A/N Hi everyone! I'm writing this story with my sister, so the tone will be a bit different and possibly more variable. We won't stick to the Labyrinth plotline all the time, but most of it will be a lot like the movie.
Meet the Winchesters
There was a loud roll of thunder, and when it finished, Jack had stopped crying. Castiel went a few more steps away from the door, but something felt wrong. Jack was never this quiet, and he wouldn't just fall asleep so quickly. Cas walked slowly back to the doorway.
"Jack?" he called. "Jack?" His voice trembled. "Are you alright? Jack?"
Castiel reached for the light switch and turned it with shaking hands. Nothing happened. He desperately flipped it back and forth to no avail. Power outages happen all the time, he thought, trying to steady his breathing. This doesn't mean anything. There's a thunderstorm. This is normal.
"Jack?" Cas called again.
The room remained eerily silent except for the dull, distant rumble of the storm. Cas futilely flipped the light switch one more time before reluctantly crossing the dark room to Jack's crib.
A rasping, squeaking noise reminiscent of giggling came from under the blankets, making Castiel jump backwards with a low cry of alarm. After a moment he forced himself to lean over the crib. He reached down with one hand and jerked back the blankets. Jack was gone. Castiel's lip trembled.
Goblins darted about behind Castiel's back making noise, but staying out of sight. Castiel already felt jumpy with Jack apparently gone, and when an owl started to beat at his window, he felt a little sick. Finally, the window blew open, and Castiel looked at the shadow on the floor, afraid to look up. This must be the king of the goblins, he thought. I thought I would be excited to meet him, but now I'm just scared and afraid for Jack.
He looked up to see a scary man in a dark purple outfit and a thin black cloak that did nothing to hide his impressively muscular physique. He had dark blue eyes, one slightly lighter than the other, and short, spiky dark hair. Curtains blew around him. Castiel felt like his tongue was frozen.
"Do you know who I am?" asked Dean.
"You're him- aren't you?" squeaked Cas, terrified. "You're the Goblin King. Please, can I have my brother back? I didn't mean it- at least I might have but now I'm sorry."
"What's said is said," said Dean, crossing his arms.
"But I didn't mean it," said Castiel, softly. "Please? It's not Jack's fault."
"Oh, you didn't," said Dean, not impressed.
"Where is he?" asked Castiel, desperately.
"You know where he is," said Dean. "You put him there. Now, Cas, I think it's time we talked about something else. You've wanted to get rid of him forever, and now you want to talk about him? Seriously, man? Here, look at this."
Dean twirled his fingers, and suddenly he was holding a little crystal ball.
"What is it?" Cas asked, unable to help feeling curious.
"It's just a crystal," Dean said. "But if you turn it like this-" he demonstrated- "And look into it, it'll show you your dreams."
Castiel stared longingly at the crystal ball.
"Take it," Dean offered. "But if you do, I keep the baby- forever." Dean watched the changing expressions on Cas' face. "Do you want it?"
Castiel cast the crystal one last glance before dropping his eyes to the floor.
"Then forget the baby already," Dean said.
"I can't," Cas said softly. "It isn't that-" He lost the thread of what he was trying to say and dropped his head again.
"Just say what you're gonna say," Dean said, sounding slightly irritated.
"Please, I just want my brother back," Cas whispered, still looking at the floor.
Dean resisted the urge to hug Castiel and tell him he was sorry and of course he could have his brother back. Instead he glared convincingly at Castiel, which was pointless since he was still ogling the floor.
"He must be so scared," Castiel whimpered.
"Castiel," Dean scowled. He turned the crystal ball into a very scary purple snake with red and blue polka-dots and threw it at Castiel's neck. "Don't defy me."
Castiel shrieked and dropped it on the floor, where a little goblin popped out of a handkerchief and cackled. The other goblins laughed, and Castiel looked up dolefully at Dean, tears in his eyes.
Dean laughed, partly cruelly but partly sympathetically. "Let's face it. You're no match for me, Castiel."
"But I have to save Jack," said Castiel stubbornly. Dean was afraid he might just start crying then and there, so he turned around and pointed out the window.
"He's there. In my castle."
Castiel walked slowly toward the window, which had become a doorway to a strange, misty orange and brown desert landscape where he could make out what looked like an elaborate, winding maze. It seemed to go on for miles.
"Do you still want to look for him?" asked Dean.
Castiel ignored this and pointed to the small dot of a building at the highest point of the maze.
"Is that the castle beyond the goblin city?" he asked.
