Story Disclaimer: If you have not read Ribbon in the Sky, do not read this until you do. Nothing will make sense. Maybe a little. But you should read the first story anyway.

Regular Disclaimer: Own nothing of the Labyrinth; doing this for fun.

Chapter 1

I put one foot in front of the other one

"Turn back, Sarah," Jareth whispered into Sarah's ear. "Turn back before it's too late." She spun around to face him, giving him a lopsided grin.

"Don't get all emotional on me, Goblin King," Sarah said.

"No need to worry about me, Precious," Jareth laughed. "You're the one who wanted a rematch."

"I already told you: it's only a rematch if there's a draw," she stated. "I won. I'm here to defend my title." Sarah and Jareth stood on the hill, overlooking the Labyrinth. Jareth circled her.

"Afraid that you'll lose?" he challenged. "If you quit now, we can spend the rest of the morning soaking in the bath. I'll mention that you quit only every other minute."

Sarah rounded her shoulders and cracked her knuckles. "Let's do this."

"If you use your magic for an advantage, I'll know," Jareth warned.

"And do what?" she countered. Jareth stopped his walking yet said nothing but grinned.

"You'll have thirteen hours to complete my Labyrinth," he said. "Or—"

"Or what?" Sarah interrupted.

"Let's just say I'll be very thrilled when you lose," Jareth said.

"Very confident of yourself, I see," she said. "Such a short memory you have. You lost last time, remember?"

"You didn't encounter everything and everyone the last time you went through," he explained. Jareth reached out his gloved hand, opening the large doors to the Labyrinth.

"Being that I am a generous king," Jareth said as he moved behind her. "I'll give you fifteen seconds to make it to the doors before they shut and lock you out."

Sarah whirled around to face him, wide eyed. "What!"

"Time starts now," he chuckled as he disappeared from view. Sarah turned to the maze and sprinted for the door.

Once she made it down the hill, she saw the doors began to close.

"No! No! No!" Sarah yelled as she willed her body to move faster.

As the doors closed, she turned herself sideways, squeezing her way through before she was shut out for good. Too bad she couldn't keep her footing as well, falling to the ground in her successful attempt to make it through the entrance.

"That wild haired bastard," she panted.

"I heard that," his voice rang out. Sarah responded by throwing a middle finger in the air.

"I saw that as well," he said.

"Idiot," she murmured as she finally made it to her feet. Sarah surveyed her surroundings, realizing that not much had changed. The Labyrinth was still dark and covered with those odd eye ball shoots coming from the wall. Sarah followed the walls up to stare at the sky. She raised her arm and a flash of fire came out of hand, but the blaze died as it hit an invisible barrier.

"No cheating, Sarah," Jareth's voice teased.

"I was just checking," she snapped, as she looked around again.

"Left. Right," Sarah said, thinking out loud. "Went right last time. This time, left."

Avitus walked into the rowdy throne room, seeing Jareth on the throne looking into a crystal ball.

"I see that you have a smile on your face," he called out over the noise as he approached the dais. "I assume the individual that is running is not a normal runner."

"Sarah decided to go left," Jareth said, still gazing into the orb. He finally looked at Avitus with a large smile on his face.

Avitus stopped in front of the throne, and his face blanched. "Oh no," he said. "Whether she makes it in time or not, I believe she will ensure that you will be the loser."

Jareth laughed as he tossed the crystal in the air, causing it to disappear.

"Either way, I win," he admitted. "What do you have there?" Avitus glanced at his hands, realizing he forgot that he was holding stacks of paper.

"Governor Derry and I couldn't decide if these warranted your attention," he said as he handed the documents to Jareth. "However, I decided that we should err on the side of caution."

Although Jareth was expecting length missives, he was met with strangled writing in bold lettering. The words "Half-Breed Imposter," "Unseelie Filth," and "Bastard King" covered the flyers.

"All of you!" Jareth yelled to the room of unruly goblins. "Get out!" Immediately the goblin ran out of the throne room, leaving him alone with his advisor. "What is this?"he snarled.

"Governor Derry said that your subjects approached him with these," Avitus explained. "They found it tacked to some trees as they made their way into the Seelie hills. Those who found these missives said they didn't see anyone posting them, but they took down all that they saw."

