“Sounds like your wish should be that you can see Jasmine any time you want, right?” said Sora.
Aladdin nodded.
“Well, have I got the package for you!” the Genie exclaimed. “Not only will you meet the lady, you’ll go in style—as a prince! How d’you like the sound of that, Al?”
“Me, a prince?! Can you really do that?”
“In an Agrabah minute!” The Genie struck a proud pose.
“Looks like the legends were true after all. C’mon, let’s get to the palace!” Aladdin ran ahead, unable to wait any longer.
They ran up the alleys, taking out Heartless as they went.
“Gawrsh. They just won’t leave us alone!” Goofy yelled with his shield out.
“You could help, y’know!” Donald complained at the Genie, who was floating along with his arms folded, doing nothing at all.
But the Genie shook his head. “Not unless my master wishes for it. And unless he’s really bad with numbers, he won’t use a wish on it now!”
“I know, Genie,” said Aladdin. “So the sooner I can get to the palace and see Jasmine, the sooner I can set you free!”
“I don’t even know what I did to deserve a master like you, Al!”
“Well, we better hurry!”
Just as Sora said that, Goofy jumped up and pointed. “Look!”
In the plaza on the way to the palace, a girl lay unconscious on the ground, surrounded by Heartless.
“Jasmine!” Aladdin cried. As if he’d only spurred them on, the Heartless pressed in on her with their scimitars. “She needs our help!”
But the plaza was wide, and she was still far off. “We’ll never make it in time!” said Sora, even as he ran with his Keyblade ready.
Behind him, Aladdin looked helplessly up at the Genie. “…I don’t have a choice. Genie! I wish for you to save Jasmine!”
“Can do! Chaaarge!” The Genie snapped his fingers and the Heartless surrounding Jasmine all disappeared.
“Jasmine!” Aladdin ran to her, following the others.
“She fainted, but it looks like she’s okay,” said Sora, relieved.
But Aladdin looked miserable. “Now I’ve only got one wish left…,” he murmured, and with that, still more Heartless appeared, seeming like they would deliberately take the last one, too.
“Not again…! Sorry, Genie—you’re the only one who can—”
“Wait! This is your last wish! Don’t waste it!” When Aladdin turned to ask him how, Sora gave him a thumbs-up and a grin.
“This time, we’ll handle the wish granting!” Goofy held his shield up and rushed straight at the Heartless.
“Hey, me, too!” Donald waved his wand. “Blizzard! Fire!”
“Leave some for me!” With his knife out, Aladdin followed Sora into the fray.
“See, we managed without the Genie!” said Sora.
“Thanks, Sora. So, now I’ve only got one wish left…” Aladdin hung his head.
A strange cry from some kind of animal rang out. “Squaaawrk!”
It was a parrot with bright plumage, and it held something in its claws…
“The lamp—!”
Somehow, while they were busy fighting the Heartless, the parrot must have stolen the magic lamp.
“Give it back!” Aladdin tried to chase the parrot.
“Good work, Iago,” said a smug, grating voice. It belonged to a man in black robes, holding a staff topped with a snake’s head. The parrot dropped the lamp into his waiting hand and settled on his shoulder.
“Jafar!” Aladdin shouted.
That…was Jafar?
A man with a mean, sneering smile—Sora was sure he’d seen him before, but he just wasn’t sure of the name.
I remember coming to this world before, but I’ve forgotten the people I met here and all the things that happened…
“In this place, to find is to lose and to lose is to find.” Well, I’m losing things, so what did I find?
If I’m forgetting so many things, does that mean I’m remembering things, too?
Oh yeah—there was that girl I saw before we came to this world. But who was she?
“Sora!”
She called my name. But I can’t remember hers.
Light blond hair and a white dress… Who could she be?
“Gawrsh, I don’t think I like the look of him,” Goofy was whispering to him, bringing him back to the present.
“Hmm… It seems my plans have gone amiss.” Jafar stroked his goatee, staring at Aladdin. “I was certain you’d waste your last wish…what with poor Jasmine in distress and those delightful creatures to deal with. But no matter—the lamp and its genie are mine to command!”
