Author's note: Hi! Sorry for the super long wait, but it's back! Thank you very much for your patience!

Previously:

"Whoa… to think that so many things happened!" Alibaba exclaimed with a smile. "It really was a rather exciting adventure!"

"Yeah!" Aladdin said with a smile. "Also, to be able to find you in this country… we ended up needing to help out with arresting members of the Fog Troupe." Alibaba's smile fell at that.

"Tch! We totally didn't expect you to be one of them, though…" Faith muttered, causing Alibaba to sweat-drop when she clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"Yes, from what I've heard about you, this doesn't seem to fit your personality at all…" Hope said calmly. "I think you must have your own reasons for being with them, something really important to you."

"I believe that as well." said Aladdin. "So, please… tell me… the reason why you decided to join the Fog troupe."

"…" Alibaba was silent for a moment. "Aladdin… do you still remember what I told you and Faith in the 7th dungeon? 'Do you think you could introduce me to your friend, Ugo-kun?' But before that… could you listen to me about a friend of mine?" he asked carefully.

"Sure! Of course!" Aladdin agreed with a smile.

"His name is… Cassim…"

Chapter 41: Incident

"Cassim?" Aladdin asked.

"Yeah. He's the real leader of the Fog Troupe. He's the one who created it. But, it seems he always wanted me to be the leader, though." Alibaba explained.

"What sort of relationship does he have with you?"

"It's very similar to the relationship between you and Ugo."

Aladdin was surprised.

"Yes, Cassim and I have been friends since long ago." Alibaba said with a small smile, and with that he began his tale.

He told them everything, starting with how he and his friend were born into the slums of this country. Faith had a laugh about 'tunnel death row'. Although the two boys often fought, in reality they were the best friends. They would run around the junkyard streets together every day. But not everything was the same for the two of them. Alibaba told them he had a kind and gentle mother.

"Woah, Alibaba's mother?" Aladdin asked excitedly.

"Yeah, my mother." Alibaba said with a nod and a small smile. "She was a really kind person." He went on to explain that his mother had been a prostitute in the slum quarters.

In the evening he would return to his mother's lap. His mother was a cheerful person, so he was always happy. But it was different for Cassim. His father was a worthless man, a violent drunk who was always yelling and often beat his children. One day Cassim's father hit him so hard that he knocked out several of his teeth, and when Cassim's little sister, Mariam, cried for her brother, their father hit her as well. Cassim was so angry that he threatened to kill his father, which only made the man try to hit him harder. Seeing this, Alibaba's mother ran over and managed to put a stop to it by knocking the drunk off of his feet. After that, she held Cassim and Mariam tightly in her arms, as if they were her own children, and let them cry as much as they wanted. Alibaba admitted to feeling a little jealous at the time, even though he was glad she had saved his friends, because he thought his mother had been stolen from him for a moment. After that day Cassim's father disappeared from the slums. They didn't know if he had ran away or hanged himself somewhere to die, but that kind of thing seemed to happen a lot in the slums. So Alibaba's mother adopted Cassim and Mariam, and they became a family of four.

"A family… must have been lively." Aladdin said.

"Sounds fun." Said Hope.

"Yeah, it was lively and fun." Alibaba agreed. "And Cassim changed after that."

Cassim always stole. But one day he was caught by the old man at the store, and when Alibaba's mother found out she went and bowed on the ground in front of the man to apologize for Cassim, promised to repay him for the stolen goods, and begged him to hit her instead, because Cassim's faults were her responsibility as the parent. As expected, Cassim behaved himself after that incident. But even that strong and kind mother died one day because of an illness.

"That day was a really sad one…" said Alibaba, looking down. "I was still a kid then. I was lonely and anguished and didn't even know the reason why…" He had the twins' sympathy. They had been really young when they lost their own mother. "But Cassim never cried. Because he was a year older than me, he took the role of an older brother."

That day Cassim told Mariam and Alibaba not to cry and promised that he would protect them from then on. The three of them were only small children, but they combined their strength and really did their best to survive. Life took a better turn from there. Alibaba's mother's old customers and the neighbors helped them out. They did all sorts of work. Picking up trash, polishing boots, and leading foreigners in their sightseeing tour of Balbadd. But Cassim used the wrong methods for survival. He went back to stealing. Moreover, he used the bad kids in the street in a showy way. Alibaba said Cassim was probably driven to desperation to secure their situation. That led to a day Alibaba asked Cassim if he should give him a hand. Cassim told him he didn't have to do such things, because Alibaba was different from him. Alibaba, taken aback, asked what he was talking about. Without looking at him, Cassim replied that he had recently realized that he was villain, just like his father, whereas Alibaba was different, because he was like his mother, living in a respectable way. Alibaba didn't know what to say to that, but he thought Cassim was being too hard on himself. He thought Cassim was good too. After a pause, Cassim said this:

'… Hey… We are friends, right?' Now Alibaba knew exactly how to respond to that.

