A/N: I'm SOOOO blown! 1,268 views!? Really!? Wow…. I'm just…wow. Thanks SO much for reading, and I hope enjoying. And welcome to my new readers in Ireland and Korea! Also, thanks to Finland, Italy and Denmark for 3-way tying for 2nd place in where my readers hail from! (US, gold ole' home, you're always in 1st! ), but I really didn't expect so many ppl to actually read this story. So…many thanks for that. It makes my week for sure! But, PLZ, stop being so shy…I'd love to hear from more of you; that thing about no news being good news? Yeah, not in this case! LOL; so please, leave a couple words about what you think. It DOES matter to me! Anyways, onward!

XXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Aladdin & the Heirs of Magic Ch. 13: Strategy & Hope

"It looks like the wizard brat didn't come willingly then," Iago muttered to Jaz and Aladdin as they continued to follow their grey-purple guide.

Al shook his head grimly. "No, I would never have guessed it," he confessed softly.

"Where do you suppose he comes from?" Jaz whispered, her gaze thoughtful. "He could be from just about anywhere."

Abu shrugged-his focus on their surroundings; years of stealing to survive had sharpened his senses to an edge swords would envy. No blade could match those little eyes, Al knew, catching his friend's wary gaze. Abu shrugged again, not in the least interested in Mozenrath's unknown origins.

"I'll tell you one thing, monkey boy," Iago put in, leaning across Al's one shoulder to where Abu was perched on the other, "if everyone is as crazy as Mozenrath in 'where-ever-he-comes-from-ville, they can keep the rest of 'em."

"Wuh-huh," Abu agreed, with feeling.

"Quiet," Xerxes hissed from ahead, "we almost there."

Everyone fell silent.

Jasmine hesitantly broke the silence though. "Xerxes?"

The eel glanced back at her, but said nothing.

"I…was curious," she said, but in a questioning tone.

"What curious?"

"Well, if Mozenrath tried to escape…more than once even, then why didn't Desdane just shut these passages off? I mean, he didn't build them to begin with, so why keep them? Did he need them for something else?"

Xerxes actually smiled. "Princess smart."

Jasmine actually blushed a little. Iago caught it and groaned, raising his eyes as if to ask, How did I get stuck in all this?

"Desdane did need," Xerxes replied at length, slowing a little to close the distance between them. "Him find passages, then discover relics concealed in them. Not want fill in till all relics found."

"What were the relics?" Aladdin asked.

Iago sputtered. "Not treasure I bet."

Xerxes glowered at the parrot, and then said, "No, not treasure. Better."

Iago's eyes lit up. "Better?"

"Yes," Xerxes countered in a tone of: so there. "Pieces of powerful spell."

Iago slumped in disappointment. "Not to change things into gold though I wager." He sighed. "Why do all the people with magic never know how to use it for anything good?!"

Aladdin ignored him. "So, Desdane never found them all?" Good, if not, he thought.

"No, but master did."

Al repressed a sigh. That was less good. "So, what does the spell do?" Best to know before Mozenrath unleashed it on the world. Genie could have time to devise counter-measures. They'd be ready.

Xerxes shrugged his arm-fins. "Not know. Master never say. Said was very powerful though; very dangerous." He seemed distracted suddenly. "We here."

They rounded a corner, and there it was.

A carved archway of the same dark grey stone reared high before them. Jasmine took in its very archaic design; the perimeter of it was embossed with carvings in some language she was certain had been dead for millennia.

Somehow…it reminded her of the runes she saw in Sadira's ruin.

Sadira…Jasmine sighed softly. She wished the sand witch was here; she'd be so helpful with her acrobatics and magic gifts—and endless optimism.

"All be quiet," Xerxes admonished them…but had kept his mis-matched eyes fixed on Iago when he said it.

Iago only harrumphed, and looked away indignantly.

Xerxes wasted no time, he pressed a sequence of raised symbols in around the arch, and the stone melted away into a slightly flowing rock, almost like lava; but it gleamed with the same unearthly light now as the rest of the passage. It hummed softly, almost like ocean waves.

"Follow," Xerxes quietly directed. He passed through the 'rock.' It made an airy, almost musical sound when he flew through.

Iago gulped. "Uhhhh…this might be the wrong time, but…what if this is a trap?"

"It's too late to go back now," Aladdin said, his expression etched in the Hero Face again.

Iago covered his face with one wing. "Let me know when it's over."

Abu met Al's eyes; he squeaked he was set.

Al took Jaz's hand. "Ready?"

Jaz nodded. "Let's do this."

They passed through together; and Aladdin found himself in a place he knew far too well: the Citadel of the Black Sand.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mozenrath was too tired and his body wracked with more pain than he had ever known before—which was a statement in itself—to force himself to fully come to. Pain imprisoned his thoughts in a foggy daze and shackled his broken body in white hot agony.

But what fragments of awareness remained were dimly certain he could smell the wet dank of a lower dungeon, and the biting cold digging into his back was surely the stone floor.

