Hey!
OMG.... Sorry for like... the half month hiatus! Sorta had a writers block and was like...blargh....
But, I have a few more chapters to go because I have an ending in sight :O
Probably another 4-6 chapters. I have an idea of how I want everything to end, but the actual wrap up may be different.
I'm also thinking of a sequel to tie up some other loose ends or delve deeper into other aspects of the story.
But for now, this story finally has a structure!
So, please, review! And to my readers: Thanks!!! Most wonderful people ever!!!
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"Here goes nothing!" Aladdin jeered, holding out the golden lamp. He took the palm of his free hand and began rubbing the side of the lamp gently. Cloud and Yuffie watched intensely as Aladdin's palm caressed the side of the lamp. They waited for a few seconds, but nothing happened.
"Uh, Al, you sure you're doing it right?" Yuffie asked, the anticipation eating away at her patience.
"Hmm," Aladdin pondered. "Lemme try—Wha-Whoa!"
Before he tried anything else, a light trail of smoke came oozing out the opening at the end. Cloud and Yuffie leaned in closer to get a better look. Once Cloud and Yuffie's faces were nearly a foot from the golden lamp, huge bursts of smoke exploded from the tiny lamp and filled the entire room.
"W-what?! Is it happening?!" Yuffie screamed blindly into the smoke.
"YAHHHH! WOOOO!" A chipper male's voice yelled. Once the smoke died off and dispersed out of the room, a looming blue figure floated in Aladdin's tiny getaway.
"Ten thousand years in the Cave of Wonders can sure give you a crick in the neck!" the blue genie yelled out, stretching his limbs and cracking his neck.
Everyone looked at the blue genie with wide eyes. "A-are you th-the—" Aladdin stared but was cut off by the blue enigma.
"The only and only, Genie! Of! The! Laaaaamp!" he introduced himself boisterously. He followed up by asking, "And who might you three be?"
Aladdin ran his hand shyly through his hair, "My name is Aladdin."
Genie smiled. "Aha! May I call you Al? Or Din, or even Laddie?!" The genie then whistled and a blue dog version of himself running around in a kilt came in through the window and sniffed everyone in the room. Cloud swatted away at the strange dog and it vanished once his hand touched the fur of the creature.
Aladdin answered back with a laugh, "Ha, Al's just fine."
The genie then whipped his head around to the other two in the room. "And you two are?"
Yuffie jumped forward, "Yuffie Kisaragi!" The genie looked at her oddly. "Call me Yuffie."
"Odd name for someone around these parts," Genie commented, "Must be out of towners." He soon blew himself up into a giant globe and began spinning, his hand still free pointing to different parts of the globe.
"Are you from here? Here? Here? Here?" he kept asking quickly, Yuffie consistently shaking her head 'no'. "Well, dangit, where are you from?!" the genie exclaimed, turning back into his original state.
"Nowhere you can point to on that map," Cloud interjected.
The genie turned back into his normal form and zoomed in close to Cloud's face. "And you—"
"Cloud Strife," he interrupted Genie.
"Cloud?" The blue figure soon turned into a gloomy raincloud that hovered over the trio below him. "Well, it seems like a suitable name enough for you." The spiky blond pressed his brow together and frowned. Seeing the agitated expression Cloud had, Genie yet again shape shifted into the spacey-eyed comedian, Dangerfield, and began to loosen up a tie he formed around his neck. "Sheesh, tough crowd," he said in a chuckling low voice.
Yuffie turned up the genie and smiled. "Eh, don't listen to him, he's just a Debby-downer anyway." Cloud shot her a look now but she completely ignored him. "Anyyy-who! So, Genie, you grant the finder of the lamp three wishes?"
The genie went from shabby comedian to glamorous talk show host wearing a glisty suite and swung a microphone around and yanked it towards his face. "Yes! Any three wishes! You name it, I'll do it!" The genie then formed into his old self and gave the trio a serious face. "But only to the master of the lamp who had awaken me, which, is only our buddy Al here. Unless…He agrees to donate a wish, then I take one from him in your benefit…But he has to make the magic words."
