Chapter 07: A Thief's Deception
Aladdin had only woken for some moments when all of his friends showed up to Siva's merchant and living space. It had been quite some time since he'd been there, but he couldn't remember the last time that Abu, Iago, Genie, Jasmine and Carpet had all joined him there. Abu had been the first to arrive, practically bursting through the entrance looking for Siva and Aladdin both. The others had been not long behind, considering Siva's messenger had been delayed at the Palace because of the guard, as Jasmine told it.
But his friends were all there. Abu hugged Aladdin for a long time even as he sat up in the bed that Siva had prepared for him to rest.
"How are you feeling now, kiddo?" Genie asked, concerned.
"Better, but confused. Like I said when you guys came in, I don't remember anything. Not up until the point of going to sleep last night, anyway. I know Abu said he saw me, but I don't remember that either. The only point that I woke to was just before Siva found me." He sighed. "I wish I could tell you more, but I can't."
"We believe you, Aladdin. It's...like you said, confusing," Jasmine said. "We wish we could help you more. Help you feel better faster."
"I do think the knock to your noggin probably caused some of this," Genie began, frowning. "But I'm thinking there's definitely more to this than we know."
"So what happens now?" Aladdin asked. "Guess I can't go anywhere until I recover, but I had no intention on doing that last night either."
"Uh, it's not one of those magical thingys like Mozenrath did way back when with possessing Al's body, is it?" Iago asked, cringing. "Al had a full on body swap procedure and had Mozenrath sittin' in the same body as Al for the longest and none of us knew. That's why he kept acting weird and moody way back when."
Aladdin felt his stomach turn. Before Aladdin married Jasmine, Mozenrath had tried to steal Aladdin's body for himself, but the turning procedure had been knocked off balance. As a result, Mozenrath and Aladdin both ended up in Aladdin's body. Aladdin had to fight the influence of Mozenrath in order to keep his body long enough to drive Mozenrath out and take an elixir to separate them. It had been a harrowing experience to remember, but it had happened a long time ago.
"Think I would have known by now if Mozenrath was in my body, Iago. I think he would have shown himself by now because he can't stand me."
"Point taken," Iago said, but didn't seem convinced.
"I don't think it's a body switch thing either. Al's been himself other than the whole missing chunk of time thing. And he has a heady excuse for that," Genie said, "but until further notice kiddo, we might need to make sure you sleep through the night without problems. At least until you feel better."
"Fair enough, I'm not a fan of knowing that I sleepwalked as far as I did," Aladdin said. He looked down at Abu. "And I'm not a fan of doubting my friends either. I'm sorry, Abu. I didn't mean what I said the way I said it."
"Uh uh," Abu said, shaking his head and pointing to himself. "I'm sorry sorry."
"Double the sorries, then?" Aladdin smiled a little. "I'm just glad you're not mad at me anymore. But I still don't know what happened at the cliffs. Could it be something I picked up there?" Aladdin looked up at Genie when he asked the question.
"That crossed my mind," Genie said, "I can't sense anything, and that place is about as obvious of a magic death trap as it can get. But we would definitely know if you were cursed or sick from something from there by now. That's been three days. I'm thinking you're in the clear, especially since we were able to leave that place with you still in one piece."
Iago shuddered. "I hate to think what kind of weird stuff we might've encountered there if we hadn't found Wonderkid. Like the place has been haunted many times over. It always gives me the creeps."
"Well, if it hadn't been for the stolen artifact, we wouldn't have been there in the first place," Aladdin said. "Hopefully we won't have to go back." Aladdin swung his legs over the side of the bed, getting ready to stand. "I think I'm okay with going back to the Palace now with you guys."
Siva overheard and nodded. "If you need an extra healer, you know where to find me. And never think you're imposing; you're always welcome if you need another bed to sleep in."
"Thanks Siva, seriously. I don't know what I would have done without you." Aladdin looked between his friends, relieved. "I'm just glad it wasn't worse. Let's go home."
Komal saw his opportunity later on that night to push the plan in action, but it involved "acting" like Aladdin to pull it off. He knew that the others would have eyes on Aladdin because of the previous night's events, so he decided he'd make use of not only playing the part of the boy, but learning the secrets to retrieving the artifact.
"Kiddo?" Genie had seen Aladdin walking the hallway towards the Palace Treasury in his pajamas. An intentional move by Komal. Aladdin had long been asleep. He was simply using the space for now. The meeting with Mozenrath had served more than one purpose - getting him used to navigating Aladdin's body and mannerisms.
"Can't sleep," Komal said, using Aladdin's voice to full effect. From Genie's genuine concern, it seemed Komal had done it well. "I'm kinda still worried that we haven't seen the last of Mozenrath. That he might try again with taking the artifact. Would you mind walking me through another pass of what you did to make sure it's secure? Might help me sleep a little better."
"If that's what it takes, then ABSOLUTELY! I'm always happy to show off a little Genie magic!" Genie beamed. "Well, it's a combo of magic and mechanics, but you'll see it once it's in action. It's easy for us to override because we already know the way to do it in-house. I can show you that too."
That was even better to Komal's ears. "Lead the way, Genie."
Genie was concise in both the display and instruction, in a way that probably was meant to not keep Aladdin up too long for sequence. Taking everything in consideration, the Genie really did care about the young prince. Komal was surprised that Genie could have such an affection for a former master. Then again, that master had set him free. He was at least aware of that; Lati had made the connection. She was more in touch with her humanity still as a spirit. Komal had left that behind a long time ago, when he'd been turned into an eternal spirit left trapped in the middle of that cavern with his sister. No longer able to use his magic because he didn't have a body to wield it with.
