Home Again

Arabian Nights 3: Be careful what you wish for

"Everyone, stand back!" Sasha exclaimed. "The Mighty Genie is about to appear!" Heeding her instructions, we stood back, eyeing the altar. Dark blue smoke was erupting from the outstretched, golden paw. Fierce Fox had a muddled expression. My palms were sweaty. The other guys looked slightly nervous. After more dark blue smoke, a genie appeared. He had pale green skin, a dark green beard, pointed ears and a cheeky grin. His clothing was pink and purple. His hat was pink with purple stripes and he was wearing a pink jacket over a purple underlayer. His 'legs' were purple smoke. He was quite small. He was roughly half the size of a regular Poptropican.

"You're the all-powerful genie?" Sasha asked, obviously not impressed. Well, he wasn't the genie from Aladdin. What was she expecting?

"Good things come in small packages, toots!" the genie retorted. "What'll it be?"

Sasha began, "Great and powerful genie, I wish for-"

Brutus stomped his foot, knocking Sasha, Fierce Fox and I to the ground. "Me first!" he declared, storming forward. He headed over to the genie and grabbed the lamp. "I wish for the power to smash anything I touch!"

"Your wish is my command..." the genie told Brutus. He rubbed his glowing palms together and threw purple power onto Brutus. Brutus grinned. Then, because of his power, the floor beneath him began cracking, and the whole place rumbled. It was like an earthquake. The lamp in Brutus' fist began glowing red.

"Uh oh..." said Brutus. Not a very well thought out wish. I wouldn't wish for anything from a genie. They're not trustworthy. And besides, one of my wishes had already come true. Being in Poptropica was a dream come true.

"What have you done?" Sasha asked irritably. "You're breaking the entire cave!"

"You did say smash anything..." the genie retorted. Brutus began freaking out. The lamp exploded, which caused the genie to cheer. "I'm free! I'm finally free!" He took off like a superhero (which he definitely was not).

"We've got to get out of here!" the pirate thief cried. He and the others fled. Sasha disappeared in a puff of smoke. I pushed Fierce Fox out of the way, letting a rock falling from the roof hit me instead. Then all went black.

I awoke on a sandy bench. It was a beautiful night; the moon glowed brightly in the inky-black sky. The oasis - the former home of the Forty Thieves - was gone. Rocks were poking out of the sand and I saw a palm tree. Fierce Fox was next to me as well as an old man. I don't know how to describe her expression. It was confusing.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I thought you were a goner for sure!" the man exclaimed. "That whole cave system collapsed just as your friend and I got you out."

"Where did the thieves go?" I asked. I knew, but I was asking for the sake of the story.

"They scattered like scarabs in the torchlight." the man answered. An interesting simile.

"And the genie?" I asked.

"The whole town's got genie fever!" the man exclaimed, almost nervous. "Maybe the sultan will know what to do."

"Perhaps," I said. I eyed Fierce Fox. Her red hair was slightly messy. "Come on." Up ahead was Brutus. I turned to Fierce Fox. "We have to capture that genie. Things might get intense." I wanted to ask how she was feeling, but right now felt inappropriate. I decided to wait a bit. I approached Brutus. "What are you doing out here?" I asked.

"I'll be safe in the desert," he answered. "Can't break sand, right?"

"He'll come in use later." I quietly told Fierce Fox. "This way." She followed me to the left. We were in the same place as episode one. We passed that brick wall with all the tents and came to the market area. There was purple genie graffiti here and there. Various townsfolk had been affected by the genie. I felt a little bad for them. Right now we had to focus on visiting the sultan.