Chapter: A War is Drawn to Full Scale
Toby glared around the room furiously. He had been fairly shocked the other day when he had been told that he had been wished away years ago by his sister. The thought had never even been a possibility in his mind before but, then again, Michu killing his sister had been nearly impossible to accept as well. But there was something akin to betrayal in his heart just knowing that Sarah had been desperate enough one day to call upon Jareth and to wish him away.
He had always wondered how Sarah knew Jareth. When he was young, he envisioned that Jareth was Sarah's knight in shining armor; she just didn't know it yet. As he grew steadily older, his young mind questioned how they had come to know each other and why he seemed to like the man so readily. Liking Jareth had been like liking Michu and Almanac; he just did. Still, Toby always wondered and at the moment, he really didn't like finding out the answers to his questions in the manner in which they had been dealt to him.
Now he understood the trivial fights that his sister and Jareth had always had at odd times. One would say something that obviously meant a lot to the other and then they would start bickering like a married couple! Toby knew and Almanac knew what was going on. The two of them watched in amusement and often whispered conspiringly about them because that was their little secret. That was the closeness that Toby had with Almanac; he could keep a secret with him that he wouldn't and couldn't say to his sister.
When the four of them vanished from his life at the same time, he had suffered enormous depression. He had nearly starved himself to death and he attempted suicide on more than one occasion. When he became a detective, he not only did it to follow his only friend (Jake) to the same school but also to find out some kind of evidence that would prove to everyone that Michu was in fact innocent and that they had made a terrible mistake. As he looked over the evidence, he realized that the finger of blame was pointed squarely at her and that she HAD been the one. He again suffered depression so intense that he nearly went mad.
The only thing that kept him alive this time was the single quivering hope that was shoved to the back of his mind. When he had been seven years old, Michu took him into her lap while watching a movie. Sarah was too caught up in it to pay attention to them but Toby had smiled up at her with that same innocent smile that she had first fallen in love with.
"Toby, you're getting so big!" She had said with a soft laugh against his sun-streaked hair. "So big, that I will make you a promise as well as a gift." Toby turned to her and starred into her eyes.
"What is it?" Toby asked with awe etched into his voice. Someone on the television laughed and Sarah giggled to herself as she took a handful of popcorn and continued watching, her eyes glued to the screen.
"I promise that I will never lie to you." She smiled. "That was the promise. My gift is something very special. Every question that you will ask, I will answer. So whatever I say, know that it is the truth and has everything to do with whatever you ask me." He had smiled, nodded, and turned back to the television. He hadn't understood at the time, but now he knew that he was going to find out.
Eventually he would corner her and force her to answer all of his questions. If she had any sort of decency left, she would remember her promise to tell him the entire truth. For now, though, he would wait in the shadows with Tina and Jake and wait. Perhaps he would speak to that slave from the gardens? She might know a way to get at Michu and find out where she would hurt the most. She would feel all of the pain that he had suffered (he vowed) and she would hurt for as long as she lived, no matter if it was for fifty years or fifty centuries. For now, though, he consented to brood in the shadows and glare at her to show how much he loathed his once-favorite person in the world.
Unaware of Toby's plans, Michu had introduced the other monarchs of the Underground to a wonderful invention that was now the real fuel in their systems.
Coffee.
They drank very strong black coffee as they poured over various maps, occasionally making a suggestion but mostly circling places and strategies to get behind enemy lines.
Michu sighed heavily and rubbed her blood-shot eyes before gazing back at the map in front of her. She had fought for three months so far and the enemy was much stronger than she had originally guessed. She was now paying for her mistakes with soldiers as well as territory. She was slowly rectifying those mistakes but she still had a long way to go. She was still dressed in her armor save for her daggers, which were lying in arm's reach.
Almanac was munching on a sandwich distractedly as he looked over his maps and circled various places as his eyes skimmed over the maps. He, unlike Michu, had taken a long nap before coming to this meeting and was fairly refreshed compared to the fatigued man he had been several days earlier when he had returned from the previous night's battle. The medical elves had already dealt with his minimal wounds and forced him into bed to recover his strength. Michu, however, sneaked away and often did more work than was healthy in her condition.
