Disclaimer: Hey! Welcome back! Here's the next chapter, and I still don't
own Labyrinth! Enjoy!
Author: Erm. yeah. Anyway, sorry I was out all weekend. I thought of all you readers while I was away! (I even had a nightmare in which all of my reviews came to life and tried to kill by bellowing their words at a painfully high frequency) But, everybody's back now, and it's time for the next chapter, so sit down and have some cocoa! (Why. Won't. It. Go. Through. The. Internet?!)
"Hey, Sarah!"
Sarah turned around to look over her shoulder. "What is it, Gabriel?" she asked.
The boy was standing rather unhappily with each foot on a different rock. He put one hand over his nose while the other tried to fan the fumes away. "Are you sure this is the right way?" he demanded though a pinched nose. "This is the bog of eternal stench, isn't it?"
Sarah smiled winningly at him. "Yep, it sure is," she said cheerfully. "We're right on track. This is where I met my friend Sir Dydimus. If all the goblins hadn't left, he would be up at that dead tree." She pointed up to the towering tree and remembered with a pang of sadness how they had met. "Of course, there used to be a bridge here," she said. "You can jump rocks, can't you?"
"If this smell doesn't make me faint!" he said. The two of them made it to the stepping stones, and had no trouble getting across. "I'm almost glad I didn't make it this far!" Gabriel said huffily. "Made me feel like I'd never smell fresh air again."
"I know the feeling," Sarah said. "Now, I'm not quite certain about this part, but we should be fine when we get in sight of the castle." Gabriel nodded, and the pair of them weaved their way along the path toward the center of the Labyrinth.
"I don't like this," Gabriel said.
"What's wrong?" Sarah asked. She was hardly listening, trying to catch a glimpse of the castle. Still, she turned and gave the stranded boy her full attention.
"Well," he said. "Don't you think that the Goblin king would have come out to stop us by now? I mean, I know you've already defeated him and all, but wouldn't he come to see why you're back here again?"
Sarah frowned. "You may be right," she said. "I kind of was hoping he would. But maybe he's preoccupied with his goblins disappearing and all. I'm sure he would have come to meet us if he thought he should."
"I suppose you'd know best," he said. "But even so, it bugs me. I think we better be careful now. There may be other reasons for the lack of activity."
Sarah glanced at him. She had the feeling that too many months in the Labyrinth had left him paranoid. She said nothing, however, and looked out again toward the center. "There!" she said, pointing excitedly. "There's the castle!"
Gabriel looked, and a sharp gasp let her know that he had seen it too. "We should reach it soon," she said happily. "And then Jareth has some answering to do."
It was still several hours before they reached the castle, and in that time, a sense of foreboding grew. Sarah had thought that the goblins had merely fled, and that some may still be in the city, but everyone, even the giant that defended the gates, was gone. Gabriel seemed completely paranoid with the complete absence of any threat. When they reached the castle gates, nothing stopped them from going inside.
Every sound seemed amplified within the castle. Sarah's footfalls echoed through the halls, and the dust motes swirling in the sunlight was all that kept her from the eerie sensation of time standing still. It was therefore understandable how she nearly screamed when Gabriel touched her arm. "Shh!" he hissed at her.
She realized that he was staring intently at one of the pillars that lined the hall. He took three soundless steps toward it, and then in a single swift motion, brought a creature out from behind it.
It was a small goblin, barely two feet tall. It had large red eyes and a shock of blue-white hair that stood straight up on end. It was struggling furiously against Gabriel's grip, but it was obvious that it had no strength to free itself. "Put me down!" it demanded. "Put me down this instant!"
"What were you doing, sneaking around behind that pillar?" Gabriel asked. He set the goblin down, and it did not run away. It merely glared indignantly at the pair of them with its arms folded over its chest.
"I had to be sure," it said. "That your young lady companion was the Sarah, not some other Sarah, who this message does not concern."
"What message?" Sarah asked. "Where have all the other goblins gone?" The goblin messenger considered her for a moment before answering.
"The message is for you and you alone," it said, eyeing Gabriel. The boy glared dangerously down at it, but Sarah held up her hand before he did anything else.
"Gabriel is with me," she said. "There is nothing for me to hear that he cannot." The goblin looked as though it would protest, but decided against it. He drew himself up to his full and unimpressive height as he delivered his message.
"As you can see, the goblins have all disappeared from this land. That is because our king, Jareth, has traveled to your world. He has been seeking you ever since you defeated him, of course, but it was only in your dreams. But a short time ago, he journeyed to your world physically as well as mentally. He found an annual appointment during which he could meet with you in human form. Then, a few months ago, he left the Labyrinth completely.
