Disclaimer: I own none of these characters. If I did, this show would be shown more than once or twice a week.

Note: Thanks for the reviews everyone, I really appreciate it. And special thanks to Nightw2 for some "time line" help.

I hope I explained everything clearly; it's harder getting the thoughts from my head to the paper thanI thought. I also hope this chapter is not to long. As always, reviews are welcome.

CHAPTER 1 – Iago's Dilemma

"Look, Aladdin, I've been trying to tell you, I have to -"

"No, you look Iago! I've asked you several times to share whatever it is that's bothering you, and you've been so bad tempered, worse than normal, lately that no one can get a word in edge-wise with you."

Iago went to interrupt, but Aladdin beat him to it. Jasmine just continued to glare at Iago. At least he did not have to listen to her too. He had a headache. Aladdin spoke again, actually surprising Iago.

"I don't care what your problem is right now; I don't want to hear it. I've told you to stay out of there. You can stay here today, in this room. Go in there again, and you're going to have problems."

With that cryptic comment, Aladdin spun around and stalked off, followed by Jasmine, who turned around so quickly that her hair almost knocked Iago out of the air. Abu, riding on Aladdin's shoulder, turned around and stuck his tongue out at Iago.

Iago, annoyed at the juvenile gesture, made a rude gesture of his own with his wing. Abu, spying this, began chattering angrily. Deciding that he did not want to listen to yet another of Aladdin's tiresome lectures on 'playing nice', Iago waited on his perch while he got a final glare, and the door had closed, then darted out the window and flew through the menagerie.

Grumbling, Iago continued flying around the Palace, through the gardens, trying to cool down so he could think clearly. With a graceful twirl in the air, he glided down and flew thru the open balcony to the throne room. If he ever wanted to know what was happening in the Palace, he always went to the throne room. Not that the Sultan had a clue most times, but with most of his advisors in there at some point or another, he usually found out some new interesting tidbit.

Landing on one of the ornate carved elephants, he hunkered down into his feathers to wait and watch. Finally, he spied Aladdin, Jasmine, and Abu waving to the Sultan and going off to Allah knows where to do Allah knows what. Without him, which could be a good or bad thing depending on what exactly 'it' was.

A treasure hunt without him was unthinkable.

A monster hunt without him was acceptable.

Iago noticed that Aladdin shoved the Genie's lamp into his sash. With everyone worth mentioning out of the Palace, he figured this would be one of his last good shots. He would have to search Jafar's workshop from top to bottom until he found his answer.

Slightly miffed that he was not only being left out of the trip to wherever and being confined to Aladdin's room like a misbehaving child, Iago waited until Carpet and company were totally out of sight. Then, he flew off, backtracking the way he came, making his way to the hallway he had been in when Aladdin had found him this morning, trying to get back to Jafar's room. Abu had followed the parrot when he woke early, then ran back to Aladdin before Iago had even noticed. There was nothing worse than a snitch of a primate. Well, he would not make that mistake again, he would be more careful.

Feeling a little left out, he flashed back to earlier in the morning, and the words that Aladdin had said.

I don't care what your problem is right now; I don't want to hear it.

Iago realized that Aladdin said them out of frustration and no doubt did not mean them in the context that Iago had taken them, but still, the kid would do well to watch his words. In the meantime, if he thought that was going to open Iago's heart and make him tell all and have a nice family moment with the rest of Team Aladdin, he needed his head examined. With the mood Iago was now in, he'd eat his own tail feathers before telling him any problem. He was always short-tempered, but it was getting worse. A constant state of stress did that to him.

Still grumbling to himself, he continued to fly down the hallways of the palace, staying toward the ceiling to avoid the multitude of people going through the palace; maids, slaves, messengers, and the odd conjurer here and there who would attempt to entertain the dim-witted Sultan who sat on the throne. Not that it would be a difficult task; if a parrot mimicking what he heard thrilled him so much, a third-rate enchanter's bunny-out-of-a-hat trick should send him into fits of ecstasy.

