CHAPTER 3

AGRABAH

THE TRIO STEPPED OUT AGAIN INTO THE SOARING HALL. At the end, there was another flight of steps leading higher into the castle. The gleaming marble walls began to feel eerie.

“Donald, Goofy, let’s go!”

Sora had to keep going. He had to find out if that hunch he’d felt when they first entered the castle was right. The feeling that he’d meet someone important here.

Behind him, Goofy paused. “Hmm…”

“What’s the matter?” Donald looked up at him.

“It’s that castle I was talking about earlier… I just know I didn’t imagine it.”

Sora turned back to see Goofy looking quite serious. “But…we don’t remember going to another castle.”

“We did, too—that was the castle where Sora had to use the Keyblade to free Kairi’s heart…,” said Goofy. “Then he disappeared! And I was so worried. How could I ever forget that?”

“Oh! When I turned into a Heartless!” Sora remembered. There was no way he’d forget that, either.

In that pitch-black darkness…I heard Kairi’s voice…

“Wait. That happened…in a castle?”

“Aww, you forgot that?” said Donald.

“Umm…” Sora cocked his head.

“’Cos I remember perfectly!” Donald puffed his chest out.

“Then what was it called?” asked Sora.

“That’s easy! It was…” Then, Donald trailed off, his head tilted in concentration. “Huh.”

Sora couldn’t quite remember the place where those things had happened. That was… It was… Where?

“Hey, Jiminy… It’s gotta be in your journal, right?” said Sora, and the cricket hopped out of his pocket.

“Every word!” Jiminy took a tiny notebook from his coat pocket. “I finished the first volume right before we got to this castle.”

He opened the well-used notebook—and shouted in dismay. “Oh! How could that be?!”

“Gawrsh, what’s wrong?” Goofy leaned down, trying to see the tiny journal.

“It’s completely blank!”

Donald looked closer, too, and jumped up. “Wak! The journal entries are all gone!”

“How could this have happened?! I’m so careful with the journals! Ohh…all that hard work is gone…” His knees wobbling in shock, Jiminy sat weakly on the floor.

“Let me see it…” Sora took the little notebook and skimmed through it. Every page was blank, as if not a single word had even been written there.

“Journal pages don’t just vanish!” said Donald, frowning.

“Maybe it’s more than that.” Sora handed the notebook back to Jiminy and spoke with more certainty. “Goofy was telling us about another castle we’d been to… But none of us really remember it.”

Yeah. He didn’t make it up—it’s not just his imagination, Sora thought. Little by little, we’re forgetting pieces of the past.

“Hold on!” Jiminy shouted, jumping to his feet. “Remember what that mystery fella said? ‘In this place, to find is to lose and to lose is to find.’ It must’ve been our memories he was talking about losing!”

“So if we keep going, we’ll lose more… Guess that’s why they called it Castle Oblivion.” Sora folded his arms, thinking hard.

The farther they went, the more memories they would lose—he’d never imagined something that crazy. But this was real, and they were watching their own memories turn vague and fragmented—and fade out, bit by bit. If they kept going, how much more would they forget…?

“Should we go back?” said Donald.

“Don’t worry!” Goofy replied, looking untroubled. “We might forget about places we’ve been or things we’ve seen, but we won’t forget who our friends are.”

“You really think so…?” said Sora.

Goofy smiled at him. “C’mon, Sora, when you turned into a Heartless, did you forget about me and Donald?”

“Of course I didn’t!”

“There ya go!” Satisfied, Goofy posed with his head high. “See, no matter what happens, you won’t forget us!”

“Huh… You’re right. Thanks, Goofy.”

No matter what…I won’t forget my friends. There’s no way I can forget about all the people I got to meet.

“Then we’ve got nothing to be scared of!” Donald held up his wand in determination.

“But when I turned into a Heartless, who was the one who took forever to notice and kept clobbering me?” Sora teased.

“How come you didn’t forget about that?!” Donald flailed with his wand, jumping up and down. “Meanie!”

Sora and Goofy and Jiminy Cricket, too, looked at one another and burst out laughing.

“Well, I’ll be extra sure to write everything down from now on,” said Jiminy.

“Thanks, Jiminy,” said Sora. “We’re counting on you.”

Jiminy nodded and went back into Sora’s pocket.

“I know!” Goofy told Donald and Sora. “How about we make sure we remember why we’re on our journey?”

“Goofy and I are on a quest to…,” Donald began.

“To find King Mickey,” Goofy finished, “’cos he stayed on the other side of the Door of Darkness to help save everything. I think.”

Donald and Goofy nodded at each other.

“And I’m looking for Riku. He was with the king when the door closed,” said Sora. “Yeah, you’re right. There’s no way we’ll forget the important things.”

