Chapter 23: Not What It Seems

"All right, I'm goin' in!" Genie transformed into a proper adventurer, donning a wide brimmed hat, climbing gear, a pick-axe on his back, and several other trinkets around his waist that Carpet wasn't sure what they could be used for. Nonetheless, the magic rug flew in front of Genie to stop him from going to the large platform, waving his knobs in protest.

Genie's expression fell. "Believe me when I say I don't wanna go in there! But they've been down there a while. What if something bad happened? I can't just stand here with quivering knees while they try to fight their way out!"

Carpet candidly pointed to Genie's knees, which were currently trembling so furiously that they made clacking sounds each time they knocked together. As soon as Genie noticed, he found a way to straighten his posture. "Okay, point taken that I've been doing that a while, but still..."

Their conversation stopped when the platform ahead of them started to send streams of dark smoke into the warm orange skyline. The first figure that came out of the platform, launching like a geyser of water into the air and falling fast and loudly, was a very familiar monkey.

Genie grinned. "I wanna play 'catch the monkey'!" His hands transformed into butterfly nets, which he held out as he moved around to anticipate where Abu would land. Landing in Genie's right net, Abu panicked a moment before he recognized where he was and who had caught him.

"Hey monkey, long time no see." Genie started to say more, but his face suddenly turned to a pale green. Carpet recognized it was the effects of the key, which Abu still held tightly in his paws. Genie was quick to gently break the bottom of the net Abu was held within onto Carpet.

Genie built a long, impenetrable brick wall between himself, the rug, and monkey. If it were up to Carpet and Abu to judge, they both thought the semi-phenomenal being was taking things too far.

Genie took a long, shaky breath. "I think we're good now. Sorry, Abu - I still can't stand that thing."

"Okay, okay," Abu said with a groan.

"So where's Al and Ezele?" As soon as Genie asked the question, Ezele appeared, though not with as much of a flourish as Abu had come from the platform. The dark mist had shoved Ezele out, to where he landed with something in his hands. It didn't take long for Genie to recognize what it was, which made him retreat back behind the wall he'd constructed around himself. "Oh hey Ezele! Nice to see you're okay! I would really, REALLY like to give you a big bear hug to welcome you back, but you're also carrying something that's really bad. Guess you found the treasure after all."

Ezele slowly stood, brushing the sand from his clothes and holding the treasure box close to his side. "Yes, Aladdin gave it to me just before we went through the exit." Ezele's eyes widened as he realized that himself and Abu had been the only ones that came through. "That's very odd. He's not here yet."

Genie momentarily made a hole in the wall, enough to fit his face through as worry creased his brow.

In much the same manner that Abu had appeared, the dark mist used an incredible amount of force to propel the once missing prince high into the air. Carpet was quick to react, setting Abu safely on the ground before shooting upward to catch the prince as he tumbled fast towards the sand below him.

Aladdin whistled with relief as Carpet caught him mid air, far enough above ground that Genie, Abu, and Ezele all looked up at him. "Nice catch, Carpet. Wasn't expecting that kind of exit."

"If it makes you feel any better kiddo, Abu arrived the same way you did!" Genie said with a wave.

Aladdin laughed. "In any case, glad to see you guys are all right." His expression fell as he noticed the color of the horizon. "Oh no, we're gonna be late if we don't get going soon. We really did spend a lot of time in there."

"Your highness, what about the plan?" Ezele said. That particular note got Genie's attention, long enough for him to use his magic to dissolve the wall around him.

"We can talk about it on the way there. We won't have much time to prep, but if everything goes smoothly, then Aziz won't know what hit him until it's too late," Aladdin said, his hand running along Carpet's rim. "Come on, Carpet, let's pick up everyone and move."

"I can't believe it, we finally made it out! At least we were able to find a few hidden panels in the wall. Wish we knew how they were able to do that." Remi's voice didn't hide his excitement. Jasmine hated that she had to scold him.

