A/N: Sorry for the wait everyone! Man! This story is longer than I thought, sorry about that, there are just so many ideas running amuck. I thought I could finish this up in one chapter but…well you get the idea. Expect one or possibly two more chapters, depending on how many plot bunnies pop up (Anij stop giving those out! Christmas is over!)

By the way, a big Thank You goes to Anij for reading over my stuff! Thanks Anij, you rock!

And a big THANK YOU to everyone who has read and reviewed: NovelT, Anij, aimdiscord, notwritten, ohiowriter, spitfire21 – THANK YOU!!!

Faith Enduring

Disclaimer: I do not own the Labyrinth or its characters; they are property of Jim Henson, Lucas Films, and Dennis Lee. This fanfiction is not made for profit in anyway; it is only further proof of my love for the movie and that I have an overactive imagination.

Chapter Thirteen

Karen listened, amazed at the words coming out of Sarah's mouth. She could not imagine that what she was being told could possibly be real; it had to be Sarah's overactive imagination. What confused her, however, was how Sarah could tell such an amazing fantasy so calmly, so seriously, as if it were very important to her…as if this land called the Labyrinth were real.

No. Stop. What was she thinking? It was impossible what Sarah was telling them. Goblins, castles, Toby crawling upside down stairs, magical crystals…all of it made absolutely no sense. Why on earth was Sarah making this up?

Karen looked at Sarah again. Her dark hair was nearly dry now, and they curled from the initial dampness. But there was something else in Sarah's manner that caused Karen to doubt herself. Sarah was so confident, her eyes were so sure of what she was talking about… as if she truly believed she were there. Not only that but the room… something was wrong with it… as if the words, the presence of this dream pouring out from Sarah had made the kitchen tiny. Karen could almost believe that the room they were sitting in could actually be the fabricated one and that right outside was a giant maze, more true and substantial than the gray street she had been living next to for the past three years.

Sarah was telling them now about an old man, someone named Nigel, who could help her return to the void and rescue Jareth.

She did not notice how tight her husband's jaw had become. When Sarah spoke of the monarch named Jareth, Karen also missed Robert's scowl.

"Stop."

The word was whispered, so softly, Karen had almost missed it. She saw Sarah stretch forward across the table and grasp Robert's tightly clenched hands. Her eyes looked so sad.

"Dad, I have to find him. I must return to the Labyrinth, please try to understand…"

Robert slowly pulled his hands away from his daughter's.

"I understand all right."

Karen saw the wild look in Sarah's eyes, knew that she was hurt, though oddly, not surprised. The shoulders of her step daughter tensed, readying for anything, and Karen found herself unable to speak. Unable to stop whatever had been set in motion.

Robert's eyes narrowed.

"You don't have to lie anymore. Not to us. Not to me." The last word was emphasized so heavily, in such anger, Karen expected at least some sort of verbal retaliation from Sarah.

Sarah kept silent.

"So this is it?" Karen heard him say, low and tense, "This is your way of leaving us? You concoct this…this fairy tale, and you think we are so helpless in our affection for you, that – that we'll just look the other way?"

He stood up too abruptly, causing the chair to clumsily tip and smack the floor.

The shoulders of his brown suit trembled as he gripped the tile counter.

Sarah's whole body tensed, panicked, her eyes widened as she also hastily stood from her chair. Her hand reached out tentatively, hesitated, and then touched her father's shoulder.

"Dad," she whispered. He turned and faced her suddenly. Sarah jumped and stepped back from his anger, from the conflicted emotions storming in his eyes.

Both women heard the crack in his voice, felt his strain, as the words ground between his clenched teeth.

"I thought I could trust you."

x—X—x

Sarah stopped herself from cringing at his words. Her hands shook ever so slightly as her mind screamed at her, holding at bay the rise of remorse, guilt, and yes, the flicker of hot white anger at the injustice of it all.

Don't you dare feel sorry for yourself Sarah! Not when he's in this much pain, not when your friend's home is riding on you, not when Jareth is out there alone!

Sarah pushed away her shame and fear and opened her mind for just one glimpse into the emotions flying through the kitchen air.

She didn't mean to, honestly she didn't, all she had meant was to feel the words of his thoughts, figure out on her own why he was this angry. She knew he would not approve, she knew he would become mad, but why was he this angry? So hurt and so full of despair that he was nearing violence?

