Chapter 10: Surprise

"At least it was easy to find Mirage's tent in all of these places," Aladdin remarked as Fara helped pull him up to the surface of a table using a spool of thread. She'd found a way up to the table and used almost a full spool of thread to lower down like a rope to where Aladdin waited. He'd had to grip the thread with his one good hand and allow her to pull the thread until he was safely on the table.

"Well, if we're looking for any kind of spells to reverse this curse, we'd best hurry before she finds we're missing from the stage," Fara caught her breath before she helped Aladdin to his feet.

Aladdin looked around, spotting the large spell book on the surface of the table. The good news was that it was already open, to the table of contents no less.

"It's gotta be here somewhere...Spells...Spells. A-ha. Here it is. It really does have a puppet spell in this book. But it's over 200 pages into the book!"

Fara's shoulders slumped. "It would take us more effort than we have between the two of us to turn all those pages."

A voice startled both of them. "I think since I'm the bigger force at work here, I might be able to help you kids out. Though I don't think it takes semi-phenomenal power to turn a spellbook's pages."

"Genie!" Aladdin was relieved to see him, though from a puppet's perspective, Genie looked extraordinarily tall, more than usual. "How did you...?"

"Let's just say I got your message on the lamp a little late." Genie winced, looking between Aladdin and Fara. "Came here as soon as we figured out what happened, but I didn't think Mirage knew that puppet spell. It's an old one."

"I'd like to think she got that spell from the demon crowd she's entertaining," Fara said. "As well as the book here. They're a powerful magic bunch, and their entertainment is the price for being able to wield such spells."

Genie nodded. "You must be the lovely Fara."

Aladdin raised a brow. "How did you know?"

Genie shrugged. "I might've met a little drummer bear on the way here that told me everything that happened up until now. Looks like they're into the second act of the play you're supposed to be in. He told me you guys would be somewhere around looking for a way to break the curse. Had to slip around incognito to make sure Mirage didn't see me. Jasmine saw you guys on stage and figured something was wrong."

"Definitely. Mirage wants to..." Aladdin stopped midsentence, wincing as he clutched his stomach. Fara's hands rested on Aladdin's shoulders to steady him, preventing him from collapsing.

"That's not a good sign," Genie said, frowning.

Aladdin spoke between his teeth. "It's a good sign for the puppets. At least I know they're entertaining the crowd if it's making me turn into a puppet faster. We've gotta find the cure, Genie. For the both of us."

"Righty-O, then!" Genie gave a thumbs up and went flipping through the pages of the spellbook to find the puppet curse. "Let's see. Just a bit of mixing chemicals and a little heat. I think all of these ingredients might already be in here, from the looks of it. You two are gonna have to drink an icky tonic I have to make, and you're just as good as cured."

"There has to be a catch to that," Fara said. "It can't be that easy."

Genie stroked the curl of his beard. "Yeah, about that... there may be some side effects. So says the fine print."

"Like?" Aladdin asked.

"You may not get your height back right away, if at all. And the fact that the chances of you getting back your humanity are 50-50."

Aladdin and Fara both winced.

"Better odds than nothin'," Fara said, but her voice betrayed her worry.

Jasmine, Iago, Abu, and Carpet were all in the same area as the demons. Jasmine was still in disguise in the heart of the crowd, with Abu under her cloak. Iago and Carpet had been turned into miniature versions of their normal selves to keep "incognito."

Iago was not happy about this. "Geez, these demons are way too easily entertained. A puppet show? Seriously?"

Jasmine put a finger to her lips to hush him, before speaking in a low tone. "I haven't seen Aladdin on stage since we were in here a while ago. It looks like Mirage is getting restless too."

"What do ya think the kid's doin'?"

"Genie went to find him. I'm hoping nothing's happened, but it's hard to say." Jasmine looked in the direction of where Mirage sat just moments before, only to find it empty. She gasped, but swallowed it down just as quickly.

Iago noticed at the same time. "Oh terrific - the cat's outta the tent, we're all doomed. Where would she go that fast?"

"I don't know, but if we don't find her, I have a feeling something horrible will happen."

Fitz looked nervous as Darbin stepped off-stage. "Everything's going fine at least as the demons are concerned, but I'm worried about the kid. We're almost halfway through the second act and he's still not back yet. Even with the Genie stopping by."

Darbin nodded. "It may be that they've been compromised, but I hope that isn't the case."

Fitz raised a brow. "Say, you have a lot more faith in that kid than you did first meeting him."

Darbin cut his eyes at the drummer bear. "I do believe he IS the real Aladdin now. I was...mistaken before. Between planning the acts for us to put on - the songs and stories - and his determination to break his and Fara's curse - I do believe he is the only one who can do it. His Genie seemed well enough, and it seems that his friends are here in support. I do not think any of them will give up so easily."

A screech behind them made shivers go down both Fitz and Darbin's spines. They slowly turned to see Mirage's glowing eyes staring down at them.

"You two better tell me everything you know, or you'll be missing every last inch of stuffing inside you!" Mirage hissed.