Fly You Fools!

Jareth was utterly overjoyed that his things had come with him. Sarah had her bracelet with the survival kit and gear she'd placed in it, while Jareth had his rings under his gloves. He wore three rings, one each of silver, gold, and platinum. Each with a stone that was once part of a star but now were no bigger than a grain of sand. All three bands were no thicker than a strand of hair but contained countless things within their brilliant white stones.

His "poofing" as Sarah liked to call it, was done with ease because every piece of clothing he owned was kept in his silver ring plus near limitless supplies of all manner of cloth and leather, thread and buttons, and other manner of things to create new cloths on a whim when he was without his tailor. The gold ring held objects of power and whatever spare energy, magic and random things that he cared to place within it. He never used the platinum ring however as he rarely found he needed it. It contained the full power and arsonal of the Erlkönig armory that had been pasted down and added to for several generations. He only used the platinum ring when there was a threat of war as the mere sight of him in his full regalia was often enough to stop the hearts of lesser fae and beings.

The helm had a fanged visor shaped to look like the head of some great beast and was bespelled to have bottomless pits for eyes but that was one of the beautiful things about magic. He had full vision and more as if he didn't wear the helmet at all. The helm would have been completely unfunctional had it been made by human hands. There was ivy with roses and their sharp thorns engraved along the edge of every piece of exposed metal. The bluing done to the armor made the whole of it black as pitch save for a rack of sharp, gold-plated antlers that rose out from the crown of the helm. Generations of Erlkönig had push so much power and energy into the armor that it glowed of its own accord like light shining off the wings of a raven.

He'd never worn it before, having prefered to wear leather armor like his father had. Yet this dark, heinous armor was what he currently wore and was scaring the masses with as he rode a kelpie through a forest within the Torsion. The fairy was still in the cage that Jareth had found him in and was currently tied to Jareth's belt. They'd come across a lake some hours after Jareth had begun his trek through the Torsion. Jareth had been confronted by a small herd of massive, nightmarish, lavender and maroon spotted kelpies that tried to keep him from continuing on. However, having just finished a third round with flesh eating wood nymphs, Jareth's patience was completely spent. With a flick of his hand he was wearing the armor that his deranged grandfather had made as infamous as the Labyrinth he'd built.

The kelpies had bolted at the sight of him, save for the one that Jareth caught by the tail. It had screamed, wailed, begged and nearly removed its own tail, but Jareth had refused and only offered it freedom in return for its service while he was in the Torsion. Given the choice between service or death, the kelpie had made the smart choice. Jareth named him Bob and fairy's name changed by the hour. Bob hated his new name, Jareth simply answered each inquiry to change it with a, "thank Sarah for my modernization, Bob." Bob's temperament greatly improved when he got to literally scare the life out of a few of the wood nymphs thanks to Jareth in all his armored, monstrous grandeur upon on his back.

"This is utterly boring, Bob. Honestly, what kind of labyrinth has no riddles to solve? This is just a child's maze with lovely, little patches of monster infested gardens."

"Not my fault you're not using your eyes. There's more than a maze when you look just right—" Jareth cut Bob off by spurring him into a huge clump of blackberry bushes. Only for the three of them to fall through to tunnel that ran parallel to the corridor above. Jareth took one look at the left wall and turned them towards it. He smiled as he remembered Sarah's encounter with the worm and the Cleaners. He turned Bob through the left side of the wall's illusion and followed the corridor around a bend that suddenly opened up to the edge of village square. Though none could see it, Jareth's first true smile bloomed across his face behind his helm as the people in the square ran or dropped dead before him and his kelpie steed, plus one rather quiet fairy. Oh yes, the silencing spell to stop the stuttering. The only reason the little butterfly winged male had survived Jareth's transformation was because he was tied to Jareth's hip at the time and could not witness the full bloodcurdling impact of the armor.

"I think we just cheated…"

"Not at all, Bob, not at all."

"You complained of being bored and now suddenly here we are at the end! I don't even know how we go here…"

"Where are we?"

"How should I know? We past the farthest point I'd ever been from the lake hours ago."

"Alright then, Humperdink, your turn. Do try to keep the stuttering to a minimum," Jareth flicked the cage without looking down at the small being inside it.

"Cr-crystal Landing. I th-think we've c-come out ah-at the base of the c-c-castle."

