Hurts Like Hell
Author: Chaos Valkyrie
First Conceptualized: February 20, 2004
Posted Chapter 07: April 24, 2004
Updated: December 22, 2005
Disclaimer: Muppets, attack! Um, they're just staring at me with their little button eyes… sigh I guess I don't own the Labyrinth.
Author Notes: More familiar characters have arrived!
Chapter Seven: Old Friends
Gareth watched his brother fly away in owl form with mixed feelings. While he was partially amused by the fact that his brother really did have a heart beating under that pale, cruel façade, it worried him to see the Goblin King this upset by a woman. And a mortal woman, no less…
Gareth sighed – both he and his brother were getting soft. His brother by his fascination with Sarah; and Gareth for actually worrying about it. He shrugged, still thinking to himself, and decided that he might as well check on Sarah's side of this mess before heading back to the war front. He shook his head before he transformed – war and bloodshed were so much easier to deal with.
"Sarah! What're you doing here?" Hoggle exclaimed. He frowned. "You're not here ta rescue your brother again, is you?"
Nicole grimaced as Sarah chuckled. "No, we're here to rescue her brother. Hoggle, meet Nicole," she said, gesturing to her human friend. Nicole blinked as Hoggle frowned at her.
"Shouldn't ta been wishin' your brother away, now," he told her.
Nicole sighed. "I didn't – he wished himself away. Now, as much as I like reunions, we're starting to run out of time. Can we get moving again?
Sarah smiled, turning back to Hoggle. "Can you show a way to get to the Goblin City from here?" she asked.
"Well, I guess I can this once, even if Jareth won't like it. Follow me!" Hoggle answered gruffly.
The two girls fell into step behind the shorter creature, and walked for about five to ten minutes through the forest before they heard raucous singing.
Sarah turned to Nicole with wary amusement. "Be quiet – those are the Fierys, you don't want to get on the wrong side of them," she cautioned. Nicole nodded curiously. As they continued forward, the singing got louder and louder, until…
"Hey! Take off ya head, lady!" a heavily accented voice called out. Nicole watched, baffled, as a fuzzy orange head landed before her, blinking and yelling. Other creatures (and appendages) came flying at the two women and goblin, the three of whom broke into a run.
"If they catch us," Sarah panted, "They'll try to take our heads off!" Nicole screamed as she felt something tug harshly at her hair. She grabbed the offending arm and threw it to the side, dodging a disembodied hand in the process. The three crashed through the underbrush, only stopping when they came face-to-face with a cliff.
"Oh no! A dead end!" Sarah cried. She looked around frantically for something to climb up, but there was nothing. But then, as the Fierys began closing in…
"CHARGE!" a voice cried, and a small sheepdog with a very fancifully-dressed fox riding it ran through the clearing, running straight at the fluffy orange creatures.
"Awoooo!" howled another voice, and Nicole was shocked to see rocks rolling through the clearing at the offending creatures.
"Ludo! Sir Didymus!" Sarah cried cheerfully. After a few minutes, the three newcomers returned, and Nicole got a better look at Sarah's friends. One was a lumbering but gentle-seeming giant; the other, a fierce little creature.
"My lady! You have returned to us!" Sir Didymus cried, bowing and kissing Sarah's hand.
"Sa-rah," Ludo said in his furry voice, enveloping the smaller woman in a huge hug.
"And who is this, my lady?" Sir Didymus asked, bowing to Nicole.
"This is my friend, Nicole – we're here to rescue her brother from Jareth," Sarah explained.
"A quest! Well then, let us be off to the Goblin City once again!" Sir Didymus cried, encouraging his steed Ambrosius into the trees. Hoggle merely rolled his eyes while Sarah giggled softly.
"Is he always like that?" Nicole whispered as the two women walked at the rear of the group.
"Yes. He takes chivalry very seriously," Sarah replied quietly.
The group walked onwards for what seemed like another ten or fifteen minutes before Nicole asked Sarah, "Isn't there some sort of short cut or something that we could take?"
Sarah frowned, thinking. "Well, it would probably be quickest to go through the Bog of Eternal Stench, but…"
"Bog of Eternal Stench?" Nicole wondered aloud.
"Yes – if you even touch it, you'll stink forever. Hoggle and Ludo hate it, so we'll be avoiding that trip if at all possible."
"Hmmm, the Bog of Eternal Stench," Nicole mused aloud, until a cawing noise interrupted her. She turned towards the noise, raising an eyebrow at the raven sitting nearby. Its head was cocked with a mischievous expression in its eyes.
"What, do you have a better idea?" Nicole asked. She could've sworn it nodded its head. Sarah walked up beside her, her expression quizzical.
"Why are you talking to a crow?" Sarah asked. The bird in question muttered at her.
"It's a raven, not a crow. There's a difference," Nicole told her. The bird chirped in agreement.
Sarah rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Let's get going – we've got to save your brother, remember?"
Nicole eyed the bird thoughtfully. "Maybe it knows something?" she asked Sarah. The bird preened.
Sarah gaped at her. "I think this place is getting to you. Have you always talked to birds?"
"And what happened to your advice – not everything is what it seems?" Nicole retorted. She turned back towards the raven. "Can you show us a faster way to the Goblin City?" she asked politely. The bird cawed, flapping up and over their heads in a north-easterly direction. She grinned at Sarah.
"See, we can follow it to the city!" she exclaimed, walking off after the bird.
End Notes: Well, the others have come into play now! We'll see more of everyone next chapter, as some sticky situations begin to develop!