Author: Amber
Distribution: Email me first (Arrilyn@hotmail.com), but other than that, all I ask is that my name and email addy be left attached!
Disclaimer: Labyrinth and all its characters belong to Jim Henson and Lucasfilm(s?).. I own nothing, and I'm not looking to get any profit from this story! The only characters that belong to me are Hetta and Rilum! Oh yeah, and those demon monsters. ;)
Summary: This story is a sequel to 'Say the Words'...it happens about seven years after Sarah left the Underground, and we see that Sarah has become quite a different person!
A/N: Okay, since it seems I need to explain a few things...if you ever see 'The Nightmares' in capitals like that, then I'm referring to those demon monsters. I'm not talking about nightmares, as in bad dreams! ;) However, The Nightmares came from Sarah's nightmares (remember how she had a really bad dream when Hetta took that necklace off her neck?)...also, when I say Sarah doesn't believe in dreams, I mean she doesn't believe in making wishes, or daydreaming, or any of that (though that's starting to change of course, hehe)...I probably shouldn't have explained all that in the A/N, but sue me...I hate confusing people (unless it actually IS something I had planed on! ;) )
As he watched yet another monster fall helplessly into an oubliette, Hoggle realized that he'd lost count of how many the goblins had managed to outsmart and trap. Outsmart--what a strange word to be attributing to a race whose highest IQ usually equaled that of a rock. Hoggle chuckled to himself, then darted into another passage before a passing demon could see him. The oubliette was open for all to see, now, and it would take at least a full two hours before the stone slab was put back into place.
Wonder how Toby's doin', he mused silently, keeping out of sight of the enemy. He'd gotten a message earlier--by owl, of course--that the creatures now had a name: they were The Nightmares, as dubbed by Sarah. And Toby, who turned out to be less fearful than he'd seemed in the tunnel, had been emphatic that he join in this fight. His excuse had been that the sooner this was over with, the sooner he could find Sarah; Hoggle, however, knew the boy was just eager to be in on the action. And truth be told, this was actually turning out to be fun! Not that he enjoyed running into those filthy beasts plaguing the Underground, but exercising his wits was making the little dwarf feel hundreds of years younger. His job had always been to trick travelers of the Labyrinth, never giving straight answers unless asked directly. That task would have been enough to tax anyone's mind, had travelers come more often to the Underground. As it was, Sarah had been the first he'd seen in, what? Three, four hundred years?
"Jareth might actually be proud of me," he stated, aloud this time. What he couldn't possibly know was that the Goblin King had more important things to be worrying about than the accomplishments of one little dwarf. He had the heart of a young woman to win.
"Things are going well," Sarah remarked, her hazel-eyed gaze fixed on the crystal in front of her. Her normal enthusiasm was damped from her nervousness at being in such close proximity to Jareth. Ever since that...incident in the courtyard two days ago, she'd tried to avoid him. However, he seemed determined to remain as close to her as decently possible. Was he trying to humiliate her even further? He probably thinks I'm just waiting to kiss him again. Damn him, he'd be right!
No matter how much she stared at that crystal now, her eyes saw nothing. Instead, all she could think about were the events of that ball. In some ways, it felt as though she'd been there for a far shorter period of time than before. Yet in others, she felt she'd been there much longer. Time had seemed to skew after Jareth's lips touched hers...
No, don't think about that, she told herself firmly. Think about the changes. The dress. All the other dancers. They were smirking at you the last time you were at that ball, and this time they looked at you as if you were a weird animal in the zoo! Couldn't they believe I've grown up? Jareth must have thought so, if he put me in that dress...it was a pretty dress; I wouldn't mind having that one in my wardrobe...She knew instinctively after that thought that when she looked through her dresses that night, she'd find one made of beautiful crimson satin.
"Are they?" Jareth broke into her thoughts, leaning over her shoulder to glance in the crystal. His hair lightly brushed her cheek, and she had to fight the urge not to shiver from the tingle that went through her. "And have you thought yet of a way to finally defeat our enemy?"
