"Just as he was about to charm the Sultan to force him to make Princess Jasmine his bride, I quickly transformed into a bird and took the Sultan away. Then I sealed the palace shut, trapping Jafar inside. I didn't know if he had any accomplices, so I also placed the soldiers under a sleep spell and rounded them up."
As Genie spoke, he transformed into a large blue-grey eagle.
Aladdin nodded, relieved by Genie's quick thinking, whereas Jasmine grew more anxious upon hearing Genie's explanation.
As Genie took to the skies, Carpet scooped Aladdin and Jasmine from beneath their feet and followed him.
They soared toward the canopy of the royal Palace. There, they saw the Sultan seated with his arms wrapped around his knees, which were clenched tightly against his chest, wrapped in a blanket.
"Father!" Jasmine cried out as she leapt off Carpet and rushed over to the Sultan.
"Jasmine, Prince Ali? Get away from that bird, it kidnapped me! Come behind me. I still know how to fight," the Sultan cried, hugging Jasmine, as he glared at Genie.
"Don't be afraid. This is Genie. He's a good guy," Aladdin said, gesturing toward him.
Genie transformed into his normal form and bowed down to the Sultan.
"It's an honour to be of service to you, Your Majesty," Genie said.
"What's going on? Why did that bird turn into a genie? What's a Genie? Prince Ali, you'd better have a good explanation for what's going on, or I'll treat it as an assault on Agrabah," the Sultan said, eyes wide.
"Father, it's not what you think. Prince Aladdin has not come here to launch an attack on Agrabah, but instead to save it from Jafar," Jasmine replied, grabbing her father's hand.
"Jafar! What does he have to do with any of this? That's my royal vizier," the Sultan responded fiercely.
Aladdin nodded and replied, "It's a long story. I hope the Sultan doesn't mind if I take my time to share what I know." He shifted to the other end of the mat and gestured for the Sultan to sit on the other side.
However, the Sultan snorted and remained seated on the rooftop, still holding Jasmine's arm close to him.
"Go ahead," he said.
Aladdin nodded and shared everything he had already planned with Jasmine to tell the Sultan. He didn't mention anything about the wishes he had made, including becoming a prince, except for wishing for Genie's freedom.
To the Sultan, Aladdin explained that 'Prince Aladdin' had merely been a false identity he used while sneaking through the streets of Agrabah to learn about Princess Jasmine before asking for her hand in marriage, before he was captured by Jafar.
He also explained how that was how he had first met Jasmine and the events that had eventually led him to arrive at the palace of Agrabah. Although Jasmine had insisted that her father be told the truth, Aladdin had persuaded her to keep everything he had told her a secret. In the end, she relented because the fewer people who knew the truth about his past, and the truth regarding genie's freedom, the better.
It would also save the Sultan from various issues that might arise in the future.
Aladdin knew that he could trust Jasmine because she was a strong-willed woman, as shown in the movie, who would do anything to protect her loved ones. Meanwhile, the Sultan was someone who had been continuously charmed by Jafar.
Who was to say that some other sorcerer wouldn't slip past them and extract information from him?
"Impossible! Jafar is my most trusted vizier... There's absolutely no way he could betray me. He even found an old law that said the princess may be married to the royal vizier if she is unable to find a suitable suitor for herself," the Sultan said, shaking his head and becoming more indignant after listening to Aladdin's explanation.
He refused to believe that Jafar was planning to betray him to seize his throne or that he had charmed him in order to become Jasmine's bridegroom.
To him, the story sounded as fake as it was thrilling.
"Father, it's true. Do you think Aladdin would go through such lengths just to harm someone like Jafar, instead of simply waiting until we get married so I could deal with him myself?" Jasmine said, saddened by her father's refusal to accept this new reality.
"And have you ever thought about where that law came from? I've checked every record about the princess's marriage rights myself so I could find a way to free myself from this burden, but I've never found such a law."
"Have you thought that Jafar might have created that law himself and charmed you into believing it?" Her shoulders dropped lower.
