Chapter 21: Cause It Hurts Like Hell

Underground

Soon enough, the two made it to throne room. It is a large room with a high roof, and its walls are decorated with large stone Goblin heads. There were several freestanding torches, as well as many other candles and torches kept in brackets on the walls. A large throne sat towards the back of the room, and backed by a large, curving bone hung with dully-colored drapes. The most noticeable thing was the shallow pit is in the middle of the room. Sitting sideways on the throne, riding crop in hand, was the Goblin King.

Whatever Jefferson thought the Goblin King would look like was not what he saw. The Goblin King could pass as a human with ease, though he really didn't know what race the King was. He had long pale blonde hair that was very wild. He had sharp eyes that were two different colors, one of green and one of blue. He wore all black, from his leather boots that ended just under the knees, to his tights, to his poet's shirt and black gloves. Adorned around his neck was string of leather that connected to an odd, triangle-shaped symbol.

Jefferson felt his fists clench upon recognizing the man who sat in the throne.

"Jareth." Kat growled out, gaining the King's attention.

"Ah, Katrin," The King greeted, "So nice to see you again."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Enchanted Forest

"That isn't how you should greet someone you have not seen in five years." Jareth chastised.

"That would entail that your presence is welcomed," Kat retorted coldly, "Why are you here?"

"I'm here for you, of course." He spoke as if it was not obvious.

Luck did not seem to like her that night as it was at that time that her husband returned to their home.

"Kat?" Jefferson asked, noticing her standing outside of the house before seeing Jareth standing there, "What's going on? Who are you?"

"This is a private conversation, I suggest you stay out of it." Jareth snapped at the portal jumper before turning to the woman, "I've come to take you back with me."

"How did you even know where I was?" Kat asked.

"I had some help," Jareth responded, "Several of my colleagues were kind enough to tell me of two portal jumpers, one of which that matched your description."

"Well you wasted your time," Kat explained, "I am not going with you."

"Who said you had a choice." Jareth said before grabbing the girl by the wrist.

"Hey!" She shouted in protest, trying to move her wrist out of his grip.

"Leave her alone!" Jefferson called out, marching over towards the fae.

"I told you to stay out of this." Jareth responded before summoning a crystal and throwing it at Jefferson's feet.

POP!

Roots came up out of the ground before wrapping around Jefferson, immobilizing him.

"Jefferson!" Kat cried out, fearing for his safety before turning to Jareth, "Leave him alone."

"Its time for you to come home." Jareth stated before summoning another crystal. He threw it at their feet.

POP!

The two disappeared and the roots removed themselves from Jefferson, before sinking back to the ground.

"KAT!" Jefferson cried out.

His wife was gone…

Kat was gone.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Underground

"Give us back Grace." Kat demanded.

"That really isn't how you should greet someone you have not seen in quite some time." Jareth reprimanded as he stood up from his throne. He started to walk toward the two.

"Jareth…" Kat said through gritted teeth, "Give Grace back right now. Do not make me say those words if I don't have to. You know that her coming here was an accident."

"You…"

Jareth and Kat momentarily stopped their conversation to see Jefferson glaring fiercely at Jareth. His fists were clenched so tightly that Kat worried he would loose circulation or start bleeding.

"Do I know you?" Jareth asked dryly before getting a good look at the man, "Ah yes, now I remember you."

"First you took my wife and now you've taken my daughter!" Jefferson shouted. He was beyond pissed. Why was this man constantly ruining his life? Even the Queen of Hearts and Regina were not this keen on making his life so miserable.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Jareth scoffed.

"Jareth…" Kat reprimanded, "Send Grace back to Storybrooke, now! You have no power over me!"

A frown appeared on Jareth's face before he summoned the ever familiar crystal and let it drop to the ground.

POP!

"She is back home," Jareth said.

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Jefferson snapped.

"He is." Kat said simply, "Those words mean end game, he has to return the child if those who ventured through the Labyrinth tell him that before time runs out."

"So we can go home?" Jefferson asked, after today he just wanted to go back home with his daughter.

"Not quite yet." Kat said before glaring at Jareth once more, "We need to talk."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Storybrooke

Henry and Kyle were just sitting in the hotel room, hoping for the return of Jefferson, Kat and Grace. They had been sitting there for several hours now. Kyle had left momentarily to grab food from the diner for the two.

POP!

Henry and Kyle blinked in confusion. Out of nowhere, Grace appeared lying on the ground, clearly unconscious.

"Grace!" Henry called out, jumping off the bed and over to the girl. Kyle followed him, kneeling down once he got to the girl. "Is she alright?"

"I think so." Kyle nodded, "It looks like she is just asleep."

"Where are Kat and Jefferson?" Henry asked after a moment, realizing that the two adults that went after the girl were not back as well.

"I don't know," Kyle frowned, "Normally they would return with Grace."

Kyle wouldn't tell Henry, but he feared for what was currently happening. Not for Kat or Jefferson that is, but rather fear for what Kat was going to do. He knew how much she disliked Jareth, and since he did technically spy on her…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Underground

"What do you need to discuss with me about?" Jareth asked.

