Previously:

"Then, if all else fails, we can offer him my sister!" Faith proposed with a radiant shit-eating grin.

"!" Sinbad and Ja'far stared at her with wide eyes, alarmed and startled, while Hope simply groaned in annoyance and face-palmed. Masrur wasn't sure how to react to that.

"That joke isn't funny!" Hope scolded her.

"But he wants you, right?" Faith teased with a smirk. "He put up wanted posters and everything. You can seduce him with your awkwardness! Don't worry, I believe in you."

"A prince acting as a main general isn't going to abort whatever plans his country has for a date, Faith," Hope retorted sharply. It was hard for her not to blush out of embarrassment. She couldn't seduce her way out of a paper bag! "Besides, it's been six months. I'm probably just a vague memory now for him." She was pretty sure the only reason he wanted to recapture her in the first place was for the knowledge she had of the more advanced technology from their homeworld, and that was dangerous information to be handing out to such an aggressive nation.

"Don't worry," Sinbad told her with a firm, reassuring tone and determined expression. "I don't consider that an option. No matter what happens, we won't turn you over to that tyrant." He may not know that much about their technology yet, but he could tell from the little he did hear about twins' world that it was much more advanced. And since it didn't rely on magic, it could be used by anyone. That made it very dangerous, especially in the wrong hands. 'It would be disastrous if the Kou Empire or the organization got their hands on either one of these girls...'

"Ohh~?" Faith purred suggestively. She looked like she was trying not to laugh at him. "No matter what, huh?"

Chapter 55: Decisions and Farewells

"Well, on a more serious note..." Hope said, clearing her throat, feeling a little awkward as she prepared herself to bring up a thoroughly uncomfortable subject. "There's something I need to talk to you about..." she told Sinbad, also glancing a little nervously at Ja'far and Masrur.

"Yes?" Sinbad asked, looking at her with concern.

"Hey, I was thinking of checking on Aladdin again. Do you want me here for moral support, or would you rather I went off somewhere else?" Faith asked supportively, placing a hand on her sister's shoulder.

Hope took Faith's hand in her own and held it in response. She bit her lip and took a deep breath, exhaling as she lifted her head to look at the others again.

"I have an illness you probably need to know about," Hope stated, managing to sound calm. Starting was always the hardest. Some of the tension did leave her body after overcoming the initial stumbling block of getting the first sentence out, but she was still worried about their reaction.

"Ah, that..." Sinbad said sympathetically, his eyes softening a little. "Yes, we already heard about it from Faith—"

"No, dude," Faith said firmly, holding up a hand to stop him. "This is something totally different." Hope nodded in confirmation.

"Thank you, Faith. It's okay, I can take it from here. Why don't you go check on Aladdin?"

"Yeah... okay," Faith said with a small smile, squeezing her sister's hand briefly before letting go. Hope waited for the door to shut behind her again before continuing.

"So... Faith told you about what happened to us during that hurricane?" she asked carefully, holding her arm. It made sense. That explained why none of them had questioned her about collapsing the other day. They already had their answers.

"Yes... We know everything," Sinbad replied, sounding almost apologetic. She could tell he felt sorry for them. The corner of Hope's lips turned up in the ghost of a melancholy smile. She tightened her grip on her arm.

"No, you don't."

"What?" Sinbad asked. Her voice was so quiet that only Masrur could hear her clearly.

"It isn't just PTSD," Hope said louder, managing to sound calmer than she felt. "I-I... I don't usually like talking about this, but I think you need to know... I have one more illness that my sister doesn't... I'm bipolar."

"Bipolar...?" Ja'far asked, while Sinbad frowned with concern.

