Disclaimer: I-ay on't-day own-ay abyrinth-Lay.("I don't own Labyrinth" in pig latin.)

Final Author's Note: Happy Halloween! Okay, its a couple of days early, but whatever. Well, here it is, the last and final chapter. I'm happy with it, I hope all of you will be too. And I give a final thanks to all who have read and reviewed this story of mine. It took longer to write than I expected. Enjoy.

Halloween: Chapter Five

The next day as she sat in her kitchen with Alice, Sarah could not stop thinking about the events of the previous night. She couldn't understand what had happened...or almost happened, if it hadn't been for Jareth. It all seemed so strange, unreal to her, somehow.

Alice had been so worried about her when she told her what had happened. She just couldn't believe her cousin could be such a slime.

"What I can't figure out is why nobody noticed me trying to get away from him." Sarah stated to her friend. "And why didn't you see us?"

Alice winced, "Sorry. I got a little distracted when I 'accidentally' threw wadded up wet paper napkins at Greg and his 'date'." Alice smiled thinking about it.

"Oh," Sarah smiled, too, "But that doesn't explain everybody else."

Alice shook her head. "People at our school are a bunch of inconsiderate jerks, that's all."

"I wish I could believe that." Sarah replied after thinking about it, and even though it was true, she just had this feeling that there was more to it. She thought of Jareth. Had he been behind it all?

Is that what you really think, Sarah?

His voice penetrated her mind, questioning. She had to admit, she could not believe that of him. He had been there, that she knew, but he had been the only one really looking out for her.

No, I don't think that at all, Jareth.

"Sarah?" Alice was waving her hand in front of Sarah's face. "Earth to Sarah."

"Hmm? What?" She had been in her own little world again. "Sorry."

"Never mind. Now, if you're up to it, I think we should go to that haunted house tonight since we didn't last night."

"I told you I can't. It is Halloween, you know. Toby is really looking forward to Trick-or-Treating this year."

"Oh that's right...what's he going as?" Alice asked, trying not to show her disappointment.

"I don't know yet. Karen forgot to buy a costume, so they're out there looking for one. I doubt they're going to find anything good. They better get home soon, though. Karen wants me to have him back here before it actually gets dark, you know."

Just as she said that, they heard the front door open and voices filled the front hall.

"Well, lets go see what they found." Sarah got up and walked toward the front of the house, Alice following right behind her. When they got there, they found Karen struggling to carry both the costume bag and a sleeping Toby. "Here, let me help you." Sarah said, taking Toby from his mother.

"Thank you, Sarah." Karen said, absently, as she carried the bag past her step-daughter and up the stairs. Looking back, she stated, "Toby wanted it to be a surprise to you."

Sarah nodded and carried the sleeping Toby to his room. When she came back down to where she had left Alice, her friend seemed a little more hopeful.

"Will he even be awake to go Trick-or-Treating?" Alice asked.

"Yes. Karen will make sure of it, seeing as she just spent the whole day looking for a costume for him."

Alice nodded as they made their way back to the kitchen.

"Don't look so sad, Alice." Sarah looked at her friend out of the corner of her eye and smiled, "Halloween doesn't end when the sun goes down, you know."

"You mean...?" Alice turned her head sharply.

"We can go check it out after I've taken Toby around."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Alice cried and side hugged her friend.

Sarah gasped for breath, "This is really important to you, isn't it?"

"Very." Alice released her, the added as she walked ahead, "You have no idea."

"I guess not." Sarah eyed her friend. Alice didn't make sense to her sometimes. What could be so important about this house? Shrugging, Sarah followed her back into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

They had been in there no more than ten minutes when Karen came in, announcing that Toby was in costume and would be ready to go soon.

"He didn't sleep that long, did he?" Sarah commented to Alice, quietly. Alice nodded her head. "So when do we get to see this wonderful costume of his?"

Sarah heard giggles coming from the next room. She had known Toby would be listening.

Karen motioned for him to come in, "Toby, you heard your sister. Come on."

Sarah heard more giggles, but still no Toby was seen.

"Wait here." Karen told them, then went in to get Toby, who was still giggling. He was a very happy child. A few seconds later, they heard Karen call, "Okay, we're ready!"

Sarah and Alice waited patiently as Karen walked into the kitchen holding Toby by the hand. Sarah felt a familiar cold wash over her as she looked at her brother. He was dressed as a peach.

Everything's dancing...

Flashes of Jareth passed through her mind, sending a sudden flood of warmth through her.

"Karen..." Sarah stammered, trying keep certain feelings from showing, "What...I mean...umm...isn't that more suited to a girl?"

Karen didn't seem to notice her shock. Kneeling beside her son, she adjusted his little stem hat, "It was either that or a ballerina, which I don't think would have gone over too well with your father."

Sarah couldn't help but smile. She wasn't too sure about this costume, it was a little too much of a reminder of a time she didn't need reminding of. She already thought about it constantly, it seemed. But she did agree that her father would not be happy seeing his only son in a little pink tutu.

