Mozenrath turned over and over in his bed. Aisha slept quietly near him, on her side, her back towards him. The room was nearly pitching dark; he stared up at the ceiling, anxious with insomnia. Aisha was quite a beautiful woman; her long-lashed violet eyes were closed peacefully in sleep, and her skin was like porcelain. Her thick, silky deep blue hair cascaded down to her knees in her waking hours, and how she didn't get strangled by her own long hair while she was asleep was a mystery. The sorcerer forced himself to smile, even though he was in a horrible mood; he hadn't been able to sleep at all tonight. But he and the sorceress made such a good pair. She was every bit as scheming and calculating as he was. Yes, Aisha was the one.

The dusty grandfather clock in the corner of his bedroom chimed midnight. This old clock had never bothered him or Aisha ever before, but now the twelve chimes were like a massive drum between his temples, resonating long after they chimed.

Dong...Dong...Dong...

Mozenrath growled, and shifted to lie on his other side, trying to be careful, so he wouldn't get tangled in his fiancée's long hair. The sorcerer had remained awake all night now, particularly disturbed with one thought.

Aladdin is planning something...

He had to be. It’s been far too long since his last trespass in his kingdom. He was coming. The cocky street rat was probably flying through the front gates now, destroying his elite mamluks as well.

Get a hold of yourself, Mozenrath, the sorcerer thought angrily, you should be happy that street rat isn't here.

Mozenrath grinned, ignoring what he had said to himself. Maybe I should go to ALADDIN, since ALADDIN isn't coming to ME. Yes! And finish off the street rat once and for all! And that way I won't have to see Aladdin and that stupid genie EVER AGAIN!

With that, he jumped out of bed, instantly replacing his night robes with his normal clothes. It was as if some abnormal, supernatural urge was forcing him to do so. He reached for his gauntlet on the nightstand, bathed in the moonlight next to a vase full of long dead flowers. The sorcerer stretched the gauntlet over his fist, and set it aglow with blue fire. Grinning still, he stalked out of the room and into a portal, to Agrabah for a final showdown.

******** Aladdin paced around the throne room. It was after midnight, but he didn't care. Something was going to happen, and he needed to be there to nip it in the bud. Even the guard at the palace doors had fallen asleep, and his snores were the only sound in the empty, sleeping throne room.

He looked around nervously, and then he heard a sound. His hand immediately went to his sword, and he unsheathed it, spinning around.

“Aladdin, what are you doing?” Jasmine said with a yawn. She stood at the doorway leading off to the bedchambers, rubbing her eyes sleepily, and still in her pajamas. “Do you have any idea what time it --”

She then shrieked as she saw a blue fireball heading towards her. Jasmine jumped out of the way, and the fireball destroyed a potted plant instead.

“MOZENRATH!” Aladdin hollered.

The sorcerer floated in mid air above the palace throne, his gauntlet ablaze and clenched in a fist. The cool, calm, and calculating Mozenrath had gone, and in his place was a raving maniac.

“This is IT, street rat!” He screamed as he created another fireball around his fist. “See you in hell, Aladdin!”

Then came the explosion of green light. It came out of nowhere, with a sonic boom of noise and force. Both of them were floored, and they shielded their eyes and strained to see, but all they could see was an electric green color all around.

The force seemed to come from the green light, pushing them toward the wall. Jasmine was not affected by this, and only stood there, gaping with amazement. There was now a glowing sphere of green light, with electricity raging around it. There was an item in the middle, something forest green, that the princess couldn't identify.

After a minute, all the green light seemed to retreat back to the item in the middle of the sphere. The force that held Aladdin and Mozenrath against the wall was now gone, and they eased their way up. Now, all three of them were staring at the phenomenon, speechless, and oblivious to anything but the glowing sphere.

Now they could see it clearly; it was a key. A shining, emerald key, just floating in mid air as if it were a museum display. Then it began to rotate slowly, gaining speed. As it spun too quickly to be observed any more, it sped like a rocket, out, over Agrabah, over the desert, until it was no longer seen, leaving a trail of iridescent dust behind it.

The three stood gawking toward the direction the key just flew.

Mozenrath grabbed both of them by the arms. “We must go back to my kingdom!” He spoke rapidly and nervously. “NOW!” He pulled the two, still dumbfounded, into another portal.

******THE NEXT DAY, LATE IN THE MORNING.....

A man and his daughter sat at a table, watching the whole scenario with the Emerald Key on a portal, as if it were a TV. Wesley, the father, a man in his early forties, waved his hand, and the portal disappeared. He had a slender face with thick, dark eyebrows, framed by ebony curly hair down to his shoulders. His eyes themselves were pure black. He wore gray and blue robes, dusty with the sand of the desert.

Adjacent to him, his daughter, Ginger, a girl of about fourteen, chewed on her thumbnail, and grinning. She wore a blood red dress that looked burgundy in the dark room; also wearing thin, tight fitting gloves with the fingertips cut off, like the ones bandits and bank robbers wear. She had straight black hair, pulled back into a loose ponytail that cascaded down to her waist.