'Yeah! Isn't that obvious!?' he answered his friend's silly question excitedly. Cassim smiled.

"Cassim seemed a little weird that day. I remember it even now." Alibaba told the others solemnly. "A few days later, something even more odd happened…"

One day, someone dressed in fine clothes, a palace guard, came into their makeshift home and told Alibaba that someone wanted to see them. It was the king of Balbadd.

"The king…" Morgiana, Aladdin, and the twins said, surprised.

"It was really shocking, the king visiting the slums!" Alibaba said. "And on top of that…"

To Alibaba's shock, the king suddenly told him that he was his son, and that from that day forward, he would live in the palace. Alibaba told him that couldn't be possible. His mother was a prostitute, so no one could ever be sure whose child he was. But, according to the king, his mother used to work in the palace as a maid, and it seemed like that was where he was sired by the king. Alibaba didn't know what was going on, but he couldn't find a reason to get away. He was just a roach in the slums, and the other party was a king. So he discussed it with Cassim. It didn't matter to Alibaba that the king's men had told him not to tell anyone that he was a prince, because Cassim was family. Alibaba was so sure Cassim would stop him, that he would also want to stay together. But Cassim's response was strange. Instead of trying to stop him, he told Alibaba that he always thought was strange that there would be someone like him in the slums. Alibaba asked him what that was supposed to mean. Cassim told him it was the reason Alibaba shouldn't be his friend. He clenched his fists and said,

'I can't stand this. You don't steal. You don't do evil things. Always by yourself, acting goody-goody. You and I have been a totally different type of human since we were born! Hurry up and go wherever you want to!' Cassim had finished with a sneer.

Alibaba was hurt and angry, and he beat Cassim up really badly. And like that, Alibaba said goodbye to the slums. From that day on, his life changed completely. Just by taking a bath and putting on expensive-looking clothes and shoes, he was suddenly a 'prince'. The situation was almost laughable. But, after that day, a difficult life awaited him. He was a dirty brat from the slums, and those people in the palace who saw him that way stared at him coldly. Especially the princes Ahbmad and Sahbmad, who looked at him as if he were a piece of trash. Even the person who brought Alibaba in, the king, ignored him completely when they were in the palace. He was lonely. On top of that, he had to go through intense training and lessons daily. Everything from how he should walk, speak, and eat to sword fighting, economics, and even mathematics and philosophy.

"Honestly, I didn't like philosophy or swordplay, so it was really difficult. Ah! But I loved the practice lessons for economy outside of class!" Alibaba said, lighting up. "Also, I didn't at all hate reading those books from the shelves… especially the adventure novels when the public 'dungeon capturing' boom started. To cut it short, I hung in there. I didn't have a place I could return to… But, by doing my best, the cold stares I had been getting changed. Some of those people finally began speaking to me properly… Even the younger prince, Sahbmad, got closer to me. In only three years, my days at the slums had become but a distant memory. It was strange, really. I couldn't remember anything about that place anymore. The place where I was brought up as a child…"

One night, Alibaba secretly escaped from the palace. He wanted to have a look at the slums. But nothing was there. There was no trace of when Junkyard Street was cleared up, or of the people who lived in the slums. Not a soul was there. At a loss, I had no choice but to return to the palace. At that moment… Cassim suddenly appeared from the other side.

"Why did I meet Cassim at that time, I wonder. At that time… if only I hadn't escaped from the palace…" Alibaba said, furrowing his brow and looking deeply troubled. "If only I hadn't met Cassim at that time… That incident would not have happened…"

"That incident?" asked Aladdin.

"I told you about it before, didn't I? About that time I slipped up very badly…" Alibaba said, looking down. "After all that time he had changed quite a bit, but I knew it just had to be him. Cassim looked surprised, wearing a bizarre expression as if he'd met a dead person. Because of the way we had parted, I hesitated to speak first… but in the end I was the one who broke the silence. At the time, I didn't know what was going on in his mind. To be frank, talking to him was fun and nostalgic… But now, thinking back, I realize… he had a moment when his eyes were filled with darkness. On that day, from the moment he met me, he had made a decision that he would cause that incident to happen."

