You're My World
"Master?" Xerxes called, poking his head into Mozenraths lab. He wasn't there either. Xerxes was getting worried now. That meant that Mozenrath wasn't in his library, his study, his lab, the dungeons, the Mamluk creation lab, or even the kitchens, which had been a long shot to start with. Xerxes floated halfway into the lab, wondering where his Master could possibly be. Sure, there was the chance that he was travelling inter-dimensionally, but he almost always took Xerxes with him or at least said he was going. There was one more room Mozenrath could be in, although Xerxes was forbidden from entering it; the bedroom. Mozenrath often worked through the night, going days at a time without sleep, but when h did retire to bed, he would walk up the thick spiral staircase in the North Tower and shut the heavy wooden doors. Xerxes had seen inside only once, when Mozenrath had forbidden him to enter and shut the doors tight. It had looked comfortable and clean enough, of a little stale and dusty, and Xerxes had been settled knowing that at least his Master slept in comfort.
Xerxes floated slowly up the stairs. He knew he was going to enter Mozenraths bedroom and if h got caught there, he would be in so much trouble. Still though, he had to make sure that his Master was safe. All too quickly, he was outside the doors. Xerxes had second guessed himself the whole way up and it was ever worse now, seconds from breaking Mozenraths first rule. At last, Xerxes steeled himself and pushed the door open.
The stale smell of dust might have gagged a normal human or creature, but after witnessing a Mamluk being made, there weren't many smells that could distract Xerxes. He moved through the room slowly, watching for any sign of movement and listening in case he needed to hide. As he moved towards the large red-draped bed in the center of the room all he heard was a quiet laboured breathing. He nosed the curtain open and peered through. The sight of Mozenrath nearly dropped him out of the air.
"Master!" He cried, darting towards him. Mozenrath lay like the dead with thin pale waxy skin pulled tight over the bones of is face and the silk shirt he wore gaping open over his sunken chest and stomach. He didn't wear his gauntlet and Xerxes immediately realized that the bone arm had spread, moving all the way up to his shoulder where the shirt began to cover him, perhaps it went further even. Xerxes hovered down closer to his Masters face. If it hadn't been for that shallow audible breathing, Xerxes would have believed him dead as h didn't move so much as an eye. Xerxes circled in the air above him, completely unsure of what to do. It was cleat that Mozenrath was dying how could Xerxes fix it? Mozenrath was the brains, Mozenrath was the one who knew magic, and Xerxes was just the pet. Still, there had to be something he could do. Xerxes circled in a panic a few moments more before hitting upon a realization. A realization that Mozenrath would have fought against, but at the moment he had no say. Xerxes spiralled up to one of the windows that had long lost its glass.
"I'll find a way to save you Master. We know who helps. I come back." He promised before leaving out the window. He needed to get to Agrabah and fast.
***
"Jasmine, it was just a joke. I'm sorry." Aladdin protested, pushing his hair back from his face.
"Well, it wasn't very funny." She replied, brushing the leaves out of her hair. Aladdin had helped her up a free, and had left her trapped up there. It had taken nearly ten minute for her to find her way down softly, and even then her hair had suffered badly.
"I told you already, I'm sorry." He repeated.
"It's not that easy Aladdin. I'm really mad at you. I think you should leave for a bit."
"But Jasmine – "
"I need to calm down. Why don't you go play with Abu and Carpet?"
Aladdin hesitated for a minute before nodding, "I'll be in the garden with the guys if you want me." He said, and left her room.
Jasmine watched him go in the reflection of the mirror. As she shut the door behind him, she sighed and combed her hair a little more ruthlessly.
'Stupid boys and their stupid tricks. He's just better hope I never play one on him." She proceeded to think of all the thing she could do to get back at him, failing to notice Xerxes glide in her open window.
"Stupid Aladdin!" She burst out loud. "The next time he does something like that, I'll –"
"Princess…" Came a voice from behind her. A voice she recognized quite well.
She turned around quickly, gasping, and jumping to her feet. Xerxes lay on her bed, gasping for air.
"Princess -" He said again, but got no further.
""Aladdin!" Jasmine screamed, not talking her eyes off Xerxes. "Aladdin!"
She had barely sounded the second scream when Aladdin and the rest of the boys burst through her door.
"Jasmine, what -?" Aladdin started and then saw the limp form of Xerxes lying on her bed.
"Genie jumped forward and seized Xerxes around the body. Xerxes gave a groan of pain.
"What are you doing here? Where's Mozenrath?" Aladdin demanded.