“So, Ginger,” Wesley inquired, as the girl turned her head towards him, “it looks like everything is going smoothly, huh? Your brother Mozenrath fell for it, hook, line and sinker.” He cracked his knuckles, one by one, as they sat at the table. There was an obvious southern drawl in his speech, an accent that was very common in Getzistan.

The young girl cackled. “I still can't wait to see the look on Mozey’s face when WE have our hands on the Emerald Key!” She, too, also had an accent like her father’s, but not as heavy and obvious. One had to strain to hear the accent in her voice.

They both snickered ruthlessly, but were interrupted when a hotel employee opened the door, letting a beam of light into the dark room.

“Wesley, there are customers that would like to speak with you.” A young man's head peeked around the doorway. They both jumped, wide-eyed, at the sound of the employee's voice, but when they learned it was no one dangerous, they relaxed.

With a clap of his hands, the lights turned on in the room. “Show them in then!” Wesley replied cheerfully, as if nothing suspicious had happened.

****** “Yes, here it is!” Mozenrath began to read out of a dusty brown, leather bound book. “Though there are no records validating the Legend of the Emerald Key true, it is still a popular belief and a goal for many sorcerers and sorceresses to find.

“The Emerald Key is said to be of unimaginable power. The owner of such a magical weapon could easily conquer the world. However, the whereabouts of the Emerald Key are unknown, which causes many sorcerers to believe that the story of the Emerald Key is nothing but that, a story.” Mozenrath slammed the book shut, leaving himself, Aladdin, Jasmine, and Aisha, in a cloud of dust. “That was the key we saw in the sphere of green light! The Emerald Key! But what does this phenomenon mean?”

“I don't know what to think.” Aisha replied. “I was always told the story about a hero and the Emerald Key at bedtime when I was young. But I never thought it was true.”

“I think we've been tricked.” Aladdin snarled. “That could've just been a mirage of the key, generated by you. Now you probably want us to go and help you get the real thing.” Jasmine and Aladdin both stood, staring threateningly at the other couple in Mozenrath’s library.

Mozenrath glared at them. “Oh! And how do we know that explosion just wasn't one of your idiot genie’s tricks? Trying to get rid of me once and for all, by sending me on a goose hunt looking for a key?”

Aisha buried her head in her hands. Here he goes now, being stubborn and disagreeable as usual...

Before Aladdin could say anything, Mozenrath interrupted. “Yes, go on, admit it. You were wrong. I know NOTHING about what happened at the palace. You know nothing about what happened at the palace. We both saw the same thing; a green, emerald key in the middle of a sphere of light. Am I correct?”

“Hold on.” Jasmine replied. The three all looked to her, as she seemed to ponder something. It was so quiet; they could almost hear the candles flickering along the walls.

“Who happens," she princess said slowly, “to be your father?”

“Father?” Mozenrath responded dryly. “He lives with his wife, my mother, and his daughter, my sister." He paused for a brief moment, then snorted, “Why do you ask?”

“Your mother and sister?” Jasmine inquired. You could almost hear Aladdin's jaw drop. Mozenrath was bad enough to deal with. Could the people in his family be just like him, or worse? Is Mozenrath just a mere twig from a crazy, twisted, massive family tree?

“Yes, woman! They own and manage the Oasis Hotel in Getzistan. My sister is still a teenager, so she lives with them.”

“What's your father's name?”

“Wesley Black. Will that be all, princess?”

Jasmine didn't even reply to Mozenrath’s sarcasm. “Oh really? I've heard about this Wesley Black. He’s a famous magician on the magical black market, isn't he?”

****** Two young men walked into the room, and sat down near a man and a girl at a table. It was a small, humble room, with plain white walls, a soft blue carpet, and a long wooden table with office chairs on all sides. There was also an overhead projector and a white screen at the far end of the room. It was clear that this was a meeting room of some sort.

“Make yourselves at home, boys,” The man spoke in his friendly, southern accent to the young men. They both remained standing in the doorway.

“Mr. Wesley Black?” One inquired. This man seemed to be about nineteen. He had large, dark, penetrating eyes that appeared able to shatter boulders. Beneath his clothes of varying shades of dark gray, large muscles and broad shoulders were present. His hair was somewhat odd; he had long, cocoa brown hair to his shoulders, but the hair around the side of his head were in four slender and individual braids, with the hair at the back of his head pulled in a ponytail. Across his back there was a sword in its sheath. He was mysterious, and darkly handsome.

The other did not seem so threatening. Innocent looking, he was a bit younger than the other, perhaps about sixteen. He too was also muscular, also wearing garb of many grays. Like the other one, he had beautiful, dark brown eyes, but carried no weapons. He had sandy brown hair, which was spiky, a popular style with young men today. For a moment, he looked around the room, becoming acquainted with his surroundings, until he locked gazes with a dreamy-eyed Ginger. In this case, he smiled politely at her, and she turned away, blushing.

“Yes?” responded Wesley. “How may I help you two?”

“My name is Mason Andante, and this is my brother, Rogue Andante.” The one with the sword replied, as he shook hand with Wesley. Mason then gestured to his brother, and they shook hands with each other as well.