"What the hell did you do?" Kat demanded.

"What do you mean?"

"Two years ago, you told me I was in a Curse-induced coma for five years!"

"Yes," Jareth nodded, recalling the conversation, "What does that have to do with this?"

"Everything." Kat stated firmly, "What the hell did you do to my head?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

"I have been speaking with Jefferson, he knows stuff about me that I wouldn't tell just anyone." Kat stated, "He knows me. And what you told me about the coma always did seem odd."

"How do you know he is not lying."

"You know I took behavioral studies in college." Kat glared at him, "I know he is telling the truth. Now I want you to tell me the truth: What the hell did you do?"

"…" Jareth stared at the girl for a moment before sighing and answering, "I did what I had to."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You were lost. I was unable to locate you because of the specific land you were in. I was only able to find you because your brother wished it." Jareth explained to her, "When I found you, you were rather… uncooperative. I had to resort to drastic measures."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Two Years Ago

Kat and Jareth reappeared in her bedroom. Once the two were there, Jareth let go of Kat's wrist.

"No!" Kat shouted before glaring at Jareth, "Take me back! Take me back there, right now!"

"It was nearly impossible for me to get there the first time." Jareth told her, "A return trip is unlikely. Besides, you are back where you belong now."

"No," Kat shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes, "I belong back there. With them. Please, Jareth, I am actually begging you: take me back."

"I will not do that, Katrin." Jareth said firmly.

"I swear, Jareth," Kat started, tears running down her face as she glared at the man, "If you don't return me there. I will do what ever it takes to get back there."

"I was afraid you would say that." Jareth said before summoning a crystal.

"Wh-what are you doing?" The girl was to emotionally drained to fully comprehend what was going on.

"I am sorry, but this need to be done." Jareth said before holding the crystal above Kat's head.

POP!

A pile of glitter fell over Kat. Her eyes rolled back as she suddenly collapsed onto her bed. Jareth just stared at the girl blankly before exiting the room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Underground

"Kyle knew…" Kat muttered to herself before going back to glaring back at the Goblin King, "Give them back."

"Give what back?" Jareth asked.

"My memories. The ones you hid away from me. Give. Them. Back."

"And what makes you think I have them?"

"Jareth," If anything, his comment made the girl's glare intense, "I swear if you don't give me back my memories I am done. You think it's annoying that I won't be your heir already, what about if I completely ignore you and your relation to me."

By this point, Jefferson looked at his wife in confusion. He didn't understand what she was talking about. What did she mean about him being annoyed with her refusal to become his heir? There was a relationship between the two besides him being a kidnapper?

"Don't say things that you would soon regret." Jareth stated, glaring right back at her.

"Oh, trust me, there is no regret here." Kat responded fiercely, "I fucking swear, Jareth, if you do not give me back those memories, I will never step foot in the Underground again. And just to be sure, I'll make that same wish that mom made all those years ago."

It was at that sentence that the glare on Jareth's face dropped into a sour frown. What ever it was that Kat was talking about, Jareth did not want that to happen. By now though, Jefferson was beyond confused and wanted answers.

"Kat, what is going on?" Jefferson asked, "You've been here before besides freeing your brother? What did you mean by relationship?"

"Yes, I've been here before, Jefferson, loads of times." Kat told the portal jumper, though not once taking her eyes off of Jareth, "I have been comeing here since I was sixteen."

Surprisingly enough, it was Jareth, not Kat who answered Jefferson's second question.

"She is of my kin." Jareth explained, causing Jefferson's eyes to widen.

"What?" He exclaimed. That was too much of a shock. The one who took his wife away from him was her father. Why would he do such a thing?

"Technically, yes. He is my biological father." Kat spat out. It was clear that Kat did not like the idea of being related to the Goblin King.

"Technically?"

"I'd rather consider the man who raised me for the first sixteen years of my life my father that this pompous ass." Kat explained.

It was then that Jefferson started to notice some similarities between the two. Kat's eye shape was very similar to Jareth, though not as sharp, and they had the same nose. But what really showed that they were related were the identical glares they currently had on their faces.

"Now, I suggest you give me back my memories, Jareth," Kat demanded, "Before I make good on my threat."

Jareth stared at his daughter for a moment before closing his eyes with a light sigh. He then summoned a crystal and, much like what he had done two years ago, held it over the woman's head.

"When you wake up, your memories shall be back." Jareth explained to her before concentrating his magic into the crystal.

POP!

Kat's eyes rolled into the back of her head as she suddenly fell backwards. She would have hit the ground if not for the fact that Jefferson had caught her in time.

"What was that?" Jefferson demanded.

"A spell to retrieve her memories. She will wake in a few hours." Jareth explained as he walked back to his throne.

Jefferson looked down at Kat, seeing the peaceful look on her face as she dreamed. "Are you going to send us back?"

"I suppose." Jareth said before summoning another crystal, which tossed up above the two.

POP!

