“Yeah. Leave it to us!”

  “Gawrsh, I hope so…”

  They went through the gate, and Heartless sprang up out of the ground as if they’d been waiting to ambush the trio.

  “Wh-whoa! I knew it!”

  “Donald, Goofy, c’mon!” Sora ran straight into the swarm of Heartless.

  “They’ve got funny-looking swords!” Goofy shouted, blocking an attack from a Heartless with a big curved blade.

  “These guys have wings!” It was all Sora could do to avoid the low-flying attacks of the winged Heartless.

  “All right, my magic will— Quaaack!” Just as Donald was about to use his wand, a floating Heartless in a red robe shot magical fire at him. “They got stronger again!” he yelled, batting at his hat to put out the flames.

  “Let’s just get out of here, Sora!” Goofy ran a step ahead into an alley.

  Sora was still intent on fighting. “But we can get more of them!”

  “Come on, Sora!” Donald grabbed his arm and dragged him away after Goofy.

  “Aww…” Sora kicked a pebble by his foot in the alleyway.

  “Those Heartless were pretty strong,” said Goofy.

  “We could have beaten them all!” Sora retorted, twisting his mouth in a pout.

  “Those ones with the swords were really tough…” Goofy let out a huge sigh.

  Beside them, Donald was looking around. “Well, anyway… Where are all the people in this city?”

  The vendors’ stands were all lined up in the market, giving the impression of a very prosperous city—but there was no one to be seen.

  “Are these things for sale?” Sora picked up an orange from one of the stands. It was delicious-looking, but…

  “Who’s there? Hello?”

  “Ack!” Sora jumped back from the sudden voice.

  “Is someone there?” Goofy peered into the stand from behind its counter.

  A beautiful young lady with delicate features and raven hair appeared. A sweet fragrance seemed to waft from her every movement, and her clothes were the color of fresh water, like an oasis in the hot desert city.

  “I’m Jasmine,” she said. “My father is the sultan of Agrabah.”

  “Uh, so…that makes you a princess,” Goofy replied.

  Jasmine shook her head. “…My father was deposed by Jafar, who now controls the city,” she told them softly, but it seemed painful for her to say.

  “Jafar?” said Donald.

  “You haven’t heard of him?” Jasmine asked in reply.

  “No… We only just came here.”

  “So you’re travelers… Well, Jafar has imprisoned everyone in Agrabah. There’s no one here…” Jasmine looked down sadly. She must have thought that Sora and the others were citizens who had escaped Jafar’s clutches.

  “Jasmine, I’m Sora. Can you tell us anything else about what happened here?”

  “Jafar is the royal vizier. He gained evil powers and seized Agrabah. He caught me trying to escape…but someone helped me…”

  “Who helped you?” Sora asked, and she looked up at him.

  “His name is Aladdin. We were hiding nearby, but he left a while ago to take care of something… Oh, I hope he’s all right…” Her gaze strayed down again.

  Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked at one another uncertainly.

  “Is there anything else you’ve heard? I think we can help,” said Sora.

  Jasmine thought for a moment and replied, “Jafar seems to be looking for something.”

  “What’s he looking for?” Donald exchanged a glance with Goofy.

  “I think…he called it a ‘keyhole.’”

  “The Keyhole!” Donald jumped up. “That’s what we’re looking for, too!”

  They leaned closer, hoping Jasmine would tell them more. Could the Keyhole have something to do with the strange events in this city…?

  But then—an arrogant voice rang out from above their heads. “You are more trouble than you’re worth.”

  “Jafar!” Jasmine cried.

  A man with a snake-headed staff was looking down at them.

  “Princess Jasmine, allow me to find you more suitable company,” he said, stroking his bearded chin. “These little rats won’t do…”

  “Jasmine, run!” shouted Sora, who stood ready with the Keyblade.

  “Ah, the boy who holds the key.” Jafar looked over him and watched Jasmine run away with a nasty smile that said she wouldn’t get far. “I suppose we’ll get to see what you can do.”

  Then Jafar waved his staff, and Heartless appeared, rushing at the trio.

  “Wak!” Donald jumped and dodged an attack.

  Looking down on the scene, Jafar turned with a sweep of his cape.

