Chapter 13: Memory Blocks

Genie whistled as Aladdin finished recalling their latest encounter with the magic thief. He used one hand to tease the curl at the end of his beard, his expression in a grimace. "Well, I missed a lot."

The group sat at a table in the middle of the archive. Genie made sure to block the windows with boards and lock the door to keep anyone - including the thief - out. But it was only a temporary block while Aladdin, Genie, Abu, Arzin, and Remi caught up on the events of that evening.

Arzin folded his arms across his chest. "Whatever responses we've had to this 'thief' up until now have been inadequate, even within the limits of Prince Aladdin's game. Feels like the Deathseeker rearing its head all over again."

Genie winced. "Don't know if I would go that far..."

Everyone in the room flinched when Arzin slammed his fist against the table, cutting Genie's words short. "I would say it's EXACTLY like that. Said it before many times - outsiders like you wouldn't understand what this town has endured. It may be true that no one has died yet - that much difference I'll allow. But the thief capturing one or more of of us for the purpose of harming him," Arzin pointed to Aladdin sharply, "makes it that much more alike. The thief came too close to catching and almost killing Remi. He might try again, or he might go for someone else just to throw us off."

Remi shook his head. He had a different pair of glasses on his face, replacing the shattered ones from earlier that night. Genie couldn't find Remi's broken ones from earlier, but he made sure to replace them by giving the archivist new ones. "Hate to say it, but Arzin's right. This feels like a repeat of the Deathseeker's pattern of controlling the town, even if the thief's magic doesn't feed on blood and fear. The thief knows the history of the Deathseeker because he stole the scroll earlier. He's using his personal grudge against Aladdin to repeat the cycle." Remi then cut a sharp glance to Arzin. "But that's not Aladdin's fault, nor is it any of his friends'. You shouldn't blame them for this."

"Yeah, yeah," Abu agreed, sitting on the table appearing just as irritated as Arzin, a frown and narrowed brow creasing the monkey's features.

"Guys, enough." Aladdin didn't raise his voice, but the firmness of his tone made everyone fall silent. "Look, it's been a long night. Remi's the only one we know that's targeted by the thief now. Have a feeling I know why and it makes sense."

"Y-you do?" Remi said, stumbling over his words at Aladdin's sure tone.

"Obvious," Arzin said, his anger simmering. He sat back in his chair as he turned his attention to Aladdin. "The archive's the source of information and history about everything in the village. Remi knows this place by memory, as well as the information in it. He'd be a valuable resource for any thief with nefarious aims. Also, Remi's one of the few who first saw the thief without a disguise. He just can't remember it."

Remi agreed with a nod. "Feels like everytime I try to get close to remembering, it pulls away at the last moment."

Genie frowned. "Like a lost memory thing or a magic thing?"

Aladdin realized a connection. "Genie, that's it! I've had that reaction too! Felt like I was really close to knowing who he was, then it slipped away before I could hold onto it. Not a stretch to think he did something to us to keep us from remembering. Is there any way you can tell whether Remi and I are under a curse? Maybe remove it?"

Genie thought about it, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Semi-phenomenal I may be, but I could try a few things for sure to see if the thief did something to you two. Removing a curse might be a problem, though. Remember that time you thought you were cursed by Abis Mal and Haroud and you had me zap you randomly? That didn't help."

Aladdin winced. He rather would have not remembered that encounter with Magma and the fake curse that Abis Mal and Haroud made him think he was under. "Pretty sure this curse is not just in my head if Remi has it too. If we can learn what's there, then that's one more way to prove the thief's cheating."

"When hasn't the thief been cheating?" Arzin said with a frown. "Your luck helped you outwit him on the times he tried."

Remi's brows rose. "It really is like Arzin said - you guys are in a game of thieves AND liars. Though I'm surprised you can keep up with him as well as you are, Aladdin. That's talent."

