Disclaimer: *Looks up from Imagination Corner, wielding a peanutbutter slathered spoon intimidatingly* Whaf? Canf foo hee Ah'm bivvy?

Translation: Oh, pardon me, darlings, it seems you've caught me at an inopportune time. Would you be so kind as to call back later?

And Special Thanks to my lovely Betas, TrashedXandXScattered, and Lov2Catnap!

*whooo! haaaaaaaa*

Halloween, 1994 - Part One

"No, Nok, you have to stay here," I said for the umpteen-billionth time, gently extracting the skinny, bug-eyed little goblin from my pack and setting him on the sandy ground. He widened his already comically enormous eyes at me and did an excellent job of looking pitiful. I quickly looked away before I either laughed or gave in.

"But, you promised," he pleaded, wiggling back around to my line of vision, now complete with a quivering bottom lip. I pressed my lips together to trap the 'Awww' bubbling up from my white, puffy marshmallow of a heart.

"I did no such thing, and you know it. You know you can't come with me, Nok, you belong here. And who knows when I'll be back?" I said, focusing on repacking my bag as an excuse to continue avoiding his cute, owlish little face. He pouted and made a whiny, 'it's not fair' noise.

"But I want to belong with you! Who else am I going to hang out with while you're gone? I need you, you know I can't stand up to those other goblins!" he protested, and the marshmallow in my chest roasted itself alive over a fire of guilt for a few minutes.

"Don't play that card. You can stay with Hoggle and Ludo. And Sir Didymus will gladly champion you, he's said so before," I reasoned, trying to smother the guilt-flames now licking at my stomach and making my innards twist unpleasantly. I saw Nok roll his huge eyes on the edge of my vision, and I tried not to grin.

"Oh, yes, I feel so secure now," he snorted. I forced my face into a reproachful expression before I turned back to him.

"Now, that's not very nice. You have an awfully massive sarcastic streak for a goblin, you know. Aren't you supposed to be endearingly dim?" I accused teasingly.

"I was, once, but then this human showed up and corrupted me," he retorted with a cheeky smirk. I sighed and held out my arms for a hug. He grudgingly complied.

"Look, I'll come back as soon as I can. Midwinter, I will totally be here, if it is at all in my power," I promised, and Nok sighed.

"That's not a promise at all. You've been trying to get back Aboveground for three years," he pointed out. I growled mockingly.

"I would have made it, last time, if a certain nosy goblin had kept to himself like I told him," I snapped, and Nok had the good sense to stifle his chuckle.

"Regardless, even if you do come back, how do you plan on alerting me? You don't dare come anywhere near the Labyrinth," he said, gesturing at the barely visible twisting maze below us. "We're barely on the outskirts, and you're twitching like a chicken in his throne room." I grimaced.

Nok was right.

"I'll figure something out. I always do, you know," I assured him, patting his head and gently pushing him to his appointed waiting spot - the tree Jareth had brought me to, after I had quite stupidly wished away my little brother. I thought it was fitting. Slightly dangerous, being so near the Labyrinth, but fitting.

Nok grumbled unintelligibly and stomped over to his time-out spot, kicking at stray stones and twigs as he went. I tried very hard to ignore him and not feel guilty.

It was harder than I'd expected.

I busied myself with preparations - donning amulets, adjusting the placement of my props, drawing and re-drawing the symbols on various key points of myself, nervously checking my watch every three minutes or so - and resisted the urge to run over and scoop Nok into my bag. I forced myself to think of other things as I worked, and now, as I was faced with the possibility - probability - of going back after so long, I found myself itching with excitement. It was silly, almost vacillating, for I, who had been so desperate to escape back Underground, to be so anxious to voluntarily leave. Really, there was nothing up there for me, and the whole time I was there, I'd probably be dying to get back here.

But I would get to see Toby.

And that made it all worth it.

He would be nine years old now, and according to Armand, had the 'face of a cherub, and the eyes of Puck', and having met Puck on more than one occasion, I was quite excited to get back and see this for myself. Based on the letters Toby and I had managed to get to each other, he was a snarky, intelligent little booger, and not only was I dying to meet this new, mischievous brother of mine, I wanted to be quite sure that Puck had not been meddling with my family. He'd promised not to, but, well, he was Puck.

Though, I did have to admit to myself that Toby wasn't the only reason I was going back. On my routes through towns and aimless wanderings Underground, I'd met several other humans roaming around that I recognized - Hoodoo priests and merchants, Wicca priestesses', a wanderer who remembered me and was far more dangerous in his native land than in mine - and it made me wonder what I could make with my wares back Aboveground.