Jareth stood and ripped the documents into shreds.

"What do we plan to do about this?" Avitus asked as he watched Jareth pacing around the room. "This is most definitely the work of those crazed extremists. Apparently they are moving closer to the border."

"We don't know that," he mused. "They have a lot of free time on their hands. Who knows where they are." Jareth stopped walking and leaned against the wall. He rubbed his hands over his face in frustration. "If we ignore them, they'll go away. They clearly want attention."

"Princess Sarah should be told."

"You will tell her nothing," Jareth warned. "Her schedule will be crushingly busy after today. She shouldn't have to worry about a bunch of useless outcasts writing insulting words about me."

Avitus bowed his head and said, "Yes, Sire."

Sarah quickly found one of the secret passage ways that led her through a dark and musty maze that opened into a woodland area, oddly dotted with tall grass and flowers with a large pond in the middle. Across the wooded area, she could see a wall of the Labyrinth in the distance.

"Well, this makes sense," Sarah said as she started walking. "Let's not only place a woodland area in a freakin' maze. Let's add a lake, tall grass, and a small river for good measure. Makes perfect sense."

Sarah carefully waded through the river. The water came up to her chest and flowed easily yet didn't move too fast, just enough to cause her to keep her arms out to help paddle. When she neared the opposite side of the bank, Sarah turned around and gauged that she was roughly half way through the woods. Movement out of the corner of her eye brought her attention to the shadowy figure making her way toward her. She didn't know what was in these waters, but she was not about to find out.

Sarah dashed to the bank of the river, splashing water around her. She crawled up to the bank and up the grassy knoll before she collapsed. Sarah turned back to the water to ensure that the creature didn't follow her. Its body could be seen through the water, making Sarah guess that it was roughly seven feet long, from head to tail. Peeking out of the water, a large head surfaced, staring straight at her. The creature at first glance appeared to be a fish-like dog. But when she took a closer look at it, she noticed that it seemed to be more otter in appearance. It had short white hair, which contrasted greatly with the black ear-tips and the dark swathe across its back.

Sarah backed away and stood to her feet, nearly tripping over a very small sign. It read: "Beware of the Dobhar-chú: The Water Hound".

"Now something warns me," she whispered to herself. The Dobhar-chú continued to tread in the water moving back in forth, making it clear to Sarah that it could not leave the water. When the creature opened its mouth to let out a large shriek, its rows of sharp teeth were on full display. Sarah yelled as she took off running toward wall, doing her best to avoid hitting a tree. She ran half the length to the wall before she stopped, trying to catch her breath.

"I smell of river water, and now I'm sweating. Perfect," she complained. "And I have no idea how far along I am." The trees unfortunately blocked her view of the castle. "Or the time."

The stillness of the air was disrupted when the sound of several packs of barking dogs broke through the silence.

"Jareth has dogs?" Sarah asked as she tried to find the source of the sound. "He never told he has pets."

"Less questioning, Sarah," said Jareth's voice. "More running." Deciding to heed his voice, Sarah began running again.

"Very… tired… of…running," she gasped. Sarah took a wrong step and went tumbling over a fallen tree branch. Sarah cried out as her body hit the ground. When she made her way to her feet, she turned back around because of the loud break of branches and rumbling under her feet.

Through the forest brush emerged a massive creature. The strange being had the head and neck of a snake, the body of a leopard, the thighs of a lion, and the feet of a deer. Sarah promptly realized that the sound of dogs was emitting from its stomach. The creature locked eyes with Sarah as she slowly began to back away. The beast crouched down and began to crawl towards her.

"Nope," Sarah said as she spun around and ran away. As the creature chased after her, she kept almost losing her balance since the ground beneath her kept since the ground beneath her kept quaking. The creature lowered its head and started snapping at her. Sarah began to zig-zag through the forest, hoping to slow him down. She looked over her shoulder and noticed that her plan was working.

Sarah finally approached the wall but noticed that she couldn't see a door. When she came upon the wall, she struck the wall in frustration and turned to see the monster approaching. She ran down the length of the wall, randomly hitting the stones, hoping for a secret opening.

