Thanks for being patient and you may have to be patient for chapter eleven (which I'm still trying to work on! I got about 5 pages). In the mean time I do have other stories started, I haven't quiet figured out which one to focus on after I finish Curse of the Goblin King (which will only be 13 chapters). As always a shout out to my beta HippieAthena and to all of my readers, you guys are awesome!
Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth, that belongs to the awesome late Jim Henson and awesome still kicking it Brian Froud and the still sexy David Bowie. Thanks guys for such an such a wonderful movie!
Warnings: This story is rated for mild language, some violence, David Bowie's Area, and of course sex, drugs, and rock n' roll. Oh yeah and David Bowie's Area, I mention this twice because there is going to be a lot of it.
Current Music: Heroes by David Bowie
Chapter Ten
We Can Be Heroes
"Jareth!"
Sarah called out to him in despair, tears falling down her cheeks. She felt his magic whisking her away. The last thing she saw was Jareth's life fading from his eyes and a creature with her face smiling triumphantly as it withdrew the sword-like vines from Jareth chest. It was too late for he was lost to her now. The sky, which was shining cheerfully with the morning sun was now grey and bleak. She was once more in the Wolves' standing stones. The forest just beyond the ring of stones was dark and imposing. The black vines threatening to creep in. Sarah broke down and sobbed. Jareth's loving gaze and his blood staining his white shirt red. The anguishing image was burned into her mind's eye.
Sarah felt the labyrinth dying all around her. The parasitic black vines grew and blighted the land. Words from Jareth's dark half floated from memory. "All of this is your fault because of your sheer ignorance! That thing looks like you because you created it and now it's going to kill us all! You took my power and split me in twain because you broke your vows, my wife!"
The creature's words cut through her heart like a poisoned dagger. "Oh God! This is all my fault! Now he's dead!"
"Not quite, Sarah." Said a familiar aged voice of an old man that Sarah some cryptic advice.
Sarah spun around expecting to see the old man with his loud bird hat, but instead she saw her beloved shaggy sheepdog, Merlin. She wiped tears from her eyes and gave her canine friend a weak smile. "Merlin? What are you doing here, boy? I thought you and Toby were with Santa, not that I'm unhappy to see you. What's going on?"
Sarah saw her dog transform into an old man with a long beard nearly down to his ankles, wearing tattered blue robes, round spectacles, and a tall pointed hat. Sarah knew who he looked like he could be. He knew his face from a forgotten memory of Jareth's, a confrontation between the legendary wizard and the Goblin King. Merlin was also the one who foretold the prophecy of her coming and Jareth defeat at her hands. Her mouth hung slightly open in utter astonishment, "Merlin?"
The old man smiled kindly, "Yes, I am Merlin."
Sarah's eyebrows scrunched together. Puzzled, she asked, "Merlin? The wizard Merlin, from the story of King Arthur. That Merlin?! So my lovable and slobbery sheepdog was a wizard? This whole time?"
Merlin nodded guiltily. "Yes. I'm sorry for not revealing this sooner. You must feel betrayed that I kept this from you."
Sarah silently agreed. She felt a little anger that he hide something this significant from her, but more so felt a headache coming on for the sheer obviousness of it was. 'It's like King Henry V disguising himself as a common soldier and calling himself Henry. How did I miss this?! That red book! He gave to me! It was after my mother left me that he gave me that book! I became so captivated by it. Was this planned?' Sarah's need for answers far outweighed any anger she felt at that moment. "Why hide? Why give me that book? Did you plan all of this? Am I some kind of pawn? Why me?!"
Merlin looked away sadly. "I hide because you weren't ready for the truth. Long before you were born I saw a vision of you, I saw all of this and I saw that in the end you would be the one to heal Jareth's broken soul. I wrote down what I saw in that book, the future is like an ocean in a storm so any visions you see can change drastically, but there are a few islands fixed where they are and unable to change. Your meeting with Jareth, running the labyrinth to save your brother, the two of you falling in love, they were all fated. As is you becoming his queen and repairing his soul and this land. I gave you that book, I summoned Jareth to you all those years ago that Beltane eve and I gave you some assistance in the labyrinth. I did not plan all this, but I did help things along. I am truly sorry for my part in taking away your freedom to choose whom to love, but I did it for the greater good. There is still time to make things right, Sarah."