Unfortunately, it was spectacularly difficult to get there.

As a human, I had no inherent magic of my own - therefore, I could not manipulate the barriers between the realms the way, say, Jareth might. In fact, those I told my story to found it quite astonishing that I had made it down here at all.

I quickly found out that the only times for mere mortals such as I to cross were during shifts of balance, such as Midwinter or Midsummer, and Halloween, when the Underground and its counterpart were nearest each other. It took a little research and a lot of creativity, but after a significant number of humbling failures, I had finally concocted a fool-proof plan. A plan which I had put it into action three months ago at Midsummer, and was quite positive would have worked, had a certain bug-eyed little troublemaker stayed out of my pack like I'd told him to.

Now, one minute away from midnight, All Hallows Eve, I intended to try again, and Nok was going to damn well stay where he should, or I would break his adorable little goblin neck.

I grabbed up my traveling bag that held all of my necessities, and the three other massive sacks that held all of my wares - I had discovered that a successful merchant was someone who was often irritated, knew a daunting array of swear words in any language they had encountered, and was always lugging an obscene amount of junk. It was a far cry from my sixteen-year-old idea of a merchant, but satisfying nonetheless.

As the second hand on my watch ticked closer to midnight, the symbols on my palms and pressure points tingled sharply, and I glanced back at the twisted, lonely tree and the small goblin at its base, trying to give him an encouraging smile despite the look of agonized betrayal etched into his squished, wide-eyed little face.

He just glowered at me.

Sighing, I turned back around and started my invocations, closing my eyes and envisioning a malleable, pliant barrier, stretching like a never-ending wall, between me and my destination. Slowly, I called it toward me, felt it press against me in a sensation akin to walking through saran wrap, and visualized it parting around me. I felt it snap against my skin sharply, and jerked at the sudden sting - it was like an over-filled balloon popping in my face - and opened my eyes to find myself in the middle of a park.

I smiled as I looked around at the familiar place. It hadn't changed in my absence. The lake was still clean and peaceful, complete with two swans gliding serenely along. The old, jagged, stonework bridge, thankfully much stronger than the one I had encountered in the Labyrinth, was still near the small, simple bench that had once been the favorite spot for a shaggy old sheepdog to watch his human make a fool of herself in a hand-sewn, fairytale-princess-in-white costume. The tall clock-tower, as stodgy and overbearing as ever, steadily chimed the midnight hour in the city square.

It even still smelled vaguely of fish and cheeseburgers.

"Bleh, no wonder you left. It smells awful here," said a muffled, nasally voice at my shoulder.

I whipped my head around to find Nok perched on top of my pack, peering around distastefully, his fingers pinched firmly over his nose.

"Nok!" I admonished loudly, and he winced a little. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? I can't believe, after all the precautions and modifications I made, with your help, that you would hitch onto an invocation! What if you dragged at me, hmm? What if we didn't make it through? What if we got separated? What if you had gotten caught in the Never-never for all eternity, huh? I highly doubt there's anything for you to tinker around with in a massive, empty, black void!" I screeched, huffing in anger.

Nok looked morosely at the ground, and said in a very small, quiet voice, "You were leaving me," like it was an iron-clad excuse.

It was.

In those four words, I was suddenly looking at monkey version of myself as I watched my mother leave, suddenly felt all the burning hurt and confusion, knowing with steel-edged certainty that I wasn't good enough to keep her attention.

I dropped my bags, wrapping my arms around my little friend and hugging him as tightly as I could, fighting off the tears I felt threatening to turn my furious puffing into big, girly sobs.

"I'm sorry, Nok. I promise I won't do it again," I sniffled. "I was really dumb."

"I need to breathe still, Sarah," he wheezed, and I lessened my strangle hold a tad. "And yes, you were dumb. How did you plan to find anything useful without me? You'd wind up coming home with a bag full of useless, broken baubles," he said, and I made a noise distressingly similar to the dreaded girly sob as he wrapped his skinny little arms around my neck.

"You are not cute. You are very, very annoying, and will be spending the majority of the trip up here safely in my pack, where you can't get into any mischief and I know exactly where you are," I told him in a stern, don't-think-you're-actually-getting-away-with-this tone, though the effect may have been slightly lessened by the fact that my marshmallow heart was leaking fluffy white goo all over the place.

