Previously:

"Help us, please help us!!" the thieves cried.

"Wh-What's wrong with them?" Sahsa's father asked, sweat-dropping.

"Blue…" one of the thieves said with a shudder.

"Blue?" Leila asked, also sweat-dropping.

"Gia—It's a giant!" they man cried, just as Aladdin and Ugo climbed up over the ridge behind them. Ugo was still clutching some unconscious thieves in his huge fist.

"HYAAAAAAAA!!" the remaining thieves screamed in horror when they saw them. "Monster! Just what is that thing!?" they cried as they ran for their lives.

"… Hey…" Leila said as she, Sahsa, Sasha's father, and the boss just stood there, staring up at the blue giant. "Th-That is…"

"Yeah…" Sahsa said, sweat-dropping. "Uhm…" There could only be one person responsible for this…

Chapter 34: Banquet

"Ah~ Thanks for saving us." Aladdin said brightly while Morgiana waved goodbye to Nadja and her parents. "It's a good thing my flute was inside that bag of keys."

"For real." Faith said with a smirk while their friends from the caravan and the boss grinned.

"Yeah, that was a close one!" Hope said with a wry smile. The boss smiled. He was really glad to see that his favorite trio of siblings had made it out all right. He had gotten pretty attached to these kids. He really admired the way they looked out for each other.

"In any case, I didn't think you'd be acquaintances…" he said thoughtfully. Who would have thought they also had connections to old his friend's caravan.

"Aladdin! Faith! Do you remember?" Leila asked excitedly.

"Actually, that's Faith." Hope said, pointing to her sister, who gave a little wave.

"Eh? Oh, sorry! It's kind of hard to tell you apart…" Leila apologized, feeling a bit lame now. They really did have the same face… the only thing that could be used to mark who was who was their gold necklaces, which had different markings (actually the girl's monogramed initials in English) on them.

"I remember!" Aladdin said cheerfully before the silence had a chance to get too awkward. "That friendly onee-san and…" He pointed at Sahsa. "That unfriendly onee-san!" he finished, pointing at Leila.

"Pft!" Faith laughed while Leila pinched his cheeks for that. Hope sweat-dropped and smiled wryly at their antics. Poor Leila she had looked so excited too see him again, too.

"Same brat as always, Aladdin!" Leila said, chagrined, while poor Aladdin massaged his sore cheeks.

"Really? I think you've changed a little bit." Sahsa told him with a smile. "Compared to before, you've kinda… become stronger."

"Oh, now that she mentions it, I think you have." Hope said with a smile. They'd been together everyday, so the change hadn't appeared as drastic to them.

"Yeah, I think you've gotten a little taller, too." Faith said, holding out a hand to measure his approximate height.

"Is that so?" Aladdin said with a smile, looking a little proud of himself. "Well, I have crossed the desert!"

"Yeah, that was tough." The twins agreed with wry smiles.

"What! Up until now you've been outside of the desert!?" Leila cried, taken aback, as she and Sahsa both flinched in surprise. How did that happen?

"Then, the fact that we met here today is an amazing coincidence…" said Sahsa.

"The world is huge; this can't be just a coincidence…" Leila said, sweat-dropping, as she pinched Aladdin's cheek again.

"That's not completely wrong." Said Sahsa's father. "During my travels I often make friends and reunite with the most unexpected people." He explained, smiling as he bumped fists with the boss.

"Likewise, after ten or twenty years, you still continue to keep up that caravan…" the boss agreed with a grin. "In the world, there is a strange 'force' that binds people together…"

"Heh~" Faith said as the girls stared at the old men with smiles. Who'd have thought these guys were old bros?

"That's right. Just as that person said." Aladdin agreed, holding Baba's staff. "In the world, there is a thread that binds us together… People are bonded together by strong guiding force we call 'chance meetings'. Though we may be separated, surely… those important peoples' spirits are by our sides…" Morgiana looked up at the sky as she thought back to the voice she had heard that had helped her find the strength to break free from her shackles.

'At that time, I'm certain… I heard Goltas' voice…' she thought. He had saved her again.

"Hmm, string of fate, huh…?" Faith said with a Cheshire cat grin, eyeing her sister. "Doesn't that mean you're also tied 'you-know-who'?" she teased slyly, referring to Kouen as she wiggled her pinky, indicating she was clearly implying there might be some kind of red string love-connection between the two of them.

"Cut it out." Hope told her, blushing a little as she sweat-dropped, chagrined at her sister's teasing. "It wasn't like that at all, and you know it."

"What wasn't like what?" Leila and Sahsa asked curiously.

"Well, it's a long story… But let's just say we're on the run from a very controlling ex-boyfriend of hers!" Faith answered with a brilliant shit-eating grin, causing Hope to face-palm.

"I just said it wasn't like that!!"

Later that evening, the caravans met at the inn to celebrate everyone's liberation and the defeat of the thieves.

