Chapter 17: Difficult Choices

"At least the Scavengers here haven't been that strong so far," Jasmine said as they entered another hidden room. Iago was silent, but weary as he perched on her left shoulder. "But we still haven't found anything resembling a treasure yet."

"I expected that," Aladdin said as he followed her. He was looking over his own shoulder to see if anything followed them. The prince and princess of Agrabah had traded places often enough to face off against any of the monsters that meant them harm. Aladdin had no complaints about that, but he knew that Jasmine was trying to keep him from being hurt more than he already was. That didn't stop him from wanting the same for her. "The last floor was too direct for the treasure we found, but we missed something that was obvious. We're searching for something much more difficult - which makes me think what we'll find is something Mirage doesn't want us to get to easily."

The scream they heard at that moment was enough to make Aladdin's skin crawl. Abu's fur bristled, Jasmine froze in place, and Iago lost more than a few feathers at how startled he was, falling from Jasmine's shoulder to the floor at her feet.

"Aladdin, was that...?" Jasmine looked over her shoulder to him, her eyes wide with worry.

Aladdin's jaw clenched. "The person Mirage doesn't want us to find, no doubt. Poor Siva. We have to find a way to get to him."

"Is anyone gonna pick me up off the floor? Too late for my stomach. It's already at subterranean levels of despair." Iago groaned. Jasmine scooped the parrot up in her hands, making sure to be careful of his injured wing.

"What direction was that?" Aladdin asked aloud. "Might be the key to cutting out any traps we might set off between."

Abu raised his paw reluctantly, screeching low, but Aladdin heard him well. The prince raised one eyebrow towards the monkey, a silent question to the monkey that Abu was well aware of, but didn't want to answer.

"Think he's scared of whatever made Siva scream like that." Jasmine answered, taking note of the monkey's fear.

Aladdin nodded. "I get it, but the longer we take, the worse things may get for him." He turned his full attention to Abu. "If you can point us towards where we need to go, we'll take it from there. We've got you."

Abu gave a reluctant salute before leaping from Aladdin's shoulder, leading them ahead. He was cautious of where he stepped and the speed of how he moved. Aladdin didn't blame the monkey for that, given the tower's multitude of subtle traps. It wasn't until Abu put his ear to one wall that he alerted them of a possible hidden path.

"Okay. Stand back, guys. Not sure if something might come charging at us or worse." Aladdin's hand pressed against the wall, fingers feeling along the edges of the stones that composed it. It wasn't until his fingers found a stone that could be pushed in that he did so, and recoiled as an entire passage with a short hallway opened up.

Aladdin waited a beat, then motioned with his hand to move forward. "Looks like it might be okay. If Siva's in here, we'll have to be prepared for whatever else might be too."

They all moved forward, cautious. It wasn't until Jasmine turned to look around the corner of the hall that she saw Siva lying on his side on the floor of the room. "Siva!" She reached his side, kneeling near him. The merchant was awake, but clearly shaken and injured.

"Your highness...I didn't think you'd...Please be careful." The merchant's words staggered as he struggled to breathe. "She...was just here. My magic...almost gone."

Both Aladdin and Jasmine looked alarmed, with Abu and Iago equal parts confused and worried. Aladdin started to speak, but his attention turned to a shadow moving just out of view. And he was very aware of who it was based on the shape of the shadow moving up a nearby set of stairs. "Mirage!" he shouted as he ran to pursue the shadow.

"Aladdin, wait! Stop!" Jasmine called after him. No luck as he disappeared from view. Abu seemed torn on whether to follow Aladdin, while Iago stood near where Siva was recovering as Jasmine helped the merchant sit upright against a nearby wall.

"I'm tryin' to be the bird that stays outta danger," Iago said. "If you're gonna go after the kid, then go. We're not stoppin' ya."

Abu gave a quick salute and ran after Aladdin.

Aladdin hadn't run far before he reached the base of the short, narrow stairway. He looked up to face a very amused Mirage, who stopped short of the door at the top of the stairs. Likely the same door that led to the fourth level of the tower.

"Looks like you finally caught up to me, your highness," she purred. "But I don't recall telling you to meet me halfway in the tower. You still have two floors beyond this one to go before you get to my lair."