"Damn it!" she yelled, hitting the bricks once more. Suddenly, the wall fell down, bringing Sarah with it. She scrambled to her feet as the head of the creature came through the opening. But a swift magical gust pushed the beast away and the stones back in place. Sarah looked up to see Jareth smirking down at her. He held out his hand to help her up, but she swatted it aside.

"Did you miss me, Sarah?" Jareth asked. "You are quite welcome, by the way."

Sarah rose to her feet and brushed the dust off her jeans.

"All I hear is 'Blah blah blah. I'm an asshole'," Sarah said, catching her breath.

Jareth approached her and lightly brushed her hair back. "You wound me, Precious," he whispered as he leaned down to kiss her. But Sarah slapped him in the face and shoved him away from her. Jareth brought his hand up to his mouth, ensuring that he wasn't bleeding.

"I almost died, you jerk!" she yelled. "You don't get a kiss!" Jareth moved quickly and backed her to the wall. "Go away!" Sarah said as she attempted to slap him away, but he quickly restrained her arms. "You're on the top of my shit list."

"You were never in any danger," Jareth snarled in her ear. "I was watching you the entire time. Do you really think I would allow anything to harm you?"

Sarah looked to the side and made a little huff. "No," she whispered. "No, you wouldn't." Jareth tried to kiss her again, this time successfully and no hitting. He slipped his tongue into her mouth, causing her to moan. As much as Sarah loved this feeling, she knew what was happening here. She pushed him away again but lightly this time.

"I know what you're doing," Sarah said. "And it's not going to work." As she walked away, her arm was caught by Jareth as he enveloped her in a sensual embrace.

"Sarah, Sarah, Sarah. Enough of this. It's past lunch time. You nearly got yourself eaten," he teased. "Come back with me, and we can have a meal in bed. More importantly, I can…"

Sarah wrestled her way out of his arms. "I didn't run from a crazy monster to simply quit now," she said. "What was that thing anyway?"

"A Questing Beast," Jareth answered. "It likes water, which you clearly found yourself in. You wading through the water caught its attention."

"Yeah, I had to get through," she countered.

"If you traveled around the other way," he informed. "You would have bypassed the water and the water hound." Jareth gave her a wink. "There's no river there."

"I'm leaving now," Sarah said dryly as she walked away from him.

"I'll be waiting for you," he called out, before disappearing.

Sarah wondered through the pale stone section of the Labyrinth for what seemed like hours as the sun blared down on her. Yet, she hadn't come across anyone or anything. Luckily, she occasionally saw the castle when she traveled up a small hill, allowing her to gauge whether she was getting closer or going backward.

"Is this the pure endurance portion of the maze?" she asked aloud. "I feel like I should have packed some snacks. Granola. Maybe some water." As she turned the corner, Sarah came across a large chalice of water. She gave the goblet a suspicious stare and then walked over to it and kicked the cup over.

"I'm not drinking anything from you," Sarah shouted to the sky. Suddenly, a peach appeared in her hand, but she threw the fruit to the ground. "Or eating!"

Jareth sat in the window of his throne room, laughing at Sarah's antics in the crystal. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Avitus walking in again.

"I must say," Avitus said. "This New York area is quite beautiful."

"Did anyone see you?" Jareth asked.

"Maybe a housewife or two," he answered. "Seemed as though everyone in the area was gone. The Williams were not at home."

"Sarah mentioned that they take many trips during the summer," Jareth said, still looking into the crystal. "They're probably off somewhere."

Jareth and Sarah haven't found time to return to their Aboveground home, but Jareth knew better than to let the house grow wild. With a little guidance from Sarah, Avitus had been able to hire the necessary people to make the house look like it was being taken care of. According to Sarah, if the house magically never needs the grass cutting or the flowers watered, people would start talking.

Nosy humans, Avitus though every time he made a trip up there. He soon realized that good help was hard to find, adding to his frustration.

"When the coronation is over," Jareth said. "You could possibly share this burden with Cormac."

"How is the Princess progressing?" he asked.

"Well. Very well," Jareth mumbled. "But it looks as though she's heading into the Garden of Illusions."

