Disclaimer: I do not own Aladdin. Aladdin is owned by Walt Disney Animation.
The desert sun rose on the expansive kingdom of Agrabah. The merchants returned to their stalls to prepare their wares for the day's earnings, the bakers heated up their ovens and all the other citizens were beginning to stir as the city came back to life.
However, somewhere above the main street, in a desolate hideaway from all the other houses and buildings, a young man named Aladdin was still deep in slumber. He could swear he could see, no, feel the presence of someone else close to him. Turning around, he could see the silhouette of a person walking around him, a cloud of red and brown almost dancing in its steps. He attempted to reach out to the apparition, only for his hand to phase through the being's body. He snapped his hand back in fear of the supposed ghost right next to him, even taking a step back to get some distance between him and it just in case.
The apparition's form had instantly morphed to appear humanoid, and in a moment it had expanded and created two other clones of itself, quickly surrounding the perplexed Aladdin and swallowing him in a cloud of dark brown dust.
"Give in to the brass," a voice whispered into Aladdin's ear. "Give in to the brass…"
The voice repeated the same phrase until Aladdin finally snapped out of his dream. He immediately sat up on the rough blanket covering the dusty floor of his makeshift house, realizing he was back in reality. Holding a hand to his head in order to steady himself, he was trying to make sense of the vision he was giving. Who was the spirit who visited his dream? Why did it multiply into three of itself?
And what was with that weird warning about brass?
Deciding that it was only just a weird dream, Aladdin shook it off and finally rose up to start the day. It took a lot of effort just to keep surviving off the scraps of the citizens of Agrabah, a lesson that him and Abu, his best friend of a monkey, could never afford to forget. Not finding Abu around the area, he finally rose from his 'bed' and finally got a move on, expecting to catch up to his partner and finding a good claim of food to survive the day.
Jumping from one rooftop to the other above the main streets of the city, Aladdin searched for both Abu and the day's target for grub. Hoping to get the rare first pick of delicious fruits that were to be sold in the morning, Aladdin headed off to the part of the marketplace closest to what was locally known as the Pleasure Quarter, the only area of the city dedicated to fulfilling the carnal desires of whomever entered during the night hours; whether it was a personal night alone with a dancing girl or a series of thrill-fueled gambling sessions with old men who were more clever than their withered looks made them appear to be, there was always some enticing luxury available to lure people in.
As Aladdin found a way to land safely from the rooftops to the ground, he could see a couple of stragglers from the previous night's activities at the Pleasure Quarter – a middle-aged man holding his head in what seemed like an effort to quell a hangover; an elderly woman carrying a small, full purse of coins, looking at her winnings with a proud smile; and a young, svelte woman dressed in nothing but a brown, loose cloth, looking about on the ground and swiftly picking up what seemed like a few unmentionables before rushing back into the lodging area of the Quarter. Aladdin chuckled inwardly, making a personal note to find a way to get more money as legal as possible to enjoy a night there again.
Just as he was about to turn and head back into the market, a whisper suddenly attacked his ears, forcing him to stay in place.
"Search for the brass…search for the brass…"
'That voice…' Aladdin's eyes darted around his surroundings, bewildered by the soft speech. There was no way; it must have been a coincidence…right?
"Search for the brass…master Aladdin…"
'Master Aladdin?' He swiftly spun around his position, eyeing at every nook and cranny nearby to locate the voice. "Who or what are you?" he shouted to the empty air.
"Search for the brass, Aladdin…and all will be understood."
He searched the nearby street and clay houses, his heightened interest prompting him to keep searching for the voice from his dreams. Convinced more than ever there was more to his dream than it seemed, he searched frantically to hear it again, combing through the remains of the Quarter. He heard the whisper again, this time seemingly coming from an alley in the area. He crept carefully into the darkness, trying to keep his wits about him.
His heart shook as he felt a hard object come in contact with his foot, alerting his body to take a giant leap back for safety. He fell on the floor and crawled, taking caution to approach the object slowly this time. His hand grabbed the metal object, and after feeling it around for a few seconds, he finally determined that it was a small brass lamp. His fingers brushed upon a few spots of rust that probably grew as the years gone by, and he could only continue to stare at the mysterious object in his hand, despite squinting due to simply sitting in the dark.
Less startling this time, the whisper returned. "Hello, Aladdin. Congratulations are in order, for you have finally found us."
'Us?' Aladdin thought, his curiosity piqued at the voice, which was decidedly female. "Who are you?" he inquired with a suspicious tone in his voice.
"We are merely your humble servants, dear Aladdin. We are lowly spirits, merely trapped inside this lamp for years," the voice replied with melancholy. "However, we are also blessed with fantastic powers for our troubles. With them, we were able to search this city for worthy individuals of our choosing. And after finding you, we have decided to watch over you for quite a while now. We know you have had a tough life on the streets. But…we can fix that for you."
"Fix it? How do you plan on doing that? By making me a rich prince?" Aladdin challenged the voice, his heart full of disbelief at the voice's words. "Whomever you are, I doubt you're really this generous."
"Relax, master. All you have to do is enter the lamp. From there, we'll take care of everything. From there, all's that left for you to do…is trust us."
Aladdin couldn't remember the last time he felt this apprehensive about a stranger offering generosity to him. He would ironically be rich if he could count the times others have looked down on him for attempting to be nice or giving despite his appearance.
"Well, I am curious to see how true this all is. So how about we try this out?" Aladdin tested the voice. "I'll take you up on your offer and ask you for a meal. I'm feeling hungry more than anything right now."
"Then join us inside the lamp, if you please. We have an endless supply of food for you to enjoy; you can enjoy a massive feast, fit for a hundred kings and sultans put together."
"Not so fast," he replied with a smug look. "I typically eat with my partner, Abu. I've never missed a single meal with him. If you're offering your generosity like this, then surely he can come with as well?"
A brief silence, then an elated response. "But of course, Master Aladdin. Whatever pleases you greatly, we shall accept. We only wish to make sure you're completely satisfied."
Finally deciding to bite the bait, he set down the lamp back in the shade. "I'll be right back," he announced, dashing out of the Quarter, all the while wondering why all of this was happening in the first place.