Httyd: The Untamed (Remastered)

Agrabah

Knock, knock.

As I heard the knock, I looked out the carriage window. Viggo stood there, his face solemn.

"My lord, we have arrived," he stated.

I nodded, commanding him to send an envoy. He nodded and left, his movements efficient. As the army paused, dragons stirring and soldiers waiting for news, Moon began to talk, getting increasingly jumpy in Elsa's lap.

"Daddy, can't the envoy hurry? I want to explore the new kingdom!" she asked, bouncing slightly.

"In a bit," I answered, already anticipating her impatience. To entertain her, I produced multiple snacks she'd never tried before from my inventory. Her eyes lit up, and she immediately became absorbed in the novelty of them.

Ten minutes passed. The distant gates slowly swung open. I wasn't really surprised at their quickness to surrender. If I were a normal man, and saw thousands of soldiers and dragons arrayed before my city, I wouldn't really want to fight them either.

Knock, knock.

As I heard the knock, I gave the signal. The army started to move again, a rumbling wave of steel and scales. We reached the open gates and poured into the city. Though I noticed that thousands of citizens already stared, their expressions a mix of awe and confusion.

Suddenly, the entire army stopped advancing. Not by my command, but because something—no, someone—had halted us.

I sat up, opened the carriage door, and stepped out. My gaze swept across my soldiers and the bewildered townsfolk. I could see the confusion and fear in their eyes, directed not at us, but at the scene before them. Finally, my eyes turned to the front. It was a young man, strikingly dressed, standing atop an elephant adorned in lavish finery. He was surrounded by a grand procession, musicians, dancers, and courtiers.

My eyes widened. I knew what this meant. I had crashed a party. Aladdin was clearly in the middle of his princely introduction when I, and my entire invading force, interrupted him. And that, I realized with a sudden surge of focus, meant he also had the lamp.

"Aladdin," I spoke, my voice cutting through the fanfare.

His eyes widened, the surprise evident on his face. "How do you know me?" he asked, clearly taken aback.

I ignored his question, pressing my own. "Where is the lamp?" I demanded.

As he was about to speak, someone appeared right beside him—a flamboyant figure, shimmering subtly, who whispered urgently in his ear. Aladdin's eyes widened further, and he gritted his teeth. To my surprise, he then jumped off the elephant and walked directly towards me. I waited to see what he would do. He simply handed over the lamp.

"Why?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"I have no chance," he replied, his shoulders slumping.

"You're smart," I conceded.

He nodded and started walking away. The elaborate procession, the elephant, musicians, dancers, and courtiers, all slowly faded from view as his princely clothes shimmered and changed back to that of a common street rat.

"Stop," I commanded.

He froze, turning back. Aladdin, in the movie, had amazing evasion skills. He evaded trained soldiers and even defeated Jafar, all without any formal training. My thoughts raced. He has great potential. If trained, he might reach 30 points in his stats. While that's not much for me, if he ever manages to break his limit, he could definitely become one of my generals.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice flat.

"You... have potential," I said. "Join my army."

He paused, considering. "What can I get out of it?"

I smiled, a genuine one this time. "I have conquered kingdoms, over a hundred islands, and a part of the sea. I can give you riches, money, power. You'll have to earn them, though. And if you manage to become a general, I will give you your own kingdom."

Everyone's eyes widened at my declaration.

"I agree," he answered with a straight face, his street smarts evident in his quick decision.

I let out a laugh and signaled Viggo over. "Yes, my Lord?" Viggo asked.

"Train him," I commanded, gesturing towards Aladdin. "Make sure he becomes strong enough to even fight a dragon without a sweat." Viggo smirked and nodded, grabbing Aladdin by the arm and dragging him away.

With the lamp now in my hand, I returned to the carriage. My army proceeded forward, though most of them were left behind to guard the newly acquired city.

Moon was ecstatic the whole ride, her face pressed against the window, pointing at every new sight. Soon, we reached the palace. Hundreds of people stood outside, a nervous, sweating throng.

I exited the carriage, Moon skipping beside me, and Elsa following with her usual composed grace. As the crowd saw me, a collective wave of sweat broke out, especially on the fat man with the big beard at the front. He walked forward, bowing deeply. "I am the Sultan of Agrabah," he stammered, his voice trembling slightly. "Please tell me if you want anything."

I nodded, about to speak, but paused. Diastasi's voice echoed in my mind: "A soul meeting the requirements for a sacrifice has been detected." I paused, then looked around, my eyes scanning the faces. My gaze stopped at one particular person, and a smirk stretched across my lips. It was Jafar, standing subtly apart, his usual sneering face now contorted into a mask of feigned humility. The main villain of Aladdin, I thought, a cold satisfaction settling in. And now, he would become a sacrifice for the resurrection of Merida.

I began to walk towards him, the crowd parting before me like water. As he saw me drawing near, he bowed even lower, trying to act weak and harmless. "My Lord, is there something wrong?" he asked, his voice oily.

I let the tension build with silence, my steps deliberate. Then I spoke, my voice low. "Your soul reeks."

