A Whole Old World (Kingdom Hearts 2) in Gamer's Gaming

The Road So Far…

The heroic trio of Sora, Donald, and Goofy have been working tirelessly to combat the Heartless, and the Nobodies. Their latest mission brought them to Port Royal. As the harbor town came under attack, the trio found out that Pete was in league with the pirates that had attacked. But these were no ordinary pirates. Because of an Aztec curse cast on a treasure they had found, these pirates were undead! The moonlight revealed their true form for all to see…which turned out to be great news for our trio, as that is when the pirates became vulnerable to the power of the Keyblade. The trio fought back the pirates and went into the town to help where they met a young man named Will Turner. Will was trying to catch the pirates as they had kidnapped Elizabeth Swann, daughter of the governor of Port Royal and Will’s beloved. The pirates managed to escape, but the group found Captain Jack Sparrow at the docks, attempting to commandeer the Interceptor, one of the Royal Navy’s ships, for his own. Will begged for Jack’s help in catching the pirate ship, the Black Pearl. Jack, initially hesitant to help, changed his mind after learning Will’s full name. With that, the group of five set out to the Isla de Muerta, where the pirates were based. On the island, Will managed to save Elizabeth, but sacrificed Jack to the whims of the pirates to do so. As the group sailed away without Jack, Elizabeth explained how she had come to be in possession of Will’s medallion as a child, making the story much more clear. Will’s father had been a pirate and the medallion was one of the pieces of Aztec gold, which would require his blood to help break the curse. As they made their way back to Port Royal, however, they were waylaid by the Black Pearl. Pete used the Heartless to try and blow up the Interceptor with everyone but Will on board as the pirates sailed back to the Isla de Muerta. However, the group managed to save themselves and pursued the pirates back to the island. The group engaged in battle on the island with Barbossa and his men, as well as the Heartless, under the command of Pete. After a lengthy battle, the group drove Pete off and broke the curse, allowing Jack to kill Barbossa and reclaim the Black Pearl for his own. With Jack free to sail the high seas and Will reunited with Elizabeth once more, the trio set out again, this time heading towards Agrabah to see how things were going with their old friends Aladdin, Jasmine, and Genie…

Now…

Iago flew through the back alleys of Agrabah, worn out and weary, finally settling down to perch on a wall when he spotted the trio of Sora, Donald, and Goofy emerge from a nearby archway. Goofy wondered out loud how Aladdin and Jasmine were doing. Sora and Goofy said that maybe Riku and the King were with them. Donald told them both to keep dreaming. As they walked ahead, Iago flew from his perch and followed along. Sora told Donald that he knew he was thinking the same thing. Donald said that he wasn’t as Goofy turned to look behind him, spotting Iago, who began flying around his head. Goofy yelled to the others. Sora and Donald both drew their weapons, but Iago flew right up to them and said that they had him all wrong. Iago said he had turned over a new feather. He was legit! No more scams. He promised. Sora said he bet THAT was his new scam. Iago said they had to believe him. Donald just ignored the parrot and said they should go. Iago told them that he had escaped the lamp and been trying to change ever since. Sora mused that Iago was now free as a bird. Sora and Donald were both for saying goodbye to Iago for good, but Goofy said that he looked pretty sad and took pity on him. Iago said that he wanted to apologize to Aladdin and Jasmine. He wondered if the trio would mind putting in a good word for him. Goofy said of course they could. Sora and Donald, however, were more than a little skeptical of Iago’s new found goodness, but didn’t get the chance to say so. Iago spotted some Heartless nearby and warned the trio to watch out. They drew their weapons quickly and went to work. Sora and crew fought off dozens of Heartless, but it seemed as if there was no end to them. A few even charged Iago, causing the bird to flap up into the air and the Heartless to run face first into a wall. Iago flew around the marketplace and tipped over a few loose urns and crates that fell onto the Heartless, clearing a path for Sora and crew to escape with Iago close behind. The trio managed to escape into the ruins of an old apartment and took a moment to breathe. Goofy pointed out that they would have been goners if it hadn’t been for Iago helping them. Sora and Donald had to admit that Iago had saved them from being overwhelmed. Sora said they would bring him to Aladdin and Jasmine and vouch for him, but he would have to win them over himself. Sora told him that meant being on his best behavior. Iago promised that he would be. Goofy wondered where Aladdin was, anyway. Iago figured he would be at the palace, so Sora told the guys that it was time to move out and head for the palace. Jiminy warned the group to watch out for the foes they’d just faced, called Luna Bandits. In large numbers, they could be quite dangerous, particularly because they drew in their foes before attacking from the flanks. Sora thanked Jiminy for the warning and the trio headed out to find Aladdin and Jasmine.

