Hoggle sat quietly on Stacey's old storage bed, simply gazing out the window watching the birds flit around the yard. He managed to tear his eyes away when he heard the sound of Stacey climbing up the ladder to enter the room.
"Hey," Stacey greeted the moment she saw him, handing him a small paper bag as she joined him on the bed. "I managed to save you a whole wheat bagel from breakfast. I hope you like it."
"Thank you," Hoggle accepted the food gratefully, acknowledging his empty stomach.
"Hoggle?" Stacey began as Hoggle started to eat his breakfast. "I…want to thank you again for yesterday. It was nice spending time with Wayne, and I'm sure he liked it, too."
"Of course," Hoggle smiled. "Wayne's your family. You both needed a day for yourselves."
"Yeah, I guess we did. Still, I suppose we really need to meet with Sarah and the others today. As nice as it is seeing Wayne, we can't pretend that we don't have a job to do here, and that's trying to figure out what to do about the Agnostic."
"I guess you're right," Hoggle agreed. "And…I think we should tell them about that nightmare you had, about Jareth challenging the Agnostic."
"Why?" Stacey gaped. "It…it was just a dream."
"But in the dream, you said the Agnostic mentioned someone who had the power to stop it," Hoggle pointed out. "Maybe…your dream was giving us a hint about how we can beat the Agnostic for good."
"Hmmm. You might be right," Stacey agreed after thinking about it. "All right, we'll see what the others have to say about it. Now …I guess I'd better go and tell Wayne that I'm going out for a bit. How about you wait for me outside, by the old ash tree?"
"I'll be there," Hoggle nodded before watching Stacey head back down the ladder.
In the kitchen, Wayne was just finishing up with the task of washing the breakfast dishes. Upon looking up, he saw Stacey watching him from the doorway.
"Thanks for the bagels, Wayne," Stacey smiled. "They were really good."
"I'm glad you liked them," Wayne returned the smile half-heartedly, forcing himself to not simply blurt out the questions that had plagued his mind since he'd first seen Stacey talking to the dwarf in his workshop. "It's so good to have you home again."
"It's good to be back," Stacey agreed. However, her smile dropped ever so slightly as she spoke, and Wayne realized that he'd only been able to notice the tiny change because he knew her so well.
"Um…Wayne?" Stacey continued, sounding suddenly nervous and awkward. "I was going to…head out for a little while. I…I was planning on…meeting with some…friends. Is…is that all right?"
"Yes, I…that will be fine," Wayne agreed, turning away so Stacey wouldn't see the look in his eyes. "Be sure to have fun, all right?"
As much as he tried not to, he couldn't stop himself from thinking about the last time Stacey had told him she was going to be spending time with someone, back when Sarah had invited her to spend the night. That time, she hadn't come home.
"Yeah, I will," Stacey replied. For a full minute, Stacey and Wayne simply stood where they were, neither one moving or saying a word. It was Stacey who broke the silence.
"Okay. I…I'll see you later then," Stacey timidly waved, backing out of the kitchen. However, just before she stepped out of sight, she turned back around. "Wayne?" Instantly, Wayne turned and finally met her eyes. "I will be back by dinner at the latest, okay?"
"Okay," Wayne agreed, feeling slightly better, seeing the honesty in Stacey's face. "I'll see you by dinner, at the latest." Once again, Stacey gave Wayne a smile, but this time, he was truly able to return it.
At the Williams' home, Irene was busy with doing the laundry, but as she started transferring the wet clothes from the washer to the dryer, she heard the sounds of someone rummaging around in the kitchen. Momentarily abandoning her task, she stepped into the kitchen in time to see Toby trying to sneak out into the backyard with an entire box of fruit snacks.
"Toby!" Irene scolded. "You better not be planning to eat all of those fruit snacks! You just had breakfast two hours ago!"
"No, Mommy," Toby shook his head. "We were gonna share them."
"Share them?" Irene repeated incredulously. "And who's 'we'?" Without waiting for an answer, Irene looked out into the backyard, her eyes falling on Toby's playhouse. Through the playhouse window, she could make out Sarah talking with a young blonde girl, both with serious expressions on their faces. It took Irene a few seconds to truly recognize the blonde girl, but the moment she did, her body stiffened.
"Oh, no," Irene shook her head, growing angry. "Absolutely not."
With that, Irene stepped outside and crossed the yard, loudly knocking on the playhouse door.
"Sarah, get out here now!" After a few seconds, the door opened and Sarah squeezed out, making an obvious effort to keep the door from opening completely, preventing Irene from seeing too much of the playhouse interior.
"Yes, Mother?" Sarah spoke with an annoyed frown.