"Bipolar disorder... is a severe and persistent illness that affects the mind," Hope began, taking a seat across from the king, feeling it might be easier (somehow) if she wasn't standing. "Specifically, it alters a person's ability to control their moods, thoughts, and the way they see the world around them... A person suffering from bipolar will travel back and forth on a very long mood spectrum that they can't control. This includes moods typical people will never experience, such as suicidal thoughts or living in a consequence-free environment where a person experiences a 'god-like' mania and feels invincible. Someone suffering from bipolar is unable to control where their moods fall on this spectrum, or how long that mood will last before transitioning..." She could tell from the concerned, but quietly bewildered looks on their faces that they were struggling to put it into context. "It's the mental and emotional equivalent of randomly and constantly having your body plunged into boiling water hot enough to melt your skin off and water cold enough to freeze the blood in your veins. It's painful, paralyzing, and terrifying. You can't think straight. The transition in between isn't so bad, when you're feeling the same relatively even and comfortable bathwater mix most people live with. But the extremes are unbearable. You never know when you'll be attacked, or whether you'll experience heaven or hell. You can't predict it. And, without treatment, you can't stop it. There's no breathing room. You're constantly drowning. When I'm high, I can do anything, but that only amplifies the pain and frustration that comes later; when I'm low, I struggle to even get out of bed. When I'm high, it can also make me too reckless sometimes. I'm much more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors without thinking about the consequences until it's too late. People can get hurt." She paused to take a slightly shaky breath, hoping her voice would stay steady for her. She was starting to ramble nervously again. "Bipolar disorder can be treated where we come from, but... so far, I haven't come across any suitable substitutes for medication here. The medicines I usually take help keep me stable, but without them..." She clenched her fists as the crease in her brow and her frown deepened. "Our mother had it too... If you listened to Faith, then you should know what happened to her." Hope bit her lip. "She lost her medicine when the first floor of our house flooded, and she... under those circumstances... with everything that happened... It was just too much for her..."

Sinbad couldn't help thinking that their mother still should have held on for her children, and it showed on his face. He regretted the pained expression it caused on Hope's face as soon as he saw it.

"Please, don't judge her. I'm actually one of the lucky ones. No medicine was ever strong enough for our mom. They would seem to work for a while, but then she would stop feeling its effects and had to try something else... I think she was a lot worse off than I ever was. Most people with bipolar don't experience diagnosable symptoms until around their mid-twenties... but it started much earlier for us. For me, it was my mid-teens, but for her... she's been struggling with this ever since she was a child, and it was years before she received a proper diagnosis. They thought she was being a problem child, acting out by choice, when she was just trying keep her head above the water; no one believed she was drowning. It was only after she started hurting herself that she was finally taken to see a doctor. She held on and functioned for years on a level most people in her shoes wouldn't have been able to handle for months. Simply staying alive was a struggle. She tried so hard for us. That she could function as well as she did in that condition, it was incredible. At least twenty-five to fifty percent of patients with bipolar disorder will attempt to commit suicide. Fifteen to seventeen percent will succeed. If it's that bad with medication, can you imagine how painful it must've been for her without them? People who get caught up in suicidal thoughts, they get it stuck in their heads that everyone they love would be better off without them, no matter how untrue it is. They can't think like a normal person. It wasn't her fault that she...!" She bit her lip and looked down, blinking away the tears that had begun to form. "It wasn't her fault." She braced herself and looked up at him again. "This isn't something I like sharing... This is a sensitive subject for me... when people find out you have a mental illness, they look at you differently. Even with the advances our world has made towards understanding mental illness, there's still a stigma." She suddenly remembered Kouen's reaction when she told him, how surprisingly accepting he had been. Even though the situation worried her, and she didn't like being held captive, he never actually made her feel inferior for it. She could only hope his reaction wasn't as atypical as she was afraid it would be in this world. Because it was something even an identical twin couldn't ever completely comprehend without experiencing it for themselves. But as lonely as that was, she would never ever wish that pain on anyone else, especially not her sister. "But, I am different... no matter how much I wish I wasn't. I'm telling you this, because I think it'll have a negative impact on my ability to Djinn Equip. During the time I felt affected, I couldn't do anything at all. I want you to be able to plan around that. I don't want anyone to get hurt because I kept this to myself."

"Hope-san..." Ja'far said, wishing he knew what to say. Masrur and Sinbad were silent. None of the comforting words they knew seemed sufficient. Everything fell flat in the face of her suffering.

"How concerned should we be?" Sinbad asked after a heavy moment, dreading what the answer might be. "You wouldn't...?"

