Chapter 10
Leanna and JJ appeared in the throne room of the Castle Beyond the Goblin City. The goblins were messing around, as usual.
"Oi! Shut up!", Leanna shouted, standing on her dad's throne. A shush fell on the entire room. "Now, most of you have been to the tower at Lismor's, right?" Most of them nodded. "All right then. Those of you who haven't, get a ride with those who have. I need your skills to help me steal some things from the headmistress for me." She could see their eyes light up with mischief, and she grinned.
Leanna and JJ spent a few minutes organizing the goblins into groups. Goblins were goblins, which made the task a little difficult, but she was just as formidable as her father, and they obeyed without too much screwing up. One group would steal the Originator, another would steal the Sword in the tower, and another would get Leanna's swords for her and tell Kul to meet them at the tenth kingdom. The last and final group would go straight to the castle in the tenth kingdom with crystals that would protect them from the most powerful dark magics. She sent them off, then JJ and Leanna disappeared and reappeared just outside the Goblin City, where the Lost things were, looking for Ludo. They found him moving a huge boulder to be made into a hut. Leanna told him what was going on, and Ludo gladly agreed to help. They also rounded up Hoggle and Sir Didymus, and JJ was even able to convince some fairies to go cause Wyndham some trouble(he had to promise them crystal glitter, which was actually rare to many creatures, besides Fae).
They were outside the Labyrinth when they were done, on a hill that overlooked the entire kingdom. JJ took Leanna's hand and conjured a crystal. He crushed it in his hand and gave a pinch each to Ludo, Hoggle, and Sir Didymus. Leanna knelt down in front of them.
"You stood by my mother when she ran the Labyrinth to save my uncle. Now, I'm asking you to stand by me, by us, to save her. I can't do it without you guys. So, what d'you say?"
"Save Sawah!", Ludo bellowed.
"To the death!", Didymus shouted.
Leanna nodded at them, then looked at Hoggle. "Hoggle?"
Hoggle swore. "You know I'd do anything for Sarah.", he grunted. Leanna nodded. She knew that, coming from Hoggle, that was like, I love you.
Leanna grinned. "Let's go." They all threw their glitter up in the air and they were gone.
Jareth, Morgan, and Dillon found themselves in a marble hall. It had once been beautiful, but had been tarnished with time.
"Real homey.", Morgan commented.
Jareth looked at Morgan, grinning. "You don't even know what that means, do you?", he asked.
Morgan shook her head. "Not really." She drew her sword silently, and Dillon followed suit. They stepped forward.
Jareth stepped in front of them and said, "Maybe I should lead."
Morgan and Dillon sidestepped him and walked forward slowly, then stopped suddenly. Morgan put one foot down in front of her, then took it back quickly just as a large pendulum swung down and sliced at the place where her foot had just been. They both looked back at him.
"Still wanna lead?", Dillon asked, smirking.
Jareth remember they had both lived here for several centuries, and he gulped. "Maybe you two should lead, then."
They both grinned, and Jareth got the feeling that had been spending far too much time around his daughter.
They made it through the marble hall without seeing a soul. Several minutes passed until finally they came to a large iron door that Jareth was careful not to touch. Morgan scratched her head, then held up four fingers.
"Four guards.", she mouthed silently, then slid her hand across her neck in a slicing motion and mouthed, "No magic." Jareth nodded, and Dillon handed Jareth one of his three swords: the one that was at his waist. He drew the two that were strapped across his back. Morgan took a pin out of her hair and set to work on the lock. It wasn't long before a loud CLICK was heard, and Jareth winced at the sound.
Dillon noticed. "Don't worry. Krug are actually quite deaf... not to mention stupid.", he assured... and Morgan flung open the door. There was a tunnel heading steeply down. They started down it. At the end of the tunnel, the four Krug that Morgan had mentioned were standing around in front of yet another iron door, this one bigger than the first.
It didn't take long for Jareth, Morgan, and Dillon to slay the stupid creatures. They never even saw them coming. While Morgan set to work on the lock, Dillon started to whisper to Jareth.
"If the schedule is still the same, the guard changes every eight hours.", he explained. "I'd say the next guard should be coming around soon, at dawn."
