A/N: I love my readers and reviews! I'm like a kid when I get that notification in my e-mail! Keep'em coming, they inspire me to write faster.
Disclaimer: I thought, possibly, in the spirit of Christmas, that I could have some rights over Labyrinth, alas, no. Still don't own it, I still make no profit from it.
Aldric stood in a small, damp basement. Candles providing earie, flickering light. A woman, bound, bruised and bleeding lie naked before him. He belly swollen in late pregnancy.
"Wish the child away!" He demanded, as he struck her across the face, receiving only the faintest of moans for his efforts. The woman was weak from blood loss and pain. Barely able to move or to register what he wanted from her any longer.
"Worthless human!" He screamed in rage. Pacing around the small area, hands running repeatedly through his hair, he muttered to himself, "How will I lure them here? How will I force them to come if I cannot get this stupid, worthless, woman to say the simplest of lines?" As he made to strike the woman again, he heard a heavy step on the stairs.
"Ah, Detective Cooper," He said lightly, "So good of you to join us." Picking the woman up by her hair, smiling faintly at the thin scream she let out, Aldric dragged her by the hair and tossed her in Coops direction. "Do be a good boy and take out the trash," he said carelessly.
"Wh-hmm- What do you want me to do with her?" Coop stammered.
"I do not care!" Aldric screamed, "Dispose of it!"
Coop lifted the woman into his arms as gently as he could, he shuddered when he felt the baby in her belly stir against him. He knew that Aldric meant for him to kill her and blanked his mind against it. He knew this woman was nothing to Aldric, so many things Coop had done, he had never questioned, now he wondered if he was on the winning side. Aldric seemed to be losing it quickly. The woman slumped in his arms, unconscious, as he carried her up the stairs. Looking at her bruised and battered face and feeling the life stirring within her, he knew he couldn't kill her. He placed her as gently as he could in the back of his car, there was an E.R. about 7 blocks away, he could just say he found her like this. The paperwork would be a bitch, but he just couldn't bring himself to end her life and that of the child she carried.
Getting behind the wheel, he decided he would drop the woman off at the hospital and try to get as far away as he could, as fast as he could.
"Mac, I sure could use your help on this one." He muttered to himself as he pulled away from the curb.
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Mac and Siobhan sat with several detectives in a rarely used conference room. Mac had laid out the players and the mission, watching each ones face for signs of unwillingness to believe the impossibility of what he was saying. No one looked at him with open disbelief or hostility, so Mac was tentatively hopeful that he had chosen the right people to go to. If need be, Siobhan was willing to give a small demonstration to provide proof of all that he had said.
Detective Donaldson sat back in his chair, fingers rubbing his jaw. Thoughtfully he turned his gaze to his partner, Kinecke. "Well, Dave, what do you think about this?" He asked, a low tingle starting in his gut at the thought of what was to come. He didn't even consider that Mac wasn't telling them straight, he was too solid of a cop. The fact that he showed up with a smoking hot babe that just screamed otherworld, hell, if this is what losing your marbles got you, he was in.
Kinecke rubbed a hand through his hair, looking at the other detectives sitting at the table. They all had that same fire in their eye. They were hot on a case, every one of them to a person would trust Mac with their lives, no one questioned that he was telling the truth now. Mac says some magical maniac was threatening their city? Well, let's go help Mac kick his ass.
"I'm in." Kinecke said.
"I'm in." Detective Morton followed.
"Why the hell not." Adams followed suit.
Around the room, murmurs of acceptance went through. Siobhan looked at Mac with pride beaming in her eyes. This was a man that people trusted, that they would follow loyally into battle. Despite his rough and cagey look, he appeared to be a noble man who inspired his peers. She couldn't wait to see him in battle.
A knock sounded at the door, at Mac's quiet, "Enter." A uniformed police officer stepped in, clearing his throat he said to Mac, "Sir, you asked me to let you know if we heard anything about Detective Cooper," at Mac's nod he continued, "Well, sir, he just dropped off a Jane Doe at St. Mary's, she appears to be badly beaten and about 8 ½ months pregnant."
Mac rose and gestured to Siobhan to follow him, taking the small radios out of his pocket, he tossed them on the center of the conference table, "Put these in your ears, we'll be able to communicate with them, Siobhan and I will go check out the Jane Doe and contact you with a meet up location." Walking through the door, he stopped at the sound of Morton's voice.
"I suggest the Flatiron Building." He said, looking around to see the agreeing nods from the rest of the Detectives.
"Why that one?" Mac asked.
"Well," Morton began, "You can get a really good clear view of almost all of Manhattan from the rooftop."