"I... I... Oh my... Now that you mention it, I have no memory of confirming such a law myself. I simply took Jafar's word for it," the Sultan said, his expression shifting to realisation as though struck by lightning.
"This is bad. Jafar, my trusted vizier, has been taking advantage of me all this time, and I almost married him to my little princess. What have I done?" the Sultan said sadly as he removed his turban and held it tightly in his hand.
"It's alright, Father. Aladdin knew something like this might happen, which is why he planned ahead to ensure that Jafar would be defeated and punished for his crimes," Princess Jasmine said, pulling the Sultan into her embrace.
The Sultan returned the embrace.
"But to have let this go so far... I've been a bad ruler. I also need to be punished for my incompetence. Who knows what other atrocities Jafar unknowingly made me commit?" the Sultan said as he pulled away from the embrace.
Jasmine didn't respond this time around because she was certain that it would cause her father to feel even more guilt for being unable to handle this situation as the Sultan.
"After this matter is settled, I will step down from my position as Sultan and have you crowned as Queen. Of course, that's only if you have chosen to give your hand in marriage to Prince Ali." He glanced at Aladdin, who was seated on the flying carpet, smiling in relief, before turning his gaze back to Jasmine.
Jasmine blushed fiercely. She also hadn't expected her father to pass the throne to her so quickly after learning about her relationship with Aladdin. It was almost as though he had been waiting for this to happen.
"Alright… Since this is all settled, allow me to properly introduce myself. Nice to meet you, Sultan. I'm the Genie, your one and only hero. I'll give you my card to call whenever you need a bodyguard, or your bodyguard needs a bodyguard," Genie quickly introduced himself, grabbing the Sultan's hand and shaking it.
He pulled a card out of thin air and handed it to the Sultan.
"I'm the Sultan of Agrabah. It's a pleasure to meet you, and thank you for the help you've rendered," the Sultan nodded, putting the card into his breast pocket.
"Here's the plan," Aladdin explained.
The plan was incredibly simple. With Jafar trapped inside the palace, all they had to do was disarm him and quickly order his execution. Compared to other Disney villains, Jafar was relatively weak, knowing only a few spells and relying mostly on his magical artefacts.
The only thing that truly made him dangerous was his cunning mind and the fact that he had a sister somewhere in the Seven Deserts who might come looking for trouble if her brother was killed. She was more arrogant and prideful than Jafar, and dealing with her would be like trying to swat a fly buzzing around one's ears.
However, that only happened in the Aladdin series he had watched. He hoped she didn't exist in this world, because he didn't want to deal with such an annoyance.
The Sultan listened closely and nodded in understanding and approval.
"Drop me off at the palace. I'll round up the guards and wait for your signal to arrest Jafar," the Sultan said, putting his turban back on.
"I'll go with you," Jasmine said.
"No, it's too dangerous," the Sultan shook his head in refusal.
"Yes, it's too dangerous. The best thing you can do is stay hidden with Carpet," Aladdin said.
Jasmine glared at him angrily.
However, Aladdin didn't retract his words.
Seeing that the two people she cared about most in her life were adamant about keeping her safe, Jasmine sighed in defeat.
"Fine. But if you don't settle everything in less than twenty minutes, I'm coming there myself to help, no matter what happens."
"Deal," Aladdin responded.
The Sultan sighed in relief.
"I didn't need your approval," Jasmine snorted.
"What are we waiting for? Let's go deal with Jafar before he realises what's going on and comes up with something even more cunning," the Sultan said.
He hopped onto the carpet alongside Jasmine.
Carpet soared down to the courtyard within the palace. Aladdin and the Sultan stepped off Carpet, leaving Jasmine behind.
She nodded at them resolutely before Carpet flew back into the sky once more.
Suddenly, Genie transformed into a soldier dressed in full combat attire, complete with a helmet and a rifle with a glowing red touchlight aimed toward the distant palace halls.
"Follow me, Your Majesties. I'll lead the way."
***
We've finally made it to the rankings. We need to reach the top, guys.
MMOORREE POWERSTONES!