Chapter 20: Unexpected Timing

Aladdin formed a plan that depended mostly on timing, with a little luck added in. He remembered Jasmine said that Mirage had a viewing crystal in which she watched everything that happened in Karais while they had been there. That had been true. The rather large crystal had a reflective surface. A surface that could potentially reflect magic. If he could have Mirage aim a blast at it, grab the staff, and throw it in the path of the reflective blast - that would have an effect. If the blast had destructive magic with enough power - which Aladdin was sure it did - it could destroy the staff and release whatever magic was trapped within it.

The fight had taken four tries. Four separate blasts in which Mirage had aimed a sizable amount of magic to attack him - destroying furniture, parts of the floor and the walls. But even with his injuries, Aladdin was fast. And he was deliberately angling towards the crystal for the blast to miss him and hit it. The fourth time - it happened. The blast hit the crystal and not only destroyed it, but had reflected the power of the blast. He'd rushed to steal the staff from Mirage's hands in the midst of her shock, was successful. He threw the staff in the path of the reflected blast.

His plan had worked. Except where it didn't.

Aladdin lay on his back, blinking away the blur in his vision. The blast had hit the staff, the impact of which threw him and Mirage both further into the room. He didn't remember the explosion or passing out, but it was clear what happened based on the state of the room.

It was power meeting power, that much was certain, but Aladdin realized that although something had clearly changed in the air around them, the staff was still intact. It lay a few strides from where he was on the floor. He coughed as dust and debris settled around him.

"Seriously? That didn't destroy it?" Aladdin said as he sat up from where he lay on the ground, recovering his breath. "How much destructive magic will it take to destroy that staff and restore the city?" Had his efforts changed anything? Maybe he'd been wrong to assume that he could use the power that Mirage wielded to break the staff.

"More than I used to try to hurt you, that's for certain." Aladdin startled as Mirage answered the last question that left him. She wasn't that far away from him, still recovering her own senses. "Should have known you'd try something like that. Do you have any idea how much time it took to gather the power of Karais in that staff? I stole pieces of this city's essence gradually. Not all at once. Taking in too much at once overwhelms the staff's capacity to take in magic. You've released most of Karais' power back to the city itself. But not the most pertinent part of its essence. Hence why the staff's still intact."

So the city... Aladdin realized what she was saying. "Karais isn't dying anymore?"

"You've extended its life, for the moment," Mirage said with a sneer. "Magic cities work differently than human bodies, even living creatures as you know them. You've restored its limbs, its body,its blood, but not its brain, heart, or spirit. The equivalent of those are still contained in the staff. As long as the light essence of Karais is trapped in that staff, it remains in MY control."

Aladdin was already up on his feet. "Well then. As long as you don't have the staff, you can't do any more damage than you've already done!" He rushed towards it.

"Oh no you don't!" Aladdin had been only mere steps from the staff when Mirage - using her own magic, moved her claws through the air, green light surrounding them. Aladdin felt the sensation of claws raking his back, his chest. He screamed as he fell to the floor. He didn't have any physical wounds from the attack, but the magic hurt him enough to make it hard for him to breathe. Still, the staff was only within an arms reach for him. Aladdin reached for it anyway, his fingers just out of reach.

Mirage clicked her tongue. "Pathetic. Unlike what you said earlier, I don't need the power of an entire city to kill you, Aladdin. But you were right about one thing - I wanted to use this game to show you what you stood to lose. To make you fear, even if it's the very moment you breathe your last breath. And I aim to make you feel what its like to be on the precipice of life and death."

Mirage had been about to recall the staff using her magic, but something surprised them both in that moment. Aladdin knew who it was the moment he heard the slightly hesitant, but certainly brave, screech. He knew even before the monkey started making the sorceress realize she wasn't the only one in the room with claws. Abu appeared, claws drawn, and started scratching every which way he could once he pounced on Mirage's back, shoulder, and face.

Mirage screeched. "Not you!" She struggled to try to grab the monkey by the tail, doing a wayward dance. Abu took the moment to use his magic to make several bananas appear by Mirage's feet.

"Abu." Aladdin said with relief. I didn't know he was here, he thought. He must've followed me in. Hope he wasn't shaken too bad by that blast earlier.

The prince regained his focus, managing not only to grab the staff, but kneel as he held it in his hands, assessing its weight and if he could tell how much power it had. (He couldn't, and he didn't have the first clue about how to wield it, if he could at all.) But as long as he could keep his hold on it, Mirage couldn't use it to further harm the city, or him for that matter.

By that time, Abu had managed to leap off Mirage, who tried to focus her magic, but kept slipping on the bananas - peels and whole bananas alike - and falling to the floor. She shrieked in disgust.

