Sleep had become somewhat of a rarity to Mozenrath. Actually, that was a lie. It hadn't become a rarity; it had always been a rarity. Ever since he was stolen from his childhood by the dark sorcerer Destane, sleep seemed to take quite the nosedive. Destane had sworn that little to no sleep kept the "juices" flowing, kept you susceptible to all mediums and occurrences. But then again, Destane was considerably mad so advice from him was not to be followed by the wise.
Mozenrath had had no choice though. When young Mozenrath had fallen asleep sitting at an oversized desk over a spell book the dark master would yank the chair out from under him. Or when Destane would be rambling on about something or other and Mozenrath would dose off with his head propped on his hand the sorcerer would forcefully knock his arm from underneath his head, causing Mozenrath's head to slam into the surface beneath him.
But back to the subject. Maybe this lack of sleep was what had caused this possible nightmare, it had been nearly four days since the necromancer had last slept. He had wandered into his rarely used bedchamber, when he did sleep he usually slept on his throne, and walked through the black and navy blue sheer curtains onto the lavish balcony that overlooked his kingdom.
As his sunken, dark rimmed, midnight eyes scanned over the dark, abandoned kingdom, spare the abstract Mamluk stumbling around, he felt an abstract chill. It was completely out of place in the still, warm afternoon. No wind graced the air and the blazing desert sun shown overhead. The chill came again but seemed to materialize as he felt something akin to a hand slowly raking down his back. He froze in surprise and, though he would never admit it being the proud sorcerer that he was, fear.
The chilled, invisible hand returned but instead of merely running down his back it clawed harshly and swiftly shot down his back. Mozenrath screamed in surprise and pain, gripping the marble railing. He spun around to face his opponent to be met with nothing but thin air. Mozenrath's breath hitched in his throat as he felt the chilled hand against his cheek.
Similar to the first stroke down his back the hand seemed to, almost lovingly, stroke his cheek. He reached up to the offending spot to feel his cheek with his non-gloved hand and found that the unseen hand had disappeared. When he removed his hand the being returned with a vengeance, giving him a hard backslap across the face. The unexpected blow sent the magus to the marble floor of the balcony with an unforgiving thud.
As he scrambled up from the hard floor he heard a chilling poem, recited from nowhere.
Thy sins be purge,
thy sins be blessed.
Thee shall converge,
with who thee detests.
"What?" Mozenrath couldn't help himself from asking as he tried to desperately find the source of the chanted poem. Suddenly the wind picked up, nearly blowing the turban from his head before he caught it. He felt two unseen hands grip his shoulders from the front and the entity recited the poem once more. The voice was definitively feminine and the hands gripped his shoulders so hard he was sure there would be a bruise later on.
Thee shall converge with who thee detests! The spirit yelled forcefully as it shoved the confused sorcerer to the ground and he was so shocked that he couldn't even think to get up. Thy sins be purge, thy sins be blessed, Mozenrath.
It was then as his named was whispered that he gasped awake. His hands clawed at the arms of the throne and sweat coated his pale skin. He yanked off his turban, throwing it aside as he tried to reign in his rapid heartbeat and control his breathing.
"Master ok?" Xerxes broken voice asked worriedly. The eel was hiding behind a bookshelf across the room, visibly shaking and clearly terrified of his master. Mozenrath looked over to his familiar in confusion.
"What is wrong with you, you cowardly creature?" He growled and the eel slithered through the air hesitantly towards his master but stopped well out of his reach.
"Master being scary. Master chanting words. Master screaming." Xerxes whimpered as he finally made his way to the armrest of the ornate throne. Mozenrath's head snapped down to the magical creature and he grabbed it by its somewhat neck.
"What did I say, Xerxes?"
"Er–Uh–S-Sins purge," Xerxes struggled to recite, considering his dragging speech impediment, "Sins blessed. Converge who detests." Mozenrath let Xerxes go and sunk into the plush blue fabric of his throne.
"It was just a dream." Mozenrath laughed out of pure relief, "Just a–" he stopped as he ran a hand over his face but stopped as he touched his right cheek and hissed in pain. The area was sore and tender and as the necromancer shot out of the throne to find a mirror he gripped his back in pain, making him doubt that it was only a dream.
"Master!" Xerxes whimpered as he came to his master's side but could do nothing to help. Mozenrath walked forward, ignoring the sting in his back as he reached a large baroque mirror. What he saw caused the already sheet white sorcerer to go paler than ever before. On his right cheek was a distinct flaming red hand print, so defined against his alabaster skin that you could easily trace each thin elegant finger.
Mozenrath then yanked his cape off, throwing it at Xerxes and the eel was buried in the black and blue fabric. He then tugged his shirt and gauntlet off, throwing them onto the pile with his cape. It was gruesome to say the least. Four thick human claw marks ran from the bottom of his neck to the small of his back in a perfect straight line. The marks had areas that were deep where beads of blood welled and at some spots it was purely superficial.
