Black Sand – Evils Reckoning
"Eternal life does sound promising…but first, I shall see to Aladdin's destruction." The ruler of the Land of the Black Sand had the black lamp in his tight grip. His blue outfit was an eerie image among the shadows of the throne room.
The massive red genie floated, motionless, next to the wizard. He was not happy that the human had released him. The human was so…cautious with his wishes. He refused riches, refused power. Only the promise of eternal youth and life had sparked some interest in him.
The red genie was now bound to the black lamp. What an error he had made, ordering that filthy mongrel of a blue genie to make him a genie himself. He should have known that power came with a compromise of sorts.
Mozenrath, the name of the wizard who had found the red genie's lamp, was also the ruler of the Land of the Black Sand. With a single movement of his powerful magic glove, the wizard vanished into thin air.
It was a simple teleportation spell. He reappeared deep underground, in a cell without light. A single chamber hundreds of meters under the earth, where Mozenrath kept him prisoner.
"Aladdin, how does it feel to finally taste defeat?" The wizard stood right in front of the young lad who was chained to the wall. Next to him was a cage that contained the big tiger that belonged to Princess Jasmine, as well as the annoying bird and monkey that Aladdin kept with him.
Mozenrath kept the boy's genie sealed in a separate chamber. His own genie had been…of valuable help in doing so.
"You aren't going to get away with this, Mozenrath!" the lad yelled, and he tried to break free of his chains. It was a rather futile attempt with his agile but not especially muscular frame.
"Excellent. Defiance in the eyes of inevitable defeat and loss. Just what I would expect from you, Aladdin." The red genie then laughed and took form, showing himself to Aladdin for the first time.
"Jafar!" Gasping with surprise, the boy's eyes widened in terror. If there was anyone worse than Mozenrath, then it was Jafar, the wizard who had taken over Agrabah not so long ago and who had only been beaten because of his greed for power.
"Indeed." The genie had now taken the form of a middle-aged man with red and black clothes and a long snake staff. "Welcome to your own personal hell, Aladdin."
"You can't kill me, Jafar! It's against the genie rules!" Aladdin smiled—only to be hit by a beam of black energy. Mozenrath was grinning in a devilish manner. "But I guess he can…"
"How about you leave him to me? He will be…surprised by what he can live through." Jafar was grinning smugly and he leaned forward, looking right into Aladdin's eyes. He would not be robbed of his revenge on the boy.
"I was planning to torture him myself, but I guess since you cannot kill him, I can let you have that little…pleasure." With monstrous laughter, the wizard again vanished into thin air, leaving the animals and the boy alone with the genie.
Despite the extreme barrier between the surface and the underground chamber, Mozenrath was sure he could hear Aladdin's screams of agony, which he found most pleasurable. With a wave of his hand, he summoned his mumlocks, his undead warriors and guards. "Find Princess Jasmine and that flying rug! Bring them to me…alive." He nearly hissed the last words and broke out into laughter. Everything was going as planned.
But there still was a problem. Jafar refused to tell him how exactly he had lost his last battle against Aladdin. There must be something the genie was hiding from him. He would learn…in time.
- Valiant Hearts -
Olette felt terrible. She still hadn't resolved her issues with Yuffie, and now Leon had called them for a new mission. But for the first time, she pushed aside personal feelings for just a little bit and concentrated on the mission in front of her.
"Kairi liberated that world in our crusade against Ansem's forces. But now something seems to have happened. Cid's tech is getting measurements of Heartless that we've never seen before. Kairi, I think you can explain better what exactly happened back then." Leon leaned on his favorite spot on the wall, while the girls were sitting in various spots, wearing their battle clothing.
"When I first went to Agrabah, the place was ruled by a wizard called Jafar. He was powerful, but with the help of a local boy named Aladdin and his genie, I was able to beat him. He ended up wishing himself into a genie to claim the world's heart for himself, but that was his demise. A genie is bound to a magic lamp, which can be used to control him. We made use of that and sealed him away. Then we hid the lamp." Kairi finished her report and looked at Leon.
"From what we know, we can assume that Jafar, now with the power of a genie, is responsible for the attack of the Heartless that occurred a while ago. We don't know if it was a warning or a trap to lure you there. Either way, we have little choice but to send you there. The gateway you used last time is still unstable. Cid invented a machine to open the portal safely, but you still need to be cautious when using it. Nothing like that malfunction has ever happened before, but does look like Jafar is responsible for that as well." Leon took a small break.
"We can safely assume that someone found the lamp and freed Jafar. Your mission is to go to Agrabah, restore order, and remove or kill Jafar if possible.
"From what we know, the laws of magic in that world are different. Magical beasts such as genies would not be affected by simple magic or weapons. The Keyblade is special, but it's untested. Thankfully, there is no sign of the Organization being involved in this." Leon looked from one girl to another. "Mission start is at 2200 hours. Get ready." He stood up straight and nodded. "Good luck."
Kairi had already explained the necessary things to the other girls. Beside their clothes, weapons, and rations, they needed special clothes to blend in and to be protected from the desert climate.
All three of them wore long capes that protected them from the sandy winds in every direction along with a head cloth. It was shortly after nine—in less than one hour they had to leave. Olette wanted to go and look for Yuffie, but they still had things to do.
Tifa and Aerith were waiting for them back at their house, and when they arrived, Aerith took Olette aside to recharge the lingering magic in her clothes. On a mission, Naminé could do it as well, but it was better for her at this point to conserve her power. Tifa gave Kairi and Naminé a few tips regarding the desert and dealing with wizards.
Olette gasped and twitched when Aerith shot raw magical energy into her clothes. It really helped her to avoid injuries, but the fact that Aerith had to recharge them because Olette lacked magical power herself was rather annoying. It hurt quite a bit, too.
"Have you seen Yuffie, Aerith?" Olette asked while the woman circled around her, testing the magical flow here and there, giving a small nod each time she found it to be satisfying.
"No. I'm sorry, Olette. Did something happen? Yuffie seemed a bit…angry the last time I saw her." Aerith gave Olette a pat on the head. "I almost forgot. Rydia brought this over earlier." Pulling a black headband from her pocket, she gave it to Olette. "It's the same thing Yuffie has, but this one is enchanted."
Olette grabbed the band. Hesitating slightly, she put it on. It fit to the inch. It also held some of her hair back, which could be useful in a fight. She had thought about getting a shorter cut before because of that.
"Thanks. Tell Rydia I'm grateful." Olette looked at the clock. Less than thirty minutes. They had to go.
Naminé and Olette went ahead and left, saying their goodbyes to Tifa and Aerith. Kairi stayed behind for a minute.
"I'll bring them back alive. Don't worry about us." After seeing the smiles on the faces of the two women, Kairi left and joined up with the other two girls.
Cid was already in place. He had finished adjustments on his gateway stabilizer. The portal was still dangerous, but he had found a way to stabilize it, which would give them the chance to go through it. Since there was no way to contact Hollow Bastion while at another world, he had to keep the portal open and seal the zone in case the girls came back.
"Y'all ready to go and kick ass?" Cid laughed and took a deep drag of his cigarette.
Kairi looked at her clock. It was ten minutes before ten. It would still take some time to open the gateway. They were right on time. "Yes."
