Prologue

Aladdin and his Magic Carpet sped over the desert sands to Agrabah. He had just spent the night at his father's, Cassim. Thought it had been great spending time with his dad and Iago, Aladdin couldn't wait to get home. Since they had been married, Aladdin and Jasmine's love had grown deeper, if that was possible, and Aladdin found no greater pleasure than being in her arms. As he neared the city, Aladdin noticed a strange hazy glow enveloping the palace.

"What on earth could that be?" questioned Aladdin. "Better move in carefully, Rugman!"

"I believe that's as close as you're going to get!" purred a familiar feminine voice.

"Mirage!" Aladdin exclaimed.

"Correct as usual, Friday." Mirage smiled down at him from where she floated in the air. With a sudden swiping motion of her claws, she snatched the magic carpet out from underneath him. Aladdin landed in the sands with a hard bump.

"What do you want? What have you done to the others?" he asked her angrily.

"Why explain, when I can show you?" The feline gestured again, this time an image appeared from inside the palace. Aladdin saw Jasmine, Genie, Abu, the Sultan and several members of the palace staff in the throne room. They were slumped over in their seats. Their faces were deathly pale and their breathing shallow. Aladdin gasped.

"What's wrong with them? What have you done?" he asked angrily, trying to cover his fear. But like an animal, Mirage could sense it.

"Good. You are afraid for them! Maybe then you will consider my offer more thoroughly!"

"I said what did you do to them?" Aladdin demanded.

"Just a little poison leaf in the breakfast food." Mirage smirked. "They have about three more hours to live. I could give you he antidote, if you agree to my proposition."

"I doubt you would even if I do agree!" said Aladdin. "How do I know this isn't just one of your mirages?"

"You don't," answered the cat. "But can you risk it? Time is running out!"

Aladdin sighed.

"What is it you want from me?"

Once again, Mirage gestured and the desert was transformed to Mirage's floating world. Aladdin found himself on the floor of Mirage's stone cat home. The villainess still floated in the air above him. She started to speak. "Every seven hundred years, I must have a child with a mortal, or I will die. Now it is time again and I have chosen you to have the privilege!" Aladdin stared up at her, horrified, speechless.

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of touching you in that vile human way!" Mirage explained. "All we must do is kiss." She conjured up the mirage of Jasmine, sick and suffering again.

"The choice is yours, Aladdin," Mirage said. "Refuse me, and lose your true love!"

Aladdin looked away for a second.

"You win, Mirage," he said helplessly. There was no way he could stand to see Jasmine suffer. Mirage smiled wickedly and beckoned. Aladdin rose off the ground till he was floating in the air, level with her. Mirage wrapped one arm around Aladdin's waist, pinning his arms to his side and with the other hand she grabbed hold of his hair and forced him over backward. She brought her lips down on his hard, cruelly. A myriad of thoughts and emotions ran through Aladdin's mind. He felt sick, terrified, sad, angry, stripped and exposed. It seemed that hours passed in that kiss.

Jasmine felt herself swallow and her eyes slowly focused on Phasir's blindfolded face. She started to sit up, but Phasir put his hand on her shoulder.

"Easy, Princess. The senses have not all come around yet," he said. Jasmine noticed the other occupants of the room coming around, as Phasir offered each in turn a sip from a bottle.

"Phasir, what happened? Why are you here?" she asked.

"Mirage needed to delay you, to carry out her evil purpose for the lad."

"Aladdin!" Jasmine cried. "What has she done to him?"

"That you must find out for yourself," Phasir responded. "Go to the southern oasis. You will find him there." With that, the old man disappeared.

"Genie, quick, we've got to get to the southern oasis!"

"Right on it, Princes Woman!" Genie transformed himself into a police car and Jasmine climbed into the driver's side. They sped out of the palace and towards the southern oasis.

When the kiss finally ended, Mirage bit Aladdin on the neck and then dropped him. Aladdin felt himself falling, falling. The surroundings changed back into the real world and he landed in the sand of the desert. Everything was hazy and his head hurt like crazy. He was soon aware of an annoying, wailing siren which was Genie, the police car. Jasmine spotted Aladdin lying in the sand.

"Genie, there he is!" she said. Genie turned back into a Genie and flew over to Aladdin. Jasmine followed closely behind. Aladdin groaned as Genie helped him to his feet. And before he knew it, he had thrown up into the sand. Like a true friend, Genie said nothing but offered Aladdin a cup of cold water to rinse with.

