In the two days since Sarah's world turned inside out, nothing came as a bigger surprise than discovering that the Underground had indoor plumbing.

Based upon the surrounding decor, she had not expected to find a bathroom behind an innocuous wooden door in her room. Nor had she expected to see a marble clawfoot tub dominating the space, the kind of tub she only saw in period pieces. It practically shimmered amid the tan tiles , promising warm water to ease aching bones and tired muscles. She relished the sound that rushed from the copper faucet, and a few minutes later, was half-submerged with a contented smile. Baths were a rare treat during the school year, when all she had time for was a quick, usually freezing shower. Thus, Sarah seized upon her chance to stretch out in the tub and lose herself in bubbles. For a brief moment, she simply relaxed, and let her thoughts float freely from her mind.

Of course, what goes up must come down, and the memory of her slumbering encounter crashed unceremoniously into her head. The dreams from the past nights were anomalies, rare gifts that she lost with her return from the Labyrinth. Her therapist had noted the oddity in the lack of dreams, but never mentioned it further in their sessions...what would she say now, knowing that Sarah's dreams returned alongside all she tried to forget? There was no way such a connection was mere coincidence, just as it was no coincidence that her spoken wishes could be granted. More had to be going on, tied perhaps to the ailing state of the Labyrinth itself. Perhaps it was yet another trick from the Goblin King, a way to ease himself into her good graces before ripping out the rug from under her feet, and trapping her in a trick. If so, it was quite the long con he planned, one that involved planting himself at death's door to reap his rewards. No, there had to be more to it than simple revenge, especially when he seemed surprised to see her outside the waking world.

What had Jareth offered her, all those years ago? Her dreams? She rejected that plea, and yet here she was, dreaming once again of ballrooms and mysterious monarchs. The thought of Jareth caused Sarah to crease her brow, and glare at the medallion hanging from the faucet.

"What exactly are you playing at?" she wondered aloud.

The necklace made no comment, and Sarah picked it up and dangled it in front of her. At first glance it appeared beautiful but unremarkable, made of a pale gold metal that gleamed in the light of the morning. No jewels lined its surface, nor dangled from the two prongs that bowed inward towards each other in a gentle curve. Seated at the apex where the prongs came together was a different material, rounded to the size of a quarter, upon which was a raised carving of a sideways 's.' The trinket had considerable weight to it, one that made her nearly forget that it came from a dream.

"If he's wearing this all the time," she muttered, giving the necklace one last look before returning it to the floor, "I'm shocked he doesn't have neck problems." She turned it around so that the sigil faced away from her, not taking the chance that its owner could somehow see her through it. The last thing she needed was a voyeuristic Jareth ruining her singular moment of relaxation.

Her bath passed uneventfully, and if Sarah closed her eyes she could pretend she was in her own tub with a glass of wine and a smattering of candles. Eventually the water grew lukewarm, and she resigned herself to the fact that she could not stay in the safety of the tub forever. She reached for a towel, and after a moment of thought reached for the medallion as well. It took a few seconds to untie the leather knot with her soapy fingers, but she fastened it securely around her neck, reddening slightly at how its warmth seemed to seep into her chest.

The suds washed down the drain with the rest of the bathwater, and she set about rifling through a wardrobe outside her bathroom door. Inside were a myriad of pastel dresses, all lovely but unsuitable for adventuring through the Labyrinth. Nestled at the bottom of the wardrobe, were a folded pair of tights that coaxed a sigh from Sarah. I guess, she thought as she pulled them out for inspection, this is the closest I'll get to proper pants. Shame they don't have pockets. After further rummaging, she procured a flowing, forest-green shirt from the wardrobe and put it on with reluctance. It felt similar to some sort of nightshirt, but it would be better than trying to struggle into a dress. Glancing at the mirror attached to the wardrobe door, Sarah laughed and shook her head. With the medallion and tights, she appeared less like herself and more like some facsimile of Peter Pan.

Or Jareth, her mind helpfully offered. She batted that thought away immediately. Any connection to the Goblin King just reminded her of the staring goblins, and Didymus' whispered conversation. The very last thing she wanted was to link herself to Jareth, and remind her of the looming potential future should she fail.

The smile fell from her face, however, as she felt her eye drawn towards the red volume sitting on the desk, lit by the rising sun of its namesake. It had been years since she thought to read the book, and she opened the cover to flip to the first yellowing page. "Once upon a time," she murmured, the words aching in their familiarity, "there was a beautiful young girl whose stepmother always made her stay home with the baby." She paused to scoff, close the book with a satisfying thud, and tuck it under her arm. "That's certainly a melodramatic start to a story, isn't it?"