“Rogue....” Ginger whispered dreamily, resting her head in her hands. “What a wonderful name.” She sighed, and continued to stare at the young man.

“What are you babbling about now?” Her father inquired, slightly irritated.

She snapped back to reality. “Nothing. Nothing. Nothing at all,” she said sharply and nervously.

“We're delighted to meet you, Mr. Black,” Rogue greeted. He then bowed to Ginger, causing her to blush and hide her face in her hands.

“N-n-n-n- nice to m-m-meet you b-b-both t-too,” she squeaked. When she looked up, all three men were looking at her strangely. Nervously looking to Mason, the man with the sword, Wesley, her father, and Rogue, whom to her was the hottest thing on earth, she grinned and shrugged.

“Uh....I'll go...uh...tend the......gift shop right now!” With that, Ginger scrambled out of the room.

“Kids,” Wesley tsked. He turned to Rogue and Mason again. “Now, what was it you two wanted to see me about? Are you planning on staying at the Oasis?”

“My brother and I aren't here to talk about the Oasis Hotel, Mr. Black--” Rogue replied. “We know that you're also a rather skilled magician. Would you know anything about an artifact called the Emerald Key?”

Wesley looked suspiciously, cautiously at the young men at the mention of his occupation as a magician. Magic was a careful subject with those he didn't know from the black market; it was too easy of a subject for something significant to slip out. Did they know something about him?

“Yes. My wife Lenore and I used to tell Ginger”, he said as he gestured with his head to the door where she had just run out, “a bedtime story about it. Of course, she was still rather young at that time. What about it?” Wesley acted as if he didn't believe the story of the Emerald Key, because he knew over the years that the best way to cover something up in these sort of situations, at least, for him, was to plead ignorance.

“A bedtime story.” Mason echoed, with a slight smile on his face. “A bedtime story....yes.”

The magician was now even more suspicious of the two. The tension in the room was growing thicker and thicker, like air being blown into a balloon. Like a balloon with too much air in it, something or someone in the room was about to explode.

Rogue was also perceptive of this. This wasn't the time to expose Wesley, not now. The time wasn't right.

“A bedtime story? That’s all it is?” the younger brother innocently asked.

“A bedtime story and nothing more.”

“Oh. That’s all we wanted to know. We thought since you were a magician, you'd have some background on the subject....” Rogue looked to his brother, to see if he would catch onto his act.

Mason caught on. “Thank you. you'd been of great service.” He glanced around the meeting room one more time, as if to take everything in. “This is a cozy little room.”

“The pleasure has been all mine, I assure you.” Wesley replied with a heavy note of irony in his voice. He extended his arm to shake hands with Mason and Rogue.

As the two walked out the door, and back into the ritzy lobby of the Oasis Hotel, Wesley folded his arms and watched them, scowling, until they were out of sight.

****** “Yes, my father is famous on the black market. What about it?”

“You saw where the key took off to, right? It went toward the south. Getzistan is in the south.”

Jasmine started to pace around the dark library of Mozenrath’s citadel. Her movement formed eerie shadows behind the flickering torches lining the walls. Aladdin, Mozenrath, and Aisha were all watching her as she presented her theory on the Emerald Key. Her voice was clear and loud, and she was confident on the matter.

“Your father owns and manages a hotel there. He’s also a powerful magician in the sorcery black market. Your mother, Lenore, is also a powerful witch, and I wouldn't be surprised at all if she was high up on the food chain in the market too. Just last week, our palace guards caught some thugs who broke into an old couple’s home. THEY were on the sorcery black market too, and they thought that the old couple were a pair of magicians who knew where the Emerald Key was located. It was just a rumor that they had heard on the street. The old couple didn't even know what the Emerald Key was.

“So, Mozenrath, that’s why I asked about your father.”

“You tell him, Princess Woman!” Genie popped out from behind a pillar, scaring the four half to death. Carpet, Abu, and Iago reluctantly peeked over his massive blue shoulders.

“Genie? Carpet? Iago? And Abu? Why are you here?” Aladdin sputtered.

“Why indeed!” Aisha growled angrily, folding her arms bad naturedly. “I should just get our mamluks down here to chase you all back to Agrabah! This is a respectable stronghold, not a zoo!”

Genie looked at Jasmine and Aladdin slyly. They both grinned evilly at the genie’s expression.

“Oh, I agree! This is too good of a place to house a pair of animals!” Genie taunted. With a snap of his fingers, pink clouds surrounded Mozenrath and Aisha, and POP! They disappeared.

“Ha ha, way to go, Genie!” Aladdin laughed. He high-fived his blue friend. Abu chittered happily, and Jasmine grinned at the event.

Genie then clapped his hands, and Aladdin and Jasmine were in their day clothes. “Let’s get down to business. We know that Wonder Boy’s parents and sister have the Emerald Key--”

“Might have the Emerald Key,” Aladdin explained, “But that’s the most reasonable theory. Not to mention our only one.”