Simultaneously, multiple Keyblades appeared. Two for Olette, and one for Kairi and Naminé each. They didn't know what was inside the portal, so just in case, they were going in full battle formation.
"Then let's start this thing up!" Cid hammered a few buttons and the machine started to emit a dark blue glow that grabbed the invisible portal. The previously dim outlines of the portal suddenly stabilized.
Naminé was the first to lift her Keyblade, and to the surprise of everyone, she shouted, "Wisdom!"
After getting confused looks from the others present, Naminé started smiling. "I read this in a book. The heroes go on an epic quest to vanquish evil. Each of them embodies something. I am Wisdom. Olette would be Power, and Kairi Courage. It was called The Legend of Hyrule."
Everyone started laughing. It was just like Naminé to come up with something so silly. Life was not as simple or easy as fiction, but why not? It certainly didn't hurt to be a little bit silly to relieve some stress just before a mission.
Naminé once again lifted her Keyblade, directed it at the portal, and with a deadly serious expression, she shouted, "Wisdom!"
Olette followed, lifting both her Keyblades and directing them at the gap in air. Taking a deep breath, she did it just like Naminé. Her voice triumphed far over Naminé's. "Power!"
Kairi felt a bit silly, but finished the scene by slowly lifting Oathkeeper to the gate. "Courage!"
The blades started to emit tiny light beams. They closed in on each other and finally merged in the place where the gateway was. A portal, one of darkness and mystery, opened in front of them. It was finally time—time to say goodbye to Hollow Bastion for some time and (how Naminé said it was so fitting) vanquish evil.
"Good riddance!" Cid yelled when everyone had jumped into the portal.
Not he nor the girls were aware that they had an observer, who stared at the portal with cold eyes.
The gateway was the same as ever…with one exception. There was a tremendous amount of Heartless right in front of the gateway that stretched far as they could see. There were much too many to get rid of one by one, but this was a bridge between worlds, the only place Naminé could go as wild as she wanted.
Kairi and Olette secured the front, cutting apart the Darkball Heartless that dared to approach them. Naminé was already gathering magic energy. Despite the fact that they didn't know what waited for them in Agrabah, it was better for Kairi and Olette to conserve their powers. If they didn't, Naminé alone would be up against the magic of a genie, and that was a losing battle, even for Aerith or Rydia.
Naminé was always growing, getting more powerful. And those Heartless would now feel her newly gained power."Heir to the flames so eternal, burning the core of the soul, deliverer of fiery judgment, horned beast man of hell. Bring oblivion to those standing before me! Ifrit!"
The ground split in front of Kairi and Olette, and two clawed paws arose out of it, pulling a heavy body behind them—a fire-breathing beast that was at least two meters in height. Naminé had successfully summoned the beast Ifrit, one of the royal eidolons of fire.
"Obliterate!" Naminé shouted, and the beast howled.
With just a few swings of his monstrous paws, wrapped in all-burning fire, Ifrit cleared the path before them. Naminé knew she couldn't keep this up for the entire way, so a few swings later, she changed orders. "Release your power!"
Naminé felt a stab of pain in her head and she staggered back a few steps. She had never done this before, and Ifrit's strength was beyond her expectations. Ifrit howled again and floated just a few feet above the ground. Fire surrounded him like comets of destructive power. With an ear-piercing howl, the eidolon flew through the Heartless, burning everything in his way to a crisp.
The path was clear. Olette offered support for Naminé, but the girl had already recovered. She knew she couldn't be a shackle on their legs forever.
Giving it their all, the girls ran. Cid and everyone could deal with a few measly Heartless.
Kairi didn't remember the way to Agrabah being so long. After a few minutes of running, Naminé was out of breath, but still keeping up. Aerith had taught her how to use a combination spell that was called Haste. It really helped her and Kairi to keep up with Olette, whose speed was unbelievable.
"Stop! It's right here!" Kairi stopped just as the Haste spell wore off. It had been a short-lived experience, but the spell was still useful. Kairi could never learn combination magic, and she once again was grateful Naminé was with her.
Kairi had no time for silliness now, so she opened the portal on her own, finding the exact point on instinct. The gateway opened, and all three of them jumped through. The pathway was once again filled with Heartless—something powerful must have caused them to appear.
And Kairi saw that it was something powerful indeed. Agrabah had changed.
The ground was the first thing they noticed. The sand was black, a dark shining sand that Kairi had never seen before. The city was virtually deserted, the streets empty, the market quiet. The palace was no longer where it used to be. It floated easily a hundred feet in the air over its initial position.
Kairi felt the danger immediately. Pulling Naminé and Olette by their arms, Kairi hid them in an empty house. What followed was rather disgusting. Eight zombies—that was the only possible explanation Kairi could come up when she looked at them—walked past the house, seemingly on patrol.
"Those aren't Heartless," Olette said, and immediately put a hand over her mouth. The zombies didn't seem to notice her. At least they weren't very bright.
The three of them went further into the house, hiding on the ground. "What's going on here, Kairi? I've never seen this world before, but I can tell it isn't supposed to look like this." Olette was confused. Zombies walking around was certainly not normal.
"You're right. This used to be a lively desert town. That flying palace over there must be Jafar's work. I don't know where the zombies came from. Genies are restricted from killing and resurrecting people." Kairi was well informed on these things from the last time she'd been there.
"Let's lie low and get to the palace. It's dark, but we should be careful." Kairi looked at the other two, who acknowledged her words as an order. Leaving their Keyblades—they would attract the Heartless—they began their infiltration. As they moved closer, they found out what had happened to the people of Agrabah.
On the roof stood two human statues. It was clear that they had been human at some point. Their expressions, their clothes…everything pointed towards that fact. They had been petrified alive, turned from flesh to stone.
Kairi was not sure if it was Jafar's work, but it sure looked like it. But why rule over a kingdom with nobody to rule…unless this was just a temporary measure. What was Jafar planning…?
Olette found it much easier than the other two to jump from roof to roof, while Naminé needed her and Kairi's help. After a while, Olette simply grabbed the sorceress by her waist and jumped while holding her.
It was too easy…much too easy to get near the palace. Something was up.
Part of the palace's dungeon was still visible in the ground. Whatever had lifted the building had done so with brute force. Zombies were patrolling the streets in massive numbers. It was sheer luck that they had gone undetected until now.
"How are we going to get up there?" Naminé said.
"It's risky, but let's look for the boy who helped me last time. He had a genie and a flying carpet. We could use those. Naminé, you wait here. Olette, you'll know him when you see him. He has short puffy black hair and he's usually accompanied by a small monkey and the flying carpet. You're the fastest of us, but try to be cautious. Jafar hesitated to get rid of me when he had the chance, but he probably won't commit the same error again," Kairi ordered, and looked around. This place was as good as any. It was high, and the walls provided some cover from the wind and curious eyes.
"I'll be back in thirty minutes." Olette jumped off the building, rammed her Keyblade into the wall, and used it as a stepping stone to reach the building across the street.
Kairi sighed. "That wasn't subtle or cautious…"
She looked at Naminé; she still had things for her to do. "I want you to rest. I don't know when Jafar will notice us, and you've already summoned something." Kairi knew a lot about the strain of using magic. She had talked about it with Rydia and Aerith multiple times.