A few minutes and pictures later, Sarah, Toby, and Alice were out the door and on their way around the neighborhood. When they came to the first house, Sarah rang the doorbell, "Okay, Toby, now you're supposed to say 'Trick-or-Treat' and they'll open the door to give you some candy."

Toby looked up at Sarah for a second, then back at the door. He had a questioning look on his face, like he didn't really believe her.

"Twick-ow-Tweat?" Toby said, shyly. Sarah smiled as the door opened and Toby's little jaw dropped. The woman who had opened the door commented on how cute Toby was, then slipped a few pieces of candy into the bag he had frozen in his hand. Sarah thanked the woman, then took Toby's hand and lead him back down the sidewalk to where Alice was waiting.

"See, Toby? That's all you have to do." Sarah said as he looked up at her. The look of awe written across his face as he looked back at the now closed door made her smile.

"Just like magic." Toby was grinning from ear to ear now.

"Just like..." Sarah looked down at her brother, who looked right back up at her, still grinning.

Magic, Sarah. The boy said magic. Now where could he possibly have experienced magic before?

Sarah tried to ignore his voice in the back of her mind. 'Just like magic' is just an expression. Toby couldn't possibly remember...or could he?

Sarah looked at Toby questioningly, but said nothing. They walked on to the next house, then the next, then the next, and with each house, Toby got a little less shy and a little more loud. By the time they reached the next block, Sarah had to hold his hand tightly so he wouldn't run off ahead of them.

Toby was so eager to go to more and more houses. It wasn't so much for the candy, though, he liked the 'magic'. So they went on to the many different houses on the many different streets, until they found themselves staring up at the front of their high school.

"Have we really gone that far?" Sarah asked, looking back in the direction of her house. A little shocked, she released Toby's hand.

"It would seem so, Sarah." Alice nodded as they again stared up at their school. Neither of them seemed to notice that Toby had wandered to the edge of the road...until they heard the blare of the car horn and screeching of tires. They realized just in time to see Toby in the middle of the street, the car unable to stop.

Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light, and the car zoomed past them.

"TOBY!" Sarah screamed in horror and ran toward the street after him. She knew it was too late, but what could she do? How could she have let this happen? She was supposed to be watching him. She was supposed to be...

Wait. There had been no sound of impact.

"Toby?" Sarah cried, tears streaming down her face from fright. He was nowhere to be seen. "Toby!"

"Sarah, look." Alice pointed across the street.

Looking up, Sarah gasped, "Toby!" She couldn't remember when she had moved so fast in her life. She didn't even remember crossing the street. She was just there, tightly hugging her brother to her. She didn't want to let him go, but she released him to make sure he was okay.

Toby seemed unfazed by the whole thing. He smiled up at his sister, then leaning in, he whispered in her ear, "Just like magic."

Sarah felt another kind of fear go through her, "Toby?"

Pulling away from her, he giggled and held a finger to his lips, like it was a secret between the two of them. His eyes wandered from her to something behind her, causing her to turn. She just barely saw the white barn owl as it flew into an open window of a seemingly abandoned house.

Turning back, she stood up, "I think its time we go home now. Alice..."

Alice was staring at them. She was as white as a sheet, "Uh, Sarah?"

"What is it, Alice?"

"Toby is supposed to be a peach, right?"

"You know he's a peach, Alice, you were there."

"I know I was there, but he's not a peach anymore." Alice pointed at Toby, "I don't know what he is."

Sarah's eye snapped down to look at her brother's costume. She knew exactly what he was. There was no doubt in her mind that his new costume was that of a goblin.

Jareth is messing with me again. I'll have to thank him this time, though. He saved my brother from that car.

Sarah looked back at the abandoned house. She knew this house---Alice's haunted house. He must have known they were going there that night. Of course he did! He had let her see him fly into that house. He would be waiting for her, and there was no way she would disappoint him by not showing up. Not after he went to all that trouble...

"Alice, let's go home. It's past dark and Karen's going to kill me." Sarah took Toby's hand, determinedly, and they began the walk home.

Alice noticed this determination that had taken over Sarah's actions, but didn't question her until they had gotten Toby home, safe and sound. Karen had given Sarah a look when they walked in, but didn't attempt to stop them as they walked right back out the door.

"Sarah, what's going on?" Alice was confused about the events of the night. "Where are we going?"

Amused, Sarah glanced over at Alice for a second before turning her attention back to where she was walking, "Where do you think?"

"Are you serious? I thought that, because of everything that's happened tonight, we'd wait to check it out." Alice's surprise was evident in her voice. Sarah shook her head.

"No way. He saved him, Alice, then he flew to that house." Sarah stopped walking and faced her friend. "I have to go there. I have to see him." And with that, Sarah took off running.

"Sarah! Wait!" Alice yelled after her, but it was no use. Sarah couldn't hear her and wouldn't have listened if she could. Alice smiled to herself as she watched Sarah run down the street and around the corner. Shaking her head, she followed after her friend at a considerably slower pace.

