They were fighting in the basement. Ja'far pressed the lockdown button as he hurried towards the stairs. He needed to keep whoever might interfere away from them. Whoever would want to get in the way would need to be disposed of. He pumped a round into the figure on the stairs, paying no attention to the person's face as he ran down the stairs and ducked.
A ball of fire flew over his head, hitting the wall and burning a circle into it.
Ja'far ran the opposite direction. It wouldn't do to get in the way of that fight, especially when he could glimpse only two figures. Aladdin must not be there. If he was, then it wouldn't hurt to find Judal then. One way or another he would get what he was after.
He hurried deeper into the darkness, running his hand over the many deposit safes that were lined along the walls. He ran into a body, but he shot without preamble, lowering the body before he would continue. Aladdin would be easier to find. He would feel the dress on him.
Aladdin had been wearing a fluffy dress.
It was white too. It couldn't be that hard to spot in the darkness. His eyes were adjusting to the emergency lights that barely illuminated the room. He ran passed the burning bulletin board and looked around. Left. He would go left.
He hurried along and smiled a bit when he saw the bobby pin on the ground by an ajar safe.
Aladdin must have been this way.
He continued on, taking his time to reload a new round into his gun. He looked around carefully, taking in the hiding places. He nudged open ajar safes, peaking at them before moving on.
This place was a maze.
736
736
Where was 736?
Aladdin ran down the aisles, reading the labels carefully as he went. He was in the six hundreds. He had to find the seven hundreds area. He pushed the door open and found it wouldn't close.
…fine, he would leave it.
He took the stairs down to the next level and opened the door, hurrying the short space before he found the 730s.
"731, 732, 733, 734…" He murmured as he counted to the safe and paused, staring at it with interest. There wasn't any king of specific markings. A finger scanner was on it, but that was all.
Why would Solomon leave this one so much less protected? Could he even open it? The letter had made it seem like he would have Ugo with him and-
"Aladdin?" Ugo smiled down at him as Aladdin stopped studying to answer.
"What is it, Ugo?"
"I am updating some bank things. I need your fingerprint."
"My fingerprint?"
Ugo held the paper out and smiled. "Don't worry, it's just a boring update thing. They lost the old things I had and I thought I would include you in this. It might be fun for you to be able to get some money out of the bank when you are older."
"I guess that's fine." He held out his hand and Ugo pressed the ink pad against his finger before pressing it to the paper. "Won't my fingerprint change when I get older though?"
"No, it will be fine." He pressed his lips to Aladdin's forehead and smiled. "You're growing up on me."
"I'm still just as short as ever!"
"You're growing like a weed. You're going to be taller than me soon." He headed towards the kitchen. "You better know I love you, Aladdin."
"I love you too, Ugo," Aladdin murmured as he pressed his finger to the safe's finger pad. The safe lit up, scanning his finger and loading. A loud beep went off, leaving Aladdin to wait.
If only there was a handle on the thing. How was one supposed to try to open the safe when it was being so stubborn? He tried to dig his nails into the crease of the safe, pulling only to curse. He looked around and bit his lip. There had to be…
Another click came and with it, the safe opened.
He pushed it open more, staring inside the safe to see lights flicker on. The white inside of the safe was like a fridge. Plastic inside, cold temperature, a light; then in the middle was a single small syringe.
The cure was right there. It was like a joke almost.
How could this-
"There it is," a voice murmured. "You were always such a good child, Aladdin."
Aladdin spun around, staring at the woman in the room as she flicked on the light switch. "You!"
"Me. I saw you leave and I just couldn't help but to follow. What a good thing I did. You have found the holy grail. We'll be able to save your friend Judal. We'll be able to-"
"You are not getting this drug."
"You're very noble." She moved forward a step. "You need to stop though. What will this bring you? That drug is for someone who had been experimented on only by Solomon. With it, we could make others a magi, complete like you, or we could possibly kill someone who is already experimented on."
"You are not getting this drug."
Gyokuen pulled a pen from her pocket, holding it up and pointing it at Aladdin. "We go back so far. You were like a son to me. We could be a family, you know. I could hold you to me and take care of you. Solomon would have wanted that. He told me that you know. We were all going to be so close. He wanted us to be together, even at the end before Judal killed him."
"He didn't love you. He didn't even want us to meet." Aladdin grabbed the syringe and stepped back. He held the wand up at her and glared at her. "You used my family and destroyed the lives of so many people."
"and you killed Kouha. Did Kouha deserve to die too, Aladdin?" She moved forward another step. "Kouha was such a sweet boy. He loved. He smiled. He donated to the charities to help the sick. He helped out the poor. He fed and clothed those who would have otherwise not been able to do so themselves. Tell me, Aladdin, what did he do to deserve death?"
