This story is now officially an AU! Thanks, chapter 325.

Chapter Eight

The Djinn of Truth and Conviction

Their next destination lies within the vast expanse of the Tenzan Plateau near to the Kou border. The distance is enormous—nearly five hundred leagues—but they are able to make the trip which would normally take months on foot in just over three weeks by flying in short bursts. They are forced to rest often to replenish their magoi, but the journey strengthens them enormously and both are pleased with their progress by the time they finally arrive.

Their goal is in a shallow canyon. At first Morgiana doesn't think anything will be there, but then she sees the enormous spires of what appears at first to be some kind of palace or temple. It doesn't take long for her to figure out what it is.

"A dungeon?" she questions as Hakuryuu lands beside her and releases his transformation.

"Yes," he confirms, looking up at the colossal lion statues guarding the entrance. His expression is far away as he takes a few steps toward the entrance. "The 68th dungeon, Belial. I'll need the power of the djinn sleeping here if I'm going to stand a chance against my mother."

Morgiana narrows her eyes at the dungeon suspiciously. The place has an ominous air about it that sends a chill up her spine. Why does she feel like she's heard the name Belial before? "Is this the favor Yunan mentioned?" she asks, readjusting her pack on her shoulders.

Hakuryuu nods and turns around to hold his hand out to her. She takes it and they start toward the dungeon. "I asked him to raise it for me. The djinn here is special. It can't be used to attack conventionally but it will work as a deadly tool against Al-Thamen."

When they reach the entrance, Hakuryuu squeezes her hand. "You may want to wait outside," he suggests. "This dungeon can be very punishing and we won't be able to help each other once we're inside."

She nods. "In that case, I will wait," she agrees, releasing his hand. "But are you certain you'll be okay on your own?"

Hakuryuu smiles and gives her a little wave as he steps into the portal. "I think so. I have a good feeling this time."

Morgiana frowns. "This time?" she questions, but Hakuryuu has already passed through the gate and can't hear her anymore. She blinks after him. A gust of wind lifts her hair and even though it's warm, she feels a sudden chill. "What did he mean by 'this time'?" she asks herself.

The distinct rustling sound of fabric reaches her ears and causes her to become alert. "Mmm…gosh, that's a good question," a voice comes from behind her. "Maybe he means that he's done this before?"

Morgiana whirls around her heart skips a beat when her gaze falls on the owner of the voice. Her eyes widen as they take in the person's long black braid and cold red eyes.

"You're…Judar?" she questions, taking an involuntary step back.

The tall, dark magi grins and rewards her with a wave. He is floating in the air just a few feet away but he touches down on the stone pathway and walks leisurely up to her. Morgiana hasn't seen him in a very long time but she knows wherever he goes, trouble follows. His eyes are alight with mischief as he approaches. "Long time no see, little fire bird."

Morgiana is immediately on the defensive. "Why are you here?" she demands, adjusting her stance to attack if the need should arise.

Judar waves a hand dismissively. "Relax. I didn't come here for you," he states, closing his eyes as if even looking at her bores him. "And anyway, Hakuryuu would skin me if I did anything to you." He looks contemplative for a second then he shrugs. "Well, he'd try, anyway."

Morgiana furrows her eyebrows at the dark magi. She's thrown off guard by Judar's flippant referral to her friend as if Hakuryuu is somehow someone who he knows well. She doesn't think that can be right though because Hakuryuu told her back in Sindria that he refused to ally with Judar or anyone connected to Al-Thamen.

"I sensed that this dungeon had been raised and had to come see for myself how little Hakuryuu was getting along," he continues, looking up at the stone lions almost wistfully. He's wearing the same far away expression Hakuryuu had just minutes ago. His gaze travels back down to her and he smirks. "So it was nice chatting with you, but I've got a prince to check on." He steps past her and disappears through the entrance with a parting, "Ciao."

Morgiana watches him go full of confusion. Just what was that? It was certainly not the kind of encounter she would ever have expected to have with a person like Judar. All at once, she gets a bad feeling. What if he has come to attack Hakuryuu? Judar is a member of Al-Thamen and therefore a servant of Hakuryuu's mother. He could only have come to stop Hakuryuu from gaining the power to oppose her. She looks at the dungeon entrance and worries her lower lip. Hakuryuu said that once they were inside they would be unable to help each other, but can she really just stand by when she knows Judar is after him?

