Best Friends...?

"Best Friends...?" is the eighth chapter of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.
== Synopsis ==
Seventy-five days since Roxas joined Organization XIII, Xigbar notices Roxas and Xion heading out on a mission and is informed by Saïx that the two need a new routine and hopes that the two would benefit from it. At Agrabah, Roxas and Xion are alerted to the busy market as Abu runs by with an apple. Aladdin pleads for someone to catch him which Xion does. He scolds Abu for looting the fruit and returns it to the merchant as Roxas takes the time to hide Xion. Aladdin attempts to apologize to Xion for witnessing the scolding but is distracted by Jasmine's arrival. Hidden, Roxas reminds Xion that they must stay secret during missions and decides to find Heartless at the top of a building.
Xion practices summoning her Keyblade but is alerted to the arrival of a sandstorm. She spots an Antlion in the middle of the storm and the two head to the desert. Meanwhile, Aladdin saves a young boy from a fleeing caravan. The town evacuates as Jasmine expresses her wish for Genie to be present in order to clean up the sandstorms. Coincidentally, Genie is en route to Agrabah when Carpet notices the battle in the desert. 
Roxas is unable to land a blow as the Antlion constantly burrows underground and the terrain is unsuited for battle. Xion attacks with fire magic as Roxas is knocked away by the Heartless' spinning. Genie grabs hold of the Antlion and urges Roxas to attack, which he does, destroying the Heartless. On the way to Agrabah, the three introduce each other with Genie recalling his freedom from the lamp. Arriving at the town, he notices the city buried underneath layers of sand as Roxas reveals that the townspeople blame the sandstorms. As such, Genie resolves to find Aladdin.
Nearby, Aladdin is having trouble clearing the sand as Jasmine once again pleads for him to ask Genie's help in clearing the destruction the sandstorms have caused. Genie plans to reveal himself but is stopped when Aladdin states he can't ask Genie due to him being finally free and that he and the people can clean up the mess without magic. Saddened, Genie wonders how Aladdin can worry about someone else in his state and resolves to offer only a small bit of help as his best friend. He cleans up the mess and reveals that sandstorms won't bother Agrabah due to the Antlion's defeat and leaves. Aladdin notices the cleared sand and wonders if Genie had helped. 
At Twilight Town, Roxas and Xion ask Axel on the meaning of a best friend, but he reveals he's unfit to explain as he doesn't have one. Roxas, affected by the statement, wonders about him and Xion but hides his thoughts by exclaiming tomorrow they'll work hard as well.
== Worlds and characters ==
The WorldThat Never Was	Agrabah	Agrabah	Twilight Town
;Organization XIII
* Xigbar
* Roxas
* Xion
* Saïx
* Axel	
;Residents
* Citizens
* Abu
* Aladdin
* Jasmine
* Genie
* Carpet	
;Heartless
* Antlion	
* N/A
== Production notes ==
=== Series continuity ===
* Roxas hands Xion an elixir from the bargain bin, having previously handed one to Axel in "Morning Elixir" and to her in "Key Bearer Blues".
* Roxas reminds Xion that the Organization runs covertly, which he learned from Vexen in "Friends".
* Xion is unable to summon her Keyblade. She lost the ability to do so in "Morning Elixir".
* Genie recalls being freed from the magic lamp which occurred in "The Last Wish".
=== Differences from the video game ===
* Roxas and Xion explore the Cave of Wonders and encounter Pete during their mission before they meet Genie and Carpet in the desert.
* The Antlion isn't fought until Day 100 and is only encountered by Roxas.
* Genie physically participates in the battle against the Antlion.
=== Goofs ===
=== Trivia ===
* Genie breaks the fourth wall by telling Roxas and Xion to hurry as they're running out of pages.
Category:A to Z
Category:Chapters
Category:Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days chapters
Category:Real world