"Kill myself? I promised Faith that I wouldn't." She squeezed her hands tighter and squared her jaw. She looked him in the eye, scared but determined. "So I won't." She swallowed the nervous lumps that began to form in her throat when she thought of what that would mean for her, everything she would have to endure to keep going. "I won't let myself give up. You don't die for the people you love, you live for them. We learned that the hard way. As long as I have Faith... I'll be able to struggle on." It was easier to say with her sister in the next room than it had been when they were separated by an untold and unknowable number of miles. She was praying her illness would go back into remission. "It'll be hard, so much harder than anything... but I'll find a way to manage. I've done it before... I'll have to."

Watching Hope put on a brave face while wearing such a crushing weight on those slender shoulders that trembled almost imperceptibly, Sinbad could feel his heart breaking for her, but he remembered the advice Faith had given him before. If he showed her too much pity, it would only make her feel worse.

"Don't worry," he told her calmly. "We aren't planning for this to turn into another fight. I'm teaching the two of you more as a precaution. I'm going to save this country through diplomacy."

"I see..." she said, though she didn't sound entirely convinced. "I hope that'll be the case..."

"Hope," Sinbad said, stopping her as she stood up to leave. "Who else knows about this?" he asked grimly. Hope smiled wanly.

"Other than the three of you? Faith, obviously. And Aladdin," she replied somberly, her brow furrowing slightly. "I couldn't be sure when it would start up again, once my medicine ran out... So I thought it would be better to warn him before it got bad, so it wouldn't be a huge shock when it happened. I remember what it was like to be young and scared, and to not know what you did wrong, or understand what was happening or why. I wanted to make sure he at least understood that it wasn't his fault. It's no one's fault. Whether I live or die is solely up to me. Having emotional support helps, of course, but in the end... It's like cancer. It's my illness. I'm the one who has to fight it. No one can do that for me. Aladdin is a very caring and sensitive person. He likes to help people. I didn't want him to blame himself for not being able to help me. That goes for you too. I don't want you to feel responsible for me. At the end of the day, the only one who can stop me is myself. It has to be my decision. I'm not putting that on any of you."

"Hope..." he said, feeling his heart breaking for her again. Why did someone like her have to go through something like this? Hadn't she been through enough already?

"Please, don't look at me like that," she told him, smiling sadly for him. "I'm worried enough as it is. I'm always going to be like this. It's just something I've had to learn to live with. It is what it is." She paused for a moment, looking down before facing him again. "Do you think I should tell the others, too?" she asked Sinbad, thinking of Morgiana and Alibaba.

"No, not if you don't want to. If the information becomes more relevant to our situation, I can do that for you."

"I want them to hear it from me," she said seriously. She didn't like talking about it, but she didn't want something so personal explained by a third party, especially not to people who were to be considered friends.

"I understand..." Sinbad said, moving to take her hand. "If you need anything... Please, don't hesitate to ask." Hope furrowed her brow a little and bit her lip. She held his hand back.

"Yes... Thank you."

—∞—

"How did it go?" Faith asked.

"About as well as can be expected... Maybe better," Hope replied. "I think they'll be all right."

"Uh, I think you're the one we ought to be worrying about being 'all right'," Faith pointed out. "Forget about other people for awhile. The one who needs your care the most is you."

"Maybe. You're probably right..."

"Dude, I'm always right," Faith said proudly. "Except when I'm wrong," she added playfully with a wink, giving her sister a little smile to pry one out of her.

"Heh-heh," Hope laughed wryly, shaking her head while she mirrored her sister's expression. "People in this world are surprisingly tolerant of mental illness, more accepting. The few we've told, at least."

"I guess that means we made friends with the right people," Faith said, pleased for her.

"I'm thinking maybe I should tell Morgiana and Alibaba too," Hope said tentatively. "It's too important to hide from them. They deserve to know."

"Yeah. You're probably right," Faith agreed. "But you look tired. Maybe they can wait?"

"Maybe," Hope agreed, sighing heavily. She really was exhausted after everything that had happened that day. She wasn't sure she had the energy to explain everything again. "You're right. I'll tell them tomorrow."

