A/N: When we last saw our
heroic trio, they were standing around, gaping like idiots at the abandoned
Goblin City, Abien was cross-dressing, Hoggle had been vanished by aforesaid
transgendered villain, and the fae court had gone out for pizza. Well no, not really, but if I told you where
the fae court really was, than you wouldn't have to read this chapter,
now would you?
Disclaimer: I own absolutely
nothing Labyrinth-related. The only
thing I own is my piece of junk computer, which I'm beginning to wish I did not
(my computer got struck by lightening. Seriously. How's that for
strange?)
For You
Part Nineteen
"So, brilliant leader, what's your next plan?" Jen said irritably, as the three of them found themselves in an empty and altogether riot-less Goblin City.
"I don't understand." Jareth said, too shocked to bother with his usual superior tone. "Where is everyone?"
"You can't believe everything you hear just because it's what you want to be hearing." Said Jen hotly. "The fae court is gone. That maid lied to us, in case you haven't figured that out yet, and we are in quite a lot of trouble."
"Well what exactly do you suggest we do?!" Jareth shouted, his voice echoing up and down the barren alleyways.
"I suggest the both of you shut up for a second so we can figure this out. If the fae court isn't here, and isn't at the palace, then where would they go?" Sarah said, a calm edge to her voice that was somewhat disconcerting to Jareth.
"Maybe they went for a stroll in the park." Jen suggested dryly.
"You're not helping." Sarah snapped back.
"Do I ever?"
"I daresay that isn't something to brag about." Said Jareth, rubbing his temples distractedly.
"And pray what do you mean by that?" Retorted Jen hotly.
"We're acting like five year olds here." Was what Sarah was about to say, not realizing that the statement would mean something entirely different to her two immortal companions. She actually only got as far as, "We're acting li—" when she suddenly felt the hairs on the back of her neck prick up. Glancing around her in the empty square, she saw the air a few yards in front of her begin to waver, as though a wind so sharp had picked up that it could disturb the very air. There was, however, no breeze, and as Jareth and Jen turned their heated gazes away from each other and out to the city, the air quivered more violently about them until it began to take distinctive shapes.
Shapes of goblins, dwarves, elves and fae, which suddenly transformed into the real thing – a thousand creatures at least appearing out of the air, all armed to the teeth. They formed a tight circle around the three, with but a yard between them.
Several things happened at once.
On some unspoken command what seemed to be the first rank of this army advanced. Jareth swept Sarah behind him, which at first was of little use, as there were enemies on all sides, until Jen quickly backed up behind them, forming an effective barrier to protect their Lady. Sarah's scream got trapped in her throat as Jareth struck the first blow. Goblins rushed forward, he knocked them away. Again and again, it seemed like there was a never-ending number of them.
A tall fae dressed in forest green stepped forward. Sarah dimly recognized him as someone she had seen at the Palace. Like lightening he whipped out his sword, but Jareth did not see him. Sarah reached down and ripped her shoe of her foot, hurling it at the offending fae and smacking him across the forehead.
Sarah suddenly heard a soft groan from behind her. She whirled around to see Jen fall to the ground, blood flowing furiously into the dirt. A rough hand grabbed her by the wrist, snapping her sharply to the side. A pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist and shoulders.
"Jareth!" Sarah shrieked, struggling against her captor, deftly kicking at his shins, the only part of him she could reach.
Jareth's eyes fell first upon Jen's crumpled form, then Sarah being dragged back into the masses by a fae in brown. Slamming his palm outward, he sent a dozen attackers sprawling with a wave of magic. Fighting his way through the crowd, he kept his eyes locked on Sarah's, which were wide with fear.
"Oh Jareth?" Came the dangerously soft voice behind him. Jareth looked back for but a moment, to see Abien standing over Jen. "Tough decision, eh?" Abien laughed, a dagger flashing in his hand. Stooping down, he swiftly ran the dagger across the pale skin of Jen's throat, causing a river of crimson blood to appear. "I wonder," said Abien, as though someone commenting on the weather, "who will you save, and who will you leave for dead?" Taking a step back into the crowd, he vanished from sight.
Jareth stood for a moment, taken aback. He stared down at his childhood friend, bleeding perhaps to death. Suddenly he wrenched his gaze upward, but it was too late. Sarah was too far into the crowd to be seen. Unable to stay yet unable to follow, Jareth froze.
The air began to waver again, and the goblins and creatures blurred, and then vanished all together. Jareth stared, his heart skipping a beat. He dropped to his knees before his dying friend. They were the only two creatures left in the Goblin City. Jareth had lost his only chance to save her.
***
(And I thought about ending it there, but that would be just cruel.)
