[[I posted this chapter and the one before it in a VERY tight time-frame. Be sure to also read the last chapter before reading this one if you haven't already!]]

"What could anyone want with me?" I questioned as I hurriedly followed behind Judar and Hakuryuu.

"Hell if I know but they aren't gonna get you," Judar said, reaching back and grasping my hand in his. My cheeks flushed pink but I shook my head as if to clear my head.

(Now isn't the time to get all flustered!)

"Hakuryuu! Lady Mei!" I heard someone calling out from nearby. We stopped in our tracks and I could see a familiar figure at the end of the hallway. He'd been introduced before as someone very close to Sinbad.

"Jafar!" Hakuryuu said, motioning for us to follow him as he headed towards the man. We followed without question and Jafar began to explain things at a rapid pace.

"It would seem that Al Tharmen is onto us already," he said, leading us through a maze of hallways. "They've come looking for you, Judar. You and Princess Mei. With Sinbad out of the palace, they've decided to launch an attack."

"Damn those bastards," Judar growled. "What about Aladdin and the kid?"

"Alibaba and Aladdin are both here," Jafar said. "As of right now, there are two options. We can send you and Princess Mei away and deal with Al Tharmen here," Jafar said.

"I don't like it," I said, shutting down the first option completely. "I can't run away while everyone else deals with our problems!"

"Oh, so they're OUR problems now! I could have sworn you told me that they were MY problems!" Judar griped at me.

"Now isn't the time for that!" I yelled back at him.

"Option two is to have you stay and fight with us," Jafar interrupted. He stopped at the end of the hallway and turned to face us, waiting for a decision to be made.

Hakuryuu also glanced back at me, waiting for the final verdict.

"I want to stay and help," I declared.

Judar took a step closer to me, arguing against my decision, "We're obviously not ready for a war with Al Tharmen right now. Staying here would be the same as committing suicide. Don't be stubborn about this. I can't have you dying just yet."

As right as I knew he was, I couldn't let everyone else fight my battle for me. Images of Alibaba, Aladdin, and even Kougyoku filled my mind.

I'd made my decision. I faltered for a moment, remembering each and every single time Judar had either come to my aid or completely rescued me altogether.

My gaze met Judar's and my voice was quiet as I spoke his name, "Judar, I need you to help me again. Please.."

He hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth. "Dammit," he said, suddenly pulling me behind him. A familiar yellow sphere formed around us just as what looked like heavy debris hurled past us.

Hakuryuu and Jafar had narrowly escaped the debris as well.

Judar sighed and extended a hand towards me, a gentle smile tugging at the corner of his lip. "A while back, I told you that everything around you was yours now... Including the Magi standing before you. Well, that really hasn't changed has it?" he asked.

I stared up at him, unable to calm my heart beating wildly in my chest. I felt as if I were about to burst open with joy at any moment as I placed my hand in his. He pulled me up, and beamed me a bright smile before asking, "Sure you wanna do this, Princess?"

A slight feeling of Deja vu washed over me as I recalled him asking me the same question before entering the dungeon with me just a short while back.

"Are you that worried about me, Judar?" I asked him, smiling as I remembered all the time I'd actually spent with him since my awakening in this era. I'd asked him the same thing as well, just before entering the dungeon. At the time, he merely brushed it off and let me continue my recklessness without another word.

"I really am," he said this time, a whimsical smile befalling his lips.  A single pink rukh fluttered around him as my heart nearly melted inside me.

"I hate to intrude yet again but," Hakuryuu exclaimed. My eyes followed his gaze until I spotted a giant dark monster looming over the town.

"Dark Djinn," Judar said. "Looks like they've been working hard in my absence," he said bitterly. Judar then glanced back at me, smiling through his apparent anguish. "Why don't we go and greet them?"