Naminé didn't object. She lay against the wall and closed her eyes, trying to relax her mind. It didn't take much to cancel the effect of a single summoning. She didn't have to sleep. Just closing her eyes and losing some fatigue was enough.
Kairi, in the meanwhile, monitored the streets. The patrols occurred in regular intervals. It was difficult to determine the zombies' strength without fighting them, but if they had to, then it was more advantageous to do so as far away from the palace as possible.
Half an hour passed. Naminé finished recovering, but remained on stand-by. She only stood up and moved around every ten minutes to prevent her body from falling asleep. In this way she continued to preserve her mental power in case of an emergency. Kairi was proud that Naminé had listened well to her explanations and rules.
There was no sign of Olette. Kairi began to anticipate the worst. But there had been no alarm. Kairi decided she would give her another five minutes until she alarmed Naminé and moved positions.
But before that, something unexpected happened. Kairi instantly recognized someone who was not part of her team.
It was the woman Aladdin had saved from Jafar last time. She was wrapped in black clothes and had her hair in a tight ponytail. Armed only with a whip, she was heading to the palace on a flying carpet. Kairi knew that what she was doing was suicide. Jafar would just shoot her down or capture her and the carpet both. By the time they flew past the place where Kairi was hiding, more than half the city was alarmed.
"Naminé! Shoot her down!" Kairi ordered and the blond witch instantly jumped up and took a few seconds to find her target. "Get her to land! Don't injure them if possible!"
They were allies, not enemies, but they were a liability, approaching like that. That woman might be brave, but evidently she was not very smart.
There was no time for incantations. Using Monochrome as an amplifier, Naminé fired multiple salves of ice magic at the carpet, forcing it to lower its altitude. Kairi could only hope that Olette was watching them.
Luck was on her side. From a nearby building, a shadow raced over the ground. After an enormous jump, the shadow crashed into the carpet, forcing it to land. The whole spectacle didn't take more than fifteen seconds.
"We're moving!" Kairi didn't wait for a reply. Naminé would follow her unconditionally anywhere. Leaving the roof, they headed down the street, where Olette was fighting off the zombie soldiers as she protected the woman and the carpet.
"Olette! Come on!" Kairi shouted, and summoned Oathkeeper to take care of two approaching zombie guards. She attacked them and they burst into smaller parts upon the impact of the weapon.
Olette caught up with them, keeping the rescued woman next to her. The carpet floated right above them.
"Naminé, let's get out of here!" Kairi said, and started to fire carefully at the approaching guards. They were useless—glass cannons. The Heartless that joined the fight because of the Keyblades posed much more of a threat. But they were attacking the guards too.
"Dark Mist!" Naminé shouted. Her spell wrapped the entire street in a thick fog. Kairi grabbed the hands of her fellow Keybladers and started running. She knew this part well enough from her observations to sense where the guards' blind spots were.
- Valiant Hearts -
Yuffie ran for her life. The zombies were no problem, but the guy who ordered them around surely was. She had been not cautious enough—trying too hard to look for Olette.
Dodging another beam of black energy, Yuffie jumped over the edge of a building, made a rapid descent, and threw a smoke grenade just below her before vanishing into the building behind her and going back up the stairs.
She was too smart for the wizard. She could hear him cursing and shouting for the zombies—he called them mumlocks—to look for the "pesky little girl." Who did that guy think he was?
But Yuffie had problems of her own. The room she was in suddenly blocked out all sound and light. It was dark before, but now she was in pitch-black darkness.
"You…are with the Keybladers." Someone's voice echoed in her head. Yuffie was unable to move. It was like she was wrapped in thick chains, or paralyzed. What trickery was this? The wizard had obviously lost her, so who…?
A face appeared before her, out of nothingness. It was a red face, with a smooth beard and a mustache, pointy ears, and empty yellow eyes. "You looked like you were in trouble. You're safe here. Excuse the little…inconvenience my magic caused you."
Yuffie was doubtful. What was this thing? How did it know she was related to Olette and the others? There…was something odd about him. But she couldn't tell right away what. At least she could move now, even though the room was still pitch black. Something told Yuffie that this was no longer a room at all.
"Who are you? Why did you help me? And how did you know about the Keyblade?" Yuffie remembered parts about the reports from Kairi's first trip to this place. Something about an evil wizard being the source of the Heartless.
"I am a genie. Obviously I know about the Keybladers, those who banish the dark ones. And I helped you because I need your help." Jafar pulled a sad face as if he were telling a sob story. "The wizard you just escaped—he is my master. He wants to throw this world into darkness with my help."
"Why should I believe you? What if you're just one of the wizard's elaborate ploys?" Yuffie looked around for a way out, but no matter how far she went, it seemed like this space was just a few feet wide. She couldn't get away from the face.
"You do not have to believe me, but hear me out at least. I want your help. Free me from my master! I can grant anyone three wishes, and the wizard is already thinking of using them to throw this world into chaos!" Jafar had met enough heroes to know that the phrase "you do not have to believe me" was a surefire way of making them believe anything.
Yuffie took a deep breath. She remembered something about a genie. Hadn't the boy who helped Kairi beat the wizard had a genie? Could it be this one?
"Why do I need to free you? If you saved me from the wizard, can't you just escape from him as well?" Yuffie didn't know the slightest thing about how the whole genie business worked.
"I cannot. There are some things a genie is not allowed to do. I cannot kill, I cannot make someone love another, I cannot revive the dead, I cannot turn my magic against my master, I—"
"That's a lot of things you can't do. And how would I go about freeing you from the wizard? Would that mean I can be granted any three wishes too?" Yuffie imagined a really, really big stash of materia.
"My lamp. We genies are bound to a lamp. The owner of the lamp, the one who holds it, owns the genie. The wizard has hidden the lamp in the palace. But I cannot show it to you or give it to you. Genie rules." Jafar was slowly making progress. "But there is one way for me to escape the rules."
Yuffie was a little curious. Escape the rules? "Does that mean you could kill, use your magic against your master, make someone love…another…" Yuffie's mind stopped working for just a second. If she were to own the lamp…
"Yes. Only slave genies are bound to the lamp. If you were so noble as to wish a poor genie free, I'd be able to fulfill any of your wishes. Not just three, but any. But nobody bothers to wish a genie free. I have been in service for over ten thousand years, and not once has my master considered wishing me free."
Yuffie was fighting in her mind. Was it right to believe him? But if he was speaking the truth…wouldn't that mean he could make it so that Olette forgot about her feelings for Kairi? So that she returned to Yuffie, and they could be happily together?
"Who says you won't just turn on me? Who hasn't heard it before! A powerful magic entity sealed in something, asking for a brave hero to release it. And the second the hero does, the entity kills the hero. Who says things aren't going to go that way?" Yuffie was still suspicious of the genie.
"Before you release me, you could wish for me to never harm you. You have three wishes. You can use up two before you wish me free! But only as free genie am I also free from rules. Is there one particular wish you would want fulfilled?" Jafar was smiling nicely. "Do you want me to revive someone from the dead? To kill an enemy of yours? To give you the love of someone you hold dear?"