"True, but we need to keep quiet. I don't think anyone else had the same advantage we did." That was true. Jasmine and Remi had been on the end of a row of magical dungeons. She wasn't sure if whomever had been in it before had managed to carve out those secret passages for themselves. A small part of her wondered who or what managed to get out through the smaller passages that Miza and Iago had followed. Maybe they had the ability to transform into smaller creatures. Lucky.

"Sorry Princess," Remi said with a wince. "Don't want to get us in more trouble."

Jasmine shook her head. "Let's focus on finding where Miza and Iago went." She looked along the paths around them. It wasn't clear which direction was safe and which would lead them right to Aziz. "If they had to find their way around in hidden passages, they may still be fine. But we have a bigger challenge ahead of us."

"Based on the direction of the crawlspace, we would be fine going north of here and following the route that way." Remi adjusted his glasses, blinking furiously a few times. Jasmine realized how dark it was in the caves around them. It was hard to see. She wondered if Remi was having more trouble than her.

"It might be easier to follow places where we can see where we're going," she suggested.

"That'll be dangerous, but if we stick to places with side paths to hide in, we might avoid getting caught. Fair?"

"Fair." They began following places in the turns of the cave that were lit by magic lanterns. Aziz had crafted his lair with lanterns, but they weren't many, like he'd been trying to hold back on using magic while making it. Jasmine realized that Aziz might have a limited supply of magic to work from, but it was hard to tell just how much it would take for him to completely run out.

She had been so lost in her thoughts as they moved through that she didn't notice Remi's sudden panic until his words registered. "Did you hear that? That was definitely a scream. It was in the direction we're headed. I vote we go the other way, in case it's a monster."

"Wait a minute." Jasmine tried to listen but didn't hear anything down the long path they walked. It wasn't until she began to speak again that she heard it. It was definitely coming from the path ahead of them, but she couldn't tell who or what it was.

Remi, judging from how quickly he paled, recognized the scream that time. "Not the same scream I heard before, but the one we just heard was definitely Miza."

Jasmine swallowed against the panic bubbling up in her throat. "Let's hurry."

The two of them ran down the path, not caring if they were spotted on the way through. But it wasn't long before they came across a very irritated Aziz holding Miza by the collar of her shirt in one hand, and her arm in another. They were both near a contraption - a set of magic stones that were similar in pattern to the doors that kept them all confined. To Jasmine, it was obvious what happened. Miza had tried to sneak past Aziz to free all of them while Aziz waited for Aladdin and the others to return. But the monster had discovered her plan and seized her without a second thought.

"You really thought you could free your friends and ruin my plan, didn't you?" Aziz scolded the girl. Miza looked like she was in pain from the way his vice grip closed around her wrist. She yelped from the pain of it. Jasmine felt her heart surge to her throat.

"You didn't have to hurt Birdy..." the girl managed. It wasn't until Remi gently nudged her and pointed to him that she saw Iago lying on the ground. The bird really had tried to protect Miza.

Jasmine saw no point in hiding. She wanted to do something to stop the events in motion before things got worse. As her husband would usually say: improvise. "Leave her alone, Aziz! I know enough about thief games to know that you don't hurt anyone when you still have one that's ongoing."

Aziz was surprised at first to see both Jasmine and Remi, but his mood shifted to one of a wicked grin. "Correction, Princess, I'm not allowed to kill anyone as part of the games. But I can bend the rules a bit as I need to. Especially when this little one tried to ruin MY game from within. Can't have that, now, can we?"

Aziz was prepared to use his usual breath attack, but Jasmine was ready for it. She managed to close the distance between them and shove Aziz so hard mid-breath that it disrupted his spell. It caused him to let go of Miza as he slammed against the side of the cave and slid to the ground. Even Remi was surprised at how quickly Jasmine made the move.

Aziz was still coughing by the time Remi reached both Miza and Jasmine. Miza had tears in her eyes as Jasmine hugged the girl to comfort her.

