(4-28-08)

IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, first let me apologise before you read my explanation. I know you're thinking you were getting another chapter, but unfortunately this is a new version of Chapter Five. This has been completed in the best interest of the readers - chapter six will be up on Thursday as usual.

I highly suggest to those who've already read the former version of this chapter to just skip down to the line break. From then on, the scene is done in Jareth's POV and is extended. Thanks for your patience and please resist the urge to throw rotten tomatoes at me!

Jenny watched Elisa go through the beginning of the Labyrinth, but she got bored quickly. Elisa was taking so-o-o long. Jenny watched Jareth instead.

He was very interesting. He wasn't in the movie all that much, she remembered, but Elisa had squealed every time he showed up. She and Case had teased her that she liked him, but Elisa was quite clear in her statements that she didn't. Jenny was secretly happy about that. What kind of crazy guy wears tights?

But Jareth here and now was interesting to watch. When Elisa yelled about Tartar Sauce he had laughed loudly. Case had just sat down and watched the ball like it was TV and hadn't noticed. Jareth had smirked all through Elisa's first travels. His eyebrow had risen at her humming, but Jenny didn't think much of it. He seemed upset slightly about Elisa freeing the dragon – he had muttered, "Damn, he took forever to catch."

However, he now just seemed to be just deep in thought as he tapped his stick thing – scepter? Elisa would have known - on the ground. When had he gotten that? Jenny wondered. Elisa seemed to be just wandering about through the tunnel-y area. Jareth waved a hand at the crystal and it vanished.

Case turned. "Why'd you stop?" he asked the King.

Jareth stood and stretched, lazily. "Because, your sister isn't likely to get through the Corridors any time soon. Besides, Violent One, it's tradition."

"What do you mean, violent?" asked Case.

Jenny thought it suited him well. Case bit hard.

"Your name is Cathasach, yes?" asked Jareth, bored. "It means violent."

"My name's Casey," said Case, rolling his eyes. "Everyone just calls me 'Case'. I'm named after that baseball player."

The King's eye-brow rose, but he said nothing, for a goblin – that large one from before, Jenny thought, rushed forward.

"Yer Majesty?"

Jareth turned, "Yes, what is it, Nog?"

"Er," said Nog, shifting from foot to foot. "We's were wondering that since it's tradition and all, if we could sings – even though the babes aren't cryin' and all."

The Goblin King's eyes lit up – almost as if he had been waiting for it. "All right then," he said, before walking up to a goblin sitting on a beer barrel.

"You remind me of the babe," he said, in a deeper voice.

"What babe?" called Jenny and Case on cue. They knew this!

Jareth turned, and Jenny tried not to giggle at how tight his pants were. He seemed mad.

"What are you doing?" he snarled.

Yep, he was mad.

"Singing," said Jenny seriously. "We know those words – Elisa sang them with us."

"All the time," Case said nodding. "We know 'em."

Jareth cocked his head, before nodding. "Alright, if you know the words than you can sing them." He stepped closer and began again, "You remind me of the babe."

"What babe?"

"The babe with the power."

"What power?"

"The power of voodoo."

"Voodoo?"

"Yes," He said, almost as if pleased and pointed to each of them, "You do."

"Do what?"

"Remind me of the babe." He then opened his mouth as if to sing but Jenny and Case called, "What babe?"

"Quiet!" shouted Jareth in exasperation. "We don't go through it all again! I sing now – understand?"

"Yes sir," nodded the siblings fervently. He sounded like he was going to send them to the stinky place again.

"Good," he said smiling, and Jenny noticed his odd teeth for the first time. He turned away from them and to the goblins. "Where was I? Ah, yes – I saw my baby, crying hard as babe could cry. What could I do? My babe's love had gone and left my baby blue. Nobody knew -"

Here the goblins joined in with him and sang the next line, "What kind of magic spell to use?"

The goblins had started to bop in time to the music which had come out of nowhere and different ones said different lines.

"Slime and snails –"

"-Or puppy dogs' tails."

"Thunder or lightning –"

"-Then baby said:"

Then they all sang together, while Jareth repeated after them though singing louder, "Dance, magic, dance (dance magic, dance.) Dance magic, dance (dance magic, dance.)"

Jareth than sang, "Put that baby spell on me." And they were back to repeating each other again, yet dancing around making a certain something of Jareth's very obvious.

"Jump magic, jump (jump magic, jump.) Jump magic, jump (jump magic, jump) Put that magic jump on me, slap that baby, make him free."

Jenny had crawled very close to Case by then. They were all dancing all over the place but God! Why'd he have to wear those tights when his-you-know-what was at a certain level of eyesight? Ew, yuck!

"I saw my baby, trying hard as babe could try. What could I do? My babe's fun had gone and left my baby blue. Nobody knew-"

"-What kind of magic spell to use." Jenny and Case sang along for this line – this was the one of the only other lines they knew.

"Slime and snails –"

"-Or puppy dogs' tails."

"Thunder or lightning –"

"-Then baby said."

At this Jenny and Case got the hang of things and stood, and danced, singing what they thought they heard:

"Pants magic, pants (pants magic, pants.) Pants magic, pants (pants magic, pants.)"

Jareth, waving his whip-thing in time to the music, (and not noticing the new lyrics) sang, "Put that baby spell on me."

