Notes/Disclaimer

If you're worried I have forgotten a crucial part, like when things come out of books. 'Fear not'. I had an idea to include some small details like revealing the exchange that happens something like in the movie version of Inkheart.

Moving on; I still don't own any characters or rights from Labyrinth, Inkheart, or any other books that are used in my story. I...

Jareth: Give it up. Never going to happen.

Sarah: No banter, the story must go on.

Me: Fine, but I wasn't gonna make a wish. Cue the music: Am I Ever Gonna Find Out Lifehouse

Italics= Thought

/ /= Silvertongue magic at work.

{Squiggly Brackets}= Jareth mind speak

More indications will be added or changed as needed.


Ch. 8

Let The Wild Rumpus Start

Jadis's lair

"Nothing! Nothing!" Jadis shouted. "How dare you come back then." She gave an icy glare.

"I didn't promise anything. I didn't really..." Moirai tried to act as usual.

Jadis sneered as she interrupted. "Oh never mind. Silver came back a while ago and there are more than enough books. Time to get started." She composed herself.

"Are you positive? Isn't it tradition to conduct things like this during a full moon?" Moirai joked.

"Is that cold feet..." Jadis narrowed her eyes with suspicion. "Or betrayal." She watched for anything from Moirai. "Traitors... can be fun." She slithered over and grabbed Moirai's chin.

Moirai gave a nervous laugh. "Th-that's not it, rubbish. Forgive me if I get a little homesick when everything is gone." That was a good excuse. She slipped out of Jadis's grasp.

There was rage in Jadis's eyes; she had been too lenient and patient with this insolent girl. If she didn't need the wretched girl, she would have turned her to stone long ago. Something was off about Moirai. Was it really as Moirai said? Or was nothing what it seemed. "I don't care if we try reading it some place else first. I want 'The Nothing' read out yesterday! No more messing around!"

There was one particular world Jadis wanted annihilated first. No Cair Paravel, no thrones, no prophecy. Even if it meant the sacrificing of Narnia, that was better than giving up whatever power she had there. Aslan would pay.

"Crystal clear message received. If it would please you. I'll get right on that now as you wish." Moirai had not been stupid enough to actually go back to The White Witch with nothing; she was back at Sarah's favorite park. She had conjured up a double and sent it in her own place instead. It worked so far, but it seemed Jadis was suspicious. The double left the room and disappeared; it wasn't designed to stick around any longer than needed.

Back at the park, Moirai rolled her eyes. That nervous laugh was cliche. I can barely believe she isn't more suspicious. Well the double wasn't exactly like her and controlling it was a little tough, even if it was made with a small amount of her own essence. She did hear what her double heard, which didn't sound good. She headed back to the Williams' home.


Back at the Williams' home

"Calm down and slow down. What's going on, say that again." A colleague had called to tell Jim that weird things were happening. Things like people and buildings vanishing and appearing; the coworker rambled on and on in shock. Jim thought Sarah had only read one character out of that book of hers, 'Labyrinth'. He had been expecting something small. He knew something must take the place of who or whatever came out of a book.

But what no one knew was that Sarah had read the entire Labyrinth out of its book, the consequences for that could be different, and bigger.

"Sarah? May I ask who that... gentleman is?" Cornelia whispered to Sarah. First Jim tells stories of having some secret ability. Now some... some... Oddly dress man was in their home. Everyone said he had helped save Sarah. She could barely believe that.

"This is Jar... The Goblin King." Sarah's feelings about Jareth were still mixed, and they were messing with her again; so the internal struggle continued. Why deny it? Because he had stolen your baby brother, that's why. The thought had been her go-to excuse, a good one though it may be. She sighed quietly, who did she think she was kidding. At least out loud she wouldn't say she was in love. She knew there was a big age difference, of course her father and Cornelia would definitely disapprove. Especially because she, Sarah, was still just fifteen.

