Face the Stranger, a labyrinth fanfic

Disclaimer: The following is an old Labyrinth fan fiction I wrote for a Labyrinth fan fiction group years. Labyrinth belongs to Henson. Most, if not all, of the Labyrinth fan fiction I am going to post here is at least ten years old, if not older. You will see the original dates they were written placed into these documents. These fan fictions predate the canon of Return to Labyrinth.

To: .

Subject: [labyfic] Face the stranger (Part 1 of 4) (Corrected)

From:

Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2001 19:35:45 EST

Face the stranger:

"Worlds are built out of suffering. There is suffering at the birth of a

child just as there is suffering at the birth of a star." - Oscar Wilde.

Sarah woke up with a gasp. It had only been a dream. Of course it had.

That is precisely what she had been telling herself for years. It had all

just been a dream. Then why was he haunting her?

The words echoed in her mind, his last words to her. "Everything

that you had wanted. I had done. You asked that the child be taken. I took

him. You cowered before me- I was frightening. I have reordered time. I

have turned the world upside-down. And I have done it all for you! I'm

exhausted from living up to your expectations of me."

It was summer now. It had been almost six years since her strange

little journey through The Labyrinth. Dream- though it must have been, she

could not let it go. And then there was also that song, that strange final

song that had been more like a plea then anything else.

She shut her eyes. When she did that she could hear the song replay

itself from top to finish. Strange how she memorized it so completely.

"How you turned my world, you precious thing,

You starve and near exhaust me,

Everything I've done, I've done for you,

I move the stars for no one,

You've run so long,

You've run so far,

Your eyes can be so cruel

Just as I can be so cruel,

Though I do believe in you,

Yes, I do...

Live without the sunlight,

Love without your heartbeat,

I, I can't live within you,

I can't live within you,

I, I can't live within you."

He had just wanted her to believe in him. Of course there was that

fact that he had wanted to rule her. But he had also offered her- her

dreams. It had been one of those things she had to let go of. On the one

had he had taken Toby. On the other had he had only done what she had asked=

of him. He had offered her dreams, he would have been her slave but at the

cost that she would fear and love him. And she would not fear him. Perhaps=

that was what made them clash. They had been more like the other then the

one had been willing to admit. Of course, this must have been so, Jareth

only existed with in her mind. And if she had submitted to him... We=

ll, all

he had really wanted was a chance to be made flesh and blood, to exist in

reality.

Sarah looked around the room. What time was it? Was she late for

work? She was due at the book shoppe at eight on weekdays. Then she

remembered that it was Saturday. She lay back down with a sigh. She had

been having such trouble sleeping. What could she possibly do?

It had been so long ago but she could not stop thinking about it.

Today was Saturday. Her friend Marie had bought them tickets to a rock

concert. She could not remember who was performing but she knew that it

would be fun. Perhaps the deafening music, and the screams of excited

teenagers ringing in her ears could drown out her thoughts and memories abou=

The Labyrinth.

Sarah had spent many long nights trying to make sense of it all. =

Jareth surely must have represented her darkness or as close as one

can get to darkness in a truly innocent mind. And she had just been an

innocent girl then, hadn't she? He was not truly a villain but merely an

antagonist. He only played the villain because that was what she had expecte=

and had wanted of him to be. ("Everything! Everything that you had wanted I

had done. You asked that the child be taken. I took him. You cowered before

me- I was frightening. I have reordered time. I have turned the world upside=

down and I have done it all for you! I'm exhausted from living up to your

expectations of me. Isn't that generous?")

Sarah now speculated that perhaps he did not really care for that role=

all that much. She die not think he could find his way in to the part, as i=

were. It simply was not the role that he would want to take on; it was not

what he wished to be. He only was the image of what she had wanted him to be=

he Human mind is a universe whole and entire unto itself and all

these universes are connected by the realm of dreams and the key stone to

this reality, this state of being has many manifestations, names and physica=

appearances maybe Jareth is just one incarnation of such a being.

Perhaps the Labyrinth was an exploration of her own sense of being.=

It was the revelation of the personal evolution of her existence; in other

words she is quite simply growing up. ("It keeps changing, what am I suppose=

to do?") The Labyrinth, perhaps, symbolizes her psychological development.