"I'll help you," Faith told her. She had a feeling Alibaba might say something tactless, even if he didn't mean any harm by it. Sticks and stones may break bones, but the damage from words could be harder to heal. "I wish I had some ice cream to give you." That was their go to comfort food of choice.

"Thanks," Hope said gratefully. "I'm glad you're my sister."

"Yep. You can't get rid of me, no matter what!" Faith said with a cheeky grin.

—∞—

Close to dawn, Morgiana was drawing water from the well outside. When she paused as she was standing up to carry the filled buckets inside, she looked up and saw that the light in Aladdin's room was still on. She decided to check on him. She was making her way down the hall, carrying a bowl of water and a clean cloth, when she almost bumped into Hope.

"Whoa! Hey, there," Hope said as both girls stopped short just in time to avoid a collision. "Sorry about that," she apologized, rubbing the back of her neck.

"I was wondering if Aladdin-san feels any better..." Morgiana said, also on her way to check on him. "You can't sleep, Hope-san?"

"No... I didn't want to wake the others, so I thought maybe it would be better to go for a walk. Let's check on Aladdin together," Hope suggested, walking a few steps ahead of her to get the door for the younger girl, since her hands were full. They were greeted by the sight of another familiar face who had clearly beat them to it.

"Eh?" Morgiana said, surprised to see Alibaba already in the room when she looked through opened the door. "Oh, Alibaba-san," she greeted him quietly. "You're awake already? Shouldn't you be getting more rest?"

"Yeah..." he said, turning away from them to look back at Aladdin. Faith was fast asleep on the next bed over. "I was just worried about Aladdin's condition..." 'Aladdin, I got you mixed up in a huge mess, didn't I? Ugo-kun, too...'

"He still hasn't opened his eyes, has he?" Hope said, frowning with concern.

"No," Alibaba replied somberly.

"You should worry about yourselves," Morgiana told them as she and Hope stepped further into the room. "You both had your Djinn training all day... Aren't you going to take a rest?"

"Ah, I have already taken a rest and feel better already," Alibaba replied.

"Me too. I'm more worried about Aladdin," Hope admitted. Faith turned over in her sleep. "Faith sure is sleeping deeply tonight. She must be worn out from using her powers earlier."

"I think she's rested enough for all of us," Alibaba remarked,, sweat-dropping. From his point of view, Faith appeared to have more breaks than she worked. All she did after blowing that wall out was stuff her face and watch them.

"For your information, being a badass is exhausting. Right, Morgiana?" Faith retorted bluntly, unimpressed, as she rolled back over to reveal that she was actually now wide awake. "Don't think I won't kick your ass just because I'm one-armed at the moment,"she told him. "I used a lot of energy up in that attack, 'kay." She probably lost a pound of sweat from the shock of having IT pop up in her face like that. Alibaba looked away and sweat-dropped again at the memory of the exploding wall. He really shouldn't pick a fight with her... He looked back at their unconscious friend.

"Aladdin..." he said regretfully, staring down at the dark circles under the younger boy's eyes while he lay unmoving in his bed. "I dragged him into this terrible mess... Even Ugo..."

"..." the girls stared too, watching both boys. Faith's frown deepened, and Hope furrowed her brow. Their concern was doubled by the reminder of how serious the Djinn's condition had been too.

'He is going to be alright... right?' the twins wondered, hoping they would both be able to make a full recovery. They knew Aladdin would be crushed if anything happened to his first friend. The twins wanted Ugo to be okay, too.

"Umm... Aladdin always said you were a friend that he respected," Morgiana said to Alibaba. "So for him, saving you when you were in trouble in this country... I'm sure he doesn't believe you dragged him into anything." Alibaba's eyes widened slightly as he recalled when Aladdin had told him that himself.

"You're a brave guy, I promise you!" Aladdin said brightly, smiling at him while they were transported back to their world from Amon's dungeon. "After all, you're a respected friend of mine!"

"She's right..." Faith agreed. "He's that kind of person. Aladdin helped you because he wanted to."

"He really cherishes his friends. He thinks you're worth it. He wouldn't blame you for any of this," Hope added.

