Meanwhile, Ben is waiting for Peter on the curb, having picked up the mail from the po box, and sighed as Jasmine purred, resting on the console, and meowed at him, and Ben chuckled softly, "Sorry, Princess, couldn't help myself to worry...I know Peter can take care of himself, and the girls would have some self-defense moves, thanks to Gwen's father and all, but it's still dangerous out there, especially at night around New York City.".
Jasmine purred lightly, licking Ben's hand, and Ben chuckled, "You're right, Princess, we trust Peter, and we should. He just always felt like a son to me, you know?", and Jasmine mewed.
Ben smiled softly before an urgent knock came, and Ben looked up, seeing an unfamiliar face looking at him, holding a gun in view, and Ben widened his eyes, seeing the face gesture furiously at him, and Ben exhaled, "Okay, just a robbery. Come on, Princess.", not wanting to invoke his temper, and not wanting to get killed, emerging out as Jasmine hissed in warning, yowling.
The bouncer thief had used another staff elevator, and a secret pathway of stairs that he ran up and out, holding a bag of money, and spat, "Hand over the keys, old man!". Ben calmly replied, "I won't, and I know you wouldn't kill with that gun...After all, you seem like a respectable young man.", trying to dissuade the situation.
"I'm not! And give me the keys, now!", the bouncer thief shouted as he threatened Ben with the gun, and that was when Jasmine couldn't hold back, not wanting to lose another father figure on her watch. She can't go through this again! Not again!
She attacked the man's face, yowling and scratching, a thrashing furball of fury and protectiveness, barely hearing Ben's voice shout in surprise and fear, "Princess!", as she kept attacking as the man shouted in pain, fury, and confusion, trying to grab at the cat, wanting to get the damn cat off his face, unconsciously firing up the gun.
Everything practically went slow for Jasmine when the gun went off. She had no idea where the bullet had gone but due to the fact that things suddenly just about stopped for her and a sudden rush of pain, it was probably safe to assume that she was hit.
"Princess!", Ben cried out as he threw a fist that stuck the thief in the chin; getting through to the young man was all but gone from his thoughts now thanks to that. The man fell over and hit his head hard against the ground, knocking him out instantly and when he would eventually awake, he will have a serious concussion.
Jean and Gwen and Peter felt something awfully painful shooting through them as they were almost at the exit of the underground place, and under seconds, Jean was the first one to recognize the aura behind the pain, "Jasmine!", her eyes widening in horror and fear.
Gwen gasped in horror, searching for Jasmine's heart with her ears, "Shit! Something happened! Let's go!", and Peter was afraid and horrified as he ran with the girls, pleading that Uncle Ben was with her.
The trio moved as fast as they could, at least without drawing undue attention in Gwen's case since she obviously could be there faster.
"Please be alright, please be alright..." Peter was practically begging to himself as they cut through the crowd that was beginning to build nearby where he was supposed to meet up with Uncle Ben.
Ben's voice is heard, "Hold on, Princess! Peter will be here any minute, and we'll take you to the vet!", as a weak yowl is heard, "I'm sorry, but I gotta carry you!".
Peter came through, "Uncle Ben?!", before widening his eyes in horror as he saw Jasmine in Ben's arms, bleeding and looking pale, "No, no!", and Jean gasped in horror with Gwen holding her hands to her mouth in horror and shock.
"Anybody know where the pet hospital is?!", a passersby shouted, and another passerby replied, "Got one! There is one two blocks down that way!", pointing a hand in the direction of the pet hospital.
Jasmine barely heard the voices as she cried in pain, feeling terribly weak, whimpering, giving out a yowl of pain as she felt hands passing her over, and then heard Peter's voice, "I'm here! We're all here!", and she weakly opened her eyes to see Peter looking down at her, with both girls on his sides, barely recognizing that they were in the back of the car, with Ben driving quickly into the throes of traffic.
She barely asked, "Is Uncle Ben okay?", and Jean looked at her with an upset look, "He's fine, but why did you do that, Jasmine?".
Jasmine weakly replied, "Can't fail again...Can't lose another father...Worth it...I'm sorry but princesses gotta do what they do...Peter needs Uncle Ben...I'm just a cat...".
Gwen sobbed, "You're not just a cat, Jasmine! You're our friend, and much more! You didn't fail us! Please don't leave us, Jasmine!".
Jasmine gave a little meow, replying, "I feel so tired...I want to see Papa again...It hurts...", and Peter cried, "Please don't leave, Jasmine...I want to see you again, to be human again...We can't...we can't lose you...".
Jasmine gave a weak purr, "You're the best friends a princess would ever have...I only wish I would share my first time with you, Peter...All of you...I wish I want to say those words, but I can say that I deeply care for you...You're my family...Tell Uncle Ben it wasn't his fault...He was right...With great power comes great responsibility.", looking at her beloved ones before her world became black.