Like the universe itself, like the human mind it is ever constant yet ever

changing and you can never really turn back. You must keep moving to find th=

answers and to learn your lessons of life as she had done through her journe=

through her own personalized Labyrinth for everything in the Labyrinth was

manifested in her physical reality. And such a journey to define oneself an=

to mature is often quite difficult.

Notice that The Labyrinth was a universe unto itself for it was the

manifestation of one human mind and that truly is boundless. There are world=

within worlds. Everything in her reality, her Dog Merlin, her toys and book=

were symbolized physically or metaphorically in The Labyrinth.

Now, if something is believed in it can be made real with that belie=

can it not? Such was supposedly the power of the human mind.

Jareth seemed to have had wanted to be made a real entity that=

could exist beyond Sarah and on his own but he simply could not, because he

was a part of her. ("I can't live within you.") Anything conceived of a

strong will and believed in can be made in to the physical reality. A strong=

belief in something can create as well as destroy if a belief is lost but if=

this thing believed in has developed it's own will and awareness it's

existence cannot be denied.

Who knows, perhaps... Oh, well, there was now the thou=

ght that

frightened Sarah. What if she made Jareth real somehow? What would he be

like in her reality? Would he be human? Would he have the same powers as h=

had in The Underground? Would he age? Would he have a past, the past of a

human life, and in that completely forget who he had been for her? Would he=

age? Something can be manifested as real or made more powerful in the

physical reality if others share it in a belief. The human mind is a very

powerful thing. And is not the world of dreams a shared reality? All

realities are connected by the world of dreams in the unit of consciousness

in all living beings. There are worlds within worlds. Anything that can be

conceived of within the human mind, a universe of it's own can be made real.=

The manifestation of something literal from the mental is not uncommon but

once such a being holds it's own consciousness it cannot be denied for it's

will alone would sustain itself but the belief in others would grant it, it'=

power. But for that, perhaps, that would mean that Jareth would have to fin=

a lot of minds, a lot of wills, to accept him in to reality to keep him ther=

after Sarah brought him there.

Such a peculiar and far-fetched thought! What had gotten in to

her? It was almost as if she had wanted this to be so. But what frightened=

and enchanted her, all at once, was the notion. If Jareth were believed in,=

if he were made flesh and bone, what would he do in the physical reality, in=

her world, on Earth? Isn't that what he had wanted, to be real, to live in

her world, on Earth? ("I, I can't live within you.")

Werewolfism, if one studied the occult the belief that someone can

be a werewolf "Lycanthropy". And the actual condition of being a werewolf is=

called "Lycanthropy" because the mental sense or belief is so potent that it=

can have physical reactions and so the two conditions are considered almost

exactly the same. That is how strong the human mind is. If something is

conceived in shared belief in it can be manifested real with and then from

beyond there exist without the need of others. It would no longer need to

live "Within you" as it were.

To: .

Subject: [labyfic] Face the stranger (Part 2 of 4) (Corrected)

From:

Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2001 19:36:15 EST

Sarah lost track of time in her strange, fanciful thoughts. The clock

ticked by and she just sat there on her bed, her legs crossed under her and

her hands clasped together.

Did he really love her or was he just trying to seduce her? If one

were to take the songs he had sung to her, As the world falls down, and

Within you as being the truth of what he felt, for often songs of that type

are expressions of what someone is truly thinking and or feeling. Perhaps

the ball was initially to be a seduction and distraction but maybe, just

maybe it was as Edgar Allen Poe once wrote "A dream within a dream" and

perhaps this was a shared dream between Jareth and Sarah. It seems so.

Jareth being such a creature that he is, I think would exist within a dream.

And he would do this just as he does in reality. Therefor he was totally

aware in the ball room scene as Sarah, perhaps more so in that he was the

master of that realm and Sarah had been made to forget her initial task at

hand of rescuing her brother.

Jareth had seemed astonished at her tenacity when she made it to

his final challenge of The Escher room and their final confrontation. He had=

never seen someone; it seems with so much courage. Everything he had done he=

had done for her. He may very well have been in love with her for he needed=

her to make him manifest. He wanted her to believe in him so that he could

be made real and would no longer have to live within her as it were.

Suddenly Sarah's telephone rang and she was pulled from her peculiar

thoughts. And those had been very strange thoughts. She never had reasoned=

like that before. It had almost been as if someone were telling her all of

this, planting these ideas in to her mind, giving her these odd,

contradicting doubts and speculations.

