A/N:Chapter two, newly minted and for your enjoyment

Love you lovelies.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Labyrinth. I do not profit from this story.

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Chapter Two

'Back Again'

They stood in harsh yellow-red light, feet sunk deep into the thick sand. Sarah yelped and jumped out of the grip of the Goblin King. He was no longer looking at her. His head was turned, his gaze swept out toward his left, and Sarah shut her eyes tight before turning her own head. If I don't see it, it's not real, she thought. I'll open my eyes and I'll be back in Michael's living room.

She opened her eyes.

She was not back in the living room.

The Labyrinth stretched out, reaching from one end of the horizon to the other. It filled every inch of the visible land under the strange sky. A red sun blazed down on the maze, the walls black with a sinister orange glow to them, twisting and winding endlessly as far as the eye could see. Sarah frowned and glanced at Jareth, the words leaving her mouth before she could stop herself. "It looks different. The color is wrong."

Jareth nodded, his gaze unwavering. "It has been conquered."

Sarah could not believe what she was seeing, feeling, smelling. She remembered this place, the barren, craggy land that lay outside the walls of the Labyrinth. She had stood here once before, thirteen years ago, desperate to find her baby brother. Somehow, this time, felt even more desperate than the last. She was twenty-eight years old, too old to be indulging in fantasies. This had to be an illusion, a trick, even if it was a terribly realistic one.

Sarah took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm dreaming," she murmured aloud. "Any moment now I'll wake up."

Jareth reached out and pinched her.

"Ow!" She jerked her arm back. "What the hell?"

He smiled at her, and his sharp canines flashed briefly behind thin lips. She glared at him, but he bobbed his head in a self-satisfied way and walked toward the fountains and gardens that lined the border of the Labyrinth. Sarah glared at him for a moment before she followed.

"Why did you bring me here?" Sarah demanded when she had caught up to the Goblin King, "And why didn't I remember being here until you showed up?"

He gestured at the almost sickly-looking walls of the Labyrinth. "My realm has been taken from me," he glanced at her and then added, "The Labyrinth does not like people to remember it. Not people from your world, at the very least." An indeterminate look passed over his features before he shook himself and turned away.

She waited for more of an explanation, but when he wasn't forthcoming she stalked over and pointed a finger directly at his chest, "Hey, asshole, give me a little more information than that. What happened here?" Her need to understand the whys of her memory block were further from her mind, now that they stood so close to the oddly pulsating walls, but I'll be damned if you won't explain it to me later. The fact that there would be a later shook her, and her mind briefly flashed on all that had been left behind. Wedding plans, school, work. Why couldn't he have left me alone? I was doing just fine.

Jareth folded his arms and looked down his nose at her. Imperious bastard, Sarah though, glaring right back at him. "You happened." He scowled, his teeth flashing in the bitter yellow light. "After you conquered the Labyrinth, my people lost faith in me. I've been fighting against insurrection and rebellion ever since. Approximately a year ago, they won."

Sarah jabbed her finger at Jareth's chest again, "I only did that stuff because you kidnapped my baby brother."

"You asked me to."

"And then I asked you to give him back!"

He smirked. "I believe your people have a lovely little phrase that would describe that particular transaction."

"And you cheated," she continued, ignoring him. "You turned the clock forward on me! You tried to tip me into the bog of eternal stench!" She took a deep breath, "And you threw me down a hole, twice! You sent the cleaners at me, made my friend betray me, tried to hide my brother when I reached your stupid castle, and—" she paused. "And your hair is stuck in the eighties!"

Jareth laughed. "You wanted to play with the fantastic, and when you got your wish all you could do was whine and complain."

"You have to take me back. I didn't ask to be here! You can't just kidnap me."

A hard glint shined in his eyes, and the Goblin King's jaw set with a click of sharp white teeth. "I can't, it doesn't matter, and yes I can."

Sarah shrieked in frustration and a sudden, harsh bolt of fear. "What do you mean you can't? You brought us here, didn't you?"

His lips curled, and at that look Sarah took a subconscious step backward, remembering when she had seen that look before. "And I used up almost all of my power to do so."

Sarah was about to say some more choice words when someone cleared their throat. She jumped and looked around for the source of the noise.

A tall, round goblin stood nearby, so close that Sarah could not believe that she had missed hearing his approach. He looked quite different than the little creatures she had seen the last time, and there was an unmistakable intelligence to his countenance as he watched their exchange with glittering beetle-black eyes. He was extremely muscled, scarred, and was bedecked in leather armor and more than a dozen swords and daggers. His greasy black hair was pulled into a top knot and his bulbous nose reddened slightly when he showed his crooked yellow teeth in a grin.

"Jareth," the goblin said, his voice like rocks grinding together. "You've returned."

The Goblin King stilled, his face a hard mask of anger. "Dionysus."

Sarah let out a choked noise, "Uh, really? Dionysus? Like the Greek God of wine and parties?"

They both ignored her.

"What are you doing here, Jareth?" The goblin growled.

Jareth drew himself up to his full height. Even though the goblin was taller than most of his brethren, he still had to look up to meet Jareth's gaze. "Dionysus, the rebel leader, usurper, and King of the Goblins, I challenge you to a duel for the crown. Name your terms."