In the end, it's not even a decision. She scowls at the dungeon and steps boldly through the gate.

For a moment, all she sees are rings of light surrounding her, but then she blinks and suddenly she's in another place altogether. Her mouth falls open as she takes in her surroundings. This…is a dungeon, right?

It's unlike any she's ever seen. She's in a place that is clearly outdoors, but the land is whimsical and bizarre. The trees and plants are oddly colored and fantastical and the land itself is warped in places; swirling upward into spires and breaking off into sporadic chasms. Even more strange, though, are the creatures milling about. She's sure she's never seen anything like them. And yet…everything looks so familiar to her. She's been here—sometime she can't properly remember—and the overwhelming feeling of nostalgia that encompasses this new land causes a lump to rise in her throat.

There is no sign of either Judar or Hakuryuu. She wonders if the dungeon intentionally separates those who enter. It would explain why Hakuryuu said they would be unable to help each other. Still, she won't become discouraged over something like that. Judar seemed to think he'd be able to find Hakuryuu and he also seemed familiar with this dungeon. If it's possible for Judar to find him, then it's possible for her, too.

There is no clear way to go so she just picks a direction and starts walking. Here and there she passes a plant or creature and reaches out to brush her hand along it. The longer she walks, the less strange everything begins to feel to her. Somehow, she remembers these creatures. That large, dragonfly-like insect with six wings circling a giant mushroom thirty paces away is a jolpin. She knows that they eat fungi and like to travel in threes. And that pig-like beast with a long trunk is a buldo. She recalls that Hakuryuu knows how to make an excellent stew from its cheek meat. She sometimes hunted here while Aladdin was busy with Mother Dragon.

Morgiana stops short. These creatures… Of course she knows them. Of course she knows them. They're all remnants from Alma Torran, just like her and her brethren. This is her home.

This is her home.

All at once, her eyes are opened and she's seeing her surroundings in a new light. No longer is it a strange and foreign land. Over there is the tree she and Aladdin and Hakuryuu used to sit under when the heat of the day became too intense. She can faintly see the marks etched into the trunk from when she and Hakuryuu competed to see how many consecutive battles they could win in their individual training. And just beyond that hill to her left is where Nanaumi once buried a voodoo doll of Nashime. As she looks around, more and more memories begin to come back to her. How could she ever have forgotten this place?

What has she been doing up until now? Why does she feel like her soul is being split between two places?

"Mor."

Morgiana freezes. That voice. It's so familiar, it burns her ears.

She turns around and there is Aladdin. He's standing before her and smiling like he hasn't a care in the world. But he's not the Aladdin she parted with in Aktia. He is fifteen and nearly grown and she stares at him wide-eyed. His face; his eyes; the curve of his jaw…everything about him is familiar and right and suddenly the scattered and disjointed shards of her memory are clicking back into place. Completely out of her control, tears well up in Morgiana's eyes and cause her vision to blur. Aladdin smiles and holds out his arms to her. His eyes are so blue and his smile is so welcoming and she can't even think of stopping herself as she runs to him and sweeps him into an embrace. "Aladdin…" she cries, holding him close. She's getting his shirt wet but he doesn't seem to mind. He wraps his arms around her and hugs her back.

"Mor…I'm so happy to see you again."

"Aladdin," she says his name again. "It's you." The fog that's been stealing her memories is finally lifting and she knows without a doubt that this is how Aladdin is supposed to look—tall and handsome, not the young boy she watched fly off to Magnostadt. "I was so confused…but I remember now—this is the correct you." She's filled with relief. At last, the uncanny feeling she's had all this time is beginning to make sense.

She feels him shift and then he pulls out of her embrace to look at her. "Yes and no," he replies, giving her a gentle look. "I'm just a memory, Mor. I'm no more real than the Aladdin you parted with two months ago."

Morgiana frowns and shakes her head. What is he saying? Of course he's the real thing. She looks up into his eyes and searches them for any trace of his meaning. "I-I don't understand."

