Part five:

Part five:

Before Jareth was even fully awake, he could feel the power course through him. He sat up straight and looked down at his own gloved hands. A satisfied smile graced his lips. 'Finally,' he thought. It had been near two weeks and he was beginning to wonder if he had come back too soon, too weak. But, now he could feel the power flow back into him. True, he wasn't what he once was, but it was a start. Besides, he had an eternity after he rebuilt. Effortlessly, a crystal formed in his hand. The Goblin King began to leisurely swirl it around his hand in a gravity-defying manner before tossing it into the middle of a knot of sleeping goblins. The crystal exploded with a loud pop, scaring the goblins awake and sending tem scurrying in all directions. The king chose the unfortunate goblin closest to him and, with a flick of his wrist, the poor creature disappeared with a surprised yelp. Laughter bubbled up inside Jareth as he thought of the goblin finding itself deep inside the Bog… at least where the Bog used to be; he wasn't sure if it was there anymore. He shrugged, oh well. Finally, the laughter he'd been holding back escaped as he rose to his feet. All movement in the camp stopped once the sound was heard. This was no longer the weakling who could barely walk a mile, this was the Goblin King, as cruel and imposing as ever…and determined more than ever to rebuild the Labyrinth.

Hoggle, Sir Didymus, and Ludo looked up to Jareth at the sound of his laughter. "He's back," Hoggle said. Didymus nodded solemnly.

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Ever since that night two weeks ago, Sarah had been trying to dream herself back into the Labyrinth. Everything she'd been forgetting or repressing for the past ten years came back in a rush. She wanted to see her friends. She wanted to know exactly what Jareth had been doing if he wasn't keeping her friends from answering. But, she couldn't get back, and the harder she tried, the further away she got. Now, Ben seemed to notice something wrong. Sarah realized she'd have to give up her attempts soon before Ben really thought she was insane. Sarah looked into her mirror, seeing her tired reflection framed by a rainy Sunday sky. She sighed, finally coming to a decision. "Jareth?" she asked hesitantly…… Nothing. 'Dammit, don't ignore me!' she thought. "Jareth? Please, I need to speak to you," she asked louder.

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

Jareth was confused. The power he'd felt that morning had been coming and going in waves leaving him dizzy and angry. He had no idea what was happening to him and, to make matters worse, he hadn't been able to do a damn thing to help the goblins rebuild. There was only so much the goblins could do with the limited resources they had. Besides, buildings and walls would be useless in a barren land. But, the Goblin King was rendered helpless.

"Jareth?" a faint voice called.

"Not now, Sarah," Jareth growled softly without even pausing in the path he was pacing. Suddenly, he stopped and his head jerked up as he realized what he'd said.

"Jareth? Please, I need to speak to you."

Sarah? Was calling him? She needed him? Without much more hesitation, he transported himself to Sarah's apartment.