I thought it would be fun to post this story here as well, I currently have it up on AO3 under the same username and title. I hope it's alright since it's my first attempt at a Magi story. I apologize if I get anything wrong.
The battle had been a fierce one, as both parties expected it would be; one though reveling at the thought while the other had bore a more apprehensive view. It was only a matter of time before something like this happened, it was clear the very moment they first met and each time after. Like two sides of the same coin, constantly at odds with one another, and would remain so until the very end. Well, the end had come and it had dragged in both the innocent and the ambitious.
Hanging in the air, watching, eyes focused and darting about searching for any sign of movement through the thick cloud of dust, smoke, ash, and steam. It was heavy and took longer to blow away or settle, gnawing on what little patients and nerves still remained. The young Magi, Aladdin, gripped the aged wood of his staff before slowly drifting to the side in hopes that it would grant him a clearer view. The battle with Judal had been difficult, even with how much he had improved. At the very start of the battle, Aladdin knew that what he still lacked compared to his fellow Magi, was that Judal had been trained since infancy...the gap in experience simply was too great. However, it also became clear to the other that one can't rely solely on experience...Judal was strong, terribly, horribly, strong...but that much strength had made him arrogant.
Coughing as a strong gust of wind whipped the pollution around him, Aladdin brought an arm up to shield his face. His features were littered with the obvious signs of a difficult conflict, scratches and cuts in varying sizes and degrees of severity, countless bruises and abrasions, his clothes were damaged as well and his thick blue hair was a tad messier than usual...though his braid had held it's own and remained bound save for a few stray hairs that broke free. Though, as the cloud began to dissipate, a strangled cry broke the wary silence, forcing Aladdin to call out.
"Alibaba?!" he flew about with more haste, searching out where that noise had come from, "Alibaba, where are you?!" there was another painful cry, though this time there seemed to be a slight whimper at the end before a shaky voice responded.
"A-Aladdin?" the small Magi recognized the voice, it was Alibaba's, it sounded as though it were coming from below..."Aladdin! Down here!"
Not responding immediately, though a small sigh of relief to hear that his closest friend was at least well enough to answer him, Aladdin descended quickly until his bare feet softly touched the dusty ground. However, before he could go to the older blonde, a hand had reached out and gripped the young boy's shoulder, making him jump back with staff at the ready. The cloud below had mostly blown away by now so when his large blue eyes fell on the familiar form of Sinbad, he lowered his staff and gave the king a wary smile.
Aladdin and Alibaba had not been the only one's to take part. Knowing full well that just the two of them would not be enough, Sinbad, Ja'far, and Morgiana had accompanied them to the battlefield. All three were present though looked far worse for ware, Judal had dispensed with the adviser and the girl far quicker than either would have liked while insisting that they not interrupt a fight between Magi. It was very similar to the first fight between the two, only on a far grander scale. Alibaba had taken his fair share of hits but had remained adamant about not letting Aladdin fight alone. Sinbad had kept his distance after a few rounds with the fallen Magi, his reasons being his own even now.
But right now, Aladdin could see that Ja'far was tending to Morgiana. Sinbad had returned his rather strained smile with one of his own. Like so many times, this smile didn't reach his eyes, it was not an honest one. There was no relief or even happiness behind it, a well practiced and perfectly crafted mask the high king, more often than not, wore in his presence. The man was scary in his own rights, despite how goofy he tended to act, but besides all of that, Aladdin turned and ran off in the direction Alibaba's voice had come from. He knew the look Sinbad had given him was all the confirmation he needed to continue what he was doing, that he didn't need to worry about them and to just find Alibaba. Which, as it turned out, he wasn't that much further away.
Alibaba was hovering just a foot or two above the ground, Amon's djinn equip still active, but Aladdin could tell the others magoi was at its limit. Having aided him with his own fire magic, only moments ago the would be king had opted to use his ultimate magic to put an end to their battle. As expected, the equip vanished, forcing the blonde to drop those last few feet to the ground, landing unceremoniously on his backside. He let out an obviously distressed cry of discomfort, before looking up and finding Aladdin already at his side.
