Sarah didn't know why Jareth let Karen come along. Her stepmother was unbearable with the constant nagging and arguing. Maybe Jareth knew this fact. Maybe it was his form of punishment for the broken heart she caused him ten years before.

Now Sarah and Karen stood before the walls of the Labyrinth. Everything had happened so fast. One moment Sarah was visiting home, the next the ever curious Toby was wishing himself away after stumbling across the little red book. Sarah thought she had thrown it away for good. It was too late by time she and Karen heard the crash upstairs. Their latest argument was put on hold as they rushed up to Toby's room only to find the goblin king himself standing there. Sarah was furious but tried to stay under control before the man that stood before her. To Jareth's amusement and Sarah's annoyance, Karen was hysterical and kept threatening to call the police.

Sarah didn't need to think twice before she accepted the offer to rescue her brother again. Over the years they had become close and she would do anything to save him. Karen, with her mother's instinct, of course demanded to come along to save her only son.

Now here they were in the Labyrinth. Sarah looked off into the distance. The castle beyond the goblin city peeked over the top of the outer walls. She knew that if she could solve the puzzle before, she could solve it again. She was older and wiser. She wasn't afraid of Jareth or his tricks anymore.

"You have nine hours to solve the Labyrinth," Jareth waved his hand in a circle making the floating clock appear to wind itself.

Karen stared incredulous at the magic that appeared before her. Sarah spun around. "Nine hours? What happened to thirteen?"

Jareth gave a sly smile. "I thought I'd make things more interesting this time around."

Karen turned to Sarah. "This time?" When was the first time? Sarah, when was the first time?"

Sarah ignored her stepmother. "Fine. If that's how you want to play."

Jareth was already beginning to vanish. "I'll see you at the finish line, precious. That is, of course, if you make it."

"Oh, I'll be there." A part of Sarah doubted it as Karen continued to nag her.

"Sarah, when did you meet that man?" Her stepmother wasn't the ideal sidekick. Sarah rolled her eyes as Karen became more insistent. "Don't roll your eyes at me. Now I'm asking you a question. When and where did you meet this man?"

By this point Jareth had left them to it. "Does it matter?" Sarah hated sounding like a teenager but Karen had a knack of bringing out the worst in her.

"Yes! It does matter", Karen put her hands on her hips, "Who else have you been meeting? Axe murders?"

"What? No! I thought you wanted me to meet people."

"Yes, but not kidnappers!"

"First off, Jareth isn't technically-"

"I don't care who Jared is! I want to know-"

Sarah grunted. "Karen, we only have nine hours before Toby gets turned into a goblin forever!"

"That's ridiculous."

"That's the truth! We don't have much time. Can we please get going? Toby's expecting us to find him."

Karen looked at the outer walls of the Labyrinth. They were cracking and the plants had over grown since the last time Sarah visited. "Okay. But I expect a full explanation."

"I promise as soon as we get home with Toby, I will." Sarah headed towards the wall. Karen's hand suddenly caught Sarah's arm. The younger woman turned around. "Toby won't really be turned into a goblin, will he? I mean, I know sometimes he acts like one but honestly…"

Sarah sighed. "Not if we get moving." Karen nodded and followed after her.

Sarah had expected to see Hoggle by now but the dwarf was nowhere to be found. Hundreds of fairies floated about which seemed odd to her. Where was Hoggle? He wouldn't have let the little fairies run wild much less let the plants become over grown.

She was careful not to get too close to the wall. She could almost feel the sharp pain in her hand as the memory of her last encounter with one of the winged creatures came back. But Karen didn't know about it. "Are these…are those fairies?"

Sarah walked along the length of the wall trying to find the doors. "Keep your distance. They're known to-"

"Ow!"

Sarah spun around. Karen was desperately trying to shake off one fairy that was biting her little finger. "Get it off! Get it off!"

Sarah swatted that the little creature. "Shoo! Shoo!" The fairy became annoyed at her swatting. He let go—to Karen's relief—but charged at Sarah's head. She yelped and ducked it. The little fairy flew away, satisfied with his warning.

"Are you okay?"

Karen squeezed her finger. "I think so. Oh, that hurt."

Sarah began her search again for the giant doors that led into the Labyrinth. "I tried to warn you."

"I didn't hear you say anything."

"I did. I said they're known to bite so don't get to close."

"I heard nothing.

"Because I didn't get-"

"You could have said it before we got close. You never give me any warning. Not here, not back at home. You know, it would have been nice if you called earlier and told me you were coming over today."

"You always bring that up! I knew you were going to say it eventually."

"Don't you think I have plans on a Friday?"

Sarah was becoming increasingly annoyed. "You never asked me what my plans were when I was still living at home."

"I always told you when we were going out! You were just too busy playing dress up."

By this point Sarah had already checked out of the conversation. She had stopped walking and Karen stopped beside her. A huge chunk of wall was missing. Sarah guessed this must be where the doors had been as she knelt down and picked up a fragment of wood. She brushed off the dirt caked on it. "What happened here?"

Karen peeked around the corner of the broken wall. "Isn't this how it's supposed to be?"

Sarah tossed the wood chip aside. "There should have been doors here. Hoggle should have showed up by now."

Karen looked from left to right before lifting her leg over the chunk of broken wall. Sarah put a hand on her shoulder. "Wait. What are you doing?"

"What does it look like? I'm going inside to save your brother."

"You can't just go in."

"Why not?"

"Because…you have to ask the right question."

Karen crossed her arms. "To whom? Those fairies over there?" Sarah looked around. "To…I don't know."

Karen began to climb over the wall again. "Well I'm going in. You can stay out here and figure it out all you want. That Jack guy said we only have nine hours."

Sarah decided it wasn't worth it correcting Karen. She was already heading down the left passage. Sarah stumbled over the wall, trying to catch up. "Hey, we need to go right."

Karen didn't even look back. "Be my guest."

Sarah looked behind her. What was once a pathway was now blocked by broken rubble. The only way to go was left. She reluctantly jogged after Karen. "We could climb and see what's on the other side."

"And break my arm? No thank you. That pile of stones does not look stable enough."

Sarah looked back. Karen had a point. Besides, there was something in her that told her climbing maybe wasn't the best option. They walked along the path for some time. Karen kept the lead while Sarah ran her hand along the wall trying to find any openings.

Karen pushed aside another broken branch. "How long does this go?"

Sarah shrugged. "Who knows? There should be an opening around here somewhere."

"Well I'm not seeing any—ahh!"

Sarah watched in shock as Karen fell through a hidden oubliette. She rushed to the opening, getting on her hands and knees. She coughed as she waved aside the dust. "Karen?" Her voice echoed back to her. Beyond was only darkness.

It took a moment before she heard a small voice calling up from somewhere below. "Sarah?"

"Are you alright?"

"I…I think I twisted my ankle. But yes, I'm alright."

Sarah sighed in relief. Karen called up again. "How do you get out of here?"

Sarah tried her best to see what was happening. "Is there a dwarf down there with you?" She hoped there wasn't but perhaps Hoggle had been thrown into some oubliette for helping her solve the Labyrinth. She had been in contact with him and her other friends in the Labyrinth but only for a brief time. The last time she talked to Hoggle he seemed afraid of something. She remembered he had told her that the Labyrinth was changing.

Karen replied. "No…I don't think so. There are a lot of bones down here, though."

"Just hold on, I'll figure something out." Sarah looked at the rubble around her. Was this what Hoggle meant? The clock was ticking. She had to do something, and fast.