Disclaimer: I don't own Aladdin or anything you might recognize.

'blah' means thoughts

"blah" means talking

Mozenrath is still OOC,

IN THE PALACE

Unknown to Mozenrath, Carpet was following them. Jasmine stopped in front of the doors leading to the throne room. "It might actually be easier to convince my father, if I'm alone. Carpet, take Mozenrath to the room near mine."

The magic carpet behind them slid under Mozenrath's feet, causing the sorcerer to fall onto Carpet. It took the boy to the room specified by Jasmine. Jasmine watched them go before pushing one of the doors open. She saw her father sitting on his throne, and Razoul standing next to him.

"Dearest, come in," the Sultan said.

Jasmine walked in, looked at Razoul, and said, "You're dismissed." Razoul didn't move. He just gave Jasmine a quizzical look, so she tried again. "Could you please leave? I need to speak to Father alone."

"Whatever you have to say to me, you can say in front of my Head Guard," the Sultan put in.

Jasmine gulped and thought, 'Here goes.' She took a breath before saying, "When we were in the garden, we had a visitor drop in."

"What was the visitor doing in the garden?"

"Talking to us." Jasmine paused, trying to figure out how to say it. In the end, she decided to say it bluntly. "The visitor was Mozenrath. Now, before you send Razoul out to find him, let me explained what happened to him. He was turned into a five-year-old and is defenseless now. Please, Father, we need to help him. I need to help him."

Razoul snorted. "It doesn't matter how old he is. He is still a villain. I'll throw him in the dungeon for good."

"No, you will not!" the Sultan commanded. "You will not touch him." He turned to his daughter. "If you believe he is no threat, then I will leave him under your care, Jasmine."

"Thank you, Father." Jasmine turned and left.

As she walked away from the throne room, Jasmine thought about her recent actions. Why was she feeling so forgiving towards Mozenrath? 'Maybe it's my maternal instincts? It would make some sense considering his physical age.'

On her way to Mozenrath's room, she met up with the guys. "So, what's the news, Jas?" Aladdin asked.

"I convinced Father to let Mozenrath stay, and Father ordered Razoul to leave Mozenrath alone."

"I thought you were going to tell Razoul later."

"Well, he was in the throne room with Father and wouldn't leave." Jasmine shuddered slightly. "He threatened to throw him in the dungeons for good." She pushed the door leading to Mozenrath's room open, revealing the sorcerer curled up on the bed with a tome. Carpet was relaxing in a nearby corner. It soon became obvious to everyone that Mozenrath wasn't reading the tome. Jasmine approached him and sat down on the bed. "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing," Mozenrath replied without looking up.

"Something's bothering you, Mozenrath. Tell me."

"It's nothing."

Suddenly, a psychologist's office appeared with Mozenrath laying on the couch and Genie (as the psychologist) sitting in a chair. "What are your troubles? Were you abused, unloved, or abandoned as a ch-" Genie cut himself off, making the "office" disappear. "Ooo, uh, never mind."

Jasmine giggled and placed a hand on Mozenrath's shoulder. "Genie's just trying to help."

Genie ruffled Mozenrath's hair. "Cheer up, kiddo. It could be worse."

Mozenrath smoothed his hair down. "How?"

"Gee, uh, I don't know. It just could."

Mozenrath glared at the genie and then walked over to the window. "Leave me alone."

"Don't you want something to eat?" Jasmine asked.

"Just leave me alone!" Mozenrath exclaimed.

"But-" Jasmine was cut off by Aladdin putting his hand on her shoulder and shaking his head. Everyone except for Carpet left Mozenrath alone. Once the door closed, Mozenrath realized what he had just done.

'I just pushed away the only people that have been trying to help me. Oh, well. Aladdin still doesn't trust me. It's a good thing Jasmine does or I would be on my own.' The sorcerer sat back down on the bed.

ELSEWHERE

"C'mon, Jas. He'll be okay," Genie said.

