The Song of Cacophona Part 8 of 8 Part 7 Mozenrath strained at the manacle that bound him to the block. He desperately fought to focus his power enough to break the metal, but Cacophona's shifting harmonics prevented him from concentrating. He shook his head as yet another attempt failed. Rubbing his wrist against the stinging pain of backlash, he glared at Aladdin. "Don't just stand there!" he shouted above the din. "Do something!" Aladdin looked up from his own attempts to free himself. His wrist was swollen and reddened as he tried to force his hand through the twisted metal. "What do you want me to do? Cut off my hand?" he snapped. "If it would help, yes!" Mozenrath snarled. Using his anger to focus his power, he pulled a large knife from the air and advanced on Aladdin. "It might even the score, so to speak." Aladdin backed away to the limit of the chain. "Mozenrath! Pull yourself together! Or have you forgotten our situation here?!" Mouth twisting with emotion, Mozenrath glared at Aladdin. After a moment of indecision, he flung the knife away. Still using his anger as a focus, Mozenrath turned the shreds of his power on the manacles that bound the two of them. The metal flared hot against Aladdin's skin before snapping open. Wrenching the manacle open, Aladdin moved towards Cantera. Dimly he heard Mozenrath's voice call to him, "My gauntlet! Get my gauntlet!" He turned and anxiously waved the sorcerer to silence. He gave a final glare at his unlikely ally before resuming his downward trek. *** Cantera watched him unconcernedly. One man could not harm them now. Cacophona's voice sang around her and filled her with purpose and more importantly, the pain was gone. She could think clearly again. She continued watching until he was nearly upon her. Just as he reached the bells, she flung out her arm; in response, a long, insectile leg caught him and tossed him into a wall. He slumped to the ground with a groan and lay still. *** Cursing incompetent street rats under his breath, Mozenrath redoubled his efforts to free himself. His focus was gone, concentration broken, but he had his anger to fuel his power. A crude, inelegant way to work, but at the moment, the only possibility open to him. He directed his will in one last attempt and was rewarded when the metal snapped under his hand. He wasted no time in hurrying away from the tempest that was Cacophona. Picking his way over the rubble, he headed for the exit. He reached the top tier only to have the wall in front of him explode inward. Diving aside, he managed to avoid getting thrown down the steep stairs. Instead, he was thrown against the wall that formed the penultimate tier, thrown hard enough to knock the wind from him. Sitting up and hissing as he sucked air into his lungs, he pushed his turban back onto his head and stared at the incredible sight that met his eyes. He barely recognized Aladdin's pet djinni; only the lamp and the particularly chaotic brand of djinni magic provided clues as to the being's identity. The djinni jumped off his lamp and turned towards him. Mozenrath flung his arm up and pointed towards the glowing crystals. "The crystals!" he shouted. "Destroy the crystals!" Genie looked at the crystal, then nodded to Mozenrath. The sorcerer picked himself up and scrambled towards the exit. Genie flung up his hand; a particularly cruel-looking hook on the end of a heavy chain appeared wrapped around his arm. He swung the hook over his head, playing out the chain as it gained momentum. With a vicious snap of his wrist, he sent the flying hook towards the nearest crystal. It sailed through the air, flashing in the blinding light. The air blurred, dimming the light of the crystal as one of Cacophona's long legs whipped down and deflected the hook. Caught up in the maelstrom, the hook veered off at right angles, dragging the djinni with it. His strangled cry blended with the discordant symphony as he was carried away. Something hit the sorcerer from behind and sent him sprawling. Twisting as he fell, he found Cacophona looming over him. Fear knotted his insides as she reared above him, legs poised to attack. As they swooped towards him, he threw himself to the side; the wooden timbers beside him exploded into splinters. Gathering his legs beneath himself, he launched himself up and away from her, dodging flying timber, splinters, and bit of masonry flung up by the attacking elemental. Bounding up the tiers towards the hole through which the djinni had entered, his immediate short-term goal was getting away from her influence. He reached the top tier only to have something catch