"I've got an idea," she replied cryptically, eyeing him askance. With a flick of her wrist, the crystal in her hand vanished. She had the satisfaction of seeing Jareth blink in surprise. "That magic you told me about. I think that's how to defeat them. If they came from my nightmares, and my power comes from dreams, then wouldn't it make sense that one would cancel out the other?"
"Yes," he drawled thoughtfully, "but what if it's your magic that gets canceled out?"
"The Nightmares can't be any stronger than my magic," Sarah countered. "If they came from my mind, then that has to mean that they're no stronger than I am!"
"So in that case, their power is equal to yours, which would mean that both they and your magic would just cancel each other out, and you'd be at a stalemate."
"Jareth, would you stop shooting down my ideas?" The frustration in her voice was easy to sense. Jareth sprawled on his throne, regarding her with a look in his eyes of feline indifference.
"I'm not 'shooting them down'," he told her. "I'm giving you the other side of your ideas. Isn't that what you want; to look at both sides? To be logical?"
"No!" she cried out. "If we're going to do this, it's going to have to be my way!"
"That's hardly a mature way of looking at things. And what about planning, Sarah? You've had several days to think, and this is all you've come up with? Maybe you should lock yourself in your room and plan for a few more days. I'm sure The Nightmares won't get too much closer. Maybe another mile or so, nothing drastic."
"Dammit, I'm through with planning! My magic is enough to stop them, I know it!"
"But how can you be so sure? Are you positive that those creatures aren't any stronger than you? What if they are? What if all this time spent fighting has honed their skills, and they now surpass your own pathetic powers? Do you really think you could defeat them with nothing more than your dreams?"
"They were enough to defeat you, weren't they?"
"I'm still here, Sarah. Do I look like I've been defeated? I'm still every bit as powerful as I've always been, while you...if anything, you've weakened. At least before, no matter how bratty you were, you still believed strongly in your dreams. Now your power is nothing more than a glimmer of what it used to be. You're weak, Sarah. You'll never be able to defeat The Nightmares without more planning. More logic, that's what you need, my dear."
He was leaning forward slightly now, his eyes glittering with intensity. Sarah's face was flushed, her frustration mounting even as something inside of her threatened to break through carefully-constructed walls. What was he doing to her? Trying to make her break down? I thought you wanted me to help you, Jareth! Her inner voice was a quavering whimper. How can I help you if you keep doing this to me? One minute you're kissing me, the next you're insulting me...I don't know what to do! I don't know what to think!
"Ohhh, it's not FAIR!!!" she shrieked, tears spilling over her lower lashes. "Why are you doing this to me? Why?"
Jareth was there in an instant, hands gently smoothing her hair away from her face. As she looked disbelievingly at him, she saw that he was smiling. "Because it was the only thing I could think of," he explained. "I'm sure I could have found a better way to do it. But no matter what I did, you didn't want to let go of that stupid idea that growing up meant abandoning your dreams! Your power will never be as strong as it could be if you hold onto that idea. I needed to find a way to get you back to the old Sarah." He hesitated, lips parted as if he wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. Finally, brushing the pad of his thumb gently across her cheek, he murmured, "I thought the ballroom might have worked, but yet again you surprised me." His face began lowering perilously close to hers. "I don't like surprises, you know...unless you're the one surprising me, that is..."
Even as his lips sought and found hers, Sarah's mind reeled in confusion. Did he think these kisses were going to make her believe they meant something? Perhaps that he loved her? If he did, he'd have to do a lot of kissing, because she still held firm to her initial beliefs, that he'd never loved her! For goodness' sake, a hopeless romantic such as herself would have known if a man loved her, and Jareth most certainly did not! The last time she had been in the Underground, he had done nothing but taunt her and make her life miserable! Didn't men in love usually use soft words of cajolery rather than harsh taunts?
