Chapter 20: Lost Treasures
Abu had never known a time when Iago could fly so fast. It might have been the spell the bird was under, or the influence of the key he held in his claws. Iago did have a dedication to finding treasure, though. If Abu were in Iago's place, he might've done the same thing with the promise of riches, regardless of risk. But the key had never made Abu comfortable. True, its presence didn't hurt him the way it'd hurt Genie, but it still made him uneasy. Things would be far worse if Iago found the actual treasure or brought it to Aziz.
"Stop, stop!" Abu screeched. He could tell, even under the horrible spell, Iago was slowing down. But the distance between them was still too much for Abu to overcome. If only...
"That's enough, bird. It seems you've acquired what I've asked."
The voice made the fur on Abu's body stand on end. He knew it all too well. It made both Iago and Abu stop where they were in the darkness of the secret passage. Abu was thankful that the area was just light enough for him to see. Torches were spaced through the path, fully lit. They hadn't ventured too deep, so it made sense. But seeing Aziz approach from a distance away made him dive behind a nearby rock for cover.
"I know you're here too, Abu! I know everything you do because you were MY monkey once!" Aziz snapped. At least he hadn't spotted Abu outright. "If you won't come out, I'll have to find you myself eventually. But first, I have some business to take care of." Abu could hear the smile in Aziz's voice without actually seeing it. "Hand over the key, Iago. I can take over the risks from here. You've done a splendid job."
"You'll be sure to share the bounty we're finding, right?" Iago said with a sly tone. Apparently Iago had the ability to take on the same sly humor he usually did, even under a coercive spell. Aziz scoffed.
"Of course, of course. But first, you'll have to hand it over to me."
Abu was not about to let that happen. He was able to look over the rock he hid behind without being spotted. Saw the moment that the bird would have dropped the key into Aziz's gloved palm. He only had one chance to get it right - it was now or never. Abu did what any enterprising, thieving monkey would do - got a running start, used the wall as a catapult, and snatched the key out of the space of air between Iago's claws and Aziz's hand. He landed on the ground a distance away much more smoothly than he anticipated.
"YOU. STUPID. MONKEY!" Aziz's voice echoed through the passage, but Abu only wiggled his brows and gave a salute before taking off down the path he'd come.
"Go after him!" Aziz commanded Iago.
Iago shrugged. "Hey, I took the trouble of bringing it to you. You could do some of the legwork!"
Abu was thankful that certain aspects of Iago that hadn't changed, even if the parrot's mind was influenced by magic. But Abu only got so far when he heard the sharp intake of Aziz's breath magic, then a loud exhale. It didn't take him long to realize that Aziz had transformed into a large three horned monster with sharp teeth and paws, headed right towards Abu out of the mist that surrounded them.
Abu's eyes went wide as he tried to keep ahead of the charging monster. Aziz's pace was fast, too fast to keep any distance between them. The chase from earlier had tired the monkey more than he bargained for. Soon, Aziz had closed the gap, using a large paw to swipe at Abu. At first, he missed, but the palm of Aziz's paw slapped Abu hard against one of the nearby walls in the turn of the passage. Abu felt his teeth rattle, his strength left him as he slid to the ground below.
Still not enough to loosen his grip on the key he held in his paws.
Aziz transformed back into his usual, green monstrous form, but he was still no less intimidating as he picked up Abu and began to squeeze the monkey so hard that Abu wanted to scream, if he could breathe. "I don't care if I have to squeeze your tiny lungs to dust. You WILL give me the key!"
"Leave him alone, Aziz!" The familiar voice only barely registered with Abu as the monkey struggled to breathe, but he would get ample chance as a figure collided with Aziz, knocking them both to the ground. Though Abu dropped the key, it landed and spun not too far out of his reach as the monkey coughed loudly and finally took a series of breaths to calm himself down. It wasn't exactly fresh air, but he would take what he could get.
