Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or the Labyrinth.

While Jareth seemed to have forgotten his troubles for a time in Caritas, Sarah was having a bit more difficulty. She had run from the kitchen and up the stairs, but once there she didn't know where to go. After all, she had never been to Buffy's house before. She stood on the second floor landing crying before finally growling in frustration and beating her fists on the wall. "It's not fair!" she cried.

"What's not fair?" she heard the voice behind her and turned to see Willow and Buffy coming up the stairs behind her. "Is it the good looking king that's head over heals in love with you that's not fair?" Buffy continued as she reached the top of the stairs, "Or the fact that he came all the way from another dimension to rescue you and healed you of wounds that might have been life threatening before being screamed at and slapped for his trouble?"

"Buffy!" Willow gasped, her eyes wide in shock. "How can you talk to her like that after what she's been through?" Willow took Sarah's hand and led her into Buffy's room. She motioned for Sarah to sit on the bed and she did so mutely. Sarah was still staring at Buffy in disbelief.

"I'm just sayin is all." Buffy continued. "I mean, she acts like this is all his fault."

Sarah opened her mouth to defend herself but Willow was faster. "Buffy, he turned her into a goblin! I mean, I don't really know what that means, but...but..." she frowned, and then remembered where she had been going with her argument. "How would you feel if Angel had just decided to turn you into a Vampire without asking you?"

"I would have staked him of course." Buffy answered.

Willow smiled triumphantly. "See!"

"No, I don't see!" Buffy went on. "I mean, Vampire and Goblin are obviously not the same thing, are they?"

Sarah had been watching the exchange silently and finally decided to speak for herself. "He had no right to change me into anything!" she said. "But he did, and that's why this thing is after me. It's his fault all of this is happening."

Buffy turned to face Sarah again. "Oh, it's his fault huh? We're going all the way back to that particular moment it time out of all the thousands of moments just to call it his fault? Why stop there, let's go a little farther. Who wished your brother away and sent you both to Goblinworld in the first place? Maybe it was that persons fault? Who called on him for help and then walked all over him when she got what she wanted? Maybe it was that person's fault." Buffy was pacing the room, her arms flailing wildly as she spoke. She knew she was ranting, but she didn't care. She had had just about enough of Sarah's 'poor little me' attitude.

Sarah looked up at Buffy, unable to believe she was lecturing her this way. "But he turned me into a goblin!" Sarah said, tears rolling down her face.

Buffy leaned into her until their faced were nearly touching. "Read my lips: SO WHAT?"

"Buffy!" Willow gasped again. She couldn't believe her best friend was acting this way when obviously Sarah needed to be comforted right now.

"What Will?" Buffy said, turning to her best friend. "So he turned her into a goblin? Big deal. You think I had any say over the matter when I woke up one day and found out I was a slayer?"
"But Buffy, that was your destiny." Willow said softly.

"So maybe this is too, Will." Buffy responded, gesturing to Sarah.

"Now wait a minute." Sarah chimed in. "I refuse to accept that anything involving the Goblin King is my destiny. He's evil! He steals children!"

"That's a load of crap and you know it!" Buffy answered. "And besides, you're just as in love with him as he is with you, you just don't realize it."

"I'm what?" Sarah asked in disbelief.

Buffy reached down and pulled away the paper and pencil Sarah had in her hand. She didn't remember picking them up, hadn't realized she had been drawing, but when Buffy turned the page around she saw a perfect likeness of the man she had just sent away.

"Maybe your brain hasn't caught on yet, Sarah, but your heart knows you're in love with him. Why else would you keep doing this? I'll bet you've been calling out to him silently like this ever since you left his world." Buffy's tone had softened, as she sensed she was finally getting through to the girl. Sarah knew she was right and took the paper back from Buffy. Clutching it to her chest she began to sob.

Finally Buffy put a comforting arm around her. "He shouldn't have changed your species without asking." She said, "That was rude."

"Ye." Sarah sobbed into Buffy's shoulder.

"But it didn't change anything. Bothvar wanted revenge, and he would have found you eventually, magic or no magic. Jareth loves you so much even I can feel it, and I'm a real dunce when it comes to magic."

"Buffy's right." Willow said, putting her arm around Sarah too. "Kind of a bitch, but right." She ignored Buffy's protruding tongue. Looking at her best friend she asked. "Why are you standing up for him so much anyway, I thought you said he was an arrogant jerk."

"He is arrogant." Buffy answered. "But he's also kind and loyal and he loves her so much it hurts him. You can see it in his eyes; he would do anything for her. Do you know how rare that kind of love is?" Buffy lay back on the bed, sighing and trying not to think of Angel. "Besides, didn't you hear his story? Poor guy, somebody needs to look out for him for a change."

Sarah had quit crying and was staring at her newest picture of Jareth. She had been deep in thought, but Buffy's last words caught her attention. "Wait," she said, "What story?"

Buffy's eyes widened. "Oh…you didn't hear the story, did you?" she said, sitting up. "Well let's find you some clothes so you can get comfortable, and then Will and I will fill you in."

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"What do you think they're talking about up there?" Xander asked through a mouthful of pizza.

"Oh, I dunno." Cordelia answered. "The weather maybe, or our boring math teacher, or maybe BEING TURNED INTO A GOBLIN!" she shouted these last words and Xander cringed.

"Cordelia, please." Joyce said, setting down a plate of brownies. Something better happen soon, she thought, before we run out of food.

"Sorry, Mrs. Summers." Cordelia said, and shivered. "Is there a door open in here somewhere, it feels like its getting colder."