Before he could utter another word, I lunged, my hand seizing him by the neck and lifting him effortlessly into the air. His staff clattered to the ground as he was hoisted upwards, feet dangling. He choked, clawing at my unyielding grip, his eyes wide with terror. He tried to stammer out apologies, promises, anything, but I hardened my hold. As the realization that I intended to kill him finally dawned, he began to fight back, a desperate, pathetic struggle. It was already too late.

Crack.

His body fell limply. His soul, a dark, squirming essence, was forcibly sucked into my ring, where Merida's body lay in wait. A collective gasp rippled through the onlookers, horrified by my brutality.

Then, I heard a low, guttural growl. My head turned sharply. It was a magnificent tiger, its striped fur bristling. Next to it, her face a mask of fury mixed with fear, could only be Princess Jasmine.

I walked closer to them, my eyes fixed on the tiger. Its growls intensified, becoming deeper and more aggressive with every step I took, but I didn't flinch. Slowly, my towering shadow overlapped its powerful body as I stared directly into its fierce eyes. The primal rage in its gaze flickered, then dimmed. Within moments, its head lowered, its body slunk down, and it finally placed its whole frame onto the palace floor, clearly showing it had submitted.

"Daddy, it's a tiger!" Moon shrieked, her voice filled with pure delight. Before anyone could react, she darted past me, launching herself at the magnificent beast. She landed squarely on its back, immediately wrapping her small arms around its neck and burying her face in its fur. The tiger, Rajah, let out a startled growl, trying desperately to shake her off. But due to her absurd strength, the powerful animal was no match. It bucked and twisted, then whimpered, ultimately relenting, lying down as Moon began to cuddle it vigorously.

I turned back to the Sultan, who still stood sweating profusely. "There is nothing I want here," I stated plainly. "I already have what I wanted." I gestured vaguely towards the palace. "I will leave some soldiers here to protect this kingdom when I leave."

The Sultan's face sagged with relief. "Thank you, My Lord! Thank you!" he babbled, bowing repeatedly. I simply nodded, then headed off.

A few days later, amidst the hum of pacification and integration, I heard something amusing. Aladdin and Princess Jasmine had somehow fallen in love. I guess they were always meant to be, I thought, a flicker of something akin to sentimentality, quickly extinguished. But I couldn't just let them marry. If they settled down into a typical royal life, his raw potential, that spark I sensed, would be utterly wasted.

So, I decided to call them over. The main hall of the Agrabah palace was filled, dozens of people present: my generals, the Sultan, Princess Jasmine, and Aladdin, who now stood straighter, a newfound confidence in his posture.

Aladdin stepped forward. "My Lord, why have you called for us?" he asked, his tone respectful but firm.

I leaned back on my makeshift throne. "I heard something pretty interesting," I began, my gaze locking onto him. "You and the princess plan to get married?"

He answered with a proud nod, glancing at Jasmine, who offered him a soft smile.

I returned his gaze with a slow smile of my own, a predatory gleam in my eyes. "I had just conquered this kingdom," I stated, my voice casual, letting the implication hang heavy in the air. "And usually, when something like that happens, the previous royals become slaves." My smile widened, cold and unforgiving. "So, what I want to know is, you want to take what?"

Aladdin's eyes widened, his face flushing with anger. "She's not a slave!" he shouted, stepping forward protectively.

"Is—" I began, about to retort.

"Daddy, what is a slave?" Moon's small voice piped up from beside my throne, interrupting me.

"Not now, Moon," I said, a slight edge to my voice, my focus still on Aladdin.

But she kept asking, her insistent voice chipping away at my concentration, oblivious to the tension in the room. "But Daddy, what is it? What's a slave? Tell me!" she demanded, interrupting my words for the tenth time.

I snapped. "Be quiet!" I barked, my patience finally breaking.

Moon paused, her eyes wide, the laughter drained from her face. Her lower lip began to tremble as tears welled up, then started to fall. A full-on sob erupted from her. "Daddy doesn't love me anymore!" she wailed, heartbroken, the sound echoing through the suddenly silent hall.

"Be quiet!" I barked, my patience, thin from the stresses of conquest, finally snapping.

Moon paused, her eyes wide, the laughter drained from her face. Her lower lip began to tremble as tears welled up, then started to fall. A full-on sob erupted from her. "Daddy doesn't love me anymore!" she wailed, heartbroken, the sound echoing through the suddenly silent hall.

I jumped from my seat as if struck by lightning, instantly dropping to one knee in front of her. "Moon, no! I'm sorry! Daddy loves you, I love you, I'm so sorry!" I apologized multiple times, my voice uncharacteristically frantic.

But she continued to cry, her small face contorted in distress, screaming how I didn't love her anymore. The longer it went on, the more desperately I tried to appease her. I brought out all sorts of things from my inventory – a shimmering, magical doll she'd wanted, a pile of exotic snacks, an entire case of her favorite sodas, anything I could think of. But it didn't work. Her tears flowed, unwavering, and her cries of abandonment pierced through the grand hall.

Finally, in a state of complete helplessness, I turned around, facing no one in particular. "I will be back," I stated, my voice strained. I was vaguely aware that everyone in the hall – my hardened generals, the baffled Sultan, a stunned Jasmine and Aladdin – had their mouths agape, staring at me.

I had folded under zero pressure, I realized, a sense of bewildered defeat washing over me. The warlord who had crushed kingdoms and faced dragons without fear was utterly undone by a child's tears.