Disclaimer: Pretty much the same as it has always been. Don't sue me. I own nothing. End of story.
The Incentive
Chapter 20: Plan Hatching
"By all accounts, this blood sample should not even be possible," said Rawthorn in awe, looking at the vials of blood that Garith had managed to procure from Mara and Garith's brief stay in Hall of the Mountain King. "I mean think of it biologically speaking. For this girl, this Morrigan, to have a perfect one tenth of each of the races she claimed, there must have been at least two threesome conceptions, which is entirely impossible with the races involved. Yet this blood sample is fulfills, miraculously, all the components you need for this spell. It's crazy! It's biologically impossible!"
Garith shrugged. "Don't ask me to explain it. Morrigan is just one of those freaks of nature that is one of the exceptions to the biological restrictions of the rest of us."
"She's also a major bitch," added Mara darkly. "Sex obsessed, too! No idea of proper behavior – imagine propositioning some guy by asking if he wanted to do it in the coat room? Does anyone in the courts of any sense of propriety anymore? Thank goodness I left when I did! Course if you think about it, Aboveground isn't much better. What are the worlds coming to?"
"You sound like a little old nanny, Mara," said Garith.
"I'm still upset about the fact that I had to get fitted for all those dresses that I didn't wear!"
"I told you we could stay longer. You were the one who insisted on returning," said Garith.
"Mara is never happy unless she is complaining," remarked Jareth coming into the room. "She lives off the conflict around her."
"I do not!"
"Mara, you want to be the next Snow Queen."
"Yeah, but the job of the Snow Queen is just to freeze people and make sure we have winter every year. Which isn't exactly conflict. It's the natural order of things."
"Somehow, freezing little boys does not seem like the natural progression of things," commented Garith.
"Oh, for the love of . . . look here. That last Snow Queen was a bit of a . . . I dunno, something was wrong with her to have this fetish for little human boys. But that isn't part of the job description. Believe me, I've read it over."
"She has, too," murmured Jareth to Garith. "Several times. She has all the information and applications up in her room. I'm amazed that I've been able to convince her not to run off and become the next Snow Queen yet. But I think she's becoming serious about it."
"Are you guys talking about me?" asked Mara, glaring at Jareth suspiciously.
"Never. How long before you think the potion thing will be ready?" asked Jareth.
"The actual brewing process, now that I have all the ingredients together, will take about 30 days. Of course, we need to make sure we put it in a place where the ever diligent Goblins won't knock it over in their quest for chaos," remarked Rawthorn with only the tiniest hint of sarcasm.
Not to mention we somehow have to convince Sarah that she wants to become immortal, added Mara silently. I really probably should start coming up with a contingency plan. Things really haven't been going all that smoothly lately. Course I have Garith to thank for that.
"Mara, is there a particular reason why you feel disposed to glare at me like that? It is certainly not striking any fear into my heart. In fact, I find it rather cute."
Maybe I should go on a rampant mad killing spree, get locked up in jail and then I could get out of this marriage. Wait, no, I already thought through that one with Garith, didn't I? Definitely don't want to be hanging out with Jack the Ripper anytime soon.
"Helloooo? Mara are you there?" asked Garith, waving a hand in front of her face.
"I don't think she can hear you," commented Jareth.
"I can hear you just fine, thank you very much," said Mara irritably. "Pardon me for thinking."
"I wasn't aware that thinking involved such a dazed out expression. You looked like you were in La-La land. Minus the random glaring thing."
"Well it is your fault, Garith, that we're in this particular predicament."
Garith rolled his eyes. "Don't think you're going to get away with pinning all the blame on me, Mara. It won't work. You had as much as a hand in it as any of us."
"Hello, I'm not the one who was spying on myself on behalf of the Underground Council. The results of said spying leading to a barrier, my current banishment in the Underground, not to mention this running around trying to find some way to cement this Lifebond when we're all trapped in the Underground while Sarah is Aboveground," said Mara. "Pardon me for a certain lack of optimism but I'm trying to be as realistic as possible in the current circumstances."