He partly wished though, he lacked the sense to know it was Desdane standing over him, his eyes regarding him with measured ruthlessness.

"You ingenuity is as boundless as ever, my faithless pupil," his former master said with a tone of charitable praise, "to actually invent new magic for walling off your power…a most impressive feat."

Mozenrath blearily watched, his vision marred by blood and vertigo, as Desdane gestured towards the gold-stone walls; etched into them were raised carvings of hideous, ghoulish faces, torches lit their round, gaping eyes. Their large mouths, rimmed with sharp teeth, held an open hole leading to someplace…inscrutable. Mozenrath braced himself; he recognized this cell now.

There came a very low hissing moan as grey smoke flitted from the six creatures' mouths. Mozenrath felt the room's chill deepen to an unbearable, gnawing freeze. His breath, now visible, wafted up in erratic gasps as the streams of smoke solidified….

No; not them. Anything but them….

His throat closed in terror as Desdane caught his reaction and smiled mirthlessly. "Yes, traitorous child; what little of your magic my…servants, upstairs could not extract from you…these faithful followers of mine shall." He looked coldly to the six and they bowed to the floor. "Remove the rest of his magic…but keep him alive. And…take your time," he glanced down at the boy wizard and smirked soullessly, "I am in no hurry."

The heavy wood door creaked open on its own and Desdane swept regally from the chamber. Mozenrath heard the soft, malicious hissing of the creatures draw near as the door clanked loudly shut. This was the end; he knew that as surely he felt them close in around him, as surely as he felt the heavy metal chains weighing him down; it was too late now for escape, for revenge—

Even for regrets.

But…he hoped, desperately, that Desdane's minions would err and accidently kill him.

He was too weak to scream when he felt the first's teeth sink into his neck.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Xerxes had become deathly silent as he led them down one dim corridor to another. Aladdin didn't wonder why; something felt…different about this place, compared to all the other times they had been here. A street rat was always aware of his surroundings, of the tiniest inkling of…something-anything. Usually it heralded the appearance of guards, or a watchful fruit vendor with a knife…Aladdin recalled the one time in his life he had let his guard down: just after rescuing Jasmine, he had been so enthralled by her, he hadn't noticed the unease creep up his neck right before Razoul and the guards ambushed them. He glanced around; trying to spot what was making his flesh crawl, like he was covered by hundreds of bugs.

"Cweepy," Abu muttered, his eyes darting everywhere.

"I know," Al breathed in reply. Jasmine's hand had long ago gone frigid in his; everyone was picking up on it.

He could only assume it was Desdane; no other possibilities were coming to mind.

Xerxes brought them to a particularily darkened hall constructed of large blocks of weathered grey-bronze stone. Before them stood an arch-shaped doorway leading down several fractured steps before rounding a corner and vanishing.

"Dungeon," Xerxes murmured. He sniffed. "Master down there."

Aladdin nodded resolutely. "All right, here we go then." He took a step forward only to have Xerxes hold out his tail, stopping him.

"What is it?" he asked, thrown off.

Xerxes sniffed again; his face was twisted by dismay, he swallowed. "Master…monsters down there…with master."

Iago, now hovering by Jasmine, yelped and hid in her hair. She patted him consolingly. "It's okay, we'll make a plan," she assured them.

"Need weapons," Xerxes said firmly, "weapons of dead." He wove through the air and passed them all. "Follow."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Genie paced back and forth in front of the door he watched his friends go through an eternity ago. About six or seven steps away, Carpet sat on a rock, before him a small table Genie had poofed out after the others left. Atop it was an unfinished game of chess. He waved at Genie, and gestured to the board.

"I know, rug-man, I know," Genie conceded, "but what's taking them!?"

Carpet gestured to what might have been his wrist, translation: check your watch.

Genie poofed an ornate, Victorian style watch from a non-existent pants pocket. "Ohhhhh," he said, embarrassed, "it's only been two minutes since the last time I asked that." He chuckled nervously. "But…what's keeping them!?"

Carpet crossed his tasseled 'arms' and tapped a tasseled 'foot.'

Genie waved his arms in defeat. "Okay, okay, I know: it's my turn." He slid forward a rook only to have Carpet clap in excitement and check him with a bishop. "Ohhhhhhh," Genie moaned in dismay. "Will I ever win any games against you!?"

Carpet shook his 'head,' 'arms' folded.

"You're a more ruthless strategist than the King of Thieves," Genie grumbled, "okay, my turn again."

A minute later: "Ohhhhh! How did I not see that one coming!?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N: Okay, so was gonna make this a little longer, but I feel bad for not uploading in a while so here it is. Plz be patient; I just finished enough homework to fry Einstein's brain, plus I'm sick w/ whatever crud is going around right now. A customer coughed in my face a week and a half ago and well…here it is. Anyways, I hope you enjoy and PLZ leave a review! Till next time!