Jareth nodded. "Dawn isn't long away at all. Hurry, Morgan."
"Don't rush me.", was Morgan's snappy reply. It was soon followed by some very loud swearing from inside the room.
"Damn it, Miach, I told you not to try and do magic.", came a shout from a familiar voice. "That hurt."
"Well, excuse me. I was just trying to help.", came another voice.
Jareth suddenly didn't care that his magic was probably being monitored. The woman's voice had driven him over the edge. He thrust his hand toward the door before Morgan or Dillon could stop him, and the door blew off its hinges. The great crash it caused was followed by a very high pitched whining noise.
"Damn it, Jareth, you tripped the alarm.", Morgan shouted, covering her ears.
Jareth ignored her and rushed into the the room and down a flight of steps.
"Sarah?", he called out, raising his voice above the alarm.
Sarah suddenly rushed forward, threw her arms around his neck... and promptly whacked him on the back of the head. Hard.
Jareth stepped back and rubbed the injured spot.
"Hey!", he protested. "We just saved you."
"You were late.", Sarah huffed in reply and hurried up the steps. Jareth glared after her then turned to the other man in the dungeon.
"Your Majesty.", he greeted respectfully, inclining his head.
The man inclined his own head. "And yours, King Jareth.", he replied. "And please, just call me Miach."
Jareth grinned. "You can call me Jareth, then, Miach." And they ran up the stairs.
When Miach crossed the threshold, he doubled over and gasped. Jareth had gotten so used to having his magic taken away and brought back again, he hadn't even noticed that the dungeon down there had been a mini magic sink. But Miach had. Jareth helped steady him, and the King of Neroche stood up straighter and looked at Morgan. Jareth saw him mouth her name, then he rushed forward and hugged her tight.
"I missed you so much.", he whispered in her hair.
Morgan let out a sigh. "We missed you too."
Miach turned to Dillon next, but Jareth cleared his throat.
"In case you haven't noticed the very loud alarm, I suggest we get moving.", Jareth informed them calmly.
Morgan nodded. Miach rubbed his hands together, then snapped his fingers. A sword appeared in his hand. He grinned at them.
"Leanna and JJ should be here soon.", Dillon commented.
Sarah swore, and Jareth looked at her.
"Leanna's coming?", she asked in horror.
Jareth sighed. "Sarah, you raised her. You ought to know how stubborn she is." He smirked. "She's her mother's daughter."
Sarah glare at him for a moment, then swore again and took one of Dillon's swords from his hands, much to his protest.
"Can you use it?", Jareth asked.
Sarah rolled her eyes. "You're looking at the woman who raised Leanna, remember? If I can do that, I can do anything."
Jareth nodded. "Point and match." And the five of them made their way out of the dungeon.
Leanna, JJ, Ludo, Hoggle, and Sir Didymus appeared in what seemed like the Entrance Hall. Leanna looked around. She heard a very high pitched whining noise, and she plugged her ears.
"Hey, Ludo!", she shouted. "Why don't we sound our own alarm?!"
Ludo was quick to oblige. He howled even louder than the castle's alarm, and Leanna was forced to plunge her fingers even deeper into her ears. The castle itself shook. Stones crashed through the windows.
Leanna caught some movement at the corner of her vision, and she looked. Several groups of goblins were hurrying toward them. One group had her swords and the Sword from the tower. Leanna hurriedly strapped the one that Jareth had given her to her waist, and she strapped the one with Kul's stones on it across her back with JJ's help. Leanna helped JJ strap the Sword across his back. She took the Originator from another group and began turning the two gears on it. One of the gears she turned up to "100s" and the other she turned to "dark magic-inhuman." She looked at it for a moment before sticking it in her belt.
"Okay, you guys.", Leanna told them. "Go find your buddies with the crystal and help them cause some chaos." They hurried off excitedly.
Leanna and JJ hurried into the Great Hall, Ludo, Hoggle, and Sir Didymus right behind them.
Wyndham was sitting calmly at the head of the table. Several hundred Krug lined the walls. Leanna heard a faint singing, and she followed the sound with her eyes to a sword hanging on the wall behind Wyndham.