and pull at his cloak. He twisted around, ready to rip it off. Coming face to face with Aladdin, Mozenrath snarled, grabbed Aladdin's arm and shoved him through the exit. He dove through the hole after the other and slammed himself against the wall, panting for breath. *** "Aladdin!" Aladdin turned and caught Jasmine in his arms as she rushed towards him. He embraced her joyously, picking her up and swinging her around once. Abu scrambled to Aladdin's shoulder and ruffled his friend's hair. Their reunion was brief, however. Asad approached, shouting to be heard over the buzzing din of Cacophona. "How are we going to defeat that--*thing*?!" he demanded, pointing at the hole and thrusting his face close to Aladdin's. "The whole city is beginning to shake apart!" As emphasis, the timbers overhead groaned and shifted. A loud explosion rocked the little room as something large and blue came crashing through the wall. The shock wave knocked everyone off their feet. A large blue disc appeared on the wall opposite the entrance to the Theatre before dripping to the floor to reform into the djinni's normal form. "Sorry 'bout the diner, Al," he managed to get out before his eyes rolled into his head and he slumped back, unconscious. Mozenrath climbed to his feet and peered through the opening. Cantera stood within the center of the vortex, entranced and unmoving. He felt Aladdin press himself against the wall next to him while a sleek gray shape slid around his shoulders. "We can't get close enough to destroy the crystals," the sorcerer said, mostly to himself and absently stroking his familiar. "She's already too powerful." He used his wizard's senses to examine the chamber. The aether currents swirled around the chamber in a mass of confused tangles and knots. They vibrated in tune to the pulsing of the crystals; he could see the strain placed upon them at the crest of each pulsing-- He whirled around and caught Aladdin's arm. "We've got to get my gauntlet back," he shouted over the noise. "Get it back and I can defeat her!" Aladdin waved Asad back as he pressed forward at Mozenrath's sudden movement. "Are you certain?" "But I can't do it without my gauntlet! Get it and I'll send Cacophona back where she came from!" Mozenrath nodded and flung up his arm through the entrance and down at the elemental. The other nodded sharply. "Right then!" He gripped his sword tightly. "Abu!" he called; an excited chittering answered him as Abu scampered up his arm onto his shoulder. "We've got work to do." He gripped Jasmine's arm briefly. "Be ready to go after us if we fail to get Mozenrath's gauntlet. That's our objective now; nothing else matters." He kissed her quickly and leapt through the hole. *** Throwing caution to the wind, Aladdin leapt from tier to tier. He needed only to get close to Cantera; Abu would do the rest. He paused about halfway down to take stock of the situation. He had expected some sort of resistance, but so far, nothing. Cantera stood quite still, eyes closed and hands clasped demurely before her, as Cacophona pulsed around her. The elemental hummed, growing marginally stronger with each pulse from the crystal. Abu muttered something unintelligible and Aladdin started forward. "I don't like this," he said to his friend. The monkey echoed the sentiment and tightened his grasp on Aladdin's neck. Aladdin jumped to the next tier; his foot slipped on a loose block and he fell heavily onto the block. Several smaller blocks clattered down onto the lower tiers. Cantera's eyes snapped open and locked onto him. Eyes flaring redly, she flung up her arm. Mirroring her actions, Cacophona struck at him, flinging him aside several feet. Tucking himself into a loose ball, Aladdin used his momentum to bring him closer to the stage and Cantera. She gestured again; he ducked forward and under the strike. He was close enough to see Mozenrath's gauntlet tucked into the belt of her robe. "Abu, I'll distract her while you get the gauntlet," he hissed to his friend. Abu gave him a thumbs-up sign and slipped away. Aladdin climbed to his feet and faced Cantera. "We're going to beat you, Cantera!" he shouted. Her eyes snapped up to meet his. "You are a fool. You and that sorcerer," she said in a strangely echoing voice. She spread her arms; Aladdin ducked as two of Cacophona's limbs mirrored Cantera's movements and swooped down to strike him. Leaping to the next tier up, Aladdin raced along it, dodging flying debris from Cacophona's strikes. He reached the end of that tier, scrambled to the next one up and headed back around, drawing the elemental's attention away