Aladdin nodded his head and smiled at Yuffie and the sulking Cloud. "That's okay! I owe 'em one anyway. Besides there's only one thing I need…" Aladdin's face began to redden… "You see there's this girl…"
Genie interrupted him shyly and coughed, "Eh…heh, you see, I didn't quite finish the rules, you see…"
Yuffie scowled, "I thought you said any three wishes!"
The genie looked at her sheepishly and continued, "Well, there's three things I can't do… One is I can't make anyone fall in love with you…" His gaze then fell to Aladdin who sighed heavily.
"Man, there's goes my wish," he moaned, kicking a pebble beneath his foot.
Genie laughed nervously again and added, "I also can't kill anyone… It goes against my morals…" Yuffie rolled her eyes. "And lastly, I can't bring anyone back from the dead… It's nasty business, I don't like doing it!"
"So much for an 'all powerful genie'!" Yuffie yelled stomping her foot.
Cloud, as well, sighed heavily. "There goes my wish."
The genie looked at the trio again, who all seemed disappointed and aggravated. "Eh heh… Really tough crowd…"
Aladdin looked up to the genie and complained. "But what can I do to make the princess fall in love with me? It's not like I'm some kind of prince…"
At that, Genie's mind began formulating a plan. "Well, Al, buddy! I may not be able to make her fall in love with you, but I can make you a prince!"
Aladdin's eyes widened…"Really?" The genie let out a big grin and nodded. Aladdin let out a great smile back and them turned to Yuffie and Cloud, whose attitude changed seeing there was still hope for their friend.
"Well, what about you two?" The genie nudged the young ninja who was lost in her mind.
"Hmm, I don't know really. I mean, yeah, there are things I want but nothing worth using a single wish on. What about you Cloud?"
Cloud stood silently. There was no point. If she couldn't be brought back to life by one of the most powerful beings in the planet, why even bother. That's all he wanted, his only one true wish.
"I don't know either," Cloud nearly whispered. His stare fell onto Genie and focused on the blue figure. "What would you want more than anything?"
The genie nearly fell into a shock. "I-I've never been asked that before…"
Yuffie cocked her head, "Really? Well, it's a stupid question anyway. A genie can have everything!"
"Not exactly…" Genie said, creating a wooden stool to sit and think on. His face rested on his fist and he began to think. "Sure, a genie can make and do anything, and that get old. Besides, I'm imprisoned in this lamp to do as my master's command. It's always 'What you need?! And what do you need?!' But, I never get any time to myself. I'm locked away with phenomenal cosmic powers! And then… Itty bitty living space."
Aladdin looked at the genie and then smiled, "Well, what if I wished for your freedom? I only want for the princess to fall in love with me. Yuffie and Cloud want to see their old friend. So, the third wish is for you, Genie."
The genie looked at Aladdin with innocent childlike eyes, which was rather odd for such a mighty being. "You really mean it, Al?"
Aladdin and nodded then looked to Cloud and Yuffie. Yuffie smiled and agreed back but Cloud gave no acknowledgement.
"So, you two get your wishes. Great. This still means nothing for us."
"For you, Cloud!" Yuffie huffed and crossed her arms. "I think I've been pretty low key about not asking for anything you know!"
Cloud just sulked and pressed his back to a wall, looking down to the floor. He came his to his own self-realization after Yuffie barked at him that she was right. All this searching was out of his vain and she was just tagging along for the adventure.
"I… I just want to see her again… Just want to know…" he sighed, "Just forget it. It's hopeless."
Yuffie loosened her arms and let them fall to her side. She knelt under Cloud and forced him to look at her. "You're loosing that hope again… Aren't you?" He just averted his glance over to a broken pot on the floor. Yuffie squinted her eyes. "Why don't you use the wish to see if she's out there? Like you said, it's a possibility."
"I watched her die, Yuffie. I'm only fooling myself," Cloud said, sliding his back down the wall and eventually squatting on the floor of Aladdin's one room house.
