Previously:

"I see…" the Djinn of the dungeon said once he was done 'talking' with Ugo. "Well, I think I understand the situation now. Proper introductions are in order. My name is Amon, Djinn of politeness and austerity. And from what I understand, you all came through this dungeon to meet me, did you not? Congratulations… You have 'cleared' this dungeon!"

"!!" They gasped excitedly.

"We cleared it!!!" Alibaba exclaimed.

"Awesome sauce!!!" Faith cheered, throwing her hands up in the air. Now they were getting somewhere!

Chapter 18: Clear

"Hey there! Amon-kun… I'm Aladdin." Aladdin said, introducing himself with a little wave, while Alibaba and Faith were preoccupied with inspecting (more like spazzing out over) the treasure. "Nice to meet you…?"

"Yes… But I know who you are, magi." The Djinn answered respectfully.

"What's a… magi…?" Aladdin asked.

"…" Amon glanced at Ugo and waited for his approval before speaking. "A magi is someone who chooses kings. Throughout history, every king has been chosen by a magi. Wherever mankind gathers, there is a need for a king to unify them properly. There is someone who is destined to become king. And to seek this person out, discover him, to him and train him well… a wise man has been sent to this world by our great king. O reincarnation of our beloved Solomon… that is who you are." He explained.

"…" Ugo watched silently as Aladdin pondered what he had just heard.

"Hey, did I just hear someone mentions King Solomon?" Faith asked, perking up when she heard what sounded like something familiar being mentioned. She was now completely decked out from head to toe in fine jewelry. "What's some dude from the old testament got do with Aladdin? Did you guys just say something about Aladdin being his replacement?"

"O-Old testament…?" Amon asked, dumbfounded. What was this girl talking about? Why did she seem to know about their great king!? Ugo calmed him by explaining something some more hand signs. "Oh, I see… Well, the answer to your question is probably 'nothing'. The Solomon you are referring to is from another world, correct?"

"Oh. Now that you mention it…" Faith said, sweat-dropping, as she smiled a bit wryly at herself for jumping the gun like that.

"Hey, um… What about the treasure??" Alibaba asked excitedly, clutching an armful of golden goods. "Don't we get a treasure? Or, hey, since I cleared the dungeon, can I have this?"

"What a noisy runt you are…" Amon said, sweat-dropping. To think that was his king vessel… "Fine, take whatever you want, and be quiet!"

"Yeeaahhh!!" Alibaba cheered, running off to grab more stuff. Amon heaved a sigh.

"Why would you bring a brat like him along?" the Djinn asked Aladdin. The girl was somewhat annoying too, but at least she wasn't drooling all over everything.

"Er, what do you mean?" Aladdin asked, confused. "Never mind, that's not important anyway… Tell me something, what did you mean by 'reincarnation'? Am I taking someone's place? Why me?"

"That's…" Amon began a bit hesitantly, when the whole tower suddenly shook violently.

"Wh… Whazzat!?" Alibaba asked nervously as he whipped his head around to face them, revealing that he must have been in the middle of testing a pearl of strings with his teeth, because they were still in his mouth.

"An earthquake…?" Faith asked with a frown.

"Mng…" said Amon as he closed his eyes for a moment and concentrated. "This is…!?" he gasped as his eyes shot open again. "Someone is trying to seal the 'Road' from the outside…"

They didn't know it, but Judar and another member of Al-Thamen had been sent by Ren Gyokuen to investigate the other half of the great disturbance that they had sensed in the rukh. It had not been hard to convince him after hearing something similar happened when Sinbad was born, because Judar had been sure he would find something interesting… Instead, he found nothing but sand (Aladdin and Faith had already moved on). So, rather than let the trip be a complete waste of his time, Judar had decided to pop in and do something about that dungeon that had been collecting dust in Qishan for the past ten years.

"Road?" Aladdin asked Amon back in the tower.

"What road? Are you taking about how we got here?" Faith asked.

"Whoa, that was close! I just managed to save these…" Alibaba exclaimed as he finished tying up several large bulging sacks of treasure, pausing to wipe the sweat from his brow. "Here, Aladdin and Faith, you take these. And then Ugo-kun can take this bag." He instructed them.

"On it!" Faith agreed without hesitation.

"Y-Yeah…" Aladdin said, sweat dropping. When did he…?

"You sure are laid back at time like this…" Amon remarked, sweat-dropping. "But if this keeps up… you won't be able to leave this place!"

"EEEEH!?" Alibaba exclaimed as they all flinched in shock.

"Like, ever!?" Faith asked incredulously. "That's kind of a problem, man!!"

