Chapter 13: Fear Itself
Aladdin acted on impulse, as he realized all of them were in immediate danger, especially Jasmine. Even if he had shouted to her that Jatika was impersonating Genie, he knew that Jatika would potentially take advantage of the situation. And there was too little time to tell Warek the truth, and run the risk of Jatika noticing Aladdin's suspicions.
Aladdin slammed into Genie's back, sending them tumbling to the ground. Warek caught up to Jasmine, both of them staring at the two in surprise.
Jatika held up his hands, appearing surprised. "Al, I really don't think this is a good time to start playing tackle. I left my helmet at home..." Jatika's voice faltered, so much so that it was a clear giveaway of his identity. Jasmine and Warek both caught on at the same time, while Aladdin recovered faster than the fallen imp.
"Maybe you shouldn't try to hide who you really are, 'Genie.' Or should I call you Jatika?" Aladdin snapped.
Jatika's true voice spoke after that, though he was still in Genie's form. "Guilty as charged."
"Where's the real Genie and Carpet?" Jasmine demanded, her fury matching Aladdin's.
Jatika laughed. "A bit occupied for the moment, fueling my sleep spell over Agrabah." Jatika paused, glancing at the surprised faces staring back at him. "All I wanted was just to have a bit of fun with you, pretties. But now that you've found me out, it's a pity I must destroy you." Jatika slowly stood and went to reach for his side, where the lamp was, but found it missing. "What? My source? Where...?"
"I take it you're looking for this?" Aladdin brought out the lamp in his hands from behind his back, a confident smile accompanying his taunt. He'd been able to snatch it from Jatika in the scuffle, Yet, he realized that he didn't have a clear way of destroying the vessel of Jatika's power - it wasn't as if the lamp could be destroyed the same way as the snake staff. The imp recognized this quickly as Aladdin's expression faltered.
"I would suggest you hand that back if you know what's good for you, boy."
Aladdin shook his head. "Not a chance."
"Well, that's unfortunate. I suppose you might need something to convince you to change your mind. The wager of your friends' lives, perhaps?" Jatika conjured balls of magic in each of his hands and shot them over toward Jasmine and Warek. Jasmine was barely able to dodge the blast, tripping and falling to the ground as the ball soared over her head and crashed into a nearby clearing. But Warek wasn't as quick, the blast hitting the merchant's stomach and sending him slamming into the bark of a nearby tree.
"Warek!" Aladdin shouted, but his fear was short-lived as he saw the merchant rise slowly, coughing while wincing and clutching the sides of his arms.
"I'm alright, Prince. Don't give into his demands!"
Jatika rolled his eyes, but turned to Aladdin with wicked malice in his expression as his hands glowed with two more balls of powerful magic. "Your choice, Aladdin, their deaths to fuel your fear, or your death to fuel their fears."
Aladdin gripped the lamp in his hands tight, feeling a mix of anguish and fear in his veins. But it left as quick as it came as a plan came to his mind. He realized that it could either go very right or very wrong. It's the only way I know that'll keep Jatika from harming Jasmine and Warek any more than he already has. I hope it helps Genie and Carpet somehow, too. He gathered his might and turned his focus on the disguised imp. "You know something, Jatika? You're nothing but a coward."
Jatika raised one brow. "Really? You're pulling out the 'coward' insult again? How original...and pathetic."
"I'm serious. All this time, you've been dancing around with us, playing these stupid games, using tricks to draw your source of power. And you disguise yourself as others to scare them. If you were really amounting to anything, you'd fight your own battles."
Aladdin wasn't expecting his words to hit as sharp as they did, especially considering the imp's features completely fell. Jasmine looked at Aladdin with concern, but Aladdin flashed a small grin at her - his expression communicating much along the lines of "Trust me."
Jatika's rage bubbled. "You dare to insult my power? Do you know how many people in Agrabah I have under my command, how easy it would be for me to destroy you and your friends?"
"Been there, done that. If you really wanted to destroy me, you'd have done it by now." Aladdin shrugged, feigning disinterest. "Instead of trying to scare me and put me and my friends in some kind of waking nightmare. I haven't even begun to see what powers you have, besides shifting into whoever you want. That might've been interesting for a little while, but it's getting a little..." He yawned in exaggeration. "Boring. Besides, if you weren't a coward, you'd actually show your true form for what it is."
Jatika fell for it, as far as Aladdin could tell. He shapeshifted from a very cherry red Genie (equivalent to the imp's growing anger) to his original form - dark sockets for eyes, protruding sharp teeth, sharp claws, but yet tiny in stature.
Aladdin didn't allow the sight of Jatika's true form to get to him much (he'd seen it already), but he could hear Jasmine and Warek's gasps. Even small, Jatika looked scary in form.
"That's him! That's the demon I've seen!" Warek said.
Jatika turned to look over his shoulder. "Yes, and I can adjust my height accordingly, if you'd like." He grew to over twice his size with his magic.
That, Aladdin admitted, made him seem a lot more scary. But he wouldn't let his fears overwhelm him. Not anymore, and certainly not by the likes of Jatika.
For a moment, the lamp grew hot in Aladdin's hands, shifting into a clear crystal with sharp edges. The heat from it caused him to drop it to the sands as it absorbed power. The imp was too occupied, as Aladdin saw Jasmine and Warek lifted in midair, a red light enveloping them. Aladdin's eyes widened in horror as he realized Jatika was extracting fear from them.
Jatika laughed. "You may not fear me anymore, boy, but your friends certainly do."