"Jasmine . . . I'm sorry," Aladdin murmured weakly. Jasmine slipped her arm around his waist.

"It's okay. Don't worry about it, Dear," she said. "What on earth did she do to you?"

On the way back to Agrabah, Aladdin told Jasmine everything that had happened. She looked at him in shock, not sure what to think. He looked at her, his eyes pleading her to understand he agreed to it for her sake. Jasmine pulled his head down onto her chest and tenderly stroked his hair.

"Does this mean . . . are you really . . ." She fumbled for words to say. "Oh, Aladdin! I wanted your first child to be *our* first child!"

"So did I," Aladdin responded. "But now that what's happened has happened, I can't ignore the facts. With Mirage for a mother, that child will need me. And I'll be there for it," he vowed.

Nerissa ran through the dark alleyways. She stopped painting and looked back. Good; it had worked; she had lost them. She slowed down to a walk. All around her, merchants were covering their wares and getting ready to go home. The moon and stars shone brightly in the Arabian sky. Not watching where she was going, she ran into a burly guard. He turned on her angrily.

"Watch where you're going!" he snapped. In response, the girl started to sing a low, haunting song, a lullaby. In seconds the guard had fallen asleep. As she finished, Nerissa heard footsteps approach.

"Well, well, Rasoul's sleeping on the job!" a young man's voice said. Nerissa turned and recognized him at once. It was him! She was safe now. The young man looked down at her and smiled kindly.

"Hello there!" he said. "Are you lost, little girl?"

"Hello! My name is Nerissa and I need to go to the palace."

"Well, Nerissa, my name's Aladdin," Aladdin answered. "The palace is where I'm from. Where's your home? I'll take you there."

"I don't have a home," she answered, then in a low commanding voice, "I must go to the palace!"

"I guess I could take you to the palace," Aladdin replied and reached down for her hand. Nerissa happily slipped hers into his. As they walked towards the palace in the moonlight Nerissa smiled to herself. This was just like it was supposed to be. She was safe again. He wouldn't let them get her!

Jasmine was waiting of him at the palace; she was surprised to see him with a child.

"Good evening, Aladdin, my love." She kissed him and he returned it. "Who's your friend?"

"I'm Nerissa," Nerissa answered and again in the same low commanding voice, "I'll be staying here a while."

"I'll have the servants make you up a room right away. You're welcome to stay," Jasmine said and left to see to it. The weeks that followed were uneventful. When something came up that didn't' suit Nerissa, she would speak in that low, commanding voice and all would go her way. Jasmine noticed the child was clingy when it came to Aladdin. She never let him out of her sight for more than a few minutes. I annoyed Jasmine that she and Aladdin never had any time alone anymore. Even in bed one night, Jasmine woke to a wriggling in the bed. Pulling back the covers revealed Nerissa snuggled against Aladdin.

"Nerissa!" Jasmine exclaimed, waking Aladdin. "What are you doing in here?" Nerissa turned sorrowful eyes to Aladdin and blinked back tears. "I'm sorry . . . I was scared!" she said. "I . . . I. . . I need a hug." The little girl wrapped both arms around Aladdin. Aladdin held her for a moment and then said:

"Come on, Neri. I'll tuck you back in your bed." He picked her up and carried her out of the room with an apologetic look to Jasmine.

Then one day, something happened that changed everything. Aladdin had taken Nerissa for a walk in the Agrabah market when suddenly there was a series of screams from terrified townspeople. Bounding though the marketplace were huge, dark cats. They slashed at the people and their wares. Their green eyes glowed and their howls re-echoed off the buildings. Aladdin heard Nerissa give a small cry, as she clutched him in fear.

"The shadow cats! They've found me!" Aladdin didn't have time to ask what she meant. He gave her a small push.

"Run Neri! Go find a place to hide!" Aladdin said as he reached for Genie's lamp. Genie poofed out of his lamp and saw the problem instantly.

"You distract them, Al," he said. "I've gotta idea!" Aladdin waved his arms in the air.

"Here kitty, kitty!" he called. "C'mon, I'm the one you want!" Then he turned and ran towards Genie with the shadow cats in hot pursuit. Then suddenly he turned and ducked down, the cats couldn't stop. They ran head first into a large carrier Genie had made. Genie fastened the bolt and poofed into a vet.