"And blaming it all on me is being realistic?" asked Garith.
"Partly. Plus it is a great therapeutic!"
"Mara makes some good points though," said Rawthorn. "At the moment the odds are a bit against us. Even if this potion does work, we don't know if Sarah will actually want to use the potion."
Mara glanced at Jareth, whose lips tightened, obviously not wanting to think about that matter.
"However, I would like to point something out, seeing as I am the responsible one here who is centuries older than the rest of you. Assuming Sarah agrees and becomes an immortal like the rest of us, has anyone actually thought of how we can get the two of them together enough to strengthen the lifebond enough to allow the Underground Council's consent of marriage?" asked Rawthorn. "Believe me, knowing my brother, it's going to take a lot."
"Maybe we should just blackmail them," remarked Mara.
"With what? Their most embarrassing childhood moments?" asked Jareth. "Finding something to pin on the Underground Council would be somewhat difficult."
"Oh come now," said Mara. "They're politicians, for God's sake. How difficult could it be?"
"We'll just have to keep thinking, then, until we find a favorable alternative," said Garith. "However, at the moment, I'm tired. Tramping across the Underground as much as Mara and I have in the past week has frankly made me tired. I'm taking a nap. Care to join me, Mara?"
His answer was in the form of a crystal ball chucked at his head.
"So, Arinu, have you heard anything from that Goblin King fellow? Does he still need that blood or whatever?"
Arinu stretched and turned to look at the figure laying next to her. Damn, he is good looking, she thought with a wistful smile, as she brushed a strand of red hair out of Marrick face. "Nah. Apparently they got the needed blood sample. You know those weird, multi-Raced girls that seem to be running around the Underground lately."
Marrick chucked. "It's been hard not to notice them."
"Oh, have you been eyeing some other girl when I'm not around, Marrick? I'm hurt," said Arinu.
"Oh stop it with that fake pouting Arinu, darling. You look like that human Shirley Tem-something. You know that one with the curly hair and the "oh my goodness" and the random dancing and bursting into song."
"Often, when people start dancing and burst into song, it means they're in a musical," said Arinu with a chuckle. "In any case, I thought you liked musicals."
"I happen to appreciate many musicals. Just not silly ones with little orphans singing about tomorrow in a tone that will inevitably cause damage to her vocal chords."
"I don't believe Shirley Temple ever sang in a production of Annie. But what does that have to do with anything?"
"Nothing. I was just wondering if that elf, Mara, was all right."
"She seems to have recovered. She was reported to have been seen at the Hall of the Mountain King earlier this week, with a certain Vampire Playboy."
Marrick raised an eyebrow at her, "Mara was spending time with Garith at that court? However did you find that out?"
"Underground Enquirer had a story on it."
"Please don't tell me you read that tripe."
"Not on a regular basis. I was in line to buy some herbs for my aunt at the apothecary across from work earlier today . . . yesterday actually . . . and there was a long line. My eye happened to be caught by the image of Mara and Garith dancing quite close together and there was a headline that said 'Prankster in Love?' on the cover. The Immortal Entertainment! had a story about how she was two-timing Jareth, breaking his poor Goblin Kiing heart. What's with the interest?"
"I helped sneak her fiancé into the Magick Chamber for the Underground Council, and at great personal expense on my part, I'd like to add."
"You know you like doing that sort of stuff. You've said it often enough."
"All I'm saying, is after expanding a certain amount of time and effort into this whole affair, I'd like to see the results be favorable."
Arinu propped herself up so she was leaning up against the headboard and looked at Marriak. "Well, what do you plan on doing about it? I've already done all I can to help them. It seems that there major problem is that Sarah doesn't know if she wants to become immortal, and has been taken Aboveground, so the crew back here in the Underground can't convince her otherwise."
Marriak shrugged his shoulders lazily. "I'm not sure. Do you think you could tell Jareth thought that I am interested in helping? I think I may have some contacts Aboveground that could help out."