And Kat and Jefferson were no longer in the Underground.

Jareth sighed as he plopped down into his thrown. He knew that town was wrong, that it contained people from another land. He had even realized that it was the land that he had retrieved Katrin from.

He should have made that dream even worse, make it so she wanted to get home quick as she could. He knew that she would eventually figure out what he did if she stayed in that town long enough. That was something he didn't want to happen.

Then again, when did he ever get anything he wanted from that girl, or her mother. He had her mother for just a short year before she had decided to leave him. He did not even know that she was with child when she left, only discovering it sixteen years later.

He finally had what he had wanted most, an heir. Sadly, by that time she had already made up her mind about him and refused. The best he could convince her to be was an ambassador between the other lands of the Underground.

When he brought her back from that world and she had told him she would do whatever she could to go back there, Jareth knew he had to remove her memories of that place. He was barely able to get there because of Kyle's wish for him to find Kat. If Katrin had tried to go back there by magic, especially considering how inexperienced she was compared to him, she would have most likely not survived the journey.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Storybrooke

Kyle had set Grace onto his bed, glancing at the worried Henry as he did.

"Henry," Kyle called out, catching the boy's attention, "Don't you need to tell your grandfather where you are?"

"Oh!" The boy's eyes widened as he realized that he had spent almost the entire day there. He quickly jumped up, grabbed his backpack and headed towards the door. As he exited the room he called out over his shoulder, "I'll be back, call me if they come back before I get back."

"Heh," Kyle chuckled. The kid reminded him of himself when he was about his age. After a moment, he calmed down and just looked into space blankly, "Where are you sis?"

POP!

It seemed that was the magic words as no sooner had he muttered that had his sister and who he suspected was Jefferson were back.

"Sis!" Kyle jumped up before realizing the twenty-seven-year-old was lying in Jefferson's arms, unconscious. "What happened?"

"Jareth gave her back her memories." Jefferson said, not once looking up at the teen.

"What!?" Kyle asked, "What memories?"

"The ones from when she was in the Enchanted Forest for five years… with me." Kyle watched as Jefferson tenderly moved a stray piece of hair out of Kat's face.

"Uh, maybe you should put her on the bed." Kyle said, too much in shock to really react. Jareth had not told him of where Kat had been. All he knew was that she was knocked out when she came home. From the way Jefferson was looking at his sister, Kyle knew that the two must have been close. He had seen his uncle giving Aunt Maria that look before, and in the photos of his parents.

Jefferson walked over to the unoccupied bed and gently laid Kat down on it. Looking up at the teen, he asked, "Where's Grace? Is she alright?"

"Grace is fine." Kyle said as he gestured to the other bed in the room where the girl was asleep in, "She's just asleep."

"Thank goodness." He heard Jefferson mutter before the portal jumper walked over to his daughter to place a tender kiss on her forehead.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Two Years Ago

Kat groaned as she started to stir on her bed. She didn't understand why, but she had a major headache and her body felt very stiff.

Creek

She heard the door open as she struggled to open her eyes.

"Huh?" She heard a familiar voice mutter before it gasped, "Sis! Uncle Tobi, she's waking up!"

She heard two rushed pairs of footsteps. One pair was that of the person in the room as they ran from the doorway to her bed while the other was running towards her room. Soon enough she was able to open her eyes, though it took some time and energy.

"Sis?" The person hovering over her called out.

Kat stared at the person in confusion, it sound like her brother, and somewhat looked like her brother. But… her brother was eight years old, this kid was clearly a teen.

"Wha-?" She spoke, and was surprised to find her throat to be so dry.

"Sis!" The thirteen year old cried out before hugging the poor girl.

"Wait!" Kat struggled to say, "Who… who are you?"

"Kat…" The teen looked at her sadly, "It's me, Kyle."

"But-" She started to say but was cut off by another familiar voice.

"You were unconscious for five years, Kat." Tobi explained to the poor girl, she had no idea what was going on at the moment, "Jareth found you in Goblin City knocked out. Apparently you went near a very nasty curse."

Kat nodded, ignoring the nagging feeling in the back of her head that something about that sounded wrong.

"I'm just so glad you're back, Sis!" Kyle said before tackling his sister into another hug.

"Owww." Kat muttered lowly, unlike when he was little, the kid's tackles really hurt now. Even so, she wrapped her arms around her brother in return. She may not have realized she was asleep for so long, but she was glad to be back.

Did anyone expect Jareth being Kat's biological father, granted if you browsed through my dA gallery you would know. Next chapter we'll see if Jareth actually gave Kat back her memories or not. So, yeah, just one more chapter before we go back to a more episode-based story. I will apologize now, and at the end of the next chapter, as the next chapter is supposed to be rather emotional and I'm... not good at display or writing emotions. So if the emotions don't really come off right next chapter, I'm really sorry.

Thank you, midnighthatter, for the review. No, Jareth did not fall for Gracie-Gracia-Grace-Grace. That was only Sarah. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Thank you, kykyxstandler, I'm glad you found the chapter interesting. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.