"Didymus, Hoggle, go find my mom and dad, and bring them here, please.", she said. "You should find the king, queen, and prince of Neroche with them." Hoggle, and Didymus on Ambrosia, ran out of the Great Hall. "Ludo..." Leanna thought for a moment. "Can you only summon rocks?", she whispered in Ludo's ear, nodding at the sword... and Ludo howled. The sword shot from the wall, and Leanna caught it, grinning. Wyndham's calm was broken and he stood.
"I thought you'd be coming around one of these days, Princess Leanna.", he hissed out.
"Awww. Well, I couldn't disappoint you, now, could I?", Leanna asked sarcastically. "What kind of person would I be then?"
"In my opinion, a much less annoying one.", Wyndham answered.
Leanna scoffed. "Geez, you sound like my father." She crossed her arms. "So, what's the alarm for?"
Wyndham waved a hand airily. "Obviously, to tell me when annoying pests, like you, for instance, invade my home."
Leanna gritted her teeth. "This isn't your home.", she growled.
Wyndham shrugged. "You're not going to change a thing."
Leanna shrugged too. "Maybe not me.", she said slowly, then jerked a thumb at a door at the edge of the Great Hall. "But they will."
At that moment, the door burst open, sending a couple of Krug that were standing in front of it flying. Jareth, Sarah, Dillon, Morgan, and Miach rushed in. Hoggle and Sir Didymus were right behind him. Jareth looked at JJ and Leanna and winked.
"Ludo, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, go help the goblins make trouble with the Krug in the castle.", Leanna said, and they ran off. Leanna nodded at Miach. "Your Majesty." She looked at Morgan and Dillon. "Majesties." She hesitated then ran forward and hugged Sarah. "Mom, you get yourself kidnapped twice, and now you drag me into rescuing you.", she muttered, choking Sarah slightly. "Gods, I just realized how much you mean to me."
"You realize those two statements were very contradicting.", Jareth pointed out.
Leanna grunted out a, "Hi, Dad.", then looked at JJ. "The whole family together again."
"Hey, she gets a hug and I get a 'Hi'?", Jareth asked incredulously.
Leanna sighed and kissed him on the cheek, shocking him for a moment.
Jareth grinned and turned to Sarah and poked her. "A kiss is better than a hug, ha!."
Sarah poked him back, hard. "A hug lasts longer. HA!"
Jareth's eyes narrowed briefly, then he looked at Wyndham and said, "What's with the long face, Wynny? You should be happy, like me!" It should be noted that his eyes were very cold, his nostrils were flaring, and his mouth was nothing but a thin line.
Wyndham glared at him. "Because you are invading my home. Why do you think?"
Jareth shrugged. "I thought it was because you were about to die, but I suppose that isn't too far off from your assumptions, is it... Leanna?"
Leanna shook her head. "Nope. In fact, I'd say you're both right. Wouldn't you, Mom?"
"I would say you're exactly right, Leanna. What d'you think, JJ?", Sarah said, the corner of her mouth twitching..
JJ grinned. "I think you're all absolutely correct. How about you Dil-"
"ENOUGH!!!", roared Wyndham suddenly, his pale face pink with anger.
Their response: Snorting with laughter.
Wyndham clapped his hands twice. The Krug surrounding the hall moved forward and filled the distance between Wyndham and Jareth, Morgan, Miach, Sarah, Dillon, JJ, and Leanna. (Authoress: *takes deep breath* I hope I didn't forget anyone.)
"Afraid to face us yourself, Wyndham?!", Miach shouted.
There was a high cold laugh from somewhere across the Sea of Krug-Morons.
"You couldn't defeat me 2000 years ago, Mochriademiach!", Wyndham's voice answered. "What makes you think you can now?"
Miach began to pace. "True, I couldn't defeat you all those years ago. I was more powerful than your grandfather, true, but down the line... you became more powerful than even me. Two hundred years ago, if I heard the story correctly, Jareth, the Goblin King, ran you off before either of you could defeat the other. You both had just about the same amount of power." Miach stopped pacing and looked at Leanna. "What do you think is going to stop his daughter from destroying you? After all, since you are more powerful than your grandfather was, doesn't it stand to reason that the Goblin King's daughter is more powerful than her father, and more powerful... than you?"