His smile becomes melancholic and he lays his hands on her shoulders. "A part of you has already realized what's happened," he tells her softly. "Time has been reset. The future you and I come from no longer exists. All that exists now is the present that you've been living in."

Morgiana tears away from him and takes a step back. "What…?" She shakes her head. There's no way she can believe such a thing. This is just the dungeon messing with her. That's right, she's in a dungeon right now. None of this is real.

"Oh, I assure you it's real enough," a disembodied voice echoes around them. "Welcome to my palace. I am Belial, the djinn of this dungeon and guardian of truth. Everything you see here comes from inside of you."

Morgiana takes another step back and whips her head up to the sky. She sees nothing, but then, after her experience in Zagan's dungeon she hadn't really expected to see anything.

"He's right," a new voice speaks up and Morgiana whirls around to see Alibaba walking toward her. He is older too and smiling beautifully. She instinctively grabs the golden necklace resting across her collarbones. "Yo, Morgiana."

"A-Alibaba," she whispers. Her eyes rake over him. He is dressed in white and gold and black and he carries himself with a confidence that the Alibaba she knows now doesn't yet possess. She feels fresh wetness on her cheeks and knows that she's crying again. She takes a few steps toward him and reaches out her hand as if to touch him but she hesitates. She feels unsure suddenly. She wants to embrace him terribly but something inside her isn't sure if she still has that right.

Alibaba isn't troubled in the slightest by her hesitance. He grins and opens his arms wide in invitation. Morgiana needs no further prompting. She lets loose a sob and runs to him. He sweeps her up in his arms and embraces her tightly. "I told you, didn't I? That we'd see each other again," he murmurs into her hair.

Morgiana isn't sure what he's referring to because her memories are still patchy, but it doesn't matter. This is her Alibaba. The one she was to marry. He still shines so brightly, just like she remembers. He's the sun and she loves him so, so much. She tightens her grip on him.

Suddenly, a feeling like a rope of fire lashes down her back. She cries out as the back of her dress is burned away.

"I won't allow you to lie here," the djinn's voice comes again. "Every lie will become a punishment on your body until you are destroyed."

Morgiana stumbles backward and reaches behind her to feel the damage. It doesn't seem too bad but the pain is searing. She bites her lip. She doesn't think that she's lied at all, but the djinn apparently disagrees.

"You are in my realm now," the djinn continues. "You must rid yourself of your inconsistencies and become a pure king vessel candidate or you will be terminated."

"Morgiana," Alibaba says, stepping toward her again. "This is a test. You need to overcome the conflict inside of yourself and cast away the lies that trouble your mind."

Morgiana shakes her head. "The lies that trouble my mind?" she repeats, not comprehending at all. "I don't understand."

Alibaba chuckles. "You're confused, right?" he tells her smiling warmly "You've been feeling unsettled all this time but you've been subconsciously rejecting the thing that's causing those feelings. You keep telling yourself that what you're feeling is impossible but you already know the truth."

Morgiana raises her hand to her necklace again. "You're referring to what Aladdin told me?" she asks, flicking her gaze back to the magi in question. He's watching her conversation with Alibaba with a patient expression. "About time being reset."

Alibaba nods. "That's right," he confirms. "But not just that. There's another thing that's been troubling you, isn't there?" he prompts. "Something you won't even let yourself think about."

Morgiana stares at him in confusion.

"About me," he continues, reaching out to take her hand. "Or, more accurately, about us."

Morgiana looks down at their clasped hands unsurely. Alibaba's palm is warm and solid against hers but it causes a strange feeling to bloom in her gut. Compared to the natural comfort that holding Hakuryuu's hand brings her, it feels like the palm of a stranger. Did holding his hand always feel like this?

"Morgiana…" he says her name softly. "Are you certain you still love me?"

She looks back up at him, full of confusion. "Of course I do," she answers honestly. How can she not? Alibaba could never stop being special to her.

He smiles. "But are you still in love with me?"

Morgiana frowns. "Of course I—" She stops as she really considers his question. She is…right? There's no reason for her feelings to have changed.