"Crystal Landing? Why Pumpernickel, how original..." Jareth followed the currently dubbed Pumpernickel's directions to the main gates of the castle. Where most of the guards fled from him in terror though one's heart gave out and he fell dead from the top of the gate. The dead guard unwittingly landed on the mechanism that opened said gate, allowing Jareth in all his dark glory to pass unhindered. Jareth rode Bob directly into the throne room, scattering retainers and guards in every direction save for the few that the kelpie had to step over or move around as their very fear killed them.

A hooded figure sat upon the throne while a lady in a blue gown sat at the foot of the dasis playing with Toby with her back to Jareth. Or she was trying to at least, it appeared that Toby wanted nothing to do with her. Toby started screaming when he caught sight of Jareth and once again left Jareth to wonder about possible banshee ancestry. The Master stood from his throne and Toby ran to hide behind him as the lady in blue also began to scream. Jareth laughed maniacally as he got down from the kelpie's back. Bob bolted from the room as soon as Jareth was clear. Jareth stalked forward towards the throne, tall and regal as ever yet horrible to behold. The woman had stopped screaming and was now cowering behind the Master. The Master stood beside her, seemingly unaffected.

"Jareth, this is not the way the Game was to be played…"

"Miser-"

"Master-"

"Miser, give me the boy."

"The Lady of Will sent for you to save her-"

"I'm here for Toby and no other. You can have the Lady."

"How dare you! My people need your help!" The woman cried out as she moved forward to confront Jareth though she stopped just out of reach of him. The Master made no move to stop her.

"In the words of my Sarah… Shut your face, woman!" The utter amount of sass that Jareth put into those four words left everyone else in the room that wasn't dead completely speechless. The stillness was suddenly broken by Toby's laughter, followed by a small chuckle from the Master. The boy moved to come out from behind the Master but one look at Jareth in his Erlkönig armor stopped his laughter cold. He paled and reached out to clutch at the Master's cloak and hide among its folds.

"I'm so sorry, Toby," Jareth's tone was remorseful and apologetic but he didn't move to change from his armor. Jareth didn't know these beings and would rather deal with overkill and be over prepared than lose Sarah's little brother. Toby didn't move to look at him and only tried to hide himself deeper in the folds of the Master's cloak.

"Solve the puzzle and the boy is yours."

"What puzzle?" Jareth growled gutturally, "there is nothing to this place but contrary beings that should not exist and stone walls! Kelpies are green and brown like the rivers and lakes they dwell in! Not purple! Faries like this don't exist!" He yelled as he chucked the little cage at the Master. The man snatched it from the air and tucked it in his robes.

"There were no puzzles! This is a mockery of the Labyrinth! The paths twist, bend and confuse but there is no magic here! Just- There is no magic here…" Jareth's voice had been steadily getting louder and was nearly a roar as his own magic began to whip around him. He froze as he thought back to all that he'd seen and done. All magic had come from him. He'd felt no magic from anything or anyone. Everything had given the appearance of magic but none could be felt. How could he have been so stupid as to let his eyes blind him to the truth. He started to hone in on his sense of magic and focus on all that he was on everything around him in that moment then focused on those before him.

Toby had the power of the Labyrinth in him. It was a small amount like that of any common citizen of the Labyrinth. Enough to make the boy no longer human so that he could live in the Underground without consequence. Jareth could feel that Toby's physical changes were slight just as his sister's were. He'd live as long as any fae but would never have the full power and magic of the Labyrinth that Sarah did.

Jareth turned his attention to the other two as the Master reached down and ran his gloved hand through Toby's hair in an attempt to further soothe the boy. Jareth felt power in the Master but it wasn't the power of magic. There was a strong strength of mind and force of will yet the Master seemed to bow to the Lady's wishes and wants. He'd brought her Toby and allowed Jareth in.

Both the Master and Lady were suddenly familiar yet their identities were beyond Jareth. He couldn't place the familiarity that he felt from them. Jareth focused more on the Master, he seemed the most familiar. Only to scowl as the impression came that the Master was smiling at him. Jareth could not see the face beneath the dark cowl but he felt that the Master knew something that he didn't. And the bastard thought it hilarious.

The Lady of Will was perfection. She was once again poised and demure as if Jareth had never startled her. Her face was set in an emotionless mask yet still gave off an air of attentiveness and kindness. Her hair was covered in a wimple and veil, a gold crown with delicate spires sat upon her head. The Lady's light blue, silk gown was unwrinkled, it flowed and fluttered around her gracefully as she moved. She was everything a noblewoman of the Middle Ages could have ever dreamed to be. She watched him with hope in her eyes.

Jareth ran her through with a broadsword that he suddenly called to hand.