A Game of Life and Death
By: Lazeralk
A Labyrinth/Forbidden Game crossover
Dedicated to Taharkah Alexandra
Standard disclaimers apply.
Chapter 2: "Uruz"
Sarah was almost asleep when the five o'clock news came on and the anchor lady began a slightly hysterical rendition of a horror movie.
"Strange deaths have been reported worldwide, all four hundred twenty six of the people killed were done so in the same manner. There has been no connection between the victims and police believe an indiscriminate group of serial killers are on the rampage. Some of the deaths took place in the victim's own homes and citizens are advised to keep all doors and windows locked.
All the victims were decapitated and had a brand burned into their chest in the shape of an upside down "U". Experts says that this symbol is an ancient magical rune called Uruz that is said to allow it's user to 'pierce the veil between worlds', it may be a clue to the killer's motives."
Sarah watched with growing concern, a killer or more than one killer just murdering people for no reason all over the world and leaving magic- Wait. Magic? Could this be somehow related to the Underground? She'd ask Hoggle the next time she talked to him. Feeling uneasy she gently lifted the sleeping Toby off her lap and padded across the room to the back door. She pulled her keys out of her pocket and slid the deadbolt into place.
She sat back down on the couch and watched the rest of the report, gasping at the pictures of the victims. The bodies were horribly mauled, the flesh reduced to not but meat. The rune, shaped like a horseshoe with sharp points, stood out starkly from what little skin remained on the corpses.
Her father came down the stairs looking for her and frowned as he took a seat next to her. He watched in silence for a few moments before getting up and walking away, a few moments later she heard the locks sliding on the kitchen windows.
Jareth had just settled down to sulk some more when a goblin burst through the door panting and clutching a sealed scroll tied with a golden ribbon with black tips. The emblem of the High Council was stamped into the wax seal and Jareth's eyes widened before he snatched it out of his subject's hands. He popped the seal and read it through quickly, Julian coming up behind him to read over his shoulder.
"Shit." They said in unison.
Jareth reread the letter and then stood up suddenly, a crystal forming in his hand.
"Show me Sarah!" he barked.
The crystal obeyed and showed the girl of his dreams sitting on her couch with her little brother watching some strange box filled with moving pictures. He sighed with relief and then his face split into a wicked grin.
"You've thought of something." Stated Julian watching his friend's face closely.
"I can bring her here on the grounds that I'm protecting her. She is in danger. Far more than any of the others because she actually beat the Labyrinth and retained her memories of it. She and the boy must be brought here as quickly as possible." Said Jareth as he began to pace with barely contained energy. He kept one eye on the crystal and the other on Julian.
The Shadowman's eyes darkened and he suddenly vanished. He reappeared a moment later with a group of teenagers around him, a small blonde tucked securely in his arms. Jenny Thornton turned from where her nose was buried in Julian's shoulder and glanced at the Goblin King.
"Stay here. I'll be back shortly." He said sketching a bow to the newcomers before he threw the crystal at his feet and was gone in a shimmer of glitter.
"Julian, what's going on?" asked Jenny.
"Get your hands off my girlfriend." Said Tom quietly. The look he gave the mystical being just then should have killed him, but Julian only smiled.
"You and your friends and in very real danger Jenny. I'll explain in full when Lady Sarah arrives." He assured her, brushing his fingers through her hair.
"Lady Sarah?" asked Dee, her posture radiating battle readiness.
Audrey was completely absorbed in the room they were in, silently admiring the ritzy décor. Michael watched his girlfriend sullenly, wary of the new surroundings. Summer clutched to Zach, who was already checking the film in his camera.
"Yes, the gentleman who just vanished was my best friend, Jareth the King of Goblins. It is his duty to take children or young people who are wished away and give the person who did the wishing thirteen hours in which to complete the Labyrinth and reach the Castle Beyond the Goblin City."
"Labyrinth?" asked Dee, the dark skinned athletic girl was pacing the over the beautiful Oriental rug.
"Take a look outside." Answered Julian who had become much more friendly with Jenny's friends in an attempt to gain more of her favor. Tom had been the only one who openly resisted him, but that was to be expected.
"Outside? There aren't any windows." Said Dee, and just as she said the words a window appeared in the wall.
"Wow." Said Audrey.
"How did that happen?" asked Zach, walking to the window and bringing the still clinging Summer with him.
"Holy God Almighty." He said as he brought his camera up and began to snap pictures. Summer peeked out from behind his shoulder and 'eeped!' Dee, a scowl on her face, joined them and gasped loudly.
Julian looked at the wall and it suddenly became a balcony, the endless expanse of the mighty Labyrinth spreading out before them. The sky was sunset orange, the clouds blue as a robin's egg. The hedge maze seemed to gleam like emeralds, and the stone walls sparked.
Jenny pulled free of his arms and he let her go, watching as she walked across the room and touched the railing of the balcony, the wind blowing her hair from her face. Even Tom was moved to silence as he gazed at the maze with awe.
"Thirteen hours to get through all of that? Doesn't seem fair." Said Michael.
"It isn't fair." Said a new voice from behind them, a voice filled with despair.
"You say that so often. I wonder what you basis for comparison is."
