Shifting Sands

by CrystallicSky

What happens when Jack is forced into another world and reshaped into someone entirely different? And what of Chase Young? How will HE fit into all of this? CHACK, CROSSOVER

10. Chapter 10

Shifting Sands

By: CrystallicSky

Disclaimer: I don't own Xiaolin Showdown, or any of the characters in it, which also holds true for Aladdin the Series.

Warning(s):Well, let's see, generally mild cursing, violence of a bloody nature, and romance between male characters. If any of these three bother you...go away. Just go. Right now. I don't want to deal with someone's whining because they didn't read this blatantly stated warning on content here.

Notes: The only reason this even floated through my mind is because I'm weird. As far as I know, this crossover has never before been attempted, much less the idea I'm going to use in it, and so...well, just be aware that this story is a little different than my others, being that I've never even ATTEMPTED a crossover, and I hope that at least one person enjoys it regardless. :D

Mozenrath was not happy, not happy at all.

Just thinking about...it was infuriating!

"This is no time for idle hanging around, Amin."

The self-proclaimed 'greatest thief in Agrabah' dangled from chains over a pit of crocodiles in the palace dungeon. Mozenrath had hired him for this job months ago, and despite Amin's relative incompetence, things had been going well...until now. "Mozenrath, heh, the magic dust turned the Sultan to gold, just as you said it would; you the man."

The sorcerer frowned through the communication portal, irritated at the lack of seriousness he was receiving from the thief. "I'm disappointed in you, Amin." he chastised, partially sarcastic before making a quick return to his earlier agitation, "We agreed that if I provided the magic, you'd do the footwork!" The young lord stood from his throne, unable to force his body into total compliance of his mind; why on earth had he hired this fool? It was taking all of his mind's restraint to not simply allow the rest of him to apparate to Amin's location and strangle the idiot himself!

...Oh, yeah, 'cause Aladdin wouldn't expect such a move. Still, Mozenrath was beginning to wonder if this whole thing was truly worth the stress on his already questionable sanity.

"Aah!" Amin shrieked as a crocodile snapped at his legs, "I am doing the footwork!"

"Oh, poor Amin," Mozenrath sighed, exasperated, "a two-denarii thief could have owned Agrabah by now with the bag of tricks I've given you!" He had been meaning to get rid of Destane's "apology gifts" for sometime now, and thankfully, the opportunity had arisen. Unfortunately, such an opportunity had come with the headache that was known as Amin. "But," he added on second thought, "it has been amusing to watch you fail."

Xerxes snickered from just next to his master. "Watch you fail!"

Seeing the eel's sharp fangs bared in a grin, Amin made a frightened noise. "Just a little more time and I'll prove my worth to you! Really!" he insisted to his current employer.

"You've got two tricks left." Mozenrath reminded the other, "Retrieve the statue," it had been lost to the heros when Amin had been captured, "and I will make you the most respected thief of the Seven Deserts! Fail..." he grinned maliciously, "and you will spend the rest of your life repaying me for my kindness. Win-win for me, win-lose for you!"

"Amin loses." Xerxes scoffed as the portal was closed, leaving the thief to his own devices.

"I believe that would be an improvement , Xerxes." the sorcerer sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose hoping to alleviate the oncoming migraine somewhat. "At least this fiasco would be done with. Although, it would be in our favor if he succeeds; the Sultan would make an excellent ransom for the kingdom of Agrabah, wouldn't you say so?"

The eel nodded eagerly, brushing up against his master's left hand, which he was then pleased to have petting him.

Of course, it didn't work out in their favor, as Amin used one of his gifts to transform into a griffin, the shavings of the toenail of which undid the spell that held the Sultan as a small golden figurine.

Needless to say, Amin was then quickly locked up in a dungeon again, this one belonging to Mozenrath. At least he was more useful now, his life-energy being slowly drained from him to fuel the Gauntlet; by the time the thief is completely dead, the young lord will have been able to use his magic freely, with no consequence to his own body, for several months. That may not seem like very much, but a few months without the strain of using magic could mean up to 5 years added onto his life!

"Oh, yes, that." Mozenrath thought to himself, "My fading mortality...that certainly puts a positive spin on things, now doesn't it?"

He had been feeling the detractions of the Gauntlet the minute he had first put it on, but he hadn't cared what it was doing to him, not even the skeletal arm if power was the gain of the price! But now, his life seemed to be fading faster, not by much, but enough, enough to give him cause to truly think about things.

If he would be dying naturally before he was thirty, he was going to conquer the Seven Deserts before he did so, and Aladdin would fall at his feet. The more he thought about it, it should be done with enough time for him to enjoy the victory for more than a year or two, and honestly, with all that out of the way, the odds were good, with his intelligence and the magic at his disposal, that he could be able to find a method to stop his impending death entirely, and until then, he could simply use people like Amin to delay it, so really, the two main goals were more about the principle of the thing than because of limited time. So then, conquering the deserts and killing Aladdin seemed logically achievable, yes, but they were so intertwined at this point that one could not be done without the other, and so until Aladdin was taken out of the picture, Agrabah would continue to cause him issues as far as military conquest went.

The problem was, Aladdin just didn't seem to want to die, and that was putting a damper on things indefinitely.

"You've been very helpful, Aladdin," Mozenrath thanked the streetrat, "I must repay you." Raising his arm, he fired a blast of magical energy towards the youth.

He quickly dodged off to the side, the small pink sprite, who apparently had known him from somewhere else and was currently with him, following just as fast, if not faster, leaving the blast to land harmlessly against the metal half-globe in the sand...or so they thought...

They were in the abandoned kingdom of Shemosh, a supposed sun-lord in life. Mozenrath had come to this particular area in search of what was known as "The Power of Shemosh", and after an hour or so of using energetic pixies to dig up the desert in search of it to no avail, who should stumble upon the scene but Aladdin, apparently called by his pixie friends? The young lord actually was grateful to the streetrat in a sense, because without him, he, as much as he hated to admit it, would have spent several more hours in the desert figuring out the clues to it's location; luckily for him, Aladdin had discovered it by accident, and had led him directly to the desired object.

"Pretty sad shot, Mozenrath!" Aladdin taunted at the 'miss' of what he thought to be the blasts intended target, himself.

"Depends on where I was aiming." Mozenrath countered with a chuckle, watching the streetrat jump as he realized that the metallic object was rising from the sand behind him.

It looked to be a large sphere with a picture of a sun engraved into it, the trademark of Shemosh, and Mozenrath grinned at the sight of the sun-lord's famed power.

The sphere rose higher and higher in the sky, propelled by the sorcerer's dark magic, clearly seen from the black and blue coloring around it and the ever-present red rim from the Gauntlet's influence. Suddenly though, Aladdin saw, it stopped, and got extremely bright, taking on a fire and life of it's own.

"I guess this clears up the Shemosh power mystery." he quipped, shielding his eyes from the light and the intense heat caused by the new miniature sun.

"The raging inferno of his own personal sun." Genie thought aloud, putting on a pair of sunglasses for all the help they did, "Yep, that's power."

"And it's all mine." declared Mozenrath, the sadistic gleam of red flashing quickly in his eyes. "But no one will feel the power of Shemosh more than you, Aladdin." A quick blast of magic to the sun, and it rushed towards the ground, leaving Genie, Abu, and Iago to flee on their own while Aladdin hopped on Carpet and began an escape attempt from the seemingly living inferno.

"Faster, Carpet!" Aladdin urged, frantic to avoid a fiery death.

"Fry him!" Xerxes urged, excited to see Aladdin's fiery death.

Mozenrath complied to his familiar's suggestion, propelling the sun just a bit faster to catch up with the streetrat and his rug, and despite a, relatively minimum, effort of restraint, malicious laughter tore itself from the sorcerer's throat as he saw Carpet catch fire, and plummet to the ground, even through a worried exclamation of the entity's name by it's passenger.

The dust cleared from the fall, and Aladdin lay motionlessly on the ground, unconscious, with a scorched-on-one-end Carpet draped over him.

Abu and Iago ran over to him as quickly as possible to make sure their friend was alright. Abu's attempts to wake the streetrat failed, but a slight movement assured the animals that he was still alive. "Ooh," winced Iago, "lights out!"

"I can save Aladdin!" exclaimed the tiny pink pixie, zooming in the air above the parrot's head, "I can do it!"

"How cute," the bird commented back in a condescending tone of voice, "but if you hadn't noticed, that thing is hot!"

"We fly in the stars all the time," the pixie explained, "I've flown around the real sun!"

Genie reached down and picked the small creature up. "Just leave this to the big boys." Placing it back down again, the blue creature altered his size to an extremely high altitude, procuring an apron, chef's hat, and a spatula in the process. "Who's up for barbecue?" Raising the spatula like a bat, he swung at the fireball, intending to knock it away somewhere.

Instead, though, a fiery burst sent him hurling backwards and into the ground, back to normal, except for his entire upper-half now colored a bright red. Raising his cloth belt to inspect the tan li-...sunburn line, he squeaked out, "Great. Twelfth degree sunburn and right before yearbook pictures!"

Approaching Aladdin's unconscious form, Mozenrath remarked to his familiar, "Why, look, the boy is defenseless! If I attack now, he's-"

"Dead meat!" Xerxes finished, reading his master's clearly sarcastic demeanor.

"At last." the sorcerer grinned triumphantly, directing more magical blasts towards the sun to influence it's trajectory.

"Now what?!" Iago screeched at Genie, feeling totally hopeless.

"Sunscreen, SPF 10 million," the blue and now red creature said, poofing a tube of sunblock into the one of the parrot's wings, and shaking the other, "good luck." After which, the genie promptly fainted.

"That means it's down to me," decided Iago, puffing his chest out courageously, only to slap a hand on his forehead as several of the pixie creatures hovered around him, "and the sprites..."

With Abu and Carpet, Aladdin almost gained consciousness, only to flop back against the sand.

"So," Iago asked, "you're in?"

The response was enthusiastic, and the leader, the pink one, shouted, "Sure!" to which the others immediately replied, "You bet!" and "Let's go!"

Mozenrath was on a power-high. "I will rule the Seven Deserts, and Aladdin will never...what?" The young lord blinked as he saw the sprites swirling around a stature of Shemosh, many of which had formed the main clue to lead to the sun in the first place, and hovering the thing towards Aladdin, now fully awake and cowering at the approaching fireball.

The statue was dropped just in front of him, providing a shield as the sun itself sent out a blast of flame towards the streetrat.

"No!" Mozenrath cried, shaking his head in something between a tantrum and disbelief. He was so close this time! "You can't escape!" he tried, attempting to coax Aladdin out from behind the stone.

