Summary: Alibaba Saluja, everyone had always been admired for his personality. Someone who persevere to do the right things and try to do things for the benefit of others. A person who had experienced hardship in life and stumbled several times but he had people he trust and love that helps him to come out stronger and wiser. What does it take to make him fall.
Hi, here is another chapter for Alibaba the fallen. Thank you for your reviews and for reading :D
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NoImagination - thanks for reading ^_^. Yep, this idea has been lingering at my mind for a while ever since I have read Magi. What would happen if Alibaba fall in despair. He had been given hardship for all of his life and it is quite intriguing how he never fell. Even Sinbad was halfway fallen. And bout the perpetrator hehe you'll know eventually ^_^.
Guest - Thank you, you gave your time to give me a review. I hope I don't disappoint you. ^_^
kagome1237 - Yep, I'll do my best to give a chapter a week. Please continue to read and review ^_^
Uploaded: 8/17/2014
Disclaimer: I don't own Magi and its characters.
Chapter 2: Alibaba has fallen
It was the day after the summit and Alibaba could be seen walking aimlessly at Balbadd. Rumors and news spread like wildfire about the upcoming transfer of leadership. Some were confused at the prospect of Alibaba becoming their leader and some just outright despised the idea. Yes, this was the man who gave them their freedom, yes this was the man who fought for them. But no one could deny that he once abandoned them and let them fall victims to his eldest brother, whom was exiled to Sindria but was never punished for his crimes of the people.
Hatred has been embedded deep into the peoples hearts for the love ones they've lost and for the suffering they endured during those long years. If that wasn't bad enough, his so called Fog troupe caused a civil war when he supposedly betrayed them and that also caused several lives. And then in the end, he had no strength in him to lead them back to prosperity. Instead, he gave them false hope of equality under the republic governance, which they believe was nothing but a farce.
What did he do after declaring them as republic? He left, he left them at the hands of the Kou empire. The Kou empire who once said they will acknowledge them as a republic but what did they do? They placed a caste system where the people of Balbadd was almost at the bottom or at the bottom as slaves.
What difference does it make to be under their former king or the Kou empire? Yes, they could eat three times a day and live in better houses but behind all these luxury, one thing still remain, they were not free. They were just transferred from a horrible owner to a manipulative owner. This new owner does not use brutal force or impose taxes... no, this one actually made them feel great to the point that they have started to forget their roots and who they were, it scared and disgust them but they said nothing in fear of what the empire might do.
So, it wasn't a surprise when most of the people Alibaba encountered either gave him a slight glare or a fake greeting and smile. To most of them, he was a traitor, a coward... and enemy. And here he was, once again back to Balbadd and soon to be their new leader, may Solomon bless their city for they will be at the hands of an idiot. What these people don't know, was that Alibaba could hear their thoughts. He could hear them loud and clear as if they were shouting at him.
'What is that traitor doing here? He's just going to ruin everything again.' one thought said.
'I knew it, he's not on our side. He is a dog of Kou empire. He liberated us from his brother and sold us to Kou.' said by another thought.
'Look at him walk around as if he owns it.'
'Has he not done enough? Will he cause another civil war? No, he is probably a dog of Kou sent to keep us in place.'
'Solomon bless our city, for we will be at the hands of this scum.'
Alibaba was bombarded by their thoughts as he tried to get out of the market area. He couldn't look at them for all he saw were people filled with anger, hate, despair...
'Why? Why do I hear this things? Why do I see such things?' Alibaba thought as he almost run away from the market place.
"Don't you understand? Those were their thoughts of you. That is how they feel when they see you. You just heard what was truly in their hearts." The voice that kept taunting him since yesterday said.
'No, that can't be true... I gave them freedom. They were happy about my decision to give them the governance of their own country.' He countered.
"Yes, initially... but then everything changed when the Kou empire came. What do you think they felt when they were just being shipped from under Ahbmad to Kou empire. There was no difference. What farce of freedom were you talking about. People who had just lost their love ones due to a civil war had no time to prepare themselves to be subjected to a new governance. They had to move on quickly and what's worse was that the one who submerged them into suffering was exiled to Sindria and was actually able to live freely without shackles as an archaeologist. How do you think they felt?" The voiced reasoned.
