Chapter 9: Carry On, My Puppet Son

Fitz did a tiny dance behind the closed curtain as the puppets set up for the first act of the play. "You were right, Aladdin. An opening number was definitely what we needed. We already had more applause for that number than we had in our whole last performance!"

"I'm glad it worked. Looks like we shocked Mirage, too." Aladdin looked over his scripts once more. "Okay, so we're going to the first Act now?"

Darbin nodded, waving his long sword about. "Yes, and we start with a fight scene. Prepare yourself, Aladdin. Of course, I'll be careful not to truly injure you."

Aladdin laughed, holding up his own sword. "I'm ready." So far, so good, he thought.


The first act of the play started with a story Aladdin based on a run in with Abis Mal, Haroud and his henchmen. The crowd of demons seemed interested as there were jabs, blows, and some well-timed humor in the mix, including a scene where Aladdin used his sword to cut the waistband of one of the puppets, causing checkered underwear to show.

Darbin played the part of Haroud, almost too well considering the puppet's stern intonation.

But towards the end of the first act, Aladdin realized his sword arm wasn't right. Not only was there a sharp ache going through it, but it was causing his hand to shake. He recovered quickly, switching the sword mid-battle to his other hand, and putting the one that shook behind his back. The crowd didn't notice, thinking it was a part of the act that the brave Prince was battling the villain with one hand. Neither did Fitz or Darbin, who just followed the cues Aladdin gave.

Fara definitely noticed. She wondered if the cuts on Aladdin's palms had anything to do with it. She wanted to pull the curtain then and there, but then that would've made the crowd angry and Aladdin appeared to improvise well on his own.

At the last moment, Aladdin leapt, his shaking hand finding enough momentum to grab and swing him around Darbin. He used his sword arm to knock Darbin's blade to the ground, and landed behind the puppet, putting his sword to Darbin's neck.

"This fight is over," Aladdin said, just before the curtain closed to a thunderous applause from the demon crowd. Aladdin saw Mirage roll her eyes just before the curtain went down. This performance was not going the way she planned.

Aladdin dropped his sword, slumping against the wall. Darbin looked equally exhausted.

"That was quite the battle. I didn't know you were that good of a sword arm, Aladdin. Even with one hand behind your back."

Aladdin smiled, but it was more of a grimace. "You're really good too. But we still have two more acts to go. Looks like this is gonna be harder than I thought." He looked down at his arm, tried flexing his fingers, but realized they weren't moving.

"Aladdin, what is it?" Fitz asked.

"I think something's wrong with my arm. And hand."

Fara folded her arms across her chest. "I knew it, I saw something was wrong while you were on stage. Let me have a look at it."

Aladdin tried to hold out his arm for her, but found it hung limply at his side. "I can't move it. It's so...heavy."

The two of them looked beneath Aladdin's sleeves and gasped.

Aladdin was suddenly aware of Mirage's words from earlier:

"By the end of the night, you'll be nothing more than a shell of what you are now. And believe me, the experience of your insides turning to wood isn't exactly pleasant."

The arm and hand had once been much like Aladdin's usual skin and bone, just a little tougher. But now it had hollowed out, becoming as hard as wood. Even his fingers seemed frozen in place on his right arm.

"So what she said was true," Aladdin muttered under his breath. "I really am turning into a puppet."


"So Mirage's in the same room where Al's putting on a puppet show?" Genie asked as Jasmine, Abu, and Carpet reunited with him and Iago. Iago's attention was preoccupied in a game, which Genie relented to when Jasmine arrived telling them she knew where Aladdin was.

"I think he's in trouble, Genie. I heard his voice - he was performing with a puppet that looked just like him. They were so life-like."

Genie suddenly stiffened. "Wait...You said there were a bunch of demons in the same room with Mirage. If my calculations are correct, and if I remember my spell book correctly...Uh oh."

Jasmine's brow raised. "Uh oh, what?"

"I don't think Al was controlling that puppet. Al WAS the puppet. Half-human, half-puppet anyway. We'll have to go undercover to get Al outta there, before he's...well, not human anymore."

"Genie!" Jasmine cried as he started taking off towards the direction which they came. He only looked back once to wave for them to follow him.

"I'll explain on the way!"


Fitz held up his paws. "Wait, wait, wait...You're telling me he's turning from human to a total puppet now?"

"That's what Mirage told me," Aladdin admitted. "I'm already half-human, half-puppet, but she said by the end of the night, I'll become a puppet forever."

"That's very...unfortunate," said Darbin, wincing. "Not that I would know anything about being a human, but going from one phase you're familiar with to another is..."

"You've made your point, Darbin," Fara said dryly.

"There must be something we can do," Fitz said. "I mean, it's not as if we can throw the play, because it means the magic from all those demons would level the next four kingdoms over."

"Including Agrabah," Aladdin added. "Look, there must be something among Mirage's things that explains this curse and how to reverse it without making the crowd angry."

"Aladdin, there's no reverse for the curse you're under," Fara said, her voice breaking.

Aladdin looked up at her. "How do you know?"

"Because...many years ago, I was under the same spell."

"WHAT?" Fitz and Darbin said what Aladdin could not as she looked at him, hugging her arms.

Fara continued, walking to the far end of the stage, and looking briefly at the crowd and watching as Mirage paced at a far corner of the room, waiting for the curtain to come up for the second act.

"Mirage cast the same spell on me several years ago when she crossed my hometown. This was before Fitz and Darbin became a part of our traveling crew. I was a human woman who had two young children and took care of my village's affairs. Mirage chose our city as a host for the party of demons that you see out there. Apparently they're a part of a secret society of magic wielders that she aims to please, so that she can keep a certain type of magic that she uses. While there were many in my village that welcomed her traveling party - thinking it would be good for business, I was one of the few who protested her arrival."

"And she attacked you?" Aladdin asked.

"She told me she wanted to meet with me that night. I had nothing to say to her, but being the woman that I was, I thought I'd hear her out. She stunned me with her magic, and the next thing you know - I woke up like this." She held the sides of her skirts out. "She gave me an ultimatum - either entertain the crowd of demons and keep them happy, or watch my village be destroyed. I obliged her, but then she conveniently forgot to tell me that I would remain a puppet forever."

"That's horrible. You never told us that, Fara," Fitz complained.

"I was always too ashamed. I left my family behind, they never knew what happened to me. They would never believe I became like this. After I became a full puppet, it took me ages to grow out of my strings, being able to move around the way I do now, even get used to the heaviness of my limbs. Plus there's the limitation of only waking during the night. By morning, I'm solid form again."

Aladdin didn't know what to say as he clenched his working fist at his side. "Did Mirage ever admit to where that curse came from?"

Fara shook her head.

"I'm still going to try. There has to be a way to keep the kingdoms standing and turn me back to normal. Who knows? I might find something to change you back, too."

"You give me false hope, Prince." Aladdin thought something bitter stood behind her words, though her tone was neutral.

"I don't want it to be false. Can you trust me?" He held out his hand to her. "Please?"

Fara hesitated, looking over to Fitz and Darbin, who looked solemn but nodded to her.

"Sure." She took his hand.

"Well then, it's a promise. We'll find a way. Fitz, Darbin, can you guys handle the second act with everyone? It's just the script we went over. Buy us enough time to get to the third act."

Fitz grinned. "Done! We'll give them a show, that's for sure."

"Let's go." Aladdin squeezed Fara's hand, before taking her past the stage and away into the darkness.