  “You’re running away?!” yelled Sora. Jafar smirked and left unhurriedly.

  “Stop right there!”

  “Sora, look out!” Goofy slammed into a Heartless that rushed at Sora as he tried to follow Jafar.

  “Whoa!” Trying to jump away, Sora fell flat on his behind.

  “Sora, we gotta beat these Heartless before we can go after Jafar,” said Goofy.

  “And we gotta help Jasmine!” Donald added.

  Sora got up, swinging the Keyblade. “Okay! Let’s each take on one!”

  “Got it!” Goofy winked.

  Donald waved his wand. “This one’s mine!”

  All at once, the three jumped at the Heartless floating in the air like big balloons.

  Catching their breath after defeating the Heartless, they sat down on the spot.

  “They really are stronger…,” Sora said, not quite unscathed.

  Donald gave him a potion. “Well, we’ve got to keep fighting!”

  “Yeah.” Sora gingerly stood up and looked around. “We have to find Jasmine.”

  The trio headed toward the direction where Jasmine had escaped.

  “Didn’t she say she was hiding in a house over this way?” Donald paused in front of a small stone house. “Maybe this is it…”

  They opened the wooden door and went into the little house, looking around for Jasmine.

  “There’s nobody here…”

  Donald peeked into a large pot. “Hmm… I wonder where she could’ve gone. It doesn’t look like that Aladdin guy is here, either.”

  Sora folded his arms, thinking, and they heard a clunk! from the corner.

  “Huh?” When he turned, somehow a carpet was flapping around by itself.

  “Th…that carpet is moving!” Donald exclaimed.

  “Gawrsh, it doesn’t look like a Heartless…,” said Goofy, but he was lifting his shield anyway.

  The carpet rattled the cabinet that was on top of it.

  “It looks like it’s stuck,” said Sora.

  “Watch out, Sora!” Donald had his wand out, but Sora went closer to the waving carpet and pushed the cabinet off.

  “There, now you can move, right?”

  The carpet stood on its end and folded itself in half.

  “Did it…just bow to thank us?” said Goofy.

  Then the carpet went back down and nudged at their feet.

  “Are you telling us to get on?” Sora jumped atop the carpet, and it seemed to bounce happily. “Donald, Goofy, get on!”

  Donald and Goofy looked at each other and nervously stepped onto the carpet.

  And then the carpet flew out the window and on past the edge of the city.

  “Whoa!”

  Outside the city, the carpet suddenly sped up, and they were zooming over the desert.

  “Wow… A flying carpet!” Sora looked down over the dunes.

  It wasn’t at all like the Gummi Ship—they could feel the wind on their faces. The desert air was hot and dry, but it still felt wonderful. Sora had never experienced anything like it.

  “I wonder where we’re heading…?” Goofy murmured, his long ears flapping.

  “There!”

  Where Donald was pointing, they could see a single small figure struggling not to be swallowed up by the sand.

  Fighting for his life, Aladdin couldn’t hear anything but the soft rush of the falling sand. He was buried up to the knees of his white pants, and with every movement, he only sank deeper. Under his vest, his brown body was fit and tough, but there was nothing he could do against the quicksand.

  “…Guess I better use it.”

  As Aladdin stared hard at the lamp he held, he heard another voice.

  “Hey, are you Aladdin?!” Sora called out to the man in the sand and jumped down from the carpet.

  “That’s right! Who are you?”

  “I’m Sora. Let’s get you out of there!” He got down in the sand and stretched his hand out to Aladdin. But then—

  “Wak! Heartless!” shouted Donald, jumping up and down. A huge number of Heartless appeared, surrounding them.

  “We have to beat them first, or we won’t be able to do much to help!” said Goofy.

  “Just hold on—we’ll help you, promise!” Sora told Aladdin, who was buried up to his waist now, and got to his feet with the Keyblade ready. “Yaaargh!”

  He jumped up and launched himself at the flying Heartless that was coming for him. But it was harder to move on the sand, and he only managed to hit its leg, not doing much damage.

  “Fire!” Donald covered for him with magic.

  “Thanks, Donald!”

  “No problem!”

  Fighting together, the trio took down the Heartless one by one, but as many as they defeated, more kept rising up out of the sand.