"So don't waste time on guilt or self-pity. It's unproductive. Aladdin wouldn't like it, and it makes me want to hit you. Although, I'd be happy to knock some sense into you, if that's what it takes," Faith concluded. She lightened up a bit when she noticed the look in Alibaba's eyes seemed a little better. "Well, you get the idea..."

"Thank you, Morgiana. Faith. Hope," he said over the sound of a flock of birds taking off outside, pulling himself together as he found a new resolve. "I've made up my mind."

The girls looked at him and then each other, sensing a change in him and possibly a meaning behind his words they couldn't quite place.

—∞—

' 'Alibaba-san... Somehow, he's acting strangely. It feel like something similar happened before...' Morgiana mused as she was walking away with the wash basin to empty it alongside the twins after helping them tend to Aladdin. She suddenly remembered the last time she had seen that expression on his face. 'That's right... previously in Qishan, Alibaba-san said something like that... After that, Alibaba left by himself...' She gasped as she turned to look back in the direction she just came from. "It can't be!"

"Can't what?" Faith asked, surprised by how startled the younger girl suddenly seemed.

"Are you alright?" Hope asked her.

"Alibaba-san... Alibaba-san is planning to go on his own! He's going to face the enemy alone!" Morgiana exclaimed.

"What?!" Hope said, concerned.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Faith said, furrowing her brow.

All three girls raced back to the room, but Alibaba was already gone.

"Damn it!" Faith cursed, biting her thumb.

"Maybe we can still catch him!" Hope suggested earnestly.

—∞—

Meanwhile, it was a bright and clear morning, and the citizens of Balbadd had gathered outside the palace gates in protest, anxious for a resolution to their problems. They were being held back and blocked by palace guards holding their spears crossed to prevent them from coming through.

"—I have no milk for my child!" a mother shouted.

"—My ill father!" a man yelled.

'Sorry, Morgiana... Hope... Sinbad...' Alibaba thought, making his way through from the back of the crowd with his face wrapped in a white scarf. 'Cassim's making his move today. I've got to do something about this before that happens!'

"Hey! Come back!" one of the soldiers shouted when he suddenly pushed his way through the front line of people and darted past them, surprising the other citizens as well. "Who do you think you are?" he asked sternly as they moved to intercept him.

"We said not to come forward!" the other said.

Alibaba reached up and removed the cloth covering his face, casting it aside without hesitation for all to see.

"You're...!" one of the guards gasped, shocked when he recognized him.

"I'm the Third Prince of Balbadd, Alibaba Salujah!" Alibaba announced boldly, removing any remaining doubts about his identity. "Open these gates!" he ordered.

"It's Alibaba! Prince Alibaba is at the entrance to the palace!" Someone in the crowd cried, generating and excited buzz among the others, who all ran forward to support Alibaba, standing behind him.

"I'm here because there is something I need to say to Ahbmad," Alibaba declared strongly with his long knife in hand. The eight pointed seal gleamed on its blade in the sunlight. "Open the gates!"

"Don't... Don't joke with us!" one of the guards said incredulously, sweating nervously.. "How can we let the leader of the 'Fog Troupe' enter the palace..."

THWACK!

A stone was thrown so close to his face that he could feel the air current as flew past and hit the closed gate behind him. The response from the crowd was an uproar. They had all armed themselves with rocks and anything else they could find.

"Open it! Open the gates!" many of the people yelled.

"Kill them!!" some cried.

"I will stop these people if you open the gates," Alibaba told the guards, holding out a hand to signal for the crowd to wait before attacking. "If this continues on, your lives will be in danger."

"You... You will be the only one entering, right?" said the nervous guard who spoke before while the other cowered in fear.

"Yes. I, as prince of Balbadd, give you my word," Alibaba answered seriously. The guards had no choice if they wanted to save themselves from the mob outside the palace. They opened the gates. Alibaba stood before the people and raised his blade in the air. Everyone gasped when he summoned Amon's flames, creating a tower of fire. The people stared in astonishment.

"Everyone! Please wait for my return here! From now on, I will change this country!" Alibaba declared, his face set with firm determination.