When the fog of his mind cleared, Abu recognized - with relief, the face and form of the figure that kneeled in front of him protectively. Aladdin was recovering his own breath from a brief, intense scuffle with Aziz, leaving the powerful being knocked to the ground. Aziz might be good with magic, but he wasn't good at trading physical blows with someone who lived on the streets of Agrabah for many years.
"You should know, well enough by now," Aladdin said between breaths as he addressed Aziz, "not to mess with my friends."
"So we finally meet again, street rat. Didn't think you'd be willing to die that easily," Aziz threatened, but the nerves in his voice gave his weariness away.
"I'm not. Like I said before, I'm done. You won't use us as puppets anymore, not while I have anything to say about it." Aladdin looked over his shoulder briefly, his expression softened as he met his friend's gaze. "You good, Abu?"
"Uh huh." Abu gave him a brief thumbs up as he shuffled the key in his paws. "Whew."
"Glad you were able to get the key from him. But where's Iago?"
"INCOMING!" No sooner had Aladdin asked, Iago showed up, launching an attack at the prince from behind. Abu screeched in alarm, thinking Aladdin would get hurt by the bird again. But Aladdin was quicker, turning and using his momentum to dodge the bird's attack. He then, by reflex, grabbed the bird by the tailfeathers, leaving Iago a squawking, feather molting mess.
"Hey, put me down already!" Iago complained as Aladdin held him upside down.
"No way. I'm not taking any chances with you trying to attack me again. I'd rather you realize that you're being manipulated. There is no true treasure to find. Even if there were, Aziz wouldn't spare any for you."
"What?! You're lying! I'm not takin' the word of a snot-nosed prince who has a Palace full of treasure he doesn't even claim!"
"You're the one being lied to. Snap out of it already!" Aladdin's voice appeared to have an effect on the bird then, breaking whatever hold Aziz's magic had. Iago's body went limp. Aladdin's annoyed expression turned to one of horror as he was able to hold the bird to his chest with one arm. "Come on, Iago," he said, his voice more quiet and the energy of the argument going out of him as quickly as it came.
"The spell I put him under gave him more strength than he was used to. Though I didn't expect him to come out of the spell so quickly. He must have more of an attachment to you than I realized," Aziz said, snorting.
"You had no right to do that to him or Carpet in the first place," Aladdin snapped as his gaze returned to Aziz. "They're not your pawns!"
"You're right, I'll admit. It's just wasted too much time doing what I should have done myself from the beginning." Aziz's eyes flashed as he spoke the words, before taking a long breath before blowing out a dark mist. Iago took that moment to wake, his eyes growing wide with horror at the approaching darkness.
Aladdin, Abu, and Iago thought the mist was aimed towards them. Aladdin used the moment to dive to the ground, using his body to cover them. They all held their breaths momentarily to keep from breathing in the mist.
Abu realized - quicker than the others - that Aziz's target had not been them at all, but a cluster of hanging vines that dangled behind them. When the mist hit, the thick, rope like vines sprung to life. They shot forward, like clawed fingers reaching out for prey.
"Run!" Aladdin shouted as managed to roll out of the way of a few them, while Abu creatively dodged several of them while holding onto the key. Iago managed to fly upward, just barely dodging the vines as they reached for the space he once occupied.
For a while, Aladdin was able to evade them, but as Aziz focused his powers, he used them solely on the prince. The vines wrapped around Aladdin's arms, legs, torso and neck, trapping him against one of the nearby walls in the turn of the cave.
"Aladdin!" Abu screeched as the prince winced when his back collided with the wall, hard. Iago's beak dropped open when he realized what was happening, his mind still foggy from Aziz's spell.
Aziz grinned. "Now that was easy. You have until the count of three to hand over that key, monkey. Or I'll snap his neck. No, wait, maybe I'll break his ribs first. Too boring to kill him right away."
To demonstrate his power, Aziz clenched his right fist, the area around it emitting a blue glow.
"Don't listen to him, Abu. It's...not worth..." Aladdin screamed as the vines tightened around him, the grip of them tightening around the prince's middle so much that Abu wondered if Aziz really had broken one or more of his ribs.
"Give me the key!" Aziz demanded.