Sarah's anger bubbled over. She was tired of hearing the same thing; fix everything she unintentionally damaged by letting Jareth have her. "So I'm worse than a pawn, I'm a virgin sacrifice! What kind of sick joke is this? Look, I'm only a sixteen year old girl! I'm supposed to be worried about school and dating boys my age, not saving some magical land and its crazy but hot king! I won't lie down and let some possessive glittery psycho in tight pants pop my cherry just because some chauvinist old wizard said so! Maybe in your day pawning girls off like cattle on market day was considered acceptable, but damn it, I'm a modern girl and not some prized possession! Go find another girl to be 'The Chosen One'!"
Merlin's beard bristled and he made a choking sound, the same sound most sane people will make if suggested they eat curry-style rat-on-a-stick with a side of sauerkraut. "Jehoshaphat! Why on earth would you want to court hormonally challenged blockheads!? Though, I do agree with holding the pursuit of knowledge in high priority, but most public institutions like the one you attend are glorified daycare centers, even goblin schools are better. Tell me, what do you really want? Do you really want a less magical life, one you've often cursed as mundane? You are indeed 'The Chosen One', but you are the one who did the choosing. 'Saving a magical land' and 'its crazy but hot king' was something that you wanted was it not? You still have a choice, you can forget everything and go back to the mortal world or stay here and save this land and your king."
Sarah didn't know what to say. Sarah knew in her heart that Merlin was right. She took a deep breath and as she exhaled, all the anger and resentment dissipated. She made the choice to invite Jareth back into her life, she could have shoved Jareth out of her life the moment his naked ass materialized back into her life, but she didn't. Instead she let herself be drawn deeper into this world of goblins and kings. She still had one question burning in her mind. "Tell me Merlin, what will happen if choose to go back to my world, to worry about school and date these 'hormonally challenged blockheads'?"
Merlin gazed guiltily. "I'm sorry, but you have been permanently marked by this land and by its king. If you go back to the mortal world and forget everything, a horrible fate will await you. No other man but Jareth can touch you and you can never grow old. You will wander the Earth, ageless, untouched and always wondering why that is. Jareth and the labyrinth will die. Then the goblins will take Toby away to be their next king, find a new magical land to call home and you will never see him again. I am so sorry to put this burden on you, but if you choose to stay and save this land and its king I can promise you a happily ever after that is so often denied in the mortal world."
Sarah slumped onto the ground, her mouth hung slack and her eyes haunted. "That's not much of a choice, is it? Go home where a living Hell awaits me or stay here and take one for the team."
Merlin said nothing and the silence between the two was deafening. Sarah caught a glimpse of cheap cloth and knew it was the magic sack she had gotten for Christmas. 'I guess I know who gave it to me now. Oh, great my stuff spilled out.' Wordlessly she picked up the sack and started putting the contents back in. She stood rooted to the spot when she picked up a picture from her date with Jareth. They went to the carnival and she dragged them to the photobooth. She and Jareth were smiling and holding each other closely. An ordinary person looking at this photo would see a couple in love, not a king and a queen of goblins. Sarah frowned. 'Most would feel disgust at our obvious difference and think an older man was taking advantage of a teenage girl. I guess the reason why what Jareth did pisses me off, he was proving them right. Oh Jareth, I really do love you. You helped me grow from a spoiled princess to something more. In a twisted way you were my knight in shining armor.' A great epiphany dawned on Sarah and she saw a third choice. A ray of hope lit up her eyes that were just moments ago desolated. "Merlin, I've made my choice! Tell me, where exactly is Jareth?"
Merlin raised his eyebrows, he was surprised, but also pleased. "He is still alive for the moment, he is after all a god, and gods are notoriously hard to kill. See for yourself."
