The Awakening by- DarkAngel-Hotaru

A Work in Progress____________________________________

Hold me now
I'm six feet from the edge and I'm thinking
That maybe six feet
Ain't so far down

I'm looking down now that it's over
Reflecting on all of my mistakes
I thought I found the road to somewhere -

I cried out heaven save me
But I'm down to one last breath----

--- Creed, 'One Last Breath'

Chapter Three___________________________________________

He leisurely moved out of the shadows toward the Goblin King. The king's head hung downward onto his heaving breast and he did not see his capturer approaching him. His head spun and his body ached with undying and unyielding pains. Bitter spells of melancholy engrossed him and covered his heart with icy layers of despair. He felt as if he lost everything that was significant to him and through his sorrows, he aspired for the unspeakable pleasures and comfort of a quick death.

One of the monsters was located behind Jareth with one vast hand prodding into his soft flesh, holding him up. He could feel the lengthy claws of the beast dig into his back, but the new amounts pain no longer tortured him because Jareth's grimy, blood drenched body was tingling was numbness.

The dark man curved his palm underneath the king's jaw and unhurriedly lifted it upwards into the beams of flickering candlelight. Jareth desperately wanted to yank himself away from the man's gentle advances, but he could not summon the strength to do so. The dim light burnt into his eyes and Jareth painfully flinched as his teeth noisily grated together.

The other man humorously laughed at Jareth's sudden discomfort and he gingerly pressed onto the serrated cut on Jareth's forehead. Jareth winced as the evildoer scratched a stream of darkened, dried blood away from his hypersensitive wound. Jareth bit into his swollen lip and the acrimonious taste of coopery blood overflowed into his mouth. The incision started to bleed once more and its contents streamed into Jareth's squinting eyes. More pain overtook him and he madly jerked away from his captor clutches. Strands of snow-white hair flew into Jareth's eyes successfully shielding the fury that blazed within them.

The other person vigilantly backed away as if Jareth was a coiled snake preparing to strike at him with venomous fangs of death. Jareth coolly stared through the wisps of blood and grit stained hair with bitter, unforgiving eyes. The man cruelly grinned. He could feel Jareth's disapproval of him cascade over him like a stone against the ocean's ravaging tides.

"Release him," he demanded in a frosty, curt tone. The beast slowly eased its dagger-like claws out the sore, sweaty flesh of Jareth's backside. Jareth could not contain himself any longer, he screamed out in agony and fell, whimpering, onto the hard floor. His placid features twisting with anguish, Jareth blankly watched the animal happily bound away.

Jareth's captor encircled about Jareth observing him and was deeply amused as the Goblin King tried to stagger back onto his feet. He lightheartedly laughed as the strength vanished from Jareth's arms and he tumbled down into weakening heap. The man sickly licked his lips as he studied the affliction that Jareth suffered from. He operated similar to the actions of a vulture, feasting upon Jareth's vivid emotions as if they were the sweet tasting, rotting flesh of the deceased.

"I have to admit--" he merrily declared while lumbering over to where the beast with the teddy bear stood. "--I am afraid I was a bit rude earlier." He wrenched the bear from the creature's outsized lips. Fowl smelling drool dampened the bear's fluffy fur and it sloshed down from the bear's leg onto the stone of the floor with a nauseating splat. He gaily flung the stuffed toy from hand to hand as if he were juggling it. "I forgot to introduce myself."

The sinister magician abruptly stopped the wild pitching of the bear and his face grew solemn as if he were profoundly thinking. Wickedly glared at the object in his palm and he shook his head as if the toy's uncomplicatedness disturbed him. Glancing away to Jareth helplessly lay; the wheels in his twisted mind began to turn over with memories. It worked up an imaged of the child Jareth was protecting with his very life. The stranger amusingly snickered as he bluntly wondered what could be so important about the girl to where a noble man would risk his own live to save her. Could she be his daughter?

No. He decided remembering the sweet reflection of panic that was displayed on her face when his creatures attacked them. Features are far too different for them to have a blood bond.