King? Sarah thought with a shock, what does he mean, King? Jareth is the king. She opened her mouth to ask just that when the goblin waved a hand at Sarah, the gesture lazy.

She gasped, her vision and hearing ripped from her. The world was dark, and she instinctually threw out her arms to steady herself from the sudden loss of stimuli. She felt a gloved hand close on her left arm and pull, the gesture surprisingly gentle. She knew it was Jareth without seeing him and tried to ask what was happening, but her throat would not work. She felt a finger softly press to her lips and she stilled, the beat of her heart like the pounding of surf in her ears.

Sarah could not say how long she stood like that, with Jareth's hand on her arm and her breath coming in quick, deep gasps. It felt like it had been at least ten minutes, but with the sensory deprivation, she could not be sure. It might have been longer.

When her senses were restored, the tall goblin was gone. Sarah pulled herself out of Jareth's grasp for the second time in so many minutes and tried to calm her breathing. Jareth watched her impassively, and she felt a surge of irritation rise within her, "What the fuck was that?" She demanded.

The Goblin King rubbed a hand over his face. "That was Dionysus. He was the leader of the rebellion that lost me my throne."

Jareth… no longer the Goblin King? In a way, the thought appealed to her sense of a just and righteous world but, if she were honest, the appearance of the Labyrinth was disturbing. What in the world is happening here?

"What did he do to me?"

"He withdrew your ability to see, hear, and speak. He wanted a word in private." Jareth sighed and rubbed his temple with a long, leather-clad finger. "The terms of a duel are sacrosanct between the interested parties."

"Well excuse me, but who got hauled out of their house, barefoot I might add, by their imaginary arch-nemesis in the middle of the morning! I think if anyone is entitled to hear the terms of your stupid duel, it's me." Sarah crossed her arms over her stomach, her brows raised.

Jareth considered her for a moment, fingers still fixed to his temples. When he spoke his voice was calm, laced with an edge of irritation, "The rules of any such engagement are clear; I must find my way to the castle beyond the goblin city. Along the way there are certain… tasks I must complete, and there are guidelines as to how I may complete them as laid out by the challenged."

Sarah waved her hand, silently urging him to continue.

"Any time the current ruler is challenged, the Labyrinth hides three artifacts within its walls. I must retrieve these items before the way will be made clear to me and I am allowed to duel for the right to the throne." Jareth dropped his hand and stared for a long moment at the strangely pulsating walls before them. "You are the only one to have stepped through these gates and successfully found your way to the castle. I need your help."

"Well, it's nice that you asked me so politely." Jareth turned toward her, a furrow between his brows. Sarah felt a vicious heat wash through her. "Thanks so much for plucking me out of my life to go on some bloody quest! Did you know that this was my only day off for the next ten days? Did you even think about just asking? I have school, I have work, and I have a bloody wedding to plan you big poof! Gods, what made you think this was a good idea?" She lost the tenuous control she had over her anger midway through her speech and was practically screeching by the end.

Jareth held out his hands toward her, palms out, in a placating gesture, though his eyes glittered with amusement. "You did not ask my permission before you summoned me to your realm the last time, and I'll have you know I missed a very important social event because of it."

Sarah drew back to kick sand at him, but her toe hit a rock mid-stride and she yelped, jumping up and down on one foot. "Gods damn it!"

"Here," Jareth said, tone gentle. He placed a hand on her arm. A sensation of cool water trickling down her bare skin followed at his touch, quick and sudden. Sarah jerked away, pain forgotten, eyes wide. This was not the first time he had touched her, but the sensation that had followed was more than a little disconcerting. Did he touch me this much last time I was here? Sarah thought hard, and a melody seemed to swim to the forefront of her mind, was that dance even real?

The thoughts flashed by in an instant, and she blinked, her mind reeling. Jareth smiled at her, "Look down."

She did and saw that her feet were now covered in flat leather boots. They fit her like a second skin and, upon inspection, had decent treading to allow for long-distance walks. "Huh," she said. "That's different."

He shrugged. "I did a favor for someone once, and they granted the gift of transmutation unto me. Since it is not tied to the power of the goblin throne, I was able to retain it after the rebellion."

She peered at him. "What favor?"

"Don't act so suspicious. I'll have you know I saved her village from a marauding pack of trolls." His lip curled and he brushed at his shirt, "Disgusting creatures."

Sarah laughed.

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Jareth's heart seemed to skip a beat at the sound of her laughter. He could not remember a time when he had heard it. Had he? Certainly not while she had been in his demesne thirteen years ago. She had been whining, belligerent, but never joyful. It was as though a sudden ray of clear, warm sunlight struck him, chasing away the lingering sense of dread from his talk with the usurper.

He turned his face away from her, Dionysus's words ringing in his head. My challenge to you is this; seduce the woman who denied you all those years ago. Without her, you will wander through this Labyrinth until your death, and hers.

He gritted his teeth. He did not have the power to send Sarah home, not without winning the kingship. Forgive me, Sarah, he thought, I should never have brought you here.