The moon had not yet risen or the sky began to darken when Helios and Jafar stood at the edge of an agreement.
The Grand Vizier's eyes glinted beneath his headpiece, shadows of torchlight flickering across the contours of his long face. The chamber's air buzzed faintly from the magic still lingering in the cracked mirror behind him.
"Midnight," Jafar said, tapping his staff once against the ground. "You'll meet me at the Hall of Stars. Alone. It's sacred ground. Even the palace guards won't follow us there."
Helios nodded without hesitation. "That works."
"Don't be late. Oh, and I trust you can find your way out of here since you found a way in." The vizier turned without another word, disappearing down the dark corridor.
Helios watched him go, fingers tapping his own arm in thought.
A private place no longer watched which guards could not enter. Isolated and convenient. He filed it all away.
Then turned to Alira.
"Let's go."
They exited the palace the same way they entered — unseen, unchallenged, and quiet as mist.
The Agrabah night was less frantic now. The bustle had died into murmurs. Lanterns swung low on twisted cords as the sky began to darken. Dogs barked in the distance, and the desert wind whispered promises through the alley stones.
Helios walked ahead, but not too far. Alira followed a step behind, her cloak brushing sand from the narrow steps. Her hood remained drawn, but her voice broke the silence.
"Why do people want power?"
Helios glanced back. "It's rare for you to be in such a chatty mood."
He didn't answer right away. They passed under a crumbling archway where a mosaic of constellations had long since faded from the stone.
"Sometimes," he said at last, "people seek power because they're afraid. They want to control what they can't understand."
"Fear?" she echoed.
He nodded. "Fear of death. Of failure. Of being forgotten."
A pause.
"Other times," he continued, "it's to protect something. Someone."
"And you?" Alira asked, her voice soft. "Were you afraid… or protecting?"
Helios smiled faintly and bitterly, there was a sadness in his eyes as he looked into the distant sky.
"Both."
The night thickened as they moved through the winding alleys of the lower city. The streets narrowed. Shadows grew deeper.
That's when Helios felt it.
A presence. Light. Suppressed. Watching.
They were being followed.
Not a Heartless. Not a citizen. No heavy boots or blundering movements. This one moved like fog and stayed just beyond his vision.
Jafar's insurance. Predictable.
Helios didn't break stride. "Don't react," he muttered under his breath. "Just follow me."
He led Alira down a slope of sand-covered stairs and turned into a side street, doubling back twice, changing pace once more, then ducked through a silk-draped archway into a shadowed alley that dead-ended in a merchant's storage yard.
There, hidden behind an old tangle of crates and broken carts, Helios summoned a dark corridor.
The wind flickered.
He motioned for Alira to enter, then stepped through behind her.
They emerged outside a closet space they had previously passed inside the palace when head to Jafar's hidden lair. It was in a narrow closet space—unlit, unused, just wide enough for two people to sit comfortably. The walls were stone, the scent dry and aged. A broom leaned in the corner, untouched for years.
Helios raised a hand and murmured a few words.
A cloaking spell settled over the door. No sound. No scent. No trace.
It wasn't much, but it would do.
He sat down on the floor, removing the hood of his jacket. Alira sat beside him, legs folded neatly beneath her.
For a long while, neither spoke.
Then Alira tilted her head. "I remembered something."
Helios looked over.
"I remember what rain smells like," she said. "Wet bark. Dripping on leaves. Cold skin."
Helios blinked.
"It doesn't rain here," she added.
"No," Helios agreed. "Too much sun. Too much sky."
She was silent for a moment longer. Then: "I think I liked it."
He looked away.
"I'm sure you did."
Midnight.
The stars burned cold above the desert sands. A breeze kicked dust across the abandoned courtyard, sweeping between shattered marble columns and faded reliefs of long-dead constellations.
The Hall of Stars was a ruin now. Once, it had been a place of prophecy and prayer, a monument to the celestial, where stargazers spoke with gods.
Now, only echoes remained.
Helios stepped between the pillars, alone.
He hadn't brought Alira. She remained cloaked and hidden back in the closet, just as he'd instructed.
The stars above shone like watchful eyes.
And in their glow, Jafar stood waiting.
His silhouette was tall and proud, robes shifting slightly in the wind. The ruby eyes of his cobra staff gleamed faintly.
"You're punctual," he said.
"I'm always where I need to be," Helios replied.
Jafar turned and gestured toward a slab altar that had once held offerings of stardust and oil. Now, atop it, lay an old scroll case bound in golden filigree.
"This," Jafar said, "is a map. But not an ordinary one. It reveals the position of the other scarab only when opened in the right place."
Helios raised an eyebrow. "Where?"
"The scroll reacts to falling stars," Jafar said. "Only when under their light will it show the way."
"Poetic."
"Yes and quite frustrating to use in this city," Jafar muttered. "The sands shift constantly. But… my scouts believe the scarab may be near a caravan of nomads crossing the Sea of Shifting Dunes. The exact location however will be impossible to determine. So use the map to find the second half."
Helios stepped forward, studying the scroll without touching it. His gaze flicked to Jafar.
"Well, then. You keep the map."
Jafar blinked. "Excuse me?"
Helios smirked faintly. "We're partners, right? We'll be working side by side to get what we both want, so I trust you. I believe we should travel together tomorrow night to locate this caravan. Once we do, we can use the map so it'll be more useful in your hands."
Jafar's mouth curled, but he said nothing. He slid the scroll back into the sleeve of his robe with a small nod. "Very well."
They stood in silence for a moment, the wind sweeping between them.
"We leave at sundown tomorrow," Jafar said. "Bring nothing that slows you down."
Helios with a smile nodded and turned to go.
Jafar didn't move.
The stars pulsed quietly overhead.
As Helios stepped back into the night, a small smirk played across his lips.
Under his breath, he murmured:
"How long before he tries to have me killed…"
He paused, rubbing his chin with a bemused chuckle.
"I at least hope he's more creative next time. That map probably came with a cost. And he tried to pawn it off on me first."