A smile tickled on his lips as the grim image of the child's unspoken terror replayed over his sick contemplations. He knew he was perverse and enjoyed every moment of others pain and suffering.

Jareth grunted and grimaced as he stubbornly refused to lie on the ground as if he were lifeless. He suddenly acknowledged that he would not give the intruder the satisfaction of watching his agony. Needle-picks of pain madly ran into the soreness of his raw mussels as he struggled to ascend from the mucky puddle of dirtied blood that he was laying in. Jareth rose to his feet and his head spun with body-numbing spells of dizziness. His arms undulated about himself with uncontrollable amounts imbalance. Jareth's visitor evilly chuckled at the destabilized king's declining state of strength.

"I am positive that your child friend would have preferred a simple introduction more pleasing than two stupid, drooling beasts." An embittered feeling of disgust rose from the mysterious being's gut as he coolly stared at his archrival with disapproving eyes. He lightheartedly flung the teddy and quickly snapped his fingertips together. The plaything unexpectedly exploded into flames in midair. Anger engulfed Jareth's senses, but he could only watch. "Find her--" His arrival curtly demanded to his demons. "--And bring her to me, unharmed, if you can." The beasts growled and hasty departed into the hallway, eager to do their master's evil deeds. The thrill of the hunt was on. Their excited howls echoed in Jareth's ears only driving him further into complete and utter madness.

Knowing that he must do everything to defend Sarah's child, Jareth released his overflowing emotions of hatred and angrily screamed while running to the evil beast that was currently molding his ever-changing doom.

Jareth's target of rage smirked and raised his palm before himself. The creature's dark eyes of purple velvet magically changed into an eerie, glowing white as malevolent powers surged throughout his veins. His extensive tresses of blackened brunette drifted off of his broad shoulders and floated spookily about him as the spell he weaved within his mind was cast.

Jareth froze. Invisible, magical fingers securely held his legs in place and he frantically struggled to dislodge himself from where he stood. It was no use. The dark enchantment held fast onto Jareth's physique, numbing it and preventing any movement Jareth desired to muster. A growl of utter frustration curdled up from the depths of Jareth's throat. His eyes, unable to move, where locked dead center onto his enemy and Jareth could only blankly stare as the other man leisurely cantered through the cinder remains of the teddy bear over to where he was immobilized at.

Jareth struggled once more, but only in vain. As powerful as Jareth was, he could not break the hex placed upon him. Jareth began to feel dizzied from the lack of oxygen dispersing throughout his body. His face rapidly changed from pale white to light pinkish crimson and then to even darker shade of crimsoned purple. The spell provided to be so strong that Jareth's lungs could not even expand and deflate so he could breathe. Deep within his thoughts, Jareth cursed the fool who now stood inches before him.

"Resistance is futile." He purred softly into Jareth's ear as he gingerly ran a finger down the side of Jareth's swollen face and teasingly nipping at strands snow-white hair. "With my knowledge of the forbidden arts--" His lips gently brushed against the burning flesh of Jareth's ear lobe. "--I now own this kingdom and everything in it. Including you, Jareth." A disoriented grunt arose from the confined person's vocal chords. Blood softly trickled from his mouth down to his chin, slowly urging him into fits of utter madness. He yearned to be able to shut his eyes so he would no longer have to fearfully gaze into the purple eyes of the demon that claimed his kingdom for his own.

Jareth could feel the stale, hot breath upon his cheeks as the dark man amusingly leaned closer toward him. The demon stopped and tossed his head to an angle as if he were intensely considering his next move. His lips were only inches away from Jareth's as he gingerly positioned Jareth's chin in between his incisive fingertips. Pressing his fingers deep into the bony flesh, he gracefully curved Jareth's face upward to him and gleefully imaged the pain Jareth could possibly be receiving at this very moment. Smirking, the evil being wrenched Jareth closer to his person and passionately kissed him fully onto his blood-soaked lips.