A knock at her door interrupted her thoughts. Opening the door, she was greeted by the sight of Sir Didymus sans Ambrosius, who doffed his cap with a slight bow at her presence. "Good morning to you, my lady," he greeted. "Art thou prepared for adventure?"

"I think so, although I really didn't bring anything that could be useful."

"Not to worry, my lady. I hath prepared a few items during the night to aid us!" He puffed out his tiny chest as he added, "'tis part of my quest, after all!"

Sarah stifled a snort of laughter at the dear knight's bravado. "I thought your quest was to help me beat the Labyrinth, so I could rescue Toby."

"Nay, t'was but a stepping stone to my true quest! Which is...erm..." Didymus paused, momentarily baffled as he scratched at his head with his paw. "Well, perhaps that is the quest: to find my quest! Such a worthy endeavor indeed, especially with thou and friend Hoggle by my side."

His words bothered Sarah with what they lacked—an omission of someone dear that she had not seen nor heard since falling into the Underground. As she shut the door to the room and began to follow the knight, she took the opportunity to voice her concern. "Sir Didymus, what about Ludo? You considered each other brothers, but I haven't heard you mention him."

"Ah, apologies my lady; I thought thou knew. Brother Ludo went a few nights ago to help his kin in the mountains. There are rumors that the rock callers are losing their voices, but no one knows for sure."

The absence of her furry friend hurt more than expected, and Sarah suddenly missed Ludo's sweet demeanor and innocent exclamations of friendship. "I had no idea that there were other rock callers," she murmured, "or mountains in the Labyrinth."

"That's because y'only went halfway through the place, to get to the center."

A new voice made Sarah and Didymus turn to see an approaching figure—a dwarf with a slight limp, but a large smile. "Hoggle!" Sarah rushed forward and knelt to hug the dwarf, amazed at how vibrant he was compared to the previous day. His eyes were clear and warm as he returned her embrace. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, I suppose," he said with a shrug. "Don't remember much after I saw you—honestly thought I dreamt you." Hoggle looked as if he were about to continue, when his gaze alighted upon her attire. He faltered, and could not stop himself from staring at the necklace at her throat.

"Did Lady Maria not tell thee?" asked Sir Didymus. "T'was His Majesty who saved thy life."

The dwarf flinched at the revelation. "That sly rat? He's never done anything but help himself!" He scoffed at such a notion, but once again his eyes alighted on the necklace, and he shrugged off Sarah's hands to limp down the hall. "Maybe I'm still dreaming. Jareth would never stoop that low. "

Didymus muttered something about treasonous talk, but Sarah paid him little mind as she picked up her pace to walk alongside Hoggle. "No, it's the truth. Jareth used some magic to help you. I watched him do it—heck, I asked him to help."

"Help?" Hoggle laughed, but with each following word, he grew further agitated. "Jareth doesn't help, he makes people owe him something. Now you've got to wait for him to let the other shoe drop, and you won't have any means of getting out of whatever he has planned. Look at you' dressed like him, wearin' his ridiculous bauble. You're in over y'er head here, Sarah."

"The only reason I came here was to save you, Ludo and Sir Didymus. I already beat Jareth once; I can easily beat him again if this is all a trap." Her mouth set itself in a grim line as she clenched her jaw. "The Goblin King is an asshole, but if working with him means keeping you three alive, and stops the goblins from nominating me as President of the Underground, then I have to play nice."

"He ain't playing by the rules though! If he hurts you for helping me, I'll never forgive myself."

"What was I supposed to do? Hoggle, you were dying right in front of me. There was no way I'd let you go."

Silence. Hoggle paused, refusing to look at her as she too stopped. "I was ready to go," he said softly, "the moment I felt myself get worse, I was ready to go. But y'er the same girl you always were. You don't give up, and you keep giving this old dwarf second chances he don't deserve."

Emotion balled up to bury itself in Sarah's throat, choking her with her own words. "I can't lose my friends, not after I pushed them away for all these years. I'm sorry, Hoggle, but I just...I can't let you go, not without trying to stop whatever's going on."

She swore his eyes were wet with tears, and he may have smiled for the briefest moment. "You've nothin' to be sorry about," he sighed, "I told you that already. Just don't get y'self into trouble on my account, alright? Jareth, he's not the honest sort. You don't wanna know what he's done, especially since you left."

"He has no power over me, Hoggle. Besides, if he's that keen on playing tricks, then he wouldn't have asked me to help in the first place." Sarah could not help but smile, as she added, "Maybe you can help me stay out of trouble."