Yuffie's eyes widened, and Jafar's grin turned smug. "I see you have someone on your mind. Someone you hold really dear, perhaps? Or maybe someone that has been stolen away from you? A nobleman you could never dream to reach? An old love you want to regain?" The girl didn't have to know that these things were actually outside his power. The rules didn't change for free genies.
Yuffie was shaking. Olette could be hers. Her feelings for Kairi would vanish completely. They could go back to how things were before. Joking around, living together, being happy. It was all…it was all Kairi's fault that her happiness was slowly being taken from her. It was not fair. Not fair at all!
"You could really do that?" Yuffie was wavering. The temptation was eating away at her. The jealousy in her head made her blind to the danger.
Jafar seemed to inhale a lot of air and grew in size. The rest of his genie body appeared, muscular and powerful, and he posed before Yuffie. "Phenomenal cosmic powers! But only as a free genie can I fulfill your wish for love or kill the wizard. But to free me, you first have to get my lamp back from him."
Jafar was so very close, he could literally taste victory already. "The wizard has hidden the lamp well inside the palace. Even I do not know where it is. I could only find it if he rubbed it. But he keeps me as I am, unable to return into my small but only home." It didn't hurt to tell a bit more of a sob story. The Keybladers and their friends were suckers for justice.
"Can you bring me to the palace? I don't have the tools with me to go there myself. I…I will free you, genie. But I will not completely trust you yet. I shall make a wish for you to never hurt me." Yuffie was not taking any chances. If she truly could get Olette back with this…
"I cannot, I am sorry. But I can give you the ability to go there. I shall return us to Agrabah." He snapped his fingers and Yuffie found herself on the roof of a house. Most of the city's houses looked the same, but she was sure it was the one she had passed on her run from the wizard.
Jafar snapped his fingers again and Yuffie felt kind of sick. She staggered backwards. Falling on her bottom, she noticed that she had grown black, spiky wings—the kind one would expect on a demon or succubus.
"With these, you should reach the palace easily. The lamp is small, black and…" Jafar thought for a second, snapped and created a black lamp that looked just like his. It was an ordinary oil lamp.
"It looks like this one. Please, find my lamp and release me from the influence of the wizard!" Jafar made his last plea and pretended to vanish. "He is calling me. I trust in you, girl!" With a single small puff of wind, he disappeared.
Yuffie had a few problems using these new wings of hers. It was difficult to just take off. Why couldn't that genie think of something better? But since they were part of her body, she could easily avoid the problem of losing her method of transport.
Way ahead of her, near the palace, there was quite a spectacle going on. Yuffie could tell, even as far away as she was. Someone was firing fire magic at something in the air. But it was too far to make out who was shooting and at what. But it could only be Naminé or Kairi. Olette must be with…her.
Yuffie gritted her teeth. She could only take so much. Olette was probably enjoying her time with Kairi already. Kairi. It was all her fault…if only she didn't exist!
Using the commotion to practice flying, Yuffie quickly got the gist of it. It was not really difficult, just tiring. She didn't even bother looking for Olette anymore. Kairi would just send her back, and Olette would happily obey. No…she had to get that lamp. And to get Olette back from that thief.
The palace seemed virtually unguarded. Yuffie approached from below, in the shadow of the floating thing. Not even mumlocks were there. But she couldn't let her guard down. If that genie thing really could grant any three wishes…then the lamp must be well protected.
Making her way up, Yuffie finally landed on a window ledge high up on a tower. This place was least likely to be guarded. While it seemed like a good idea to have a lot of guards around, Yuffie knew that a good disguise was more often than not a much better guard than a dozen of the best men one can find.
The wings were helpful in infiltrating the palace, but they were a hindrance when sneaking around. Yuffie had a hard time getting used to moving around without her wings knocking things over all the time.
The top room was just a stockroom full of old trunks. It seemed as if nothing was there, yet Yuffie looked through every box.
She would find that lamp. She would find it and get Olette back.
- Valiant Hearts -
"I remember you. You helped Aladdin beat Jafar." Jasmine, the princess of Agrabah, sat in front of Kairi. Olette stood guard, and Naminé backed up Olette in case of an emergency.
"It was a bit different than what you've probably heard, but yes. We worked together. What's going on here?" Kairi was hungry for information. It was incredibly lucky to get both a means to reach the palace and a source of information all at once. Fortuna must be shining on her.
"Mozenrath. He is the ruler of the Land of the Black Sand to the east. He found Jafar's lamp and has taken over Agrabah. All the others were captured or turned to stone. Can you help us?" The princess looked desperate. She and her friends had dealt with a lot of villains up to now, even Mozenrath, but Jafar and Mozenrath together bore a dangerous combination.
"We can make use of the flying carpet. He'll be very useful. Our main goal is to get rid of Jafar. He's luring the Heartless to this place." When talking to the denizens of worlds, Kairi never got into much detail about exactly what the Heartless were. If the people asked, she just said they were monsters from the darkness.
"We need to wait until things have calmed down a bit. I've never been inside the palace. I will take you with us as a guide." Kairi knew it was risky, but she had little choice. Wandering blindly about in Jafar's lair, with another wizard being there too, was suicide.
"We could use the genie Aladdin had," Kairi said. "Has he been captured too?" It didn't take a genius tactician to decide that it was best to pitch one genie against another.
"You saw the big crystal in the middle of the palace? That is the Crystal of Ix. Mozenrath uses it to trap genies." Jasmine remembered their many encounters with Mozenrath in the past year. "He can only trap one at a time, so Jafar is still out and about. Knowing Mozenrath, he'd never let something more powerful than himself roam free."
"You sound like you know a lot about this wizard guy. Tell me more. It'll be more advantageous for us if they think we're gone. We'll infiltrate the palace just before dawn, so we have plenty of time." Kairi sat down. Nobody had their Keyblades out. It was just stupid to needlessly attract the attention of the Heartless now.
"He's scum. Very ambitious scum," the princess said. "He wants to rule all of the Seven Deserts. One of those is his own kingdom, the Land of the Black Sand. His source of power is a magical glove on his right hand. Without that, he cannot do anything. He creates and controls his zombie legion, the mumlocks. He is every bit as wicked and evil as Jafar, but not as powerful or smart."
Jasmine summoned up everything they knew about Mozenrath. She was well aware that the three warriors wouldn't understand all the details she knew from her adventures, so she kept it to just the important facts.
"And he is obsessed with magic. He has sensors everywhere to register magic. I don't know why they aren't going off near you. It makes no sense."
Kairi instinctively knew that it was obvious they wouldn't work on them. This was an alien world. Their magic was entirely different from Naminé's and her own. Keyblades were special to begin with. This was an enormous advantage.
"Our magic is special." Kairi didn't need to tell her they were from another world. It was one of the rules to not carelessly tell people that there were other worlds beside their own. Nobody knew exactly how it worked, but once that knowledge spread and became common knowledge, the barrier holding the Heartless back weakened considerably. To spread that knowledge was to doom the world.
"Does the carpet respond to any special name?" Kairi wanted to make sure the rug actually listened to her. It would be certain death to fall over hundred feet from the floating palace and hit the ground. She wanted to avoid that.
"Just Carpet. We all call him that." Jasmine looked at the flying carpet that was lying on the ground, silent and unmoving. Was he resting? Did carpets get tired in the first place?