"Master hurt?" Xerxes ghosted over to the injured man and Mozenrath, who was having an uncharacteristic loss for words, stood stiffly as he stared at the angry red claw marks, "Master hurt?" the eel repeated his question and Mozenrath couldn't think of an answer because there wasn't one.
But then Mozenrath, not on his own accord, reached forward with his revealed skeletal hand and gripped a tube of Yalkor wax, usually used as an inhibitor in chemical reactions but was currently used as paranormal medium.
Sleep is when I come
I'll visit thee then.
Thy are not what thee has become,
And thee will see that in the end.
A feeling of pure terror was written across the usually ever present smirking face of the young sorcerer as he stared at the words written in light blue Yalkor wax on the mirror.
"What happening?"
"I…think I'm haunted."
-x-
Mozenrath couldn't help but feel watched as he shrugged of his black robe and prepared to step into the ornately designed bathtub. He stepped into the hot water; he had intentionally made it as hot as it was to try and distract him from his "haunting". As he lowered himself he hissed in pain as the water soaked the abrasions on his back. He settled himself in the tub, holding in his breath and dunking his head beneath the water to soak his ebony locks.
As he came back up, his eyes closed, he shook out his head lightly before leaning against the headrest of the tub. He finally opened his eyes and immediately let out a scream of surprise, his calm shattering. Floating inches above the water was a woman, she wore a ragged brown dress, the attire of the poor, and in the center of her abdomen a dagger stuck out, blood stains covering the front of her dress.
Her face was bruised and pale, and tears flowed from her eyes even though her face was completely placid. Her head then tilted down to meet Mozenrath's gaze. She then floated beside the tub and knelt down her knees beside him. He could only move his head as he looked beside him to the peasant girl kneeling beside his bathtub. She looked up with dazzling green eyes that held such sadness, such grief and woe that it touched even Mozenrath's seemingly frozen heart.
"Lord Mozenrath." She murmured as she reached forward and stroked his bruised cheek, the touch feeling identical to that of his "dream". She leaned forward, removing her hand and gently kissing his cheek. Then she was gone. He could still feel her ghostly lips against his cheek as he sunk lower into the hot water, trying to warm his now cold skin.
Mozenrath reached forward, grabbing the soap he used for his hair and began thoroughly massaging it in, trying to wash away what had just happened. Trying to wash away any memory of the peasant ghost. He ducked beneath the water once more, holding his breath until his lungs burned and he came up reluctantly for air. He was relieved to find nobody there, no ghost girl, nothing.
"I just need some sleep." Mozenrath said to himself as he pushed out of the tub, haphazardly drying himself off and securing the robe around himself. He walked out onto the balcony, not bothering to get dressed as he leaned against the railing in the exact same spot as his dream. The chilly wind, completely natural considering that it was the middle of the night, ruffled his silk robe and he reached up and ran his hand through his wet hair, the black curls plastered to his forehead and neck.
He walked to his dresser, pulling on a pair of loose pants, and discarded his robe before settling on his blue comforter and yanking the black silk blanket over him. Xerxes swam into the room, settling beside his master by curling into a tight ball on Mozenrath's chest. The company of the magical eel did nothing to comfort the necromancers frayed nerves as he clenched and unclenched his skeletal fist. Soon he felt something; the feel was like a mothers touch as it quietly lulled him to sleep. Into a nightmare.
-x-
What Mozenrath found himself in was the ruins of his own Citadel. The glorious building that had been his palace lie in chunks of marble, cement, wood and brick. His potions, utensils, furniture and books were strewn about the broken kingdom. As he crossed by a fissured mirror he paused, noticing that his once elaborate robes were now shredded, his cape was long gone and his shirt was sliced into somewhat of a makeshift vest. His shoes were gone and his pants were ragged and stained with his own blood.
His hair fell to his mid back and was matted with blood and tied back with a strand of shredded fabric. Small fires flared up here and there throughout the area and wind howled in the night. Over all this he knew she was here. The ghost girl, the peasant.
Thy sins be purge,
thy sins be blessed.
Thee shall converge
with who thee detests.
She recited the poem from behind and Mozenrath immediately turned to her. He had had enough of her poems and games.
"Who? Who will I meet?" He questioned the ghostly women and she watched blankly, "Who! Tell me! I order you to!" he was now yelling and had gripped her upper arms in an attempt of power considering he couldn't use his gauntlet because it was no longer on his hand.
"With who thee detests." She answered simply before turning to black sand and slipping through his fingers. He shouted in pure rage, turning around and angrily kicking a boulder of rubble.
"Do you know how many people I hate? Who I detest?" Mozenrath yelled at the sky, looking as raving mad as Destane himself, "I hate Aladdin, and Genie! I hate Jasmine and everyone else who every dared to be happy! I hate Street Rats and I despise Destane–" He was then cut off as he tripped over a Mamluks unmoving body, his knee obtaining a deep gash.