A short time later, the trio arrived at the palace and found Jasmine standing alone outside. Sora called out to yet another Princess of Heart to announce their arrival. Jasmine turned and, seeing her old friends again, beamed a bright smile. The three of them bowed down before the princess, eliciting a giggle from the beautiful princess of Agrabah. Jasmine said that she had never had the chance to thank them before when they had helped Aladdin defeat Jafar and save Agrabah. Sora said it was just another day’s work for them, but it seemed like the Heartless were up to no good again. As they spoke, Iago flitted around behind Goofy’s back, trying to stay out of sight. Sora asked if there was any way they could help her and Aladdin out. Jasmine said that she figured they were all right for now. Goofy said that, if nothing else, she always had Aladdin. Jasmine confided in them that Aladdin hadn’t been himself lately. Donald asked if it was because of the Heartless. Jasmine said that she wasn’t sure. Most of the time, he seemed like the same, cheerful Aladdin. But sometimes, he just seemed sad. He left the palace and went off by himself all the time. Jasmine said that she had asked him about it, but he would always say that nothing was wrong. Jasmine was worried. Aladdin was gone again today. What if he didn’t come back this time? Iago flew up from behind, and planting claw firmly in beak, suggested that Aladdin might have a secret girlfriend and that he would go find out who she was. Jasmine’s expression darkened at the sight of Iago. Jasmine tried to snatch Iago out of the air, but Iago managed to fly around behind Sora. Jasmine told Sora to catch him and that she would go warn the guards and everyone in the palace. Sora tried to explain that Iago had turned over a new feather, but Jasmine had already taken off. Sora turned to Iago and told him that was a really nice move. Ah, the sarcasm is strong with this one. Goofy suggested it was something he had said. Nah… Goofy thought that, maybe, they should go talk to Aladdin and see what was going on. He must be somewhere in town, after all. The trio began making their way through the market and, before long, they heard someone yelling out, telling a thief to stop. A second later, Abu ran by holding a black lamp and, not two seconds later, Aladdin ran by on Abu’s trail. He noticed and said hi to the trio, but kept on running. A merchant chased after Abu and Aladdin through the marketplace. The group shrugged and added themselves to the chase. The merchant caught up to Aladdin and Abu a short time later and suggested that Aladdin put a leash on Abu if he couldn’t control him. Aladdin apologized and told Abu he should be ashamed of himself. Abu gave Aladdin the black lamp, which Aladdin returned to the merchant. Gee, that lamp looks awfully familiar. The merchant walked off and Aladdin bent down to reprimand Abu, but the monkey spotted the trio and ran up to greet them. Aladdin apologized to them for just running by, but said he was in kind of a hurry. Sora asked what had happened. Aladdin said that they knew how Abu was. He just hadn’t been able to keep his paws off of that lamp. Abu gestured at them wildly that something else was going on, but Aladdin told him he couldn’t talk his way out of this one. The group got a good laugh out of that, along with Aladdin himself. Sora figured he couldn’t be that down in the dumps. Aladdin wondered who said that he was. Goofy told him that Jasmine was concerned about him. Donald asked if he had a new girlfriend or something. Aladdin said there was no way. Still, he figured there was no fooling Jasmine. He told them that Genie and Carpet had taken off to explore the world. It was what Genie had always wanted to do. Goofy figured Aladdin just missed his friends. Sora figured things must be really quiet with Genie gone. Aladdin agreed. That was why he came out into town. The action, the people, there was always something going on. Hell, he figured, he had even met them out here today. The world was full of surprises. It was Goofy who first realized that something was up. He got Sora’s attention and turned him around. The group saw Iago, on the ground and cowering in fear. Sora remembered that Iago had wanted to apologize for all the trouble he had caused. Goofy figured he was so sorry and nervous, that was why he was shaking. But Iago was scared because of the black lamp the merchant had. Aladdin wondered why he was making a fuss about it. Iago fluttered up to Aladdin and said that it was THE lamp, the one with Jafar in it! Aladdin said that he was just overreacting. There were a million like it. Iago screamed that he had been locked up in that thing for months. There was no way he would mistake it. Abu started gesturing again. Aha! No wonder he had stolen the lamp! Aladdin figured they better go back and talk to the peddler. Sora said that the three of them would tag along.