There was silence from Wyndham, then a high cold laugh.
"Yes... so she is... but what about... the boy?", came the soft hiss, though they could all hear him quite clearly.
Leanna ran forward, sword half drawn, eyes lit up with a furious fire that Jareth had rarely seen. Jareth had no doubt that Leanna would've cut herself a way straight through to Wyndham if Miach hadn't caught her by the elbow and held her back.
"He's only trying to get inside your head.", Miach hissed at her. "Don't let him."
Leanna struggled against his restraint for a few moments, before calming down and backing away, standing noticeably closer to JJ.
"You know, I've had just about enough of this.", Leanna growled. She took the Originator and pointed it at the Krug as they began to advance. She closed her eyes... and a wave of bright light exploded out of the barrel of the Originator. Another wave followed, and another and another. The waves collided with the Krug, knocking them to their feet and enveloping them. Jareth and the others had to shield their eyes against the bright light. When the light died and they looked again, the Krug were gone. In their places were hundreds of men, women, and children. Many of them men wore armor, but the women and children had nothing for protection except the old, dirty rags on their backs that Jareth supposed were once clothes.
After muttering angrily for a few moments, Leanna yelled, "Goblins!" Instantly, what looked like over 200 goblins appeared in the Great Hall. Cackling and chattering wildly, they looked up at Leanna.
"Listen up, you bunch of nitwits!", Leanna shouted. "You see those women children? I want you to get them outta here!" She turned to said women and children. "Don't be afraid of them.", she told them kindly. "They may be stupid, but they know when they're going to be thrown in the Bog of Stench if they don't do something and do it right." She shot the goblins a glare, then smiled again at the people. "So no worries." She glared at the goblins and they scurried off to do their jobs.
Miach stepped in front of Leanna. The men that were once Krug started to bow.
Miach shook his head. "Get up, get up. We have more important things to worry about.", he told them. "Now, I dunno where Wyndham went, but we have to turn the rest of the Krug back into men." He took the Originator from Leanna's hand wordlessly, ignoring the glare she shot him. He handed it to a guy wearing long, worn robes in the front of the crowd. There were several others around him wearing the same thing, and they moved in around the guy with the Originator.
"Guard with this your life.", Miach told them all. "Go through the castle and turn the rest of the Krug back." AS the men in robes (Jareth thought they must be mages) hurried off, Miach turned back to the soldiers. "The rest of you, spread out and find King Moron." Most of them snickering, they hurried off to obey orders. The Great Hall slowly emptied.
Leanna looked at Miach. "Now why the hell did you do that?", she asked. She looked down at the sword Ludo had called. She handed it to Miach and said, "I believe this is yours."
Miach looked a bit surprised as he took the sword. "Do what?", he asked.
Leanna waved a hand in the general direction the soldiers had gone. "Send them off to find Wynny. I've already found him."
Jareth raised an eyebrow. "How?", he asked.
Leanna jerked her thumb up. "Goblins found him. They're calling me."
Jareth's eyebrow went higher. "They do that to you too?", he asked curiously.
JJ rolled his eyes. "Of course they do.", he said. "She's the heir to your bloody throne. What'd you expect?"
Jareth glared at him. "I just didn't expect it to happen so soo- Oh, he's calling me now. Thankfully, they can only do it in real emergencies. We'd better get over there. It's annoying if your wait more than 5 minutes. Then they start shouting and their voice gets really high and squeaky and- Hey!" Leanna had finally had enough of her father's ramblings, had taken his wrist, and dragged him out of the Great Hall, assisted by Sarah, who had a hold of his other wrist.
Leanna and Miach led the way, Leanna telling them where they needed to go, and Miach helping them to avoid the many booby traps.
"Why did you set up so many of these things?", Sarah asked.
It was Dillon who answered. "If you wanted to keep out annoying evil mages, to what lengths do you think you would go?", he asked, raising an eyebrow as they avoided spiked, floor-to-ceiling poles that were spinning back and forth.
Sarah nodded. "Good point. Although it doesn't really seem to have worked very well, no offense."
"None taken.", Miach answered, grinning at her.
They finally made it to the foot of a narrow, spiral, staircase. Miach scratched his head.
"Are you sure this is where he is?", Miach asked.