"Master sick." Xerxes answered. "Master dying. Help us."
Genie let go of Xerxes in shock and h fell back on the bed, giving another pained groan.
"Dying?" Aladdin asked, "How?"
"Don't know." Xerxes said. "But you help. The hero always helps."
Nobody said anything for a moment. Yes, Mozenrath was an enemy, and they all should have been ecstatic to hear of his impending doom, but the sight of Xerxes lying there, asking for their help was something hard to ignore.
"How did you get here?" Jasmine asked at last, taking a step towards Xerxes.
"Flew." He answered.
"You flew? The whole way? But that must have taken days."
"Three days. Maybe too long for Master. But the heroes always find a way."
Jasmine sat down on her bed, looking at Xerxes. She noticed that he was burnt and that bones – if those were bones – were visible under skin. He must have flown for three days and nights straight. She reached out and touched his skin. He gave a little whimper and she horrified to feel blisters across his whole body. No wonder he had cried out when Genie had grabbed him.
"Please," He whispered. "Help my Master." His last word drifted off and Jasmine wasn't surprised to hear his breathing even out. He needed sleep. She stood up and looked at Aladdin. He was looking right back at her.
"You know it's a bad idea to help Mozenrath." He said and the others all nodded or murmured their agreement.
"Yes." Jasmine answered. "But we're going to do it, right?"
Aladdin looked away.
"Aladdin, we have to." She said. "The heroes always help."
"Yeah," Aladdin sighed. "Yeah, we do. Let him sleep for a few hours, then make sure he eats. We'll leave for the Citadel after than."
***
Hours later, they all sat on Carpet, flying over the deserts. During the day Jasmine had held Xerxes under her cover-up while he slept, nut now the sun was down and he lay uncovered in front of her. He kept his eyes almost unblinking on the swatch of black sand coming closer. It had taken him three days to reach Agrabah, but he was much slower and smaller than Carpet who had made the trip in hours.
"How do we know this isn't a trap?" Squawked Iago for the seventh or either time. Just like the first and second time though, everyone ignored him. "I'm serious. How do we know the eel wasn't sent to bring us right into Mozenraths trap?"
"We don't." Jasmine answered quietly. "We just have to trust him. Like we just had to trust you once."
Iago fell silent and for a few minutes no one said anything, all hoping they were doing the right thing,
"What about the Mamluks?" Aladdin asked suddenly. "We're willing to help, but I don't want to have to fight my way through the city first."
"Mamluks only do what Master tells them. He can't have told them anything." Xerxes answered.
"What does that mean?"
"They won't so anything about anything."
They fell silent again as the Citadel came into view. Jasmine reached out and touched Xerxes lightly to reassure him. Carpet flew over the barren city and they saw Mamluks look up at them, although not one made a move. At last they came to the palace entrance.
"Walk from here." Xerxes said. "Master sets traps and it's safer." He floated up from his position on Carpet, preparing to lead them on.
"Xerxes, you're still exhausted." Jasmine said. "You should save your strength in case we need to inside. Let me carry you."
Aladdin looked at Jasmine in horror as Abu and Iago shuddered. Xerxes seemed perplexed for a moment before allowing himself to lie in her arms. Genie pushed the heavy doors open and they began the trek in, Aladdin and Jasmine, with Xerxes in her arms, leading the way. Xerxes would occasionally call directions, leading them down hallways, up staircases, and through dusty libraries and corridors.
"Do you even know where you're going?" Genie broke out at last.
"Up there." Xerxes said, ignoring Genie completely. "It's the only room."
They stood at the bottom of the steep winding staircase. For a few minutes, no one moved, not even Xerxes. At last, Jasmine took a step forward and then another, making her way up the stairs, the other following close behind.
Jasmine could feel Xerxes beginning to squirm as it seemed to take an eternity to reach the top. She crested the last few steps and stood before the heavily carved doors. Aladdin stepped past hr, his hand outstretched to push the door open.
"No!" Xerxes cried, wriggling from Jasmines arms to clasp Aladdin's wrist with his teeth.
Aladdin gave a shout and flung Xerxes off him.
"You see?" Iago yelled. "He can't be trusted!"
"Actually," Genie said thoughtfully, stepping forward, "I think he just saved Aladdin's life."
"What?" Aladdin asked, looking up from massaging his wrist.
"Yeah Al. This door looks like it had some kind of magic on it."
"Liquid electricity." Xerxes said, still lying on the floor where Aladdin had thrown him.
