The lantern fell from numb hands and crashed to the ground. Sarah squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to avoid the inevitable. She'd known it - she'd known it from the moment she'd sensed something else in that tunnel other than her and Merlin - and yet she was mentally unprepared and caught off guard. She opened her eyes again and tried to clear the alcohol from her brain.
She was looking at the Labyrinth for the second time in her life. In front of her was a hauntingly familiar scene. But this time, rather than the mysterious and enticing dark brown and orange tones of seven years ago, the scene was made of gloomy, forbidding dark blues and brooding, sickly greens. It gave Sarah the chills.
To her left, a path led to a dead, skeletal tree choked with creeping vines and covered with the refuse of parasites. To her right were dusty, lifeless pits, juxtaposed with a very sentient-looking mass of rocks, and she could feel eerie rumblings coming from them. Behind her was no trace of a cave or a tunnel. She was stuck.
A stinging wind, laden with sand and debris, came whipping through the plains and caught her in the face, causing her to wince in pain. As nightmarish as this seemed, Sarah was definitely awake and conscious. At her feet, panting after his run, was Merlin - still with his ridiculous three-headed costume. There was no sign of the goblins he'd been chasing - for Sarah was now certain they had been goblins.
At the signs of her attention, he barked. And again. And again. Sarah bent down, intending to comfort the dog, and Merlin growled. Three heads snapped at her. Sarah froze.
Three heads? She backed up, her eyes wide with shock. All three heads were moving. Sarah's breath caught in her throat and she froze. Merlin whimpered, sensing he'd done something wrong. Sarah reached out a hand in disbelief, wanting to comfort her loyal companion but not knowing how. Two heads sniffed at her hand and one of them licked it. The third was starting off into the distance, tail wagging.
Too shocked to process what had happened, she followed the dog's gaze. Peering into the gloom ahead, she was able to discern the upward sloping Labyrinth only by sinister looking lights dancing around on its slopes. Sighing heavily, she figured that it would be just her luck that she should have to thread the Labyrinth at night. If she had thought it was bad last time, surely it would be much worse when she couldn't even see most of the threats.
For that was all that was left for her to do, wasn't it? She had nowhere else to go, and couldn't go back. Answers would surely lie at the center. She was sure this was all his fault. No need to name him. What else could she do but play his game, once again?
She resolutely set her jaw and strode forward. She had beaten it once. She could do it again.
A sharp bark from Merlin caused her to glance back down at him. All three heads were now focused in the direction of the Labyrinth. Uber creepy, thought Sarah. But maybe he would be thrice as effective a guardian and companion on her journey? The thought cheered her. Anyway, wasn't she just thinking of how boring her life was - and almost longing to be back here again? She tossed her head and started walking down to the great wall of the Labyrinth, her heart beating fast. Maybe it wasn't the smartest thing to have done, to have followed those goblins down a dark tunnel, but she was here now and might as well see what there was to see. She wondered idly if she had a thirteen-hour time limit to - to do what? Find a way back home? Find the center of the Labyrinth? Find its stupid King? What on earth was she even doing here?
As she approached the wall, she couldn't suppress the hope that Hoggle would be there, killing off another sixty or so biting fairies. But of course, she wasn't going to have that much luck. She didn't see any dwarves, fairies, or gates when she finally got close enough to tell. Cursing and muttering under her breath, she pressed her hand to the stone and began to feet all along the wall for a breach or opening of any sort. Finding nothing in that section of wall, she then sought uselessly for any hold that might give her access to the top of the wall. She wasn't the greatest climber in the world, but maybe if she could find something to grab onto - but the stone was too vertical. Defeated, too, in that, Sarah started to follow the length of the wall, trailing her hand along it at every step, but all to no avail.
Had her earlier conclusion been wrong? Was she not supposed to enter it this time? After ten minutes of stumbles, bruises, torn hands, and tripping, she gave up. She'd ruined her nails, which was probably for the better as she'd managed to scratch herself with the pointy ends several times already anyway. She threw back her head and vocally let out all of her frustration, indignation, and pure rage that had been building up in her. Even Merlin joined in his mistress's scream with three loyal howls. What the hell were they doing here?
