*I don't own Final Fantasy VII, the movie Labyrinth, or any of their characters.
Sephiroth sighed as he took yet another written test, this time about the human anatomy.
He hated the lab. He hated the white walls, the steel instruments, the constant tests (of all kinds- written ones, despite their level of difficulty, were the safest ones he took). He hated the prison that had held him for all of his five years of life.
But most of all, he hated him. Professor Hojo, who seemed to think that Sephiroth was nothing more than a mere science experiment. Sephiroth raged inwardly every time Hojo called him 'Specimen S' or something similar. Couldn't the Professor see that he was just a human? A human, with the same feelings as everyone else in the labs, excluding perhaps Hojo himself?
At least Toby Willeth, the nice lab tech who more often than not took care of him, treated him like he was normal. However, Toby could only do so much. He didn't have the authority to file an official complaint whenever Sephiroth was wheeled down from the infirmary, covered in blood-soaked bandages. He couldn't stop all of the drug experiments that left Sephiroth so woozy it was considered unsafe for him to even fall asleep.
The brown-haired, blue-eyed man could only clean up after the horrors that Hojo performed on Sephiroth, and treat the silver-haired child like the little boy he truly was.
Sephiroth was always fascinated by the stories Toby could come up with. Tales of a world that didn't have Mako, or J cells, or any of the monsters that Sephiroth was familiar with. A world where you rode on strange mammals that had four legs in the same manner that people rode on chocobos here, where they had technology that Shinra could only dream of having, and where all people were considered equal.
But most of all, Sephiroth loved the tales of the magic of what Toby called the Underground.
From the way Toby explained it, the Underground was connected to that strange world, and yet it could be called a world all on its own. A world that contained any fairy-tale creature you could imagine, and where magic was as common as the Professor's experiments.
Sure, Sephiroth liked the tales of the Fae, those mystical beings who ruled the Underground, and he liked the tales of Fairies, Unicorns, and many others. However, if Sephiroth had to choose which of those stories was his favorite ones… he would always choose the stories about the Goblins, and of the Goblin King.
He loved the stories about the various pranks that Goblins would inflict upon oblivious mortals. He loved how the Goblins used the shadows to move with the ultimate stealth, and how many times it seemed you could only see them as a movement out of the corner of your eye. But most of all, he loved the tale of the Goblin King and his Labyrinth. How the Goblin King would take in unwanted children from their oftentimes abusive homes, and give the wisher a choice to either take their dreams or the chance to win their charge back by running through the maze where nothing was as it seemed.
Many times, as he lay strapped to the lab table with dozens of needles sticking out of his skin, he wished that the Goblin King would come and take him away to his Castle Beyond the Goblin City, where he would live out his dream to finally be free. It would even be worth it to be turned into a Goblin, as long as he wasn't in this hellhole (as Toby called it). However, he knew that the Goblin King would never answer his prayers.
He was only a character in a story, after all.
Sephiroth was roused from unconsciousness by the now familiar feeling of Toby wiping away the blood from the latest test of Sephiroth's skills.
"How can the President be authorizing such cruelties!" the man was raging quietly, unaware that Sephiroth was awake. "This isn't science, this is pure torture! We don't even put our enemies through this bull-shit, so why should a five-year old boy have to face the deranged monsters that the bastard creates with the J-cells?!"
"Well, Willeth, you know better than to try and complain. Remember what happened to the last guy?" commented one of the other lab techs, whose name Sephiroth didn't know.
Sighing, Toby replied, "Yeah, I know… still, there's got to be some way…"
"You know as well as I that there isn't. Otherwise, we would've found it and stopped this insanity."
As Sephiroth heard the other lab tech walk away, he could distinctly hear Toby mutter, "As far as you know…"
"Mr. Willeth, do you know of a way for me to be free?" Sephiroth asked quietly, not bothering to hide his eavesdropping.