"Just so long as I get to stay with you," he said contentedly, snuggling comfortably into my shoulder.

I gave into the girly sobs and sat down, smiling and crying and laughing with my goblin friend.

Nok was fantastically dreadful at being inconspicuous.

It turned out he didn't realize I was serious when I had told him his new favorite place was going to be the inside of my pack, and only after a good bit of grumbling and much theatrics had we reached a compromise : I would leave the bag unzipped, and he would be good and stay out of sight.

He was unfortunately very bad at being good.

"Honestly, the slightest little glimmer catches your eye and off you scamper, no warning, not a glance to see if anyone is around - do you know how fast those big, bladeless Cleaner machines go?" I chastised, securing him back in my bag. He cast a glower at the street.

"Stupid fast. If they can't see that their path is already perfectly clean, they need to slow down," he said petulantly, and I sighed, trying to stomp on the affectionate smile lurking behind my irritated mask.

"Please, try to stay out of trouble, alright? At least out of the streets, anyways," I said, and picked my merchandise back up. "And stay down, this time. I know how to negotiate, thank you."

Nok snorted, and I shot him a quick glare. He rolled his eyes, and repeated our little deal that had kept our partnership running (relatively) smoothly the past few years.

"Sarah is the merchant, and leaves Nok's repairs alone, no matter how long it's taking him; Nok is the mechanic, and stays out of negotiations, no matter how badly Sarah is arguing," he droned, and I nodded, satisfied, as I pushed open the door to one of my old haunts.

A string of seashells over the door announced my arrival, and a handsome young Creole man looked up from his book balancing, smiling when he saw me.

"Well now, iffinn't cher Sarah? An shez no fille juene more longer," he said, liberally rounding his vowels, relaxing in a languid manner that mimicked his speech. I smiled. He'd put up with a lot of annoying questions from a lonely teenage girl once upon a time, even though I was sure he'd rather have been running around with his own, newly legal friends.

But it didn't make me forget what he'd done.

Beau was nice. He didn't have much of a temper, was good looking and charming and polite. He was every mother's dream. Just as his cousin was every mother's nightmare.

Armand, five years Beau's senior, was a hellion. He roamed where he liked and did what he wished, with little regard for petty things like laws and common decency. He'd lived freely, with his eyes open to just what the world was really like and enough attitude and shrewd intellect to get by in it. Despite their apparent differences, the two had been close. Beau was more or less incorruptible, and Armand was unpersuadable. Until they met me, it seemed.

Maman Delia was a merchant with a foot in both Under and Aboveground, and both cousins were well acquainted with the former's residents - they knew the stories and tales and legends, and what not to say and when to run.

Which, of course, made Beau's actions all the more inexcusable.

"Nice to see you again, Beau. Trust you're doing well?" I replied, striding forward and setting my things down gently. I rested on the edge of his counter, folding a leg under me, like I had as a girl, though I was no longer a misplaced child looking for magic.

"Doin beddah now, ain' I? Where been you, dese eight years?" he asked, flashing me a glimpse of a bright white smile and a broad, tan chest as he crossed his arms behind his head, his halfway undone button-down shirt gaping open.

I had to suppress a smile. He obviously didn't realize I knew, or he would probably have already run away. Of course, he did know I'd turned down an otherworldly King, and he was still giving it a go - I supposed persistence had to count for something.

"You know, around," I said carelessly. I studied a nearby shelf, keeping him in my peripheral. "Saw your cousin, Armand," I added in the same tone.

In the corner of my eye, Beau stiffened.

"Oh, now?" he said, some of the lazy swagger in his voice gone. I turned and smiled at him.

"Mm-hmm. He sends well wishes," I said, then paused, and ducked my head in mild chagrin. "Well, his regards, anyways. He's a bit careful with his wishes, these days."

Several months after I had returned to the Underground, Armand had paid Beau a visit, at Maman Delia's request. It seemed, that he'd grown a bit more attached to me than either she or I had realized, and was quite distraught over my disappearance.

Personally, I thought it leaned more toward guilt - that same day, he had encouraged me to seek out the magic I was so desperately missing, and probably blamed himself for my stupidity.

Whatever the reason, Beau was worrying Maman Delia. When Armand showed up, the golden boy was already three sheets to the wind - an occurrence that had apparently become something of a habit.

So, Armand got drunk with him.