Arriving at his destination, he flew into a small antechamber decorated in deep reds and hovered in the air for a moment, looking around, trying to sense any presence. This particular room had not been in use in close to a year now, the Sultan ordering all the Palace staff to simply pretend this room did not exist. Fine, it made Iago's task easier. Still, without the fires burning or any lights lit, dust and sand beginning to build up on the plush carpet and caking in the rich folds of the cushions, it gave the entire chamber a gloomy feel. He shivered slightly and pulled his mind back to the task at hand.

Sensing nothing, he went to the silken cord hanging from the lamp in the ceiling and grasped it with his talons. He flew down as hard as he could, and was able to put enough strength behind it to get the cord to catch, opening the door concealed in the wall.

Iago hardly had the weight to pull the cord. It would have been much easier if Jafar had put a window in his workshop, or somehow made it possible for his familiar to enter the workshop in some manner that didn't require every ounce of strength he possessed. But no, he required secrecy. Didn't the fool know that everyone had a really good idea where his "secret" workshop was? Stop.

Iago mentally berated himself for thinking ill of the dead. He still felt guilty if he thought too much about Jafar. While almost everyone seemed to think ill of Jafar, he knew better. Thinking, he really could not blame them in a way, especially Aladdin, Abu, and Genie. They had only seen his bad side.

But the Sultan seemed to forget that he had known Jafar for years. Jafar had been his most trusted advisor, working himself up from a low-level attendant to The Grand Vizier. The Princess had known him her entire life. Jafar had also helped many of the staff in the Palace, whether it was medicine for a sick child, helping a hardworking man get a promotion, or a 'cure' for a maid who was less than careful while dallying with a Palace guard.

While for the last few years of his life Jafar had grown evil and cruel, he had not always been so. Sure, he had always had a darker side, but for years he had taken excellent care of the running of Agrabah. Meanwhile, the Sultan dithered about in his Palace, having dinners, growing fat, force-feeding crackers to a bird and playing with his toy collection.

Except for the title, Jafar had been the Sultan in many ways. It had not uncommon for most matters of state, major or minor, to have been brought to Jafar's attention first. Jafar solved most of them himself, too. No wonder the Sultan had such a rose tinted view of the condition of his city.

Iago believed that Jafar, while power-mad, was doing what he thought was necessary to save the kingdom. And he didn't have all bad ideas either; he certainly had plenty of experience with running the kingdom. The Sultan, much like the Princess, had no idea what life was actually like for the average citizen of Agrabah.

Jafar was out there watching. Not much happened in the city that passed undetected by him. The odd thief stealing to feed himself or his starving family, while not below his notice, was also something he did not concern himself with. He let the guards deal with the fruit thieves. He cared about the bigger crimes; murder, rape, treason (which was laughable), even abuse, whether spouse, child, or, surprisingly, an animal.

Later, when Iago had grown some and been trained, he would send him out also to watch on his own. Not one of his favorite activities, sure, but a familiar didn't get to pick his duties, and there were other wizards that asked far worse of their familiars than people watching. And people would act totally different when there was no human around, only a 'dumb animal' to watch them. Iago had been invaluable to Jafar with his watching.

As far as masters went, Jafar, while not the best, was certainly not the worst. Iago had always been grateful to Jafar for rescuing him from the bazaar and choosing him for his familiar. Jafar had made sure his familiar was trained well, fed well, and most times, up until the end anyway, tended to treat him well. And he had never had that silly instance of having his familiar call him 'master' or of holding in his thoughts. He mostly approved of Iago speaking his mind, when they were alone or among other wizards anyway.

Which was refreshing. He would have hated to be bonded to one of the egotistical wizards that simply wished to have a groveling slave. Due to Jafar's more lax attitude toward his familiar, Iago had learned more, faster, than an average familiar, since he was not in a constant state of fear, worrying more about groveling at his master than on how best to help him.

