Elle tucked the sleeves of her maroon shirt into the dark brown leather arm guards that covered the length from her wrist to her elbows while Epsy synced up the matching leather corset layered over her torso. "I enchanted the leather," Epsy explained as Elle then fastened her leg holsters on each thigh that held her daggers. "It will hold up just as good as any metal armor but you'll still be able to move as freely."

"I'm scared." Elle admitted as she sat down to pulled her leather boots on up over her rather form fitting black pants.

"As you should be," Epsy stated simply as she took a comb to Elle's hair to begin braiding it, "But there's no time for that now."

"I'm not scared of getting hurt, or even dying…" Elle whispered softly, "I'm scared of failing, and all those people in the city dying because I wasn't strong enough to protect them."

"Well that's just silly." Epsy insisted, "Because you won't fail."

"It's almost dawn." Elle commented as she looked out the opening of the tent they had stayed in near the border of the Goblin Kingdom. "They'll be here soon."

"I have something for you." Epsy mentioned just as she finished braiding Elle's hair. "I've been meaning to give it to you for a long time now." Epsy then shuffled away, reaching into the bag she had toted along with her to pull out a small purple velvet pouch. She handed it to Elle without a word, and Elle took it while continuing the silence.

"What is it?" Elle finally asked as she untied the pouch and dumped it over causing a small white pill to fall out into her palm.

"It's my magic." Epsy answered simply as she smiled softly as Elle.

"What?" Elle looked at Epsy in disbelief before returning her eyes down to the tiny pill in her hand. "You can't possibly mean…"

"It's been a slow process, but little by little I've been adding more of my magic into that pill."

"But…why?"

"For you, of course." Epsy stated simply. "Think of all the good you can do with it."

"But, what about you?"

"Me? What do I need that old magic for? I let myself go, I forgot how to really wield that power. I don't deserve it anymore, but you do Elle. And with that, I know you'll do incredibly things, starting with breaking the reanimation spell."

"I can't take your magic from you, not like Jareth." The comment fell from Elle's lips effortlessly, receiving no reaction from her but sending a shock of realization through Epsy's entire being-Elle remembered something about Jareth. She might not have realized it, but she remembered something that had otherwise been repressed. That meant there was still hope, and everything Epsy had done from the dream spell to giving up her last bit of magic all wasn't for nothing.

"Yes you can," Epsy insisted, trying to hide her excitement. "You can, and you will. And with my magic, you will succeed and become the greatest witch this realm will ever know, now go, go and stop the centaurs."

Elle didn't know what to say, so instead of saying anything she moved forward to embrace Epsy simply. She broke her hold with tears in her eyes before turning her body to head out of the tent. She spared no words to Epsy, focusing merely on the task now at hand. She was completely unaware that this would be the last time she would ever see Epsy alive.

There was a cliff overlooking the vast nothingness that reached out from the outer walls of the Labyrinth. From there Elle could see the Labyrinth and the hill over which the centaurs would emerge. She reached her vantage pointed just as the first hint of the sunlight broke over the horizon. The sun would soon rise into the sky overtaking the night and the centaurs would be right on schedule for their attack. Elle looked down at the tiny white pill she had been clenching ever since leaving the tent. She could hear the thunder of the march now; it was time.

Without another thought, Elle popped the pill into her mouth and swallowed it without hesitation. Almost immediately she could feel an intense surge of power come over her; her senses heightened as her body was flooded with the magic from the pill. She could feel it moving throughout her body, seeping into her being as if it was her own power. Elle felt so incredibly energized as her body adjusted to its new power, letting it all soak in.

Back at the tent, however, Epsy now fell to the cold hard ground, completely paralyzed. That magic, even while no longer a part of her physically, was her tether to this world, keeping her alive. But now that it no longer belonged to her, as it now became one with Elle, her life began to fade. The only pain Epsy felt in that moment was heartbreak as she struggled to accept that she would never see the end result of all her hard work in her attempts to bring Elle and Jareth back together, but as she felt her life slipping away from her she knew that soon enough they would be together again and that final thought gave her peace as she breathed her dying breath.

"Sound the alarm!" Rowna shouted back at the castle beyond the Goblin City as she rushed through the halls to alert everyone. "I want every guard armed and at the border now!"

"Rowna, what the hell is going on?" Asha finally caught up to Rowna in the hall, running behind her as Rowna headed to Jareth's bedroom.

"Something is happening," Rowna vaguely explained, "An army is matching on to the Labyrinth."

"How do you know?"

"I sensed them, there's a strong dark magic that accompanies them….magic from my father." Rowna then reached Jareth's room, barging in without so much as a knock. Jareth, however was already awake despite the early morning hour, standing fully dressed at his window looking out from the city as the sunlight flooded the streets. "Your Highness," Rowna spoke to him with a sense of urgency in her voice, "We must head to the outer walls of the Labyrinth now to defend the city." Jareth, however, said nothing in response to Rowna, instead her merely remained calm and unconcerned. "Jareth?" She spoke his name with a harsh tone, "You have to defend your kingdom!"

"Rowna you go," Asha whispered to Rowna from behind her, "I'll see if I can convince him to go."

"Fine." Rowna snapped, "But if the city falls, that's on him." Rowna insisted as she turned quickly to run from them room without another word.

"Jareth…" Asha spoke calmly as she approached him once Rowna was gone.

"Leave me be." He insisted with a pained voice, not even so much as sparing a glance towards Asha.

"I won't." Asha argued. "Your kingdom needs you."

Ever without a queen, without an heir…I am unfit to rule. This is not my kingdom. If this kingdom shall fall today, the throne I once called my own will not be taken but merely claimed. I am no king."

"If you do nothing, people will die." Asha argued, shouting now at him, refusing to coddle him any longer. "I know you're hurt Jareth, I'm not saying you don't deserve to be hurt after what you lost, but now is not the time, now you have to forget it all for the good of your kingdom!"

"Forget? Forget my wife and child dying?" He shouted back at her, fury now burning in his eyes. "If it means forgetting the death of my unborn child, even for a second, I would rather watch this kingdom burn to the ground."

"You can't do this, you can't give up now!" Asha insisted.

"And why the hell not? I have lost everything, everyone I ever loved! My child, Sarah…Elle…" His voice faded as he spoke Elle's name for the first time in such a long time. He turned away from Asha, returning to gaze out the window as he watched the guards flee from the castle to defend the city. "They all died because of me, and I deserve to die for that."

"You're wrong," Asha argued, struggling to find the words to say what she knew she needed to say now. She didn't want to do this, not without real evidence to support it, but if it meant convincing Jareth to save the city then she would say whatever she had to. "Elle is alive." Jareth snapped his attention back to Asha, a look of pure shock coming over him but a trace of disbelief across his expression as he let the words truly sink in. Suddenly, for the first time in days Asha saw hope in his eyes, hope and determination.