Abis Mal blushed and scuffed one of his feet across the sand. He looked over at Jean and she nodded. She believed in him. He had realized during his time in the Cave of Wonders that he'd always been a smart person; otherwise he'd never have become a leader of surly desert skunks several times. His problems had arisen from a lack of confidence which made him nervous and unsure and resulted in him doing stupid things which made the skunks want to slice him in half.

Now he had someone who believed in him. He looked at all of them and then turned to Jasmine. "Princess, if you can't wish for the asteroid to go away, what would your wish be?"

Jasmine looked up at Razoul and smiled. "I want him to be a prince and my fiancé and then Daddy can't refuse to let me marry him."

Abis Mal nodded. "And eventually you become Sultanas without having to wish for it. That's a good choice."

Genie smiled and popped his knuckles as he built up his magic. "I can do that, but what happens next?"

"Yeah!" Iago declared. "Then it's time for a new master. I volunteer."

Genie scrunched up his face. "A bird for a master? Well, it's better than some of the bird brains I've had to serve." He glared at Aunty and Jafar and then looked at Abis Mal. "You, I suppose?"

Abis Mal stepped back and shook his head, waving his hands in front of his body. "No. No. It's too much temptation for me to even chance. To make what I've planned work we have to give the lamp to someone who would have no temptation to misuse it. We have to have someone who understands what being a genie means and what Genie Incorporated is like."

He gestured to his left. "I think a former genie fits the bill perfectly as she has all the power she needs right now and has none of the temptations."

Jean swallowed. "May you be proved right."

Genie scratched his head. "It sounds good, but why am I worried? Isn't there a certain imp from Accounting that we'd all like to see drawn and quartered? It seems like he's a pretty big temptation."

Jean smiled nastily. "I already took care of that the first second I was free."

"Shucks." Genie declared. "That was going to be my first act too; although I was thinking of boiling licorice."

Jean laughed. "Already done."

"A woman after my own heart." Genie exchanged a high five with her.

Jasmine looked from one to the other. "And what are the three wishes going to be?"

Everyone looked at Abis Mal. "I'll whisper them to Jean and I can tell you one of them but Genie Incorporated might stop us if I reveal the others." He looked over at Genie. "We're going to wish for the help of the genies to stop the asteroid."

Genie frowned. "I still see the same objections as before but, oh well, let's give it a try." He looked over at Jasmine and Razoul. "I guess it's time."

Jasmine nodded. "Genie, for my third wish I wish that Razoul be discovered to be a long-lost prince today and that we be engaged to be married. I want Daddy to be overjoyed and you, Genie I want you to help plan the wedding and the celebration."

"One Prince coming up." Genie began his measuring routine. "Hmm, shirt sized XXXLarge. I wonder if we have that in stock? Work with me here, my good man. How come your waist is so narrow? Do you like being built like a splitting wedge? I can add a few pounds at the waist if you'd like. And that missing tooth has to go. It's just not chic."

"Genie," Jasmine said as Razoul looked around helplessly. "Do the clothes only. He's just fine the way he is."

"I am an artiste. You don't command an artiste." He caught her look and sighed. "All right, the customer is always right, even when they're violating the laws of good taste."

He gestured. "One prince coming up." There was a loud SWOOSH. Razoul stood there in white and silver with a surprised look on his face. Genie frowned. "We're missing an accessory here."

There was a ding, ding and the carpet flew up and settled on Razoul's shoulders and clasped its tassels around his neck. "You're right, rug man. He needs a cape mucho much." He gestured and the rug became a brightly colored cape. Genie smiled. "Just unclasp if you want to be flying carpet again." He grinned at Razoul. "Now, you'll always have your transportation with you."

Jasmine passed the lamp to Jean. "Your turn." She said. "Don't blow it." She slipped her arm about Razoul.

Jean smiled. "I have no intention of it." She rubbed the lamp and then looked at Genie. "Is it official?"

Genie bowed to her said. "Yes, mistress. It's official. I won't have to go over the rules because you probably know them better than me. What is your first wish?"

Jean smiled. "Genie, I want to be the head of Genie Incorporated. I want to make and enforce all the rules without opposition."

Genie stared at her and then he got a huge grin. "I think I see where this going and I'm going to love it."

He gestured, there was a flash and smoke filled the air, and when the smoke cleared Jean was sitting at a large desk and a crowd of imps was in front of the desk whimpering and crying. One of the imps was black from melted licorice.

