Author's Note: First off, I don't own Labyrinth. Though I somehow ended up with two copies of the book. I don't know how, I ordered one off E-Bay, then out of the blue one day I received another one in the mail. Weird, right?

Thank you to everyone that's commented and PM'd me. Thanks for the nightmare entity ideas, there are so many I've found but I still like getting ideas from others. Unlike my last story, which I had a very strong idea of how I would write it, this story is a little open. I have several ideas so a few opinions from others is helpful sometimes.

Enjoy Chapter 3!

Chapter 3

Day 365

Sarah raced through the corridors, randomly turning left and right as she tried to make her way through the labyrinth. The setting sun grew weaker and weaker as storm clouds rolled in, leaving her to make her way through the maze in the murky light the filtered through the clouds. Thunder rumbled somewhere in the distance, deep and loud enough that she felt it in her chest. The only other sounds were her labored breathing and rhythmic footsteps on the hard ground.

She couldn't remember why she was running or what she was looking for. All she could feel was the rising panic that time was slipping away. She stopped at a dead end, two doors stood before. Their metallic door knockers depicted funny little creatures, but to her horror they began to morph into snarling monsters. She let out a cry before turning around, desperate to flee.

She took two steps before slamming into another person. She looked up, the cry for help died in her throat as she met his eyes. The uneven pupils were framed by wild blonde hair that blew in the wind of the oncoming storm. She heard him laugh at her, the sound sent a chill down her spine.

The doors forgotten, Sarah backed away from the stranger. He inched toward her, laughing again when she backed into the bit of wall between the two doors. Trapped, she fought off tears as the man reached her.

"Right of left?" He asked with a smirk.

"Wh-?" Words failed her as he seemed to tower over her.

"Right or left?" He repeated impatiently.

Still Sarah could not answer.

Seemingly annoyed, he shrugged and gripped the loose fabric of her shirt collar, "Fine then, I'll choose." He said, shoving her towards the left door as it swung open on its own.

Sarah tried to fight him off. Desperately, she pulled at his fingers but he was infinitely stronger than her. She turned her head to the side, enough to see never ending darkness behind the door. She began to kick at him as he lifted her up by her shirt.

With his free hand, he grasped her face, forcing her to meet his eyes once again, "You should have chosen." He said before dropping her into the darkness, his laugh echoing as she screamed.

It seemed like she fell forever before she was suddenly stopped by someone. She felt two hand catch her under her arms, then her legs. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light she let out another horrified scream as she saw dozens of hands reaching for her. They were holding her up but quickly they began to pull at her roughly, clawing at her, pulling her hair. The buttons on her shirt began to pop off as the fabric was stretched too far in opposite directions. Soon the bruising fingers began to dig into her flesh. She screamed with all her might as the hands began to tear her apart.

Sarah thrashed around her bed as the screaming woke her. When she opened her eyes, and looked around she began to calm. She was in her bedroom. Her clock radio told her it was three in the morning, it had been her own screaming that had pulled her from the nightmare. She rubbed her face as she tried to push the images from her mind. It had been the Goblin King again, but this time he did not have seduction on his mind. The Helping Hands had ripped her to pieces. She shook her head to rid herself of the thought.

It had been a year now, maybe he was reminding her and thought her dreams of seduction were not enough.

With alert eyes, she made her way out of her room and into the hallway. Her father and step mother were sound asleep across the hall, their door shut tight, blocking her screams. Before heading to the kitchen, she paused at Toby's bedroom door. As she had done countless times in the past year, she slowly she cracked the creaking door open. From the threshold, she could see him sleeping peacefully, her old stuffed teddy bear snuggled against him. She let out a sigh of relief and closed the door, luckily her little brother seemed to be spared from nightmares of their ordeal.

The full moon cast its pale light through the kitchen window, but still uneasy, Sarah flicked the light switch by the door. Nothing happened, she repeatedly flipped the switch back and forth, willing the overhead lights to come on. With a defeated huff, she made her way to the sink for a drink of water. The tap seemed unnaturally loud in the quiet house as she filled her cup.

As she sipped from the glass she looked out the large window above the sink. She froze and her eyes widened at the sight. Silhouetted against the moon, a large barn owl peered back at her as it perched on a tree branch. Her cup forgotten, it shattered as it hit the sink, the sound echoed through the room. Sarah looked down at the glass fragments for a moment before returning her eyes to the owl. She knew it was no coincidence, it was no ordinary owl.

She watched as the owl slowly blinked once, then silently spread its wings and flew away. Sarah continued to stare out the window, among the glittering shards of glass, and watched the owl until it disappeared into the night.

Jareth had waited outside the Williams' house for hours. He knew Mara would waste no time, and he wanted to make sure Sarah was not unfairly tortured by his opponent. He had not planned on her seeing him. The fear radiated off her when she noticed him in the tree. The look in her eyes nagged at him. It had been foolish to think Mara would hold back for the first nightmare.

Returning to his world he impulsively veered right, away from the labyrinth and the Goblin Castle, toward the forbidding forest that surrounded the fortress Mara called home.

His enhanced owl vision made it easy to spot the Queen. She seemed to be waiting for him on the top of one of the several towers that made up the castle. Her pale skin caught the light from the moon, causing it to glow against the black stone of the tower.

"Jareth, what a surprise." She greeted him, clearly expecting his appearance.

"Mara." He said curtly after returning to his natural form.

"Why so grim, Jareth? Are you not enjoying our game now that I get a turn?"

Jareth didn't answer but stared back at his counterpart. He rarely gave her more than a glance, especially when she was in her natural state. Eyes so dark and deep set they seemed to be missing, only the glint form the light gave away their presence. Her eerily white skin was stretched tight over her sharp cheek bones, too sharp and pronounced to be beautiful. In fact, Jareth concluded, as they stared each other down, that everything about Mara was too much. Her mouth too wide, her teeth too pointed, even her arms and fingers were too long. It was as if she was a reflection of a beautiful woman that had been stretched and distorted.

It was uncomfortable to study her for long. She, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy his attention, taking the time to practically strut toward him, though her legs appeared to be more smoke than solid limbs.

Jareth looked away, inciting a rasping chuckle from Mara.

"I bet I know why you came." She paused a moment, smiling to herself. "You didn't like what I did."

Jareth remained silent for a long moment before he finally spoke.

"Do not use me in your nightmares."

"I can use whatever or whoever I want in my creations." She replied lightly.

With narrowed eyes, he turned his gaze back to Mara. His anger only seemed to thrill her.

"If you wanted to set rules you should have said something before we began." Something like a giggle escaped Mara as she spoke. It made the hairs on the back of his neck raise.

"Why use me?"

"Because I want to win. What better way than to make her afraid of you. Well, more than she already was." She shrugged her thin shoulders as she spoke, as if it should be obvious.

"Stop." He said simply.

"No." She repeated in kind.

Jareth's hands clenched as he tried to control the frustrated anger coursing through him.

She noticed the gesture and smiled, "You must simply make your dreams better. You have 2,135 days."

Jareth did not respond, she was right. He had no ability to keep her from using him in nightmares, just as she had no ability to control the dreams he created. He turned his back to her and effortlessly returned to his owl form, ready to return home.

Mara watched Jareth until his was a white speck against the inky night sky, a satisfied grin on her face. She had suspected for a year now that the human girl had managed to get under his skin. Jareth would never admit to her it was true, but she saw it as she watched the first round. He wanted her. Mara knew it would be Jareth's weakness, and she would use it to win the game.