The adrenaline was wearing off. Kassim could tell by the way that annoying bruise had begun to make itself known. How long until Babkak would be shoving ice in his face? Or worse, a cold slab of meat that would just serve to remind him of his growing hunger.

There was supposed to be a wedding reception happening right about now and his stomach was sorely missing it.

Babkak crossed his arms, staring Al down with that skeptical look of his. "Those thieves have a king?"

"No wonder they were so organized," Kassim muttered, taking in the mess of crumbled wall and broken gifts surrounding them. "They didn't even steal anything! If they're going to absolutely trash a wedding, they could at least have the decency to take a few of those expensive jars over there. Or better yet, all that gold?"

"What were they after?" Jasmine's soft voice floated into the room. "The gifts?"

Aladdin shook his head. "Not all the gifts."

"And thank goodness forthat!" Omar said with a sigh. "I didn't spend all day taking stock of this stuff for nothing."

"This is what the King of Thieves wanted."

The short staff Aladdin held was pretty, sure, but it didn't scream "steal me, I'm expensive." Kassim crossed his arms, mimicking Babkak.

"With all the other great stuff, why go for this thing?"

Sudden was not quite the word to describe what happened next. Incomprehensibly bright, maybe? Heart attack inducing? Whatever one called it, it was quick, it was bright, and it was startling.

"Your question is mine to answer!" A deep, female voice boomed, and Kassim felt Omar scurry behind him.

Though Al had been clutching the staff with a death grip, it still flew out of his hands, coming to hover in the air as if suspended by a hidden string. Honestly, Kassim was surprised he was even surprised by it all.

Huh. You'd like living with a Genie would take the surprise out of everything.

"What the…?" He heard Babkak breathe.

The voice continued as if no one had said a word. "The King of Thieves sought my sight to find the Ultimate Treasure."

This pricked Kassim's ears. "Hold up, did someone say treasure?"

"Uh, Genie…?" Aladdin's question brought Kassim's attention to the Genie, who had joined the group at some point and now sported some weird pair of dark glasses.

"Oh…" the magic man sighed. "Looks like an Oracle."

"I see all that has been," came the booming, yet serene voice, "and all that will be."

The Genie nodded, taking off his glasses and chewing on the tip. "Definitely an Oracle. Girlfriend, where were you registered?"

Let Jasmine figure out what that meant. Kassim had more important things on his mind than the ravings of a crazy Genie.

"Okay," he began, shoving his way to the front, "I'll bite. You know all, so tell all. Where is the treasure? You know, the ultimate one?"

"I am bound by the rule of one. One question, one answer."

Before he could dwell on how annoying that was, Kassim pressed forward. "I only want one answer! Where is the Ultimate Treasure? Is that too much to ask?"

The Oracle was down in his face before he could even think to be startled. "You have already asked your question."

"What? Oh, you mean earlier? Yeah, that wasn't a question! That was, uh… thinking out loud."

"Very loud," Babkak clarified, tugging him away from the luminous being.

Jasmine approached her betrothed, clinging to his arm, an excited twinkle dotting her eyes. "Aladdin, we could learn anything. About our lives, our future."

"Yeah," Kassim interjected with a smirk, "you could get a sneak peak on how many babies you're gonna have." This earned him an elbow to the ribs from Babkak. "Ow! What? It doesn't hurt to be prepared!"

"Oh!" Omar gasped, shaking Kassim's arm. "We could ask what those thieves were up to and where they went!"

Not a half-bad idea, to be fair, but Kassim shook his head. "Only one question apiece, remember? And who wants to know that? That's old news."

"You're just salty because you wasted your question."

Ignoring him, Kassim pressed on with his suggestions. "Hey, Al, ask her where those dual swords are. You know, the ones you lost?"

"Hey! That was a long time ago…"

The Oracle spread her glowing arms. "You have but to ask."

Aladdin's face twisted in a mess of confusion and deliberation. "I know what my future is." He turned to Jasmine. "My future is you. But my past… it's a blank. My mother died when I was just a kid, and I never even knew my father. I have no idea where I come from."

