Sorry for the delay people; things have been hectic - Writing fanfic is really great therapy, I strongly recommend it! As usual the Underground Dwellers are not mine - More's the pity - Ditto for Jareth (sigh, damn shame that!) Enjoy!


Krissen's body was sprawled out on the cold marble floor of the castle's throne room, when he assumed power he moved the Underground's political centre to the ballroom. His disliking of the goblins was well known and he felt his judgment of Jareth vindicated once his assessed the crude space of the old throne and an observation box where the globins came and went as they pleased. When the general rose to power he banned them from entering his private quarters, he assessed the castle with great intrigue but the piece de resistance was when he found the ballroom. Jareth had not ventured there since the plan of wooing Sarah went awry; his shame and bitterness influenced his decision to ban anyone from entering it.

The evidence of the former king's shambled courtship lay untouched for a whole year; the mirror of parallels still lay broken on the floor with the chair that struck it lying where Sarah had flung it. The delicate ribbon of idina crystals that fell from the girl's hair still lay discarded on the floor; the entire room was frozen in time as a reminder for Jareth to never be a love fool again. Everything lay still with the exception of the great Morpharia ceiling; a beautiful kaleidoscopic spectacle that offered the only insight into the Labyrinth's moods. An interchanging mass of every colour above and beyond a rainbow that would thrill and delight observers in one instant then worry and terrify the next. The general was disorientated and his vision was blurred but he could see Morpharia flooding into a shade of a bright yellow.

"What am I doing on this floor?" He grumbled in a daze, slowly raising his head, then his limbs then his waist though thinking it wise to leave his feet where they were.

"Welcome home my liege, I see misfortune has unraveled our plans somewhat" Airk Tathar; Consort of The General and High Priest of The Heathen Order, a small but influential following of The Black Arts. The people of The Underground held good hope and promise for the general but that vanished the moment the warlock's exile was reprieved.

"The misfortune meaning the lack of company I intended to bring back, was I misled into thinking Jareth's magic had left him?"

"No my lord, it appears the dream keeper has been found there is no way Jareth could have summoned the power to teleport so many"

Krissen coughed with embarrassment of his wounded pride, immediately blaming the disgraced monarch and quickly got to his feet, smoothed his cloak with his thumb and index finger then carried on.

"Whom do you suspect, the boy? If it was him his acceptance to a destiny far greater than any mortal can carry was spectacularly quick" He mused sarcastically.

"I'm still not certain of the source but I sense a separation of some sort" Airk shrugged, his cane of black tarnished wood clasped tightly in his hands. His eyes were paler than any star and they neither held any warmth or gentleness.

"For ten Earth years I have ruled this domain and no mystery has vexed me more that than swine of a Goblin King. So much vulgarity and foolishness should be refused anything, let alone the rule of a kingdom: Imagine living for one thousand three hundred and choosing actually choosing to give it up not once but twice!" Krissen roared as his heavy boots pounded the floor with slow and heavy strides.

His consort just rolled his eyes at yet another outburst to add to the very long list of venomous sermons about their mutual enemy. His eyes followed the intricate carvings of Morpharia his eyes widened as he did a double-take on what he saw.

"As if music and symphony could substitute power, Lumiere took over his reign and look what happened to him. The Labyrinth decides to erase the memory of that occasion yet not with his last – Why?" The Steward scowled

"Perhaps Jareth thought there was a gift stronger than immortality, though I cannot imagine what….I have some news" Airk discussed the incident of the mortal girl and The Fae king with great disdain but smiled at the information the Labyrinth was granting him.

"But he had everything, Jareth had everything…" Krissen stammered with rage.

"-but the girl, Jareth had everything except for what he truly wanted; he had everything but the girl

"What, what is it Airk?" The general leaned over to him quite mystified, his advisor copied his movements.

"She….has returned" He whispered triumphantly.

Toby William picked himself off the dirt road and dusted himself down, it was a hard and indignant fall as he landed on his backside. After pinching himself on the arm several times he accepted that this was no dream made from another junk food overload. He mumbled to himself as he grabbed the object that was digging into him, clasping it with an inexplicable sense of caution Toby picked up the amulet.

