A/N: I am personally moved and touched by the response this story has received so far. We're getting more into the actual plot, now, so review and give me your imput! Thanks again for all the advice, readers.
"Jareth, are you listening to me?" the cat-goddess asked, sighing in frustration. "You've been acting distant for the past hour, staring at things. I've got something important to talk to you about."
His head slowly nodded as a reply, hands slumped in his back pockets, fingers twisting around the dagger box. Jareth couldn't stop thinking and, at this point, he hardly knew what he was thinking about.
Only a few hours ago, he had been transported from what he had considered his home, his life and everything he cared about, to this new and strange place that he never could have dreamed of. Everything was so beautiful! His hopes and dreams personified, using an exact equation.
But what would happen once he reached the castle at the center of the labyrinth, beyond the goblin city? Would he leave again, forced back into his mundane, normal life? And what about Caroline- could he manage to take care of her, or would she live a better life here?
"Listen," she spoke softly, stopping his thoughts. "I'm not sure why, but the Labyrinth itself responds to you. If you can harness that power, our journey will be easier."
Jareth thought back to the response he had received, laying his hands on the doors of the labyrinth when it opened.
"What do I have to do?" he asked, running a hand through his hair nervously. "And why me? This is too much responsibility for just some random kid."
"Fate has chosen you, boy," Bast warned, her tail twitching. "We do not know why these things occur, only that they do. Now, I want you to close your eyes and focus on the vines that you see twisting around the walls of the Labyrinth."
Closing his eyes, Jareth saw nothing but darkness. He thought to the images in his mind of the vines that had pulled him up out of the hole, the trees that had sheltered him from the storm... and he felt a warmth in his body that he had never known before, stronger than anything he had ever felt. The twisting vines in his mind's eye began to glow orange, then a yellow-gold, pulsating with energy and feeling.
"Can you sense a path, Jareth?" she asked.
And he sensed the correct direction, and the correct way to find the castle. He felt his fingers twitch in the right direction and, as clear as a map in front of him, he could see a room of puzzles and stairways, his thoughts growing fuzzy and turning into memories...
He watched her traverse the Escher room, the final battle, and she was more vibrant than ever- her eyes shining in fear, her blouse open with her gaping, heavy breaths. She would soon surrender to him, fearing for her brother's life. His power over her could finally be exercised, and he would possess her in the way in which he had always desired, since before time existed and before prophecies were written.
She saw the baby a few feet away from her, gathering her courage within her and shouting "Toby!"
But as soon as he felt assured that she would surrender to him, she jumped- causing the room to fall and both of them to tumble into the final stage, the final encounter where it would be decided.
And the words! They pierced his soul, such power and vindication in her tone. She thought he had no power over her, and that was all.
But really, he knew that her power over him had finally taken hold. After years of watching and waiting, he desired her and hungered to have the one thing he was not allowed in this strategic game of skill.
"Power," what a precarious word. What had gotten him into this situation in the first place, taking control of his life again. He supposed it was fate, as the clock struck thirteen and he turned into owl form, removing her from Purgatory, that he could not have her yet. He would wait to strike, as something chewed on his leg...
He felt a hard bite on his leg, transporting him back to reality. Jareth smiled at the cat apologetically and she shook her head in disdain. "You really need to cut that out," she spoke softly.
"I can't- I think the Labyrinth thinks I'm someone else," he insisted. "I keep having these hallucinations about some pretty girl I'm trying to catch and my name's Sariel or something weird like that."
Bast's eyes widened in fear. "You are?" she asked, trembling.
"Yeah, but it's not a big deal, right?" he replied, trying to maintain a false casual, unaffected air and failing miserably.
"It is a big deal," she replied, as the clouds themselves opened up and revealed what she did not desire to see.
"I wasn't aware, Sarah, that all runners of the Labyrinth were allowed to have an ancient Egyptian Goddess advising them and teaching them how to win," the man remarked in a condescending tone, talking down to her as if she were a child. "It just doesn't seem fair."
"It's not fair," Sarah replied, "but that's the way it is. Besides, Lucifer never gave me any real guidelines." She waved a finger at the visitor to her castle, winking at him in response. "I like it like this. And Bast isn't 'teaching him to win,' she's just helping him realize his potential."
"Sariel has never had much potential," the man grumbled, crossing his legs elegantly in perfectly-fitting tailored dress pants, "and I don't see what the big deal is. You should have left this alone. Don't you remember the last time you bargained with Lucifer?"
Sarah winced, obviously remembering her past mistake.
"And look at the pretty mess you've gotten yourself into with him this time!" he continued, chuckling. "The problem with making a deal with him is that he'll do anything he can to win. You know that."
"But you wouldn't help me, last time!" she insisted, her eyes filling with tears. "You couldn't understand how much I loved Sariel and how important this was to me."
Reaching towards her, he stroked her forehead gently and enveloped her in a warm hug. Sarah leaned in and smelled the crisp scent of pine and peppermint, mixed together, feeling the glow of his presence near her.
"My darling, Uriel, I have always missed you- in fact, I never wanted to let you go. It was more important to me that you continue your work with me. However, I had forgotten how deep your love was. And fate, well," he sighed and buried his head in her hair, "I have never had much control over that flighty temptress."
Sarah wiped tears from the corners of her eyes, trying to catch her breath. She glanced towards the window and saw clouds gathering to the east of the castle, forming a dark shadow above the ground.
"No, he wouldn't..." she whispered, her eyes growing dark with rage, "He promised that he wouldn't meddle in this."
"Promises mean nothing to him. You know that, by now," the older man sighed. "I am too old for these kinds of events. Besides, I should be leaving, now. But I am proud of you," he spoke softly, brushing her ebony hair away from her ears.
"Where are you going?" she asked, panicking at the swirling dark clouds above the Labyrinth.
"Don't you have a boy to save?" he replied, winking at her.
Faster than she could blink, he was gone.
"I hate it when he does that," Sarah muttered, grabbing her cloak and mirror off the table next to the chairs in the throne room.
He was tall, with the mask of a snarling Jackal on his face and strong, muscular arms carrying a golden staff in each hand. He wore a loincloth and what looked like a skirt, with a black cape thrown over one of his shoulders. His skin was dark and glimmering with beads of sweat and rain mixed together.
Bast twisted herself around in front of Jareth and hissed, her back arching and fur twitching in the lightning.
"Calm yourself, Bastet," he spoke in a booming, powerful voice. "I have been sent for the boy."
"Your master must not think Jareth very important, to send you to collect the boy," Bast replied, snarling and extending her claws.
The Jackal shrugged in response, crossing his arms and building himself up to look more powerful. It worked. "It's busy season for collecting souls. I can't do a thing about it. In any case," he turned towards Jareth and stared him in the eye, "my Master, Lucifer, would enjoy a conference with you. I am Anubis, who has been sent to do his bidding."
"Why isn't he calling personally?" Jareth spat back, oblivious to the warning in his feline mentor's eyes. "And what if I refuse?"
Anubis laughed, intensifying his gaze.
"I don't think you know who you're dealing with."