Browsing For the Cure

Everyone stared in shock at Aladdin, who was lying on his back. His eyes were open, and he took in their horrified faces.

"What? What's happened to me?" Aladdin asked, dreading the reply.

"Oh, Aladdin..." Jasmine looked like she was going to cry. She hugged him.

"It's bad, isn't it?" Aladdin said, looking miserably at the floor.

"Well..." Genie said, in his usual cheering-up voice, but it wavered slightly. Aladdin got up, and walked over to Mozenrath's mirror- it was simple, rectangular, and its frame was made of dull wood.

Aladdin gasped. He glanced back at everyone, then took a step closer to the mirror to inspect his eyes closer. He then swallowed. "It's not that bad... I mean, I can still see normally..." He was trying to be optimistic- it was obvious to everyone else.

Aladdin's irises- which were a reddish brown- had expanded, completely covering the whites of his eyes, and his pupils had become like a cat's.

"Aladdin," Jasmine came up behind him and held onto his arm. "We'll be able to cure you." No one noticed Mozenrath slip out the room with Xerxes.

"But we don't know the cure." Iago commented in his its-all-over- voice. Abu glared at him and Iago flinched.

"Bet wonder-boy knows a cure." Genie said.

"Why would he tell us? He hates me." Aladdin said sadly.

"We'll make him talk." Genie turned into a soldier from World War One, and pointed a gun in front of him menacingly. Then there was a bang as the gun shot. The mirror cracked as the bullet hit it directly next to Aladdin's head.

"Heh heh... oops." Genie turned back to normal.

"Seven years bad luck you moron! Do we need any more bad luck? I don't think so!" Iago yelled.

Abu glared at Iago again, but then he stopped. "Huh?" He asked in shock.

"What now?" Iago grumbled.

"He's gone." Abu said.

"Who?" Iago squawked irritably.

Abu slapped his hand to his forehead and began making his chattering noise, but stopped as Mozenrath slammed open the door noisily, carrying a large book, which he dropped onto the table with a loud bang. "I assume you meant him?" Iago said.

Mozenrath flipped through the book then stopped. "Here it is."

Cassim peered over his shoulder. "The Familiar Generation Potion?" He asked. The picture of that potion was a clear crystal blue. "Why was that potion grey? This ones blue."

"It was an old potion. It's been on the shelf a while." Mozenrath snapped, then he began to read aloud. "The Familiar Generation Potion: Antidote."

Everyone was turned towards Mozenrath. Jasmine and Aladdin held each other, Carpet was hovering in the air, and Abu and Iago were peering over. Genie had turned into Sherlock Holmes and was taking notes on a notepad.

"To prevent the effects of the Familiar Generation Potion," Mozenrath read, Xerxes lurking above him, "the one who applied the potion must simply cancel its effects."

"Oh great. I don't think Destane is gonna do that for us." Iago grumbled.

"If the one who applied the potion is unwilling to cancel the effects," Mozenrath continued, "one needs the Separation Blade. When swung, the blade will break the control the wizard or witch has over the subject."

"The Blade of Separation?" Cassim said, frowning. "Never heard of it. Do you know where you can find it?"

"Didn't that get destroyed because a wizard's subjects used it to separate themselves from their him to attack him?" Iago asked.

"Nope." Genie said, back into his normal self with a poof. "It was taken to somewhere. With a puff of smoke, a book appeared in front of him. "The Big Book of Places Containing Magical Items." He smiled, and began to flip through the pages quickly. "Look!" He said, turning the book round. "I'm in it!"

Sure enough, there was a picture of the Cave of Wonders in the top left corner, with Genie's lamp pictured at the bottom of the page.

"Nobody cares." Iago said, flying down onto Genie's shoulder. Genie looked hurt, and continued to flip through.

"Okay, Mr Moody, here it is." Genie turned the book round to show everyone again. In the top corner there was a picture of a large grey rock with different shaped holes in it, on the middle of an island. Genie turned it back to himself and rammed his nose inside.

"It says here," Genie said, voice muffled, "That it has to be ten who go in together, once every fifty years, and you have to be worthy enough to enter."

Iago looked around. "How many of us are there? So there's Al, Jazz, Cassim, the rug, the monkey, Genie, and... those two. " He pointed at Mozenrath and Xerxes over his shoulder. "And me."

"But that's only nine. We'd need one more person." Aladdin said sadly, turning his face into Jasmine's hair.

"Can't we just get someone? Like one of the guards?" Jasmine suggested.

"They have to be worthy. The requirements are engraved by the entrance. We should go check the requirements before we go grabbing random unworthy recruits." Mozenrath said.

"Fair point." Genie said. "What are we waiting for? Let's go-oo-oo-oo-oo!" He rammed everyone onto Carpet and steered him out the window.

Aladdin and Mozenrath- who had been rammed side by side- glared at each other out the corner of their eyes.