Did she imagine a sigh escape Sarah? "You mean from your book?" Cornelia chuckled. "Don't tell me your father has rubbed off on you. Really!" It was quite preposterous that this gentleman was from Sarah's book, as she claimed. Maybe another fan of the book, yes, but from it? Laughable.

"Is that really so hard to believe." Dustfinger said in disbelief, it was irritating enough that everything so far had held them up from retrieving his book so he could go home. "Can you not see we do not fit in, in your world. Even I can tell he is not from this world," he said exasperatedly.

"Madam. I assure you, they are correct." Jareth was mostly defending Sarah. He was sort of starting to tolerate Dirtfiddle, or whatever his name was.

Jim clumsily hung up the phone. Words escaped him, and had made a huge mistake not telling anything to Sarah. "But she only read out one character. Right?" He mumbled. This was not supposed to happen like this. Moirai did say she thought Linda should have been read out, too. Did she know something more? If Linda was back? Jadis no longer had power over him. But where and how was Linda? Who did he love more? Could he really do that, choose between Linda or Cora? How did Sarah get that book? He went to join the others as those thoughts ran through his head, brows furrowed. "Sarah?" He spoke. "I know you're always reciting your books and fantasies in that park you always go to, but, how much did you read aloud?"

No one expected to hear a knock on the front door of the Williams' home just then.

Cornelia answered it; it was sort of a relief. All of them believed that creative story. "Oh, it's you!?"

"I have to talk to Jim." Moirai grimaced. "Please." She forced a half smile.

Jim had half-hoped that it was Linda; he also half-dreaded it would be. If it was all the same he wasn't too happy it was Moirai's voice he had heard. He couldn't decide whether or not to be relieved. What did she want now? He went to the door. "I'm right here; I believe I've said all I want." He hastily closed the door.

Cornelia, a little shocked, went back to join the others. She had never seen Jim like this.

Moirai quickly stuck her foot in the door. "I-I... I'm so sorry; I made a mistake. Jadis wants 'The Nothing' read out. With Linda free, The White Witch has no power over you. Me, I swore I wouldn't read her back into her story." She looked down in avoidance.

Jim looked to Sarah, Moirai wasn't the only one to make a mistake; he opened the door. "You couldn't have come at a better time. I was just about to tell everyone something that has happened. I think you need to hear it." He stood aside to let Moirai in. "I also never got to tell you critical information about our ability."

Moirai hesitated before going inside.

Jim closed the door after her, and the both of them went back to join the others. "Now, Sarah, I believe you were about to answer me. How much did you read aloud?"

"I guess I've recited 'Labyrinth' many times." Sarah replied, confused. What did that have to do with anything. "What's going on?" She asked.

It didn't really answer his question, but Jim thought about that for a moment. That wasn't it though. Sarah just developed their shared ability, yet it seemed to work different with her. "The world has been turned upside down." He didn't sugar coat anything as he told them of what his coworker told him. "I expected something like this to happen, but not on this scale. When we read something or someone out of a book, something or someone needs to replace who or whatever came out."

Toby started crying.

"Oh really." Cornelia went to check on Toby; she had worried the whole time if everyone was going to wake him up or not.

"Wait a minute!" Sarah huffed. "You expected repercussions! You weren't going to tell me anything; you did that anyway!"

To protect Sarah, yes. Jim would have done anything. "And I regret it, but that won't change the bigger problem. Putting things right won't be easy, nor will keeping the world from falling down."

Meanwhile a midst the disarray in town, which some looters took advantage of, a man and his daughter had appeared.

"Mo? Mo, what happened? Where are we?" Maggie looked around, a little confused.

"WHOA! Where did you two come from!?" A surprised looter stumbled backwards and scrambled away with out waiting for a reply.

"Maggie! Thank goodness." Mortimer Folchart embraced Maggie. "Resa!" He shouted as he scanned chaotic crowd. Everybody he saw looked like they had seen a mummy or something.