The group arrived at the Peddler’s Store after fighting through some Heartless out in the Marketplace. Sora asked if there was any way they might be able to buy the lamp from him. The Peddler said of course…if they could afford it. Sora told him that would be no problem. Donald tried to say they would pay in royal treasure, but Sora hushed him. The Peddler asked if there might be another lamp they were interested in, but Sora said that was the lamp they wanted. The Peddler agreed to sell it to them, IF they could bring him a treasure beyond even his imagination. Something, say, fit for a sultan. Aladdin, who had heard the conversation from outside, said that treasure could be tricky. Sora said that there was treasure at the palace, but Aladdin said that it wasn’t his and he couldn’t ask for it. He didn’t want to worry Jasmine or the Sultan. Iago suggested that they could use the treasure from the Cave of Wonders. The trio looked skeptical, but Aladdin told Iago to lead the way. He said that, after they retrieved the treasure, he might even believe Iago’s apology. Iago said Aladdin could count on him! With a plan in place, the group took off towards the desert. As they made their way back through Agrabah, the group came upon another new Heartless, known as the Silver Rock. Similar in appearance to Red Nocturnes and Blue Rhapsodies, the Silver Rock would suddenly disappear into a ball of light and set off an explosion upon reappearing. And, like the others, it was resistant to magic, so physical attacks became the key to defeating them. They also encountered their old foe, the Fat Bandit. These Heartless common to Agrabah acted much like the Large Bodies, but also had the ability to breathe fire and shoot fireballs.

Out in the desert, Pete had beaten the group to the Cave of Wonders and headed inside. He made his way down into the cave just as Aladdin, Iago, and the rest of the group appeared over the final ridge. Iago said this was the place. As if the giant tiger head made of sand wasn’t a dead giveaway. The group made their way into the Cave of Wonders to find a place that looked remarkably different from the interior they had seen in their last trip. Almost immediately, they came into contact with a new Heartless, called a Fortuneteller. This Heartless attacked with ice magic and even had the ability to freeze its targets. Another new Heartless, called the Fiery Globe, sometimes appeared with the Fortunetellers in battle. The trio fought their way through the first room and made their way into another area where a large statue stood against the back wall and a gem floated in mid air. However, there seemed to be no way forward. Unable to see an obvious path, the group walked up to the jewel and looked at it, hoping to sense what its purpose was. However, unable to pass up any type of treasure, Abu leaped off of Aladdin’s shoulder and grabbed the jewel. The water flowing down the walls of the chamber stopped and rows of statues fell into place, surrounding the heroes as ice formed and dropped down above their heads. The group helped Abu run forward and set the jewel into the base of the statue, quieting the room’s stone guardians and causing the statue to disappear. Behind where it stood, there was a new pathway open, leading further into the cave. The group checked their gear before heading farther into the cave where they found themselves in a room called the Chasm of Challenges. There was a stone tablet sitting in the center of the room. The tablet said that they would need to complete their task within the time allotted. Activating the tablet began a series of battles against increasingly difficult Heartless. As each battle ended, the floor gave way and dropped the group to another floor. Finally, after all the battles were over, the group found themselves at the bottom of the chamber, where another path lay open to their progress. A tablet at the top of the nearby staircase congratulated them for having the strength to make it this far and opened the door that stood behind it, allowing the group to continue further on into the cave’s depths. The group walked through the doorway and found themselves in the cave’s main treasure chamber where gold seemed to just fall from the ceiling into massive piles that sat on the floor of the chamber. The group marveled at all the gold, but it was a treasure that was sitting at the end of the chamber that caught Aladdin’s attention. The treasure looked like a golden trophy and was set with all manner and color of jewels. Donald ran towards the treasure to grab it, but as he did, Pete showed up in the chamber right behind all of them. Meanwhile, Donald said that the Peddler would love something like this treasure. Sora said that it sure looked valuable. Aladdin said that it should work great. Now they had to go get the lamp and keep Jafar bottled up, or else he would destroy Agrabah. As the group spoke, Iago and Abu tried to make off with another piece of treasure, but Donald told them to cut it out… well, kinda. Donald became entranced with the giant rub set into the statue and stared at it with a hunger and longing. Aladdin yelled and told him to snap out of it. Even Pete got a good laugh at that, then snapped his fingers as he walked away, causing a series of Heartless to appear and attack the group. Donald wondered why this always seemed to happen. The group fought the Heartless off after Sora activated his Wisdom Form and destroyed the three Fat Bandits in the room with ice spells. Sora said that it was time to go and the entire group took off towards the exit.