"I know, but I can't help worrying about him."

"Don't worry, Princess. This is probably his way of dealing with things," Iago supplied, landing on Jasmine's shoulder.

"I hope so, Iago."

THAT NIGHT

Jasmine was walking to her room, thinking about what happened that day. 'Mozenrath said that Mirage did this to him, but why would she do that to her own son?' Jasmine decided to check on Mozenrath before she went to sleep. She opened the door and walked in. What she saw made her smile. Mozenrath had fallen asleep in his "Prince Ali" clothes. 'He's so cute.' She spied Carpet in the corner and whispered to it, "Stay with him, Carpet. I'd feel much better if I knew you were here wit him."

Carpet gave her the "ok" sign and continued its vigil. Jasmine smiled and left the room. She went to her room and sat at her vanity. She took her hair down and brushed it. She put her pajamas on and went to sleep.

At about midnight, a figure crept into Mozenrath's room. The figure placed a heavy chest over half on Carpet and slid the Gauntlet off of the sorcerer's right arm. The figure then picked up the boy, flung him over his shoulder, and hurried away from that area of the palace.

The first thing Mozenrath realized was that he was being held upside down. The next thing he realized was that he was being held by a royal guard. He squirmed. "Put me down!"

"Stop squirming. You're not getting away."

It was Razoul. Mozenrath recognized the voice. "Where are you taking me?"

"We're just taking a little walk. Only you won't be on the return trip!" Razoul laughed.

It was the kind of laugh mad scientists make. It was the kind of laugh that chilled Mozenrath to the bone. The boy didn't make another sound, unsure of what was going to happen. They reached the dungeons within minutes.

Razoul locked the sorcerer's left wrist in the hanging shackle and proceeded to do the same with the right. It was at this point that Mozenrath realized his glove was missing. He spied it hanging on the guard's belt. "My Gauntlet! Give it back!"

His plea fell on deaf ears as Razoul walked out. Mozenrath slid his right hand out of the shackle. He grabbed the chain to lessen the strain on his left wrist. He looked around. 'This looks like the cell Amin was in. So that means…" He looked down at the pool and just as he thought a crocodile jumped out of the water. 'I can't fall asleep.' He watched as the crocodile jumped again. 'This is going to be a long night.'

JASMINE'S ROOM

The princess was sleeping peacefully when Carpet, after managing to pull itself out from under the chest, flew in. It shook Jasmine's shoulder lightly. Jasmine just rolled over. It shook Jasmine's shoulder a little harder, which woke her up. "Carpet?" She sat up. "Where's Mozenrath?"

Carpet made the "I don't know" gesture. "Who took him?"

Carpet flattened its "back" making it look like it had broad shoulders. Jasmine narrowed her eyes. "Razoul." Carpet gave her the thumbs-up. She climbed onto Carpet and said, "Take me to Razoul. Now." The magic carpet took flight, going toward another part of the palace. They found Razoul on patrol. "Razoul!"

The guard stopped. "Princess. What are you doing up at this hour?"

Jasmine jumped off of Carpet, landing in front of Razoul. She poked the guard in the chest to emphasize each word. "Where is he?"

Knowing who the princess was referring to and that it was futile to lie to her, Razoul answered, "In the dungeons."

"Which cell did you put him in, Razoul?"

Razoul grinned. "Number nine."

"Number nine?!" Jasmine sounded appalled. "That's the crocodile pit!"

"Well, I, uh, I must have forgotten." Razoul laughed another demented laugh.

Jasmine gasped and covered her mouth with both hands. "How could you?!" It was then that Jasmine saw the glove that was hanging from Razoul's belt. "You took the Gauntlet too?! Give me the keys and the glove!"

When Razoul didn't react fast enough, Jasmine swiped the Gauntlet and the keys herself. "I'll be informing Father about this!"