Leanna gave him... a look. "Of course I'm sure.", she snapped.
"What's up there?", Jareth asked.
Miach snorted. "The toilet.", he answered.
Leanna looked up the stairs. "I guess we, quite literally, scared the piss out of him, huh?", she asked, face straight and totally serious. At least on the outside.
They all snorted and snickered with laughter as they walked slowly up the stairs, taking their sweet time. Hopefully, Wyndham would be finished with his... business... once they got there.
They finally came to an old wooden door that had an old, faded sign that said: "M n o l ts."
Leanna sighed. "Okay, who's gonna volunteer to open it?" She waved a casual hand... and Jareth's hand shot into the air. Leanna beamed at him. "Aw, Dad, you're so brave."
"I'm gonna hurt you when we get home.", Jareth growled in a low voice. He sighed and pushed open the door. He almost immediately shouted in pain and closed the door with a loud BANG!, shouting, "My eyes! My eyes!" Not only that, but the smell that had wafted from the room beyond that door had made everyone's eyes water. It rivaled the smell of the Bog of Eternal Stench.
"I guess he had to do more than piss.", Dillon stated, grimacing.
Leanna sighed and waved her hand. There was a shout and a curse from the other side of the door. There was some scrambling around and the door was opened to reveal the angry face of Wyndham.
"Excuse me!", he shouted. "Do you mind?"
"Nope.", Leanna answered. Her hands, which she had hidden behind her back, suddenly made themselves known as they threw a pie at Wyndham.
JJ raised an eyebrow. "A pie?"
Jareth grinned. "It's what I would've done.", he said.
Leanna made a face. "Please don't say that Dad.", she said in a bit of a strained voice. She quickly spun around, bringing her leg up to give Wyndham good kick in the head... but he faded away, and her foot passed right where his head had just been. Her mouth fell open as there was a chuckle from behind them.
"You know, Jareth... I thought you would've taught her better.", came Wyndham's icy voice from behind them, and they turned to face him.
"You can't fix annoying.", Jareth replied, shrugging and earning a glare from both Leanna and Sarah.
Wyndham looked at Leanna. "You can if you know the right spell.", he said, a malicious glint in his eyes. He waved a hand and the lot of them went flying backwards into the bathroom. Miach, Dillon, and JJ ended up in the bathtub, Morgan landed in the sink, Leanna crashed into the toilet, and Jareth and Sarah, the two lucky ones, simply ended up on the floor, albeit in a rather awkward, embarrassing position that was not suitable for the eyes of people under the age of 18.
Toby and Iris appeared together in the Entrance Hall.
"Real homey.", Toby muttered, looking around.
Iris shook her head. "No matter how many times you explain your Aboveground ways, I still don't understand.", she said.
Toby grinned. "I'm sure I'll grow out of it, love.", he assured her, then looked around. "Now where the bloody hell are we?"
Iris swung the guitar she had from across her back and plucked one of the strings. A sound a bit like a foghorn came from the guitar, accompanied by Iris singing, "Find them.", very softly. The neck of the guitar swing around, jerking Iris around with it, pointing toward a large marble stair case.
"Why not ask it to take us there?", Toby suggested.
Iris shot him a glare, then strummed the strings. This time a sound somewhere between a normal guitar riff and a flute emitted from the magical guitar. Iris sang, "Take me to them.", very softly under her breath, then gripped Toby's hand. And suddenly, they were gone.
They reappeared at the foot of a narrow, spiral staircase. They looked at each other for a moment, then Toby drew his sword and led the way up.
Leanna growled deep in her throat and struggled to her feet. She helped up Sarah from the floor and JJ from the bathtub, then took the Sword from across JJ's back. She helped Morgan out of the sink and handed the Sword to her. Morgan took it hesitantly. It burst into song and glowed a soft red. There were tears in Morgan's eyes. Leanna grinned.
"I thought the girl with the sword on that tapestry looked familiar.", she said, winking. Leanna opened her mouth to say something else, but someone else beat her to the punch.
"Boxers or briefs?", came a familiar voice from behind Wyndham.
Wyndham whirled around and snarled, "Who the bloody hell are you?" When the perso didn't answer, Wynny asked, "Why do you want to know, anyway?"