Rubbing her eyes again, she glanced at Jareth. His eyes were also blood- shot. He didn't sleep very much these days because of the absence of his wife and children. Michu had been very shocked and outraged when she had been told of her loyal advisor: Ritsu's, capture and had been infuriated to discover that Queen Morgana was after more than just Almanac. She planned to take over the entire Underground and would fight viciously to achieve her goal.
Jareth glanced up to discover Michu's eyes on him and he starred as she guiltily looked away. He noticed her eyes drooping and the dark circles beneath her cobalt eyes and her limp lavender locks of hair hanging on either side of her face. She was a sorry sight for a Fae, especially because he had seen her in all of her glory and beauty before war had taken its toll on her.
"You know, you look like a little gnome that I used to know." Jareth said, breaking the silence. Everyone looked up and Michu turned to him in surprise.
"Really?" Michu said with a faint ghost of a smile. "Why is that?"
"He was constantly overworking himself. When I jokingly threatened to throw him into the Bog of Stench that does not even exist, he thought that if he worked harder, then I would change my mind. He ended up making the castle so clean that I slipped on the floor several times and sent him away so that he wouldn't get any MORE brilliant ideas."
Michu began to laugh. It had been a long time since she had laughed and the monarchs smiled warmly to hear her joyous laughter again. She had a very nice voice. She wasn't a singer, but when she laughed she made those around her laugh. She smiled, brushing at the tears streaming down her face with mirth.
"I'm sure that's incredibly amusing to SOME people." A cold voice hissed. Michu's smile evaporated and that same haunted look returned to her entire body. "Why be happy at all though? We're all going to die anyway because of YOU." Michu looked away from Toby and flinched at his words. Without speaking, she got up and left the room. Everyone either scowled at Toby or shifted uncomfortably in the tense atmosphere.
"That was uncalled for, little kit." Ayesha, the Dragon Queen, said in a stern voice. Toby continued to sulk and glare after her until he heard something crash to the floor. He whirled around to find Jareth and Almanac glaring loathingly at him. Almanac had grabbed a crystal goblet and smashed it against the wall.
"I was trying to cheer her up!" Jareth hissed. His eyes were narrowed to slits and even the brown of his eyes was icy; just like his blue eye. Toby felt himself trying to squirm away from that glare. How could Sarah do it? He wondered fleetingly if his sister had been stronger than he had given her credit for; even when she had been her younger brother's object of worship he had never imagined that trying to glare Jareth down could be this difficult.
"What happened to the Toby that we knew?" Almanac whispered icily. Guilt overwhelmed him but Toby refused to back down. The look of betrayal on her face had hurt but there was strange satisfaction in seeing Michu suffer in the same way that she had made his sister suffer. Tina stood up quickly.
"He has a right to do whatever the Hell he wants!" Jareth took two gigantic strides and lifted Tina into the air by means of her neck. Her eyes grew huge and she kicked uselessly at an invisible barrier. Jake leapt forward to stop him but Almanac stood in front of the other human threateningly. Toby starred in astonishment at a Jareth and Almanac that he had never before seen. They had never been violent in front of him.
"Pathetic human! Do NOT interfere in history too tender for your feet! You have NO idea what happened to Sarah!" Jareth spat. Tina continued to grope at her neck, the whites of her eyes seemingly larger than her usual eye color. Toby starred in a sort of detached awe.
This had been the first time that the subject of Sarah had been brought up. Jareth threw Tina on the floor and glared at her as if she was no longer worthy of his time. Both men whirled around and left the War Room leaving behind dazed monarchs and three mortals ignorant of what they were doing in this world.
A/N: Thanks to draegon_fire, JLF and terrie for reviewing the previous chapter (it seems that almost of my reviewers have gone on vacation). I'm in trouble now. Let me just say that one of my reviewers was clever enough to guess who the mysterious woman was but I won't tell who it is. ^^ Here's a cookie for you! When the character is revealed, you'll know who you are!
