A/N: I know everyone uses this title eventually, and even though its so cliché, I couldn't help myself; it's oh so catchy and actually fits this chapter.

Chapter 23

As the World Falls

Prophecies are overrated. It is a simple fact, and one that many could argue, but in the end, prophecies are overrated. The fates of all the living beings are tied together in an endless stream of paths: they criss, they cross, they double back occasionally, but rarely to these paths lead straight. It is this confusing trail that has led to the belief of prophecies, for in a world of endless twists and turns there needs to be order. Prophecies offer such an order but bundled in chaos. Never can a prophecy be simple and without trials, a prophecy leads to dilemmas so there can be a solution. A prophecy is merely a means to follow a road, a crooked road like any other, but a road with a determined purpose and a plausible destination.

But what of those that do not wish to follow a path already made? Perhaps the best course of action is to indeed create ones path and break away from the confines of a prophetical destiny. To be free is to be able to create your own path, your own life and not live a predetermined state of existence.

And then, this begs the question: If all is predestined, are some predestined not to follow their original destiny? And if they do succeed in creating their own destiny, perhaps that was the destiny for them all along. Do not judge those who wish to live a truly individual life too harshly, for they may be the bravest of us all. For down that path there are no signs, no guides, no one to lead. It is purely on faith that one dares to venture into the unknown and reject a life of paths with pointing arrows. After all, the paths are all linked, all tied together and there are endless options. So now, would you go left, or right?

Underground Mystic

She had slept rather peacefully, as peacefully as one could when seeing horrid depictions of her best friend's demise, but whenever the dreams became too powerful she would hear a whisper in her ear. A whisper that carried a soft song like butterfly wings on the wind, and with that same breeze her dream would flit away leaving her with a serene calm. On the edge of wakefulness, Sarah could feel the soft comfort under her, could feel the arms wrapped around her, could smell him, touch him, hear him breathe, and she knew if she stayed still a while longer she could stay a little longer, and so she refused to open her eyes. But all things must come to an end as a clock struck the eighth hour she jumped from the bed, eyes wide.

Jareth, who had still been asleep, sat straight up; confused and rather irritated at the rude awakening. His anger fled though when he saw Sarah with a wild look on her face. "What ever is the matter?" He asked remaining in the large bed.

Running a finger through her hair, and attempting to straighten the wrinkles from her blouse and her skirt she scowled at him, "It's Tuesday! I have a class!" She was rewarded with a blank look from Jareth and she frowned, "You know, I teach! My students!" Her voice was rising and Jareth furrowed his brow, and then let out a bitter laugh.

"After all you've just seen and heard you're worried about missing a class?" He arched his brow at her and shook his head slowly. It was hard to believe she would still care about her life Above, especially with all that had happened. Was preparing for a class really more important than the impending doom of the world? His remark slowed her down and she reached out to the bed with a blind hand and sat clumsily.

"I thought…I don't know…it was such routine…I got up…" her voice started to crack. She had not thought about it, had thought of nothing except returning to work, returning to her life. Her life? Her life was gone, destroyed before her eyes. Carol was dead…Deirdre a misshapen goblin…the room spun and tears began to fall from her eyes. The only piece of comfort she had was mocking her pain and with a sob the tears flowed freely.

Jareth wanted to bite his tongue. It was early, he was grumpy, but he felt regret for his words and he pulled her close to him. "Stop Sarah, stop." He shushed her as she began to cry. "I did not mean it. If you wish to return, I will take you." With a finger he pushed her hair away from her face, "If it's any consolation to you, it is still early Above." He felt the tears drop slowly down her face and onto his chest, and he pulled away from her slightly and cupped her face in his hands. He really couldn't tell if it was just the morning and he hadn't fully woken yet, but before he could stop himself he placed small kisses on her eyelids and on her cheeks. "Don't cry," he whispered to her, and she threw her arms around him and buried her face against his neck.

She was still clutching him tight, and probably would not have realized the change in scenery had an icy blast of air not blown past her. In shock she pulled away from Jareth and stood very, very still. All around her was white. The snow was literally coating everything in sight. And though there was an occasional breeze, the majority of snow fell straight down, coating the surroundings with an eerie blanket. She turned to Jareth, who looked as confused as she. "Where are we?" She asked as her teeth began to chatter. Again she looked around and saw nothing recognizable. All she saw was snow.

Jareth approached her and draped a leather jacket over her arms and shrugged as he surveyed their surroundings as well. "I pulled the destination from your mind, Sarah. You wished to go here," he said gesturing the white emptiness, ""here" is where we are."

Shaking her head and furrowing her brow she pulled the jacket closer to her, "I wished to go to the school, not to a field of snow." Jareth's face remained impassive and realization dawned on her and she squeaked, "Are you telling me the school is under this?" Again Jareth just shrugged and caught a snowflake in his gloved hand. "It's possible."

