Not anymore.

Mirage couldn't contain the happiness she felt right then, and it emerged as a smile, bright as the desert sun. He had seen past her beastly appearance and made her feel wanted… and now against all expectations, he'd put her feelings before his own.

She was swiftly and truly falling for this man now. She never thought she'd ever feel this way again… much less welcome it.

"Now we must get out of here…" She breathed. "So I can kiss you."

Jafar's heart skipped a beat. He wanted nothing more. He opened his mouth to reply, but he was interrupted by the sound of wings beating the air, descending the dungeon.

The two villains watched as a familiar parrot flapped his way into the dim light, and came to land upon the dingy floor between their two cells.

"You." Jafar fumed. How dare that weakling parrot show his face, and disturb their warm moment?

"Er….. hi." Iago raised a wing and wiggled his feathers at Jafar in a nervous greeting.

"Iago? Where were you during that entire fight?" Mirage questioned with a growl.

"Gosh, gee, where do you think?" The bird mimicked Mirage's growl right back at her. "I was hiding. Two of you at once?! No thanks. I have my limits."

"Loud-mouthed coward," Mirage grumbled.

"You should flutter back to your hiding place then," Jafar suggested in a dangerous tone. "Or you'll get what's coming to you, betrayer."

"Ok, listen, listen. You wanna know why I switched sides? Aladdin ALWAYS wins!"

"We know," Mirage said, rolling her eyes. "We were just talking about that…"

"Well if I'm honest, being a good guy isn't really all that bad either. Lotsa great perks! I'm living the high life that you wanted, and all I had to do was be 'nice'..."

"Iago. If you've come to gloat, I swear I'll pluck your feathers out one by one, and feed you to Mirage!" Jafar snarled. "Now if you'll excuse us, we'd like to return to planning our escape."

"Just because I have feline features, it doesn't mean I eat birds, Jafar," Mirage gently reminded him with an amused smile, before glowering down at Iago with bloodlust. "But I'll have fun killing him for you anyway."

"Will you two shut up?" Iago squawked. "I'm trying to help! They're planning to execute you both at dawn, you know!"

The two villains begrudgingly fell silent. Without their magic to defend themselves, they could most certainly die that way.

"Anyway, as I was saying. Aladdin always wins. It's a fact. But you can't stop coming back, can you?" Iago pointed a feather at Jafar. "That's also a fact. It's like, as long as there's Aladdin, there will always be Jafar to challenge him, or whatever–"

"Your point?" Jafar had beyond lost his patience.

"My point is, I'm a smart bird, and I think I should cover all my bases." Iago lifted a wing, revealing a set of keys tucked in his plumage. "Lifted these off the guards."

Jafar's anger immediately melted away, his dark eyes lighting up. "Ah, you brilliant creature! Once a thief, always a thief." Jafar reached through the bars. "Now hand them over."

"Not so fast," the parrot scolded, holding the keys out of reach with his foot, eliciting a sneer from his former master. "I'll bust you out of here. But you gotta promise me you'll leave Agrabah alone. That includes you, lady!" Iago screeched at Mirage.

"We cannot promise that, Iago," Jafar replied with an insistent shake of his head. "You know this. We may keep a distance for a time, but it's as you said. As long as Aladdin lives, I'll always have a rival I'll wish to destroy!"

Mirage hissed in agreement.

"Fine. Well if you can't get it through your thick skulls that attacking Agrabah is a crummy idea… Do me one favor? LEAVE ME OUT OF IT! Capiche?"

"Spare you, should we ever succeed?" His minion, his pet, his companion that viciously betrayed him and killed him? Jafar had certainly been planning on getting revenge on Iago, too. But if the parrot frees him now, he'd be willing to let bygones be bygones.

"You've always been selfish, Iago. Your display of self-preservation here is nothing short of disgusting. And I respect that."

Iago's chest feathers fluffed up with pride.

"Very well," Jafar nodded solemnly. "It's a deal."