Shock overran him as Jareth attempted to cry out, but he found the task difficult because of the other person's mouth. He could feel his insides churning and wrenching with the unspeakable pleasures of slow torture. The former spell was abruptly disabled as a new one violently surged into him. Jareth could feel all his vigor and might quickly depart from the sore pulp of his diminishing core. More blistering amounts of pain shocked through Jareth engulfing him with unbearable feelings of misery and anguish.

The kiss ended and left both men breathless. Merrily grinning, the malevolent man eagerly licked the coopery blood droplets from his lips while Jareth hungrily gasped for air. Jareth drunkenly staggered upon his wavering feet and silently watched with horror as his blood progressively seeped to a tiny puddle located on the floor. He could feel his sultry anger smoldering deep within him.

A blinding light magically flashed between the two men. Its brilliantness caught Jareth off guard and he could only hesitantly glare as the mysterious light weakened leaving only a small, perfect crystal behind. The crystal caught the beams of candlelight and it inexplicably glowed while elegantly spinning in midair. The man seized the magical orb as if he were plucking an overly ripe fruit from a tree and he held it out onto his palm so that Jareth could see.

"Do you know what this is?" He quizzically demanded as he began to twirl the sphere through his lengthy fingers. Light reflected off the crystal and playfully hit the walls and the floor. He stopped whirling and securely perched the precious crystal onto the edge of his fingertips. Jareth could only blankly gawk at him. "This is your power source Jareth. Everything that is magical about you and everything that completes you to be the man that you are, is laid deep within this tiny crystal."

"Who are you?" Jareth asked hoarsely. Another wave of numbing pain seized Jareth and he gasped out with disbelief. The man cruelly laughed and skillfully revolved the crystal over the top of his hands. He gaily fixed his eyes on Jareth as if he were a plaything only there for his torturous desires.

"I am the illusionist who makes your nightmares reality," he said firmly caging the luminous orb into the shadows of his closed palm. "I crush--" His grip on the crystalloid sphere tightened. "--Your dreams. I am called Eunan."

The sound of breaking glass crashed into Jareth's ears and a bright light shattered his eyesight, leaving him instantly blinded and his head throbbing. Thousands of invisible knives quickly pierced deep into the tenderness of his vulnerable flesh and left the Goblin King flinching like mad. Jareth helplessly fell onto the floor and swiftly doubled over with intense amounts of excessive pain. Jareth gasped as a wave of electrified soreness whizzed throughout his entire body like a deadly plague. Through clouds of stirring dust, Jareth painfully squinted up at Eunan as he opened his hand and allowed the shards of broken crystal to escape through his fingers. Jareth felt completely helpless as the pieces drifted off, twinkling, into oblivion and evaporated out of sight.

Eunan bent over the fallen man and wickedly grinned. The quick, pleasant smile vanished and his face grew unsympathetic and solemn.

"Now look at you." Eunan disgustedly declared as he watched Jareth wriggle like a worn torn through a hook. "The great Goblin King, an aging and powerless Fae." He pondered for a moment and then added in a quick, sarcastic tone. "Luckily, the Underground has a new king now."

Jareth dejectedly bowed his head with shame and blindly stared to the floor as disbelief overwhelmed him. He was in a daze; a vicious nightmare that he bluntly refused to believe was real. He felt like he was on the roller coaster ride from Hell and there was nothing he could possibly do to get off of it. His head frantically spun only making his problems seem worse and Jareth desperately combated the itch to rip it clean off his neck. His pride was severely ruined and his self-worth drastically nose-dived like the stock market on Black Tuesday. His grief was supported by bitter anger, which was far beyond its boiling point. Jareth longed for the sweet tasting plots of revenge, but his mind doubtfully wondered if he could ever possess such a joyous and devious gift.

Eunan spun away and Jareth stood beside himself as he struggled to pull his sorrowful self back together. Jareth went into convulsions and he gnashed his teeth together. He speedily glanced about him searching for a blunt item to use as a weapon for the evil deed brewing from the cauldron of ideas on the backburner of his mind. Jareth keenly spied a broken glass bottle on its side amongst a pile of torn, filthy rags. He tottered over, nearly collapsing over on his side, grabbed the bottle and stealthy stalked his foe. He hoisted the bottle high above his head and was fully prepared to strike when Eunan suddenly turned.

