A/N: Five chapters to "the end!" Thank you everyone who has reviewed and reached out to me on both social media and DeviantArt. We're almost there, so hang on!

As always, Aladdin not mine, it belongs to Disney Co., etc. etc., onward!

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Aladdin & the Heirs of Magic Ch. 131: Among the Living

Just as Farid appeared to be calming down, there was a knock at the door.

Cassim blew an annoyed breath out his nostrils. Would the interruptions never end!?

Whoever was on the other side didn't wait for prompting but peaked his head in hesitantly.

It was Sahid.

Cassim felt the frown crease his brow without willing it so. Sahid was a man of unequalled intuition; he'd never intrude unless….

Unless dire happenings were afoot.

He rose, "Aladdin, stay with your brother," he directed, heading briskly to the large door his mind already bombarded with a hundred worst-case scenarios.

Once closed, he turned to his loyal right hand. "What is it?"

"Visitors have come from Drisvurstan, my king," Sahid offered, and then pursed his lips. "I…may have been standing near the throne room-by coincidence of course-and heard the arrivals speaking to the sultan." This time he pressed his lips together hard enough to turn them white. "May I suggest, my king, you hear what they have to say?" He caught Cassim off-guard by glancing at the sash wrapped around his middle. "Good, you're not wearing a sword. That's for the best."

Cassim's lips parted in confusion. "Sahid," he began, "I know you take too much pleasure in baffling me, but"—

Sahid abruptly took his arm, leading him to the stairs. "Cassim, I recommend that we meet with them…before the sultan sends for your elder son."

Realization struck, raw and merciless as a spear of glacial lightning.

Cassim dashed for the stairs and didn't even recall his feet touching any of them before he reached the landing.

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"Do you remember anything?"

Farid stood in the lattice doorway that opened to the wide balcony. The sun's rays on his face felt strange, the sounds drifting up to them from the city in the distance beyond the walls ever stranger. He had arisen, pulling from Aladdin with a gentleness that he was sure shocked his younger brother as much as it had himself, drawn by the light and warmth he'd felt after the invasive genies had paid them 'a visit.'

Leave it to Aladdin to ask so bluntly now. Farid wondered how exactly the sultan's court would react to Aladdin as their new ruler when the time came.

His lack of decorum would probably cause fainting epidemics among the advisors and scribes every day.

Farid held back the snicker. The political disasters that would ensue might even be worth such relentless entertainment.

At least he and Xerxes wouldn't be bored.

Oh, but surely his street-rat brother was ready to burst for wanting of an answer.

"I remember," he heard himself quietly profess, his reply apparently prompting Aladdin to come up and stand beside him, taking his hand.

Farid stilled; it was his bone hand. Thankfully, it had been re-wrapped in white silk and covered by a glove that reached his upper arm beneath the robe.

Still. Had his father seen-?

"Does father know?" he hated how small his voice suddenly sounded.

"About what?"

Aladdin's oblivious tone made Farid's shoulders drop in practiced longsuffering. Only he would ask that. Farid turned to him, his expression deadpan he was certain, and merely lifted said hand, wiggling his fingers in Aladdin's grasp. "Guess," was all he said.

Epiphany lit in the large brown eyes. Amazing. "Oh." A pause while his brother grimaced, probably trying to find words that wouldn't actually involve saying anything awkward.

Even more amazing.

"Well," he forced out, glancing away. "No. He asked about it…after we got back," a deep breath, "but I didn't think it was my place to tell him. And…since you were…you know, what was the point?" The last part he blurted out, clearly just wanting the subject done with.

Farid couldn't blame him. "I see." He decided to lighten the mood in the only way he knew how—sarcasm. "That's uncharacteristically tactful of you."

This time Aladdin threw the deadpan look back at him. Farid tried to hold back the amused twist of his lips and failed. That was all right. Everyone else could fawn over the 'Hero' of Agrabah all they wanted. He was still the 'obnoxious street-rat' as far as Farid was concerned; now: the 'obnoxious street-rat brother.'

Farid twisted his lips again, wondering if the reality of it all had hit Aladdin. "So," he asked, unable to keep curiosity at bay, "have you accepted your grim fate yet?"

Aladdin tilted his head to one side, looking like a confused puppy. "What 'grim fate'?"

Farid's lips tugged into a wide grin. "The grim fate of being related to me all the rest of your days?"

He actually blinked when Aladdin burst out laughing. He turned away, still laughing openly, to sit on the white bench inset along the outer wall just outside the massive door. "I should ask you that," he pointed out, leaning forward, "after all, you were a ruler and sorcerer, and had all the marks of high birth and privilege…now you find out your brother's a street rat and your dad's the King of Thieves. You can't tell me that's just not a little shocking."

He folded his arms triumphantly, as if to close his case.

Farid could only shake his head at Aladdin's obvious omission of certain facts. "Yes," he drawled dramatically, "it's so shocking that our father is a king, and you're descended -as much as I am- from the Mage King and am betrothed to wed a princess," he threw in a sigh and eye roll for effect, "because our mother having been a princess herself makes such a thing completely absurd to imagine."

