"Sky's Eclipse"
Chapter 9
By Aiijuin

*Disclaimer: I don't own anything Jim Henson or Labyrinth. Gröeg was originally designed by Brian Froud and catalogued by Terry Jones in Brian Froud's "The Goblins of the Labyrinth". This fanfiction is rated M for some harsh language (which is mostly used by Toby) and adult situations.
PS: Please let me know if I messed up anywhere with the grammar. I proofread about a dozen times before I post my chapters on the fanfiction site, but sometimes I still miss a few flubs. Thank you!
** 09/10/2009 Revised for grammar correction and replacement of 'Irene' to 'Karen', as most "Labyrinth" fanfictions I have read use this name for Sarah's stepmother instead. I'm not sure who is right or wrong, but I feel it's a necessary change. The chapter numbers were also fixed, since I lost count of the numbers somewhere in the beginning. Don't ask.

Chapter Nine: The Babe with the Power

Toby walked up to the door of the old Henkies Mansion. He hesitated for a moment before grabbing the doorknocker. He remembered that Sarah told him she was going to warn Gavin King about the Goblin King. It was after five o'clock in the afternoon and Toby had come home from High School. Once home, he found Sarah still hadn't returned from yesterday.

Now, he was beyond suspicion.

In fact, Toby was downright paranoid about Jareth's pursuit of Sarah. He knew it was only a matter of time before the Goblin King unleashed his counterstrike on Sarah. It didn't take much for Toby to imagine that, perhaps, his sister had already fallen prey to Jareth's antics. The door opened with a groan, just before Toby's hand grasped the knocker.

He jumped!

Gröeg had already anticipated Toby's arrival. In fact, the 'butler' always seemed to know when Toby was at the door. 'Master' Williams just assumed it was because the little old 'man' had nothing better to do, but stand at the door and watch for people walking up the long driveway.

Gröeg ushered the adolescent into Gavin's study. Much to the teen's surprise, Gavin was already in there waiting. Normally, Gavin had to be summoned by Gröeg, while Toby was forced to wait in the study alone. Gavin had his back turned on his visitors. He was engrossed with the view from the French doors.

Since Toby wasn't comfortable with the silence, he cleared his throat lightly, and said, "S'up, Mister King?"

Gavin turned around and greeted the boy with a smile. It seemed to be a very forced grin. Toby could tell that something was bothering his father's boss. Being concerned, Toby asked, "Are you okay?"

Gavin motioned his head in an unreadable gesture that crossed between "yes" and "no". He managed to ask, "Toby, did your sister return home?"

Toby's face became numb. He wasn't sure if he understood Gavin correctly, but it sounded like the lawyer had no idea where his sister was either. The blood ran from Toby's face and he grew pale.

My god, that fairytale freak has her, he thought.

It took Toby a minute to regain his senses, but Gavin remained silent, awaiting Toby's response. "No," Toby, finally answered, then he asked, "You mean, she isn't with you?"

Gavin shook his head.

Toby exhaled deeply, and exclaimed, "Dammit! He's got her! I knew it!"

Gavin walked around the other side of the desk and placed his hand on Toby's shoulder. Toby didn't want to be touched. He instinctively pushed Gavin's hand aside and spun around. The teen continued, "That bastard has my sister again!"

"Toby," Gavin began, "I'm sure you blame that 'Goblin King' for this, but somehow, I don't think it's him."

Toby rolled his eyes at Gavin, "Yeah, right! Then who else could it be? I mean how many fairytale-type royal dudes are running around out there, who have the 'hots' for my sister? Don't tell me that Prince Charming was lurking around the back of Seven-Eleven and kidnapped her when she 'popped' in to buy a soda or something! Or Don Juan, maybe? Nah! There's only one dude that I blame for Sarah's disappearance."

Gavin was becoming agitated by Toby's insolent mannerisms towards his true identity. He wanted to turn Toby into a frog, or throw him into an oubliette. Jareth didn't appreciate being called slanderous names or "dude" for that matter. It rubbed his royal sense of aesthetic principalities. He, especially, despised being accused for something he didn't do. Toby's attitude left much to be desired. Jareth would have already dumped the adolescent into a punishment zone within his Labyrinth, but he needed all of the Williams family outside living in the mortal realm, until his plan was ready.

At the moment, Gavin was forgiving of Toby's behavior, since it was obvious that the teen was upset by the same reason he had been: Sarah had disappeared without a trace.

Jareth had plans to make Sarah pay for the humiliation she had dealt him many years ago, but he hadn't planned on making her vanish into thin air…at least, not yet anyway. He couldn't find her by conjuring her whereabouts in his magic crystals.

