A/N: I know it has been a long, slow burn of a ride, and to those of you who have stuck around with me all this time, thank you. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I would not have completed this without your support and reviews. I hope I've made this final chapter worth the wait. For future news: I am hoping to have the first chapter of Part 2 posted sometime before the end of January but we shall have to see if the muses favor me within that time frame. Rest assured, this story is not done.

Not Her

Whimpers. Muffled cries. Unseen people shifting. Chains rattling. A filthy, metal floor. Dirty, bruised knees and the ragged lace hem of the sleeping gown she still wore. She looked up and they saw the bars of a metal cage. A loud bang startled the group. He could hear several sharp cries from inside the crystal and a light flicked on. Erin had closed her eyes against the sudden brightness. Heavy footfalls made their way ever closer.

"Good morning, Master Thaddeus," a large cluster of trembling voices chorused.

His little ones gasped and he watched as some of them began shaking. So, this was the infamous 'Master Thaddeus' they talked about. The one who tortured his wards, who received pleasure from their pain and misery, who deformed his sweet little Terra. Oh, he had some plans for this one. The King would make sure this beast of a human received full retribution for the pain he had caused.

"These are only her memories," Miren reassured quietly. "There is nothing in them that can harm you here."

"If you do not wish to witness this, you are, of course, free to go elsewhere. You need not force yourself to stay and no one will think less of you if you choose to leave," Jareth added, his eyes glued to the crystal.

The bootsteps stopped and a deep voice roared, reducing his girls to tears.

"WHERE ARE THEY?!" The footsteps came to a halt close by, just out of range of the crystal's field of view. "Alright, which one of you did this?! Which one of you worthless sluts helped them escape?!"

Jareth grit his teeth, balling his hands into fists. This bastard would pay for saying such things.

"It was you!" the voice shouted again.

Erin's soft cries grew louder and more pronounced. The boots came into view as a massive man rushed up to her cage door, ripping it open with his bare hands, breaking a chain lock in the process. The grotesque human stepped in and grabbed Erin by the throat. The vantage point changed as he apparently lifted her up. Erin's vision blurred as her head flailed in all directions. Around them, cries of shock and protest erupted.

"You're gonna pay for that," he screamed, spittle flying into her face. Jareth could no longer hear Erin's quiet gasps.

"No! Stop!" a terrified voice shrieked over the others. "It wasn't her!" The man's disgusting face turned in the direction of that voice. "It was me! Erin had nothing to do with it! Please! Let her go and punish me!"

The man smiled a chipped-toothed grin and Erin was dropped carelessly to the ground. They listened to her sputter and cough and gag as she breathed again.

"No," Marie whispered. Her face was pale and her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

"Is that-" Miren started.

"That's Big Sister," Terra answered, her bandages damp in two spots.

"You? The Lord's favorite? Well, ain't that a turn of events."

They watched his boots retreat out of the cage. The blurry image stayed staring at the cage floor as Erin got her breath back. They heard the lock to another cage slick and the rattle of the chain as it fell to the cement floor that the cages sat on. Louder cries of protest and the field of vision shot up to a cage further up from Erin's. The man was holding an older girl up by her dark hair. Her arms, attached to shackles chained to the bars, were pulled taut behind her. The man blocked their view of the young woman.

"Big Sister!" Erin yelled as loudly as her raspy voice allowed.

"Oh, you're gonna get a punishment like never before, girly. Maybe I'll get lucky and be picked to give it to you myself."

He didn't move, but they could hear the shackles being unlocked and clattering to the ground. He dragged the poor girl behind him, still by her hair, up the stairs he'd descended. She never moved. Never cried out.

"Big sis!"

"No!"

"Big Sister!"

The cries of the others in that room grew in volume. His girls fared no better. A few minutes passed when those on both sides of the crystal waited with bated breath and then…what sounded like cannon fire, followed by a heavy thud. Silence. Then, at the same time, both his girls and those screamed in hysterics. Their panicked, heartbroken wails of inhuman despair and rattling shackles, he knew, would haunt him until his dying breath.

"Big Sister!"

"No, not her too!"

"No!"

"No, they can't! They can't kill her!"

The door burst open and a different man filled the frame. "Y'all shut up down here or I'll make every one of you regret ever being born!" he yelled.

Loud thuds began filtering down from an upper level, effectively silencing the girls. Sharp gasps echoed on both sides as the man left, slamming the door. The thuds got louder and more frequent. The girls continued to whimper and cry, but much more restrained than before. Even his own obeyed the command.

"W-what's go-ing on?"

