Disclaimer: Hey there. So far, you already know what I do and do not own. So, let's just skip to the important parts. The Zac Efron in this fic isn't the real one, he's only a characterization. So, I technically own him…just not the name. And that goes for every character you see in here whose name is that of an actor or actress. So, in short, they're all characterizations with the names of the real person (not to be confused with the real person) and they look like the real person (again…not real person). K? Glad we've reached an understanding. If it confuses…skip down to the author's note at the end and read it there again. Reading on…
Chapter 36: Daniel Radcliffe
"I can't believe it happened again!" Ryan screamed in utter frustration. It had been twice now that he had let his sister come close to any danger involving Theresa. But, if he'd allowed himself to give up on Cloe, she would have been in Sharpay's place now. Either way he'd lost. It was all just a really bad set up. Why did it have to be so complicated to choose what to do? "Oh, Ryan." Rachael whispered hoarsely in fear. Ryan glanced over at her horror-struck face and was suddenly confused as to why she was terrified.
It took him a long moment to realize she was scared of him. His hands were balled up into fists and he realized there were blue sparks emanating from his fingertips as he unclenched his grip. He could only imagine what his face looked like at the moment. He tried to calm himself as he looked around the nearly empty cell. "Where's Cloe?" he asked steadily in between shaky breaths. He looked down at his hands and sighed in relief that the sparks had died down a bit.
"Here." Cloe muttered from a far corner of the cell. She had walked of to meditate before the fight. "Cloe…I'm so sorry for everything my –" Ryan began before cutting himself off. "Shh." Cloe breathed enjoying the silence, "Give me a minute." Ryan sighed in frustration and anger. Sharpay may have before, but she'd never once gone to the absolute extremes. After all they'd been through, he'd never expected it to happen like this. Sharpay should have understood. If only there was a way out of this; a way to solve the problem; a way to contact someone who could help. Then, he remembered the terrified girl standing in the room. "Rachael –" he began but didn't have time to finish.
Just then, there was a flash of light and the familiar stench of smoof. Ryan had to look away for a moment until the smoof cleared and the all too familiar white light faded. Ryan looked over again to see a familiar woman holding a lamp. "Thanks, Daniel." She called to the genie who had retreated into his lamp. "Mom!" Cloe screamed in excitement as she ran to the woman, "You got my message. How did you get here so fast?" The two embraced for a second before sighing in relief and letting go.
"I got the message a while in advance." Cloe's mom explained before looking over and noticing Ryan and Rachael, "Hey, kids. Ryan, you don't look so well and Rachael, you look like you've seen a ghost. What's wrong? Wait." She put a hand to her temple and sighed deeply. "I was afraid this would happen, but it was going to happen either way." She answered her own question. No doubt she was seeing what was about to happen and all that had happened. "I have a question." Ryan stated curiously, "Where did you get that lamp?"
To his surprise, the woman laughed. "Oh, dear. Your mother isn't the only one who can pick up a family lamp in Arabia." She smiled warmly at him, "Daniel is just a bit older than Zac." "Wait…" Rachael finally stated, snapping out of her fear, "When you say Daniel, do you mean…Daniel Radcliffe?" "Yes, dear." Cloe's mom chuckled softly, "I suppose we should get out of her to catch up with Sharpay. After all, the prophecy states –" "Screw the prophecy." Ryan mumbled, "I just want everything to go back to making sense and actually meaning something." "Don't worry, Ryan." Cloe's mom comforted as she shook her head in sympathy for him, "We have a plan."
Somewhere deep in the castle…
Sharpay appeared in the center of a huge room. The ceiling was made entirely of glass and there were mirrors on most of the walls. She looked up at the purple-clouded sky and prayed her plan would work. She took a deep breath to gather up her strength. "I'm ready." She called into the empty room, knowing Theresa would hear, "I want to do this." "Good girl." Theresa stated, appearing a few feet in front of Sharpay, who gritted her teeth. Theresa had the lamp in her arms. She had Zac; their only real escape. "Are you sure you want to give up your life with your family and friends to serve me?" she asked Sharpay. "If it means I can get what I want." Sharpay responded, removing her gaze from the lamp and forcing it to land on Theresa's face: her small, well-rounded, cat-like face.
A shiver rolled down Sharpay's spine. Theresa just grinned at her in response. "Are you that desperate that you'll risk your sanity to do what I ask?" she questioned thoughtfully. "What sanity?" Sharpay winced at the thought, but she had a plan and was extremely determined to carry through with it, so she nodded. "Just to be sure, I'll test you." Theresa said, studying the other girl's emotionless expression, "I'll want to be sure that I can trust you." "What do I have to do?" Sharpay asked quickly, sensing it was almost time. "That's a hard one. I'll have to think about it." Theresa thought to herself.