"Hello?", Jasmine called out into the void. There was nothing around her but she still strangely felt herself conscious but her whole world was black; she was certain that she had died. How strange it was... when under the hell of Jafar, she wished death so bad to end it all, but now... with a brand-new life in many ways... that wasn't the case.
She walked around, glad to be human in this place, calling out again, "Hello, anybody here?", and a voice replied behind her, "You have never failed me, daughter.", with a warm chuckle.
Jasmine froze up when she heard that voice as she looked around. "Father?", she whispered. "Father, is that you?", she called out, desperate to find the source of the voice.
The Sultan gave a chuckle, "Come here and give a hug to your Papa, my little Jasmine.", and Jasmine spun around to see her father smiling and looking so healthy again, and Jasmine gasped, sobbing, "Papa!", running and kneeling down to hug her father.
Jasmine sobbed as she was in her father's warm grasp, a feeling she thought she would never experience again, and certainly one she missed after so many years. "There, there, Jasmine... it's alright...", the sultan tried to assure her as she continued to sob with mostly tears of joy.
"I'm so sorry, Father! I abandoned our home, our people, and it wasn't even by choice!", Jasmine sniffed and cried into her father's shoulder as her father rubbed her back, "Oh, Jasmine...It was Jafar's fault...I should have seen it coming long ago, but alas, he controlled Agrabah behind my back for years before the whole wish fiasco ... Dulling my mind, making me weak in front of Agrabah, making me look like I don't care for the people...", with a sigh.
Jasmine stayed silent as her father gently rubbed her hair, "And of course, I shielded you a bit too much from the world... and for that, I apologize... I should've allowed you more of your freedom growing up..."
Jasmine looked at her father as she leaned back, "Really?", before realizing that her father is speaking English.
"Papa, you...you're speaking English!", Jasmine gasped, and the sultan chuckled softly, "You can be surprised that the heavens have tutors, and of course, it helped when your mother was the tutor.".
Jasmine whispered, "You saw Mama?", and the sultan smiled, "She's proud of you, Jasmine...You're so much like her...And you never failed me...You fought for Agrabah, for your people by defying Jafar every day...You inspired them...".
"Me? But I was forced to be his harlot, his slave, everything!", Jasmine closed her eyes in shame and gave a sob as she sat down, wrapping her arms around her knees. She's devasted with one obvious fact...She can't give her father grandchildren to adore and watch over from the heavens...
"No one can blame you for what had happened... what was forced upon you... you could've easily taken the safe and easy route of things... to succumb to Jafar's desires. But you didn't... you defied him at every turn and never gave him the satisfaction!", the sultan tried to tell her. "And I know... I know you're devastated by your curse and the injury that Jafar inflicted upon you... please, Jasmine... don't think I look down upon you for that...", he was starting to tear up now.
Jasmine exhaled deeply, "But you always relied on the laws so much...I was the only child, and late in life at that...", and the sultan exhaled deeply, "Do you know why your mother died when you were little?".
"Yes, the illness that ravaged through Agrabah, and took a lot of lives...", Jasmine nodded, and the sultan shook his head, "That wasn't actually true...With our royal healers and all, it was a miracle she kept going after you were born, but the truth is that she had a hard time with the labor, especially when she was determined to keep you alive and healthy...".
Jasmine's eyes widened, "She was?", and the sultan sighed deeply, "The reason why we had you late in life, is because of her...I never blamed her or anything, I promise. I loved her all too dearly...You see, you had two siblings before you...A son who would have been firstborn, and another daughter...".
"They never made it long, did they?", Jasmine quickly put things together as her father nodded. "Our son was a stillborn... just... the pregnancy never went right with him, similar to your friend Jean Grey's adoptive parents and their biological daughter.", the sultan explained.
"And my sister?", Jasmine asked, her heart aching in sympathy and shock. "Three days... she just didn't... didn't have the strength to truly survive outside of the womb...", the sultan gave a sad tone.
Jasmine exhaled, "And Mama?", and the sultan sighed deeply, "She was devastated, and grieved for a long time between both pregnancies...She honestly thought she failed me, Agrabah, and herself...Jafar seemed to have felt badly for her, but he must have thought that he would have an easier time to control Agrabah behind our backs while we grieved too long or something...Luckily, I comforted her in time, and she became better again...She gave birth to you after seven long hours...She was determined to see it through...It was a close call...the amount of blood...by Allah, it was a miracle that she rested long enough to heal from it, but she was frail from it, not that she would let anybody else know apart from me, the royal healers, and Jafar...as she was still the sultana and such...She treasured you so much, my little Jasmine...She was angry like a tigress when she watched everything happen to you, and she was devastated when she saw what Jafar did to you...".
Jasmine took a deep breath, "I'm sorry... I just wished... I just wished one of us could see Jafar's plans sooner before it was too late. Maybe then..."
"What's done is done...", her father said. "We can't change the past, no matter how much we want to, Jasmine...".
