Captain Malcolm Reynolds loaded the last crate unto the mule, a half-smile on his face. This pay was going to be big; he could feel it in his bones. It made him giddy just thinking about it.
Apparently, his first mate, Zoë was thinking the same thing. "Almost ready, Capn'?" Her voice was light this morning, like her step.
"Jus' let Wash know we're leavin' soon."
"Will do." Zoë ran back up the ramp and into the spaceship, nudging the female mechanic who came walking out as she rushed past.
Kaylee had her usual green coveralls on, but it was apparent she took the time to wash the grime from her face this morning. "Be gone long, Capn'?"
"Nope," Mal slapped his hands on his pants. "Jus' gonna drop these off, get paid, have Wash fuel up, and then we're outta here." He turned to lock down the crates, but whipped back around and pointed a finger to his mechanic. "And Kaylee, remember what I said."
She rolled her eyes and sighed. "I know," she said begrudgingly, "no passengers this time."
Mal nodded. "We might be gettin' some new cargo to drop off elsewhere, and remember what happened the last time we picked up newcomers."
Kaylee shrugged. "Now we can't seem to get rid of 'em, can we?"
"We don't want anymore trouble. Jus' cause we're here at the Docks don't mean we're takin' anyone in."
"Alright, Capn'." Kaylee shoved her hands into her pockets and smiled as Zoë and her husband, Wash, came striding out to meet their captain.
"All set?" Zoë settled herself in behind her husband on the mule, which was similar to a large ATV with a trailer to carry its cargo hitched on the rear.
Captain Reynolds climbed unto the trailer and sat down atop his cargo crates. "Let's go."
Wash revved up the mule and began to pull out away from the ship. Kaylee smiled and waved to her Captain. He responded by yelling out, "'member what I told you!"
Kaylee shook her head and giggled, kicking aside a stray nut bolt. She sighed and looked out among the crowds. The Eavesdown Docks at Persephone was the probably one of the busiest places in the Core – among all of the rich, central planets that is. Nothing like this on the poorer, outer rim planets, respectively called the Rim.
People bustled with their belongings, some had families and some were alone. Some were looking for a transport and some were looking for work. Some people she saw were trying to persuade others to climb abroad their ship, desperate people needing a coin to get by. Just like her and her crew. Well, her family really.
Kaylee leaned against the steel wall of Serenity – her ship. She looked up and patted the wall with her hand almost lovingly. It was a Firefly-class spaceship. It even resembled a firefly just by looking at it. She had a great time explaining the workings of the ship from the tail section to Simon.
"It works just like the bioluminescent insectoid abdomen." She remembered the helpless look on Simon's face. "It lights up when you hit the gas…"
She loved this ship and everyone she held inside who called Serenity home.
When she first arrived, she had no intention of becoming the engineer; she was actually stumbled upon by the Captain under a certain 'circumstance' with the former mechanic. She never had any formal training; it was simply a gift that she knew so much about ships. At the time it was purchased, Serenity was little more than a planet-bound ruin. She was still intact, still space-worthy, but her engines were broken and most of her equipment was in sore need of repair. Mal's plan was to acquire a pilot, mechanic, and a cook (the last of which was sadly never acquired), and start taking jobs immediately. It took almost a month to get Serenity off the ground, as her first mechanic, Bester, was not as skilled as advertised. But with a few minor adjustments, Kaylee was able to get up and running again. She quickly became the new mechanic.
At the time, Captain Mal wanted to be free of Alliance control and having a ship seemed his best chance. Unfortunately, he was quick to realize how hard it was to find work in an Alliance-controlled solar system, and it was not above using Serenity for ill-gotten gain if the gain is high enough.
Kaylee's Captain and his second-in-command, Zoë, fought on the losing side of the civil war – the Unification War - between the Alliance and the Independents – those who refused Alliance control. They now governed the star system through an organization of Core planets, following its success in forcibly unifying all of the colonies under a single government. The Alliance was a fusion of the two surviving superpowers of Earth-that-Was, the United States and China, they formed the central federal government, and fused the two cultures into all society, as well. Everyone in the 'verse knew both English and Chinese.