"Due for rabies shot, I see," he said.

"Great job, Genie!" Aladdin high-fived his pal and then called, "Neri! It's safe now."

Nerissa came out of her hiding place, wiping away tears.

"Oh, Neri, what's wrong?" Aladdin got down on one knee and asked her tenderly.

"It's all my fault," she wailed. "They followed me here!""Neri, what do you mean?" asked Jasmine, who had caught up with them. "This can't possibly be your fault." Suddenly the group was aware of Phasir's presence. He put his hand on Nerissa's shoulder.

"Now is the time to tell what your purpose is here," he said.

"I know." Nerissa sighed. She walked over to Aladdin and too hold of his hand.

"Aladdin, and everyone, I came from the future. I came here to get your help for my daddy! My mother's trying to kill him and has hurt him badly." Nerissa paused. "My daddy rescued me from my mother, which made her angry because she wants me to turn bad like herself. She's already put a spell on my step mom and daddy's friends so they can't help him. So I escaped to the future to get help. Please help my daddy and me!" She looked at Aladdin and Jasmine pleadingly.

"We'll do anything we can to help!" Aladdin assured her as Jasmine nodded. "Just tell us who your dad and mom are?"

"Mirage is the mother," Phasir answered. "And you yourself know who the father is, Aladdin."

Aladdin felt a strange feeling in his stomach.

"Me," he whispered. "I'm the father!" Aladdin reached out and pulled Nerissa into his arms and held her.

"Well, let's go then!" Jasmine exclaimed. "How do we get there?"

"I have a charm that transports from time to time," Nerissa answered.

"Everyone has to hold hands." She held up the charm and chanted a few words. There was a bright flash of light and whooshing sound. They landed in a dark, gloomy, future Agrabah.

"Daddy's in the palace," Nerissa said, leading the way. It was weird for Aladdin to look at himself. The future Aladdin lay in bed, breathing harshly. But his eyes lit up when he saw Nerissa and the others.

"Thank Allah you got here all right!" he said, hugging Nerissa. "Mirage has been relentless." Aladdin looked at Aladdin. "You must defeat her and keep Neri safe!"

"I'll do it!" vowed Aladdin. "But where is Mirage?"

"You don't' have to look far," purred a voice. "So, you think you can keep our daughter from me? I shall enjoy watching you die trying!"

"Don't be so sure of yourself, Mirage!" Aladdin shouted.. In reply, the cat hissed and blasted Aladdin with her claws. He flew across the room and slammed into the wall.

"No, stop it!" cried Nerissa. Mirage blasted at her and then turned back to Aladdin. Relentlessly clawing at him.

"I said stop!" Nerissa screamed. Then focusing all her energy at Mirage, she blasted her with a ball of her own energy. Mirage was taken by surprise, giving Nerissa a chance to blast her again. Mirage retreated for a second.

"EEEiiiiahhh" Nerissa screamed again focusing all her energy at Mirage, who couldn't retaliate and disappeared, beaten by her own offspring.

"Nerissa! Are you all right?" Aladdin asked from the bed as Jasmine went over to the Aladdin on the floor.

"Yes, Daddy," she responded.

"The child is stronger than her mother," Phasir said, "But Mirage will not rest until she has turned her evil."

"Would you take her then, Phasir, and keep her safe til she can face her mother?" asked the future Aladdin.

"This I will do," Phasir answered.

"Oh Daddy, I want to be with you!" cried Nerissa.

"And I with you, Nerissa," Aladdin replied. "But we must protect you, or you mother will destroy us both." He held her tight.

All right, Daddy," Nerissa sniffed back tears and took hold of Phasir's hand.

"And I thank you for coming to help us, everyone."

"For Nerissa, I'll do anything," Aladdin replied, ruffling her hair.

"Bye, Dad. I'll see you soon," Nerissa said as she and Phasir disappeared, but not before she gave Aladdin the charm.

"You'll need this to get home with."

"Good-bye, Neri. Remember I'll always love you!"

Aladdin bid farewell to his future self and they all joined hands to leave.

After they returned in present day Agrabah, Aladdin looked up into the sky and thought, "Mirage may have meant it for evil, but Neri is one of the best things ever to happen to me!"

The End