On analyzing it he suddenly could not remember where he found it or who exactly gave it to him: was it stolen, was it a prop from his drama class, perhaps something Sarah neglected to tell him about. His eyes were hypnotized by the tiny silver coin in the amulet's centre; looking around to see if the sun was shining but the day was still clouded over but instead of white, the clouds he was gazing at were of ominous amber.

"What the frigging hell is this place?" He said in a daze as he unknowingly followed his sister's actions ten years before by relying on his feet to distract his thinking.

Stumbling along the beaten track, he kicked the dirt and assessed his surroundings, disheartened to find nothing but a mass of burgundy-coloured rock for miles around.

"Bad detour to Montana, Arizona, Ayers Rock what?" He sighed to himself, fidgeting with his rucksack he swung it over his shoulder and put the amulet around his neck without a second thought.

Travelling up and down many hillsides he was about to yell out his frustrations when he tripped on a tensed up wire that had been pinned from one side of the path to the other. Before he knew it his legs were pushed to the ground by a spring that jumped up from the dirt. He heard cackles and gleeful chattering as the mischievous fireen tribe revealed themselves to the boy.

"No trespassers of any shape or form whether be imp, goblin faerie are allowed to roam our lands without direct permission!" The tiny speck with bright red hair and orange eyes spoke; Toby chuckled at this absurd vision as he reminded him of those toy trolls Sarah had.

"…and whom do I ask for permission to cross this barren dump?" Toby grinned, allowing himself to embrace this crazy dream just before he would allow himself to wake up in his own bed.

"I am Marius Abhaya; I am Captain of the Guard to the firee territories and this is no 'dump''" The soldier replied before poking him with his spear. The tiny pin-prick aggravated Toby and forced him out of his denial, still he could not believe the question he was about to ask.

"Don't you mean fairy? You seem rather confused Captain, didn't you just say that they weren't allowed here without permission?" Toby persisted while trying to wriggle out of his restraints.

"Not faerie, fireen; fir-een we are the little people of Snaer Mountain: The Ludese trolls live near the summit and we dwell next to the volcano" The Captain remarked proudly.

"The fireen people, you mean fire don't you? How dumb can I be; how else can you explain your eyes, your hair colour…your nutty dress sense" Toby guffawed, slamming his shoulders down on the dust, was his conscience slowly accepting what was happening or had he gone insane and not realized – Toby just didn't know anymore.

"You know for a dumb human, he's pretty good" Quipped a fellow fireen, his hair was spiked in streaks of yellow and orange, with a slight tinge of red at the tip.

"Yeah what do you know punk?" Toby chided

"Who is this 'Punk'? My name is Aren Emrick I am second lieutenant to the Battalion of the fireen people and I do not wish to be mocked sir?"

"Aren Emrick huh; you look more like Johnny Rotten to me!!" Toby scowled, getting more irritated at being shackled a minute longer.

"Sir, this mortal vexes me terribly, how about a little fireen punishment courtesy of a lava pit!" Aren growled to his superior, the threat caught the boy's attention and he pulled furious at his legs but still they would not budge.

"Perhaps you're right; a lesson must be learned today and I would not be Captain if I didn't know otherwise – Take the rods and drag him to the pit" Marius ordered and out of nowhere sprang a troupe of fireen soldiers who tied Toby's feet and started dragging him along the road.

The boy tried to rain dust upon them with his feet, astounded by their strength as he could feel himself slipping forward with every tug of the rope. Neither Toby nor the thumb-sized battalion felt the vibrations of feet at first or the low grumble, but like a set of dominoes the troupe fell as the vibrations became louder and louder. Aren dashed to a peak on the far corner of the path and jumped high in the air.

"It's Ludo of the Snaer goblin-folk….retreat, retreat!" He yelped to his comrades

"Hey I'm the leader here, I GIVE THE ORDERS!" Marius roared.

The ground rattled and shook, the Captain's eyes darted from left to right.

"Retreat, retreat; sound a role-call we're returning to base!" He commandeered albeit a little cowardly, leaving Toby alone to deal with whatever gigantic menace was coming up the hill.

He closed his eyes tight and could hear the intruder stopping and leaning down inches away from his head. Long strands of what felt like horse hair tickled Toby's nose but he could not scratch it. Taking a deep breath he opened his eyes and saw a huge head of horns, long hair and a huge mouth with teeth that looked longer and a lot more dangerous than a hippo's gawking at him.