"You know the answer."
He shot awake, sitting up abruptly and Xerxes was thrown off of his master's chest and was thrown to the floor. Mozenrath's eyes darted around the room, realizing that his home was intact. Xerxes ghosted back to his master with a scowl of annoyance from being aroused from his sleep so suddenly.
Mozenrath knew that he would never be able to go back to sleep and wouldn't if he wanted to. Her poem from the mirror was right; she would visit him in sleep, that one incident in the bathtub being the exception. He stood from the bed and immediately gripped his knee in pain. Xerxes floated to his master in worry as blood seeped through the fabric of his pants.
"Master hurt?" Mozenrath glared at the eel and quickly threw him across the room to release excess anger.
"No, it's bleeding because it feels wonderful!" He yelled sarcastically as he sat back down on the bed and pulled the pants up to find his knee had a large gash in it, consistent with the one from his dream. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself as he lie on the bed, ignoring the pain in his knee.
"Just leave me alone. Just go!" Mozenrath growled through his teeth, his eyes clamped shut and the chill settled over him once more, but this chill wasn't natural, this chill was paranormal, supernatural, ghostly. Xerxes watched his master, ordering at the ceiling to go so Xerxes obliged and left hastily, thinking that requested was aimed at him. Mozenrath immediately regretted his words as he felt a heavy pressure on his bare chest, sure the woman was intent on killing him. As the pressure intensified the outline of a hand made itself present on his chest and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.
He began gasping for air and attempted to turn to the left or right but was pressed firmly to the mattress. And the pressure was gone, as he felt a chill slide down his throat and into the pit of his stomach before he was thrown completely out of control. His body sat up in the bed robotically, his eyes seemed dull and distant as his body slowly moved towards his dresser. Mozenrath was possessed.
HiH His body stopped in front of the dresser and picked up the dagger that Mozenrath always kept on hand in case of emergencies.
"To prevent what thee hath seen in thy's last nightly mare, thee must seek the one inscribed." Mozenrath's voice was dead and haunting as his body unsheathed the dagger and held it to his left wrist. The blade of the dagger bit into Mozenrath's skin, his face not belaying any emotion, no pain as a name was sliced into his arm in lilting cursive. As the name was completed the chill in his stomach disappeared and crawled up his throat before disappearing completely.
Mozenrath collapsed to the ground, feeling weak and spent. He was unable to the move, a state he hoped was only temporary, but his left inner arm was directly in eyesight. What it read made Mozenrath groan in annoyance. It read:
Aladdin
-x-
Mozenrath had done his best to hide Aladdin's name carved in his arm but could not put his sleeve over it because every time it brushed the bandaging it would cause a sting of pain so he was forced to brandish flamboyant white bandaging. Along with the slices on his arm he still had a hand shaped bruise on his right cheek, a gash on his knee and, although unseen, four scratches running down his back.
He blasted the door off the palace, thankful that the ghost hadn't affected his magical ability. But sadly, his dramatic entrance was not witnessed by anyone and Mozenrath stood in the doorway with Xerxes draped around his neck, waiting for someone to come and investigate the explosion. He was not disappointed as Aladdin and his entire crew came down the staircase to see him standing casually in the doorway.
"Mozenrath! Whatever you're plan–" Mozenrath held up his gloved hand.
"Spare me the theatrics, hero." The sorcerer growled as he rubbed his right check to attempt to cover the bruise, "I want to get straight to the point." Aladdin's entourage paused at the stairs, all of them ready for attack. Xerxes perked up at this; even he didn't know why they were here.
"And what would be the point?" Jasmine huffed and Mozenrath looked up no longer bothering to cover the outstanding bruise and they all were taken aback by the mark.
"I need your help. More specifically I need…" Mozenrath looked away as he choked on Aladdin's name, "I need Aladdin's help." The group of heroes were even more shocked by this news and immediately became skeptical.
"Need my help? For what?" Aladdin was the first to speak, never dropping his battle stance. The sorcerer rolled his dark eyes at Aladdin's heroics and slid his gloved finger underneath the edge of the bandaging.
"Didn't I say spare me the theatrics? And believe me, I wouldn't be here if I didn't have to be." He growled out as he began unraveling the bandaging, knowing they were going to need some kind of proof that he was sincere.
"So what's making you?" Iago then spoke in his raspy voice from behind Aladdin and Mozenrath stopped unraveling the bandage for a moment.
"Do you honestly think I slapped myself across the face?" He asked with a growl as he came to the last layer of bandages and winced as he pulled the cloth from the wound. Mozenrath was asked the same question again but didn't respond as he looked down at the angry red cursive letters that spelt out his nemesis's name.
"To prevent what thee hath seen in thy's last nightly mare, thee must seek the one inscribed." Mozenrath recited as he displayed the name to them all staring in shock at the sorcerer before them.
