Hurts Like Hell
Author: Chaos Valkyrie
First Conceptualized: February 20, 2004
Posted Chapter 08: July 12, 2005
Updated: December 22, 2005
Disclaimer: The muppets are revolting. So we haven't gained control of the copyrights yet. Don't sue.
Author Notes: LONG TIME, no updates. Whoops. I've been entangled in a lot of things since the last time – computer crashes, pet deaths, unfinished apartment woes, and living out of boxes at my parents' house for the last two months. Yup. Lot's o' crap, no updates. However, know that I have not given up on this story – actually, on any of my stories – and it will be finished. Period. I'm already planning the sequel to this one. Joys and rapture, if I can ever get into my freakin' new apartment and finally have access to all my notes again. Stupid bleepers…
Chapter Eight: The Gauntlet
"Whoa, Sarah! Where's ya goin'?" Hoggle called, stumbling to catch up with the eager Nicole and the reluctant Sarah. They seemed to be at the entrance to a rocky gorge. Nicole eyed the bird as it perched on a rock, patiently waiting for the small party.
"We're following this… bird… because Nicole thinks it knows a short cut to the Goblin City," Sarah admitted as the others caught up with the party. Nicole glared at her friend for the doubt in her voice.
"Well's, that way is shorter, but's ya don't wants to be goin' in theres," Hoggle stressed, grabbing Nicole's arm and pulling her away. Sarah looked surprised.
"It is a short cut? Why can't we take it then?" she asked, wincing as she peered into the dark shadows beyond the rocky entrance.
"That place is called the Gauntlet, my fair Ladies. It is a training ground for the knights of the Goblin City," Didymus answered her. "Long have I wished to prove my valour by running its course, however…"
Hoggle interrupted. "Its only fer the knights of the Goblin City. So comes on, there's nuthin' to see there." He tried to pull Nicole away, but she tugged against him.
"The raven led us here, it must be a short cut. And we're running out of time, so LET GO OF ME!" she screeched at Hoggle, who released her in surprise.
"Wells, no needs to be actin' all huffy," he stated, folding his arms before him. Sarah eyed Nicole's stubborn expression, and sighed.
"She's right, we are getting short on time. Does this come out near the city?"
Hoggle answered reluctantly. "Wells, almost at the front gates…"
Nicole beamed. "See, I told you! Follow the bird!" she cried, marching into the dark shadows beyond the forest's edge. The others followed, albeit reluctantly.
Jareth sighed, running a hand through his hair. Just what he needed, on top of all his other concerns – his brother gaining a heart. Or something remotely similar, he conceded. His brow creased, however, as he wondered how Sarah had come to be in the Labyrinth in the first place. He frowned; suddenly the pieces were all beginning to fit together. He summoned a sphere, and fury built up inside him as he noticed the feathery addition to the party in the woods…
"Ew, Ludo!" Nicole exclaimed, fanning her face. They had been wandering the Gauntlet for ten minutes already, and suddenly Nicole caught a whiff of putrid air, glaring at the furry giant before her.
"Hm?" Ludo asked, looked over her shoulder at her. Sarah caught on immediately.
"It wasn't him. We must be near the Bog of Eternal Stench," she gasped, fanning her own face. The others reeled from the fumes, but the raven merely cawed, urging them forward quickly.
Nicole quickly followed the bird, and gasped in relief as the air cleared a good twenty feet beyond the others. "Hurry, get up here," she called, waving to the group. They panted for clean air (all but Didymus, who seemed fine). Nicole's eyes narrowed as she studied the gorge's walls.
"They must have some kind of vents there, to pass the air through," she muttered, then raised an eyebrow at the raven, who started preening his feathers nearby. "You seem to know an awful lot about this gorge," she muttered again, addressing it directly. The raven tilted its head at her, and she could've sworn it was smirking. She sighed.
"Well, we'd better keep moving forward," she said aloud, and the group resumed its travel through the rocky depths. Nicole lingered, watching the raven with a speculative eye as it flew ahead of the party. "I wonder," she whispered, then shook her head. Sarah looked at her inquisitively.
"What's wrong?" she asked, looking from Nicole to the bird.
"Nothing, nothing," Nicole replied, refocusing her energy forwards. Too little time to wonder about things so improbable… And besides, she had other matters to attend to.
"So, Sarah, you think this thing runs along beside the Bog?" she asked her friend. Sarah shrugged.
"I suppose so, if it can be vented over here. That must be one of the Knight's tests, to brave the stench."
Nicole chanced a glance at the raven flying up ahead. "I wonder what other tests we'll have to face here," she muttered.
"Ha'pears to be none. The Labyrinth's at wars right now, so's all the testers must be on the front lines," Hoggle called back, then glowered darkly at the raven as it cawed in agreement.
"And the bird knows this how?" Sarah asked.
"Who knows," Nicole answered. "At least we have a guide; I'd sure hate to lose him…" she trailed off as a white blur sped past the party, aiming straight for…
"Raven! Look out!" Nicole screamed, and the black bird almost had time to look around as the large white bird – 'A barn owl,' Nicole thought wildly – crashed into it in mid air, pushing the creature over the edge of the gorge wall.
"Raven!" Nicole screamed, scrambling up the rocks towards where the two birds had disappeared. She ignored the protests of the group behind her, struggling to reach the top…
"Oh. My," she muttered as she stared at the Bog below, then promptly fainted as the stench overcame her.
End Notes: Well, cliffie of doom, the first of many. I actually had a different stopping point in mind, but I'll use that next chapter. And some of you might wonder why Jareth has only just now wondered how Sarah got in the Labyrinth… the way I see it, he's had so many distractions – the war, the Erlkonig's strange plans, his brother – that he really just didn't think about it. On top of all of the distractions, he's just so used to seeing Nicole and Sarah together in his crystals, that it didn't occur to him to stop and wonder about the who's and how's of the situation. Anywho, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it. Onwards!