"Definitely talent, but it won't be easy in the future. Especially if the thief's actively working against us," Genie followed up. He stood from his seat, pointing to a nearby shelf. "Okay you two, step up and near this shelf. Just so I can have a backdrop to see something. Also to not hit monkey boy and Arzin while I'm dealing with these spells."

Aladdin and Remi followed Genie's instructions, standing beside each other while not knowing what to expect. Remi looked nervous, giving the prince a glance out the corner of his eyes. Aladdin tried to smile to put the archivist at ease, but he wasn't sure what Genie planned. That had his nerves on end as well.

"Hmm...might be better to do you guys one at a time, in case something bad happens," Genie said.

"Doesn't make me feel any better about what you're gonna do," Remi said with a groan. "But if you have to do one of us, I'll go."

"You sure?" Aladdin asked. The prince felt bad for him after what'd he'd been through that night. A near death experience and a curse to wrestle with was no joke.

Remi shrugged. "Can't be any worse than what we've already been through. Maybe there's a chance Genie can help me remember something."

"Oh boy," Abu said, watching between his paws as Genie prepared a magic spell, his hands glowing.

"Okiedoke," Genie prompted. "Close your eyes and try to think about something that's familiar about the thief. If you can't think of anything, just think of the thief himself - maybe that might jog something in your noggin."

"Okay." Remi followed Genie's directions. Aladdin watched as Genie used his hands to conjure two palm sized spirals of dark blue magic. The semi-phenomenal being waited a few moments, watching the color of each spiral shift from dark to a much lighter blue, even lighter than his form. When the magic started to brighten and shimmer, Genie sent both spirals to surround Remi. The magic spirals joined into one, circling Remi in a series of loose spirals around his body - from head to toe.

"This feels really warm. Actually nice." Remi said, his eyes remaining closed. "My mind feels a little more clear, too."

"Is there anything you're seeing regarding the thief?" Arzin said, sounding dubious.

Remi's expression became more serious, his brow narrowed with focus. "Yeah. I'm trying to focus on the first time I saw him. I can't hear anything he's saying, but even with how far away it sounds, his tone is really different than the times we've seen him. Like totally different."

"That confirms he's been disguising his voice this whole time. I've noticed it too, he's shifted it everytime I've encountered him," Aladdin said. "It's okay if you can't hear him, Remi. What else can you see?"

"I'm on the ground. It's a little after he attacked me. He was definitely not human, but I can't tell what he looks like. Everything's blurry. Wait, I can kinda hear what he said to me. It was 'Do forgive me on this very pleasant afternoon. My...name is'...ahh!" Remi yelled as the magic around him turned from a light blue to a cloudy gray, then a dark black. Remi clutched at his throat, as if he couldn't breathe, started to fall to the ground.

"Remi!" Aladdin reached him first, catching Remi just before he hit his head on the shelf behind them and fell to the ground. The magic around them quickly faded away, much like the dark magic that had surrounded the thief.

"Oh no!" Abu screeched, rushing over at the same time as Genie and Arzin as Aladdin lowered him to the floor. Remi struggled to breathe for a few moments before he snapped out of a trance. His eyes opened wide, his breath hitching with a gasp. He quickly calmed as he saw the concerned faces surrounding him.

"Well, if there's one thing I can tell from this not-so-little experiment," Genie said with a frown. "You're definitely cursed by a weird spell. I've seen this before, but being semi-phenomenal, I can't tell you what kind it is. Not without searching some things, and that might take a while."

"You're quite useless," Arzin said, clicking his tongue.

"He's not useless," Aladdin said sternly, looking over his shoulder at Arzin. "Genie was able to grab a memory out of Remi that he hadn't recalled before now. Even got close to revealing the thief's name." Aladdin turned back to Remi. "You okay?"

"Feel like someone just punched me. Otherwise, I'm fine." Remi sat up after a few moments, used his hand to smooth back his hair from his face. His glasses had managed to stay on when he fell, but they were crooked. He readjusted them on his face, just before meeting Aladdin's attention. "I'm so sorry, your highness. I was so close to getting the thief's name and what he looked like, but - well, you know."