"Birdy was just trying to help Miza. Bad guy used his breath power. Birdy still hasn't woken up."

"So that's what happened," Jasmine said. "Aziz put him under some kind of sleep spell, then." She confirmed it when she found Iago was sleeping near them, his chest still rising and falling steadily. The parrot showed no signs of being hurt otherwise.

Aziz stumbled to his feet, his face red with fury. "That does it! I've had it with all of you. It's already late enough, enough to ensure that all of you are destroyed, starting with..."

"Not quite, Aziz. We arrived in time, enough to see you try to bend and break the rules."

The voice was such a relief to Jasmine that she felt her legs weaken a bit. She held Miza close to her as she looked up in the direction of the prince she knew well and loved. Aladdin stood a distance away, his eyes narrowed as he folded his arms across his chest. His gaze didn't waver from Aziz. Standing a fair distance away on his left, Genie had an equal expression of fury. Abu was at Aladdin's feet, looking about as tense as she felt holding the key close to him. If Jasmine could guess, the monkey probably hadn't released that key once in the time since she'd last seen him. On Aladdin's other side, Ezele met her gaze, nodding respectfully.

She nodded back, but looked down to check on Miza as well. The girl was so relieved to see her father that she couldn't hold back the tears in her eyes. Miza had a bruise on her wrist from where Aziz had grabbed her, but otherwise seemed okay, if a bit rattled. Jasmine couldn't blame her.

"So you finally decided to show up," Aziz said, turning his attention squarely to Abu. "I trust that you have what I've asked for. Both pieces untampered?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Abu said, frowning. He held up his key with one paw. But Jasmine saw Aladdin shrug his shoulders.

Aziz noticed, one of his brows arched with an annoyed tilt. "Where's the treasure?"

Aladdin shared a sly look with Abu, before turning his attention to Aziz. "See, here's the thing. The place had a LOT of treasures. So many that it was kinda hard to tell what box we were supposed to pick up. Abu did everything that you told him to do. He used the key like a compass to find the most 'powerful treasure' the place had to offer. But we found something odd."

"Aladdin, if you are trying to fool me..." Aziz warned, but the way Aladdin's expression darkened made Aziz pause.

"I wouldn't try to fool you when you have my family and friends' lives on the line. Maybe listen to what we have to say before you start accusing us of anything. Also, Abu's the one you have the agreement with."

Jasmine knew Aladdin was serious, no question. But something felt off about the conversation. Was he trying to make a deal with Aziz?

"Anyway, we found not just one box that fit the key, but two! They looked almost exactly alike. Based on what you told us, you had us believing we were only finding one."

At this, Aziz looked a little off-guard, his eyes shifting over two similar boxes among the group. One was held by Aladdin, the other by Ezele.

"So if anything," Aladdin said. "Abu thinks you're the one who tried to fool us. He wants to change the terms."

"Yeah, yeah!" Abu echoed.

Aziz barely suppressed a growl in his words. "How was I supposed to know there were two treasure boxes instead of one? If there is only one key, then there is only one box that it should open."

"So you're telling me that our game terms don't need to be updated?" Aladdin asked. "The Rule of Multiples for the current game has you granting us two terms." He shrugged with a grin. "Guess that means one of these treasures belong to us."

"Oh no, you don't!" Aziz snapped. "I know an obvious trick when I see it. We will update this wager. You will give me both treasure boxes AND the key."

"In exchange for what? I can think of a few things. First that you allow the safe release of every single one of those you captured out of this cave."

Aziz grinned. "Don't you mean every single person?"

"No, because you would have used it as an excuse to keep Iago captured," Aladdin said as he watched Remi picked up a still sleeping Iago from the ground. Jasmine had picked up on the trick in the phrase. She was glad that Aladdin hadn't been fooled.