Dean went all drama king.
"Turn back, Castiel," he announced grandly. "Turn back before it's too late."
"I can't," said Castiel, firmly.
"What a pity," said Dean.
"It doesn't look too awful," said Castiel. "I like mazes."
"It's a long way," said Dean. "And I mean a really long way. You'll wish you hadn't started this, kid. You don't have forever." He pointed to an ornate burnished clock that appeared in a gnarly old tree. "You'll have thirteen hours in which to solve the Labyrinth before your baby brother becomes one of us, forever," he finished, shaking his head as he disappeared in a cloud of mist. "Too bad."
Castiel looked around. He sighed.
"The Labyrinth, huh? I guess it doesn't look that hard- sort of. Okay. One step at a time. Left… right…" He started walking down the hill towards the entry point.
Soon he reached a pool dug into the earth. A young man with curly hair was pouring from a silver flask into some kind of spray bottle.
Castiel stood and watched for a bit, not sure how to approach the situation.
"Um- excuse me?" he asked timidly.
Sam Winchester jumped and doused Castiel with holy water.
"Sorry, man," he said, when nothing exciting happened. "Oh- it's you."
"Um, I have to get through this Labyrinth thing…" said Castiel, not sure how he was supposed to react to being doused with water. Was this some kind of test? Unless the maze was electric or something, he didn't see why this was happening to him, but he had to try his best or he'd never be able to save Jackie from these monsters.
Sam pointedly ignored him and aimed the spray bottle at a beautiful fairy girl who was dancing in the air.
Castiel watched her for a moment and then Sam shot her down with the holy water. She gasped as he kicked dirt over her.
"Nasty little beasts," said Sam. "Look, why are you still here? Start the stupid labyrinth already, before I'm tempted to shoot you."
"Will you help me?" blurted Cas. "I don't even know how to get started with this Labyrinth thing." Sam just walked away, looking for more fairies to shoot. Castiel bent down to see what had happened to the fairy. She gazed up at him and blinked her pretty eyelashes. He gently offered her his finger. She bit him.
"Ow," Cas yelped. "It bit me," he complained.
"What did you expect of a fairy?" asked Sam. "Never mind, don't answer that. I bet you believe all those stupid stories you read. Why don't you just go get lost and leave me alone, huh?"
He shot down a few more fairies.
"That's just sick," said Castiel. "Why do you have to shoot them?"
"Sick? No, I'm Sam. Everybody gets my name wrong all the time. Just go away, okay? I'm not going to help you."
"Hi, Sam," said Castiel dejectedly. "I'm Castiel."
"That's what I figured," said Sam.
"Do you know where the door to the Labyrinth is?" asked Castiel. He was getting really tired of Sam's company.
"Maybe," hedged Sam.
"Well, where is it?" asked Castiel.
"Ha. Sixty," said Sam, shooting down another fairy. "Look, just go away."
"I said, where's the door?" asked Castiel, ready to brave anything for Jack.
"I don't have to answer you," growled Sam.
"It's hopeless asking you anything, isn't it?" complained Castiel.
"Huh," said Sam. "Look, if you ask the right questions, maybe I'll have an answer for you, but sure don't promise to share it."
"How do I get into the Labyrinth?" asked Castiel.
"Ah, now that's a better question," admitted Sam. "You get into the Labyrinth there." He pointed to a pair of ivy-covered doors that groaned open and let Castiel into a long brick corridor that extended in both directions for what appeared to be forever.
"You're really gonna go in there?" asked Sam, a little astonished.
"Yes. I have to," said Cas. He walked in and looked carefully at each direction.
Sam sneaked up behind him. "Cozy, huh?"
Castiel jumped. Sam just laughed.
"So, are you going left- or right?" asked Sam.
"They look the same," said Castiel gravely.
"Well, you're not going to get very far," said Sam. "Why don't you just go home?"
"Which way would you go?" asked Castiel.
"Neither," laughed Sam.
"Well, that's helpful," said Cas. "You know what? Why don't you just leave? I can think better by myself."
"You know what your problem is? You take everything for granted," said Sam. "Take this labyrinth. Even if you make it to the center, you're never going to get out again."
"That's your opinion," said Castiel.
"Hah. Better my opinion than your opinion," said Sam darkly.
"Thank-you for your help, Stan. Goodbye," said Castiel.
Sam growled in annoyance. "It's Sam. And don't say I didn't warn you. This maze is dangerous, and you're no Hunter." He left, still grumbling, and waved the doors shut behind him.
