Mozenrath led Jafar into the basement where Disdain's old laboratory still was. Most of it was strung with cobwebs and inches of dust after not being touched for years. The things that had once been used in there were now draped in ivory sheets, save for a pile of large brown-covered tomes which the young man must have dug out to read.

Mozenrath picked up one of the books. "Disdain's old journals. He wrote down just about everything he ever did." He set it back down, giving out a long sigh. "I've been trying to find a reason why I went ill after you made the curse go away…. And I've been having these weird dreams."

"Dreams?"

"Where Disdain speaks to me."

"You never mentioned that." Jafar looked at him curiously. "What does he say?"

"Um…" Mozenrath thought for a moment. "He says… that I woke him up. And he's angry at me. Wants revenge."

Curious.

It was then Jafar realized that Mozenrath had yet to explain Disdain's absence. "Is it right to suppose that you did something terrible?"

"I killed him."

Yep, that was indeed quite terrible. A look of alarm shot across Jafar's face. "You… What??"

Mozenrath bowed his head a little, his voice suddenly going bitter. "I stole his power and then I stole his humanity- banished it into oblivion." He crossed his arms. "I admit, it wasn't easy. But it was done. Gone. Forever." This was followed by a grin, Mozenrath seeming to take a sadistic pleasure from that particular memory.

It was Jafar's voice that broke it. "But… why?"

"…….Why?" Mozenrath lifted his head slowly, facing the djinn again. "Why? You really want to know that?"

Jafar nodded politely. "Tell me."

Mozenrath sighed again, the look in his eyes suddenly going cold. He took a deep breath and began:

"I suppose you've heard of how dark and evil he was; how he was the most wicked sorcerer in the seven kingdoms. Well, it's true." His eyes narrowed. "I came to him as an abandoned boy when I was five years old. He let me stay with him as an apprentice in return for doing what he asked." He gulped. "When I started studying the power of true sorcerers was when he put that on me. I told you before that he enjoyed seeing me in pain so that he would always have the upper hand. And when I finally got used to being eaten away at, he had to find other ways to hurt me, to feed his sadistic little fantasies."

Jafar could tell by the boy's voice that he was starting to get upset.

"So he started using MAGIC whenever I did something wrong. He would take away my power and tell me to beg for mercy! And when I did something WORSE he would beat the living hell out of me, lock me in the dungeon, violate me in every way possible…"

"Mozenrath-"

"And I wasn't allowed to scream throughout all of that or else he'd just make things worse! He knew he had control of his little pet of an apprentice! He said that I would pay with my own blood if I dared to disobey his rules." He suddenly snatched up one of the journals and gave it a horrifying glare "And he had the grace to write down every single horrible bloody detail of all this! Down to the last drop of SWEAT!" In a blind fury, he hurled the book towards one of the walls where it smashed and tumbled to the floor.

That was when he felt Jafar place a firm grip on his right shoulder and hissed out a "Stop it." The grip tightened. "Stop it now."

The young sorcerer was shivering from the outbursts. He stared at the floor again, not knowing where else to look. His lower lip was trembling and his face was slightly redder. He knew he was acting like a fool, but the possibility of having to deal with his old master again was just unbearable. After taking a few deep breaths, he removed Jafar's hand from his shoulder and turned to him. The eyes of the genie were both sympathetic and warning. He put his right index finger under Mozenrath's chin and gently tilted his head up until their eyes met.

"You're afraid that he'll come back." Jafar whispered.

Mozenrath gave a weak nod. "Yes." He flinched mentally. It wasn't like him to admit things like that. "That's why I need your help." He reached up with his gloved hand to bring Jafar's hand down from his chin. "Jafar." He said, his voice suddenly very serious. "For my second wish, I want you to find out what's wrong with me."

Second wish

Jafar's eyes filled with light. Beams of it reached out and into Mozenrath's own eyes. He let out a trembling breath as he felt the magic feeling seep into his body and a few jolts go down his spine. The electric connection between them lasted only for about twenty seconds before it drifted away and Jafar's eyes returned back to normal.

Shaking himself out of the trance, the genie seemed at a loss for words at what he had just seen. It unnerved the boy more than anything.

"Jafar? What did you see?"

"I…" Jafar seemed afraid himself, or perhaps just very shocked. "You said that there was no power left in him before you killed him. That's not true."

Mozenrath blinked. "Huh?"

"Your curse was his magic that rested inside of you. When you wished for the spell to go away, it did. The reason you were in pain was because you had lived with it for so many years that it hurt for it to be taken away so quickly." Jafar looked at Mozenrath closer. "I told you that magic does not die. Once the magic had left you, it returned to its rightful owner, Disdain, waking him from oblivion. He knew right away what had happened and he became furious. Having at least a little power, he gained the ability to come back as a vengeful spirit." His voice went low. "He wants you to pay for everything you did."

Mozenrath was suddenly more afraid than ever before. "No…" He pulled his arms to himself. "No… No… It can't be…" He backed up like a frightened animal until his back hit the wall. He slid down to the floor and buried his face in his arms. "NO!"

Jafar walked over and took a seat beside him, pulling the boy against him as an act of comfort. Mozenrath instinctively nuzzled closer, letting out muffled sobs as he did so.

After about ten minutes of silence, Mozenrath looked back up at the genie, his face red from crying, but crying no longer.

"He's going to kill me." His voice was shaky and frightened. "He's going to put me through hell and then he'll kill me." He wiped his eyes furiously with his sleeve. He felt like a fool, being down on his knees and crying. "F…fuck…" One side of him felt like beating himself senseless for acting like such a sissy coward. The other side reminded him that this was Disdain they were talking about, not some other monster or person. After being with that sorcerer for so long, you would smirk in contempt at any other threat, which Mozenrath had made a habit of doing.

But not with Disdain. Never with Disdain.

Jafar's hold on the boy tightened, not taking his eyes off the other's. His voice was almost a whisper. "I won't let that happen."

Mozenrath was about to protest when the genie stopped him.

"Listen." Jafar began in a sort of low hiss, "I know what Disdain can do, but the only way that he will destroy you is if you let him." He narrowed his eyes. "Your fear is what gave him control. Your bravery is what took it away. Do you understand?"

"I…" Mozenrath sighed. "I'm not that powerful anymore!"

"Then use your last wish to get your magic back!"

"I can't!"

"Why not?!"

"Because…" He shut his eyes. "Because I don't want you to leave."

Before Jafar could think of how to respond to that, he felt the full lips of the boy press against his own. Mozenrath's grip on the man stiffened, hoping to Allah that Jafar wouldn't pull away. The magic of the genie flooded into his body like nothing he had ever felt before, not even like the previous kiss. A small whine escaped him as he tried to savor the feeling, and he pressed closer against the older sorcerer.

Must be magic…

Strange magic…

Strange is good.

For the moment, I'm not alone.

Eventually, their lips parted. Jafar stared at the other man, dumbfounded and contemplating whether this was real or not. His hands still lay on Mozenrath's back, who didn't seem to mind. Mozenrath's brown eyes reflected a look of both compassion and dead seriousness, waiting in anticipation to see what Jafar would do next.

And then the tension shattered to pieces as an interested smile crept slowly across the genie's lips. "…So I see."