"Don't see any reason why we have to wait. This can end now. I'm tired of this game," Aladdin snapped, approaching Mirage steadily as he climbed the narrow stairs in the narrow hall.

"Oh no. My tower, my rules. I do have to comment though," she tilted her head to the side, studying him. "You don't look so well. I know you're in a hurry to die, but there are still a few preparations to put into place before we meet properly. Patience is a virtue."

"And give you more time to create whatever chaos you can? Not a chance. Everything that has gone wrong between our kingdoms is because of you," Aladdin spoke through his teeth, moving closer and closing the gap between them. "And I know exactly what you're using to do it. I'm not making the same mistake again."

Mirage was not expecting Aladdin to lunge for the staff in her hands. Sure, he'd been keeping a steady pace up the stairs to approach her, but his sudden burst of speed gave him an advantage to grab the staff. Not exactly enough to wrench it from her grasp, though.

"You dare challenge me?! Fine, but I wouldn't be so quick to assume that your merchant can heal you when you continuously march to your own demise. Nor your Genie to help you out in a pinch. If you keep that mentality then you'll lead them to their end alongside yours." Mirage tried to aim a magic blast towards Aladdin, even as he tried to wrestle the staff from her hands. The blast wasn't even the staff's full power; Mirage didn't want to get any magic blowback from being in such a small space while she fought the prince. The blast missed Aladdin, catapulting to the base of the stairs where Abu barely dodged the full force of it. But pieces of the stone step flew out as the magic collided with it, one piece of which hit the monkey on the side of the head full force. Abu's eyes rolled before he collapsed in a heap.

"Abu!" Aladdin shouted. The distraction was enough for Mirage to try another attack, this time not using the staff, but her own magic abilities as she yanked the staff from Aladdin's grasp. A green light emerged in her free hand. Aladdin realized he was in trouble, using his momentum to step on one of her feet. The action made it easy for Aladdin to not only knock the staff out of her hands, but also dodge the blast she would have used to hit him.

Neither Aladdin nor Mirage expected what happened next. The timing of the staff falling and Mirage's blast caused them both to collide. The staff spun in midair, releasing several clusters of bright light. Aladdin heard Siva gasp a distance away, and realized what happened even as the staff fell harmlessly to the base of the stairs. Aladdin remembered that Mirage said that destructive magic was the only thing that could destroy the staff. Apparently her latent magic wasn't enough to destroy it, but he could tell the blast released a large portion of Karais's latent power trapped within it, reversing whatever magic she had recently stolen for herself.

She must have taken away some of Siva's magic. That's why he was so bad when we found him, Aladdin thought. Her own magic hitting the staff returned whatever she stole from him and then some. I hope he's okay.

From the horrified look on Mirage's face, Aladdin realized that was exactly the case. "Look what you almost made me do! You'd best worry about your fate than others."

Aladdin had almost made it out of reach, rushing to retrieve the staff at the base of the stairs and intending to keep it as far away from her as possible. But she grabbed his arm, yanking it at an odd angle behind his back. Pain flooded through him, and he winced trying to pull himself away while not losing his balance on the narrow stairs. But the moment Mirage used her magic and pressed the blast into Aladdin's injured side, he screamed.

When she released him, Aladdin fell down the staircase, landing at the base of them not far from where Abu and the staff lay. Mirage used her magic to retrieve the staff, her hand tightening around it once it returned to her. She looked down at where Aladdin lay on his side, wincing as he looked up at her.

"As your princess mentioned, I've been watching you all this whole time. So I know exactly what your weaknesses are, Aladdin. You're foolish to challenge me as you are now. Still, if somehow you survive this encounter, I'll be waiting on the fifth floor of this tower. And believe me when I say that our battle won't begin until I say it begins. You will follow my terms, or else."

She turned away, her cloak trailing behind her as she disappeared through the locked door at the top of the stairs.

"Dunno what happened, but at least Siva doesn't look like he's gonna pass out anymore," Iago said.

Aladdin and Abu had disappeared out of their line of sight, but Iago and Jasmine had stayed by Siva's side the whole time. Siva groaned, sitting up on his own.

"I'm not sure what Aladdin and Abu did, but it seems they were able to return some of the magic that Mirage just stole from me. Though it is not my magic to begin with, nor hers. Not sure how or why that happened."

