I don't really have anything to say, so on to the fic!
Disclaimer: The rights to 'Labyrinth' seem to have vanished into the great void that is my desk. And since I never held the rights to Labyrinth in the first place, I'm not particularly concerned.
Devil's Rain
By Lyra Matsuoka
Rated PG-13
Chapter 4 : Clock Of Crystal, Heart of Glass
Jareth didn't stay put for long. He moved toward Sarah, and Sarah backed up. Step forward, step back. It was like a demented dance, one that could be performed without the participants touching. Sarah's face was set along angry lines...she wasn't afraid. Or if she was, she was hiding it well. She just didn't want the Goblin King in her personal space. Hey, I understand that.
"Get out, Jareth. You have no power here."
"Not entirely true, my dear. I have a great deal of power...in many areas," his voice grew heated, and his eyes burned into hers. I was a good seven feet away and I felt the scorching heat of that stare.
Okay, I was way too young for this. I was out of here.
Jareth wasn't paying attention to me. Nor was Sarah. They were both wrapped up in each other, oblivious to what was happening around them.
Or so I thought.
I turned and walked toward one of the openings in the garden wall, and felt a tingling sort of energy around me. It made me nervous. But I kept walking...slowly this time. And after three steps, I ran into another wall. This one was, of course, invisible. And guess what? All around me were invisible walls. All around me, except for the direction from whence I had come.
"I am not amused," I stated, whirling to face Jareth.
"Nor am I," he replied, but he wasn't looking at me. His eyes were focused on Sarah. "You aren't going anywhere just now."
"Why? What did I do?"
Jareth didn't answer. Though I had the oddest feeling that this demonstration had very little to do with me, I wanted to argue. I wanted to walk over to His Majesty and show him everything I had learned in self-defense class. I opened my mouth to begin the tirade, and choked.
Literally. I choked. I didn't lose my nerve or think better of starting a fight I wasn't entirely sure I could finish. No, not me. I was ready and willing to have a knock-down-drag-out fight over the invisible wall issue. But I couldn't make the words come.
//Calm down. This is not the time, nor is it the place, for you to challenge the Goblin King.//
A pause. I had the horrible urge to say 'You're not the boss of me!' I was not happy.
//Relax for a moment and think. Turn this to your advantage.//
I rolled my eyes again (I am something of an expert at this) and plopped down on a stone and crystal bench. Fine, fine. I didn't really have the energy to argue with the Goblin King, anyway. But I had to resist the urge to stick my tongue out at someone. Maturity at its best.
I looked toward Jareth and Sarah. They hadn't even moved. It didn't look like they were planning on moving any time soon. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to play around. Time...hey, wait a second...
I opened my mouth, praying that I was allowed to speak if I wasn't too insulting.
"Well, at least stop the clock. You'd be breaking the rules if you kept me here and didn't stop the time."
I could talk. Good for me.
No reaction, but I felt the crystal cool down. Maybe that was a sign. I reached out to the side, and found the same invisible walls boxing me in. I couldn't see them, but I knew I wasn't going anywhere. Not for a while anyway.
I clapped twice, no emotion showing.
"Very impressive, your majesty. Can you tie balloon animals and pull a rabbit out of a hat?"
No reaction. Damn. I hate to waste perfectly decent insults. But the fact I could make them at all was an improvement. So I sat down and focused on the crystal. I could think of no real reason for my being forced to stay. I saw Sarah reach out to the air surrounding her, and watched as her hands met some sort of solid surface. Ah. The walls were to prevent *her* from leaving. Well, that was slightly better. Not much, but slightly. My suspicions were now confirmed. At least it wasn't personal.
"Oh, no. No running this time, Sarah."
"I will do as I please!"
"Will you now? You seem to be unable to do as you wish currently."
"Fine. You are the most powerful magician in the Labyrinth. I stand in awe of you. Now may I pass?"
I had to give Sarah the thumbs up on that one. Not a bad comeback. Her technique needed work, but one step at a time.
"Why, thank you. But I don't think I'm going to..."
All right, I was done messing around with this. Whatever this situation was, and I didn't pretend to understand it, I had a sibling to save. I looked into the crystal with annoyance, and saw a picture form. It was Zane. He was staring at a set of doors, trying to decide which one to walk through. The left one was shining. I tried to urge him through it...and it seemed to work. Zane passed through the door and I watched it swing shut. As the door closed, the picture changed. Now it was me, inside the crystal garden. The miniature me walked up to the crystal statue and pulled the cluster of jewels hanging from the dwarfs waist. A tile opened beneath the miniature me, and "I" fell through.
"We're sorry, your call cannot be completed as dialed."