"He's not going to do that! Not if we can help it!" Another familiar voice shouted just before the figure shoved Aziz's hard to the ground. Aziz coughed furiously as he landed, kicking up sand and dust around him. Remi had been the one who spoke and acted. "That's for attacking me from before. And for putting me under your stupid curse!"
"Nice job, Remi." Jasmine ran up to where Abu, Iago, and Aladdin were. The vines around Aladdin loosened just as quickly as they ensnared him. As Aladdin fell forward, Jasmine was there to catch him just before he hit the ground.
"Thanks Princess," Aladdin managed. "He didn't hurt me any more than I already was." He answered the unspoken question she asked as their gazes met.
"Wouldn't have been able to tell based on the way you reacted back there. That scream was the stuff of nightmares," Iago said. His eyes went to the dried, bloody claw marks on Aladdin's arm, making the bird wince. "Did I do that to you?"
"You don't remember?" Jasmine asked, frowning.
"He wouldn't," Aladdin said, even as Remi managed to reach them in the moment. Both Remi and Jasmine helped Aladdin to his feet. "The spell Aziz had him under probably wiped his memory of everything he was doing. It's the same as when Abu was captured before. Miza too. Arzin remembered a little at least. Think it depends on the strength of the spells Aziz had them under and how much pull he had. Still, he didn't anticipate us being able to break through all that."
"Ohhh," Abu acknowledged.
At that moment, the mention of his name made Aziz start laughing. At first it was low, but then it quickly rose, bubbling over into hysterical gasps that echoed through the passage. It made all of them tense and silent.
Except Iago. "What's his problem?"
"Nothing, you foolish bird." Aziz's sudden humor vanished quickly. "I'm stunned. All of this effort and power I've expended to get my revenge against you lot. Especially you, Aladdin! I played you against your friends, made you keep secrets, worked you down to the lowest point I thought you could go. Your Genie and your Carpet aren't even here. Yet, you still dare to defy me!"
"Told you the first time. Don't care how much magic you have, we won't let you win." Aladdin's brows narrowed. "And none of us are willing to let you threaten us either. You've gotten away with too much of that already. And since when did you become a sorcerer?"
At that, Aziz laughed, but the tone had no humor. "Curious, are you? I should tell you how I was able to orchestrate everything, including your Thief's Game. You see, the last encounter we had banished me to the stars above. Some unlucky sap wished upon the wrong star, freeing me from my stellar prison. Of course, I thought I was free - with new magic to wield. Alas." Aziz's smile faltered long enough that all of them realized he was walking through his own memories and cringing.
After a beat, Aziz continued. "I didn't have unlimited powers, only as much as I could gather. Even now, I'm still tethered to the sky. A different type of imprisonment than even your once captive Genie had. I don't grant wishes. It's more that I act by my own will up until the cup is empty. Then it has to be refilled. I sensed a town of magic nearby, came upon Gloloria shortly after. Imagine my surprise when I learned you all were here."
"So you sensed the magic in town. And guessing by that, Genie's presence as well," Jasmine mused, not directly looking at Aziz when she mentioned it.
"Of course I did. I saw my opportunity, wanted to get revenge. But I had to know what the history of the town was like and why you all were treated as honored guests. I had a feeling that it was more than just your standard royalties. Then I learned the tale of the Deathseeker."
"That's why you stole the scrolls and attacked me," Remi said, directly looking at Aziz when he said it. Aziz paid the archivist little attention, only to huff at the detail.
"Well, I'll admit cheating with my magic, but I also wanted a bargaining chip. And since I knew I could barter against magic, I decided to loop Aladdin in a Thief's Game to do my bidding. Of course, I wanted to tease him into thinking there was another demon, another god aside from the defeated Deathseeker. Inflict as much pain and isolation on him just short of killing him."
"Get to the point, Aziz. We already know that much," Aladdin snapped. "Why did you have me get Saztou's key from the lighthouse?"
"Because it's a path towards freedom through the darkest magic. I don't want to be tied to the stars anymore. Put simply, I want to become the next Deathseeker."