Unsurprised by Sephiroth having heard his conversation (he'd done it often enough now that Toby half expected it, and half the time it actually saved the poor kid's life), Toby simply stared at his charge as he absently answered, "How many times to I have to tell you, Sephiroth, call me Toby."
Sephiroth was curious about the expression that filled the lab tech's face as he continued to stare at him. It seemed like he was trying to make a difficult decision, one that Sephiroth instinctively knew was about him. He hoped would be the right one.
Finally, after several moments of this, Toby replied, "Sephiroth, would you like to hear another story about the Goblin King?" At Sephiroth's nod, he continued, "As you know the Goblin King, whenever he is called upon, offers the wisher a chance to run his Labyrinth in order to win back the child that had been wished away. What you don't know… is that someone did manage to regain the child."
Sephiroth's eyes widened. "Really?"
Nodding, Toby answered, "Yes. Long ago, there was a fifteen-year old girl named Sarah Williams. She lived with her father, step-mother, and their one-year old son. Sarah was, by all accounts (even she admitted to this), a rather spoiled child at the time, who resented the fact that she was often asked to watch over young Tobias, whom everyone called Toby—"
"Toby? Her brother has the same name as you?"
"Indeed he does," Toby confirmed. "In fact, I may or may not have been named after him."
Confused, Sephiroth asked, "Why would you be named after a character in a story?"
"All in good time, Sephiroth. Anyway, Sarah had constantly made it clear to her family that she would rather have been with her mother, who had left she and her father to pursue an acting career. In fact, it was one of Sarah's dreams to be acting side by side with her mother, and as such often over-dramatized things, like treating her step-mother as if she was the evil step-mother that was so often prevalent in fairy tales. One of Sarah's favorite activities was to go to her local park, dress up in the costumes that her mother often sent her, and act out various scenes from plays and books. Her favorite was a book called The Labyrinth."
"Like the one that's in the Goblin King's realm?"
"The very same."
Sephiroth listened with awe as Toby continued to explain how one day, as she was once again baby-sitting her little brother, Sarah foolishly wished him away. He listened as the Goblin King offered Sarah her dreams, and she chose to run the Labyrinth instead. Happily, he listened to how Sarah faced many dangers, including the awful Bog of Eternal Stench, and eventually befriended a dwarf, a knightly fox riding a dog, and a monster that could call rocks just by his voice.
He listened at how the Goblin King tried time after time to entice Sarah from her quest, and each time she managed to overcome the obstacles in her way. When Toby got to the part about the room filled with stairs that went every way you could think of, Sephiroth could almost see the young girl constantly climbing stairs to reach her little brother, who always seemed just out of reach, as the Goblin King sang about how her eyes were so cruel.
"It was only when Sarah had made the leap of faith that the Goblin King confronted Sarah for the last time, with mere minutes left on the clock. As Sarah started to repeat the final words from the story, he once again offered her the orb that could make her dreams come true. Once again, she refused, instead continuing the speech that would bring her and Toby home. When she got to the final line, however… the words seemed to dance just out of reach. The Goblin King, sensing this, made his final offer. He said, 'Fear me, love me, do as I say, and I shall be your slave.'"
"Why would he offer that? He's a King, he shouldn't have to be someone's slave," Sephiroth commented.
Laughing, Toby responded, "Well, Sephiroth, many who've heard the story believe that when he said those words, he truly was offering his heart to the girl. According to the version I was told, Sarah was truly tempted by this final offer. However, Sarah's desire to bring her brother home safely was stronger. With seconds to spare, she finally remembered the six words that allowed her to win back young Toby: you have no power over me."
"So, she won, just like that?"
"Just like that. The Goblin King was defeated at his own game, and as the crystal containing her dreams dropped, it shattered and revealed she and her brother to be back at home safe and sound. As the two grew, Sarah eventually told Toby about her time in the Labyrinth, disguising it as a simple fairy tale rather than the truth it was."
"Is that it? Did they all live happily ever after, then?"
