Jasmine walked over to Aladdin, who sat watching Abu and Iago having another fight, this
time, over a huge red jemstone.  If there was one thing those two had in common, was the
fact that they loved everything that sparkled.  She waited patiently, while Aladdin tried to
get the two to sit still.   When the silence was achieved, she spoke.  "Father has informed
me of some rather bad news!" She said sadly.  Aladdin looked up at her immediately,
worried.  "What is it Jasmine, is something wrong?" He asked her.  Jasmine nodded slowly,
and sighed.  "My cousin Myranah, she's run away from home."

  Aladdin thought for a moment, astounded.  He remembered that Myranah and her father
had payed Agrabah a visit only a week before.  Myranah had confided in Jasmine and
Aladdin, confessing that she was utterly miserable with her life.  Her father had denied her
marrying a man of her choice, wishing that she would marry someone of high standards.  So
he had chosen a price from a neighboring palace, who also happened to be a "loud
mouthed poser" as coulorfuly as Myranah had described him.

  "I guess I can relate to her choice," Jasmine said sadly.  "I, at least, was given a group of
princes to choose from, but she, having to marry such and insolent...." She broke of
suddenly, almost with a sob.  Myranah, or Myrna as Jasmine called her, had always been a
bigger sister to her.  Even though she was only a year older than Jasmine, making her
nineteen.  "What should we do?" Aladdin asked.  Jasmine regained herself slowly, and
took a deep breath.  "Uncle wants us to come immediately.  We have to help look for her,"
Jasmine answered, while gazing out the window and onto the desert.  "Aladdin, she could
be out there somewhere, we just have to find her!"
 
Meanwhile, out on the desert!
 
  Myrna walked slowly towards Agrabah, thinking about the price she would have to pay
for running away.  Unlike the sultan of Agrabah, her father was a no-account greedy jerk,
who only kept her around because he wanted her to marry Prince *Shabdul*.  Myrna
sneered.  She had taken one look at him, and it had given her an urge to vomit.  He was
dressed in the most outstanding clothing, and had this air around him that screamed "his
royal, invincible majesty".  Myrna chuckled softly.  "He could have just had the word
moron stamped on his face", she muttered.  She brushed her long hair out of her eyes.  She
resembled her cousin Jasmine in many ways.  Having the same deep, large eyes, and
lengthy hair.  Her eyes were a very dark green, and her hair was a mix of black and brown.

  She walked around a large sand dune, not paying much attention to it.  Not even when the
dune of began to rise, and the sand fell in mounds, revealing a giant, metallic bug.  But
when the bug gave out a howl, Myrna froze.  Slowly, ever so slowly, she turned, and came
face to face with every gardeners worst nightmare.  Towering over her, was a giant,
mechanical mosquito.  The thing hovered a few feet in the air, and Myrna stood frozen on
the spot.  The thing's eyes were made of a dark blue glass, and Myrna thought for a
moment that she could see someone inside it.  Then she got a grasp of the situation, and let
out a world record scream.

  The bug pursued her full speed as she ran.  She gasped for breath, as the thing seemed to
cast a shadow over the entire desert. Suddenly, she felt something entrap her, and realized
with shock that she was in the mosquitoes mouth.  Myrna screamed so loud, that the force
of her own scream made the walls of the metal mouth echo.  Then she did the sensible
thing, she fainted!

  Myranah awoke to find herself locked in a large cage.  She placed a hand to her throbbing
head, and slowly stood up.  She was in a round room, with a large blue glass window.  She
realized that she was in the Mosquito's head.

  It was a machine, she could tell.  She had never seen such an amazing piece of
technology,and figured that who ever had made it had to be a genius.  There was a
shuffling behind her, and Myrna whirled around.  Standing there was the strangest looking
man she had ever seen.  He was definitely Greek, she could tell by his clothes.  He was tall,
and very thin.  He had a glass parchment that covered his right eye, and his hair was done
up in a somewhat strange manner.  He had a goatee on his chin, and seemed awfully
preoccupied with a scroll he was reading.  He marked off things on the scroll, and seemed
to be talking to himself.  "Let's see, trap girl...check, head to Agrabah...in operation, and of
course...destroy Aladdin and his poofy hair," he muttered in a strange, flat voice.  Myrna
watched him momentarily, trying to determine the best approach of addressing him.  She
made up her mind.  "Ahem!" She stated loudly.