***
Hoggle blinked groggily as his world slowly swam into view. He ached all over, and winced as he realized that the particularly sharp pains at his wrists and ankles were due to the fact that he was chained very tightly. His mind seemed unable to clear the fog that had clouded him in unconsciousness before, so he focused his eyes on the chain before him. It wound between the four shackles on his wrists and ankles, seemed to be of the rather rusty and clanky variety, as is quite common in dungeons. After a very short length it attached to a link in the wall, and...
Hoggle's mind now began to register the fact that he was hearing noises. A series of noises, repeated over and over again, to be specific. A deep breath. Six pounding footsteps. The clank of chains being stretched as far as they could go. The disappointed "Ow!" of a distinctly familiar female voice.
At this point Hoggle commanded himself to focus, and raised his head to see Sarah in the same room as him. She backed up against the wall, then ran as fast and as far her chains permitted, evidently trying to rip the chains out of the wall. Every time, however, the chains did not give, and her wrists were snapped backwards, the rest of her body following shortly.
"Sarah?" Hoggle croaked.
Sarah did not even glance his way.
"Sarah?" Hoggle repeated, somewhat louder.
She turned, and looked at him as if seeing him for the first time. "Hello Hoggle. You're finally awake." She said softly, backing up against the wall, only to race away from it again.
"Stop that." Hoggle commanded, after Sarah reached the end of the chain once again, and the force of her run thrust her backwards. "Et won't work. Yeh'll only rip yer arms outta yer sockets."
"Well what would you have me do?" Sarah exclaimed vehemently. "I've been here for half an hour, I have to do something, I have to get out of here – where are we?" She said this all very fast.
"We're in the dungeon unner Jareth's castle. An' if yeh would stop ter think fer five seconds, yeh'd ahmember yeh already have a way teh get outta here."
"What are you talking about?"
"Surely yeh weren't so foolish as teh give away the key, were yeh?"
Sarah fished the key out of her pocket. It glowed a muted blue. "So?"
"It's a skeleton key, it kin open almost any lock in the castle an' in the palace." Before Hoggle had even finished his sentence, Sarah began fumbling around with the lock on her chains. She had tried to pick it when she first woke up in the dungeon, to no avail. The key turned easily in the lock, however, and the chains fell from her wrists. Sarah sped across the room to unlock Hoggle's chains as well, but he stopped her.
"Go. Go!" He repeated, when she shook her head. "Go save yer kings. Yeh have teh face him alone, ahmember?"
"Don't be stupid, Hoggle, let me help you." Sarah commanded, trying to reach behind his back to unlock his chains.
"Sarah, jest go. I'll be right here when yeh defeat that son of a bitch. But I can't help yeh now – wait, maybe I can. See if there's anythin' in meh shirt pocket." Sarah shot Hoggle a confused look before reaching in his pocket and pulling something out.
"Where did you get this?" She breathed softly, staring at it.
"I took et from the secret society afore Abien caught meh. I guess 'e didn't realize I had et." Sarah smiled, and hugged her friend as best she could through his chains.
"Now go, damnit. Abien can tell every time that key's used, he probably knows you've escaped already. Wasting time with meh won't help yeh any. Go, go!"
And Sarah went.
***
Jareth breathed a deep sigh of relief as Jen slowly opened his eyes. Jareth had been kneeling over him in silence, for nearly five minutes, concentrating every particle in his being to heal Jen's wounds. This was no small task, as his friend had not only had his throat slit but was also run through with an impressive sword.
"What the hell are you still doing here?" Was the first thing Jen said, staring up at Jareth's white face.
"I apologize. Is this an inconvinent time for me to prevent you from bleeding to death?" Jareth snapped, grabbing Jen by the hand to help him up.
"Did I mention I appreciate that?" Jareth smiled, but it faded quickly.
"They took Sarah. I've no idea where she could be, what might happen to her..." Jareth trailed off, not able to hold up that train of thought.
"We'll find her." Jen said reassuringly. "Abien wouldn't have led us here for no reason. Do you think we should check your castle?"
"He wouldn't dare break into my castle." Jareth scoffed.
"Oh wouldn't he?" Jareth said nothing, only glanced up at his castle, his home, trying to discern if something was different about it. Sighing, he turned to walk the road up to his fortress beyond the Goblin City. When Jen failed to follow, he looked back.
"Well?" Jareth demanded.
"I'm sorry,
I did almost die today. I'm a little slow." Jen said,
taking a few cautious steps.
"Don't be ridiculous. You're
immortal. Mere stabbings cannot affect
you." Said Jareth as he threw his arm
around Jen's shoulder to help support him.
"Would you like to try it?" Retorted Jen, and the two of them walked the six-minute path in closer to sixteen.