His absence has caused the Labyrinth to deteriorate. All of the complex dreams have gone, faded, and the less complex will not be very far behind. If King Jareth does not return to this realm soon, it is very likely that it will vanish entirely."
"But what does that have to do with me?" Sarah asked.
"Because you are the reason he left!" the goblin said. "If you had not come along, King Jareth would not have been interested in following you, and he would not have left, and things would not be as they are now."
"And what," Gabriel said. "do you propose we do about it?"
The goblin messenger acted as though it was Sarah's question. "You have to go back, and tell King Jareth to return here! And quickly! He must be spending so much time in human form! Only you can remind him of the Labyrinth, and only you can convince him to return!"
"But what human form did Jareth take?" Sarah asked.
The Goblin opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he fell forward, a knife protruding from his back.
Mocking laughter reached Sarah's ears, and she looked up to see the black haired demon lord standing before her. She knew instantly that it was he who had been haunting her dreams. She glared at his insolence, and he merely looked back with a sense of superiority and amusement. "He was saying too much, you see," Jaelithe said. "His last purpose in life was to tell you to save Jareth, but I couldn't have him give adequate details for the little rescue party."
"How dare you!" Sarah fumed. "How dare you kill an innocent-"
"Noble statements, I'm sure," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "You needn't worry your pretty little head, he wasn't going to live that much longer anyway. The two of you," he turned his smirk on Gabriel. "Ought to be going back to the real world, don't you think?"
"The real world?" Sarah repeated.
"Yes," he said mockingly. "Your world, the real world. It's obvious that this world won't be real for much longer."
"Shut up!" Sarah shouted. "Just shut up! We'll find Jareth, we'll bring him back here, you'll see! We can save the Labyrinth!"
"Ah," Jaelithe said, a smile crossing his smug face. "But perhaps it is yourself you should try to save. Things are about to get much more dangerous for you, little Sarah. Are you ready?" He grinned, showing rows of glistening white teeth.
Before Sarah could say another word, a swirling grey mist wrapped itself around her like fingers of smoke. When it cleared, she was standing once again on the streets of her own world.
Author: So! There wasn't a whole lot of Jason/ Jareth action, but you got a good healthy dose of Sarah, and a little more info on the situation! Tell me if you enjoyed it, and I'll be writing more soon! (runs off to defeat the vicious conquer-monkeys)
Author: Erm. yeah. Anyway, sorry I was out all weekend. I thought of all you readers while I was away! (I even had a nightmare in which all of my reviews came to life and tried to kill by bellowing their words at a painfully high frequency) But, everybody's back now, and it's time for the next chapter, so sit down and have some cocoa! (Why. Won't. It. Go. Through. The. Internet?!)
"Hey, Sarah!"
Sarah turned around to look over her shoulder. "What is it, Gabriel?" she asked.
The boy was standing rather unhappily with each foot on a different rock. He put one hand over his nose while the other tried to fan the fumes away. "Are you sure this is the right way?" he demanded though a pinched nose. "This is the bog of eternal stench, isn't it?"
Sarah smiled winningly at him. "Yep, it sure is," she said cheerfully. "We're right on track. This is where I met my friend Sir Dydimus. If all the goblins hadn't left, he would be up at that dead tree." She pointed up to the towering tree and remembered with a pang of sadness how they had met. "Of course, there used to be a bridge here," she said. "You can jump rocks, can't you?"
"If this smell doesn't make me faint!" he said. The two of them made it to the stepping stones, and had no trouble getting across. "I'm almost glad I didn't make it this far!" Gabriel said huffily. "Made me feel like I'd never smell fresh air again."
"I know the feeling," Sarah said. "Now, I'm not quite certain about this part, but we should be fine when we get in sight of the castle." Gabriel nodded, and the pair of them weaved their way along the path toward the center of the Labyrinth.
"I don't like this," Gabriel said.
"What's wrong?" Sarah asked. She was hardly listening, trying to catch a glimpse of the castle. Still, she turned and gave the stranded boy her full attention.
"Well," he said. "Don't you think that the Goblin king would have come out to stop us by now? I mean, I know you've already defeated him and all, but wouldn't he come to see why you're back here again?"
Sarah frowned. "You may be right," she said. "I kind of was hoping he would. But maybe he's preoccupied with his goblins disappearing and all. I'm sure he would have come to meet us if he thought he should."
"I suppose you'd know best," he said. "But even so, it bugs me. I think we better be careful now. There may be other reasons for the lack of activity."
Sarah glanced at him. She had the feeling that too many months in the Labyrinth had left him paranoid. She said nothing, however, and looked out again toward the center. "There!" she said, pointing excitedly. "There's the castle!"