"For this wish session the rule limiting the wisher to three wishes is suspended until I say so." She declared. The imps responded with gasps of horror.

She looked over at the entrance to the Cave of Wonders. "Guardian, do you want to put down your responsibilities and live free?"

"Oh, please, do so." Came the bass reply.

Jean smiled. "Then I wish you free in the form of a panther, if that's fine with you?"

"To be free." The Guardian declared. "To be able to run with the winds and across the dunes, chasing the moon through the clouds, has always been my fondest dream. Please, make it so."

"Guardian, you're free." She declared and there was a poof and a black panther whose head was level with Jasmine's chin appeared before them.

"Free!" It shouted and then it sprang into the air, twisted in mid jump, hit the ground on all four feet and then sped away so quickly that it was soon lost in the distance.

Jean smiled. "That felt good." She declared. She turned back to Genie. "For my next wish, I will free all the genies." There was a cry of horror from the imps.

An old imp in a white beard waved a cane at her. "Please, Mistress, don't do that."

She glared at him. "Why not? Slavery should always be done away with wherever it's found." Genie nodded as he too glared at the elderly imp.

The old imp refused to whither under their stares. "Because some of them are here to serve for crimes such as mass murder and if you let them go, then they will revert to form and start killing again."

Jasmine said into the quiet that fell. "You mean it would be like emptying our prison of insane killers?"

The old imp nodded. "Yes, Princess, but unlike the murderers you would let go, these beings would be immortal."

Jean sighed. "Then forget that wish." She looked around. "Any suggestions?"

Jasmine asked. "Do you know who these insane and murderous dijiin are?"

The old imp turned and talked to one of the other imps for a moment before he turned back to Jean. "All the ones with black bars on their personnel files are the criminals or insane. Besides, you have to realize that some of the others without the black marks like to be genies and enjoy the life. They will not thank you for freeing them."

Jean nodded, paused for a moment, and then grinned. "I then wish for all the genies without black marks on their files who wish to be free to be so."

There was a flash of light and a roll of thunder. Genie looked down in wonder as his manacles fell off his wrists. "Free." He whispered. "Free after ten thousand years." He screamed. "World, look out. Here I come!" He blasted off as a flaming rocket and vanished into the distance.

The old imp watched him go. "There goes the company's reputation. Now we're left with genies who half the time will want to trick you and turn the wishes against you."

Jean looked over at him. "Was it better to keep dijin who wanted to be free as slaves? You don't know how much I hungered for freedom all those years."

He didn't answer but instead asked. "What happens now? Do you continue to run Genie Incorporated?"

"I have another task before I can step down." She declared. "I wish for all the remaining genies to help push the asteroid off course or make it vanish."

There was a crash of thunder, followed by a bright flash of light. When the light faded a column of smoke came pouring out of the desk. A sepulture voice intoned. "ERROR. ERROR. COOPERATIVE USE OF DIJIIN FORBIDDEN BY THE FOUNDING WIZARD, IZRA THE MAD. WISH IS INVALID ACCORDING TO CHAPTER ELEVEN, CLAUSE FOURTEEN OF THE ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION WHICH CANNOT BE OVER-RIDDEN."

There was another flash of light and after it faded, the voice continued. "DUE TO VIOLATION WISHER IS NO LONGER HEAD OF COMPANY AND IS HEREIN EXPELLED."

This time lightning struck the desk and threw Jean back in the air where Razoul lifted up his arms. "I've got you." He said as he plucked her out of the air. The pieces of the desk and the imps seem to pour down a whirlpool. The one covered with black licorice stuck his tongue out at them as he vanished. There was a POP and then they were gone.

"Jean! Jean, are you okay?" Abis Mal hurried over and put his hand on her arm.

She opened her eyes, coughed out some smoke, and smiled at him. "I guess I'm no longer the head of Genie Incorporated."

"I'm sorry. You could've been hurt because of my bright idea." Abis Mal hung his head.

She indicated that Razoul should put her down and Jasmine held her arm as she got her feet under her. "It wasn't your fault." Jean told Abis Mal and she walked over and embraced him. "We were all at fault as we didn't know all the facts." She sighed. "How damn strong was Izra the Mad anyway?"

Abis Mal nodded and frowned. "That's a good question and why was he involved in both the creation of the Cave of Wonders and Genie Incorporated?"