His response was a bark of a laugh. "I don't think I could ever keep you' out of trouble. But, maybe these old bones have enough in them for one last adventure. You comin' along, Didymus?"

"Aye, I would follow our fair lady to the edge of the earth," the knight affirmed, as he wedged himself between his friends. "Truly, 'tis a quest for the ages: the brave dwarf, the heroic knight, and the victorious Champion braving the unknown for king and kingdom! Come, my companions, let us meet our destiny!"

Sarah laughed as Sir Didymus took off down the hall, joy blanketing her steps as she tried to keep up. She failed to notice, however, that Hoggle still kept his eye on her in silent contemplation. He furrowed his brow as once again he took in her necklace, and then noted the book held under her arm.

"She doesn't know," he muttered to himself. "Hoggle you old fool, she doesn't know what that rat did."

"Come on, Hoggle!"

Sarah's voice jolted him out of his thoughts, and Hoggle quickly banished his worry to catch up to the others. Despite his best intentions, however, he could not shake the gnawing guilt at the edges of his mind.

Silence enclosed the throne room, broken by the gentle clucking of a few stray hens and the panting of Ambrosius, who wagged his entire body at the sight of his master. The nape of Sarah's neck prickled as she caught the eyes of a few watchful goblins, and her stomach rolled with unease. Maria stood by the throne, murmuring something to a stick-thin goblin with a plunger-shaped hat upon his hair. He nodded to whatever she said, and scurried away as the redhead diverted her attention to her guests.

There were bags under her eyes this morning, but her smile remained warm and welcoming. "It is good to see you all well once more—especially you, Hoggle."

"It's Hoggle," corrected the dwarf, only to widen his eyes as he realized that, for once, someone had addressed him correctly. "Oh! You said it right!"

"But of course; it is difficult to forget those who aid runners." A wistful smile passed over Maria's face, as she added, "Perhaps, in your adventuring, you'll come across the companions who helped in my time of need. I know that Cible went home to her family, but Tangle is out in the Labyrinth somewhere. When all ends well, I should seek them out. I miss their company, thorns and all."

Sir Didymus, who had been occupied with Ambrosius enthusiastically licking his face, perked up his ears at the talk of adventure. "Will His Majesty be joining thou in seeing us off?"

The goblins around them let out a low muttering, but fell silent as Maria shook her head. "My son is still resting," she told the group, pausing to raise an eyebrow as she noticed Sarah's trinket. "Although from the look of things, he may have wished you well already."

Sarah fidgeted, her fingers absentmindedly grazing the necklace. "It's supposed to help," she explained, ignoring the look Hoggle shot her and inwardly cringing at her answer. Something told her explaining the situation would lead only to further misunderstanding. There really was no way to say that she visited the Goblin King in a dream without it coming out a little suspect.

"I have no doubt that it will," Maria chuckled. "Are you all ready to be off, then?"

Sir Didymus grunted as he climbed aboard Ambrosius. "Aye, 'tis time we were off." Hoggle nodded in agreement, and after a second Sarah did as well.

The lady tilted her head to the side in contemplation, uncannily mirroring the action her son regularly performed. "Very well," she said after a moment's pause, as she raised her hand and drew a rectangle in the air beside her. "You'll find yourself at the edge of the old Labyrinth when you step through. Anything further is beyond my knowledge."

The space rippled and split, forming the shape of the familiar doorway. Sir Didymus, never one for caution, spurred his mount into the light and disappeared in a flash. Hoggle grumbled something under his breath, but nevertheless followed the knight to the other side.

Sarah, however, felt Maria's hand upon her shoulder before she stepped through. She turned back in curiosity, doing her best to not make eye contact with the goblins.

Maria, much to Sarah's surprise, appeared hesitant with whatever she had to say. "Come back safely, my dear," she whispered, just loud enough for Sarah to hear. There was a heaviness to the air that evoked memories of magic, with the hand on Sarah's shoulder making her collarbone tingle.

Sarah met her eyes with an attempt at a reassuring smile. "I'm sure it'll be a piece of cake."

A tinkling laugh, reminiscent of bells, filled the silence. "We are alike, you and I," Maria said after composing herself, "so confident in our path. It seems we both share the spirit of an unvanquished heart. Carry that spirit with you, Sarah, and you will save the Underground." With a gentle push, Maria ushered Sarah through the light of the rectangle, and in a burst of white light she, the castle, and the goblins disappeared.