"Who said anything about escape?" the streetrat countered, "I'm gonna beat you, Mozenrath!"

"Drop the next one!" Iago instructed the sprites, hovering over another statue just to the left of the first one. "Now!"

And more fireblasts collided with this statue as Aladdin ran behind the new one, and so it continued on as the sprites kept dropping statues.

"I'll get him yet," growled Mozenrath, "I'm so close!"

"Too close!" pointed out Xerxes, noticing what his master had overlooked in his sheer rage at Aladdin; the statues were being placed in a way that led the sun to get closer and closer to the one controlling it.

Mozenrath, however, was far beyond caring about that, and merely pushed his familiar away, causing him to impact lightly in the sand.

Xerxes, though, was feeling the heat, and jumped up, warning again, "Too hot! Too hot! We'll fry!"

Of course, this was Aladdin's moment to step from behind the statues, taunting, "Feeling the power of Shemosh?"

Recognizing the logic in his familiar's words, Mozenrath spun to face the streetrat and allowed his rage to control his body. A punch was thrown at Aladdin, caught by the youth's fist, even as the magic called to the glove by his emotions crackled around the Gauntlet. Realizing the danger in the sorcerer having any upper-ground, Aladdin flipped Mozenrath over his shoulder, where the young wizard landed on the ground. Snarling, he kicked at the streetrat's leg, toppling him as well, and they began the actual fight.

After they managed to pick the fight up off the ground, it continued, Aladdin once again flipping Mozenrath to the ground, what appeared to be his favorite move. The sorcerer quickly got off the ground and practically lunged for Aladdin, Gauntlet sparking and crackling with the desire to be used. Aladdin caught him by the arms again, though, and Mozenrath actually did use the Gauntlet, pushing the dark and deadly magic towards the streetrat, who obviously did his best to hold back the other's arm.

Suddenly, though, Mozenrath's footing was completely gone, and before he quite knew what had happened, he found himself in a hole at least four or more feet deep with Aladdin above him, just as confused.

Xerxes, who had been watching the fight with interest, was ready to help his master in whatever way he was able, at least until Abu grabbed him by the tail and slammed him into the ground roughly.

The sprites made their move, swirling around...Mozenrath's Gauntlet! "No!" Not that, not his Gauntlet! He had given up so much for that power!

"Alright!" Aladdin exclaimed, to the sprites, "Now get rid of that sun!"

"Ah, done." Iago yawned leisurely, pointing as the winged creatures hurled the round object, flames extinguished from the wind, somewhere into deep space.

"My sun!" whined Mozenrath. And he was so, so close, too! Aladdin always did this kind of thing! He always won at the last minute because of his stupid friends!

Psychotic rage soon took the place of mild depression, and he climbed from the pit he was in, making sure his exposed right arm was covered by his black cape, and growled at Aladdin, "My only goal now is to hear your tortured screams!"

The streetrat took what he must have thought was a fighting position, but actually looked like a monkey pose of some kind, and declared, "It's just us, man to man! What?" Aladdin froze, as his foe's cape blew aside with the wind, revealing the starch-white bones on his right arm.

Realizing that his hand was in plain sight now and that there was no way around at least a brief explanation, he sighed, "Oh, my secret's out..."

Genie, Iago and Abu almost simultaneously said, "Eew..." upon getting a closer look at the appendage.

"This is what I did for power." he explained, looking Aladdin straight in the eye. "The magic of a genie was handed to you on a silver platter, but I gave my right hand for power!" The streetrat moved back a step, frightened by the sorcerer's frequent and unpredictable mood-swings; maybe he was bipolar and generally psychotic. "To wear the Gauntlet is painful," the young lord admitted, and it was true, as it was an ever-constant dull ache in the bones of his arm, "but it's worth it. Worth it to destroy the likes of you!"

"Good luck with no magic glove!" the pink sprite spoke, flying up from somewhere else. "We buried it!"

"Somewhere out there!" a blue sprite gestured to the desert.

"My Gauntlet?!" Oh, no, they hid my Gauntlet. Whatever shall I do?

"Better start digging." Aladdin joked, making the sprites giggle before they, in thanks for freeing them from Mozenrath's control, repaired Carpet's burnt away end.

"Hmm..."Mozenrath thought to himself, "they're probably not going to leave without a show..."

"My Gauntlet!" the sorcerer cried in despair, dropping to his knees in the sand. "No! Dig ,Xerxes, dig!" The eel, catching on, played along and began using his fins to scoop up sand while his master did the same.

Aladdin and friends laughed uproariously again before flying off, and Mozenrath stopped what he knew was a totally infantile effort. "Are they out of sight yet, Xerxes?"

"Out of sight!" the eel happily declared.

"Good." Mozenrath then drew his left hand to the front of him, for the first time in a long while, generating magic entirely on his own. When the familiar black and blue glow enveloped his hand completely, he forced his hand deep into the ground, merely staring with a detached sense of accomplishment as the grains of sand turned black from the point where his hand touched it, and soon enough, the entire desert once belonging to Shemosh had officially been declared part of the Land of the Black Sands.

And who could navigate through the actual sand of said lands better than a Mamluk?

Snapping his fingers, Mozenrath summoned as many Mamluks as he could possible spare to him, and it wasn't long before over one hundred thousand or so of them stood before him. "Your orders are simple: my Gauntlet has been buried somewhere in this desert. Find it and bring it to me."

Each and every undead grunted in the affirmative before sinking into the sand to complete their new task.

Xerxes, noticing the blank look on his master's face, flew up and curled around his shoulders, nudging the sorcerer's cheek with his tail. "Master alright?"

"Oh, Xerxes," Mozenrath sighed, "I'm just...tired of this. I'm sick of losing. If I wanted to lose all the time, I could've stayed back home."

The eel growled softly, swimming in front of the young lord's face. "Master not go back! Master stay here!"

A ghost of a smile twitched the nineteen year olds lips...was he really nineteen already? He felt a lot older. "I won't leave Xerxes. I've got much more for me here than I ever did there."

"Promise," the eel insisted, "promise master stay!"

In a gesture of absolute trust, Mozenrath curled his skeleton hand around the flying creature, petting him with bony white fingers. "I promise, Xerxes. I won't leave."

Satisfied, Xerxes gave a growling purr, and nuzzled his master gently in thanks.

And so another plan was failed, and even though Xerxes got the promise to stay in the Seven Deserts from his master, Mozenrath was still short one dead Aladdin.

But a new plan had just begun, one that the young lord had a great deal of confidence in; an outside source had once again been hired, but this one was far more competent, a bounty hunter by trade.

This one would work, Mozenrath was sure. It had to work.

--

"Chase Young, hand over the Traverser's Pyramid!" Raimundo demanded vehemently, glaring at the warlord intensely.

The man blinked at the bold and authoritative request. "Again?" he inquired. "This must be the twelfth time you've decided to declare a Showdown for it. Any particular reason you're so intent on having it?"

"We..." Kimiko was slightly unsure about actually saying it aloud, but she soon got over it. "We want Jack back!"

"Don't' we all?" Chase mused silently. How long had the boy been gone? Four years already, and still, the blasted Pyramid would show him nothing! How long would he have to suffer such ignorance as to his mate's current life, much less whether or not he was alive? Yes, his mate, he admitted it! He had harbored at least some feelings for the boy, but his evil deeds seemed to have caught up with him, because it was only after the boy was gone that he fully realized it. Damned irony. "Well, how interesting. If it really means so much to you, I suppose I could-" his taunting sarcasm was cut off by a growling roar, and Chase immediately turned his head to see a white tiger run into the room. "Bella? What is it?"

The cat lay something in it's mouth onto the ground, nudging it closer to her master with her snout.

It took Chase less than a second to identify the object. "The Traverser's Pyramid..." He was stunned. Had it unclouded? Did it show anything of Jack? Where he was? What he was doing?

With barely any hesitation, the man snatched up the object and inspected it with curiosity, not even bothering to tell the monks, or Wuya who had been mostly in the background up until that point, to back away as they peered over his shoulder.

What they saw...was nothing like what they had expected, whatever what they had expected was.

An impressively large citadel overlooking a cliff stood proudly over a small, dilapidated town from the vision that was shown in the crystal object. The ground looked to be completely black, and it was similar in tone to the sky, a dark, shadowy shade of it's own, though, and the moon hanging above seemed dulled in the context of the rest of the area. The view moved closer, into the actual city, and Kimiko reeled backwards slightly, gagging at the sight of what looked to be stitched together and walking corpses carrying swords. Chase raised an eyebrow curiously as a brownish-colored...something approached the undead warriors.

"What doing here? Master said go to Aladdin! To Muktar!" the small creature hissed at them, and when the cadavers merely looked at him, it specified, "Mozenrath said go to Agrabah! Find Aladdin!"

At the mention of the name, "Mozenrath", the corpses froze as if frightened, and then...sank into the sand?!

The floating creature huffed, exasperated. "Stupid Mamluks..." it grumbled, before turning and flying off towards the dark-looking citadel at the edge of the cliff.

And the Pyramid ceased to show anything, then, the vision having finished.

No one was sure what to make of it, because they were pretty sure they hadn't seen Jack anywhere.

"Oh my gosh...do you think...do you think Jack is one of those zombies?" Kimiko asked hesitantly, praying that she wasn't right in her guess.

"Or worse, maybe that...worm thing?" Raimundo added, still staring at the Traverser's Pyramid, despite the fact that it was nothing but blank crystal now.

"No..." Chase thought to himself, "Jack's too smart to have something like that done to him, despite the way he's acted in the past. No, he's still human. If nothing else, that remains true."

"No matter what has happened to him, it is our duty to rescue Jack Spicer from this disturbing dimension!" Omi declared valiantly.

Raimundo nodded in agreement, quickly assessing the situation. There wasn't time for a showdown; Jack could be in serious trouble right now, and who knows how much longer he could wait for help? After all, it had already been four whole years! Shooting out his hand, he made contact with the crystal pyramid, still in Chase's grasp, and declared, "Traverser's Pyramid!" with the remaining mental image he had of what had been shown.

A blinding flash of lights enveloped the whole group, Rai, Kim, Omi, Clay, Wuya, and Chase, and before they knew it, they were falling through the air in somewhere that was, from their free-falling and minimally-detailed perspective, very, very dark.

A soft thudding noise signified the majority of landings shortly followed by a pained groan as the impact caught up with the rest of them. Chase, however, had enough sense of mind to land more gracefully, in a half-crouched position before standing to his full height and observing the area.