Just then, Rachael and Ryan burst into the room with Cloe following closely. "That's enough!" Ryan shouted. "Decision made." Theresa stated to Sharpay, "Capture them." Immediately, Sharpay's hands flew out and a cage was formed around the trio. Sharpay's face was emotionless as she stared back at Theresa. "I'm impressed." She mused, "I do have to say, I was wrong to think you were stupid and I apologize." Theresa paused to think over her possibilities. "Now, I can drain their powers and use them for myself. I'll be able to use the lamp, but only if I have Cloe's amulet." She continued before turning to Sharpay excitedly, "Do you think you could take it off her? I can't promise you there will be no pain for either of you, but it will be worth it. I can tell."
"I don't need much persuading." Sharpay answered as she looked into the eyes of the three in the cage, "As long as I get what I want, I'll do it." With that, she took a few steps closer to the cage before she was hit in the head with something hard. Ryan had stuck his hand through the bars of the cage and punched her in the side of the head. Immediately, Sharpay grabbed his hand and bit it, watching as he stared in shock. "What was that?" Rachael exclaimed as Ryan managed to pull his hand back to cradle it in his other hand. "Why?" Ryan questioned angrily.
"It's better off this way." Sharpay reminded him as she rubbed her temples, "Besides, you made your decisions and I made mine." "Stupid prophecy." Ryan muttered to himself. "Enough small talk." Theresa demanded, "We don't need what isn't necessary. Just do your job." "Gladly." Sharpay stated with an evil grin, "Now, where were we?" She continued to walk around the cage to where Cloe was and stuck her hands through the bars, reaching for the amulet. Ryan tried to stand in the way, but Rachael held him back.
"Stop!" a female's voice called. Everyone turned to look in the direction of the other door in the room. Standing there was a familiar woman with a lamp. "Hi, mom." Cloe greeted her casually, "You're right on time." "What are you doing here?" Theresa asked the woman, "I thought I left you behind with the others, Myrna." "You did, but I came back." Myrna explained, "I just couldn't resist helping you to take back what's rightfully yours." "Oh? And how would you propose to do that?" Theresa questioned with interest, "Tell me how I cam gain my rightful power."
By now, Sharpay had removed her arms from the cage and taken a step sideways, farther away from Ryan's side of the cage. She was prepared for what was about to happen next and she really hoped there wouldn't e too much trouble. "That's an easy question. I'm surprised you couldn't think of the answer yourself." Myrna responded slyly, "You have to use a lamp." "I can't use a lamp until I get that amulet off your daughter." Theresa growled at that reminder, "And, believe me, I'd have to go through too much to get it to work out the way I want."
Myrna sighed deeply, her soft smile still plastered to her face. "Actually, I was talking about using a more powerful lamp." She continued to explain, "Like the one I have here." She gestured to the lamp in her hand. Theresa's eyes lightened up as she watched the lamp. "That's perfect." She mouthed in awe that her goal was so close to being accomplished. "Give me the lamp you have in your hand and I'll give you my more powerful lamp for you to finish off the job with." Myrna wagered, "I can guarantee success."
Theresa looked from the woman to Cloe, back to the woman again. She stood there, pondering her decision. Myrna had been a powerful ally way back then, when the kind was still in power. Surely, she could be trusted to do the job herself. "What about your daughter?" Theresa questioned her, "Surely, you wouldn't want me to hurt her…or her friends." "I can handle my own daughter just fine, thank you." Myrna replied in a stern tone. Theresa grimaced, not sure she wanted to get on Myrna's bad side. Last time that had happened, Myrna was the one who walked away victorious.
"How about you do the honors of finishing them off?" Theresa forced herself to say, "Since it's your lamp." "No, I think I'd rather not." Myrna answered with a sigh, "Wouldn't you like to claim all the glory of getting rid of them? It's an offer you shouldn't decline." Theresa stiffened just ever so slightly. "Well, that's very thoughtful." She said, "I appreciate it." Myrna nodded. "My lamp for yours." She demanded, "That's my offer and it still stands strong."
Theresa thought about it for a second. Why not accept now? She could always get the other lamp back later using the more powerful one. That was her answer. "I accept your generous offer." Theresa finalized the situation, "Step forward and we'll make the switch." "Gladly." Myrna responded happily as the two took a few steps closer to each other. That was Sharpay's queue and she really hoped it would work. Sharpay let down the cage, fully prepared for what she had coming.
(A/N) Cliffie Alert! Okay, so all I need now is at least 6 reviews per posted chappie and I'll have my 200 I want from everyone. I feel the need to do simple math today in practice for all my math tests and stuffs. So yeah…thx for reviewing so far. So yeah. Uh…back to the main point of discussion. About what I said in my disclaimer about the characters in this fic who are my genies (aka Zac Efron and Daniel Radcliffe) are only characterizations of the actors. K? They aren't the real people, but they have the same name and look exactly like them. But they're only characterizations.
Key word here: characterizations.
Like the characters Rachael and Theresa are characterizations of two of my best friends, yet they aren't the same people I see practically every single day. Get it now? I hope so cuz I'd hate to get reported for faulty information. If you need more explaining (which I don't think you will cuz everyone's smart enough to get what I've been trying to say) then just ask in a review or you can PM me and I'll be glad to help. YAY! Chocolate cakes for everyone who reviews! If you don't like chocolate, then let me know and I can improvise. YAY AGAIN! Okay then. Looks around in confusion. L8rs!