"Rest until one of us wakes you." Kairi stopped when she finally remembered something important. "I'm Kairi. The blond girl is Naminé. The brunette is Olette." Turning around again, Kairi left to relieve Naminé from her post.
"What did she say?" Olette didn't look at Kairi, just whispered. The number of patrols had increased drastically. They knew someone was here and that they meant trouble.
"A magic-obsessed wizard and an evil genie. Just our luck. At least there is no sign of the Heartless showing up without us drawing weapons. No sign of the Organization, either." Kairi looked over her shoulder and saw Naminé talking to the princess.
She had told the witch girl that it was their top priority to keep it a secret where they came from. Kairi hoped that Naminé had not forgotten that.
"We cannot fight a genie face to face. We can't hurt him. While he can't kill us, you'd be surprised what you can live through," Kairi said, and looked at Olette. She wanted to talk to her about Yuffie, but this was a mission. Such things had to wait. Saving this world from its destruction was their primary goal.
"It's handy to have you around in times like these, Olette. Magic obviously won't help us here. But wizards are prone to be physically weak. If it comes down to it, can you do it?" Kairi didn't need to say what she had to do. Olette was prepared to kill ever since they had barely escaped with their lives from that blond member of the Organization.
"I won't hesitate to kill him. If I have to stain my hands with blood, then at least let it be the blood of evil." Olette clenched her fists. If necessary, she would crush him with her bare hands. No more hesitation in destroying the enemy. Almost dying once was more than enough.
"I'm counting on you." Kairi tapped Olette's shoulder and took a few steps back. "Naminé, how are you feeling?" Kairi was always worried about the girl's mental condition. On a mission, it was crucial for her to be in top condition at all times.
"You're worrying too much, Kairi. You saw what I'm capable of in the mock battle. I'm not made of glass." Naminé looked serious, and Kairi felt a little stab in her heart. It was true, she was worrying too much.
"But thank you for worrying." Naminé stood up and kissed Kairi on the cheek. She was not embarrassed, kissing Kairi in front of someone unknown.
Jasmine had the decency to look away, but she couldn't help but ask herself if those girls were all…that way. But that didn't matter now. If they could save Agrabah, then she welcomed all help. And they certainly acted like professionals. The clothes, the weapons, their behavior. Not even the palace guards were like this.
"It's 0100 hours. We're starting the infiltration at 0130 hours," Kairi said in a low voice. In a world where there were genies and sorcerers, the walls probably had ears. "Olette, I have a job for you before we start. I trust you can handle it."
"I'll stir things up somewhere else, right?" It played out to their advantage that the Heartless were also attacking the zombies and that the people of Agrabah were stone statues for the time being. It all seemed too easy. Like someone had expected them to come.
"Be careful. You're strong and fast, but if either Jafar or Mozenrath gets you, we have a problem. I trust you that won't happen." Kairi looked at Olette, who just showed she had understood with a nod. "Good luck."
"I don't need luck. But thank you." Olette smiled and vanished down the street. The patrols were due in ten minutes, so she had more than enough time to avoid them.
"Once she returns, we will immediately leave for the palace. They will concentrate their forces on looking for Olette and they'll have to deal with the Heartless. It's risky, since they might see through our plan, but it's the best choice we have to make it into the palace undetected," Kairi explained to the princess. She expected Naminé to understand basic strategies like this by now.
Lying down, the three girls could hear and see dozens of guards running away from the palace after a while. Kairi estimated that the clash between Olette and the mumlocks was taking place near the gate. It would be perfect if the enemy were to think that Olette was a reinforcement.
"Follow me." Kairi waved Naminé, Jasmine, and the carpet to go to the roof. Olette would find a way to get to them. It was time to leave and to infiltrate the palace.
- Valiant Hearts -
Olette was dealing with much more than she had anticipated. There weren't just a few Heartless—there were hundreds of them. It was at the level where she couldn't take it easy anymore. Running over the street towards the palace, multiple large-scale Heartless were blocking her way. The mumlocks were nothing more than obstacles to her, too slow and weak to be a threat.
Throwing Circle of Life and cutting the massive Heartless on the left in half, Olette stepped on the smoldering remains of the killed Heartless without hesitation. She used it as a stepping stone and cut off the head of the other large Heartless next to her. She had adapted quite a few techniques of her own, but this was hardly the moment to test them out.
Recalling the second blade, Olette slashed and hacked her way through the smaller Heartless with ease, eventually using full force because it was harder to restrain herself from doing so.
When she turned a corner, Olette found herself in a pinch. There were Heartless everywhere. It was an invasion. She couldn't be the only one attracting these Heartless.
Doing a double backflip, Olette did something she would later regret. Taking a deep breath, and slashing horizontally at the approaching saber-wielding Heartless, she started to spin around her own axis, using Hero's Crest as centrifugal force to keep spinning faster and faster.
Olette let go of Circle of Life, and the blade flew with monstrous speed into the masses of the Heartless. She recalled the blade immediately. Repeating the process in increasingly faster intervals, she turned the area into a hail of Keyblades.
But it was too hard to keep it going continuously. Instead of slowly spinning out, Olette rammed the newly-returned blade into the ground, coming to a brutal hold. She was the only one of the three Keybladers who could withstand such an act. Kairi would have surely lost her arm.
Olette's vision was still shaky, but the Heartless were vastly decimated. Using both Keyblades as anchors, she rammed them into the wall, then moved up the wall like a spider. In times like these, her enormous strength came in handy. The Heartless below quickly started to disappear, and the first shadow Heartless appeared on the roof. She didn't lose any more time. Olette cut away whatever dared to extend its ugly head out of the shadows. It was not much further to the meeting point.
In fact, she could already see them. They were waiting for her. Jumping across the gap between two buildings with ease, her landing slightly unsteady, Olette continued to run and cut away the Heartless in her path. A big building was before her, and there was already a mass of Heartless on it.
Holding both Keyblades up and jumped much too high for a normal jump across buildings, Olette laid waste to the entire roof with one mighty blow. The ceiling crumbled from the enormous impact and the Heartless were falling like flies. Olette had just crushed everything in her path.
"Fly!" Olette shouted, and Kairi turned around. When she saw her companion, she gave the order to the carpet to fly. She trusted Olette blindly.
Olette ran as fast as she could, jumping from fragment to fragment, making it to the next building. In terms of distance, she was ahead of the others, but they were on the other side of the street. Throwing both Keyblades at the Heartless behind her, Olette jumped with all her might.
Flying over the street, Olette gained height—and then lost it. The ground was coming closer quickly. But she, too, trusted her partners. She stretched her arm out, and just before she hit the roof line of the buildings, someone grabbed her hand.
They were flying at maximum speed. Kairi was on her knees on the carpet, holding Olette's hand in a tight grip. "Got you."
But they were not long out of danger. A weird type of flying Heartless with wings was right on their tail. The carpet did its best to avoid the saber-wielding, flying versions of the Heartless below them.
"I remember those. What are they doing here?" Kairi knew this kind from her trip to a world called Neverland. But what were they doing in Agrabah? Were the Heartless getting stronger?
Jasmine was too afraid of these things to even ask what they were. At least they couldn't hurt the people of Agrabah. And she had her hands full watching out for the flying bastards. It came in handy that she knew how to use a whip.