Yes, this was definitely the same place shown in the Traverser's Pyramid, not the dilapidated town, per se, but the general area at least. The black ground, he noted, was sand, pitch black sand, an oddity to be sure. The pale moon that hung in the sky did seem dimmer than it should have been, and it hadn't just been brightness lost in the pyramid's surface. Chancing a glance at said pyramid, still in his possession, he saw a dark blue light at the tip of it, glowing very faintly. Chase raised an eyebrow, experimentally pointing the crystal towards the ghost town, no pun intended, and was gratified to see it brighten exponentially the closer the tip was pointed to the shady citadel.

In the background, Wuya was furious. "You stupid little brat! Why would you send us all here?!"

"Shut up, you hag!" Raimundo growled in his defense, "You know why we're here!"

The witch's face was beet-red in her rage. "You're here to save that stupid little idiot, I know! You just had to drag me and Chase along, too, didn't you?!"

"Hey!" Kimiko cut in, "You can't talk to Rai that way, you bitch!" The young woman wasn't about to tolerate her boyfriend being bad-mouthed by some ancient slut.

"I'll talk to him however I want, little girl!" Wuya then huffed, crossing her arms in a superior manner. "Well, at least I won't have to put up with you dumb kids any longer; Chase still has the pyramid, and we'll be going back while you stay here in no-man's land, right Chase?" The witch paused, hearing no response. "Chase?"

The group looked to see the man staring blankly towards the town, no emotion written on his face, but an odd determination in his eyes, a determination that made both Xiaolin and Heylin's words to him die in their throat. Just as Wuya had worked up the nerve to try and get his attention, she was once again made speechless as he began casually walking towards the buildings.

"Chase?! What are you doing?!" Her shocked questions were left unanswered, and the monks quickly spared confused glances towards each other before shrugging it off and running to catch up to what was probably their best chance of surviving in this strange place. Wuya growled to herself before quickly joining them as well.

--

"So, Xerxes, is everything in place?"

"Yes, sir!" the eel saluted his master cheerfully, "Muktar started taking Aladdin's friends; soon Aladdin, too!"

"And the Mamluks? Have they been sent to augment the illusion?" Mozenrath was far more pleased than he had been just this morning; it looked like things were going well.

"Mamluks sent; Muktar be ready." Xerxes was pleased as well to have so much good news for his master today.

"Good," Mozenrath intertwined his long fingers, laying his elbows on the arms of his throne as he leaned back, purely calm as he had not been in some time, "then everything is going..."

"According to plan!" Xerxes chirped in, happily finishing his master's sentence, then curling up into a ball on the sorcerer's lap.

The Muktar, one of the last of an ancient race, was now, due to necessity, a genie hunter, an expert in such from the centuries of hatred between the two races. Mozenrath had hired this particular Muktar to play an integral part of his plan, to lead Genie to his citadel and straight into a trap.

The plan was both simple and convoluted: the Muktar would capture Aladdin and his friends one by one until only the genie remained. Then, the reptilian creature would reveal himself to Genie, claiming he was being hunted by Mozenrath, a fact to be "proven" when the Mamluks showed up and attacked the two. The Muktar would have revealed by then that he was holding the creature's friends as hostages in order to force the genie's aid. This would bring them to the sorcerer's lands in the genie's attempt to obtain his friends' freedom, and Genie would soon find himself caught within the Crystal of Ix, his power then available to Mozenrath to use however he saw fit. By then, of course, he would be able to remove Aladdin from the picture entirely, making today a particularly momentous occasion.

His good mood was interrupted by a strange twinge in the back of his consciousness. Blinking in confusion, he tried to place the feeling, recognizing that it felt...familiar. While he was deep in thought, Xerxes noticed his master's sudden contemplative behavior and, worried, flew from his lap to meet his eyes. Seeing black pupils and irises glazed over, the eel tried, "Master alright?"

Mozenrath raised his right hand to reassuringly pet his familiar as he answered, "I'm...not sure, Xerxes...I just felt something...something I haven't felt since..." he gasped as realization hit, "since before I came to this world!" That twinge in the back of his mind was the tell-tale sign of Shen Gong Wu magic. He would have realized it much sooner had he not been out of contact with it for so long, but the magic itself could only mean one thing: a Shen Gong Wu was in this universe, and there was at least one Xiaolin or Heylin with it.

"...!" Xerxes was shocked speechless. His master's old life...had it finally decided to find him? No...no, Mozenrath couldn't go back, he promised!

As if sensing the eel's apprehension, Mozenrath deftly snatched up his familiar and lay the creature back down on his lap. "Easy, Xerxes, I'm not going back; I can't go back, you know that."

Breathing deeply to calm his nerves, Xerxes wondered aloud, "What master do?"

"I'll handle it, Xerxes," he assured, frowning unhappily at the turn of events, "I'll handle it."

--

"Ugh, I can't believe we're actually trying to find that little brat..." Wuya muttered, trudging almost childishly behind Chase. It was worse for her, she supposed, because it seemed like she was the only one who didn't want to be here; shouldn't Chase have decided this "adventure" unworthy of his time already? Shouldn't he have left via the Traverser's Pyramid and taken her home, too? Something weird was going on here...

She didn't really have long to ponder this, however, as a swarm of undead creatures rose from the sand around them, swords poised for battle.

Instantly snapping into fighting stances, the entire group froze as a voice spoke out from just ahead of them.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Chase's eyes immediately darted to the figure. Dark hair, dark eyes, and pale skin were the first things to catch his eye, followed by the overall appearance of the young man before him. He was dressed in a royal fashion, almost reminiscent of a prince, and his physical form only emphasized such an assumption, long, elegant limbs and a handsome face. The warrior blinked. Was it possible...?

"Intruders!" piped in the worm-like creature previously shown in the pyramid, flying out from behind the newcomer.

"Who are you?" Raimundo demanded, locking eyes with the stranger.

"I am Mozenrath," the young man declared with pride, bowing gracefully, "and it seems that you have wandered into my kingdom, mistakenly or not."

"Oh, well we're sorry for th' trouble," Clay excused, "but we're lookin' fer-"

"Regardless of your reason for being here," Mozenrath interjected, "you have happened to come at a bad time for me, and so I'm afraid that until I have the time to deal with you all properly, I'm going to have to imprison you."

"What?!" Kimiko exclaimed disbelievingly, "You can't just imprison people!"

"How familiar..." Mozenrath's innerself said, reminded of his own first day in the Land of the Black Sands. "Of course I can; I have the ability to do so, and being completely blunt, you're powerless to tell me otherwise." With a snap of his gloved fingers, his magic-binding chains encircled each individual Heylin and Xiaolin tightly.

Chase frowned at the chains, internally shocked as he found that he was unable to free himself with his magic. The others figured this out pretty quickly, as well, unable to use any of their elemental magic.

Wuya, on the other hand, was relatively oblivious to all of this, lost in this dark young man's beauty. He was...he was just gorgeous, there was no other word she could find to describe his grace, his elegance, his sheer attractiveness! The most alluring thing, it seemed, was a certain aura that emanated from him, something that just screamed evil to her.

Scenting the pheromones from the woman beside him and noting her green eyes glued firmly to this lord, Chase huffed to himself. They were in chains, and that was all she could think about? Typical. Another scent that caught his nose gave him pause, however, and he took the time to examine it. It was a familiar scent, but yet so different from what he remembered; thinking back, it struck him that he was used to the scent accompanied by the oil used in machinery and oftentimes the scent of fear, but now it was much the same as before, but now heavily masked by magic and death.

The truth seemed so obvious to him by now, but his mind refused to let himself believe it; this young man, Mozenrath, was not Jack Spicer. The change in personality required for the statement to be true was far too intense to actually be reality, and not even the insistence of his inner dragon, reduced to whimpering purrs by now in the desire to be closer to its mate, could convince him otherwise until he had solid proof.

"Hey, what did you do to us?!" Kimiko exclaimed, wriggling in the metal chains and extremely put off at having her element blocked.

Mozenrath grinned, showing off pearly white teeth (at which, of course, Wuya practically swooned like a teenaged schoolgirl). "That's a more frequent reaction than you'd think. Those chains restrict magic; you're all completely powerless." This...may very well be the best thing ever! he practically squealed joyously in his head. He had been wary at the first sign of their prescence, but now...My old enemies' lives are entirely in my hands! His adrenaline levels were nearly through the roof at the thought, but of course, he was careful to keep all of this from his face; they weren't entirely stupid ("they" referring mainly to the ones who were the more logical thinkers of the group), and they might take such an expression at their suffering as a vague clue...that, and he would rather make his second first impression the best he could.

"You will not get away with this, fiend!" Omi glared at the sorcerer, scowling in a manner that suggested the taller (much taller) to be inferior to him.

His gloved hand came to rest on his chin as Mozenrath simply pondered the sentence aloud. "Hmm...no powers, chained up, and totally at my mercy, which has been running thin as of late; yes, of course, I will pay for my transgressions against you most dearly."

Xerxes flew up to the round-headed monk, hissing at him in an intimidating manner and then smirking, gratified, as he cowered back in surprise and fear. "Put in dungeon?" he queried to his master, absently curious as to whether the young lord had something else in store for the six of them.

Chase inhaled sharply as he saw black irises flash to red for a split second before returning to their previous shade.

"No..." Mozenrath answered, a faraway tone to his voice as if in realization of something, "have them put with the crystal..."

"The crystal?" the eel tilted his head to the side, perplexed. Wasn't that where...? What was his master hoping to accomplish with this?

"Yes, Xerxes, you heard me." A wicked grin came over his features (Wuya was tempted to scream ecstatically, "I knew it!"), and the enchained group found themselves subjected to a slight chill at the look on his face. "Besides the fact of convenience, it'd be a good...learning experience for them."

Xerxes' eyes brightened as the realization struck, and he cackled at the idea, draping onto his master's shoulder as the hilarity rendered him nearly immobile. They would get to see the death of Aladdin at Mozenrath's hands. "Yes, yes, 'learning experience'!"

A snap of fingers went with the largely unspoken order, "Mamluks!", and the newly-made prisoners were quickly apprehended by the undead. Chase resisted the urge to gag as the scent of rot and death assailed his senses so much stronger than before now that the creatures were right next to him as opposed to several feet away; internally, his dragon whined at the loss of its mate's scent, but it was somewhat appeased at hearing his voice. "I'd hold your breath if I were you." the young man taunted, and the statement was soon understood when the Mamluks began sinking into the sand, quickly followed by those that they held by the chains.

As the prisoners sank completely into the sand, several of them being largely unprepared for the immersion, Mozenrath turned to his familiar. "I think that went well, don't you?"