That was why they were going through this castle—to find Riku and King Mickey, who had pulled that door shut from the other side. They wouldn’t lose sight of that.

“But…I wonder what we’ve forgotten?” Donald said, sounding regretful.

“I can’t think of anything, so maybe that means I really am losing my memories,” said Goofy. “But whatever they were, they couldn’t have been very important memories, right?”

“Yeah. If it was really important, you wouldn’t have forgotten it,” Sora agreed and held out something. “Look.”

It was the star-shaped charm made of thalassa shells.

“I’m making them so even if one of us gets lost, we’ll make it back here safe and sound. So the three of us will always be together.”

Donald peered at the charm sitting in the palm of Sora’s hand. “What is it?”

“A good luck charm Kairi gave me. It’s special to her, so I promised that I would return it.”

I promised her that I’d come back, Sora told himself. I’ll find Riku and we’ll go back to Kairi together.

“I’ll never forget making that promise,” he said. “So I’ll never forget Kairi.”

“It’s my lucky charm. So you have to bring it back to me!”

“Don’t worry. I will.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

The promise he’d made to Kairi in that cavern. Her dark eyes and red hair, her small hands. The pendant she wore and the sound of her voice. He could never, ever forget…

“Sora!”

It felt like he heard Kairi’s voice from somewhere. Sora turned—but the girl he saw standing there had flaxen hair and a white dress.

“Huh?!”

“Sora…” She smiled at him.

But he had never seen her before. Who was this girl…?

“Hey, Sora, what’s the matter?”

At Donald’s question, Sora blinked, and the girl in the white dress was gone.

“Huh… Do I know…that girl?”

“Where’d you go?” said Donald, looking up at Sora with concern.

“Sorry. Never mind… C’mon, let’s keep going.” Sora gave them a smile and ran up the stairs.

The room had walls of white marble, the same as the castle halls. There was something drawn on the floor, like a magic square, and in the center sat a big crystal ball.

The crystal ball showed an image of Sora and his friends, and Axel was staring at it hard.

Across from him, a woman in the same black cloak also peered into the crystal ball.

“You seem pretty intrigued by this Sora kid,” she said without looking up.

Axel turned away. “Are you telling me you’re not, Larxene?”

She covered her hand with her mouth and giggled. “Haven’t decided yet.”

Larxene wore her straight blond hair smoothly slicked back, which along with her sharp gaze created an altogether severe impression.

“I think what intrigues me more is what you see in him,” she crooned.

“Once, for a time, he became a Heartless,” said Axel.

“Oh yes—that’s how he came to this castle.” Larxene folded her arms and took a step toward Axel.

“And do you know what happens to people who turn into Heartless?”

“They lose their minds and their feelings—they’re consumed by the darkness. Of course I know that.”

Axel turned to look at the crystal ball again, at the shape of Sora and his companions glowing inside it. “But not him. Sora held on to his feelings, even as a Heartless. There’s only one other person who’s been able to do that.”

Just one other person… The only one that we know of.

“It’s not just that,” he went on. “Why isn’t he alone? It’s a world made from his memories—so why are the king’s minions still with him?”

“Are you saying those two have some kind of power…some strength in their hearts, too?”

“I don’t know.”

Was it because of Sora’s power or the Keyblade? Or was it really something about those two lackeys themselves…?

“So that’s what interests you?” said Larxene. “Why the Keyblade chose Sora’s heart…and why those others are still with him.”

“What is it that makes his heart shine like that? And what’s sleeping within it?”

“The mysteries of the heart, huh…?” Larxene, too, looked again at the images in the crystal ball.

“Isn’t it the organization’s mission to unlock them?” Axel placed his hand on the crystal ball and gazed closely at the image of Sora.

When Sora held up a card and opened the door, hot air gusted out into their faces.

The trio stepped through the door and looked around. On the dry ground sat buildings made of stone, their roofs painted in vivid colors. Clouds of dust stirred as they walked.

“Where are we this time?” said Donald.

“Uh, gee… It’s Aladdin’s world, isn’t it?” Goofy sounded uncertain about it.

“I remember, all right.” Sora looked down. It was hard to believe that even the hot desert air could be an illusion made from his memories.

But…I didn’t even remember who we met in this world, until Donald and Goofy said so, Sora thought. I forgot…

Aladdin’s world… And who else was here?

Walking ahead, Donald stopped short and jumped. “Wak! Someone’s in trouble!”

Sora followed Donald’s line of sight—someone was there surrounded by Heartless.

“It’s Aladdin!” Goofy exclaimed and dashed toward the commotion.

“We’d better do something! Blizzard!” Donald pelted out spells as he ran.

Sora followed and brought the Keyblade down on the Heartless. “Need some help?!”

“Thanks! I thought I was done for!” Aladdin shouted back.

