A/N: Okay, I have been obsessing over The Labyrinth for the past weeks now. I watch it about six - seven times a day. Now I have something that I obsess about as madly as Plushie Heartless and her Beyblade. ;;;3 Yeah! Anyways, with her urgings, I think to make me shut up about it, I started this fanfic. Because I want to marry the Goblin King! Though not David Bowie himself, only his character in the movie… he looks funny without the wig, or he did when I watched the making of it.;;;3 'Tis a cryin' shame. ;;;-;;; I have absolutely no idea what he looks like now. I am the weirdest fan you will ever meet. Though not literally. Well… maybe. You never know. ;;;3

The Labyrinth II

Chapter 1: The Book

This is the weirdest book I've ever read. Why is it in the attic though? Mother treasures her books!

The teenaged girl clumped down the stairs as fast as her feet could carry her. In all her 17 years of growing up in this out in-the-middle-of-nowhere, two story house, she had never ventured so far as past the ancient amour in the attic. Today she was feeling quite adventurous. That was after her last batteries died in her gameboy.

"Mom! MOM!"

"In here Mina."

"Mom, I found this book in the attic. Can I read it? I read a few pages in the middle, and it was interesting."

She could tell her mother was only paying half attention to her. "Yeah sure… wait… what is the name of this book?"

"The… Labyrinth."

Her mother's attention snapped away from putting make up on. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "What did you say it was?"

"You're going out again!" She decided that asking her mother wasn't a good idea anymore.

"Don't change the subject. The name of the book." She looked almost panicked. "Tell me now."

"The Labyrinth…"

"Give it to me! Now!"

Frightened by her mother's reaction, she handed over the little red book she unconsciously clutched to her breasts. As soon as it was in her mother's hands, she hurriedly locked it away in the chest at the foot of her bed, the key on a silver chain around her neck. She then smiled sweetly at her daughter.

"Yes Mina, I am going out tonight."

"But Mom!"

"Don't 'But Mom' me. I hired a babysitter for your little sister 'till 9:00. You may do what you want until then. I'll be back by midnight."

"Are you sure about this one mother? Really sure?"

"Yes dear."

She was still a little skeptical, but let the matter drop anyway. "And why can't I read that book while you are gone?"

"That book brings on bad… things and ideas. I don't –"

HONK, HOOONK!

"He's here! Here's the money to the babysitter. Give it to her when she gets here. Then go where you want 'till 9:00. 'Bye Honey, be careful."

He mother grabbed her light jacket and rushed out the house. Scowling, Mina walked to the bedroom window and watched as her mother got in the car. Ever since Mina's father got in that fatal car crash, her mother had been going on dates, "Looking for a good father figure" she said. But Mina knew that it was to hide that hurt and find someone to fill in the empty place where her father was.

That scowl turned into a smirk however, as they drove away. Pushing off of the glass, she whirled around and ran to the chest. Chuckling, she sank to her knees and pulled out two pencil thick needles from her hair. She put the first on in pointing up and jiggled it until it sank farther in. She then placed the other in, pointing left. Turning both until a loud click sounded in the quiet room.

Looking around, all she saw was a tan and white owl sitting in the tree outside the window. She got a shiver down her spine as it stared intently down at her, as if it was watching her. She shook her head and growled slightly to herself.

That last surprised her, making her head shoot up the same time she lifted the lid. She hadn't growled since her friends moved away. It was their little group thing, taking it for granted that she would growl. Smiling, she decided that she was going to do that more often and make it soon to be the habit that it once was.

Snorting to herself, she grabbed the book and pulled the needles out and put them back in her hair. The doorbell rang and the lid slammed down, automatically locking. Slowing her breathing, Mina resisted the urge to roll her eyes and went downstairs to answer it.

"Hey Amy. Tayma is asleep now. She'll wake up about 6:30 for her mild. She must go back to bed at 8:30. Feel free to watch the tube, just don't neglect my sister."

The silent threat hung in the air as Mina put the twenty in the baby sitter's hand as she walked out the door. She took pride in how Amy flinched from her touch. As long as people feared her, none would get close to her. Her reputation as the Lone Wolf made sure of that. If no one got close, then her heart wouldn't get hurt, as it did when her friends moved away, when her father got in that fatal car accident.