The world was spinning around her, all she saw was white. Was she standing, sitting, lying down; she had no idea, for all around her was the same sight. She reached out to Jareth, "I think I need to sit down." Instantly she felt solid wood beneath her and she leaned against the chair. She knew this room, it was the goblin's dining room, and she let her head fall to the table. "This is bad, isn't it?" Jareth didn't reply, but she watched as he paced around the room with his arms behind his back. He had changed during the transportation, for he was dressed in all blacks. The only time she had seen him wear anything like it was in the Escher Room; this was not a good sign. With a bit of amusement she realized she was wearing different clothes as well. She touched the cashmere sweater and smiled. These were the clothes she had picked out the day before. A yellow sweater and a pair of brown slacks…it seemed so long ago. "Jareth, what are we going to do?" she asked to distract her own thoughts. It was better to focus on the problem at hand, and not on something she could not alter.

A crystal formed in his hand and he idly twirled it between his hands as he continued to pace. "I don't know," he said agitated.

Sarah sighed, "The curse still needs to be destroyed…and soon, look what they did to the Aboveground."

The crystal dropped and shattered on the floor. Jareth stood still, back towards her, head slightly lowered. "I don't know if I can kill my own mother," he whispered softly.

Before Sarah could speak, a very familiar, if unwanted, voice echoed through the cold, stone room, "You had better get over that, for Temnestra will not hesitate in destroying you." Addoyn stepped from the shadows and Sarah was amazed to see him in solid black robes. The color seemed predominate in this family and Sarah casually wondered in any of them realized that.

Jareth tensed, but did not turn towards the man. "You should not be here," he said with clinched teeth.

Addoyn smiled to Sarah and sat next to her, resting his hands on the table, "On the contrary, I have no place else to be. You are going to need my help, whether or not you want to admit it," he added as Jareth spun around, a death gaze in his eyes. With a flourish Addoyn produced the pendant and slid it across the table towards his estranged son. At first, Addoyn thought Jareth would allow it to slide off the table, but at the last possible second he snatched it and held it before him.

The pendant rested securely in Jareth's hand and he stared at it for a moment before placing it around his neck and positioned it slightly to rest on his chest. Addoyn held a smug look and Jareth sighed, "Thank you." Addoyn just nodded and Jareth sat across from them, leaning back in his chair as he was oft to do. Together they sat in silence for a few moments, until Sarah's stomach began to grumble. It was not very loud, but the absence of noise amplified the sound and she blushed.

"Sorry, I haven't had anything to eat…" her voice trailed off as she couldn't remember the last meal she had eaten and her stomach rumbled its complaint again.

Jareth laughed a shallow bitter laugh, "Well then, let us eat, and speak on our plans." With nimble fingers he plucked a crystal from the air and rolled it down the table, where, once in the middle, it popped and exploded with glitter. As the glitter settled the table was covered with different platters and Sarah's mouth began to water. Addoyn reached for a croissant near him and laughed, "Well, done, Jareth, well done."

Jareth bit back a remark. He was in no mood for compliments from Addoyn, especially Addoyn. Though the High Councilman had explained his actions, Jareth was still very upset at his "father". He cringed at the sound of that title. Addoyn did not deserve to be called a father, not of as yet. The warm food smells soon outweighed his anger and he pulled a steaming stew to his side of the table.

Sarah was munching happily on a piece of toast, and it was she who first spoke, "What can we do to prepare?" Both men turned their gazes to her and she scowled at them. Did they always forget she was in the room? Every time she spoke they looked at her as if seeing her for the first time. Sarah stifled a laugh as both Addoyn and Jareth began to drum their fingers on the table, the exact same behaviorism, and when Jareth noticed this he instantly stopped and averted his gaze away from Addoyn.

Addoyn just smiled and his eyes twinkled. So, Jareth was more like him than either would probably like to admit and this amused him, but Sarah's question was serious and he darkened his stare. "The castle is warded already, yes?" Jareth nodded, but still refused to meet Addoyn's gaze, "And Sarah as well?" Again Jareth nodded. Addoyn sat back and tapped his nose as he thought. "I suppose we wait."

"Not exactly the answer I was looking for," Jareth growled.

"And what would you suggest," Addoyn retorted and Sarah was surprised to hear the edge in his voice. It was just daring Jareth to defy him, it dared anyone to defy him and Sarah could understand why he would be such an effective politician. "I can't trace her, can you?" He asked bitterly and when Jareth remained silent Addoyn continued, "No? Well, it might be difficult to defeat that which we can't find."

"Then what do we do?" Sarah asked timidly trying to break apart the tension. Again both men stared at her and she sighed, rubbing her temples. She was about to speak again, but a far off rumble caught all their attention. There was a whistling and again a rumble, though this time it was closer and caused a small vibration through the castle.