Sarah reached forward and shut off the TV, glancing at the clock. It was time to put Toby to bed. She gently picked him up, resting his weight against her hip. He was really too big to be doing this sort of thing, but he seemed to love being held. She had just finished standing up when a flash of light caused her to jerk her head up in surprise.
A monster was pulling itself free of her wall, a bloody upside down U decorating the spot it was emerging from. She clutched Toby tighter as the panic began to build. It freed itself and took a step towards her. She screamed, turned her back and ran for the back door, belatedly remembering that she'd locked it.
"Sarah!" came the call of her father as he rushed down the stairs, Karen right behind him. He gasped in shock when he saw what was advancing on his children and grabbed a vase from the coffee table. He hurled it at the black beast that seemed to have the withered body of a man with no face, none what so ever. The skin was there, blank and unblemished, save that it was an oily tar black. It had no nose, no eyes, no mouth, just nothing.
The vase smashed into the back of its head and it turned towards them, it's hands elongating into a massive blade. It leapt that them and with one effortless strike severed the heads from her parent's shoulders. Sarah screamed again, long and loud not wanting to see what had just happened. Her eyes screwed shut but the tiny glimpse of the bloody bodies on her living room carpet was burned into her brain.
She just knew she and Toby were going to die, she just knew it. She could feel that evil thing moving closer to her, she could feel its shadow falling over her and she clutched the sleeping Toby even harder, it was a miracle he hadn't woken up.
She heard the whistle of the blade coming towards her and then…nothing. She opened her eyes and found herself in Jareth's arms. He gazed down at her and his face was a mask of rage, pure and unchecked. She didn't know which she was more afraid of, the monster that had killed her father and Karen or Jareth.
The next moment she was in the Castle Beyond the Goblin City, Toby still firmly clasped in her arms. Jareth didn't release her, but instead buried his nose in her hair and shook slightly.
The Labyrinth lay itself out before them in all its usual awe-inspiring glory and Sarah only glanced at it before beginning to shake herself.
"Thirteen hours to get through all of that? Doesn't seem fair." Said one of the three strange boys standing in Jareth's bedroom.
"It isn't fair." She said, the words coming out as a choked sob. It wasn't fair, her parents should be alive. She should be at home putting Toby to bed and getting ready for her finals.
Jareth shifted behind her, stepping away from her and to the side, placing Sarah on one side of the room with the rest of the mortals and he and Julian on the other.
"You say that so often. I wonder what your basis for comparison is." He answered softly, as was expected, his sad eyes on her quivering form.
Sarah glared at him; somehow this had to be all his fault. She didn't know how or why but it just had to be. She sniffed, then straightened up, lifted her chin and gazed into the eyes of a man she thought she'd never see again. He'd put her through hell, destroyed her fantasies and now her father and stepmother were dead, then he just shows up and whisks her away to his castle after three long years of nothing.
"What's going on Jareth?" She demanded, shifting Toby to her other hip as he was much heavier than he use to be. Jareth gestured gracefully to the bed with one elegant hand. She scowled but crossed the room and gently laid her baby brother down, making sure to tuck the covers around him. She kissed his forehead and then turned to regard the Goblin King.
"Jareth?"
"In a moment." He said waving at the balcony. The wall reappeared, even the window gone. Jenny and her friends found their noses pressed to stone, and quickly backed away to stand in a loose group, Jenny and Summer at the center.
Sarah didn't seem to even notice the other people in the room, so intent she was on her own inner turmoil and the man who held the answers to everything.
"No Jareth. Now. I just watched my father and stepmother die, and I was next. I want an explanation!" she roared, tears coursing freely down her cheeks.
Jareth's heart broke; he crossed the room and drew her into a careful hug, running his hands soothingly through her hair and down her back. He whispered comforting words and promises he couldn't keep.
"Jareth." Said Julian softly, hating to break their moment.
Sarah whirled on him, her eyes wide with surprise.
"Who are you?" she demanded.
"I'm Julian." He answered. He gazed at her quietly, his shockingly electric blue eyes regarding her with a knowledge and calm she only saw in the very old and sometimes alligators.
"He's my best friend, we grew up together. Julian this is Sarah Williams." Said Jareth, also conforming to the hush that seemed to have descended on them.
Jenny slipped out of her circle of friends and avoided Tom's grab for her as she made her way across the room to stand beside Julian. She placed a hand on his arm and he gazed down at her with both love and worry.
"Can you please explain everything now?" she asked of both mystical beings.
Julian gave his friend a look that said: 'You want to or should I?' Jareth opened his mouth, closed it and then took a deep breath. Sarah buried her nose in the soft fabric of the Goblin King's shirt and shuddered as she tried vainly to banish the horribly red pictures that formed in her mind and stuck there.
"I suppose I'll have to begin with the basics." Said Jareth as he conjured several couches chairs and two love seats. Julian sat Jenny down and then took a seat next to her, earning a growl from Tom. Jareth sat and then sprawled himself across the small couch, pulling Sarah to lie on top of him, her face still pressed to his chest.
He wrapped his arms around her sighed, gathering his thoughts.
"You see…" he said. "When a mortal is taken into the Underground…"
End part 2