Mac grinned, "That's a solid plan, Morton." Looking at the rest of them, mulling it over, he slowly nodded. "Yep, that's the plan. 1 hour on the rooftop of the Flatiron it is." Turning to Siobhan he asked, "Is there anything they can bring that would offer them any measure of protection?"
Siobhan thought for a moment, then said, "Courage." Then looking at all of the people willing to help the man she was already half way in love with added, "As much iron as you can carry wouldn't be a bad plan either." With that, she and Mac walked out the door, closing it on the beginnings of a discussion on whether bullets were technically iron.
Walking down the hallway, Mac slung his arm over Siobhan's shoulder, noticing how her long legged stride matched his perfectly, he grinned slightly.
"What the hell is Coop doing with a woman who's 8 ½ months pregnant?" He mused.
Siobhan sighed heavily, "I think I know," she said. "It doesn't bode well for anyone. Aldric is getting desperate to corner the King and Queen, I can't believe he would try something so foolish."
"What?" Mac asked, stopping and turning to face her. "What is he trying to do?"
"Aldric cannot take children, that is not in his power. Ideally he would probably attempt to kidnap a child and wish it away to make King Jareth appear. There are rules that must be followed, even in an attempted coupe, there are rules." She explained. "Aldric cannot kidnap a child and wish it away, so." She trailed off, looking at Mac as horrific understanding dawned on is face.
"He kidnapped a pregnant woman trying to force her to wish away her child." He finished.
"Yes, precisely." She agreed, a small frown marring her face, "Although, I do not know why. It wouldn't work. An unborn child cannot be wished away. The child must take its first breath of life before its caregiver can wish it away."
"Wait," Mac said, "If Aldric cannot kidnap children, why did you and Liam have to hide away above as children? Wouldn't you have been safe from him out in the open?"
"There are more things to fear than Aldric," She said softly. "More horrors at his command than you can imagine."
Siobhan moved away from Mac and continued down the hall to the stairs, he watched her walking away, silently vowing that after this was over, he would move heaven and earth to make sure that haunted, sorrowful look never entered her eyes again.
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Sarah and Jareth moved swiftly and silently through lower Manhattan. Eyes scanning the shadows for any sign of a threat.
"Where did you say we were meeting them?" She asked Jareth.
"The rooftop of the Flatiron." He responded, stopping short and pulling her back as he noticed something slither in an alley.
"Can't we transport there?" She asked, carefully looking around a corner before starting forward again.
"I would still prefer magic usage to be kept at a minimum," he responded. "Based on the amount of friends we're seeing in the shadows, I do not think he has any idea where we are or where we are going. I would like to keep it that way for the moment."
Coming to a stop at the corner of East 21st , Jareth carefully looked up 5th Avenue to make sure all was well. Even at this time of night, traffic was heavy. Motioning Sarah to follow him, he swiftly moved the 1 ½ blocks north to the entrance of the building.
"What, no gadgets for detecting murdering Fae and an army of shadows?" Sarah snarked. She was getting tired of the cat and mouse. She wanted to face Aldric down and get this over with.
Jareth turned to look at her, raising an elegant brow at her. Hunching her shoulders, Sarah mumbled, "You're annoyed too."
"It seems someone has left the door open for us." Jareth said, opening it and sweeping Sarah inside. "I believe the most expedient way is the elevator." He said, smoothly. "Unless you would like to walk up 22 flights of stairs."
"Makes no difference to me, glitter pants, I feel like I could run the Boston Marathon." Sarah said, temper flashing in her eyes.
"Sarah," Jareth sighed heavily. "Why are you angry?"
"Why aren't you?" She shot back hotly. "Why are you so calm?" She started pacing in front of the elevator bank, agitation clear on her face.
Suddenly, Jareth reached out and grabbed her by the arm, turning her to face him. Sarah flinched at the look of pure fury in his eyes, the hardness of his beautiful face. She was reminded clearly that this man was not human. With a twist of his lips, he sneered at her and said, "You think I am not angry?" With a snarl he pushed her against the wall, Sarah winced slightly, even though it didn't hurt. It was more of the thought that he could hurt her, his icy controlled rage was heating up by the second.
"I am beyond angry, Precious." Jareth said, leaning in so close that Sarah could feel his breath on her face. "You have been dealing with this for a few weeks, I have been tracking and fighting this bloody traitor for more than 200 years." He snarled. Releasing her arms he abruptly turned his back on her and worked to control his rage.