Jasmine nodded softly, "Still, I guess I better go with you, Father...I don't regret saving Uncle Ben...It was something I was able to do without failing...", with a sigh.
The sultan gave a smile, "Actually, you can go back...This was your first life...After all, with the curse and all, you were given nine lives...".
"Wait, what?", Jasmine was stunned to hear that. "You mean... I'm not actually dead?", her breath taken away. "Well, you have the choice to come with if you so want to... but we both know that you don't want to leave your loving friends behind... not so soon.", her father chuckled.
Jasmine's eyes swelled up in tears, "I can go back...", looking at her father, "A...are you and Mama upset that I'm more different than before?", knowing that she has been slowly taking to being affectionate and physically touched with girls...her girls...And she realized that the last thing she said before she blacked out that she wished that she wanted to share her first time with Peter, with the others.
"Not at all... we've... we've certainly become better people after life...", the sultan admitted to her. "Ah... so if this was back in Agrabah?", Jasmine asked as he nodded.
"Yes... your relationship with the girls would've been... very ugly, to say the least. But that was there... and my eyes have been opened now so don't feel bad for even a moment, thinking that your mother and I wouldn't approve.", the sultan gently smiled.
Jasmine smiled happily, "Oh, Father!", hugging him warmly, and the sultan chuckled softly, "And I believe in your Peter, Jasmine...He's truly a rare soul, someone who wouldn't give up on anybody or anything. Why, Aladdin swore that he and Peter would have been brothers or something.".
"You...you talked to him?", Jasmine whispered softly, and the sultan smiled gently, "Jasmine, he only wants you to be happy again, and he admits that lying to you wasn't the best idea he had, but he was very proud of you despite all what you have strived through, and he isn't mad that you would want someone better, or even all your loving friends together as you were only with him for at least three days which wasn't reasonable in a way...He only hopes that you forgive him, and that you'd always treasure the magic carpet ride from that night.".
"Oh...", Jasmine almost felt her heart break upon hearing that. The fact that she couldn't say all what she would want to say to his face... "I do, Father... I do... I... He was as perfect as a man as Peter...".
The sultan hugs her gently and smiles, "I can't promise who will see you at your next life's departure, but just know that I'll always love you, my little Jasmine...You'll be the wonderful woman we both know you'll be...".
Jasmine exhaled softly, "I love you, Papa...Always...I'll miss you...", and the sultan gives her a whiskery kiss on her cheek, "I know...And I will be beyond happy when that day comes for you to be human again...We both will, and so will Aladdin and others.".
"Yeah...one day...", Jasmine gives a big hopeful smile, her soul healing a bit more upon having reunited with her father, and getting his blessing, along with her mama's blessing too, about Jasmine's relationship with the girls and Peter.
The sultan then chuckles, "And oh, one last thing...You don't have to worry about your siblings...They may be small yet bright spirits, but they are with your mother again...".
Jasmine smiles happily upon hearing that, "Thank goodness...And their names?", and the sultan smiles, "Rahim for your brother, and Biva for your sister.". Jasmine nodded, remembering the books she read in the library, and she knew that Rahim meant 'compassionate', and that Biva meant 'sunlight'.
"Say hello to them for me, would you, Father?", Jasmine asked gently with a bittersweet smile on her face. "I will...", the sultan smiled. "Now then... you need to wake up... but word of warning... the pain is going to hit you like a horse charging over you.", he warned as Jasmine nodded; really not looking forward to that.
Jasmine saw her father disappear with a smile, "This isn't goodbye, daughter! Always remember your past, remember who you are, and learn with love in your heart, Princess Jasmine of Agrabah!", and Jasmine smiled, sobbing, "I will, Father!", holding her hand against her heart, and before she knew it, she woke up to a series of lights, and meowed loudly in pain as she moved, seeing a cast on her front left leg, blinking on a surgery table, feeling like a horse just stomped all over her.
One of the vet technicians laughed, "She's waking up, guys! Hey, girl, it's gonna be okay. How are her vitals looking?", with a relieved smile. "Amazing... what a quick recovery...", the other vet admitted. "I've never seen anything like this before...".
The other vet technician chuckled, "Well, she got a family waiting for her...Guess she didn't want to leave them...You're very lucky, no wonder why they called you Princess...You sure are a tough princess, girl. Protecting one of your family, that took guts.".
The other vet hummed, "Her vitals look great. Her heart's going strong, and her lungs are healthy, no liquid flooding into them...A through and through in the shoulder, and at close range, at that...".
Jasmine meowed in pain as she saw needles into her other leg of liquid and blood, and the vet replied, "Let's put her in the recovery ward. She will need food and water.".
The other vet nodded, "Yep.", and they gently removed the needles, and wrapped a cone around her neck as they took her to the recovery ward, in a cage with a comfortable blanket, bowls of cat food and water, along with a litter box.