Silence for a moment, then they heard Iris' voice again. "If I don't aim it right, I could take off your leg."
Jareth looked around Wyndham to see Iris standing there with a guitar. But where was Toby?
Jareth quickly reached around and helped Miach and Dillon out of the tub. Miach drew the sword Leanna had given him. The Sword of Neroche. Jareth thought it was incredibly stupid of Wyndham to not have destroyed the sword, or at least take its powers for himself. Obviously, he didn't know how to take over a country properly.
Leanna inspected her fingernails. "Well, Wynny, you seem to be in between a rock and hard place.", she said. "Give yourself up now, and we'll give you a quick, painless death instead of the long, slow, tortuous, hurts-just-to-watch death we were planning."
Jareth snorted and muttered, "No we won't." Leanna glared at him.
"Dad, don't undermine my authority. ", she hissed at him.
Jareth rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. You have about as much authority as a squirrel."
Leanna grinned. "Long as it's a carnivorous one."
Jareth paled visibly, then looked up at Wyndham, who, by the way, was still staring rather dumbfoundedly at Iris.
"Iris, where's Toby?", Jareth asked her.
Iris waved a hand airily. "Oh, I'm sure he's hanging around somewhere.", she answered, a small smirk on her face.
Miach walked out of the bathroom to stand beside Wyndham. Wyndham looked at him and stepped away snarling.
"You people won't win.", he hissed at them.
"Oh, I think you'll find soon enough that we will.", Miach said. "Toby!" Very suddenly, a blur dropped from the ceiling, landing on Wyndham and knocking him to the floor. Toby pressed the blade of a small dagger against Wynny's throat.
"Our family is bigger than you thought, isn't it, Wyndham?", Toby hissed.
"Uncle Toby, don't kill him.", Leanna said suddenly, and everyone looked at her in surprise.
"And why not?", Toby asked.
Leanna closed her eyes. "Number One, you aren't a killer Uncle Toby. And Number Two... not this way. It's not right. It should be a fair fight. Or at least let him die standing."
Jareth put an arm around her shoulders and kissed her head before she could pull away.
"So your mother did raise you right.", he muttered, receiving a glare from Sarah. "I was beginning to worry."
JJ grinned at his wife. "And you wonder why I love you so much.", he said, shaking his head.
Leanna glared at him. "One of the greatest unsolved mysteries of all time.", she replied.
Toby stood up and backed away to stand next to JJ as Iris stepped over Wynny to stand next to Toby. Wyndham stood and smiled at Leanna maliciously.
"You're a fool... Princess.", he sneered at her.
"Don't... call me... Princess!", Leanna growled through gritted teeth.
"Oh, here we go.", Jareth muttered.
Leanna drew both her swords. "C'mon. Let's have it out right here, you and me.", Leanna challenged. "Nobody calls me Princess... Princess."
Wyndham growled and conjured his own two swords... and attacked.
Jareth shook his head, smiling. "First rule of sword play: Never strike first if you have the choice."
Miach grinned. "He's much better suited using magic, it's true."
Jareth frowned and licked his lips, tasting a dark spell in the air. He tried like hell to unweave the spell, but it was already half finished.
"Damn it.", Jareth muttered and lunged forward and knocked Leanna out of the way as a jet of dark purple light hit him right across the chest. He flew backwards and crashed into the wall, smacking his head against it. He slid to the floor and lay there, unmoving.
Leanna swore, lashed out with her foot, and sent Wyndham tumbling down the stairs. She walk back into the bathroom and knelt beside her father.
"Damn you, stop playing around and get up!", Leanna shouted down at him. When he didn't move, Leanna hit him on his chest and yelled, "You damn idiot, get up!"
Sarah sat down beside her daughter and pulled Leanna into her arms as a small tear fell down her face.
"Leanna, it'll be all right.", Sarah whispered soothingly.
Leanna began to lean against her mother, but she suddenly tore away from Sarah, pulled back a fist, and punched Jareth full in the face. She punch him again and again until finally she cried out, "Dad, wake up!", and collapsed into her mother and cried, burying her face in Sarah's shoulder. JJ sat down beside his wife, wrapped both arms around her waist, and settled his head on her back. There were so busy trying to comfort each other that they didn't notice Toby cover a grin with his hand as the man on the floor sat up and smirked in Leanna's direction... through a busted lip.