The crystal smoked for a moment, and the movie began again. This time the movie played me pulling the fox's sword down and falling through the floor.
"Do all these end with me falling to an unknown destination? No chance," I whispered, hoping that Jareth and Sarah would keep themselves busy. The time had come for action.
"Pardon me? I realize that I am merely a humble audience member, but I have a few errands to run before nightfall. Grocery store, Blockbuster, with a stop at the Goblin City to save a sibling. Would you mind if I left?"
No reaction. Okay then. Obviously, these people have no appreciation for sarcasm. I stood and started to walk away. I could feel the walls moving with me, but I wasn't all that concerned. After all, Jareth wasn't interested in me. At least, I didn't think he was. Okay, so this was a huge gamble on my part and I had no idea what was going to happen. What, I'm supposed to have all the answers?
Of course, all things must come to an end. Including the well being of my body. I was nearly out of the garden when I slammed into the wall. Not that I had forgotten it was there, but I had sort of been hoping it would go away.
It didn't. Hence, pain. Not too bad, but the kind that echoed all the way from my neck to my knees. Not fun. And it was really the last straw. I got mad. I whirled to face Jareth, my eyes ablaze.
"Back off, your Majesty."
He looked at me with surprise. He had obviously not expected me to speak.
I don't know what made me do it. It didn't make sense. Maybe it was the fact that the crystal had helped me before. But whatever the reason, I got mad all over again. I held the crystal out in front of me until it tapped the wall, and I *pushed*.
A surge of something shot through my body, starting at my feet and blasting upward and down my arm. The energy split at my wrist and splintered through my fingers; it went into the crystal and exploded.
The walls shattered. I felt and heard them fall around me. I looked at my extended hand in shock, and finally started to smile. Cool, man.
//Well, well. That was interesting. Unexpected, certainly...//
I stood stock still for a moment, feeling rather proud of myself for no particular reason. And it was about five second into the silent 'golly gee whiz' phase that I realized my hand was numb. Damn drawbacks.
I turned and smiled lightly at the Goblin King. He raised an eyebrow.
"Well, well. Our guest is becoming quite the little magician."
He was so utterly condescending. I wondered briefly if he could teach me how to say things in that manner. It was surely a valuable life skill. Sarah stood stock still for a moment, and then reached out her own hands. And that was when I realized that I hadn't merely decimated the invisible walls around me, I had managed to knock down those around Sarah as well.
"Don't do something we will both regret, Sarah. Forever is a long time."
Sarah thrust a hand into her pocket and raised her arms above her head. One fist was tightly closed. She brought her arms down in a sharp and decisive gesture. Three colored marbles shot toward the ground and exploded in a twist of blue, red and green smoke. As the billowing cloud twisted around her, Sarah smiled.
"It's only forever."
The colorful smoke folded in on itself quickly.
"Not long at all," came the whispered phrase.
Sarah was gone. Neat-o. This show was getting better every minute.
"The Fates are against me," Jareth muttered.
"Karma?" I suggested. The feeling was returning to my hand, gripped tingling fingers around the crystal. I refused to try and shake the blood back into my digits while the Goblin King was watching. I have my pride.
Jareth shook his head and pointed at the wall. I followed his finger with my eyes, and saw a crystal clock embedded in the wall. It had two hands and thirteen hours, and the hands weren't moving. The hour hand was on the five, and the minute hand (if it really was operating like an Aboveground clock) was on the seven. Great. Plenty of time to finish the Labyrinth, if I wasn't interrupted again.
Jareth snapped his gloved fingers and the clock began ticking once again. I looked back at the Goblin King, and started backing away from him. He snorted.
"I'm not going to fire a spell at you once your back is turned."
"I didn't say you were."
"Then why are you backing away from me?"
"A keen sense of self preservation."
"My darling girl, you have just decimated my invisible walls. Doesn't that give you any kind of an inkling?"
"About what?"
"And that is the question of the hour," Jareth murmured. "Better run along, Zora. Not much time left."
And Jareth was gone as well, spraying glitter all over me once again. I shook my head.
"Show-off," I muttered, and turned to exit the garden. On impulse, I turned around for another look at the sculpture.
"Ludo, Hoggle, Sir Didymus," I recited, and smiled.
I was most definitely not in Kansas anymore. And the more I thought about it, the more I thought that wasn't such a bad thing. I smiled broadly and turned on my heel, crystal in hand. It was definitely time to get a move on.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
There you are, all you fabulous readers. To everyone who has reviewed thus far, thank you! You are all wonderful...and there will be a big thank you section at the end of this fun little fic, I promise!
