Chapter 07: The Search

"Al, can you hear me?" Genie's voice felt like it was a fair distance away from him as Aladdin emerged from the nightmare. Aladdin had the feeling he'd been screaming through his teeth, as the remaining tendrils of the nightmare he'd emerged from faded. He'd felt like his body had been burning. The experience left his heart struggling to slow to the calm reality around him. He opened his eyes, steadied his breath, and blinked away the blur of sleep. Genie looked down at him with concern, and as he did so, Aladdin realized he'd definitely overslept, prompting him to sit sharply upright. That gave Aladdin a headrush he quickly regretted. Genie helped steady him by holding the sides of his arms.

"When did you get here?" Aladdin managed.

"Had a bad feeling when you were the only one not out of your room yet, so I came to check. I'm just a teensy bit freaked out by your reaction just now, but I don't think that fear's compared to whatever it was in your nightmare. Some of it had to do with Abu."

Aladdin frowned as he steadied his breath. "How did you know?"

"You said - well, yelled - his name just before you woke up, sounded serious," Genie said, wincing. "Not sure if it's a good idea to tell you what I've found out today without updating the rest of the group too. Don't wanna freak you out any more than you already are."

Aladdin nodded slowly. "Okay. Just need a minute. I'll meet you outside."

"Okay. Take it easy, kiddo." As Genie left the room, Aladdin swung his legs over the side of the bed, running his hands over his face as he tried to shake off the lingering unsettling images of the nightmare he had.

Second night in a row I've had these kind of nightmares, Aladdin thought. They seem so similar to the ones I was having with the Deathseeker the last time we were in Gloloria. Why would I have anything like them now?

He shook his head, realizing he was putting too much emphasis on his dream from the night before last and the words of the magic thief. It was an eerie coincidence, one that he acknowledged, but something like that wouldn't happen a second time. Right?

After he finished getting ready, he walked out of the inn. He didn't see Genie at first, but he realized Jasmine, Iago, Carpet and Genie were all standing on the side of the inn's entrance, same direction as the diner. The only two missing were him and Abu. Something about the monkey not being there made Aladdin's stomach turn. Even more so when he heard what little of the conversation the group had.

"I don't understand why you didn't tell Aladdin when you went to check on him," Jasmine said, frustration clearly in her tone and in her expression. "You shouldn't have lied. He has the right to know. It's even more urgent knowing that the thief is out there planning to do who knows what."

Genie groaned. "I know, but you didn't see how freaked out he was. Pretty sure his nightmare has nothing to do with what we know so far, but I wanted to prep Al a little in case..."

Aladdin felt his breath leave him at the realization. He knew. Part of him already knew before he stepped out of the inn. He'd hoped he was wrong. Second dream, second possible link to something that happened in real life, even if the events weren't the same. This is not just a coincidence.

He didn't waste time making his presence known. "Abu's missing, isn't he?" His voice was quiet, but the way the group turned to him so quickly, he could have achieved the same effect by shouting the words. Jasmine rushed over to him, embracing him even as he stood still as stone. It took him a moment to return the embrace.

"I'm so sorry, Aladdin," she said, her lips close to his ear. "I'm so, so, sorry."

Iago glared at Genie while perched on a nearby fence framing the inn. "Man, you are the worst at breaking bad news to people. Definitely don't sign up to be a therapist any time soon."

Genie shook his head. "I was trying to prevent that from happening." He looked at Aladdin as Aladdin met his eyes from over Jasmine's shoulder. "I'm sorry, kiddo. Wish I could say that was the only piece of bad news we've learned since last night. Everyone's out on a dual search this morning. Abu never came back to the inn from when he left me at the archives last night. Arzin went missing sometime last night too."

Aladdin's eyes widened, even as he and Jasmine pulled apart. "Do you think that the thief might've had something to do with that - to both of them?"