She was greatly relieved by the ringing of the telephone.

She picked up the telephone's receiver. It was one of those old fashioned,

styled, curly-corded telephones.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Sarah. Are you all set for the concert? We've got

really good seats." It was her friend Marie, she recognized her voice right

away.

Marie's father worked for the company sponsoring the concert. That=

company in fact sponsored many concerts that came to town. So Marie was abl=

to get a hold of tickets to many shows that passed through their

neighbourhood.

"Yeah, of course I am. Who's playing?"

"Oh, you'll absolutely love this one he's-" At that point the

telephone began to fill with static, and little pops and gurgles."

"Marie. Marie, I can't hear you!" Sarah shouted over the stati=

and noise.

"I'll pick you up tonight, round six, they don't start letting people in

until seven but there'll be some crowd for this one. I mean this guy is one=

of the best there is!"

Sarah was growing impatient. "Yes, but who is-" Before she could=

finish her question Marie interrupted her.

"I've gotta go. I'll see you tonight."

There was just a dial tone now. Marie had hung up the telephone. =

That night Marie picked Sarah up in front of her house. Sarah

wore her favourite old poet's blouse and her form fitting jeans. When they

reached the theatre Sarah was over whelmed. When Marie had said there would=

be a crowd she hadn't been lying at all.

There were teenagers, young adults, men, women, children, and some o=

undeterminable gender gathered all around. They were not all residence of

the town. There were television cameras, and reporters. There were cheers

and screams all around. Some pretty girl, who looked no more then fourteen

turned to her companions shouting "Did you see him? Did you see him!?"

Sarah stared in wonder as Marie lead her, like a dog leading a

blind women, through the crowd. She had never been to a concert of this

proportion before.

The noise from the crowds was deafening and Sarah was growing

increasingly uncomfortable. She had not expected anything like this.

Usually they were little, no named groups, just trying to get started, with=

small crowd.

That's when she saw him. Dazed, Sarah just barely realized that=

her friend had lead her completely around the building. And a sleek black,

limousine pulled up close to the building but apparently not close enough.

Screaming masses rushed towards the car! And the chauffeur opene=

the left, back door, the one closest to the building. Out stepped two men i=

business suits, though they appeared to be quite muscular under the suits .

They stood on either side of the red velvet ropes that formed a small walkwa=

to the back entrance of the building. And then she saw him. Sarah could not=

repress a gasp when she saw him.

The tall figure of a thin, blond haired man stepped out between

the two men and looked around the crowd with a bemused smile. He seemed to

greatly enjoy the attention. Sarah was close enough, despite the pushing an=

shoving, to see that his teeth were almost like fangs. His features were

extremely cat-like, somewhat feminine and yet masculine all at once. There

was an androgynous beauty to him. His hair was thick, a sandy blond. He ha=

a modern short hair cut, not a crew cut, or anything terribly dull like that=

but slightly curly, and it curled just under his ears. His, thick blond hai=

picked up in the wind. Long, slightly spiked, blond bangs brushed in to hi=

piercing, blue eyes.

His eyes were a deep blue, large, and cold. His left pupil

however, was larger then the right. He was exceedingly pale, as if he had

been sculpted out of moonlight, and yet he was also extremely beautiful to

look upon.

And Sarah recognized him and said his name before she even realize=

that she had said it. "Jareth!"

The man must have heard her somehow, over the screaming masses. Hi=

sharp eyes turned quickly and his gaze froze on Sarah. His expression was

surprisingly serene. Sarah's breath caught in her throat. She thought that=

she might topple over. How was this possible?

He turned towards the man to his right. He nodded and said

something, leaning in close to the man's ear so that he might hear him over

the din of the continual screams. No one could make out what he had said. =

Then he raised his arm and pointed a long, slender finger towards Sarah. And=

Sarah watched as his lips formed the words "That one." He then turned, and=

with what seemed like a determined gaze began a quick pace towards the doors=

The two men walked, almost perfectly in synch with him. The whole scene

seemed incredibly surreal to Sarah.

The man to Jareth's left stepped in to the building before him as=

the man that had been to his right held the door open. Then the man to his

right, shut the door as Jareth entered. That man in the suit then walked

towards the crowd. And before Sarah realized what had happened she was face=

to face with the man in the suit.