After her breath was completely spent, she sank to the ground and closed her eyes. She firmly made up her mind that when she opened them, someone would be there to help her, the way the worm had come last time.
To her own astonishment, someone was. Merlin barked loudly the instant he noticed the creature, but it was already close enough to touch, like it had snuck up on them deliberately. She immediately jumped up and looked at it.
It was not Hoggle, but it looked enough like him that Sarah decided it was most likely a dwarf. It was short, stubbly, and very ugly. It carried a spray can and a lantern.
"Er, hello," began Sarah. She fervently hoped it wouldn't be as fond of enigmatic answers as Hoggle had been. "Will you show me how to get into the Labyrinth?"
The creature wrinkled its nose, twisting its already unpleasant features into a gross parody of a real face. "Who're you?" it demanded suspiciously.
"Oh, I'm, um..." Sarah bit her lip, wondering how infamous she was - or wasn't - in the Labyrinth. As far as she knew, no one else, once having entered, had been able to leave it. Heart beating, she decided that this dwarf most likely represented her only chance of getting into the Labyrinth. She didn't want to make enemies too soon. "Louise."
It wasn't entirely a lie; it was her middle name. But the lie didn't seem to allay the dwarf's suspicions any. It frowned deeply and spat viciously at the ground. It grumbled something unintelligible, and peered around at the wall. It spent several minutes rubbing its toe in the dirt and generally showing its dissatisfaction with Sarah, while she stood there, tired, cross, and impatient. Shifting weight onto her other leg, she wondered if she oughtn't scream again when the creature spoke.
"Why's you be wantin' to get into there? It ain't a pretty sight."" It finished with a deeply dark chuckle, and Sarah inadvertently shivered.
"I have to, I think have to get to the castle, and play this stupid game, so won't you just help me, and be quick about it?" Sarah said in a rush, increasingly more irritated with this dwarf as every moment passed.
It spat on the ground again. "Well's you're determined," it said, "I gotta show yer in. But don't be bitin' off more 'n you kin chew."
Sarah just stared at it. It made no move. "Well!" she demanded. "Are you going to show me in or sit here all day?"
Its features crinkled again, and Sarah decided this one was definitely uglier than Hoggle. "I'll show yer in," it said finally, reluctantly. "But remember as I ain't doin' it 'cause I wanna."
Sarah barely refrained from rolling her eyes. No, she had been just sure the dwarf had offered to show her in out of the goodness and charity of its heart. "How disillusioning. Well then can we go now? Please," she added quickly.
It gestured to the solid wall, much like Hoggle had once done. But nothing happened.
Sarah turned back to the creature. "What about it? I just spent the last ten minutes probing that wall, there is no opening."
The creature growled at her. "And you think you kin find th' op'ning? It ain't there fer jus' anybody ter find. Go on, 'cause I ain't hangin' 'round here any longer than I hafta."
Sarah nodded. It made sense, sort of. An inhabitant of the Labyrinth had to show her, an outsider, any secrets. The Labyrinth wouldn't disclose them to anybody. And, realized Sarah, by the same token, just one guide would never be enough to show her through, as every section was different, and held a different secret. She would need another full collection of friends to make it through again.
She walked towards the opening, feeling smart, and promptly banged her face into it.
"Ouch!" she cried, and whirled on the creature. "What was that for?"
The creature smirked at her, its features lifting into an entirely different, but no less revolting, aspect. "Fer thinkin' you was smarter 'n me." He clutched his spray can, and trundled towards the opening. He walked right through the wall, seeming to dissolve as did an illusion. His light went with him and Sarah was left to manage in the poor visibility on her own.
Sarah bit her lip with frustration. How was she ever going to survive thirteen hours of this? When she was younger she had thought it somewhat of a grand adventure, discovering that magic was real and that she could be a part of it. But now she was somewhat more jaded, and was starting to realize that her longing to be rid of her boring life hadn't really involved being in this nightmare once again. Well, at least Toby was safe... she hoped.
She turned to Merlin. He was wagging his tail, all three tongues panting happily, eager to follow her. That the three heads had come to life still creeped her out, but her canine friend's personality was still the same, and the sight of his indomitable spirits rose her own. She turned to the outer wall of the Labyrinth, which wasn't really a wall at all. She smiled at him. "Come on, boy," she urged. "Let's go get 'em."