While Iago was mostly happy now, he grieved for his lost master. Not the evil vizier turned genie that everyone spoke of in hushed voices. He grieved for the sorcerer who felt sorry for a dirty baby bird dying in the bazaar from starvation. The worst was he had no one to even share his thoughts with. He had sincere doubts that anyone in the Palace would want to listen to him share tales of his past with Jafar. Oh sure, if they were horrible tales of abuse and neglect. Which they weren't. It was best to just keep this to himself.

Iago hoped Jafar didn't think to badly of him for pushing his lamp into the lava, but realized that was unlikely. No doubt, there was going to be one very angry wizard waiting for Iago when his turn to die came. Which was going to happen very soon if he did not get going.

Shaking himself free of his daydream, Iago watched as the wall slid apart, revealing a secret staircase spiraling up toward the top of the tower. Flying in quickly, he was halfway up the dimly lit stairs before the wall slid shut. He had learned to move fast - he had lost a few tail feathers in the past to slowness coming through that door.

OK, time to get back to business. Iago had work to do, and he needed to move quickly. Aladdin, in all his wisdom, had seen fit to ban Iago from Jafar's workshop.

Iago was still trying to figure that out - this had been his home for the past nine years and some months, did he think he was going to get hurt or destroy something? Jafar had practically plucked Iago years ago when he accidentally broke a bottle of some potion or another when landing on the table. Jafar, when he calmed down, had explained to a trembling Iago that he had to be cautious in there. The potions and equipment in there were rare, expensive, and dangerous. Iago, more than anyone, was aware that caution must be used while in the workshop.

Of course, there was always the possibility that they still didn't trust him, and thought he was going to let loose some foul beast that Jafar had imprisoned up there. Which was silly, it would go after Iago as soon as them. He certainly would not risk his life by being that careless or for a silly joke. He was young, but he liked to think that he had enough maturity not to go that far.

But, with Aladdin ordering Iago to stay away from the workshop, it made it difficult to come in here and do any real research. Iago had been sneaking in here for awhile, spending more and more time looking for the information he desperately needed.

They really needed to lighten up. If nothing else, Jafar's workshop was a treasure trove of information, and not just on magic. He had been interested in knowledge in general, and had grabbed books on every subject he came across. Some were in other languages, true, but Iago could still read them. He had been able to learn almost every language that Jafar had known.

Passing tables still set with the potions and spells Jafar had been working on before his demise, Iago flew to one of the many bookcases that lined the walls and landed on the shelf. He had been through these cases a hundred times, what was he missing? He could find almost anything in the library blindfolded.

Worry was beginning to make him start picking at his feathers. Noticing this, he stopped and tried to concentrate on the task at hand. His time was running out. He knew he tended to treat everything as a huge deal, but this really was. And this was a lot more serious than hiding from Aladdin because he didn't want to listen to a reprimand about starting a food fight with Abu again.

After pushing Jafar's lamp into the molten lava all those months ago, Iago had felt it, even through his half-conscious state. The Halusis Collar unlatching, falling, unseen to all but his and Jafar's eyes, into the very lava that was destroying his master. Even then, before he totally lost consciousness, he knew he was in trouble. Familiars are supposed to protect their masters, and no matter how evil, are not to betray them. Iago, while trying to help these people, had signed his own death warrant.

All familiars are bound to their wizards, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. When Jafar had finally finished the long process of making Iago his familiar all those years ago, the Halusis had been fastened around Iago's neck.

Invisible to all but magic viewing eyes, the Halusis had never hampered Iago's movement, but he always knew it was there, ever since that moment almost ten years ago when a frightened pet had been dragged into the desert and made a powerful familiar. It marked him as Jafar's, true, much like a slave, but it also protected Iago when he was out. Not many wizards wanted to tangle with Jafar. That afforded his familiar some protection.

Iago knew he was free of Jafar when he was finally in a state to realize what had happened, but he was also aware of the danger he put himself in.