As Jareth and Jen stepped across the
castle's threshold, Jareth expected to be met with another attack, or some sort
of trap. What he did not expect was the
eerie silence, which had haunted both the Palace and the Goblin City.
Jen sighed defeatedly. "Well, now I've no idea what to do. Every way we turn, we meet anther dead
end. It's quite depressing." Jareth, however, did not reply. Instead he stood silently for a moment,
intently listening to something, his eyes with a sort of a glazed look to them.
"They're in the ballroom." He said finally. Jen shot him a look that very clearly said I-don't-know-how-the-hell-you-did-that-but-it-was-very-bloody-cool.
"How very true." Abien appeared before them, flanked by
several other fae. "As touching as it
was to watch your little march up here, you were so bloody slow that I've
gotten rather impatient. Allow us to
escort you there."
Jareth whipped out a crystal – or
tried, at any rate. To his dismay he
found that his magic would not answer his call. Abien's henchmen took the opportunity his momentary disbelief
afforded to grab both Jen and Jareth, while Abien stood by, smiling.
"The High and Mighty Goblin King,
all his crystals controlled by a simple courtsman. How very foolish of you to rely so highly on such a branch of
magic." And with a snap of Abien's
fingers, the lot of them disappeared.
***
Sarah used Abien's key to unlock the
cell door, only because she was unable to kick it down. She was worried about attracting Abien's
attention, but her legs were already feeling a bit wobbly, and she doubted that
they would be able to knock down a four-inch thick oak door. Sarah ran down the dungeon halls, one of the
few places she had never seen in the castle. Understandably, Jareth had probably avoided showing it to her, as the
dungeon was an overall creepy place. Unsure as to where she was going, Sarah followed her instincts, and held
the object Hoggle had given her clasped tightly in her palm.
Sarah halted when she heard
voices. Backing up a few steps, she
pressed her ear to the solid wall, behind which she could faintly hear someone
talking. "Damn all these secret
doors." She muttered frustratedly,
pushing at the wall only to find out that it was, in fact, a solid wall. She slammed her hands against the stone, her
fingertips brushing against a brick that jutted slightly out of the wall. Pushing it in gently, the wall suddenly slid
back, revealing a shadowy hallway behind it. Sarah could hear the voices much more clearly now.
Creeping into the passageway Sarah
saw the door shut silently behind her, but was too preoccupied by listening to
the speaker, who she now recognized as Abien. She followed the hallway down past several doors, to where she could see
a stream of bright light pouring from one open door. Sarah hovered outside it, listening.
"And just what make you think the
Underground revolves around you, Jareth?" Abien was shouting. Good, Sarah thought. If he's shouting at Jareth, then he's
okay. At least alive.
"When you know you're destined to
rule an entire world, it does tend to go to your head." Jareth replied dryly. Sarah nearly cried at the sound of his
voice. It seemed so long since she had
last heard it, though it had only been an hour, at most.
"I wouldn't count on it." Abien shot back, and his dreadful
determination sent shivers up Sarah's spine.
"Does this little charade of yours
have a point, Abien? I'm getting
dreadfully bored." Interrupted Jen,
which Sarah also took to be a good sign, as she had last seen him bleeding all
over the place.
"Of course it has a point. Revenge." Abien said simply.
"Why is it that evil villains always
feel the need to explain their plots?" Jen retorted, even though Sarah dearly wished he would shut the hell up.
"Because I would really hate it if
you were to die without knowing why. Takes away my glory." Abien
replied with a note of sarcasm.
"Are you saying that this is all
because I stole your girlfriend?" Jareth demanded incredulously. It was obvious to Sarah that Jareth was just stalling, but why? Carefully she crept closer to the doorway,
and peered inside.
It was the ballroom.
Abien stood imperiously in the
center, his back to the doorway. The
majority of the fae court was lined up against the wall in a semi-circle, each
with a clock hanging over their heads. Sarah suddenly realized why she had only heard Jareth and Jen
speaking. The clocks above all the
other fae were not ticking – Abien had frozen time for each of them. Dantriven stood, his fist raised and mouth
open indignantly, but he could move no more than a statue could. Only Jareth and Jen's clocks ticked away in
the normal manner.
"Haven't I already said that this
wasn't just about you, Jareth? Yes, you
hurt my love, and for that you shall be punished, but it is your father that
began this all." Jareth, who was
clearly capable of moving, for he waved his hands around while he spoke, was
apparently unable of walking more than a few feet away from the wall. This truly shook Sarah – she had always
thought that Jareth's magic was unconquerable.
"What has this got to do with my
father?" Jareth demanded, his eyes
darting over to where the King was trapped.
"Didn't your daddy ever brag to you
about it? I'm sure he was rather proud
of it, quite a magical feat it is, murdering two immortals."