"… Alibaba…" Aladdin said softly as he and the girls furrowed their brows in concern.

"You keep talking about 'that incident', but what is it? What happened?" Faith asked pointedly, starting to get a little impatient. It's not that she wasn't sympathetic, she just felt like he was dragging the story out too much.

"I'm getting to that." Alibaba said, wishing she could be a little more patient. "Cassim invited me to 'get a drink'. I didn't know the meaning of those words. That was because we weren't even of age yet. But it wasn't vexing. I felt that he was more mature than I was… so I followed him. And then I found out… that he was a regular of that shop! One frightening adult after another was bowing to a brat like him. As I gave him a closer look, it seemed that he was surrounded by money." He explained.

Cassim's clothes were worn and dirty, but he was wearing some expensive jewelry. Alibaba had been nervous, but Cassim casually ordered drinks for both of them and toasted their reunion. Alibaba asked Cassim what he had been doing and how Mariam was and what had happened to the rest of the people in the slums. Cassim told him that the slums didn't exist anymore, that they had been cleaned up and everyone had gone their separate ways. Alibaba was shocked. He really hadn't known anything. But Cassim laughed off his ignorance, teasing and goading him into drinking the alcohol he had bought for him. During the three years in the royal palace, Alibaba had learned many things. Literature, swordplay… But Cassim had also learned things that he hadn't been taught yet… Acting, drinking, how to follow up on a comment… In short, a guy well-equipped with social skills for the adult world. Their conversation began with talking about the past. Alibaba got carried away with the atmosphere and went blabbering on and on. Cassim was complaining that Mariam was foolish and troubling him.

"I laughed at that. But, I was the most foolish…" Alibaba said feeling, looking down. "As our conversation was about to end…"

Cassim brought the subject back to how Alibaba had mentioned being locked up in the palace and asked how he had escaped. Alibaba told him that it was hard because there were lots of guards, and revealed that he had escaped through a tunnel, reminding Cassim how he had been famous for making them back in the slums. He spoke about it with pride. Although the walls looked solid from the outside, the interior was not completely so. Just a little, the cracks and crevices in the walls were beginning to give way. Alibaba told Cassim how he had made the opening bigger, creating tunnels in the palace walls. Alibaba never told him where the walls were weak. Though he was drunk, he had at least that much discretion. He didn't think Cassim had to know that much. But, Cassim didn't need to hear it. It was getting late into the night, and if Alibaba didn't return to the palace soon, it would have been bad. But, before that, he had something he needed to tell Cassim no matter what.

'… Hey…' Alibaba has said nervously as they both stood up to leave. 'Cassim… on that day I entered the palace…' Cassim flinched slightly. 'At that time… Umm… I'm sorry for hitting you.' Alibaba apologized. 'When you said 'go wherever you want', you did so for my sake, right!?' he asked with a warm smile.

'…' Cassim stared at him in shock, astonished. He let out a quiet sigh of relief. '… Of course! Isn't that obvious?' he said with a bright smile on his face. 'We're best friends, right!?'

"I was elated! Cassim had done that for my sake! And, at that time, things were again how they had been in the past. We were the best of friends again! The other guys hanging around also encouraged me a lot. And that was why I wasn't careful. The underling Cassim gave money to, trailed me to the palace…" Alibaba told the others, clenching his fists, as he kept his head bowed in shame. "… How stupid I was…"

"Alibaba…" Aladdin said, wishing he knew what to say to make him feel better.

"…" the twins said with a frown, concerned. That sounded like some serious foreshadowing.

Alibaba went on to explain how a period of grace had followed his reunion with Cassim. As usual, his lessons in the palace were straining, but something had become unbound in him, and he could tackle anything that came his way. And then, one day, the king summoned him. The king had grown too weak due to a one-year chronic disease and had passed his authority to his eldest son, Ahbmad. The king said this: 'I do not have much longer to live. But, this country cannot remain as it is now.'

"At that moment, things weren't going well in Balbadd. Our main trading partner, Partevia, was in a recession, so we switched to the Kou Empire from the Northeast, which intervened with our economy by smuggling weapons." Alibaba explained.

'Kou Empire!?' Aladdin and the twins thought, startled. They had been involved with Balbadd for that long?

"The envoy of the Kou Empire had begun exerting influence on Ahbmad around that time, and he even meddled in matters of internal politics." Alibaba said.