Sarah hadn't been thinking when she had started running. All she knew was that she had to get to that house and she wanted to get there as fast as she could. She would reach the house long before Alice, but she figured that would be for the best. She had to see him alone.

Sarah slowed her run to a stop in front of the house. Looking up at it, chills went down her spine. It seemed more ominous now than it had before and she wondered if it were really haunted. No, you're probably the only thing haunting this place...

"Jareth." she breathed. "I know you're in there."

Slowly, she climbed the front steps toward the front door, the boards creaking under her feet. The door itself was just as bad, if not worse than the rotting porch boards. Sarah pushed lightly on the door. She had been afraid it would fall off it's hinges, but it didn't. It swung open freely, exposing the narrow front hall. Inside, it was dark, but it wasn't so dark yet that she couldn't see.

Taking a step in, her eyes slowly took in her surroundings. She was a little nervous as she ventured down the front hall, leading her to a large open floor space.

This has to be a ballroom...figures.

She could just imagine the elegant parties that must have taken place in this enchanting room. She could see the wear that the many years of dancing had wreaked on the hardwood flooring.

As she moved farther into the room, her eyes were drawn to the majestic grand staircase. The twisting and turning of the handrails leading the way to the second and third floors particularly captivated her, compelling her to follow them to whatever was lying at their ends.

"This is such a beautiful house. Its just too bad the owners had to let it rot to pieces." Sarah commented to herself as she slowly moved toward the staircase. Suddenly, she heard the sound of the front door closing, followed by foot steps in the front hall. Looking back, Sarah called, "Alice?"

There was no answer. Scratching her head, Sarah took a few steps and peeked around the corner into the hall. There was nobody there...not that she could see anyway.

"Jareth?" Sarah hoped, a nervous fear gripping her senses. "I know you're here, Jareth. You're not scaring me."

There was still no answer and Jareth did not appear.

Turning around, she walked back into the ballroom. This time, however, she was not so enchanted. She could hear soft whispers echoing through the walls and in the air all about her, sending chills down her spine.

"Its the wind...yeah, its just a draft." Sarah reasoned with herself. "Its not really haunted." There was uncertainty in her tone. She was on edge, waiting for something to happen.

And something did.

Sarah walked toward the staircase once more. Placing her hand upon the railing, she felt a certain sadness run through her. Suddenly, she felt as if somebody was running their fingers through her hair. Reaching back, she quickly gathered her hair and pulled it loosely over her shoulder.

"Who's there!" Sarah spun around, but nobody was there. True, this sort of thing had happened to her many times before. She would feel Jareth near her, touching her. But this had not felt the same as when she'd sensed it with Jareth. This, whatever it was, was not him. In fact, she did not feel him near her at all. She only felt this dead, cold feeling that was both sad and threatening.

Terror gripped her heart. What if that owl had just been a figment of her imagination? What if Jareth wasn't actually there, but the place was, in fact, haunted? She knew she had to get out of there. It was too dark now, and she hadn't thought to bring a flashlight.

Sarah ran as quickly as she could from the ballroom down the front hall to the door. Pulling on the handle, she cried out in frustrated fear when it would not open. Trying with all her strength, she pulled at it desperately, but still it remained shut tight.

She could hear the whispers growing louder, calling to her from the ballroom, as mysterious candlelight now cast eerie shadows on the door in front of her. Turning around slowly, she looked out toward the candlelight.

Her blood ran cold. He is here.

For a moment, she saw him standing in the middle of the floor. The pain evident in his mismatched eyes cut through to her heart as he held out his hand, beckoning her back to the ballroom.

Sarah was hardly breathing. Jumping up, she ran back to the ballroom.

"Jareth!" Sarah looked around, but there was no sign of him.

"Ghosts playing tricks on you, are they?"

Sarah spun around.

"Alice!" She ran to greet her friend, but to her dismay, Alice had disappeared. Laughter echoed darkly throughout the room as the candlelight cast sinister shadows on the walls.

"Sarah..." the whispers echoed all around her. Before she could react, she felt her feet leave the ground. All she could do was watch helplessly as the second and third floors passed through her line of sight.

Beyond terrified, she did the only thing she could think of. The only thing that made sense to her. With all her might, her heart screamed...

Jareth!

She saw the lightning flash through the windows, but was deaf to the thunder as she felt herself falling down toward the ballroom floor. Any moment, she would connect with that worn-out old floor in a way she had never intended. Closing her eyes, she waited for the impact.

But it never came.

Slowly opening her eyes, she looked up into Jareth's face as he held her in his arms. His eyes did not have that pain she had seen before when the ghosts had played upon her emotions. Instead, she saw a certain warmth that flowed from them into her heart. She knew then, beyond a doubt, what she had know all along. He loved her, always had, and she felt the same for him.

"Jareth..." Sarah whispered, her eyes revealing what she felt in her heart.

"I told you, Sarah. I'll be there for you," Jareth replied softly as he leaned in, "As the world falls down."

She knew he was going to kiss her, and this time, she had no intention of letting anything get in the way of that.

And so the story ends, with a kiss.