"Very good!" the eel immediately agreed, "Real intimidating!"

"I didn't overdo it?" Let Mozenrath be the first to admit he had a tendency to get caught up in the drama of the moment.

"Uh-uh, perfect!" Xerxes insisted. "Didn't suspect a thing!"

The sorcerer sighed, relieved. "Good. I had thought I saw some suspicion, but I suppose not." It was probably just a few of those sleepless nights getting the best of him.

Throwing his master a sly look, Xerxes added, while raising an eyebrow suggestively, "Witch likes you."

Mozenrath froze. "Wuya? Likes me?" he echoed, disbelievingly. Granted, he hadn't exactly been looking at her, but...Wuya?!

"Uh-huh! Witch make googly-eyes at master!" As if to prove his point, he did a parodical impression of the woman, making a kissy-face and dreamy eyes.

Mozenrath was totally silent for a short moment, digesting the information before he burst out laughing. "Oh, irony is a cruel mistress indeed, Xerxes; a woman who couldn't stand me a mere four years ago has become totally amorous of me and she doesn't even know who I am!"

Xerxes found this as amusing as his master did, and broke out into a giggle fit; oh, yes, that woman was certainly very amorous of his master if his more beast-inclined senses served him well!

Sighing and wiping away a tear of mirth, the young lord regretfully banished all thoughts of his previous life, the current one calling him back to reality with another tingling sensation of approaching magic. "Well, Xerxes, as amusing as this is, I'm afraid we have work to do;it seems the genie's just entered our kingdom."

Xerxes loyalty went unquestioned, and the two of them were quickly off to prepare for their ultimate conquest.

--

"Ack!" Kimiko cried out as she landed hard on the marble floor. "Watch it, you stupid zombies!"

"Where do ya' reckon we're at?" Clay wondered, taking the time to observe the peculiar surroundings.

"It is most obvious we have been taken to that villain's lair." Omi said, as if it were obvious, and for once, it was. There was really no mistaking the dark theme of the elegant room, dark marble floors and walls, odd-looking, but unmistakably evil themed skulls, snakes, and other decorations along the walls and floors in the form of mosaics.

Wuya's eyes caught the large crystal in the center of the room, no smaller in height than the average elephant, but understandably smaller than a blue whale. "If he can afford this kind of thing in some random room, I can hardly imagine what his throne room must look like..." she muttered under he breath. Handsome, powerful, and rich; maybe it was time for her to change loyalties...

"Hmm..." Chase hated to admit it, but he was impressed; not immensely so, as he was not new to finery, but still: what he had seen of the palace was rather charming, in a dark sort of way.

Rai spoke up then. "Yeah, okay, so this guy's loaded; does anybody have an idea to get out of here?" The silence was deafening. "Great."

--

Two Mamluks patrolled atop the wall around their master's citadel, touching swords as they passed in a gesture of recognition, when, to their shock, they were grabbed from behind, picked up, and thrown off of the ledge with a surprising ease.

And who would have done this but the hired Muktar, the humanoid reptilian creature exceedingly skilled in the hand-for-hire trade. Doing a quick check of the immediate area, he leaned over the ledge, locking eyes with Genie and saying, "The way issss clear."

Genie, dressed in Swedish mountain climber attire, tossed a rope up to his companion who caught it and then proceeded to help the magical entity climb up. When he reached the top of the wall, he sat casually on the edge and had it noted, "You know, mountain climbing always puts me in the mood for hot cocoa." To emphasize this, he poofed a steaming mug of the drink into his hand with a smile, offering some to the hunter.

The Muktar slapped away the mug, scowling fiercely. "There'ssss no time for genie-nonsensssse!" With that, he abruptly turned and stalked away from the annoyance he dubbed 'Genie'.

Genie slumped, insisting, "There's always time for cocoa." Nonetheless, he followed the Muktar.

Laying a cold four-fingered hand on the large entrance to Mozenrath's citadel, the reptile's eyes darted to and fro before pushing open the heavy door with Genie's help. The blue creature quickly darted inside, but the Muktar hesitated a moment before entering. The deception was going smoothly; the genie didn't suspect a thing. "Mozenrath'ssss lair," he announced in the low, hissing tone that was his voice, "now our battle startssss."

Within moments, the pair was deep within the heart of the citadel, and they quickly turned a corner, pressing themselves as flat against the wall as they were able. "Danger lurkssss around every corner." the Muktar warned his genie 'friend'. "An enchanted place is thissss."

"How is it that you know so much about this place?" It was an innocent question on Genie's part, but the slight thrill of fear that comes with being caught in a lie shot through the Muktar's heart.

He thought on his feet, however, and quickly came up with an excuse. "I wassss a prisoner here."

Luckily, Genie bought it, and answered back with, "Oh, I've been here before more times than I can remember. It seems like Mozenrath is always finding a way to drag me here."

"If only you knew..." The Muktar turned towards a door to their right, emblazoned similarly to the entrance doors only with twining roses as opposed to snakes, and he stared at it suspiciously as a scent caught his nose. "I ssssmell something magical...ssssomething powerful..." What was this room? He had never seen it before, so what...?

Genie puffed out his chest proudly. "I bet it's that teen potentate with a megalomaniacal disposition!" Altering his form into an army soldier's, he smirked, charging towards the room. "Let's make his day."

The Muktar, realizing the danger in bursting into rooms containing powerful magic which was known as a fact by at least one person to be totally unknown, jumped in front of the door. "No!"

It was too late for Genie to stop, however, and the impact jettisoned them through the door and onto the floor inside.

Looking up with a gasp, what do the two see, of course, but a gigantic animate plant, Venus Flytrap-like in nature and cleary very upset at the intrusion?

Genie jumped out of the way as purple roots shot towards the two and he managed to get away safely. The Muktar, however, having been pinned under Genie until it was too late, was caught tightly within the animated appendages and dragged towards the plant's mouth.

Drawing his sword, the Muktar swung at the vegetation, but as it was dangling him in midair and pulled him away or even upside down when it thought it might get hit, the effort was generally useless.

A stray, flailing root slammed into the column the genie hid behind, knocking a chunk away as the entity simply watched.

The Muktar fought valiantly, but whatever balance he had was stolen as a second root coiled tightly around his legs to join the one about his waist, and he was at the plant's mercy, of which it was unlikely there was any.

His theory was proven right almost immediately, and he found himself slammed hard against the floor, simultaneously throwing off his bag and knocking the sword out of his hand.

The bag slid across the floor to Genie's hiding place, and spying a glint of gold from the opening of it, he reached in to pull out a strange-looking amulet.

Upon closer examination, it was the amulet that proudly displayed the images of his friends! Aladdin, Jasmine, Carpet, Abu, Iago, everyone who had been captured was shown in the shiny gold surface!

Smiling, Genie assured the necklace, "Don't worry, Al, I'll find a way get you out of there!" He quickly snatched up the bag, placing the amulet back inside, and ran off, fully intent on getting back to Agrabah.

--

The Muktar's fingers were making desperate indents in the floor as he was dragged closer and closer to the sentient plant's waiting mouth, filled to the brim with sinfully sharp teeth. He didn't fear for his life half as much as he feared that this would be the first mission he failed, but that didn't mean he wasn't scared to die.

--

Hearing the roars of the Venus Flytrap from his place in the hall, Genie stopped, turning guiltily towards their source. The Muktar had tried to capture him for his old master once, and their races were sworn enemies! But then...he had just been following orders to make a living, right? And...just because they were supposed to be enemies didn't mean they had to be, right?

--

The Muktar was highly tempted to scream as he was hoisted in the air, directly above the ravenous creature's gullet, but his biology made the action physically impossible.

--

Glancing at the amulet Genie apologized, "Sorry, guys. Muktar may be my sworn enemy, but..." he left the rest unsaid.

--

Propping himself in the plant's mouth, the Muktar stared straight into what was almost certainly his death, regardless of his attempt to delay it.

"Eat this, vile weed of doom!" Genie shouted courageously from the doorway, charging at the plant with a weed-whacker in tow.

Hacking off the roots keeping him at bay, Genie made it to the mouth just in time to prevent the Muktar from falling into the gaping, toothy mouth as his hands slipped, easily severing the vine holding the reptile, causing the hunter to fall backwards and away from the plant.

Genie kept slicing through the vines and roots until there was barely anything left, at which point he changed himself into the likeness of a Chinese woman and held up the remains of the sentient vegetation in a pot. "One bonsai man-eating snapper plant, just takes a little trimming!" There were, indeed, three very small heads left in the pot. "These guys are cute," he said, poking at a head, "but they still bite." It was apparently time for Genie to take his own advice, because the head he had poked snapped at his finger harshly, to which it was quickly cast aside.

The Muktar groaned, sitting up from his position on the floor and staring incredulously at Genie. "You ssssaved me..."

Now in a costume reminiscent of Superman (with a lamp instead of the trademarked 'S') Genie proudly declared, "I had to! It's a good guy thing; truth, justice, and saving people you may not like!"

Thinking that the genie might not have realized what he had given up, the Muktar decided to spell it out for him. "You could have escaped with your friendssss."

"Aw, it's in my nature. I help people! Even you." Genie reached his hand down for the hunter to take.

Ignoring the offer of help, the Muktar frowned, hissing vaguely, "Thissss was not expected. I owe you a debt of honor that I musssst repay." Bowing in respect, the reptile's intelligent mind was already working on a way he could execute what he was hired to do while still repaying his debt. Hmm...that would work rather nicely...

"Hey, since we're all buddy-buddy, what with me saving you and all, hows about you...free my pals?" Genie persuaded.

Pushing away the wish-granter, who had gotten too close for his liking, the Muktar growled out, "We are not friendssss." He walked over to where his lost items were, sliding his sword into the sheath on his back and replacing his bag upon his shoulder. "That is forbidden for our kind."

Watching as the reptile, as emotionally temperate as his cold blood, stalked from the room, Genie muttered, "I knew you'd say that..."

--

A suspiciously Genie-like sarcophagus lay against the wall as two patrolling Mamluks passed it. It wasn't that they didn't think it out of the ordinary; oh, no, they had been down these halls for what must have been lifetimes, and all ordinary sights were familiar to them while unfamiliar things stuck out like a sore thumb. They had been given specific orders to ignore odd sightings tonight, and they were not about to disobey their master.

As the walking corpses passed, Genie whispered, "Okay, they're gone!"

"Excellent..." answered the Muktar, peeking out from the sarcophagus. "Mozenrath is closssse."

"You think?" Genie asked excited at the prospect of defeating the sorcerer and freeing his friends.

