Chapter 7: Reunion

Aladdin coughed as he slowly raised himself to his knees. He looked over to where Iago coughed nearby. A large puff of sand and dust settled around them from where they'd fallen. Aladdin realized they were probably in a hidden section of Grenden's palace, one they hadn't been to before. It made him wonder just how far, wide, and deep it actually was.

"Nice going, Iago, you shouldn't have pressed the obvious trap!"

Iago glared at him. "You should've had a plan! At least I did something."

"Maybe, but at least we knew what we were facing up there and could've fought a few of them before trying to backtrack." Aladdin squinted in the darkness. "Not exactly sure what's down here."

"We nearly get skewered by dozens of shadows with claws and teeth and you're worried about whatever's down here?"

The area vibrated slightly, causing small rocks to rain down around them.

Aladdin raised a brow. "You were saying?"

Iago grinned nervously.

The vibrations started picking up in intensity, and Aladdin realized what would happen before the worst of it started.

"The area's gonna cave in! Iago, we've gotta get outta here."

Iago tried to fly even with his injured wing, but his flying speed wasn't fast. Aladdin saw an opening for them to escape, but saw that Iago lagged behind him, even as the heaviest of the rocks started falling. He ran back, as Iago managed to evade a few rocks but fell to the ground from overdoing the effort. He scooped the bird in his arms.

By the time Aladdin looked, the opening for them had closed, but he didn't have time to lament the loss. He ran zig-zagged through the area, running as fast as he could even as the area started shaking more violently. At one point he was knocked to his knees, and had to roll to evade a large rock that nearly crashed on the both of them. But he kept hold of Iago, and tried looking around for another exit.

Found one. He ran, even as it too, started closing. He rolled, and barely made it into the next area before a large rock closed off the place where they once were.

Aladdin and Iago both gasped for breath as they lay on the ground, in something of a tunnel's walkway, where the only path to travel was north. Aladdin could see a light ahead of them, and a set of stairs that looked like it led to the main area of Grenden's palace. Even then, he wasn't sure. He'd never been to this place before, not even in his last visit to Lamrai.

"So, considering you were on my case about where we were, where exactly did we end up now?" Iago asked.

Aladdin sat up, his chest heaving as he caught his breath. "Somewhere safer than we used to be, that's for sure." For the first time, he saw how bad the nightmare beasts had skewered Iago's wing. He tore off a part of his tunic and wrapped it around the wing even as Iago winced.

"You won't be able to fly with it, but that's better than nothing at all, until it heals."

Iago scowled, glaring at him. "Peachy."

Aladdin groaned, thinking that was probably as close to a 'thank you' from Iago as he would get. But Aladdin could see Iago appreciated it as he gently moved his wing without too much discomfort.

Iago's stern expression fell when they both heard a familiar screeching ahead of them.

"Hey, is that the monkey?"

Aladdin took to his feet. "If Abu's nearby, that means Genie's not far either. Let's figure out where they are. The sooner we find out who's behind all this, the better."


Abu and Genie walked through some darker turns of the area, trying to figure out where they were. Genie materialized a map in his hands, donning a hard hat helmet with a light on the top of it to help him see.

"Let's see," Genie started, puffing out his chest. "We were over this way, then came through here, and then went up around here...aha. You know what this means, monkey?"

Abu shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. "Uh-uh."

Genie sighed. "We're irrevocably, inconceivably, irrefutably lost."

Abu groaned and sank against where he stood on Genie's left shoulder.

"You and me both, kid, I'm pooped." Genie scratched the top of his head. He started to speak again, but fell silent as he heard muffled voices ahead of them. He cupped a hand to his ear, but still couldn't make head or tails where he recognized the voices from.

"I think we might have company ahead worth checking out. Just be careful to keep your fur on your tail, this could get dangerous."

Abu cringed, screeching with worry as Genie followed the voices. It wasn't long before they came across a familiar set of villains who were tied up. Genie and Abu were both shocked.

"Abis Mal and Haroud?" Genie folded his arms across his chest. "I figured these two were up to something no good, and they ended up down here with us."

Abis Mal protested even with what looked like an apple in his mouth to keep him from talking, but Genie couldn't understand him.