He barked, and she put her hand up to the wall, encountering no resistance. She stepped cautiously through, and her vision went completely blank. It was as if she had walked into a low-riding cloud- not yet condensed into fog, but still damp and clingy. As a result, she didn't see what was on the other side of the wall until she was right in the middle of it.
"Oh, shit!"
That was the first thing out of Sarah's mouth as she saw two small, but fierce and very ferocious-looking, creatures headed straight down on her, growling and armed with viciously tipped spikes. She didn't even have time to react before she was shoved mercilessly aside by the closer of the two, the long edge of the spike tearing through the flesh of her right arm. She released a short cry as the pain shot through her, but had no more time to respond. The first creatures had swerved past her, but as she whirled around to face the sounds behind her back, she saw more little monsters wildly waving an assortment of dangerous implements in the light of their makeshift torches. And she was right in the middle of them.
She grabbed her arm tightly, trying to block out the pain, and looked around desperately for something to use as a weapon. All she saw, however, was more wild little creatures running around.
Goblins. Sarah had no idea what they were doing, but their lack of coordination seemed to be working against her rather than for her this time. She wasn't, it seemed, their target, but was just in the very wrong place at a horrible time. Soon after, a hail of large, rounded missiles came shooting her way, and though she ducked as quickly as she could, several hit her. She hissed and gritted her teeth, half-rising from her crouched position in an attempt to meet another wave of the stupid little creatures. She didn't have a clue what they were doing - or what she was doing here.
A particularly ugly and nasty goblin came too close to her, leering, lifting its weapon to strike her. She held her arms in front of her face in a useless attempt at defense. Sure that she had met her doom, she waited with bated breath for the blow to fall. Was it all going to end this soon?
A fierce and furious bark caused the thing to fall back, and stumble over its own feet as it attempted to race back to the comparative safety of its companions. Merlin. He had sensibly retreated to the edge of the wall when they'd entered the Labyrinth, and had been safely out of harm's way - until he saw his mistress threatened. The little dog's loyalty made him jump into the middle of the goblin, decimating it.
Relieved, Sarah got to her feet, hissing through her teeth again at the pain caused by the simple movement. But when she turned her attention to the mle again, the relief fled at once. Merlin's brave action had prevented the goblin from destroying Sarah, but as soon as the dog attacked the goblin, what seemed to her to be hundreds of others rushed to the rescue. Sarah watched in horror as one goblin, larger than the rest, brought his pike crashing onto one of the dog's heads. It must have hurt, but the other two were still putting up a fight - goblins were flying everywhere, some of them in pieces. Sarah cast around desperately for a stick to help, but it was too late. She thought she could hear Merlin whimper slightly amid the chaos, and then, she saw him fall down and go perfectly still.
Sara's breath caught in her throat. She couldn't move, she couldn't breathe, she couldn't think. Her world went still, and froze.
The goblins froze as well. The fact that all other motion had stopped managed to penetrate Sarah's fog and strike her as strange. Although her senses were fixed on the dog, she noticed that the passageway had gone very quiet and still. She would have thought they were as shocked as she was, if she had thought much about it.
Then, without warning, the goblins collectively caught their breath, and scampered. Within a few seconds, the passageway was entirely deserted. Sarah, however, didn't even stop to thank her luck - she threw herself, mindless of her hurts, to Merlin's side.
No movement came from the dog. The shape lay there, lifeless, meaningless, abandoned. Sarah swallowed, hard, and knelt down to it.
"Oh, no," she breathed quietly. She gently picked up the smashed body, tears forming in her eyes. There could be no doubt as to the outcome of that skirmish, but Sarah refused to accept it. She had to refuse to accept it. His bravery had saved her own life but cost him his. Sarah released the forlorn body and buried her head in her hands, every ounce of her strained in denial. It couldn't be true, it just couldn't be! Merlin had been with Sarah for years, through the hardest years of her life, always willing to listen, always there to cheer and support her. And to meet an end in this god-forsaken Labyrinth, before Sarah was even one-thirteenth of the way through, was too much to bear. How had she ever let this happen?
