"Sky's Eclipse"
Chapter 61
By Aiijuin
*Disclaimer =Labyrinth (c) Henson, Lucas, Jones, Froud; Gröeg (c) Brian Froud, Winkin', Blinkin' & Nod (c) Mothergoose Nursery Rhymes. Torok is from 1986 movie Troll, but has been changed around to meet my story expectations.
Be warned: Although this is a Sarah/Jareth romance story, it is also a profoundly dark fairytale!
Rated M+(Adult Scenarios, Abrasive Language, Innuendos, Sensuality)
**NOTE: Story numbering is behind by 1 chapter, because there is a prelude, which is not considered a chapter. Fanfiction . net automatically assigns numbers to the chapters by default, which I have not control over. Thank you!
Chapter 60: Sky's Eclipse
The Troll King had vanished into thin air and Sarah was left alone while looking at the outer walls of the Labyrinth. She pulled the silver laurel tiara from her head and kicked her shoes off. They had given her a blister anyway. She wasn't sure how she was going to race through the Labyrinth in her condition, but her adrenaline was carrying her along and she didn't feel tired at the moment like she should have.
Sarah closed her eyes and meditated for a second, but they shot open as she heard another voice. She glanced around.
Nobody!
The voice sounded again, and Sarah realized that it was coming from inside of her head. It whispered like the wind, "We'll meet again in Sky's Eclipse…"
She shook it off. At the moment, Sarah didn't have time to have a mental breakdown. People were in danger at the center of the Labyrinth, and she was going to have to break sound barrier speeds in order to get there.
"Run, Now!" The voice in Sarah's mind screamed.
Sarah did as the voice commanded and leaped towards the gates of the Labyrinth with her eyes wide. This would be her final showdown with Jareth. No matter the outcome, there would be no more pursuit from him after this point. As if by magic, the gates opened of their own accord when Sarah approached them. She didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing. She didn't waste anytime pondering about it and lunged forward at an alarming pace despite her baby dilemma.
Sarah knew that Jareth was going to be working against her at every turn and twist, plus her fastest time through the Labyrinth was still over three hours. The only way she could possibly ever reach the center of Jareth's lands in less than thirteen minutes was if there was a straight path leading directly to his castle.
As if the Labyrinth had heard Sarah's inner thoughts, all of the walls began to split down the center and parted the left side from the right side, until a straight path opened directly towards the Castle Beyond the Goblin City. There were no more mazes, no more puzzles, and no more obstacles. Sarah raced down the corridor at furious speeds in her Cinderella costume and bare feet.
Meanwhile, Jareth had been watching Sarah from the moment that she had entered into his lands. He knew that she would come and was aware that Torok and Sashya had helped her breech his boundaries. He sat upon his throne as he gazed deep into his magic crystal and observed her closely. Jareth stood up in shock when the walls had parted and let Sarah through without hindrance. The goblins surrounding him began to panic as the Goblin King barked orders for them to stop her from reaching his castle. He demanded that they cheat, lie, and enchant her at all costs, but she was not to reach the center under any circumstances. Jareth didn't wait for the goblins to begin their rampage. He immediately summoned his own magic and began to restructure the Labyrinth.
Inside the path, Sarah saw the walls moving towards her. She sped faster until her legs felt like jelly and her muscles burned. Her sides began to hurt and she clutched her pregnant tummy. She was only about a thousand hundred feet from the castle now.
It was too late!
She'd never make it out in time before it closed completely. She tried to find a safe area where the massive stonewalls would not crush her.
Inside the palace, the Williamses had been placed under a powerful spell by Jareth in his frustration. He had moved time forward and aged them significantly. Each looked about one hundred years-old now and they were shriveled and weak. It was the Goblin King's way of keeping them from trying to escape without dropping them into an oubliette or a bog.
Robert and Karen could only watch helplessly through dimmed eyes as their beloved daughter dodged the colossal stone barriers that began to close around her. Toby looked at his wrinkled arthritic hands and frowned. He hunched over and felt dreadful and cold. He had tried to bargain with Jareth, but the king ignored the former teen and threatened him. Jessica had been changed into a spider and was placed into a magical glass jar with a lid sealing it. Baby Jareth had been taken to another part of the castle and kept under close supervision. Gröeg, who was terrified of Jareth's temper, defected into the Troll Kingdom and hid under the protection of Torok and Sashya.
Robert and Karen clung to each other in terror. They didn't know what had happened or why, but neither of them tried to ask. One minute they had been at Gavin's party and the next they were in some strange land surrounded by little monsters and turned into feeble, old people.