"Sure, no problem, honey," said Arinu willingly. However, she couldn't help but feel that it was odd that Marriak was this interested. Normally Marriak tended not to concern himself with other people's affairs. The fact that he suddenly would now made her wonder what exactly it was about this situation that had sparked Marriak's interest.
Classes flew by for Sarah at college (with the occasional odd moments), and before she knew it, spring break was arriving. In some ways it was nice having a room all to herself, but Sarah did occasionally get lonely without Mara's company. Crazy things always seemed to being happening when Mara was around.
Probably because Mara was the one causing them, mused Sarah with a smile.
Sarah's spring break wasn't nearly as exciting as it could have been. She was planning on returning home to visit her family, maybe see if she could make any sense out of this whole crazy situation. Maybe next year she'd do the beach thing, or volunteer in the community like Tom and Andrew were planning to. However she had agreed to visit her family, and it would be nice to be able to have an uninterrupted visit; one without Elves, life bonds, Vampires, Magic, switching back and forth between the worlds, and anything that had to do with the Underground in general.
Still, crazy was fun. I got to see Hoggle and the rest of the gang. And it was nice spending time with Jareth. Even if we did fight sometimes.
Sometimes?
Okay, so we fought a lot. But it wasn't that bad, was it?
And you were the one who couldn't wait to leave him. Talk about absence making the heart grow fonder.
It would seem that driving by yourself leads to multiple personalities in your head. The fact that Sarah found herself with two personalities in her head, one who was suspiciously hinting to be a lovesick idiot was beginning to worry Sarah.
College is definitely nothing like high school.
It was a relief when Sarah finally reached home. She had barely opened the door of the car when Toby came propelling out of the front door.
"SARAH!" he cried, latching himself onto her.
"Toby, have you gotten taller?" asked Sarah in surprise.
"Yeah . . three inches."
"He's been very excited," said Karen coming out of the house. "Won't stop talking about it. How have you been, dear?"
"Pretty good," said Sarah with a rueful smile, giving her hug.
"Classes well then?"
"For the most part. Homework is a pain though. I go for weeks without having any homework, and then they load it all up on me in the course of one week. You'd think I'd be used to the system by now, I've already been there almost a year."
"I trust you got it done in time?"
Sarah chucked. "Yeah, pulled a few all-nighters in the process though."
"Have you heard any news about . . ." Karen trailed off, casting a sidelong glance at Toby.
"Not much," said Sarah.
"The whole situation is so strange . . ."
"What's strange?" asked Toby, looking at the two of them. "Heard about what? Why didn't Elf come home this time?"
"She had to go away for a bit, hopefully she'll come back soon," said Sarah. "Now let's go inside. Dad promised me some M&M pancakes if I remember correctly."
"Yeah . . . he said we couldn't have any until you got here! I get the one with the most M&Ms!" said Toby, running off towards the house, leaving Karen and Sarah alone outside.
"He doesn't know?" asked Sarah.
"No, your father and I felt that it was best, considering the circumstances. I mean, she just disappeared in the hospital room, bed and all, and while she was in a coma! And then you appeared again after you had disappeared . . . do you remember anything . . . anything at all about what happened?"
"No."
There was a few moments pause as Karen and Sarah stood, looking at the house. Sarah could hear Toby's voice and Merlin's barking emanating from the house like a warm fuzzy blanket.
"You do realize you can talk to me?" said Karen.
"Yeah, sure I realize that," said Sarah.
"I know I'm not your mother . . . what she did, walking out on you like that . . ."
"She did it to live the life she wanted. I can't begrudge her that. And Jeremy is a nice guy. He's good for her. He understands her more than Dad ever did, I think."
Karen sighed. "Look, I'm just trying to tell you that I love you. I care for you as if you were my own daughter. I know we didn't always get along . . . especially when Toby was a baby, remember that? But that doesn't change the fact that I care for you. And I want you to know that you can talk to me about anything, and I'll be there to listen. If something happened when you were gone . . . something you feel uncomfortable talking about, especially with your father, I'm here for you."