"That's great, Morgiana! You can go to Balbadd." said Sahsa's father. "As planned, we will bring you along to Balbadd so you can return to your hometown. There is infighting, though, so we cannot enter… This is the closest we can take you." He explained pointing out the spot on the map, just a couple miles on its outskirts. "Be careful."

"Oh, are you going to Balbadd too, Morgiana?" Hope asked pleasantly.

"Us too!" Said Faith.

"Let's go together!" said Aladdin with a big smile.

"They went to Qishan, but… the guy they wanted to see wasn't there, so they're heading to Balbadd now." The boss explained for them with a smile.

'They must be talking about Alibaba…' Morgiana thought.

"Good timing, why don't we all go together?" Hope suggested with a smile.

"Sounds good to me!" said Faith with a grin. There's no way they'd get captured again with if the four of them stuck together!

"Yep!" Aladdin agreed with a smile, offering his hand to Morgiana.

"…" Morgiana looked at them and then down at her own hand for a moment. "… I have no objection." She said as they took Aladdin's hand, deciding to accept.

"All right, it's decided!" Aladdin said as everyone smiled. Well, almost everyone.

"No way~ Morgiana, you're leaving? Your leaving?" Leila asked, crying, as she leaned against the redhead with a flushed face, causing the others to flinch slightly in surprise. "I'll be sad~"

"Yes, yes." Sahsa said placatingly with a wry smile, sweat-dropping.

'Just how much has she had to drink already…?' the twins wondered, sweat-dropping as they eyed the wine sloshing around in Leila's cup.

"Then, as a blessing for everyone's journey ahead… shall we have a great feast in both caravans?" Sahsa's father asked, raising his own cup.

The answer was, of course, a resounding 'yes'. Large trays of food and drink were brought out, and soon everyone was making merry. Sahsa's father and the boss talked and laughed about old times while drinking, and occasionally the boss's little shoulder pet would sneak a sip. Leila cried and clung to Morgiana, while the twins entertained everyone with a skit about a girl who left her chewing gum on a public bench, and the various things that happened to it after that when it was found by the next people to come along, such as (among other things): being sat on, being thrown on the ground, and being stepped on. The skit ended with the girl coming back for her gum. Finding it back in it's starting position, she (Faith) exclaimed "Just where I left it!" and popped it back into her mouth as is nothing had ever happened, which earned a lot of laughs and many sounds of amused disgust from the audience. (It had all been mimed, of course. Neither of the twins would ever really eat gum off of a public bench.) Aladdin smiled and laughed while he sat in Sahsa's lap, and she fed him lots of yummy food, but his fun was brought to an end when Leila spotted him nuzzling Sahsa's full chest and came over to rip him off of her. But Aladdin didn't go without a fight, and he clung to Sahsa with all his might while keeping his face buried in her boobs. Morgiana was watching some of the men perform a balancing act with an umbrella and some fruit, when a few of the other onlookers suggested she show them a trick as well. Caught off guard by the request, Morgiana nervously wondered what she should do, but quickly settled on demonstrating her ability to use her superhuman speed and strength to run straight up one of the walls. The other flinched in surprise and quickly awarded her with a hearty round of applause. Morgiana let out a sigh as she wiped the sweat from her brow. She perked up a bit in surprise when Aladdin, the twins, Leila, and Sahsa came over to party with her.

"…" Morgiana stared at their smiling faces as they chatted away excitedly, and looked up into the night sky. It was so warm and lively… It was her first time ever having this much fun. Once again, Morgiana thought about how grateful she was to be free.

Five days later…

"All right, from here to Balbadd, you'll have to walk." Sahsa's father said when it came time for them to part near an oasis on the outskirts of the city.

"Bye!" Sahsa said as they girls waved goodbye to their four mysterious friends.

"We have to meet again!" said Leila.

"Yep!" Aladdin agreed as he waved back with the twins and Morgiana as they watched the caravan ride father and father away and they continued along their route.

"Okay, let's go!" Hope said brightly. They might be able to reach the Balbadd before dark.

"Yeah~!" Aladdin and Faith cheered, pumping their arms in the air enthusiastically.

"Yes." Morgiana responded more quietly.

"From now on, please take care of us, Morgiana-san!" Aladdin said cheerfully as they walked.

"Yes."

'So taciturn…' the twins thought, sweat-dropping, as they smiled wryly.

"Hey… 'Morgiana-san' is kinda long, so can I call you something else?" Aladdin asked.

"… Whatever…" Morgiana said, not really sure how to respond.

"Then, 'Morg-san!'" Aladdin suggested brightly.

"…" Once again, Morgiana didn't know how she should respond to that. Aladdin and the twins sweat-dropped at the lengthy silence.

"Don't like it?" he asked.

"… It's fine." Morgiana told him. She just wasn't used to it yet. Her three new friends smiled.

"Okay, let's go, Morg-san~!" they said cheerfully.