"You did what you could. I appreciate that, Remi."

Genie managed a half-pained smile as he looked at Aladdin. "Have a feeling I know what you're going to say, Al, but we still haven't tried to see if you're under the same curse."

Aladdin shook his head. "We can definitely try later. I'd rather focus on getting Remi's curse lifted."

"My suggestion is that we see what Ezele can do," Arzin said. "There might be something in Saztou's scrolls to help him, or Ezele might know of an alternate remedy. If your Genie cannot find the cure, then it would make sense to have our own town remedies to search."

"Good idea," Aladdin said. "Let's see Ezele and let him know what's going on."

In the end, Remi agreed to stay in the treatment hut that Ezele usually saw travelers and very sick villagers in. He was Ezele's only patient that night. Ezele was up in the late hour, working on a few potions when they all returned to the beach.

"Of course I'll help him," Ezele agreed. "It may take some time for me to search and find ingredients to make a cure, but I'll work on it."

Genie had made sure to secure the archive, including a few magic traps in case the thief had any ideas. Remi agreed not to return there until he could be cured, and also until they could figure out a way to stop the thief. Arzin went home, satisfied that the major problem of the night was at least on the way to having a solution.

By the time they returned to the inn, Aladdin, Abu, and Genie were all exhausted. The moon was high in the sky, and it was an hour long past midnight. Abu couldn't stop himself from yawning, even as they entered the door to the inn. Iago was not impressed, as he was waiting for them not far from the entrance.

"Oh lookie, the late crew finally returns. Now I can get some sleep!"

"You were up all this time, Iago?" Genie said. "Aww, you were actually worried about us."

"No, I wasn't! Princess's orders just before she went to sleep! And I don't go against the Princess's orders unless I wanna get on the bad side of the Sultan." Iago looked over the three of them, his wings on his hips. "Where have you guys been anyway?"

"Long story, we'll tell you in the morning," Aladdin said. "We have a lot to catch Jasmine up on too."

"Well, good, cause I can't stay awake another minute. Not in the mood for hearin' things that'll cause me nightmares anyways." Without another word, Iago curled up on his designated bed and closed his eyes. Abu yawned again, but instead of going to his own bed, he perched on Aladdin's shoulder.

"Oh, you wanna stay in my room tonight, Abu? That's fine. Why don't you go ahead of me, have Tani let you in. I'm gonna talk to Genie a little bit, okay?"

"Okay, okay." Abu gave Aladdin a brief salute, before leaping down and heading to where Tani worked towards the other entrance of the inn, closer to Aladdin's room.

"Guess the gang's almost all here now - except for one rug," Genie said sadly.

"Yeah, I know." Aladdin rubbed the back of his neck. "That's...this is..."

Genie held up a hand, cutting Aladdin short of his next thought. "If you start saying this is your fault in any way, I'm gonna stop you. You're doing everything that you can. I know you're worried, Al, but pretty sure if Rug Man were here, he'd say the same. Well, magic rugs can't speak but you know what I mean."

"I know you're right, Genie. I can't convince myself that. And...there's something else I haven't said yet, something I've been meaning to say for a while to you. I-I'm sorry." Aladdin couldn't keep his voice from breaking on the last words, despite his composure.

Genie frowned and Aladdin could tell the semi-phenomenal being was more than a little confused. "Sorry for what, kid? Last I checked you were a hero who managed to free Arzin, Miza and our little monkey buddy. You haven't done anything wrong."

Aladdin felt his body tense. He found he couldn't meet Genie's eyes as he spoke. "No, you're wrong. I said the same thing to Jasmine earlier today. I pushed you guys away when things were really intense. I hate that being in this thief's game limits what I can tell you." He balled his hands into fists at his sides. "It's really stupid, and I was only trying to end it before it got worse, but I messed it all up. I wasn't trying to repeat history, not like with the Deathseeker. Arzin wasn't wrong tonight. I feel like I'm at the center of this whole thing all over again."