Gabriel looked, and a sharp gasp let her know that he had seen it too. "We should reach it soon," she said happily. "And then Jareth has some answering to do."
It was still several hours before they reached the castle, and in that time, a sense of foreboding grew. Sarah had thought that the goblins had merely fled, and that some may still be in the city, but everyone, even the giant that defended the gates, was gone. Gabriel seemed completely paranoid with the complete absence of any threat. When they reached the castle gates, nothing stopped them from going inside.
Every sound seemed amplified within the castle. Sarah's footfalls echoed through the halls, and the dust motes swirling in the sunlight was all that kept her from the eerie sensation of time standing still. It was therefore understandable how she nearly screamed when Gabriel touched her arm. "Shh!" he hissed at her.
She realized that he was staring intently at one of the pillars that lined the hall. He took three soundless steps toward it, and then in a single swift motion, brought a creature out from behind it.
It was a small goblin, barely two feet tall. It had large red eyes and a shock of blue-white hair that stood straight up on end. It was struggling furiously against Gabriel's grip, but it was obvious that it had no strength to free itself. "Put me down!" it demanded. "Put me down this instant!"
"What were you doing, sneaking around behind that pillar?" Gabriel asked. He set the goblin down, and it did not run away. It merely glared indignantly at the pair of them with its arms folded over its chest.
"I had to be sure," it said. "That your young lady companion was the Sarah, not some other Sarah, who this message does not concern."
"What message?" Sarah asked. "Where have all the other goblins gone?" The goblin messenger considered her for a moment before answering.
"The message is for you and you alone," it said, eyeing Gabriel. The boy glared dangerously down at it, but Sarah held up her hand before he did anything else.
"Gabriel is with me," she said. "There is nothing for me to hear that he cannot." The goblin looked as though it would protest, but decided against it. He drew himself up to his full and unimpressive height as he delivered his message.
"As you can see, the goblins have all disappeared from this land. That is because our king, Jareth, has traveled to your world. He has been seeking you ever since you defeated him, of course, but it was only in your dreams. But a short time ago, he journeyed to your world physically as well as mentally. He found an annual appointment during which he could meet with you in human form. Then, a few months ago, he left the Labyrinth completely.
His absence has caused the Labyrinth to deteriorate. All of the complex dreams have gone, faded, and the less complex will not be very far behind. If King Jareth does not return to this realm soon, it is very likely that it will vanish entirely."
"But what does that have to do with me?" Sarah asked.
"Because you are the reason he left!" the goblin said. "If you had not come along, King Jareth would not have been interested in following you, and he would not have left, and things would not be as they are now."
"And what," Gabriel said. "do you propose we do about it?"
The goblin messenger acted as though it was Sarah's question. "You have to go back, and tell King Jareth to return here! And quickly! He must be spending so much time in human form! Only you can remind him of the Labyrinth, and only you can convince him to return!"
"But what human form did Jareth take?" Sarah asked.
The Goblin opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he fell forward, a knife protruding from his back.
Mocking laughter reached Sarah's ears, and she looked up to see the black haired demon lord standing before her. She knew instantly that it was he who had been haunting her dreams. She glared at his insolence, and he merely looked back with a sense of superiority and amusement. "He was saying too much, you see," Jaelithe said. "His last purpose in life was to tell you to save Jareth, but I couldn't have him give adequate details for the little rescue party."
"How dare you!" Sarah fumed. "How dare you kill an innocent-"
"Noble statements, I'm sure," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "You needn't worry your pretty little head, he wasn't going to live that much longer anyway. The two of you," he turned his smirk on Gabriel. "Ought to be going back to the real world, don't you think?"
"The real world?" Sarah repeated.
"Yes," he said mockingly. "Your world, the real world. It's obvious that this world won't be real for much longer."
"Shut up!" Sarah shouted. "Just shut up! We'll find Jareth, we'll bring him back here, you'll see! We can save the Labyrinth!"
"Ah," Jaelithe said, a smile crossing his smug face. "But perhaps it is yourself you should try to save. Things are about to get much more dangerous for you, little Sarah. Are you ready?" He grinned, showing rows of glistening white teeth.
Before Sarah could say another word, a swirling grey mist wrapped itself around her like fingers of smoke. When it cleared, she was standing once again on the streets of her own world.
Author: So! There wasn't a whole lot of Jason/ Jareth action, but you got a good healthy dose of Sarah, and a little more info on the situation! Tell me if you enjoyed it, and I'll be writing more soon! (runs off to defeat the vicious conquer-monkeys)