"Aaarrrrrrgh" Toby yelled, squirming like a maniac to set himself free

"Wuuuuuh?" Ludo replied, very befuddled

"AAAAARGH! Toby continued

"Waaaah!" The goblin yelled back

"Aaaargh don't eat me, I'm not appetizing I-I'd make a disgusting meal trust me!" Toby stammered then made a silent prayer as Ludo made a grab for his legs.

'Maybe he wants them for a snack' Toby thought and braced himself for the horrible death of being eaten alive. He sat up in a bemused silence as Ludo broke off the pin on his legs then his arms before a huge hairy arm tugged at a large weed that was poking from the rock face.

"Snaerian leaves…yum-yum!" He howled happily before gobbling up the little plant.

"Well who would of thought it…a vegetarian monster. Who are you; can you show me how to get out of here?" Toby shook his head.

"Name Ludo, you came from above; I saw you fall: This is the Underground" Ludo mumbled incoherently as he chewed his food then took another bite at the stalk.

"The Underground, what is this? Am I dead, between heaven and hell? Toby asked with anxiety crackling in his voice.

"No heaven, no hill: Snaer Mountain – my home, me take you to village" Ludo nodded to himself, before Toby could protest he scooped him up and sat him on his shoulders. The boy shrieked and grabbed on to the beast's head as tightly as he could.

"OW me gonna have headache, my horns!" Ludo winced before pointing a long finger towards his ivory peaks. Toby grabbed hold of them slowly, twisting his fingers around it like his old bike's handle bars.

Toby started swaying in rhythm to Ludo's steps as he resumed his journey home, sensing from the tiny amount of fae magic that his kind were allowed he sensed the boy was not from Iona or any other of the humanoid territories.

"You mortal child, have not seen mortal children since Sarwah" Ludo explained, feeling glad for the company.

"Sarwah???? You don't mean my Sarah do you – course you don't there must be hundreds of Sarah's in the world-" Toby stopped short as he was gently lifted from behind and was left hanging in mid-air as two huge chocolate iris' studied him curiously.

Now Ludese goblins were not known to be smart but they had a hierarchy of intellectuals like any other race in The Kingdom even though they only knew a little themselves. But he liked listening to stories and he liked telling them. Especially the one involving the mortal girl from Aboveground who saved him from a bunch of mean thedaford Goblins, how he had this grand old adventure with her and an irritating dwarf called Hoggle to save someone. Ludo never had the best memory but he remembered the Prophecy of The reprieved had heard of the Azoris amulet and there it was twinkling against the boy's chest. Suddenly everything fell into place.

"TOOOOBYYYYYY!!! Ludo miss Toby, Ludo miss Sarah. Where's Sarah?" He said with an enormous grin.

"Oh my God you do mean my Sarah, how on Earth would you know my name otherwise?" Toby grimaced as he was launched into the biggest bear hug of his young life.

"We won, we got you back from Jareth; the fox, the dwarf, me Sarah. We got through Labyrinth to get you and now you're back….LUDO MISS YOU!" He purred happily, settling the boy back on his shoulders then walking on with a spring in his step.

"Jareth, there's that name again; saying it before frightened me but now it doesn't….why is that Ludo?" Toby asked, he made a forced alliance and within five minutes he was asking a total stranger for an opinion but somehow he felt safe, so what did he have to lose.

"Never fear little one, we'll see my father and he'll help you remember" Ludo suggested cheerily, patting the boy's hand. Toby nodded as just as he did with his father some years before nuzzled his chin over the goblin's head.

His sister drenched and without such a calming influence around her, sat on her knees at the foot of a waterfall, she squeezed the excess water from her hair and pretended she was wringing Jareth's scrawny neck.

Panting a from the cold she stared self-consciously at the mermaids, her Khaki trousers hung heavy and uncomfortable over her legs, the sweater clung so tightly around her she could barely breath.

"Your originality of introduction both startles and delights me my dear, I assume you'd want to dry your clothes"

'and I suppose the goblin King is going to magically present me with a tumble dryer? Modern technology - it being the nineties and all' Sarah thought venomously.

"My lady…do you want to catch your death of cold?" The Mermaid obnoxiously asked.

"…and what must I do to perform this task, has The Underground discovered electricity yet?" Sarah scorned.