"You…carved Aladdin's name into your arm?" Jasmine asked her voice belaying disgust as she backed away. The entire hero group gave each other sideways glances, Genie mumbling,
"Gee, Al, never thought Wiz Kid had a thing for you."
"I didn't do it! I was possessed and she did it!" Mozenrath exclaimed in anger, Xerxes jumping in surprise.
"That's it; Jafar Jr. has finally graduated to full on Jafar! Coo-coo crazy!" Iago shouted before being blasted by a powerful blue energy produced by Mozenrath.
"It doesn't matter what you answer, I need your help and I'm going to get it." Mozenrath demanded as he moved forward, Xerxes grinning maliciously from around his neck.
"Master get what master want!" Xerxes agreed brokenly. Aladdin, with his trademarked arrogance, was immediately defiant.
"I won't help you and you should know by now that my friends won't let you take me." The former Street Rat snorted and the necromancer knew this all too well but he also knew that Aladdin didn't fully understand the direness of the situation.
"You don't understand, Street Ra–Aladdin. This isn't about conquering the seven deserts! I'm going to lose my home if you don't help me." Mozenrath wanted to stab himself just for going so low as to nearly begging a peasant, a peon, a lowlife. The young hero was immediately deflated, knowing that now he was somewhat obliged to help the villain.
"What do you need me to do?" Aladdin sighed; his entourage protesting and he led them away for a moment.
"He really needs my help and I think he's serious. I mean my name is carved into his arm, he wouldn't do that just to trick me." The group unwillingly obliged as they returned to the magus, Aladdin asking once more what Mozenrath requested of him. Mozenrath repeated the latest poem of the peasant ghost.
"She wants me to bring you to the Citadel, that's all I know." Silence followed for a few moments.
"Alright, deal."
-x-
"You better not double cross me." Aladdin growled as the two young men walked into the dim throne room. Mozenrath rubbed at his bruised chest as he replied,
"She made it very clear that she needed you so I can't afford to betray you." Aladdin watched the sorcerer with confusion, it almost seemed as if the ever confident man was afraid of this unknown "she".
"Are you afraid of her? I mean she slapped you, so what? I'm sure you've had a woman do worse." Aladdin shrugged, half joking in his remark.
"Ha, very funny, Street Rat. I think I should show you something." Mozenrath stopped and pushed his cape over his shoulder before yanking up the back of his shirt to reveal the long claw marks, "She did this." Aladdin was immediately silenced as Mozenrath fixed his shirt and returned his cape to his back as they continued through the throne room towards Mozenrath's balcony.
As Aladdin prepared to speak again Xerxes flew around the corner frantically, slamming into his master's chest before collapsing into his arms.
"M-M-Master! Ghos-s-st lady! Ghost L-Lady!" Xerxes struggled to get his words out, his frail gray body shaking uncontrollably. The two men looked at each other, realizing this was Mozenrath's "she". Then she floated around the corner in the same attire she had been in when she had visited Mozenrath in his bathroom.
"Lord Mozenrath, I see thee hath followed my instructions." She purred as she ghosted in front of Aladdin, leaving him speechless. She lowered herself to floor level and gently gripped his jaw, turning his face one way then the other.
"Perfect." She grinned deviously and evaporated into smoke before forcefully disappearing into Aladdin's mouth and nose. He gagged and fell to his knees, Mozenrath standing shell shocked beside him, not sure if this was good or bad for his cause. Aladdin suddenly rose in the same way Mozenrath had when he'd been possessed but his eyes were not Aladdin's eyes, these were the eyes of a demon.
The irises were an omniscient red and the whites of his eyes were now midnight black. Aladdin's body shoved Mozenrath to the ground and the sorcerer looked up in shock.
"Thee are a fool to so willingly trust me. Thee assumed that I was a ghost of well intent when I struck thee so frequently! Thee does not deserve to carry the title of the sorcerer, the necromancer, the magus!" The voice that came from Aladdin was enraged and spiteful as Mozenrath stood and backed away from the nemesis turned possessed nemesis.
"Why did you trick me? What could you have to gain from me that you couldn't have done yourself?" He spat his words out angrily, he had been betrayed many times before but he at least liked to know why he was betrayed.
"I could have easily possessed this host myself but why should I when someone else can do it for me?" It seemed the spirit was slowly losing its old English speech pattern and began speaking in somewhat the same pattern as a person of the time would, "That and with a tangible body I can have a host and a Citadel! All to myself, if I had only possessed this host without your help then I would have to deal with his entire entourage." Mozenrath raised his gauntlet and fired, the blast hitting Aladdin's body in the center of the chest but he didn't seem to care as he moved forward, his chest sizzling and his vest singed beyond repair.
He sent three more blasts before Aladdin's body gripped Mozenrath's throat and slammed him into the wall while throwing Xerxes into a nearby vase and jamming the lid with a heavy book.