The two of them reminisced for a while, but when the subject turned to my departure, Beau's demeanor had changed. He became accusatory and argumentative, and, of course, a fight ensued.

Beau won, because he wished Armand away.

And with his cousin's freedom, he also lost my friendship.

Armand had, of course, petitioned forgiveness for him, but it did little to lessen my animosity. He knew the consequences, better than I had, and did it anyways - he deserved no forgiveness.

Beau considered me stoically for a moment, then laughed, a deep, rich baritone sound that rumbled through the room.

"No, no fille juene more longer," he murmured, now assessing me with something akin to amused, wary appreciation. I gave him a decidedly sharp smile. "What be bringin cher Sarah here?"

I tapped the bag on the floor with my foot.

"I have some things you may be interested in," I said, and fixed him with a stare I knew held more challenge than an average person would be comfortable with. Do you dare look?

Beau cocked an eyebrow at me, and reached down to the bag, keeping his eyes locked on mine as though I were a predator, liable to attack him if he showed a moment's distraction.

I tried not to giggle.

But I failed when Nok bit him.

Beau recoiled, swearing in a mixture of French and whatever other syllables he felt like throwing in, shaking his hand smartly. I tried to look concerned. Honestly.

"What is that?" he demanded, and I carefully reached down and extracted Nok.

"This is Nok," I said, scratching his head. My little friend settled into my lap, giving Beau a criminally adorable growl of warning. "He's my monkey mechanic. Not actually for sale," I clarified.

The Creole man eyed his assailant, dislike plain in his features.

"The rest of it is, however," I prompted, and favored him with another knife-edged grin, tempting him to take the bait a second time. Beau leaned back a little and ran a long-fingered hand through his pretty, smooth black hair, and, for a moment, I thought he was going to continue his pursuit, until I recognized the look behind his black eyes. I was suddenly sure he was remembering a very dangerous interaction between a feisty fifteen-year-old and a snake with a pretty face, so long ago.

He nodded his head briefly, conceding defeat.

After, he called to the back room, and a woman in traditional Hoodoo robes emerged. I handled my business with her, and thankfully left with noticeably lighter luggage than I had entered with. Maman Delia, it seemed, had recently left on business abroad. I was a little disappointed I was unable to see her, but more relieved that I wouldn't have to tell her face to face that I intended to go back.

Nok scrambled up onto my shoulder as I walked, casting an evil glare back at the shop we had left.

"That man tasted awful," he said, and I laughed.

"Well, I didn't tell you to bite him, you know," I grinned, picking up my step toward a bus stop and its empty bench. Several children scuttled about, already in costume though it was barely midday.

Nok grinned, a goblin copy of the not-entirely-human grin I had given Beau, and I couldn't help but smirk a little.

"It was worth it. He was really dim, wasn't he? How did he think he stood a chance, when you rejected Jareth?" he said, and I laughed again.

"Well, to be fair, I don't think he realized I have a thing for badass blonde kings, but it was a little presumptuous of him," I replied, and sat down on the bench, taking up a good two thirds of it with my luggage. I didn't see the skinny youth in a hooded sweater crouching at the opposite end.

"Whoa," he breathed, and both Nok and I whipped our heads around.

"Oh, hello," I said, smiling warmly, and tugged on Nok's foot with my free hand. Be good.

"What is that?" he asked, and I felt Nok bristle a bit - he was getting really tired of that question.

"He's a rare breed of hairless spider monkey," I replied evenly. The boy eyed us skeptically.

"How come his eyes are so big?"

"He's also part goldfish," I said, and tried very hard not to giggle as Nok twitched.

The kid seemed satisfied for a moment, and nodded to himself, before tugging at his sweater.

"Why's he got clothes on?" He leaned over, inspecting my baggage. "Are you an organ grinder or something?"

I hesitated, seriously considering saying 'yes' and making Nok hop around a bit to 'ring around the rosy' or some such, but I rather suspected that I would deeply regret it later.

"Nah, I just dressed him up for Halloween," I said, and Nok squeezed my shoulder sharply. Smart choice.

"Oh." The boy simply watched us for a moment, eyes wide, before gesturing at Nok's rear. "Why's he got no tail?"

Nok snarled, lunging off my shoulder and scrabbling up the kid's sweater, until his huge eyes were level with the little human's.

"Because I'm a goblin, you twit, and if you keep asking stupid questions, I'm going to drag you Underground and turn you into one, too," he growled, and I pressed my lips together to keep from giggling.