Sarah went from here to there, world tilting from vertical to horizontal as she fell to her knees with a gasp. Gone was the stale atmosphere of the stone walls, subsumed by the tang of frost and the crunch of leaves underfoot. She coughed to force air into her lungs, watching her breath coalesce around her head. Her throat felt metallic and raw in the chill of the air, as she blinked back the tears and cursed the return of the headache she never seemed to shake off.

She found herself kneeling in front of a line of trees, with their gnarled branches twisting leaflessly toward the sky. Further into the forest were younger trees with foliage the color of night, coated in a shimmer by the light of day. After that her vision failed her, for the closeness of the trunks transformed the forest into a shadowy, indiscernible tangle. Sarah turned her attention behind her to see the hedge maze, and peering over their tops, the Castle Beyond the Goblin Kingdom. This was different from the parts of the Labyrinth she trespassed previously, which had a neat divide from one area to the next. Instead, the boundaries between the familiar and new petered out at the roots of what lay before her.

"My lady," Sir Didymus called from the tree line, "art thou alright?"

"Never better," she croaked, wincing at the sound of her own voice. "Is moving like that always so disorienting?"

A small hand thrust in front of her, and Sarah took Hoggle's arm to stumble to her feet. As she brushed bits of detritus off her clothing, Hoggle shrugged in response to her question. "Not really sure. We uh, don't usually do this regularly enough to know."

"Perhaps thou art exhausted?"

"Yeah, you're not wrong there." She took in the concern of her companions and did her best to smile, hoping to reassure not only them, but also herself. "I don't remember this place from the last time I was here—where exactly are we?"

"This is all new since you left," said Hoggle. "The forest popped up months after we last saw you'. Jareth sent goblins to investigate but..."

"They never returned," Sir Didymus finished for him, as he scratched Ambrosius behind the ear. "None know what lies beyond these trees."

The three stared into the forest, unsure at what could be awaiting them beyond. Sarah's thoughts wandered to her dream, as the warm metal around her neck brought to mind her late-night conversation. What had Jareth said about this place? My rule means nothing for a land untouched by wishes? Perhaps even he had no idea what lay beyond the boundaries of his castle.

"What's out there has to help the Labyrinth somehow," she finally told her friends, readjusting the book under her arm. "We can't stand here all day thinking about it. Let's see what's going on out there, before things get even worse."

"Well said, my lady! Off to adventure, huzzah!" The knight urged his mount forward, and Hoggle chuckled as he followed the galloping sheepdog. Sarah, however, turned her attention behind her to the castle in the distance. Was the Goblin King up there, watching the fate of his land be decided by her actions? There was no brother to rescue this time, nor a thirteen-hour time limit to decide on a fate. The only pathway lay ahead of her, and the only option was to follow it wherever it could lead. "Come on, feet," she whispered, as a wave of nostalgia buoyed her words and she took her first steps into the complete and utter unknown.

From the treeline, a cloaked figure watched the merry group, remaining unseen amid the tangle of branches and trunks. Beneath their hood, the figure chuckled softly, then stepped backwards and faded into the shadows of the forest.

No form of timekeeping could help Sarah, but it felt as though she had walked for hours. The sun did not venture into the darkened woods around them, enveloping the party in an eternal dusk as they picked their way through roots and foliage. Here the trees grew in twisted togetherness, forming walls of pale white bark to create their own kind of maze. Walking was difficult in such terrain, as a clear pathway simply did not exist. White roots exposed themselves from the blackened dirt, where no other plants dared to grow. Not even grass sprouted between the lifted roots, to soften the trek and provide respite from constantly lifting themselves over the interconnected trees. Thus, it had been a painfully slow trek, as Sarah, Hoggle, and Sir Didymus eased their way along in what little light they had.

"How do we know where we're going?" Hoggle grumbled, having taken up the rear of their cobbled-together marching order. He craned his neck to try and spot Didymus somewhere ahead of him. "You sure this is the right way?"

"Quite sure," came the knight's answer. "Never have I been steered wrong by my sense of direction!"

From between the pair, Sarah chuckled softly as she avoided a root. "Have a little faith, Hoggle! We've been heading in the same direction for a while now, so eventually we'll reach the center."

"Hmph. Let's hope there's more between here and the center than all these trees. This place is giving me the creeps."

She shared the same thought—there was something unnerving about the forest, aside from the thick canopy of dark leaves. Already she found herself longing for the orange sky, if only to have some semblance of familiarity around her. Everything was a somber monochrome, devoid of the usual glittering delight that occupied the Labyrinth—the magic, Sarah realized, was truly gone here. There was nothing beautiful or enchanting about the foreboding trees, which emanated a deep sense of wrongness as their leaves blotted out light. "It can't be that far," Sarah said, and would have attempted further reassurance had she not spotted something amiss in the woods.