"Are you going to steer her away?" Avitus asked with concern.

"It's her run," he said as he looked out at the Labyrinth.

"You'll be keeping an eye on her?" Avitus asked.

"Towards the end, I will," Jareth answered. "Sarah wouldn't want me holding her hand unless she was in real danger."

Sarah arrived at a fork in her path. Seeing that the Castle was off to her left, she resolved to go to the left. She walked passed an opening which had a trellis bordering it but decided to keep going straight. Unfortunately, she only made it a few hundred feet before she came to a dead end. Sarah turned around and walked through the opening she'd passed over earlier and stumbled upon some sort of hedge maze.

The light level was dim and the air was heavy with a dreary fog. The hedges were tall and imposing. Even though the area appeared forbidding, Sarah felt oddly calm as she walked through. But she noticed small bushes with small purple flowers, possibly an herb of some type, lining the bushy walls. Sarah didn't think that she would have to use her botany skills, yet here she was, attempting to figure out what these things were.

"Sarah!" yelled a young boy.

"Toby?" Sarah said, turning toward the voice. The boy ran over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Sarah? It's so good to see you," Karen said as she emerged from the fog with Robert by her side. "You need to visit more often."

"Karen? Robert?" she whispered, tears forming as Karen gave her a hug.

"Excuse me? Karen said, pulling back and giving Sarah a disapproving glare. "Calling us mom and dad not enough for you anymore?"

Sarah shook her head and stepped away from Karen.

"Of course you're not real," she sighed as her hand sliced through them, causing the apparitions to disappear. "This seems too good to be real. I feel calm, relaxed, and content. You are marjoram," she pointed to the small shrubs. "And you're drugging me."

Sarah remembered that her mother always loved marjoram oil and applied it to her neck nearly all the time. Since the oil acted as a sedative as well, Sarah fully understood why her mother used it. The fog was making the air dense, making the effects of the herb more powerful. Add some magic and this place would show someone what makes him or her happy. She ripped her long sleeves and brought the fabric to her nose, trying to block out the air around her.

"I'll never get out of here if I don't move fast," she confessed as she tried to find an exit.

Dead end end there. Sarah had never been so turned around before. If only she could knock down these hedges.

"Congratulations, Queen Sarah," said a small voice as she rounded a corner.

"Queen? Congratulations for what?" she asked, her voice muffled by the fabric across her face.

The slight elf approached Sarah and chuckled. "Labor must have been tiring," she said as she held up the small bundle. "It's a girl. His Majesty will be thrilled."

Sarah couldn't help herself as she peered into the elf's arms. Swaddled in bright linens, the baby looked up at Sarah and began to coo. Sarah placed the baby in the elf's arms and backed away from the illusion. She started to hyperventilate and quickly fled.

Tears filled her eyes and clouded her vision, causing her to nearly run into a large casket. Sarah caught her footing but took note of what lay before her, not one but two closed caskets.

"What are you doing here?" asked a voice behind her.

Sarah turned around to see a tall, sandy haired man scowling at her.

"Um, nothing?" Sarah replied.

"You're Sarah, aren't you?" he asked.

"Toby?" Sarah asked.

"You're not invited here," Toby spat. "Family only." Sarah looked between him and the caskets.

"Is that…" She could barely bring herself to ask. "Is that mom and dad?"

"I don't know what you are talking about- this mom and dad business," Toby said. "But the last time I checked, being neighbors with someone doesn't count as family. You're not welcome here. Get out!"

At Toby's outburst, Sarah escaped around another corner and continued to run until she couldn't run anymore. She rubbed the water out of her eyes as she caught her breath. When Sarah finally gathered her bearings, she noticed that the marjoram was gone. Instead, the hedges had the same type of flower embedded in them. The smell told her exactly what they were.

"Marigolds. Gross," she said in disgust. To Sarah, nothing else smelled like marigolds. They were pungent, musky, sharp, halfway unpleasant, yet still oddly appealing. Marigolds definitely weren't her favorite flower. Regrettably, she lost her the fabric from her sleeves during her last run, but she wasn't going back.