  The man looked up instantly.  "Oh, you're awake," he said in a matter-of-fact way.  Myrna
became slightly annoyed.  "Apparently, now let me out of this cage you creep," she said
through clenched teeth. "All in due time, but first...I have to get the creases out of this
tunic," he said as he pulled an ironing board from a corner, and began to iron out a corner
of his tunic. ~Wonderful, a perfectionist. I may as well have married that half brained
prince~ Myrna thought.

  Myrna took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  "Maybe I should re-phrase that for you
Mr...." she started, and then realized she had no clue to what his name was.  He looked up
from the ironing board.  "Oh yes, how very rude of me, allow me to introduce myself, I am
Mechanicles!" Myrna arched an eyebrow.  "Ah huh, well...Melcrackers..." she started.
Mechanicles looked at her sharply.  "Mechanicles, it's Mechanicles!" Myrna nodded
slowly. "Well...*Mechanicles* perhaps I should repeat what I said in a more
understandable manner! If you don't let me out right now I will personally feed you your
glass head-gear!" She gave him such an evil eye that he actually opened up the cage.
"Thank you!" She said politely.  "Er...you're quite welcome!" He answered.  Myrna walked
over to the giant glass window, peering out.  She could see the desert, and Agrabah in the
far distance.  The mosquito was moving towards it.  "Who exactly are you? You remind me
of someone," Mechanicles stated, peering at her. She turned away from the window, and
faced him.  "I'm Myranah, but friends call me Myrna, I guess...you can too!" She said
slowly.  "I...I can?" Mechanicles asked her, slightly dumbfounded.  "Well sure.  You let me
out of the cage, and there are only two other people who would call me Myrna anyway!"

  "Who would that be?" Mechanicles asked, while he got back to desperately trying to get
the wrinkles out of his tunic.  "Jasmine and Aladdin..." Myrna trailed off as she gazed back
out the window.  Mechanicles continued to iron out his tunic.  "Oh, that's nice...WHAT?"
he bellowed out the last word.  "Do you mean that poofy haired boy that always foils my
plans, and the princess?" He asked through clenched teeth.  His hands were folded into
fists, and the way he was looking at her, waiting for an answer, made it look as though he
was about to kill her. "I think that's them," Myrna said slowly, backing up a few safe paces.

   "And how exactly do you know them?" He bellowed. Myrna began to get angry, and if
there was one thing a guy like Mechanicles should never have done, it was making
Myranah angry.  She began to move towards him slowly. She moved so close to him that
there noses could have touched.  "Jasmine is my cousin, is there a problem with that?" She
said, daring him to complain. Mechanicles was definately not used to this kind of
treatement, maybe from Aladdin, but from a woman? "Aladdin...I hate Aladdin and his
friends, they always get in the way of my plans.  But I think I have an idea! I can lure
Aladdin to me this time...by using you as bait!" No sooner had the words left him mouth
that he found himself suspended a few feet above the ground.  Myrna had no trouble lifting
Mecanicles up by the collar, since he was pretty light.  "Care to repeat that?" She asked in a
silky tone. Mechanicles was in more or less deep shock, and the words came out of his
mouth before he had a chance to think them over.  "Like I was saying, how about we go
visit Aladdin and drop you off!" He wheezed out, trying to breathe.  Myrna let him down
slowly and smiled.  "See, I knew you'd see my side of this!" She said sweetly. He gave her a
bitter look, but as she turned back towards the glass window, a small smile arched at the
edge of his lips. ~She sure is annoying, but...~ His thought were cut off abruptly.

  "There it is, there's Agrabah," Myrna cried in an exited voice.  The large mosquito was
nearing the city, but suddenly, it stopped in mid-flight, and collapsed.  As the great
machine fell to the sand, everything inside fell with it.  Mechanicles and Myrna were
thrown from one wall to another,  ending up in a painful heap on the floor, both buried
under about fifty scrolls.  "Ow! Kindly get off my back," she hissed at Mechanicles, who
had ended up sprawled on the floor right along with her.  "Let me guess, you still had a few
bugs to work out!" Myrna said in a dry voice.  Mechanicles shot her a dirty look and then
cast his eyes onto the huge mess of papers, scrolls, and mechanical trinkets scattered all
over the place.  "Oh no! Look at this horribly dirty mess, I just have to clean it up!" He
cried.  Picking up a scroll off the floor, he began to write on it quickly.  "Let me see, fix
invention, clean mess, destroy Aladdin, conquer the world...do the dishes!" He wrote down
each item neatly, and then tucked the scroll away.

