Chapter 8 - Showdown with Jafar and Mozenrath
In the palace throne room, Jafar cackled victoriously.
"Now that my revenge is complete," he began, "there is one little matter left to resolve."
"Yes, Jafar," Mozenrath agreed, holding the lamp. "My last wish to you."
"Indeed, boy," Jafar agreed back. "Wish me free from the lamp."
"Freedom?" Mozenrath replied, confused. "But wouldn't I rather have riches or hoarded gold?"
"I could give you those after you set me free," Jafar offered. "After all, I was a sorcerer before I became a genie. Perhaps I could give you the legendary sunken treasure ship of Kordumair."
Jafar raised a hand and fired. The ship itself appeared. It fell, and on impact, gold coins spewed from the rotted holes.
Mozenrath examined the ship. "It looks okay," he said.
While Mozenrath examined it, the genie, disguised as a mermaid ornament for the ship, tried to snatch the lamp from Mozenrath, but his arm wasn't long enough. He snapped his finger after failing to get it.
He regrouped with Aladdin, Abu, Carpet, Xerxes, the Sultan and Jasmine, and shrugged in defeat.
"But it's not enough," Mozenrath continued, getting the group's attention. "How about the famous treasure of King Malakhan?"
As the group peered behind a column, Jafar fired with an index finger, and a treasure chest appeared.
Mozenrath placed the lamp on the Royal throne to peer inside the chest. This was another chance for the genie to snatch the lamp.
"Better," Mozenrath continued, opening the chest which revealed gold coins and jewels. "But still not enough."
Jafar reluctantly made more treasure appear upon firing with his hands.
Genie's arm stretched to bypass appearing treasure, but when trying to reach the lamp, a gold eagle statue landed on his hand, crushing it.
The Sultan and Jasmine tiptoed behind mounds of gold, but stopped short to see that Genie failed to snatch the lamp again.
"Oh, dear," the Sultan whispered in fear before Jasmine jerked him behind the mound they hid behind before, as another treasure chest fell.
"Now," Jafar began, as Mozenrath was satisfied with all the treasure in the room, "if that's obscenely excessive enough, perhaps you'd care to grant my freedom?"
"Very well, Jafar," Mozenrath replied.
Abu tried to snatch the lamp after hiding behind the throne, but hid behind it again before Mozenrath went to the throne and picked it up.
"Jafar," he continued, "I wish for your…"
Jafar was eager, while Aladdin and the others gaped in shock. However, before Mozenrath could finish, he wondered.
"Wait a moment," he continued. "Are you sure I can still have all this treasure once I set you free?"
"Yes, dear boy," Jafar replied, as Mozenrath sat on the throne, still holding the lamp. "And I will make sure that you will be amply rewarded, and that your little pet eel Xerxes will have an equal share of the treasure."
Speak of the devil, Xerxes snuck out behind the throne and saw the lamp.
"Ah, Xerxes," Jafar noticed, getting the eel's attention. "I was just talking about you."
"Sorry, masters," Xerxes apologized, "but I'm turning down the offer." He then snatched the lamp from Mozenrath and flew away with it.
"What?!"
Jafar and Mozenrath had just been deceived.
Aladdin appeared, jumping from a column and taking the lamp after Xerxes gave it to him.
"I'll take that," he said.
"The street rat, still alive?" Jafar was furious.
"Xerxes, you traitor!" Mozenrath shouted before stretching out his right hand. "What?" He noticed his right hand. "My gauntlet!"
The gauntlet was snatched by Abu when Mozenrath wasn't looking, and the chattering monkey leaped onto Aladdin's shoulder.
"Why, you…" Jafar launched a fireball from his hand.
The fireball knocked Aladdin, Abu and Xerxes flying off the balcony. Luckily, the genie caught Aladdin after transforming into an armchair, and Xerxes caught Abu and floated down with him.
"Thanks, Genie," Aladdin congratulated.
Jasmine rode on Carpet to rejoin the group.
"Where are the lamp and gauntlet?" Aladdin asked. The impact of the fireball had knocked the two items out of reach.
"Looking for these?" Mozenrath said, suddenly appearing with the two items. He once again wore the gauntlet. Aladdin and his friends rode on Carpet, charging after Mozenrath. Before they could get close, however, Jafar, in his giant genie form, rose from the ground and blocked their way. He laughed, blowing the group backwards. Aladdin, Genie and Xerxes landed on the ground, while Jasmine and Abu landed on potted plants. Suddenly, Jasmine saw…
"The lamp!"
As she crawled, reaching for it, Jafar noticed from behind.
"Not so fast!" he shouted.
He blocked her, firing fire from his finger. Jasmine jumped out of the way.
"Give it up, Jafar," Aladdin said, getting the giant genie's attention. "We're obviously too much for you to handle."
"You!" Jafar addressed. "You're a fool to challenge me. I am all-powerful."
"Some all-powerful," Aladdin replied. "You can't even get rid of a lowly street rat."
"A problem I mean to rectify right now," Jafar replied, grabbing him in an attempt to crush him.
"Aladdin!" Jasmine shouted in fear, hiding behind the potted plant she landed in while Xerxes joined her.
Struggling, Aladdin turned blue, revealing himself as Genie. Jafar had just fallen for the trick.
"What?!"
"Gotcha," Genie said.
Jafar noticed the real Aladdin riding on Carpet to retrieve the lamp. Furious, he threw Genie aside, who landed next to Jasmine, Abu and Xerxes.
"Faster, Carpet!", Aladdin addressed.