"I would like to know what you are doing out here," Irene replied. "There is a lot of work to do around the house, and I do not appreciate you lying around doing absolutely nothing while I do everything. You have five minutes to say goodbye to any friends you might be hiding in there, and then I expect you and Toby inside the house to give me a hand."
Sarah could barely keep herself from glaring at Irene. Yes, Irene was her stepmother, but she was also an adult now, and therefore, she had no right to order her around like this. What made Sarah even angrier was that she knew exactly why Irene was acting like this. It was glaringly obvious that she'd seen her talking with Stacey and chose to butt in.
Sarah was about to call Irene out when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, Sarah saw Stacey giving her a quick nod of understanding.
"I'll be right in, Mother," Sarah replied stiffly.
Once Irene had gone back inside the house, Sarah turned to Stacey and the others incredulously.
"I can't believe her! The only reason why she's making me go inside is because she must have seen you, Stacey! She still blames you for how I disappeared from my room the night we went to the Underground. It's ridiculous, because that wasn't your fault."
"Sarah, it's not important," Stacey replied. "Maybe you should try seeing things from her perspective. After all, one minute, I'm invited to your house to spend the night, and the next, you just disappear for four whole days. It's only natural that she'd pick me as a scapegoat. All she knew about me was that I was a girl from your school, and that we'd only met that afternoon. Any parent, stepparent or not, would be distrustful after that."
"Yeah, okay," Sarah relented, seeing Stacey's reasoning. "But what about the problem with the Agnostic? If my stepmother keeps trying to prevent me from spending time with you, how are we going to figure out how to defeat it? I mean, that dream you told us about made it clear that you were the one who could stop it, but how are you supposed to do that?"
"Wait, my lady," Sir Didymus spoke up. "What do ye mean by Stacey being able to stop it?"
"Well, in Stacey's dream," Sarah explained, "the Agnostic said that the only one who has the power to stop it is 'the child Susan cared for the most.' What other child would Susan care for other than her own? That means that Stacey's supposed to be the one to do it."
"The real question is how I'm supposed to do that," Stacey wondered.
"I don't know," Sarah shrugged. "Which is why I'm so mad that we were interrupted before we could figure it out."
"It's okay, Sarah." Hoggle assured her. "Just because we're not openly discussing it, we can still spend the day thinking the problem over."
For a brief second, Stacey glanced over at her friend, hearing something in his tone that she couldn't identify, but the sudden sound of Irene shouting for Sarah from inside the house kept her from asking him what was wrong.
"I'm really sorry, everyone," Sarah sighed heavily, backing out of the playhouse.
"Don't worry about it," Stacey repeated. "We'll meet together tomorrow. But it might be better if we meet in the park next time so your stepmother doesn't have a chance to step in."
"Sounds good," Sarah agreed. "And if she asks, I'll just tell her Toby and I are going there for a picnic lunch."
"In the meantime," Stacey turned to the boys once Sarah had left to help Irene around the house, "how would you guys like a tour of Kent?"
"I thought we weren't supposed to let the townsfolk see us," Sir Didymus pointed out. "Lady Sarah said it would lead to too many questions."
"And she was right," Stacey agreed. "But when I was out with Wayne yesterday, I heard that there was a Renaissance Fair in a nearby town today. We can always just tell people that we were heading there and just stopped in Kent for a bit."
"Renaissance?" Ludo cocked his head in confusion.
"Simply put, it's a festival that's intended to recreate how life in England was roughly 300 years ago."
"I am gathering England is the name of a different kingdom in this world." Sir Didymus stated.
"That's one way of putting it. But the general style of clothing that you usually see at the festival isn't too different from what you might see in the Underground. So it should be easy to convince people we're headed there."
About half an hour later, the friends were all resting their feet outside a local ice cream shop, with the exception of Daedalus. He had chosen to stay behind, wisely knowing that the sight of an owl in broad daylight would lead to too many questions. Everyone present were busy admiring the small gifts Stacey had gotten them from a local toy store. Ludo had received a rock-shaped bouncy ball while Sir Didymus was testing out his child-sized knight set. Theseus was completely fascinated with a small kaleidoscope and Hoggle was inspecting his plastic heart-shaped key ring with a soft smile on his face.
As they admired their presents, Stacey exited the ice cream shop, carrying four cones and one dish of ice cream.
"So then, seeing as how none of you have ever had ice cream before, I had to guess which flavors you'd like the most," Stacey explained. "First off, Theseus, I heard from Sarah and Toby that you were…quite amazed by the peanut butter sandwich they fed you last night."
