Sarah gasped at a sudden sensation of being water that something big and heavy had just fallen into. Stunned and dizzied, she forgot where she was, and what was going on around her. The strange liquid feeling morphed, and now she was a trickle of water that a torrent was now flowing on top of. She fought not to drown, then realized she was the water, and the thoughts she feared would inundate her were a part of her as well.
"-you have to be all right," Jareth begged. Sarah became aware of him supporting her, begging her to cling to life. "You've lived all these years without the ablation; its death surely cannot affect you."
All the new thoughts and feelings mixed together with what was there already, and Sarah remembered everything. Thirteen years of living as two separate beings merged together into one. She hadn't realized she was holding her breath until she gasped, as if she had surfaced after being underwater far too long.
"That's it! Fight it; you're strong enough-" Sarah backhanded Jareth with more strength than she thought she possessed. He gaped at her in disbelief. She had knocked him down, and a trickle of blood soon emerged from the corner of his mouth. Her emotions had swollen from a puddle into a lake, which was now storming with anger and outrage. And yet, she was finally whole. She began to laugh.
Jareth stared at her in horror. She must have looked like a madwoman. She had two very different sets of memories for the past thirteen years, neither of them happy. And Jareth was to blame for them all. Sarah took deep breaths. Her two halves were still getting used to each other and they couldn't decide on what they wanted to do next. Tears of elation at being whole for the first time since becoming an adult were at war with a violent, vengeful rage.
Meanwhile, the rain began to pour, making Jareth's hair and clothes cling to his body. He suddenly seemed much smaller. He wiped at the corner of his mouth, and paled at the sight of the red smeared on his hand. "I'm bleeding…but, that's not possible, unless-"
"-Unless you have become a part of this world again," a new, familiar voice interjected. Sarah turned to see a woman approaching them casually, holding a large, black umbrella to shield herself against the rain. It was Jennifer MacLellan; she was an old schoolmate whose family had helped found the city over two hundred years ago. She was now the grade school guidance counsellor and Toby had been quite fond of her in his elementary days. But, she had once been something more. A much closer relationship with this woman surfaced in the storm of Sarah's mind.
"Jennie!" Sarah realized, recognizing her old friend. Sarah ran over and hugged her. "Oh, Jennie, I'm sorry; how could I have just left you behind?"
"His handiwork, I expect," Jennie explained. Sarah suddenly remembered playing with Jennie: Jennie was instructing Sarah on how to Goblin-proof her room. Together, the two of them constructed what was (in hindsight) a truly diabolical booby-trap; it would spray any small, sneaking creature with perfume, and then cover them with cute, girly stickers (a fate no goblin would wish on anyone).
"You know; you know everything, but how?" Sarah asked.
"The doorways to realms which border this reality are closely monitored, to ensure strict rules are obeyed. My family has kept watch over these doorways since time immemorial. I grew up knowing about the Labyrinth, and about him. He's an especially troublesome traveller from an especially troublesome realm."
"But how could he do everything he's done if you're supposed to watch him?" Sarah felt a bit hurt.
"My father, as you know, is devout Christian; something I've never understood. He has been the Gatekeeper for more than thirty hears, and he believed that if we showed the residents of the Labyrinth forgiveness and compassion, that they would become better beings. He turned the other cheek whenever Jareth bent the rules and didn't keep a very strict eye on his dealings." Jennie regarded Jareth sternly, "a woeful lapse in duty which I have now corrected."
"Your father understands that other realms have other ways of doing things. He respected those differences."
"I will respect those differences only insofar as you respect the laws of this land." Jennie retorted firmly. "Particulalry those that relate to stalking, luring and the abduction of a minor!"
Jareth tried to do something, but whatever it was didn't happen, and this alarmed him.
"You know full well that the use of magic is strictly forbidden in the World of Balance. I have stripped you of all your powers, and nullified every remaining spell you have cast in this world." Jennie was standing above Jareth, just far enough away that he wasn't sheltered at all by her umbrella.
Jareth's eyes widened in horror, "Do you have any idea of the havoc that will cause??"
"Better than you, I expect. But as painful as it will be, I firmly believe it is necessary: nothing can be set right while people are bewitched and befuddled. Wounds will heal and people will finally be able to live their lives as they were intended; remembering their loved ones!"
Sarah gasped. "TOBY!!" she screamed.
"Well, golly; that sure sounded like a summons to me," Jennie mentioned casually. She snapped her fingers and a door appeared instantly. Jennie opened it to reveal a very aggrieved Toby, dressed alarmingly like Jareth.
Toby ran into Sarah's outstretched arms. "What did he do to you??!" Sarah's face changed from anxious concern to murderous rage as her eyes flicked between Toby and Jareth.
"Moppet," he said, his own troubles far from his mind as the reality of what he had done sank in.
"It's okay, Toby, I'm fine," Sarah reassured him before she knew what she was doing, "I'm better than I've been in thirteen years."
Everyone's attention returned to Jennie as she slammed the newly-appeared door shut. It disappeared the second it was completely closed. Toby moaned and doubled over.
"Jen, I feel awful," he looked up at her with absolute trust.
"It's just the magic leaving your body, Toby," she reassured him, "it'll take a little time to get used to, but you should be back to normal in a day or so."
