The Labyrinth

Chapter Four

Tell the Truth or Nothing at All

By Ronin S. Oath and mudrakdragon1

Shawna slowly rises to her feet, looking down to see what she fell on top of, only to find Hoggle smashed into the ground. "Oh it's you… Wait a second! What's your name?"

"It's Hoggle!"

"Hoggle?" Shawna blinks down at the troll-like creature. "Are you sure?"

Casadena stands as well, dusting off her shirt.

Shawna turns towards her friend. "This is Hoddle."

"Hobble?" Casadena questions, looking down at Hoggle in confusion.

"No, it's Hibble!"

"Hiddle?" Casadena questions, glancing back to her friend.

Shawna blinks. "Hermit?"

"Hinder?"

"Hindrance?"

"Hamper?"

"Hobby?"

"Hobo?"

"Hollow?"

"Holocaust?"

"No, that's that place where the Germans put the Jews during World War Two, where they tried to kill them all off because they thought that the Jews were an inferior race compared to themselves," Shawna replied. "Anyways… I think his name is Hoddy."

Casadena bits her bottom lip for a moment, staring down at the troll-like creature. "Horde… maybe?"

"Maybe Horrid, but not Horde."

Hoggle clenches his fist to his sides. "It's Hoggle!"

"Ohhhhhhhhh!" Casadena and Shawna reply together.

After a moment of silence, Shawna grabs onto Casadena and begins to pull her along the path. "Alright let's go!"

"Hey," Hoggle calls out behind them. "I'm supposed to go with you!"

Casadena stops in her tracks, nearly causing Shawna to fall. "Did you hear something?"

Shawna lets go of Casadena so that the girl won't cause her to fall more than she has to, and listens closely. "Naw… Didn't hear a thin'."

"Hm… I could've sworn I heard something."

"Oh well… Let's go!"

-

After walking for a very long time, they come upon a directional sign… The only problem is that the sign not only is written in Goblin script, but also points into directions that lead to solid walls as well as to the sky itself!

"Damn," Shawna mutters to herself. "Lots of ways to go… Hell, some of these fucking corridors don't even goes those ways!"

"Don't ya mean 'go those ways'?"

Shawna glares at Casadena. "What-fucking-ever!" Turning back towards the sign, Shawna spins in a complete circle. "Which fucking way do we fucking go?"

-

Jareth, surrounded by goblins, looks into his crystal ball. "My she does have a mouth on her."

An unappealing goblin, standing beside the Goblin King, scratches his head. "She needs one to eat…"

Jareth gives the goblin a pointed look, before returning his attention to the crystal. "Let's see how they do when they come across the four guards…"

-

"Damn!" Shawna curses. "Another dead end!"

Casadena taps Shawna's shoulder. "Who are they?" she inquires, pointing towards two figures to their left.

Shawna turns in the direction her friend pointed out. "I don't know…"

As Shawna walks towards the figures, Casadena stands there like a turkey in the rain.

"Casadena!" Shawna yells, turning back to find the girl staring blanking into space. "Come on!"

"Oh!" Casadena runs up beside her friend. "What are they?" she questions once again, nodding in the two figures direction.

Shawna walks over to the Red Guard and starts banging on its chest, thinking that it was just a door. "Hello? Anyone in there?"

She is answered by silence.

"Hey!"

Silence.

"Hey!"

Silence.

"Hey!"

Silence.

"Hey!"

Silence.

"Hey!"

Silence.

"Hey!"

Silence.

"Hey!"

Silence.

"Hey!"

Silence.

Shawna growls. "Anyone in there? 'Ello… I'm trying to talk to you!"

Casadena slowly approaches her friend, and gently pulls her away from the Red Guard. "I think those are card people."

"Card people?"

"Yea… Like cards," Casadena replies. "Like the red card and the black card… Only it'd blue instead of black."

Shawna blinks. "What in the hell have you been smokin'?"

"Have we gone to Wonderland?" Casadena questions, her eyes sparkling.