"Your home was never in any danger. I made you believe it was and now I have a host, a kingdom, and if you'll be a good boy I'll have a servant." Aladdin's voice held arrogance and control, his lips turning up into a teasing grin at the end. Mozenrath gripped his fists at the mention of being anyone's servant. His gloved hand engulfed itself in long blue flames as he pulled back his arm and landed a hard punch to Aladdin's face.
Aladdin's body hit the marble floor with a grunt of pain and he looked up at the enraged sorcerer. Mozenrath stalked forward glaring at the possessed Aladdin with an anger fed by years of servitude to Destane. Years of being treated like a dog, like he was worthless, like he was a servant, a slave.
"I don't serve anyone, not anymore." Mozenrath growled as Aladdin's body came to his feet, "And I won't be used." Now the necromancer had Aladdin by the throat and was holding him against the opposite wall.
"Thy are not what thee has become and thee will see that in the end. Remember that? Do you know what I meant by that?" The ghost sneered at the sorcerer, "It meant that you are not what Destane has taught you to be. You aren't strong, aren't brave, you aren't worthy of anyone's respect and you have seen this at the end." With that Aladdin's body lashed out with a hard punch to his chest, sending Mozenrath across the room.
As he hit the wall with a crash Mozenrath thought back to all of the spells that he knew, trying to think of one that could possibly un-possess his enemy. There were none that immediately came to mind, besides some religious spells that involved sage and a priest, he had no plans. As Aladdin stalked towards him Mozenrath found that his only option at the moment was to run. I just keep sinking lower and lower today, he thought to himself as he grabbed the vase holding Xerxes and ran from the room.
He threw the book off the jar, freeing his friend. He then turned to the large wooden doors he had run through to see Aladdin charging towards them. He, along with the little assistance Xerxes could provide, managed to close the door when Aladdin's body was only a few footsteps from crossing the threshold.
"What we do Master?" Xerxes asked as he curled around his gloved hand. Mozenrath stared at the door to see it begin to bow and shake with the spirits efforts to escape the room, which thankfully had only one doorway. Mozenrath looked down to Aladdin's name carved into his arm with an angry sigh.
"We need to go back to Agrabah and get help from his stupid friends." Xerxes reeled back in surprise, knowing his master well enough to know that Mozenrath never asked for help.
"Why?"
"Because…" Mozenrath ran a hand through his hair knocking his turban to the ground, "Because, I just need to!" The door bowed once more, a small crack forming near the handles. Mozenrath jumped back from the door.
"Master…scared?"
"No, I'm not scared you insolent fool!" Mozenrath yelled as he ran from the door, "I'm not scared."
-x-
"Where's Aladdin? If he's hurt I'm going to jam my foot so far up you're a–" Jasmine yelled, pressing Mozenrath to the wall by his neck. He stared down at the enraged Princess in shock, not knowing that someone with such a small build could have such strength.
"What she's saying is where is Al?" Genie said removing Jasmine from his neck and setting her aside. Mozenrath rubbed his neck, which was now severely bruised from being grabbed so many times in less than an hour.
"If you would've let me explain instead of just choking me you would know that Aladdin's been possessed." Complete silence followed Mozenrath's statement until it was broken by Iago screaming, "WHAT?" Mozenrath then proceeded to explain the last two days to the group of heroes. At the mention that Aladdin's spirit could be lost forever if the ghost rooted too deeply into him the group was immediately ready to come to Aladdin's rescue.
They immediately left the palace on carpet, Mozenrath magically transporting himself to just outside his Citadel to wait for them since they refused to let him teleport them because of lack of trust. As he sat outside, unconsciously stroking Xerxes slick fins as he thought about the series of events that had led to this. Here was, sitting outside his own home waiting, hoping, for his enemies to come to his aid.
How had he sunk to this? Asking for help. He was Mozenrath! Lord of the Land of the Black Sand! The most powerful sorcerer of their age and had single handedly taken down the all-powerful Destane. Yet he had been used by a ghost. As he bathed in his own personal shower of self-pity Aladdin's entourage arrived in front of him and he stood leading them into the Citadel and to his home.
They made their way to the throne room where Aladdin, or Aladdin's body at least, had been locked up. When they arrived they found a sight that Mozenrath had already been expecting. The door was shattered, splinters of wood littering the floor and Aladdin's body was nowhere to be found.
"Al did this?" Genie asked in surprise as he inspected the shattered pieces of the door. Mozenrath nodded and looked for any sign on which way Aladdin had gone.
"Yes, it looks like the ghost made him stronger. If she can do this to him imagine what she could do if she stays in him longer." Mozenrath said as Xerxes called to his master as he pointed to some footprints in the dust debris of the door.
"Aladdin go this way." Xerxes pointed down the hallway on their immediate right and they followed only getting a few steps before Aladdin pounced from a doorway, throwing Mozenrath into a nearby bookshelf. The shelf wobbled before falling on top of him and he struggled to release himself from beneath the mound of books.