She had redyed her hair back to its natural black from the cheery reds and blonds she use to die it. Instead she put hot pink streaks in her hair, with the tips done messily at odd lengths on purpose. Every month she ordered contacts that were cat-slitted. She also had her canine and incisors filed to points. She also filed her regular nails to points, kept them painted black, and took good care of them. That gave her the whole look of her new way of life, Goth.

Pushing the button to unlock her car, she got in and started it up. So deep in thought, she didn't notice that the owl had followed her to the front door and car. She didn't even notice when she backed up and sped away, that it flew silently above her.

She parked next to the lake a couple miles from town. There, she went far out into the forest surrounding it and lit a small camp fire. She could read all she wanted up until 8:45 then she had to head back home. She had plenty of time, considering it was only 6:00. Lying out on her stomach, she opened the book and started to read.

She wasn't quite done when an alarm went off. Starting, she saw her watch blinking 8:45. Pushing the button to silence it, she growl lightly as she stood up and stretched. She tucked the book into an inside pocket of her black leather trench coat, a loud "hoo hooo hoo" made her jump.

Looking up, her breathing increased along with her heartbeat. It was the same owl that was watching her from hermother's window. Silently laughing at her foolishness, she grabbed the large Circle K cup she brought for one perpose and walked the few feet to the lake. She disturbed the surgace with the cup.

Frowning in consentration, she looked closely at the reflection. Behind her, in the tree, a man with white hair was staring down at her. She whirled around only to see the owl. Looking back in the water, only to see the owl. Looking back in the water, the man was gone. She shook her head and told herself that she was getting tired.

She doused the fire, covered the pit with dirt, then placed the flint and cup back into the hole under the tree. She then got up and headed back to her car.

As she passed a partivularly large tree, the full moon's light was gone, as well as her sight momentarily. When her vision adjusted to the sudden darkness, she wished it had vanished permenitaly. For barring her way were the one people you aboided in town, the Viper Gang.

A bunch of juvies who took pleasure in other people's pain. The worst part was that they went to her school. She turned around to go the other route, but they were blocking back there too. The leader stepped from the shadows and advanced on her. Having no where else to go, she backed up until she hit the tree, trapping herself.

"Look what we have here boys. The Lone Wolf herself. She's turned down every boy who's asked her out. Lets us show her what pleasures a man can give her."

As they all laughed, he trapped her right wrist in his left and taced her bottom lip with his right thumb. He head dipped and crushed her lips with his before she could protest. Imediately sh growled and bit onto his tongue. With her free hand, she slapped his face, digging her claws in.

He pulled back and lifted his hand to wipe the blood on the back of it. Even Mina could see the anger emitting off of him, but not even that could give her ample warning of what was to come next.

He snarled out a "BITCH!" and punched her jaw. Her head flicked back and she sank to her knees. She looked up at him through her hair that had fallen around her face, where a fiery hatred burned, which fear swirled into the depths. He raised his fist and started another blow in her direction, but it never connected.

An avian screech filled the air, followed by the cursed screams of the gang. Mina looked just in time to see the owl detach itself from the leader's face and the knife slice the owl on the chest. The men took off screaming something about witchcraft and the owl flapped painfully into the thick trees.

"No, wait! Don't leave!"

Mina, not really thinking, chased after him. She relied on her hearing to tell her where he was as she watched where she put her feet. She heard no more breaking branch twigs and stumbled upon a clearing. She heard soft, pain filled hooting that seemed to be getting deeper, almost sounding as a groaning man.

"Where are you?"

She looked around as she walked through the tall grass, nearly jumping out of her skin when she heard a hoot at her feet. Stopping, she looked down to see that she almost stepped on the owl. Kneeling beside it, she held her hands out to it.

"Don't bite me now. I'm going to help."

It seemed as if it understood her, being as it allowed her to examine the wound, even though she knew she accidentally hurt it a couple times. She had to remove a few feather around it and tossed them aside. Her complete attention was on the bird, so she didn't notice that those discarded feathers reformed into strips of clothing.

"Well, it's not that deep. You're going to have to stay with me until it heals. I don't need you going and getting it infected."

Without much thought, she picked the owl up and cradled him to her. She then walked briskly back to the path, then to her car. Deciding on impulse, she kept the bird gently clutched in her left arm while she started the car and sped home.

As she pulled into the driveway and got out of the car, Amy came out of the house. Looking up briefly, she growled at the form walking towards her. She shut her car door and started her way up to the house.