Hearing her steps cease behind him, Didymus slowed Ambrosius and turned around in his saddle. "Is all well?"

Sarah nodded, but pointed at one of the trees a few feet away. Wrapped around the particular tree's pale trunk was a thorned vine, from which sprouted a large red rose. The flower's blood-red shade shone amid the black and white landscape, pulling the three travelers over to the tree in silent curiosity. She certainly had never seen any plant like this, none able to match the rose in beauty or in sheer threat. The thorns were especially formidable, resembling talons as they protruded from the vine. No other plant life grew around the tree, and they could not tell where the thorns began or ended. Instead, it ensnared the trunk it called home in a vice-like grip, its thorns digging like claws into the tender bark of its host.

"Why would a rose grow out here?" Hoggle mused, scratching at his chin in contemplation as they regarded the flower. "There's no light in this forest, but this plant is thriving."

Sir Didymus guffawed, shaking his head in disbelief as he reached for the rose. "My friends, 'tis just a flower. Nothing but a harmless piece of flora, doing its best to survive in such—YEEEOW!" He wrenched his paw away from the vine, stuffing it in his mouth with a whine of pain.

"You dolt," Hoggle groaned, "you've gone and pricked yourself! That's what you get for acting before you think. Didn't you see the thorns?"

"Master Hoggle, thou does not need to scold—at least I art brave enough to act."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that thou hast no right to talk, when thou is still very much a coward," Didymus said as he sucked on his paw and did his best not to let tears fall from his eye.

Before Hoggle could retort, there came the sound of splintering wood. The rose, its thorns still stained with the knight's blood, snapped shut in a violent flourish, and the vine began to move in a motion that brought to mind the movement of a snake. The thorns dragged and slashed grooves into the wood, scarring the white bark with angry, jagged lines. Sarah whipped her head around as she heard movement in the forest, tensing at the noise of breaking branches and rustling leaves. Around her, thorn-covered vines unfurled themselves from the earth, rising over exposed roots and curling their way towards the party like serpents.

"Hoggle, you were a gardener, right?" Sarah kept her eyes trained on the far-off motion of trees, unable to see what made them sway back and forth. "Did you ever come across moving flowers that may want to kill you?"

"Can't say I have."

"In that case, we may need to run."

Suddenly, something crashed through the treeline—a mass of dark green and brown no taller than Hoggle, but from which emanated dozens of sharp-edged vines. It swung itself from tree to tree, making a rustling noise as it barreled its way straight for the group. They had no time to get a better look at what exactly the being was, for vines whipped out in their direction. Sarah cursed and ducked, hearing the thorns whiz overhead and embed themselves in the tree just a few inches behind her.

"Run! Go, just go!" Ambrosius took off at her command, while Sir Didymus clung to his canine steed in sheer desperation. Hoggle followed behind him at a speed that managed to surprise her, fueled perhaps by adrenaline, or even the boost Jareth's magic provided. None of them attempted to see if the thing followed, but the sound of crashing trees and a faint hiss told them whatever it was still pursued.

The Labyrinth had awoken, and from the look of things, it was not pleased with Sarah's return.

We're diving straight into the adventure now, and it only took half a year! I'm really looking forward to writing the escapades of Sarah and her Labyrinth friends, and introducing some fun situations ahead in the next few chapters. The Goblin King will be returning too, not to worry, but I don't want this to become a work where Jareth drags Sarah through the Labyrinth, or where she does nothing but get hurt or captured. That's just not my cup of tea.

Thank you to all who've read and reviewed this fic so far, and a special thanks to my betas for this chapter, my old friends/Rancho buddies FullmetalWizard1995 and StarshipArtisan. The advice I've had from reviews has been super helpful as well in refining this work! I actually went back and edited the first chapter to make it easier to read, so maybe that will help garner some new readers. Will continue to work on making this one of the top fics in the fandom, so I appreciate everyone who's stuck along for the ride thus far. It really does mean a lot to me.

(As a side-note, I promise that the locale the chapter ends with bears no relation to a much more famous "tangled wood" from another Labyrinth fanfic. The phrasing is simply a coincidence I realized after I finished editing. :P)

I have a month before I turn in my masters thesis, so I'm unsure if I'll get a chapter in before mid-March. It's a busy period of the year for me, but I'll see what happens! If anything, expect an update before the end of April.

Until next time.