Toby glared around the room furiously. He had been fairly shocked the other day when he had been told that he had been wished away years ago by his sister. The thought had never even been a possibility in his mind before but, then again, Michu killing his sister had been nearly impossible to accept as well. But there was something akin to betrayal in his heart just knowing that Sarah had been desperate enough one day to call upon Jareth and to wish him away.
He had always wondered how Sarah knew Jareth. When he was young, he envisioned that Jareth was Sarah's knight in shining armor; she just didn't know it yet. As he grew steadily older, his young mind questioned how they had come to know each other and why he seemed to like the man so readily. Liking Jareth had been like liking Michu and Almanac; he just did. Still, Toby always wondered and at the moment, he really didn't like finding out the answers to his questions in the manner in which they had been dealt to him.
Now he understood the trivial fights that his sister and Jareth had always had at odd times. One would say something that obviously meant a lot to the other and then they would start bickering like a married couple! Toby knew and Almanac knew what was going on. The two of them watched in amusement and often whispered conspiringly about them because that was their little secret. That was the closeness that Toby had with Almanac; he could keep a secret with him that he wouldn't and couldn't say to his sister.
When the four of them vanished from his life at the same time, he had suffered enormous depression. He had nearly starved himself to death and he attempted suicide on more than one occasion. When he became a detective, he not only did it to follow his only friend (Jake) to the same school but also to find out some kind of evidence that would prove to everyone that Michu was in fact innocent and that they had made a terrible mistake. As he looked over the evidence, he realized that the finger of blame was pointed squarely at her and that she HAD been the one. He again suffered depression so intense that he nearly went mad.
The only thing that kept him alive this time was the single quivering hope that was shoved to the back of his mind. When he had been seven years old, Michu took him into her lap while watching a movie. Sarah was too caught up in it to pay attention to them but Toby had smiled up at her with that same innocent smile that she had first fallen in love with.
"Toby, you're getting so big!" She had said with a soft laugh against his sun-streaked hair. "So big, that I will make you a promise as well as a gift." Toby turned to her and starred into her eyes.
"What is it?" Toby asked with awe etched into his voice. Someone on the television laughed and Sarah giggled to herself as she took a handful of popcorn and continued watching, her eyes glued to the screen.
"I promise that I will never lie to you." She smiled. "That was the promise. My gift is something very special. Every question that you will ask, I will answer. So whatever I say, know that it is the truth and has everything to do with whatever you ask me." He had smiled, nodded, and turned back to the television. He hadn't understood at the time, but now he knew that he was going to find out.
Eventually he would corner her and force her to answer all of his questions. If she had any sort of decency left, she would remember her promise to tell him the entire truth. For now, though, he would wait in the shadows with Tina and Jake and wait. Perhaps he would speak to that slave from the gardens? She might know a way to get at Michu and find out where she would hurt the most. She would feel all of the pain that he had suffered (he vowed) and she would hurt for as long as she lived, no matter if it was for fifty years or fifty centuries. For now, though, he consented to brood in the shadows and glare at her to show how much he loathed his once-favorite person in the world.
Unaware of Toby's plans, Michu had introduced the other monarchs of the Underground to a wonderful invention that was now the real fuel in their systems.
Coffee.
They drank very strong black coffee as they poured over various maps, occasionally making a suggestion but mostly circling places and strategies to get behind enemy lines.
Michu sighed heavily and rubbed her blood-shot eyes before gazing back at the map in front of her. She had fought for three months so far and the enemy was much stronger than she had originally guessed. She was now paying for her mistakes with soldiers as well as territory. She was slowly rectifying those mistakes but she still had a long way to go. She was still dressed in her armor save for her daggers, which were lying in arm's reach.
Almanac was munching on a sandwich distractedly as he looked over his maps and circled various places as his eyes skimmed over the maps. He, unlike Michu, had taken a long nap before coming to this meeting and was fairly refreshed compared to the fatigued man he had been several days earlier when he had returned from the previous night's battle. The medical elves had already dealt with his minimal wounds and forced him into bed to recover his strength. Michu, however, sneaked away and often did more work than was healthy in her condition.