How long she sat there grieving, she didn't know, and didn't care. Merlin was far more important to her than finding out what she was doing here and why. Her motivation dried up with the dog's life, and suddenly she could not have cared less if the Goblin King himself were to show up and claim her soul for his own, or whatever he might be up to this time. What could he do to her that would really matter, anyway?
And then - of course - he did show up. She heard a slight swish in the air to her left, and glanced up briefly. She gasped involuntarily. He had appeared there, dressed more casually than she'd ever seen him before (Oh lord, were those blue jeans? They were!), surrounded by a small glow of light countering the darkness of the Labyrinth. Sarah's stomach sank. His sudden appearance could be no other than perfectly timed, just when Sarah was at her emotional lowest. She almost refused to believe it, and even wondered for a bit if she wasn't hallucinating. For three years she had fantasized about seeing him again - but right now, she didn't care for the meeting at all.
He took a look around, and slowly his eyes came to rest on Sarah. Without meeting his gaze, she could still feel his mood, which radiated from him as a very palpable force: he was livid.
Sarah closed her eyes, trying her very best to block out the physical and emotional pain threatening to take over her system. She tried to make her breaths come evenly, forcing herself to slow down and be calm. She wondered in the back of her mind why he thought he had a right to be angry over this situation.
"Sarah..." The word came out gently enough, for him. Her deep sense of injustice was lessened slightly by the realization that his anger was not directed towards her. Slightly. She opened her eyes, stood up, moving a little away from the dog, and, blocking out the pain caused by those actions, she faced him.
"What the hell are you doing here?" she hissed, clutching her sliced arm. "I don't need your ridicule right now, thanks very much; I'm doing a great job of making myself miserable without your help."
A slight hint of a smile appeared around the corners of his mouth, but then his visage hardened into his former expression of stony anger. "Is it dead?" he asked shortly and bluntly, inclining his head slightly toward Merlin.
Sarah bit her lip hard to keep back a furious reply. Is it dead - could he possibly be any more unfeeling? She nodded, once, looking into his furious gaze, her own eyes filled with pain. He barely acknowledged her reply, striding over to the body lying on the ground. He looked at it, deep in concentration for several moments, and then it disappeared.
Sarah gasped in shock. "No!" she screamed. "What in the world-" She took a hasty step towards him, but had misjudged her ability to move quickly, and her ankle twisted and she fell with a gasp to the ground.
He laughed at her clumsiness, and looked up at the black sky. A few moments later he turned his attention back to her, and drew a deep breath. "The Labyrinth does not kill, Sarah. Ever. Nor do its creatures. The purpose is to defeat, not destroy." His gaze momentarily turned to the ground before he finished speaking. "This shouldn't have happened."
Sarah drew in a long, deep breath before looking up at him and replying with measured breath. "Then. Why. Did it happen? Why was he here? Why am I here?" she asked, struggling to control herself.
"The dog was not supposed to be here," he answered. "He slid into the portal without the spell recognizing him. Too sensible to be tricked by the illusion of being in the Labyrinth, he was therefore never fully in." His tone was indifferent now, simply lecturing. He continued, as Sarah tried to break in. "Yes, illusion," he said shortly. It was uncanny how he knew exactly what she had been trying to say. "The basic principle of a portal spell is to bend the mind into thinking one is somewhere else. Once that has been established, the actual transportation is simple." Sarah tried once more to say something, before being cut off again. "It isn't wise to think about that, however," he said, a hint of a smug smile doing its best to break through the stone, "or it may not work for you."
Sarah just stared at him, at a loss for words. Portal spell? Is that what had happened to her in that awful tunnel? Was it all Jareth's fault, just as she had suspected? She opened her mouth once again to demand answers, but he was quicker to speak than she was.
"Now," he said, his tone even more aloof, "The Labyrinth has killed. There is a mess to clear. If you'll excuse me, I have much to do." And, without giving her any chance to speak at all, he disappeared.
Unbelievable. The nerve of him. He hadn't answered her questions at all! She sat there for a while after he left, trying to cool down. The Goblin King hadn't been as unpleasant as she had expected, nor had he been very intimidating - blue jeans, of all things! - but she was still left with all of her problems and all of her questions, alone in the now deserted corridor. A mess to clear? Casting her glance over to where her faithful mate had rested for the last time, she buried her face in her hands and cried.