Disclaimer: Yada, yada, yada… Labyrinth not mine. Jareth not mine. Sarah not mine. Any other thing you recognize not mine. Jouegh MINE! Lila MINE! Anything else you do not recognize MINE!
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Labyrinth: The Dream Never Ends
By: Eriksleadinglady
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Chapter 11: It doesn't mean that there has to be a way of things
The awaiting attackers stood at the edge of the Labyrinth, prepared to strike at the opportune moment – which was when their leader gave the signal. Across from them, guarding the Labyrinth with what little power they possessed, were Jareth's armies, as well as his comrades, which were those only fool enough to dare to stand in their way.
The defending army was miniscule in size, nothing compared to what they had: thousands upon thousands of determined soldiers, thirsty for their well-deserved power. Their own leader, Jouegh, stood at their side, a smirk lighting his face as he glared at his brother, his enemy. Next to Jouegh stood his trusted advisor and friend, Yakt, the Minotaur, who never seemed to leave the leader's sight. The Minotaur was a great warrior, which would come in handy for the battle ahead; he would be able to strike down many weaklings which plagued the Labyrinthine side.
With the strength that's placed within the army's ranks, not even Jareth, great defender and king of the Labyrinth, would be able to stop them.
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Jareth and his army stood at the ready, prepared to do what was necessary in order to stop this menace. Turmon, Aroyan, and Jareth were at the head of the group, astride three great, white unicorns who had golden horns upon their heads. Jareth was clad in his black, regal armor, and his two companions were also clad in somewhat of the same attire, although Aroyan's was green and Turmon's was bronze.
When Jouegh's army was getting rather close, Jareth moved his unicorn to face the army and paced the first liners. As he did so, he said, "Today, my friends, is a mighty day. Today, we fight for our freedoms, for our magic! We will not stand by and let these ruffians, these dark creatures, take over what is rightfully ours. We have fought hard to obtain and keep this land; are we just going to let it all slip through our fingers to one who has done nothing? No! We will stand our ground and fight for what is right; we will destroy our enemies once and for all!"
The troops gave a roar of approval as they thrust their swords, spears, and other various weapons into the air. What their king said was true. They would not stand by while evil tried to take what was theirs: their homes, their lands, their families, and their lives. They would stand and fight their hardest, giving it their all in order to take Jouegh and his army down. Their ancestors had fought hard to secure the homeland, and now they would do the same.
These were their thoughts as the opposing army moved in to attack. As they got closer, Jareth gave the order and up above them, atop the great Labyrinth walls, the archers shot their arrows. The arrows flew though the air, silent as the night, and bombarded the target, killing many of the creatures with one single strike.
Again the archers readied their bow and arrows and shot them off to just the same effect. However, they could only attack in this pattern for three more times before the opposing army was in on the troops, the battle at last beginning.
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Jareth got his first kill. It was a wolverine, standing four heads above him. His claws were mighty: sharp and dirtied from the many years of killing and now prepared to rip Jareth's throat out. The wolverine's claws arched out and he gave a loud roar, but he never got the chance to strike. With a large punch of magic, Jareth pummeled the creature with a giant rock that was originally a crystal. Then Jareth, wanting to save his magical energy, drew out his sword, ready for the next attacker.
Next to him, Aroyan was fairing well, his Elvin fighting abilities aiding him nicely. He held a long-sword, formed from a volcano long ago and a shield, both items blocking and attacking with great skill known only to be in an elf. It's his speed and agility that keeps him going.
Jareth turned his attention to the creature before him: a vampire with pale white skin and a black cape surrounding him. Seeing Jareth, the dark creature hissed and bared his sharp, canine teeth. However, Jareth just lowered his weapon and cocked his head to the side, sighing; vampires were the easiest to kill. The vampire was about to attack, but then, seemingly from nowhere, a silver stake pierced its heart, and the creature vanished into dust.
The Goblin King continued fighting with great ease, destroying anything that dared to attack him. There was no way that he would back down from this, or any, fight that came his way, especially since it was his brother who was heading the entire war. There was only one person that had ever defeated him and that, of course, was Sarah. However, Jareth didn't like to count her in having defeated him because, well, he just didn't like to. Besides, he could actually stand Sarah now: she's an amiable companion, had helped with Jouegh, and is understanding – for the most part. But letting Jouegh win would never do. If only Jareth could find his mangy brother and defeat him once and for all.
Jareth turned his head and, speak of the devil, there was Jouegh walking calmly through the armies toward him – nothing touching or fighting him. There was a confident smirk on his face as he took large strides toward Jareth. After Jareth killed his newest adversary, an orc, he turned to face his brother, who was now only a few feet away from him. Jouegh stopped walking and looked at his twin.
"Come, Jareth," Jouegh said softly instead of attacking. "I think I have something you will like to see."
Jouegh then placed a hand on Jareth's shoulder, causing Jareth to cringe, and then Jouegh used a transportation spell and they disappeared.
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Meanwhile, inside of Jareth's castle, Lila was taking Sarah into the special room to secure her for later. Sarah was being dragged through the air, a short way above her captor, not able to do anything at all. This was being done by Jouegh's orders, for he knew that the castle would be nearly empty, all of its inhabitants fighting in the war, making the castle easy to travel through without detection – and he was completely correct.