Kairi pulled Olette up onto the carpet. Naminé was already getting ready. Good. Kairi organized the situation and took control. "Fire away! Forget about the ones behind us. Olette, you take care of anything that comes close. Naminé, blast free a way to the palace."
"Thundaga!" Naminé shouted, and a rain of lightning annihilated potentially hundreds of Heartless. They were quickly replaced, but the carpet was quite fast. They were halfway there when Naminé unleashed her second salve of magic and obliterated another squadron of Heartless.
"Where the hell are they all coming from?" Olette shouted. Thank God she had mastered the trick of recalling thrown Keyblades. It was a mighty important trick right now. If only she had more Keyblades! There was a small delay between throwing and recalling a blade.
"I suppose this is Jafar's work. He was behind this the first time as well," Kairi said, and fired several salves of fire magic at approaching Heartless. They were still the same brainless foot soldiers as always. Easy to kill, but dangerous in numbers.
"I'm sorry, but this salve is probably going to hit the palace!" Naminé shouted, and fired another serving of Thundaga magic right at the approaching forces. Part of it hit the palace and caused severe destruction, but the way was clear. They successfully made it into the palace and were right above the garden.
"Princess, what's below here?" Kairi had an idea, but they had to act quickly. Jafar, if he wasn't the one that had sent the Heartless after them, was very likely aware that they had entered the floating palace.
"Part of the dungeon," Jasmine answered, not entirely sure. The palace had been slightly…remodeled by Mozenrath and Jafar.
Kairi nodded, gave Naminé a sign, and had the carpet rise higher.
"Firaga!" Naminé blasted a hole through the ground and Kairi steered the carpet right below the garden grounds. There was a multitude of corridors, and Kairi took the smallest one. If anyone followed them, they had Naminé for long-range protection and Olette for close range. If they couldn't surround them, they had the advantage.
The girls jumped off. The ground was wet and slippery. Their surroundings fit the stereotypical images of medieval dungeons a little too closely for Kairi's taste. The walls were made of thick dark bricks. This route must lead right to an exit in the ground, considering that part of the dungeon was still on the ground below them.
"Princess, are there any secret passages to the throne room?" Kairi knew they had to act first before the confusion of breaking into the palace was gone. Not even a genie could look everywhere at once. And the palace, just as Kairi guessed, had countless corridors and secret passages.
"Yes, follow me."
- Valiant Hearts -
"Where were you, Jafar? There are intruders in the palace! And the city is full of some kind of weird black magic creatures. My sensors are useless now!" Mozenrath walked up and down in the throne room, the genie quietly floating a few feet in the distance, listening to the sorcerer's ranting.
"I was casting a barrier around the palace to prevent said creatures from coming in. They are called the Heartless. They follow the Keybladers, very dangerous individuals, everywhere they go." Jafar had not told the wizard too much of other worlds and of the Heartless. Mozenrath didn't seem interested at all anyway. He was satisfied ruling just the Seven Deserts. What a narrow-minded and small wizard he was. Weak both in power and ambition.
"I do not care who they are! I want them gone. Nothing shall stand between me and my rule over the Seven Deserts!" Mozenrath growled. "Genie! Get rid of them!"
Jafar pretended to obey and vanished into thin air. What a stupid man Mozenrath was. To think he could command him, the greatest wizard ever to be, like some common creature! How surprised that pathetic wizard would be when he learned that it was he, Jafar, who would rule over Agrabah, the Seven Deserts, and more—with the power of the Heartless.
Reappearing in the royal treasure chamber, he looked around. The girl was quite clever. Even he had trouble finding her when he really wanted to. Tired of the little game of hide and seek, he simply spoke up.
"Girl. You must hurry with finding the lamp. The wizard is getting impatient. I do not know how much longer I can stall him." Jafar's scheme was coming along nicely. "He has ordered me to make the Keybladers his allies. He wants the Keyblades. I fear the worst for your friends if he succeeds." Jafar didn't know as much about the Keyblades as Yuffie, but it was enough to know that they were desirable tools.
Yuffie, hidden under a pile of gold, freed herself and stood up. She would soon find the lamp. It had not been in the towers or the treasure room. The genie had taken away her wings. She no longer needed them, and they were a bother while looking for the lamp anyway.
"If you do not want to kill him, and I understand well a good girl like you wouldn't, there is this…crystal of his that we could use to trap him. He might very well use the crystal and try to trap me. Then your wishes shall never be granted, and he will eventually rule over all of the Seven Deserts…" He had to get rid of Mozenrath fast. Up until now, Jafar had been able to deceive him, but who knew how much longer Mozenrath would resist the urge to make a wish that changed Jafar's plans greatly.
Yuffie's expression changed when the genie mentioned that she could lose her wishes if the wizard trapped the genie. She would prevent that and kill him. All her thoughts were concentrated on Olette. Kairi didn't deserve her. She had Naminé, and even Tifa and Aerith.
She…she had nobody. Yuffie had no one other than Olette. And she would not allow the one person she loved to be taken away from her. Not by Kairi. Not by anyone else.
"I will get rid of him. But you need to stop him from getting to the Keybladers first." Yuffie looked around. There were barely any guards in the palace, and it was extremely unlikely they would check the treasure room. She was safe here.
"I will do all I can." Jafar bowed and vanished into thin air. Everything was going exactly as planned…
Well, not quite everything.
Mozenrath was much smarter than Jafar gave him credit for. But nothing of the knowledge he possessed stemmed from his own achievements. A small winged cat floated next to the young wizard, sitting on the throne. It was just so…predictable how things would end if Jafar had his way with them. It had been time to spice things up a little.
"So Jafar is trying to remove the lamp from my reach. It doesn't matter. I still have the Crystal of Ix. No genie or magical being can escape it. Except you, Chaos." Mozenrath turned to the ever-smiling cat.
"Oh, no need to thank me." The cat named Chaos started to laugh. "I just…made things a little less…predictable!" He floated off and vanished into thin air, only his laughter remaining in the grand hall.
"It's time to meet those intruders." Mozenrath didn't know the palace well, but Chaos had been very helpful. With a big swing of his glove, he covered himself with dark energy and vanished. Jafar would not have his way with him, oh no.
When he appeared right below the throne room, he was instantly forced to the ground, and rolled onto his back. Two large blades loomed over him, threatening to cut off his head. Whoever the intruders were, they were well prepared and…he saw a familiar face.
"Chaos! You betrayed me!" Mozenrath cursed.
"Oh no. I just made…" He never got to finish his line.
"Things less predictable? I should have known!" Mozenrath hissed. Looking over his shoulder, he could barely believe what he was seeing. Three girls, armed to the teeth with long blade-like weapons, and Princess Jasmine. He had hit the ground so hard, he was sure a guy twice his size had knocked him down.
He then took a deep breath, regaining his calm. "I've come to offer a deal."
"What could you possibly offer, Mozenrath?" Jasmine stepped in front and talked to the wizard on the ground. Olette was ready to cut off his head if he made a suspicious move.
"Your friends' lives." He grinned diabolically. Jasmine looked at Kairi with pleading eyes, but Kairi pulled her back.
"What do you want in exchange?" she asked.
While it was Kairi's policy not to mess with alien worlds' affairs too much, it also was her priority for everyone to stay alive. And "everyone" was, first and foremost, her own team.