"And darker." Oz added, as a shadow seemed to pass over the room. All three teenagers looked up suddenly as realization dawned on them. In the center of the room the shadows began to flow together and take shape. Two red eyes appeared and a haunting laugh filled the room. The Scoobies that were present jumped from their seats. Xander went for Joyce, who was oblivious to what was taking shape behind her. He was too late, as the shadow grabbed her by the arm and pulled her towards its center. As she spun around her eyes met the two glowing red orbs at the center of the entity and she screamed.

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Sarah's eyes were filled with unshed tears and Buffy and Willow finished the story. Her throat was sore from holding back her sobs. Her heart was beating fast, her palms were sweaty, and she felt like she wanted to hit something. Where is all this emotion coming from, she wondered.

"That's the saddest, most awful thing I've ever heard." She said.

"Yep." Buffy agreed.

"I still don't understand why he didn't just say something to me while I was there. I mean, why bully me around so much and then just turn me into a goblin and send me on my way?"

Willow shook her head. "He didn't really get into all that, but if I had to guess, I'd say he just didn't know what to do. I mean hundreds of years with no family, barely anyone at all of his own kind to talk to? It was probably the first good thing he had felt in all those years. I'm sure he just didn't know what to do with it."

"Besides," Buffy added, "Men are dumb."

"Ye." The other two girls said in unison, nodding their heads in agreement.

"Actually," Willow said, "I can't believe he didn't follow us up here."

"I'm sure Giles stopped him." Buffy said. "In fact, knowing Giles, he took him somewhere to calm down."

"Oh." Sarah said, a little disappointed that he wasn't downstairs guarding her.

"So what will you say to him when he gets back?" Buffy asked.

"I dunno." Sarah shrugged. "Apologize for slapping him maybe. But really, what can I say? 'It's okay that you turned me into a goblin'? Because I'm still a little pissed about that."

"Maybe you should start with the apology and work from there." Willow said.

"Ye." agreed Buffy. "And no more slapping."

Sarah laughed, wiping at her tear stained cheeks. "Well, I can't promise anything. I mean, you've met him…"

For just a few minutes Buffy, Willow, and Sarah stopped being a Slayer, a Witch, and a Goblin. They became just like any three teenage girls, laughing about boys. It was stolen time cut all too short by the sound of a scream downstairs. Buffy jumped from the bed immediately.

"Mom!" she said, running out the door, Sarah and Willow right behind her.

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"Ah, the Slayer, how nice of you to join us." Bothvar said as Buffy slid into the room.

"Let her go!" Buffy shouted.

"Now, now." Bothvar chided. "You're in no shape to be giving me commands. As I was just telling your friends, since you deprive me of my true prize, I think I'll take your mother instead."

"Like hell you will." Buffy said, rushing at the demon. She jumped to tackle him, but went right through him and landed hard on the kitchen floor. Bothvar laughed.

"Buffy!" Sarah said, running to the other girl's aid. As she passed Bothvar he screamed, apparently in pain, and retreated to the far corner of the room. He recovered himself quickly, but his lapse didn't escape the Slayer's notice.

"Well, time for me to go!" Bothvar said. "You know where to find me. Bring me the Goblin King and you can have your precious mother back." With that he and Joyce both disappeared.

"What the hell was that?" Buffy asked as Sarah helped her up off the floor.

"What was what?" Sarah asked, wondering if Buffy had hit her head. Had she forgotten that a demon had just abducted her mother?

"He screamed when you ran past him." Xander said, proving once again that he wasn't as slow as most people thought he was.

"Do you have an effigy with you?" Asked Jenny, appearing in the center of the room.

"Of course!" Buffy said. "The picture you just drew."

"You mean this?" Sarah asked, pulling the folded likeness of the Goblin King from her jeans pocket.

"So just a picture of the Goblin King hurt him like that?" asked Xander.

"Looks that way." Buffy said, a plan already forming in her mind.

"But he had the Goblin King himself out there in the woods and it didn't hurt him." Cordelia pointed out.

"The barrier." Willow said, snapping her fingers.

"What's that, Will?" Xander asked.

"The barrier spell he had up. It wasn't just a barrier, it was a ward. It protected him from…whatever it is about Jareth that he's afraid of."

"So what good is it to him if we bring Jareth? He can't hurt him if he can't get near him." Sarah asked.

"He doesn't know we know that." Buffy said. "He hopes we'll let our guard down enough to let him get to you. He can't hurt Jareth physically, but he knows killing you would be even worse."

"Then just let him have me." Sarah said, hiding the fear in her voice. "It may be the only way to get your Mom back."

"Absolutely not." Buffy said resolutely. "And Mom would say the same thing"

"Are you sure, Buff?" Xander said. He didn't like the idea of surrendering Sarah either, but Joyce was the closest thing to a real mother any of them had.

"Positive." She said, her face pensive. She looked up at the worried faces around her and sighed. "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to Mom. I have a plan. But we need the Goblin King."

Sarah slouched in a chair, her gaze falling to the graphite likeness in her hands. "Oh, Jareth." She sighed. "I wish you were here right now."

A/N: Wow, two chapters in two days. It's a good thing I'm enjoying writing this, because even though my stats say LOTS of people are reading it, hardly anyone is reviewing. My thanks to everyone who is, though.

NightWoman: I'm glad you enjoyed the Lorne bits. He's fun to write for.

TheShadowCat: Thanks for the contribution and the encouragement. It really helps

LadyoftheLabyrith: Ye, I laughed while I was writing it. Thanks for the great review.

Everyone else, please drop a note in the box. Thanks!