Sniffing the air in pretense, as he knew this was where Mozenrath would be, the Muktar assured, "Yes." There was a bit more magic in the air than there should have been, but it was promptly ignored. Approaching the door behind which stood the crystal of the genie's doom, the reptile attempted to goad him into action. "His evil stench is strong."

"Right!" Genie exclaimed, changing himself into a bull. "This time for sure!"

Watching the genie start to charge, the Muktar's eyes widened before they were rolled, exasperated, and he raised his cloak to keep the soon-to-be debris of the door from getting in his eyes; as a hunter-for-hire, his skills and strength came second only to his eyes and mind.

The door shattered easily, and Genie immediately changed back with a gasp at the sight the met his eyes. "The Crystal of Ix!"

Said crystal glowed bright red, casting the light over the group still held captive within the room, and they watched, utterly confused, as the genie was dragged towards the crystal by the red light. "Agh, Muktar! Help me!"

The reptile stood cooly in the doorway, bowing elegantly away with a sweep of his cape as he respectfully made way for his client. Mozenrath had just stepped into the room, smirking like a cat that had just eaten the canary.

"I have delivered the genie, as promised." the Muktar informed Mozenrath, keeping his head bowed in a gesture of submission to his superior.

"As promised?!" Genie exclaimed, feeling horribly betrayed.

"You want a genie," the young lord began, "hire a genie hunter."

"Muktar trick Genie!" Xerxes laughed hysterically as the latter was pulled completely into the Crystal of Ix.

Wuya nearly screeched like a fangirl right then; the red light cast over the young man's features, smirking devilishly, made him look simply irresistible. Oh, yes, she definitely needed to change her loyalties.

Chase merely looked at the sorcerer, sizing him up. It had been a clever move to lure a genie right to him, and smart to exert such minimal effort on his own part in doing so. An admirable scheme, he decided. But what would the young man do now that he had the power of a genie in his hands? Those creatures had a tendency to make wishes backfire.

The sorcerer approached the crystal, inspecting it and it's contents carefully. "You sure not to use any of your traps on the genie?" he questioned the hunter who stood behind him. "Not even the magic-trapping bolas?"

"It wassss as agreed." the reptile assured with a quick bow.

"Good..." Mozenrath smiled wickedly, the crystal's now-blue light shining over him. "I need his magic to be pure." Stepping closer to the trapped Genie, the young lord decided to initiate conversation by telling him things he probably already knew, but would be largely beneficial to his confused captive audience. "Now, I could go into a long, involved description about how the Crystal of Ix works, but...in a nutshell,-"

"Crystal take genie's power!" Xerxes finished, chuckling cruelly in Genie's face.

Chase raised an eyebrow at this new development. So that's what he intended to do...

"I could've said it better myself," Mozenrath had it noted, smiling cattily, "but why bother?"

Struggling within his confining prison, Genie snapped at the Muktar, outraged, "What about your debt of honor?! You owe me! I saved your life!"

"What is he babbling about?" the sorcerer asked the hunter, annoyed at the interruption.

"Genies are sssstupid. There is no such debt." he lied, but also told the truth; there wouldn't be a debt soon. "He even believed his friendssss were still alive."

"Aladdin's dead?" Genie squeaked out disbelievingly.

Chase saw the immediate tensing of muscles from the sorcerer and fully expected it when the young man darted forward, grabbing a hold of the reptile. "I wanted to finish Aladdin!" he snarled, furious. How dare he take that kind of initiative?! Aladdin was his to kill, the hero to his villain!

Pushing his client back to a comfortable distance, the Muktar explained, "He was dangerous. It wassss the only way."

"Oh, Al..." Genie slumped in the crystal, depression from the death of his closest friend quickly setting in.

Intent on taking his rage out on something living and within close reach, Mozenrath took hold of Xerxes, huffing, "Aladdin was to have been mine!" before hurling the poor unfortunate creature into the nearest wall. He'd apologize later, but he was in the middle of a tantrum right now.

Realizing he couldn't go spiraling into unholy fury just yet, he took a deep breath and attempted to calm himself. "Okay...okay...let's look at the big picture: I have the genie, Aladdin is dead, and my plans for world conquest are shaping up nicely." The attempt successful, he leaned against the solid gold stand that held the crystal upright. "All in all, it's been a good night." He then reached into his cloak, pulling out a pouch that contained a rather large sum of gold, weighing it in his gloved hand before tossing it to the Muktar. "You will find the sum we agreed upon," he addressed the creature, adding good-naturedly, "plus a bonus for your ruthlessness."

"Hmm..." the hunter did a mental calculation based upon the feeling of the pouch in his hand and determined the words to be the truth. With a final quick bow, he turned to leave the room.

"I hope your consssscience lets you ssssleep, you ssssnake!" Genie mocked viciously at the reptile's turned back, hoping every word stung like lemon juice in an open wound.

The Muktar paused only momentarily before continuing on his way.

"I could've run away, but nooo, I'm a good guy!" The monks frowned, realizing that the 'Muktar' creature had betrayed the genie, but otherwise stayed silent. This wasn't their battle, and even if it was, what could they do about it in their position?

"Now, my big blue friend," Mozenrath called the creature's attention to himself, adjusting his Gauntlet on his hand before raising it menacingly, "let's see how powerful you really are..."

Genie whimpered at the promise of things to come, shrinking back in the crystal as much as he was able.

--

The Muktar sat on a dinosaur-like bird, used by his people as transportation and who he had named Saurus, on a cliff overlooking the vast expanse of the Land of the Black Sands. A small hand lain on his shoulder and a questioning glance from his mate, Barakah, were ignored.

He turned Saurus away from the cliff and dismounted, reaching in his bag for the amulet. Opening the thing, a bright light overtook the area, and as it faded, Aladdin and his friends were revealed, free of the necklace.

"Jasmine!" Aladdin exclaimed immediately upon seeing his girlfriend. "You're okay!" The two embraced fondly, oblivious to all else.

Iago gasped, warily looking around. "We're in the Land of the Black Sands..."

"Aladdin, what happened?" Jasmine asked curiously.

"Mozenrath offered a fair price for your genie." the Muktar announced his presence. "You were in the way."

Abu squeaked as Iago hid behind him, muttering, "The Muktar...I told you it was a monster!"

Barakah directed Saurus towards the parrot and monkey, looming over them menacingly. "All that is not like you is not a monster." she huffed, throwing back the white, leathery fringe that framed her face, her yellow reptilian eyes burning a hole into the poor animals as she stared them down.

"Uh, sure, whatever you say, heh, heh." Iago chuckled nervously, backing several steps away from the irritated female. A Muktar was a Muktar, regardless of gender, and Muktars were all highly trained in combat; it was incredibly unwise to get on one's bad side.

"Then why let us go?" Jasmine asked suspiciously, still centered around the conversation that was being had with the male hunter.

"I owed the genie a debt of honor. He will perish," he said remounting Saurus, "but now his friends will live."

"We've gotta go after Genie!" Aladdin exclaimed righteously.

"Risking your lives for a genie?" the Muktar asked condescendingly.

"Stupid." Barakah decided, turning her head in a scoff.

"He's my friend." Aladdin insisted, once again using his amazingly effective tactic of getting up in someone's face. "He'd do the same for me."

"Do what you will." the Muktar said, "the genie is no longer my concern." And with that, he and his mate rode off, leaving Aladdin and company to their own devices.

--

"You seem upset, Rais." Barakah noted of her beloved, now several miles away. "I will not aid the genie, but you know I will support you in whatever your choice may be."

Rais made a thoughtful noise before gently tugging the reins of his steed, turning back from whence they had come.

--

"Tell me, Genie, does this hurt?" Mozenrath asked, in jest of course, as he already knew the answer, as he lay his hand on the crystal, drawing magic from the entity's very lifeforce.

"Aaah! Ooh! Oh!" Each touch sent a feeling similar to an electric shock through his system.

Chase casually looked on from his place, wondering if the sorcerer was aware of the figure at the high window.

"You know what your magic is good for, Genie?" the young lord asked rhetorically.

"Fun at parties?" he tried. "Making toast? Getting rid of unwanted hair?"

"This!" Generating a magical blast in his hand, he quickly spun around, tossing the neon blue fire at the window where Aladdin was perched atop Carpet.

The streetrat was quick enough to dodge the blast as it decimated the window ledge, but was not prepared for it to shift into a large clawed hand, which quickly darted forward and pulled Carpet out from underneath him, thus causing Aladdin to land in a heap on the floor.

"Aladdin," Mozenrath addressed, "I'm so pleased that you're alive...for the moment!" Bracing his gloved arm, Mozenrath sent out another highly-charged energy blast, and this one took the shape of a winged snake that quickly caught Aladdin in it's coils.

Xerxes, having gotten himself together, now hovered next to his master again, cackling evilly. "Mozenrath beat Aladdin!"

The sorcerer grinned at the praise, drawing just a bit more magic from the genie; the power was absolutely fantastic!

His enjoyment of said power was interrupted by a kick at his back, effectively catching him by surprise and knocking him over.

"Playtime's over." Jasmine declared, hands on her hips.

Mozenrath scowled up at the young woman. "Princesses should be seen, not heard." Lunging forward, he grabbed her by the ankles, using a moderate-level spell to turn her to stone, but not before her final cry of, "Aladdin!"

As the stone figure of the female hit the floor, unfortunately intact, Mozenrath grinned, entirely unable to stop himself. "I'm stopping good...stone cold."

"Reinforcements at twelve-o-clock! Aaaah!" Iago gave his best battlecry, flying in with Abu hanging from his talons.

Xerxes, seeing his opportunity to be of use, flew up and coiled tightly around the monkey, pulling him from the parrot's grasp in midair. This in turn knocked Iago off balance, and he went spiraling through the air before landing with a thud at the top of the Crystal of Ix.

Mozenrath watched warily; this could spell trouble.

"Okay, Mr. Magic," mocked the bird, "let's see how you like it!" Trying to draw magic from the crystal, Iago was zapped, unable to handle so much energy at once, and flew back into a wall, leaving a parrot-shaped dent. "Had enough smart guy?" he asked dizzily. "I have." The bird then flopped to the ground, exhausted.

"Well, then," the young lord thought, "problem solved."

Aladin, meanwhile, noticed a torch on the wall and managed to grab a hold of the thing, shoving it in the magical snakes mouth with a shout of, "Chew on this!"

The snake writhed in pain, releasing Aladdin before dissipating into the air. The streetrat then jumped at Mozenrath, who had seen the youth free himself and was trying to get to the crystal. Knocking him over, Aladdin straddled his foe, holding him to the ground and away from the source of unfathomable power.