Shawna turns back to the guards, and harshly bangs her head on the wall between them. Sharply turning back to Casadena, she questions, "Do these look like fucking cards to you? Does this look like Wonderland? Did you happen to see a little white rabbit jumping up and down the road hollering 'I'm late! I'm late! I'm late for a very important date!'?"

"Yes... yes… and the rabbit is-"

Shawna stops her friend. "Don't tell me you saw a rabbit!"

Unknown to them, the two guards quietly stand behind them, watching their every move.

"He's right there," Casadena replies, pointing to an empty wall.

Shawna shakes her head while patting Casadena on the head. "It's okay… You're goin' be alright…" Turning back around, Shawna notices the guards now have heads. "Do you know where we are suppose to go?"

"You have to choose a door," the Red Guard replies.

"It that all?" Shawna questions, walking towards the Red Guard, ready to go through the door.

"But it isn't that simple," the Blue Guard adds.

"Only one door will lead you to the castle."

"The other leads to certain death."

"Well… that really takes the pressure off," Shawna replies sarcastically.

"WOW!" Casadena gasps. "Certain death!"

Shawna whacks Casadena upside the head. Turning back towards the guards, she raises both of her hands. "Let's see… hm… life or death?"

"That is the question!" Casadena quotes from behind.

"To live or to die?"

"That is another question."

"So…" Shawna glances up to the guards. "Which is which?"

"We can't tell you," the Red Guard answers with a shrug of his shoulders.

"It's against the rules," adds the Blue Guard.

Shawna snaps her fingers. "Damn those rules!"

"Fairies!" Casadena suddenly calls out, staring to their left.

Shawna quickly looks around. "What? Where?"

"Nope. Never mind."

Shawna gives Casadena a pointed look before whacking her upside the head. "Anyways… Which one of you can tell us which door to go through?"

"They can," the two guards reply, indicating to their lower half.

Shawna and Casadena look down, quite surprised to find that each guard has another head.

Casadena is the first to speak. "Konnichiwa!"

Shawna sighs, before pushing Casadena out of the way once more. "Which of you can tell us which door to go through?"

"You can only ask one of us," both of the guard's second heads reply.

Casadena brightens up. "Are we each allowed one question?"

The guards go blank for a moment, before huddling together. Once coming to a conclusion, they face the two girls.

"One question for each of you," the Red Guard warns.

"Alright," Shawna smugly says. "Me first. Which do-"

"Hold on a second," the Blue Guard interrupts. "First we must warn you."

"One of us always tells the truth," the Red Guard picks up, "and the other always lies."

"He's the liar."

"No I'm not," the Red Guard states in a mater-of-fact way.

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

Shawna fists her hands at her side. "Hey! Hello! Person with a question here!"

The two guards instantly stop arguing. "Yes?"

"Which door do you-" Shawna pauses. "Wait a second… How do we know that you aren't lying or telling the truth about the rules? 'Cause one of ya says the other lies and you tell the truth… How do we know one of you aren't lying now?"

"You don't," the Blue Guard answers.

The Red Guard nods in agreement. "Next."

"Damn," Shawna mumbles under her breath. "I've wasted that fucking question."

Casadena steps up to the Blue Guard. "So… If you guys are cards, and that guy there is the red card, then… Why are you a blue card instead of a black card?"

"We're not cards," both of the guards reply together. "We're guards."

Shawna bangs her head against the wall. "And I thought I wastes my question…" Suddenly she stops banging her head against the wall, and raises her hand into the air. "I gottas an idea!"

"Wha?" Casadena inquires.

"You go through the red door and I'll take-"

"But I don't wanna go through the red door!" Casadena interrupts.

Shawna takes a deep breath. "Okay then… You go through the blue door and I'll take the red door, and we'll see where we both end up." With that, Shawna walks up to the Red Guard. Turning back to her friend, she smiles and says, "Good luck to ya." She pauses for a moment, then to herself says, "But if she has good luck then I have certain death…" Shawna glances back to Casadena and calls out, "Hope you choose certain death!"

To Be Continued…