"Amazed does not cover it," Sir Didymus shook his head, smiling at the gremlin. "The little vassal went completely crazy, bouncing around the room."
"Anyway," Stacey continued, stifling a chuckle at Sir Didymus' response, "I figured that you would also enjoy trying a peanut butter cup sundae."
"CU-CU-CHU!" Theseus squealed in excitement, practically diving face first into the dish of ice cream once Stacey set it down for him. Holding back a second laugh, Stacey went on.
"Ludo, I got you the Rocky Road. And no, there's not actually rocks in it. They just call it rocky road."
"Thank you," Ludo gave her a wide smile.
"As for you, Sir Didymus, I racked my brains trying to decide what flavor would be most fitting for you. After a while, I realized that only someone who was as brave as you would have no trouble with cinnamon coconut almond."
"I'm sure your judgment was sound," Sir Didymus accepted his cone with a respectful nod. Barely fighting the urge to roll her eyes at the fox's formality, Stacey turned and took a seat next to Hoggle, passing him one of the two remaining cones, which was identical to the one she kept.
"Hoggle, I'm sorry to say that none of the flavors they had called out to me when I thought about you, so I got you butter pecan because…well, it's my favorite flavor, and I hoped you would enjoy it as well."
"Thank you, Stacey," Hoggle replied gratefully.
The five friends fell into a silence as they began to enjoy their ice cream, until Ludo, upon finishing his, decided to try out his rock-shaped bouncy ball. Unfortunately, the ball bounced off the pavement at an angle and ended up hitting Sir Didymus' nose.
"OW!" Sir Didymus cried out, rubbing his nose.
As Theseus saw his chance to pounce on the bouncy ball and bat it around, just like a cat with a catnip mouse, Sir Didymus, began to admonish Ludo for not warning him before using his toy. From their spot on sidewalk curb, Stacey and Hoggle watched their friends in amusement.
"I never thought I'd ever experience something like this," Stacey sighed to herself.
"Somethin' like what?" Hoggle asked, turning to her.
"Just…this. Sitting around and simply enjoying being around other people. Never had a life like that before I met you guys. It feels great. So…thank you for that, Hoggle."
"I didn't do anythin'," Hoggle stated, shaking his head.
"Yes, you did, Hoggle," Stacey insisted. "Before I met you, I was alone. I didn't have any friends, apart from Daedalus. I kept telling myself I didn't want friends because I was convinced that I'd just get hurt again. So, I built up a wall around me, and wouldn't let anyone get close to me. But then, I came to the Underground with Sarah, and after that incident with the Tarasque…. Hoggle, you stayed up through most of the night just to look after me. Up 'til then, only Wayne would have done that. But you did, even though I'd been mean to you, calling you Dwarf and refusing to even use your name. I'd done nothing to earn your concern, but you still were there to help me. I don't think you'll ever know how much that meant to me. On that night, you helped restore my faith in friendship. You made me a better person, Hoggle. For that, I'll always be grateful for you. Thank you, Hoggle."
Stunned by her confession, Hoggle looked away until he felt Stacey softly place her hand on her shoulder. At her touch, he looked back, meeting her eyes.
"Hey, girls!" a sudden voice suddenly spoke. "Check this out!" Immediately, Stacey's body stiffened, and a furious look appeared on her face.
"Oh, no," she hissed, slowly turning her head to face the three girls who'd appeared nearby. Phoebe, Quinn, and Rosabel.
"Well, what do you know?" Phoebe smirked. "I thought she was gone for good. And look who's back! The parentless freak. Still seeing trolls in your bedroom closet, Stacey?"
Clenching her teeth, Stacey's hand closed into a fist. But instead of responding to the taunt, she simply stood back up, keeping her back to the girls who'd once bullied her.
"Come on, guys," Stacey announced, bending down to scoop Theseus up. "Let's go."
"Are ye just going to let those knaves speak to you like that?" Sir Didymus asked in shock as Ludo helped the fox up onto his shoulder. "Ye are the Goblin Quee…"
"Not here, I'm not," Stacey replied in a low voice, shooting him a warning look.
"Well," Quinn spoke up, eying Ludo's massive form. "Looks like ol' Stacey's got herself some equally freaky friends. Hey, Bigfoot! Halloween's over already."
"Ignore them, Ludo," Stacey instructed, reaching out to pat Ludo's arm. "They're not worth it." Without another word, Stacey began to lead her friends away. Unfortunately, she wasn't quick enough. Refusing to let Stacey off so easily, Rosabel strode forward, reaching out and snatching Hoggle's jewels from his belt.
"Those are mine!" Hoggle cried, spinning around.