"Aladdin..." he heaved, clearly out of breath as though he'd been holding it the entire time.
"Where's Judal? What happened? Are you hurt Alibaba?" While he had complete faith in Alibaba and his abilities, that didn't stop the growing concern in the young Magi. Alibaba's growing smile had disappeared before it even had time to fully form and in that moment Aladdin saw the full extent of the state his dear friend was in. It made his own injuries seem like nothing. Alibaba was bleeding pretty badly, there were a fair share of slightly gaping holes where icicle spears had managed to pierce him. They had long since melted but the damage had been done none the less. His magoi was depleted to an almost dangerous level, and with these injuries, Alibaba was in no shape to fight anymore...and if Judal is still out there somewhere... "Just rest here, don't worry..." Aladdin said calmly, though inside he was being eaten away with concern, "You were really awesome Alibaba."
The bit of praise given had made the other youth chuckle, though cough a second later, "I d-don't know if I really got'm..." he then muttered, "But I definitely hit something..."
Aladdin could just blink and stare as the other pointed in the general direction he thought the enemy Magi could be. He then turned to see Sinbad and the others coming over before looking back down at Alibaba and nodding. Rather than wait for the others to arrive, Aladdin took off in the direction Alibaba had pointed him in. He had started off running but steadily slowed to a walk, looking over his shoulder a few times to see just how far he'd gone. The dust had completely settled by now, though most of it was carried off when caught by a strong wind current. Aladdin could see now that they were in a large clearing, surrounded mostly by mountain and trees. Much of the landscape though was scared from their battle, tree's up rooted or broken, splintered in half, or even burning. One particular blemish had drawn his attention though, a crater like trail that tore almost painfully into the ground, ending just at the edge of the clearing. It's origin was without a doubt caused by something crashing into the ground and skidding to a stop.
Following it to its stopping point, Aladdin noticed that there was a large gathering of rukh. He had not really given them much attention until this point, but by now they were hard to ignore...not that he was actually ignoring them. What baffled him the most was the odd mix of both black and white rukh, the black was enough to confirm that Judal would no doubt be at the end of this trail, but the sheer number of white rukh was something else all together. As a Magi, Aladdin knew that Judal didn't exclusively use black rukh, but in all the times he had encountered the other, Aladdin couldn't remember a single time where the white rukh just flocked to the other. Always, he was always surrounded by the black rukh...the signature of those who have fallen into depravity.
Before long, Aladdin reached his destination, but what he found made him stop dead in his tracks. Laying, partially buried, under a pile of rubble and broken branches was none other than the corrupted Magi Judal. The fact that it was the older Magi wasn't what surprised him though, it was the fact that it looked as if he hadn't even attempted to move from that spot. The rukh fluttered about, some coming to rest around the fallen one before taking off a second later. They were worried, and truth be told, so was Aladdin. Concern was no substitute for caution though, and when dealing with someone as treacherous as Judal, so his guard was up and staff poised and ready to retaliate should the need arise.
Carefully approaching, the youth was able to get a closer look at the full extent of the damage that had been done. Like his own, Judal's clothes were tattered, though Aladdin suspected that most of the damage had been caused from the final blow and crashing to the ground. As he drew closer, the tense knot that had formed in the pit of his stomach had tightened. Mixed in with the dirt and debris were splatters of blood, to which the sight prompted the young Magi to move with a bit more haste. Soon arriving along side the black haired male's still form. When Judal took no action against Aladdin's approach or even when the boy crouched down to inspect him...Aladdin bit down on his bottom lip.
There was a large and very deep stab wound in his abdomen, Aladdin didn't have to guess what had caused it. It was just the right size and shape to fit Amon's Sword...so it had been Judal he had heard before, not Alibaba. Everything had happened so fast that time just seemed to blur together. Moving away the broken branches, Aladdin found several more serious injuries. From the looks of them, there were burns of varying degrees and several gashes along his arms, legs, back and front...again, probably from the fall. The only area's that appeared free from harm were his forearms and neck, which had always been adorned with gold; however, both the bangles and neck piece were broken and scattered on the ground. Aladdin couldn't stop himself from wondering how on earth someone as strong as Judal could end up with this much damage. He was though, momentarily reminded of their first meeting, or rather their first fight. Aladdin needed to remember that for all of his power, that didn't make him invincible. Never the less, like before, seeing the other in this state wasn't really what he wanted. Simply put, Judal had to be stopped, but that didn't make the chore any less horrible.