“WHO CARES ABOUT THAT STUPID KEY?!” Iago screamed in Aladdin’s face. The macaw yanked feathers out of his head in anger. “WHO CARES ABOUT ANYTHING? YOU PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS DRAGGING ME ALONG INTO THESE STUPID ADVENTURES OF YOURS, AND ALL YOU DO IS FOLLOW STUPID PEOPLE AROUND, AND DO STUPID THINGS AND....”

Iago continued to rant and rave and pull out his feathers in a frenzy. Aladdin rubbed his temples, and Genie covered his ears. After awhile, carpet floated up behind the angry little parrot, and wrapped himself around Iago’s head. Then, all that could be heard were muffled yells.

Abu climbed up onto Aladdin’s shoulders, and chittered with a look of confusion on his little brown face.

“Normally, I couldn't care less about what Wesley, Lenore, and Ginger Black do in their spare time. But if the Emerald Key somehow drew Mozenrath and I to the same place, and the magic black market wants it, we have a reason to worry. That little baby is powerful, and the Seven Deserts would be in big trouble if it fell into the wrong hands,” the young hero explained.

“Not to mention they're branches of Mozey's family tree,” added Genie. “They all sound like a gang of lulus to me.”

Iago had managed to shove Carpet off of his head during their conversation. “So now you people are telling me that we're going on another little misadventure. Boy, am I glad to have come back to Agrabah. I should've stayed with Cassim back in the desert...searching for treasure...I could've been rich by now...but noooooooo...!”

********************

“Wesley’s lying. You can see right through him, the way he’s so cautious about the subject of magic...”

“I know he is. He obviously knows something more about the Emerald Key. But now isn't the time to try and expose his game. we've got to wait. Remember what Captain Burton said?”

Captain Arylech Burton was a captain of the army in the country of Masheria. He was only a few years older than Mason or Rogue Andante, who were not who they seemed. They weren't a pair of wandering adventurers, or vagabonds. They were royalty. The two princes, and heirs to the throne of Masheria. Both of the princes were trained to fight, and not a spoiled drop of blood ran through their veins. All were assured that they both would be safe on this mission. But that's an entirely different story, and we have to move on.

Rogue and Mason sat in a luxurious suite of the Oasis Hotel. They were discussing their conversation with Wesley Black in the meeting room.

The suite was gorgeous. Two soft double beds took up most of the high-ceilinged room. The rooms in the Oasis Hotel were spacious and much less claustrophobic than the other inns in Getzistan. There was even a couch and ottoman in the suite, with still plenty of room. The bathroom was also spacious and large, with a white marble vanity and spotless mirror. On the vanity was a typed note that was placed in every room for new guests; it wished the guest a pleasant and enjoyable stay, that the Oasis Hotel guaranteed satisfaction, and all of the usual claims of hotels. The crimson velvet carpet had oriental designs on it, in which Mason traced with his toe absent mindedly.

Rogue looked to Mason. “What about Wesley’s daughter, Ginger? You think she knows anything important?”

“You mean the girl? She might. She’s old enough, and probably crazy enough, if I know anything about this family, to even have plans for the Emerald Key herself.”

Before anything more could be said, there was a knock at the door of the hotel room.

“Who is it?” Rogue called out.

“Ginger Black. I run the Gift Shop counter. I think you forgot something.”

“Speak of the devil,” Mason muttered as Rogue walked to the door.

Ginger pretended to be surprised as Rogue opened the door. She was blushing, and on the verge of giggling.

“Oh, hi Mr. Andante! I didn't know it was you. You left your room key in the Gift Shop. One of the maids wanted to bring it up, but since I was coming up here anyway, I thought I'd take it.”

Rogue looked at her, the expression on his face a blend of confusion and suspicion. “Gift Shop? I was never in the Gift Shop. How could I have left it in there if--”

“But isn't this the key to YOUR room?” Ginger asked innocently, slyly. As she placed the key in his palm, her hand lingered for a moment longer. His hands are so nice and warm, Ginger thought dreamily to herself.

Rogue looked at the key. It read 213, the number of their suite. Dumbfounded, he looked at Ginger again, who was trying to look innocent.

“Hm. That’s strange. After your father and I talked, I came straight back here. I never went to the Gift Shop. I must've dropped it.” His chocolate-colored eyes studied the girl once more. “But thank you for returning it. You can never be too careful these days. There are thieves everywhere.” He emphasized the last part with a suspicious look at the girl.

“Oh yeah, I know. Hell, someone could just... pick your pockets without you even knowing it! It's happened around here before.” She began to wring her hands in a nervous manner. “Have a wonderful stay at the Oasis!” She chimed, and walked back down the hall.

Rogue waited until Ginger had left his sight before he shut the door. He tossed the key to Mason and threw himself onto one of the beds, without a word. he knew his brother had eavesdropped on the short conversation.

“Damn, Rogue. You haven't even been in Getzistan for a day and you're already a hit with the girls...” Mason joked with a big grin on his face.

“Shut up.”

****** SAME DAY, EARLY NIGHTTIME.....

Aisha and Mozenrath finally found their way back into the Citadel. In the library, where Aladdin and his party had last been, his gauntlet and her staff lay on a table innocently. They both immediately grabbed for their magical belongings.