“Why are you doing this, Jafar?!” Aladdin demanded, stalking closer. “You’ve got the lamp! What more do you want?”
Jafar jumped back. “Your lies are transparent, boy. I knew you would use the lamp to try and win Jasmine’s heart. But we can’t have that now, can we? Jasmine, you see, is mine!” he crowed, brandishing his staff. “Certainly you realize that if I marry the princess, nothing can stop me from becoming sultan! You’re nothing more than a pawn in my game, street rat.”
Then Jafar held the lamp high. “Genie! My first wish! Deliver Jasmine to me!”
“I’m sorry, Al…” The Genie snapped his fingers and Jasmine, lying on the ground, floated up into his arms.
“Genie! What are you doing?!” Aladdin cried.
“My hands are tied on this one, Al. I gotta obey whoever has his mitts on the lamp…,” the Genie said miserably, his back turned to Aladdin.
“Precisely. Farewell, Aladdin, you fool!” Jafar departed with a sweep of his robe.
“Oh no… Now I’ve lost Jasmine and the lamp.” Aladdin fell to his knees, pounding the dirt with his fists.
“You can feel bad about it some other time!” said Sora. “Come on, Aladdin!”
He didn’t even look up. “But… There’s nothing I can do now.”
“If you don’t pull yourself together, you’ll never see Jasmine again! You lost the lamp, so what? You can save her on your own!” Sora grabbed Aladdin’s shoulder. “Losing someone you care about is bad, but not as bad as never getting them back!”
It was awful, being unable to see someone you cared about… Sora hated being away from Kairi and Riku.
I’ve already forgotten what happened in that fight to close the Door of Darkness, he thought. I can’t even remember the names of all the new friends I made on the way. Maybe it doesn’t hurt as much if I forget them.
But I don’t want to forget, not ever!
“So you can’t give up!” he told Aladdin. Maybe he was telling himself, too.
“Sora… You’re right. I’ll try. I have to save Jasmine!” At last Aladdin got to his feet.
“But Jafar’s got the lamp now, right? We can’t just walk right up and expect to beat him…,” Goofy worried. Sora thought Aladdin didn’t need to hear that.
But Aladdin didn’t flinch. “Maybe we can. I’ve got an idea. Listen up…”
He leaned in and murmured his plan…
Jafar stood in front of the palace. Beside him, still unconscious, Jasmine lay on the ground.
“Jafar!” Sora ran to him, along with Donald and Goofy—but not Aladdin.
“What’s this? Has Aladdin given up on his precious Jasmine already?”
“We’re here to defeat you!” Sora held the Keyblade ready.
“I won’t waste a wish on the likes of you three. I’ll deal with you myself!” Leaving Jasmine behind, Jafar unhurriedly strode toward Sora and made to swing his staff.
In that instant Sora shouted, “Aladdin! Now!”
Aladdin jumped down from the rooftops, where he’d been waiting for Jafar to turn his back on Jasmine.
“What?!” Jafar started as Aladdin scooped up Jasmine in his arms. “You! Genie, seize him!”
“Al, forgive me!” The Genie descended toward Aladdin, his arms outstretched.
Aladdin g
rowled in frustration and let the Genie knock him back but landed on his knees and kept his balance. “You fell for it, Jafar!”
“What exactly?!” Jafar turned to face Aladdin, who wore a self-assured smile.
“Quack! You just blew your second wish. Only one left!” Donald pointed his wand at Jafar.
“So go ahead, use it to win Jasmine’s heart, and you’ll still have to deal with us!” Goofy held up his shield, too.
“Oh, now I get it. Pretty clever, Al!” The Genie soared up happily.
“Well, well… The cunning of a rat,” Jafar sneered. “But unfortunately, you can’t see beyond the bait. Your little ploy changes nothing! I can crush you once and for all and make Jasmine my own! Genie, my final wish—transform me into an all-powerful genie!”