When the wizard dies, the familiar usually follows soon thereafter. The wizard passes the veil that separates the living and the dead, and the Halusis falls from the animal. Most times, the animal welcomes it, due to the pain of being separated from their beloved master. It could take days, weeks, even months, depending on the strength and power of the familiar. Iago was a strong familiar, but he was not invincible.

Not to mention he did not want to follow Jafar into the afterworld. He had been bonded to the mage of madness for the last couple of years; he did not want to be bonded to him for the rest of eternity. He doubted that Jafar's spirit regained the sanity of his youth by being boiled alive in molten lava, well, in a round about way.

As far as he had found in his short research stints, the only way he had found to save himself was to bond with another wizard, and they didn't exactly advertise in the marketplace for job openings.

Jafar, while not well liked, had been a respected wizard, and Iago was known as a more than adequate familiar, if one with a rather big mouth. But most wizards that he knew of already had a familiar, if they wanted one. It was a rare and extremely powerful wizard indeed that had two. Plus, most wizards would rather summon and create their own familiar, not use another's, no matter how intelligent.

If Iago was lucky, he might find a wizard who, for whatever reason, lost his familiar due to an accident and desired another, but that was unlikely. Even worse, he could get stuck with some inept wizard who would not or could not complete the complicated process.

To top it off, for all his complaining, he actually liked staying with Aladdin, Abu, and Genie, even if it was at a hovel. Not that he would ever admit that to them. If he could, he wanted to stay, so that finalized that option. No other wizard.

There had to be another way, a spell, a potion, charm, anything. Iago just had to find it. It had been almost a five months since Jafar's death. He really had to stop procrastinating.

He didn't trust Aladdin or Jasmine to help, they both didn't even want to go near anything of Jafar's (including Iago it seemed half the time, all they did was complain about him). Not to mention Aladdin's attitude this morning.

The Genie was too silly and Iago just did not trust his judgment.

Abu would be worthless - he couldn't even speak normally, let alone read or do research. Not to mention he would run to Aladdin.

The Sultan was out of the question. Iago sensed he was still pissed over the whole cracker incident. He should be happy really; he had shoved them down Iago's throat for years; the Sultan only had them for a few minutes before Iago had grown bored.

So, Iago was on his own with this. Too bad, they sort of owed him - after all, he lost his protection when he saved them. And they were pretty creative and intelligent, for humans.

Iago flew to another shelf, looking at titles that might have any useful information. Jafar had been an avid reader, so there were many shelves to look at. Iago heard something crunch behind him, and he turned quickly, looking deep into the shadows. He saw nothing.

Mumbling to himself, trying to calm his shaky nerves, he turned back to the shelf, still perusing the titles. Pulling a title out, he clutched it in his talons and flew to the table. Setting the book down, he opened it and began to read. It contained the same information that he already knew about familiars; brief, to the point, and not helpful to his situation.

Sighing, the parrot closed the book. He was about to return the book to its shelf when he was stopped as a blue hand closed over his body.

"What the he-" he squawked, surprised and mad, already guessing what this new obstacle was. Brother, this had just not been his year.

"Oh birdman, what are you doing? Didn't Aladdin say to stay out of this spooky place?" the Genie sing-songed at Iago. "They are going to brick this place up, with you in it, if they catch you in here again."

Meanwhile, Iago was struggling to get out the fool's grip - Genie was crushing him.

"And I'm sure you can't wait to run off and tell them, can you? I'd hardly expect you to keep a secret." He finally popped out the top of Genie's fist, and flew back to the table. Hopefully out of reach.

"Weeeeeell, I might be convinced to" the Genie drawled, "If you'll tell me what you have been doing the last three days."

"Three?" Iago whirled around. "You've been watching me all this time!"

"Well, it's been longer than that actually, but you've only really been hitting the books hard these last three days." Genie replied.

"Can't a bird get any privacy at all around here?"

