Jafar's World

Shhhhhhhh

Jafar smirked as the sounds of a storming waterfall filled his ears. He was close. Not only from his memory, but the small tool vibrating in his hand told him so.

In his spare time, Jafar had borrowed the case that the golden flower originally was held in to create this device: a modified pocket watch. With some nifty alchemy and the leftover magical residue from the container, the pocket watch essentially functioned as an alarm that told him whether was getting closer or farther from the source of the golden aura. It wasn't perfect since it was put together in a hurry, but it did the job. Even if it only worked when Rapunzel used her powers, it was not an issue since she never left her tower.

A few hours later, Jafar was pushing past some large hunks of greenery, cursing under his breath. He was definitely not an outdoors person. In fact, if it wouldn't potentially alert the witch, he would have burned his way to the tower.

'Damned bugs. Damned trees.'

It seemed the original Jafar's preference for life in the desert had passed down to himself.

However, it was not all for nothing. After a few difficult minutes of shoving though fauna, Jafar found his goal.

"Rapunzel's Tower…" he gasped.

He had to admit, it was a little awe-inspiring to see a part of his childhood shine into his literal life. In front of his very eyes was the legendary tower — green moss, pointed top and all.

With a small pip in his step, Jafar took a step forward…

"Oh my."

… Only to stop in his tracks as he spotted a curly-haired woman tilting his head towards him.

Shoulder-long locks of curly, black hair. Light green eyes. A curvy body that did nothing to make him forget about the fact that the woman in front of him was an elderly bitch who was hundreds of years old. It was none other than Mother Gospel herself.

"If it isn't a visitor? I must say, we don't get a lot of those around here. For good reason, as you can see."

The woman kindly smiled, tilting her head a little.

"I must ask, how did you find yourself here?"

Her soft voice didn't lower his guard even a bit. This woman was a wiley, powerful witch who had survived for more than a century for a reason.

Jafar cursed in the back of his mind.

'Damn… what unfortunate timing. To catch her on the way out.'

However, he had lived this long with his quick wits. Hopefully, that wasn't about to end here.

"Miss Gospel… let's drop the facade, shall we?"

At the mention of her name, the witch's disgusting smile dropped into a frigid scowl.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

He did his best to put on a villainous smirk.

"My name is Jafar, the Royal Vizier of the Agrabah. Let's just say… I'm in a similar line of work as yours."

The mention of his name made Gospel raise a curious brow.

"Jafar, you say? I've heard of you."

His smile deepened.

"Although the royal family hired me to find their precious princess… I do believe we can come to an amicable agreement. I'm not exactly inclined to help them out, you see."

Gospel tentatively raised her chin a little higher. She was nibbling his bait.

"Oh? And why is that?"

It was time.

Flash

"Well the thing is… I'm not quite the goody two-shoes that the public makes me out to be."

Right on cue, his eyes flashed a dark purple, his nefarious grin widening.

"The princess? I couldn't care less about her. What I'm more interested in… is an alliance. Don't you think it's a little difficult fending against the entire Corona Kingdom and her allies on your own?"

Mother Gospel carefully rubbed her thumb against her index finger.

"Well… I can't say I'm not interested."

Her eyes shifted a bit, mulling over her options.

"Okay. I'll bite, Jafar the Royal Vizier. What did you have in mind?"

Jafar rubbed his hands together with eager delight— a classic villain move if there ever was one.

"What I'd be providing you with is a safe barrier. Aid if you need it. Supplies from all across the nation. I have far reaches, and I can grant you any good you wish for, so long as it exists. In exchange I want information. A powerful inside force inside the Corona Kingdom who's willing to aid me."

Gospel raised her brows.

This was indeed a beneficial deal for her.

"Take your time to think over the deal," Jafar assured, raising his hands. "I don't want to rush anything. The royal family has no idea that I'm here. Heavens, they don't even know I found your tower."

At least that part was true.

The witch slowly started to nod, though the wariness in her eyes hadn't completely dissipated.

"I see, I see. So you wish for a true ally. Your terms don't feel bad. Hmm. But is that really it? I suppose someone of your position wouldn't benefit from saving a mere princess, other than clout. However…"

She droned on, murmuring to herself and weighing the pros and cons.

However, while Mother Gospel took her time to ponder over the negotiations, Jafar was thinking of something else completely.

He placed his thumb on his bottom lip in contemplation.

'Let's think about this logically… What's the disadvantage in letting the storyline happen?'

The main benefit of letting the storyline playout would be the healthy return of Princess Rapunzel.

'But… she'd already be safe if I rescued her now?'

What about the vanquishing of the dangerous Mother Gothel according to the original story?

'But I can just vanquish her now?'

Happy ever after with a loving husband?

'He's like… 10 years older than her. Even with the historical norms, surely she can find a better option. She's a damn princess. A narcissistic jackass with no money to his name who's constantly on the run should be one of her last options.'

And the advantage of breaking the storyline?

'We get an ally with magic healing hair. Jasmine and all our allies will be safe from all injuries or attacks as long as they don't instantly die. I think I remember some TV show about Rapunzel getting her powers back in the original storyline, but it's not a guarantee. Looking at things objectively, the answer's obvious.'

As his own thoughts came to a close, Gospel also spoke up.

"Deal," she agreed with a smile. "I'm glad we were able to come to an agreement. I was a little worried when I heard of your righteous achievements, but it seems rumors have been exaggerated."

"Yup."

"Perhaps we can work together in the future. I've heard about the incompetence of the Sultan that you work under. An intelligent, calculating man as yourself surely has more ambition than staying under a helpless fool?"

"Definitely."

"Good, good. And when can I start asking for these 'supplies?'"

"Soon."

"And what of the royal family? What will you tell them?"

"I'll make something up. Don't worry about it."

"Very well… I'll decide to trust you this once. After all, we'll be allies from now on."

"Mhm," Jafar distantly hummed, fiddling with his satchel.

The witch's brows furrowed, feeling something was off.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, nothing much. Are you ready, by the way?"

She was obviously not following his thought process.

"Ready for what?"

"To say goodbye."

"???"

BOOOOOOOM

The entire area was covered with frigid smoke.

He didn't know what powers Mother Gospel had, nor did he care. No matter how strong she was, there was no way that a decrepit, dehydrated crone could stand up to dozens of weaponized Elsa orbs, primed to detonate on his cue. It was akin to detonating a bomb in her face.

Of course, he would never jeopardize his own safety. A small yet effective barrier surrounded his entire body leaving no gaps in his defenses. His cloak and the rest of his clothes were also resistant to extreme temperatures, having magic woven into their threads.