Disclaimer: I checked, I don't own any of the characters. I also make no profit from them, I might have to get a day job. I also own or make no profits from the snippets of Bowie songs I will be using in this chapter.
A/N: I have wonderful fans, I love you all, I live for your reviews, I always welcome pm's and will try to answer as quickly as possible. The story should start to move along more quickly now as we get down to trying to keep an ancient evil out of the underground.
After dinner, Jareth and Sarah brought who they considered their core team, or generals, to the library for a planning session. Mac wandered the room, looking around in amazement at the stacks of books and scrolls, the ceiling seemed endless.
"Mac," Sarah said gently, drawing his attention back to her. "You realize what we need you to do here, right?"
"Yep." He said, moving to study the crystal orb in the iron box. "I need to hold this thing and see if it reveals its secrets to me." Grinning, he winked at Siobhan and reached out for the box.
"Wait," Jareth cautioned him, "We need to prepare for this." Motioning for Liam, Siobhan and Sarah to join him, Jareth created a barrier between them and Mac.
At Jareth's nod, Mac opened the iron box and pulled the swirling red crystal out. When his hand touched it, he began to get brighter and pulse.
"What's that he's saying?" Liam asked, leaning closer to the barrier.
Following his lead, Sarah too leaned closer to better hear Mac. When she heard the humming under his breath she began to chuckle, tilting his head in curiosity, Jareth leaned forward to better hear and shot Sarah an amused smile.
Humming under his breath, Mac sang, "This is Major Tom to ground control. I'm stepping through the door and I'm floating in the most peculiar way, and the stars look very different today…"
Liam gave Sarah and Jareth a worried look and said, "The crystal is affecting him, perhaps we should get him away from it."
At Liam and Siobhan's look of concern, Jareth started laughing out loud, Sarah joined in, placing a hand on Liam's arm to hold him back.
"Liam," Jareth said, catching his breath, "Do you mean to tell me, that in all the time you have spent above, you have never enjoyed mortal music?"
"My Lord?" Liam questioned.
"David Bowie." Sarah said, smiling at him. "He's singing a David Bowie song."
"Quite an appropriate one too." Jareth said, still chuckling.
"I never cared for that type of music." Liam said, looking oddly at Mac, "Strange fellow."
"Oh, I don't know Liam." Jareth replied, "I enjoy his music quite a lot, a marvelous artist." Shooting another grin at Sarah, he added, "Wonderful fashion sense."
"Figures," Sarah snorted, rolling her eyes.
As Sarah watched the crystal roll between Mac's hands, she saw his Aura brighten and pulse, at the same time, the crystal got darker and darker until it finally lay in his hand, a solid black obsidian. No longer pulsing and no longer that angry red, Mac looked at them and motioned for them to come out from behind the barrier.
"I think whatever was in it is dead." Mac said, looking down at the ball of black in his hand. "It's solid now and heavy." Handing it to Jareth, he went to stand next to Siobhan again.
Jareth rolled the ball between his gloved hands, studying it intently, trying to reach out with his magic, he felt nothing from it anymore. It was as Mac had said, nothing more than a ball of obsidian.
He handed it to Sarah and she gave it the same once over, looking curiously at Jareth she asked, "So, what? He holds them and they die?"
"It appears that his Aura is so pure, that it cleanses the dark magic out." He said, looking at Mac he asked, "How do you feel, Detective?"
"I feel pretty good." Mac said, rolling his shoulders. "Almost like I've had a few beers, nice buzz." He finished, giving Siobhan a bawdy wink.
"That would probably be the magic running through you." Jareth said, turning to Sarah, he asked, "How does his Aura look?"
"Still a golden color," She replied, "Although not as bright as it was."
Jareth nodded and walked over to his desk, pulling out a drawer he took a small vial of amber liquid out and handed it to Mac. "Drink this," He said. "It will help you recover faster."
Mac drank down the liquid and grimaced at the acrid taste, "Horrible. You'll never be able to sell it." He joked.
"Enter," Jareth said, hearing a knock on the door. Seamus came through the door, bowing to Jareth.
"Your Majesty, your mother is in the throne room."
Jareth sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Thank you, Seamus, please let her know that I will join her momentarily."
With a nod, Seamus left. Jareth held his hand out to Sarah and said, "Shall we?"
"Your Majesty," Siobhan began, "Perhaps we should all go. Didn't you say your mother was in possession of a prophecy scroll?"
Sarah arched a brow at her husband, "Couldn't hurt." She said.
The small group left Jareth's study and walked to the throne room, each one lost in their own thoughts as to what his mother might bring, or take away from their situation. Jareth, for his part, was aware that Sarah would be meeting a member of his immediate family for the first time. While he loved his mother, she did have the tendency to be overly dramatic at times.
As the group entered the throne room, Gwendolyn turned to study them, smiling when she saw Sarah on Jareth's arm. Stretching out her arms, she enveloped Jareth and Sarah in a fierce embrace, whispering into her sons ear, "She is beautiful, my love,"
"Thank you mother," he responded, drawing back from her, he put an arm around Sarah's shoulders and said, "Mother, I present to you my wife, Sarah."
"I'm very pleased to meet you, Your Majesty." Sarah said, reaching a hand out to the other woman.