Yuffie straightened herself out. "Well," she whipped her head to the genie, "Then I'm using Cloud's wish for him. Aladdin, I wish for Genie to reveal the truth about Aerith!"
Aladdin smiled then folded his arms to the genie, "Well, you heard the girl."
"You have to say it though Aladdin, you're my master," he responded, though when saying 'master' he managed to say rather excitedly than gloomy.
"Okay then! Genie, I wish for you to reveal Aerith to us!"
Cloud jumped to his feet, but before he could stop what was happening, the genie sent a whirled wind of cosmic dust surrounding them and threw all four of them flying across the stars landing them in an unfamiliar forest.
It was like they were all there, but in a simulation of the world. Everything was rather fuzzy and a bit out of place, like they were underwater looking into their surroundings.
"W-what is this place?" Yuffie asked, gawking at everything around her.
"The Lotus Forest, I presume," The genie added looking around the new world as well.
While Genie, Aladdin and Yuffie all admired the new surroundings and explored the area around themselves, Cloud stood in silence. His eyes were fixed in a clearing before him, wide eyed and nearly trembling at the sight before him.
"Hey Cloud! Check this place out! It—Cloud?" Yuffie tried calling for him, but noticed his unusual stance away from the group. She walked towards him and soon copied his exact look, covering her mouth in shock.
In the clearing, Yuffie and Cloud saw two figures walking happily through the forest, following an unusual path that was checker patterned towards some unknown destination. One figure was a tall crimson haired man, dawning heavily armored boots and spell books from his belts. He was following a delicate young woman in a yellow sundress, her long wavy hair pulled back into a braid with loose hair falling all around her.
"It's her…" Cloud choked, entranced by Aerith's trotting around the path. It was like she was dancing along, full of energy. Full of life.
"Aerith! Over here!" Yuffie yelled. Cloud would've normally tried stopping her, but he just as much wanted to yell out, but could barely find his voice.
"She can't here you," a voice said, hovering over the two. The genie let out a weak smile. "You are both just watching from an alternate viewpoint. You can't touch or talk to her. And she can't feel or hear you."
Aladdin finally made his appearance looking over to the figures slowly walking away. "Who's the red head?"
Yuffie and Cloud shrugged. Even the Genie was lost in the man's identity.
"I wouldn't mind stretching this wish out a bit more, but I really can't give you an answer… He's like… a mystical anomaly…"
"Anomaly," Cloud repeated in a hazy voice. He was still watching the dancing girl walk away from him, looking so happy. Without a notice before, Cloud began running in they're direction, trying to catch up to the walking man and woman.
If she can't hear me, at least I can hear her. He thought, chasing after the two.
"Cloud! Hey! Wait!" Yuffie called out but Cloud had already got out of her reach.
"It's alright, he can't stay here, so when we decide to go back, he'll be dragged along with us," Genie laughed, thinking of the amusement of seeing Cloud being yanked from his gloomy self back into the room.
The spiky blond began catching up to the duo walking and began listening to their conversation. The red head said something he didn't catch, but he watched Aerith's pale pink lips move, her sweet and gentle voice escaping.
"…I just know," she began, seemly to answer the man's question that Cloud had missed a moment ago. He watched as she continued from her long pause. "He's somewhere out there. Even if he has moved on, I know, for just a moment of being with him, I'll be happy."
Cloud was being pulled at his heartstrings. He? Who is 'he'? He couldn't help but think she might have been referring to another man. Why couldn't she say a name?
The tall redhead just snorted. "That's a bit much, wouldn't you think? Why would you waste so much time trying to find someone who may not even care anymore?"
Cloud wished at that moment he could strangle that guy she was with. Who does he think he is? Even doubting Aerith's intentions, it was impossible.
Instead of getting mad like Cloud was, Aerith just smiled at the man and giggled. "That's not like him." Him?! The mystery was eating away at Cloud. His felt his heart pounding so hard, it seemed like it could've jumped out of his skin at any moment. She continued though, still with a cheery expression, "He can come off cold and rough, but that's not who he is…Not my Cloud."
