Andie was munching on a sandwich from her pack when she happened upon the same small courtyard amidst the hedges as an hour prior and realized she had walked herself around in a circle. She whined a little and then swallowed the bite of food, thinking back to which direction she took last time. "What a miserable, frustrating place," she sighed as she went straight this time around. "I wish—" However, she left it that that, just shaking her head instead of finishing, not knowing what she'd wish for anyway, even if it did matter.

"Well?!" cried a high, grating voice above her, causing her to look up. At first she feared it was one of those chicken monsters again, but saw it was, in fact, a small, hideously ugly being that more fit the bill of a troll. Or maybe a…

"A goblin?" she wondered aloud.

"That doesn't make any sense!" it erupted in its impish way. "Don't you know how to make a proper wish?!"

"Should I?" Andie countered.

"Why shouldn't you?" it demanded. "Didn't you learn a thing last time?!"

"Last time!" she scoffed. "I've never been here before in my life!"

"Didn't you come here to find that baby of yours?" it wondered, its bulging eyes alight with bewilderment.

"No," Andie said simply.

"Oh," it muttered. "Well, you must've wished for something at some times or another!"

"Apparently, I haven't been doing it the proper way," she murmured, growing annoyed as she quickened her already brisk pace to get away from the little pest.

"Well, go on then, try again!" it persisted.

"Why?!" she finally shouted, stopping and turning to where it was crawling across the top of the hedge.

"Because we haven't had a wish in thousands of years," it muttered reasonably. "We misses it."

"So, what, you can swindle people?!"

"Well… Yes."

Andie threw her hands up in the air and ranted, "Thousands of years, everyone keeps saying that, have you all been alive that long or are you all so fond of hyperbole that it's become a cultural norm?!"

"A what?" it muttered, baffled, before shrugging its wrinkly shoulders. "Time don't move anymore."

That gave Andie pause enough to calm the flare in her temper. "Wait, why not?"

The little creature shook its head. "Never you mind. Doesn't matter no more! Grab 'er!"

"What?" Andie demanded just as suddenly she felt hands grabbing at her legs and a weight launch onto her shoulders. "Hey!" While the goblin had apparently done its job of distracting her, its comrades had snuck up behind her and they were attempting to send her to the ground for better leverage.

"We'ven't turned no one for some time neither!" one goblin cackled maniacally.

"This one ain't no baby!" the one on her shoulders squealed disdainfully.

"Doesn't matter, just takes a bit longer!"

"Let go of me!" Andie growled, attempting to tear the goblin off her back, but nearly tripping instead as the goblins hurled themselves at the backs of her knees. While she fought with one hand, she tried to get the dagger out of her belt loop—where she'd temporarily stowed it to free up both hands to eat and have a sip of lukewarm tea—with the other, but the curvy blade was too secure and would not come out. She thought she was done for when suddenly the ranks began to change.

"Tally-ho!" came a cry from a short distance over. An explosive boom sounded and suddenly what appeared to be a cannonball with legs was hurtling through the air and collided with the goblin atop the hedge, both of them going over the other side in a fit of limbs. "Now, Ambrosius, charge! Not that way!"

"We've got you surrounded!" came another gravelly goblin voice. Other cackles and cries of agreement rose up and then there were the distinct clangs of swords and more cannon fire as what sounded like a fight commenced. A deep, resonating roar rose up and the ground shook, boulders rolling past the end of the path Andie was on toward the commotion, surprised goblin shouts going up as a new clanging began to sound.

Taking that distraction to kick the goblins off her legs and hurl the one off her back, she caused them all to scramble from the commotion and leave her standing, roughed up, in the maze path alone. "What the hell is going on?" Andie murmured, hearing the noise build as she moved forward to try to investigate without getting in the middle of whatever was happening. She peeked around the corner and saw half a battalion of armored goblins equipped with cannons, spears, and swords being mauled by autonomously moving rocks, but that was all she could tell before having to jump back to avoid what appeared to be a sheepdog running past.