She flew to the dungeons as if she was trying to escape a sandstorm. Once she got to cell number nine, she peered in and saw a heartbreaking scene. Mozenrath was hanging over the crocodile pit by his left arms and his right arm was clinging to the chains while the crocodiles were leaping up hoping for a bite.

"Hang on, Mozenrath. I'm coming!"

"Jasmine?"

The raven-haired princess fumbled with the keys. 'Which one?' She tried several keys before she found the right one. She flung the door open, jumped on Carpet, and raced to the hanging figure. She positioned Carpet so that Mozenrath was resting on it. She unlocked the shackles, and Carpet flew them to Jasmine's room.

"Thank you, Jasmine."

"There's no need to thank me. Razoul shouldn't have done that in the first place. We'll get it straightened out in the morning, but for now, you can stay with me."

THE NEXT MORNING

Aladdin walked into Jasmine's room, intending on kissing her awake. He was not prepared for what he saw. A sleeping Mozenrath was snuggled up next to a sleeping Jasmine. Anger swelled up inside Aladdin and before he knew what he was doing, he had reached across the bed and pushed the sorcerer out of the bed. Mozenrath hit the floor with a yelp.

The yelp woke Jasmine up. She saw her fiancée standing next to her but not the little boy who spent the night with her. Mozenrath stood up from the other side of the bed and glared at Aladdin. "Why did you do that?"

"What do you think you were doing in Jasmine's bed?"

"I let him."

"Jasmine?" Aladdin and Mozenrath chorused.

"Why wasn't he in his own room?"

"He had a rough night. Razoul had locked him in the dungeons."

"Which cell?"

"Number nine," Jasmine said with a shudder.

"Number nine?!" Aladdin exclaimed.

"Yes." Jasmine walked behind a screen and got dressed. She fixed her hair and then walked over to Mozenrath. He let her approach him. She straightened his clothes and combed his hair. "We're going to my father to tell him what happened."

Jasmine placed an arm around Mozenrath's shoulders leading him gently to the throne room. She pushed the doors open and led the young sorcerer inside.

"Hello, Father," Jasmine greeted.

"Hello, dearest. What brings you here?"

"Him." Jasmine pushed Mozenrath forward gently.

The Sultan looked at the clothes and the pale skin. "Who is he, dearest?"

"It's Mozenrath, and Razoul threw him in cell number nine last night."

The Sultan's face darkened. "Number nine! Where is Razoul?"

"He's on morning patrol, Sultan," Aladdin spoke up from the doorway.

"Tell him to report in. Now."

Aladdin whistled, and Carpet came flying. Aladdin jumped onto the magic carpet. "To the Marketplace."

When Aladdin took off, Jasmine turned to Mozenrath and said, "See? I told you we'd get it straightened out."

The Sultan turned to the sorcerer. "That's right, my boy. Razoul had no reason to throw you in the dungeons, especially that cell."

Jasmine smiled. 'I'm glad Father likes Mozenrath.'

After a few minutes, Razoul walked in. He bowed to the Sultan. "You summoned me, you Highness?"

"You have disobeyed a direct order, Razoul. You were not supposed to touch Mozenrath, and you chained him up in the dungeon! As your punishment, when Aladdin and Jasmine are unavailable, you will watch out for Mozenrath. If I ever hear about you chaining someone else undeserving in cell number nine, you will take their place! Dismissed!"

Razoul bowed again, catching sight of Jasmine's and Mozenrath's expressions, which were different. Jasmine grinned in satisfaction, but Mozenrath's grin was more of the sadistic kind. If he was to watch the young sorcerer, Razoul would end up on the "wrong" end of the Gauntlet. The Head Guard left the throne room.

Jasmine turned to her father. "Thank you, Father."

"You're welcome, my dear."

Jasmine and Mozenrath left the throne room, heading for the garden. Just then, Genie popped up. "Hey, guys! I just got back from a short trip to the Moon with Eden." He looked around. "Have you seen our funny little animal sidekicks?"