Sarah stood perplexed, her mouth hung open as she stared up at him=

He was in fact a very tall, very broad man. He must have been a bodyguard

of some sort. Had she said or done some something wrong? Had she been

standing too close? She hadn't done anything that no one else was doing.

The man's voice was gruff and somewhat demanding. Sarah did

not like his commanding tone. "My employer would like a word with you, miss=

Follow me."

Sarah stood for a long moment, watching the man walk back towards

the door, having raised and unhooked one of the velvet rope dividers for her=

to walk through.

"Uhh... Uhh... Well, um... "

The man looked coldly at her. "Perhaps you didn't hear me.

Young lady, have you any idea just who it is that wishes to speak to you?"

Sarah nodded slowly. Did he know who he was working for? Of

course she knew. It had to have been him! The resemblance was uncanny!

And he had clearly recognized her. How could she not know who had wanted to=

talk to her?

As if against her will Sarah's feet began to walk towards the

building. The man soon stood not in front but behind her. Marie said

nothing but stared blankly at Sarah as she made her way to the door.

To: .

Subject: [labyfic] Face the stranger (Part 3 of 4) (Corrected)

From:

Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2001 19:36:27 EST

In side the building it was cool, well air-conditioned and the

lights down this back hall were surprisingly harsh. There were several

wooden doors. And the floor to the long corridor looked as if it had been

freshly polished. There were police officers standing by, and attractive

young men and women standing around drinking from Styrofoam cups and

chattering on about their brilliant luck at being there. Sarah just stared

at these people, the shut wooden doors, the harsh ultra-violet lights, and

the white, polished floor. The muscular man that took her down the hall

seemed frightfully cold, and detached.

He soon reached one room, which, though the door was shut, seemed

to have a larger doorframe then the other rooms. And his companion, the other

man, dressed exactly like him, only had removed his jacket, stood with his

arms folded, to the side of the door.

The man she was with knocked lightly on the door there soon came an

answer.

"Yes?" Came the voice that was distinctly Jareth's.

"Sir, that girl you had wanted to see. She's hear with me now.=

"Well, let her in then, my hands are full at the moment."

The man opened the door but not all the way, just slightly in=

case there were people who wanted to spy in or snap photographs. Sarah had

to squeeze her body in through the opening before the door was quickly shut

behind her.

Jareth sat a chair before a huge mirror. Women and men scurried

around him with make-up brushes, and hair spray bottles, gels, and combs.

Sarah wanted to laugh. This seemed perfectly fitting of her goblin king.

There were at least twelve people standing in the room.

A man, who looked to be in his mid thirties, in an all too neat=

business suit, and thick spectacles spoke up. "Sir, they want you to releas=

the video collection next month instead of November."

" Are they out of their minds?" Jareth argued. "Do they think I hav=

nothing better to do but okay the releases of compilations of things I do no=

even remember doing?"

"Yes, I know, sir. And they want to see you come out with somethin=

new."

"Then tell them to shut up about these damned reprints and

compilations and let me to get to work on something new, something

extraordinary."

An older man, dressed fairly casually with graying, shoulder

length, hair tied back in a ponytail called out from the rest of the crowd.=

"Steve wants to know just what you are doing about that infringement in that=

movie soundtrack."

"I'll deal with that later!" Jareth cried over the din of all the

other voices that surrounded him.

Women who looked to be in her mid-twenties handed him a packet

of papers. "What is this?" Jareth asked as he looked at it blankly.

"It's the copyright forms all signed in triplicate for you for

the music video clip that you're starting the shooting for tomorrow

afternoon."

Since when did making a video clip have to be such a giant

legal production?

Jareth sighed.

"Sir," Cried another one of the random faces that surrounded

him. "That film you were in last year has been released on to video tape in=

The States and The U.K. Would you like to see the differing video cassette

boxes?"

Jareth made a slightly disgusted expression. .

A woman's voice spoke up. "Are you certain that new music video

clip does not seem promotionary of suicide?"

"Was it really necessary to force that low brow rap star to pay

that much just because he used the back bass of your old hit?"

"Sir, your son needs an allow-"

This was interrupted by another saying, "Tomorrow ABC wants=

you to do a spot on-"

That did it. Jareth looked genuinely angry. "That does it!" He=

cried. "Out! Out! OUT! EVERYBODY OUT!" He pointed to the door. He stoo=

up and walked over to the door himself and opened it. He partially stood

behind it and again shouted. "EVERYONE OUT!"