"What do marigolds mean?" she asked herself as she continued walking. "Clearly not happy things." Sarah walked around another corner when the answer hit her. "Grief and despair. Great. This is going to be the super fun part of the Labyrinth I can tell." She only made it two more turns around the maze before she saw another elf, holding something in her arms, sobbing. In the deep recesses of her mind, she knew this wasn't real, but she couldn't help but wonder what was happening.

When Sarah approached the elf, she was taken aback by the grief-stricken look on her face.

"We did everything we could, Your Majesty," the elf sobbed as she handed Sarah the small bundle. "We couldn't save her." Sarah gazed down to see a lifeless newborn baby. Sarah screamed in horror. Her hands glowed red, causing the illusion to disappeared. She retreated to a corner in the hedges and fell to her knees and wept.

"It's not real," she reassured herself. "It. Is. Not. Real." Her glowing hands returned to normal, and her crying finally ceased. Sarah jumped to her feet, a bit unsteady at first, and marched on, determined to leave this place with her head in place. Sarah decided the best course of action was to run as fast as possible through the rest of this maze. The air was thick, and she might become dizzy, but, at this point, she was willing to risk it.

But her jogging came to a halt when she heard chanting on the other side of the hedge.

"She's a fraud!"

"She's not fit to lead us!"

"We. Want. Oberon!"

Sarah continued to jog through the imitated demonstrators, trying not to let their words get to her. "Bunch of idiots," she mumbled as they dissipated around her. Sarah had no idea how long she'd been running, but her legs were getting tired. She noticed that she wasn't running as fast as she was, and she couldn't keep focus as well. When she thought she couldn't run anymore, Sarah came upon an archway in the hedges, which she could see the exit through.

"Awesome," she said in relief, as she slowed down to a walk. "My legs are killing me."

"What have you done?" asked the sinister sounding voice.

Sarah turned to the side and saw Jareth walking toward her. "Jareth?"

"I sacrificed everything for you," he growled as he advanced. "I could have died doing your bidding, and you have the gall to not bear me children. Barren they said. What a pity."

The lightheaded feeling that Sarah feared hit her as she tried to back away from him.

"Jareth, I don't know what you are talking about," she said as he back hit a hedge. "But you sound crazy. Crazier than normal anyway." Sarah brought her fingers up to her head and began massaging her temples.

Jareth placed his hand on either side of her face and leaned down to her ear.

"You've been nothing but a waste of my time," he spat. "I should have kept to myself and not bothered with you. At least a common whore would bear me children."

"No!" Sarah yelled as she struck the artifice with her hand. Sarah took off running through the archway. A dark figure ran by her, but she didn't see what it was as she made her way out of the maze. The stone wall held her up as she tried to hold back tears.

"Sarah?"

"No! Go away!" she yelled again, striking being. She realized two things: first, her hands were glowing, and second, she hit Jareth in the arm. He shot to his feet, unconcerned about his injured arm, and seized her in a strong embrace.

"It's actually you," Sarah whispered, grasping at his back, drawing him closer.

"I told myself to watch you from the beginning, yet I decided not to," he said. "Others don't make it to the Mist of Sorrow, especially that quickly."

"How did you know to come get me?" she asked as she buried her head in his chest.

"Takes the regular person more than three hours before they leave the Fog of Delirium, if they leave there at all," Jareth explained. "But of course you would go through the maze quickly."

"How long was I in there?" Sarah asked.

"Almost two hours," he replied.

"It seemed shorter than that," she admitted

"It always does. I have no knowledge of what you saw but know that it wasn't real in any way, shape, or form," Jareth said as he raked his fingers through her hair. "It was all in your mind. Remember that."

"Yeah. I know," Sarah whispered.

"Come. We're going back to the Castle," Jareth said.

"No way," Sarah protested as she moved away from him. "How much time do I have left?"

"Three hours," he answered tersely. "Sarah, you are in no condition…"

"You don't know what condition I'm in," she countered. "I said I would finish; I said I'd beat you. And that's what I'm going to do."

"I'm not joking here," Jareth said. "Enough of this."

"Stop coddling me," Sarah snapped. "A few hallucinations aren't going to bother me. Everything is fine. I. Will. Finish."

"Sarah…"

"I'm leaving now, Jareth," she said as she walked away from him.

