Chapter Twenty-One:
Realm Zone – 1992
(Authorial Note: Being one of his favorite Disney films, Livingston made it his goal to let Aladdin be the focal point for many twists in this part of the story - some that would go on to influence the plot of subsequent World of Disney installments.)
A bright sun bore down on Joanie as she awakened from her
unconscious state. Slowly, she sat up and looked around to see where she was.
Much to her immediate shock, she was in the middle of a barren desert, miles
and miles of dunes as far as the eye could see. Panic quickly struck her as she
cried out into the windy atmosphere, “Is there anybody out there?! Hello!”
Of course, there was no answer.
The situation was becoming far more terrifying than she
could have ever imagined; unfortunately, it was no where near as terrifying as
her other problem: she had no idea who she was. As hard as
she tried, she could not remember. She was not even certain how she arrived in
that desert, wearing nothing more than a bright tie-dye t-shirt and bell bottom
pants (not much protection from the windy, sandy atmosphere she was currently
in). All she knew was how scared she was and that her headache was killing her.
Just when the young redhead (a result of her previous
“adventure”) started to believe all hope was lost for her, she heard the neigh
of a horse close to her. She turned her head in its direction and spotted a
darkly clad stranger riding on horseback, heading right towards her. A hopeful
smile appeared on her face, believing her luck to have finally been looking up.
What she did not realize was the stranger was in actuality Jafar, the demented
sorcerer from the land of Agrabah; however, to Joanie, he was a blessing.
(Character Note: Joanie's new redhead look is the first of many opposite hair colors she takes on during the World of Disney series, becoming more outlandish with each new appearance.)
Once Jafar neared her location, he brought his horse to a
full stop, allowing her to approach. “Thank goodness you’re here! I was
beginning to think I was going to die out here!” Joanie exclaimed.
Jafar and his pet parrot, Iago, glanced up and down at
her, noting the strange clothes she wore; they were like nothing he had ever
seen before. “Who are you, young
lady?” he asked.
“I honestly don’t know.” Joanie hopelessly said. “I
just…woke up here…in the middle of nowhere…without a single clue of whom or
where I am.”
Jafar eyed her a little more closely, a grin emerging
upon his face. “I might be of some service to you,” he said while reaching into
a sack latched onto the right side of his saddle and pulling out a dark beige
cloak that he tossed to Joanie. “Here, take this. It will be nightfall soon and
the desert isn’t much kinder in its climate then.”
Joanie looked at the cloak in her hands and smiled to
Jafar. “Thank you. You’re a very nice man.”
In response to that compliment, Jafar’s grin widened with
glee.
Joanie traversed across the desert on horseback with
Jafar and Iago until night had arrived. She was more than thankful when
nighttime came and felt how cold the desert became. The cloak Jafar provided
was working well against the harsh climate, keeping her warm the entire time.
During the ride across the desert, Joanie wondered where exactly Jafar was
taking them, yet she did not dare to question him after saving her life.
When they arrived upon a large dune, Jafar stopped his
horse and waited. Within moments, another rider appeared on horseback, coming
straight for them. He stopped and immediately jumped off his horse. “You…are
late,” Jafar told the man.
“A thousand apologies, o patient one.” The man remarked
before he noticed Joanie with Jafar. “May I ask who your ‘friend’ is?”
“She is no concern of yours, Gazeem.” Jafar dismissed.
“Your only concern should be of the item I have requested you to bring.”
“Ah, yes. My half of the medallion.” Gazeem said,
reaching into his pocket and pulling out a golden object that was peculiar in
design. Jafar reached out to take it from him, but Gazeem yanked it back and
said, “Ah, ah, ahhh! The treasure!”
Suddenly, Iago leaped from his perch on Jafar’s shoulder,
squawking as he flew by Gazeem and callously snatched the item from Gazeem’s
grasp. He brought it to Jafar, who pulled out his own half of the same
medallion. “Trust me, my pungent friend. You’ll get what’s coming to you.”
“What’s coming to you! Awk!” Iago squawked.
Joanie watched with interest as Jafar brought the two
halves of the medallion together, creating the design of a scarab. It then
glowed in its golden hue and flew directly out of Jafar’s hands. The effect
scared their horses, nearly knocking Joanie off the one she shared with Jafar.
They watched it soared across the night atmosphere, briefly illuminating the
dunes it traveled above.
“Quickly, follow the trail!” Jafar exclaimed, motioning
for his horse to chase after the flying medallion. He chased right after it
with Gazeem and his horse following close behind.