Jafar fired spinning flames at Carpet, rendering it stiff.
"Carpet, no!"
The carpet shattered into pieces against the ground, and Aladdin fell off on impact. However, Aladdin wasn't out just yet. He reached for the lamp, but a growing rock column lifted him away from it. Jafar made the column grow. He cackled, clapping his hands. Using fiery magic, he opened chasms on the ground. As the ground crumbled and sank, the lamp lay on top of a rock column. Jasmine, Abu, Xerxes and an unconscious Genie lay on another column. Around them, the ground fell into a lava pit.
Spotting the lamp, Aladdin, his column falling on the lava and floating on it, tried to reach for the lamp, but couldn't grab it. A tower from the palace fell in the lava. On impact, the lava swelled. Still, it pushed Aladdin's column away from the lamp.
Mozenrath laughed. "Give it up, Aladdin," he said before firing a beam from his gauntlet.
The beam made the column start to sink.
"You shall never have the lamp," he continued.
"Nobody will save you this time," Jafar added.
"Hey, Jafar!" Iago shouted, flying to the rescue. "Shut uuuuuuuuuuup!"
The genie noticed Iago flying to Aladdin. It looked like Iago did owe him after all.
"Iago?" Aladdin noticed.
"Traitors," Jafar said furiously. "I'm surrounded by traitors!"
He fired from his hand a flame, headed for the column where the lamp rested. Luckily, Iago picked it up in time.
"Yeah!" Aladdin shouted, joyously.
As Iago tried to hand Aladdin the lamp, Jafar hit him with fire. Iago slammed into a wall and landed on a ledge with the lamp.
Genie regained consciousness, but Abu, Jasmine and Xerxes were horrified.
Iago weakly tried to kick the lamp over. Jafar laughed.
"Good help is so hard to find these days," the enormous genie said, "isn't it, Aladdin?"
Iago, singed, struggled to move, once again trying to kick the lamp over.
Jafar gasped in shock.
Iago succeeded before passing out. The lamp kicked over from column to column.
"My lamp!" Jafar feared.
Luckily, before it could hit the lava, it glowed, floating. Mozenrath used his gauntlet to save it. Jafar was then relieved.
"It still counts that using the gauntlet to save the lamp means I'm still holding it, right?" Mozenrath asked.
"Yes, Mozenrath," Jafar replied.
Xerxes wouldn't let that happen, and flew to Mozenrath.
"Then Jafar," Mozenrath began, "I wish for your fr…"
Before Mozenrath could finish, Xerxes snatched the gauntlet from Mozenrath's right hand.
"No!" Mozenrath shouted. "My gauntlet!"
"No!" Jafar shouted, as it also meant that there was nothing to hold the lamp afloat. "My lamp!"
The lamp fell into the lava, and it started to melt into a green liquid.
"Nooooooooooooooo!" Jafar shouted.
Smoke rose from Iago's column. Aladdin reached for the seemingly-lifeless parrot, rescuing him. He then glared at Jafar, who writhed in agony. The lamp warped and sunk beneath the lava. Bubbles rose, a purple liquid spat out. Jafar glowed, and saw that his existence was becoming unstable, screaming in shock and horror.
The column under Genie, Jasmine and Abu rocked dangerously. Genie stretched himself to the wall of the chasm. Jasmine and Abu ran on his back to solid ground. The column crumbled, and Genie joined them.
A rock column fell flat near Aladdin. He jumped over and ran to the chasm wall. With Iago in his arms, he climbed up.
Electricity sparked around a still-writhing Jafar, revealing his skeleton.
Smoke rose from the chasm as it started to close.
Jafar turned translucent, then transformed into a swirling red cloud. He exploded into dust.
Mozenrath desperately reached for his now-fallen friend.
"Jafar!" he shouted in anguish. "Nooooooooo!"
Aladdin pulled himself free before a crevice closed.
Light shone as the ground fused back together.
The red clouds cleared, and the sky turned blue.
Under sunlight, Carpet reassembled and joined Abu, who clapped one of its tassels.
"No!" Mozenrath shouted. "I was this close to setting Jafar free from the lamp! I was close to obtaining riches!" Glaring at Xerxes, he continued, "Xerxes, you traitor! Give me my gauntlet! Your sultan commands it!"
"Sorry, Mozenrath," Xerxes replied, giving the gauntlet to Jasmine, " but you're not Sultan of Agrabah anymore."
Jasmine put the gauntlet on and, with a snap of the fingers, turned Mozenrath's sultan robe and turban back into his dark robe and turban.
"Guards!" Jasmine shouted. "Seize Mozenrath!"
The guards came and seized the now-former sorcerer upon her command.
"You and your friends may have won this battle, princess," Mozenrath scowled as she removed the gauntlet from her right hand, "but you haven't won the war!"
"And have him imprisoned in the dungeon for eternity, as well," Jasmine ordered.
As the guards hauled Mozenrath away, Jasmine turned and bowed sadly.
Aladdin still held a still-seemingly-lifeless Iago in his arms. His friends walked and comforted him. Aladdin hugged the parrot, Jasmine setting a hand on his shoulder.
"But…" Aladdin began. "I thought a genie couldn't kill anyone."
Iago coughed.
"You'd be surprised what you can live through," the parrot said before coughing again.
"All right!" Aladdin said, joyously happy.
"Oh, Iago!" Jasmine added, shedding tears of joy.
The rest jumped for joy.
"He's alive!" Genie shouted before shooting in the sky like a firecracker. Fireworks erupted in the sky over the palace.