When his gaze met Aladdin's again, he flinched a little at how somber the other appeared. Fresh grief lined his features, the usually happy eyes dimmed by something Farid knew all too well.

Loss.

"It's weird, isn't it," Aladdin said, his eyes falling from Farid to stare at the balcony flooring, "that we never knew about mom? What if things had been different? Do you think we would have lived there? In her kingdom, with her as the queen someday? Maybe she wouldn't have died."

Aladdin's face was contorted in doubt, as if such an idea were too foreign to even fathom clearly.

"I doubt it," Farid soberly returned, "kingdoms rise and fall all the time. If Desdane hadn't appeared, someone else would have done the deed. Magical kingdoms are targets," he turned away, shivering at a sudden chill even though the sun beat down on them, "take it from someone who knows."

He heard Aladdin's soft footfalls as his ex-thief brother rose. Long-fingered hands took his elbows. "I do know."

Oh, yes; of course. Farid withheld a grimace. The fabled 'hero' was a fabled 'hero' for a reason, after all. "I must just seem to you the next catastrophe in a long line of them," he admitted dryly, "no wonder you accepted this all so easily."

He felt Aladdin's shorter frame chuckle even through the light grip. "Well, we've had a lot of practice around here."

Farid froze as why that was rose again in his mind, like wisps of an old nightmare crawling up from its grave to haunt him again.

The Magic Aura. How in the stars did he not think of it sooner!?

He riveted on Aladdin before he could stop himself. "Who have you told?" he demanded, keeping his voice down but ignoring its harsh edge.

Aladdin stupidly blinked at him. "About what?"

Thankfully, either from surprise or instinct, he mercifully lowered his voice as well.

Farid could already feel the migraine forming behind his eyes. He lifted them to the sky, silently demanding of the fates: 'Why me!?' before training them severely on Aladdin again. "Really? You just say you have 'lots of practice' and don't recall what Desdane revealed—as to why that is!?"

His brother froze, either at recollection or his ferocious whisper—or both. "Oh. That."

Familiar temper rose up in Farid like an awakening volcano, making its first stirrings before the eruption. "Yes," he gritted out behind clenched teeth, "that. Now, answer: who else knows?"

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Sadira had been on her way up to Aladdin's room, when a blur of blue and green she glimpsed through a window to her left caught her attention.

Genie and Eden; they had returned from Drisvurstan.

They all caught up in the Market Place. Abu and Iago were there too, with Carpet. The sand witches with her noticed the side-eyed glances and nervous stares aim their way and said they'd return the Old Palace; Sadira tried to ignore the anxiety familiar faces were now displaying at her and focused on the genies and her other friends instead.

Her primary concern was what had become of the myriad of relics Farid had stored within and beneath the Citadel when he'd still been Mozenrath. Sadira had not forgotten the formidable Armory in particular—and the last thing she needed now was to have unknown magic bleeding into the Old Place compounded by relics from Farid's old collection going unaccounted for.

Eden and Genie took turns explaining said relics' fates. Thankfully, Farid had depleted most in defeating Desdane; they were now nothing more than mundane objects and most of them afterwards had been obliterated in the Citadel's destruction.

The tiny few who survived were safely dormant. Genie and Eden had assisted Drisvurstan's Grand Vizier, Bashshar, in locating and storing them in a new, undisclosed location. Apparently, he and the Master Historian, Zubair, had enough knowledge about relics still intact in their own corroded memories to compile and lock them away, hopefully to never see daylight again.

Sadira blew out a relieved breath. At least that mostly closed the issue—mostly.

"What about the Bloodknife?" she inquired hesitantly. "Mukhtar said before he left that it was gone. I…don't suppose it turned up during your search?"

Eden covered her mouth with both hands; Genie turned white—literally. His blue form emptied of color until he was whiter than a cloud.

His eyes bugging out didn't help prevent locals from staring either.

"Uhhhhhh," he tried to force out.

"No," Eden whispered after drawing her hands back down to her sides, "I didn't even realize—I thought you or Aladdin had it." She stretched out her lips and made a face in a mix of nervousness and apology.

Sadira looked out to the distant horizon. "Well," she thought aloud, "maybe Mukhtar will track it down, otherwise I'll ask Nureen to"—

A raspy throat clearing snapped their gazes to Sadira's right.

Two shaded stands had been set up, each offering baskets of fruit. Between them, in a shadowy niche, was just enough space to glimpse a cloaked figure staring back at them with large, golden eyes.

"Sssssand witch queen," Mukhtar whispered in rasping tones, "we musssst speak. Now."

Sadira held up a forestalling hand before Genie could exclaim in delight to see his old friend.

Eden only let out a short breath. "I'm assuming this is where the bad news just gets worse."

"It always does here," Sadira deadpanned as they made for the lizard warrior, his mount snorting at them in greeting.

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A/N: Hi everyone! As promised, another update! 4 chappies to "the End." So please stay tuned for the rest. I'm still working on my Star Wars update, but I continue to have problems. So, I'll probably dig into that more this week. Ugh. I'm afraid Luke and Vader are doing their very BEST to not cooperate with me. So, please send me some positive energy so that I can get that remedied. Anyhow, have a great week and please leave a review! Thanks!

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A/N: Well, till next time!