Jasmine looked hard at Aladdin and when he finally met her gaze, he sighed.
"I'm sorry Xerxes. I'm just a little on edge being this far into the Citadel. We all are."
Jasmine bent and took Xerxes into her arms again. He was getting much more used to being carried in such a manner.
"So, where can we touch it?" Aladdin asked, looking the door over.
"The notch to the right of the handle." Xerxes answered.
Aladdin paused a moment. If this was a trick, now was the moment the trap would be sprung. He looked back at Jasmine and she gave a slight shrug. She knew what he was thinking, but if it wasn't a trap, they couldn't just walk away.
"I'll open it." Xerxes said and Jasmine let him go.
Xerxes glided to the notch and pressed his body against it. The door creaked open and it was obviously magic that such a small creature could open doors of that size. Xerxes darted inside the room. The journey to Agrabah and the trip back h had been able to convince himself that Mozenrath was still alive, but now was the moment he would know if he had taken too long. He was nearly halfway into the room when he stopped. The others had followed him in much slower, but now stopped behind him.
"Xerxes?" Jasmine questioned.
"Not breathing." Xerxes answered. "I don't hear him breathing."
"Ohh…" Jasmine breathed, understanding what that meant.
"Breathing doesn't mean anything to us magical folk." Genie said stepping past Xerxes towards the bed. He laid his hand on the material surrounding the bed.
"May I?" He asked, surprisingly respectful, considering the man who lay behind the material. Xerxes nodded and Genie pulled back the curtain. Jasmine gasped and turned her body towards Aladdin at the sight. Xerxes gave a wordless cry and darted through the open curtain to hover over Mozenrath as Genie reached out to touch him.
Mozenrath lay in the same prone position as when Xerxes had left him, but he looked so much worse. His skeletal arm was visible but there was more. The magic of the gauntlet seemed to be eating more of him. His silk night shirt lay in tatters around him and his torso was exposed, the flesh over his shoulder was gone and beginning to disappear over his chest and neck, but by far the worst part was his face, his beautiful face. There was no skin covering his whole right cheek and the side of his lower lip had rotted away as had the right eye withered to dust leaving the socket empty. The white bone of his scalp was visible in patches and his dark curls had fallen around him on the pillow, some of the roots still bloody, as if they had been torn out in handfuls.
"Too late!" Xerxes cried. "Too late to save Master!" He continued to circle above the rotting thing.
"I'm not so sure." Genie said, the only one in the room not overcome with revulsion. "He still feels alive. He still feels of magic."
"Gauntlet." Xerxes replied miserably.
"No, that's different, although still here. Every magic creature can be sensed by another magical creature because we give off a sense, like an aura, and each one is different. As a sorcerer, Mozenrath had one, and the gauntlet had a different one that was just wrapped around Mozenraths. Here, there is still both the sense of Mozenraths himself and the gauntlet."
"Wait, so that… thing is still alive?" Aladdin asked incredulously and Genie nodded.
"So, I'm not too late?" Xerxes asked, feeling hope for the first time since he'd left for Agrabah.
"No," Genie said. "No, we still have time. Although I don't know how to help him, we have time to try."
***
Xerxes had led them all back down to one of Mozenraths libraries at the Genies rquest. They were all currently going through the huge room, flipping through any book in elgish they came across, although they were under strict orders now to say a word they read aloud. If they found anything, both Genie and Xerxes were to look it over.
So far, the search hasn't yielded any results. A pile of spells for healing had been looked at and out back as they ad all involved stipulations, such as the wound be from a weapon, or incurred in battle, or by accident. Xerxes grew more hopeless as the time stretched on. None of them were sure how long Mozenrath had. Genie had explained that it could be the gauntlet keeping him alive to drain him further and he could have months more, or it could be Mozenraths sheer force of will keeping him alive despite the gauntlet, in which case he could have hours or less.
After almost an hour in the library, Xerxes lat exhausted among a pile of books, having given up almost all hope. Aladdin paused in the process of pulling down yet another book he knew would be useless. He stopped, leaving it halfway out and walked over to Xerxes.
"You should go upstairs." He said quietly.
"No. Finding cure." Xerxes answered, although he knew there couldn't be anything here.
"You don't know how much time he has left. I know that I was sick, I wouldn't want Jasmine to be anywhere but at my side."
Xerxes looked up at Aladdin. "You love her. Different."
Aladdin looked sideways at Xerxes, "Are you really telling me you don't love him?" He asked and went back to the bookshelf he had left.