She felt the warm suffusion of magic seep in from the amulet, under her shirt, into her body. She reached out with her mind, slightly unsure, and that's when things fell apart. What felt like a gentle mental push on her end suddenly felt like being sucked into a vortex. A memory burned in Robert's mind, catapulting his actions, as he saw this scenario between him and his daughter a reincarnation of a greater, earlier pain. And she, much too new with this power, was pulled into his unknowing mind.

It was late that night.

When he opened the door and threw his keys on the little table near the coat rack, the room was dark and very still.

"Honey?" he called out.

Robert walked up the stairs very quietly, assuming now that Linda had gone to bed without him.

It was the third time in a row that week he came home late, but his boss was saying good things about his performance, and if he could just get a few more clients… He held the bouquet of yellow flowers nervously, hoping Linda would understand. He wanted to get this promotion, be able to give more to his family.

For a moment he stood in the bedroom doorway, blinking, not comprehending. Their closet door was open, and most of its contents were missing. For one second he stupidly thought that they had been robbed…but he had passed the TV in the living room. No burglar would just steal clothes…

Robert sat on the bed in a daze, breathing hard, as the flowers fell in a quiet heap next to his shoe. Sometime later, as he sat in a stupor, the phone rang and eventually started the recorder.

"Robert?"

There was a pause. A breath was taken and the words sounded forced, tight with nervous energy. At least he assumed it was from nerves.

"I…I guess you're still at work." There was another shaky breath. Robert's hand was an inch away from the top of the receiver, just about to pick up.

"I've met someone," she gasped. His hand stilled, hovering over her words.

"Oh, God, I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you…but I can't keep doing this. I – I feel like I'm living a lie. I want so much more – I want to be so much more. It's my dream Robert…it's been my dream for - for so long."

There was a shuffling sound, like someone wiping tears away.

I really want to do this…see where my talent and skills take me.

Robert's hand lay on the receiver, his fingers curling around the handle, but not lifting.

"I'm sorry. But I couldn't stay here any longer. Please tell Sarah…tell her I'm sorry."

At the mention of Sarah's name Robert felt something crumble inside, a pain so tangible he pulled his hand away from the phone to actually touch his chest and see if anything was wrong. Nothing. Nothing more substantial than a maddened heartbeat, so loud and erratic Robert could barely register Linda's voice, telling him she was going to become an actress and that Mark, the other man in her life, was going to help her.

He thought about Sarah, how distraught she was going to be when she got back from her friend's slumber party. How could he tell her he failed? That her mother left because he wasn't exciting enough, that the life he chose wasn't enough to keep his family together? His arm, heavy as lead, finally fell from the phone to join his numb body as he slumped to his side. Linda's words made a harsh impression in his mind as her voice lilted in a sickening plea for understanding before the recording clicked off.

"Please try to understand…this is something I have to do."

And now his daughter had said the very same thing.

Sarah blinked her red rimmed eyes back to the present.

And now, standing before him, Sarah felt humbled by his silent helpless rage. No matter how hard he tried, he somehow could not keep his family together. And unlike Linda's desire for the stage, for fame, this was his dream: a family, people who he could count on to stay, to love him, to never hurt him. He had thought Sarah different from her mother; and now Sarah could see he saw them too similar at this moment. When she told them about the Labyrinth all he had heard was the name of a man who had seduced her away, someone she was going to leave them for; a man who had promised a more exciting life than he could provide, in essence, another "Mark."

She was confused when he advanced another step and continued his tirade, as if no time had passed since he cried out, "I thought I could trust you." She didn't know that she had experienced his memory, feeling as if a half hour had lapsed, when in actuality only mere seconds had passed her by. Still disorientated, she stepped back. Her father, subconsciously acknowledging this movement as an admission of guilt, pressed on.

"Did you sleep with him?"

"Robert!" Karen yelled. He ignored her indignation.

Sarah shook her head – what? Did he actually ask what she thought she heard? She placed her hand on the table to help steady herself, she felt like she was being bombarded by too many things. She could still hear the phone clicking, starting the message, the feeling of her father's despair, the flowers falling from his slackened grasp…

"…and now you're leaving!"

She had missed something. He was so angry. His tall frame towered over her and for one sickening moment she wondered if he was going to hit her.

"Dad, stop," she gasped.

"No you stop!" he cried, his finger pointing in her face ridiculously, he was nearly overwhelmed, adamantly refusing to let his emotions well up behind his aching eyes, "why can't you see how hard we're trying? Can't you see how much we love you? How much I love you?" And then his voice broke. His right hand, which Sarah rarely did not see holding a newspaper or the handle of his briefcase, came up to savagely push against his eyes.