'No, I won't believe this. Do you really think I would believe that I could hear people's thoughts? No, you were just making me hear these weird things again just like yesterday at the summit.'
"What you saw yesterday was no illusion. It was the reality of what had happened if you didn't meet that midget of a magi. You were just shown of how little everyone would have think of you. Tell me Alibaba, who would you be if not for that magi?"
'…' Alibaba was silent.
"You can't answer? Let me answer for you. You would have been dead as a cart driver, eaten by that Desert hyacinth. And if you weren't eaten, you would have been still a cart driver or a slave to that fat wine merchant. And if by chance, you had become desperate and jumped inside the labyrinth of Amon, then surely you wouldn't have survived. Without those treasures, you wouldn't have been able to free that Fanalis girl and without Amon, you wouldn't have garnered attention to any leaders and you most likely wouldn't have been able to free Balbadd." The owner of the voice chuckled in satisfaction at Alibaba's forlorn look as he desperately tried to defend himself.
'So? I met Aladdin and those things never happened... I... I...'
"You would what? Shout to the world that you were nothing if not for that magi? Before you met that magi, you had nothing, no family, no friends, no possessions, not even an identity to yourself. Kassim? He hated you remember? He hated you to the point that he manipulated you. Tell me, is that suppose to how a friend should be? Give up Alibaba, surrender and accept that I exist. I, the part of you who hates the world for every little shit that has happened to you. Everything that you would do, will always be connected to that magi. All your achievement, he will always have a hand on it." The voice taunted.
'No, you're just a curse. You're probably a remnant of the curse Isnan once cast on me.' Alibaba answered frantically.
"Yes, I am a curse, I am your curse. I was not cast by anyone. No Alibaba, I am you, you made me. I am the embodiment of your hatred and suffering, all your disgust at everyone and at yourself, all the injustice and despair you have felt, I am those and so much more. You will only suffer more as long as you fight me, for you are fighting no one but yourself. It would be best that you remember that..." The voice trailed as it faded.
'I can't take this anymore... I must tell someone, I must seek help...' Alibaba thought as he broke into a run towards the place he knew his household members were.
'They may have been looking at me with those stranger's eyes but I am sure in reality they were not. This stupid illusion must stop, this curse must be lifted...'
He arrived at the place where they currently stayed. He wanted to run around and scream for help, he was sure they would automatically be by his side but last thing he wanted was for everyone on that place to think that he may have lost it. He was sure it would add more fodder to the curse. So with a deep breath, he walked and searched for them. He ignored the strange looks from the people around him, after turning on a hallway, he found them in deep conversation. He immediately walked towards them and they acknowledge his presence.
"Ahh sir Alibaba, it's great for you to join us. We have missed you, you have shut in yourself for quite sometime." Olba said happily.
"Yes, you have been shutting yourself for quite sometime now, Alibaba" Morgiana agreed.
But this were not the words Alibaba heard.
"Ahh good sir, is there something that we could help you with?" Olba said politely to the stranger.
"If I remember right, you are one of the tenants here. I believe they call you, Alibaba." Morgiana said.
Alibaba shook his head, obviously this was the curse' doing its work and he knew those were not the words said by his friends. Though, for some reason he felt a strange pain in his chest as he thought of that word but he dismissed the thought as he tried to ask for help about this curse.
"Morgiana, Olba, Toto, please help me. I think the curse of Isnan was not lifted and it is starting to be active again."
But he paled as he heard the words that came out of his mouth.
"Morgiana, Olba, Toto, I need no help. I feel refreshed as if a curse has been lifted from me. I am ready to start being active again." He said with a smile.
'Why? Those weren't the words I said.' He thought as he paled even more as he saw a reassuring face from his friends.
"Well that's good. But if you need any help, don't hesitate to ask, Master." Olba answered with a grin.
"Alibaba, you look like hell. Maybe you should get some sleep now that you have been able to think things through." Toto said as Morgiana nod in agreement.
For some reason, their words got to him loud and clear, as if the curse was taunting him. Telling him that no matter what he does, no matter how much he asked for help, the conversation will always end like this. Them concluding that he was fine and him left in a state of utmost despair.