"Now, Nok, that's not very friendly," I admonished, and reached out a hand to him. He grumbled and came back to me, still glaring at the boy, and slouched sulkily against my side. I scratched his head in a manner I knew he liked and winked at the kid.

"He's a little testy today," I explained. "He's usually a very well-behaved monkey."

Nok made a furious, strangled sound, and dove back into my pack, growling and grumbling obscenities in what sounded like Troll. I laughed as the kid flung himself off the bench and high-tailed it down the street, and pulled my pack around in front of me.

"Aww, come on, Nok, I was only teasing," I said, and was answered by one of my socks hurling itself at my face. I laughed again. Perhaps he'd stay in my bag like I'd told him to, now. "Alright, suit yourself," I told him, and shouldered my bag again as the bus pulled up, hoping he would behave himself at the next few shops.

"They all look the same," Nok said irritably, scowling at a group of children as they passed us by. "How can you possibly expect to find a specific one? You haven't even seen him in eight years."

I rolled my eyes and fidgeted with the edge of my cape. I had dressed up as a vampire - the same shock white face and bloody lips, same tattered black dress and billowing, high-collared cape I had left in - out of my unflagging sense of the appropriate.

And maybe I hoped Toby would recognize me.

I knew it was stupid, shaky logic - he'd been a year old when I left, how could he possibly? - but still… I could hope.

"Everyone is wearing a different costume. How can they all look the same to you?" I muttered distractedly to Nok, scanning the small faces around me for a pair of mismatched eyes. The goblin scoffed.

"You call those costumes?" he demanded, and crossed his arms. I smirked.

"Humans don't have magic, Nok, remember? Not everyone can generate a convincing goblin mask, or demon horns, or werewolf suit, just by flicking their wrist and snapping their fingers, you know. We have to settle for Wal-Mart," I told him, squinting at a skinny boy with white-blonde hair standing next to the bench.

We had agreed to meet at the park, in the general vicinity of the lake, but neither of us had given an exact location or description of our costumes. I think Toby was just as curious as I was to see if we could recognize each other.

I watched the blonde boy out of the corner of my eye for a moment. He toyed with his pillowcase of candy in a bored manner, plucking out pieces and discarding wrappers on the ground beside him, occasionally scanning the perimeter with the nervous looks of someone doing something wrong and expecting to be caught. I frowned. Was it him…?

"Oh, nice shot! Right behind the ear!" Nok said appreciatively, looking over toward the bridge. I tore my gaze away from the litterbug and followed his to a young woman dressed in a frilly white princess gown, her dark hair spun up and piled atop her head.

I instantly disliked her. Honestly, would I never get away from that? I was fifteen, for crying out loud…

After a moment of wallowing in righteous outrage, I noticed she was looking around in a mildly bewildered manner, rubbing the side of her head gingerly. I smirked in vindictive satisfaction and glanced around her, looking for the mastermind behind her injury -

And found Toby.

There was no mistaking it - that was my brother. Now that I saw him, it was blatantly obvious. Honestly, no normal human child was capable of looking so… goblin-y.

"That's him," I breathed, and Nok clapped.

"Oh, good. He's been throwing things at people for a good ten minutes now, and he hits them almost every time. Every now and then, someone will look over at him, and he just smiles at them and they keep walking. He's a master at this," Nok told me, his awe apparent in his tone. I chuckled. Yeah, that was Toby all right.

Nok slipped back into my pack as I casually ambled over to my brother, staying just on the edge of his line of vision, and eyed him critically for a moment.

His hair was a curly blonde mess, brushing his ears and tangling down the nape of his neck in an altogether unruly fashion. The top of his head would probably reach about my shoulder, and he was thin, but not scrawny; well fed.

I assumed Robert had taken over his mealtime menu, then.

His face had lost some of its roundness, although it wouldn't start to develop the strong chin and high cheekbones my father had for several years, yet. He was dressed in jeans and a torn shirt, fake blood splattered liberally over both. His left cheek was scuffed and bloody, and there were two jagged holes on the side of his neck, each about the size of a straw.

He was a vampire victim.

I grinned. He did remember me.

As I watched, he plucked a small piece of candy out of his little plastic pumpkin, and shot it at the princess' boyfriend. It hit him squarely on the nose, and he let out a decidedly unmanly yelp, clutching at his face. He immediately whipped around to glare at Toby, who was now sucking happily on a lollipop and watching a passing lightning bug, smiling angelically.

Face of a cherub, with the eyes of Puck.