Genie didn't say anything for a long moment, but then he placed his hands on Aladdin's shoulders. "Aladdin, look at me."

As the prince looked up, Genie's expression was a calm, sad smile. "I know what a thief's game is. I know it's not your fault or even something you wanted to do. Even if you had, I'd still stick by whatever decisions you made. Okay, maybe I would tell you ahead of time that entering a thief's game is a bad idea, but you get my point. The thing I'm really mad about is not being able to do anything to help you the way you need me right now. But I want you to know if there's any loophole that I can work, I'll take it to get to you. Scout's honor."

Aladdin smiled a little, relieved. "Thanks Genie."

"On that thought, I don't think Arzin was right, not entirely," Genie said, his expression more serious. "The Deathseeker was a danger none of us knew much about until we came here. This thief wants you to think he's Deathseeker 2.0."

"Yeah, Remi mentioned the same back at the archive - the scroll probably told the thief all he needed to know. But that doesn't explain how the thief and I have history. Which is why I want to ask you to do this next thing."

Genie raised a brow, curious.

Aladdin let out a breath so quick that the hair above his brow flared up. "I'd like you to see if I'm under the same curse as Remi."

Genie frowned. "Like now? Right now?"

Aladdin nodded. He drew back from Genie's hands, holding out his own. His brow narrowed. "What do I have to lose? I know the risk based on what happened to Remi tonight. But if gives me better sleep tonight learning something I didn't know before about this thief terrorizing the town and all of us - I think it's worth it. We can share that with the others tomorrow too. At least before I'm back under the new terms of the game, whether the thief finds another target or not."

"Fair enough, but considering you're a player in this game, the effects of doing this might be ten times worse on you than Remi."

"So be it. I'd have to do it anyway at some point. Might as well have a head start to see if it gives us something." Aladdin took a long pause, mustering enough nerve to stand by the words he needed to say. "I'm not running away."

Genie cracked his knuckles. "Never was one to tell you to back down from a challenge. Okay, kiddo. You got this. Stand close to the wall. Need space to work the magic. Powerful Genie-type stuff," Genie grinned and wiggled his brows as he signaled his cue to Aladdin. "Now you need to do the same thing Remi did."

"Right, close my eyes and think of something that I want to remember about the thief." Aladdin did so, allowing his breath to steady and focus. He heard Genie utter a few chants, and soon he was surrounded by a warm presence around him, something that wrapped around him like the warmth of a cozy fire on a cool desert night. He realized why Remi had reacted the way he did, appreciated it a little more in experiencing the magic first hand.

Aladdin focused on the memory he wanted to pull - the one from the previous midnight. As soon as he was able to pin the memory down, he was back in the moment again. As if he were reliving it from the beginning.

This was just before Carpet disappeared, Aladdin thought as he found himself running along the cliffs to the hidden passageway. He could hear the thief's voice at a distance, but it was the same experience that Remi had described. Far too distant, far too jumbled to make out much. Aladdin tried to focus more on the details, even as he recalled the momentum of his own body fleeing the thief - his motivation to reach his friends before the thief ever got to the end of the path.

"Al, what do you see?" Aladdin heard Genie say beyond the memory.

Aladdin realized he needed to verbalize the memory. "I'm back to early yesterday morning, after midnight. I'm back in the underground passage. The thief's voice is too low - I can't make out anything he's saying while he's chasing me. But there's something familiar...something about..."

"His magic" is what Aladdin wanted to say, but the memory abruptly ended, leaving Aladdin standing in a dark void.

"Genie? Genie?" Aladdin called, but the only sound he could hear was the echo of his own voice. Something had gone very wrong. It wasn't until he felt the hard grip of a hand over his mouth that he realized the magic thief was standing behind him in the void. The voice that filled his ears then was shrill and frantic, the words spoken almost too fast for him to really comprehend.

"THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON'T FOLLOW THE RULES, ALADDIN! YOU WILL LEARN YET WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU BREAK THEM. LET ME BE CLEAR AGAIN - YOU BREAK THE CONTRACT, YOU WORK WITH YOUR GENIE, YOU OR SOMEONE YOU CARE ABOUT WILL BE PUNISHED. THIS APPLIES BETWEEN GAMES AS WELL."

Aladdin struggled against the grip that held him, but found it was too heavy, too strong to fight. He wondered where Genie was, if his friend was even aware of what was going on in this suspended realm.

"YOU WILL NOT ENLIST THE AID OF YOUR GENIE AT ANY POINT DURING THESE GAMES. IF YOU DO, I WILL NOT GO AS EASY ON YOU. SINCE YOUR CARPET IS IN MY POSSESSION, HE WILL NOT BE PUNISHED THIS TIME, BUT YOU WILL."

Before Aladdin could protest, the other hand of the thief wrapped around his neck, digging his claws into the skin of Aladdin's neck. Aladdin wanted to scream, but found no air to do so. The warmth from Genie's magic had gone so cold that he felt his own blood chilled.

At a distance away, Aladdin could hear the faint call of his friend. "Come on, kid!"

"MARK MY WORDS. YOU WILL KNOW MY VENGEANCE."

The thief released Aladdin. He fell, blood trailing in rivulets down his neck, into the endless void.

Genie looked down with concern at Aladdin as the prince gasped awake. He realized he'd passed out sometime between recalling the memory and the vision of the thief he saw. Aladdin touched his neck, expecting the bleeding, painful wounds the thief gave him, but his neck was fine. Not a bruise to be felt. Definitely seems like it never happened, but I know differently, Aladdin thought. His vision was blurry and his head hurt, though. It seemed like Genie had blunted the impact of Aladdin falling to the floor.

"Probably safe to say we're not doing that again. What a nightmare," Aladdin said, his voice groggy.

Genie helped Aladdin sit up against the wall, as Aladdin still felt too dizzy to stand. Genie sat beside him on the floor, brow furrowed. "The level of the curse you're under is worse than Remi's, as much as I thought it would be. Unless I figure out what kind it is, you're stuck right now. Sorry kiddo."

"This is so stupid," Aladdin said. "The thief's obviously cheating! I don't have any magic power to fight him with; I wouldn't know the first thing about how to defeat him since I don't know who he is! But he doesn't want me to...to..." Aladdin wasn't sure how to finish his thoughts. The thief had given him warning not to involve Genie. How much could he say without gaining the wrath of the thief again? And what would the thief do to Carpet if he did?

Genie seemed to understand, his expression mildly angry. "Let me guess - 'Stay out of it, Genie.'" Genie did a pitch perfect impression of Aladdin's warning from before, just before Aladdin had gone to rescue Arzin, Abu, and Miza. When Aladdin visibly cringed, Genie's tone softened. "That wasn't aimed at you - more the situation. Don't have to guess to know that the thief threatened you. It's a really sticky web of events." Genie transformed into a gigantic plush spider knitting a web with its many limbs. It looked more cute than scary, making Aladdin laugh a little. When Genie transformed back to his usual form, his expression turned more serious. "That leaves the question of what I actually can do."

"Maybe you can't break the curse I'm under or help me in the game, but you can protect Gloloria's citizens as much as you can. Especially Remi. I'll keep an eye on Jasmine, Iago and Abu. The thief's supposed to tell me the next terms of the game tomorrow night. I won't know anything until then."

"So keep the thief from capturing anyone else in town. That I can do!" Genie gave a short salute. "Just wish we'd learned something from your memories that could give you a clue. This guy's a real piece of work, seems like the type of twisted mind we'd remember already."

Aladdin hadn't mentioned it, but he did have a clue to the thief he'd follow. He'd seen the power of the thief - something to do with breath magic. As small of a detail as it was, Aladdin knew he'd have to follow that hint to know where to go from there. Especially since he knew whatever test the thief had planned for him, it would definitely be more dangerous than the last.