The old pulled a crystal out of thin air and within its depths she saw Jareth, he was lying unconscious on his opulent bed with white silks. The candles were still burning and he was still dressed in bloodstained white. In his hand he was clutching a half eaten peach. A halo of light seemed to surround him. In the shadows away from the light were black vines, hissing and slithering trying to get to him but no avail. Sarah could see her evil look alike pounding ineffectively against the barrier around Jareth. Hissing in pain every time it got too close to the light surrounding Jareth. Sarah looked away from the scene. "Merlin? What's going on? What exactly is that thing attacking Jareth? Why does it look like me?"
"He's using the last of his strength to keep that creature away from him, though it will fail when the sun sets. He will remain in an endless slumber until his true love kisses him. That creature is a thing of pure evil that was birthed by the Bog of Eternal Stench. Jareth used that bog as a dumping ground for the most evil of human souls that end up in his labyrinth. That creature looks like you because it formed from a part of you, the part that selfishly wished Toby away, the part that disbelieves in all magic and the part that was mortal. Should it be the one that kisses him, it will bestow upon him mortality and he will die. It is Jareth's bane. What will you do?"
Sarah looked in Merlin's crystal again, seeing Jareth in an enchanted slumber, with evil threatening to close in on him in its thorny grasp. The whole scenario reminded Sarah of Sleeping Beauty, but with the roles reversed. Sarah knew what she was going to do. She looked up at Merlin with a confident smile and her eyes blazing with determination. "I'm going to rescue Jareth, my sleeping beauty, from the clutches of evil of course!"
Merlin smiled and from his robes he produced a sword. "Then you will need a sword, oh brave knight!"
Sarah took the sword from Merlin's hands. As she examined the blade she heard Merlin say, "Its name is Excalibur. I will lend it to you just this once."
Sarah gapped at him, shocked that she was wielding a legendary blade. "Thank you! But why? Why do all this for Jareth? Why go so far as to lend out Arthur's sword to me?"
The old wizard sighed wearily. For the first time Sarah noticed something peculiar about him, Merlin's eyes greatly resembled Jareth's. "The reason I go so far to save Jareth is because he's my father."
"You're father?!" Sarah's screech echoed eerily across the clearing.
"Yes. I am the son of Jareth, the Goblin King, and a nun. I'm not quite sure the circumstances surrounding my birth, the gift of second sight can never be used on oneself. Jareth was the one that taught me magic and wisdom in age where both were shunned. My father was nowhere near perfect, but he did his best to love me amidst the insanity of his broken soul. I forgave him of all his sins, but the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back was my grandson Arthur's abduction. He sought to give Arthur the wrong crown, hoping to keep him from his destiny as the once and future king. I suppose looking back, my father was simply trying to protect the boy. My father and I lost so many family, my daughter Igraine, my half-siblings. That is one of the greatest drawbacks to living so long, time is a great burden to bear, a long memory is an even harder one. You did him a great mercy by taking away his memory. My last gift to my father is a future with who he was always meant to be with and no more reminders of his past."
Sarah put a comforting hand on the old wizard's slumped shoulders. "I'm sorry for all the pain you went through, both you and Jareth. So Jareth will never remember his past? That seems like a horrible thing to do. What if his past remembers him?"
"That's where you will come in. Not only are you his once and future Goblin Queen, but also the keeper of his memory, and his protector. The reason why Odin and myself are helping Jareth is because his role as the lord of the labyrinth is quite an important duty."
Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Odin?"
"Well he goes by Santa Claus nowadays. He and his wife, Frigga, are on vacation in Bermuda with your brother, along with many elves and goblins."
"Santa Claus was a bloodthirsty viking war god?"
