rug shook its top half, no.

Donald pointed to the top of the pillar. "We'll stay here with Carpet. You two go and stop that shadow!"

Sora and Aladdin nodded and raced up the stairs, but when they reached the top it wasn't a shadow looming over Jafar's black lamp. It was a suave looking man. Leaning casually on his cane, the man tossed the lamp up and down in his free hand.

"Gentleman. You're late for the reunion party."

"Whoever you are, you'd better put that back where you found it," Aladdin warned. "You have no idea how dangerous that is."

"Now, do you really think that's fair, deriding my knowledge like that?" He brought his other hand closer to the lamp.

Sora, didn't wait, hurling his keyblade through the air at the man's hand. Something black and swirly appeared in front of the man. It hit the keyblade in midair, sending it hurtling down into the lake below. Sora raised his hand to call his keyblade back, but then felt himself falling backward onto his behind. Aladdin came down next to him. From underneath his legs, Sora spotted a shadow slithering across the stone floor, the same shadow that had crossed the rocks down below. The shadow moved across the platform, attaching to the tall man's feet.

Mama Odie's warning echoed in Sora's head.

"A shadow man? Are you the one that cursed Naveen and Tiana?"

The shadow man tipped his hat. "Dr. Facilier if you please. Enchanté."

He rubbed the lamp.

The cave rumbled as red smoke exploded from the lamp's tip. The smoke spread outward like a fan, lightning flashing within it. A sinister laugher echoed in the cave, making the lake water rise and fall in harsh waves below.

"Ah, Jafar," sang Dr. Facilier, "it's your lucky day. For you have a master with wishes that align with yours."

Aladdin regained his feet and jumped forward to try and snatch the lamp from Dr. Facilier's hand but the shadow man was thin and hard to catch, easily fox-trotting away from Aladdin's lunges.

"For my first wish," Dr. Facilier aimed his cane low, tripping Aladdin, "let's go terrorize Agrabah."

Sora wasn't fast enough, and neither was the blizzard spell he threw at Dr. Facilier. The man, his shadow, the lamp, and Jafar's red smoke all vanished, but not without leaving something behind. A pool of darkness remained where Dr. Facilier had stood, and out it rose a black, feminine shape.

Then, yellow eyes opened wide, a heart shaped symbol appearing on the creature's abdomen. It stood tall, with long antenna like pigtails and pink ribbons that extended from its slender body. Without warning, it raised its leg and aimed a kick at Sora's face.

He ducked, but not fast enough. The heartless' attack connected with his temple. Sora fell backward, the world spinning in front of his eyes. From far away he heard the sound of punches and kicks and the slicing of a sword cutting through the air, but his head was too full of spirals to understand it.

There was a hand on his shoulder, and then a warm feeling that trickled down from the top of his head to his toes and suddenly the world stopped spinning.

"Sora, move!"

A foot was coming down on top of his head. Sora rolled backward and then nearly lost his balance at the edge of the platform. Aladdin reached out, grabbed his hand and steadied him, but the heartless was still attacking. It threw out its arm, and the ribbon attached to it looped around Sora's wrist. Before he could even try to counterattack, the heartless hurled the ribbon into the air, sending Sora flying like a fish on a hook.

Upside down and disoriented, Sora saw Aladdin and the heartless clashing, sword versus kick, down below. His keyblade appeared in his hand, and as Sora fell, he kept his eyes locked on the pink ribbon at his wrist.

Red fire pooled at the tip of his keyblade. Sora wrapped the ribbon around the shaft of his weapon and then fired.

"Firaga!"

The ribbon ignited, the fire following the cloth all the way down to its owner. Too busy engaging Aladdin, the heartless flinched when the fire spell hit it square on the back. It pulled its ribbon back to it, and Sora fell, the water down below ready to pull him in.

He landed on something soft, but still he dunked into the lake. Sora resurfaced fast enough to see Carpet struggling to stay afloat. He reached out and grabbed a handful of Carpet's material before it could sink below the lake's surface.

Looking up, he spotted Aladdin, still fighting the heartless. The heartless blazed from Sora's fire spell, but it wasn't slowing down. Its movements were graceful and precise even as its ribbons began to disintegrate.

Donald and Goofy were running up the steps to help Aladdin but weren't able to reach him. The heartless was throwing its fiery ribbons at them, keeping them at bay.

"It's keeping us separate on purpose," Sora whispered.

With Carpet in his hand, he swam back to the opening of the cave and screamed.

"Guys! Don't fight it! Run!"

Donald and Goofy were the first to react, racing back toward the opening of the cave. Aladdin, still the closest the heartless, was able to summersault out of the way of the heartless' kick and then race back toward the bottom. Once he reunited with Donald and Goofy, the heartless backed off, keeping its distance, its ribbons getting closer to its body.

It looked up, saw Sora alone at the cave's entrance and charged.

Exactly like Sora wanted.

"Carpet," Sora whispered, "I know you're tired, but do you think you have enough in you to do one more thing?"

Carpet gave him a thumb's up.

"Okay, when the heartless get's close, I want you to trip it."

Sora let go of Carpet, saw the rug lie flat against the floor, raised his keyblade and felt the chill of his ice spell freezing the air around him. The heartless was several feet away, its ribbon stretching out to reach him.

"Blizaga!"