But he's helped you, too, that inner voice argued. He was the one who showed you your power...even when he said you had no powers as a queen, he was letting you rule him...
She broke away, eyes wide and hazy. "Jareth, I..." Fussing nervously with the sleeve of his shirt, she wondered what she was going to say. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" He laughed softly, clasping both her hands in his. "For putting me through so much trouble? Well, you should be sorry for that. I've never had this much trouble with anyone before."
The teasing note in his voice made her smile, but the expression was soon to fade. "I think I might--might--have misjudged you," she said. "I mean, I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive you for what happened with Toby, but back then I felt so sure that I was right that I completely blinded myself to your side of the story."
"If that was your idea of an apology, Sarah, I think you need to practice."
"Hate to break it to you, but you're not much better. Maybe it's something we should work on together...after we get this war over with!" With another flourish, she produced her crystal and looked into it. Jareth chuckled and called to one of the goblins.
"Find Sir Didymus and bring him here!" he ordered, then turned back to Sarah. "I think it's time we drew up some battle plans, don't you?"
"Ha ha, missed me, you big ugly troll!" Toby crowed, narrowly missing a swinging axe blade. The close proximity had no effect on him; in fact, he didn't even seem to notice how close the blade had been! The monster facing him, however, knew exactly how close it had come to killing the annoying child dancing in front of it. Bloodthirst was all that filled its mind. That was all its kind did: fight and kill. They knew no other way of life.
"Your life is at an end, boy," the creature rasped, raising its axe once more. Behind Toby, only a few feet away, was a wall. Cold and unforgiving, it would soon be pressed against the boy's back, and he'd have nowhere left to run. Then the creature would kill him and use his head as a trophy.
Toby quickly glanced behind him, and his blue eyes suddenly rounded. "Uh oh," he whispered, facing the monster again. He didn't look half as sure as he had just a few moments ago. The Nightmare's face split in an evil grin, revealing a multitude of jagged, sinister looking teeth.
Its victory was short-lived, however. Just as Toby's back should have come up against that wall, he stumbled backward and through it. Both opponents paused in confusion for several moments, but Toby was the first to recover. He grinned brightly, bent to retrieve a small stone from the ground, and hurled it at the monster while shouting, "Still missed me, ugly! Come get me if you think you can catch me!" And with a whoop, he took off down the hidden passageway.
The creature, who normally would have shied away from such an optical illusion, was too infuriated with the boy to turn away. Its bloodlust was growing, and it wouldn't be satiated until it had killed that irritating child. Charging forward, it nearly collided with the real wall before it finally turned and continued in the direction the boy had gone. Belatedly, it was aware of several of its comrades following it.
"We join you in your hunt, brother," they said, voices harsh. Again, the creature smiled; the boy was as good as dead.
In another part of the Labyrinth, The Nightmares were starting to gather together. Something wasn't right, they knew, and it was time they put a stop to these goblins actually outsmarting them. And how could they outsmart such a smart race? was the question. The goblins couldn't have thought up the plan on their own; they were far too simpleminded for that. The only option left was...
"Someone is telling them what to do," rasped the leader of the small gathering. Another demon scoffed.
"I thought the king had given up on his subjects," it hissed. "I would have."
"As would I, brother, but someone must still believe in them."
"Who?"
"The girl," spoke up another of the group. Glittering, beetle-black eyes turned in the direction of the new speaker. "The girl must be telling them what to do. Only she would try."
There was an awed silence that stretched out for innumerable minutes. The girl who created them, here in the Underground once more? This was something none of them had ever expected. They would have to work quickly now, if they were to take over the castle in time.
Ugh, I'm getting so bad at finishing this!! Blame it all on Unicorn Lady...SHE'S the one who got me addicted to the world of Harry Potter. *grins and hugs her friend* Just kidding, of course! Well, about it being your fault, that is! ;) Anyway, as always, thank you SO much to everyone who has read and reviewed this story! It means so MUCH to me! :o)