Jasmine helped the merchant to his feet. "You scared us with how bad off you were when we found you. Take your time."

Siva shook his head. "I'll manage. We need to hurry forward. Cannot imagine what kind of terrible magic Mirage wrought from the sound of things."

Siva, Jasmine, and Iago managed to turn the corner. At the base of the stairway leading up to the fourth level door, they found Aladdin and Abu lying not far from each other at the base of the stairs.

"Aladdin! Abu!" Jasmine was the first to reach them, with Siva and Iago not far behind. Jasmine tried to wake the prince, but he didn't stir. She met Siva's concerned look. "He's still breathing, but he's badly hurt. I'm guessing he must have fallen down the stairs from the bruises on his arms. The bruise on his side's worse than before too."

Siva knelt beside Abu, checking his condition. His eyes widened when he saw the wound on the monkey's head. "Abu's not breathing. Let me heal him first." Siva readied himself to use his magic. He wasn't sure if Mirage's threats towards him had been true, but he knew he needed to do whatever he could to help his friends, especially if their lives were in danger.

It didn't take long for Siva's power to have an effect. Abu nearly bolted out of Siva's grasp as soon as he awoke, screeching from surprise, anxiety, and pain all at once.

"Calm down, monkey. Siva's tryin' to heal you. You wanna crack your skull open again after he just took care of the worst of it?" Iago said. "If you were gonna waste the effort, he could have just healed me first."

Abu stopped as soon as he processed what Iago was saying, giving the bird an angry glare. But both Jasmine and Siva looked relieved that the monkey looked on the mend.

"Almost done. It may be uncomfortable, my friend, but bear with me," Siva said. Abu relaxed in Siva's hands. When Siva finished, Abu seemed momentarily relieved, but as he looked over to where Jasmine held Aladdin, his expression turned to horror.

"You were far worse off than him, so I took care of you first," Siva said as he looked down at Abu. "I suppose that makes..." Siva suddenly stopped speaking, his expression turning to a grimace as his hand clutched at his heart. The merchant felt like he wanted to throw up at the amount of pain that flooded his senses.

"Siva?" Jasmine's eyes widened in alarm. "What's wrong?"

It was a long moment before Siva could regain his composure, his breaths staggered as he spoke. "Seems that Mirage wasn't bluffing after all. She not only tried to take my magic, but she put a limit on it. My magic did return to me, but the limit stayed. Seems I can only heal so much, up to a point where it makes me feel sick or feel the same pain of the person I've healed. If Genie were here, it wouldn't be an issue to mind since his power has more capability. Working with borrowed abilities, I cannot bear that same burden."

"Oh no!" Abu said.

"Yeah, that's messed up," Iago agreed.

Siva turned his attention to Jasmine. "I'm sorry, your highness, but I may not be able to heal Aladdin fully. I can take away the worst of his condition, but he may still have a hard time when he wakes."

"Oh, Siva. I wouldn't blame you either way for any of this. None of this should be your burden to bear. I think Aladdin would say the same if he were awake," Jasmine said. "Please be careful. I don't want to turn away your offer to help, but I don't want you to be any worse off just from helping us."

"Very well." When Siva looked over his shoulder towards Iago, the bird looked a little surprised and confused. "Well, what are you waiting for, bird? Your turn next."

"Wait, I thought you said you couldn't heal the kid fully?" Iago said, raising a skeptical brow. "What makes you think you'd have anything to heal me with?"

"Abu's injury just now was life-threatening. And if I leave Aladdin too far along, he'll be in the same position. I believe I can heal your wing as a task that is not so taxing. It is a bad injury from the look of it. Or would you rather let it be?"

Iago was quick to offer his injured wing. "In that case, work your magic!" It didn't take long for Siva to heal Iago's wing, despite the bird being somewhat fussy when the full effect of the magic kicked in. When finished, the merchant removed the tattered, bloody piece of cloth over it. Iago flexed the wing, grinning as he was able to fly.

"I can fly again! Oh, the fresh taste of air in flight. How I've missed you so." Iago's words were immediately followed by the bird coughing while he flew in mid-air. Siva raised a brow as Iago regained himself and sheepishly grinned. "So my argument is that the air isn't so fresh in this tower. 9 out of 10 on the 'stale' scale. But it's better than bein' on the ground."