"You know, I love it when you call me dad.", Jareth said suddenly, his eyes (well, eye, since on of them was swollen shut) twinkling. Leanna looked up in pure shock, and JJ and Sarah looked up with wide, relieved smiles.
"Although, you could've let that awful panicky tone out of you voice.", Jareth continued thoughtfully. "It just doesn't have as much of a ring to-" Jareth was cut off as Leanna hugged him around the neck.
"You ever do that again, I'm killing you myself.", she growled as Sarah joined in the hugging.
"Of course, little one.", Jareth replied, smiling, before kissing Sarah softly.
JJ shrugged and hugged Jareth.
"Oh, gods, my son-in-law is hugging me!", Jareth is shouted in mock disgust. "Someone get it off! Get it off!"
Toby grinned. "And this, ladies and gentlemen, is this strange family's version of a Kodak moment!", he shouted in an announcer-type voice.
Leanna laughed. "Yeah, they oughta have this on one of the commercials.", she agreed, grinning. "Me beating him up, death threats... that's love, that is."
"What's a commercial?", Miach asked curiously.
"See, in the Aboveground, they have these mechanical boxes with screens that show moving pictures.", Morgan started. "Commercials are things on these boxes' screens that try and get you to buy a certain product."
Miach nodded. "So, what's a Kodak?"
"It's a type of camera.", Toby answered.
Miach's brow furrowed. "What's a camera?"
Toby opened his mouth to explain, but Jareth told them all to be quiet. There were footsteps coming up the stairs.
"You pushed me down the stairs.", Wyndham growled as he climbed the last step. Leanna noticed with more than a little satisfaction he was limping more than slightly.
"Technically, I kicked you.", Leanna corrected him.
Wyndham glared at her as she stood, then watched as she turned and helped JJ and Sarah up and pointedly ignored Jareth and leaving him to stand by himself.
Leanna cracked her knuckles, reached out, and pulled at the air. Wyndham's feet were swept out from under him by an invisible force, and he fell backwards. Leanna grinned. She snapped her fingers and a small flame appeared in her hand. As she glared at Wyndham, the flame grew into a rather large ball of flame. She hurled it at Wynny, but Wynny pushed at the air and the fireball curved around him, smashing into and through the window. She threw several more, each one diverted from its target, smashing into the wall and making the hole there bigger and bigger until it was man-sized. Leanna went for another time, but Miach put a hand on her shoulder.
"No need to stall any longer.", he whispered in her ear, receiving a snort from her. "I have an idea. You can sing, can't you?" He whispered the rest of his plan in her ear, and then went off behind her to tell the others as Leanna hurled ice shards at Wyndham.
Some readers may be wondering why Wyndham doesn't attack. Well, readers, Leanna quite a bit more power than Wyndham does, and he doesn't dare attack her for fear of having his spell perhaps bounce off of her and hit him instead. He wants to catch her off guards. Of course, his magic wouldn't do that. A powerful killing spell from him to her could knock Leanna out for hours, but not rebound. But... SHH!!!! We aren't gonna tell HIM that!
Very suddenly, Iris struck her guitar very loudly. Wyndham plugged his ears, cried out, and fell to his knees. Iris' playing took on a familiar tune, and Toby stepped up beside her and began to sing:
"Buddy you're a boy make a big noise
Playin' in the street gonna be a big man some day
You got mud on ya face
You big disgrace
Kickin' your can all over the place
Singin' "
(Then everyone joined in)
"We will we will rock you
We will we will rock you"
(JJ stepped up then, slung an arm around Toby's neck, and continued the song):
"Buddy you're a young man hard man
Shouting in the street gonna take on the world some day
You got blood on ya face
You big disgrace
Wavin' your banner all over the place"
(Then everyone joined in again)
"We will we will rock you
Sing it
We will we will rock you"
(It was Jareth's turn then. Leanna had made sure he got the part that talked about old men, and he wouldn't realize until later that that was on purpose):
"Buddy you're an old man poor man
Pleadin' with your eyes gonna make
You some peace some day
You got mud on your face
Big disgrace
Somebody betta put you back into your place"
(Everyone joined in again for the final chorus)
"We will we will rock you
Sing it
We will we will rock you
Everybody
We will we will rock you
We will we will rock you
Alright"
Iris began with that guitar riff at the end of "We Will Rock You", and Wyndham's screams became worse than ever. They were filled with anguish and he cried out, "Naima!" Leanna gritted her teeth and yelled for Iris to stop. Wyndham collapsed to the floor, hands still covering his ears and breathing hard. Everyone looked at Leanna.