Aziz clicked his tongue. "I thought I was making the deal with the monkey, not you, street rat. In case you forgot."

Aladdin ignored him, turning to the monkey. "Go on, Abu. You've got this."

Abu didn't hesitate to name his terms. Jasmine watched Aziz's expression transform to one of amusement and agreement, but Abu's last request made the monster's jaw drop.

"No! Why would you think I'd agree to that?!"

Aladdin smiled. "So you're saying that you won't agree to all three of Abu's terms - free everyone you captured, never return to Gloloria or its surrounding areas, AND never open those treasure boxes?"

"Perhaps now would be a good time to remind you of the 'trickery' clause of our thief's game," Aziz said, his grin widened as Aladdin's fell. "If one of the parties suspects the other is trying to give him a bad deal, the original terms apply, plus the one making the request can amend their request. Since Abu here has the appearance of doing that, I'll request both the key and the treasure. I get to choose which box I'll take. In return, I'll free everyone and agree that I will NEVER set foot in Gloloria again. Two requests, two promises. So you can't rule against the Rule of Multiples. Since the power contained in the treasure is worth the amount of people I'm freeing, maybe even more, I'm letting you off VERY easy."

Jasmine felt like a knot had formed in her stomach at the deal, but she didn't say anything as Abu slowly nodded. Aladdin's own brow creased with worry, but he remained silent as he stood next to the monkey. Genie looked like he was close to throwing up, and Jasmine couldn't tell if it was his anxiety or the effect of the key Abu held.

Maybe the key and the treasure boxes were making Genie sick. She felt bad for him.

With a wave of his hand, Aziz produced a small glowing stone - similar to ones that were in odd places scattered around the cave - and blew on it with his breath magic. The effect was immediate. Every single one of the villagers from Gloloria that had been captured appeared before them. Jasmine was able to make a note of just how many Aziz had taken captive. Yirya immediately spotted Jasmine and Miza. Miza didn't hesitate to rush towards her mother's waiting embrace.

"I suggest if you wish to leave now, don't make me wait!" Aziz snapped at the group, who collectively tensed, some even wincing. "Any of you who want to try to use this opportunity for a sneak attack," Aziz paused long enough to look at Arzin, who stood near Yirya and Miza protectively. "I might remind you that the terms of your freedom are conditional. I can and will recapture all of you if even one steps out of line. It is a game, after all."

Ezele took the time then to motion the group in his direction. "Everyone - the exit's this way. Hurry!" Jasmine and Remi took the moment to join Aladdin, Ezele, Genie and Abu. Iago had woken up, still groggy and disoriented, but he seemed to be aware that everyone was leaving.

"Why didn't anyone give me a heads up on the show being over? So did Aziz kick the bucket or what?"

"Hush, Iago. We're not done," Jasmine said quickly, looking over her shoulder quickly before turning back to the bird and Remi. Thankfully Aziz hadn't heard. "Remi, can you take Iago with you? It would make me feel better knowing he's safe."

Remi nodded. "Of course, your highness. I don't mind at all." Remi turned to look at Ezele. "Are you coming with us?"

Ezele hesitated, but Jasmine held out her hands for the treasure box. "I can take it. Gives me an excuse to stay with Aladdin and the others. Yirya and Miza need you. " It was only then that Jasmine realized that Carpet was missing. Ezele handed her the treasure box, joining the others as they disappeared down the winding cave path to the outside.

As Jasmine turned to face him, Aladdin shook his head, his voice only loud enough for her to hear. "Don't, Jasmine. Please go with the others. We can take it from here." Jasmine started to protest, but Aladdin was quick to respond. "Everything should work as long as it goes according to plan. The terms of the game aren't flexible as they stand. Ezele's not bound to it because he joined us after the fact, but you are."

Jasmine sighed. "Of course. But considering where you just came from, you..." She trailed off as she motioned to Aladdin's torn sleeve. He didn't look injured, but she could definitely tell Aladdin was tired.