The central planets were firmly under Alliance control, but the outlying planets and moons had little governmental authority. Settlers and refugees on the outlying worlds had relative freedom from the central government, but lack the amenities of the high-tech civilization that exist on the inner worlds.
All the planets and moons were in one large system, and despite what people thought who had never flown in a ship before, there was no faster-than-light travel in this Universe. Long before, Earth-that-was could no longer sustain the numbers; there were just too many people. A large population had emigrated from Earth to a new star system in multi-generational spaceships. The emigrants established themselves in this new star system, with dozens of planets and hundreds of moons. Many of these were terra-formed, a process in which a planet or moon is altered to resemble the Earth. The terra-forming process was only the first step in making a planet habitable, however, and the outlying settlements on the Rim often did not receive any further support in the construction of their civilizations. This resulted in many of the border planets and moons having forbidding, dry environments, thanks to the well-workings of the Alliance.
But it was where the Captain got most of the work done. But the work mainly consisted of cargo runs or smuggling. Honest work for a crew trying to make a living. They were driven by the need to secure enough income to keep their ship operational, their need to keep a low profile to avoid their adversaries, and to keep food on the table. Only their simple situations were greatly complicated by the different motives and personalities of each person on board.
A light giggle sounded from the kitchen. It was River, and she had apparently stolen something from her brother, Simon, and was now playing a great game of chase.
River Tam was a young girl of sixteen and she was a child prodigy, whose brain was subjected to horrible experiments by Alliance doctors, no doubt. As a result, she displayed bouts of schizophrenia and had her 'crazy' moments as well as very lucid ones. Her brother, Simon gave up a highly successful career as a trauma surgeon to rescue her from the Alliance, and as a result of this rescue they were both wanted criminals. Simon joined the crew as a paying passenger with River smuggled on board as cargo almost a year ago. But River wasn't the only loose cannon on the ship.
Jayne Cobb was Mal's mercenary, the hired muscle. He could be depended on in a fight, which was something the crew got into with others quite often. He was the man who asked the questions no one else wanted to when it came to a job or even a hit. But despite being the meathead with all muscle and no brain, Kaylee often suspected that he put on an act more often than not, that he was smarter than he tend to let on.
Zoë, of course, was Mal's second-in-command as well as his loyal wartime friend. She was the warrior woman of the crew and had great knowledge of combat. Her loyalty to Mal was unconditional, which sometimes got her husband, Wash, a little irked. Unlike her, he was timid and actually shorter than her in size. But he was a good man and an equally great pilot. Not to mention funny.
Shepherd Book was the priest on board. He had great faith and humility in God, and often displayed it when Mal wasn't around. He got along with everyone on the ship, even took to lifting weights with Jayne at times. Despite the fact that he was a devoutly religious man, he showed a peculiar depth of knowledge about firearms and criminal activities. Yet no one for some reason or another had even bothered to ask him as to why or how.
Kaylee Frye loved everyone on Serenity. She was a carefree, bubbly young woman, and she liked to think of herself as the soul of the ship, if she believed something was wrong or right with Serenity, it was usually true. She also liked to think of herself as her Captain's conscience.
Malcolm Reynolds, or as everyone called him, Mal, was Serenity's Captain and a former Independent sergeant in the pivotal Battle of Serenity Valley. Very little was known about her enigmatic Captain; and the little he revealed about his past life betrayed nothing of his character. Kaylee knew he grew up on a ranch, and was raised by the hands. And he was also known to consistently go to Alliance-friendly bars on "Unification day" (the anniversary of the conclusion of the battle of Serenity Valley) and pick fights with the patrons. That and pickpocket other men he was playing pool or darts with. He was full of contradictions, and Kaylee knew he was constantly fighting his own demons, and his true self remained something of a mystery.
But they all managed to create a family on board. The only one who was missing left on her own; she went back to the Companion House on Sihnon to train to become High Priestess. Kaylee missed her terribly, but she knew it was only for the best. The captain was a difficult man to get along with, and Inara had apparently had enough.