Hiding his face in one hand, the Genie unwillingly fired off his magic, and there was a brilliant flash of light. The ground split open.
Jafar leaped into the abyss. Sora and the others followed him. They landed on underground ruins surrounded by bubbling lava.
“Whew, it’s hot…” Sora squinted against the heat.
Jafar cackled madly. “So this is the power of a genie!” Turned entirely crimson in his new form, he swung a fist at Sora.
“Whoa!” Sora fell hard, and then flaming boulders fell on the others like meteors.
“Ow-ow-ow-ow!” Donald ran in circles with his tail on fire.
Sora leaned on the Keyblade to stand and then jumped up high. “Take this!” And he brought the Keyblade down on the genie Jafar, but…“What’s going on?! I can’t hurt him with the Keyblade!”
Jafar’s terrible laughter rang out. “Did you really think you could hurt a genie?!” His hand swiped at Sora again, knocking him back.
“Guh!”
“…Sora!” Donald and Goofy ran to him.
“How do we beat him…?” Sora pounded the ground as Donald started to help him up. They saw Aladdin get thrown to the ground just like Sora.
“Hmm…” Goofy stared at Jafar, frowning in concentration.
“Wak! This is no time to just stand around staring!” Donald scolded.
“Uh… But didn’t we have to do somethin’ different?”
“Huh?” said Sora.
“We fought him before, right? And we couldn’t beat him fighting like usual, so… Gawrsh, what was it we did…?” Goofy folded his arms.
“‘We couldn’t beat him fighting like usual’…?” Now Sora was trying to think of it.
“What, did you forget that, too?” Donald fumed.
“Well, do you remember it, Donald?”
“…Quack? Umm… We did…something different…?” He couldn’t remember either, after all.
Aladdin cried out, bowled over by a ball of lava.
“Ha! Just look at these jerks!” Iago flew overhead, still clutching the magic lamp in his claws.
“Aladdin!” Sora ran for him, but Goofy stayed deep in thought. “Hold on!”
“I won’t be able to save Jasmine after all…” Aladdin shook his head miserably.
“C’mon, Aladdin!” Sora pulled him to his feet. “You just have to believe!”
Believe—that means not wavering, not giving up. That’s what all my friends taught me.
But they were in trouble! This wasn’t the time to be reflecting on things like that.
“I believe in you, Aladdin! You and Jasmine!”
Even if I do forget about people, Sora realized, the things I learned from them will always be with me in my heart.
And that’s why we’ll win.
“I know, Sora… I won’t give up.”
Just as they stood up straight to face the fight again, Goofy shouted, “I remember now! We’ve gotta take the lamp from Jafar!”
“What’s that gonna do?” Donald retorted.
“Sora can trap Jafar with the lamp’s power!”
“Which means… We have to get that parrot?” said Sora.
“Right!” Goofy nodded.
“…Ohh. Okay, got it!” Sora sprang up high at Iago, swinging the Keyblade at his claws.
“Sora?!” Aladdin yelled as Sora hurtled toward the lamp, which fell from Iago’s grasp.
“I wish for Jafar to be trapped inside the lamp—like a genie!”
Sora shouted his wish and the lamp shone with a dazzling light…and Jafar was pulled inside.
“What’s happening? How can this be?! I am all-powerful—!” His cry of rage was sucked into the lamp along with him.
The boiling lava hissed and cooled, and the underground ruins were quiet.
“We did it!” Donald jumped for joy and ran to Aladdin. Sora and Goofy followed him.
“Looks like everything turned out okay, Aladdin!” said Goofy, but Aladdin looked dejected.
“You’ve still got one wish left,” said Sora.
Having reappeared from somewhere, the Genie grinned at Aladdin. “Gotcha. Time for me to make a prince outta this guy! The floor’s all yours, Al!”
“But…” Torn, Aladdin looked up at the Genie.
“Now, now, don’t you worry about little ol’ me! Sure, I’d love to be free, but like they always say—genies can’t be choosers. Besides, you must be pretty miffed about that whole puppet-of-Jafar thing. Go on, Al. Wish for what’s really in your heart. Be a prince, get the girl.” The Genie had his hands on his hips, almost as if he had to explain something to a child.