"Ambrosius! Stop this instant!" It was then she realized there was a rider atop the dog who looked like a little dog, himself, in a feathered hat and guardsman attire. Andie was so distracted by the dogs that she didn't notice the battle migrating closer as the goblins were forced back. "Must I bring food into this every time?! Halt at once!" The sheepdog apparently named Ambrosius skidded to a stop and whined before slowly turning around, panting pathetically. "Now!" the rider began again, but paused when he spotted Andie. "Oh… Is that you, my lady?"

Andie started to reply when the cavalry opposing the goblins appeared: a stocky fellow with a bulbous nose that she could only classify as a dwarf, a lanky grey creature that resembled a tall version of one of the goblins, and what appeared to be a carved sandstone chimera with the body of a lion, the head of a woman, and arched wings upon its back. Her eyes widened on the group and suddenly the roar of earlier split the air again just inches from her on the other side of the wall and she shrieked, instinctively ducking away. That got the dwarf's attention and he looked at her, his large eyes widening. "Sarah?!"

A new storm of boulders came tumbling through, finally inspiring the goblins to flee the premise, all of them muttering in high-pitched tones as they retreated. Andie watched them go before looking toward the group who was now focused on her. It finally registered in her mind what the dwarf had called her. "No…," she murmured, shaking her head. "No, I'm not Sarah."

"You're her spitting image," the terrier astride the saddled sheepdog pointed out gently.

Andie nodded a little and—in hopes it would gain her some allies, as these creatures clearly were familiar with her mother—revealed for the first time since entering the Labyrinth, "Sarah is my mother. My name is Andie."

"Andie, eh? How did you get here?" the grey goblinish creature asked suspiciously.

She shot him a grumpy look. "It's a bit of a long story."

"Sarah's your mother?" the dwarf asked in awe. "How is she? Did she come with you?"

Andie regarded him thoughtfully. "She is and she's…fine. But no, she didn't come with me. I'm here quite by accident, to be honest with you. But… Who are you?"

"Oh, right, sorry… My name is Hoggle," the dwarf said amiably, still seeming to doubt somewhat that she wasn't who she said she was and was, in fact, Sarah playing a joke or something of the sort.

"And I am Sir Didymus, your ladyship! And of course, this is Ambrosius," the terrier said with a grand gesture to his furry steed.

"How lucky," Andie said with relief. "Aldo and Grita told me to find you both."

"They are still quite well? Wonderful!" Didymus exclaimed. "We lost contact with them quite some time ago."

"I," the greyish goblin began with a bit of a glare thrown toward Didymus, as if he were impertinent for speaking at that particular moment, "am Nyle. It is a pleasure… Andie. Is that a shortened name?"

Andie looked at Nyle warily—something about him just gave her the creeps, but she told herself it was only his looks—and replied, "Erm, yes. For Cassandra."

"Hm, I prefer that," he noted and she decided that he unnerved her so because he was less comically repulsive than the other goblins. There was a sharpness to his features and his eyes were yellow and cold as a snake's. Had he not those reptilian features in addition to the grey skin she'd discovered was signature to the goblins, he may have been handsome. Instead, he just seemed dangerous.

Andie though, impervious to this intimidating move, muttered, "Well, I prefer Andie."

He sneered and she was surprised a long thin tongue didn't flick between his teeth when he replied, "Fine then."

"Leona," the lion woman purred, smiling to reveal rows of sharp, pointed teeth.

It finally occurred to Andie what the chimera reminded her of. "Are you perchance a sphinx?"

Leona delicately raised her stone brow. "Why, yes. How ever did you know?"

"Stories from my world," Andie said. "I thought sphinxes guarded gateways though?"

"I did once," Leona said, nodding. "But ever since the Labyrinth fell, that duty became null and void. Anything can get anywhere now if said thing is only patient."

