"HEY JAFAR!"

She couldn't hear the last part of Iago's taunt over the sound of the fiery inferno that raged beneath her. The roar of the lava and the feel of the blisters forming on her skin had all but enveloped her senses, pushing her closer and closer to delirium.

She turned away from the unconscious genie lying helplessly on her lap, oblivious to the imminent danger they all faced. Blinking back the smoke that filled the air and stung at her eyes, she tried to see the parrot as he nosedived for Jafar's lamp and retrieved it to take to Aladdin. She could barely make out his form, but she watched him, hoping, praying he'd make it, that they'd make it out alive. A flash of light flew across her eyes and she watched, stunned as Iago was blasted into a boulder by a magical fireball just moments before reaching Aladdin.

"No."

No. No, this wasn't happening. Iago couldn't be injured; he couldn't die. He was their last hope of defeating Jafar. She fanned the unconscious genie more furiously, her mind racing, trying to think of something, anything she could do to save their lives. But what could she do, stranded atop a solitary column of rock? "Please, please wake up," she whispered hoarsely, "Genie, we need you. I need you. I don't know…I don't know what to do."

He stirred. At least she thought he did, before a sudden flash of lightning blinded her senses. She looked up and stared agape at Jafar, his body eerily electrified as a fearsome power coursed through his bones. Aladdin and Iago must have done it- destroyed his lamp. She could feel the genie jump to his feet, but her eyes remained transfixed on her enemy, who shrieked in agony, relentlessly crushed by an invisible torque until he erupted into an unearthly cloud of shimmering light.

"COME ON, JASMINE! We have to get out of here PRONTO!" Genie shouted at her, but she couldn't move. She just stared at the now empty sky in disbelief; Jafar was dead. Jafar was dead, and she was still alive. But as a furry hand tugged desperately on her own, her reverie was quickly broken, and she heeded the frenzied urgings of her friends to leave the canyon. She raced out onto the impromptu escape ramp, just trying to put one foot in front of the other- whatever it took to make it out alive.

His scream brought her back to the harsh reality of her surroundings. Aladdin. He was still trapped in the fiery gorge with the wounded Iago. She sprinted towards the sound of his cries, her weary body tapping an almost miraculous strength, strength she didn't know she possessed. But he was still down there, trapped, and she had to help him.

She coughed, inhaling the sulfurous fumes escaping the rapidly shrinking canyon. "Genie?! Genie!" she cried in vain, pleading for his assistance, but her eyes were too blinded from the unholy combination of rampaging fire and scintillating magical dust to see if he was actually coming.

She would find Aladdin on her own. But where was he? Where…?

Her eyes lit upon a solitary figure scrambling up the side of the canyon, his innate agility hampered by severe burns from the boiling lava. Aladdin. He cradled the fallen Iago in his upward climb, almost too tenderly given the gravity of the situation, as if he valued the safety of his friend more than his own.

"Aladdin," she coughed, hoping he could grab her outstretched hand.

He reached out to her, ignoring her frantic grasps for his fingers as he placed the wounded parrot in her hand. She snatched the bird away from him harshly. She was grateful for Iago, but she didn't have time for this. Not when Aladdin was still in the gorge.

She turned back to help him, hoping to see him almost out of harm's way, but instead she only heard his muffled scream. He must have lost his footing and fallen back into the rapidly shrinking canyon.

"ALADDIN! GENIE HELP HIM!" she screamed, desperately grasping at the air where his arm had been moments before. She peered over the chasm's edge and saw him, stranded and unconscious on a ledge far below her reach. She pounded furiously, pleadingly on the ground, trying in vain to stop the encroaching walls with her futile fists and stinging tears.

"Please, Allah, please. ALADDIN!"

But her prayers fell on deaf ears. The last thing she heard was an unholy thunder, as the ground silenced her love forever.

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First off, many thanks go to Cantare for all her loving support (and incessant nagging) that made this fiction possible. Secondly, I would greatly appreciate any comments or suggestions you may have, as this is my first fanfic. Thanks for reading!