Aisha snarled,“How dare that genie send us into the middle of the desert without your gauntlet or my staff?” She was preoccupied with testing her staff’s orb, to see if it had been messed with by anyone.

“I thought you had told that idiot Xerxes to alert us if anything was wrong with our magic detecting crystals!” she added. “If it weren't for that, that stupid genie and the rug wouldn't have trespassed into our kingdom!”

The sorcerer was about to say something more, but he sneezed instead. He looked up to see white cat fur floating around in the air, and then his eyes also began to water. A peal of a tiny bell rang throughout the library, and then it finally hit him.

“Oh no...”

As soon as the words left his mouth, a white cat jumped up onto the table. It wore a blue collar around its neck, with a tiny jingle bell attached to it. It began to purr when it saw Aisha, and rolled over onto its back so she could scratch her belly.

“Hello there, Nova,” Aisha cooed, scratching the purring white cat’s belly. Mozenrath began to sneeze again, and irritatedly picked white fur off of his black cloak.

“At least Xerxes doesn't SHED!” Mozenrath snarled under his breath.

“What was that?" Her voice was like a whiplash as she pet the pearly white cat behind her ears.

Mozenrath replied only with a wordless growl.

“Aisha, we have to get back to business. Why would the Emerald Key just show up in Agrabah? How could both Aladdin and I been drawn to the place where it showed up in? What could this all mean....?” Mozenrath pondered out loud. “Do you possibly think my dad could be behind this?”

Aisha set Nova down on the floor gently, and directed her attention to Mozenrath again. “Wesley definitely has a motive to do so. Your mother definitely made it clear that she suspects you of something. Maybe she knows that YOU sent those two thugs out to purposely ransack that old couple’s home Jasmine was talking about. To try and expose Wesley and his role in the magic black market.”

Mozenrath's father is a very strong position on the black market. He and his fellow dealers had made a living out of uncovering forbidden magical artifacts, that were potentially dangerous if in the wrong hands, and therefore outlawed by the Seven Deserts. They sold their items to all sorts of people....washed up magicians, crazed rookie magicians, anyone to either wanted to enter or re-enter the magic life with a bang. Wesley himself was a very powerful sorcerer, and was not easily fooled by look-alike artifacts.

"Well, he deserves it. I've worked by ass off trying to find artifacts with my own two hands, only to have my plans crushed by that do-gooder fool Aladdin! Now he's making a fortune from having his henchmen run around and find those items for him, and selling them to lazy, worthless magicians who don't deserve their power," he ranted crazily.

"But, Mozenrath, we still can't be sure that it's him!"

"Oh, I have my evidence. I've heard that only the youngest daughter of a magician can find the Emerald Key's location, and touch it. Only then can the magician work it's magic, much less even touch it without the daughter's consent." A twisted, evil smile crept onto the sorcerer's face.

"And Ginger is the youngest daughter of my father, a magician. I would think that it's more than a coincidence, Aisha. Pack your bags, my dear. We're going to Getzistan. I have a plan."

***************** Lenore Black sat in Wesley's cluttered office. Her skin was tan, from being in the sun, and was slightly wrinkled with age. She was in her late forties, but was still beautiful. Her strawberry blond hair was done up in an aristocratic bun. Her eyes were as clear blue as the ocean, framed by long, thick black eyelashes. Lenore's electric green dress and robes flowed around her. Lenore was the head of housekeeping and maintenance in the Oasis, and also owned it, of course, with Wesley.

"So, what's this I hear from Ginger? About a Diamond Key or something...?" she asked her husband in her raspy, somewhat crackly, but pleasant, voice.

"Emerald Key. It's carved from enchanted emerald mined from those mountains, two hours north of here," Wesley replied. He leaned back in his office chair in a relaxed manner, and put his feet up onto his desk. His desk was a mess, with papers and files and folders scattered all over it. A gray computer was to the left of him, who's screen needed dusting. Behind him on the wall was a huge bulletin board, with papers pinned to it at least an inch thick. How he kept the Oasis Hotel running, being so messy, we'll never know.

He took a deep breath, and began again. "Actually, only the youngest daughter of a wizard can touch the Key. And only if she agrees, can her father, the wizard, touch or even work the key's magic. That little key is priceless. Magicians everywhere would die for its power.

I couldn't pass such a great opportunity up. So I decided to strike a compromise with her. I would have to touch it in order to sell it, of course. Only under the circumstances that she would receive 50% of my profit from selling the key would she allow me to touch it."

"I see," Lenore replied.

"And I already have a customer willing to pay quite a bit for the key. One of my dear friends of mine, actually."

"And who would....oh no. Don't tell me that it's that nut Abis Maul."

"Yes! I just talked to him in person before you came in. He wants to take over the Kingdom of Agrabah with the Emerald Key."

"Honey, that man is insane! How do you know that he won't decide to take over the Seven Deserts, and more importantly, put us out of business?" his wife cried out angrily.

Wesley leaned forward and put his feet back on the floor. "I'll make sure he gives it back like a good little boy. You're talking to one of the big guys on the black market, sweetie. He won't try anything dumb."

