Cassim, the Leader of the Forty Thieves!
He jumped from pillar to pillar while still hidden in the shadows with finesse surpassing that of a trained athlete.
Aladdin hesitated over whether to approach him or not. Because this man was supposedly his father, whom he hadn't seen since the day he was born.
How was he supposed to approach him?
What was he supposed to say?
Both in this life and the last, he had never really had someone to call a father. Now, facing one whose biggest achievement was being an infamous thief, he began having cold feet about confronting Cassim.
At that moment, Cassim leapt down from the pillars and rolled into the inner royal garden courtyard, where the gifts were stored.
"Tchh! I'll capture him first and think about the rest later," Aladdin said.
He couldn't allow the ensuing chaos to continue.
Without hesitation, Aladdin teleported to Cassim's position.
"Where is it?" Cassim, the leader of the Forty Thieves, said as he rummaged through the gifts and treasury within the inner royal garden courtyard.
He had come here hoping to find what he was searching for, or at least a clue to it. He was already feeling anxious due to the unfamiliar forces that had appeared in Agrabah and were working alongside them, so he wanted to complete this mission and escape the kingdom as quickly as he could.
Just as Cassim was about to continue searching, his senses flared, and he swiftly jumped and rolled to another section close to the wall.
Unfortunately, his actions were for nought.
"You're coming with me!"
Those were the last words before Cassim's vision went dark. His senses were drowned in a feeling of suffocation, and before he realised what was happening, he found himself in a dark room.
SWISSH!! CLANK!!
His arms and legs were immediately bound together by thick interlocking chains and pulled to the wall.
"Ahh!" Cassim let out a small grunt from the force of the sudden attack.
However, he quickly pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind because he finally got a look at who his assailant was.
It was a young man dressed in white princely garb, with a luxurious white coat over his clothes, fitting his overall appearance.
Prince Aladdin Ababwa!
Cassim swiftly recognised the face from a poster he had previously seen.
"Stay here. The chains are enchanted to imprison anyone until I personally set them free, so don't bother thinking about escaping," Aladdin said.
"Oh, a sorcerer, are you? I've brought my very own sorceress. She's extremely powerful and famous across the Seven Deserts, so if you don't want any trouble—" Just as Cassim was about to continue speaking, Aladdin teleported in front of him and grabbed him by the collar.
"Which sorceress?" Aladdin asked, his mind reeling from the sudden revelation and the implication that the Forty Thieves weren't working alone this time.
No! Since such an event had never transpired before, it simply meant that Cassim and the Forty Thieves had help in raiding the palace.
"First of all, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Cassim, the leader of the Forty Thieves. I don't like the way you're manhandling my clothes, but I'll let it go, seeing as I've got your interest.
That sorceress is none other than the great Sorceress Nasira. She just became the newest addition to our Forty Thieves. She has a very short temper, and the moment she realises that I'm gone, she'll tear this entire palace apart. Now you know what you're getting yourself into. Lead me to your treasury, and let me get what I want, I'll be out of here as quickly as I came."
Aladdin frowned.
Realising that the sorceress he had been wary of had joined the Forty Thieves to attack the palace, Aladdin understood that the situation had become far more dire than he had imagined.
He released Cassim from his grip and said, "Stay here. I'll be back soon."
"Hey, didn't you hear what I said? I get it… You don't know who the Sorceress Nasira is… You've no idea what you're doing, boy. You'd better let me out of here, or else you're going to regret—" Cassim spat with an irritated expression.
However, just as he was about to continue speaking, Aladdin vanished into thin air.
"TCCHH!! I hate sorcerers," Cassim spat once more. Although if he were given the opportunity to obtain the abilities of a sorcerer, he wouldn't refuse such an offer, especially if it were free.
Cassim thought about why the face of the Prince of Ababwa gave him a nostalgic feeling, before he swiftly shook the thought away. He didn't have any family or anyone related to him because they were all dead, so it shouldn't be possible.
Aladdin reappeared at the altar. He saw that the soldiers and magicians had already safeguarded the guests and were safely leading them into the inner place qauters.
Abu had already knocked several members of the Forty Thieves unconscious and rounded them up.
Meanwhile, Genie was still playing cowboy, rounding up the horses, occasionally dealing with the thieves or handing them over to Abu to handle.
"We need to get out of here immediately," Sa'Luk shouted, ordering the members of the Forty Thieves who could still stand and fight.
He had been fortunate to catch a glimpse of their leader, because he was familiar with his style of movement and spotted the moment when the man in white attire vanished into thin air after looking in the leader's direction.
And now, seeing as the man reappeared at the altar, he quickly put the pieces together and realised that the leader was in trouble, and they were next.
The mission was a failure. Not only did they have to fight against a giant monkey with immense strength and the ability to control the earth element, but also numerous trained soldiers and sorcerers, and most of all…
A Genie.
Sa'Luk realised that they needed to get out of here fast if they wanted to survive.
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