Iago rolled his eyes. "Maybe, but being a former bad guy and knowing bad guys, I wouldn't be surprised if Arzin had some kinda deal with the thief and monkey-napped Abu." Before the bird could say any more, Carpet flew over to him and covered his beak with his knobs. But Iago's words settled over the group with a chilling effect.

"Iago," Genie's tone not only made the bird flinch, but the way Genie glared at him was like a steadily building flame. The mild shade of red that Genie turned made Iago all the more aware of that. "Remember what we said about accusing people of things without proof?"

Carpet uncovered Iago's beak, making the bird give the rug a side-eye glance before continuing. "Look, even with the Deathseeker being out of the picture, I don't trust the guy. I have my reasons."

"Even I can see that Arzin's changed since then, Iago," Jasmine said. "The Deathseeker influenced him before. You can't go on that alone."

Aladdin silently agreed with Jasmine, nodding before moving on. "In any case, we need to figure out where the both of them are and what really happened."

"Prince Aladdin! Princess Jasmine!" Remi approached them in a quick sprint, running from the direction of the diner. He stopped short as he caught his breath. "I found this not too far from the archives. It was towards the memorial. I didn't find much else there to indicate anything, but I wanted to give it to you." Remi held out his closed hand to Aladdin, opening up his palm. "Think it's your monkey's fez. Heard about what happened earlier. I'm so sorry."

Jasmine saw Aladdin's expression turn from concern to alarm. It was indeed Abu's fez, but it looked to have been slashed apart. Aladdin wasn't sure if the source of the slashes were from a dagger or claws. Either way, the sight of it unsettled him. "It is." Aladdin confirmed, taking the tiny fez in his hands, his voice quiet. "Wouldn't put this past the work of the thief. I don't think this was done while Abu was still wearing it. Whoever left it meant to leave a message. Pretty sure it's a threat."

"So much for thinking the thief had any good intentions," Remi said with a grimace. "After what he did to me, you Aladdin, and now with Abu and Arzin missing - he's more dangerous than any of us thought. If he's behind this, there's no telling what he'll do next."

Aladdin nodded, clutching the fez in his fist. "For sure. Let's join the search with everyone and find them. Sooner we can do so, the better."

"Princess Jasmine?"

Jasmine was not expecting Yirya, Ezele's wife, to run up to her sometime later that morning as she exited the diner. The princess, Aladdin, Genie, Iago, and Carpet had not started their search with the rest of the village for very long. It wasn't lost on her that Yirya would be worried about Arzin. After all, he was her family. And even further than that, Yirya had been under the same spell as Arzin when the Deathseeker was alive and terrorizing the village. Her circumstances had been different, however. She'd barely survived an attack from the Deathseeker, leading to a prolonged sleep that she wasn't able to wake from for many years. Ezele had been trying to find a way to revive her before the Deathseeker brought him down to its domain. She became a Vessel when Aladdin was a threat to it, attacking her own daughter Miza and even being briefly under the former sky god's control when the village waged its final battle. But now, she was finally free and able to be with her family to live a new normal.

Somehow, from the panicked expression Yirya gave Jasmine then, the princess suspected something more was afoot.

"Yirya, I heard what happened to Arzin. How are you, Ezele and Miza holding up?" Jasmine began.

Yirya took a moment to catch her breath before speaking. "Ezele's joined the search. He's already joined a group who's searching the beaches and the lighthouse now. I wanted to know if you or your husband have seen Miza around. She's not with Ezele - he left earlier this morning. I wondered if she'd found you and asked if she could join the search."

Jasmine frowned. "Not that I'm aware, but I haven't seen her since yesterday."

Yirya covered her mouth with one of her hands. Jasmine's heart lurched as she saw the woman eyes well with tears. "I'm worried about Arzin as well. I heard that she overheard what happened last night from a group of villagers. I had planned to tell her, but didn't have the chance. I can't bear the thought of Miza going out on her own to look for her uncle. She's stubborn enough to do that and it terrifies me but..." She trailed off, gathering her thoughts and appearing to try to calm herself. "I really don't know what to think. I hope that my fears are exaggerated, that she's still somewhere around town. If you see her, tell her to come home immediately."