"You'd better be sure," Lenore snapped. "Because trying dumb things is all that Abis ever does!"

********* "It worked!" the short, fat "Abis Maul" yelled out. "Ha ha! Mr. Black fell for it like a sack of bricks off the top of the palace!" With a snap of his fat little fingers he returned to his real form.

"All right, Genie!" Jasmine cried out happily. "He fell for the plan?"

"Absolutely! And also, I want you to meet two new friends I found while in the Oasis Hotel. This is Rogue and Mason Andante."

The two brothers stepped out from behind a potted plant, and Rogue smiled shyly at the princess, the hero, and the big blue genie. Introductions were made all around in the throne room of Agrabah's palace. The flaming orange sun was beginning to set on the five heroes, painting the sky with pastel colors of violet, pink, and magenta. Their figures were fading-black silhouettes against the canvas of the sunset sky.

Mason grinned at Aladdin, whom was becoming quickly a friend of the young man. "Aladdin, I've heard so much about you. Your plans to catch Wesley Black red-handed are simple, but genius."

"The two of us are adventurers, just like yourselves. We've been wanting to take down Mr. Black for a long time," shy Rogue continued, finally having the courage to speak up. He kept up their cover story quite well. No one suspected that the two brothers were royalty. "So, when are we going to do this thing?"

Aladdin looked to Jasmine and Genie, and shrugged his shoulders. Turning back to Mason and Rogue, he answered, "Well, we haven't really talked about it. But, as they say, there's no time like the present. Genie, take us to Getzistan!"

******* "Whoo hoo hoo hwa ha ha ha!"

"Ha ha ha hwa ha, this is gonna be so kickass, Kevin! You just watch- - AH! Fire in the hull!"

Ginger and Kevin ducked behind a lounge chair, laughing like hyenas, while the firecrackers duct-taped to the floating innertube in the pool exploded. Thankfully, the pool area was empty and no guests were around.

The pool area of the Oasis Hotel was luxurious and large. There were hanging pots with lush green ferns and vines hanging around the perimeter of the pool, with tiki torches beside them, which were lit at night. There was a glass ceiling above the crystal-blue pool, and in the corner of the area was a rather large whirlpool. In the center of the regular pool lay the blown-apart innertube, thanks to Kevin and Ginger.

Kevin, a tall, slender, 14 year old boy, rose from behind the chair, laughing crazily. He had black spiky hair, and had light green eyes, framed by glasses. He wore a plain, baggy white shirt, and loose-fitting light brown pants. He and Ginger had been best friends ever since they were "knee-high to camels", as their parents liked to say, but not necessarily sounding like they were happy about it.

He fished around in his giant black knapsack, filled till it almost burst with fireworks. "So, what else do you want to do with these babies? The possibilities are ENDLESS...!"

"GINGER! KEVIN!" Lenore Black stood in the doorway to the pool area. "WHAT on EARTH do you think you're doing?"

Ginger pushed the knapsack under a table with her foot. "Nothing, Mom. We were--uh--"

"Cleaning the pool."

"Yeah, cleaning the pool."

"Because some morons left a mutilated innertube in there."

"Looks like they set fireworks to it, too. Hmmph! People these days...no morals at all..."

"Well, Ginger, some people have no limits....the world's going crazy, I tell ya...."

Lenore put her hands up, motioning for the two to stop. "Save it, you two. Have you two ever considered a career in...oh, gee, I don't know...writing fiction?"

Kevin and Ginger looked nervously to each other, biting their lips. "Mrs. Black, we don't know what you mean," Kevin lied.

"Ha! I doubt that. You two -- oh, I'll deal with your shenanigans later. Ginger, your father needs you for handling the Emerald Key. Abis Maul is here to buy it," Lenore informed her daughter, and headed toward the doors.

"Whoo hoo hoo hooooooo yeah!" Ginger yelled in glee. "When I get my part of the profit, we can buy the best kind of firew-- uh, I mean, video games...to...PLAY....with," she stuttered nervously, under her mother's glare, but winked at Kevin when she turned her back.

"I'll be right back, Kev!" Ginger yelled over her shoulder.

******** "Mozenrath, do you think he'll fall for it?" Aisha whispered to him. Except she didn't look like herself, neither did Mozenrath. Mozenrath had used his magic to disguise himself as Abis Maul, while Aisha used her magic to look like his sidekick, Haroud. They sat in two swiveling office chairs at the conference table in a meeting room of the Oasis Hotel.

"Of course he will. Now quiet, he's coming!" Mozenrath, in Abis Maul's form, hissed back.

A door opened that read "EMPLYOEES ONLY" opened up, and Wesley and Ginger walked into the room. Ginger was tossing the Emerald Key from one hand to the other, humming a little tune. Wesley sat in the chair at the head of the table.

"Ah, Abis. So fine to see you. I believe we have some business to attend to," Wesley said in a voice that was as oily as a radio disc jockey's on a late night radio show.

"You got it, pal!" the so-called "Abis", which was really Mozenrath, replied. "I have BIG plans for that little house key there! Hee hee hee--- WHAT?"