"You're thirty minutes late! It's 9:30! You were-"

"Shut up Amy. You're repeating yourself. Here's an extra five. Now leave."

She smirked as the girl hurried back down the drive and to her car. She slammed the door and went straight to her room and looked around. Spotting it, she smiled and threw her coats off of the perch and onto the bed. Carefully, she placed the owl on it, which it gripped with its powerful talons.

"There you go. I'm not going to name you because I'll just get attached. I'm guessing you hunted already, so I don't have to get you any mice right now. Okay, what do I need?… bird tape and the ointment."

"Don't worry; this'll only sting a little. I get visitors like you all the time. And not just other birds, but mammals and reptiles to. I know you can't understand me, but the tone of my voice should make you calm."

Quickly, as she talked, before the owl could snap at her with its sharp beak, she smeared the salve across the wound. It gave an indignant squawk, but that was about it. She quickly taped the wound closed with three strips at equal distances.

"Well, not that you are taken care of, I think I'll take my bath now. You know, it sounds weird, but I think you understand me. If you were a red-tailed hawk, I would begin to think that the Animorphs to be real. Nah, I must be imagining things."

She checked on her baby sister, then went into her bathroom, leaving the door open. There were two master bedrooms in the house, her mother's on the ground floor and hers up on the second story.

Turning the knob, she adjusted the temperature. Once it was right, she put the stopper in and stood up. Deep in thought, Mina unbuckled her boots as she sat on the toilet seat, she put them next to the door. Shedding her jacket, she hung it up on the corner of the door. As she stripped, the owl flew in and landed on the low shower curtain.

She resisted another urge to shiver from the owl's stare and slipped into the water. Quickly, she washed her hair and body, shaving in the process. She laid her head back, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and silently went under. She liked to swim and could hold her breath longer than most humans. She tested that length while rinsing her hair, by undergoing the trance she usually did, a trance that pushed all thoughts from her head. Even those sent by her body.

She drifted as the minutes ticked by until she heard the panicked screeches and frantic flapping of he owl. That's when she realized that she couldn't get up. Her sight seemed to be fading. Then she felt severe pains as something sharp pierced her right forearm. The water violently started turning around her. She shot into the sitting position and gripped the sides of tub tightly.

Then Mina noticed the eight puncture marks bleeding freely. Cursing furiously, she lifted the plug and stood up. The owl was back on its chosen perch on the curtain, but fresh blood shined on his talons.

She grabbed the towel and dried off. Rummaging in the medicine cabinet, she pulled out the peroxide and Neosporin. Grabbing some cotton balls, she poured the peroxide over them and cleaned out the openings, then applied the Neosporin. She placed the gauze pads over them and wrapped her whole forearm in an ace bandaged.

Walking back into her bed room, she slipped on her black satin night slip and undergarments. The owl flapped silently to the wooden perch and Mina went up to it and stroked its crest feathers.

"Thank you."

He watched as she turned her lap top on and opened up Word. There, she retrieved The Labyrinth from her jacket, opened it, and started typing it up.

Now she finally read the end of it and had the whole thing up on her computer. She rushed to her mother's room and hurriedly opened the chest. She put the book back in the exact spot it was in and let the lid shut. Rushing, she flipped the switch and ran back upstairs to check on her little sister. She was sleeping soundly in her crib.

She went back to her bedroom and shut and locked the door. She then went to her CD/Radio/Tape player and put in an Even Essence CD and put the volume on low. Turning around, she saw that the owl had moved to her bed. Chuckling, she moved him back to the perch, but he just flew back to the same spot, snuggled down, and fluffed out his feather, giving every impression of being comfortable. Sighing, Mina shook her head and flipped out the light.

Using the moonlight, Mina made her way back to her bed and got in. The owl moved closer to her as she scooted over to the middle of the king sized mattress. Her hand reached out and stroked his feathered chest, making the owl shiver a little. Her petting got slower and slower until it faltered and stopped, resting midway as she fell asleep.

The owl uttered a soft gurgle-like sound that formed into a very human chuckle. A white haired man lay where the owl once was. He felt quite comfortable where he was, she he pulled the girl closer to him. His arm snaked around her waist and his face snuggled to her neck.