"What?" Remi, Jasmine, Abu, and Iago all spoke the same phrase, with Aladdin only standing in silence.
"Of course he would," Iago said, rolling his eyes. "Becoming the next evil deity incarnate. Insert his menacing cackle that I won't be able to wipe my memory of."
It was a long time before Aladdin spoke again. "And what exactly would you gain from that?" Abu thought it wasn't an unfair question. The Deathseeker - despite its massive power and influence - had a lot of limitations. Especially when he was downgraded from a sky god to a demon who could only leave the sea for so long.
At this, Aziz laughed again, more bitter, before he started clicking his tongue in disappointment. "Aladdin, Aladdin, Aladdin. I would have thought better of you than to ask such a dull question. But if you already know and you're humoring me, I'll tell you anyway. I gain control of the magic history and footprint of this town. Also, to retrace the Deathseeker's path of fear control - that kind of power is priceless."
Aladdin's anger had already been simmering from what Abu noticed, but it fully boiled over at Aziz's last point. "So you would continue to torture this town for generations like the Deathseeker did? I used to think you were bitter against me because you lost your humanity from being trapped in the Destiny Stone. But there was no part of you that was human to begin with!"
Aziz snorted, waiving away Aladdin's sudden surge of emotion like it was nothing new. "Yeah, yeah, only a goody-goody like you would point out something like that. I stopped caring about my humanity and humans a long time ago. I have magic power now. My current plan gives me a win on three levels." Aziz counted the reasons on his fingers as he recited them. "I get to be free from my starry prison, I get to gain unimaginable power to not only take over this town, but all of the seven deserts. And the last one is my absolute favorite! Can you guess, street rat?"
Aladdin almost charged forward to fight Aziz, but Jasmine and Remi held him back.
"Don't do it, your highness," Remi said in a voice loud enough only Aladdin and Abu could hear. "He's trying to bait you into a fight. Don't take it."
Jasmine placed a hand against Aladdin's chest. "I don't want you to get hurt, Aladdin. Please."
Aladdin stepped back as his friends let him god, but his words were spoken through his teeth. "That's the problem though, because that's the third reason he's doing all this. And not just me, he wants to hurt all of us. Am I right?" Aladdin had addressed Jasmine, but his last pointed question was aimed at Aziz, who was grinning so widely that it made his features more twisted. Abu wanted to throw up, at both the reality of Aziz's plan, and the way Aziz looked - more monster than human.
"You're right, of course. But I suppose if you're not going to hand over the key, I'll have to play the next hand of my game. And break a promise I made to you," Aziz said.
Aladdin raised a brow. "Yeah? What promise was that?"
"You have a short memory. Or maybe you're trying to play off your fear of my threat." Abu wasn't sure which - if either of Aziz's terms - applied to Aladdin. But he could definitely tell Aladdin was nervous from the way the prince's hands clenched at his sides. "Doesn't matter - I'll remind you. I made a promise that the next time we met, when I found you, I'd kill you. But wait." Aziz stopped talking, considering a thought that hadn't completely occurred to him. Then his grin widened. "Actually, I take that back. I might be keeping my promise after all."
"If you try to hurt Aladdin, you'll have to get through us first," Jasmine said. "Not to say that he couldn't fight on his own, but you've been taking unfair advantages over him this whole time."
"Aladdin didn't deserve you using us to manipulate him into doing whatever you wanted," Remi followed. "That was beyond cruel. I haven't known them for all that long, but I know the Prince and Princess of Agrabah are among the bravest people I know. Their friends are really supportive too. If you think we'd ever hate Aladdin for trying to do the right thing, you're wrong."
Aladdin turned to look between Jasmine and Remi then, nodding slowly in silent thanks.
But Aziz didn't back down from his twisted sense of glee. "Oh, I'm well aware of that. That's exactly the barrier I've needed to remove this entire time. Becoming a monster, I've realized there's more than one way to kill a human. There's a certain art to it. I tried to take one approach at doing it, but it's failed every single effort because I forgot to consider how close you all were. That's a mistake I'll remedy. Right about...now. " Aziz used both of his gloved hands to snap in sync.