"Wasn't as bad as we thought, actually. I'll explain more later. We'll join you guys as soon as we can."

"You'd better make sure that's true," she said, before handing him the treasure box. Both boxes were small, enough for Aladdin to hold both of them in his arms. Once she knew he had them, Jasmine used one of her hands to cup the side of his face, then pressed her lips against his in a quick kiss. She saw a flicker of worry cross his expression as they pulled apart, but it disappeared he nodded firmly.

Whatever they were planning, Jasmine thought as she joined the others, she hoped it worked.

Aladdin swallowed against the lump in his throat. Now or never. So far, so good.

"Now then," Aziz said clapping his hands together. "First, the key. Only fair since I let everyone go, as planned." His gaze moved over Aladdin, Genie, and Abu as they stood a distance away from him. Aladdin looked down by his feet to Abu, giving a short nod. Abu didn't appear to want to let the key go, but he set it down on the ground, kicking and letting it spin in Aziz's direction. Aziz stopped the key with his boot.

Aladdin noticed something he'd hadn't before in Aziz's reaction. He was reacting to the key with much the same disgust as Genie. So it does affect him.

"Now, which treasure do I choose?" Aziz's eyes carefully scrutinized the boxes in Aladdin's arms. Aladdin hoped he hid his expression not to give away anything, hoped that Aziz wouldn't see past the trick. Not until it was too late.

"I'll go with that one - it looks like it's reacting to the key quite nicely. Put it down, street rat. Kick it over to me."

Aladdin did as he was told, biting back as much of his reaction as he could muster in the moment. To Aziz, it probably appeared that Aladdin was disgusted at being told what to do.

"Now, I'll be opening this and making my final wish - before all of you." Aziz grinned widely. "You are all fools."

"What do you mean?" Aladdin said, his teeth clenched.

"I did promise that I would never set foot in Gloloria again. I plan on honoring that." Aziz's grin widened. "But I never said that the me reborn as the Deathseeker wouldn't. Meet your death, street rat."

Aziz used one of his gloved hands to pick up the key, the other to pick up the treasure box. Aladdin still held the other in his own arms. He didn't react until the very moment Aziz used the key to turn the lock of the chest.

That was because Aladdin knew Aziz wouldn't see the moment he smiled. Gotcha.

Several things happened at once. Carpet was quick to leap from the fake treasure box once it opened. The fake treasure box and Carpet hiding within it had been Aladdin's idea. Genie created a replica the best he could, well enough to work the trap. The magic rug made sure to cover Aziz's face fully, providing a welcome distraction.

"Genie, go!" Aladdin shouted. Genie never looked more eager to use his magic in the moment, making a few ice slicks beneath the monster's feet to make Aziz lose balance and fall to the ground. Aziz flopped around like a fish on dry land, using his hands to try to pull the rug off him.

In the meantime, Aladdin held the treasure box- the real one - to his chest and made his way down the path, deeper into the cave. Abu wasn't far behind him, reclaiming the key that he'd once handed over to Aziz.

If this was going to work, Aladdin thought, Abu and him would have to be able to do the thing at the exact same time, with a timely assist with Genie. Otherwise, if the power contained in the treasure box was as powerful as claimed, none of them would make it out of there alive.

Aladdin stopped and turned to look over his shoulder, seeing Abu not far away. Unfortunately, Aziz had gained an upper hand, hitting Genie with a few magic attacks that weren't limited to breath magic. Aladdin could tell that Genie was hurting in the back and forth power blasts, but Aziz wasn't using his full power.

Carpet was trying his best to help. After Aziz managed to pull Carpet from him, the monster had momentarily frozen the rug with ice breath magic, Carpet was eventually unthawed by Genie letting off a few fire blasts - one of which burned Aziz's left leg while the other melted the ice around the rug.

Still, Aziz wasn't fazed and used his momentum to race after Aladdin and Abu.