  "Wonderful, how to I get to Jasmine now?" Myrna muttered.  Mechanicles noticed that
she was standing there, and thought up a rather foolish idea.  "Wait a moment my dear," he
said as he turned towards a corner of the room, in which a smaller flying mechanical bug
sat.  Myrna watched him curiously. "Scooter, come to daddy!" Mechanicles cooed.  The
bug flew towards them slowly.  "You won't mind if my little baby gives you a ride will you?"
He asked.  "Your little...no! I don't mind, in fact, I do believe that's the best idea you've had
in a long time!" She answered.  "Why thank you," Mechanicles said with a smile, oblivious
to the fact that she had just inulted him.

  In a few moments, she was on Scooter's back, and heading for Agrabah. ~I wonder how
I'm going to explain this one to Jasmine~ Myranah thought vaguely.

  Scooter sat her down in front of the palace, and Aladdin, Jasmine, and Genie immediately
rushed out.  They took one look at a now dissapearing Scooter, and threw a great deal of
questions at her.  Aladdin was looking astounded.  "Did Mechanicles hurt you? How did
you escape? How did you get Scooter to help you? Does your father know you're here?"
He said all at once.  "Hold it Aladdin, slow down!" Myrna said calmly.  "To answer all of
the above, no, Mechanicles did not hurt me, he helped me get here, he told Scooter to take
me, and father doesn't know where I am," she said all at once.  "He won't find out either!
Jasmine, if I get taken back, I'm going to have to marry that..." she said to Jasmine, pleading
with her.  Jasmine nodded.  "Don't worry, you don't have to go back, father will let you stay
here, I'm sure of that!" Jasmine said gently. Genie popped up directly in front of her.  "By
the way Myrna, what happened with Mechanicles?"

  Myranah spent the afternoon in the palace, explaining what had happened from the time
she had run away, to the moment that Scooter had sat her down by the palace. "Sounds like
he likes you," Iago teased her.  "At least I made that achievement you flying circus freak,"
she growled.  Myrna had a thing against Iago, and there was nothing she would have
enjoyed better than wringing his neck.  "Oh that's disgusting.  What did he do, invite you
to dinner?" Iago squaqed.  Myrna slowly picked up a fork, sticking it under Iago's neck.
"Speaking of dinner..." she began. Iago swalloed slowly.  "Hee hee, just a little joke
princess, funny ha ha!" He croaked.  She smiled slyly, setting the fork down and resuming
her usual sweet demeanor. Jasmine had to keep herself from laughing.  She knew that
Myrna would never have hurt Iago, but it was nice to have the loud-mouthed parrot in line
for a change.

  Later than night, Myrna stood at the edge of the balcony, look up at the sky.  It had
always been a favourite pastime of hers, which she had developed from Jasmine.  There
were thousands of stars outlining the sky, and Myrna recalled some earlier memories.  She
chucked softly as she recalled her first sight of the Mecanicles the Greek Inventor.  The
first word that had sprung into her mind at the sight of him must have been "cute".  Either
that, or a kinder word for egotistical know-it-all.  She had developed a liking to him though,
probably because of the fact that while Prince all-mighty Shabdul had no reason other than
his ego to feel superior, Mechanicles had his intelligence to back him up.  Even though he
was a few bolts short of a full bug.
 
Meanwhile, back at Mechanicle's hideout.
 
  Mechanicles tightened and examined every bolt and bit of his mosquito, angry over the
fact that he couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. ~Or what is wrong with me~ He
thought to himself in dismay.  His mind was foggier than usual, and his thought kept on
wandering to a certain princess.  He gave up on the mosquito and decided to clean his work
table, which was already deprived of the smallest, microscopic ogranism of dirt.

  Scooter suddenly flew in, being later than usual.  "Oh, daddy's little baby, and how was
the trip?" He cooed to it like it was a person. Scooter settled in his usual corner by a neat
stack of scrolls, and shut himself off.  Mechanicels resumed cleaning, and began to iron out
creases in his tunic, letting his mind drift.  Suddenly, something caught his eye.  On the
floor of the cage, was a small shiny object.  He walked over to the cage and picked up a
small, golden necklace.  "This must be Myrna's," he said to himself.  "Well, I will have to
postpone the dishes and give it back to her," he muttered.  In truth, he was slightly happy
to have an exuse to see the annoying, but oddly lovely in that way, princess.