A large, orange crystal appeared, positioned next to Aziz and showing a view of the town of Gloloria within its depths.
"Why do I get the feelin' this is a bad sign?" Iago said with a grimace.
"This is like one of the crystals you had in your lair," Aladdin said, frowning.
"Not quite," Aziz said. "This particular crystal is just a mirror. A mirror of things that have already past, so no need of getting upset by what you see. Your Carpet and Genie are already witnesses to it. Since you're all preventing me from accessing the treasure I seek, it makes sense to compensate by taking something that's valuable to you. I took it upon myself to select a special number of the townspeople that you've come to know in Gloloria. Do these faces ring any bells to you, Aladdin?"
That's when they all saw the events that had taken place in town, just moments after they left the archive.
Genie had been relieved to get Carpet back to his usual, less panicky self. It wasn't without challenges. It ended up that more than a few of Gloloria's usual residents saw Genie in distress as he was dragged into town. Carpet and Genie slammed through more than a few piles of chopped wood and crates full of supplies. Not that any of the citizens of Gloloria minded the damage. The Deathseeker had given them plenty of practice in recovering and rebuilding things quickly.
Arzin was a little more than vexed, though. He'd been among the villagers who'd helped Genie get Carpet to calm down. Still, he understood what happened. Once Genie filled him in, his annoyance dialed back.
"So you're saying the thief - Aziz - put your friend under a spell, which caused that to happen?"
Genie's shoulders slumped. "Yeah, caused a lot of damage back at the archive. Remi doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would mind it, but it's not an excuse. Hopefully he and the others are okay. Iago was put under the same spell, but he hadn't woken up last we checked."
Arzin folded his arms across his chest. "Before you clean the mess there, I suggest you help us mend what you broke here."
Genie and Carpet shared sheepish reactions to his blunt command, but they knew he was right. A few gestures and flourishes of Genie's magic made quick work of bringing most everything in town back to normal.
But the moment Genie looked over Arzin's shoulder to see Ezele running toward them, he knew something was very wrong.
"Genie, thank goodness. Hoped I'd find you close by." The medic's face was pale, his usually calm demeanor shaken by something none of them understood.
Even Arzin was taken aback. "You look like you just witnessed something foul, brother."
Ezele took a moment to catch his breath after running, but he still looked no less upset. "Yirya, Miza...I scarcely believe it myself, but they've vanished."
Genie smiled a little, though it wasn't one of humor but discomfort. "Aww, I'm sure they're somewhere around..."
When Ezele shook his head, Genie stopped mid-sentence. There was something he clearly was missing, so he let the medic continue. "No, not that at all. It would be one thing if I didn't know where they were. I witnessed them disappearing before my eyes." None of them spoke as Ezele continued, his voice shaking. "It was Miza first. Yirya had been preparing a meal. Miza said she didn't feel well. At first, I thought it was a common malady that any child may get, something my medicine could cure. When she fell to the floor, she vanished right in front of us. It gave Yirya such a fright, but then she..."
Carpet used his knobs to pat Ezele on the back as the medic couldn't find the words to finish.
"She disappeared too," Genie finished, his expression more somber as the medic nodded. "When did this happen?"
"Just now," Ezele said. "I ran out of my home, hoping they may reappear close by, but there's no trace of them. Not in the house, and not here. I was hoping you would..."
A series of screams came from the diner then, making Genie snap to attention as he definitely felt something of a heavy, magic presence rush by him. He couldn't see it - semi-phenomenal abilities and all that - but he definitely knew something happened.
"Whatever magic trickery it is, it won't hurt another soul in this village as far as I'm concerned," Arzin said, before running off ahead of them to the diner.
"Arzin, wait! Your sword can't cut through anything that can't be seen!" Ezele shouted, running after his brother.
Genie looked at Carpet. "I think we may be able to help them if we can make that enemy 'seen' - get me, Rug Man?"