Kaylee sighed and half-smiled to herself. River and Simon were playing in the kitchen, Shepherd Book was downstairs reading his Bible, and Jayne was sleeping off his 'long night of fun drinkin'' in his bunk. Mal told him he wouldn't be needing him today so Jayne decided to take it easy for a while. She could handle the ship; it wasn't much of a hard job. If any trouble should come, half of the crew was nearby, and they had been in some pretty sticky situations before.
She yawned and stretched out her back. She almost turned away then from the sights and sounds of the Docks, but something caught her eye. Something that was very out of place here.
It was a young woman traveling with two large suitcases and a bag strapped to her shoulder. She was completely covered in a cascade of plush folds of forest-green velvet. The heavy cape was generously cut for a graceful drape; the hood attached to it covered her head, but didn't conceal the look of wonder on her face. The girl covered in velvet stood before Serenity… openly admiring Kaylee's ship.
The dirt ground was covered with scraps, flyers, and wood chips, which crunched slightly beneath the worn leather shoes she had slipped on that morning. The Docks on Persephone was a noisy place; she had never seen so many people in one place before, and she certainly felt slightly out of place. Around her, people bustled about with their families while some sat by and watched while they passed. Vendors tried to sell their wares, men threw slabs of red meat on giant grills for those needing a meal, and she almost ran into a troupe of performing Chinese acrobats entertaining the crowds.
There were tents for those staying overnight, chickens, horses, carts, carriages, crates, people dozing, people chatting, some sharing a cup of mint tea. There were prostitutes and gangs, wanderers - some in tunics, some in brightly colored veils, belly dancers, kabuki play fighters, and every now and then Sarah caught sight of small groups of Alliance soldiers.
Sarah's garb didn't fit in at all with the people here. She looked out of place among the coats of brown and black, some covered in dirt and others torn to nearly shreds. This was by no means a poor place, but the Docks were mostly for people looking for a transport to another planet. Most were either refugees, those who could not afford a fancy Alliance-controlled ship that would hold everything they owned, or simply those who wanted to keep a low profile.
Just as she thought, getting to Persephone was not a problem. There was a regular ferry from one core planet to the other. Ariel was the one of furthest planets from Persephone, but it had the Eavesdown Docks so it was mandatory that a ferry stop here.
She really didn't have hundreds of credits to spend on transportation now that she was here. At this point, she still didn't even know where she was going. Getting far away from Ariel was a must, but she supposed it couldn't hurt to stay within the Core. She was just not used to places or crowds like this.
The velvet forest-green cloak she wore was a dead-giveaway she was new to all of this, and she got more than enough offers to join a ship than she had originally thought. She thought it might have been her who had to do the bargaining for a transport, but it was the other way around. She turned down one leering man after another before she began to avoid the ships all together. Obviously, they had never had a girl like her on board a ship like theirs before. She knew they would be wanting more than the credits she was willing to pay. But she had to find one before the day was out. She was not going to stay here overnight, that would mean more unwanted, even dangerous attention.
But in the meantime, as the day began to turn warmer, Sarah wandered, observing everyone's exotic clothing, and just absorbing the setting in general. She occasionally saw a ship that she found interesting, and went over for a look. But turned back just as quickly when a man would come down the ramp eagerly, trying to wave her down.
Sarah stopped and watched different acrobats perform in as much empty space as they could. She set her heavy suitcases down next to her to give her arms a rest. As she admired the colorful costumes and the acts, she nearly jumped at the sound of a man right next to her screaming out, "boiled, fried, steamed dumplings! Made with prawn, pork, chestnut or bamboo!" The man addressed her, "you, young miss, you look mighty hungry. How 'bout some sticky rice in bamboo if you don't like dumplings?" He gestured to the flaming stovetops and grills behind him.
Sarah became flustered. "I, uh, no..."
"I got won ton soup too!"
She picked up her suitcases and turned to walk away. "No, thank you. I'm not hungry."
The man ignored her and tried to get another passer-by's attention.