At this point, Toby closed his eyes, as if he was steeling himself for what he was about to say next. "For most… it is. However, in my family, there is more to the story. Do you wish to hear the rest?"
"Of course I do!"
Nodding, Toby continued, "Now, this is something that has never once been told to someone outside of the Willeth family. You see, according to our family legends, we are the direct descendants of Toby Williams himself." Ignoring Sephiroth's skeptical look at this, he continued, "Our legends state that for over twenty years the Williams family was at peace. However, one day, their world succumbed to a dreadful war. His parents having thankfully having died a year prior in an accident, Toby watched as his country's enemies bombed the city his beloved sister Sarah was in during the opening salvo. There were few survivors… and Sarah wasn't one of them.
"Toby was devastated. The draft was about to be reinstated, and he had no wish to fight for a country that allowed the last member of his family to die. It was then that he remembered the tales that Sarah had often told him as a bedtime story, where a sister had once wished her little brother away to the Goblin King, and eventually won him back.
"Feeling as if there was nothing to lose, yet fully expecting it to not work, Toby wished for the Goblin King to take him away. Imagine his surprise, however, when the Goblin King appeared before him, and revealed through one of his many crystals that the story wasn't in fact a story at all, but rather truth.
"Initially angry at the knowledge that Sarah had dared wish him away, Toby then remembered how foolish he himself had been when he was fifteen. Adding in Sarah's resentment over her parents' divorce happening not long before the incident… Toby could understand how such a thing had come to pass. Thinking about it, he finally decided to take heart in the fact that Sarah did, at least, manage win him back, which was more than anyone else had done. He still stood by his wish for the King to take him away.
"The Goblin King, however, revealed that thanks to Sarah's actions he couldn't fulfill Toby's wish. According to the ancient laws that govern his Labyrinth, once a wished-away has been won back then they are to be considered untouchable by any citizen of the Underground, and is given a small amount of magic that will activate in their defense against those who would break this decree. After all, as the Goblin King put it, it wouldn't do to have the wish-away be in constant worry of becoming a hostage due to a grudge against a Labyrinth Champion."
"Well, that makes sense," Sephiroth mused. "After all, it wasn't the wished-away's fault that they were won back. That blame would rest solely with the one who Ran."
"Exactly what my brother thought. I, myself, thought it was a bit harsh that the wish-aways couldn't choose to go back to the Underground if they chose to," admitted Toby. "My namesake felt the same way, apparently, and made his opinion quite clear to the Goblin King. 'Why should we get banished from the Underground when we didn't even do anything?!' I think was what my mother told me he said.
"The Goblin King actually agreed with him on this point. After all, it was his job to deal with all of the wishers, and it was he who often witnessed first-hand the awful situations that often awaited the wish-aways should they be won back. He admitted to Toby that it was for that very reason that the Labyrinth was almost impossible to solve- in fact, had been impossible until Sarah came along.
"By this point, Toby grew slightly suspicious. Why would the Goblin King be telling him, of all people, this sort of stuff? When he politely demanded—"
"Wait, how can you politely demand something?" inquired Sephiroth eagerly. That actually seemed like a useful skill to learn.
Chuckling, Toby answered, "It's all in the tone of your voice, Sephiroth. Unfortunately, however, it's also something you have to learn for yourself, for not many people can teach it." Chuckling even more at Sephiroth's tiny pout (Toby was one of the few who could spot it whenever it appeared- it was all in the eyes), he continued to tell his tale. "As I was saying, Toby politely demanded for the reason why the Goblin King would tell him stuff that, by all rights, wasn't technically any of his business. In fact, as he pointed out, the Goblin King didn't really have to do anything he had already done. After all, he could've just stayed away when Toby made his wish.
"The answer the Goblin King gave Toby was, to say the least, surprising.
"'If Sarah had not won you back,' he explained, 'then you would've become my heir, Toby.'
"As a dumbfounded Toby listened, the Goblin King explained that during those ten hours he had become rather fond of Toby, and at one point even entertained the thought of renaming him after himself."