Aladdin reached his hands out and was about to apply pressure to the stab wound when a flicker of movement was caught out of the corner of his eye. Despite reeling back quickly, a larger hand still managed to capture his forearm. Judal had come to, he was still alive at least but if he wasn't helped soon who knew how long he would last. At that thought, Aladdin stilled. He was honestly thinking about, considering, saving the other. Even after everything he's done, "You shouldn't move around so much," the boy said with a slight smile, "your wounds are pretty bad." Aladdin knew that despite all of his vast improvements, water magic was still very difficult for him. Which made it all the more frustrating since water magic was known for it's healing abilities.
Judal though just let go of Aladdin's arm and attempted a sigh, which only came out as a gurgling cough, "Geez..." he muttered, "don't tell me you're actually worried."
"And if I am?" was the blue haired boy's response.
Looking at him again, having turned his head away for a moment, Judal lifted an eye brow. He couldn't fight back the smirk that pulled at his features no matter how hard he tried, "Ugh, I just knew...hng...you'd be a pain, midget." His own hand had lifted again, be it rather stiffly, and pressed to the abdominal wound, visibly flinching as he pressed his palm against it. Seeming to dislike the pain this caused, he pulled his now dripping hand away.
"Th-this is the second time...that useless king of yours...managed to hit me." Judal grumbled, just staring at the blood before lazily trying to wipe it off.
"I told you, Alibaba isn't useless," Aladdin stated, "He's stronger than he looks."
"Clearly..." came the bitter retort, "Should've killed him when I had the chance..."
"I wouldn't have let you," Aladdin smiled a little more, though it faded when Judal didn't respond, "Hey, we really should get you some help."
This had drawn Judal's attention back onto the small Magi, he just stared long and hard, crimson eyes narrowed but steadily losing focus. He looked rather indignant, but then looked away again. Truthfully, he was waiting, he would have thought that someone from Al-Thamen would come and retrieve him. Though, the longer he waited the more it became apparent that perhaps nobody was coming. They came for him before, though he wasn't exactly proud of needing to be rescued...and he figured he didn't really ask to be in those cases. Maybe that's what made this time different, he wanted them to swoop in and carry him away to safety. Instead, he was still here...with the midget Magi.
Maybe it didn't matter now...he'd seen it before, countless times. Judal just sniffed and tried sitting up. Every bone, joint, and muscle in his body cringed and screamed, the pain brought tears to his eyes but he didn't stop. At least not until a pair of small hands came and rested on his shoulders, gently guiding him back down until his head rested on something...soft. Looking up, deep red meeting bright blue eyes, he found his head resting on Aladdin's knees.
"Oi...wh-what are you doing?"
Aladdin just smiled that innocently cheery smile of his, that look that always irked the dark haired one, "I already said, you really shouldn't move alright?" the boy replied, "Besides, Sinbad and the others are already on their way over, we're going to get you some help..."
Judal did not look the least bit pleased by this bit of news, he really didn't want to see those people, not now...not like this. He just groaned and squeezed his eyes shut, but opened them a second later when Aladdin softly patted his hair. With a just as battered pride as body, Judal tried to move his head out of the boy's reach, but this failed when the rest of his body protested. He started coughing again, this time tasting the coppery flavor of blood. Aladdin continued to stroke his hair, having even pulled his long braid out from under him...the damn thing never was very comfortable to lay on. Though, much to his growing displeasure, it was in quite a mess...he just sighed.