from Abu. Halfway back, he heard Cantera screech; he slid to a stop and faced the stage. Cantera pawed at her robes. Aladdin grinned as Abu appeared from under her hair and leapt from her shoulders to the stage. The grin changed to a cheer as he spotted Mozenrath's gauntlet clutched in Abu's fist. He crouched and held out his arms to Abu. Cantera straightened and turned her baleful glare on Abu as he scurried up the tiers to where Aladdin waited. Throwing her arm out, Cacophona struck at the small creature. Aladdin ducked and dropped down to the next tier. "Come on, Abu!" he shouted. Abu gathered himself and launched himself at Aladdin. Aladdin stepped forward and snatched Abu out of the air just as Cacophona struck at him again. Turning, he wasted no time in racing up the tiers. Zigzagging madly to avoid the elemental's attacks, he dodged raining debris and exploding masonry. Within sight of the entrance, he heard the whining screech as Cacophona struck from behind. Gathering himself, he leapt headfirst through the opening. Rolling with the blow, Aladdin came up hard against the wall opposite, and lay still next to a still unconscious Genie. He looked up as someone pulled him up roughly. "Did you get it?" someone demanded. Still dazed by the explosion, Aladdin nodded. "Abu got it, didn't you, Abu?" Aladdin pushed his fez back onto his head and looked around for his friend. "Abu? Where are you?" A soft chittering answered him; he leaned forward to find the monkey pinned between himself and the wall. "Sorry, Abu!" He reached around to scoop up the monkey when a skeletal hand snatched him out of his grasp. "Where is it?" the sorcerer demanded. Dangling by his tail in the sorcerer's grasp, Abu screeched and shook his fist at Mozenrath. Pulling the gauntlet out of his vest, he threw it at Mozenrath's feet. The sorcerer dropped Abu; Aladdin barely caught the little monkey in time. "Hey! Stop it--" "There's no time!" Mozenrath shouted as he jerked the gauntlet over the bleached bones of his hand. Eyes and hand blazing with power, he grabbed Aladdin and hauled him over to the opening. Cacophona pulsed in the darkness, growing stronger and more corporeal each moment. "Listen to me, because I've only got time to explain this once: Cacophona isn't strong enough to leave the Theatre and the web of harmonics Cantera has created. She's still dependent upon the crystals to sustain herself until her power builds to a critical level." He glanced down into the Theatre; the whining had reached nearly intolerable levels. "She's almost there, so we must act quickly." He turned back to Aladdin. "I'm going to need every scrap of strength between the two of us. Don't fight me or we're all doomed. Just do what I say. Understand?" Aladdin shook his head. "No--" "Just do it!" Mozenrath snapped, as he summoned his power and dragged Aladdin through the opening into the Theatre. "See if you can take this, Cantera!" he shouted and released the gathered power at the glowing crystal nearest him. Aladdin watched bemusedly as the crystal's glow increased. Cacophona flared in response; the strange humming noise increased in volume and pitch. She solidified completely for a moment, then faded into semi-opacity again. Mozenrath gestured and the flare leapt from that crystal to the next. Again the creature flared in response and solidified momentarily. And again, she faded. Twice more, Mozenrath gestured and the power leapt from crystal to crystal; as the last flared incandescent, the elemental solidified and stabilized. Cantera threw up her arms and shouted in triumph. The sorcerer shook his head and gritted his teeth; sweat stood out on his forehead. Aladdin stepped forward and grabbed Mozenrath's arm. "What are you doing?" Quick as a striking snake, Mozenrath twisted his arm out of Aladdin's grasp; his mouth was set in a painful grimace as he grabbed Aladdin's hand. Aladdin gasped as he felt his strength being sucked out of himself. Linked as he was with the sorcerer, he could see the energy patterns in the air before him; he stood dazzled as they shifted and flowed around the Theatre with a strange beauty. The crystals were veritable pools of concentrated power, feeding Cacophona... Through that same link, Aladdin knew what was happening, what Mozenrath was doing. The ordered patterns that made up the creature were eroding under the pressure building up in the crystals. Her screeching turned to a keening cry of pain as the crystals' glare increased. The drain on him forced him to his knees as he watched the lines unravel. A loud popping noise beside him drew his attention away