And now he was within grasp of doing so again. Not through Aladdin's body perpetually, he had no interest in the prince himself for that task. Komal wanted his own body back. He wanted his sister to have her body back. To get back to the life and craft they'd lost to a jealous rival long ago. And the only thing that was standing in the way of that was an artifact. What was one trinket missing from a Palace treasury going to do?
Komal's spirit did rest - for a little while. But he wasn't going to let Aladdin's spirit be the dominant one again until after their mission was complete. Lati said she needed time to heal Aladdin; she would have plenty of time to do just that while he was in charge. He'd learned enough about the prince to stage a sufficient takeover of Aladdin's dominant spirit and mimic the Prince's identity without a single question or challenge.
He knew Lati wouldn't be happy about it, but they were out of time. And the pressure to return to their forms without Aladdin or his friends knowing their existence mounted with every hour. They needed to make it count.
The next day in Agrabah was back to something of a chaotic normal for the Palace. The Sultan had been glad that Aladdin was found safe and sound after his brief disappearance. Jasmine, Abu and Genie made sure that Aladdin wasn't overdoing things while still recovering from his head wound. Abu hadn't had any weird visions since before the banquet, so Genie was convinced that it had been a one-off thing. Iago was up to his usual in terms of making snide remarks and avoiding Palace chores where they were required. And for a bit, all would have seemed back to normal.
But it was Carpet this time who sensed something was wrong. It wasn't like he could just talk this out to any of his friends because he typically didn't talk. Not even on some of the occasions where Carpet had been transformed into his human counterpart (which were several long stories in themselves)
Carpet currently saw Aladdin as "Aladdin", but he couldn't put a thread on what felt off. But he ended up following Aladdin in the late night as the prince walked the empty halls of the Palace. Everyone else was sleeping.
Near the Palace's treasure room, Aladdin suddenly held up one of his hands before the guard on duty could notice him. Hia palm glowed with a pale green light, which made a small green mist surround the guardsman. The guardsman fell asleep almost immediately, slumping to the floor, then snoring softly.
Since when did Aladdin know how to command magic? Carpet wanted to turn around the other way and fly to Genie to warn him about something being odd about Aladdin's ability and actions. But why would Aladdin be going to the treasure room in the first place. His instinct told him to follow the prince.
In the treasure room, Aladdin stopped, observing the trap surrounding the artifact in the far corner. Genie had both put a magic trap and mechanical trap to protect the artifact from being stolen. That way no sneaky fingers or dangerous magic wielders could get to it - at least from Carpet's understanding. Which was way he was surprised how quickly Aladdin was able to disarm the trap. Genie probably showed Aladdin the trick to it at one point, but what would the Prince need the artifact for? And how could Aladdin wield magic?
So distracted was Carpet that he didn't realize that a haze of green had surrounded him from behind until it was too late. The haze wrapped around Carpet's body in a vice grip, like a giant clutching fist.
"Someone was following me after all," Aladdin said, his tone way too calm for the moment. The prince turned, looking up at the space where Carpet struggled against the magic grip, but couldn't break free. His expression had such a stone calm that the magic rug didn't know what to make of it. He didn't recognize his friend at all in the moment. "Nope, can't have you flying off and waking the others, Carpet. Sorry, but this artifact is something I need. And I need to buy some time while I pay a visit to Mozenrath."
The mention of Mozenrath had Carpet even more anxious, stretching and straining against his magic restraints.
"Right now, it looks like you might be a good substitute for the artifact. Any person on the outside would have triggered the trap easily not knowing what to look for, waking the entire palace." Aladdin shook his head. "But that won't happen, not if I can help it." Aladdin used his magic to transfer Carpet's rolled and slightly curled form into the space where the artifact was once held. Then the prince used his magic to seal a case and replaced the elements of the trap back where they once were.
Aladdin rubbed his hands together like he was dusting off a coat of sand. "That worked better than I thought it would. Thought I'd just find some random treasure around to substitute, but you worked a lot better."
Carpet made a serious of motions that appeared to beg Aladdin not to leave, which Aladdin was able to understand. He responded with a quick shake of his head.
"Wouldn't listen to that even if you had a voice to beg me. If I'm going to do any of this right..." Aladdin's voice cut off abruptly with a sharp gasp, then groan from the prince. He clutched his head and fell to his knees, but managed not fall face first into any of the treasure piles beneath him. Carpet saw Aladdin grimace, try to steady his breathing over what was definitely a headache, but not an ordinary one.
"You're really persistent, aren't you, your Highness?" Aladdin's voice muttered. "Even now, you resist me as you sense something's wrong. But I'm stronger in essence and presence at the moment, and I will finish my task. There's too much for us to lose not to." Aladdin stumbled a little doing so, but he managed to get to his feet. Then he used his magic to create a green portal, which he stepped through, disappearing like he'd never been in the room to begin with.
By this point, Carpet knew that the person that had spoken to him and used the odd magic was not Aladdin. Nor Mozenrath for that matter. Who was the person occupying the form of his friend? And was Aladdin somewhere still inside that body trying to fight for control?
He didn't know the answers to any of those questions, but Carpet knew he wouldn't find out until he found some way to break free of his momentary prison. Something he did know about this trap though - once it went off, it would likely wake everyone in the Palace, as Aladdin had mentioned. This had been a trap built meant to keep things outside from getting in.
But it wasn't a trap meant to keep anything inside from getting out.