The Heartless rushed at the newcomers with mean-looking scimitars. As Sora swung the Keyblade with a fierce cry, Aladdin countered with his knife, too. But no matter how many they defeated, more Heartless sprouted up from the dusty ground.

“They just keep coming!” yelled Donald, waving his wand.

“Guess we’d better see if that legend’s true!” Aladdin took a shiny golden oil lamp from his pocket. “Magic lamp, my first wish! Get rid of these Heartless!”

Blue smoke poured out of the lamp and took the shape of a blue-skinned genie. “Stand back, kids! Comin’ through!”

Donald looked up. “It’s the Genie!”

“…Genie?” Sora murmured.

“Something the matter, Sora?” Goofy said, peering at him anxiously.

“Nah, it’s nothing.”

The Genie of the lamp… A friend who fought beside us here with Aladdin.

But Donald remembered his name…and I didn’t.

“Genie of the lamp here! Nothing I can’t make right as rain!” Floating in the air, the Genie folded his arms and grinned down at them. “Well—if we had rain in the desert. But enough dry jokes! One Heartless disappearing act, coming right up!”

He snapped his fingers, and all at once, the Heartless vanished.

Donald jumped. “Wow!”

Aladdin took a step closer to Sora and held out his hand. “Thanks, Sora.”

“Well, if we were in trouble, you wouldn’t keep walking, either—right, Aladdin?” Sora laughed.

Aladdin’s mouth fell open. “Wait—how do you know my name?”

“You know my name, too!”

“You’re right!” He smiled a bit bashfully and shook hands with Sora.

It’s okay—I still remember, thought Sora. I won’t forget my friends.

“You could’ve called the Genie in the first place, though,” he said with a grin.

“It’s not that simple. The thing is…” Aladdin looked up at the Genie.

“Couldn’t have said it better myself! But I will anyway. Can’t have as many wishes as you want, the world just doesn’t work that way! Strictly limited to…”

“Three wishes!” Goofy jumped in. “Ahyuck!”

“My, sir, have you shopped with us before?” the Genie remarked. “Precisely! Three wishes per master! So, Aladdin here has two wishes left—and ixnay on the wishing for more wishes!”

“Two wishes left? Then you’d better use them carefully,” said Sora.

“Yeah… I’ve got to get back to the palace somehow, though.” Aladdin sounded as if he’d arrived at a decision.

“Uh, why do you need to go there, Aladdin?” Goofy wondered.

“It’s that no-good royal vizier, Jafar. He had me get this magic lamp from the Cave of Wonders. And the cave was full of Heartless! I’m lucky I made it back to Agrabah in one piece.”

“He made you go all by yourself?” Sora folded his arms. “This Jafar guy’s got a lot of nerve, giving dangerous orders like that.”

“I know how you feel, master,” said the Genie. “People have been ordering me around for a good ten thousand years!”

“Aw, gee, that doesn’t sound like a good time,” said Donald, and the Genie surprised him with a bear hug. “Wa-wak!”

“It’s really, really not. No fun for the Genie at all!”

“Okay, I get it—you can let me go!” Lifted off the ground in the Genie’s arms, Donald wriggled and kicked.

“I keep wishing someone will wish me outta this gig…but go figure the odds on that!” The Genie set down Donald and drifted, hanging his head.

Aladdin looked at him thoughtfully for a moment and said, “Well, how about I use my third wish to set you free?”

The Genie spun around in the air once. “Huh?!”

“I’ve still got two wishes left. So I’ll save my last one to wish for your freedom,” Aladdin explained, smiling brightly.

“Doth my pointy ears deceive me? Master, you’d do that for me? Not just pulling my topknot now, are you?”

“I promise, Genie. I’ll set you free with my third wish!”

The Genie crowed, flying in circles, and this time hugged Aladdin tightly.

“Anyway, there’s only one thing I want,” Aladdin said seriously, while the Genie was still rubbing his cheek against Aladdin’s.

“Piece of cake, when you’ve got the Genie of the lamp on your side!” He let Aladdin go finally, looking down at him from the air. “So, what’ll it be, Al? Fame? Fortune? A herd of luxury camels for your very own?”

“Well, there’s this girl… Her name is Jasmine. She’s the princess of Agrabah.”

“The princess?”

“A Princess of Heart!” Donald and Goofy both echoed at once.

Sora had completely forgotten about the person who was the most important to Aladdin.

Jasmine was a Princess of Heart— Wait, what did that mean?

There are too many things I’m forgetting, Sora thought, even though Donald and Goofy seem to remember. Why…?

“Yeah, she’s the princess,” Aladdin sighed. “And…that’s the problem. A street rat like me doesn’t have many chances to see her. That’s how all this started—I thought if I went to the Cave of Wonders, I could get the treasure, and then maybe Jasmine would want to meet me.”

“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 growled 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?