She feels something hard rise in her throat. But then, why did she hesitate when Alibaba first appeared. Her hand tightens around his. Why does touching him like this cause her stomach to seize up uncomfortably?

Why does holding his hand feel like lying?

"It's okay, you know," he tells her, holding up their clasped hands as though he can tell what's going through her mind. "I had my chance with you but I lost it. This time around is different. You're allowed to be different too." He pats her head with his free hand. "I just want you to be happy. That's the most important thing to me."

Morgiana raises her other hand to her chest right over her heart and looks down at it uncertainly. "I don't understand. Why would my feelings have changed?"

Alibaba laughs. His eyes are kind. "Well, why did you fall for me in the first place? Can you tell me that?"

She looks back up at him with conviction. That, she can answer easily. "Yes. It's because you're kind and you help everyone you meet and…and you saved me. You set me free."

Alibaba smiles widely. "You flatter me, Morgiana, really," he tells her. "But you know, I'm not the only kind person in the world. And I'm also not the only one who loves you." He laughs again and turns his head to look up at the sky. The cloudless expanse stretches above them like a promise and the sunlight illuminates Alibaba's golden eyes. He looks so handsome that Morgiana's heart hurts. "This djinn wants me to spell it out for you, but you know what? I'm just not that kind of guy." He looks back down at her. "Gotta act in line with the real thing."

Morgiana blinks and her vision clouds again. She doesn't understand at all, and yet…she thinks he's right. He's been right about everything. She wipes her eyes with the back of her free hand and looks into his eyes. She squeezes his hand once and then lets go. "I do still love you," she tells him sincerely.

Alibaba looks back at her and cups her cheek with his right hand. "I know you do," he says. "And I love you, too. And so does Aladdin, and everyone else." He pulls her to him and embraces her again. "We're all so, so sorry for how things turned out. We all wished there was more we could have done."

"You did the best you could," she assures him, even though she still doesn't know what he's talking about. It just seems like the right thing to say. She pulls back and takes a few steps back to address both him and Aladdin. "If you say that time has been reset…then that can only mean that something bad happened, right?"

Aladdin and Alibaba's expressions sober. It's confirmation enough for her.

"Then from here on out, it's my duty to make sure we create a future that doesn't have to be reset, right?"

Again, they say nothing, but their frowns turn back into smiles.

Morgiana returns their smiles and nods. "I understand. Then I'll do my best for everyone's sakes."

Aladdin steps forward. "Just so you know," he says, "just because our future has been erased, it doesn't mean we're gone. We're still alive inside the Aladdin and Alibaba of the past." He holds his hand up to his chest. "I believe that everyone carries around a little piece of the them that was lost; a little shard of the will to change destiny."

"That's right," Alibaba agrees. "And we'll be doing our best to support you." He grins. "So do us a favor and live in a way that makes you happy, okay?"

The lump is back in Morgiana's throat. She understands that the time has come to say goodbye. She nods. "Yes. Thank you…both of you."

They both smile widely and nod. Then they are gone. Morgiana is alone once again. All at once her strength leaves her and she falls to her knees. The earth beneath her is soft and she sits back on her bottom and drags her knees to her chest. Her back still hurts but she barely feels it over the burning in her eyes.

"Do you seek power?" the djinn's voice echoes around her again. He sounds gentler now.

Morgiana looks up at the sky and wipes her eyes. "Yes," she answers honestly. She clenches her fists at her sides. "I must continue to gain strength if I'm to keep the promise I made to my friends."

The air around her flickers and suddenly she's standing in an enormous, lavishly decorated room. She knows at once that she's reached the chamber where the djinn waits.

oO0Oo

Wow! I got a whole bunch of new readers after the last chapter. I'm going to go out on a limb here and thank tumblr for that.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I'm not really satisfied with how it turned out but it's heaps better now than it was when I first wrote it. Originally all of Belial's dungeon was going to be included in this chapter but I decided to split it because yeesh, talk about long. Also, the next part includes more revelations for our dear Morgiana and all that in one chapter would have been too intense, I think. Hurray for plot!

Next chapter: Morgiana decides she's more into bad boys and runs off with Judar. Hakuryuu despairs because now the fandom will be forced to pair him with Alibaba and he's seen those doujinshi.