When Abu reached Aladdin, the monkey stood at his knees, looking up at the prince with concern. "Aladdin okay?"

"Yeah, pal. Thanks. Really came through in a pinch back there," Aladdin's smile was brief, but then his expression turned serious. "We've gotta figure out how to release the magic in this staff. If I had the power to destroy it without hurting anyone, I would, but Mirage told me only destructive magic could be used against it."

"Oh no," Abu said.

"I know. Maybe we can join up with the others and figure out another way. I tried, but the plan I had only restored some of the magic of Karais. Definitely not the part that could fight back against Mirage." Aladdin realized that he'd only had a cursory glimpse of the room in his rush to get the staff. As he looked around then, he realized just how bad the room looked. There was no semblance of order, only chaotic mess and rubble. Holes in the stone walls that looked like cracked glass, scattered furniture, the broken pieces of the crystal he'd shattered littered the floor. And the window...the window that had been at the furthest end of the room where the crystal was had nothing left but a wall that opened to the static breeze and mist of Karais's air. Aladdin realized there was nothing but a straight drop off the tower in the area where the window once had been.

"Didn't know the magic blowback was that bad. Whoops. I'm gonna make the suggestion we don't go in that direction. Especially not without Carpet or Genie." Aladdin said with a wince.

"Yep," Abu agreed, sharing the same expression.

Aladdin began to stand, but then the staff in his hands began to glow. Searing, burning pain stuck his palms where he held the staff, making him yelp as the staff fell from his hands to the ground. It floated back into Mirage's waiting grasp, even as she was still on the floor.

"No fair, Mirage." Aladdin said through his teeth. As he examined his hands, he realized they weren't burned, but the magic's painful effect still lingered.

"Just one of a few last minute tricks up my sleeve," she purred as she used the staff to make the banana. "I would rather not use more power than I need to. Such a simple trick came through in the clutch. If you truly think either of you will leave this tower alive, you thought wrong." Mirage stood, brushing off her dress with one hand as she held the staff with the other. She seemed to be lost in thought a moment. "Hmm."

"What?" Aladdin said, his brow furrowed, expression both annoyed and angry.

"I might've made a slight miscalculation in this plan," Mirage said, her eyes flashing. "I had been hoping to see more of your fear play out here - I was at least able to see some of it during the game in the tower, despite you saying you don't fear me. You're right, you really haven't feared me enough since we met. I suppose if the Princess can't be here to hurt, someone else close to your heart should bear the weight. Just didn't think it'd be such a runt."

Aladdin eyes widened as he realized what she would do. "Don't you dare...Abu, run! Go!"


Abu could not react fast enough with the spiral of events that happened next. Aladdin had lunged for Mirage, but even then, Mirage had enough reflexive power to fire two quick, small blasts in Abu's direction. He was lucky enough to dodge the first, but the second sent the monkey flying off his feet, spinning across the floor.

Abu was vaguely aware that Aladdin had stopped him from spinning, but both the magic and his spiral left the monkey dazed and disoriented.

"Abu, can you hear me? Are you okay?" Abu wanted to answer him, but the monkey couldn't find the words. He winced, the ache going through every part of him. He could sense Aladdin bending over him, but couldn't open his eyes to see the look on his friend's face. He was probably worried, much like he'd been for Aladdin when Mirage had attacked him before. He'd been waiting a while for his chance to help, but it didn't feel right before that moment.

"I didn't even use that much magic to make an impact. Oh dear," Mirage said with a mocking tone. "But you move too slowly, Aladdin. Farewell to you both. The tides have turned where I no longer have any use for you. I'll have to make plans to gather magic from the city again since you have set me back, and I can't have you around to stop me from taking over Karais and Agrabah."

Abu knew that whatever happened next, Aladdin took most of the blow, using his body as a shield over the monkey as Mirage used whatever magic from the staff she had. It was enough to send them both flying, then spinning, spinning, spinning across the floor. Aladdin and Abu screamed, up until the point where Aladdin's screams died off. The monkey's hadn't though as they were sliding, up until the point they stopped.

When Abu was brave enough to open his eyes, he realized a couple of things that made him panic. He was lying flat on Aladdin's stomach, and as he went to look, Aladdin wasn't moving or breathing. The prince's eyes were closed as he lay on his back on what was a very thin slab of flooring, a short descent down from the main floor of the room they were just in. They were out of Mirage's line of sight, which was at least good for the moment. But the bad news? The piece of broken flooring that Aladdin lay upon was the only thing keeping them from plunging off the edge and down the side of the tower.

Abu didn't want to think about what would happen if the floor suddenly gave way, plunging them to their doom. He wasn't sure of anything to do next. Not at least up until he heard the familiar voice, a whisper that seemed to come from directly below where he and Aladdin were.