Jasmine nodded. "I definitely will. I'll let Aladdin and the others know too."

"Thank you so much." She nodded before rushing inside the diner, likely to check to see if Miza was with her grandmother. Jasmine began to look around the area, on the sides of the buildings where various villagers discussed their plans. Some of them briefly waved to her before getting back to business. Something Jasmine admired about everyone in Gloloria, alongside their hospitality, was their readiness to put themselves to task. That same eagerness she'd seen in the fight against the Deathseeker, a battle that Aladdin had led on many fronts.

But even in the determined organization, Jasmine didn't like the parallels she was seeing between what happened with the Deathseeker and now. It was an unsettling sense of peril. While the Deathseeker's power over the village was known and circulated over generations, none of them knew anything about the thief lurking the village. Was it really one of their own, or someone else?

She spotted Aladdin talking to one of the villagers before briefly breaking away. He noticed her too, walking quickly over to where she waited for him.

"Looks like they have both the caves near the beach and the lighthouse covered. Also, Remi's leading a team over by the archives and memorial. He assured me he's pretty well protected, what with Genie's magic and...hey, what's wrong?" Aladdin stopped when he saw Jasmine's look of concern.

Jasmine did her best to summarize what Yirya had told her, which made Aladdin's eyes go wide with horror.

"Are you serious? None of us have seen her this morning, but I think if she wanted to join us, we would have seen her by now. Man..." He trailed off, threading his fingers through his hair. "I wouldn't put it past Miza to do something like that, but just...why?"

Jasmine sighed. "He's her uncle, Aladdin. You're searching for the same reasons for Abu too, not to mention that you're worried about the thief. Don't tell me that you wouldn't have opted to go alone if you could, if you thought it was too dangerous for any of us to go with you. You've done so before on many other adventures as well, the Deathseeker included. Miza's more like you than you think."

Aladdin opened his mouth to protest, but appeared to relent as he considered her words. "Yeah, but she's just a kid! If anyone else had seen her, she would have turned up by now with one of the groups already searching. Makes me think she might've went where we need to go."

"I don't think she could have gotten too far on foot. We need to take Genie and the others - search out that way," Jasmine said.

He nodded. "Hope we get to her before anything else happens."

Aziz looked over the magic encasing where Abu lay, the monkey still in a prolonged sleep spell. "Seems like I might've have gone overboard with the magic to subdue him. He's only a tiny thing after all. But having my monkey back is just the first step." He looked over his shoulder as a figure entered where Aziz had made his makeshift domain. The outskirts of Gloloria had a number of different pathways. The hidden caves were a fair distance from the town itself, but it was a good intermediary for Aziz to stay while he enacted his plan. And with a new assistant by his side, everything was falling into place.

"I take it that you've transitioned to your expected form at this point. Your magic may still be in flux, but it will stabilize in time," Aziz said to the figure, who nodded slowly. "I simply seek to expand your link, as I've learned of your accomplishments. The Deathseeker may no longer be here, but you certainly have proved yourself a worthy successor."

"Thank you, Master. It's been a while."

Aziz's smile widened as he fully turned to the figure - his new apprentice. "I take it that you are fully aware of and are onboard with the plan. You said that this was an ideal place to set up - do you think Aladdin remembers the significance of this particular cave?"

The apprentice nodded. "Aladdin would remember. The Deathseeker nearly killed him here. I chose it specifically to evoke the same memories, for him to be reminded of what it means to lose."

Aziz laughed. "You continue to surprise me with how twisted your mind works. I love it!" He clapped his hands together twice, making all the lanterns flames in the room flicker and burn more brightly. "You embrace the dark far more comfortably than I imagined. But you do realize the more you walk in your current shell, the more you depart your former self. That is the price of the power I've given you."

