Author's Note:

Thank you SO much to all of you who have reviewed. Your reviews mean a lot to me and have inspired me to write more.

I hope you enjoy this chapter and please review.

Chapter Four

Jareth materialised back in his throne room, a smirk played across his face as he thought of the delicious creature that would be the source of his entertainment for the next thirteen hours. Loki would be much more fun than the bratty children who usually ran the gauntlet of his Labyrinth, crying out that this and that weren't fair and that everything was his fault. No, Loki would be a much more…interesting challenge…

Jareth draped himself across his stone throne and conjured a crystal to his fingertips. Holding it delicately in his hand he looked deep into the depths of the crystal until the image he had called upon was presented to him. Frowning, he noticed that the light was beginning to fail and his prey would be forced to run his Labyrinth in the dark which, while this was likely to make it more difficult for Loki, was not satisfactory to Jareth as it would obscure his viewing of the exquisite God as he made his way through the Labyrinth.

"Well we can't have this." Jareth waved away the crystal in his hand and walked across to one of the arched windows in his throne room.

Standing before the window he waved his hand from west to east across the sky of his kingdom. The sun, which had barely set in the west followed the path of his hand across the sky to settle back just above the eastern horizon.

"There" Jareth stepped back to admire his work "that should provide better lighting for my enjoyment."


Loki stood before the gates to the Labyrinth with his hands on his hips, still slightly dusty and his usually sleek black hair stuck out at a few odd angles.

It was starting to get dark and he began to worry that if he didn't gain access to this wretched maze before dark fell he would be in serious trouble.

Suddenly the dark that had begun creeping its way across the realm began to seep away. Loki's brow creased in confusion as he tilted his head towards the sky just in time to watch the sun, which had been setting only moments ago began to reverse its trajectory across the sky before finally setting just above the eastern horizon.

Loki blinked several times, half expecting the sun to do something else but when it remained still in its new location for several minutes he shrugged his shoulders and returned his attention to the locked gates. At least the sun's strange movements would afford him some daylight by which to find his way through the Labyrinth.

Loki retuned his attention to the gates to the Labyrinth and out of frustration kicked the large metal padlock, which was holding the gates closed. Much to his surprise it broke off and fell to the ground with a loud clang, which echoed across the sandy plain.

Loki stood still for several moments staring at the padlock as it sat shattered on the ground. He then stepped forward and pushed against one of the gates with the palm of his hand. The gate groaned loudly as it swung open and Loki cautiously poked his head through the entrance.

"Well if everything is this simple I believe I may have over estimated the Goblin King." Loki chuckled as he walked through the open gate into the huge stone maze.

He was immediately confronted by an immense stone wall too tall and straight to climb, that seemed to stretch on forever in either direction.

"Hmmm"

Suddenly the gates slammed shut behind Loki with a loud bang. He spun around in surprise and his now confused stare was met with a wall of stone similar in appearance to the one he had just been facing, except that there should have been in its place the two large wooden gates to the Labyrinth.

Loki turned around slowly again until he was once again facing the wall he had previously been facing, which was still in fact a wall. He raised an eyebrow curiously as he now found himself in a long corridor of stone that stretched as far as the eye could see in either direction.

"Well that's just splendid now isn't it."

He was beginning to regret his earlier comment, now that he was starting to come to the realisation that the Labyrinth was perhaps not all that it seemed.

Loki pondered this development for a few moments more before randomly selecting to head left down the corridor of stone. He placed the fingertips of his right hand against the stone wall and proceeded to stride ahead at a brisk pace, taking care to step carefully over fallen branches and dislodged stones, ducking occasionally when a fallen branch had propped itself up against the wall at an angel, all the while never allowing his fingertips to leave the stone wall.

So far Loki's opinion of the Labyrinth was not high. The corridor he was currently traversing was cold, damp and smelled of mildew and moss. That and it seemed to just go on and on forever. Surely there must be a turn or a door or-

Loki stumbled slightly as his fingertips were suddenly met with air where their should have been stone. He turned to his right but was confronted by the same wall he had been following all this time, but surely his eyes were playing tricks on him because his fingers no longer felt stone.

