Disclosure: I do not own the Labyrinth or Jareth.

Chapter 1: The Man in the Night

"Aaarrrgghhh! Robert!" The girl moaned rolling her eyes to the ceiling. She ran into her room and the sight made her ears go red and her eyes to go black for a second. "Robert," she growled grabbing the small boy away from the broken glass. "Look what you did now!" she screamed pointing to the heap of what used to be an intricate glass goblet. "How many times have I told you NOT to touch that? When I tell you not to do something I mean it!" The boy's face twisted slowly and he began to bawl. She tilted her head up and let out an exasperated sigh as he tugged at her grip trying to run off. " Oh don't start that now! You need to learn to do what you are told, I'm not going to be easy on you like your parents. You can't get out of everything just by crying, you can't always get what you want either!" She dragged him off to his room, closed the door quickly, and locked it. She could hear his crying from the other side and he started banging on the door. "Stop it! You did something BAD Robert, so you're getting a time out." She stormed off to her room and fought back tears as she crouched down beside the glass. "…Stupid, reckless, spoiled brat…" She wiped her blurry eyes and started picking up the pieces. She had gotten the goblet when her grandmother passed away. It was the last thing she had of the woman she practically grew up with. "Ouch! MOTHER Fckhrr…" She mumbled trying not to scream out the profanity. She shook her finger and held it carefully. Batting away tears, she managed to see the small piece of glass protruding out of her fresh cut. Her door swung out of her way, slamming against the wall, as she rushed to the bathroom. The water ran over her finger washing off the blood and she grimaced as the piece of glass moved. She pulled a pair of tweezers from a drawer and got the glass out. Holding her finger tightly to slow down the bleeding, she went back into the hallway. Robert was still throwing his fit on the other side of his door. "Shut up!" She slumped against the wall staring at the watery floor as drops splashed off the wood. Why the hell did her dad always make her babysit every time she came visit? He may be her stepbrother, but he was such a pain in the ass. The stupid boy had no definition of the word NO! Every time he did something wrong they would say no, he would cry, and they would comfort him and even give him a treat. "Man, I wish… I wish the goblins would take YOU away RIGHT NOW!" she screamed, quoting her most recent book. She laughed as the hallway went silent. "Woa, that was weird." She shook her head and smiled at the irony walking up to his door. "Have you decided to be a good boy now Robert?" She called through the door in her most serious older sister voice. "Robert?" She called as he didn't respond. Her heart beat heavily as an uneasy feeling took over. Something felt wrong. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door slowly. It creaked open to reveal alphabet blocks all over the floor, little cars near the racetrack, stuffed animals consuming the bed, and other random assortments of toys EVERYWHERE…Everything that was supposed to be there, except the boy. Her shoulders dropped and something sunk down her throat right into her gut. "Robert? Where are you hiding? Come on out this isn't funny!" The room only responded with more silence. She started overturning boxes and blankets in search of the boy. "Robert, come on! I'll fix you something to eat!" She said tauntingly (playing on her brothers unyielding appetite). Her face turned pale, as there was no reply. Nothing in the room stirred. She heard a tap on window behind her and sighed in relief. Smiling she turned around. "Robby, don't sca.." The girl's feet froze to the floor like tree roots as a sinking tingling filled her from top to bottom. She couldn't move, speak, or even blink; it was as if her entire brain had died. The tall man standing by the window held a small boy around three in his arms. The boy was calmly sleeping in the folds of his dark cape. The man was moving his fist away from the window all the while staring at the girl with a smile that made her cringe inside. It was slightly off balanced and almost more of a sneer. "Hello Naella," A fresh shiver went up her spine as he pronounced the syllables of her name. She looked over his strangely dynamic clothes, his long blonde hair that was spiked on top, and then as her eyes adjusted to his silhouette, she noticed his eyes. They were a deadly blue-grey and the left pupil was permanently dilated. "You…you're…that's impossible…" she said in nothing more than a whisper. He smiled smugly, "Oh but it is Naella, and I am so very real." She rubbed her tongue on the roof of her mouth trying to get rid of the sudden dryness. She couldn't understand what was happening. Was she dreaming? "You're not dreaming, I am simply granting your wish " Naella had calmed down a little and took a slow step forward tilting her head. "…You're the Goblin King…" He watched her, eyes sparkling with mischief and one side of his mouth curved upward. "Yes, Naella, I am Jareth the Goblin King, and I have come for the babe." She paused a moment as the sound of her name sent another shockwave up her spine. She hesitated one more second before taking another small step towards him, this time with her head lowered to where her upward gaze seemed menacing. Jareth shook his head and smiled wide, "Now, now, no more of that or I shall have to leave." He gave the boy a small bounce and returned his gaze to her. She stopped and stood rigidly stuck to the carpet. "Give him back…" She said in a low growl. "I don't care if you're the Goblin King or freakin' Michael Jackson! I want my brother back." She thought she caught a glimpse of a frown, but had it been there, it was too quickly replaced with that mocking grin to tell.

"What is said is said, he is mine now"

"But I didn't mean it! You weren't supposed to exist!"

"Go back to your room Naella, forget about the baby. Why should you be responsible for him? Isn't that his parent's job?"

His voice seemed so soothing and melodic that she almost wanted to turn around and do as he said. She shook her head violently to break his gaze, "No! Give me back my brother!" He smiled and suddenly his arms were empty, "I'm afraid I can't do that." Her face paled once more. "Where is he?!" Jareth seemed to silently sigh with his chest, "You know exactly where he is…" His tone seemed to taunt her like she was nothing more than a child that had to have everything spelled out for her. She knew the attitude well from years of living under her stepfather's roof. Her cheeks flushed and she gritted her teeth. Jareth seemed amused by her angry glare and simply turned towards the window smiling. Where there should have been a window, now was a giant hole in the wall leading out into a dusty landscape covered with a tangled assortment of walls… the Labyrinth. "If you want your brother back, you'll just have to go and get him." She stepped forward, eyes scanning the horizon slowly with her mouth slightly open. Jareth smiled beside her and lowered his head to her ear. "It is more dangerous than it appears. Turn back Naella, turn back while you still can." She blinked as she heard the familiar lines and turned her head slowly; blushing when she realized how close his face was to hers. He took a step back and she relaxed a bit, he really did look just like she had imagined him. He motioned dramatically to a familiar clock floating near a twisted tree. After quickly counting, she couldn't stop from grinning a bit, she found it had 13 hours on it. "You have thirteen hours to solve the labyrinth before your baby brother becomes one of us forever." She watched him fade away thinking about that same scene in the book. This was just too weird to be true, and if it weren't for her little brother being involved, she might even have enjoyed it.