"No one deserves to relive the death of the only one they ever really loved.", Leanna whispered. "Or the only one who ever loved them."
Jareth sighed. "Softy. And I thought Sarah raised you." This comment cost him an elbow in the ribs from one Sarah Williams.
Leanna kicked at Wyndham and shouted, "Get up!" Wyndham obeyed, struggling to his feet.
"You can't beat me.", Wyndham growled.
Leanna snorted. "Yeah, well, so far we seem to be doing a pretty good job of it.", she replied.
Wynny sneered. "I am a king!"
"You're a coward!", Morgan shouted. "You're a coward afraid to face your fears, hiding behind power and a throne!"
Wyndham snarled, then turned and leapt out of the opening in the wall Leanna's fireballs had created. They all ran to the edge and looked down at the falling man. But he was no longer a man. He had transformed into a blood red dragon.
"Kul!", Leanna shouted, and from out of nowhere, a streak of golden lightning shot from the sky and struck Wyndham. The red dragon went reeling and it fell out of the sky, hitting the ground with a great thud heard all the way back up at the castle.
And it was still alive, for it writhed and roared in a mixture of pain and anger. It couldn't fly from its broken wings.
Miach closed his eyes and began to chant in a tongue that even Jareth did not understand. And then, with one last word... the dragon died. Nothing special, no bursting into flame, no theatrics. Just a simple, painless stopping of the heart.
Leanna bowed her head and murmured briefly, so that no one else could hear, "May the gods have mercy on your soul, Wyndham." She looked back up and ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. "Okay, folks. Let's... go home."
Iris grinned. "Agreed. But first..." She poised her fingers on the strings and played.
Everyone else grinned too and as Leanna slung and arm around Iris' neck and began to sing, everyone who knew the song (that would be everyone besides Miach, poor man) joined in:
"We are the champions, my friends
And we'll keep on fighting 'til the end
We are the champions
We are the champions
No time for losers
Cuz we are the champions...
Of the wor-"
"AAAAhhhhh!"
Jareth looked at JJ. "I don't remember that being part of the song.", he said to his son-in-law as the younger man cried out again and doubled over in pain.
No one noticed Leanna gasping for breath, leaning against the wall, until she said, "Um... Dad?" Everyone looked up at her, and Jareth felt the blood drain from his face and make its way to his hands, making them sweat. He looked from JJ to Leanna several times.
"What's wrong?", Sarah asked, looking from Shock (Jareth) to Breathless (Leanna) to Jasper Cullen. Jasper Cullen being JJ, of course, who was trying like a brave little man to pretend like he wasn't in an extreme amount of pain. Sarah cursed the day Leanna made her watch Twilight.
"Well, if my calculations are correct...", Jareth started, finally finding his voice.
But Leanna beat him to the punch by saying suddenly, and very loudly...
"My water just broke."
Muahahahahahaha! Don't ya know I'm just evil?! Sorry I left you hanging like that. And sorry it took so long. I'd have writer's block from a month at a time, then I'd get a brief bit of inspiration for a couple days, then I'd have writer's block for another month. It was horrible. But I struck it rich by that Kodak comment. It was pretty much smooth sailing from there And I really hope I don't get banned for the songs in this one, or in the last chapter. And don't worry, I've already got Chapter 11, the final chapter, ready for ya.
Leanna: I hate you.
LP: I know... Mission Not-So-Impossible Accomplished
Jareth: *runs around like a chicken with his head cut off*
Sarah: What's wrong with him?
LP: *snickers* He's scared.
Sarah: Why?
LP: *snickers again* Because I love him.
Sarah: ... Run, Jareth! Run!!!