  "Scooter, come here baby, daddy needs to go on a little errand," he spoke to the bug.  So
in a few minutes, Scooter was flying him to Agrabah, and Machanicles hoped that he
wouldn't run into anyone unpleasent, particularly Aladdin.  He didn't exactly enjoye the ride
either.  He reminded himself to bring his moquito in here later so that he could wipe out all
the dirt.  Scooter flew him to the palace, where everyone had gone to sleep.  They flew from
window to window, hoping one of the rooms was Myrna's.  He finally spotted her on the
balcony of one, looking at nothing in particular.  ~Great, now as soon as I give this back to
her, I can go and finish cleaning up~ He thought smugly.  He flew uder the balcony and
straight up, catching Myrna by suprise.  She gave out a yell, and in a moment, Mechanicles
was violently pinned to the ground.

  "Hey!" cried.  "It is only I!" Myrna did a double take and let him up.  "What are you doing
here?" She asked him.  "You can't be attacking Agrabah this late," she whispered.
Mechanicles looked at her curiously.  "Why are you whispering?" He asked.  Myrna rolled
her eyes.  ~He has no clue...~ She thought.  "Because mr. perfect, everyone is asleep!" She
told him.  "Why aren't you asleep then?" He asked her.  She shrugged carelessly.  "I wasn't
sleepy, now how come you're here? Aladdin will have a fit if he catches me talking to you.
It was hard enough trying to convince him that you weren't attacking Agrabah tonight!"
Myrna answered him.  "If you were convincing him I wasn't attacking, why did you ask me
why I was?" He said, catching her off-guard.  "Well...why else would you be here?" She
asked.  Mechanicles held up her necklace, presenting it to her.  "To give you this, you must
have dropped it in the cage."  He handed her the necklace, which she looked at in disgust.
"I would have thanked you for being nice enough to return it, but the truth is, this was an
engament present from my ugh...husband!" She said.  Mechanicles looked stunned for a
moment, but regained himself.  "You're married?" He asked her.  Myrna almost thought she
heard a drop of pain in the question.  "Not yet, and I don't plan to marry him.  That guy's
ego is bigger than yours," she muttered.  Mechanicled gave her a dry look.  "Some thanks
for returning it," he mumbled, loud enough for her to hear.

  Myrna smiled slightly.  "I am grateful that you took the time.  So thank you!" She said.
She leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the cheek.  Mechanicle's mind went
completely blank, and his eyes glazed over.  His mouth hung open in suprise and he looked
like someone had just told him that Aladdin had flattened his hair.  Myrna tried not to
laugh, but couldn't help it and began to giggle.  In a moment, they were both in a laughing
fit, and Myrna managed to gasp out,  "You know what the funniest thing about this is?  I
have no clue what I'm laughing at!"

  The two of them finally stopped laughing, unaware of the silent group standing behind
them all exept Aladdin, woken up by their laughter.  "Are we...interrupting something?"
Jasmine asked, smiling slightly.  Genie popped up beside Myrna.  "Awww, are the two
love-birds having a special moment?" He asked sweetly.  Mechanicles and Myrna both
answered his question at the same time.  "None of your business!"  This got a chorus
laugh from the entire group, which managed to wake Aladdin, sending him running onto
the balcony.  "Mechanicles," he said angerily when he saw him.  "Genie, get carpet, we'll
catch him!"  Genie shook his head.  "No problem here kid, let's all go back to sleep!"
Aladdin looked at him in wonder.  "But what about..." He started.  Mechanicles cut him off.
"I...I was just leaving, I will postpone burning down Agrabah till...some other time!"

  Mechanicles was just about to leave when the sultan rushed out onto the balcony.  He
didn't even seem to see Machanicles there, and began talking to Myrna directly.  "Your
father is coming, I just got word! He wants the wedding to take place immediately tonight.
He shall arrive soon, you must leave Agrabah if you do not want to marry Prince
Shabdul!"   Mechanicles wondered for a moment, then took a deep breath, and took
Myrna's hand.  "I have...a proposition."

  So it was settled that very night.  Mechanicles asked Myrna to marry him.  Which was
quite a shock to them all, especially Myrna.  Mechanicles was even more shocked that she
said yes.  He also asked Aladdin if instead of using fire to clean Agrabah, he could program
his bugs to clean the city every week, using soap and water.  It was a strange proposition,
but it worked. Agrabah had never looked cleaner, and Aladdin still made sure that none of
the bugs decided to light any bonfires.

  Probably the most shocked of the news was Myrna's father, who left Agrabah as soon as
he arrived, with Prince Shabdul ranting beside him about the "injustice of the marriage".
Jasmine spoke with Aladdin a few nights after the marriage.  "You know something
Aladdin, I think that Myrna and Mechanicles have more in common than they thought."
Aladdin just smiled, and kissed her.
 
THE END