The castle, once bustling with servants and guards, was utterly empty. There were no goblins running around making a mess, no chickens clucking here and there – they were all gone. For Sarah, this frightened her: all the quietness that was so unusual, the only sound Lila's boots, and not another soul in sight. Most of all, though, was the lack of Jareth's presence and his taunting behavior that concerned her. Never had Sarah been in the castle, alone, for so long. She had not seen Jareth in sometime, and she feared that she was beginning to miss him. The castle just wasn't the same without him – it was as though all the magic has gone.
In front and below Sarah, was Lila, walking confidently through the halls. Although Sarah barely knew her, she knew that she highly disliked Lila. Not necessarily for what she was doing to Sarah now, but because of what she wants and plans to do; besides, she's mean. Lila wants to take over the planet and become high queen next to Jouegh. But hadn't she considered that once she helps Jouegh with his plans, he would just dispose of her and get another mistress? Doing all this was going to be such a waste, and Lila would most likely get nothing out of it in the end. Did she even realize that she would most likely be replaced?
Sarah looked down at Lila's assured walking form and decided probably not. Which, if Sarah were under different circumstances, would make her pity Lila, but as it were, Sarah would be glad when Lila received her just desserts.
At last the pair made it to their destination, and Lila set Sarah down in front of the door. When Sarah looked up, her eyes widened in shock and fear.
"We're going in there?" she asked, astonished.
Lila looked at the door. "Yes, isn't it a fine door? The engraving of the leaves and vines are just exquisite, are they not?"
"But Jareth warned me to never go in there," complained Sarah. "He said it's too dangerous."
"Well then he obviously didn't know who you are," replied Lila calmly. "It is perfectly safe, I assure you." As an afterthought she added, "At least for me."
Then Lila pushed the door open without a second thought and took Sarah inside as well. When Sarah saw what was inside, her mouth dropped open. It was positively beautiful. In the middle was a giant tree, somewhat like the one in her dream, except that this one was all gold. Surrounding the tree was an entire forest, filled with streams and wildflowers of every kind. Lila, however, seemed not to be taken aback by the beauty, for she just continued walking onwards to the tree, not looking around whatsoever. Still, Sarah couldn't help but be in awe of her surroundings and took in every bit of the magical paradise.
When they got to the tree, Sarah stood there and just stared up at it. Lila must have been watching intently for she said, "Why must you look at that tree as if it's a God? It will be your downfall, you know."
"We'll see," responded Sarah without turning her head.
"You still think that you can escape your fate? It is inevitable, Sarah."
"Nothing has been sealed."
Lila raised her brows. "You want me to seal it in blood? That I'll gladly do. But, sadly, I cannot harm one hair on your pretty little head."
Sarah finally looked over at Lila. "That is too bad, because I could harm yours."
Lila threw back her head in laughter. "You couldn't even if you tried, little girl. You have no training in magical abilities; what would you do, throw some grass at me?"
Sarah stared down at the grass that Lila spoke of. "I don't think it likes you."
But this only caused a fit of more laughter to arise from Lila. "Oh, you are too good! Come, come now. No more games, Sarah. Jouegh wants me to secure you right next to that magnificent tree. So are you going to come easily or must I force you?"
"I shall go."
Sarah then walked calmly over to her dream tree, and placed herself directly next to it. "Is this good?" she asked.
Lila grinned. "Perfect."
With a thrust of her hands, a large, blue sphere formed out in front of Lila and shot out toward Sarah, who still stood there unflinching. The sphere made impact with Sarah instantly and then she found herself immersed in a blue, gel-like liquid inside of a giant bubble, much like the one she had found herself in at Jouegh's hands. However, although Sarah was submerged in liquid, she could breath perfectly fine, nothing out of place. Still, she wondered why she must be prisoner in such a mechanism. What was its purpose? She shook her head. She seemed to be asking a lot of questions these days. What's done is done. No turning back. Now she must face her destiny.
Suddenly, before her very eyes, two figures appeared out of nowhere, right next to Lila. She squirmed when she saw that one of them was Jareth. He was supposed to be fighting, trying to stop the armies and Jouegh. But then why was he in his brother's custody now? Who would save her?
When Jareth saw Sarah inside of the entrapment, his reaction was instantaneous. He turned on Jouegh and snarled, "You cannot do this!"
But within a few seconds, Jouegh snapped his fingers, and reformed behind Sarah. Jouegh looked through the bubble and saw that everything was directly in line. Finally, everything was set in place in order to give him his absolute power.
"Jareth! Observe now, my dear brother, as your beautiful little pet is nearly sucked dry. At last I shall take my rightful place as ruler!"
Then, quick as a flash, Jouegh took control of Sarah's body and forced her to touch the tree. Sarah watched in muted horror as her finger reached out through the bubble and made contact with the hot, gold tree. Immediately after she had touched it, her hand went back inside of the bubble, a tiny boil forming on her index finger, and that's when the entire room began to rumble.
A/N: Oh, I am too evil…. What a cliffie, eh? Oh well, I guess you'll just have to drop me a line and let me know what you think… Maybe my muse, Snapiekins, will be kind to you and help me update quickly…
Thanks for reading!
Mwahahahaha!
E. Ll