At this, Sephiroth scoffed, "Well, that's rather arrogant of him."
"Yes, well the Goblin King was known for being arrogant," Toby grinned, "however, Toby was smart enough not to mention anything to him about it. Anyway, after the Goblin King made this rather earth-shattering proclamation, Toby regained his wits enough to ask the Goblin King what he thought Toby should do now.
"At this, the Goblin King grew quiet, and stared at Toby with a thoughtful expression on his face."
Sephiroth felt a sense of déjà vu when Toby mentioned this. It was almost exactly how the lab tech had looked before he started his tale.
"'There might be a way,' the Goblin King finally answered slowly, 'however, I need to make sure of a few things.'
"'What things?' Toby asked.
"'Logistical things that deal with ancient magic' came the King's nonchalant answer.
"Considering that Toby only just found out that magic was real earlier in the day, he decided not to press. Shortly after, the Goblin King left with the promise that he would be back once he was certain of every aspect of this option.
"A month passed, and as the days went by Toby's hope that the Goblin King would be able to help diminished bit by bit. Finally, the day he had been dreading came- he was drafted for the war. He had only one week to settle everything that needed to be settled, then he would be shipped off to do the very thing he dreaded doing.
"That night, as Toby was about to start sorting through his belongings, the Goblin King finally re-appeared. Toby was overjoyed to see him, and asked if he had found anything out about the option he had mentioned at their last meeting.
"'I have,' came the answer, 'however, I'm entirely sure if it's one you wish to take.'
"When Toby pressed, the Goblin King explained how he had gone to see the High King and Queen of the Fae to inquire about this option. While they had told him it was possible, he needed to make contact with the only being who could truly make it a reality. That being was none other than the Goddess Minerva, of the planet Gaia."
"Wait, Minerva?! I thought she wasn't, well, real," admitted Sephiroth somewhat sheepishly. "I mean, I thought that she was just part of the myths of the Ancients."
"Minerva is quite real, Sephiroth, as are the Ancients. In fact," at this, Toby leaned closer to Sephiroth conspiratorially, "I know an Ancient myself."
The silver-haired boy's eyes grew wide as he breathed, "Really?"
Nodding, Toby promptly informed him, "However, unfortunately I can't tell you who it is. After all, it wouldn't do for you-know-who to find out, now would it?"
Sephiroth quite agreed. It would be bad if Hojo found out.
"Now, as I was saying, the Goblin King, in order to fulfill his once-heir's desires, needed to visit Lady Minerva. His request- to allow said once-heir to immigrate to her domain… in other words, Gaia."
At this point, the lab tech seemed like he was debating on what to say next. Finally, he inquired, "Sephiroth… you mentioned the myths of the Ancients. Just how familiar are you with them?"
Sephiroth considered the question for several moments. Finally, the five-year old replied honestly, "Not as much as I want to be. Professor Hojo only put whichever myths he thought was important for me to know in my studies. Which myth were you thinking of?"
"Then you probably don't know the one about the Calamity, do you?"
The Calamity? "What's that?"
Toby sighed at this, and Sephiroth could hear him mutter, "Figures he wouldn't tell the kid anything…" Shaking his head slightly, the lab tech proceeded to explain how the Calamity had fallen on Gaia hundreds of years ago and proceeded to wipe out almost all of the Ancients. It wasn't until the remaining Ancients banded together to finally seal it that the destruction finally stopped.
Sephiroth felt kind of weird as Toby told him that story. It was almost like… no, it couldn't be. How could he know anyone personally from hundreds of years ago, and why would he even want to take… revenge? Mulling over the strange feeling welling up inside of him, he deduced that it was, indeed, a desire for revenge. However, unfortunately for the person behind the odd feeling, Sephiroth's five-year old mind was only confused by this fact, and in decided to ignore it. He focused once more on Toby's story.
