Crusade for Rescue

(July 7th, open to anyone. Plans to rescue Belle.....again)

Storm clouds covered the stars. The rain battered the mess hall as a shape made its way through the falling drops. It leaned heavily on its staff, his bandages almost torn off by the heavy winds. He opened the door, which then hurled forward on its own, propelled by the wind, and slammed into the wall. He limped forward. Rafiki had been in a coma for the past two weeks after the duel with Facilier. "Someone, get me Clopin, or Kida, or someone! I have urgent news!"

He tried to close the doors, but the wind was too strong for his body, still too weak from its recent ordeal. He let his staff fall to the ground, pushing the against the entrance.

Kida had been sitting at a table finishing her meal. She was glad they'd recovered Jasmine and Meg but they'd been so busy fighting in battles, searching for a cure, and burning down Notre Dame to mount another search party. She was still worried about Belle. And she hadn't seen much of Clopin recently but she knew he must be worried about her too. And now with this storm it could be even longer to begin a search. And this storm worried her. From what she'd heard from around camp most storms ended in a day or two.

She'd thought it was a magical occurence but Genie, Mama Odie, and the others hadn't found anything. It seemed to be a natural storm, a long one but natural. Her thoughts were interrupted as the doors opened as Rafiki ran in. She rushed over to him hearing her name, as she helped him close the door. She turned to him, concerned about his health. She'd heard he'd been sleeping for a couple weeks.

"Are you alright Rafiki?" asked Kida.

The babboon sighed as the door was finally closed. He bent down, painfully, and picked up his staff. "I'm perfectly alright miss Kida, but it's not me we should be worrying about."

He hobbled over to the table, feeling a bit better as the warmth of the mess hall was like a heated blanket. He sat down on the nearest seat, facing the albino girl. "I've been in a small coma for some time. But, while my body was sleeping, my spirit visited the Palace of the Great Kings. When I was there I met someone who didn't belong. SHe was not dead, yet her soul wandered about while her body was kept in a magical sleep. She said her name was Belle and that I should look for you."

Kida was furious. She knew they should have been more active in the search, but all these delays kept happening. Poor Belle could have trapped in this spell the entire time for months. At least she was safe. The villains must have her in Notre Dame all this time. And they'd nearly killed her. She must be safe in Agrabah or there wouldn't be hope of saving her. She nodded to Rafiki, as she began forming a plan in her mind.

"So she's been trapped in some limbo all this time? Is there a way to return her to her body?" asked Kida.

Rafiki nodded. "Yes. From what I saw, it was just a small hex, easily done, yet effective. All I need to do, is find the right ingredients to reverse its sleeping effects and she should, relatively speaking, wake up good as new."

He got up and used his staff to hobble to the kitchen. "The main thing is naturally made, a chili pepper. We get some soil that once was volcanic rock, some water, a little fruit, and then we find the person who originally cursed her, Nasira I believe, then take a single strand of hair from both the victim and the enchantress, then we have a team-mate returned to us. The real problem is getting to Agrabah. I say we use the current weather to our advantage."

He rifled through the fridge. Finding the small mixture of mangoe and other fruit still frozen, he grinned. He brought it out and laid it in a small bowl. He grabbed a small spoon. He took a few tentative bites, letting the cool ice slide down his throat. "Now, we need intelligence, someone who knows Agrabah like the back of their hand. Then, we're going to need firepower, a good soldier. A weapons expert as well. Still, a person who is stealthy enough to get in and unlock the door is essential. Magic can be supplied by yours truly. Do you know anyone who can do these things?"

(OOC- With all the new defenses, we're going to need a strikeforce.)

"Clopin and Aladdin came with me the last time we searched Agrabah. And they're both former thieves so I'm sure they can help us sneak into the palace. But for fire power I'd suggest bringing along Aladdin's Genie just in case we run into a group of sorcerors. They've got a large group of sorcerorors so we should have at least a few with us just in case." said Kida.

She paused thinking about the last one before sighing.

"I'm not sure about weapons expert. Maybe another one of the generals?" asked Kida.

(ooc: Yeah. you know if aladdin's rper is unavailable I'd suggest Robin Hood or John Silver to help them sneak in maybe.)

Tantor had no clue to why excatly he had came to the mess hall. He hd examined each and every bit of food and found it to be extremely contagious. So there he stood, on one foot, pushing the food away with a stick. Massive ears perked up as he heard Raffiki and Kida talking about rescuing Belle. Tantor beileved he could be of some use. After all, he had rescued Tarzan from Clayton and his men once before, right? Surley the woman and the baboon could use that.
Keeping a careful eye on the demon food, he walked over to Kida and Raffiki. "Excuse me," he said "I coudlnt help overhearing, it's kinda hard with these massive ears you see!" he chuckled "Could I help rescue Belle? I held my own against dragon Maleficent for a while! Im sure I could be of some use! And I could charge through the wall that's holding Belle and release her!"