The jagged edge of the weapon sliced deep into his smooth flesh. Darkened blood drops soared through the air and messily splattered onto nearby objects. Upon impact, Eunan's hands swiftly flew to his damaged face. He gently touched his new wound; it started from the bridge of his nose and extended down into the fleshiness of his right cheek. Eunan could feel the scored flesh begin to throb and sting with intolerable numbness. He scandalously glared at Jareth, who was strategizing to swing again.

"You mindless fool," Eunan bitterly hissed. He quickly whacked the bottle from Jareth's weak hands. The glass boisterously demolished against the stone slabs of the floor. Eunan's eyes morphed white and ominous enchantment dispensed from his fingertips. His force energetically slammed Jareth into the wall and firmly held him in place onto it. "You have no power over me Mortal!"

Jareth slowly began to ascend toward the ceiling. The wicked beast laughed for he was greatly amused by his skill in the dark arts. A child's scream echoed through the castle, slicing through Eunan obnoxious giggles. Eunan paused as a delighted smile cascade across his face.

"I believe my minions have found your little girl." Eunan smugly snarled with beaming bursts of pleasure. He upturned his palm and Jareth rapidly fell to the floor with an earsplitting and exceptionally sickening thud. A pool of ruby-red fluid spread out from where his head lay. The fallen king gurgled in the crimson pool of his own blood and then lay there, unmoving, in a weary and unconscious heap.

Eunan contentedly eyeballed the lifeless body and he hurried snapped his fingers. He did not fancy his new residence to reek like decomposing flesh. A group, which consisted of five goblins, awkwardly stumbled into the room. Their eyes were as large as saucers and their faces appeared to give the impression that they were terribly scared. The group had witnessed the entire display between the two foes and they did not desire to be the next to confront the new king's magical wrath. The tallest and bravest goblin bowed before their new master.

"Yes, your majesty?" he replied nervously. Eunan gently probed the wound crossed his face and examined the quick drying blood as it deteriorated onto his fingertips before speaking to his newly acquainted slave.

"Depose of that," Eunan halfheartedly grunted indicating to Jareth's motionless body. The goblins confusingly gawked at the stationary body that lay on the trash-covered floor. Another goblin, who was sporting a blue scarf with dilapidated edges, opened his mouth to make an objection to the man's wishes.

"But ain't... " The goblin began. Eunan hastily swooped down and plucked him up by the collar of his dirty shirt. He bully stared into the goblin's large and apprehensive eyes.

"You insolent bastard! You dare to question me!" Eunan's purple eyes began to merge into white as his anger hungrily chewed him up inside. Eunan vigorously hurled him to the floor. He could feel his magic tickle at his fingertips begging to be unleashed. The goblin quickly scrambled to his feet and ran to his colleagues. "Get rid of him now or I will get rid of each and everyone of you!" he pointed to each one of the goblins as he spoke the deadly promise.

The small group quavered with dread. They were afraid of what he might do to them if his lethal demands where not executed. They could only watch as he acrimoniously twisted away from them and sat down in his newly obtained throne. He uneasily ran his blooded fingers through his shoulder length tresses and abruptly stooped when he felt five pairs of timid eyes burning into his flesh.

He replaced his cold and cheerless stare to where the goblin herd stood with dumbfounded gazes. Eunan evilly glared at them and cleared his throat, but before he could verbalize any more threats, the goblins hurried over to where the dethroned king lay. They gently placed him onto their stubby arms and disappeared into the darkness of a starless night.

Disclaimer_ ____________________________________

I do not claim to own the Labyrinth nor do I claim to own any of its characters. All characters and original plot ideas belong to the Jim Henson Company and LucasFilm LTD. However, I do own the ideas and characters not expressed in the film. Please do not take them.