Xerxes sat for a moment before pulling his tired body into the air and out the library doors. Aladdin watched him go and for the first item understood how important it was for them to find a cure. And what was it Xerxes had said? Heroes always find a way? He pulled down the book he had been touching before and was disappointed to realize that it was just a theory book, until his eyes truck upon a sentence that read, 'Magic is just an illusion that has come true.'
"Genie?" He called, "I think I found something."
***
Xerxes lay on the bed next to the side of Mozenrath that was not rotted. It wasn't that it bothered him, he was well used to the bones of his Masters arm and seeing rotting flesh no longer even gave him pause. It was that he knew Mozenrath was vain and would never want anyone to look upon him as anything less than beautiful and Xerxes was determined to remember him that way. As the tall, regal, pale, beautiful sorcerer, prince, god. As he looked up at the still perfect figure of Mozenraths left side, he knew Aladdin was right; this was where he should be.
"Master," He whispered, not sure if the man could even hear him. "Master, don't die. I have nowhere to go without you. You made me and I need you. Mozenrath, love you." He finished, nuzzling against his Master shoulder.
"Xerxes?" Jasmine said quietly, entering the room. "You should come back downstairs. We think we've found something."
Xerxes raised his head from Mozenraths should and lifted into the air to follow Jasmine down. When they reached the library, they found the others surrounded by mounds of books on the floor.
"Found something?" He asked.
"We think so." Genie said looking up. "Aladdin found it really, and well, listen," and he began to recite from the book in front of him. "Magic is just an illusion that has come true, the same as all things. Life, death, love, even gravity; are these not magical forces? When one accepts something as valid and real, so it becomes. Should humanity ever stop believing in something, it ceases to be real. Take the gods, when a god is discredited, his miracles, his lore, and indeed, he, himself, ceases to be real. If people were to ever stop believing in magic, magic would cease to exist."
Xerxes said nothing for a moment, thinking.
"Do you see?" Aladdin asked. "If we can make the gauntlet unreal, his illness will be unreal."
"Theory." Xerxes said. "Discredited theory. Master didn't believe that book."
"Of course he didn't. If he believed it, then he's questioning the gauntlet, that's one step closer to making it unreal."
Xerxes nodded slightly. "But Master believes in the Gauntlet."
"That's where we come in." Genie broke in. "Who do we know that controls illusions? Someone who could override the rule of belief and make something unreal?"
Xerxes looked at the Genie for a minute, "Mirage." He said.
"Mirage." Genie agreed.
Xerxes knew the name because Mozenrath had spoken it before with respect. He had often talked about her powers lustily and covetously, but he knew the limits that he had and Mirage was well beyond his level, for now.
"Mirage is dangerous." Xerxes hesitated. "Deadly."
"We know." Aladdin said. "But we've dealt with Mirage before. She can be convinced of things or even tricked. She may be a goddess, but she's not infallible."
Xerxes mind was racing. Perhaps there really was a way to save Mozenrath.
"How do we get to her?" He asked.
"Your Master collected some of the rarest and most valuable, most dangerous books in existence." Genie answered. "Including books long though destroyed on magic outlawed by even the darkest sorcerers."
Xerxes nodded. He remembered the dangers, the process, and the lives attached to many of Mozenraths books.
"He has one on evoking the gods." Geneie said quietly and even Xerxes blanched a little. To evoke a god was to call them, force them, into ones presence and under ones will. No one practiced those spells anymore as it was near impossible to keep a god under control if angered and many powerful wizards. Good and bad alike, had lost their lives in pursuit of god-like power. Even Mozenrath had never considered using the book before.
"How does it work?" Xerxes asked. Mozenrath had not explained the ritual to him, having had no intention of performing it.
"It's actually pretty basic." Genie answered, pulling the correct book out from atop a pile, a thin volume. "As long as you know the gods name, have somewhere to trap it, and the willpower to keep it there. Of course the problem lies in whether the god has more willpower or you. Historically, we know the answer to that."
"Good plan." Xerxes said slowly. "I do it. Dangerous for others."
"Yeah, good plan for you." Iago called out. "You do the really hard dangerous magic; we'll wait back Agrabah. Let us know how it goes."
"No." Jasmine said. "We told him we would help and we're going to."
"The eel might had something though, Jaz." Genie said. "You need willpower to subdue a god. None of us are attached to, or even like Mozenrath. Xerxes would be the only one who… well… who cares enough to save him."
Xerxes nodded. "What else do we need?"