(Authorial Note: Kingdom Hearts was one influence for Livingston in writing World of Disney, envisioning scenes from classic Disney animated films retold with fresh new characters integrated. Another influence with a similar method of storytelling was the 1982 Steve Martin comedy-mystery Dead Mean Don't Wear Plaid.)
The glowing speck of light that was the scarab medallion
traveled far across the desert until it reached another large dune (larger than
the one the group departed from) and separated into two on its own. The halves
plunged into the dune, leaving only two glowing points of light remaining on
the dune. When Joanie, Jafar, and Gazeem arrived at the scene, they were all
shocked to see the dune suddenly rise up and transform into the giant head of a
lion with the glowing points of light serving as eyes for the manifestation.
Out of everyone in the group, Jafar was the most ecstatic
upon witnessing the startling sight. “At last, after all my years of
searching…The Cave of Wonders!!!”
“Awk! Cave of Wonders!” Iago squawked.
“Groovy!” Joanie uttered, even though she had no idea what
the word meant.
Jafar then directed his attention back to Gazeem and
instructed him, “Now remember…bring me
the lamp. The rest of the treasure is yours, but the lamp is mine!” Jafar sounded very intent and
direct on his instructions, which were clear as a bell to Gazeem.
The pint-sized peddler made his approach to the mouth of
the lion, which formed as the entrance to the cave, chuckling greedily with
every step he took. Just as he reached the entrance, he was unexpectedly blown
away when the cave roared upon speaking. “Who disturbs my slumber?”
The deep, dark tone of the cave’s voice brought chills
down Joanie’s spine as she listened – never before having seen or heard
anything like it, much to her very
limited knowledge. She nervously looked on as Gazeem boldly addressed the cave.
“It is I…Gazeem…a humble thief.”
The cave eyed Gazeem sternly and stated, “Know this…Only
one may enter here…One whose worth lies far within…A diamond in the rough!”
Gazeem turned back to Jafar, who motioned for him to move
forward into the cave. The peddler appeared very apprehensive about entering
the lion’s mouth, taking heed of the words put upon him by the lion itself. Was
he really this “diamond in the rough” the mystical creature requested him to
be? Only one way to find out…he moved one foot inside the cave, planting it
down. After a brief moment, nothing happened; consequently, Gazeem was relieved
and continued on his trek.
MORARRRRRRRRRR!!!!!
Then came another roar from the lion – it knew he was
unworthy of entering the cave. Quickly, Gazeem turned and attempted to run away
from the cave; unfortunately, the lion’s mouth slammed shut directly over him.
The doomed peddler disappeared within the dune as it collapsed back to normal.
All that remained in the sudden turn of events were Joanie, Jafar, Iago, and the
two separated halves of the medallion.
Having been knocked off the horse and into the sand, the
three beings emerged from separate areas and brushed off the sand covering
their bodies. Joanie was stricken with horror from the scene that occurred,
screaming to Jafar, “What was that?!
What just happened?!”
“That, my dear, was an example of the enchantment that
surrounds the land of Agrabah.” Jafar revealed. “Does it terrify you?”
“Heck, yes, it does!” Joanie answered. “But, at the same
time, it also intrigues me as well. Does this stuff happen to you all the time
where you’re from?”
Jafar grinned. “Yes…this ‘stuff’ does occur more often
than normal – mostly due to my
practice in the arts of magic.”
“Wow. I’d really love to see more of what you can do.”
“Then come with me to Agrabah and I’ll teach you.”
Joanie smiled on his offer. She then heard Jafar’s horse
neighing nearby, trying to get out from some sand its feet were buried beneath.
Running to the horse, she left Jafar alone with Iago, who retrieved the two
halves of the medallion for his master and took his place back on Jafar’s
shoulder. What happened next could only have happened when no one else was
near: Iago spoke to Jafar in plain English. “In case you’ve forgotten what just
happened due to the beautiful redhead we’ve picked up…we’ve got a huge problem
here! That Gazeem jerk couldn’t even step one foot into the cave! We’re never
gonna get a hold of that stupid la…!”
Jafar interrupted Iago’s ranting by simply pinching his
beak shut and calmly stating, “We might have discovered the solution to our
problem, my feathery friend…in the form of our new ‘beautiful redhead’
companion. If we can mold her into the perfect sorceress, we might not need a ‘diamond in the rough,’ but just
a simple…loophole.”
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