The man's glare faltered, obviously feeling mistaken - how could such a little angel be the culprit? - and darted around, looking for another target.

I waited until Toby had followed the lightning bug to the opposite direction of me, and snuck up, sitting silently beside him on the wall of the bridge.

"That's quite good. Very impressive," I murmured to him, and stole a piece of candy from his bucket. "But a true prankster never lets the suspicion fall on him. Like so," I said, aiming, and flicked the sweet off my palm. It bounced off the boyfriend's shoulder and hit the princess in the back of the neck, eliciting a high-pitched squeak of indignation and directing her accusations toward her boyfriend. I smiled in satisfaction and winked at Toby.

"Show-off. You owe me a piece of candy, now," he replied blandly, but his eyes sparkled merrily - I just knew he'd spend hours learning how to aim rebound projectiles, now. I laughed.

"Well, I'm afraid I don't have any candy, but how about this instead?" I said, reaching into my pack and pulling out a small, slender leather sheath. I handed it to him, and watched as he carefully took it and inspected it. I was quietly pleased with his examinations - he tested the seams and clasps, checked it for weak spots and wear, and even smelled it, though what he expected to sense by sniffing it, I wasn't sure. There was no way a nine-year-old human boy could detect poison or harmful spells on it… right?

After it passed his tests, he undid the brass clasps holding it closed and extracted the deceptively delicate-looking crystal dagger it held. It pulsed dimly in his hands, shifting between dull blues and greens, and I smiled. I'd known it would like him.

Toby handled it gently, a look of awe and affection on his face, as though he'd been reunited with a long-lost friend. Suddenly, he twirled it around with nimble fingers, as though he'd been training with it for years, and even tossed it a few feet in the air. I tried very hard not to panic.

He glanced at me, grinning.

The previous owner of that blade had often played with it - flipping it about, dancing it over his fingers as though it were a living thing - and it was a little unnerving to see my kid brother instantly take to the same habits. I assured myself that Nok had deemed it safe, and therefore, it was. Nok wouldn't be wrong - he was a genius with this sort of stuff.

"So, what's it do?" Toby asked, balancing the hilt of it on one finger with all the casual ease of a master blade-smith. I cocked an eyebrow.

"What makes you think it does anything more than glow all pretty like that?" I asked. He shrugged a slender little shoulder.

"It feels like it," he replied, tossing it up and catching it by the hilt. The blade pulsed happily. "It's practically buzzing with magic. Maman Delia would have a field day with this," he said, and I grinned. Maman Delia would do quite a few things if she found that, firstly locking it up and secondly tanning my hide for giving something so powerful to a kid.

"Well, I may have heard that it does a few things," I allowed, relaxing casually on the bench and crossing my legs, twitching a foot carelessly. Toby rolled his eyes and made a 'get on with it' gesture with his new knife. I chuckled.

"It is, of course, unbreakable. Which is quite useful, as it is practically impossible to repair crystal. Also, it likes you, and therefore as long as you are alive, no one will be able to handle it as well as you," I said, and his eyes glowed. I could just imagine him showing it off to all his little school friends. I could tell him it was a bad idea, and to keep it secret - but the knife would always find its way back to him should he lose it, and he was still a kid, after all. If I were him, I'd be dying to do the same thing.

Besides, it's not like he'd listen, anyways.

I pointed at the blade itself, indicating the swirling greenish blues inside. "And see the colors in it? They'll change if someone who wishes you harm comes near you - red at first, as a warning, and then different colors as a clarification: brown for jealousy, black for vengeance, purple for violent madness, and others as well, that you'll have to learn for yourself." Reaching over, I plucked the sheath from beside him, and indicated the carvings on it. "See these runes? They'll prevent anyone from noticing it while it isn't with you, and make you less noticeable when you carry it. Fantastic for sneaking around," I said, and winked at him. He grinned at me, and I was quite certain he would be using that particular asset to his advantage - once his teen years rolled around, Karen was never going to know where he was.

"I suppose this is an adequate substitution for a Milky Way," he told me, and I felt a wry smile settle on my face.

"I'm so glad it meets your standards, Master Toby," I replied, amused, and ruffled his hair. He growled and shoved my hand off, glaring at me.

"Is it really a good idea to provoke me right after you've given me a weapon?" he asked testily, and I laughed.

"Is it really a good idea to threaten someone with access to weapons like that?" I countered, and he paused for a moment, considering.