Jareth sucked in his breath and willed a window to appear. Again the same whistling, the same rumble, but all that was seen was a white blizzard before their eyes. A flash of brown flew by the window, accompanied by the whistle and a shoot downward of a solid object at a sharp angle, followed by a crash at the base of the castle and another vibration. Jareth nearly ran to the window, followed closely by Addoyn, but Sarah stayed a few feet behind. She was fairly sure she didn't want to see the view.

And she was right. The sky was raining boulders down, yet there were no source. A large rock just appeared and hurled itself towards the labyrinth and towards the castle, but so far, none of the rocks had actually impacted the castle walls; the barrier reflecting the blows, but Sarah wondered how long that would last. At first the rocks were sporadic, but now it was seriously raining, and some of the larger boulders caused the castle to shake so violently pieces of the ceiling would fall and clatter to the stony floor. This caused Jareth to return his gaze outward. These rocks, gifts from his mother, he assumed, were doing serious damage to his labyrinth and he reached out with his magic to offer some protection, but Addoyn put a hand up.

"You can't Jareth." He said stalling the king's spell.

"Oh I can't?" Jareth asked evilly as he stepped closer to Addoyn. How dare this man try to keep him from protecting that which belongs to him.

Addoyn merely shook his head, "Don't waste your energy on it, that's what she wants. Jareth opened his mouth to speak, but stopped as he realized the truth in the man's words. In frustration he pounded a fist against the wall. Again the castle shook, but it was a different shake, the castle actually felt like it moved and Sarah looked around in fear. If this kept up the entire castle would un-doubtfully fall.

"We need to leave, now" Addoyn commanded and began walking away from the window, but paused as Jareth's stubborn form remained stoically still. "Jareth!" Addoyn barked and Jareth turned slowly towards him, a very determined gaze set in his eyes.

"I'm not leaving." He said forcefully and Addoyn shook his head.

"You'll just waste time and energy protecting this place." Addoyn approached Jareth, "It will fall."

Jareth's lips turned to a sneer, "Now why the concern, Addoyn? You are free to leave. You need not stay with me." He nodded his head towards Sarah, who was watching the exchange with trepidation, "Take Sarah and leave me be."

Addoyn was tempted to do as the foolish king asked, but when he searched out Sarah, her face was set and her eyes were locked on Jareth. He had the sneaking suspicion that she would not be persuaded so easily, and his suspicions were confirmed as she spoke.

"I'm not leaving either. I have no where else to go, and I'm not leaving you."

Jareth just gave her a small smile and turned his head back to the invasion. It took concentration to keep the barrier up, concentration and energy, but he would be damned if he allowed Temnestra the satisfaction of brining his world down upon him without a fight.

Addoyn just sighed and sat at the table, which he cleared with a wave of a hand. "Fine. If you two are staying I will stay as well." Jareth gave Addoyn a backwards glance that echoed a small surprise and Addoyn just grinned, "Someone needs to be here that can think properly." Sarah gave a sympathetic glance towards Jareth and Addoyn rested back in the chair. This was going to be a very painful battle.

Hours passed and the storm of boulders continued the onslaught of the labyrinth and the castle in the center. The goblins were worried and occasionally filtered into the dining room to gain comfort from their king. Jareth would reassure them and send them along their way. He would smile and tell them to play their games in the lower castle rooms. He was so sincere, the goblins believed in him fully and they did as he said without second thought. What they did not see was the weakening king before them. Each hit against the castle barrier drained his energy as he fought to sustain the protection. The only protection left. But he was getting weaker and Addoyn paced slowly behind his son. If they did not do something soon Jareth was going to be too weak to stand.

Sarah noted Jareth's gleaming skin, noticed the weariness in his eyes; he did not even try to hide it. She saw each time a boulder struck the accompanying shudder from Jareth. He was walking slower too, not pacing nearly as fast as he had, and on occasion he would stumble. And Sarah realized the predicament. If he chose to leave the castle his subjects would be doomed by the raining rocks, but if he chose to stay, they would all die. She sighed and walked over to the window. The labyrinth was flat, craters replaced everything, the depressions were quickly filled with snow and Sarah shuddered as another boulder raced towards the castle. It was so close, she thought it would hit and she backed up in anticipation, but at the last minute, a struggling king deflected the blow, but in return, Jareth dropped to his knees and leaned forward on his hands as spots danced before his eyes.

Addoyn growled and bent over his rasping son, "That's enough. You can't save this place Jareth. You'll just get yourself killed." He tried to help Jareth to his feet, but Jareth pushed the helping hands away.

"Get out here." He said struggling to his feet, "Take Sarah and get out of here. If my mother wants my death, she can have it." There was a defeated resolution in his stance and in his tone and Sarah nearly screamed.