"Thanks, I'll just do that." Alibaba heard himself say as he felt his body move and walk away on its own.
"Alibaba, I'll carry you back." Morgiana offered.
"No need, I am capable of going back. And please do not try that in front of the people here in Balbadd, it would be hard to lead them if they don't respect me, thinking that I couldn't handle myself properly." He heard himself answer.
He arrived at his room and quickly shut the door. He slumped into the floor with his face on his knees and started to cry.
'Have I been isolated from everyone? What would I do? I can't seek help, I can't strike a conversation and everyone is looking at me with disdain. Why is this happening to me? What did I do wrong? What gods did I anger to have this kind of fate. Why... somebody anybody please help me...' he thought in despair. All night he never got a wink of sleep and just cried.
Days have passed by and Alibaba was almost at his wits end. He was seldom seen outside his quarters and when he was outside he was wandering around alone as if he was in his own little world. The most you could get as a response was a nod or a single word. His household tried to talk to him and pry him out of his own little world but their voice just couldn't reach him. He would always avoid them or dismiss their questions with a simple wave of a hand. After a week of trying and gaining nothing, they have come to a conclusion.
"We need to let Aladdin know. Right now, he is the only one who can bring Alibaba back." Morgiana suggested.
"Yes that would be great, if we have something to communicate with him. Kou has confiscated everything we have that could communicate to Sindria." Toto answered.
"Then someone needs to tell him directly." Olba commented.
"I will ask Prince Koumei if we could send an emissary to Sindria to deliver Aladdin a message." Morgiana said.
"Very well you may send an emissary to Aladdin bearing the message but unfortunately we have no one to send." they heard Koumei's voice.
They looked back and saw Koumei standing just a little away from them to their surprise.
"Don't be surprise, I can see everything in this city because of my metal vessel. We have seen what is happening to Alibaba, so we have concluded that he needs really needs help." Koumei explained.
"And you're not doing anything about it?" Olba said with a little edge.
"Of course we won't. It was part of our agreement with Alibaba that as long as he doesn't side with Sindria, we will not interfere to any of his activities. That is why no one had stopped him from going out of the city or wandering around the desert. None of you are prisoners here, you are our comrades now, so we won't pry on any of your affairs." Koumei answered.
"But he needs help!" Olba shouted.
"Yes he does, but he doesn't want any. Our hands are tied because of the agreement but you on the other hand are not. You seem to forget something, even if we try and help him, he still view Kou as his enemy. Do you believe he will listen to us, after all he didn't listen to his own friends. But as you said, Aladdin might be able to do it." Koumei answered.
"How long before you could send an emissary?" Morgiana asked not wanting this useless banter to continue.
"Probably a week before any of our ambassadors are free." Koumei answered.
"That may be too late." Toto said in concern.
"As I said, none of you are forbidden to leave the city. You could tell him yourselves as long as you promise not to side with Sinbad. But with Alibaba here, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't abandon him." Koumei finished as he left.
"I'll go." Olba declared.
"I'll go with you." Toto agreed.
"No, you two stay here and I'll go. It will be much faster." Morgiana said.
"Nope, you stay here. You have been his friend the longest between the three of us. You need to support him while we get Aladdin. Take care of him, Mor." Toto countered as Olba nod in agreement.
Morgiana was silent for a while and then relented.
"I will." were the last words she said as her two companions prepared for their journey.
The departure of Toto and Olba was reported to Kouen and Koumei but they just shrugged it off. They thought that Alibaba's was still trying to accept his fate as a dog of Kou empire and was miserably failing. Add to that, Kougyoku has yet to come back to Balbadd since she departed for the capital just the day before the summit so they couldn't actually proceed with the wedding. They suspected that Alibaba told her the agreement and went to the capital to try and convince the empress to call it off which they believe will be for naught, for the real reason they took Alibaba was not to use his strength... no, they took him so they could take Aladdin away from Sinbad. This was a ploy to weaken Sinbad not to strengthen Kou. Alibaba could become a vegetable for all they care as long as Sinbad does not get his hands on that magi. Alibaba and Kougyoku were just the victims of circumstances.