  “Gawrsh, not again!” cried Goofy.

  “But we have to beat them to help Aladdin!” Sora yelled back.

  Sinking in the sand, Aladdin held the lamp up high. “Genie, get rid of these guys!”

  With that, a big blue cloud spilled from the lamp’s nozzle—it was the Genie of the lamp, flying out and roaring.

  “Wish number one, coming right up!”

  “Whoa!” Sora fell backward in surprise.

  The Genie snapped his fingers and all the Heartless disappeared without a trace.

  “Wow…”

  “Easy peasy, piece of cake!” The Genie winked and folded his arms. His big broad body had no feet, and he floated in the air like a ghost.

  “Sora, we gotta help Aladdin!” said Goofy. Sora stretched out his hand to Aladdin, still stuck in the quicksand. As their hands clasped, Donald and Goofy held on to Sora’s feet, and they all managed to pull out Aladdin.

  “Whew…” Aladdin brushed off the sand that was stuck all over him and smiled brightly at them. “Thanks, Sora! And…”

  “Donald Duck!”

  “And I’m Goofy!”

  Donald and Goofy each shook Aladdin’s hand in turn.

  “Aladdin, what’re you doing out here in the desert?” asked Sora.

  “Oh, you know, just hunting legendary treasure. Just paid a visit to the Cave of Wonders.” As Aladdin said that, the carpet came down to land.

  “Legendary treasure?”

  “I found that flying carpet you came here on…and this magic lamp.” In Aladdin’s hand was the small metal oil lamp.

  “How is it magic?” said Sora, staring at it closely, and the Genie put his face level with Sora’s to stare back. “Whoa!”

  “Leave the explanations to a professional!” The Genie puffed himself up in front of Sora, taking a heroic pose. “The one, the only, the Genie of the lamp! Rub-a-dub-dub the lamp and out comes the Genie to grant your dearest wishes! And today’s winner is…Aladdin! Congratulations!”

  Dancing around, the Genie snapped his fingers and a fanfare sounded. Confetti sprinkled down on Aladdin.

  “Any wishes?” asked Donald.

  The Genie waved his index finger in front of Donald’s face. “Patience, my fine feathered friend! You get…” He flew up in the air and tripled himself—there were three Genies. Each one held up three fingers. “Any three wishes! A one wish, a two wish…” The duplicate Genies disappeared. “A three wish—then I make like a banana and split!”

  Then he flew behind Aladdin. “Our lucky winner made his first wish—that means he has two left! So, master, what’ll you have for wish number two?”

  The Genie held his hand out and a spotlight illuminated Aladdin.

  “Hmm,” Aladdin said quietly. “How about making me a fabulously wealthy prince…?”

  “Oooh! Money! Royalty! Fame!” The Genie applauded. “Why didn’t I think of that?!”

  “Gawrsh, really…?” Goofy murmured, tilting his head.

  “Okay, you asked for it. A hundred servants, a hundred camels laden with gold! Just say the word, delivery in thirty minutes or less or your meal is free! I’ll even throw in a free cappuccino!” Rubbing his hands together, the Genie sidled up to Aladdin.

  But Aladdin shook his head. “No, thanks.”

  “Okay…”

  “I think I’ll put it on hold until we reach Agrabah,” Aladdin said, looking regretful.

  “Uh, why do you want to be a prince?” Goofy asked with his arms folded.

  “You see, there’s this girl in Agrabah named Jasmine. But, well…” Aladdin looked down sadly. “She’s a princess, and I’m… Aw, she’d never fall for a guy like me.”

  “…Jasmine?” Donald cocked his head. There was something about that name…

  “Oh—that’s right! She’s in trouble, Aladdin!” Sora ran up to him urgently, and the color drained from Aladdin’s face.

  The carpet flew through the air carrying Sora, Aladdin, Donald, and Goofy.

  “Ahh, fresh air! The great outdoors!” Flying behind them, the Genie took a deep breath and stretched.

  “I guess you don’t get out much, huh?” said Sora.

  At that the Genie looked a little glum. “Comes with the job. Phenomenal cosmic powers, itty-bitty living space. It’s always three wishes and then back to my little portable prison. So I’m lucky to see the light of day every century or two…”

  The Genie hung his head miserably.