Sarah smiled. "Thanks. Don't worry . . . nothing like that happened."
"You're positive?"
"Positively."
Karen looked at her step-daughter, wondering if she should push the issue. Sarah was so confident about that matter . . . did she remember more than she was letting on? Maybe she knew what had happened to Mara. She wondered if she should tell Robert. Perhaps she should. The whole situation was odd to say the least. The police had called her when Sarah reappeared, shortly before Sarah called. They had said something about her just appearing out of no where. No one remembered her coming in, she was just there. It wasn't that different from the whole situation with Mara disappearing without a trace in the hospital.
Karen silently suspected that everything was occurring because of Mara. Oh, she had nothing against the girl. She found her amusing, and Mara was nice enough. Though Karen couldn't help but recall the time when Sarah's mirror in her bedroom had shattered that day when Sarah and Mara both collapsed in the bathroom at that arcade store. They were lucky the Eric was there with them, and able to get them home. That Stephen seemed like a nice enough fellow. The girlfriend, Cosette seemed nice, even though her dress had been a bit, sketchy. Karen had seen her the other day at the local church, helping out with the homeless shelter meal, with her new boyfriend, Marius. Her clothing had definitely taken a turn for the better.
Karen did wonder about the fact that Mara seemed to be constantly popping Advil the entire time she was at home, as if she was going through withdrawal or something. That could have been the reason why she collapsed and had to be taken to the hospital.
Of course, Sarah's friend Garith had disappeared as well. He was with Mara when she disappeared . . . and wasn't he with Sarah too? Maybe Mara wasn't the common factor, maybe it was Garith. But he wasn't there when the mirror shattered.
On the whole, Karen felt that the situation was very confusing, and would bear analyzing at a later time.
"Let's go in, shall we?" she asked Sarah. "If we don't hurry, Toby and your father will finish off the pancakes before we get to the table.
In all of her 65 years, Mrs. Picklesworth never thought she'd see the day. Or rather hear it for that matter, since a blindfold currently covered her eyes, in addition to the gag in her mouth and the rope that had her tied to the chair in her kitchen.
"Are you sure about this, kid? You want me to pretend to be old grouchy bookkeeper's loving sister for the week to get at this Williams girl? Since when did you become interested in these sorts of affairs?" The voice came from someone who sounded quite old.
"Oh, stop calling me kid, Aphri, I'm almost as old as you." This one sound much younger, despite his claims to the contrary.
"Hardly. I was at one time a goddess for these mortals. You were just considered part of a cult of knowledgeable people in the backwaters of Europe. And you didn't answer my question. What's so special about this Williams girl that you want me here playing matchmaker for she and that Goblin King?"
"I could care less about the Williams girl . . . and while I think the Goblin King is a very decent sort of man, I hardly would go out of my way to help him."
"Then what the heck is it . . . wait . . . it's the girl isn't it? The one that the vampire likes?"
"He likes her? You sure?"
"If the moon eyes I've seen in have when he's talking about her, I'd say so. So you want the two of them together? Good, they deserve each other. I've been meaning to get her together with someone . . . she's gotten the better hand of me more times then I'd like to admit. So why the interest?"
"Let's just say I have personal reasons to be concerned with the princess's future."
"Huh, is that how it's going to be? Fine, I won't pry."
"No, you'll just stick your nose around the Underground until you can find something else."
The old lady's voice cackled with glee. "Nothing can get past you, Marrick."
Author's Note:
Finished at last. Seriously, this chapter as started as soon as I finished the last one, and I just got stuck and couldn't figure out what to write. (Of course, I say that every time) It's hard. . . because I can see the ending in sight, and I'm having such a hard time getting there and wrapping up all the pieces. I hope to have this finished in 5 chapters, but no promises.
