Crystal Failure:

To Save Toby

~~~

It danced and glittered before her eyes, throwing back a myriad of colors that imprinted themselves on the insides of her eyelids.

". . . and I will be your slave!" The Goblin King stood before her, resplendent in white robes, offering her the world in the palm of his hands. His crystal winked temptingly and she reached out one shaking hand and ran a finger across its smooth surface. "That's right, Sarah," he murmured softly. "You want it don't you? Yes . . . take it! Take it, and the world will be yours."

Eyes widening, the girl felt something tugging at the back of her mind; even as she cupped the crystal in smooth palms, a little voice screamed inside her head. Curious, her brows drew together in a frown as she tried to think of what it was she had forgotten.

"Go on," Jareth whispered encouragingly. "Make a wish; anything you've ever dreamed of can now belong to you."

His voice pushed the doubts out of her thoughts; it was so soothing, so knowing. Anything said in a voice such as that had to be the truth. Thinking only for a moment, she opened her mouth to make her first wish. But what came out was not a wish. "Toby!" her lips shouted. The full impact of what she had done nearly shattered her mind. "I have to save Toby!"

But the blonde-haired king only smirked. "It's too late Sarah," he answered, his voice tinged with mock regret. "I offered you the world and you accepted; forget about the baby. No use being greedy, for you can't have both." He shook his head as if he were rebuking a naughty child.

The spherical crystal fell to the ground, a loud ringing noise shattering the sudden silence between them. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she flung herself at Jareth, latching onto his arms with a death grip. "I want my brother back!" she sobbed, her voice pleading and submissive.

The Goblin King stared at her for a long time before finally sighing and returning the crystal to a gloved hand with a flick of his wrist. "I'll tell you what," he said. "If you agree to stay here with me, I will return your brother home safe and sound. I think that's being rather generous, don't you?" His eyes seemed to bore into her own, burning a path straight to her soul. "Do we have a deal?" Your life for his?" One eyebrow raised itself in a questioning arch.

Gasping at the intensity of his gaze, Sarah tore herself away and stared at one of the floating staircases for a long moment. Jareth stood watching her, crystal ball twirling in his deft hands. Finally, she returned her gaze to him and answered softly, "I'm yours."

Laughing, Jareth threw the crystal into the air where it exploded in a swirling burst of light. Raising her arms to shield her face, Sarah felt herself being lifted up by an invisible force which soon tore her arms back down. Squinting in the brightness, she watched, horrified as the light solidified before her eyes.

Toby lay sleeping in his crib, face calm and breathing even. But what caused her face to twist into its appalled grimace was that she saw herself, or rather a copy of herself standing by his sleeping form.

The girl looked like Sarah, and seemed to act like Sarah, but the floating girl could tell something was amiss. There was just a wrongness about the slender form that screamed phony. "Toby!" she cried, throwing out her arms. But the vision faded before her eyes and she sank into darkness, laughter ringing in her ears.

~~~

Author's Note: I made this short on purpose; I'm not sure if I'm going to continue with it or not. I wrote this quickly in school when I had nothing to do in Study Hall, and I'd appreciate comments and reviews or anything helpful. It's only my second or third attempt at a Labyrinth fic and I don't really know if I should go on or not. Please let me know what you think! ^.^

~SanoGirl