Iago landed on Razoul's shoulder and said. "They're both good questions, people, but they're not the one that concerns me. That asteroid's still going to hit and there's nothing we can do to stop it." He then shouted in their faces. "How are we going to survive?!"

Jasmine sighed. "A good point, Iago. We're going to need some help here."

A breeze stirred around them and then Genie landed beside them. "Hi, guys, did you miss me?" He was wearing tourist gear with three cameras around his neck.

Jean frowned. "I thought you'd be out seeing and doing everything, Genie."

Genie shrugged his blue shoulders and the gear vanished to be replaced with open albums full of pictures floating in the air, some showing Genie at the Eiffel Tower, Genie on Baker Street with Holmes and Watson, Genie swinging through the trees on vines with Tarzan and Jane, Genie swimming in the Reflection Pond at the foot of the Washington Monument, Genie with the Russian and Japanese astronauts and cosmonauts at the International Space Station, Genie on the Great Wall, and finally Genie swimming in the lava and blowing lava out his mouth in one of the Hawaiian volcanoes.

The pictures vanished and he sighed. "That's the trouble with being a genie. Everything happens too fast. Been there. Done that. The only people I know now are you guys and you're going to need my help with that asteroid impact, so I'll stick around if you'll have me."

He grinned at Razoul and turned into the fashion designer again. "Besides I have a wedding to plan, big boy." He said as he leered, juggling several tape measures. Razoul whitened and ran a thumb around his collar which suddenly seemed too tight.

Jasmine patted Razoul reassuringly on the arm and then smiled. "Genie, we'd be honored to have you as a friend. Won't we, Razoul?"

Razoul looked at her and then nodded. He turned back to Genie and grinned, showing his missing tooth. "I'd be honored, Genie, as long as you are her friend, you're mine too."

Genie leaned over and whispered to Iago. "Did I detect a threat there?"

Iago nodded his head as he flapped his wings. "You certainly did." He then looked at Jasmine. "Princess, since the position of Grand Vizier is now vacant, I'd like to apply for the job."

Jasmine frowned and then a small smile tugged at the edges of her lips. "I'll consider it seriously, Iago, in light of all that you've done to help us. But be warned that I'll consult with my fiancé before I decide as he knows a lot about you and what you did with Jafar."

It was Iago's turn to get the empty toothed grin from Razoul. "Sure. No problem." He replied.

Genie whispered. "I don't like the looks of that grin."

Iago whispered back. "Neither do I, but with that asteroid coming this looks like the only game left in town."

Genie turned to Jasmine. "Princess, I'm sorry I couldn't do more about that asteroid and I'm not as phenomenal as I used to be but having a retired genie around should help with getting through the bad times and I bet I can find some of the other freed genies to assist me. If I find enough of them, maybe we can help do something about that thing or make sure more people survive it."

"Would you like some more help?" Someone said in a deep rumbling voice.

They turned to see the former Guardian in his black-panther form sitting on his haunches looking hopefully at them.

"Hey, Baggy, it's good to see ya again." Genie declared, turning into a blue bear and raising his paw for a high-five swat.

"I'm not Bagheera the panther and you're not Baloo." It retorted as it strode by him, ignoring the open palm.

Genie turned back into himself and rested his head on his folded fingers. "Everybody's a critic these days." He complained.

The panther strode over and looked Abis Mal up and down while the little man fidgeted. It finally nodded its head. "I never did figure out who you were while you were inside me, but I now declare that you're indeed a diamond in the rough."

Jean put her arm around Abis Mal. "I could've told you that." She kissed the top of his head.

While they all talked, Razoul at Jasmine's suggestion released the carpet cape which immediately turned back into the flying carpet which then floated at their feet. She clapped her hands, getting all their attention. "All right, people, it's getting late and we need to get back to Agrabah." There was a rush of air and suddenly several more rug friends of the carpet were rippling at everybody's feet. Jasmine waved her hand at the carpets. "Our transportation is here. So, please mount up and we'll see you back at the palace."

With that she hopped onto the carpet beside Razoul. "Carpet, the palace." She commanded. With a ding the carpet took off.

Razoul put his arm around her. "We almost won everything this time, Princess. But I have faith in you. I'm sure you'll figure the rest out."

She snuggled closer to him. "Oh, I think already have, Razoul, and now that we're engaged, please call me Jasmine." She slipped her arms about his neck and pulled him down for a long kiss.