from the elemental to the crystal nearest them: The brightness was marred by a dark crack at its heart. He looked at Mozenrath; the sorcerer seemed unaware of the damage, so intent was he on feeding his power and Aladdin's strength into the circuit. The keening increased to unbearable levels; Cantera's scream mingled with it. Cacophona thrashed in her death agonies, striking the ceiling and walls of the amphitheatre, dislodging and vaporizing great chunks of masonry with her throes. Aladdin covered his ears with his hands and cringed against the pain. The crystals exploded with the sound of shattering glass; the lines of power feeding Cacophona snapped. Spilling over into the physical realm, the aether currents ripped through the Theatre, dislodging the last supports of the ceiling. The last thing Aladdin saw before he lost consciousness was several tons of rock raining down, filling the Theatre. Then all went black. *** Jasmine pushed aside the timbers that blocked the entrance to the amphitheatre and peered inside. After the explosion, the Theatre had gone dark; her human eyes could not penetrate the thick, clinging darkness. She turned to find Genie behind her. "Genie, could we have some light?" she asked, keeping her voice steady. The djinni nodded and sent a ball of light into the Theatre. They gasped: The entire Theatre was filled with what was left of the domed ceiling. Shards of crystal littered the area near the makeshift entrance. Under that ball of blue light, the group spread out looking for the two men. Jasmine picked her way over the new debris. She hardly glanced at the pile of broken timbers and supports that buried the stage; her concern was for someone else. "Genie, where's Aladdin?" Genie whipped out the same box-like device he used earlier and flipped it open. He waved it around as he flew over the jumbled remains of the Theatre's ceiling. "Here!" he cried in response to an insistent bleeping by the box. Jasmine and Abu scrambled over the rubble to the spot the djinni had indicated and started digging. Asad helped shift the timbers. A muffled moan came from beneath the rubble. "He's here!" she cried. Frantically, she pushed aside the debris until she could reach Aladdin. "Aladdin!" Tears streaked her face as she took his hand; her tears turned to gasps of relief as his hand closed around hers. Genie increased his mass and lifted away the rubble so they could reach him. "We'll have you outta there in no time, Al!" He heaved the timbers and stones aside as if their weight were inconsequential. Once the rubble had been cleared, Aladdin stirred and put a hand to his head. "Ow...What happened? I feel like the roof fell on me." Abu put his arms around his friend's neck and hugged hard. "The roof fell on you," she said with a smile. He grinned at her; his grin faded as he looked around at the damage. "Cantera?" Jasmine gestured towards the stage. "There. Mozenrath did it; Cacophona is gone." She looked wryly at him. "He certainly has a way of bringing the house down, doesn't he?" Aladdin rubbed his head. "Yeah. I just wish he'd quit doing it on *my* head." He sat up and looked around. "Where is he?" "He's gone, Al," Genie said as he shrank back to his normal size and using his scanning instrument again. "There are no other intelligent lifesigns in here." "Why am I not surprised?" Iago commented uselessly. "What?" Asad demanded angrily. Aladdin fumbled in his sash; the Haoman leaves he had tucked into it were gone as well. He sighed; he *had* struck a deal with the sorcerer and Mozenrath *had* upheld his part of the bargain. "That's Mozenrath; not even a thank you," he muttered under his breath. "What are we going to tell the Captain? And the Sultan?" Asad hung his head. "I failed you, Princess. I should not have let him get away." "You did not fail, Asad." Jasmine laid a hand on the guard's arm. "We kept him here long enough to help save the city. That's all that's important at the moment." Aladdin nodded. "And I think you'll find the Sultan willing to pardon him after he learns how Mozenrath saved Agrabah. Or at least issue a stay of execution." 