"I want you to help me trap Jafar in the large crystal in the center of the palace. He is both our enemy. After that, we will go our separate ways. Nothing more." Mozenrath was sure they would take the deal.
"Not good enough. We help you, you release your prisoners, and tell us how to permanently get rid of Jafar," Kairi said, and winked Olette. The blades moved closer together.
Mozenrath had problems talking without the edges cutting into his throat now. "Okay, okay. You win. To get rid of a genie, you have to destroy his lamp. But Chaos told me that the lamp is being hunted by an outsider, with Jafar's help. One of you?" He was still held on the ground, but Olette now giving Kairi a questioning look.
"Not one of us. We were the first to infiltrate the palace." Kairi gave the other two a meaningful glare. They had better not contradict Kairi. This guy didn't need to know that there were only three of them.
"You need to lure Jafar to the balcony or somewhere outside. The crystal's tracking beam cannot pass solid matter." He only told them what they needed to know. After Jafar was in the crystal, and his power was at Mozenrath's command, he would annihilate them. For he was not bound to the silly rules of the genies.
"If you do not honor your deal—" Kairi pointed the edge of Oathkeeper at the throat of the wizard. "We will kill you. Do not fool yourself into thinking your magic will work on us. These weapons are special. Not even a genie is immune to them." Kairi was lying her ass off, but Mozenrath seemed to buy it.
He knew nothing about these outsiders, and he had never even heard of weapons like these. They…resembled a mixture of a sword and a giant…key? No matter what kind of weapon it was, they were not joking about using them. But what did it matter? They might resist the magic itself, but one could do much more than that with the power of a genie.
"I shall wait at the crystal. Once you lured Jafar outside, the crystal will react by itself and capture him. After that, we will be enemies." Mozenrath had done well, not telling anyone for what purpose he was trapping Jafar. "After we trap him, we will have all the time in the world…to clear our differences." Yes. He'd have time to destroy those pesky outsiders.
Kairi smelled something fishy. A villain never made a fair deal. He would betray them as soon as Jafar no longer posed the bigger threat. But for now, there was little choice.
"Olette, hit his face. Make it look like he escaped us narrowly." Kairi gave the order to beat the surprised wizard without the slightest regard for the fact that he was human too.
Olette clenched her fist and hit the wizard so hard that he was lifted off his feet and crashed in the wall. A couple hits later, his face was littered with injuries. Letting her knuckles crack, Olette took position for one last hit when Kairi held her back.
"That's enough. Go, wizard. We will do our part. You do yours. We will come after you next."
Kairi decided that if they were involved this far into other worlds, they might as well clear up the mess Jafar had caused. The Heartless must have surrounded the castle in the thousands by now. Whatever held them back, once they got rid of it, Naminé had quite a job to do.
With a hissing sound, the wizard vanished as quickly as he had come. Jasmine was not sure if she was afraid of the toughness of these girls or simply amazed. Maybe a little of both. They seemed not to think of Mozenrath as human or even a living creature. The red-haired girl giving the order had been as cold as stone the whole time, and the brunette had monstrous strength and followed every order as faithfully as a religious fanatic. The power of the blond girl…she had seen that before. She was wielding magic powerful enough to make Jasmine think the girl was a witch.
"Naminé, you protect the princess. I am the only Keyblader that Jafar knows. As it was I who sealed him, he will try and take revenge on me. Olette, you keep an eye on Mozenrath. If he tries something suspicious, kill him. There are always other ways to get rid of Jafar."
It was just how things were done. There was no justice in a fight of life and death. The results counted, and Kairi was willing to accept the moral burden of using underhanded tactics. To begin with, the belief that the one playing fair and square won was a dream of fiction. It didn't work like that in real life.
"Princess, please get somewhere safe. Naminé, never leave her side. If something happens, try to track down one of us. Olette, you know what to do." Looking from one girl to another, Kairi added with a slight smile. "I trust you two. Go!"
Kairi took off on her own, just as Olette did. As the two separated at the next corner, Naminé was left behind with the princess and the carpet.
"We will be safe further down. Carpet, can you take us?" Naminé kept her grip tightly on her Keyblade. She was more useful in an actual fight. She didn't have the physical ability or stamina to participate in missions like these, but that was okay. They were a team. They covered each other's weaknesses.
The carpet took off and took them further down, deeper into the complicated dungeons.
Way above them, Olette was on her way to the room in the center of the palace. It was her bad luck that there didn't seem to be a direct way there. She reached the throne room and found it empty. Well, no other choice, then. Using her Keyblades, Olette simply crushed the closest wall and proceeded further. If she had to break every wall in the building, she would reach the center chamber with the crystal.
Kairi was at a loss. How could she attract Jafar's attention? The plan had been to avoid that very fact until they found a way to defeat him without directly exchanging blows. But now…she was standing in the garden, alone. Jafar didn't seem to fall for the trap.
And something was wrong. Kairi could feel it. There was something odd going on. She remembered what the wizard had said. "An outsider…what did he mean by that?"
Was it possible that King Mickey was here? But why would he hide the lamp? Were there other Keybladers?
Olette could answer Kairi's question. In front of her was Yuffie. But why was she here?
"I was looking for you, Olette!" Yuffie ran towards Olette, trying to embrace her. The brunette immediately jumped back and directed one Keyblade at her.
Was this Jafar's work? Was it really Yuffie, and not just something that looked exactly like her? It made sounds when it walked and it had a shadow. But…how and why would Yuffie be here? No. No! She couldn't be deceived.
"It's really me!" Yuffie was getting desperate. With each step she came closer, the girl she loved moved further away.
Jafar appeared right behind Yuffie. "This is but a mirage Mozenrath has created to fool you," he whispered in the ear of the girl. The ninja turned around and seemed shocked. The power of the wizard was that great? But if this was Olette…why didn't she recognize Yuffie?
The outsider who was looking for the lamp…Olette now realized who the "outsider" was. This Yuffie must be real, and Jafar was manipulating her.
"Yuffie! He's evil! He's Jafar, the wizard that Kairi beat in the past. Don't believe anything he says! We must destroy the lamp!" She had to get Yuffie away from him!
"See? He doesn't want you to free me. He is afraid of losing his power. He must be using the image of one of the Keybladers to confuse you!" Jafar was still whispering so Olette couldn't hear.
"Don't listen to him! Get away from him! We need to destroy the lamp and kill him!" Olette yelled and took a step towards Yuffie.
"He wants to kill me so that you cannot get your wishes granted. He doesn't want anyone but himself to have a genie if it comes down to it. His greed knows no bounds!" Jafar was grinning diabolically.
Yuffie threw a few shuriken at Olette's feet. Jumping back, the Keyblader was left with no other choice. If Yuffie was already under his influence, Olette just had to beat her and take her to safety.
But as she ran towards Yuffie, Jafar snapped his fingers, and Olette vanished in a flash of light.
"I made it disappear, but there is no telling what else Mozenrath will do to confuse you! Don't believe your eyes, don't believe what you see. I know his powers, I can help you," Jafar whispered. Yuffie nodded and took a deep breath. They had to go and find the lamp before it was too late!