He told them that Ahbmad was a lazy person, though, and thought it was troublesome. His submission to the envoy was what concluded things. The king told Alibaba that he wanted to leave the country to him. Alibaba was shocked. Was he telling him to be king, even though he was only a kid from the slums and fully incompetent? The king spoke so much, and before Alibaba could get a word in…

'As I thought, it's impossible?' the king asked, seeing the look on his face. 'But… there's no one but you I can entrust it to…'

The king explained it to him, about the country being in a critical situation. And how he could not feel at ease handing the country's politics over to Ahbmad and Sahbmad, who had been taught by his late legal wife, but that he probably wouldn't have time to do it himself…

'… Your Majesty, I request that you hear one thing I have to say.' Alibaba said after a moment of silence.

'… What is it? Say it out now.' Said the king.

'Your Majesty, what was mom… No, what did you think of my mother?' Alibaba asked carefully, lowering his head.

'So it's about Anise…' the king mused quietly. Alibaba's mother's name was Anise. 'There were many obstructions… I couldn't be together with her…' he said. 'But… yes… I loved her.' The king stated solemnly as he stared up at his son. Alibaba's eyes widened slightly.

'… Thank you, Your Majesty. With those words, I can press on from here.'

"That was the first time my true feelings gushed out. And that I could fully accept that that person was my father." Alibaba confessed. "But…"

'But I am unable to accept what you have asked.' Alibaba continued seriously. 'This country already has my brothers, the two princes Ahbmad and Sahbmad. I believe that the country will fall into a state of disorder if I jump in now. More over, I was… living in the slums living in the slums until three years ago, so I know how the people feel… If you revive the slums, I believe my brother and the others will be more than willing to help.'

'… I see…' the king said after a moment of silence. 'I'll leave it to you.'

"It was a sobering experience. There, I resolved to devote myself to this kingdom!" Alibaba said, tightening his fists briefly before lowering his head. "… But, that was my last meeting with king… And that night, that incident happened… Still thinking heavily about the conversation I had with the king during the day, I slipped out of my bed, going towards the place below the palace where the walls were weak… That night was a totally dark one, without a moon… The light of the stars was barely enough for me to navigate my surroundings…"

Aladdin and the girls tensed, sensing the story was about to take a tragic turn for the worst.

"And there he was… Yes, it was him! It was Cassim!" Alibaba said, clenching his fists again as he grit his teeth with hurt and frustration as he remembered how he had felt that night, seeing his old friend there and his horror at the betrayal that followed. "I was shocked. Why was he there!? For a moment, I thought maybe he had come to visit me and have some fun… But, of course, that wasn't the case. One after another, people I didn't know appeared behind Cassim. I recognized a few of their faces. Yes, they were from Cassim's group of bandits from the slums! Cassim came into the palace with that bunch of people to steal from it! Yes, Cassim had continued to steal!! But the scale on which he did it was also incomparable to that of before!! So many thoughts ran through my head at that moment… panicked thoughts about what I should do… whether I should call out to Cassim… whether I should call for people from the palace… what would happen to Cassim if I did… would my friend be executed!? Why!? Even though I just promised my father… that I would take care of this country… Why exactly did this happen!!?" Alibaba was shaking, still angry with himself. "Why, it was because I didn't grasp hold of Cassim's true nature. As if it was fine, I drank and blabbered. When things were going well, I thought 'I'll devote myself to this country!' In reality, I'd be piling all the responsibility on myself. And at that moment, I didn't move a single step. I didn't want Cassim to be arrested, I didn't want the palace to be assaulted. Not being able to choose one or the other, the coward that I was…"

Hope poured another glass of juice and handed it to him. Alibaba was reluctant to accept it, clearly still deeply affected by his feelings of guilt over the situation, but she held his gaze until he gave in. Alibaba breathed deeply and took a sip of his juice, and he was much calmer as he continued.

Alibaba then explained how he had been hit hard over the head by one of the bandits with Cassim while he was frozen in place.

'We've been seen… What should we do, boss?' the bandit asked his leader.

'Ah…' Cassim said, glancing down at the fallen prince as he exhaled the smoke from his cigar. 'You don't have to kill him… tie him up and leave him.' He ordered, tossing away the cigar carelessly.

"And what I heard in my clouded consciousness was…" Alibaba said, furrowing his brow as he tightened his grip on the cup in his hands. "The sound of flames, voices of confused escapees… Cassim was going around and using the opportunity to steal the treasures of others. Though Cassim was the one who stole the treasure, the thing which allowed him to do so was my blabbing about the tunnels in the palace walls."