At this rate, she either needed to find a transport fast or try and find a decent hotel outside the Docks. But she didn't want to stay here any longer than she should. She would rather she find a ship and be well on her way out of Persephone. Perhaps finding some decent work on the Rim wasn't looking so bad now…
A voice broke into her thoughts, "Mei Mei, could you spare a coin?" An old Chinese woman shuffled up to her side and held out a wrinkled hand.
Sarah could never refuse one who asked for so little. She sighed and reached down into the fold of her overcoat beneath her cloak. She picked through her pouch until she decided on one silver coin. It was probably enough to get the old woman something decent to eat. She held it out to her and the old woman began to reach out for it.
"Xie xie, little one." Her hand froze when she saw the jade owl slip out of the long folds of Sarah's cloak. "Oh…"
"Oh!" Sarah snatched her hand back, afraid she might have shown too much.
"No, no." The old woman reached out to see it. "Let me see owl. I won't take."
Sarah did tie the owl to a piece of red string and wrapped it around her wrist – her mother had always told her the red string tied around the right wrist was for good luck. And she didn't think this old woman would have had a very easy time slipping the owl off her wrist, even if she was out to steal it. She pursed her lips and held her hand back out again.
The old woman smiled and held the jade owl in her fingertips. She squinted slightly, examining and turning it over several times. "Jade very good. Most noble of all. Peace and much friendship come your way."
Well, that was good news for Sarah.
The woman paused again and looked closer. "Hmm… owl. The owl is fate-seeker. He sees through dark and is very wise. But he is trickster. Be careful what you wish for, mei mei." The old woman looked up and narrowed her eyes at Sarah… she was examining her now!
That was enough fortune-telling for one day. Sarah dropped the coin into the old woman's hand. "Thank you…" she turned away again, but the old woman reached out for her Sarah's arm with a surprisingly strong grip.
"Wait! You want ship."
Sarah turned back around; she wasn't at all shocked though. Wasn't it obvious?
"You want that one there," she pointed past Sarah's shoulder. She turned her head and followed the direction of the woman's gaze. There was a ship there, but it was just there… There were no passengers coming on board or anyone on the ramps. But she hadn't seen this one yet. Maybe it was worth a try.
She turned back around to thank the woman, but she was met with empty space. The old woman was gone, disappeared. Her gaze searched the crowd for her. But the woman must have run back for some food with her new coin.
Sarah shrugged it off, she admitted what had just happened was a little eerie for her, but this new ship intrigued her nonetheless. She tilted her head, taking a closer look. She had never seen a ship like this one before, it was different from all of the others that were docked here. Not just in shape and size though, which resembled something like an insect or a bird of some kind, but this seemed so… unique to her.
Her mind made up, she picked her suitcases up again with a barely suppressed groan and made her way over to the ship. Passer-bys kicked up dirt and dust as they ambled around beside her and she had to avoid a few close calls with running children who had been let loose, but she finally made it to the long metal ramp of the spaceship.
She stood in front of the cargo bay and stared. It was a huge open space, two decks tall, with an upper catwalk and two flights of stairs attached to it. Truthfully, Sarah noticed that this ship was pretty beat up, and she could tell it was an older model than most of the ships here. But something about this ship… she couldn't explain it; she was just simply drawn to it. It felt perfect for her.
Perhaps it was the old, worn-in feel of it, or maybe it was the fact that no one was rushing out to beg for a passenger. This ship seemed to be waiting for her to come on board. This ship was exactly what she needed. More than anything, she wanted to let go of her former world of luxury and wealth, wrapped in a sea of conceit and hostility.
More than anything, she wanted to at least feel a sense of peace and security. She needed serenity.
Jareth stormed into his throne room, his eyes wild with rage.
Ivory, his Sarah, had left her home. He had looked in on her the morning after he appeared to her for the first time to find her room empty. Everything that once belonged to her was gone, her clothes, her belongings, even her bed and her ornate vanity she once sat in front of night after night… waiting for him, had disappeared. Her stepmother was home tending to her child, happy as could be. It led him to one conclusion, Ivory had fled her home and her stepmother had taken full advantage of it. She had gotten rid of all traces of her stepdaughter.