A torpedo of ice flew toward the heartless. It jumped over the attack and landed right on top of Carpet. Sora ducked its swing and then Carpet rolled out from underneath it, making the heartless reel backward and off balance for only a second, but it was enough time for Goody's shield to smack it from behind, followed by Donald's second fire spell, which distracted the heartless just enough for Aladdin to get close behind it and slice it with his sword, leaving Sora to deliver the finishing blow from the front.

He clocked the heartless right the head and it crumbled to the ground, leaving nothing but dark ash and flames. Sora reached down and carefully rolled up Carpet in his arms.

"Thanks. For saving me from bellyflopping dead into the lake, and for giving it your all."

Carpet waved him off, as if to say "no problem."

"I'm sorry," Sora tucked the rug under his arm. "Will Carpet stay broken like this?"

"Carpet should be fine as soon as Genie comes back," Aladdin answered, "but right now we have to get to Agrabah. There's no telling what Jafar and that Dr. Facilier guy will do.

Goofy reached into his pocket and pulled out four glass bottles. He handed each member of the party a potion.

"You might need these, fellars. That was a tough battle."

After drinking down the warm, sweet liquid, the group raced to the entrance of the Cave of Wonders. Sora hoped that Agrabah would still be standing by the time they reached it.

 

 

 

"Water!"

A torrent washed away the heartless in Kairi's path, sending them flying into the dark abyss down below, but another heartless troupe appeared in its place. Kairi whistled, and Oswald sprang forward from behind her, barbecuing the heartless with a thunder spell.

Oswald and Kairi gave each other a double high-five.

"You've gotten a lot better at channeling magic," Oswald said.

"I still feel like I still have a long way to go. If you weren't here with me, I don't know if I could fight off all these heartless by myself. They just keep coming." Kairi sighed. "I feel like we've been fighting the same ones over and over."

"We probably are."

"What do you mean?"

"Without a keyblade, we can never stop them. We can only keep them away for a little while, because they will spawn again and again. I know I've fought the same heartless a bunch of times."

"There must be a really important reason you're in here."

"There is. I'm also looking for someone."

"They must be special."

Oswald looked at his wand, his eyes softening. "She is."

Kairi leaned down so that she was looking straight into Oswald's eyes. A sly smile spread across her face. "She?"

Oswald's cheeks turned pink. "W-we should keep going. Do you sense light anywhere?"

"Come on, Ozzie. Don't change the subject! I want to know about this special lady."

Oswald's ears sprang back up, his black fur standing on end. "Ozzie?"

"Haven't I earned the nickname level of friendship yet?"

"Not until you've mastered the water spell."

Kairi poked him on the nose. "Come on. I'm going to keep asking about her until you tell me."

Oswald jumped backward and began tapping his foot on the ground. "No."

"Okay, I'll make you a deal. I'll stop asking about the mystery lady if you tell me one thing about her."

Oswald narrowed his eyes. "Really?"

"Promise." Kairi held up her pinky.

Oswald wrapped his pinky around hers. "One thing? It can be anything?"

"Yup. One."

"I'm not leaving the realm of darkness until I find her."

"Hey! That doesn't count! That's more about you."

"You said it could be anything." Oswald winked. "Now it's your turn to share."

Kairi reached out to pinch Oswald's cheek but then pulled her hand back. She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling something tingly in her toes. Oswald stood alert, looking around, searching for heartless. When none came, he walked over to Kairi and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Kairi? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just have a weird feeling."

"Like what?"

Kairi tried thinking of words to explain. It was as though she had remembered something scary, some deep, dark, night terror that made her snap awake at night, but she didn't know what. It as just a feeling, like she had gone days without sleep, or felt a weakness in her bones that said something had happened that wasn't supposed to. She had felt this way before, once, when the islands were being destroyed.

"It's like, I'm tired all of a sudden. Like something, somewhere is taking away all my strength."

"What do you think caused it?"

The words she spoke hadn't come from her mind, hadn't been there consciously. She felt them in her heart.

"Somewhere, in the realm of light, an evil wish was made."

 

 

 

Jiminy's Journal:

Aladdin (First Appeared in Aladdin, 1992): A quick witted, agile and optimistic citizen of Agrabah. He is dedicated to helping Jasmine put Agrabah back together again after Jafar and the heartless' attack, but is always willing to join Sora on a little adventure. Aladdin is kind and a team player, always willing to help others in need.

Captain Razoul (First Appeared in Aladdin, 1992): Captain of the guard for the Royal Family of Agrabah. Razoul is a stubborn man that judges a person based on their status. Despite his black and white view of justice, he is a loyal guard.

Princess Jasmine (First Appeared in Aladdin, 1992): Princess of Agrabah and one of the seven princesses of the purest heart, Jasmine has taken over ruling since losing her father at Jafar's hands. Highly intelligent and independent, Jasmine is not the type to let others order her around or decide what's best for her kingdom. She is able to see a plan from many angles and gives Sora some wise advice about his responsibility as keyblade master.

Abu (First Appeared in Aladdin, 1992): A monkey who's Aladdin's right hand pal. He loves treasure so make sure he isn't stealing anything he isn't supposed to.

Carpet (First Appeared in Aladdin, 1992): An enchanted Carpet from the cave of wonders. Loyal and brave, Carpet assists Aladdin and Jasmine in taking care of Agrabah and occasionally takes the two out on a romantic evening.

Dr. Facilier (First Appeared in The Princess and the Frog, 2009): A witch doctor with control over the shadows. He's as smooth as he is devious. His shadow is something to watch out for, as is his mysterious knowledge about other worlds.