"You will pay Aladdin! You may have found a way to skirt the terms of the game, but I will get that treasure and key from you, even if I have to burn the flesh from your bones!"

Oh boy. Aladdin winced, his mind racing as he realized Aziz was preparing another attack, one aimed straight at him and Abu. Looks like we'll have to move up this plan a little sooner than expected. Come on, Genie.

As if he'd heard Aladdin's thoughts, Genie disappeared and reappeared behind them as Aziz took a long breath. It was strange that Aziz wasn't using his other source of power, but Aladdin realized it may have been that Aziz had used all of the "well" of magic that he'd could in the moment - at least from the star he'd been tethered to.

As soon as Aziz let off the powerful fire magic blast, Aladdin was ready. "Now, Abu!"

Abu didn't hesitate as they both threw the treasure box and the key directly into the line of fire. Genie let off a fire blast of his own, before throwing his body protectively over Aladdin and Abu for the blast they all knew was coming. Carpet stealthily moved out of the way of both the converging magic blasts to reveal to Aziz what they had done...and what was about to happen.

"NO!" Aziz screamed.

At the moment both magic blasts met the treasure and key, everything exploded.

Ezele knew Aladdin's plan well enough that he'd had to get every single person out of the immediate area of the caves. He'd managed to tell Jasmine, Remi, and Arzin enough to give them the general idea.

But even he was stunned by the shaking ground and sudden collapse of the cave they'd left behind. The whole towering column of rock came crashing down amid puffy clouds of dark smoke, magic, ash, and whatever else had been in the treasure box. Several inhuman screams - Aziz from the sound of it - echoed loudly before they faded in the air. In spurts, it looked like several bright shards of light shot up into the sky among the smoke, shooting stars rising upward into the starry night.

Ezele's horror was slowly realized as he looked at the large boulders and debris left behind. Aladdin, Genie, Abu, and Carpet were nowhere to be seen.

Arzin groaned a distance away from his brother. The blast had knocked several of the rescued Glolorian townspeople to the ground, including Miza and her mother Yirya. Arzin quickly checked to make sure they were all right - as did Ezele - before speaking to his brother. "So am I to take it that the matter is done? That magic thief - no, demon, is defeated?"

Ezele slowly rose to his feet. "I would assume so. But..." He looked to his other side to see Jasmine standing a distance away from him. She stared in disbelief at the remains of the cave and rocky pillar. Iago's own beak dropped as he flew in place not far away from her. He realized that they both believed the worst had happened. Ezele saw her eyes fill with tears.

"No...no, don't you dare tell me that they..." She began to rush towards the wreckage, but Remi was quick to stop her, extending an arm to keep her from moving forward.

"Princess, it's too dangerous. You could get hurt!" He made the statement just as another explosion rocked the area around them. But this time, from within the billowing clouds of dark smoke and lingering dark magic among the rocks, a very familiar yell came within a rushing gush of blue sparkling magic. It shot up into the sky a fair distance, much like the starlights they'd seen earlier.

"Wah-hoooooooooooo!" Genie emerged, holding the end of a large rocket shaped like a monkey (well, a robot version of Abu) that landed not far from where the group of rescued townspeople were. Genie safely set the giant rocket down on the sands, before wiping his brow. "Whew, give me a minute. Took a little time to travel from the center of the earth back up here. Most explosions go up, but that took us way down beneath the ground. Kinda glad it didn't do as much damage up here. But, fair warning, I wouldn't go anywhere near that place. I tried to fill in the hole we made as we came back up, but there's still a large crater there. Step the wrong way and you'll definitely fall for a little while."

Jasmine looked ready to ask how the others were, but the door to the rocket opened. Abu was the first to emerge, appearing dazed as he barely managed to stay on his feet moving forward. He walked as if he'd been physically spun around several times. He collapsed just near Iago, who flew down to the ground near where the monkey lay.