"I thought you were smart enough to stay away, looks like I overestimated you." Aladdin smirked before noticing that Mozenrath had not come back alone, "And you brought company!" The sorcerer lifted the heavy bookshelf from him with a powerful blast from his gauntlet.
"And you shouldn't be stupid enough to think you can get rid of me that easily." Mozenrath pushed himself up, wincing as he broke the scabs that had formed on his back and fired at Aladdin's body, not caring if it affected him or not but just wanting to let off built up steam. Contrary to what Mozenrath had wanted Aladdin jumped out of the way with ease and moved to further inspect his "guests".
His eyes trailed over the group, a bird, and a monkey. Aladdin's eyes rolled, the spirit had been desperate but not desperate enough to possess a lowly animal. A Genie and a carpet, an interesting prospect but the spirit wasn't sure how possessing a magical being would work, or if it would even work. Finally his eyes met the Princess's eyes. Her build had been nearly exactly the same as the spirits had been before her death and although Aladdin's body was agile, strong and had a high endurance for pain the spirit could not deny her vanity.
As the spirit abandoned Aladdin's body Mozenrath tackled the recently vacated host. The swirl of ghostly smoke entered Jasmine, her reaction the same as Aladdin's had been. Genie caught Jasmine as she began to double over, Carpet ghosting beneath her as she gagged.
"You fools! Don't help her!" Mozenrath abandoned Aladdin's unmoving body and yanked her from the magical entities' arm, "She's possessed!" With this Mozenrath dragged her body into his lab, securing her to the experimentation table before the possession could be completed. The sorcerer turned to his lab table, the surface cluttered with spell books, potions and other ends and odds.
Iago perched at the edge of the table near Jasmine's head, watching her cautiously. She lie peacefully, seemingly sleeping and Genie rested Aladdin's body on the experimentation table beside Jasmine's. Jasmine's body then jolted, her eyes opening to reveal the red irises and black backgrounds. She snarled in fury as she tugged at the restraints.
"This isn't fair!" She screamed angrily, Mozenrath keeping his back turned from the possessed Princess. Genie studied her for a few moments and on instinct he wanted to release her because she was a close friend but reminded himself that she wasn't Jasmine. At least not right now. His attention turned back to his best friend, Aladdin. The Street Rat's body rested on the table limply, his chest rising and falling so shallowly that if one hadn't been looking for it, you wouldn't have thought him to be breathing at all.
Suddenly Mozenrath turned, abruptly exiting the room with a heavy magic textbook in his hand. Genie didn't look away from Aladdin, assuming that the necromancer was off to gather some ingredients. Abu whimpered as he cuddled into the crook of Aladdin's neck, all the while Jasmine's possessed body struggled and strained against the restraints with screams of rage.
Iago had long sense abandoned his perch near Jasmine's head and settled next to Aladdin's instead. He looked away uncomfortably, ruffling a few of his feathers as he reached up and scratched the back of his head.
"Kid better wake up, we need someone to keep Mozenrath in line." Iago said halfheartedly, clearly trying to hide any concern for the man he had grown to respect. Why, not so long ago he had been cheering on Jafar as he crushed Aladdin in his scaly snake body. Now here he was, worrying about Aladdin but Iago knew that if he ever let anyone know about it he would never ever live it down. Especially not if Abu knew about it.
At that moment Mozenrath returned, holding a light green stone in his gloved hand and a bundle of some kind of herb in the other. Mozenrath, without saying a word, placed the stone onto the table as he stood in front of Jasmine's protesting body with the sage clutched tightly in his left hand.
"Damn you, Mozenrath, damn you, you sad excuse for a sorcerer. Destane was ten times the sorcerer you ever were or ever will be!" Mozenrath paused as he tried to light the brush. The name of Destane sent a chill down his spine and his fingers curled into angry claws. Mozenrath slammed his fists down onto the table, Aladdin's gang looking up in surprise.
"Destane is a bloody Mamluk! A fool! He was weak, weak I say! I destroyed him and singlehandedly conquered the Land of the Black Sand!" Mozenrath calmed himself, knowing that she was trying to get at his emotions. Mozenrath lit the bundle of brush, letting it burn a few seconds before blowing it out and letting the smoke surround the table.
"This is sage," Mozenrath explained to the confused animals and magical creatures, "It will help keep her strength low and now…" Mozenrath picked up the stone, "The crystal of Ix." Jasmine laughed while Genie and Carpet stepped away.
"That only works on magical creatures you outrageous idiot! I'm a ghost, not magic." She smirked at him and he scowled, grabbing her jaw.
"Mixed with the sage and Jasmine's blood it will work." Mozenrath grinned at her confused expression; clearly she'd never been exercised before. The room was dead silent as he held the sharp crystal over Jasmine's collarbone and quickly pricked the spot, her body shifting uncomfortably. The blood soaked the tip of the crystal and Mozenrath quickly burnt a bit more of the sage to keep the cloud fresh.