Oh, and side note, to those who are wondering who Jeremy was, or the whole thing with Sarah's mom, that was sorta explained in the book based on the movie. Sarah's mom left to act and ended up with Jeremy, who actually was supposed to look a good deal like Jareth. Sarah kinda had a crush on him when she was younger.
Thanks Megs . . . you de best!
To Reviewers:
Kourtsizzle: Ah, not a rusty spoon. That would hurt. Not to mention the fact that I don't think it is very hygienic.
Crystal13moon: Wow, thank you for all the reviews! I'm going to try and not wait so long between chapters from now on.
Jarethcat: I think I might use Karen to help Sarah, since Karen seems to realize that something fishy is going on.
ohiowriter: I have a very good idea how hard it is to type with one hand. I try it every once in awhile and realize that it is very difficult. And I hope your good writing wrist was ok.
GaaraIsMyPanda-chan: Thank you very much. I don't know about a sequel, but update will hopefully be more regular. Megs, my beta, is beginning to get annoyed with me (in a nice way).
Sephone: I'm glad you like the story. I try to work hard to give all the characters a strong personality, and not quite as flat as some of them started out to be (I really want to rewrite Mara in the beginning, she almost develops a case of Mary Sue-ites for a few chapters). I'm glad it is in your favorites though.
sweetbabby33: Sorry about the wait. I swear, my resolution is to update sooner.
Jessica: I'm glad you like is, and Morrigan as well, since she seems to be rather unliked by the rest of the characters. I'm glad that you think I am doing a good job with this story. I had to go back and reread large portions of "The Incentive" just because I haven't updated in a while and I wanted to make sure all the facts agreed with each other.
vla1diva: I'm glad you think it is hilarious.
Strange little feeling: I'm glad you like the non Sarah/Jareth parts. I was kinda worried, since most people who read Labyrinth fics are looking for the Sarah/Jareth parts. Still, I hope to focus a bit more on the two of them for the next few chapters.
Brf526: Yeah, the slimy in the bed later comment definitely could be taken in the wrong way. And knowing Mara, she may or may not be meaning it that way. She tends to like to make sex jokes, mostly because she feels so insecure on the subject and that's her way with dealing with it. And don't worry, they'll kiss soon enough!
Teresa: Yeah, I will never think of tampons the same way again after we thought up that particular plot twist in math class. Seriously, Mara shoving a tampon down Garith's pants . . . math does some of the strangest thing to you. Side note though, I've reverted to my old ways, math class is once again the place where I work on writing. Missing you, math class used to be fun with you, and I used to get such great story ideas!
Indigo Spirit: Yeah, updating slowly though. I'm working on being better though.
tea rose dreams: Good grammar is mostly because I have a wonderful beta who beats me over the head with a stick when I do stuff wrong (not really, but she helps me out a lot). I'm glad you like the original characters.
Harriettapotter: I'm sorry, but you're going to have to wait about the Joe story. I've already got plans for going into that when Sarah runs into Eric in the bookstore in the next chapter. So you'll have to wait a bit longer, but hopefully not as long as the last update.
draegon-fire: Yeah, Sarah is still deciding. I really didn't want it to be an instant decision. I mean, I've read a lot of stories where Sarah runs into him, he says he loves her, and she's like "ok, I'll live with you forever and ever." A few stories have explained this by having the rest of her family die, or her having a horrible family life, or unable to return to Earth (and I am by no means saying these are bad, I've read some very good Labyrinth fics with this sort of plot). The Sarah I have developed has friends, and gets along with her family, and realizes the life of immortality means that she will watch them grow old and die while she stays with Jareth. She's just trying to figure out if she loves him enough to do that. I mean face it, she's scared. Her decision to be with him, to take this potion (when she finds out about it), will be a lifelong one. I don't really think any of the other immortals understand that, except for Gareth oddly enough. Whoo, long explanation.
Nobody: Yes, "slammer" use it. Spread it around. End the sexism of the English language! I'm glad you like the story.
(If I forgot to mention someone, I'd just like to make a note that I normally respond to the people who reviewed the previous chapter)