"Yeesh, monkey, you look like you just ran through a fire pit," Iago said, noting the monkey was covered in dark ash in patches on his fur. The monkey glared at him, but didn't say anything as he coughed.

Next came Carpet, who was missing entire sections of his form as he stepped out of the rocket's door. He'd definitely been burned by fire, from the look of it. He had the same dizzying movement as Abu, but didn't collapse the way the monkey did. Instead, Carpet slumped in upright sitting position on the sands, folding his knobs across his form. It appeared that the magic rug was giving Genie the equivalent of a side-eye glance.

Genie smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck with one of his hands. "Sorry Rug Man, I wasn't able to protect you from that big fireball as well as the others. But at least you can be put back together with magic. Al and Abu? Not so much." He used his magic to repair Carpet's missing sections, but parts of Carpet were still covered with ash.

Jasmine, Remi, and Ezele then looked at Aladdin, who was the last to emerge from the rocket. Aladdin usually had poofy hair, but his current hairstyle stuck up at many awkward angles, more spiky than floofy. The prince groaned before speaking. "While I appreciate that you prevented us from being burned to death, Genie, that could have gone a little smoother. At least we made it out in one piece." Aladdin frowned as he looked at the remains of his tunic, his clothes mostly tattered from head to foot and missing sections with the charred fabric. He coughed a few times before speaking again. "This is worse than the rags I used to wear living on the streets of Agrabah. Guess the star doesn't fall far from where it was born, so to speak."

Jasmine didn't appear to care about the remains of Aladdin's tattered clothes as she threw her arms around her husband. The prince welcomed the embrace as cheers erupted among the group.

Ezele managed to find his words as he approached the royal couple, Remi and Arzin not far behind him. "I can't believe your plan actually worked."

Arzin folded his arms across his chest, snorting. "Talk about reckless."

Remi laughed. "At least it worked - they're all okay. We're all okay! But...like Arzin asked earlier - does this mean Aziz is really gone?"

Aladdin looked back over his shoulder to the site of the crumbled cave and pillar. "For now, I think. We destroyed the treasure and the key using a combination of Genie's magic and Aziz's own power. He wanted to use the treasure to free himself and become the Deathseeker - at least another form of it. The crystals in that cave were like power holders. He could only refill them each day at a certain time and by doing certain things. So if you combine all that power together at once - you get what happened back there." He pointed behind him at the wreckage.

Genie grinned. "He says 'we', but Al put together the plan with me filling in on the technical magic details."

"It wouldn't have worked if we didn't all do our part, Genie," Aladdin said, running his hand nervously through his hair and trying to smooth it back as best he could. "That includes Jasmine, Ezele, and Remi making sure everyone got out safely."

Iago rolled his eyes. "Oh sure, the 'everybody's a hero' technicality."

Jasmine smiled a little. "Well, that does include you, Iago. You protected Miza back there. Don't think we didn't notice."

Ezele turned to Iago, giving the bird a swift bow. "Thank you for protecting my daughter."

Iago, for a moment, looked stunned. "Someone's actually acknowledging somethin' I did? Well then." He grinned widely. "See, told you I liked this guy. He knows heroics when he sees it."

Jasmine rolled her eyes. "Love how I pointed out the fact that he was a hero and he completely ignores me."

Aladdin laughed. "Well, at least we noticed. Me included." He looked beyond at the townspeople who cheered and celebrated behind them. "Think we need to get everyone back to town. Safe to say that, for now, whatever was left of that game is over."

Genie had used his magic to create several imitational forms of Carpet to fly the rescued villagers back to Gloloria. He lead the group forward through the night sky with Aladdin, Jasmine, Iago and Abu following at the very rear.

Aladdin was glad to have a chance to breathe a little easier - Aziz was gone, banished to the star he'd come from more than likely. But something still didn't sit right with him.

Jasmine was quick to pick up on Aladdin's discomfort, much to his chagrin. "You're really quiet. Guess you guys went through a lot back there."