Peace, Love and All That Jazz,
Lyra
Disclaimer: The rights to 'Labyrinth' seem to have vanished into the great void that is my desk. And since I never held the rights to Labyrinth in the first place, I'm not particularly concerned.
Devil's Rain
By Lyra Matsuoka
Rated PG-13
Chapter 4 : Clock Of Crystal, Heart of Glass
Jareth didn't stay put for long. He moved toward Sarah, and Sarah backed up. Step forward, step back. It was like a demented dance, one that could be performed without the participants touching. Sarah's face was set along angry lines...she wasn't afraid. Or if she was, she was hiding it well. She just didn't want the Goblin King in her personal space. Hey, I understand that.
"Get out, Jareth. You have no power here."
"Not entirely true, my dear. I have a great deal of power...in many areas," his voice grew heated, and his eyes burned into hers. I was a good seven feet away and I felt the scorching heat of that stare.
Okay, I was way too young for this. I was out of here.
Jareth wasn't paying attention to me. Nor was Sarah. They were both wrapped up in each other, oblivious to what was happening around them.
Or so I thought.
I turned and walked toward one of the openings in the garden wall, and felt a tingling sort of energy around me. It made me nervous. But I kept walking...slowly this time. And after three steps, I ran into another wall. This one was, of course, invisible. And guess what? All around me were invisible walls. All around me, except for the direction from whence I had come.
"I am not amused," I stated, whirling to face Jareth.
"Nor am I," he replied, but he wasn't looking at me. His eyes were focused on Sarah. "You aren't going anywhere just now."
"Why? What did I do?"
Jareth didn't answer. Though I had the oddest feeling that this demonstration had very little to do with me, I wanted to argue. I wanted to walk over to His Majesty and show him everything I had learned in self-defense class. I opened my mouth to begin the tirade, and choked.
Literally. I choked. I didn't lose my nerve or think better of starting a fight I wasn't entirely sure I could finish. No, not me. I was ready and willing to have a knock-down-drag-out fight over the invisible wall issue. But I couldn't make the words come.
//Calm down. This is not the time, nor is it the place, for you to challenge the Goblin King.//
A pause. I had the horrible urge to say 'You're not the boss of me!' I was not happy.
//Relax for a moment and think. Turn this to your advantage.//
I rolled my eyes again (I am something of an expert at this) and plopped down on a stone and crystal bench. Fine, fine. I didn't really have the energy to argue with the Goblin King, anyway. But I had to resist the urge to stick my tongue out at someone. Maturity at its best.
I looked toward Jareth and Sarah. They hadn't even moved. It didn't look like they were planning on moving any time soon. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to play around. Time...hey, wait a second...
I opened my mouth, praying that I was allowed to speak if I wasn't too insulting.
"Well, at least stop the clock. You'd be breaking the rules if you kept me here and didn't stop the time."
I could talk. Good for me.
No reaction, but I felt the crystal cool down. Maybe that was a sign. I reached out to the side, and found the same invisible walls boxing me in. I couldn't see them, but I knew I wasn't going anywhere. Not for a while anyway.
I clapped twice, no emotion showing.
"Very impressive, your majesty. Can you tie balloon animals and pull a rabbit out of a hat?"
No reaction. Damn. I hate to waste perfectly decent insults. But the fact I could make them at all was an improvement. So I sat down and focused on the crystal. I could think of no real reason for my being forced to stay. I saw Sarah reach out to the air surrounding her, and watched as her hands met some sort of solid surface. Ah. The walls were to prevent *her* from leaving. Well, that was slightly better. Not much, but slightly. My suspicions were now confirmed. At least it wasn't personal.
"Oh, no. No running this time, Sarah."
"I will do as I please!"
"Will you now? You seem to be unable to do as you wish currently."
"Fine. You are the most powerful magician in the Labyrinth. I stand in awe of you. Now may I pass?"
I had to give Sarah the thumbs up on that one. Not a bad comeback. Her technique needed work, but one step at a time.
"Why, thank you. But I don't think I'm going to..."
All right, I was done messing around with this. Whatever this situation was, and I didn't pretend to understand it, I had a sibling to save. I looked into the crystal with annoyance, and saw a picture form. It was Zane. He was staring at a set of doors, trying to decide which one to walk through. The left one was shining. I tried to urge him through it...and it seemed to work. Zane passed through the door and I watched it swing shut. As the door closed, the picture changed. Now it was me, inside the crystal garden. The miniature me walked up to the crystal statue and pulled the cluster of jewels hanging from the dwarfs waist. A tile opened beneath the miniature me, and "I" fell through.
"We're sorry, your call cannot be completed as dialed."