A very low, nearly inaudible growl rumbled from Chase's throat.

Mozenrath kicked Aladdin off and reached for the crystal, a mere foot or so away, but the streetrat quickly lunged back and forced his hand to the ground. "No more Genie-juice for you!"

The sorcerer scowled. "But I'm so thirsty!" Forcing away the younger's grip, he used his own magic to pull Genie's from the crystal without actually touching it, then blasting Aladdin at least several feet backwards with an electrical blast, which then, as all his magic seemed to be doing that day, transformed, this time into chains that bound the streetrat immobile.

Smirking, Mozenrath stood with the words, "You know, I like being semi-phenomenal nearly-cosmic."

"Don't get used to it!" Aladdin protested, wriggling in the chains.

"I hate to burden you with reality, Aladdin," the sorcerer taunted, "but you've run out of friends to save you." Imagine his surprise to find himself bound by a certain set of bolas.

"Still one friend left, Mozenrath." Rais spoke from the window ledge, cape billowing in the wind.

Realization of the betrayal dawning on him, Mozenrath growled, "You ungrateful snake!" sending a blast in the form of a sword at the Muktar.

As luck would have it, the reptile knocked it back with his own sword, and it flew through the air, cutting open the Crystal of Ix and freeing Genie.

"No!" Goddammit, not again! This was supposed to be the ultimate victory! And with those from his past life watching, too!

"Oh, yeah!" Genie stretched, glad to be free of the crystal. "That hit the spot!" Flying down to Mozenrath's level, he frowned at the young lord. "My magic was never meant to be used that way, it's in my contract!"

Taking the form of a 'good fairy'-esque creature, Genie went around the room, removing all spells cast on Aladdin and friends, changing Jasmine back from stone and unchaining Aladdin, Carpet, and Iago while Abu took the moment to escape from Xerxes's grasp, grabbing him by the tail and, for the second time that day, the eel was thrown into a wall.

Ire rising, the Gauntlet's magic took control of Mozenrath's body, lighting his hand a bright red color only for it to spread to the rest of him, alighting pain in every nerve-ending. The sorcerer couldn't hold back a cry of pain, and could do nothing more than writhe in agony.

"My magic-trapping bolas." Rais had it noted to Genie, who merely smiled and approached the helpless sorcerer.

"Aww, does that hurt?" he asked tauntingly, though it was doubtful the words reached the young lord through the intense pain. "It doesn't have to."

His body finally giving up the fight, he fell to the floor, unconscious, with a quiet groan.

If Chase hadn't been trying to escape his bonds before, he was now, but as even his change to dragon-form was blocked, his efforts were in vain.

Rais on the other hand, had quickly tired of the scene, and instead chose to leave the citadel to rejoin Saurus and his beloved Barakah.

"Seems like you're the one that's out of friends, Mozenrath." sneered Aladdin, casting a smug look in the still form's direction.

Wuya growled under her breath. How dare they do that to him?!

The group turned to leave, not having noticed the Xiaolin or Heylin forces, when all of a sudden, a black-blue glow caught their attention, and they looked back towards it.

It was Mozenrath, slowly getting to his feet, and all watching gasped. He was just knocked out, wasn't he?

Breathing heavily and nearly shaking from rage, the sorcerer snapped open ruby-red eyes to glare maliciously at Aladdin. "Not this time..." he murmured under his breath, locking eyes with his foe. Raising his voice, he repeated, "I won't lose to you this time, Aladdin!" The magic-trapping bolas snapped apart, and possibly the most dangerous sorcerer in the world at the moment was free. "Mamluks!" he commanded, and the corpses immediately appeared behind Jasmine, swords poised at her throat. "Xerxes!" The eel shot up and coiled tightly around both Iago and Abu. "Scirocco!" With a howl of wind, the jackal quickly entered the room, staring down Carpet and Genie to keep the from moving at all.

By all appearances, he now had his bases covered.

"Let them go, Mozenrath!" Aladdin shouted, once again jumping at the sorcerer, pinning him against the remains of the Crystal of Ix.

A half-psychotic chuckle answered him. "No, Aladdin, I don't think I will...what are you going to do about that?"

The answer was quickly given, a mean right-hook to the sorcerer's cheek, and the counter to that was a left-hook that knocked Aladdin to the floor.

The streetrat caught Mozenrath by the ankle and dragged him to the floor with him. Remembering that the sorcerer had a tendency to kick quite hard when held face-up on the floor, he deftly flipped the young lord over, keeping him pinned with an elbow on his back.

This, though inconvenient, was no trouble for the young man, and he used his own body as a conductor for a shock of electrical magic.

Aladdin screamed in pain, blindly trying to cease the painful current, succeeding as he knocked off Mozenrath's turban and yanked hard on the sorcerer's long, black hair.

An annoyed growl, and Mozenrath managed to flip the streetrat off of him, and in the younger's disorientation, he managed to reverse their earlier positions, and he now held his foe against the Crystal of Ix. "Well, Aladdin," he panted, unable to keep the vicious smirk from his lips, "I tire of playing with you." He snapped his gloved fingers.

The sword of a Mamluk sliced through Jasmine's throat, and she instantly collapsed to the floor. Xerxes's sharp teeth bit through Abu's neck, snapping it in half before Iago's innards were torn out in the same manner. Scirocco became an instant whirlwind, reducing Genie and Carpet to a pile of magical dust.

Aladdin froze at the sight, and the will to live left him instantly as he watched his friends die. "No...what have you...what have you done?"

Mozenrath laughed condescendingly. "I've killed them, Aladdin; they're dead and they'll never come back."

The monks could only gape at the grim scene. Wuya nearly fainted from her swoon. Chase simply looked on.

Aladdin visibly drooped, realization hitting him. "Kill me."

Mozenrath was eager to oblige.

The monks winced as a gloved hand lit up with magical energy and impaled the streetrat in one fell swoop.

Wuya grinned, finding herself enamored of such callous treatment for human life.

Chase tilted his head to the side in contemplation. "How interesting...I wouldn't have thought him capable before..."

Aladdin's corpse hit the floor for only a brief moment, after which it rose again, a dark purple-clothed Mamluk.

Xerxes grinned triumphantly, jagged and bloodstained teeth glinting in the torchlight of the room while Scirocco preened as well, fluffing out his fur in pride at his master.

Mozenrath, though, was silent, head down and face completely obscured by his inky black waves of hair. Had he perhaps realized that this was not the victory he had hoped for? Was he feeling remorse for commiting such vile and cruel acts against someone who had only been looking out for the best interests of his people, driving the young boy to such an end that he wished, nay, begged for death? Did he...regret Aladdin's demise?

The sorcerer tossed his head back, simply unable to restrain the nearly-hysterical laughter that tore itself from his throat. The answer to the previous questions was a resounding 'no', and Mozenrath not only held no regret for killing Aladdin, but reveled in the fact; the Seven Deserts were his oyster, and there was now nothing left to stop him.

And the best part of having killed Aladdin?

The monks, Wuya, and Chase had seen the whole thing.

There was no doubt for him anymore; he had far surpassed the potential of Jack Spicer, sky-rocketed past it if being specific, and he had finally achieved the level of villain he had always desired: a dangerous force that was truly one to be reckoned with.

Oh, yes, today was definitely his day.

A blood-coated Gauntlet was not something entirely necessary at the moment, and so a charge of magic coursed through Mozenrath's arm, burning away all trace of the substance at the sorcerer's whim.

Deciding his schedule was now a bit more free than it had been earlier, a crackle of black-blue magic engulfed the room, and the immediate area changed into Mozenrath's throne room. The prisoners were no longer off to the side, observers, but they now found themselves front and center in the room.

Pushing the dark curtain of hair from his face, the young lord relaxed into his throne, crossing one leg casually over the other, not even twitching as Scirocco sit at his feet and Xerxes took his usual position atop his shoulders. "Now that I'm decidedly less occupied," he began, addressing Raimundo specifically, "I believe there is still the matter of your encroachment on my lands and the reason for such. Care to explain?"

Supressing a shudder at the now solid black eyes staring him down and the good-natured smile of the sorcerer, Rai cleared his throat and spoke as authoritatively as he was able, "We have reason to believe that someone we know is here."

"Hmm...someone you know, eh?" he questioned as if unaware of the truth of the matter. "That's not much for me to go on. If you want my help, you'll have to be just a bit less vague." He ended with a slight chuckle, indicating one of his frequent mood swings had just taken place, and that he was feeling almost amiably towards the Xiaolin monk.

Rai blinked, startled by the offer of help, and glanced questioningly at his companions, who merely shrugged as if saying, 'Go with it.' "Uh, well, he's...kinda pale, wears a lot of black, a little too much eyeliner. Any of that ring a bell?"

Mozenrath interlaced his fingers in a contemplative gesture, all for show of course, but they didn't need to know that just yet. "Actually, now that you mention it, he does sound familiar. I think a boy matching that description showed up maybe three or four years ago, right Xerxes?"

"Yeah," the eel nodded eagerly, "four years ago!"

"Really?!" Kimiko exclaimed, excited. "So you've seen him then?"

"Yes, if memory serves, I have." He was tempted to reveal everything right then, but that would ruin the surprise.

"What became of him? Are you aware of his current whereabouts?" The prospect of having a solid clue to find Jack made even Omi forget, momentarily, that the young man he was talking to had killed several living beings mere minutes beforehand.

"From what I recall, he was made a slave the minute he got here." That said, it was only a matter of time before...

"You turned Jack into a slave?!" Kimiko screeched, outraged.

"I demand you release Jack Spicer at once, Mozenrath!"

Forcing down a smirk, the sorcerer stood, largely calm in the face of the demands and exclamations. "Mm, I'm afraid that's rather impossible at this point as he's no longer a slave."

"Huh?" Kim blinked. "Well then...what happened to him?"

"He was taken as an apprentice." he answered, locking eyes with the young woman. "It seems he had a good enough connection with magic to train his skill in the use of it."

"Training that's paid off quite well, apparently." All eyes shot to Chase, who was fixing Mozenrath with a blank stare.

The sorcerer raised an eyebrow at the bold statement, questioning, "And what would you know of that?"

The warlord was silent for a moment, his head tilted to the ground as he refused to make eye-contact with anyone. "It seems you've grown quite ruthless in your abscence from us..." Golden eyes caught black and held the sorcerer's gaze firmly. "Jack."

The silence shattered with a resounding, "What?!" from just about every being in the room.

Mozenrath frowned. "That's a brash accusation you're making. Can you support it, or are you just bluffing?"