"Psst. Monkey. Down here. But don't look too far down because it's a long drop. Just saying in case you have a fear of heights. It's a doozy."

"Huh?" Abu could have sworn he heard Genie's voice. For a moment he thought maybe he and Aladdin had already met their end. But then the voice spoke to him again. Abu carefully used his paws to crawl over Aladdin's chest, which made him realize that Aladdin was, in fact, alive, but his breathing was shallow.

But he also looked over the slab to see Genie holding it upright, just under where Aladdin lay.

"I've got yours and Al's backs right now. Maybe Al's more literally considering I'm holding this thing up."

Abu had been about to happily screech, but Genie's expression silenced him. The semi-phenomenal being frowned and put a finger to his lips, stopping Abu just as the monkey opened his mouth. "Please don't let Mirage know we're here," he said in a loud whisper. "I'm trying to make her think you two went over the edge. Not to mention hide the fact that I'm here, at least until we can catch her off guard."

Abu nodded, silently agreed that was probably the best option, though he didn't have a choice when he heard Mirage not too far above where they were. He froze at the sound of her voice. Genie seemed to do the same.

"So they really went over the edge. Hmm. Their tortured screams felt a little too short for me, but it's done. I'll have to examine their broken bodies later." Mirage chuckled. Abu felt a certain pang of terror in his belly as he realized that she was standing on a part of the broken floor that was directly above where they were. If she looked down at a certain angle, she'd know they were there. He didn't know what they would do if she spotted them.

"But first," Mirage continued as she turned away from the edge. "I have more business to take care of. I'll look forward to the princess's tortured screams when she realizes her dashing prince won't be able to rescue her anymore. Nor any of Agrabah for that matter."

Abu and Genie both winced as they heard Mirage's cackling laughter echo and hover in the air around them. As they waited for her to leave, Genie looked up at Abu, his voice still a whisper. "How are you doing, monkey boy?"

Abu made a motion to his mouth like he wanted to throw up.

Genie nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense, considering. How's Al doing?"

Abu glanced over at Aladdin, frowned, and shook his head.

Genie - already frowning - was sadder than before. "That's what I thought. Mirage did say our last adventure that the next time she saw Al, she'd throw him off a tower. I didn't think she meant that literally."

Abu candidly corrected Genie that Mirage had said she'd throw Aladdin off a cliff on their last adventure involving her. Long story short, they'd been in the desert and looking for an artifact that a young thief stole from Agrabah. It turned out that the thief was hired by Mirage, in order to cast a spell that would cause Agrabah citizens to be inflicted with serious maladies. Everything from continuous sneezing to turning into camels to prolonged sleep spells, the latter of which Jasmine had been subjected to. Aladdin and his friends had managed to stop that from getting too widespread. Mirage had tried to kill the young thief by pushing him off a cliff instead of offering him the payment he expected to get medicine for his sick sibling. Aladdin and Carpet had saved the young man just in time. They'd also destroyed the cursed artifact as well. The thief learned his lesson and returned to Getzistan, his home, without worry and also getting the medicine to help his sibling get better, thanks to Genie.

Before they left, Mirage had promised she'd throw Aladdin from a cliff next time they met.

Genie frowned, recalling the same memory as Abu. "Same difference."

Abu groaned softly, telling him it really wasn't the same thing.

Genie decided that he'd let the monkey take the victory in that debate and moved on. "Let me get you guys to a safer place on the previous floor, then we can catch up. Talking at this altitude doesn't exactly encourage conversation. Not to mention dangerous parties potentially overhearing." Genie pointed upwards for emphasis, indicating Mirage.

When Abu nodded, Genie used his magic to transfer Abu to his shoulder, then used his magic to make the ledge disappear, holding Aladdin in his arms. The three of them went to the fourth level of the tower and disappeared. And Mirage was none the wiser.


Siva moved the last stone of the puzzle in place, which made the casing covering Carpet finally shift slightly open. It was heavy, so it took him, Jasmine and Iago moving it together to spring the magic rug free from his prison.

Carpet swiftly flew around the room for a good moment, before he slumped to the floor, clearly exhausted.

"Oh come on, you were at least in a cozy flat bed for most of the time, while the rest of us had to do all the work!" Iago complained. "That puzzle was way too hard for somethin' so simple."

"Leave him alone, Iago. Considering what Mirage did to us, I wouldn't consider it far fetched that she scared and hurt him too while he was here," Jasmine said. She knelt down to rub her hand along Carpet's back. "Are you all right?"

Carpet nodded slowly, then looked around, like he was expecting something.

"Uhh, why's he lookin' around like that?" Iago asked. "Did that quake from earlier rattle his threads or somethin'?"