"Don't panic! I'm going to create an exit for you now, so don't worry!" Amon told them. The Djinn raised his hand and drew a glowing eight-pointed star seal in the air with his fingers to open up a new path. A pillar of light rose up to the ceiling from the seal as it settled on the floor. "Now, if you want to return, enter this circle!" he instructed the three of them urgently as they each grabbed a sack of treasure, while Ugo moved the biggest one for them.

"The roof… It looks the same as the dungeon's gate…" Alibaba said as they stared up into the portal in the ceiling from below.

"Yeah." Faith and Aladdin agreed, pausing to glance up too once they were safely inside the seal.

"What's wrong?" Amon asked as he turned away from them while Ugo returned to his flute. "Don't you want to return!?" The three of them turned and saw that he was talking to Morgiana. "Make haste! This dungeon is going to collapse…! It's certain death for anyone still here after that happens!"

"Onee-san! Grab hold quickly!!" Aladdin shouted urgently, holding his hand out for her.

"…" Morgiana was frightened, sweating nervously as she glanced between them and her master. What should she do!?

"What are you waiting for!?" Faith shouted. "Why are you still worried about that bastard!?"

"All he's done till now is treat you like dirt, right!?" added Alibaba. "Leave him behind and follow us to your freedom…!!" But Morgiana couldn't leave Jamil. What they said was true, but that was exactly why she couldn't do it. All of the fear and pain he had inflicted on her over the years had bound her too tightly.

'You will save me, Morgiana!!' the unspoken ordered echoed in her mind as invisible chains pulled tighter on her soul. Poor Morgiana grit her teeth, trembling as she reached for her abusive master. She stopped short, shocked when Goltas suddenly threw himself between her and Jamil.

"!!?" Aladdin, Faith, and Alibaba gasped, feeling just as startled, if not more. They thought he had already died from his wounds!

"Go-Goltas!! You're alive…" Morgiana exclaimed. "Move aside, Goltas! I have to save Master…"

"…" Goltas stared down at her for a moment before placing a hand on his neck to apply some pressure to help him speak. "T—That man... can't be allowed… out of here." He said in a raspy voice.

"!" Morgiana gasped and her eyes widened as she stared up at him in astonishment. "Goltas… you… you can talk…"

"I shouldn't… leave this place… either…" Goltas continued as he kneeled down and picked Jamil up, tossing the evil man over his shoulder to carry him away. "Morgiana… You and I came from the north and the south… our ancestors come from great tribes… But… I have… forgotten my family and pride… and completely gave into being his property. A person like me who has been utterly defeated like this, and taken people's lives… could never return to my country… and face my people… But you're different." He told her. "You've been stuck under him, but you've managed to hold onto your pride… Return to your country, Morgiana. That is my final… wish." Morgiana stared up at him in astonishment as he grabbed his sword. With one blow, he cut the chain on her shackles.

Morgiana joined the others inside the seal for the new exit.

"The dungeon is crumbling… Make haste…!!" said Amon as he raised his hand again, and closed his eyes to concentrate on sending them back safely to the outside world. As the seal they were sitting on rose up towards the portal in the roof, Morgiana looked down and watched her savior silently walk further into the dungeon with their master.

"Goltas Doljis, you're such a good boy…" Jamil began rambling senselessly while he was being carried away. "Excellent… I knew I could use you! I'm feeling great now! Good… Now everyone, let's head back…! Hm?" He said when he noticed something was missing. "Where's Morgiana?" He asked, looking around. And then, he saw her. Morgiana… Morgiana was… leaving?

A bead of nervous sweat rolled down the side of Morgiana's face when her eyes met his, but then Goltas stepped through the door of the tower as another quake hit, and she lost sight of them as more rubble fell from the roof. Aladdin, Alibaba, and even Faith remained solemnly silent as they watched.

"Now go… with the blessing of King Solomon…" Amon told them. "This will be the final bit of magic I can spare you!" With that, he sent them shooting off into the portal through space and time to return them to their own world. "Oh, I should go with them." He reminded himself, shrinking into a form small enough to fit inside Alibaba's knife.

That same day, there was a huge commotion in the city of Qishan when the building that represented outside of the dungeon began to collapse.

"What's going on…!?" someone cried as the people ran from area around the sinking building.

"The dungeon, it's… sinking!?"

"Are you sure about this, my magi?" Judar's babysitter asked him.

"Yeah. I mean, it's be a pain if some wacko captured it, you know?" Judar said boredly. "That lord you roped in is gone now, so let's head home."