"Keep the Magic Alive"
Chapter 11
By Aiijuin

Disclaimer: All things "Labyrinth" belong to Henson Companies as well as many other wonderful contributors. I own nothing!
This story is INCREDIBLY dark, and therefore is marked: M+ for Mature content

Chapter 11: More Junk to Sift Through

Ludo led Jareth into an underground passageway as he carried his two youngest children close to him. He still couldn't believe that he was listening to, what he considered to be, a delusion. At this point, however, he figured his imaginary 'friends' weren't causing he or his children any harm. Of course, he refused to let anything inside this crazy place, besides himself, handle his children in anyway.

The corridor became deeper and darker by the second, until everyone emerged into some sort of broken child's room. Jareth recognized it immediately as Sarah's childhood bedroom. It looked nearly identical to the setup from her family pictures, except the walls had been apparently torn down and heaps of random garbage had collapsed inward from the outside.

Jareth asked Ludo, "Where are we exactly?"

Ludo turned and answered, "Find Sawah Here Long Ago."

Sahara picked up a white-gowned princess figurine that sat atop an elaborate music box. It began to play a melody. Jareth knocked the item from her hand and muttered, "Don't touch that, Darling… This place is filthy and you could catch a disease."

Then, he turned to Ludo and asked, "So, you did mention something about Sarah being here…um… I hope that I didn't really hear the part about 'long ago', because now is really not the time for a tour."

Ludo nodded slowly and pointed upwards, "Sawah Fell From Bubble."

Jareth looked upwards into an empty sky of stars and shook his head. Suddenly, he heard a raggedy voice of an elderly woman, however as he looked he saw some sort of….

…Homeless old bag lady…or gremlin…or something? Jareth finished the thought in his head.

He blinked for a second as the small, old creature wearing refuse on its back, waddled up towards him. Jareth King backed away as the junk hag asked, "I see that yer' lookin' fer' somethin'! Well, why don't'cha try this?"

She handed him a small picture of Sarah standing in a yard with her arms around a white sheepdog resembling the one that Sir Diddymus was riding. Sarah looked to be about ten or eleven years old, but he recognized her eyes right away.

He held the picture up to the light and said, "It's fascinating how much you and your sisters look like your mother, Sahara."

Before his daughter could respond to him, the hag tried to hand him several other items, but he replied, "No! No, I don't wear lipstick. Um, no, please… thank you. Yes, I can see that it's a stuffed bear. No. I don't need it. Don't put that crown on my head. Oh…my…."

Jaime giggled and Sahara smirked as the junk hag placed a cheap looking plastic princess crown on their father's head. He just shook his head and muttered, "Next we'll be having a tea party with the Mad Hatter and the March Hare…"

After a few more seconds of chaos and Ludo's constant moaning for him to look up, Jareth finally snapped, "Look! I need to find my wife and daughters, now! Unless they are buried in this pile of junk somewhere, then I suggest we move on and keep looking! Yes, my furry fellow, I've looked four times, and there's nothing there! You creatures are driving me INSANE!"

Jaime jumped and Sahara's eyes opened wide. Neither had ever heard their father raise his voice in anger before. Jareth hadn't finished either… He continued, "HEY! All I want to do is find Sarah, Jennifer, and Julia and escape from this forsaken place with my entire family, and then return home! RIGHT NOW!

At that second, everything became quiet and he was sitting on his couch with Jaime in his lap and Sahara leaning on his shoulder. Sarah King fell to the ground with a thud right before him and his twin daughters huddled together in terror over in the corner of the living room. The entire house was still completely dark and he could hear Sarah sobbing with her face down on the carpet.

Sahara jumped off his shoulder immediately and raced toward her mother's side. "Mom!" She cried in fright.

Sarah looked up and hugged her daughter in relief, "Omigod, Sahara?"

"Mommy, we're back!" Sahara laughed and nodded.

Sarah didn't seem as relieved as she looked up and saw Jareth with Jaime in his arms. He moved towards her and she held out her hands, "STOP!"

He stopped.

"Give me Jaime…Now, Jareth!" Sarah stammered with tears streaming down her face.

Sahara pawed her mother and said, "But, Mom…"

Sarah grabbed her daughter's wrist tightly and said sternly, "Go to the car, Sahara… Just go, NOW!"

Jareth started, "Sarah, I'm sorry…I…"

Sarah interrupted, "Don't! Just, don't…say anything! Jennifer, Julia, go to the car, now! Jareth, give me Jaime, here…hurry…."

He obediently handed his son over to his wife, as the little boy shook at the sound of his mother's petrified voice. Jaime started to cry, which made the moment even more heart retching than it already had been.

Sarah kept her hand held out as a warning for him not to follow and she grabbed her keys from the hook near the front door as she opened it. Her eyes were wide, and he could clearly distinguish the look of mortification on her face as she refused to take her eyes off of him for a second. She limped backwards as Jareth looked down to find out why…

"Sarah, why are your feet bleeding?" He asked.

"You need serious help, Jareth," Sarah winced and kept prodding her children out the door behind her. "I'm-I'm going to Toby's house…. I want you to leave and please…please don't ever come back!"

She hobbled towards the car in the driveway, put Jaime into his carseat, and then she closed the door as the other three children took their seats within. Sarah wiped her face with her hands as she glanced back up at her husband and finished, "I know it's not your fault that this is happening… You're just very sick. Still....you just tried to murder me tonight and I can't keep you here anymore…"

"I tried to….what? How? What-What did I do, Darling?" Jareth asked with anguish in his eyes.

Sarah had her hand on the handle of the driver's side door, and she kept her back turned towards him as she whispered, "You tried to dance me to death…"

At that she jumped into the vehicle and locked the automatic doors after she closed herself within. She started the car and sped out of the driveway without taking another look at him.