Jafar waited eagerly as Iago fumbled with the keys and unlocked his cell. The sorcerer scrambled out as soon as he was able, rushing over to Mirage. "Hurry!" he hissed to Iago as the parrot worked to free Mirage. "Find the key to her cuffs!"

As soon as they were liberated and Mirage was free from the magic-proof cuffs, the couple shared a warm embrace at last, but it was painfully brief. Leaning back, they locked eyes and entwined their fingers. They wished they had the time to be more intimate in this moment. It had been so hard being so close to one another, and unable to touch.

Already they felt stronger, their broken confidence beginning to heal. They gave each other power.

"Gross." Iago gagged, bringing their tender moment to a screeching halt. "You weirdo lovebirds better get out of here before we get found out!"

Jafar tore his gaze away from Mirage to look down upon his former minion. He knew what he should say, but it was hard to get out.

"Uh… erm…" The sorcerer swallowed. He took a small bow, and forced out the words through gritted teeth. "Thank you, Iago..."

Iago shrugged. "I didn't wanna see you die. At least not by beheading… eugh!" Iago winced at the thought. Yes, he'd been the one to kill his master before, but it was after an epic battle! Execution was just a pitiful way to go.

The parrot paused then, and meekly traced a claw in circles on the dungeon floor. "And… you… raised me. Ya know?"

Jafar couldn't help but be touched, at least a little bit. It was true… the two of them went way back. It was impossible to deny their history and all the good memories of their partnership. Jafar couldn't call Iago an ally anymore, on the contrary… but perhaps the parrot had retained some redeeming qualities after all.

"And I raised you well… you conniving rat with wings." Jafar chuckled and grinned down at the bird. "Go now. Return to your… 'friends'. We'll take it from here."

The parrot gave a small nod, and lifted off with a grunt, taking the set of keys with him. Jafar and Mirage watched the parrot disappear out of the dungeon, leaving a trail of molted feathers behind.

"Your pet is horribly annoying. I've never heard a more grating voice in my life." Mirage complained, relieved that Iago had left them in peace.

"Quite... But you get used to it." Jafar chuckled.

"I prefer monsters over minions. They hardly speak, just obey…" Mirage mused. "But I'll not soon forget how useful he was to us just now."

The sorceress stretched her weary muscles, then tested her magic by letting green sparks fly between her claws. Smiling, she turned to Jafar.

"I look forward to seeing where we'll go next…" She pondered as she materialized Jafar's missing scepter, and handed it to him. "But for now, let's return home to Morbia, shall we?"

Home. Jafar liked that very much. The former vizier gazed upon his partner with a fondness he hadn't known he was capable of.

"Yes… Yes, please."

Mirage cast the spell that would teleport them to their realm… but she couldn't wait for the spell to complete to throw herself onto Jafar, meeting his lips with hers at last. Overjoyed, Jafar took Mirage into his arms and ran his fingers through her ebony hair, breathing her in. It was as if they were the only beings on earth.

This one was different than the others. It was a most tender kiss, one of hope and promise. Whatever comes next, they will take it on together, as one. And they would succeed.

They were gone in a flash, at once leaving the dungeon and Agrabah behind.

And so ends the tale of the sorcerer and the sorceress. Legend has it that they inflicted agony and disaster wherever they went, across many different lands and even other realms. And they were happy.

Of course, because good always triumphs over evil, the couple suffered defeat after defeat. But it's said that they only emerged stronger each time. As did their romance. They never renounced their evil ways, but their love was no less true than that of the hero and his princess.

Their quest for vengeance and total domination would never end. Their thirst for power would never be quenched. But in the meantime, they had each other, and perhaps… just perhaps… that was enough.

But did the god Hades call upon them to honor their deal, and fight for his cause? Or did they ever return to Agrabah and finally defeat their most hated nemesis Aladdin, you might wonder?

Well that, my friends, is a tale for another Arabian night!