"Aladdin..." his voice was quiet, almost a hushed whisper, but Aladdin had heard his name none the less. Judal used it so rarely that it was hard to miss either way, "Can you...show me that thing again?" he asked, this time Aladdin had to strain his ears to catch the request. Even then he looked a little confused about what was being asked of him. As soon as it registered though, the boy's eyes saddened just a bit. He had only seen bits and pieces last time, flashes of memory, but he remembered them even now.
At first though, the young Magi was apprehensive. Judal was a very good...VERY GOOD...actor. Ja'far had accounted many times where the other would feint innocence or sadness to get what he wanted. He'd use other people's good will against them, mock them for wanting to help. Why was this situation any different? But Judal wasn't in any kind of position to do anything though, he could tell by how badly that stomach wound is that it must be very painful. On top of that, if the older Magi could move, he would have done so already...he did have a rather childish temper when it came to actually being hit back. This certainly counted as being hit back...
There was a risk, and on the off chance this was a trick...well, Aladdin couldn't bring himself to turn the other down. He was a Magi too after all, that counted for something...he was also the very first Magi, besides himself, he'd ever met. Sure it was a rather lousy first impression, but the boy wasn't going to deny that he had still learned a lot from Judal. Hard lessons...but lessons none the less.
"Alright..." he then said, noting how the others shoulders seemed to relax. Closing his eyes, Aladdin called upon Solomon's Wisdom, the emblem glowing upon his forehead as it took hold of both his and Judal's minds. Having done this with a number of people who have cursed their fate, they all had a distinct darkness in common. But Judal was different, here there was only darkness, pitch black with no end in sight. It was terrifying, mindlessly terrifying, Aladdin had half a mind to pull away but immediately decided against it when he found what he was looking for.
Judal...or at least, it looked like Judal. He was just a child though, a bit younger than Aladdin if he had to guess. The boy was crouching with his arms wrapped tightly around his knees, which were pressed close to his chest. Dressed in ragged clothes, he looked as though he were covered in shadow, a black fog hung around him and hushed whispers could be heard. What they were saying was hard to distinguish but they appeared to be tormenting the child all the same. When Aladdin approached him, the boy looked up. His eyes a deep red, though pink around the edges as though he'd been crying for some time, his lips moved but no sound came from them. Instead, large spikes of ice shot up from the ground around him, forcing Aladdin to jump back quickly, just barely dodging them.
Now there wasn't a doubt in his mind, that was definitely Judal. Aladdin tried to get close again, but the little Judal brought up more ice. This time, Aladdin was ready, he used a bit of his fire magic and melted away whatever ice was sent his way.
"Leave me alone!" the tiny voice screamed through the sound of cracking and melting ice. Forcing Aladdin to stop, worried that he might have hurt the other child. Though, upon looking, he saw that the young Judal had risen to his feet, a wild and fearful look in his eyes.
"I want to help," Aladdin spoke softly, "I'm Aladdin, I thought that...maybe we could be friends?" if he was going to help Judal turn back onto his path, to honestly free him from all of this and ultimately putting an end to his evil doing, he had to get him to accept the help and realize the truth.
The boy just glared at him, stepping back each time Aladdin tried to get close, "We can't, you'll just die like everybody else," he stated bluntly, "I've got powers you know, crazy strong powers! So just go away or you'll be sorry!"
Aladdin couldn't help but smile a little, it was morbid but he was reminded of the older Judal none the less. Boasting about how strong he was and how strong his allies were. But this did not deter him from his mission, "I'm pretty strong too you know, you won't hurt me," he said with a grin, "Besides, I think you're powers are really neat!"
"Huh?" the boy blinked, confused even, the look would have been comical had the situation been different, "Don't lie, nobody's stronger than I am...I'm a Magi you know. Magi are really strong!"
"Oh? Well that's good! I'm one too!" Despite being pretty much a child too, Aladdin could tell that this young Judal was a lot younger mentally, so he really had to treat him like a kid...like a...little brother perhaps.
"One what?" Judal glared suspiciously, he had drawn a wand from somewhere, the same one he always used though it looked a lot bigger in the hands of someone so small.
"A Magi, I'm just like you..."
