Disclaimer: I don't own anything Labyrinth related, however I do own Rachel!

A/N: Woah. this came on really suddenly, so it hasn't been really *examined*. but I hope you like it ! No worries, it'll get more Labyrinth- ish later...^_^







New York, New York.







Sarah had done the unthinkable. She had completed the Labyrinth. As she gazed around her room, she made a mental note of how many childish things she had collected and promised herself to throw them out someday. That was 4 years ago. Sarah, now 19 years of age, sat in her new apartment in New York City gazing out the window onto the snowy streets below. Sighing, she slowly began to unpack her belongings. The first box that she opened, however, contained something that she had not dared to touch for the past 4 years. It held a little red book, The Labyrinth. Sarah carefully picked up the book and examined it, cautiously running her fingers over the coarse red leather. She flipped open the book and saw the words. They were burning in her brain. Sarah stared at the book until she could take it no longer. Screaming she hurled the book out of the window onto the busy street.



***

"Ow! What the hell?" Rachel was 19 years old. Your typical, "get-the- hell-away-from-me" type teenager. Her brown hair was crimped and tied into a messy ponytail, complete with a tie for a hair-band. She wore a long blue knitted scarf and a beige trench-coat over her school uniform. Her platform shoes were scuffed and her panty-hose had plenty of runs and seemed to be held together by safety pins. She was, as some would say, a punk. Muttering a string of curses under her breath, Rachel bent over to see what had hit her on the head. Beneath a pile of fluffy, white snow, she saw the edge of a red book. She pulled it from beneath the cold pile of precipitation, and stared at it. The Labyrinth. She brushed the snow off of the book and opened it. She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, oblivious to the many 'What the fuck are you doing?'s and 'Watch it, you little brat!'s. She was too busy reading. The words seemed to jump out at her. She sympathized with the Goblin King, and she understood how heartbroken he must have been. From that moment on, Rachel secretly harbored the hope that perhaps, someday, she could find love like Jareth, only her feelings would not be denied. By the time she had finished, her hair was white and damp with snow, and she wondered who in their right mind would throw such a precious creation away. Sighing, she began the treacherous walk back to her apartment- if one could even call it that. She walked up the stairs, still clutching the tiny leather book, when all of a sudden she stopped in her tracks.





She could hear it. Her roommate, Jenny, was sobbing. Her voice was barely audible over the shouts of the deep male who Rachel recognized almost immediately. She darted straight to number 312, and began to pound her fists on the door. "Jen! Jen! Are you alright? What's going on?" Her voice was wracked with trouble. She knew something was going on, and it certainly wasn't good.





"Get the fuck away, you stupid bitch! Fucking open this door and you'll end up worse off than the stupid whore in here!" Came the dark voice of a man. Rachel ran to the next door and began to knock furiously.





"Hello? Is anyone there? I need your help, my friend is in trouble! Please, I really need some help." Sarah got up from her desk and sauntered over to the door to see what all the commotion was about. She looked into the little peephole and saw a ratty looking girl pounding on the door of her neighbor. Something was obviously troubling her, but selfish Sarah couldn't care less. She was in the Big Apple. The world was hers. She had no time to bother with other people's trouble.





Rachel finally gave up when no one would answer the door. She slumped to the ground and buried her head into her hands. That's when it happened. An event that she would never forget and that would shape her destiny, at that moment, Rachel heard 2 gunshots come from room number 312.