Siva knew what Iago was mentioning. They'd heard a loud rumble that shook the area they were in. They weren't sure exactly where it came from or what caused it, but they were still as stones until it passed in full. At one point, Siva thought he heard someone scream, but neither Jasmine, Iago, or Carpet had heard anything. He would have thought they would mention it if they had. Maybe he'd heard the screams of the Scavengers running away, he wasn't sure. But something about it unnerved him.

Jasmine shook her head. "He's looking for Aladdin and Abu. They're not here, Carpet. We separated a while back."

Carpet seemed to perk up at that mention. He began flying about in a frenzy.

"Oh, now he's energized," Iago said flatly.

Siva nodded slowly. "I find that I agree with Carpet. We need to hurry back and find what happened. That quake felt far too close, especially in the tower."

About as suddenly as Siva spoke the words, a door appeared and flew open, leading the way back to the room they'd entered from with all the doors of the fifth floor of the tower.

"Speaking of." Jasmine stood, nodding to Iago and Siva. "At least it's easier for us to leave than it was to get in here."

"Probably no reason to keep us since we solved all those puzzles," Iago grumbled. All of them moved back into the main door room. But what surprised Siva, along with his colleagues, was that the door that Aladdin had gone in before - the one that had promptly closed and shut them out - was now open. The door to the previous floor was also open.

It was all very, very quiet.

"Uhhh, I feel like I'm missin' something big here," Iago said, clearly uneasy. "But at least there aren't any monsters waitin' for us this time."

"Why is everything open on the tower like this?" Jasmine asked aloud. Her eyes turned to a window in the room that hadn't been there before. She gasped as she looked through it. "Guys, look outside!"

They all looked in the direction she was and had equally shocked reactions, including Carpet.

"I think they actually did it," Jasmine continued. "Aladdin and Abu defeated Mirage and restored the city of Karais. Look, there aren't any Scavengers around. And the buildings - they're so unique and beautiful. There's even a fountain in the middle of the square! And flowers!" What Jasmine mentioned was true, at least by observation. He found himself without words at the beauty of the city, clearly a portrait of something that had been present before Mirage had caused the chaos in Karais.

Iago beamed. "Problem solved. Now can we all go home? I'm tired. It's probably another day in Agrabah by now."

But as Siva turned his head, he realized that they weren't in the clear at all. "Princess, I think you should look this way."

When they all turned to look at another angle of Karais, it was a very different picture. Many of the buildings were in a state of decay with the same empty gray sky. It was like looking at a painting of two very different types, one full of color and the other a decaying monochrome.

Carpet tapped Jasmine on the shoulder, telling her something that she had to interpret for the others. "Carpet says the part of the city that looks restored is like the image he and Aladdin saw before they came through the portal into Karais. Maybe I'm being a little more optimistic than I should be, but..." she trailed off, trying to think. "Maybe Aladdin and Abu were successful in beating Mirage. Maybe Genie's here. Maybe the city just needs time to recoup."

"That would be all well and good, your highness," Siva said. "But I feel something is still very amiss about this whole situation."

"Oh great, here comes the party pooper," Iago said, rolling his eyes. Carpet gave the parrot the equivalent of a side eye look, tapping his knobs impatiently on the ground.

When Jasmine nodded to him, Siva saw it as his moment to speak freely. "If Aladdin, Abu and Genie were around, then why would they have reason to be silent? Would they not wish to reunite with us? As well, there are no monsters to speak of. It is far too quiet."

The silence seemed to settle around them after Siva spoke, broken quickly by laughter that echoed in the room.

"The merchant has far more realistic aptitude than I gave him credit for. You should heed his words well," Mirage's voice echoed. "Better than a naïve princess who doesn't know any better."

"Where are you, Mirage?" Jasmine shouted.

"In the same place that your husband agreed to meet me. But I'm afraid I have bad news. If you wish to find out, come see me in my room. I'll be waiting."

When Mirage's voice fell silent, Iago grimaced. "This feels a lot like a trap."

Jasmine looked over her shoulder at Siva. "You were right, Siva."

Siva shook his head. "It is not a matter for us to dwell on, Princess. I truly wish that you were right on this. But now we must move forward. If not to help Aladdin and Abu, even Genie, but also discover the truth."

"What if I would like to stay blissfully ignorant and not go through that door?" Iago said. By the way that Siva and Jasmine boarded Carpet, and Jasmine took Iago by the tail and placed him on Carpet's surface, it seemed the decision had been made for him. The bird was not pleased. "Okay, never mind, I'm bein' told to go on this trip to a trap. Fine. But if we get into uncertain danger and doom, I'm makin' Blue Boy pay for my next meal. And I'm pickin' the place!"

Siva crossed his arms as Carpet flew through the door, eyeing Iago wearily. "You are assuming this as if we get out alive?"

Iago shrugged. "I have my moments of optimism."