"Does th-that m-m-mean sh-she's n-not-"

"But th-the gunshot…"

The thuds and bangs went on for what felt like hours. Eventually, the cracking of a whip joined the cacophony of beatings, more than a few girls on both sides to shriek and flinch horridly.

At one point, Jareth suggested they move to his study. The girls protested and tossed up their light crystals, stubbornly sitting back at the table, crying softly, holding each other's hands. Ambrosius yowled and whined beside Terra who hugged him tightly, sobbing into his fur. Didymus sat on his haunches, rocking back and forth. Guards surrounded the group, drawn to the area by the screams and shouts emanating from the crystal. They stood protectively, though their weapons quaked in their hands and their eyes were wide. And Miren…his hair was a mess with how many times he'd ran his hands through it, tears ran unchecked down his face, a trickle of blood ran down his wrist as he bit into his hand to avoid making any sound. And Jareth was in no condition to comfort or soothe or console any of them.

He had no idea how long it went on before the sounds suddenly stopped. Then came a high-pitched scream.

"W-was that-"

"No!"

Another shrill scream.

"Big Sister!"

A third scream. Erin curled into a ball and all they could see were her knees, convulsing with the force of her raspy cries. A pause. Another thud followed by the loudest and most bloodcurdling scream yet. Then…silence.

"I-I w-wish-sh I c-could b-be wi-th th-the twins," Erin cried, her voice barely audible over the others. "In-n the La-byrinth."

With shaking hands, Jareth plucked the crystal from Erin's tiny hands and destroyed it. She took a deep breath and relaxed.

"Wha-what h-happened to he-her?" Lexie demanded, her crying eliminating any attempt at a bravado.

"This is normal," Jareth muttered, barely above a whisper. It was all he could muster at the moment. "The mind…needs to rest after having its memories drawn to the forefront by magic. She will…sleep. For a while. And I will…have Ghilanna heal her in the meantime."

What he'd just born witness to…it was…so much more horrible than anything he had ever imagined. He…couldn't comprehend the images and sounds that were now burned into his mind's eye. And he knew this was only a taste of the horrors his little ones had suffered.

"They…they m-made her s-scream," Terra whispered brokenly. "Big Sister. She ne-ver screams but th-they made her."

"Sh-she's been th-there for s-so long," Marie cried. "L-longer than m-me. Long-ger than everybody ex-cept M-mira. She t-took so man-ny pun-nishm-ments and-and clients for us. And sh-she never s-screamed. Never."

"Wh-what about the gu-gunsh-shot?" Allie sobbed. "If-if it was-sn't for B-big Si-ster, th-then who?"

"I don't think I wanna know," Alice sniffed.

"I assure you, little ones, I will find out. Come, we must prepare. Now that I have seen the place for myself, I can at last retrieve them, and capture your tormentors. Let us waste no time in readying ourselves and the castle for their arrival."

"I shall alert Ghilanna," Miren offered somberly. "Stars know she'll be needed."

"Have three others as well. I fear Ghilanna alone will not suffice for the sudden influx. Then return to my side. I shall need your help." His friend gone, Jareth turned to the girls. "Some of you will have to share your room with another, perhaps more, we shall see. Marie, as Princess, I am tasking you with the division of the Wing between you. But save the room at the end of the hall for your Big Sister." She nodded, her face puffy from the tears that still fell, her expression more determined and serious than he had ever seen it. "Relde, I know not how many will be in need of an attendant. I'd suggest selecting no less than ten to start with." The goblin bowed low and darted off after ensuring her charge would be alright without her. The King turned to the guard that had gathered.

"I have need of you as well. I want no less than four guards posted at the entrance of the Wing of the Eight Realms at all times until I say otherwise. I want a squadron of you in and around the deepest oubliette in the Labyrinth. Three cannons above, pointed into it, and cleaners at every tunnel near it. I shall be sending guests there as soon as I can and they will not escape. We do not know how long ago her memories took place so we must act quickly."

"Jareth," Marie called, tugging at his sleeve as the guard departed with a salute. "Is this it? Is this what the Labyrinth was warning us about?"

"I believe so, little one." Miren appeared behind the rest of his wards with Ghilanna and two others flanking him. Ghilanna looked haggard, but determined.

"If there is to be more incoming, I trust only Throssia and Aster to assist me," the elf explained. Jareth nodded his approval.

"I don't get it though. How can this be what the Labyrinth meant when, if we do everything like normal, it won't be any different than it was before?" she huffed, trying to keep up with his long strides. Miren, his wards, and his healers followed close behind, ready to disperse at their King's command.