His legs gave in. Clutching to the ground, his fingernails scrapped at the dirt, digging into the earth. Cloud's head became lightweight and soon, he body jolted. He twisted his neck up and saw the world around his disappear and Aerith's body slowly fade form his sight. The cosmos flew past him and he landed back in Aladdin's house, still in the kneeling position form the lotus forest.
Yuffie and Aladdin rushed to Cloud's side trying to his him up. He just brushed them off and fell back onto his backside. He ran his fingered into his blond locks of hair and just began…Laughing.
The chuckling became hysterical and he let out the biggest smile had ever seen across his face. "C-Cloud?" she asked nervously, afraid the trip had caused him to go insane.
"She's real! She's there! I-I saw her! Her voice! I-I…" Cloud's voice choked and the laughing kept spewing out like a volcano. As he continued to laugh though, tiny droplets streamed down his cheeks and he rested his face into his palms.
The genie and Aladdin didn't know how to handle Cloud's reaction, just shortly meeting him, they assumed his cool and collected attitude was his natural persona, but this was a whole new level they didn't predict. However, more shocked than anyone was Yuffie. Cloud was her leader. After everything they had been through together. Losing friends. Fighting monsters. Even at times living together in hotels and inns, not once had she ever seen him lose his composure like this. AVALANCHE's young mercenary leader that saved her planet was now on the floor of some tiny house laughing and crying uncontrollably.
Finally, Cloud raised his head to look at his companions. He laughed again, but trying to hold it back as much as possible, wiping his cheeks free from tears. "I-I don't know what to say…" he chuckled, his voice cracking but blissful.
The only one that seemed to have the best advice was Genie, who wisped his way over to Cloud and hovered over him. "It's not about what you must say, Cloud. It's about you must do."
He nodded back in agreement and stood himself back up between Yuffie and Aladdin. "Yeah…" Cloud said softly, the smile still lingering on his face. Then, another wave of realization occurred. "Yuffie! The ship!"
Yuffie too, snapped back into the reality of the situation. "Oh my gawd. We're stuck here!"
"Ship?" Aladdin asked.
"Uh, it's hard to explain… But…"Yuffie tried to answer back, but didn't want to reveal to much about space travel.
Genie gave her a slight grin and answered, "Gummi problems?"
"H-how'd you know?!" Yuffie exclaimed, covering her mouth afterwards.
"Phenomenal cosmic powers?" The genie answered rather proudly.
Aladdin scratched his head. "I'm still confused."
Cloud explained, "Like Genie showed us, we too can travel worlds, but for real. It's a special ship that allows us to travel to other worlds."
Aladdin's expression grew excited, "Why didn't you guys say so in the first place?"
"We didn't want to be messing with the world's order. If something were to go wrong because of us… Well, you're world and many others could be in danger," Yuffie added, her voice lingered with a guilty tone.
Aladdin just smiled back. "It seems like we're okay, so I wouldn't sweat it. Besides, with the genie at my side, I think we're all safe."
"Oh, Al, don't make be blush!" Genie said, transforming into a shy old woman with curly grey hair.
"Genie, that's getting a little weird…" Aladdin accused, causing the genie to back off and turn back to normal.
"Geez, you said it, not me," He replied back, sticking out his tongue. "Anyway, want me to have a look at the ship for ya?"
"Wouldn't that cost us another wish though?" Yuffie asked, not wanting to hinder Aladdin's chance to get his wish.
Shrugging, Genie replied, "As long as Aladdin keeps his word, I don't see why helping out a friend would be so bad. What you guys will do for me is worth more than a thousand wishes." The blue figures face beamed while looking at the trio of his new comrades.
"On my life Genie, I swear you'll have your freedom!" Aladdin said fiercely.
"Oh Al…" The Genie's face became teary eyed. Before he could let his emotions take hold of him, the Genie transformed into a chubby mechanic wearing overalls and a backwards baseball cap. He changed his voices in a big city accent and sniffed his nose loudly. "Well, lemme see that there big ol' ship of yers."