"Well, then," Rosabel taunted, taking note of the fact that Stacey had stopped in her tracks and was now glaring at her. "Come and get them, ugly." Hoggle tried to jump up to get his things back, but the moment his feet retuned to the ground, Rosabel stuck her leg out, tripping the dwarf to the ground.
"Oh, have a nice trip, Shorty?" Quinn teased as all three girls burst out laughing.
That did it. Before anyone could react, Stacey had charged forward, landing a fierce punch to Rosabel's face. The force of the punch sent the red-haired girl to the ground, with Hoggle's jewels flying out of her grasp and into Stacey's waiting hand. Without sparing a glance at Rosabel, who was trying to nurse her bloody nose, Stacey knelt down next to Hoggle, carefully helping him up and returning his jewels to him.
"Are you all right, Hoggle?" she spoke tenderly, seemingly checking him for any scrapes or cuts.
"Yeah," Hoggle nodded. "Thank you, Stacey." Once she was sure Hoggle hadn't been harmed, Stacey cast a venomous glare towards Phoebe.
"Your problem is with me, you hag!" Stacey snarled. "Leave my friends out of this!"
For a long moment, Stacey and Phoebe glowered at one another, but then Phoebe turned around.
"Come on, girls," she spoke to Rosabel and Quinn. "We've got better things to do than waste our time with these freaks."
"I really hate those three," Stacy muttered as the three girls walked off, with Rosabel holding a tissue to her nose to try and stop the bleeding.
"You're not serious!" Sarah cried over the phone. "I can't believe they actually did that!"
"It was Phoebe and her harpies, Sarah," Stacey commented. "Are you really that surprised?"
About an hour before dinner, Sarah had finally found the chance to call up Stacey to confirm what Ludo and Sir Didymus had told her about their run-in with Phoebe, Quinn and Rosabel that afternoon.
"I guess you have a point," Sarah admitted. "Especially after what they did to you when you were kids. Still, I didn't think you'd run in to them today. Last I heard, they'd all went off to a school on the other side of the country. But I guess they must have come back to visit their parents or something. So…is Hoggle okay? Ludo told me that Rosabel…."
"Yeah, Hoggle's fine," Stacey replied, her face softening as the topic turned away from Phoebe and her friends. "He might have some bruising from being tripped, but it's been a few hours and he's still all right. Anyway, Sarah, can you, Toby and the others still make it to the park tomorrow? Or is your stepmother placing you under house arrest?"
"Don't worry, it won't be a problem," Sarah stated confidently. "My dad already said it was fine for me to take Toby to the park tomorrow. We'll all see you, Hoggle and Daedalus at 11."
Once Stacey and Sarah ended their phone call, Stacey turned to Hoggle, who was once again seated on the storage bed.
"Okay, we're all set for tomorrow," she announced. "We'll be meeting the others at the park in the late morning, and we won't leave until we've at least made some progress in deciding what to do about the Agnostic."
"Yeah," Hoggle nodded, unable to meet Stacey's eyes.
"Hoggle? Is something wrong? It seems like every time we mention the Agnostic, you start acting strange."
"I…I'm just worried," Hoggle confessed. "I'm worried about what could happen."
"Hey, we're all worried about this," Stacey reminded gently. "That's why we're having these meetings. So we can come up with a plan."
"No," Hoggle shook his head. "I meant…I'm worried about what could happen to you. What if Sarah's right, and you're the one who's supposed to stop the Agnostic? How are you goin' to do that? Not even Jareth could stop it. And…if you don't fight it the way you're supposed to, you…you might end up gettin' killed."
"Oh, Hoggle," Stacey sighed, crouching down in front of him so their eyes were level. "I admit, I'm unsure of what I'm supposed to do, too. But you've known me for over two years now, haven't you? Do you really think I'd go up against the Agnostic if I didn't have a plan and a backup plan?"
"Stacey," Hoggle spoke in barely a whisper. "You're…you're my friend. You might be the Goblin Queen, but…you're still my friend."
"Yeah," Stacey smiled softly. "And you're mine, too."
"But that's why I can't even think about you fightin' against that thin'. The Agnostic's taken away so many people from the Underground. I…I don't want you to be next."
"Hoggle," Stacey sighed, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving it a comforting squeeze. "I promise you, as a friend. Nothing is going to happen to me. I swear to you I'll take the utmost care. Daedalus, can you back me up here?"
When Hoggle and Stacey glanced over at the owl, who had been perched atop the dresser nearby, they were surprised to find that he was not looking at them. Instead, he was staring with wide eyes over at Wayne, who was standing at the top of the ladder that led up to Stacey's room, wordlessly looking right back at them.