Andie nodded; in its own backward way, that did make sense. Her skimming gaze met Hoggle's and he seemed to be embarrassed by the eye contact. "Well, come on, we have a camp nearby," he grumbled, walking back the way they'd come. He tilted his head back shortly after heading over that way, "Well, it's about time you join us! You missed all the good stuff!" She had turned the corner before looking to where Hoggle was speaking and gasped at the beast before them, the definition of the modern day Bigfoot. Or a strangely enormous orangutan. Hoggle looked at Andie's expression and said, "Ah, right. This is Ludo. He's harmless."

Ludo looked down at her and his eyes grew wide. "SARAH?"

"No, Ludo. This is Andie."

"Andie…," Ludo tested out the name, pondering it before looking at her again. "Andie friend?"

Andie stumbled over her words, but managed to say in a voice breathy with shock, "Oh, um, yes. Friend."

The beast was appeased by that and gave a very toothy smile, which—in a strange way—comforted her. He seemed like a gentle giant and Andie was simply glad making one friend in this bunch was so easy. The rest seemed like they might be challenges, particularly because—unfairly—she wasn't her mother.

"So," Leona began after they'd all managed to settle in the campsite and get some provisions cooking over the small fire. "How did you say you arrived here?"

Andie looked at her, again marveling at her mythical appearance. She looked like she'd come straight off an Egyptian hieroglyph. "Accidentally," she replied, the dried meat being warmed making her mouth water as the smell began to waft into the air. She'd contributed the remainder of her sandwiches and tea to the party as a gesture of friendship, knowing allies outweighed her need for food at the moment and assuming she'd do best with bartering for them to start. "I took a crystal paperweight that looked like a peach—," Hoggle gasped and she paused in confusion before slowly continuing, "—from my mother's house and when I got it home, I cut my finger on it and, next I knew, I was here and getting chased down and nearly tricked by everything I came into contact with."

"Not the guardsmen of the doors?" Nyle asked dubiously. "You would have fallen into a trap had you gotten their riddle wrong."

"Oh, no, that was one of the easiest challenges," Andie said, shaking her head, which surprised the lot of them based on their expressions. "Those orange chickens were the worst."

"Orange whats?"

It hadn't occurred to Andie that chickens might not be known here. "Those large creatures with orange and pink feathers? Long snouts? Tossing their limbs every which way?"

"Oh, you mean the Fireys. Bad luck running into them first thing," Hoggle noted, shaking his head with disapproval.

"Indeed," Leona murmured, equally exasperated at just the mere mention of the creatures.

"Then this peach crystal… Do you still have it?" Hoggle asked nervously.

"Technically, yes," Andie said as she took the dagger from her hip, wiggling it free of the loop, which had proved to be a bad storage idea during her confrontation with the goblins. "But when I got here and dropped it, it turned into this."

"May I?" Hoggle asked, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the shiny, glimmering blade.

"I wouldn't trust him with that," Nyle said with another one of his sneers. "He tends to keep treasures."

"Oh, quiet, I'm not insufferable," Hoggle snapped, appeased when Andie trusted him to hold the blade. He examined it and paled slightly. "Oh, yes… This is Jareth's work, as expected."

Andie arched a brow. "Jareth? The worms said it was goblin magic."

"It is. Jareth is their king," Hoggle told her. "I'm surprised Sarah never told you."

"She did, but as a story when I was little. It's been so long, I don't remember much of it now," Andie admitted.

"Well," Hoggle said as he handed her back the dagger and she noticed that he had a collection of trinkets on his person, among them what looked like a costume bracelet. She wondered if that had been her mom's. "I'm not sure how you got here or why, but you're not alone here. You're welcome to stay with us while you search for answers. And, should you need us…" He glanced at Didymus with a bit of a sad look in his eyes.

The terrier frowned slightly as well. "Yes. What Hoggle is trying to say, milady, is, should you need us, we will be here at your disposal. It is the least we can do for an old friend. And a new one, it seems."

