No sooner had the voice faded in the wind then Sarah dashed the rest of the way to Jareth's side. He was on the ground, cradling his left arm, his face twisted up in pain.

"Jareth, are you alright?" She asked anxiously, kneeling beside him.

"Do I look like I'm alright?!" He snapped, gritting his teeth, "Do I really? Hmmm? Like everything's cupcakes and roses?! My kingdom's under attack, my arm is broken, and I was just forced to save the girl who stole my powers!"

She winced at his tone, unprepared for his fury. The concern on her face evaporated.

"I didn't steal anything!" Sarah retaliated defensively, thinking of the Insignia Ring, "Leija gave it to me to let me use it! And I gave it right back, didn't I?!"

"I'm not talking about the ring!" Jareth hissed. But before he could accuse the minx any further, he became aware of the hurt, confused look on her face, and he realized that she had no idea what he was talking about. His voice quieted. "I'm not talking about the ring. I'm talking about my magic."

"Your magic?" Sarah repeated, "I don't get it. Leija said that you had sealed your magic into the ring."

"No, I sealed some of it into the ring," He corrected. The Goblin King grimaced in pain, and gazed down at the golden owl on his finger. "The reason I didn't return to the Underground…the reason I couldn't change back to my true form…is because my powers have been stolen."

Sarah's voice faltered.

"Stolen? But, how? Who stole them?!"

"Up until now, I had assumed it was you," Jareth admitted, "And that perhaps that eloquent little speech you had given me was some kind of curse. But now, I'm beginning to think that Edorin planned this all along."

"Edorin? The Troll Lord?" Sarah asked, remembering, "That man you were fighting with before…that was him, wasn't it?"

"Figured that all out on your own, did you?" The Goblin King replied dryly, steadying himself against the stone wall as he stood, "Yes, the bloody git who broke my arm and tried to fry you crispy was, indeed, the Troll Lord. I'll think up a reasonable "thank-you for saving my life" speech for you to present to me later."

"But how did you do that?" Sarah asked, following after him, "You don't have any…!"

Jareth pointed towards the Insignia Ring.

"I've been using what I sealed into my ring. But there isn't enough to last very long. I'll have to conserve what little magic is left for emergencies. Which reminds me…"

He glanced back at her.

"If you could try and keep yourself out of mortal peril, I'd appreciate it."

"You're the one with the broken arm," Sarah said accusingly, and walked in front of the Goblin King. "Here, let me see."

Jareth hastily stepped back, still cradling his throbbing arm in his good one.

"There's no need for you to check. Edorin made sure he did a thorough, if not excessive, job."

"I believe you," Sarah replied, putting her hands on her hips, "But you can't go walking around the Labyrinth like that."

The Fae stiffened defensively.

"And why not?"

"Because some time or another, you're going to need your other arm," She said, slipping off her raincoat. She put a hand out gently. "Give me your arm. I'll fix it up."

"With that?" He asked incredulously, eyeing the synthetic blue fabric with mild horror, "Certainly not! I'll look absolutely ridiculous!"

"Not any more so than usual!" Sarah retorted, which earned her one of the Goblin King's signature glares. She sighed, and tried again, with a softer tone, "I know how much it must hurt, but this will help. I'll be careful. I promise."

Jareth hesitated, but grudgingly let her come closer. As Sarah slipped the raincoat beneath his arm, she noticed that he was rather warm. He smelled really good, too. It wasn't the cologne he had worn in her ballroom dream, but something different. Like fresh-cut pine and sprigs of rosemary. If any of the guys at her school smelled half as good as he did, she'd go to Prom with them in a heartbeat.

Not liking where her train of thought was heading, she quickly snapped herself out of it, and went to tie the raincoat sleeves at the back of his neck. However, that put her in the awkward position of being millimeters away from touching him. The air threatened to evacuate her lungs again, so Sarah squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath as she finished the knot.

"There. Done!" Sarah announced, quickly pulling away, using her long hair to hide the little bit of blush that had crept into her cheeks, "How does it feel?"

Jareth had taken a sudden interest in a hole in the Labyrinth wall and didn't turn to face her. Still sulking, probably, she thought.

"Better," He admitted. After a few moments, he took notice of Ambrosious, who was cowering behind Sarah's ankles.

"Doesn't that dog belong to that annoying little fox-thing you call a friend?"

"His name is Sir Didymus," Sarah replied protectively, "And yes, Ambrosious does belong to him. I thought he could help me find him, or Ludo and Hoggle. Maybe Turnok and Leija, too."

"You're expecting an awful lot from that pooch," Jareth said doubtfully, "Your friends could be anywhere, and there's no telling where my servants may have landed. But in any case…"

He jabbed a finger towards the right wall.

"We need to head east, towards the Sacred Pool."

The girl blinked.

"East? But I thought you said Edorin had gotten to the castle…"

"He has," Jareth replied, choking on the words, "But I won't be any match against him like this. That's why we're going to the Sacred Pool. It's one of the most magical places in the Labyrinth, and that's where the Muse dwells."

"The Muse?" Sarah asked.

"An ancient and wise water nymph," He said, glancing behind to make sure that the girl was following him closely, "She has lived there since the Labyrinth was first built, millennia ago. My ancestors often went to her for guidance. I've never been to see her myself, but if anyone can restore my powers, it would be her."