Merlin bristled his beard. "Yes, yes, but we are getting off topic. The labyrinth is far more than Jareth's playground to torture little girls that wish away their baby brothers. It is an extension of his will, The labyrinth is Jareth and Jareth is the labyrinth. It is also a metaphysical and a multidimensional equivalent to Grand Central Station. Many worlds, not just yours, or the world of Thraa the labyrinth sits on is in someway connected to the labyrinth. You can get to so many worlds, and so many places just by finding the right door within the labyrinth's twisting walls. If the labyrinth gets destroyed then its destruction could spread to all the worlds that connect here, like a venereal disease. The labyrinth is an extension of Jareth and hopefully soon you as well. It is important that you and Jareth consummate your union soon. The labyrinth has grown beyond Jareth's will alone."
Sarah scowled. "Why is it so damn important that I do it with Jareth? Or that my first time is with him? What's the big deal? And doesn't seem kind of unfair that Jareth has so much more experience with sex than me?"
Merlin coughed awkwardly and blushed a little at the mere thought of having 'The Talk' with a girl who is supposed to be his stepmother before the day is out. "Jareth should be having this talk with you, not me. Oh well..." Merlin coughed and cleared his throat. "Well, you see sex is one of the oldest and powerful forms of magic in all of creation. It is intimate, and creates a bond between two souls, especially the first time. After all no one ever forgets their first. Sex is never anything to take lightly. Jareth unfortunately took it lightly in the past, and look what it cost him. Every woman, and the occasional man, he loved left him one way or another and it broke his heart a little more each time. Eventually what is supposed to be special became a tedious chore. You need not worry about him having other lovers to compare to you, you saw to that. My half brother Fenrir witnessed the battle between his two halves."
Sarah recalled that malicious wolf she helped Jareth's good half slay. "What does killing that rabid half of Jareth have to do with that?"
Merlin smirked mischievously, suddenly reminding Sarah of his father. "That half of him was his memory. As I said, a long memory is a burden. The price he must pay to be with you is to let go all those he loved before, including his children from all previous unions. It is a heavy price to pay, just as he must give up his past you must give up all other futures. It is a fair bargain for an exceptionally rare gift like true eternal love. His mind will occasionally spit up past memories before being forever erased, I hope you will be there to listen to those stories before they are forever lost."
Sarah smiled and giggled a little. "So you're telling me Jareth's a virgin by virtue of Alzheimer's?"
Merlin chuckled. "Well if you put it like that, then I suppose he is. Though from what I hear from the goblins, even though his mind forgets his body still remembers what to do with a woman."
Sarah's giggling died and a deep blush spread. "I can't help but be a little nervous about going all the way with him."
"That's only natural." Merlin looked took out a pocket watch and gasped. "Jehoshaphat! Look at the time! Those weeds have made the castle impassable for the moment. My half siblings may be of some help, you have already met two of them. We only have so much time to find them. Come, I can help you part of the way, but once we get to the castle you must face your doppelganger alone."
Sarah remembered one of the children of Loki, Fenrir the wolf whose spirit had been bound. Fenrir said he would come to her aid if she ever called. 'I guess now is a good time.' Sarah let out a howl startling the old wizard. Before Merlin could say a word an enormous white wolf entered the clearing with dozens of diamond dogs not far behind. "Hello again Sarah! And Merlin! Why I haven't seen you in more than a dog's age. From the looks of things our father screwed up."
Sarah looked away guiltily. "Actually I kinda did. But I wanna make things right. Merlin says your siblings can help me. Can you help me get to the castle beyond the thorny barrier?"
The wolf looked back toward the castle completely enveloped by the black vines and back at Sarah. "This won't be easy, you'll need to talk to Jormungandr, he's the expert at gnawing at roots. My brothers here and I can take you to see him."
Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Brothers? Do you have another brother here besides Merlin?"
Merlin pointed a finger ahead of Sarah. Ahead she saw a familiar eight legged horse. Sarah flung herself at the horse, giving him a great big hug. "Slepnir? Wait, is Jareth his father?"