"With your history, you can't be too careful. No offense of course."

"No, of course not. I'm just the bird who saved all of your lives, but I can't be trusted. Oh no, I totally understand, really -" Iago was cut off by Genie.

"Well, obviously, you can't. You're here, aren't you?" The Genie answered sweetly. "So, you going to share, or do I need to go find Aladdin and have him make you play nice? And stop moving around so much, you're making me nervous."

Iago, who had been moving toward the edge of the table, in hopes of making a quick getaway, stopped. "Is it to much to ask that you simply mind your own business?"

"Yes. Now start talking, or I resort to desperate measures. Now, what are you looking for? Gold? Jewels? Treasure Map?"

"Fine. You think it's always about gold with me, don't you?" Iago asked, slightly hurt. Did Genie think that was all he thought about? Of course, it usually was, but he shouldn't just point that out. There was nothing worse than a bad mannered jinni.

"Well, isn't it? Don't tell me you didn't stay with Jafar due to a promise of gold and power."

"That was uncalled for! It wasn't just gold and power that kept me with Jafar, dolt. Part of it, but I didn't have a lot of say in it. I was also -"

He just could not finish a sentence today apparently.

"OK, fine, you were under a spell." Genie made his eyes spin in circles and then reverted to normal. "I'm not going to argue about it. Anyway, spill it Iago. What's so special in here that you keep returning?"

"It's sort of ...personnel." Iago stammered. Genie was not going to make this any easier for him. Iago could sense magic too, maybe not as well as some, but enough to know when he was being stalked. How on earth did Genie follow him without his knowing? He really did have to learn to pay attention. Jafar had said before that he had to keep his mind out of the treasury and more on what was happening around him.

On the other hand, he was cornered, and perhaps telling the Genie might be helpful. While incredibly silly and annoying, he was thousands of years old. Perhaps he had heard of a problem like his before. Then again, it was obvious that he didn't have the first clue about wizards and their relationship with their familiars. Geeze. Iago felt his headache go to a migraine, and winced.

"It's not about gold this time, is it?" The Genie asked, changing his tone of voice.

"No, it's not about gold this time." Iago mimicked him, annoyed. Maybe telling him was a bad idea. "It's about me."

"Well, that goes without saying. It's always about you. Perhaps you could elaborate?"

Iago was growing more irritated by the second. "If you want to be a smart ass, you could go bother the primate. He seems enchanted by your little antics."

"Abu" Genie stressed the mammal's name, "is gone on a picnic with Al and Jazz. I stayed behind to watch you, so it's just you and me, bird-boy."

"I saw Aladdin grab your lamp. I just assumed you went along. You know, make it a fun little group outing for the hero and his friends."

"Awwwww, are you feeling unloved? Is that the problem?" Genie asked. He grabbed Iago before he could fly off, and hugged him to his chest. The blue buffoon was crushing his feathers.

"Let me go clown!"

"Only if you tell me what is bothering you! Friends share! And we are friends, right Iago?" Genie blinked at Iago, still hugging him tightly. Iago wondered, and deciding he was trapped, decided to take a chance. Who knows, maybe the idiot could help.

"Fine, fine, anything! Now let go before you break all my flight feathers! I can't grow these in a couple of hours you know!"

Genie let Iago go and placed the fuming macaw back on the table, slightly ruffled, and looked at him expectantly.

"Aladdin hears nothing about this? Not me being in here. Nothing, got it?"

"That depends on what it is." The Genie shrugged, trying to figure out what the bird was going on about. He seemed more serious than usual. Growing slightly worried, Genie crossed his arms and waited, hoping the bird was being his usual dramatic self and there really was not a problem. He was hoping to join everyone on their picnic, not have to play babysitter to the sensationalistic parrot all day.

Iago sighed, started to speak, paused, and then blurted out "I'm dying."

Next up: Chapter two is half written now. A Most Unusual Familiar.Mozenrath ponders his past, and how Xerxes came into being.