Title: As the World Falls Down

Rating: PG-13, Later, possibly R

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

Authors Note: Hello, hello! Wow… 3 reviews for my 1st chapter! I feel loved .

musicalexpert: Thank you! I'm glad you like it. Vain… wow I had no idea he was vain.

Ocean Fairy: Aww… thanks. I'm glad he's in character, I tried so hard. Here's chapter 2 for ya.

Nathaneal Jacobs: Much thanks to you. Well, I hope that doesn't ruin the story for you, that would suck.

BTW… I'm honored!

After running for a while Elizabeth came to the entrance of the labyrinth, but saw no door.

"Great, now what? There's no friggen door!" Exclaimed Elizabeth as she looked around.

Suddenly she heard a loud groan as a door, that appeared out of nowhere, slowly opened. As she walked through the door she noticed two passageways that seemed to go on forever.

"Well, here goes nothing." Elizabeth said as she started to run down the passageway on the right. This continued for a while until she stopped with a cry of annoyance.

"What the heck is going on here? I thought he said this was a labyrinth. It's just a straight line, no turns whatsoever. Arghhh!"

"'Ello!" Said a tiny little voice.

Elizabeth looked around and saw a little blue worm looking up at her from a ledge on the labyrinth wall.

"Umm… did you say something just now?"

"Yup. I said 'Ello." Said the worm.

"Oh, ok. Hello there." Said Elizabeth thinking she was going crazy because now worms were talking to her.

"What 'cha doin?"

"Me? I'm trying to get through this supposed labyrinth. Say, you wouldn't by any chance know if there's a turn or something anywhere, would you?"

"Sure. There's a doorway right over there on the other wall. Just walk right through it and you'll be on your way." Nodded the worm.

"The wall looks solid, are you sure?" Asked Elizabeth looking from the worm, to the wall and back again.

"Yup! Nothing is as it seems in this place. Go on then, right through the wall."

Elizabeth walked up to the wall and cautiously put her hands on its surface. As she did her hands went right through it.

"Hey, thanks little guy! That was really helpful1" Elizabeth said, smiling at the little blue worm.

"No prob. Just don't go left. Never go left."

"Why not?" Asked Elizabeth interested.

"That wat goes right to the castle. You don't want to go there!" Exclaimed the worm.

"But that's where I need to go. The Goblin King has my brother and I need to get him back."

"Oh… well…. good luck then. Just be careful, this place is pretty dangerous." Said the worm, looking at her with a hint of amazement in his eyes.

"Thanks for the warning, but I really must hurry."

With that Elizabeth turned and walked right through the wall and continued walking left down the labyrinth. After a little while of walking she looked and noticed that the castle was a lot closer now.

"Wow, this is easy. If this keeps up, I'll be there in no time at all!" Said Elizabeth happily.

Elizabeth looked around and saw a good sized rock that she could climb up on. She looked over the wall and found that she was indeed a lot closer than she had thought possible. When she climbed down her foot slipped on the rock's smooth surface and she fell through a trap door that opened on the ground. She fell down a long shaft and landed in a musty smelling dungeon underneath the labyrinth.

Jareth watched Elizabeth's progress through his labyrinth in a crystal that he created for that purpose. He watched as she talked to the worm, and as she made quick progress through the labyrinth. He created a trap door for her to fall through as she was on the rock. When she fell he laughed and threw the crystal in the air.

"Now it's time for some fun!" Said Jareth as he disappered from his throne room.

The dungeon was dark except for a little bit of light coming from the shaft. Elizabeth took a deep breath and moved forward, slowly, feeling along the wall. After what felt like eternity she found a door, and when she opened it she was surprised to find light. She stepped through and found herself in another passageway. Sighing she hurried along not noticing as a crystal rolled along after her. Only when she stopped for a moment did she notice the crystal as it rolled past her.

"Ahh… crap! I have a bad feeling about this." Said Elizabeth as she watched it roll past.

"Tut, tut! Such language, very unbecoming." Said a voice coming from the direction the crystal had just rolled.

"Who's there? Show yourself1" Demanded Elizabeth.

Chuckling, none other than the Goblin King himself walked out of the shadows.

"Hello Elizabeth, my dear."

"Oh God, what do you want?" Snapped Elizabeth.

"My, my, such a temper." Purred Jareth softly as he walked slowly towards Elizabeth.

As he moved closer she backed up until she was pressed up against a wall. He continued to walk forward until he was pressed up against her. He placed his forearms against the wall above her head and looked her deeply in the eyes.

"How are you enjoying my labyrinth, Elizabeth?"

"Honestly? I am finding it unbearably easy. I have yet to find a challenge of any kind."

"Really? Well I'll have to fix that won't I?" Smirked Jareth as a 13 hour clock appeared behind them. Elizabeth noticed that 4 hours had gone by since she came here. Maybe time goes by quicker here? Jareth gestured at the clock and an extra 3 hours were taken off.

"There now, with only 6 hours left and quite a ways left to go, is that enough of a challenge for you?" Asked Jareth, turning back to Elizabeth.

"You… you JERK! That's not what I meant at all!" Gasped Elizabeth.

She pushed past him and was about to hurry on her way when, suddenly, Jareth grabbed her from behind. Spinning her around he pulled her close.

"Be careful what you ask for/little/ girl, you might just get it!" Hissed Jareth as his lips crashed down on hers. Pushing her away he diappeared. Elizabeth stood there in shock for a minute before remembering the rapidly increasing deadline and moved into a run.

"Arrogent schmuck." Muttered Elizabeth as she thought about the 'kiss'.

His lips had tasted like a warm mocha with just a hint of an underlying bite. Elizabeth felt both annoyed and flustered by it. But she gave it no further thought. After a few minutes she found a ladder and climbed it. She emerged from a large urn just on the outside of the garden maze of the labyrinth.

"Wow… oh wow! This is beautiful." Gasped Elizabeth looking around at the garden.

It was breathtaking. There were flowers and other plantlife everywhere, even a fountain or two that she could see. As she watched she saw a tiny fairy flutter past. She felt a hint of sadness that she couldn't stay, but swallowed it and hurried along. After a few moments she came to the edge of a forest.

"Ohh… I do hope I'm getting closer. I don't have much time left." Said Elizabeth sighing.

While running through the forest she began to notice that she was getting hungry. Thinking she could ignore it she pressed on. This idea worked for a little while, until she found a particular tree that bore fruit. Giving into her hunger she plucked one of the peaches from the tree. The peach looked so large and juicy that her mouth began to water and she took a bite. As she swallowed she became very dizzy and had to lean against a tree.

"Spiked fruit in a forest? What are the odds?" Grumbled Elizabeth.

Meanwhile, Jareth sat by a window overlooking the labyrinth. He was looking deeply into a crytstal before finding what he wanted and sending it into the air with a flick of his wrist. There it turned into a bubble and joined a multitude of others, that were slowly forming into one gigantic bubble. Inside this one bubble people were gathered, dancing to eerie music. More bubbles joined it, each one with more people inside. Jareth was already dancing inside, waiting for his chosen one.

Elizabeth sat slumped against a tree as she saw the bubble approach. Her eyes were glazed over and she had forgotten everything, where she was , why she was there, and all the people she had met. Her thoughts were of Jareth, her king. She closed her eyes and smiled as the bubble descended.

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Authors Note: There another chappie done. Review and tell me what you think. Constuctive criticism is fine but no flames. Thankies. Oh… BTW is anyone interested in being a beta reader? Let me know.