Aladdin

-6-

I took that warning to heart, since I didn't know what Randy's powers could do. It was now or never, even though it was just a game. It's time to do this. To say goodbye the old-fashioned way.

The last stage resembled The Escape level, which had a volcanic look to it, and a lava river underneath. The stage was completely flat and desolate of any obstacles or enemies. The music was the "Storyline" music from the first cutscene of the game, which was slightly unsettling. I didn't do anything. I just stood there, waiting for Randy to appear. After a couple minutes of waiting, nothing happened, so I cautiously moved ahead. What happened next scared me half to death.

Randy in Jafar's genie form morphed from the ground, and he was huge, which startled me. He was so large, that his head just barely missed the top of the screen. The character's sprites weren't that massive. In fact, they were relatively the same size as Aladdin, if not smaller. I had no idea that sprites could be this big. Or so I  thought.

Randy was crafty and powerful, like any genie. When he found out that one technique wasn't working, he would think of another. He attacked me by zapping magic out of his fingers, or sucking me in just like his normal sorcerer form. I counterattacked with whatever was given to me, with apples and sword slashing. I wasn't even paying attention to how many apples I was throwing. I did get to see a glimpse of  it, though. I had 99 apples? I don't remember collecting any apples. I also had 99 lives as well. I didn't even have any cheats activated.

I soon came to terms that the game was trying to help me beat this angry spirit. He had probably tormented everything inside the game, and I was their only hope. Maybe that's why the sign said, "Stop." It was begging for mercy. Crying for help. With that in mind, I soon gained the courage to fight back. Randy's attacks were strong, and I was down to probably about three or four hits left.  I had wished the game had some kind of health meter, so I could see if Randy was almost dead or not. I knew I was going to die pretty soon, so I swung haphazardly.

"Goodbye!" I screamed furiously, on repeat.

I swung and shouted, hoping that Randy would eventually poof out of existence. My wish came true, but not in the way I had expected.

The screen began to shake once again, but I had also heard a rumbling sound off-game as well. Soon, my whole apartment began to shake, knocking over my furniture as if I were stuck in an earthquake. I held onto my desk tightly, watching things fall all over the place. Then, after what seemed like forever, the apartment stopped shaking. I looked around to see if anything broke. Some glass things did, but nothing major. I then looked back at the computer. The "Level Complete" screen appeared, playing the old victory tune with Aladdin and Abu running across like normal. I never got to see the ending, so I watched Aladdin and Jasmine fly on the Magic Carpet into the moon. They then kissed and the credits rolled, all playing "A Whole New World" with the letters "The End." I was relieved that the entire ordeal was over, sighing in relief. I felt all sticky and slimy. I must have been sweating this whole time. As I wiped my sweat off with a wet rag, I watched the credits. At the end of the credits, there was a small message.

"Gotta fly...and thank you."

I'm pretty sure the last part didn't belong, but I smiled. I was then taken back to the main screen, all before this turmoil even began. Before I shut the game off, I whispered, "Goodbye," double-checking to make sure that Randy wasn't there anymore. I waited a couple seconds, but nothing happened. I shut the game off, and I promptly stored everything away for a while.

I still couldn't believe what happened to my favorite childhood game. It was all taboo to me, but it was quite the roller coaster ride. I promised myself two things after that incident: never believe that a video game can hurt you and never play with an Ouija Board, for whatever reason. If you happen to do so (and brave enough to do so), always be sure to say goodbye, because it just might possess something or someone you love dearly, or even yourself.

And so, this is goodbye.