At that moment, through a door leading to the lobby of the hotel, was another set of "Abis Maul" and "Haroud". Everyone in that conference room was as shocked and confused as the next. They all looked at each other for a beat with open, gaping mouths. Then everything happened at once.

Wesley jumped to his feet all of a sudden. "What in the hell is going on here!? I demand an explanation!" he hollered, gesturing wildly with his hands.

His gesture accidentally hit Ginger, causing her to fall backwards off her chair, and send the Emerald Key a few feet into the air. At the same time, Mozenrath and Aisha dropped their disguises, and Mozenrath attempted to blast Wesley with his gauntlet's magic, but instead hit the Emerald Key, which was thrown higher into the air. It hovered for a second, held by Mozenrath's magic. Then, with a lightning storm of magic electricity, and a deafening ZAP, green energy from the key shot out and hit everyone in the room. They were floored from the force of the magic shock. Genie and Aladdin, who were posing as the second set of Abis and Haroud, lost their disguise too. Mozenrath's magic ceased, and the Emerald Key fell onto the table with a loud clank, still buzzing and zapping with energy.

Mason and Rogue had heard the zap, and dashed through the hallway door, weapons drawn.

"What happened? Is everyone all right?" Rogue addressed the room full of people, groaning from the shock.

"I would love to know! Mozenrath, what did you think you were doing? Trying to fry me like a chicken, boy?" Wesley snapped at his son. Aladdin and Genie remained on the floor, clamping their hands over their mouths to keep from laughing.

"Wesley, you're --!"

"Just save it, boy! You've always been a smooth-talking, manipulating con man, Mozenrath, but that doesn't fool me." At this point, Aladdin thought he would explode if he held in the laughter much longer.

Aisha was tapping her staff, testing to see if it still worked. The blue orb in her staff was now dull and lifeless, and lacked the shimmer it had before.

"My staff! My staff, it isn't working!" she cried out, the panic in her voice rising.

"Maybe it decided it didn't want to support those phoneys on welfare anymore," Ginger cracked. "But seriously.....wait......hold on.....I can't get my spells to work either!" Her hair was frizzed out from the electrical shock, and was trying to summon some water to hold it down. But no matter how hard she tried, nothing happened.

"Al, I think something's wrong," Genie said to Aladdin, "I can't do anything with my magic either! It must have to do with the Key short-circuiting!"

"Yes, it must have absorbed all the magic in this room. Which is why your spells refuse to work," Mason concluded.

"Can't we get our magic back?" Ginger complained. "Ah yes...I remember the first time my magic powers were ever taken away. I tried to organize a soccer game, using a large crystal ball as the soccer ball, in the Sorcer-E-Mart down the street. What was surprising was that lots of customers wanted to play! But then the manager...."

"Ignore her," Mozenrath snarled in a greatly irritated tone.

Rogue contemplated the situation in his head for a while, before speaking. "I think that you can all get your magical powers back, with just the right spell. But an appropriate spell might take months....or perhaps years....to find."

Aladdin became very worried. "We can't wait that long! Genie's magic is sometimes the only thing that gets us out of trouble. We depend on him."

Genie turned away and blushed. "Aw, shucks. Thanks, Al," he said in a bashful tone.

"And I'll be god damned if I can't work anything magic for that long of a time!" Wesley exploded.

"BUT!" Rogue continued, in an unusually loud voice for his nature, "We could always destroy the key, and all of your powers will return. Maybe we could...." his voice trailed off for a moment, and then whispered something into his older brother's ear.

Mason grinned, and nodded, and then whispered the plan to Aladdin and Genie. All then smiled happily and turned to look at the Black Family.

"Let's strike a deal. None of you seemed to know that I myself am a magician too," Mason informed. The four Black family members gasped. He grinned evilly at the reaction.

"And, since I was not in this room when the Emerald Key short-circuited, I'm the only one here who can work any magic. Only magic can shatter and destroy the Emerald Key. And only if the Key is destroyed can you all get your powers back. And if you informed anyone else of this, trying to get them to destroy it for you, they would report Wesley to the police. So let's strike a deal. If I destroy the Emerald Key for you, will you promise to drop out of the magic black market?"

"How will you know if he would join up again?" Aisha inquired.

"The Emerald Key...so full of enchantments and loopholes. You see, there's also an enchantment on the Key that if magic it has taken is given back, the person who returned the magic can also take it back. As long as I have the broken pieces, I have an advantage over each and every one of you," the young man continued with an innocent smile.

Conclusion********

"Since refusing would hurt more people than just myself. I agree. Fine. Go ahead," Wesley growled bad-naturedly. "Tell me one thing, kid. How many locks do you turn at night to feel safe...?"

"Don't keep us waiting. Give us back our power!" Aisha pleaded.

With a smile, Mason held the key in one hand while making motions with the other around it. Soon, a white, magical force shot out of his hand, and blew the Emerald Key into perfect pieces. Soon, there was an explosion of green light, and everyone had their magic powers returned. They did minor spells, making sparks fly, or water drizzle. Everyone seemed to breathe a rehearsed sigh of relief. Mason pocketed the four pieces of the key, and looked around the room.