Siva rolled his eyes, managed a small smile. "You're welcome, my bird friend. Now to see how much I can help Aladdin." The merchant stood, his legs slightly unsteady as he approached where Jasmine knelt beside where Aladdin lay on the ground. She'd turned the prince to lay on his back.

Siva placed his hands on Aladdin's shoulders, allowed himself to focus his magic as much as he could. The green aura of magic in his hands glowed bright, just as much as it had when he was healing Abu. Iago, Abu, and Jasmine watched as the bruises faded from Aladdin's arms, and color returned to Aladdin's face from where it had been pale. Jasmine moved aside one part of Aladdin's vest to check the bruise on Aladdin's side, which had been dark and pronounced before. It reduced to about half the size it had been when Siva finally pulled away, wincing.

"Siva, are you okay?" Jasmine said quickly, helping the merchant keep upright by placing her own hands on his shoulders to keep him steady.

"That's as far as I can go." Siva winced as he moved away from Aladdin, holding his stomach. "It seems Aladdin had more injuries than he was letting on, of recent note. I hope my efforts were enough for now."

"I think you did well." Jasmine made sure the merchant was okay, but also heard Aladdin start to wake as he groaned.

"About time, kid. Sheesh, you were about to give us all heart attacks, just as much as the monkey," Iago complained.

"Heeey," Abu folded his arms across his chest, glaring at Iago in protest.

Iago appeared to regret the words shortly after saying them. "Not that I'm blaming you guys from getting in Mirage's crosshairs, but did you have to go after her like that?"

"Tried to get her staff and came close to doing it, but she still got away," Aladdin said, his voice slightly shaken. He sat upright, looked at each of his friends, before his eyes rested on Jasmine and Siva. "Hey guys. Glad to see you're all right. Siva, did you heal me just now?"

"Yes, your highness. Abu and Iago as well. Are you feeling any better?"

"Yeah, mostly. Thank you. Hey, what's wrong?" Aladdin noticed how pale Siva was, as the merchant was doubled over at his waist looking like he wanted to throw up. Jasmine was still helping to steady the merchant, while also reaching out to squeeze Aladdin's hand in hers.

When the Princess explained everything they'd learned up to that point, Aladdin's brows furrowed. He was clearly angry, but didn't say anything for a long moment. When he did, he was holding back what was churning through his mind, but he addressed Siva directly.

"I'm sorry. You shouldn't have gone through any of that. Not Mirage hurting you, nor having to take on the burden of effects after healing us."

"I certainly do not feel it as a burden," Siva said, shaking his head. "I healed all of you because I wanted to help, knowing the cost. If I have this power, cursed as it is, I should put it to good use. Good use is helping all of you."

"I know you say that, but," Aladdin paused, raking his fingers through his hair. "Mirage forced this situation. Seeing how things turned out and hearing how she threatened you, this is part of her game. I hate that you're forced to be a part of it. All of us, for that matter. These are difficult choices that don't feel like choices at all."

"It's not something we can help," Jasmine admitted. "And it's still not over. We still have two floors to get through before we face her. And Carpet's still missing."

"Still thinking through a few plans on how we can face her," Aladdin said. "But hard to know when it feels like the threat keeps shifting. But if there's one thing I do know - none of us can afford to fall here. And I hate saying Mirage was right about anything, but..." He trailed off, shaking his head as he thought back to what Mirage said to him. Something that gnawed at the pit of his stomach.

...I wouldn't be so quick to assume that your merchant can heal you when you continuously march to your own demise. Nor your Genie to help you out in a pinch.

Jasmine looked horrified, which surprised Aladdin with how quickly she interrupted his thoughts. "Aladdin, what did she...?"

He shook his head, regretting he'd said anything about it. "Forget it. What matters is we keep going to find a way out of here."

"I can agree to that," Siva said. "If all of you are ready to go, so am I."

"Me too!" Abu agreed readily.

Iago groaned. "I wouldn't say ready exactly, but getting out of here is appealing, so let's do that."

Aladdin managed to stand on his own. Both he and Jasmine helped the merchant to his feet. With Iago and Abu joining them, they looked up at the door at the top of the stairwell.

"Guess all we have to do now is find the key," Aladdin said. "From there, we keep moving."