The crystal smoked for a moment, and the movie began again. This time the movie played me pulling the fox's sword down and falling through the floor.
"Do all these end with me falling to an unknown destination? No chance," I whispered, hoping that Jareth and Sarah would keep themselves busy. The time had come for action.
"Pardon me? I realize that I am merely a humble audience member, but I have a few errands to run before nightfall. Grocery store, Blockbuster, with a stop at the Goblin City to save a sibling. Would you mind if I left?"
No reaction. Okay then. Obviously, these people have no appreciation for sarcasm. I stood and started to walk away. I could feel the walls moving with me, but I wasn't all that concerned. After all, Jareth wasn't interested in me. At least, I didn't think he was. Okay, so this was a huge gamble on my part and I had no idea what was going to happen. What, I'm supposed to have all the answers?
Of course, all things must come to an end. Including the well being of my body. I was nearly out of the garden when I slammed into the wall. Not that I had forgotten it was there, but I had sort of been hoping it would go away.
It didn't. Hence, pain. Not too bad, but the kind that echoed all the way from my neck to my knees. Not fun. And it was really the last straw. I got mad. I whirled to face Jareth, my eyes ablaze.
"Back off, your Majesty."
He looked at me with surprise. He had obviously not expected me to speak.
I don't know what made me do it. It didn't make sense. Maybe it was the fact that the crystal had helped me before. But whatever the reason, I got mad all over again. I held the crystal out in front of me until it tapped the wall, and I *pushed*.
A surge of something shot through my body, starting at my feet and blasting upward and down my arm. The energy split at my wrist and splintered through my fingers; it went into the crystal and exploded.
The walls shattered. I felt and heard them fall around me. I looked at my extended hand in shock, and finally started to smile. Cool, man.
//Well, well. That was interesting. Unexpected, certainly...//
I stood stock still for a moment, feeling rather proud of myself for no particular reason. And it was about five second into the silent 'golly gee whiz' phase that I realized my hand was numb. Damn drawbacks.
I turned and smiled lightly at the Goblin King. He raised an eyebrow.
"Well, well. Our guest is becoming quite the little magician."
He was so utterly condescending. I wondered briefly if he could teach me how to say things in that manner. It was surely a valuable life skill. Sarah stood stock still for a moment, and then reached out her own hands. And that was when I realized that I hadn't merely decimated the invisible walls around me, I had managed to knock down those around Sarah as well.
"Don't do something we will both regret, Sarah. Forever is a long time."
Sarah thrust a hand into her pocket and raised her arms above her head. One fist was tightly closed. She brought her arms down in a sharp and decisive gesture. Three colored marbles shot toward the ground and exploded in a twist of blue, red and green smoke. As the billowing cloud twisted around her, Sarah smiled.
"It's only forever."
The colorful smoke folded in on itself quickly.
"Not long at all," came the whispered phrase.
Sarah was gone. Neat-o. This show was getting better every minute.
"The Fates are against me," Jareth muttered.
"Karma?" I suggested. The feeling was returning to my hand, gripped tingling fingers around the crystal. I refused to try and shake the blood back into my digits while the Goblin King was watching. I have my pride.
Jareth shook his head and pointed at the wall. I followed his finger with my eyes, and saw a crystal clock embedded in the wall. It had two hands and thirteen hours, and the hands weren't moving. The hour hand was on the five, and the minute hand (if it really was operating like an Aboveground clock) was on the seven. Great. Plenty of time to finish the Labyrinth, if I wasn't interrupted again.
Jareth snapped his gloved fingers and the clock began ticking once again. I looked back at the Goblin King, and started backing away from him. He snorted.
"I'm not going to fire a spell at you once your back is turned."
"I didn't say you were."
"Then why are you backing away from me?"
"A keen sense of self preservation."
"My darling girl, you have just decimated my invisible walls. Doesn't that give you any kind of an inkling?"
"About what?"
"And that is the question of the hour," Jareth murmured. "Better run along, Zora. Not much time left."
And Jareth was gone as well, spraying glitter all over me once again. I shook my head.
"Show-off," I muttered, and turned to exit the garden. On impulse, I turned around for another look at the sculpture.
"Ludo, Hoggle, Sir Didymus," I recited, and smiled.
I was most definitely not in Kansas anymore. And the more I thought about it, the more I thought that wasn't such a bad thing. I smiled broadly and turned on my heel, crystal in hand. It was definitely time to get a move on.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
There you are, all you fabulous readers. To everyone who has reviewed thus far, thank you! You are all wonderful...and there will be a big thank you section at the end of this fun little fic, I promise!
Peace, Love and All That Jazz,
Lyra