Sarah stayed silent. She had oodles of unanswered questions, but she knew that the Goblin King's patience was famously thin, and was afraid of sounding – well – stupid. For a long time, they walked in silence, weaving in and out of the many pathways, the only noise coming from their footsteps and Ambrosious's occasional whimper.

They came to an arched entryway. Inside, was a round cobblestoned area with a statue of a three-headed gargoyle, and three different doorways. Sarah gave a small, muffled yelp when the statue turned around, its stone heads craning down to get a better look at them.

"Good morning," The first head greeted cheerfully.

"Good evening," The second said.

"'Afternoon," said the third.

"Y-You…you're alive!" Sarah gasped, looking at the living statue in wonder.

"We sure are!" The first replied.

"No, we're not," The second head disagreed.

"Well, kind of," the third said.

"You can't really make up your mind, can you?" Sarah asked, relaxing.

"No, not really," the first head sighed sadly.

"Don't be silly!" The second head chided the first, "Of course we can!"

"Not all the time," the third admitted.

Sarah turned to Jareth, and quickly saw that his expression had changed. He was standing rigidly, his brow furrowed in frustration.

"There aren't supposed to be three doors here."

The first head on the gargoyle nodded.

"Yes, there only used to be one."

"Poppycock, Hubert!" the second head sniffed, "There have always been three!"

"Reginald?" The first head asked, looking to the third, "Was there always three, or only one?"

The third head thought a bit, before replying sheepishly,

"I'm sorry, but I don't really recall."

Sensing that the gargoyle wasn't going to be much help, Sarah cast a worried glance at Jareth.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure!" Jareth replied, anger building in his voice, "I've gone past this idiotic statue a dozen times before! There's only supposed to be one door here! He's changed it!"

The first head, who seemed to be called Hubert, smiled smugly at the second head.

"See? I told you, Theodore! There was only one door!"

"No one likes a know-it-all!" Theodore sulked.

"But…"The girl said, looking towards the three doorways, "Isn't the Labyrinth always changing? How do you know it didn't just…"

"The whole Labyrinth doesn't change!" Jareth interrupted, raising his voice, "Only parts of it do! How on earth do you think that anyone could ever get through?! And this part is not supposed to change!"

Sarah remembered the echoing words in the alleyway. Let's see how well you fare against your own Labyrinth when you aren't the one controlling it…

"So that's what he meant," She murmured.

Jareth stomped up to the gargoyle statue, making all three heads swivel around to face him.

"You three!" He barked, "Tell me which door has always been here! Now!"

Hubert, Theodore, and Reginald flinched, looking at one another worriedly.

"Well…" Hubert began slowly, "I seem to recall it being the door on the far left."

Theodore raised a stone eyebrow.

"Really? I thought for sure it was the door on the right side, Hubert."

"Reginald!" The first head called out, both turning to him, "We need a ruling."

"I think it was the middle one," Reginald said.

The two other heads looked at him.

"I could be wrong!" He said defensively.

Jareth leaned forward until his face was inches from theirs, his eyes gleaming violently.

"Listen to me, you thick-headed lawn ornament," he said in a low voice, "I just had the misfortune of having my arm snapped in two, and it is excruciating. So right now, I'm trying to picture how you might feel if I decided to blast part of your anatomy off, and I have to tell you, I think seeing you screaming in misery would make my day. So unless you reach a mutual agreement in the next five seconds, I am going to be much happier, and you are going to be missing some crucial parts. Five…"

"B-But…you can't!" Hubert cried out.

"We're just innocent bystanders!" The third head insisted.

"Four…"

They quickly abandoned their current tactic, and faced each other, eyes wide with horror.

"The left one?! You're sure it's the left one, Hubert?!"

"I don't know anymore!" The first head wailed, "I thought it was, but now, that sounds wrong!"

"Three…"

"How about the right door?! You said it was the right door, Theodore!"

"I know what I said, but you said it was the left one! I'm so confused!"

"Two…"

"Right or left?!" Theodore squealed.

"Left or right?!" Hubert shrieked.

"I still think it's the middle one!" Reginald screamed.

"One…"

The three heads whirled about to face the looming Goblin King, screeching in unison,

"The middle onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnne!"

A wide, smug grin spread over Jareth's face.

"Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" He asked, patting Theodore's stone head demeaningly. With that, he strode gracefully past the statue and through the middle door.

The gargoyle heads watched him go, slack-jawed. Sarah walked up to them.

"I'm so sorry about him," she apologized, "Sometimes he's just…just…"

"Come, Sarah," Jareth's voice commanded, "Dawdle too long and I'll be forced to leave you and the mutt behind."

"…infuriating," She finished, clenching her fists. She stomped after the Goblin King, Ambrosious following behind timidly. The heads continued to stare at the middle door until all three of them disappeared from view.

"Exactly the word I was looking for," Hubert finally managed.

"Yes!" Theodore spat, glowering at the doorway, "Spot on!"

"Precisely!" Reginald agreed angrily.

Wow! I managed to get this one done in a day! Sure hope I'm not raising the bar too high for myself…*sweats* Anyways, thank you so, so much for the overwhelming response! I'm touched so many of you took time out of your busy lives to write up reviews! I'M NOT WORRRRRTHY!

But I do have work tomorrow, so you'll have to wait a few more days to see what happens next. I'm planning on some of the other characters turning up in the next chapter, but I'm not gonna say who…

Also, expect a few minor characters from the movie to show up later on as well, because it wouldn't be any fun if all I wrote about were my own made-up ones. THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT AND YOUR LOVELY, LOVELY REVIEWS!