"Are you kidding!" Her eyes flashed in anger, "Don't you dare try to sacrifice yourself now!" She walked to him, trying to meet his eyes, but he averted her gaze. He looked so sick standing there. His hair was plastered against his moist skin; his skin itself was so pale he looked like an apparition. Fear crept into her system. Maybe he was an apparition, maybe he had already left. That terrified her. She reached out and brushed his hair out of his face and smiled. "You can't quit on us. You aren't the only one who has suffered now!" She swallowed, "You can't quit on me." His eyes met hers at that and he smiled softly, so wearily. With a very painful motion he nodded to her and held her hand in his.

He should have been paying attention, though. For he never saw the boulder screaming through the air, positioned to directly hit the weakened castle barrier; determined to wreck the stone walls that protected a doomed king. The impact threw them all off their feet. The stone walls imploded on them, blasting the stone with pieces of the heated rock into the room. Addoyn deflected the larger pieces, but he was struck on his shoulder and he dropped in pain, in shock at the feeling. It was rare for him to feel physical pain and he gasped slightly. The debris continued to fall on his head and he watched as Sarah was thrown from Jareth's arms as another boulder crashed into the side of the castle. Her spell must have weakened as well for he heard Jareth shout as a large stone smacked into her side and she rolled to the floor. The entire castle was shaking. The goblin's screams were heard from below, and all that remained standing was the king.

Addoyn knew what Jareth was going to do before Jareth knew himself. Addoyn saw the magic forming on Jareth's lips. He was going to strengthen the barrier with the last of his reserves, but that Addoyn could not allow. If Jareth used anymore magic he would be left in a worse state than now. He had to act quickly, and he prayed that Jareth would forgive him. Addoyn focused his magic and pulled Jareth and Sarah, as well as himself, and transported them as far as he could before dropping the spell.

Before Jareth could reinforce the barrier walls, he felt his body ripped from the spot he stood and thrown away from the castle. It was an odd sensation to stand on the outside of the damage, but he was there, nonetheless, on a hill that overlooked the entrance to his labyrinth. He watched as the boulders continued their unmerciful onslaught on his castle. He watched as the foundation of stone broke and crumbled to the ground in a large cloud of stone, snow, and raining rocks. He heard the goblins screaming to him, he heard it in his mind, and suddenly they were quiet. A few whimpers remained, but they too passed after a few seconds. As if their purpose was served, the boulders simply vanished revealing the destruction. It was gone…his castle, his labyrinth, all that he had known was gone. There was an emptiness growing in him, a void where he wanted to crawl in and disappear, but that could not be allowed. His mother had gone too far now. Jareth allowed his thoughts to focus. He had been transported away from the castle, but he had not done it. He looked down to his feet and saw Addoyn sitting on a rock, cradling an arm close to his chest.

Suddenly very angry, Jareth rounded on Addoyn and lifted the man in the air by his collar. "You had no right to interfere."

To his utter dismay, Addoyn laughed. How many times had Temnestra accused him of the same thing? "What would you have me do? Let you die of your own stubbornness?" Addoyn pulled away from Jareth and he continued softly, "I would not allow Temnestra to kill you before; I will not allow her to do so now." He shook his head and sat again on the rock, eyes falling on the desolate scene of destruction before him.

Jareth shook his head. There was something missing, something was not right. He glanced around the hill, noting the dead tree and shuddered. There was no one else…no one but Addoyn and himself. "Addoyn," the fear in his voice was evident and Addoyn turned curiously towards his son. "Addoyn, where is Sarah?"

Addoyn whipped his head around searching for the mortal, but held his breath as her form did not appear. He held his hands out defensively as Jareth turned towards him, murder in his eyes. "I brought her, Jareth. I swear on my life I brought her."

Jareth stilled; it was not taken lightly when one swore on their immortal lives, and he believed Addoyn, for if nothing else he needed to believe. That left one very important question unanswered: Where was Sarah?

A/N: Heeehee laughs evilly. That's where I'm ending it for now. I can't wait to see what you guys thought of this chapter, and speaking of you, my reviewers, let's do a thank you session!

Moonjava: Thank you very much for continuing to read and review.

Morrigana: If you do not update soon! So help me! You're support means the world to me and thank you so much.

Shavaineth: lol…you are too much. And I usually don't like the disjointed feel either, but you were right, the characters had too much going on and the chapter needed to reflect that, as for Temnestra…well, I've kept you in the dark because they don't know yet either, but its coming, I promise…can't you just feel it? We're getting closer!

Alorindanya: Yes, I know. It was regretful that Carol and Deirdre were casualties, but did you expect any less from Temnestra?

Jumping-jo: Yes, Temnestra has definitely gone off the deep end!

Theshadowcat: Keep reviewing and I keep updating!

Until next chapter minna!