"Ixtala." Mozenrath growled and a swirl of dark gray smoke ghosted out of Jasmine's mouth, her body stiffening and her back arching. The smoke disappeared into the crystal as Jasmine's body went limp, her back making a hollow thump as it reconnected with the table. The formerly clear green crystal was now a dark green shade, the mist swirling around inside it, giving it an ominous glow.
"You can leave now." Mozenrath huffed as he manifested a case and set the occupied stone into it. Iago was the first to react.
"Wait a second, you endangered their lives and you're acting like we're the nuisance? Why I ought to–" Genie cut Iago off.
"Are they at least going to be ok?" Mozenrath turned from the case with a look of utter boredom.
"How should I know?" He growled as he turned back to the crystal of Ix with a downcast expression. Iago opened his beak to continue his rant but call it genie's intuition he had a feeling that the young sorcerer would easily snap. And with how many anti-magic devices he possessed Genie didn't want to risk it. So he snapped the bird's beak shut. Carpet quickly picked up Jasmine and Aladdin's bodies.
And the group left without another word.
-x-
Maybe a part of the spirit had possessed him. Perhaps that's why he wanted to say the magic word that would release the ghost. But he knew why he wanted to release her, power. It had been a central part of his young life since he could remember. And if this creature could possess anyone she pleased, a feat that even he could not possess without a fickle transference spell, then he wanted that power. Needed it.
"Master ok?" Xerxes had finally come out of his fear induced slumber that the ghost had set on and was floating around his master worriedly. Mozenrath shook his head as he pulled his hand through his hair, his turban long abandoned. His mass of black locks fell over one shoulder and he absently toyed with the ends, mentally reminding himself to give himself a haircut at some point.
"It's her," He said mainly to himself, Xerxes ghosting closer as Mozenrath pulled the Crystal of Ix from the case. He felt her energy pulsate from the jewel, almost as if she were purposely flaunting her power. Trying to draw him to the flame only to burn him savagely.
"I need her power. I must have it!" The magus growled as he slowly walked from his lab into the hallway, caring the crystal and the half burnt bundle of sage. Books, splinters of wood and other debris littered the floor, evidence of the exchange that had occurred less than an hour ago. The heroes had left peacefully, more worried about Aladdin and Jasmine than Mozenrath's internal battle.
"Ixtab–" Xerxes jammed his scaly tail into his master's mouth with a cry of protest.
"Ghost lady scary! Danger!" Mozenrath gripped the eel's respective neck, yanking his tail from his mouth.
"You do anything like that again and it will be the last thing you do!" He growled at the whimpering creature as he tossed him across the room, "I know what I'm doing." He lit the sage with the ethereal blue flame of his gauntlet, spreading the thick smoke in a square around himself and the stone. As he held the stone above his head his multitude of injuries reminded him of how destructive she was… how powerful she was.
"Ixtabor!" The smoke rapidly released itself from the crystal and congealed into her form, making her seem almost tangible. She stood silently for a few moments, her face expressionless as she stood across from the sorcerer. Her face then came to life, so to speak, and she scowled.
"You're an even larger fool than I thought! You had me captured and you released me!" She then had a sudden change of emotion as she laughed and attempted to disappear down the hallway but was stopped by what seemed to be an invisible wall,
"Sage…" Mozenrath smirked as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Not as dumb as you thought I was, am I?" She glared, her ominous green eyes sparkling with rage.
"No, you're dumber."
-x-
Aladdin had a rude awakening at best. As he lie there peacefully on a large sleeping pillow next to a still unconscious Jasmine, Abu curled on top of his chest he suddenly jolted awake. His eyes shot open as he took in a deep breath, his pupils darting around rapidly.
"Al, you're awake!" Genie cheered as he poofed by Aladdin's side Iago hovering in midair beside the overzealous magical man while mumbling something along the lines of "about time." But their hospitality was lost on Aladdin as his stomach churned violently. He shot up from his sleeping position, sending Abu to the floor as he grabbed the nearest bowl like object, which happened to be a particularly unfortunate priceless vase, and emptied his stomach into it.
"Ehh… that was an eyesore anyway." Iago said as he landed on the floor besides Abu. Aladdin replaced the vase on its stand, the newly added contents sloshing obnoxiously.
"What happened?" He murmured groggily, his voice hoarse and raspy.
"The ghost possessed you–" Genie started but was interrupted by Aladdin's cry of surprise and worry when he saw Jasmine lying on her sleep couch beside him.
"–and then Jasmine but Mozenrath got the ghost out." For a few moments Aladdin's clouded mind couldn't process the words spoken. He soon pieced together the sentence and turned to his blue friend.
"Mozenrath…helped us? Why?" Iago then sat on the pillow, crossing his feathered arms with a shrug.
"If you ask me, the kid is about two melons from a full on fruit stand."
-x-
"You're inside the sage ring which means I can still possess you." The spirit spat at Mozenrath. The sorcerer shook his head in agreement, knowing full on that this is most like what would happen, but not before he asked a few questions.