Back in the Labyrinth, the walls pounded together and left no opening, except where the maze had formed the original pathways. Unfortunately, Sarah had become trapped in a zone that had no entry or exit. It was a square enclosure that contained a lake of water, which looked remarkably like the one within her dreams. She studied the sides of the walls that surrounded the water. They were covered with prickly briars and thorns that resembled thick, razor-sharp spears.
Jareth tilted his head in amusement as he watched her feel the briars, and then prick her fingers. He pondered Sarah's next move.
Surely she will attempt to climb the walls, he thought with a grin, for diving into a bottomless pond of water would be very deadly and foolish.
He was wrong.
The voice again resounded in Sarah's mind. It instructed her to dive into the water. Sarah did as she was told without asking questions. She jumped feet first into the dark, bottomless pool.
Jareth was shocked.
There was no way out!
He grimaced, "Surely, she won't choose to drown…."
Jareth waited for Sarah to resurface. The seconds ticked away and became minutes. After five minutes had passed, and Sarah had still not clamored to the surface, Jareth glanced at the goblins that surrounded him in confusion. Robert stared wide-eyed at his wife and a sheer look of panic crossed their faces. Toby screamed with his hoarse, elderly voice, "SARAH!"
As the sixth minute began, a goblin squealed, and came flying down the stairs that lead from the Escher room directly into Jareth's throne room. "She's coming through the castle, Sire! She's on her WAY DOWN!!!" The Goblin screamed.
Jareth spun around. Sarah had indeed entered into his castle. Somehow, she had found a doorway through the lake.
He shouted, "Impossible!"
Jareth ordered his goblins to take the three decrepit, old humans and hide them from Sarah. The goblin guards managed to escort Robert and Karen from the throne room, however, when they came to Toby, he lunged at two of the goblins and knocked them to the ground. After rubbing his aching knees and back, he grabbed one of their spears and began to wave it in front of him to stave them off. The Old-Man-Toby cried, "I'm not going anywhere! I'm staying here and when Sarah comes, we're leaving together!"
Jareth didn't have time to argue with the aged fellow who was formerly a vibrant, young teen. He disappeared into the Escher Room, and met Sarah head-on as she traveled through the twisted room. The king frightened her by reappearing directly in front of her. There were no songs, no promises, and no enticements this time. Jareth would not swoon Sarah back to him. He was deeply hurt by her and intended to make her pay, since she had forced her way into his lands again.
Jareth blocked her path and waited for her to leap past him. However, the Goblin King was distracted by a voice coming from behind him that sounded just like Sarah, and yet it wasn't. Preoccupied, he turned to look, but no one was there. When Jareth looked back, Sarah was gone.
She had vanished again! Jareth couldn't understand how Sarah was defeating him in her weakened state. She hadn't reached her age of ascension yet… then he glanced at the thirteen hour clock.
Time had begun to move forward again, He marveled.
Back in the throne room, the goblins had surrounded Toby and his family. He knew that they were incredibly dim, but also knew that strength came in numbers. If the elderly man attacked them now, then he would probably lose as he did moments ago with the spear. Toby needed a distraction so he could grab his parents and get the hell out of there before Sarah rose to full strength in a few minutes. He didn't want to get caught in the middle of a lover's quarrel.
Toby Williams knew of only one way to distract the goblins that could possibly work. He thought of Jareth and that damned song that remained a curse in his head since he was a baby. He looked at the closest goblin to him and exclaimed in a raspy voice, "Hey, you remind me of the babe!"
The goblin asked, "What babe?"
Toby answered, "The babe with the power!"
Another goblin asked, "What power?"
Toby pointed to the other goblin and said, "The power of voodoo."
Several goblins that remembered this game, answered in unison, "Who do?"
Toby raised his hands and answered, "You DO!…remind me of the babe!"
As if by prompt, the music kicked in. Toby danced around, but of course at his advanced age, he wasn't much of a dancer anymore, so he just shuffled his feet with his arms swinging back and forth. He remembered the song word for word and recited it to the music. While his singing style differed greatly from Jareth's, the goblins didn't seem to take notice. They cheered and danced around, as Toby made his way towards his very old mom and dad. He helped to escort them from the throne room. Robert and Karen were very proud of their son, despite their suffering ears.
After they exited the castle, Toby told his parents that he was going to rescue Jessica. Robert nodded and wished his son good luck. The old man scuffled from his elderly parents' sides and walked back into the palace doors where he tried to find Jessica's glass jar.
Back within the castle, Jareth had retraced his steps while trying to find Sarah. She was playing cat and mouse with him, and he wasn't pleased. He wandered about the palace until he returned back to the throne room and saw Toby trying to retrieve Jessica's glass jar. Jareth clicked his tongue and said, "No, no, no. We can't have you letting pests out within my palace. I'll just have to place you somewhere else, old man, until I've dealt with your sister."