Both Karen and Sarah awkwardly approached him. He was breathing hard and seemed to calm further when Karen stepped behind him and wrapped her arms around his chest. Understanding on an instinctual level, Karen begged Sarah with her eyes, to not leave them like this. "Dad," Sarah whispered, "I am not Linda."

There was a heavy moment and Sarah wondered if he heard her.

His hand came down, and his watery gaze did not waver as his voice came out, barely more than a hoarse whisper, "Prove it. Prove it by staying."

Sarah closed her eyes and sighed.

"I can do better than that." Robert wondered if his eyes were playing tricks with him because Sarah made a casual gesture with her hand and a crystal appeared, perched on her fingertips. Karen also felt confused and was about to ask Sarah what was going on but before she could Sarah's voice came out, more confident and gentle than a few minutes ago.

"Hoggle, Sir Didymous, Ludo… I need you right now."

x—X—x

Karen shrieked.

Sarah's father blinked, stepped back, and startled, tried to shield his wife from the strange beings on the other side of the kitchen table. Hoggle and Sir Didymous, not knowing what was happening, or who the two strange humans in front of them were, stood still, their hands clutching the handles of their blades, ready to draw it out of their belts at the slightest movement. Ludo was more confused and panicky. Looking round with an unhappy face, he suddenly saw Sarah and turned to her for comfort and guidance.

"Don't you dare touch her!" Robert cried, grabbing the first thing he saw off the counter and made to hit the huge shaggy monster nearing his daughter.

"Stop!" Sarah cried but Sir Didymous was only too eager for battle and sprang out growling between Robert and the confused Ludo.

"Ha-ha! Be prepared to battle not just one but we three, a united front!" He swerved to the right and then to the left lashing his rapier at the wooden rolling pin Robert held. Her father looked incredulous. Did a dog just joust with him?

Sarah quickly knelt down and grabbed Sir Didymous, "Stop! They're my parents!"

There was a clatter and Sir Didymous bowed low, his hat in one hand. His rapier resided on the floor, forgotten. "I beg pardon," he whispered awed, "If I had known thou were the noble lineage of the lady Sarah, never would I dare draw arms in thy presence." His whiskers twitched in mortification, as he looked up, his hat now over his heart, "verily…" he said, his eyes serious and sincere, "I apologize and pledge my allegiance to thee and thy noble wife."

The rolling pin also fell creating a loud thud. Robert shook his head before looking at Sarah. Nothing was making sense anymore.

"Sarah, what the -"

"They're my friends," she said quickly, "this," she said straightening up and then pointing to each individual, "is Sir Didymous, Hoggle, and Ludo."

Karen stepped away from Robert, her eyes wide and her brows slightly furrowed. "They're…real," she said, her voice no louder than a hush, "my god…then, everything you told us…"

"Yes," replied Sarah. "Everything I told you happened. The Labyrinth existed."

Robert seemed to sag against the sink and wooden cabinets, "I…I thought…" He swallowed hard, ashamed he had thought Sarah so incapable of caring, accusing her of such thoughtless cruelty.

"I know," said Sarah looking steadily at him, trying to impart through her intonation her love and forgiveness, "And I'm sorry you thought that, I didn't mean to make this so hard on you, on both of you."

She motioned for them to sit down and they did so cautiously. Ludo sat down next to the refrigerator, understanding that no chair would have supported his weight. Sarah and Hoggle (with just a little boost from Sir Didymous) sat on the other two chairs on the opposite side of the table; Sir Didymous sat cross-legged on the table itself, on Sarah's left side.

Reverently, Sarah placed the crystalline orb in the center, her hands hovering near, as if ready to cradle it. That awful sense of surreal smothered Robert again, but this time he held it in check. His worried eyes flitted from Sarah to the strange, yet now somehow no longer vicious looking, creatures at her side, then back to her. Karen watched Sarah lower her gaze, saw her touch the top of the crystal with the tip of her finger.

"To help me…a land was created, a wondrous beautiful land…" The glass clear shine of the orb turned opaque. Slowly it drifted into clarity, as if clouds were breaking, revealing within its depths a bird's eye view of a dry land and a grim foreboding castle in its center, flagged by underbrush and tall trees.