"Fine, do what you want but I would like to know a few things. How did you know about Destane?" She grinned, actually happy that she had been asked that question. She might as well answer his question before she took over his mind forever.
"Do you think you were his only attempt at an apprentice?" Her face was suddenly stoic as she felt her stomach, the dagger cold between her fingers, "He raised me from a young child with the same abuse I'm sure he put you through. He taught me how to control my magic, how to manage it. But I didn't want to manage it, I wanted to manipulate it, use it for my own selfish desires. So I tried to overthrow him, I thought he was fool and I almost beat him, but then he pulled out the dagger…"
The story didn't need to continue to know where it led and Mozenrath was utterly speechless. He had found another apprentice of the detestable Destane when he had been sure that he had been the only one to suffer through the torment that had been his training.
"Is there a reason you spoke in Old English? Or the poems?" Mozenrath asked as he crossed his arms with a scowl. She laughed at his questions even though they were quite reasonable.
"Why to toy with you of course! And I always did enjoy poetry…" She mused, almost seeming to be speaking to herself. His eyes narrowed and he finally noticed Xerxes cowering in a far corner even though she was currently trapped in the sage square.
"Yes, well now that that is over, I think I might as well get to the possessing." Her face then turned devious and her lips pulled into a teasing grin as she stood so close the sorcerer could feel the chill of her dead skin and the ice of her unreal breath. Her features blurred before she transformed into a cloud of ethereal smoke and disappeared into his mouth and nose.
The sensation was something he had never experienced before. The only way to possibly describe it was ice cubes sliding down his nose and throat followed by a massive dose of pepper spray. He gripped his head as he doubled over and began gagging, Xerxes ghosting over to his master with worry. The ice and pepper slammed into the pit of his stomach, dissipating as it hit the acid of the organ and expanded over his entire body making his limbs feel weak and numb.
Then the chill hit his brain, he could almost feel it swim through every vessel, every nerve, every piece of his brain. That's when he was thrown out of control of his body and she took command. He looked around his surroundings to find he was in what seemed like a large cage, dust and cobwebs hanging from the bars. Around the cage were rows and rows of filing cabinets labeled with memories from certain years and experiences. He made a mental note to avoid certain cabinets. You could easily tell which memories he chose to avoid and which were frequently visited, very few of them fell under the later, he was a man of action after all, not one of reminiscing.
He slid through the bars of the cage to find that there was nothing outside of the dimly lit cage but exceptionally dark darkness. The dark was almost blinding, this kind of dark was so deep that he felt that if he moved into the void he would disappear forever. So he stayed where he was.
Oh, Mozenrath, I'm going to enjoy this body! It already has magic in it so imagine what I could do! Her voice rung around his skull and he froze.
"How do you know this will work? Have you ever possessed a sorcerer before?"
No, but why should I worry? It's the same as everyone else.
He raised his gauntlet, firing into the void and her cry of pain rang out in his skull. He grinned, firing more and more powerful blasts into the darker than dark blackness.
Stop that! You're giving me a migraine! She yelled angrily and outside of his mind Mozenrath's body twitched and fidgeted on the floor because of the effects of the internal conflict, Xerxes staring as he waited for, what he thought was his master, to rise.
"No, this is my mind and my body! I am Mozenrath, Lord of the Land of the Black Sand and I will not be stolen from!" The trapped sorcerer's voice reached a crescendo at the end of his statement. He raised his gauntlet, the glove illuminating bright red as he fired a lethal shot into the void. Mozenrath's body let out a cry of protest as it crumpled to the ground, Xerxes yanking at his masters locks while trying to wake him.
"Master! Master, master wake u–" Mozenrath reached up, yanking the eel to the ground at his eye level. The necromancer smiled weakly as he pushed himself up and let his familiar go.
"Master…alright?" He had to contemplate this question for a few moments. What he had seen had somewhat opened his eyes. He saw that he didn't know what he had until it had been snatched from him. He looked down at his hands and slowly pulled off his precious gauntlet, studying the shiny white bone.
How? A feminine voice rattled in his skull. He froze looking around the room in surprise, How did you trap me? Mozenrath realized that instead of expelling the ghost as he had done to Jasmine he had trapped her within his head. Well at least he'd gotten what he'd wanted. Her power was his…
"This body, it isn't perfect." Mozenrath looked to his confused companion then back to his skeletal hand, "But it's mine." He reached up and tapped his right temple with his skeletal finger, "After all, what's another voice in my head?"
A Haunting in the Land of the Black Sand by ZahraOfTheDesert
Author's Notes:
Wow… for the record this is the longest oneshot ever written. 8,000 words DX. I started writing this on April 2nd and it is currently April 8th! All for you people. Anyway, I watched a marathon of "My Ghost Story" and "A Haunting" and was hooked into writing a SHORT oneshot about Mozenrath being haunted. And it turned into this monster! Anyway, I worked hard on this and I would like some response. R&R please