Hurts Like Hell
Author: Chaos Valkyrie
First Conceptualized: February 20, 2004
Posted Chapter 04: March 26, 2004
Updated: December 22, 2005
Disclaimer: Hmm, still checking the credits… nada, I'm not in there.
Author Notes: Yo-yo peoples. Here she is, Chapter 4! And there was much rejoicing.
Chapter Four: At the End of the Tunnel
"C'mon, grab my hand! It's not too bad a climb," Nicole grunted from the top of the wall. She grabbed Sarah's wrist and hoisted her friend up along side of her. They paused there, staring down into the two paths beyond the door.
"Which one should we choose, do you think?" Nicole asked, facing Sarah at last.
Sarah's brow creased as she studied the paths before her. "The right path, I guess. The wall is hedge-lined, which indicates it leads into the second part of the Labyrinth."
"Well, then, off we go," Nicole said, jumping down unsteadily into the space behind the right door. Sarah followed her a moment later.
"I just hope this is the cor-" Sarah's words were cut off as the ground shifted beneath the two women, a hole appearing under their feet and dropping them into a dark pit. The Helping Hands hurried their descent, pushing the startled women down into the depths quickly, before locking the grate above them.
"Sarah?" Nicole asked into the darkness.
"I was afraid this might happen," came Sarah's weary voice in the darkness. Nicole could hear the other woman fumbling about.
"What're you doing?" Nicole asked.
"Looking for a door," Sarah's disembodied voice replied. Nicole winced as she heard clanging a moment later. "Wrong door," Sarah muttered, and then Nicole suddenly saw her friend outlined in dim but very welcome light.
"Good job, Sarah!" Nicole grinned, following her out into the passage beyond. The tunnel was round, the walls made of cold, slime-covered stone. Nicole wrinkled her nose as Sarah led her onwards. Nicole slipped as they turned a corner, cursing loudly.
"This place stinks," she mumbled. She watched as Sarah stiffened, hearing a screeching noise coming from further down the passage. Nicole scrambled to her feet, peering into the darkness.
"What is that?" she whispered, then screamed as Sarah grabbed her arm, almost causing her to fall again as she pulled her into a run.
"Never mind, run!" was all Sarah managed to gasp out. The two women barreled down the corridor, Sarah's eyes frantically looking for a weak spot in the wall. Finally finding one, she flung herself into it, giving Nicole enough time to glance behind them. The noisemaker was metallic, blocked the entire passage, and had many sharp, pointy things. She threw herself against the wall with Sarah, and they managed to push the wall in before the machine got anywhere near them.
Sarah pulled Nicole into the darkness beside her, feeling her way through the new passageway. Eventually, they found a dusty metal ladder built into the wall. Nicole watched Sarah, who looked highly perplexed, grab the rungs and start climbing. Nicole shrugged once, then followed suit.
They finally reached the surface once again, emerging into a hedge-lined portion of maze. Sarah gave Nicole a hand out of the ground, and together they then slid the cover back over the hole.
"Well, ladies, how do you like my Labyrinth?" a cold, cultured voice asked from behind them. Sarah swung around, her eyes wide as she and Nicole faced the Goblin King.
Gareth sat in his tent on the front lines, anger mounting as he read through various reports from his spies. According to the reports, the Erlkonig was reinforcing his army in 'secret,' preparing what looked to be a massive invasion force. Gareth wondered how long it would be before the old fool decided to strike.
Despite the reports, the goblin troops still outnumbered the Dark Elves three to one – a battle at this point would still result in a Goblin victory. However, the negotiations still moved forward at a deathly slow rate. The Erlkonig's representatives hemmed and hawed and prodded at the tiniest details in the contracts. They were waiting for some development to come about – Gareth could taste it in the air.
Gareth sighed, leaning back in his chair and pouring himself a glass of wine. He sipped it slowly, letting the tartness of the liquid roll across his tongue, soothing his frustrated nerves. Absently, he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, wondering with a faint smile if his brother had dealt with feelings for the human yet.
"So, Sarah, did you and your little friend enjoy the oubliette?" Jareth asked, a wicked smile playing on his lips.
"It was a piece of cake," Sarah told him mockingly.
"My dear Sarah, still using the same expressions? You deserved to be punished after cheating in my Labyrinth. Well, how would you like this slice again?" he asked, and a clock suddenly appeared at a wave of his hand. The hour hand moved forward, and as Nicole watched in horror, they lost several hours of time. She now understood what Sarah had meant.
"You prissy asshole!" Nicole muttered under her breath. Fortunately, Jareth and Sarah seemed too intent on glaring at each other to hear her words.
"Well, Sarah, have you anything to say? Its not fair, is it?" Jareth sneered at her. Nicole vaguely wondered if steam would start rising from Sarah's ears.
"You'd like me to say that, wouldn't you? But I know very well that you never play by the rules," Sarah spat out.
"That is because I am the King here, Sarah, never forget that. And no matter how exhausted it may make me, I will always live up to your expectations of me – no matter how high, or how low." With that said, the Goblin King vanished in a whisper of silk.
"What was that all about?" Nicole asked Sarah, who looked a bit dazed. "You both completely lost me there."
Sarah turned, her shoulders shrugging against some unseen force. "Come on, Nicole, let's find our way out of here," she said, walking off into the hedges. Nicole, eyes wide with concern, followed her.
End Notes: I know, I know, short chapter. It was originally shorter, but I threw in the cleaner for a little excitement. I'm not trying to follow the action as it was in the movie, and so you're not going to see certain other parts of the Labyrinth. Do count on the Bog's appearance, however. Anywho, there's more action coming up in the next chapter, so this one was a little dull, as it had to pass a certain bit of transition work off.