"Don't trust him," said Sarah.
Jareth approached her. Sarah felt his breath on her face, but didn't step back. He said to her, almost whispering, "And, Sarah, why shouldn't they trust me?"
"They shouldn't." Her eyes were defiant.
"Did I ever lie to you?" he asked, turning his back on her. "I'm not going to trick you're friends, Sarah. Something has happened here that is threatening my kingdom. I doubt that you girls can be such a threat, so I assume you are trapped here too."
Sarah wanted to yell at him, but resisted. She hated to admit but he had a point. She remembered her friends here, Hoggle and Ludo and Didymus, where were they? " If the Goblins are gone, where is everyone else?"
"All right, change the subject," he said. A crystal ball materialized in his hand. "Look for yourself. All of you."
The girls huddled around the crystal. Inside they saw the edges of the labyrinth crumbing away due to a large black cloud.
"What is that?" asked Nancy.
"Darkness," said Lily. She put her hands to her face, eyes wide. "No."
"This realm is pushing itself into mine," Jareth explained. "It's probably pushing itself onto others. I'm sure it's related to the reason that you three were brought here."
Nancy said, "We were brought here by our dreams."
Jareth's eyes lit. "That makes some sense. I'm very close to the dream world. I share some properties with it. If it was somehow in danger, or not able to receive dreamers, it would be possible that you would end up here."
"Is that how the unicorns ended up here?" asked Lily. "I didn't know that they dream."
Jareth shrugged. "It's possible." With a quick movement the crystal ball was whisked back into nothingness. "Sarah, to answer your question. I don't know where everyone else is. I've spied all around my kingdom and found no one." He sat down on his throne, leaned forward, elbows on his knees. It wasn't a kingly pose. Sarah would've found it funny if everything wasn't so serious. "You may think that I'm not a good man, and I may not be one, but my people are gone, and as their King I should've protected them."
"Lily," asked Nancy, "what do you know about this darkness?"
Tears started to fall from her face. "I have to get to Jack." Nancy patted Lily on her back, and pulled her into a hug.
"Ssshhhh. It's okay. We'll find him, but we need to know what you know," Nancy said.
Lily wiped the tears from her eyes. "Darkness. The Lord of Darkness. If the unicorns came here, he will come and try to find them. As long as they live, his power is not absolute."
Jareth tapped a finger to his lip in thought. "I think I remember this Darkness. He has goblins as well doesn't he?"
Lily nodded.
"Do you remember anything else about him? Anything that he's said or done?"
Lily tried block out most of her conversation with him following her capture. She remembered his deep voice growling at her to sit, him offering her jewels and the dress, she remembered his laugh as she tricked him.
"Dreams," she said. "Through dreams he influences mankind."
Nancy's eyes grew wide. "Dreams."
Darkness looked out upon the worlds falling before him. The unicorns will be found. They will no be able to hide much longer.
The other man in the shadows paced. Darkness knew he was waiting for a kill.
"They are not in your realm?" he asked the man in the shadows.
"Unicorns aren't really my style." he replied.
"Then you will search for them in the adjacent realms."
The man hissed. "I don't take orders."
Darkness smiled. He pointed his hand at him and made a fist. The man fell down, howling in agony. "Remember, my demons gave you the power over dreams. Don't make me decide to give their power to another." He let his fist drop and the pain stopped. "You are under my control. Don't ever forget that."
The man hissed at him then said, "I don't think I'll be strong enough. Those bitches you wanted didn't come to my world when I first called."
"You need souls?"
"Yes."
"Then I shall give you more. Look."
Beneath the high dais of Darkness's throne were many creatures in chains. Some were were tiny, ugly creatures and others were child-like and beautiful.
"Are they yours?" the man asked.
"No, they were stolen from other worlds. They will be your sacrifice."
With a motion, Darkness ordered them killed. His Goblins made swift work of the helpless, chained people.
"These souls will go to you!"
Blue shadows and shapes flew out of the bodies of the dead creatures below and into the man in the shadows. His breath shortened as they entered his body. It was a rush of power that he never felt before.
"Now go, dream demon," Darkness said.