The goblins had swarmed them, and now they were being thrown into the air and caught as everyone sang, (Though not Jenny and Case who were now screaming), "Jump magic, jump (jump magic, jump). Jump magic, jump (jump magic, jump). Put that magic jump on me. Slap that baby, make him free."

Then Jenny realized that she wasn't getting hurt and it actually felt like a trampoline, and she now belted completely off key, "Pants magic, pants (pants magic, pants.) Pants magic, pants (pants magic, pants.) Pants magic, pants (pants magic, pants.) Pants magic, pants (pants magic, pants.)"

The goblins stopped throwing them, and Jenny and Case recovered their breath as the final words were sung.

"Jump magic, jump (jump magic, jump). Jump magic, jump (jump magic, jump). Put that baby spell on me!"

And the final notes of the song could be heard and it was over. The goblins cheered before running off to their chaos making again.

He was grinning broadly as he finished his song. He flopped back down on his throne and discarded his prop. He stared at his charges who stared back at him.

Jareth thought them slightly more entertaining then the usual wished-away babes. They hadn't really asked for anything yet except to sing along and know where their sister was, which was reasonable enough. They were pretty children, though they looked nothing like their sister.

Elisa, a corner of his mind whispered and he brushed it off. At the rate that girl was going he wouldn't have to deal with the clause of his contract of Goblin King. She seemed to be frightened of most things – he doubted she'd even get through the corridors, though Cathasach (Even though that wasn't his name now that was to be his name when the thirteen hours were up.) and Gwenhwyfar seemed to believe otherwise.

Jareth brushed that thought off. Sterner stuff then Elisa hadn't made it through his Labyrinth. Now, he needed to deal with talking soon-to-be citizens, who weren't complimenting his singing.

"I do enjoy singing that song," said Jareth hoping one of them would get the hint.

Fortunately, Gwenhwyfar did. "It's a nice song," She said. "I don't know much besides the beginning and the Pants part, but it is fun to sing."

Pants part? He thought. He could feel his eyebrow rise, "What pants part?" he asked curiously.

Cathasach spoke, "You know, pants, magic, pants. It's what the whole song is about right?" He seemed to have no idea at how angry Jareth was about to become.

His song. His song, he had written, had been turned into – into -- that insinuation? How dare they insinuate that? That – that -- that he would do such at thing! The Mr. Tights Guy and now this!

Jareth was starting to believe that babies were better than these older ones now.

"It's Dance, magic, dance," He growled at the trembling brother and sister. "Why in the Underground did you think it was pants?" The Bog of Eternal Stench wouldn't be enough, no, he would…

"I dunno," said Gwenhwyfar. She seemed scared, but Jareth couldn't care less. "I thought it was because of the tights." They're not tights! He raged to himself. "You were the Pants or Tights guy, so you sang Pants Magic. Elisa thought it funny – yeah, Elisa told us it was that or something."

At last! He crowed inwardly. Someone to blame for this outrage! That, fickle girl, who dared to make his kingdom go through the pain of someone running the Labyrinth, would be shown.

"Elisa again," Jareth hissed. He asked sarcastically, but the children seemed to miss it, "What did she do – sit you down and teach you everything about the Underground?"

"Yep," nodded the boy gravely. "Loads of lessons -- what do you never say to the Goblin King – What do you never call the Goblin King – what do you sing – lots of stuff. It was nice of her."

Nice of her?! Oh yes, it was perfectly wonderful of the girl to arm these children with everything to humiliate him. "She's asking for it, she just is," he muttered before summoning one of his crystals.

He peered in and saw she was near the perfect spot for his revenge. Time slowed, and then it stopped as he placed the murals, and the goblin to frighten her. Let's see how she does with such insinuations, Jareth thought with a feral grin. He took delight in her frightened face that was frozen in time. He let the time flow once more and gave Gwenhwyfar and Cathasach a view of Elisa screaming as the representations of mortal desire chased her down the corridor.

Jareth laughed at her screams of terror, and threw his crystal in the air, letting himself to be brought to the end of that chamber.

He had changed his clothes in the process – the best dressed is the one to impress, the old Fey saying went through his head. He hid in the shadows as he saw Elisa's form run towards him, screaming something about singing before slowing down and panting. She turned back towards the way she had come, breathing hard and crouched over.

Jareth noticed the bag on her back – had she brought that with her? before shoving the thought out of his mind and creeping towards her and saying in her ear, "So, Elisa, how do you –"

He was cut short though as Elisa stood up quickly and slammed her elbows and feet into certain areas of his body which would have knocked unconscious a mortal but not quite for a Fey.

When the last blow was delivered, he groaned loudly and collapsed to the ground. He would have thought up plans of revenge he couldn't focus on anything except the pain!

It was then that he blacked out, something he would curse himself for hours after.

Thank you again for those who reread this - the next chapter, as stated, will be up on Thursday as usual. Apologies again, but this is in your best interest!

And here's o00bubble00o recognition:

o00bubbles00o was nearly correct with the quotes. The first one (which he/she got correct, so give a round of applause) is 'Give her hell from us, Peeves' which I switched to 'Give him hell from me, kiddos' said by Fred and George Weasely in Harry Potter and Order of the Phoenix. The second quote, which wasn't quite right, was 'The way back comes but once. Be steadfast.' which I changed to 'The way forward comes but once, be steadfast' which is said by Sheriam Sedai in the Wheel of Time books. Though there was a reference to Rand al'Thor!

Originally posted: 4-25-08 but reposted on 4-28-08