"I suppose, since you're my sister, I'll let it slide," he decided, and I laughed again.

"Bit of a smartass, isn't he?" Nok asked, suddenly perched on my shoulder once more. I grinned.

"Well, he is related to me, after all," I said proudly, watching Toby surreptitiously for a reaction. According to Armand, Tobes had a rather unstable relationship with goblins; they tried to sneak around and cause mischief, and Toby laid traps for them, usually engineered to stun and based off brute force, and then tossed them back through his mirror.

Armand rather suspected that the goblins enjoyed the violence, and that Toby enjoyed the challenge.

I rather suspected that Toby was probably pretty irritated with them, and would soon start trying to do more than stun them if they didn't stop stealing his socks.

Toby peered curiously at my goblin friend, and cocked his head.

"Hi. I'm Toby, what's your name?" he asked in a friendly enough manner, and I relaxed a tad. Nok beamed at the first human he'd met today who hadn't responded to his appearance by shrieking 'What is THAT?' and running.

"I'm Nok. And I know exactly who you are, Toby, because for the past eight years, Sarah has refused to shut up about you."

I glared at Nok. "Oh, like you didn't enjoy most of the stories," I snapped. Nok rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, the first three times, maybe. But after a dozen or so recountings, the appeal sort of wears off."

Toby grinned. "Well, I'm sorry you had to put up with that on my account, and I hope you don't hold it against me," he said diplomatically, and Nok inclined his head.

"Of course not. Just as I hope you don't hold the general obnoxiousness of my species against me," he replied, and Toby frowned a little.

"Are you a goblin?" he asked, eyeing my little monkey mechanic. I immediately spoke up.

"Actually, he's a rare breed of spider monkey mixed with goldfi-"

"Yes, I'm a goblin," Nok said over me, scrabbling roughly over my head and down my other side to go sit with Toby. "I swear, if you tell one more person that I am a distant relation of an aquatic lemur, so help me you will never find another sock again," he threatened, and I tried not to grin too widely.

"Sorry, but it's really amusing," I apologized insincerely, and Nok grumbled unhappily as he scaled my brother's arm.

"You're a lot smarter than most goblins," Toby observed, and Nok proudly puffed out his chest a little.

"Yes, and I'm also a good deal more adorable and have much more appetizing culinary preferences," he informed him. Toby nodded wisely and offered him a candy.

"Snickers?"

"Don't mind if I do, thanks," he said, and scuttled off to the other side of the bridge to find someone to throw it at. I grinned and watched him go.

"So, when do we leave?" Toby asked, twirling his knife. I blinked at him.

"Where are we going?" I countered.

My brother rolled his eyes at me. "Underground, of course. Armand said you can only cross on certain days, Midwinter being the next, so I figure we have, what, seven weeks? I couldn't figure out exactly what day Midwinter fell on, so I've just been telling Mom and Dad that there's an exchange student thing coming up after Christmas," he said, and shrugged a shoulder. "I'll come up with something more concrete later."

Quite suddenly, there was suddenly a great gaping hole where my organs had been, and it was slowly filling with ice. Toby couldn't go Underground. If - when - Jareth found him -

I firmly stomped on that thought.

"Toby, you can't come with me," I said as gently as possible. He frowned at me.

"What do you mean, I can't? I'll just follow you through. I've already been setting Mom and Dad up for it, everything is fine - and it's not like school is a problem, I'm already way smarter than all the other kids, so-"

"No, Toby, that's not…" I sighed, rubbing a hand over my face and probably smearing my make-up. "Look, it's dangerous down there. I'm dangerous down there - I've got more enemies than you have fingers and toes, and none of them would be above using my kid brother against me," I said, maybe stretching the truth just a little - really, I only had like four enemies, but they were obscenely powerful enough to count as a score of regular foes. "Maybe when you're older-"

"Cripes, Sarah!" Toby shouted, plunging his knife into the stone wall we sat on. The blade sank cleanly through two inches of stone, and stayed there, pulsing angrily. "I can't believe you'd pull that one out on me! You just gave me a weapon, for Ludo's sake. Do you not want me around? Is that it?" he demanded. I winced.

"Of course I do, Tobes! You know I missed you! But I don't want you getting hurt. It's not just goblins down there, you know."

"I know that - I've been studying with Maman Delia for years, now. I'm not a dumb kid, Sarah!" he argued.

