Jareth rocketed through the air. He let out a screech, which startled the dragon slightly, giving Jareth enough room to slip into his chambers.
He rolled across the floor, becoming human, and instantly placed a barrier about the tower, a shield from anything the dragon could do.
He paced the room, fingers moving constantly to keep the shield up.
Glancing at the owl, he began to think aloud. "This is no real dragon. Too clean, too perfect. At the age it looks, it should be covered in scratches and burns from fights. Besides, there are no dragons in the Underground. None in their right mind would come here. This is a spell." He glanced back at the owl. "It's Ravac's. I'd stake my life on it."
"That is precisely what you may have to do, Your Majesty."
"Sir Didymus!"
The little fox waddled in. "Yes, it is I. I could not sit around while our King's tower was attacked by a strange beast. Your Majesty must take Sarah and find a way to Aboveground. You must break the spell. I will defend your castle. Ambrosis and I-" the knight suddenly became aware that his noble steed was no where to be found. "Well. Break the curse, King Jareth."
The Goblin King grabbed a hold of Sarah's cage. "I will."
"Godspeed, sire," Sir Didymus called after Jareth as he raced away. "Now, what to do about that dragon." Jareth chose that moment to expand the shield, sending the dragon flying backwards over the Goblin City. "Hmph," began the fox. "That was easier than expected." And he set off to find Ambrosis.
Meanwhile, Jareth was doing his best to move quickly while not disturbing Sarah.
He was almost out of the castle when a voice stopped him.
"Where you going?"
"Aboveground, Hogwart."
"It's Hoggle! And I woulda thought you'd be heading to the Escher Room. Isn't that where Sarah left through last time?"
Jareth paused. "Sometimes the way forward is also the way back." He grinned. "Thank you. Hoggle." And he tore off for the Escher Room.
Darting past mobs of goblins scrambling to protect their home, he didn't notice the fading sunlight.
Gently, the grasp of golden metal in his hand became a soft collection of fingers.
He turned to look back at her.
Jareth met Sarah's beautifully human eyes for one torturous moment. "Escher-"
She was grasping the paw of a black wolf who looked at her with sad eyes.
"Where am I?"
The wolf shrugged.
"Where are we going? Oh, the ballroom." The wolf growled. "Ok... Does it have to do with Escher? Oh, I hate not remembering anything!" The dragon shrieked from outside. "I remember the dragon...flying...falling...Aboveground...we're going to the Escher room! Come on, Jareth!"
Gathering her silver white ballgown, she raced away, unsure of where the name came from.
The wolf loped beside her, happy she knew him.
Worlds away (literally) a man watched his creation fail.
He cursed aloud. Drawing on Deep Magic, he hastened the turning of the Underground night as the wolf and girl entered the Escher room...
"What are we supposed to do now?" Her mind had been clearing from its eternal fog, but now it was closing back in. "Dance? No, that's wrong. We have to-" The wolf suddenly pushed her into a corner. "No! Stop! I can remember! I promi-"
"Sarah," Jareth shushed her, holding a finger to her lips in the shadows as he stood in the sun. "Sarah, I love y-"
The dragon rammed into the tower, shaking the room and she fell into the light, immediately becoming an owl.
He yelled out in agony. "Ravac! I will kill you!" Eyes glittering, teeth clenched, grasping the top of her cage, he muttered, "I wish there was a staircase to Aboveground."
And there was.
The park they had been separated so long ago looked relatively the same. The trees were older. The benches were different. But it's heart was the same.
Jareth emerged from the roots of a tree into some of the darkest shadows. But the glimmer of moonlight beckoned to him from beyond the shadows and he stepped forward-
Only to have a barrier throw him back into the shadows.
"Ravac."
The tall and slender man revealed himself. He, like Jareth, was an immortal and adept in great magics.
"You shall go no further, Jareth. I have been generous up until now. But it is time to let the mortal go."
"Never," spat Jareth.
"She is only a mortal. Give her up!"
"No," said Jareth, softly and smiling. "She is not a mortal. She beat me, she defied me, Ravac. She had great power already. And then you touched her with Deep Magic. You changed her to life with magic beyond her normal life. Her brother's children are nearly grown. Yet every night she remains the same. Just as we remain the same through the eons. You wield Deep Magic, Ravac. But you fail to comprehend that there is Deeper Magic, from beyond the dawn of time that we cannot change, but we must bow to."
Ravac growled. "Damn you, Jareth. Damn your Sarah. And damn your Deeper Magic."
There was a thunderclap, though there was no cloud in the sky.
And Ravac's barrier crumbled. Though he tried to conjure a new one, Ravac found he could do nothing.
"Your words reveal what is in your heart," Jareth gently said, kneeling beside Sarah's cage. And in one swift movement, he ripped the top of the cage away, setting her free.
She shot into the air. For one moment, the owl was silhouetted against the moon. And then with a soft "pop," she floated to the ground in a soft white dress, surrounded by feathers.
Jareth gave a shudder and walked forward into the light, leaving a trail of black fur. "Ravac," he whispered, reaching into his cloak.
"Yes?"
Jareth whipped out a sword and plunged it deep into Ravac's heart. "You have no power over me."
And the Fae turned to dust.
He stood there, breathing heavily, staring at the pile that had once been Ravac.
"Jareth?"
He turned at the sound of a voice he had not heard in a long time. It was the same, but there was an agelessness to it now.
"Sarah."
She smiled.
He kissed her.