Taking a deep breath, he breathed in her scent of vanilla lavender. Now he was very comfortable, especially with Mina's hand upon him chest. Chuckling quietly, the man murmured in her ear, "Soon my dear Mina, soon…" With that, he gave her a feather light kiss on her lips and drifted to sleep.

Mina awoke in the morning to a baby's crying echoing throughout the large house. She opened her eyes to the owl gone, but a long primary feather lay in its place. She looked around to see that she left a bedroom window open. Smiling sadly, she unsuccessfully resisted the urge to cry and two big fat hot drops slid down her cheeks and burned as they splashed onto her chest.

The infant squall broke through her silent mourning. Shaking her head violently, she scowled and stalked out of her room. She went into her little sister's room to see the three month old tangled up in her blankets, screaming her head off. Sighing in frustration, she untangled her sister and picked her up. The baby immediately quieted, clutching the top of her night dress.

She went down stairs and into the kitchen, passing her mother's open door to an empty room. Growling, she grabbed a pot and filled it with water. Once it was half full, she put it over a burner and turned it on to high. She then got out a bottle and put two scoops of formula into it and filled it almost to the rim with water. Placing a finger over the nipple, she shook it up until she was sure that it was thoroughly mixed. Then she put it in the heating pot.

Walking in a circle in the living room, she bounced the baby a little bit. When she believed that the bottle was done, she took it out and turned the burner off. Dripping a few drops on her wrist, she felt that it was just right. Smiling, she went back up stairs and into Tayma's room. Once there, she put the baby on the changing table and changed her diaper and clothes. She then sat on the rocking chair and rocked Tayma as she fed her.

Looking down, she saw the last of the milk suck down into Tayma's greedy throat. She put a pad over her shoulder and burped her. Then putting her back in the crib, she covered her up and left the room as Tayma slipped into dreamland.

Mina returned to her room to find the owl sitting back on the perch. Smiling, she ran over and hugged the bird without thinking. She pulled back in confusion when she realized what she had just done and looked at the bird in confusion.

"All right. That's it. Now I know you're not a normal bird. Any other bird would've pecked my eyes out for doing that.

The owl squawked and just continued to look at her. Now that she thought about it, he never acted as a normal owl did. But still trying to deny it, she decided that he used to be a show bird. Shaking her head a little, she then heard the noise she though she would be hearing last night.

"Mom! You said that you would be here last night at 12:00!"

She grabbed her jacket and put it on as she raced down the stairs to confront her mother in person. Blinking, she turned back around and tried to pretend she didn't see anything. But the sight was too scarring to forget.

"AWWW Mooom! That's gross. I don't want to see my mother swallowing some guys tongue!"

"Mina! Sorry Michael. I'll see you…."

"How about next week on Friday?"

"All right. Bye."

"Bye Kayla."

With a quick glance at the teenager glowering at him, he kissed Kayla quickly on the lips, then hurried to his car. He drove away,. Her mother shut the door and turned around with a dreamy look on her face. Mina's mouth dropped open when she finally per two and two together, her mother didn't come home last night and she just got home at 7:30 with this Michael person.

"Mom! How dare you? You stayed the night over at a guy's house you've only went on a couple of dates with and left you two kids home alone all night!"

"You're seventeen Mina. Way old enough to be left alone."

"But not with a three month old sister all night! I act more like her mother than you do! Why don't you take care of her for once, instead of trying to replace dad."

"Don't take that tone with me young lady."

"Ugh! I hate you! You call me young, but you're the only one who's acting like a child."

Kayla followed her daughter up the stairs as they argued. Mina finally made it to her room and whirled around to face her mother, once hand on the door.

"And I didn't find anything wrong with that book. It only seems a little strange that the writer put her own name in it. You just don't want me to have anything at all!"

"You read the book? You grandmother rewrote it as a warning to the rest of her family! You never listen anymore!"

"I wish…"

"Don't you dare!"

"I wish the Goblin King would come and take me away!"

"NO!"

With that, she slammed and locked the door on her mother's horrified expression. Sighing, she leaned her forehead against the door, letting the tears pour down her face freely. A particularly bright lightning bolt struck nearby, closely followed by a deafening thunder clap. Then everything was silent.

"I knew this day would come. Ever since that day that Sarah left me. I knew one of her family would come to me, call upon me."

A/N: Yeah! I'm done! I hope you liked it. I had to rewrite most of it because my disk was acting weird and lost it. Anyways, please R/R. ;;;3