Rubbing her eyes again, she glanced at Jareth. His eyes were also blood- shot. He didn't sleep very much these days because of the absence of his wife and children. Michu had been very shocked and outraged when she had been told of her loyal advisor: Ritsu's, capture and had been infuriated to discover that Queen Morgana was after more than just Almanac. She planned to take over the entire Underground and would fight viciously to achieve her goal.
Jareth glanced up to discover Michu's eyes on him and he starred as she guiltily looked away. He noticed her eyes drooping and the dark circles beneath her cobalt eyes and her limp lavender locks of hair hanging on either side of her face. She was a sorry sight for a Fae, especially because he had seen her in all of her glory and beauty before war had taken its toll on her.
"You know, you look like a little gnome that I used to know." Jareth said, breaking the silence. Everyone looked up and Michu turned to him in surprise.
"Really?" Michu said with a faint ghost of a smile. "Why is that?"
"He was constantly overworking himself. When I jokingly threatened to throw him into the Bog of Stench that does not even exist, he thought that if he worked harder, then I would change my mind. He ended up making the castle so clean that I slipped on the floor several times and sent him away so that he wouldn't get any MORE brilliant ideas."
Michu began to laugh. It had been a long time since she had laughed and the monarchs smiled warmly to hear her joyous laughter again. She had a very nice voice. She wasn't a singer, but when she laughed she made those around her laugh. She smiled, brushing at the tears streaming down her face with mirth.
"I'm sure that's incredibly amusing to SOME people." A cold voice hissed. Michu's smile evaporated and that same haunted look returned to her entire body. "Why be happy at all though? We're all going to die anyway because of YOU." Michu looked away from Toby and flinched at his words. Without speaking, she got up and left the room. Everyone either scowled at Toby or shifted uncomfortably in the tense atmosphere.
"That was uncalled for, little kit." Ayesha, the Dragon Queen, said in a stern voice. Toby continued to sulk and glare after her until he heard something crash to the floor. He whirled around to find Jareth and Almanac glaring loathingly at him. Almanac had grabbed a crystal goblet and smashed it against the wall.
"I was trying to cheer her up!" Jareth hissed. His eyes were narrowed to slits and even the brown of his eyes was icy; just like his blue eye. Toby felt himself trying to squirm away from that glare. How could Sarah do it? He wondered fleetingly if his sister had been stronger than he had given her credit for; even when she had been her younger brother's object of worship he had never imagined that trying to glare Jareth down could be this difficult.
"What happened to the Toby that we knew?" Almanac whispered icily. Guilt overwhelmed him but Toby refused to back down. The look of betrayal on her face had hurt but there was strange satisfaction in seeing Michu suffer in the same way that she had made his sister suffer. Tina stood up quickly.
"He has a right to do whatever the Hell he wants!" Jareth took two gigantic strides and lifted Tina into the air by means of her neck. Her eyes grew huge and she kicked uselessly at an invisible barrier. Jake leapt forward to stop him but Almanac stood in front of the other human threateningly. Toby starred in astonishment at a Jareth and Almanac that he had never before seen. They had never been violent in front of him.
"Pathetic human! Do NOT interfere in history too tender for your feet! You have NO idea what happened to Sarah!" Jareth spat. Tina continued to grope at her neck, the whites of her eyes seemingly larger than her usual eye color. Toby starred in a sort of detached awe.
This had been the first time that the subject of Sarah had been brought up. Jareth threw Tina on the floor and glared at her as if she was no longer worthy of his time. Both men whirled around and left the War Room leaving behind dazed monarchs and three mortals ignorant of what they were doing in this world.
A/N: Thanks to draegon_fire, JLF and terrie for reviewing the previous chapter (it seems that almost of my reviewers have gone on vacation). I'm in trouble now. Let me just say that one of my reviewers was clever enough to guess who the mysterious woman was but I won't tell who it is. ^^ Here's a cookie for you! When the character is revealed, you'll know who you are!