Holding both this hands before him he took a tentative step forward and when his fingers still did not touch the rock he could see before his eyes he took another step and then another until he passed through a hidden opening in the rock wall into another stone corridor.

Pleased with himself Loki glanced to his left and then to his right down the new corridor and quickly selected to go right this time.

"It's quicker the other way."

A tiny voice piped up.

Loki glanced about in confusion, not entirely sure he had actually heard the voice or whether it had only imagined it. Just as he was about to give up his search for the voice he spotted a tiny blue caterpillar sitting on one of the stones in the wall next to a tiny hole.

"I'm afraid I don't take advice from caterpillars." Loki said with a look of distain before continuing off down the corridor in the direction he had chosen, quickly coming to another turn and selecting to go right again after a quick glance.

The blue caterpillar shook his head sadly.

"He seemed to be in such a hurry I thought he would have appreciated knowing the quickest way to the castle. Oh well" and with that he crawled off back into his hole.


"What is this ridiculous place!" Loki fumed as he kicked a small rock with his boot, sending it ricocheting down the stone corridor. "I have been wandering through these corridors for what must be hours and I feel as if I have gotten nowhere! Not to mention that ridiculous talking caterpillar."

Loki stopped walking and placed both hands on his hips. There must be an easier way out of this part of the Labyrinth then just wondering around randomly selecting a direction to go in based on where he thought the castle was located according to his last observation of it. The problem was he had probably been turned around so many times by this blasted maze that he was no longer sure which direction the castle was in.

Sighing in frustration Loki cast his gaze up at the sky, where he noticed the sun off to his left. He smiled as a plan formulated in his mind.

Of course, why hadn't he thought of it before, he could use the sun to guide him through these wretched corridors. The sun and been to his left when he had began and the castle had lain directly before him. That meant that at this point in time, seeing as the sun had not yet reached the top of its transit across the sky, he was currently facing in the direction of the castle. By keeping the sun to his left from now on he could always be assured that he was heading towards the castle, and so he set off again.


Thor had been moping about the palace of Asgard ever since Loki had been cast from their realm to serve his sentence in the Underground. Still angry with his father for not doing more to save his brother when they had only just gotten him back after loosing him the first time, Thor had not spoken to Odin for a number of his days. He could barely even bring himself to converse with his friends of late. The only person he really spoke to these days was his mother.

Frigga found Thor standing out on the vast balcony over looking the newly repaired Bifrost. It had sapped most of Odin's strength and power to repair it but it had been done.

"Thor. I know you miss him but your father did all that he could. You know he must be a fair and honest ruler and his advisors always have the realms best interests at heart. At least this fate is better than the alternative." Frigga spoke softly as she stood beside Thor and placed a hand on her son's back.

"I would feel better if I knew that he was alright. I know nothing of the Underground but the stories I have heard of it have not calmed my worries."

"Heimdall can show you."

Thor looked to his mother and she nodded.

Thor strode purposefully across the rainbow bridge and towards the Bifrost. There, standing before him was Heimdall the gatekeeper of the Bifrost.

"What can I do for you Thor?"

"Can you show me the Underground?"

"A strange request indeed but yes, I can. I can show you any of the realms you wish to see."

"Then show me the Underground. I wish to know that my brother is alive and unharmed."

"Very well"

Thor followed Heimdall into the Bifrost gateway where he placed his heavy sword into the lock for the gateway. However, instead of activating the Bifrost he called upon a large oval shaped portal, which opened above his sword. At first it was only a swirling white mist of sorts but then the as the mist swirled faster it moved to the outer edges of the portal, leaving an image in its centre.

Thor let out a long breath he did not realise he had been holding as he saw his brother making his way down the centre of a stone corridor. The vision followed Loki as he rounded a corner, looked up to the sky and then continued on. Thor was pleased to see that the metal muzzle and shackles had been removed and his brother looked generally well, if not perhaps a little frustrated.

"Thank you." Thor sighed as the portal closed in on itself and Heimdall removed his sword.

"Stay safe brother…whatever it is you are doing…"