Out in the desert, the genie carried the trio on his back while he shape shifted into a mini airplane and flew out into the crash site of the Gummi ship. Getting off Genie's plane, Yuffie laid on the ground holding her stomach in illness, even the slightest motions making her sick. Cloud, too, felt a bit out of wack, holding his head and sighing loudly. Aladdin, as well and bringing Abu along, felt completely fine, even slightly better than before, or it was just seeing so many new things he could never see inside the Bazaar's marketplace.
"Wow! This is your ship?!" Aladdin glanced in awe, walking nearer to the broken down machinery.
Yuffie covered her face while she lay in the desert sand. "Yes… That's our cursed ship…"
The genie turned into a mechanic yet again. "Imma guh looky at it and fix 'er up, m'kay?" Just as he finished talking, the mystical being flew around the Gummi ship at lighting speeds, engulfing the ship and hiding it behind a cloud of sand and magic dust. And soon as the storm hit, it faded away and the clouds faded away. The group standing in the desert shielded their eyes, keeping out the sand particles. As everything settled, they removed their hands from their eyes and revealed the brand new ship, dazzling in the warm sunlight.
"Genie! You did it!" Aladdin exclaimed, cheering up and down. Cloud smiled and Yuffie picked her self up form the sand and gawked at the ship.
"You are amazing, Genie!" Yuffie shouted and waved at the blue figure.
The genie floated back down to the trio and said proudly, "Yup! Nothing to it!"
"Thanks, Genie," Cloud said, letting out a tiny grin for him. Genie nodded and gave a large grin back.
"And thanks to you guys, I'll be free as a bird!" he said happily. Aladdin gave him a joking glare and Abu shook his tiny monkey finger at the genie. "Hehe, not before I help my little buddy get the girl of his dreams."
Aladdin, almost feeling guilt for making the genie wait so long, he asked, "Hey, would you still have your powers after I free you?"
The blue figure thought for a second. "You know what… I don't have a clue."
Aladdin sighed, "Well, then, Genie, I want to make my next wish now."
Yuffie and Cloud both seemed shocked; it wasn't like Aladdin to want to do something so shady, not amongst friends.
Genie let out a nervous laugh, "Uh, Al, are you sure in the desert, right here. WE can always wait until after they leave."
"No, Genie," Aladdin said. Genie sighed heavily.
"I didn't think you'd get like this Al…" the genie said, his heart heavily in his throat.
Aladdin just let out a smirk. "Genie, I wish…I wish for your freedom!"
No one could believe their ears. "Al!" Genie exclaimed. The blue genie began to hover in the air and a bright light exploded from his body. The golden shackles along his wrists broke and vanished in the air. The genie yelled loudly as the skies surrounding him swirled and stormed, the cosmos pulling powers form him and releasing him from his prison.
The skies yet again, cleared and the genie fell softly back down to Earth, landing on his feet. He stared in awe as his wrists, then touched his arms and torso, seeing if his feeling of freedom was a tangible, physical object.
"I feel… refreshed…" he said to his friends, stretching his limbs. Genie focused his gaze onto Aladdin who was smiling proudly to the genie. "B-but why now? You never got to fulfill you wish?"
He just laughed back, "I thought you deserve to get your wish first. Besides, friends help out each other… Right?" Aladdin sure was clever.
Genie let out a teary eyed chuckle. "But, how you do know if I still have my power?"
"Just try it," Aladdin responded.
The genie looked at Aladdin curiously. He then, just as usual, snapped his fingers and just thought of what his master's… no wait, friend's wishes were. And, just at the snap of his blue fingers, Aladdin's clothes turned from rags into riches; a outfit fit for a prince.
"See! You did it!" Aladdin said out loud excitedly, running to the genie. "Thanks Genie."
"No, thank you Al… And Yuffie, Cloud," The genie said, turning back to the duo at the ship. "I think it's about time our heroes go get the girl."
Cloud and nodded and walked up to the ship. Yuffie ran out to give hugs and say her goodbyes before jumping back on board.
Once she returned inside the ship, Cloud and Yuffie took off, heading back out into space, amongst the many stars and planets.
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