'At least, I hope so,' he thought to himself. He swallowed hard and frowned. Jasmine noticed his trouble look and held out her hand to help him stand. Turning to Asad, she motioned towards the pile of rubble on the stage. "Go see what you can find. I want to know for certain Cantera is dead. Genie, help him." She looked at Iago. "You, too." "Ah, geez. Why do *I* hafta go with that weirdo?" he muttered, but flapped off after the djinni anyway. The guard nodded and climbed over the rubble. Jasmine looked up at Aladdin; she tenderly pushed a lock of his hair out of his eyes. "Aladdin, how did you get Mozenrath to agree to help us?" she asked quietly. Aladdin looked at her, mouth open to ask why she asked that. He saw the look in her eyes and shut his mouth, and cleared his throat nervously. "I promised Mozenrath his freedom." "Father isn't going to like that," Jasmine said softly. Aladdin felt his face go pale. "But I don't see any reason to mention it if he doesn't ask about it, do you?" Aladdin looked down at her, and saw the humorous glint in her eye. "No, I don't." He put his arm around her and pulled her close. There came a shout from the stage; Aladdin grabbed Jasmine's hand and led her across the rubble to the stage area. "What?" "She's gone," Genie said. "Of course she is," Iago said as he winged his way to Jasmine's shoulder. "Nothing could survive *that*." He gestured with a wing at the very large block that had fallen upon the stage and under which could be seen scraps of red, Tinnabulan robes. Genie shook his head. "No, I mean, Cantera isn't here. Her...body, that is." "Where is she?" Aladdin asked. "She didn't get away, did she?" 'Not after all this,' he thought. "I don't know, but I doubt it." The djinni held up his beeping device. "Says here there was a rip in time and space at the moment of the explosion. Could be she was pulled through it with Cacophona." He flipped the device shut and tucked it away into his sash. "All that's under this rock are Tinnabulans and they were dead to start." Jasmine shuddered. "I wouldn't wish this fate on anyone, but--" Aladdin squeezed her hand. "Don't, Jasmine. Don't think of it..." He pulled her close. "It's over." "Finally. I think we all deserve the break." Jasmine nodded. "What are we going to do with the ghuls? We can't just leave them lying around down here." Genie held up a set of bells. "Don't forget these." Aladdin considered. "Genie, take them back to Tinnabula. Take them all back to Tinnabula. Bury them where they won't be found." Genie saluted. "Gotcha, Al!" He disappeared without another word; there were flashes of light all over the Theatre as the Tinnabulan ghuls disappeared. Almost immediately, the djinni returned, covered with dust. "Done! They're buried so deep, *no* one will find them for at *least* three thousand years!" Epilogue: The Future The wind howled as the sun rose over the walls of the circular canyon. It keened to itself as it twisted back upon itself and picked up some sand from the desert floor to form a dervish. It twisted its way across the sandy expanse before throwing itself upon the rocks of the canyon walls. The sand settled onto the ground and once more blended with the inanimate silicates there. The sand surged slightly as a booted foot came down upon its glassy surface. The dry, shifting sand sifted back into the depression after the foot was removed as its owner trudged into the center of the valley. Katie Dodd, archeologist, climbed into her excavation trench. She was close...so close. She knew it! The wind outside picked up as the sun warmed the air within the canyon. It rushed over the rim of the trench, spilling sand and dust back into her work area. Dodd picked up her tools: A small pick and a camel hair brush. Carefully, she started brushing away at the dust. "Those bells have *got* to be here," she intoned over and over; she'd repeated this so many times it had become her personal mantra. Her brush struck against something that rang hollowly under the sand. She leaned forward and scrabbled in the packed earth, pulling away three thousand years of drifted sand. It fell away quickly, as if eager to reveal the treasure hidden within it. The archeologist sat back on her heels, staring at the golden tubes. "I can't believe it," she whispered in awe. Carefully, reverently, as if afraid they would disappear if she clutched them too tightly, she reached out and touched on finger to the gleaming surface. The sand holding them in place came loose; three golden tubes slipped out of the sand and into her hands. For several moments, all she could do was stare at them. Then, "After five years of searching...I've found them..." She caressed them while cradling them closer. "*The Bells of Tinnabula.*" Finis Copyright 1998 by Wendy Welch Lee The characters from the _Aladdin_ series which appear here are property of and copyrighted 1992-95 by The Walt Disney Company and used without permission. The others belong to Wendy Lee. Disclaimer: Any typos/misspellings are the fault of my word processor and errant electrons that may have passed in the dark.