All three of them laughed, Fenrir's laughter was more a bark and Slepnir's a whinny. Merlin wiped a tear from his eye. "Quite the contrary, Jareth is more his mother, considering he, in the shape of a mare, carried and gave birth to Slepnir. His conception was probably the source of much of Jareth's neurosis. Losing your virginity in such a matter will make even the most sound of men become utterly mad. Some things are better left forgotten. It truly is a good thing that you destroyed most of his memory. Now he can have a fresh start with you."
Sarah's brain halted for a moment to attempt to process the information. Sarah vaguely recalled her Norse mythology. The story of Slepnir was a really screwed up story and one that made Sarah pity the trickster. "Wait. What?! Wow, poor Jareth. As I recall from the story, Odin threatened to kill Loki if he didn't somehow sabotaged the builder's efforts. Okay so his other children are Fenrir, the Midgard Serpent, and the goddess of the underworld Hel?"
Merlin nodded. "My half-sister Hel, will be hard to convince. She hates our father, but I have complete faith in you."
Fenrir grumbled and growled. "I wouldn't be surprised if my little sister's cold hand was involved in all of this. Sarah, you can ride with me and Merlin can ride with Slepnir. My children will gnaw and bite at this weeds above, but we will him to gnaw at them from below."
On the backs of both of the great beasts, the labyrinth seemed the fly by. They ran past a spot Sarah remembered. There was once a certain worm her telling her to never go this way. "That little worm! He gave me bad directions! Oh when I see that worm I'm going to feed him to the biggest bird I can find!"
Merlin spoke up to be heard over thundering hooves and paws. "In the worm's defense though it can lead you straight into the castle, the path is through the labyrinth's root system. Extremely dangerous because of what lives down there."
Sarah was beginning to feel a little worried. "What exactly lives down there?"
Slepnir and Fenrir stopped and let the maiden and the old wizard off. They were at the yawning dark entrance to a cave. Merlin took out his wand and he conjured a ball of light to float ahead of them like a lantern. Fenrir gave her an answer that made Sarah feel uneasy. "Giant serpents spawned from our brother Jormungandr, the Midgard Serpent, glass spiders, but all you need to really worry about is collapsing tunnels. We must go down there if we wish to speak with him."
Sarah shivered as she went down further underground, feeling the air grow cold and damp. The sounds of their footsteps, hooves and paws echoed against the stone walls. The dripping of water from the stalactites hanging from the stone ceiling added to eeriness to the place. Sarah could see roots hang down from the sealing of the caverns. Sarah saw the occasional glittery web here and there, but so far no signs of any life being here for sometime. She clung to Fenrir's warm fur as they descended ever deeper into the darkness. Light from Merlin's magic reflected off of the glittering stone walls that have probably never seen light before. Shadows danced everywhere from the light before seamlessly melding with the darkness. Large rooms of sparkling crystal and what Sarah suspected to be far more precious materials broke up the cramped dull tunnels. Sarah turned to Merlin. "How far down are we?"
Merlin scratched his beard. "Hmmm. I'd say about a thousand feet. It's a good thing you did not come this way during you first run in the labyrinth. At this depth, the air is quite stale and you would have needed specialized equipment just to be able to breathe."
Sarah didn't feel even remotely tired nor did she seem to have trouble breathing. "I fine quite fine, a bit cold but fine."
"That's because you like myself and my brothers behind us are not mortal. You stopped being mortal the moment you bit into Jareth's peach."
Sarah remembered that peach, it felt like she had been poisoned. When she woke up she never felt quite the same. "I guess now I know why I never felt the same after eating that damned thing." Sarah muttered sadly.
Merlin set his hand on her shoulder in a meager attempt to comfort her. Sarah shrugged them off. "Its okay, Merlin. I'm mostly over it. I'll angst later over the whole prospect of outliving my family and every human I know. Besides, when I rescue Jareth, I'll have someone to spend that eternity with. Whether we're bickering or kissing, neither one of us will be alone, right?" Sarah managed a weak smile that grew into a genuine one.
Merlin beamed proudly. "You are wise beyond your years. Ah! Jormungandr's dwelling place should be near."
Fenrir sniffed. "My brother is not in a talking mood."
