Aladdin And The Lord Of The Black Sands
Thieves Unite Anew
Xerxes made his way quickly out of the Land Of The Black Sands and was swiftly crossing the desert towards Abis-Mal's position, chuckling all the way. Soon he came upon the man who was whistling as he made his way towards Agrabah along the ocean. "Midas hand," Xerxes happily said aloud to himself. He chuckled then gave a battle sound tearing towards Abis-Mal who had wrapped the hand safely in a cloth then put it in his belt.
On hearing the sound, Abis-Mal stopped whistling and turned in confusion saying, "What the…" On seeing the flying eel thing, though, he cried out in terror! Before he could blink, the eel had drawn out the hand. "Hey, give it back!" Abis-Mal ordered as he forgot his horror and instinctively reached out to grab it back to him. Xerxes growled and pulled determinedly. Abis-Mal was driven by desperation, pulling it back in a tug of war. Xerxes, though, finally got annoyed and let go of it. Abis-Mal fell back and came to his senses just in time to see the flying eel charge him then bite his wrist! Abis-Mal cried out in pain letting the hand go. Xerxes grabbed the hand and flew down the beach. Abis-Mal, though, was now up and chasing him calling, "Hey, come back here you little monster!"
Xerxes chuckled to himself then looked back, but his eyes opened in shock, and a cry of alarm was brought out, on seeing his fat pursuer so close! The little guy could move. Xerxes looked desperately around then saw a rocky outcrop. He narrowed his eyes towards it and went hard. Abis-Mal clambered over the rocks trying to reach him. Xerxes paused by a steep drop. He saw some other men down there and decided on a whim that Abis-Mal would be an excellent victim for robbers. Xerxes turned. Abis-Mal was almost there! He reached out for Xerxes, who looked bored, saying, "Now I've got you ya…" He paused when he felt no more ground beneath his foot. He looked down and cried out in terror trying to throw himself back onto the ledge, but he was too late. He fell down towards the group of men.
Xerxes waved a flipper and called, "Bye bye!" The hand fell. He cried out in alarm then dove. When he caught it he growled at the object then took off for the Citadel.
The remaining thieves had finally washed ashore in a sheltered rock outcrop. Tired, they were grumbling as they finally made their way to land, soaked. They collapsed onto the ground dramatically. After a time they sat up to collect themselves. "Where are we do you think?" the first triplet asked.
"Maybe it's still Agrabah?" the second suggested in form of a question.
"Maybe it's a tropical paradise!" the third brother hopefully said.
"I'm hungry," the big thief interrupted.
"You're always hungry," the Asian scolded. Just then his own stomach growled. The big one laughed. The snake charmer and swordsman shook their heads.
It was then that they heard the cry of someone falling. They looked up. "What in the world…" the swordsman began. Just then, though, the falling man hit the dirt in the center of them all.
The man moaned as he rose. The snake charmer waited a moment then asked, "What is your name weary traveller?"
The man shook his head then gasped on seeing them. He leapt up, brandishing his sword, then answered, "I am Abis-Mal, master thief, and I'm going to rob you all blind! Back, back!"
The big one, annoyed, simply stood, got behind him, then lifted him from the ground almost crushing him. "What should we do with him?"
"Introduce ourselves of course," the swordsman answered after a moment. "You think you're a thief? Well, you've stumbled on the forty thieves yourself!"
"Forty? I only count seven," Abis-Mal replied, confused.
The snake charmer scowled saying, "Our lair was ambushed no thanks to our leader and his son."
"We escaped, only us, and one more. Unfortunately, when we went after the hand of Midas our plans, and our replacement leader's life, were cut short by a no good boy named Aladdin, his father our old leader, and his friends!" the Asian continued.
"Wait, Aladdin! The Hand of Midas!" Abis-Mal demanded, suddenly furious.
"You're familiar with them?" the triplets chorused.
"Familiar! I want Aladdin dead too! I found the hand of Midas when it fell from the sky! I was about to go to Agrabah and use it to take over the land and get rid of Aladdin, but some stupid flying eel came by and stole it!" Abis-Mal pouted.
"Impossible," the first triplet said.
"It's at the bottom of the sea," the second chimed.
"Do you think we are fools!" the third demanded as all three drew their swords.
"No! No, no, no! I've heard tales of the forty thieves! Perish forbid I insult them! I'm serious though! I don't know how it came from the sky from the ocean, but it's real! I wrapped it in a cloth and the cloth turned to gold!" Abis-Mal insisted.
The thieves summed him up. Finally the swordsman declared, "We believe you."
The charmer added, "You say you are a thief?"
"Yes, one of the best," Abis-Mal boasted.
The thieves looked at each other doubtfully. Beggars couldn't be choosers though, so the charmer then continued, "Then welcome."
"Welcome to the forty thieves!" the swordsman boldly declared.
"Let us go find the hand then take our revenge on Aladdin!" the Asian declared as he pulled off some fancy moves.
"I'm still hungry," the big one complained. The whole group turned to him scowling.
"All right, first let's eat. I have food and drink," Abis-Mal stated in annoyance.
"Yay!" the fat one said as he clapped.
Meanwhile, Xerxes had made his way back to the Citadel triumphantly. "Mozenrath, master!" he called excitedly. He flew into Mozenrath's study only to find his master asleep on his wheel of lands.
Mozenrath was dreaming, though, of a street somewhere in Agrabah, and a house. There was a man and a woman watching from a window, and another figure's image down a street watching the same thing. Mozenrath spotted two boys. It was obvious that the paler one knew of the strange man's presence though the other didn't. The two children were fighting. Mozenrath couldn't help but smirk. It fell, though, when he recognized that the paler boy was himself! "What?" he asked nothing. His voice sounded hollow like wind. Oh yeah, he was dreaming. The man and woman came to the door. The man called a name Mozenrath didn't quite catch because something was calling him. He heard the man call his name, but his voice mingled with another that instantly made Mozenrath annoyed. He scowled then felt himself waking up.
"Mozenrath, wake up!" Xerxes yelled. Startled Mozenrath's hand shot out wrapping around Xerxes' throat.
Xerxes dropped the hand as Mozenrath growled, "This had better be good! I keep telling you not to wake me Xerxes." Just then he heard the clatter of the hand landing on his spinning wheel then rolling from its cloth covering.
"Midas hand," Xerxes choked out. Mozenrath watched in fascination as his wheel turned into solid gold as well as its stand.
Mozenrath let go of Xerxes saying, "Interesting." He picked it up then complimented his pet saying, "Good job Xerxes! Now what shall I do with this? Care to guess?"
"Aladdin…" to convey the sentence Xerxes finished by shape shifting into a golden statue of a terrified Aladdin.
Mozenrath laughed. "Exactly! Then Agrabah will have no protector, and I will be rid of my greatest enemy! I'm so excited," he said. "Come Xerxes, let us make all haste. To Agrabah!"
"Agrabah, Agrabah!" Xerxes chimed. Laughing, Mozenrath teleported them both from the Citadel.