"I can manage," the apprentice said. "It is worth the cost to use the gifts that you have given me. Especially if it means getting rid of the group from Agrabah."

"As long as you understand," Aziz said, his tone shifting from jovial to serious. "Any moment, I'll expect the street rat and his friends to grace our presence; you will greet Aladdin and tell him of our terms. I think he'll be very surprised to see what you've become. In the not so pleasant sense."

The apprentice bowed, smiling as he met Aziz's gaze. "I aim to exceed expectations."

As he watched his new ally disappear down the path of the cave, Aziz knew he'd made precisely the right choice.

"Uncle Arzin! Abu!" The familiar voice of the girl they were looking for gave Aladdin a much needed relief in the mix of several worrying events. Jasmine looked just as relieved as she met Aladdin's gaze.

Iago groaned as he sat behind them, and beside Genie, on Carpet. "So tell me again how Miza was able to get this far out by herself? Especially without a Genie or a magic rug for company?"

"She must have had an early start. Still, this isn't too far out of the way from Gloloria. If she'd reached the cliffs further out in the desert, I would be more concerned," Aladdin said.

Genie wiped an imaginary bead of sweat from his brow. "Man, I was about to say - I hope I don't have too much magic competition out here. Already bad enough the thief has an advantage."

"Let's fly down and meet her. I don't think she realizes how much trouble she's in," Aladdin said. Even as he said the words, he felt regret building up inside him. It's not that he wanted to get Miza in trouble, nor did he want to lecture her for looking for her uncle or Abu. She'd been particularly close to Abu during their first visit to Gloloria. But Yirya's reaction to Miza's disappearance spoke volumes on its own.

Jasmine's right about one thing - I would've done the same thing Miza's doing now if I were her age. The problem is that the danger is much bigger than her. She doesn't realize it the way we do, Aladdin thought.

"Miza!" Jasmine called as they flew down to where the say the girl. Miza's eyes went as wide as the saucers she would usually clean in the diner. She eagerly waved to them as they arrived, but her joy was shortlived when she saw the mix of expressions on her friends' faces.

Iago looked plain annoyed, Genie looked like he'd rather be anywhere else (as did Carpet from the droop of his knobs), Jasmine appeared to go between anger and concern, a sentiment Aladdin shared, though he wasn't sure which would win out. In the end, he went with his gut as the words poured out of him.

"Miza, what were you thinking? There's a dangerous thief on the loose and you went outside of the city?"

Miza frowned. "Miza knew that Aladdin and his friends would be searching for Uncle Arzin and Abu. Miza's not scared. You're here now, so Miza's not alone."

Iago slapped a wing against his forehead, running it down his face. "Of course she side-steps the obvious point that was made. Man, gotta hand it to the kid. Either she's in serious denial or she's using diversion tactics that I need to take notes from."

Jasmine gave Iago a side-eye glance over her shoulder, but didn't address the bird. Instead, she followed up to the girl. "Miza, that's not what he means. Your mother's been worried sick since this morning - she didn't know where you were and was asking all around Gloloria. We thought that the thief might have kidnapped you too!"

Miza appeared to realize the truth of things, her expression less confused and more somber. "Miza left Mama a note, but not in the usual place. She must have missed it - didn't mean to make her worry. Miza was just trying to help." The girl looked like she was on the verge of tears.

Aladdin and Jasmine looked pained at the sight of Miza fighting back sobs, while Genie used his magic to put earmuffs on his and Iago's heads.

"What's this for?" Iago asked.

"I don't think you wanna hear the waterworks from this kid when they start coming. Kids crying always make me start crying, so I just wanna be prepared."

Iago winced. "Good point, except the cryin' part. I feel like I wanna hurl when it happens."