"You're nine! Being smart doesn't make you any older, kid," I shot back, and crossed my arms. "Reading about things that can demolish you with a flick of the wrist and seeing them face to face are totally different. How can you really expect me to put you in danger like that?"

"So teach me how to take care of myself! I can't stand it up here, Sarah! It's so dead," he yelled, and yanked his knife out of the stone it lay lodged in, as though it were no more than a block of foam. "This doesn't belong here, and you gave it to me, because I don't belong here either," he said, spearing me with a scorching glare of challenge.

I glared right back at him for a minute, but I could feel my resolve wavering.

I knew what he felt. Hadn't I bemoaned the horrible lack of magic in this place myself? It was no longer a question of how could I take him Underground.

Now, how could I leave him here?

I looked away and let one arm dangle, the other tightly wrapped around my torso, torn. If I didn't take him with me, he would simply find his own way down, and he'd be in even more danger by himself. And what if Jareth found him alone?

I shuddered, my mind made up.

"Alright, but you have to give me some time," I relented, and eyed him warily. He kept his expression calm and neutral, and spun his little blade around idly.

"How much time?" he asked.

"Enough time for me to teach you how to avoid everyone else's knife," I replied, and walked over to grab my pack. I was unsurprised to see Nok's skinny little fingers zipping it partially closed from the inside as I lifted it. I heard Toby huff and stomp his foot behind me.

"That's not an answer at all," he complained, and I grinned.

"Get used to it, Tobes. No one Underground gives straight answers for anything, unless they're lying," I told him, and cocked my head. "Actually, they usually twist the lies up, too."

He scowled at me. "Armand gives straight answers," he pointed out, and fell in step with me as I started walking. "Most of the time."

"He's also human," I replied. Toby gave me an exasperated look.

"And what are you, a troll?"

"Of course not. I'm a Sarah," I said, and felt Nok poke his head back out.

"That's actually a valid statement. She is sufficiently kooky to warrant her own species," he informed us, and dove back inside, wriggling around and rustling what sounded suspiciously like candy wrappers. It seemed he had discovered the conventional use for Snickers.

"Well if I'm kooky, you're flat-out insane," I retorted, and jabbed an elbow at my pack. Nok squeaked and retaliated by shooting a foot out and clocking me in the base of my skull, knocking my head forward with surprising velocity.

Toby snorted as I squawked and stumbled.

"And I'm supposed to trust you to teach me how to defend myself?"

I scowled as Nok laughed derisively in my bag.

AN: *Peeks from behind fingers* Wait! Hold the tomatoes! There's more, I swear! Chapter three was supposed to be all, I know, but Jareth had to go and take up an entire chapter by himself, and then Toby followed in his footsteps and took nearly an entire chapter to himself, and I was forced to break them up. But look! Down there, at the next chapter button! See? It's all right… :) And feel free to review for both chapters. I won't mind a bit. :D

ALSO: FFN was spazzing on me while I was posting these two chapters, and was refusing to send me a carbon copy alert - which made me doubt it was alerting anyone else, either. If I spammed anybody's inbox with my efforts to correct this, I apologize most sincerely.

High Elf Queen: Bhahaha, The Ebil Author of Procrastination strikes again! You still do not know if Jareth loves her! *insert maniac laughter here* Ahem, seriously, though, all shall be revealed in Part Two. :)

MyraValhallah: Oh! Phew. That is a relief. Not only would I have lost a wonderful, faithful reviewer, but I have heard that lynching is a distinctly unpleasant experience and should be avoided at all costs.

Chilalisnowbird: *Is stricken* Oh, good lord. What was I thinking? *Scampers off to re-establish Jareth's position on back*

Mommys-Little-Nightmare: Thank you. :)

S.R Devaste: Ah-hah, one chapter. Heh. *Insert uneasy grin*

Turtlerad17: Thank you, darling! I did try hard to keep her in character. It's nice to hear it paid off! :)

Aysuh: Haha, much appreciated, darling. snarky!Sarah is oodles of fun to write.

TrashedXandXScattered: :D Glad you enjoyed, darling! *Wink*

Shinku: Automatic Response 215: Author is too busy making a fool of herself, dancing to 'Disco Inferno', to reply in her customary witty fashion. Please try back later.

Camcalli: Alas, true love is blind, is it not? However, I think that whoever wrote that proverb deliberately left out that love can also be irritatingly naïve, and fantastically sappy sometimes. Really, it's a bit of a partial proverb…

Scipio'sGirl: Thank you, darling, hope you enjoyed!