Sarah's voice sounded dry, pained, and she had to cough to get the roughness out, "This is their home. It is a home to many." A fresh surge of remorse hit her but she bit back her reaction and before anyone could notice, she slowly passed her hand, palm down, over the orb. "Because a lesson had to be learned, for Toby's sake and my own, I ran the labyrinth…I - I succeeded, and the cost…"

Sarah closed her eyes against the image of Jareth falling, his white robes billowing as he fell through the darkness.

Her hand passed over the orb again and Karen watched in morbid fascination and some confusion, as the castle fell to ruins, the land shaking as the land surrounding it seemed to cave in within itself. Within seconds the sky over the castle darkened, punctuated now and then by lightning. The land broke and drifted in pieces, separated by what seemed like great bodies of water, but really was pools of black. All too quickly the orb was black as pitch and no matter how hard either Robert or Karen peered they could see nothing else.

Sarah was silent and still for a moment and then with great effort said, "Jareth saved as many as he could."

Karen felt her lungs burning and realized she had been holding her breath. Tears welled up and the slid down Sarah's face when, in a shaky voice she said, "Jareth is there. I love him. I love the Labyrinth." Robert clenched his fists tightly, his heart still beating hard and fast from this crazy morning. What was she asking? Surely, she wasn't thinking…

"I'm giving you a choice," she said, before her parents could protest. "It will seem unfair of me, cruel even to ask this, but I believe like he did, that choices must be given. It can not be any other way, if we are to be honest with ourselves."

"Sarah, what are you talking about?" Karen gripped Robert's hand under the table. She was only mildly reassured when Robert squeezed it back in mutual sympathy.

Sarah pulled her hands away from the crystal, and the gloom within it receded until it became nothing more than a crystal again.

"What I am asking of you…will be difficult. Jareth must be found. The Labyrinth must be rebuilt. I am going into the void and… I - I am asking you to create the façade that I have run away."

"This is ridiculous," Robert said under his breath but Sarah continued none the less.

"There will be police, they will interrupt your home life, and…people will talk."

Karen stared with wide eyes, was this real? Was Sarah serious? Was she actually leaving? "You- you said, there was a choice," came her meek voice.

Sarah nodded, "Ever since the labyrinth…It seems that I was given certain powers. I…To make it easier on you, on both of you, I can create it so that it would be like I was never here."

Robert's brow furrowed and his mouth set into a hard line, "I don't understand."

"I can change this," and Sarah waved her hand around the kitchen, trying to think of the appropriate word. Universe? The aboveworld? Parallel? Side? For lack of better word she just said what seemed easiest to understand, "life," she said, "so that for you and everyone who ever knew me would live as if I were never born."

Hoggle crooked one eyebrow up in suspicious curiosity at Sarah but otherwise said nothing.

Karen looked stricken and appalled. Robert was just speechless.

"It may sound weird to you right now, but it would mean peace for you, Karen and Toby. There would be no police to bother you, you two would never have to worry about me, because you would never have known me. You could raise Toby in the kind of carefree, happy home you have both desperately wanted for so long." Sarah sighed, "Touch the crystal and it will be done."

Sarah looked down in silent misery. It was the right thing to do, offering this alternative. She never wanted to hurt them but she had to show them that she was not backing out of this; she had to rebuild the Labyrinth! But she also needed, perhaps just as much as her parents, to show them that she loved them. She truly did want what was best for them. And giving them the power to choose, seemed like the only option to show them how much she cared.

She started when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "You must think us stupid," her father's voice said steeped in emotion, "if you think for one moment we would choose a life without you." The moment was brittle but Sarah stood up, silently crying inside: Thank you, thank you…

He hugged her, and said in a small voice uncharacteristic of him, "is there no other way? Can't you stay here?"

Sarah squeezed her eyes shut against hurting her dad further but said into his shoulder, "If I do, everything I love and believe in dies."

"How…how will we know you're all right?" It was Karen who had asked the question.

"You will know. I will send word somehow. I promise."

Her father backed away and looked at the serious faces of Sarah's friends.

"You…you will protect her?" Ludo nodded vigourously, reminding Robert of a large child, but he saw the little dog creature in the blue hat bow courteously to him and saw the one called Hoggle step up next to Sarah. Hoggle looked him in the eye and said, "I would die for her." And somehow, he believed him.

Karen slightly smiled at their earnestness but became serious again when she asked in an uneasy voice, "Sarah…when?"

Steeling herself she replied without blinking, "Tonight. The magic is stronger at nightfall."