"I'm not bluffing." He would crack, Chase was sure of it.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Wuya interjected. "There's no way he's-"

"I was trying to build suspense." Mozenrath huffed at the man, annoyed. "You just had to go and ruin it, didn't you?"

"Wait, so...you really are Jack?" Kimiko was still trying to wrap her mind around the concept.

"No," the sorcerer stated firmly, "not anymore. I am Mozenrath. But I was Jack Spicer, if that's your question."

"No way..." Rai breathed in awe. How could Jack have become...this? It was simply unfathomable!

"Jack Spicer, we have come to rescue you!" Omi declared, holding the mission above all else.

"Ha!" Mozenrath scoffed. "Rescue me? That's a laugh."

"Really, we're here to save you!" Kim insisted.

"Then where were you four years ago?!" the young lord demanded, suddenly furious. "When I actually needed saving?! Where were you then?!"

The monks shrunk visibly under his glare, noting his eyes had gone red again.

Wuya, far from being disgusted with herself in her admiration of the new Jack Spicer, fixed the young man with a sympathetic look. "It must have been hard for you here, Mozenrath."

The sorcerer crossed his arms, turning away. "Like you would know anything about how hard it was..."

"I may not know what happened to you," she admitted, smiling slightly, "but I can help you get past it if you'd let me."

The monks gaped, disgusted at the exaggerated sweetness. Chase was highly tempted to tell the woman off, while a more beastial urge insisted that he bite off one of her limbs as well to serve as a warning.

Apparently, Mozenrath felt much the same way, because he cast the woman a cruel sneer. "As tempting as the offer is, I'd rather not associate with a gold digger like you, Wuya."

"What?!" Did he just brush her off? Like some common skank?! "How dare you speak to me that way you little brat! You'd be nothing now if it weren't for me!"

"On the contrary, if it weren't for you, this," he raised his gloved hand, making a general reference to his power, "would have been in my reach much earlier. Face it, hag, you were holding me back all that time! You're only upset now because I've finally realized wat I should have the day I met you: I'm much too good for you."

The words felt sharp as daggers in the woman's heart, and she was at a total loss for what to say. Wuya's eyes stared firmly at the ground, avoiding contact as she realized, with no small hint of dread, the truth: he was right.

"...Jack...you don't belong here." Clay spoke, drawing Mozenrath's attention. "This isn't your home."

The sorcerer's demeanor went somber, and he laughed dryly. "You don't get it, do you? I do belong here, this is my home. There was never nor is there now a place for me in your world, but here..." he visibly brightened, an honest smile coming over his lips, "here, I have everything. I have my own kingdom, power, and wealth, the magnitude of which I had never dreamed of having before. I am mere days away from total conquest of this world. I command legions of undead soldiers that obey my every beck and call. Frankly, I'm doing quite well for myself, if I do say so, but even more than that, there are living creatures who actually care whether I'm alive or dead." Xerxes brushed against his master affectionately, and Scirocco moved to lay at his feet, curling his large fluffy tail around his master's legs. "I have more here, in a world that is 'not mine' than I could have hoped for in a million years in yours, so tell me: why in all the Seven Deserts would I desire to go back?"

It was Clay that was at a loss this time, and he shifted uncomfortably in his chains.

"What...what are you going to do with us now, then?" Raimundo asked cautiously, trying not to provoke the sorcerer's violent temper.

Mozenrath sighed, taking his place at his throne and massaging the birdge of his nose. "I don't know...I guess I'll just kill you."

"Ah, let us not be too hasty in the deciding of this!" Omi laughed nervously. "We would be less than happy to leave!"

"More," Mozenrath dully corrected, "more than happy."

Omi was honestly too scared to his and his friends lives to respond.

"Hm," the sorcerer considered, "I could just let you all go..." They brightened. "Or I could just let Scirocco eat you." The jackal gave a wolfish grin and wagged his tail while the prisoners now were less than happy.

"Jack-"

"Don't call me that," he groaned, cutting Chase off before he could speak, "I haven't gone by that name in a long time, and I'm not about to start now."

"Mozenrath, then," the man corrected, "wouldn't it be far more convenient for you to simply let them go?"

Xerxes raised an eyebrow. This warrior was smart. He had recognized the young lord's mood swings and already judged that, in a particularly intense mood, such as now, that he was prey to his emotions, a fact he was making effective use of; it had taken the sorcerer's familiar two consistent years of the behavior to recognize and accurately judge it.

"Yes..." Mozenrath admitted, "it would be. Fine." He snapped his fingers and the magic-binding chains fell away, disappearing before they even hit the ground. "You're free to go."

"Ugh, thank god!" Wuya exclaimed, extremely put off by be forced to be somewhere she didn't want to be. "Chase, get us out of here already!"

The man stood gracefully, and held the Traverser's Pyramid in one hand, as if contemplating it. A smirk twitched his lips, and he aimed the Wu directly at the witch, activating it without another thought.

Wuya screamed as she was hurled through time and space, and the monks gaped, uttery baffled by the new chain of events.

They too, though, were soon sent through the magical portal, but luckily for them, Chase had seen fit to send them back home, a courteousy he had not offered for Wuya.

Mozenrath quirked an eyebrow as the warlord's gaze caught him. "Are you going to send me somewhere, too?" Apathy had quickly taken hold of him, and it wasn't letting go for something as trivial to him as this; he had been torn from a dimension before, and he came out of it relatively intact. He wad pretty sure he could survive it again if need be.

"Send you away? Oh, no," Chase laughed, amused, as he casually stalked around the seated lord, "why would I do something like that?"

"Mm, I don't know," Mozenrath sighed, "because you hate me?"

A husky chuckle from the warlord, and he now stood directly in front of the sorcerer, hands braced on the throne. "On the contrary..." he breathed, leaning forward just so as to take the young man's lips in a kiss.

The reaction was immediate, a gloved hand shoving him roughly backwards while Scirocco and Xerxes growled, ready to defend their master in case of a confrontation. "What the hell was that?!" Mozenrath demanded, his apathetic demeanor having suddenly fled.

Chase, largely unphased, quickly retorted, "A kiss; generally used as a sign of affection in certain cultures."

The young man growled, standing from his throne to tower half an inch or so above Chase. "I know what it was; I meant, 'why did you do it'?"

The warlord 'tsk'-ed. "Say what you mean and mean what you say; isn't that how the expression goes?"

Against the sorcerer's will, a red glow overtook his Gauntlet, sensing it's wearer's irritation. "That's not an answer."

"True enough," Chase easily admitted, nonchalantly looking over the other, "but tell me: why do you think I kissed you?"

Mozenrath huffed. "As if anyone could figure out half of the motives behind your actions."

Chase grinned. "That's not an answer."

The young lord gave him a flat expression, forcing himself to ignore the playful tone. "To mock and confuse me?"

The warlord scoffed, laughing at the answer. "Such a convoluted way of thinking..." he chastised, "Did it ever occur to you that a kiss could mean what it is supposed to mean? Or did your mind immediately jump to the conclusion of some ulterior motive?"

A dark blush stained the younger's pale cheeks, and he turned from the man with a frown. "Was it wrong not to take you at face-value, then?"

"I wouldn't go that far," Chase admitted, folding his arms across his chest, "but you should always keep the possibility in mind."

Mozenrath stopped suddenly, realizing to the full extent exactly what was happening, before simply bursting into laughter. "This is so fucked up..." he chuckled, a hand on his forehead as if to keep the migraine from coming back to him. "Where I once inspired disgust and hatred, it seems I now only enthuse amorous attentions." First Wuya and now Chase? Life must really have hated him in order to put him in such awkward and emotionally painful situations both in one day.

"That isn't true." The sorcerer froze at the sentence, cautiously turning to face the speaker. "As much I as told myself I believed it, I never hated you."

The admittance shocked Mozenrath to the core, and there was a good chance he'd have simply collapsed had Scirocco not sensed his master's emotional distresss and been there to support him. One of the unshakable truths in his life, that Chase Young would never care for him, had come crashing down, and it was...chilling. "But...but you hate me!" he protested desperately, "You've always hated me! You...you can't just change your mind all of a sudden!" His objections were logically solid, but it was clear from his tone that his heart was just as firmly hoping for the exact opposite.

"And I haven't." the quick reply came. "I assure you, I have not been hasty in making this decision; afterall, I've had four entire years to think about it." Mozenrath tensed as Chase came up behind him, holding his arms in a light grip. "Have you any idea of the waiting? What it was like? Not even knowing if you were alive or dead?" The words were practically hissed in the sorcerer's ear, borderline livid.

Tearing himself from the other's grasp, Mozenrath whirled about to face the man. "Of course I know what it's like!" he snarled back. "But there's a distinct difference between us if what you say is true; I didn't care whether or not you were alive!"

Chase took one look in the other's eyes and knew his answer to the exclamation. "Liar."

"Oh, what do you know?" the sorcerer countered weakly, flustered. "You weren't here, not even when I...when I needed you..." The last bit was barely audible, and Mozenrath's head ducked, almost embarrased, as he said it.

"No," Chase admitted, watching as the young lord flinched at the statement, "I wasn't here." He pulled the sorcerer back into his arms. "I'm sorry."

Mozenrath gasped at the apology. "What?" Chase...Chase never apologized!

"I'm sorry that I wasn't here for you."

The young lord quickly realized that if he intended to keep his brain from exploding, he would have to step back to logical thought for a moment. Chase was claiming, at this moment in time, that he loved, or if not loved, held some 'romantic-in-nature' feelings for him. He also was saying that he regretted not being able to support him while he was trapped here, in this universe. This, although highly illogical based on previous behavioral evidence, was possible in consideration of the human nature of changing perspectives.

Now that this had become an equation of logic, it was much easier for Mozenrath to deal with.

So now, he had a working hypothesis: that all of the above was true. The next step would be to invent an experiment to test said hypothesis. If Chase was indeed telling the truth, the best way to ascertain this would be to...

Mozenrath curled his fingers in Chase's dark hair, pulling the man into an agressive kiss.

Chase did not need to be told twice to respond, and eagerly kissed back, delving his tongue into the other's mouth as full lips parted for him. How could I have survived all this time without my mate's taste? he absently wondered to himself, sliding a hand down to rest on the younger's lower back.

Somehow, the logical aspect of his brain was still functioning, though at under half-capacity than usual, as Mozenrath broke off the kiss. Okay...so there was some proof, alright. What came after the experiment in the Scientific Method again? Oh, yeah, trials and conclusions.

Apparently though, Chase was the one who then saw fit to initiate the 'trials' part.