"Oh, none of this "Your Majesty" nonsense." Gwendolyn said, reaching out to embrace Sarah. "You may call me Mother, or Gwendolyn" She said, squeezing tight and then letting her go.
"Did you bring the scroll, Mother?" Jareth asked.
"No, I did not." She replied sharply, "I bring news from your father, he is gathering the Elven and Troll armies along their borders, just in case this fight comes to the Underground, he suggests that you take as many Fae as possible Above with your entourage and leave several within the Labyrinth to direct the Goblin army should anyone or anything slip through." Looking at each of them in turn, she paused on Mac standing next to Siobhan. "And who might we have here?" She asked, making note of the protective arm the man draped over the Elven princesses shoulders.
"This is Mac, Detective McKinney." Sarah replied. "He works, uh, worked with me in New York City. He apparently has a talent with neutralizing the dark magic crystals."
Gwendolyn gave Mac and Siobhan a calculating look and murmured, "Does he now?"
"Mother," Jareth broke in, "About the scroll?"
"Your father and I have decided that this battle is best fought without any distraction from what The Fates may or may not have meant with that scroll." She said, fixing a steady look on Jareth.
As he started to protest, Gwendolyn held up a hand to stay him, "Jareth," she said sharply, "I no longer think that scroll means what you think it does," she continued, casting another look at Mac and Siobhan. "I really do agree with your father this time, leave it be. If it appears to be important later, then we will address it then."
"As you wish, Madam." Jareth said, bowing stiffly at his mother.
"Come now, my dear boy," Gwendolyn chided gently, "If I really thought it was of great import at this moment, it wouldn't matter what your father said, I would give you the scroll." Jareth nodded, agreeing for the moment, "Good," Gwendolyn continued, with a flourish she wave her hand as was clothed in leather and armor, her waist length hair braided and would tightly against her head. "When do we leave?"
"Mother, no!" Jareth protested, Sarah's sounds of protest joining in with her husbands.
"Didn't I just tell you that your father said to take a large entourage with you?" Gwendolyn responded.
"Yes," Jareth replied, "But surely you don't think he meant you?" He asked incredulously.
"Why not me? You are taking Sarah, Siobhan and Liam. Who better than all members of the royal family to defeat Aldric and his minions?"
"Perhaps." Jareth said, rubbing his finger across his chin thoughtfully, "Or, perhaps, I could impose upon you to stay here, direct my Goblin army and assist the Labyrinth."
"You would have me stay here, out of danger, whilst you and my new daughter go above and deal with this mad man?" Gwendolyn cried in outrage.
"Defending the Labyrinth is not without its dangers, mother." Jareth said softly. "After all, I would dare say, it is his ultimate goal to control it."
Understanding dawned in Sarah's mind, Jareth was right. It would still be dangerous, if Aldric made it past them and entered the Labyrinth, it could be a blood bath. Sarah felt the tug of the maze at her mind. It had been silent until now.
"My Queen, Jareth speaks the truth. I am the ultimate goal, whoever controls me, wields great power in the Underground. I have been preparing for this battle for the past days."
Sarah looked sharply at Jareth, he nodded in return and continued to speak to his mother. "Sarah and I would entrust this task to no one else, mother, I shall leave Fiona and Seamus to assist you. All others in my court are already Above, either at Interpol Headquarters or with the FBI."
"Very well." Gwendolyn conceded. "I will stay here with Seamus and Fiona, your father has his troops to the north and the east, set your Goblin Army to the south and the west. The rest of us will be in the maze and the castle."
"As you wish Madam." Jareth said, wisely holding back the smirk at getting his way.
Sarah turned to look at Mac, Siobhan and Liam, "Ready?" She asked.
"As I'll ever be." Mac said grimly.
Gathering in a circle, Jareth squeezed Sarah's hand once before throwing a crystal in the middle of the circle, in a puff of smoke and glitter, the five of them disappeared.
Bemused, Gwendolyn looked at Seamus and said, "Why does it always have to be glitter with him?"
Seamus wisely kept his mouth shut.
JS – JS – JS – JS – JS – JS – JS – JS – JS – JS – JS – JS – JS – JS – JS – JS – JS
In a dark room, Aldric stood in front of a mirror, watching as Sarah and Jareth's small group appeared. He knew they were Above, however, he wasn't able to make out where. Hissing in frustration he turned to the large dark shadow behind him.
"Find them!" He snarled. Angry that things weren't going according to his plan, he flung a ball of fire at the feet of the shadow, it slunk away, leaving Aldric alone with his thoughts. A plan began to form, he thought he knew Jareth's greatest weakness. He would target Sarah, turn her dreams into nightmares and her life into a living hell.
But how to get her alone, he thought. Then an evil smile crossed his face and he began to conjure a crystal.
"Sometimes the way forward is the way back." He whispered sinisterly. "How about a trip down memory lane, my dear?" With a maniacal laugh, he looked at the crystal he had conjured, a nightmare spell trapped inside. Now all he had to do was wait for a confrontation.
"Oh, you'll come to me." He said to himself. "So eager to be the hero and heroine, so willing to save others instead of protecting yourselves. Come my headstrong King. Come and deliver to me your Queen." Spinning the crystal thoughtfully, he whispered to himself, "Before this night is out, both worlds will tremble and kneel at my feet."