Slepnir snorted and pawed the ground. Fenrir barked, agreeing with whatever Slepnir said. "I know! Of all of us he's the most unsociable! With our sister being a close second though, but only because she always had more visitors begging for some soul back."
The tunnel opened up into a colossal cavern. Luminescent crystals in the ceiling made it look like they were staring up at the stars instead of a cave. Ahead of them was a large lake, its perfectly still waters reflected the ceiling like a mirror. Sarah wondered where the great serpent of legend could be. Merlin voice echoed against the walls. "Jormungandr! It is I, Merlin, your brother through our father! I wish to speak to you!"
They watched the waters in anticipation, but they remained still. Fenrir laid down, and mumbled something like "I told you so." Merlin shouted again and threw a rock in the water in frustration. "Blast it all! I know you're there! Show yourself! If you won't speak to me than speak to our father's new bride!"
Suddenly the waters rippled and a shape emerged from its inky depths. A great serpent emerged from the waters and looked at Sarah with great big yellow eyes. He spoke with a dusty rattle in his voice. "Hmmph! My father just couldn't help himself, can he? Another one! If I were you, young girl, I would run from my father as far as you can."
Sarah bristled angrily and stepped forward. "I have no illusions about Jareth being a nice guy, I knew that the first minute after meeting the glittery bastard. Even after cutting away the memories that made him into the psycho you called father, I know Jareth still has his flaws, but he is just that. He is just Jareth. Your father, Loki, is essentially dead. Right now, there's a mostly innocent man imprisoned in a castle by some thing that has my face and a bunch of weeds from Hell."
The great serpent stared unblinkingly at her. A heavy silence fell between them til Jormungandr spoke. "Fine. I will help you and chew at the roots of those weeds. Across this lake is an old vault. It may have a few things that will be of use to you. From the vault it should take you to the Escher room of the castle. I'd warn you not to drink the peach wine he stores down there, but it's a little late for you."
Sarah winced as the great serpent let out a dusty hiss-like laugh and continued. "Well hop on and I will ferry you across."
The Midgard Serpent lowered his head and allowed them to climb up on his back. When he got them across he gave Sarah a final warning before slithering away into an unseen tunnel to do as he promised. "Don't bother going to Hel for help! After all why would she undo that which she had part in creating? Farewell and good luck!"
Sarah shouted for him in vain. "Wait! What do you mean?!" She turned to Merlin who had his fist clenched and his beard was bristled like an angry cat. Fenrir and Slepnir were angry as well, but it wasn't at her. "Merlin? Do you know what he's talking about?"
"Yes, unfortunately I do. Ever since I saw those black vines I had my suspicions, but my half-brother has just confirmed it. Tell me Sarah, do know where those blasted weeds started growing from?"
Sarah rubbed her chin, thinking back and a distant memory of a conversation with her friends popped up. "Yeah, I think someone mentioned that those things started coming from The Bog of Eternal Stench. Why?"
Fenrir growled. "There's an entrance to Hel's halls beneath it's foul waters. That stench it's famed for is the smell of humanity most evil of souls. That new religion named that place after her. She was always cold and bitter, but I didn't think she was stupid!"
The three sons of Jareth looked at one another and made a silent agreement with another. They looked back at Sarah. Merlin spoke up. "Sarah you must go on ahead on your own, we must go confront our sister while you must confront your doppelganger and save Jareth. If you ever need me you only need to call."
"Will I see you guys again?"
Fenrir chuckled, his laughter coming out like barks. "You can bet on it. Just ahead is the vault, through there you'll exit out to the entrance to the castle. Good luck, girly."
"Goodbye guys and good luck." Sarah gave them all hugs before they departed. She watched Merlin mount Slepnir and they disappeared into the shadows. She trudged on ahead, knowing she was very close to the castle and close to Jareth. "I'm coming Jareth! Hold on, my love."
Author's Notes: Almost there guys! I won't be doing more then thirteen chapters for this fic. Next chapter will be the vault, and the castle.