“I wish…,” Aladdin began.
“All right, here we go!” The Genie raised his index finger, ready to work his magic, but what Aladdin said was…
“…for your freedom, Genie!”
“Wait, what?!” He tumbled back in the air, end over end, and from his lower half, which trailed off into smoke, two legs sprouted. He landed on his new feet. “But, Al…?!”
“Now no one like Jafar can use you for evil ever again. Genie, you’re free!” said Aladdin, beaming.
“Al…I’ll never forget this. But what about Jasmine? What are you gonna do?”
“I was wrong, Genie. If I used your magic to win Jasmine…I’d be no better than Jafar. Jasmine means the world to me. I want to show her the real me.”
The real me…, Sora thought. The one who forgets people’s names…
If everyone knew that I was forgetting them, wouldn’t they be mad at me?
No… No, they wouldn’t get mad. Anyway, I won’t forget all the things I learned from them.
Like what Aladdin taught me… That it’s important to keep a promise.
“Thanks, Sora,” Aladdin said.
He grinned back. “Good luck!”
“Good luck to you, too.” Aladdin held out his hand to shake.
“Huh? What for?”
“I was ready to give up back there, but what you said kept me going. That’s when it hit me… You must be looking for someone you care about, too.”
Yeah… There are people we care about, and we’re fighting so we can see them again.
“We are. And we have to keep searching,” said Sora. “So good luck with Jasmine. I hope she likes you back!”
He took Aladdin’s hand and shook it firmly. And then, in the wall of the ruins, a door appeared.
“Sora!” Goofy called.
“Okay! Let’s go!” Sora replied and started toward the door. “We’re off, Aladdin!”
“Here’s to both our wishes coming true, then. Take care, Sora!” Aladdin and the Genie watched them go.
To find the people we care about…that’s why we’re here, Sora thought again. But what does this castle have in store for us?
CHAPTER 4
MONSTRO
I fill the sketchbook with drawings.
Back then, we laughed together. We yelled together. We played together.
The memories of dreams—I make them into drawings, one after another.
Look… Sora, do you remember that cave?
We doodled on the wall together.
And there was the beach.
I was always fighting with y
ou and Riku on the beach, but every time we would make up before long.
Your memories…and my dreams.
I wonder if there’s a place where they will meet.
I want them to meet… I want to put them together.
That’s the dream that I’m drawing.
Hey, Sora… Do you remember?
WHEN THEY CAME THROUGH THE DOOR, IT WAS INTO another marble hall. Sora paused, standing still.
Goofy heard his footsteps stop and looked back at him. “Is somethin’ wrong?”
“I remember!” Sora blurted.
Donald turned, too. “Remember what?”
“There was another girl!”
“What? A girl? Where?” Goofy looked around for her.
“No, no, I mean on the islands, where I used to live.”
“Oh, you mean, uh… Des… Dusty…” Goofy cocked his head. “What was it again?”
“Destiny Islands!” Sora closed his eyes for a moment after he said it. The sea, the blue sky, the white sand.
It’s all there—I remember it just fine. I could never forget my islands.
And then…there was another thing he remembered. “Besides Kairi and Riku, there was one other girl I was friends with. The four of us played together all the time.”
The other girl back on the islands. It was that girl, I just know it. The girl I saw on the last floor here.
Jiminy Cricket hopped out from Sora’s pocket. “Another friend…? Seems to me that’s the first time you’ve mentioned her.”
“Yeah…I guess I forgot all about her.”
But why did I forget until now? Sora wondered. There was another girl we played with, I know there was.
“I think…she just suddenly went away when I was still little,” he remembered aloud.
Right. She left, and then I forgot.
I forgot about my friend just because she went away…?
“That’s funny,” said Donald, puzzled. “What do you think made you remember now?”
“I’m not sure. But it’s been coming back in pieces as we go through the castle.”
What he was sure of was that she really had been on the islands with them.
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