Silently the crowd obeyed and the people, even the make-up

artist and hair stylist placed down their things and began a quiet parade ou=

of the room. Sarah was about to go with them when Jareth grabbed her

shoulder.

His voice was suddenly calm, as if he had under gone a drastic

mood swing. "Not you, love. You stay right here. I've needed a word with

you for some time and I won't have another chance."

As soon as the last person had left and the room was legitimately=

quiet Sarah sat down in a chair as Jareth shut the door and latched it shut

from within.

He smiled at her as she stared at him.

"Who are you?" She gasped.

He raised an eyebrow. "Don't you know my name?"

"Jareth?" She asked suddenly, the name nearly catching in her

throat. "That is you, isn't it?"

"Yes." He nodded. "It is I." He smiled. "And I have to

thank you, Sarah."

"Thank me, for what?"

"For believing in me." He said as he stepped towards her, a

Cheshire-cat-like grin playing on his lips. "For making me real. For makin=

me this." He reached down and touched his arms, as he were unused to having=

them.

"I... I don't understand." Sarah said.

"I can't explain it to you entirely, Sarah. But your belief in me

made me real. And I have an identity now, a life, a past, a history." He

began to chuckle. "And God, what a history it is too! It's incredible!

You're the one who made me real, and so you don't know the assumed past. I

barely know of it. But all things physically related to this life are

quickly becoming solid, material, manifest- physical. You created me, Sara=

with your belief in me. Don't you understand?"

Sarah nodded just slightly, she was only just beginning to grasp=

it.

"And though my supposed past, I have had a great many concerts an=

what not, this is my first real concert. And once it's over-" He made a

grand gesture "- All of those people in that audience shall have such a fait=

in me, such a belief that it can never reverse. I shall be completely real,=

in your world. I'll be a human man!" There was some sort of glint in his

eyes as if he were saying something of extreme value and importance that she=

could not possibly grasp. "I'll be a real, human being, with a real past.

And all that I have ever been for you as Jareth, The Goblin King shall be

gone forever. There won't be any more dark ideals, no high and exhausting,

antagonistic expectations. I'll be free! I'll remember nothing of who I ha=

been for you. After this concert, with all of those minds believing in this=

life- this identity, I shall forget everything of being Jareth and my mind-"=

He laughed again at the notion. "-And MY MIND, my own mind shall embrace the=

memories of this mortal man, and I shall have my past and future in your

world, physically as well as mentally. And all that I had been shall be no

more."

Tears were beginning to well in Sarah's eyes. It was almost as i=

she were losing a part of herself. She understood it but how was it

possible?

He reached up and lightly, with his finger wiped away the tear that=

lingered upon her cheek. "Oh, don't cry, darling. You've freed me. I'm

free. I can't live within you, Sarah. And I never shall again. After

tonight, it'll all be gone forever. And even you'll remember this mortal,

and I won't even know the name Jareth. I'd have become this human, and I'll=

have his memories and life, which until this moment were merely illusions,

barely made solid by your dreaming and my own fashioning." He then whispere=

"I love you, Sarah." He leaned forward and his lips pressed in to hers.

She shut her eyes as she felt his, peach flavoured lips lock to hers. His

mouth opened slightly as did hers. And their breath was lost, and their word=

were lost. And for a moment they embraced and then it was over.

To: .

Subject: [labyfic] Face the stranger (Part 4 of 4) (Corrected)

From:

Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2001 19:36:39 EST

There came a knocking to the door. Jareth's arms were still

wrapped around Sarah. A voice from behind the door said "Five minutes until

show time!"

Sarah was escorted to a seat near to the foot of the stage, her

friend, Marie was given the seat beside her.

Marie looked at Sarah curiously. "What happened?"

"I'll explain later." Sarah said.

Suddenly the house lights went Dim. And there was an

announcement but the words were lost to the cries of the crowd.

The first song began with the saxophone, keyboard and a steady

drumbeat from the band.

Jareth walked up to the microphone and grabbed up the hand

held microphone off of the stand and began to sway his hips in time to the

music as he prepared to sing. He did not need magick to have a fantastic

voice.

He could feel the tension in the air. It was marvelous. It fel=

like a kind of magick to him and he loved this, knowing that there was a

magick in the air and soon by the aid of this crowd and their belief in him

he'd be made completely real. He'd be free from The Underground forever, no=

longer a part of Sarah's mind, and her dreaming. He would soon forget that

all, for soon he would be real. Soon he would be a human man with a real

past, and such an extraordinary past, it fit him perfectly, this life set

before him on Earth.