When she opened her eyes, Olette felt like she had just been run over by something really, really big. Still, she jumped up and checked the area. Nobody was there. Where were Yuffie and Jafar? Why hadn't Jafar killed her? She was still in the same spot, and everything seemed normal. Pinching her arm, Olette twitched. It was real. It hurt like hell.
Summoning both Keyblades, Olette started running. It was oddly quiet. How long had she been out of it? What had happened in the meantime? Where was everyone? She finally reached the throne room, after minutes of running around. And finally…
Mozenrath. He was standing there, deep in thought. He didn't seem to notice her. Should she take the chance and get rid of him? She thought about it—if he had the leisure to stand around here, then either the deal was off and he was going to betray them, or it was already over and done with. So she really out to just go ahead and get rid of him. But where were Kairi and Naminé?
Olette would be able to sneak behind him. A surprise assault was the only way to get him. He was still a wizard, and she had her problems with such enemies.
Taking the opportunity, Olette ran at full speed towards the wizard, who noticed her an instant too late. With a powerful kick, he was slammed against the throne itself and landed on the ground. Olette was already over him.
"Where are the others? What happened to Jafar? What did you do, wizard?" She pointed one Keyblade at his throat, the other just inches away from cutting off his gauntleted arm.
But the wizard just laughed. "Fool! Your friends are no longer alive. I'm surprised you're still here. It's…been quite a while." He grinned wider. "You cannot kill me. Genie!" he yelled.
And nothing happened. What was wrong? Where was Jafar?
It was Olette's turn to smile. "I thought this would be difficult. To trap the genie. To get rid of the wizard. But it seems like it will be much easier than we thought. I give you one last chance. Where. Is. Everyone?" Olette exerted a lot of pressure on the stomach of the wizard by stomping on it. "Talk!"
But the wizard just laughed. He would never talk. "I am immortal! You cannot kill me, pesky little girl!"
"We shall see about that!" It only took a single swing. It almost seemed too easy to be true. Blood spilled on her legs and shoes, and it quickly covered the ground. The wizard had his throat slashed and was dying. No immortality. No genie. He was simply dying. But the true threat was still out there—Jafar.
Olette swung her Keyblade to get the blood off. The wizard was no longer alive. After all, he was just a sidekick to Jafar. But what should she do now? The wizard had not left her any clue. Maybe she should look for Kairi and Naminé first…
Turning around, Olette felt like someone had just turned her stomach inside out.
"Mozenrath? But, I just…" Swinging around, Olette felt like throwing up. Right before her was the corpse of Kairi. "But…he talked…and the body…how…why…?" Olette felt her head spin.
And the wizard took the chance. Firing a beam of dark magic at Olette, the girl was thrown against one of the large pillars at the corner of the room. Why…why…was it Kairi…?
The wizard didn't need to take any precautions anymore. The girl was as good as dead. As he aimed his glove at her and charged up magical energy, he planned to kill her in one blow. He was not bound to some silly rules. He could do as he pleased! "What a stupid brat you are to fall for my trap. And look! You murdered your friend! What a nice turn of events!" Mozenrath started to laugh. He laughed so loud that it rang in Olette's ears.
Olette gritted her teeth. It was all his fault…his fault! The bastard didn't just deserve to die. No, she would kill him with bare hands. He was much too slow if she anticipated his attacks. And she would find a way to save…to revive Kairi somehow. Somehow…
Mozenrath was surprised when the girl started to run towards the entrance at amazing speed. How could a little girl be so fast? He aimlessly fired several salves of magic, but all missed. The girl changed directions so often, it was impossible to hit her. He had to get out of here. Turning tail, Mozenrath started to run—but he was no match for the much quicker Olette.
With a brutal impact, Olette landed right on his back, throwing him on the ground. That glove was dangerous. Grabbing his arm, Olette roared with anger and broke the wizard's arm, who screamed out in pain. She then grabbed his throat.
The wizard was already pale. "Stop! Wait, I can offer you a deal!" he pleaded.
"You cannot revive the dead, wizard," Olette said, and slowly tightened her grip. The wizard struggled, tried to free himself, but one of his arms was broken and he was nowhere near strong enough to get rid of the girl. She didn't even seem to feel the punches she took.
He couldn't breathe. His throat was being crushed. With his last breath, he cursed. "Damn you, Jafar…!"
With a loud crack, his neck broke.
Olette sat on the corpse, looking down on her hands. Not just his blood…but that of Kairi was on her hands…how…how could she explain this to everyone? To…Naminé? How?
Steps on the cold marble floor got her attention. What now? Tense, Olette got up and recalled her Keyblades, ready for anything but what was coming.
It was Yuffie, accompanied by the evil genie, Jafar. Just what was going on here? Why was Yuffie…?
Yuffie stopped and looked at the brunette with an equally shocked face. "What…have you done…?"
Her eyes went to the corpse near the throne. Kairi's corpse. And then…to the corpse of the wizard. Olette would not be fooled again. She had to make sure that this was really Yuffie.
"Yuffie, why are we staying at Aerith's place?" It was a question as good as any other. If Yuffie could not answer this…then she was just another trap.
"Why…did you kill Kairi and Naminé?" Yuffie ignored the question.
Olette's Keyblades dropped. What…but…she was afraid of turning around. Afraid that what Yuffie had said would come true. That she had fallen for the same trick again. She had felt the body of the wizard, she knew it couldn't have been a trick! It must be a lie…
But her eyes were not lying. Looking behind her, Olette stared at the strangled corpse of Naminé. Her face was distorted with disbelief and surprise, the eyes wide open in terror. Olette sank to her knees. It couldn't be true. No…it couldn't be true…
Light steps echoed through the room. Yuffie was coming closer. Olette's will to fight had left her. She had killed the two people she had considered true friends before any other. And now they were gone…even if they could be revived somehow…they would not forgive her. Nobody would forgive her. It was her own rashness that got her into this. It was her fault!
Yuffie fell to her knees in front of Olette. Hugging her, Olette finally comprehended the full truth behind her actions. She had killed the other two Keybladers. It was by her hands that she killed Kairi and Naminé, in cold blood and with brutal means. Naminé's expression burned deep inside her mind.
"Don't worry…it's not your fault. It was the wizard's doing…" Yuffie's voice was broken. Olette could feel her body shaking.
And then she felt a sharp pain in her back. She couldn't breathe. Her body went numb. Yuffie let her go, and Olette dropped to the ground. She could feel blood running over her back.
"Thank you for letting me kill you!" Yuffie laughed and laughed. "I don't need you anymore, Olette! I can have anything now! I can revive the dead, get the love of whomever I want, and live forever! I have the genie now!" Yuffie shouted in a crazy voice.
Olette's vision blurred. Was this the end? Yuffie, laughing at her foolishness. Yuffie, standing there, laughing with the corpses of the three Keybladers before her. Olette turned with the last of her power, wanting to see the faces of her friends one more time.
And as she turned, she saw the unfathomable truth. They had been decoys. Puppets. The illusion dispelled—they were just zombie soldiers. Olette had run straight into a trap. It was all Jafar's doing. Manipulating Yuffie…luring Olette here…making her think that she killed her best friends…and finally…killing her.
Olette could no longer feel anything. Her vision left her, and her consciousness faded away slowly.
If only she hadn't been so rash…
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