"Odd child with odd words, we have never heard of this e-l-e-c-t-r-i-c-t-y; see the vessels of steam up there? Well beyond that rock is a geyser and the rocks are very hot. I have seen other humans do it myself" The sea woman added patronizingly, only coaxing to Sarah's anger further.

"I'm much obliged to you My lady…" Sarah cringed a feigned smiled and began to climb, praying her boots would not fail her.

"…Lady Adira and the realm you so ungraciously plummeted into is the lagoon Obiareus – a safe haven for my kin and I….and you are?"

"A weary traveler, who seeks refuge and maybe some direction – how far is the Labyrinth from here?" Sarah called back as she pulled herself up the nooks and ridges of the rock face, looking up in awe as the multiple geysers funneled out the clouded air like a teapot.

On finding a ledge wide enough to sit on she began to undress herself, relieved that a boulder left her hidden from the prying eyes of those down below.

"The trail of Goblin City, why would you want to go there for? Hardly anyone ventures around there anymore – not very bright for a human is she?" Quipped another mermaid, Sarah coughed out her disdain for such snobbery and pretended once again that she was plaguing Jareth's body with all sorts of bruises and body blows: But she never wished it, as tempting as it was she knew better not to.

"Be quiet Calliste, I won't have any of my constituents following the human's vulgar manners" Adira chastised the younger sea woman.

"It was a valid question; you ever heard of anyone prowling around the place anymore – it's a total mess and the Labyrinth does not take kindly to unexpected guests"

Sarah prayed with all her might that her company with these uncompromising creatures would be brief; slamming her sweater flat of the baking rock surface she reluctantly obliged them.

"Business is business, no matter where that location is I must get to the Goblin City"

"Good luck trying to get past the guards or Airk Tathar for that matter but you may be fortunate in your plight if General Krissen takes a shine to you" Another Mermaid giggled

"Vicuska; we Mer-women do not accede to idle gossip, kindly hold your tongue" Adira scorned again, then crossed her arms over her pallid frame.

"Who is this Airk Tathar?" Sarah called down

"One can only hope you won't find out sooner than you have to" Calliste replied morosely.

Sarah Williams observed these obnoxious lagoon-dwellers and decided that the likes of Hans Christian Anderson and the more recent generosity of Disney painted a prettier picture of mermaids than what she was actually seeing. Their tails glittered in shimmering silver with skin so pale and gaunt it was almost hard to stomach: Sharing the same charcoal-black eye colour with varying lengths of hair in the deepest shade of blue. Shaking her head she favoured and missed the kinder, gentler tale of Ariel but the old advice of The Underground still rang true; nothing here was ever as it seemed. Eventually with a few cutting remarks made for good measure Sarah's clothes dried and she was directed to the long and winding path towards the fishing village of Lissien. After two miles wandering the canyon, the huge crevice gave way to a horizon of a hamlet that sat smugly between the plains and a vast sea. The sight of such a endless stretch of water astounded the young woman,

'Was there an ocean here before; I don't remember seeing anything beyond the goblin city or the Bog of Eternal Stench' She thought curiously then started off towards Lissien, hoping someone might know where a certain dwarf goblin lived.

Cavorting restlessly on his throne the General was busy conspiring with his consort and though the guards stood strong and proud at their posts they watched their superiors with worrisome eyes: He was the general and appointed ruler of The Underground but nobody in their right mind trusted him, not even those hired to protect him.

"Maternal instinct, such a strange thing; her presence could endanger the lives of her beloved Fae King and his heir yet the heir is what brings her back. I doubt she knows of his plan, a superfluous one might I add"

"I concur my liege, it makes perfect sense perhaps he was unconsciously counting on the fates to misinterpret the boy as his successor, anything involving Tobias would involve his sister, that's why he did it – He had every faith that she would return to him" The High priest explained with malevolent eagerness.

"How delightfully underhanded of him, his betrothed in probably clueless of these thoughts, I always did like to better the ignorant" Krissen grinned wickedly.

"The same would probably apply for the boy; I've never known anyone to be happy about being a bargaining tool, even if it was for her dreams"

"Could be a great advantage for our cause, we get the boy and we get Azoris" Airk interjected as he stood up from his stool and paced the floor.