"I guess our work here is done," he stated.

"Wait, Mason. I just want to ask Mr. Black a question. How did you draw both Mozenrath and I together, and why did you put the key in Agrabah?" Aladdin inquired.

"What do you think?" He snapped irritatedly. "It was a spell. The reason I decided to include you was to cause more trouble for Mozenrath," Wesley said, with a poisonous look toward his son, "because I knew such a power hungry punk like him would try to look for the Emerald Key."

"Now, you hold on just a minute- - !" Mozenrath began, but was interrupted by his father, who continued to talk as if the young sorcerer wasn't there.

"I knew that Aladdin wouldn't let him do such a thing. I wanted to send him on a worthless goose hunt for an artifact I was going to sell anyway. For almost exposing me with that little stunt out in Agrabah, hiring two thugs from the black market to break and enter into that old couple's home. Something so obvious would be sure to expose me and get me behind bars for a long, long time. I needed my revenge, that's all. A member of the Black family doesn't idly stand by and let this sort of thing happen to them!"

"Well, I hoped you all learned your lesson. In trying to come out on top by pushing someone else down only got you all lower than you ever were in your lives," Rogue said, with the sharpness and authority in his voice surprising even himself.

Ginger dreamily sighed again. "He's so....so...poetic.....how romantic....." she whispered to herself, with a lovey-dovey smile on her face.

"NOW what are you babbling about?" Aisha snapped at her. She clearly wasn't in the mood to hear anything Ginger had to say.

"Oh, shove it down your throat, Aisha."

"OH! You IGNORANT, SLIMY little- -!"

Mozenrath, Aisha, Wesley, and Ginger all erupted into a fit of name-calling, insults and arguments. They were all too distracted with blasting each other that they didn't notice Aladdin, Genie, Rogue, and Mason slipping out the door, snickering to themselves.

They were out in the entrance hall of the Oasis Hotel when Rogue added, "They seem like a happy little family, don't they?"

"I've heard some people ENJOY arguing. Obviously, those people must somehow be related to them," Aladdin replied, gesturing over his shoulder.

The four walked out into the night. It was just beginning to be dark out, and night was coming. The lights and glitz and glitter of Getzistan were beginning to surface. While most people in other kingdoms fell asleep at night, it was the time that Getzistan began to wake up, yawn, and do its morning stretches.

Genie raised his giant blue arms to teleport their little group back home when a figure came running out of the hotel doors.

"WAIT! WAIIIIIT!" Ginger yelled frantically. "DON'T GO YEEEETTT!"

She was panting by the time she reached their group. "Rogue? Uh, don't be scared away just because of the little shindig that went down tonight. Just because my dad's a little bit crooked doesn't mean you can't stop by at the Oasis on your adventures every now and then....right?" She said hopefully, with big doe eyes.

Mason and Rogue gave each other "the look".

"Sure we can. I'm sure it would be an...interesting place to stay," Rogue said politely, with a good-natured smile. He was actually a little fond of Ginger Black.

"Well, whenever you're in Getzistan, don't forget to look us up. See ya!" she yelled, clearly about to explode with happiness and bliss. With a wave, she skipped back into the hotel.

Rogue turned back to the other three. All of them were looking at him oddly, but not as oddly as his brother Mason.

"'Sure, we can'? Did I just hear you tell her we're coming BACK to this nuthouse and actually STAY?"

"Erm...We'll talk," Rogue stuttered, as Genie teleported them all back home to Agrabah.

THE END!!!!!!!!!____________________________________________DISCLAIMER (it's long, so bear with me):

This story is the first tale in my set of fanfics, entitled "The Masherian Nights!". Watch for the sequels!

The following are my creations, and therefore my property, so please email me and tell me if you're using them in your fan fiction: *takes a deep breath*...

Ginger Black, Lenore Black, Wesley Black, Aisha Black, Nova, Rogue Andante, Mason Andante, Kevin, the Oasis Hotel, the Emerald Key, the Sorcer-E-Mart, Masheria, Captain Arylech Burton (watch for him in my other stories!) and anything else that you can tell wasn't from any of the Aladdin movies or series.(*WHEW! That was long*)

Rogue and Mason Andante were inspired by a Korn poster/shirt I've seen. (It's this gray shirt, where the band are all anime warriors.) One day, I saw a kid wearing it, and like a big burst of magic, inspiration hit! The character traits of Mason and Rogue are original and totally my ideas, but I figured I should give credit where credit is due.

Mozenrath, Aladdin, Genie, Carpet, Abu, Jasmine, Agrabah, Getzistan, The Land of the Black Sand, Abis Maul, Haroud, and all other characters or things or places that were from the Aladdin movies or series are property of Disney. Sure, I may not have used them with permission, but with respect! And respect is an important thing, right? So, if anyone from Disney is reading this, please don't sue me. I'm just a kid, I tell you!

If you have any questions, comments, or if you want to use any of my characters in your stories, email me at sweettart_dramaqueen@yahoo.com.

Thank you for reading my story and have a wonderful day! ^_^