Back in Agrabah, the group arrived back in the Peddler’s Shop, but nobody was around. Aladdin called out, but nobody answered. Instead, the group heard Pete telling the Peddler to hand the lamp over. The Peddler said that he was going to trade it for treasure. That lamp was going to make him rich! Out in the alleyways of Agrabah, they found Pete chasing the Peddler as the smaller man ran away with the lamp in his possession. As the trio made their way towards the front gates of the palace, however, Pete caught up with the Peddler and stole the lamp right from his hands! The Peddler, renewed in his rage, caught up with Pete as he ran ahead and stole the lamp right back. As the group reached the gates themselves, Pete stole the lamp back from the Peddler and said that he had won. However, Iago flew forward and snatched the lamp up in his beak. The entire group congratulated him, but the Peddler and Pete gave chase. Goofy yelled for Iago to watch out behind him. Iago darted to the side, causing Pete and the Peddler to run face first into a wall. Iago looked back to make sure he was safe, but forgot where he was going and flew into a wall himself. Iago fell to the ground and dropped the lamp, which was promptly picked up by a recovered Pete. Pete told Iago that he had done a nice job and to wait and see what happened when he let Jafar out of the lamp. Pete said that he would make one beauty of a Heartless. The trio rushed forward to deal with Pete, but a huge quake shook the ground. The group looked up to the sky to see an old friend appearing out of nowhere…Genie! Genie flew up to Pete and picked him up, calling him Al in the process. Genie said that it had been eons since he had seen him. The real Aladdin tried to get Genie’s attention, but Genie was already on a roll. He asked if Al had been putting on weight. Pete stood there, dizzy and confused as Genie flitted all around him. Finally, Aladdin got through to Genie, who looked at Aladdin, then looked back at Pete before finally letting Pete go. Pete, finally starting to get his wits about him, told Genie that he would teach him for making a fool out of Pete. Pete, enraged, said it was time for Plan B, which would finish the whole group off right now. Pete slammed his fist into the ground and Heartless began to appear from out of nowhere. Both looked like large sultan-like Heartless, but one was fluent in fire while the other excelled at ice magic. As the duo of enemies bounced around, however, Sora was able to catch one with his Keyblade and fling him into his partner for some serious damage. After wearing into their health for awhile, Sora changed into his Wisdom Form and finished the duo off with light shots from his Keyblade. After the Heartless had been destroyed, Pete cursed the group and said that they had messed with him for the last time. Pete continued cursing them, even as he ran away. Genie was just happy to see Aladdin and his friends as Carpet also arrived.