"Keeping control of our emotions is extraordinarily important, Sarah, Aldric and his ilk will feed on our anger, our fear and our hostility." In control of himself now, he turned to look at her, tenderness and love on his face as he reached out to stroke her cheek. "He knows nothing of love and affection," Smiling he leaned in to tenderly kiss her forehead, "Or bravery." He added. "You must not let your anger and frustration get the better of you. Believe me when I tell you that it only leads to heartache and destruction."
Sarah sighed heavily, "I feel edgy," she confessed. "Off kilter and out of sync."
Jareth looked at her thoughtfully, "Yes," He said. "You would. You are newly Fae and away from the source of your power. The Labyrinth." He added at her questioning look. "As its king, I am linked, however, I am older and more powerful, for the moment, than you are. I can go long periods of time away from her and the underground." Gently he drew her to him. "Think of it like this, you are but a babe in terms of magical ability, you still need the nourishment of your mother, The Labyrinth. Yes, I granted you certain powers, however, she is your life force. Eventually you will absorb enough that you can be away for longer and longer periods of time with no ill effects."
"So, what?" Sarah asked, "I need to go get another fix from my mommy?"
Jareth smiled, "Oh, I think I can offer you enough nourishment to get you through, I am bound to The Labyrinth and also to you, I can give you a bit of a magical boost."
"Why can't I just link to the Labyrinth?" She asked. "I did it before."
"That type of magical link would surely be tracked by Aldric," Jareth replied, "No, I can give you enough to settle you and when it doesn't matter if he knows where we are, then you can open a link, if you are able." He continued, as he removed his gloves and cupped her face with his bare hands."
"So, what do we do now? Some kind of Vulcan mind meld?" At his look of confusion, she sighed heavily and muttered, "Never mind."
Jareth pressed himself against her and lowered his lips to hers, "Just a kiss, my love," he whispered and slanted his mouth against hers.
Sarah felt a tingle and warmth, spreading from where their lips were joined, down through her body. She felt her heart beat frantically inside her chest, seeming like it was going to beat itself right out of her ribs. She held onto Jareth for dear life as she felt the world around her tilt and whirl out of control. When she thought she could take no more, he pulled back and presses a gentle kiss to her forehead, gathering her close to him while she trembled and swayed against him.
"Wow," she said, "That was some kiss."
Jareth smiled against her hair, "Come," he said, "We must join the others. I feel that the time has come to finish this." Pulling her gently into the elevator, he turned to her with a grim expression, "One way or the other, after tonight, our worlds will never be the same."
They rode the elevator in silence, when they arrived at the top floor, they took the hallway down to the roof access point. Stepping out, Jareth motioned Sarah to stay back as he assessed the situation. Upon seeing Mac and Siobhan standing next to the ledge, speaking with several other people, he relaxed and motioned Sarah to follow him.
"Siobhan," Jareth said, striding toward her and Mac, "What information do you have for us?"
"Your Majesties," Siobhan said, bowing slightly, "Mac and I have just come from discovering some very disturbing news." Turning slightly toward Mac, she motioned him forward to join the conversation.
"Yeah," Mac started, "I just can't wrap my head around this one."
"What now?" Sarah asked.
"Well, Your Highness, it seems that Aldric has completely lost touch with reality." Siobhan said. She hesitated a moment, looking to Jareth, then Sarah. "It seems that Aldric has decided to try to draw you out. He means to force you to answer a summons to a wished away." Siobhan said, "Unfortunately, he is trying to force women in the late stages of pregnancy to wish away the babes still in their wombs."
"My God," Sarah whispered.
"This is…" Jareth began, "I have no words for this." He finished, placing a soothing hand on Sarah's shoulder.
"Messed up," Mac said harshly. "That's the only thing I can find to say about that."
"We have just been to a hospital to see one of his victims." Siobhan said, moving closer to Mac, "She was badly beaten and traumatized. They say the babe will survive. I did what I could to sooth her mind and heal her body, I fear that it was not enough." She finished sadly.
"When this is over," Jareth said, "I will visit the woman, perhaps I will be able to heal her and completely wipe the memory from her mind."
"Can you re-order time for her, Jareth?" Sarah asked. "Make it so this terrible thing never happened to her?"
"I will try, precious." He replied. "One must be careful in situation such as this. Women with child are delicate, one wrong move and I could end up doing more harm than good."
"Is it time to take this bastard out yet?" Mac asked, "I really want to take this bastard out."
"Yes," Jareth responded, "It is time. Let us gather everyone and prepare."
Sarah shuddered at the look in his eye. If it had been anyone else, she may have felt sorry for the person who put that feral gleam in Jareth's eye, the only thought she had about Aldric and Coop was, she hoped she got a piece of them too.