That heavy silence settled over the group once more and Kassim suppressed a shiver. The past was such a touchy subject. Sometimes, he envied his friend. His past was a blank, sure, but no memories were better than bad ones…

The second shiver couldn't be stopped and he hoped crossing his arms a little tighter would help to hide it.

Stop it. You're fine.

It was a long time ago…

"Careful." Babkak's voice was rightfully cautious. "Sometimes, ignorance truly is bliss."

Took the words right out of my mouth.

"Your question is your choice," the Oracle reminded them. "But remember the rule of one. Choose carefully."

"Oh, sure," Kassim muttered to anyone who would listen. That turned out to be Omar. "She warns him about the one question thing."

Aladdin shook his head. "I don't think you can help me. My past isn't just one question, it's a million questions."

Kassim couldn't help but arch a brow. Seriously, where was this coming from? "You know, most people want to know about their future. Keep the past in the past, Al. Come on, ask her if you're gonna be a successful ruler or not."

"Ah." The Oracle pressed her palms together. "But mere questions about your past can be answered by your father…"

"My father?" Aladdin's surprise mirrored the jarring shock in Kassim's chest.

"What the…?" He heard Babkak breathe as the Oracle summoned a vision of a man with jet black hair. An older version of Aladdin cracked a grin, then ran a hand through his short, slightly greying locks.

Aladdin's next words were nearly inaudible. "My father is alive…"

A bolt of jealousy shot through Kassim's heart, only to be immediately replaced by seeds of fear and apprehension.

Now, it was his turn to offer up a warning. Placing a hand on Aladdin's shoulder, Kassim met his friend's gaze. "Just don't rush into anything. You said you don't even remember your father, right? Well, who knows what kind of guy he is. Could be a trained assassin, for all we know."

Even with his back turned, he could practically see Babkak's eye roll. "Because that's not too far-fetched at all."

"He has a point," came Omar's timid voice. "I mean, what if he's mean? Or lives on the other side of the world?"

All of which were very sobering thoughts—and very real possibilities.

"What if," Kassim began, lowering his voice to fit the mood, "he has a whole new life? One you can't be part of? Just think of something else to ask. Something easier to handle. Better yet, take that thing out to the desert, bury it, and forget this ever happened."

"Yeah," Omar agreed. "We have a wedding to finish, remember?"

"I…" Conflict danced across Aladdin's face.

Everyone held their breath, even Jasmine.

Finally, he shook his head. "I can't think about this right now."

With that, he snatched the Oracle out of thin air and ran out of the room. Jasmine followed shortly behind.

"Well, that went well. Ow!" Kassim's hand flew to his ribs and glared at Babkak. "Would you knock it off?"

"Would you grow some empathy?"

"You can't just grow empathy. Besides, I feel for Al. Really, I do. I just don't get where all this is coming from all of a sudden."

Omar shrugged, his expression making it clear he did not want the conversation to escalate. "He's probably been thinking about it for a while, and I don't blame him."

"I don't blame him either," Kassim returned. "I just don't want to see him get hurt, that's all. What if Omar's right? What if Al finds this guy and he turns out to be the absolute worst? What then?"

"Well," Babkak began slowly, "then at least he'll know."

"Know that his dad's a jerk? Yeah, how reassuring."

"We can't just jump to conclusions."

"But we can be on our guard. Or has living in the palace made you too soft?"

The hard glare from Babkak shot straight to Kassim's core. "There's a difference between being cautious and being paranoid. In the end, the decision is up to Aladdin."

At some point—Kassim honestly couldn't remember when—the Genie had flown the coop, and now Babkak was bailing too, taking off in the direction of the ruined pavilion.

A sigh brushed Kassim's lips. Yeah, that went really well. Good job.

"I just…" He risked a glance at Omar. "I don't want to see him get hurt, you know?"

"Yeah…" Their youngest member shrugged. "I don't know, maybe he's cool? Maybe he'll turn out to be the greatest dad ever."

Kassim couldn't hold back the sardonic chuckle that burned his mouth. "If he's so great, why did he leave in the first place?"