Aladdin stepped off Carpet then, walking over to Miza and kneeling in front of her. Miza eyes turned to her feet, her attention instead trying to stop the sniffles and hiccups that were starting to bubble over from within her.

"Miza, look at me." Aladdin said, his voice soft and no longer chiding. She slowly looked up, meeting his gaze. "I know you're worried. I know you're also trying to help. But you can't just walk out like that without letting anyone know. Like - actually telling someone what you want to do. If you asked one of the search parties..."

Miza cut him off with a quick shake of her head. "No, Miza tried to ask. People said Miza was too little and couldn't join. They told Miza to go home. Can't go home, why sit and wait when Abu and Uncle Arzin could be in trouble? Miza just wants them safe, and to be a hero like Aladdin and Jasmine. That's what being a hero is, right? Helping people when they're in trouble?"

"Oh boy," Iago said, taking the earmuffs off his head. "Not even here a few days, and already settin' a bad example for the younger generation."

Aladdin ignored Iago, continuing to talk to Miza. "Being a hero might mean helping the people you care about, but it doesn't mean you should go into something without knowing what you're up against."

Iago frowned, looking up at Genie with disbelief. "Is Al really one to talk about this? I really wanna call him out for being a hypocr-" Before Iago could say "hypocrite", Genie covered his beak quickly with a hand. He frowned at the bird, lowering his voice to a whisper so only the bird could hear.

"Al's trying to make a point to the kid. I would be the first one to say that Al needs to practice more of what he says, but we can have that conversation later. Let him talk to her."

Aladdin kept going. "This is the kind of danger that we don't even know what to do, and we've had multiple adventures where we've faced danger. Point is, you shouldn't go alone."

"Can Miza go with all of you, Prince Aladdin? Please don't ask Miza to go home. Not now." The pain in Miza's voice and plea tugged at Aladdin's heartstrings. The "no" was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. Not like that.

Jasmine spoke after a long silence, breaking the tension among the group. "As much as I want to say no, if she's with us, then we can keep her safe. All that's left is letting Miza's mother know where she is. That's my biggest concern."

Genie removed his hand from Iago's mouth long enough for the bird's expression to brighten. "Hear that Blue Boy? I think they want someone to go back to tell Yirya that Miza's fine. I volunteer!"

"Actually, I'd rather have Genie do it," Aladdin said. "I'm fine with Miza coming with us too."

Miza's expression brightened as she looked among the group. She tackle-hugged Aladdin, nearly knocking him to the sands beneath them, but he returned her awkward embrace.

"Guess that makes me designee numero uno!" Genie said with salute. "Sorry, my feathered friend, I think I've been volunteered!"

"More like volun-told," Iago muttered, settling back on Carpet.

"Come on, Miza," Aladdin said, taking the girl's hand and helping her up on Carpet. Miza took a seat near Jasmine, while Aladdin sat where Genie once did on Carpet as the semi-phenomenal being prepared to go in the other direction. "Genie, when you finish letting Yirya and Ezele know Miza's safe, we'll meet you in the area of the caves near the cliffs in the desert. The ones before when...you know."

Genie's light expression fell slightly, realizing what Aladdin meant. "You sure you're all good searching there first?"

Aladdin nodded. "Yeah. If there was a place that thief would be, those caves would be good for hiding out. If we're lucky, we'll find Abu and Arzin without having to encounter the thief at all. That's the plan."

Genie gave Aladdin another salute. "Okay, kids. Don't get into too much trouble while I'm gone. I'll be back before you know it." He sped off into the distance, leaving Aladdin, Jasmine, Iago, and Miza looking after him until he disappeared.

Aladdin nodded to the group. "Ready, everyone? Guess you'll be getting that carpet ride I promised a little early, Miza. And we'll be looking for Abu and your uncle while we're at it."

"Let's go, Carpet!" Miza shouted. At her word, Carpet sped off, leaving the girl to laugh as they flew over the desert.