  If I were shut up in that tiny lamp… Sora tried to imagine it and shivered. That had to be just awful. Destiny Island was full of sunlight and friends, and even there, Sora had wanted to go to other worlds.

  Aladdin thought for a bit, too. “Say, Genie, what if I use my last wish to free you from the lamp? What do you think?”

  The Genie’s eyes shone. “You’d do that?”

  “Genie, it’s a promise. After we help Jasmine!”

  The Genie somersaulted in the air. “Yahoo!” And he kept flying in loops around them.

  “So, what is Jafar up to anyway?” Aladdin asked the trio, still watching the exultant Genie.

  “We don’t really get it, either,” said Sora. “But Jasmine said Jafar was looking for the Keyhole.”

  “That’s what we’re looking for, too!” Goofy added.

  Genie paused to fold his arms and think. “A ‘Keyhole,’ eh? I could swear I’ve heard about that somewhere before…”

  Donald jumped up. “Really? Where?”

  “Now, where was it? It’s been a few centuries…”

  “C’mon, remember!”

  “Hmmm… Can’t say.” The Genie tilted his head at Donald, who was stomping his feet on the carpet.

  “Anyway, we’ve gotta stop Jafar before it’s too late,” said Sora. “I’ve got a bad feeling…”

  Aladdin nodded. “Let’s go!”

  The carpet sped faster over the desert.

  The main streets of Agrabah were completely barricaded, but that was no problem with a magic carpet. When flying Heartless came up to waylay them, Donald’s magic came in handy.

  “Quack!” Donald shot off a spell. Sora threw the Keyblade, which whirled through the air and finished off the Heartless, then returned to his hand.

  “A-hyuck! Wow, Sora, that was a neat trick!” Goofy exclaimed.

  Sora gave him a thumbs-up and a grin. He was learning how to use the Keyblade better and better.

  They could see two figures down at the great palace gates. “Jasmine!”

  “Jafar’s there, too!”

  Aladdin jumped down from the carpet, and the others followed.

  “So, the street rat comes out of his hole at last,” said Jafar, sniffing with contempt.

  “Let Jasmine go!”

  “Setting your sights a little high, aren’t you, boy? I will not allow you to trouble the princess any more.”

  “Aladdin!” Jasmine tried to run toward him, but Jafar held her back.

  “Genie… Help Jasmine, please!” Aladdin whispered, rubbing the lamp.

  “One wish left! You’re making this really easy, you know.” The Genie disappeared from behind Aladdin and reappeared behind Jafar, then scooped up Jasmine in his arms.

  “So sorry, boy,” Jafar sneered. “I’m afraid your second wish has been denied.”

  They heard wings flapping. Iago, the parrot, held the lamp in his claws.

  “Huh?!” Aladdin looked at his empty hands.

  “I’m sorry, Al…,” the Genie murmured sadly.

  The lamp dropped from Iago’s claws into Jafar’s hand, and in the same instant, the Genie vanished.

  Jasmine screamed. Without the Genie holding her up, she fell straight down and landed right in a big clay pot.

  “Jasmine!” Aladdin ran toward her, but the pot sprouted legs—it had transformed into a Heartless. And it scuttled away through the city streets at a tremendous speed.

  “Help!”

  As Jasmine’s cries echoed back at them, Jafar smirked. “And now, I bid you street rats farewell!”

  “Stop!” The four of them tried to follow him, but more Heartless already blocked their path.

  “Out of the way!” Sora slashed down at them with the Keyblade.

  “They’re over here, too!” Goofy took out the Heartless that kept appearing. But now they’d lost sight of Jafar.

  “Jasmine! Jasmiiiine!” Aladdin called out, swinging his sword at the Heartless, and just then the carpet floated down in front of him. “Are you telling me to get on?”

  “Let’s go, Aladdin!” Sora shouted. “I bet the carpet can take us to Jasmine!”

  He hopped on, and then Aladdin, Donald, and Goofy followed.

  “…Jasmine…” Hanging his head, Aladdin pounded the carpet with his fist.

  The carpet let them off at an enormous statue of a tiger’s head.

  “The tiger god’s mouth is closed!” Aladdin shouted as he jumped down from the carpet. The others followed him.

 

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