"There's a lot to catch you all up on." Aladdin admitted. "But I'd rather wait until we get some shut eye. Tomorrow's another day." He looked along the horizon of the desert, the moon fully shown over the shimmering sands on the outskirts of Gloloria.

"The kid hits the point on the head," Iago said with a yawn. "All this impending doom and danger really makes you wanna hit the hay."

"You sure that's not the lingering effects of Aziz's magic on you?" Aladdin said, one of his brows raised.

"Hey, I include being put under a sleep spell as 'impending doom and danger', okay?" Iago said with a shrug. "Same difference."

Carpet appeared to move his knobs as if he were laughing, but had to focus on steering them forward through the sky. The only one of them who didn't seem to be laughing was Abu. Aladdin noticed before any of them that the monkey appeared to be struggling.

"Abu? What's wrong, pal?"

That got both Jasmine's and Iago's attention as they noticed what Aladdin already had. Abu was hunched over with pain, his arms hugging his middle. He shivered and didn't appear to hear Aladdin at all.

"Monkey, if you're contagious, you'd better keep as far away from me as possible," Iago said, moving a few inches away from the monkey. "Not trying to get whatever bug or flea that's rolling around."

"This isn't funny, Iago! Leave him alone," Aladdin snapped before turning his attention back to Abu, using his hands to lift Abu and pull the monkey to him. Aladdin's tunic was still burned and torn in several places, but he was able to cradle Abu against him in an effort to keep the monkey warm. But no matter how much he tried, Abu wouldn't stop shivering. Not to mention the fact he was whimpering something that Aladdin couldn't understand.

"Abu, tell me what's wrong. Please."

"I don't think he can hear you, Aladdin." Jasmine said, looking as worried as Aladdin felt. "It's like he's in some kind of fever dream."

"He wasn't like this before when we left. Everything was fine. Carpet, maybe you should..." Aladdin had meant to say that Carpet should stop, but the words never came as he felt a sharp pain cut his words short. It was as if an ice pick had pierced his heart, filling him with a cold that flooded through his body. He couldn't speak. He couldn't scream. He was aware that Jasmine and Iago had noticed something happened to him too, but he couldn't respond to them.

You really thought this was over, didn't you?

I-it can't be. Not you. But we stopped it. We stopped it! You weren't supposed to be here.

In darkness, all things can resurface if called upon. Finally have a chance to finish what I started. I'm going to relish making you relive the roulette of deaths in your nightmares, before I select the one that shall seal your fate. That demon had the right mentality - it's your destiny to die. And in the midst of that, you'll see everyone you care about fall as well.

No way. Not now, not ever, not if I have to say anything about...

"Aladdin, snap out of it!" Jasmine's words registered with Aladdin through the haze of a waking nightmare, but he still couldn't focus. He realized that Abu had completely fallen under whatever spell had claimed him as he lay in slumber on Carpet's surface. He'd fallen out of Aladdin's hands at some point. Aladdin was struggling to stay awake, to keep whatever had done the same to Abu from taking him too.

"Jasmine...we didn't...we have to...it's not..." Aladdin's throat burned as he tried to speak, his mind a jumble of racing thoughts that were clear to him, but didn't come forth when spoken.

Jasmine, we have to warn Genie. We didn't stop anything. It's not what it seems.

"Okay, now I'm panicking, what's wrong with him and the monkey? They weren't like this before! The monkey has this weird glossy eyed, struggle breathing, sleep thing going on. And Al doesn't look like he's too far from that either!" Iago said, his own voice rising with panic.

"Carpet, stop! Please stop!" Jasmine's words were sharp and quick. Carpet obeyed, but his momentum was far too much, far too abrupt for the strength that Aladdin felt leave him.

The air still rushed around him long after Carpet had stopped mid-air. And it was only then he realized - just barely - that he was plummeting far and fast to the cliffs and rocks below them.