He had spent all afternoon checking to see if a hex or charm had accidentally been placed within the hedge maze. He looked for a hidden hole to any possible unchecked chasms. Much to his dismay, Gavin found nothing out of the ordinary. He had not ruled out fairy interference. Since the goblins and fairies despised each other for many millennia, it would have been just like them to nab his beloved Sarah, and exact their revenge on him. He even pondered the idea, that if it had been a fairy attack, perhaps Sarah had been transformed into a flower or a moth. He had Gröeg checking all of the flowers for most of the late morning hours into lunch and past the midday hours. Now, it was early evening, and every inch of the hedge maze had been thoroughly examined down to every last stone, petal, and blade of grass.

Sarah was not in the maze.

Jareth was hoping that she had found a way to block his magic sight and then run home to hide from him. The presence of Toby Williams suggested otherwise.

Toby's temper deflated a bit, and he calmly started to speak to Gavin, "Look, I know you heard a lot of crap at my parent's anniversary dinner. We all sound like freaks, I know. And I know this shit is weird, but if you only knew how powerful the Goblin King was… You wouldn't be disagreeing with me. This guy isn't from our world, so to speak. He's something that shouldn't be here. I know I sound nuts, but if you knew what me and Sarah were put through a long time ago. I mean, this guy, literally, nabbed me from my crib and held me hostage until my sister came and bailed me out."

"Hostage? That's an awful severe assessment, don't you think?"

"Yeah, well, whatever…I was, like, a prisoner, a token boy, or something… Anyway, that was then. I'm cool now. But still, this guy really, really wants Sarah big-time. I don't know what makes her the special 'it' girl. I mean, a million actresses are way hotter and younger, and there are all those playboy models and crap. What makes Sarah the 'one' for this Goblin King anyhow? Why's she so special? She couldn't even 'hack' it as a real actress. She became a boring office worker. My god, she was even a dweeb in high school. She's nearly thirty and still hasn't found a decent guy to settle down with….to have kids and junk, like the rest of the 'normal' world does. Maybe that's what Jareth likes about her. She's a freak, like he is."

That's it! He had heard enough from the baby!

Jareth was about to bypass the pleasantries, forego his plan against Sarah, and condemn Toby straight into the bog of Eternal Stench, when Gröeg came running in frantically. "Master," He shouted, "The girl… Miss Sarah is outside the door!"

Toby and Gavin looked at each other for a moment, before darting towards the front door of the mansion. Sure enough, when they reached it, Sarah stood there looking very serene and undamaged. She was dressed in a white, cotton summer dress. It had eyelet lace around the trim with a bow tied in the back. The neckline plunged low leaving little to the imagination. Spaghetti straps held the bodice up snuggly against her chest, and the waistline was tapered to accentuate her thin, lovely figure. The dress was tea length and flared, which reached nearly a hand-span below her knees. She wore delicate white silk, ballet-style shoes that laced up the leg with satin ribbons. Her hair was also tied in a white ribbon that looked much too childish for her age. It was on the back of her head, holding half of her hair up. The other half of her long dark locks were cascading loosely down her back. She had a pearl choker around her neck and tiny teardrop pearl earrings to match. In essence, she looked like she was auditioning for the main role in the "Nutcracker" Ballet.

Since Gavin was too busy gaping at Sarah, Toby initiated the conversation by scolding her, "The HELL, Sarah!? You forget how to use a phone? Where were you? Mom and Dad were worried sick, and, of course, I got blamed!! Whenever something goes wrong, 'blame the teenager', that's their theory!"

Sarah held up her hand signaling Toby to 'chill out'. She apologized, "I'm sorry. I do suppose I have a bad habit of disappearing. However I am an adult, older than you, and don't appreciate being scolded like a child, Toby."

"Oh, go screw yourself, Sarah! Whatever!" Toby waved his hands angrily and marched out of the front door.

With the leave-taking of Toby, Sarah and Gavin were alone at last. With the overwhelming presence of Sarah, Gavin had completely forgotten Toby's negative remarks against the 'Goblin King'. The teenager had been extremely lucky, as Jareth had completely run out of patience with him.

Mr. King immediately took Sarah by the shoulders and looked at her deeply in the eyes. He asked, "As your father once said, 'I don't care where you've been, I just want to know if you're okay?'"

Sarah distantly replied, "I'm fine."

Her mind was on other things. She had returned to Gavin's house, but not to explain her absence. In fact, Gavin was about to discover that Sarah's personality had gone through a sudden and drastic change. She may have been dressed all in white, but her persona was very, very dark.