Andie smiled and it was perhaps her most genuine one since arriving to this baffling place. "Thank you. Both of you." Ludo was quiet, as were Leona and Nyle, but she got the impression that they were all on the same page as well. Particularly Ludo, who was content to listen and beam happily at her from time to time. "My mom was lucky to have met such loyal friends while she was here."

"We were lucky to have met her, as well," Didymus said, nodding. "She is a special young lady. A special young lady, indeed!"

"I do believe the meat is done," Nyle droned lazily and Hoggle hastily took the dried meat, now slightly charred, off the iron plate they'd used to heat it, placing it in a bowl and sending it around the circle.

After all the food was parted out, everyone drifted to separate parts of the camp and Andie ate quietly toward the far side of the small courtyard, sitting with her back against the wall. She felt eyes on her soon enough and looked up to see if she was correct in feeling like she was being watched. Her eyes first landed on Nyle, who was openly studying her from the other side of the clearing and did not stop after being caught. She stared back at him boldly and, after a moment, he simply smirked and went back to eating. He was a strange one, but they were all friends, so Andie couldn't believe Hoggle and Didymus in particular would allow a traitor or cad in their elite little group. At least, not actively.

She soon found that Nyle was not the only one looking her way when she glanced right, finding Hoggle hesitating nearby and looking conflicted about approaching her. "Something wrong?" she asked, prompting him to respond.

"Oh, no, I just… May I?"

"Of course. I'm the outsider here, you can do as you please."

Hoggle shook his head as he sat down with her. "Not at all, I—I mean Sir Didymus is glad we all ran into each other." He coughed to cover up his nerves and Andie refrained from smiling at his attempt to appear less sensitive.

"So, you, Ludo, and Sir Didymus knew my mother, right?" she asked him before placing the last bite of a sandwich in her mouth.

"We certainly did. All ended up helping her along in her quest. She couldn't of done it without us," he said toughly. "Though, I was awful lonely before she showed up. Don't tell her I said that."

"I won't," Andie said, her smile coming through a little at that. "The others I've met think she brought the Labyrinth crashing down. That she beat, er, Jareth?"

"She did. She beat him at his own game, but none of us had a clue of what was at stake. It was worth it to her to get her brother back, but the entire Labyrinth seemed to crumble and shatter after she denied him."

"Denied him?"

"It became clear that he was convinced that he was in love with her," Hoggle said in a lowered tone.

"Just convinced? Not actually?"

"To me, yes. Just convinced. I can't imagine treating someone I loved like he treated her. Sending a cleaner after her and wiping her memory and doing everything in his power to make her fail… Even if he did need an heir to his goblin throne," Hoggle scoffed.

Andie nodded knowingly. "That makes a lot of sense. So Uncle Toby, er, her brother was supposed to be his heir?"

"I think any baby would have done, but yes, Sarah's brother was the one he took."

"How did that happen?"

"Well, she asked him to," Hoggle said as if it were obvious. "She wished for him to and it was like fate handed him the perfect situation. And goblins take wishes very seriously. More seriously than anyone. The problem is that they're also manipulative and tend to love loosely worded wishes… And prideful, which was probably why he was so offended when she didn't want his gifts over her brother after wishing him away." He shook his head. "Goblins are the worst…"

"You're very insightful, Hoggle," Andie commented and she could've sworn the dwarf blushed.

"Oh, uh… Thank you," he said embarrassedly.

"You're welcome. I think I'm going to wander a little and scope out what's nearby. I still want to make it to the castle at the center of the Labyrinth, but for now I'm enjoying spending time here. Thanks again for letting me stay."

"Of course." Andie began to stand and paused when she heard, "Sarah, er, I mean, Andie? Sorry, you just look so much like her at a fast glance, it's habit."

"It's okay. I never thought we looked that much alike until I ended up here and everyone began mistaking me for her."

Hoggle waved her closer and she leaned in to hear what he had to say. "Be careful of who you tell about being Sarah's daughter, all right?"