Whiskers dripping, a thick-bodied lioness walked past the group towards the food Tantor had piled and pushed aside. The mess hall was becoming increasingly popular as a hangout for weary soldiers, as the reconstructed tent shed water and held a great multitude of food. A multitude that, unfortunately, shrank every day. With all the rain, the predators couldn't hunt effectively, and those that gathered other supplies were hampered by mud and water-damaged paths. It would only be a matter of time before food began running short. Kula, at least, knew how little food her body would need to keep herself functioning.

Ears perked towards the group, the lioness began to paw through the food, searching for meat products as she eavesdropped. A rescue? In this weather?
"Rafiki, nice to see you up and about again."

Rafiki nodded. "Yes, perhaps we should ask Shang? He's good with a sword."

He looked up at Tantor, then glanced at Kida. "I'm sure you could help. Hello Kula, and thank you."

The name reverberated in his head.

Belle.

Oh, such a sweet name it was, perfect for the woman he had fallen head over heels for. She had been missing for far too long. The last rescue mission had been a flop, even though he had perfectly orchestrated it, to the best of his ability. The general leaned up against the pole holding the flaps to the entrance of the mess hall. His hat dripped heavily with rain, as he slowly entered, as if in some sort of trance. At least she wasn't dead, and he was glad for that.

"Weapons expert?" Clopin asked, piping up from his rather long silence. "While I do have my magical attributes, they run much shorter than my weaponry. I would be glad to serve as weapons expert. And, as Kida said, both Aladdin and I are perfect for sneaking in without being seen." he said, smiling for the first time in a long while.

Rafiki looked up at the General and nodded. His staff clacked against the ground. He looked at Kida, Clopin, and Tantor. "So, it's settled. I believe we must leave tomorrow while the Human Villains wouldn't expect it, twilight during this storm. We need transport and food, perhaps weapons. Clopin, you know your way around Agrabah, correct? I need to get my hands on a map..."

Tantor gasped as Kula walked towards the food. He tried to leap infront of her but elephants can't jump so he fell face flat on the ground. He raised his trunk and feebley raised his trunk to say. "Don't eat that! It's contaminated!" but Kula ovbiously wasn't going to listen, so he turned his attention back to the group. When Raffiki said he could help his tail began to wag with happiness.
He listend intently as Raffiki talked about weapons and such, then he mentioned transport. "You can all ride on me if you would like! If we just put a cart or something on my back then you'd all be able to sit there!@

Genie flew in spying the group as he overheard the conversation. The storm had delayed their attack on Agrabah. He'd told Jasmine, Iago, and Aladdin what had happened before eventually the news had spread to the rest of the camp. Plans to take back Agrabah had been delayed cause of the storm. But now they had another prisoner to safe. He was glad Jasmine was safe but he guessed Nasira, Jafar, and the others would have guards maybe even sorcerors guarding them. Aladdin had barely gotten away with Jasmine and Meg on his one made crusade to rescue them. He knew even with Rafiki, Clopin and Kida's magical knowledge they might need some extra help. He flew over to them.

"I hate to interrupt your conversation but I heard you were planning on going to Agrabah. I'd like to come along and help you. With the number of sorcerors on their side you may need backup." said Genie.

------

Kida turned to see Clopin and Genie had joined them. She nodded grateful for more help.

"I'm glad to have more help. But we don't know where Belle is. Even if we were able to sneak in without being detected we don't have the time to search room by room. And we'd probably run into guards or wake someone up that way. There has to be a way to narrow down our search. Like a spell to locate her or something." said Kida.

"maybe I can be of service?" Silver said as he walked out of the kitchen area of the mess hall having over heard what Kida had said. "ye see ere this eye O mine can see clear threw walls" the cyborg tells her as he finds himself a seat at the table. "sides I'm more then willing to deal with any villins who might get it our way" he clutched his metal hand in a fist.

Rafiki nodded at Tantor's eagernesss to help. It was welcome in this time to have a battering ram wanting to hit something, but was rather polite about it. He grinned as he saw the two others join them.

"Well, it seems like we have the full package. Weapons and a way to find Belle, check. Magic, check. Someone who could sneak in, check. Warrior, check. Transport, check." He looked at each of the people there. "Tomorrow, we strike. First off, we must secure a plan."

He grabbed a few pieces of fruit and laying them on a table in a certain order to create a small diagram of Agrabah as he had heard of it. "This is Agrabah, make changes if I have anything wrong. First off, these nuts are ourselves." He held them up for them to see.

"We must scout out the Palace and City Walls from a good vantage point. Silver, this will be your task. Then, using the information of the defences gained by him, Clopin will use his magic to go along the Walls, getting rid of anything that might hinder us in our small mission. He will then open the gates, allowing Kida to come in. Clopin and Kida will then proceed to the Palace and wait there for additional knowledge of the Palace's guards, then go in and carry Belle out, still avoiding the guards. Genie, you will go along the back, ready to aid them once they have gotten Belle. Silver, if anything goes wrong, we will need you to use your knowledge of heavy weapons to help fight off anyone who starts attacking. Once we have grabbed her, we all will head back to Tantor for a quick and easy escape." During this little monologue, the babboon moved the nuts for emphasis.