But Ivory could be anywhere. She could have been anywhere and he longer had the strength nor the power to find her.
"Damn her!" Jareth roared. "Foolish girl! Trying to run off alone… by herself!" His vicious gaze fell on the goblins that were still left in his kingdom. Some were cowering in dark corners, some were frozen with fear, and some managed to slink away. They had never seen their King this infuriated before.
It had been hard enough to maintain enough power to transport himself to her room nearly every night. The strain of it only served to weaken him. The past five hundred years of waiting had not been kind to him.
After the Earth could no longer sustain the enormous amount of people living there, he had to find a way to follow them. It had not been easy. It began with the loss of faith people, especially children had once had in magic, in something much more thrilling and divine than their dead world had to offer them. They seemed to have all faith and hope in anything beyond themselves and what their own pride in their numbers had brought them. Forced to adapt to a new Universe and forced to live in sometimes uninhabitable worlds, people simply lived without that spark of imagination they once had.
Much of his power was solely based on this. Centuries ago, when those who still worshipped the Old Ways, the Goblin King was at his peak. The power he wielded seemed limitless, and it only grew as more fell into the old religion. Then it all changed when Christianity came to the forefront. He was still very powerful, but it left a heavy dent in his once mighty rule over the people and creatures of the old world. Over the years, he lived out each day and night as the King of the Goblins. He became the protector and ruler of the Labyrinth and all who resided within its walls. Those who still believed found themselves wandering its twists and turns to right the wrongs they had done. He enjoyed these visitors to his Kingdom and took great amusement watching them fight their way to a destination they would probably never reach. Of course, it was more fun when they had the rules of the game to follow. Unfortunately, however, this was always the case since the beginning. The natural order demanded that there be rules; even his magic could not deny this. Although, he was allowed to bend them every once in a good while.
Years passed, and people came to his Labyrinth in lesser numbers. Until one fateful day, the image of a young girl appeared in one of his crystals. He had been sitting at his window staring out over his Labyrinth when a soft voice echoed from the center of his throne room. His oak staff stood straight up and held a crystal sphere at its tip. Inside the crystal was a girl of about fourteen, acting out a play in front of her mirror.
One look at her and he was at once taken. She was not only beautiful, but she held a stubborn belief in his world of magic. A world most people had long since forgotten.
He watched her for days on end until she had turned fifteen. Over time, he had not only become intrigued by her, but had fallen deeply in love with her. She must have somehow felt the unnatural desire he felt for her, the complete fascination by her; because one night she began to tell a story to her baby brother...
Yet, she quickly became antagonistic towards him. Not only had he taken her brother, which was what she wanted in the first place, but, he had become insulting when he had thrown that snake-turned-goblin at her. Then he had unrelentingly refused to give Toby back, presenting her with the puzzle of solving the Labyrinth. He taunted her, teased her even. But that was who and what he was.
Jareth had been watching her progress within one of his crystal spheres as she journeyed through the Labyrinth. She had proved interesting, thus far, but he worried. He had sorely underestimated her… there was a good chance she could win and return to her world. He actually had no intention of letting her win, for now he knew he would not willingly let her go. His very being seemed to ache at the thought of her leaving. It was only in his nature that he would fight to keep a beautiful young woman he had fallen in love with. He always got what he wanted.
So he intensified his tactics of keeping her delayed and provided the dwarf with the enchanted peach.
Faeries with grotesque goblin masks and ornate costumes danced and laughed, some appearing to mock her. As she looked down at herself, she found she was costumed in the most exquisite white gown, and her hair had been trussed in a truly ornate fashion. As she moved forward through the dancers, slowly as if in a dream, she seemed to feel as if she had been searching for something she could not quite recall. He would appear in the crowd, and when she caught sight of him, her heart would begin to race. But as she would draw near, he would vanish and appear somewhere else. Of course, it was only natural that he tease and confuse her first.