The sorcerer's mouth was quickly recaptured by the elder's lips, and through the haze of raw lust that tore through him at that moment, Mozenrath was aware of his black cloak being undone by agile fingers.

Xerxes and Scirocco had long since fled from the room, knowing more than their fair share of mating rituals, and having seen this coming a mile away.

Mozenrath practically purred into the kiss, using his last shred of focus to teleport them to his personal chambers, where he then pulled the man currently ravaging his mouth onto the bed.

Chase growled softly, tearing the bandages away from his mate's throat, ignoring the scars there in favor of sinking his fangs deep into the flesh.

The sorcerer gasped at the mild pain before sighing as the teeth retracted from his neck and a hot tongue eagerly licked at the wound.

Clothing became a distraction, an annoyance then, and they each, out of the goodness of their hearts, helped each other to rid themselves of the nuisance.

Armor hit the floor with a dull clank, and the royal blue and black fabric of Mozenrath's top was quickly draped over it.

Chase lay biting kisses along his mate's chest, gratified as the young man groaned at the pleasure of the sensation while his inner dragon roared in triumph at finally having the gorgeous young creature beneath him and at his mercy.

Mozenrath was on Cloud 9; he had never imagined, even in his wildest dreams, that something like this would become a reality for him. It was...wow... However, he then felt a slight tug on his Gauntlet that dragged him back to reality.

He immediately jerked his arm away from the man, cradling it almost protectively to chest with the other. He...he didn't want Chase to see...it...not yet, not when things were going like they were.

Chase stopped, inspecting Mozenrath's face for an answer as to his actions. His eyes were wide, fearful, and his sensitive hearing picked up the mile-a-minute heartbeat thudding against the sorcerer's chest. He was afraid to take off that glove? He decided that this was all very interesting, and he'd investigate it deeper at a later date; if his mate didn't want to take the thing off just yet, that was perfectly fine. There were more important matters to be handled at the moment.

Every trace of uncertainty and fear melted from Mozenrath's mind as Chase, apparently not giving even half a damn about the Gauntlet, returned to his lavishing of attentions upon him, and the sorcerer moaned helplessly as a teasing hand ventured lower...

--

What could have been days later for all Mozenrath knew, but in truth was only two or three hours later, a strong arm curled tightly around his waist and held him to his lover's chest.

Conclusion: Chase had definitely been telling the truth.

--

As a dim dawn broke in the east, Chase cast his golden gaze towards his slumbering mate.

The young man was laying on his stomach, arms crossed and his head lain on them as if they were a pillow. His excessively long hair was splayed around him, miraculously untangled from the previous night's activities, and alike in nature to an inky black pool of water. A smooth expanse of the cream-white flesh of the sorcerer's back was almost teasingly exposed, and the only thing that kept the dragon's eyes from the rest of his mate was a blue silken sheet.

His inner dragon gave a lustful growl, already wanting to claim the youth again, but Chase deftly forced down the urge; if he had his way, there would be plenty of time for that later.

Now that he could think a little more clearly, no longer intensely focused on getting his mate to accept his dominance again, he was able to see that the young man must have suffered a good deal in his absence.

The scars on his neck told of painful and very deep wounds inflicted, from what, though, Chase hadn't the slightest. Mozenrath was insanely skinny, and it was up in the air as to whether or not he'd been eating at all in the past four years, but he felt he could easily change that simply with his being there to see to the young man's health. And then, of course, there was that glove...

Chase wasn't stupid.

Now that he had the opportunity, he inspected the leather article, and noted that it was heavily soaked in the scent of magic, decomposition, and death. Before it even crossed his mind to wonder whether it was the glove that gave him his power or augmented it, his trained eyes immediately locked on to an out-of-place sight, fairly thin and stark white.

The glove, he thought to himself, didn't completely cover up what it was supposed to, because Chase was able to see Mozenrath's right arm; not all of it, but enough. It was perfectly normal until the bend of the elbow, at which point the skin, muscle, and nerves simply ceased, and without a transitional stage, became only bone. The skeletal appendage was fairly covered by the glove, and it was only by Chase's keen eyesight that the less-than-centimeter-long exposed bone was discovered. There was no way, other than removing the glove, to tell just how much of the arm was consumed by the decomposition, but the dragon had a feeling that whatever wasn't exposed already was going to be solid bone as well.

At least it now made sense why Mozenrath had been trying to keep this from him, but that still told him nothing of just why the arm was in such a state.

Curiously, Chase reached out a finger and dragged it lightly over the bit of exposed skeleton, and the man raised an eyebrow as his mate twitched in his sleep, rolling over as if to move away from the touch. "Hm," he thought to himself, "so he can still feel sensations with it. Strange."

Deciding he would rather not wake his tired partner and demand answers just yet, he stood from the bed, quickly dressing himself and deciding to wander the citadel a bit in the meantime.

--

Finally coming to a balcony he liked, he folded his arms and busied himself in watching the sunrise. Why was it always so dark here? Did Mozenrath simply abhor the light, or was it perhaps something out of even his control?

"Chase Young."

The growling statement of his name caught the man's attention, and he turned to see the taupe eel that belonged to his mate currently fixing him with a stern gaze. "May I help you, Xerxes?"

"What you want with master?" the familiar questioned suspiciously.

The reply was quick and blunt. "I want him."

Xerxes seemed to consider this response for a moment. "You...love master?"

"Yes," Chase answered, looking the eel straight in the eye, "I do."

Xerxes carefully inspected the man, considering every possible tell of a lie. He found none. He swam forward, brushing against the dragon approvingly before pointedly catching the warlord's eyes. "You hurt master," red-pink eyes lit up menacingly, "you die."

And with that the creature flew off to wherever it was that he had been the previous night, back to join Scirocco in the activity they had been engaging in all morning like normal people: sleeping.

Chase 'hm'-ed introspectively at his brief conversation with the eel. The creature was protective of his master's well-being; the man respected that.

He suddenly tensed as he felt a figure approach him from behind, this one decidedly not Xerxes, but he quickly relaxed as his mate's scent reached him.

"I thought you'd have left by now."

Chase made an amused noise in the back of his throat. "I thought you'd have realized I don't want to leave by now."

Mozenrath groaned as if exasperated. "You mean I have to keep putting up with you?"

Catching the playful tone in the sorcerer's voice, Chase smirked, turning to face him. "It's the least you could do for making me put up with you all that time."

Mozenrath laughed, honestly amused. "Touché."

"I seem to recall that I neglected to ask you: what have you been up to for the last few years?"

"Oh, the usual," Mozenrath shrugged, "military conquest, assorted murders and evil deeds, necromancy; nothing new."

"So it would seem." Not quite the answer he was looking for, but he could make it work. "Exactly where along the way did you lose your arm?"

The reaction was immediate; Mozenrath tensed, ducking his head to avoid the other's eyes, and his hands gripped the balcony's railing until his knuckles turned white. "Wh...what are you talking about?" His nervous demeanor was instantly apparent.

"I saw your arm." Before the sorcerer could snap at him about an invasion of privacy, he added, "I didn't touch your glove, but I saw it. I'm also willing to bet that it has something to do with you necromancy, or if not that, then your magic, so if you would care to explain...?"

Knowing he was caught, the young lord sighed dejectedly, slipping off the Gauntlet and holding his skeletal arm up for Chase to see. "This is the price I paid for the power I so desperately wanted; everything I have now was paid for with this arm."

"How so?" Chase was honestly curious.

"Remember I said that I was a slave when I first came here, and then became an apprentice?" The dragon nodded in acknowledgement. "Well that was all fine and good for a while, but then my master took up drinking and started abusing me. I might have never been able to strike him down without the power of the Gauntlet and rightfully inherit his lands. Without this glove, I'd probably still be being beaten by Destane, but where am I now? I am the Lord of the Black Sands, the most powerful sorcerer of the age, and a mere flick of the wrist away from owning this world. It drains my lifeforce as I use it, yes, but...that is a trivial issue."

"An unfair trade, I'd wager." Chase criticized, "What will your empire mean if you're dead?"

"I won't be." Mozenrath scoffed, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I've got a few years left now that I don't have to contend with that nuisance, Aladdin, and I'll have plenty of time to figure out how to prevent my death."

Chase was silent for a moment. This could work in his favor..."What if you didn't have to?"

"Huh?" The question caught Mozenrath offguard.

"I could keep you from dying, keep you just as you are for all eternity."

Mozenrath was sorely tempted to just accept the offer, but he knew better. "And what do you want from me in exchange?"

"Only you," Chase answered, laying his hands on the other's shoulders, "all of you; mind, body, and soul."

The sorcerer shifted tentatively. "And what would you expect of me then?"

"You would be my mate, obviously. I wouldn't steal your empire from you, but I could help you rule it; be an advisor of sorts. And of course, you would receive all the...benefits of being my lover, but that goes unsaid, doesn't it?" Chase could see the young man's resolve weakening already. "I would like to retrieve my warriors first, but then I could stay here with you. Together, we could rule the worthless little peons of this world...and all you have to do is say 'yes'. With that one word, you can have everything that you want."

The sorcerer blinked, digesting the information. Everything that Chase was offering? That sounded absolutely...fantastic! Oh, he wanted this very badly, but was he willing to agree to the terms? For all he knew, it was just a lie to trap him into an unfair contract in which he became nothing more than a concubine to the next Lord of the Black Sands. But...was he really willing to pass up such an opportunity?

Mozenrath took a deep breath, and gave his answer.

A/N: So...that's the end. Longest thing I've ever fricking written. Congratulations, you finished it. Kind of a cliffhanger ending, but it's meant to leave what happens next up to you, unless you don't want to imagine it, in which case you can just read the epilogue, but technically this is the last chapter.

So, a few things I'm going to say here: Some of you may have noticed that Barakah does not exist in the real Aladdin universe. She is a character I made to represent my friend, Britta, who is totally in love with the Muktar, so that part was for her, because even though she doesn't like slash(unless you count Davey Jones and the bucket), she read a good deal of this story to support me, and I appreciate that muchly.

Next, in my opinion, this chapter contains the best lime-y scene I've ever written, so w00t for me! XD

Third, once I get the epilogue and the epilogue-epilogue up, this will be the first multichapter story I've ever seen all the way through so more w00t for me! XD

Fourth, and finally, I love everybody who read this story and humored me in my insanity, so w00t for you guys! Thanks for all the hits and reviews, they make me ever so happy! Plus I can brag to my friend, who's not really my friend, that I have a bunch of people reading and reviewing stuff I wrote! XD

Stay tuned for the next two mini-chapters, guys(or not, w/e)!