"You CAN'T!!" Jareth interjected, "He's the Pathmaker now! The Labyrinth will go wild without a master! And if even the slightest hint of it remains with a mortal, it will-"
"Wither and die, just like its keeper. I know. But Toby isn't even an adult yet; the Labyrinth's fate can be decided once he's old enough to make that decision. In the meantime, it will remain dormant; connected to Toby by the thinnest of threads. Just don't get run over by a bus," she instructed him wryly. Toby grinned.
"And you would just leave my kingdom like that, adrift: prey to all its enemies? Is that the duty of the Gatekeeper?"
"Two hundred and sixty-eight years ago, a new realm was discovered here; the realm of the Goblins. Its inhabitants plagued the early settlers with unimaginable misfortune. It took my family more than a generation to produce a Gatekeeper and gather what was necessary to come here and guard the new Door. With the Gatekeeper here to enforce the Laws, the Goblins were once again constrained to their usual mischief, and the settlement quickly flourished. For two centuries, my family has seen to the well-being of this city. That, is my duty, Jareth; the people on this side of the Door. Seeing to your kingdom even to the extent I have borders on overstepping my authority. As far as I'm concerned, all the humans are in this world, everything else is on the other side of the door, and I've done a good day's work."
"Jareth isn't human," Sarah interjected.
"Ohhhhh yes he is," Jennie countered smugly, "His foray in to the Goblin Kingdom may have given him great power and stopped him from ageing, but he's still as human as he ever was. It's only a matter before he starts getting wrinkles and..." she leaned in as if to whisper to him discretely, while still being loud enough for everyone to hear, "male pattern baldness! But frankly, that's all going to take a back seat to the veritable shitstorm of consequences you're sailing into."
"Consequences," Jareth practically spat the word out.
"The Williamses are by this time, I expect, quite anxious to know where their only son has been for the past several weeks. Since you were technically unknown to him until the day before he disappeared, I expect the local police will have questions for you. And once they see these," Jennie handed Sarah some photo prints, "well, I expect the tone of their questions are going to take a much more serious note."
Sarah looked down at the photos Jennie had passed her; they showed Jareth speaking to Sarah in Toby's bedroom the night he had been taken all those years ago. The detail on the shots was good enough that the two figures and the background were all easily recognizable. Jennie had been the paper photographer in high school, and some of the shots she'd taken rivalled the paparazzi in candidness, if not the celebrity of her subjects. She had put her talents to good use.
"I knew he was following you," Jennie explained apologetically, "I tried to warn you, but you just dismissed me as being the 'weird girl.' I thought if I showed dad what Jareth had been up to, that he might finally take his duties more seriously. So I watched and waited. But you fought Jareth off. He was more…subdued after that."
"'Cept for me," Toby interjected bitterly.
"How many times did I warn you against making wishes, Toby?" Jennie asked patiently.
"Not enough, I guess," he admitted.
"Sarah would have given you warnings that stuck, I imagine, if Jareth hadn't taken her memories," Jennie shook her head sadly. Just then, police lights could be seen flashing. Jareth tried to bolt, but Jennie caught him the second he stood up.
A police officer got out of the passenger side of the car. When he saw Jennie, he tipped his hat respectfully. He turned to Toby. "Toby Williams?" the officer asked.
Jennie crossed her arms and looked at the officer coldly. "I reported him missing weeks ago."
"We just got a call from Mr. & Mrs. Williams to that effect. I'm very sorry we didn't act sooner, but when we first contacted the Williamses regarding your report, they seemed unconcerned."
Jennie seemed to relent, but she still gave the policeman a dirty look. "You can talk to this gentleman," she shoved Jareth forward, "about Toby's whereabouts during his absence. I'll make a statement, and Sarah can take Toby home."
The policeman nodded. "All right, but I want statements from the both of you tomorrow morning, first thing." He came forward to collect Jareth. Jareth tried to run again, so the officer tackled him. "You are under arrest on suspicion of abduction, and for resisting arrest..." the officer then read Jareth his rights as he handcuffed him and led him back to the cruiser. Jareth shot Jennie a withering look before ducking into the car.
Jennie waved as the car drove off. She had ushered Sarah and Toby underneath her umbrella, so they could watch the whole fiasco in relative comfort. "Being such a respected member of the community does have its perks," she said to no one in particular. There was no mistaking the smugness in her tone.
"What's going to happen to him?" Sarah asked.
"Not sure, wanna start a pool? I'm thinking even odds for jail time, funny farm or deportation."
Sarah bit her lip. "I know Jareth has done some messed up stuff, but do you really think he deserves that? I can't help feeling sorry for him."
Jennie snorted derisively. "Knowing what you do about him, what do you suppose the likelihood is that we're playing right into his hand?"
"She's got a point, Sarah," Toby offered, "Jareth can take care of himself."
"What do you suppose he'll tell them?" Sarah wondered out loud.
"To be honest, I don't really care. But I suggest we go with something in the "cult" family for our story. If we're all consistent, it will speak more strongly."Jennie escorted them both to Sarah's car, still sheltering them with the umbrella. They sat inside and worked out a plausible story based off of what Toby told them about what had happened to him in the Labirynth. Jennie, not surprisingly, was quite skilled at coming up with 'real-world' explanations of what had happened in the Goblin Kingdom. It was probably an important part of her duties. "Now go home you two," Jennie instructed them kindly once they had gotten the story straight, "Jareth may as well spend the night in lockup – he doesn't have anywhere else to go, and you can be damn sure the boys in blue will keep him out of trouble. Dry off, get some sleep and I'll see you in the morning."