Finally, looking down at her, he held her spellbound, gazing deeply into her eyes as he danced with her among the other Faery crowd. He was serenading her and without intending to, he let his guard down.
But again, he had underestimated her. The chimes of the clock seeped through Sarah's dreaming; making her shake herself free from the enchantment he had been holding over her. It was an almost physical pain for him to watch her run.
"He could not lose her," his heart told him. "He would not!" his pride demanded.
At the center of the Labyrinth, he was no longer hiding anything from her, for he appeared to her in his most vulnerable form. He was angry at first, to have her come this far and then to openly defy him. But he quickly sobered when she did not back down. In desperation he fell back on his usual briberies. He finally broke down, any pride he once had left him. Until ultimately, she left him shattered and brokenhearted.
This was another massive crack in his magic.
And when she died, his power only weakened more and more as the years wore on.
When Sarah's descendents had left Earth to journey to the new Universe, he used whatever strength he had left to follow the mortals. He was able to transport his Labyrinth, his castle, and his goblins to the realm of the new Universe. Of course, it was still invisible and unreachable to the eyes of mortals, but he had done it. But it had cost him.
His once powerful magic was now reduced to only a sliver. His Labyrinth was in ruins, only the foundations of the Goblin City were left, and only half of his goblin hoard remained. Even his appearance had changed. After Sarah died, he chopped his long, leonine mane of golden hair, leaving it just above the shoulders. His glamour had toned down quite a bit too. He neglected his appearance and his waning power until he was only left with only hope and growing anxiety that he may never find her.
Until Ivory was born.
And yet, he still had to wait a few more years until she became of age. He would wait until she turned twenty one. Not only would she then fully turn into a young woman, but by then she could fully appreciate what he had to offer her. A life of love and adoration, a life she longed to have since her mother died. He was more than willing to give that to her, and so much more.
He knew what she went to almost everyday, and he nearly tortured himself with the need to take her away from everything. But she did not know the words, she didn't know the wish she had to make. He never thought she would take the initiative and run away from her home by herself. Cursing under his breath, he knew he had once again underestimated her.
He had waited five hundred years for her, and he was not about to lose her again.
He had to remain calm; nothing good would come of his temper. He threw himself unto his throne room and tossed his head back, throwing loose strands of golden hair from his eyesight.
He pinched the bridge of his nose, taking a deep breath. "She couldn't have gone far," he murmured. "Where could she possibly go…?" He looked up sharply to a nearby goblin. "You, take a group of soldiers to her quarter and search the city!" he ordered coldly. "And send another squad to the neighboring planet, do what must be done!" The goblin Captain nodded once, slowly.
It was dangerous to travel between planets, even for the Goblin King. Things were not as they used to be; if they still had the old power, then they could transport themselves to wherever they wished. For now, they remained grounded in this broken world of magic, waiting for their King to regain the strength he gradually lost due to his own anxious obsession of waiting for his Sarah to return.
Jareth took another long breath after his goblins had disappeared. He snapped his fingers and a crystal appeared in his hands. He twirled it smoothly around his fingers; at least there were some things he did not lose entirely.
If she stayed grounded on one planet, someplace where he could sense her, then she should be fairly easy to find. But if she were to leave, if she were to somehow stay adrift in between planets, then it would be next to impossible to find her.
His last, remaining hope now was that she stay put in one place.
AN: Ok, so this is a crossover between Labyrinth or Firefly, and so far, I think it's working. Good lord, I never expected to have so many reviews by this point! It's wonderful, I love it!!! But for anyone who hasn't seen Firefly, this chapter should explain the background of it fairly well. If you need visuals for each character, just go to scifi(dot)com/firefly. For those who do know, this takes places after the series and right before the Big Damn Movie-Serenity. Jess Readin had mentioned that Jayne is more goblin than anything else - she couldn't have been more right. Thank you again so much to all reviewers! Big hugs and kisses! Oh, and a couple of people have asked, and I speak Spanish, and attempting to learn Hebrew and Arabic.
Shalom y Amor