Down in the dungeons of the palace, the group placed Jafar’s lamp within a stone sarcophagus, hoping to never allow anybody to find it again. Meanwhile, Iago promised that Jasmine and Aladdin wouldn’t regret giving him another chance. Goofy asked if Jasmine really wanted Iago around. The princess figured that Iago had shown that he meant well. Genie figured there wasn’t a whole lot that Iago could do to cause trouble on his own. Jasmine asked Sora what the group was doing next. Sora said that it had been great seeing everybody, but they still needed to find Riku and King Mickey. Genie said that he wished them well and luck in finding their friends. Sora thanked him, but noticed that Aladdin had disappeared. Jasmine told them that he had run off towards the town to look for Abu. Genie said that Al couldn’t miss Sora’s going away party and promised that he would have him back in just a second. As Genie disappeared to find him, Abu arrived back at the palace holding a giant red ruby as Aladdin chased him down. The trio jumped to catch him, but only succeeded in landing on him. Abu dropped the jewel, however. Aladdin said that he must have secretly stolen it from the Cave of Wonders. Donald took the gem back from Abu, but then became completely transfixed by it. Goofy figured that some things were just hard to resist. Donald sighed and wondered who really needed it, anyway, throwing it away…or at least it seemed, until Donald could be seen holding the gem behind his back. Abu started screeching at Donald. Donald, looking embarrassed, said that it must have gotten stuck. However, the gem itself shone out with a bright light and opened up a Keyhole of Light in the air. Sora, using his Keyblade, unlocked yet another path of light for the group to travel. Aladdin asked what was going on. Sora figured that it was time for them to go. Jasmine asked if they would be back. Sora promised that they would be. For their hard work, Sora earned the Lamp Charm, which would allow them to call Genie! The group geared up for yet another journey.

Meanwhile, Pluto made his way through the streets of the unknown dark city that had appeared in the flashbacks of Roxas’ life as part of the Organization. Suddenly, he perked up at the scent of someone and ran down the alley and turned the corner only to see a cloaked man with spiky red hair passing through a dark portal. Pluto tried to catch him, but the portal closed before Pluto could make it to him. The poor dog looked really down until something else caught his attention. It was another dark portal. Pluto got really excited and took off into the portal after the man from before. In another world, Kairi stood alone on the beach of her home island. She said, out loud to herself, that maybe waiting wasn’t good enough. A voice told her that she was spot on. It said that if she had a dream, not to wait, but act. It was one of life’s little rules. Got it memorized? Just then, a dark portal opened before her and Axel stepped out onto the beach. Kairi asked who he was. Axel introduced himself and said that he was a close acquaintance of Sora’s. He offered to bring Kairi to see him, but a second later, Kairi turned as she heard a dog barking behind her. Pluto ran up to Kairi and spun in a circle, happy to see her. Kairi bent down to get a closer look at Pluto, but suddenly, the two of them found themselves surrounded by Dusks as another dark portal opened. Pluto ran over to it as Axel said that the two of them had something in common: they both missed someone they cared about. He felt like they were friends already. However, Kairi ran after Pluto and said that Axel wasn’t acting very friendly before following Pluto into the portal. Inside the portal, Kairi wondered what this place was. However, a new doorway of light opened. Pluto ran inside of it and Kairi followed. Before going all the way through, she looked back and saw another cloaked figure standing behind her. Before she could say anything, however, she was enveloped by the light. Next thing she knew, Kairi was laying on the floor of the clubhouse of Hayner, Pence, and Olette. Someone asked if she was okay. Kairi asked what was going on. Pence told her that she and Pluto had come flying out of a hole in the wall. It had nearly given them all heart attacks.

Back with Sora, the group made their way back to the Gummi ship. A new pathway had opened, but so had an old one. One that led back to Twilight Town! Before heading out, Sora asked Jiminy about the Heartless they had just fought. Jiminy told him that they were called the Volcanic Lord and the Blizzard Lord. Sora checked out the path he had opened up and found that it led to the Pride Lands. Sora decided first, however, to see what tricks that Jack Skellington was up to in Halloween Town, so the trio set course for Halloween Town to parlay with the Pumpkin King once again…