With a graceful thrust he made a slight turn.

A quick rhythmic beat opened the song.

He moved with the music as if it had entranced him and in a way it=

had. He felt his head swimming from the energy and momentum of it all. It

seemed that this moment was more potent then any that he had ever known or a=

least could remember. And his memories were fading fast from him. The name

Jareth barely lingered in his mind. And he was scarcely sure that it was his

name. Dreams of children, a winding maze, they faded off. And they were

replaced by other things. He saw in the back of his mind a childhood in

England. He saw a young man with a guitar on his lap before a video camera.

And as he strummed the guitar in this vision he realized that this man in

this version was himself. And slowly but surely the images of The

Underground were replaced by this and many other visions like it. Glitter

replaced flying faeries. Screaming teenagers replaced jabbering goblins.

And he knew that "Jareth" was dying, and a man, a real man was being born

that night. He saw crystal orbs replaced with record albums. He tried to

cling to the images of himself and Sarah in the ballroom but this was in

vain. He did not want to forget that. He hadn't the choice. For this life,

for mortality there was the price of his old life, of his immortality within

Sarah. And he bid good bye to The Goblin King forever.

He raised his hands above his head and clapped to the beat fora

moment.

He spun around once on the tips of his shoes, swaying his hips in

precision to the music.

After the song faded out another one started.

It started with the tinkling, like that of a music box. Sarah

recognized it. She wondered if Jareth still did. His eyes had changed, in

the time that he had started singing. His whole expression had become more

placid, more calm, and more... . Human.

And then came the final song that Sarah recognized. And though his eyes

did not hold such recognition again it still appeared as he looked at her, as

if he were singing to her.

"How you turned my world, you precious thing,

You starve and near exhaust me,

Everything I've done, I've done for you,

I move the stars for no one,

You've run so long,

You've run so far,

Your eyes can be so cruel

Just as I can be so cruel,

Though I do believe in you,

Yes, I do...

Live without the sunlight,

Love without your heartbeat,

I, I can't live within you,

I can't live within you,

I, I can't live within you."

As that song ended Sarah watched as what looked like glitter

sprinkled down, as if from no where and it caught in the crowd's eyes and

hair before dissolving off in to oblivion. It even lightly salted on to

Jareth as the next song started up.

And as the glittering dust faded Sarah realized that it had not

touched her. But it had touched everyone else. And Jareth's eyes, and his

expression seemed more and more human.

And Sarah knew, that Jareth was gone...

And she looked up at the man. And she knew his name. And she kne=

his past. And he was a famous man, and quite wealthy, and Jareth was right.=

It was quite a life. But though she knew this she had not forgotten Jareth.=

But to her heartache she realized that he had forgotten. He was human now.=

He had gotten what he wanted. He was human. He was real. And though she

wanted to cry she did not. She just looked up at him with wonder and

interest. He did not live within her any longer, but he no longer was who h=

had been. Perhaps this man, was who Jareth had been meant to be all along.=

After all, as The Goblin King, he had only been living up to her expectation=

of him.

And then came a song that Sarah did not know, and did not recognize.=

It started with the drumbeat... She did not know the title. It was strange

and new to her but people in the audience sang along as if they knew the

song, as if it were an old favourite and Sarah knew that it was new but

somehow to everyone else it was not.

The concert ended but Sarah lingered in her seat for a few

minutes. He had been mistaken. She could still remember Jareth. And in

some odd short few months of his life, a long, long time ago he had played

The Goblin King once before, only acting, but still the story was there

nevertheless. And it was over. Jareth did not live within her. But someone

else, someone human, with enough natural skill to compensate for magical

skill and enough wealth and authority to replace the role of a king did live

now. And he was REALLY alive. He was flesh and blood. And though he did

not know it, he had loved her once, and possibly something deep inside of him

must have still loved her the way she still had somehow loved Jareth even

after her ordeal in The Labyrinth.

Sarah stood up, feeling like something left behind from a

child's storybook, in the real world where such things did not belong... And

she understood how he must have felt when she had left him- when she had said

"You have no power over me." But that was gone now. He did not remember

that and now it appeared that she no longer had any power over Him.

The end.