Of course, it left a bad taste as they were basically sacrificing their sister but Kougyoku was not new to this kind of agreements, she had prepared herself a long time ago for this. After all, she had been there when her sisters were married off for political reasons. They knew that she wanted to call it off not for herself but for her friend. Well, atleast she would be married to someone she actually like and not a complete stranger unlike her sisters. So with that, Kouen and Koumei came to a conclusion, let Alibaba and his friends do as they please as long as they doesn't join Sinbad.
Morgiana right now was confused. She had been doing everything to make Alibaba open up but all she got were a cold shoulder. She was wandering at the hallway of their quarters when she suddenly bumped into someone, she looked up and she smiled as she saw who it was.
Alibaba decided that he needed to get out of his now so called prison. Yes, he had imprison himself into his room so that he could escape meeting anyone that might be used by the curse to further bring him down. His eyes had large bags under them and his complexion as pale as a ghost. He had little to no sleep due to the nightmares that kept him up all night. He opened his door slowly and he heard people talking just by the corner. He recognized the voices and he slowly move towards the source. When he was at the edge of the corner, he stopped and just listened to their conversation.
"Hakuryuu, it has been a while." Morgiana greeted.
"Yes, and you are still as beautiful as ever Morgiana." Hakuryuu answered but Morgiana paid it no mind for she wanted to ask for help.
"Hakuryuu, I..." she was about to say something but was interrupted by Hakuryuu.
"Morgiana, do you remember what I said before we separated? I still feel the same way. I still love you so much." Hakuryuu declared which left Morgiana speechless as she was caught off-guard.
"Morgiana, now that Alibaba is to be married with Kougyoku, you won't be the only girl in his life. Kougyoku will be his number one and she will surely take care of him. So please, marry me and become my future queen." he confessed.
"Hakuryuu, I like you too bu..." Whatever she was to say were turned into muffled words as she felt Hakuryuu's lips locked into hers.
Alibaba took a peek at the corner when he heard Morgiana answer Hakuryuu's confession and he wanted to protest but what he saw made his heart drop and made him lose whatever sanity left in him.
There he saw Morgiana and Hakuryuu kissing. Their lips were locked and Morgiana was doing nothing to stop it. He took a few steps back. He wanted to scream, he wanted to punch someone... No, right now he wanted to kill someone. He wanted to kill Hakuryuu, this was the first time that he felt this so much hatred, so much pain... so much despair.
He turned around and walked away, his strides fast almost into a run. He needed to get out of here, he needed to be elsewhere. Anywhere, somewhere, even in the dungeons just not here, not around them, not around anybody for he didn't know what he might do. His mind in the last few days were almost broken but he was clinging into a strand of hope. The hope of Morgiana's words just a few weeks ago when they were on their way to the summit. That she liked him too and that she only needed a little time to understand her feelings. But what he heard and saw, he was sure weren't illusions made by the curse. The voice of Morgiana telling Hakuryuu that she liked him too and then that scene of them kissing. It was all too much to bear. He arrived at the door and quickly opened it. After he was out, he run. He run as fast as he could. He bumped into someone and he swear he heard his name being called but he just didn't care. His mind was being overloaded with the scene he just saw, not even the curses and jeers from the people around him got to him.
'The curse was right. Without Aladdin, I am nothing. No land, no money, no family, no friends, no power... no love, nothing. Even Morgiana chose to be with Hakuryuu rather than I. I'm really am useless, I really am good for nothing. I should have died together with my mother that day. Is this my fate? To die all alone.' was all he could think as he run towards the exit of the city.
A man dusted himself as he stood up and picked up his wand. He fell down when Alibaba literally run into him. He looked at where Alibaba went with a curious face. The man had long black hair tied in segmented pony-tail and had red ringed eyes.
"Did my eyes had just deceived me, or is it true that Alibaba has fallen?" the man said in confusion.
Author's Notes: So how is it? Should I continue, do I have a bad grammar? Please leave a review for me to know on how to improve and know what you feel about this story. Oh and I have decided on the pairing ^_^ and it will be revealed either next chapter or the one after that. hehe