"Aladdin, help!" Jasmine cried.
Aladdin thought fast. He struggled to keep his voice calm. "You're being a coward again, Jatika."
That had all the effect of Aladdin scolding Jatika as if the imp were a little kid. Aladdin thought Jatika would laugh it off, but the imp was just as angry as before. "And how would you come to that conclusion, boy?"
"'Cause you're still not fighting your own battles! You wanna fight me, then fight me!"
Jatika groaned, then snapped his fingers, which released the magic from around Jasmine and Warek, dropping them back to the sands. He turned to face Aladdin, a wicked grin crossing his features, a large gathering of magic between his hands. "Oh, I don't think you have to worry about it being much of a fight, street rat. Because the few exerted breaths you take now will be your last!"
Then the imp threw the ball, which exploded and streamlined through the air at such a rate, everything else seemed to still. There was no way for Aladdin to have enough time to move from it.
Which was exactly what Aladdin wanted. In as quick of a motion, Aladdin grabbed the hot crystal from the ground. Though it stung his hand, he hurled it with all his might at the oncoming blast. If I can't destroy Jatika's source of power myself, then I might as well have him do the honors, and hope it doesn't have too much collateral.
Jatika realized too late that had been Aladdin's intention all along.
"No!" Jatika cried, as the magic and crystal collided.
"Okay, I'm going to take that blast as a very bad sign," Genie said as he flew with Carpet over the trees. They hadn't broken their confines for very long (after giving Agrabah's people a fun dream involving jugglers, dancing lions, and some other odd improvisations that Genie came up with off the top of his head), but the blinding explosion - though brief - a distance away was something that stood out, an understatement. They were going to investigate, but Genie caught sight of Iago, Abu and Rajah nearby.
"It's the rug! And Blue Boy. Man, you guys missed a bunch." Iago said, brushing off his wings. "I've molted feathers over blinding lights, tasted terrible seaweed, had to wake up a sleeping prince, and nearly gotten smothered in a city-wide sleep spell. Just another typical day."
"Was that Jatika?" Genie asked, ignoring Iago's complaints as he turned to Abu. Abu screeched as he made a series of gestures explaining what happened. Genie cringed.
"Oh man, Al, Jas and Warek were searching in that direction? Not good."
At the mention, Rajah growled, baring his teeth and taking off in the direction where they'd all seen the blast.
"Hey! Wait up furball!" Iago flew after him.
"Guess that's our cue. Let's move Carpet," Genie said, boarding Carpet alongside Abu as they sped off in the distance.
It didn't take them long to reach the area, which rained remnants of sparkling magic through the air. It was a beautiful sight for anyone to behold, except for one aberration. Genie's features twisted in confusion when he saw Jatika squirming on the ground. At first neither of them could figure out what he was saying until they approached.
"My power! All my power, gathered all these nights on the Oasis. Gone! I say, it's gone!"
"Serves you right, you big palooka," Iago muttered.
"Well, he's right about one thing - he was crafting so much power that it short-circuited all his power outlets, including his usual shapeshifting. Now he's just a tiny, harmless, rather disproportionate looking imp."
"You shut up! How dare you insult my..." Jatika had spoken, but Genie interrupted him by using his magic to replace the imp's mouth with a closed zipper.
A voice interrupted the group, as Warek staggered forward, rubbing his eyes. "It seems to me that you all seem well for the moment, my magic and animal friends."
"We were just wondering the same thing," Genie said. "You okay, Warek?"
"I could be better. I was with the princess, but she was thrown back by the blast as well." He looked over his shoulder at a rustle of leaves not far from where he stood, and Jasmine emerged while rubbing her own eyes.
"I'm okay, but where's Aladdin? He was closer to the blast than any of us."
Not long after Jasmine's words, Aladdin emerged from the brush, leaning on a nearby tree for support. Jasmine reached him first, catching him in an embrace.
"Al! You're okay!" Genie disappeared and reappeared, picking Aladdin and Jasmine up from the ground. Aladdin winced, but had a grin on his face.
"Well at least I know you're the real Genie for sure, Genie. Is this nightmare over, then?"
Genie nodded. "Yeah, kid, it's over."
"Oh my, what a fascinating story, though quite the troubling ordeal," Sultan said as they were all settled at the Palace, and Agrabah was back to sorts the next day. Carpet (who surprised everyone considering rugs didn't usually sleep) took to rest shortly after arriving back at Agrabah. Iago, Abu, and Rajah had listened for about half the story before slipping into their own slumbers. Genie was the storyteller, Aladdin and Jasmine filled in details.
The Sultan looked thoughtful as he considered another question. "So whatever happened to that infernal imp that was the cause of all this?"
Aladdin nodded. "Genie strapped him inside a rocket and sent him far away from the Oasis. He won't be scaring us or anyone in Agrabah any time soon."
"I think he's even all the way in Getizstan by now," Jasmine said, a small smile upon her lips. "But what happened to Warek? I haven't seen him since we got back to the city."
Genie grinned. "Oh, he's taking up residence in Agrabah a while, along with Dyna. The Sultan gave him a feast to remember and considering he said he liked the future Sultan and Sultana of Agrabah, this might be a better place for him to take up residence and work. He just has to get in contact with his wife about it."
"That's great, Genie," Aladdin said, sinking back into his chair. "I guess I'm glad to know that my friends are all who they say they are."
Jasmine wrapped her arms around Aladdin's shoulders. "That's one thing you'll never have to fear."
THE END