"Stubborn battle-ax," he muttered as he returned to the castle without her.

"So, this is what this place looks like when you aren't dropped into it," Sarah said as she looked at the trash heap. The sun had gone completely down and the moonlight shone bright across the landscape.

"Hiya, Sarah" said a timid voice behind her. "Hoggle!" she cried out as she ran to give her friend a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"Eh, Jareth told me to come help you," Hoggle explained as he shifted his feet in the dirt. "He wanted me to look at for ya."

Sarah returned to her feet. "That overbearing fae," she huffed out. "Can't just leave me alone." At Hoggle's uncomfortable appearance, Sarah changed her attitude.

"But I'll take any help I can," she said. "Let's go Hoggle. I have less than three hours to go."

As Sarah and Hoggle made their way through the trash heap, they occasionally needed to climb the mounds of trash to get to back onto the road. She was mostly okay with this notion because the trash turned out to be old keepsakes instead of rotting food.

"What's the point of all this nonsense?" Sarah asked.

"This place holds the things that people just can't get rid of," Hoggle said, carefully sliding down the hill. "Jareth usually send them here so the runners get confused seeing all this stuff. Those who come through this thing aren't the most generous of people."

Sarah gave Hoggle a sideways glance as they made it back to the road. "Thanks."

"Not you!" he hastily corrected. "Never you."

"Yeah, yeah," Sarah said. "I see how it is."

When they made it to the gates of the Goblin City, Sarah was a little bit surprised that she was able to walk straight through.

Hoggle shrugged. "He ain't interested in stopping ya this time."

"I'm sure he isn't," she muttered as she started walking into the Goblin City. "This is a cute little city."

"You didn't get much time to look last time," Hoggle chuckled. "Much nicer when stuff ain't flying at yer head."

Sarah looked inside on of the building to see two goblins serving patrons some ale while another one carried a keg behind the bar. Hoggle cleared his throat.

"Eh, how much time do ya have left?" he asked. "Maybe you walk around later."

"Oh, right," Sarah said as she back away from the tavern. "You can stay here, Hoggle. I can get to the Castle by myself." Hoggle peered into the bar and saw a few open seats left.

"I hopes you win Sarah," he said, shaking her hand. "I'll see ya later."

"Note to self," she said, walking to the castle. "The easiest way to get rid of Hoggle is to point him to a bar."

There were no sentries standing guard at the door to the throne room, but the door was closed nonetheless. Sarah decided to knock on the door instead of rushing in.

"Who is it?" Jareth's voice could be well heard through the door.

Sarah laughed as she opened the door and peaked in. "Hello," she whispered. Jareth left his throne and stalked toward her as Sarah shut the door behind her.

"It's quiet in here," she said, noticing that the room was empty and clean, of all things. "Did I make it?"

Jareth's lips collided onto hers while his hands cradled the sides of her face, holding her in place. Sarah attempted in vain to move him back when his mouth moved to her neck.

"Did I make it?" she asked again, more breathless this time.

"Of course, you did," he mumbled against her neck. Sarah successfully pushed him off her.

"I won? Really? Yes!" Sarah exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. Jareth rolled his eyes as he reluctantly back away from her. He pointed to his left, and the same ornate clock from her previous run appeared.

"Twelve hours and twenty one minutes," Jareth said. "Still reigning victor."

"Are you surprised?" she asked as her hands wrapped around his neck.

"No," he admitted. "If you think you made me upset, you're sorely mistaken. You did, however, undertake some of the most long and arduous portions of the Labyrinth. Yet you still made it out." Sarah didn't answer him, instead looked down at the floor. Jareth titled her head up to gaze into her eyes.

"Are you all right?" he asked. But, she still said nothing. "What you saw in that hedge maze isn't true. I never should have let you go in there."

"Shut up, Jareth," Sarah chided. "You're not the boss of me, remember? I know it wasn't real. I'm just tired. That's all."

"What did you see in there?" he inquired. Again, tears started to form, but she willed them away, refusing to let Jareth see them.

"Nothing." Sarah shook her head. "It was nothing."

A/N: Hello, everyone. I promised a sequel, and here it is. Let's do this!