"Think of it like a puzzle," Jareth suggested, his mind racing through the different preparations he could make before departing. "The picture is just starting to take form but there are still enough missing pieces that we do not know what the picture will be yet. For now, we must prepare for the new pieces we've found that match the existing pattern."

"Got it."

"Good. Take a few of the goblins to facilitate the movements of cots. I don't want any of you lifting them yourselves. Ghilanna, you and your chosen gather yourselves and as many supplies as you have. I know not yet what we face. Assume they are all at least as bad off as our worst. Be ready to act immediately. Send word when you've all completed your tasks. Miren, you're with me."

Jareth and Miren parted ways with the healers and the girls, heading straight for the artillery chamber. The King led his friend all the way to the back of the chamber to an unassuming door with no handle or lock of any kind. Miren turned away, closing his eyes as Jareth began tracing a complicated glyph. This knowledge was passed strictly from Labyrinth ruler to Labyrinth ruler. Upon completion, there was a subtle click and the back wall before them seemed to melt away, leaving an extension to the chamber. This extension was lined with row upon row of crystals stacked ceiling-high, organized by clearly marked plaques detailing their age and the type of magic that was stored in them.

"To war, then?" Miren asked, excitement brightening his purple eyes.

"To war. Arm yourself, my friend. It is time we repay those masters everything they have done for our girls. Gather as many transport and restraint crystals as you can. I wish to lay traps around the building for those not lucky enough to be caught in the initial raid. Tonight is only the beginning."

"How delightful." He grinned savagely. "I must say, I have been looking forward to this."

"As have I. You may take some destructive crystals but try not to use them unless absolutely necessary. I would not want to alert potential guests to our presence."

"Banish the thought, my Liege. We should also have Grybar send some light meals to the girls. It will be a long night for all of them as it will be for us. And the new ones will need something small on their stomachs while they wait to be healed."

"Good idea. Then that will be next on our list. Grab some acid crystals in case those cages or shackles are iron-laced. I won't take any chances."

"Yes, my King."

The pair worked in silence, grabbing any crystal they thought might be useful for the coming retrieval. In minutes they had collected more than enough crystals to last any assault against those humans. Jareth was still waiting on word from Ghilanna regarding the preparations of hers and the girls.

"This should be sufficient. Shall we send word to Grybar and see how the others are doing before heading to the Aboveground?"

"Indeed, Sire. I am eager to begin dispensing as much repayment as I can before the sun rises and we break to care for the girls."

"Agreed."

The two left the extension and Miren turned his back while Jareth sealed it up again. They'd decided to walk back to the Wing of the Eight Realms, to give themselves time to scheme a plan of attack. Jareth hailed a guard along the way to pass off his orders to Grybar and they returned from the training grounds satisfied with the strategy they'd devised. Jareth and Miren had just made it to the third-floor landing of the castle, nearly to their destination when they were stopped in their tracks by several things happening at once.

Without warning, Jareth's medallion flared white-hot. So hot, that Jareth cried out, yanking the chain away from his skin while clutching at the afflicted area. At the same time, the walls of the castle began to tremble. Startled cries of the goblins began to fill the air.

"My King, are you alright?! What is going on?!" Miren demanded, looking around in alarm, his hands fluttering shakily, conjuring a shield to protect them from potentially falling debris.

Jareth ran to the nearest window, still holding his glowing medallion well away from him. The city outside fared no better. Buildings shook, shingles fell, shattering against the cobblestone, goblins ran around in a mad panic. And beyond the Goblin City, too. He watched in horror whole sections of the forest toppling, walls of the Labyrinth crumbling. Just as suddenly, it stopped. All went still. The medallion's glow faded. He felt the all-too-familiar pull of several wished-aways at once. All connected to a single wisher.

"Change of plans," he hissed, still rubbing the scorched area on his chest. Though faded, the medallion's heat had left him scalded. "Head to the throne room and ensure everyone's well-being. I-"

"Jareth…I wish…I could have seen you…one…more…time…"

The King moved without thought. Dare he hope? Raspy, barely louder than a breath. But it was her voice. Calling out to him. 'One more ti-? What did that mean?'

He moved faster. Faster than he ever had before, he was Aboveground, transformed. His wings flapped hard against the wind. A fleeting thought that he was heading in the same direction of the wisher passed through his mind but he pushed it aside. A strong sense of foreboding and dread filled his every feather as he approached a window eerily similar to a nightmare he'd had not too long ago. The window flew open at his command and flew inside to the far corner, transforming back in the same moment. What he saw once the haze of glitter cleared from his vision would haunt him into his grave.