He stepped forward. His horribly burned face twisted in an evil smirk. "You can call me Freddy, Boss."
A light buzzed around the sleeping Jack. It was just enough to wake him. He sleepily swatted at the light until recognition finally came to him.
"Oona," he said. "What do you want?"
"Need your help, Jack."
He rolled over on the soft grass. "Go get Gump if it's an emergency. If it's just you, leave me alone."
She transformed from the small Wil'o-the-wisp into a lithe fairy in front of his eyes. "That's the thing, Jack, Gump can't be found."
Jack sat up. This was a cause for alarm. "Can't be found?"
"No. half the fairies are just gone. No one's seen or heard of them. And ones that show up are telling horrible stories."
"Like what?"
"Nightmares come to life."
Jack got up and searched through a hollow in the tree roots. In a bag Lily made for him was his mail, his shield, and his sword and scabbard. "What about the unicorns? There's no snow."
"As far as we know, the Unicorns are safe. But their power can't fight this. They are carriers of light. They are not fighters."
Jack put on his armor, "No, I am their champion. I fight for them."
Hoggle was bound in chains. There were many creatures packed into the dungeons of this place. He got separated from Sir Didymus when they were shoved in these cells, and he hasn't saw Ludo at all. That gave him some hope that he didn't get captured.
He started pulling at his chains, checking for weak links. He tugged hard on the chain, and woke the prisoner next to him.
"Sorry," he said.
The other man shrugged. His was short like Hoggle, but he had a long, white beard.
"It's okay. I don't think sleeping would be the best for me." He pulled off his pointy hat and rubbed his head. "Name's Screwball."
"I"m Hoggle."
"I would say 'pleased to meet ya,' but under the circumstances..."
Hoggle just shrugged and kept testing the links. "If you got any plans to get out of here, now would be a good time to tell me about 'em."
Screwball shook his head, "If Gump were here, he's know what to do."
Honeythorn Gump woke up on rough stone. He checked himself and found that he still had his bow and quiver with him. That was one good thing. He also didn't see any cuts or bruises on him. That was another.
Unfortunately there were two very big things working against him.
The first was that he appeared to be in some kind of maze.
The second was the large black clouds looming in the sky and the sounds of deep laughter coming from it.
He ran through the rough walls of the maze around him, but had to make some distance between him and all of that darkness. Too many times he came to dead ends and had to double back, and he felt he was making too little headway.
He looked over his shoulder and that churning black cloud still loomed.
Not paying attention to what was right in front of him, Gump ran right into a furry, orange monster.
Gump dashed right up and nocked an arrow into his bow.
"No shoot Ludo!" the monster yelped holding his large claws in front of his face.
Gump hesitated. "What are you?"
"Ludo," the beast replied. "Ludo scared."
Gump put down his bow. "Do you know where this place is?"
Ludo shook his big head. "The castle would know, but Ludo forgot where it is."
Gump cautiously approached the beast and took one of his giant fingers into his hand. "Come on then. We have to get away from that cloud."
Sarah took a long look out of one of the windows in the throne room. "Is it just me, or do the clouds look like they're coming closer?"
Nancy looked. I don't know. To me it looks like it's..." She paused, transfixed at the dark cloud. A voice called to her.
"Nancy."
She stumbled, but didn't fall. Sarah grabbed her.
"Are you alright?"
"I don't know."
She heard the voice again. "Nancy. Bring your friends."
She fell. Even with Sarah holding her, she fell. Sarah shook her, but she wasn't moving.
Lily and Jareth ran over. "What's wrong?"
"Nancy's asleep."
Sarah now heard something. "Sarah, come in." She put her hand to her head. "Do you hear that?"
"Hear What?" said Jareth.
Lily put her hand to her head too. "A voice?"
Both of them staggered, trying to stay on their feet. "Lily...Sarah...come play with Freddy."
Jareth caught Sarah and then Lily and was able to gently to lay them on the ground. All three of them were fast asleep.
Jack and Oona travled to the king's castle. A guard tried to stop him.
"Where do you ya think that you're going?"
"I am Jack o' the Green. I am here to speak to the king. The war that he is preparing for is happening."