"I have been up until I came across you all," Andie assured him easily.

"Good, but I mean it. Especially if you happen to run into Jareth." He shifted uncomfortably. "No one's seen him since the Labyrinth collapsed, but he might just be the most dangerous one to you in this world. It would do you well to keep what you can about yourself under wraps from now on."

"I understand, but I'm not my mother… Would he really fault me for something I didn't do?"

"Before Sarah showed up and changed everything for us all, no one expected him to do half of what he did," Hoggle admitted. "He was more or less a recluse—dangerous if crossed, but otherwise neutral and still biased toward the goblins—but his encounter with Sarah brought out sides of him I doubt even he anticipated. Something changed for the wilder in him and who knows who he is now. Or if he even is at all anymore."

Andie nodded. "Just in case he is… I'll be careful. Thank you." She paused. "Speaking of careful… Is Nyle…?"

"Strange. But he has proven to be a good ally," Hoggle said quietly.

"Is he a goblin?"

"He's half-transformed. Another baby stolen by Jareth before Sarah came along. He retains human size and features, but you can see the aspects of him that changed… His demeanor is split at times, too."

Andie nodded, feeling a new sense of pity for the half-goblin, half-man. "Right… Okay. I'll see you soon." She stood up and set her empty slab by the fire, heading toward the path that led off from the courtyard. She felt eyes on her again, but didn't turn this time to distinguish who it might be.

Andie swore as a bramble stabbed her wrist and she chose another less thorny patch of hedge to grip as she tried to haul herself up to the top and peer over for a better view. She'd not gone far, but wanted to get a plan in order before she set out for the castle, which she decided she'd do in a day or two. She was restless and wanted to get back home to her ailing mother and weary family. She was starting to realize, now that she had found a place of security in the Labyrinth and had met individuals she at least trusted not to pull off her head or turn her into a goblin, that what was really pulling her toward an end to all this was a sense of duty. She wasn't as desperate as before and she could only wonder why that was, as monstrous as this place could be.

After getting an idea of what direction she'd need to take, she shifted back down the hedge, noting a small crack in the path that she wasn't sure had been there before. "Hmph," she scoffed dismissively before landing just left of it, only to have the earth breath beneath her feet. She screamed and could feel the tunnel walls actually grabbing at her, her eyes squeezed shut until she was very suddenly yanked to a stop in mid-fall.

She slowly opened her eyes, which shot wide when she saw what seemed to be a bunch of hands creating the shape of a face before her. "Can we lend you a hand?" it laughed, the fingers moving as a makeshift mouth in time with the disembodied voice.

"Wh-What are you?!"

"Why, we're helping hands, of course!" claimed another face, this one with different features, but still made of the same uniformly configured hands. "Now, where to?"

"Where to? What do you mean?" she stuttered.

"Up or down?"

"Um…," Andie murmured, looking down and then up and wondering where she'd come from. Both just looked like spots of light at the end of the tunnel and she'd tumbled end over end so many times, what if she'd gotten turned around? Could she trust physics here? What if she chose wrong? "Which direction did I fall from?"

"Shouldn't you know that?!"

"Do we look like we have eyes, girl?"

"Up or down?!"

"Um… Up?" she squeaked.

They laughed. "She said up!"

"Your up or our up?"

"…What's the difference?"

"Everything!" they said together and just started handing her end over end until she hadn't a clue of which direction they were "helping" her toward until they had her dangling by one foot, promptly letting go so she landed on her face.

She spit out a piece of dirt and looked around, finding herself standing in a dim spot of light in utter darkness with nothing beneath her but more dirt. "You bastards! Get back here!" she shouted up at the tunnel, the opening no more than a speck of light now. "Hoggle! Ludo! Didymus, help!" she cried up into the tunnel, but she knew it was no use. Those stupid hands were still laughing at her in their strange, ghostly way.

"Well, well," said a voice in the darkness, "aren't you a sight for sore eyes."