Author's Note:

This is by no means a cheerful story. Most of it is sad, or dark. Even violent, a little
disturbing, or just very, very strange. All of this came out of my head, and it's styled
accordingly. Don't read it if you don't like that kind of story. Don't read it if you can't
handle intricate plot, which I've attempted to add. If you still read this story despite my
warnings, then, well… read at your own risk. Don't flame me for adding humor that isn't
at all funny. It's my story.

Disclaimer: Except for Jareth and Zurath (or any other of my original characters, you'll
know who they are) none of the characters are mine. All of the monster species (save a
couple that I've made up, and I tell you when a species doesn't exist) are ©Tecmo (I
don't know what year). You've just read the disclaimer. Congratulations, you're literate.


Chapter 1: Encounters.


"Unlock!" A tall, cloaked figure pushed down the button in the shrine. A light flashed
and a monster slowly began to appear out of the disk. As it took form, it slowly became
recognizable as a tiny Crimson Eyed (Naga/Monol). Overjoyed at being released, the
ungainly creature bolted for the door.

Night had fallen hours ago, and it was dark and cold outside. The moon was a thin sliver
and the stars were mostly visible, as there were no clouds in the sky, and the whole place
was silent. Eerie, really. That didn't stop the little Crimson Eyed who was looking for an
adventure. The world was out there waiting for him, and he was by no means expecting
to be denied it.

Unfortunately, his expectations were not to be fulfilled.

"Not so fast." The cloaked figure moved towards the monster in heavy, quick strides and
gripped the back of its head, stopping its sudden flight. "Where do you think you're
going?"

The monster didn't answer. The figure smirked mirthlessly beneath its hood. "Thought as
much. You're my monster now, little one. My name's Jareth. Lord Jareth to you. I'll call
you… Zurath. It's a good name, don't you think?" The Crimson Eyed—Zurath—said
nothing. "Now follow me."

Zurath was too stunned to do otherwise. He followed Jareth out of the shrine and over a
long, twisted path that diverged from the main road many times, and often seemed to be
nowhere but in Jareth's head. They walked for half an hour or so, neither of them paying
attention to the elapsed time, until they reached a small cave.

Jareth gestured grandly at the sparsely furnished cave."This is my little castle, kid. Make
yourself at home. You're going to be here a long time, if everything is as uneventful as
the rest of my life hasn't been." With that, the sarcastic, angry Jareth collapsed on a pallet
on one side of the cave and slept.

Zurath looked around him. He felt like he'd known forever that he'd be unlocked and
trained by a human, but there was something a little strange about this one. Were all
humans insane, or was this Jareth an exception to the rule of an otherwise mellow
species. With a sigh, he curled up into a ball in the corner of the cave and slept as well.


The next morning…


Jareth was awakened early the next morning by a persistent jumping nearby. "Are you
awake yet? Wake up, human. I have some questions for you." It was Zurath. "Such as…
why did you name me without my consent? Although Zurath isn't bad as names go. And
are you, er… a male or female? That cloak hides everything about you. It makes me
nervous."

"I named you Zurath because it's a good name, and because I have a superiority complex.
Change it if you like, I don't care. And I'm a female. So you know. I'm sorry the cloak
makes you nervous, it makes me too hot, but when I'm wearing it I can pass for a normal
human, so I'm not the target of large mobs and riots and such.

"Although about what I said yesterday… you're not really my monster. Nobody can own
a monster, I've learned that much. It's stupid to even try. If you don't want to stay here…
then feel free to leave. I won't stop you."

"I think I'll stay," Zurath said quietly, considering the possibilities. Jareth was a little
strange, and scary, and most likely prone to violence, but she seemed relatively
intelligent, and clearly knew *something* about monsters. "You say you're different…
How are you different? What sets you and all the other humans apart?"

Jareth sighed and stood, throwing back her cloak's hood, revealing her face. She had a
long face, solid jaw, angular eyes and high cheekbones, framed by a heavy mane of sleek
silver hain and accented by icy blue, almost-black eyes. "Do you really want to know
that? Although I suppose you wouldn't be one to have a problem."

"I'd say you're right. So what is it? If I'm stuck living with you, then I at least want to
know who you are."

"I can live with that." Jareth pulled off the cloak and stood before Zurath in her shirt and
heavy trousers. Two long, slender, bat-like wings protruded from her back. "This. I'm
half-Pixie, whether you believe that or not."

"Well…" Zurath considered. "There are plenty of *ahem* elements of the Pixie that you
quite clearly DON'T have."

Jareth glared. "And I'm glad of that. They just get in the way. That's the human half
showing through there. I take after my father on most accounts. Appearance and brute
strength are two things I got from him that I'm not upset about. The others…"

"You don't think well of your father, do you?"

"Not at all. I'll explain later."

********************

A group of about 20 Black Dinos leapt out of hiding at the group. "Geez!" Genki yelled.
"Don't these guys ever give up?"

"This is your last chance!" the Captain Black Dino roared. "Give us the magic stone and
the Mystery Disk! Maybe if you do we'll let you live!"

"I've had enough of you guys," Tiger grumbled. "SUPER TORPEDO!" five of the Dinos
collapsed and turned into Lost Disks.

"Cherry Blossom Blizzard CHI!!" Mocchi shouted, filling the air with deadly petals.
Suezo leapt out, whacking the Dinos with his tail. Genki kicked one of the Dinos in the
face, Hare pummeled them with his fists and Golem closed his hands protectively around
Holly.

The remaining Dinos ran off, but rather than retreating into the forest they turned and
began to pelt the team with Fireballs. One of the fireballs hit Tiger and he fell to the
ground, unmoving. "Damn. Should have figured they'd be getting smarter."

A minute later Suezo, Hare, Genki and Mocchi joined him. Golem used his body to
shield the team from the fire but he couldn't fight back for fear of leaving his friends
open to attack. Golem slumped to the ground, no longer able to completely withstand the
onslaught of fire.

"LIGHTNING!!!" balls of lightning flew from the trees and struck the Dinos down.
When they were all Lost Disks, the attack stopped. Jareth stepped from the trees to
admire her work.

"You… you saved us." Holly said weakly.

"Don't worry," Jareth replied, "I wasn't trying to. I was simply killing off these…
pathetic excuses for soldiers. Whether their target was you or someone completely
different makes no difference to me."

Zurath slithered from the trees. "Are those… *normal* humans?" he asked. Jareth
nodded slowly. "They don't look so bad. At worst, they'll be nothing more than a
nuisance."

"Looks can be deceiving." Jareth grumbled, checking to make sure her hood covered her
face. "You never know just how much trouble they might cause us." She looked the
group over, first scanning, then scrutinizing each if its members carefully. Her eyes came
to rest on Holly's dagger. "And from the looks of it, they'll be causing a lot."