"…And possibly Lady Sarah, I doubt she will please me for long but I've never had a mortal woman. Let alone the fated Bride of a King"

"So sire, how do you intend to place this dastardly deed in motion?" The Advisor leered.

"Where all else fails find a scapegoat, the citizens are aware that something is happening to the labyrinth, we'll just aide them to vent their fears"

"By scapegoat you mean Jareth, you really despise him don't you General?" The High Priest smirked, after five years of knowing the soldier and rising up to powerful position of Consort to The Goblin Kingdom he already knew the answer.

"Nothing wrong with a healthy dose of hate to strengthen the body and mind dear Airk and no not Jareth, Jareth would be too much of an obvious candidate"

"…Then who?"

"The appointed saviour of course, The goblin King's surrogate son – young Master Tobias"

"Ah so the chosen successor becomes a symbol of all that is wrong is The Underground I like your thinking" Airk nodded enthusiastically.

"Precisely the reason why I appointed you as my most trusted counsel" Krissen quipped with a snarl.

Airk bowed and glided out of the room, his black cloak and crow-feathered hood sweeping behind him. The general frowned as the room suddenly darkened, assessing the candelabras he was confused as the candles had only been recently refreshed. He then instinctively looked up at Morpharia, the bright and cheerful glow of yellow bled into the colour of the deepest ominous amethyst, Krissen knew what that meant.

"Exhibit your rage all you please, your former master will be rid of for good this time: As his heir and your appointed keeper…and there is nothing you can do to stop me" He whispered upward and scowled before leaving the premises for his own private quarters: Leaving the Conscience of The Labyrinth to bleed from the shade of amethyst to the deepest jet black. The general left the room unfazed but his men, though rigid and determined in their duties were quietly quaking in their boots.

Sitting on the banks of The river Sioga Jareth raised the hand that he hand splayed out on the grass, moving it towards his face like a thorn or stone had scratched his palm but he knew it was a warning spark of magic. Looking about him he stared up at the sky, the trees, then back at his hand his eyes almost crossing together he was that anxious.

"Something's wrong, something's happening but what"

"Who, huh what? What are you talking about? It's lovely here" Hoggle sighed dreamily as he laid contented his spot while listening to the stream trickle beside him.

"Something troubles the Labyrinth, we need to locate our mortal friends and soon" Jareth replied with a live-wired urgency, a turn of the hand and a crystal appeared.

"Show me Sarah"

The crystal showed nothing but transparent glass and a magnified reflection of The former monarch's face.

"Show me Tobias"

Something happened then but it was not to Jareth's liking, as his magic tool clouded over.

"Bring them both to me" Jareth immediately regretted those words as a sharp pain shot up his wrist, the crystal began to crack and shatter, then it exploded into nothing.

"Drat, a pox on the woman who caused such mayhem she had no reason to separate us" Jareth groaned

"Sarah did what was best for her brother, like it or not Goblin King, Sarah favours him above all others or have you forgotten?"

"No I have not Hogs' breath! But it appears she still holds the same stubborn selfishness I knew a decade ago"

"Ah it don't matter none" Hoggle said dismissively

"Whatever do you mean?" Jareth retorted irritably

"Do you still…?"

"Do I still what, Hoggle"

The Gnome had known the fallen king long enough to known the only occasions he ever called him by his proper name was when he could barely contain his anger: He gulped then cautiously carried on.

"Do you still love Sarah?" Hoggle allowed the words to spill out then afterward he clenched his jaw and closed his eyes, ready to be teleported to the most ghastly domain in all The Underground.

"If I answer, it will not be brought up in any future discussion between us: Nothing is more important than finding Azoris and bringing the heir to safety, are we agreed?" Jareth forlornly requested whilst bringing his knees up to his chest and tossing a pebble into the brook.

The Dwarf Goblin batted his eyes in trepidation before finally taking the plunge; sitting up his weaved his huge hairy hands together in the most diplomatic pose he could muster.

"A-a-agreed"

A silent agonizing pause drifted along the riverbank and nothing but the rustling of the trees and the faint giggles of snooping nymphs could be heard. Jareth chose for his most reluctant of allies to gain momentary access into his thought, his feelings….and his heart.

"I've never stopped loving hr…" He said it so faintly with vulnerability pouring from every syllable that the goblin had to remind himself that Jareth was his ruler once.