Chapter 7: Reunited, Not So Good
"Faster, Carpet, they're gaining!" Jasmine cried as she, Iago, and Safir rode Carpet through the twists and turns of the catacomb. They were barely evading the blasts of magic that Genie fired off. Though if Jasmine suspected correctly, he was trying his hardest not to take aim at them directly.
Ajan ran alongside Genie. "You fool, you're not aiming at them on purpose! Blast them!" He rubbed the lamp furiously, causing Genie to yelp and conjure a large blast of magic between his hands.
"Hit the deck!" Iago yelled, just as Genie let loose the blast upon the group.
Abu stirred, shaking the last bits of dizziness he felt and adjusting his fez on his crown. He was surprised to see himself in one piece, let alone the wound he had didn't seem any more of a threat than a papercut now. His jaw dropped, however, when he saw Aladdin struggling as Garan held him, Faran raising a sharp clawed hand to plunge into Aladdin's chest.
Abu scurried over and bit the U-serpent, hard. He wasn't liking the taste of Faran's scaly skin, but the bite made the U-serpent howl in pain.
Aladdin took the distraction to land an elbow to Garan's gut, before wrestling away.
Aladdin ran past where Faran held his bitten leg. "Come on, Abu!"
Abu didn't hesitate as he ran between Garan's legs and joined Aladdin as they fled the area.
"I'm so glad you're okay. I thought you wouldn't make it," Aladdin said.
Abu waved his arm in a casual dismissal, but then wiped his brow.
"Genie was at least right about that, and now we have to figure out how to lose these two and find the others..." Aladdin stopped midsentence when he saw Carpet flying a distance away from the turn of the catacomb, with Genie and Ajan in full pursuit. Neither Jasmine, Safir, nor Iago saw them, much to Aladdin's chagrin. Then again, neither did Genie or Ajan.
"I think we need to catch them off-guard if we're going to get the recapture lamp back. It's not going to be easy though. You up for it, Abu?"
"Uh-huh!" Abu gave Aladdin a thumbs-up.
"Stop him! Don't allow him to escape!" Aladdin winced as he heard Garan's anguished cry.
Aladdin nodded to Abu. "Let's move."
Garan and Faran ran through the catacombs until they came to a split in the path.
"Which way did he go? He can't have gone far that fast."
A series of yells echoed through the path on the right. A flash of light illuminated the catacomb path, and Garan grinned.
"I think I may know where he's gone. To help his-s friends-s."
"Let us go and help Ajan. This-s should be interesting," Faran followed.
The two U-serpents headed down the path, straight toward the commotion.
Jasmine's head spun as she awoke from the impact. Genie's blast hadn't hit them directly, but it definitely caused Carpet to throw them all askew. A close distance nearby, Safir was just stirring from where he'd been knocked across the dusty floor of the path.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
Safir nodded, brushing off his clothes. "I'm still in one piece, Princess."
"Yeah, well, I think they're gonna blast us into multiple pieces by the time they're done with us!" Iago groaned, sitting up a little beside Carpet, who seemed to shake his nobs as if stirring from sleep.
All of them turned eyes to where Ajan and Genie, who looked very nervous, stood in the only exit they could see to the pathway. The other way had a cliff that dropped off into what seemed to be bottomless darkness.
"There's-s nowhere left for you to run now. You're all under my command. The question is-s, which one of you will perish first?" Ajan's grin widened in the dimly lit area.
"Ajan! The boy's gotten away!" Garan, spoke. Ajan turned to see Garan and Faran coming up the path behind him.
"What do you mean?" Ajan's voice boomed. "Where is he?"
"Now, Abu!" A voice called from above them. Abu fell from a nearby ledge above Ajan at that moment, trying to snatch the lamp from Ajan's grasp. Ajan's grip was quick - he snatched it away, backhanding Abu which sent him flying. Iago was lucky enough to catch Abu in mid-air before the monkey could hit the ground.
Abu wiped his forehead and gave Iago a thumbs up. Iago shrugged. "Well, no one said I couldn't play catch. Just didn't think there'd be an Olympic sport for catching monkeys."
Ajan started to make a wish, but didn't see Aladdin falling upon him from behind, which made the lamp slip from his grasp and slide away from him. Jasmine went for the lamp, but Garan picked her up and clasped her tight in his powerful arms. Carpet scooped up the lamp from the ground, trying to fly away, but Faran grabbed the edge of him, causing the lamp to slide out of reach again. Faran picked up a heavy rock and threw it on Carpet to restrain him.
Safir saw his chance; he raced for the lamp.
"Safir, go for it!" Aladdin shouted. He was sidestepping slashes from Ajan, who missed enough times for Aladdin to avoid him and cause the U-serpent to stumble and fall to the ground.
"Not s-so fast." Faran charged for Safir, knocking aside Iago and Abu in the process, sending them flying into a wall. Iago got his head stuck between a few nearby rocks, while Abu tried to shake the dizziness that flooded his vision from the impact.
Faran collided with Safir, tackling the merchant like a football player. Faran recovered faster and grabbed the lamp, holding it high above his head. "Got it, boss-s. Genie, my first wish - blast the merchant with your power."
"I can't bear this!" Genie watched as his hand shot up and sprayed magic towards the wide-eyed Safir.
"No!" Aladdin leapt in the path of the blast, which struck him and Safir both, sending them yelling and spiralling down the cliff.
"Aladdin!" Jasmine cried.
Aladdin landed on a ledge, while Safir fell further down, managing to grip the side of a rock, clinging for his life. The merchant gasped as he saw the black pit below him.
Aladdin slowly lifted his head, groaning. He was stunned, a little sore from the impact of the fall and Genie's magic blast, but his eyes went wide when he saw Safir dangling over the dark chiasm.
"Safir! Hang on!" Aladdin tried looking for a way to leap down to where Safir hung precariously over the edge. He gathered his strength and, seeing as there was no other safe path to climb down to Safir, he leapt a short distance and landed on the ledge close to him.
"Help me, my grip's slipping!" Safir said, but as he did so, the last of his grip faltered and he started to fall.
Aladdin raced forward and grabbed the merchant's hand just before he could disappear.
"I've got you, come on!" Aladdin started pulling him up. But neither Safir nor Aladdin noticed, as the two struggled to safety on the ledge that Garan had caught up to them and leveled his bow and arrow a distance above them, aiming for the center of Aladdin's back.
Garan hoped he could pierce the street rat's heart from behind - he grinned as he took aim. But Garan didn't notice that Iago and Abu had caught up to him, and saw what he was about to do.
"Al, look out!" Iago said. He and Abu leapt on Garan's back - clawing and scratching, which caused the U-serpent to struggle with his bow, and let the arrow fly at an awkward angle.
Aladdin turned in time to see the arrow. He tried to evade it as he'd just pulled Safir up, but the arrow struck his shoulder. He yelled, staggering back. Safir caught him, wide eyed with horror at the arrow sticking out of Aladdin's shoulder, just above his chest. Safir started forward, but the ledge was weak and crumbled under their feet, sending them plunging down in the depths of darkness.