"Don't change the subject."
"I'm not changing the subject. You are asking about those I killed, I am asking the same towards you. You have sent the other two boys on a frenzy for revenge. They won't rest until you are dead you know."
"Stay back!" Aladdin sent a series of flames towards her, watching her extinguish them with a flick of the pen.
"You may be complete, but I have been training for years to use my power. I have had all this time to get accustomed to how to use my power."
"Do not try anything. I won't hesitate…"
"Oh? Are you going to kill me?" Gyokuen leaned forward. "Kouha's own mother? I raised my babies and you as my own. I loved you all. I am trying to help you and yet you go so far as to reject me in this way? Why are you being so stubborn?"
"You are no mother and you are not getting this." The attack he sent this time was bigger, making her shriek a bit as she tried desperately to stop it. Through those flames, ice came, hitting him and causing him to fall back. He held the syringe closer, as he rolled a bit.
His stomach hurt, but he dared not look down. The pain was terrible, but he focused on another attack. The flames flew at her, almost hitting her only to be swept one way or another. He tried to send electricity at her, but she blocked it. Their power seemed to be matched.
"Aladdin, you want acceptance don't you? Closure? Do you want to be free of the guilt inside? I can help you. Judal will love you if you cure him. He will want to be with you more."
"Shut up!"
He sent another lashing of fire at her, setting fire to the bulletin board nearby only to run. He sprinted down the hallway as fast as he could, looking for something he could use to throw her off. He needed a tactic. There had to be something around here?
He ran around a corner and heard a clatter above his head, making him look up to see a spear sticking through the ceiling. The huge object seemed to be from upstairs.
Please be okay, Aladdin thought as he ran further.
"Aladdin, why are you running?" Gyokuen called after him, the floors beginning to become wet. There was water rising, touching his shoes as they clicked across the floor. He could feel it becoming colder in the room.
Something to use, something to use! There had to be something somewhere nearby! He had to find something! He stopped up short as he found a dead end. He rushed back and threw a slew of fire towards her again.
"Try electricity!" She called, laughing as she chased after him down a new direction. "See how your body withstands electric shock! We are the immortal beings! We are the invincible! The unstoppable!"
The water was rising higher now.
Aladdin felt his feet slip, and he fell forward, his grip loosened on the syringe and wand, his hands moving without thought to grab them both. He fell, hearing them both fall into the water before it began to freeze. The color lightened, turning whiter and whiter. The figure behind him moving in closer, stepping onto the ice.
"Aladdin, we can play this game or you can just give in to me." She closed the distance, standing over him and leaning down, the pen pressed to his chest. "You are a beautiful woman, have you been told that? It is a shame that you were born a man. It is of no matter though. We live in the age of power and special abilities. I think a rebirth would suit you. You could be my daughter. I will care and raise you as my own. We'll own this world." Her hand reached over him, pulling the syringe out of the water. She kissed it before she leaned in and kissed Aladdin's forehead. "Join me, Aladdin."
"…No…"
"it's of no use to fight me. I have won this. You will not win. It was destiny."
"I will not join you. I love my mother Leraje. I hate you. You will not leave here with that drug."
A burning began in his chest as he spoke, making him squirm. A gasping, whining sound met his ears as Gyokuen looked down at him.
"Rule the world with me, you stupid, foolish boy!"
"Never!"
"Don't do this? Does this pain hurt? Do you want to cry?"
"Stop it! I won't join you!"
"Then it has come to the end of your use, Aladdin." She closed her eyes, pressing the pain down on him more. The agony of a thousand suns burning his stomach. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't see through the pain. That smile hung over him.
Then a racket went through the air. Gunshots. The pressure on his chest vanished, the pain vanishing only for Aladdin to open his eyes. He looked up, staring at the ceiling as the water filled his ears a bit more.
"Aladdin!" A voice rang through the room, arms wrapping around him only to hold him close. "Aladdin, are you okay?"
He was held against a chest, his hair stroked a bit as the figure murmured a prayer of blessing. "I thought I was too late… thank god… I had thought… You fought so well, didn't you? Her arms are burned."
"Ja'far, you're here. I'm so glad."
Ja'far came into focus as Aladdin reached over and stole the syringe from Gyokuen's dead corpse. He slipped it beneath the folds of the dress he was in as Ja'far looked at him.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, but Sinbad and Judal are fighting! We need to get to them and stop them."
"The cu-"
"We can worry about that later," Aladdin evaded, motioning towards the stairs weakly. "We have to go now!"
Ja'far looked at him a moment before nodding. His hands helped Aladdin to his feet before he nodded. "Right! Let's go safe them!"