Maggie returned a quick squeeze to her father. "I don't think mum is here, and I don't think we've come at a good time." She looked around again, as best she could from Mo's arms. "Mo, you can let go now."

Mo released Maggie. "You know, I think you're right." They needed to get out of there, just at the edge of the town there was a park and nice suburban neighborhood. He felt drawn in that direction, perhaps because it just looked safe. He didn't know; he only knew they needed to get out of there. "Maggie, let's get moving." He ushered Maggie in the direction of the park, looking back he noticed some of the buildings he had seen, had disappeared. "Someone did this."

"What do you mean? " Maggie asked, "You mean this bedlam, or bringing us here?" Where was here? Were they in a book? It didn't seem like they were though.

Mo thought the feeling would dissipate when they reached the park, it didn't. "A bit of both in a way, this seems different somehow."

"Different?" Maggie questioned.

"People and things are disappearing and appearing at random. Something else is going on." Mo looked around and concentrated on where he was being drawn.

"Did we not reach where we are going?" Maggie looked around the park, too.

"Not exactly, I don't think so." Mo replied.

That barely made sense to Maggie. "Where are we going then?"

"That way." Mo pointed in the direction past a bridge over the pond.

Moirai had been more worried about being unheard by Jim; this was worse. "Won't Jadis be giddy," she said halfheartedly. She knew whatever she did, or however much she helped, wouldn't make up for anything. She was going to share her plan, but she was trying to avoid Jareth. She had 'recruited' those goblins, other beings and creatures for her plan to fight Jadis. But even if she did the world might fall apart first by how it sounded.

It might be a bit more difficult to deal with both Jadis and what was happening in town, but they had to nonetheless; and soon.

"What exactly did you..." Sarah thought if Moirai used her own right words she could get around that promise, like Sarah herself did with Sir Didymus.

"No good, I thought of every which way I could without breaking my sacred vow." Moirai interrupted. " I-I did have one idea to fight her; this was before I left the book for you to find. I wanted to set things right." Moirai was still a little sheepish. "Jadis absolutely adores traitors." She joked halfheartedly.

"Then you had a much better plan." Jim stated. "Making me look like the traitor."

"No, you got the wrong idea. I think my plan might work better as a distraction now." Moirai crossed her arms.

"So that's why you stole my best goblins." Jareth was slightly amused, but still annoyed. No one used him or his goblins; no one.

"What's wrong with the distraction that's going on now." Dustfinger chimed in.

"As good a point as that is Dustfinger." Jim grabbed Dustfinger by the lapels of his duster. "I will not allow you to risk my family or our home just so you can go home to yours."

Maggie followed Mo behind a green house and a gray house, where they stopped.

"Are we lost?" Maggie, puzzled, looked to Mo. He had always been a horrible navigator; she put herself in charge of looking over the maps and directions. She had done them both a favor; but he hadn't told her where they were headed, granted they hadn't expected to suddenly be some place else.

"We're not lost." Mo smiled. "The journey is..."

"Part of the fun." Both Mo and Maggie said in unison.

"Ok then, let's go..." Maggie looked to the left and to the right. She had noticed they never went left, and it might be just a hunch; but she felt they should keep going right, "go right."

"Huh..." Mo had decided to try going left. "Did you say something?" He turned back to Maggie.

"Don't go that way." Maggie said. "We've never went left. Only right."

"Are you sure?" Mo was surprised Maggie had noticed that detail.

"When we're riding in a car; who's the driver? Dad. Who's the navigator? Me." Maggie stated. "Have I ever got us lost before?"

"No." Mo admitted.

"No." Maggie agreed.


Notes

Sorry for the wait. Well that's chapter 8. A special thanks to tmwillson3 as always for your advice, guidance, and encouragement. Also a thank you to Luna Bass, now I can't see giving a better example or explaining the exchange that happens without introducing Mo and Maggie. Cue the music: Mystique by Blue Stahli