That suspicious glare only intensified with the sheer level of disbelief added to it, "You're a terrible liar," he muttered, "Magi are awesome, you're just a kid..."
"You're just a kid too," Aladdin had rubbed the back of his head, "I'm older than you, you know..." he then grinned rather bemusedly, "I bet you've never even touched a girls boobs before~" his tone slightly taunting. However, he got the reaction he was aiming for when the other boy's face turned a noticeable shade of red, his mouth gaping like a fish pulled from the water.
"S-So what if I haven't?! I'm still stronger than you!" Lashing out, Judal had switched to lightening magic. Not demonstrating the same level of control as his adult counterpart, the bolts of lightening simply shot out in every direction, in fact, the boy wasn't even looking where his attack was going. Simply hoping that it would hit its intended target, though failing to do so. Aladdin had been able to dodge most of them, and the one's he couldn't he had deflected with some concentrated magoi. A feat only capable due to the actual lack in power of the initial spells, it seemed it was mostly just flash and no real impact.
Still though, it had served as the perfect opportunity to get closer to the younger one. And before the other had the chance to conjure another spell or move away, Aladdin had closed his arms around the small boy. His sudden panic and desperate attempt to free himself was unavoidable, but Aladdin didn't let go, he simply spoke calmly, "You have to stop Judal, you're going to hurt someone...you have hurt people already..."
"So what! They're weak and boring!" the boy struggled viciously, "I have to find the strongest king no matter what!"
Then, there was cold, cold, stabbing pain and Aladdin found himself being thrown back. A narrow spear of ice had shot up, seemingly from the ground, and caught him right in the shoulder. An eery chuckle filled the darkness as he struggled to break free. The ice itself was easy to break and had actually disintegrated into a flurry of rukh. Sitting up, he saw Judal grinning and laughing, what looked like cloaked figures had appeared. He'd seen them before, hooded so that their faces could not be seen, they were Al-Thamen.
"You're a funny kid," even at this age, Judal couldn't help it, messing with people, "I can do whatever I want to do because I'm strong, and I'm going to keep doing what I want." that grin only grew, "Stupid midget Magi, trying to save someone who doesn't need saving, I should just kill you right now."
Aladdin had gotten to his feet gingerly nursing the shoulder wound. While it wasn't an actual physical wound, his body would still register it as one, he'd be hurting when he gets back to his body. But that was the least of his concerns, he had tried and apparently failed. For someone so deeply steeped in depravity, was death really the only way to put a stop to it? Not wanting to believe so, Aladdin's eyes narrowed as he raised his staff. Concentrating, focusing the rukh, he shot them at the shadowy Al-Thamen figures, dispensing them easily and much to the other boy's surprise. Not waiting for the young Judal to recover, Aladdin walked straight up to him and smacked him right across his face. Hitting him just hard enough to actually knock the poor boy off his feet, landing rather gracelessly on the ground, stunned.
"Wh-what...what the hell! You hit me you brat!"
Aladdin disapproved of hitting others like this, but he had recalled Alibaba using a similar approach. Having asked the blonde once before why he did this, it had been explained as being a way to knock some sense into someone. It didn't really make much sense until now...or perhaps it had been timed poorly. The blue haired Magi found that his timing was often fifty-fifty in most situations. He was about to give the rather irate looking boy another swat when something pulled at his consciousness. Turning and looking around, confusion growing as he was given another tug. Not knowing what was happening, though it felt as though he was being pulled away now, Aladdin turned to the little Judal.
"What's going on?" the boy asked, "Something's happening..." the panicked look on the small boys face made Aladdin's worry grow that much faster...it hadn't been just him. "H-hey...you're a Magi too right...what's going on?" There was genuine fear in those large red eyes now, he was good but true fear was not something even the most skilled of actors could mimic. Aladdin had reached out a hand but then suddenly pulled it back.
He was hear to show Judal the truth, and it was now that the truth was revealing itself, he could not help Judal. Not in the way that he wanted at least... "This is the truth," he then said solemnly, "You cursed your fate, turned against it...you did whatever you wanted because you could and for all of the lying and pain you caused, nobody is here to save you."