"Now, Minerva was saddened by the loss of so many of her Ancients. They provided a magic to Gaia that enabled it to grow into a peaceful place, and the fact that they were almost wiped out meant that soon war would inevitable develop. It was at this point that the Goblin King made contact with her, and proceeded to relay his request.
"From what I know, Minerva instantly grasped onto the idea of a magic-carrying human- a male magic-carrying human—"
"Wait, why would his gender be important?"
Toby blushed slightly as he coughed and answered, "Uh, that's something you'll understand when you're older, Sephiroth. Just trust me on this."
Sephiroth raised an eyebrow, but wisely let it go.
"Anyway, the fact that Toby carried magic in his blood interested Minerva. Even though it wasn't the magic of the Ancients, it might be enough to keep Gaia from falling into chaos. Sure, no one would know exactly how his magic would react with Gaia and the Lifestream, however if it meant Gaia would be at peace… Minerva was willing to take that risk. However, she did have one demand of the Goblin King- after Toby's relocation, no resident of the Underground that he could influence would be allowed on Gaia. Even if a child was wished away to the Goblins, they would be required to stay away.
"The Goblin King, while understanding of her position, did not agree, using how many of his summonings were rescues as an example. After some careful negotiation (which was the reason why the Goblin King took so long to return), they finally came to an agreement: only the Goblin King would be allowed on Gaia, and only when he was specifically called by someone who knew his name and title.
"As the Goblin King continued his explanation, Toby felt a small thrill at what he was hearing. A chance to go to a new world! While he knew he would have fond memories of Earth, he also knew that the things that had kept him there- namely his parents and Sarah- were long gone. He had nothing to lose, yet everything to gain.
"When the Goblin King asked him if this was what he wanted, Toby didn't hesitate. He said yes.
"Now, the exact details on how the Goblin King and Minerva had managed to fully make Toby a citizen of Gaia has been lost to my family, and some of our more… odd members suggest that this was done on purpose. However, what wasn't lost was what he did when he arrived- he changed his last name, in order to truly create a new beginning. The first part, Will, was a nod to his past. The second part, however, was a nod to the being who had worked above and beyond the call of duty to grant him this happiness- the Goblin King. Eventually, Toby met my many-great grandmother, and together the two of them lived happily ever after."
When Toby finally finished his story, Sephiroth couldn't help but smile slightly. He wasn't sure if he totally believed it, but it had been a nice story nonetheless. It certainly had helped with allowing the memories of his battle against that awful monster to fade to the background, which wasn't always a guarantee whenever Toby told him a story.
His attention was drawn back to the lab tech, however, when he heard the brown-haired man ask tentatively, "Sephiroth… do you trust me?"
That was actually quite the valid question, however it had an easy answer. "I do trust you, Mr. Willeth. You've always been there for me whenever you were able to."
Smiling sadly, Toby chuckled, "Again, Sephiroth, it's Toby. Could you call me that… at least once?"
Feeling as if something big was about to happen, Sephiroth unconsciously used that unease to finally call the lab tech by his preferred name instead of the way that his etiquette books taught him to address people. "Toby… something's going to happen, isn't it?"
"Yes," Toby confirmed, not even hesitating. "You see, Sephiroth… there's a reason I told you that story." Taking a deep breath, he continued, "I think… this might be the only way to stop Hojo."
The hair on the back of Sephiroth's neck stood up as he felt an unknown surge of magical power building around Toby.
"I wish Jareth the Goblin King was here, right now!"
A/N: You ever had those moments where you sit down to write one story, then you end up writing something completely different instead? This is the brain-child of such an event for me.
I actually enjoy the idea that I have for this two-shot, and I can guarantee that the other half of this story's gonna be a LOT more difficult for me since I've never really written any Labyrinth stories before (heck, I haven't even seen the movie in its entirety... YET. I do plan on changing that whenever I get the chance, considering that the bits and pieces I've seen make me want to see more). However, I'm gonna do my dangdest to make sure I keep it interesting for everyone!