"I know they say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but I think you're going about it wrong."

Abu screeched in agreement, which made Abis Mal frown and protest more passionately. Genie used his magic to cut up the apple while it was in Abis Mal's mouth, and Abis Mal chomped on the smaller pieces and swallowed.

"Hey, that was actually pretty good. I should probably think about having a fruit cocktail party at some point in time, emphasis on the apples. Wait a minute, what am I sayin'? Look, Genie, it goes against my evil nature to work with guys like you, but you've gotta help us!"

Genie and Abu didn't look amused. Neither did Haroud, who still had an orange in his mouth. Haroud rolled his eyes, but remained silent.

"Uh, usually if someone's taking the time to help you, you don't go out of your way to insult them," Genie said. "Hero's etiquette 101. You should buy the textbook and take the class, it's actually kinda helpful." He transformed into a professor with a long robe and glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. "Today in class, we're going to learn the basics of how to ask a hero for help if you are in a sticky situation. Rule Number 1: Don't insult your rescuer - it's just plain rude. Rule Number 2: You identify the problem in a calm, rational tone."

Abis Mal considered this. "Identify the problem...Identify the problem! All right. Look, that annoying sorcerer tricked the both of us, took the Princess and the magic Carpet."

Abu screeched, his fur standing on end. Genie looked equally surprised.

"Wait, you're saying Grenden did all of this to you?"

"Grenden, yes, that's his name!" Abis Mal squirmed while trying to wiggle (unsuccessfully) out of his binds. "He's the one who said if we used those coins, we could get revenge on Aladdin and get the treasure from this place. We were supposed to lure you. But then he sent those weird beasts after us, tied us up and just left us here!"

Genie shared a glance with Abu. "Well, hate to tell you, but backstabbing runs among the wicked. As for us, we've gotta get Jas and the Rug Man out, pronto."

When Genie used his magic to at least make the orange out of Haroud's mouth disappear, Haroud had his fair share to say. "I would worry also about the boy. It seems the sorcerer is determined to make sure Aladdin doesn't leave this place alive or without some form of payment. Something we had in common until Grenden decided to take revenge for himself. Your prince was last seen with that insufferable bird you're usually with."

Genie frowned. "Guess that means we have to look for Al and Iago, too. Somehow I'm not liking the fact he's splitting us all up just for kicks. I'm gettin' deja-vu vibes already from the last time we dealt with him."

Abu started pointing behind them as two familiar figures emerged from what looked like a trap door beneath the ground.

Iago coughed. "Man, remind me never to go digging with you ever again."

Aladdin groaned. "At least we were able to get back without any trouble. I could've been worse. His expression brightened when he saw his friends. "Genie, Abu! You guys are okay! I figured you guys were nearby."

Genie rushed over and gave Aladdin and Iago the biggest hug he could. Aladdin winced, but grinned, while Iago wasn't too happy with the gesture.

"Hey! Ow! I've got one bad wing already, are you trying to make sure I don't fly again?!"

"Sorry Iago, what happened to you two?"

Aladdin answered for him. "It's a long story, Genie. Mostly getting chased by Grenden's beasts, Iago throwing us into a trap and then us getting out of a cave-in. Nothing we couldn't handle though. I'm just glad you guys didn't...Hey, what happened to those two?" He pointed t o Abis Mal and Haroud, who frowned at him. "And where's Jasmine and Carpet?"

"Uh Al, I think you might wanna sit down for this news," Genie began. "'Cause I'm assuming you don't know..."

"Know what?" Aladdin frowned, even as Genie used his magic to materialize a chair behind Aladdin. The prince didn't sit down and folded his arms across his chest.

Before Genie or Abu could answer, a high laugh echoed through the area, even setting Abis Mal and Haroud on edge.

"Welcome back to my humble abode, Aladdin. It took you long enough to find your friends again. Just enough of a distraction to get what I wanted."

Aladdin turned around, and materializing in a furious rush of dark smoke, the laughing figure he saw made his blood run cold.

Genie winced, placing his hands on Aladdin to steady him. "Yeah. Grenden's back, Al."