Carpet gave him a thumbs up before Genie nodded, his expression more serious. "Let's go."
They arrived to see people running out of the diner in a panic. Genie and Carpet didn't just see people disappearing, but objects too. There was definitely something in the diner that was the causing people and things to disappear. Genie could get a vague sense of it, not unlike the dark magic inside the key that Aladdin possessed.
But Genie realized they were too late as another townsperson had vanished, and Arzin had raised his sword in the area near the invisible attacker, ready to strike.
"Arzin, don't do it!" As the words left Ezele, they all saw Arzin fade into nothing, his sword falling harmlessly to the floor.
Genie aimed his magic in the direction he thought the magic being would go. His guess was right, but it only illuminated the edge of it, just before it went invisible again.
"Carpet, I'm going to need your help corralling this thing, before it starts making other people disappear." Genie said, before looking over his shoulder to the medic. "Ezele, can you help guide people out of the diner? I get the feeling it's gonna try to target people that get near it."
"Y-yes. Absolutely." Ezele helped a few of the diner's regulars out of the door then, while Genie focused his magic to see where the thing had gone. It became clear as a nearby table disappeared. At the moment when another villager would have vanished, Genie used his magic to make a pitcher full of milk appear in his hand, then splashed it all on the invisible enemy. Genie was sure no one else other than him and Carpet could hear it, but dowsing the figure in milk made it give a little screech as it recoiled.
It was enough to allow the villager to get away, at least. But Genie had a moment of pause as he realized what the thing was.
It was a shadow. A shadow of Aziz himself. It was using its own form of breath magic to make what it willed disappear.
"Talk about a complex," Genie said with a grimace. "At least it doesn't repel my magic. If anything...looks like it might be trying to avoid me and Carpet."
Carpet was antagonizing the shadow with his knobs in a series of air punches. The shadow flinched and recoiled with each punch. The milk made the shadow visible to almost everyone who was still in the diner. Genie was glad that, at least, made people inside aware of what they needed to avoid while getting out.
The shadow realized any further attempts at catching people were futile, disappearing as quickly as it came. The only trace of it remaining was a small puddle of milk on the floor. Genie felt relief as the dark magic quickly left the diner. Nothing remained inside but him, Carpet, and a number of broken pieces of furniture, at least of those that didn't vanish.
"Guess that took care of it. Let's check on everyone outside." Genie transformed into the uniform of an exterminator, sporting a hose that was intended as a long tube of bug spray. Most of the crowd who saw him were confused, but relieved at Genie's words. "All right, everybody in. Monster's gone. All of you can go; it's not comin' back anytime soon. The Rug and I took care of 'im."
A chorus of relieved voices and "thank yous" came from the crowd as they passed Genie to return inside. But it still didn't stem the worry that went through the crowd - as well as Genie and Carpet. Where had Aziz's shadow taken the missing people? And were they okay?
There was one other thing that bothered Genie as soon as he noticed. Ezele was not among the people standing in the crowd. Genie transformed back into his usual form, made it a point to stop a curious kid who was looking over his shoulder a distance away.
"Uh, excuse me, you wouldn't happen to know where Ezele went, do you?"
The boy perked up. "Ezele went to the inn not too long ago. I think he wanted to check on Miss Tani."
Genie winced. He didn't think about the danger of the shadow attacking other places in town. He turned to Carpet. "We need to get over there fast. I have a bad feeling about this."
It didn't take them long to appear inside the inn, but what Genie feared had been the truth as he looked around. Broken pieces of furniture, missing items, but it didn't look like anyone was there.
"Ezele? Tani?" Genie called out. His voice betrayed his nerves.
Carpet was quick to point out a familiar figure on the far end of the hallway, kneeling just inside a doorway. Genie recognized Ezele, whose head was bent down to where Genie couldn't see his expression.
"Ezele? What happened? Where's Tani?" Genie asked as he put his hands gently on the medic's shoulders. He could feel Ezele's form shaking under his touch, but the medic didn't look up, his voice quiet.
"The monster took everyone, Genie. My family...it took everyone."