There, suspended by a red harness in the most crude and degrading position he could ever imagine a creature being in, with her hands tied above her head, was his Sarah. Two human males were having their way with both sides of her. One yanking her raven hair back, the other with his hands around her delicate neck, anger on their faces. They hadn't even noticed his presence.

Bruises, lacerations, scars, and dried blood littered every inch of her swollen, abused form. There wasn't a sliver of her fair skin to be seen anywhere. And her eyes… Eyes that he'd both craved and despised for so long. The barest slits of jade that were once filled with such fire and life were now shrouded. Cloaked with a hopelessness too great to comprehend. When her eyes met his, they shimmered with a hint of that same spark he'd so adored before closing, her body hanging limp.

Time stood still. Or had he stopped it? He wasn't certain. For but a moment, he couldn't think. Couldn't feel. Frozen as the area around them, all he could do was see his Sarah, his precious Champion of the Labyrinth, dangling helplessly while those who plundered her, who hurt her, congratulated themselves. For that moment, he could only watch the blood trickling from her mouth and head pooling onto the hands that clasped her throat. He could only see the slightest upturn of her swollen, black-bruised lips, the teardrop that had gathered in the corner of her battered eyes ready to fall the instant he released his hold on time.

'No…not her…'

The moment passed and Jareth, King of the Goblins and Sovereign of the Labyrinth was brought to his knees, his chest searing in agony. Despair. Rage. That sensation deep within that had been his constant companion since the day he'd last held her in his sight burned hotter than any flame, colder than any ice. He felt the Labyrinth's magic, the labyrinth's fury, bolstering his own. His hands curled into fists, carving grooves into the hardwood as they did so.

"No," he seethed. Standing, he could feel fire, lightening, and ice crackling around him, his magic reflecting the frenzied storm of emotions inside threatening to overtake him. "NO!"

Jareth stormed over to those humans who dared lay their hands on her. Grasping each face in his clutches, he released a heat comparable to the inferno swirling within. The King relished in their cracking, blistering skin and held both until they had burned into brittle husks of their former selves, then grinned savagely as he shattered them into piles of ash. How dare they touch his precious Sarah?!

Hearing several heavy footfalls approaching, he tossed a Transport crystal at the door causing anyone who touched it to be taken to the location of hic choosing. He tossed another one at the window for good measure. He would…attend them later. His Sarah took priority. Now that the room had been secured, he could focus his attention on freeing his beloved Sarah. But looking at her closer, Jareth was afraid the slightest brush of his skin might cause her more pain. The wounds he'd sighted from the corner of the room were only the most recent afflictions she'd suffered.

His fear worsened as he untied her wrists and felt her bones shifting underneath her mottled skin. Quick, delicate movements saw her freed completely of her harness, now only suspended by his magic. He didn't trust himself to touch her. The more he gazed upon her destroyed form, the more guilt and revulsion churned within him at how much had been done to her. Not even Ghilanna, with all her experience and expertise, could heal injuries of this magnitude. Especially if her energy and magic were already sapped from taking care of the children. Her pulse faltered under his tender grasp on the wrist he still held, and his panic flared. He covered her with his cloak.

Jareth summoned twenty goblin guards to his side and placed a small mound of various trap and transport crystals at his feet.

"The moment I am gone from your sight, you will take these and use them upon every human in this house," their King commanded, his voice hurried, but hardened. "Ensure that you are not seen by any of them. Then you will take the remainder and surround the building. Every human who dares come near it gets blasted with a crystal. Any girl they happen to have with them gets sent to the throne room immediately. Do I make myself clear?"

Her heartbeat faltered again in his grasp and slowed, an immeasurably long time between its stuttered pulses. She was fading fast.

"Yes, Kingy," the captain of this group squeaked. "All will be as you say."

Without another word, Jareth turned heel and vanished with his Champion. There was only one healer he could turn to. One healer he trusted with his Sarah's care. Throwing all protocol to the four winds, Jareth appeared in the throne room, on his knees before the High King and the High Queen, the most powerful healer in all the Nine Realms, with Sarah floating peacefully in front of him. If he didn't have her wrist in his hand, feeling the lingering beats of her struggling heart, he might have thought she was already- no. He flinched horridly against the mere thought. No. She couldn't.

"Jareth, what is the meaning of this?" a powerful, booming voice demanded amidst the shocked gasps and mutters of those gathered at the moment.

Ignoring him, Jareth looked to the High Queen, tears falling steadily down his cheeks as he held her hand close to that inferno still raging deep within his chest.

"Mother," he begged, his voice barely above a whisper yet still heard through all corners of the grand chamber. "Please."