The look on the other boy's face was as though he'd been slapped again, "You...you can't be serious, I've got powerful allies! They taught me everything! How to be strong!"
"Strength means nothing, if you have nobody to protect," Aladdin stated bluntly, "I tried helping you but you did not wish to be saved, if you ask now...how will I know if you're not lying to me?"
"Don't mess with me! As if I'd ask a know it all brat like you!" then the ground shook, both boy's staggering, it seemed to split as though something were pulling it apart. Everything around them crumbled away until a new scene was brought before them. A vast clearing, distorted by darkness, void of all color and warmth, though hanging high in the sky...a black sun. The ground shook again as the crevice opened further, a cloud of black rukh shooting up into the gray sky before swooping in an curving arch and descend towards a petrified Judal. Letting out a terrible cry, the boy had found just enough strength to turn and run towards Aladdin.
Aladdin though, was already being lifted off the ground, his consciousness was returning to his body but he could see the other chasing after him. No matter how much he wanted to stop what was happening, this was the truth that Judal had to learn...though, to deny a drowning man some form of preservation, even when surrounded by sharks. The saddened Magi used what he could to send at least two of his own rukh to the other, the white little wings fluttering down to meet the terrified child. The last thing Aladdin saw before disappearing entirely were the rukh taking shape of the souls they housed. A man and a woman...he was not able to make out their faces, but he did see Judal's and it was a look of recognition.
"Aladdin! Aladdin! Wake up!" a voice was shouting, rather loudly too, and made the boy groan slightly. Eyes fluttering open slowly, and gazing vacantly for half a moment up into a blurry face, Aladdin blinked a few times before Alibaba's face came into focus.
"Ali...baba?" the young Magi sat up suddenly, "Oh!" looking around, he was still in the crater but he had been moved. Alibaba was kneeling next to him and looked both distressed and relieved. Looking around further, he saw that Morgiana was standing just behind Alibaba, she looked a little battered but her face...though holding a serious glare, still held an air of equal concern. Sinbad and Ja'far were a few feet away from them, Ja'far standing beside a kneeling Sinbad. Then he remembered.
"Judal..."
"Wait, you don't look well, you need to rest a moment," Alibaba had started, but was ignored as Aladdin got to his feet, "Aladdin?"
Walking over, be it at a rather sluggish pace, Aladdin was greeted by Ja'far, though the wary smile served as good a warning as any. Sinbad didn't appear to hold any of his usual cheeriness, he looked very serious as he turned his head to face the approaching boy.
"You weren't able to do anything, were you?" he asked.
Aladdin just looked down, the older Magi wasn't moving and already his body was turning black. He then shook his head slowly, "I don't know...I want to think maybe before I was pulled away, but..."
Sinbad simply nodded, while standing, "Despite his treachery, he was still a Magi, he'll be given a proper send off," he looked to Aladdin one last time, "We'll find a way to finish Al-Thamen once and for all." it was a declaration more than a statement, a promise. Ja'far had crouched down, he didn't look thrilled about the idea, but he reached a hand out to lift the remains, only to pull his hands back.
"Sin! Look!"
As if made of ash, Judal's body broke apart, a gust of wind degrading it further until it blew away entirely, leaving nothing behind. The entire party was left standing their, stunned by what had just happened; unsure even, if what they had witnessed was really the truth. Judal had been so consumed by the darkness, heart, body, and soul, that nothing was left when the end came. It had taken everything...
It was so bright...wherever this was, it was bright and the rukh all fluttered about like millions of beautiful, white, butterflies. Feeling as though this place was familiar, these strange little creatures had appeared. Not rukh...round, white, squishy looking creatures...blinking, Judal just stared as they surrounded him and wiggled cheerfully. Wanting to reach a hand out to poke at the nearest one, only a thin white noodle looking appendage came into view. It looked like what those funny creatures had, bringing both into his line of sight, he saw that they were his arms...or what passed for arms regarding these funny things.
"We meet again...Magi..." a deep voice spoke, warm and welcoming.
