The Sands of Fate

The Sands of Fate is the 42nd episode of Aladdin that aired on October 27, 1994. It is the 36th episode to air in syndication.

Synopsis
As Aladdin and his friends journey through the desert, they witness a battle between the Riders of Ramond and some marauders, which is suddenly cut short. The wise seer, Phasir, appears to them saying that it is their fate to repeat this battle. Aladdin tries to stop them, and ends up one of their own. Soon only Genie and Iago are left, and they learn that a mystical gem which fell from a chest is the cause of this battle. Now Genie and Iago must prevent the gem from falling, or their friends—and the Riders of Ramond—are doomed to be locked in time forever.

Plot
While Aladdin and his friends are in a desert, they see the Riders of Ramond exiting a canyon going through a rock formation. Then a gang of marauders, led by Zarasto, appear to attack the riders so they can steal a cargo their guarding. As the riders and marauders are fighting, a chest on an elephant's back opens and a bright light makes them vanish. Aladdin and his friends are confused. At night, Aladdin and his friends run into Phasir, who asks them to tell him what they saw. Aladdin tells him that the riders were getting attacked by marauders and Genie specifically shows him that they were fighting and all of a sudden, they vanished. Phasir tells them that years ago, the riders were attacked by marauders when they were guarding a cargo and neither the riders nor marauders ever accomplished their mission and they had to repeat it over and over again and their fate cannot be broken. When Phasir disappears, Aladdin suggests that they help the riders. The next evening, the riders show up and Aladdin goes to them to warn them about the marauders, but they tell him that they aren't afraid of anything, so they keep going. The marauders show up and fight the riders again. The chest gets knocked off the elephant again and opens. A glow of light makes the riders and marauders disappear again, but this time, Aladdin disappears as well. The next day, at a canyon, Aladdin feels dizzy, with Genie, Abu, Iago, and Carpet looking at him from the top of the canyon. The riders show up and warn Aladdin about a giant cobra behind him ready to strike. One of the riders gets off the horse, ties the cobra into a knot, and gets rid of it. Genie and the others go down the canyon to see what's wrong with Aladdin. Aladdin does not recognize them until Genie smashes cymbals in front of his face. Iago tells Aladdin that he messed with fate. Aladdin and the others see the riders go for their journey again and they go to them. Aladdin tells them to take a shortcut and they agree. Later that day, the riders and the gang are at the southern part of the desert, with Aladdin glad that the marauders won't show up because they're at the northern part. Then, a sandstorm comes and suddenly, everyone is back to where the battle happens every day. The riders and the marauders fight again. When Aladdin tries to intervene in the fight, one of the riders throws him on the top of the chest. One of the marauders knocks the chest off the elephant and the chest opens. Then a crystal comes out and breaks, making the riders, the marauders, and Aladdin vanish. Genie and the others see that it was the crystal that made them vanish and repeat their mission over again. The next day, Genie and the others see that Aladdin has become one of the Riders of Ramond. When Genie and Carpet come down from the top of the canyon, Aladdin doesn't recognize them and he and the other riders keep going. At dusk, the riders and marauders battle again, with Aladdin fighting this time. Abu hops on Carpet to intervene in the fight. Carpet wraps himself around the one of the marauders' face and Abu bites his arm. The marauder throws Abu off of him and the monkey lands on the chest. The chest falls and the crystal breaks. This time, Abu and Carpet vanish with the others. Genie suggests that he and Iago try to stop the marauders since they can't stop the riders. The next day at the canyon, Genie makes a rockslide block the canyon, but then he and Iago see Zarasto flying on Carpet with Abu, who has become a marauder. Zarasto swings his sword at Genie and Iago, who fly away. At dusk, the riders exit the canyon, but Genie stops them, and commands them to go home, but the riders aren't afraid. One of the riders hands Aladdin a bottle. Aladdin flips a coin and it lands inside the bottle. He makes Genie get in the bottle and then traps him. It's now up to Iago to stop the battle. The battle between the riders and marauders happens again, with Abu and Carpet fighting this time. Genie suggests that Iago keeps the chest from opening, but the parrot tells him that they can't beat fate and walks away, but then intervenes in the fight. One of the marauders smashes the lock of the chest, but Aladdin tackles him before it opens. Abu puts his sword on the chest and he and Iago try to pull it out. Abu gets knocked backwards and Iago falls to the ground. The parrot sees the crystal fall and quickly catches it. The crystal glows and Aladdin, Abu, and Carpet are back to normal and the riders defeat the marauders. They take the crystal off of Iago's hand and tell the gang that they saved them, which annoys Iago. At night, the riders place the chest next to Phasir. Phasir takes the crystal out of the chest, holds it up, and says "a young man and his friends are meant to be heroes." He is referring to Aladdin and the others.