Toby vanished into thin air as Jareth picked up the glass jar and chuckled, "Sorry, Arachni, but your prince isn't coming to save you."
Suddenly Jareth had lost his footing. Sarah had tackled him from behind and knocked him off of his throne's platform. He turned with a dangerous glare as the sky began to darken. He skulked towards her slowly and she cornered herself against the back wall behind his throne. She was panting heavily as Jareth glowered deep into her eyes. He didn't touch her but placed each of his arms alongside of her to keep her from escaping. He raised his head arrogantly and spat, "Everything I've done, I've done for you."
Sarah couldn't catch her breath, because the fear inside of her had overwhelmed her at last. She began to cry tears of pure blood. She tried to speak, but started to get dizzy and weak while the skies outside were nearly black. A voice inside her head spoke again, "It's almost time to wake up…"
Jareth said, "If you're here for your brother and parents, then you're free to take them at anytime, Sarah. However, they may need some geriatric care, since I took the liberty of moving time forward a bit on them."
Sarah shook her head, but couldn't speak.
He continued, "I can do the same for you, if you'd like. Maybe I'll move it backwards on you. I wonder what would happen if I brought you to a point where you never existed or were never even born."
Jareth readied his hands at the thirteen hour clock, as another hand had smacked them away. The Goblin King blinked. He looked towards Sarah, but she hadn't moved. Then, he looked at his random goblins, but they too were looking in another direction. A familiar voice from behind him shouted, "I can't allow you to do that to her!"
Jareth turned to find Hansel watching him through narrowed eyes. Sarah covered her mouth in shock. She didn't recall how the boy had found his way into Jareth's castle, but she knew that he was in terrible danger. Gretel was peeking from around the corner in fright. She and her brother had been hiding from Jareth during this whole ordeal, until now. Jareth frowned as he wasn't very tolerant of anyone at this moment. Sarah cried, "Hansel, run!"
Jareth raised his eyebrows at the boy, "Ah, I nearly forgot about you and your pathetic sister that we retrieved, while I was pretending to be that Gavin-chap during that Grimm's Wood fiasco."
Sarah's eyes shifted nervously. Jareth spun back to her, in order to gauge her reaction and then continued, "Ah, yes! Didn't you know that I was really Gavin King the whole time, Miss Williams?"
"Oh, no," Sarah sobbed and started to slide down the wall. The voice kept talking inside of her head and was getting louder and louder as the last of the sunlight was snuffed out by the moon. Sarah began to say softly, "What's going on? I can't tell what is real and what isn't anymore. I can't believe any of this is happening. Is this a dream? Is it a nightmare? Is this real?"
As the darkness began and an eerie yellow-green haze fell over the land, and cast its shadows into the heart of the Labyrinth, Sarah looked up towards the ceiling and cried, "Someone tell me what's going on! I WISH I KNEW THE TRUTH!"
The voice in her mind suddenly became clear and asked calmly, "Are you certain this is what you wish, Miss Williams?"
Sarah answered the voice, "Please…I do."
Suddenly, the hands of the thirteen hour clock began to spin backwards at an accelerated rate. Hansel stepped back and watched in fright. Not sure of what was going on, he believed Jareth was reversing time on Sarah like he had threatened.
Jareth continued to glare at the boy, until her saw Sarah's hands flail wildly out of the corner of his eye. In great shock and distress, Sarah sharply gulped down air, as an accentuated rasping sound could be heard from deep within her throat. She was seizuring, while a painful barrage of memories and lifetimes began to overwhelm her.
The wall clock began to chime thirteen times as the entire room fell silent. At that moment, Sashya came rushing in through the castle doors with bloody tears streaming down her face too and Torok was chasing closely after her.
The Troll King cried, "Sashya! What are you doing!?"
His queen ignored him and immediately saw Sarah struggling on the ground. She pushed Jareth out of the way and cradled her 'sister' in her arms. She cried, "Sarah! Sarah, it's me, it's Sashya! What have you done to her, Jareth!?"
Torok tried to pull his wife away from Sarah, because he didn't want anything to happen to Sashya next. He had never witnessed a seizure before, but it terrified him. The Troll Queen slapped her husband's fingers away and glared at the Goblin King furiously.
It was at that second that the walls of the Labyrinth were crumbled in an outward motion as if some sort of shockwave had formed its epicenter inside the castle. The sound was deafening and everyone had to hold their ears. The ground shook violently as the massive structures around Jareth's castle crumbled like crackers. The chickens clucked in fright and the vulture frantically flapped its wings for several minutes. Torok covered his head and cried, "Oh! The curse! It IS from Sarah Williams! It's here! Sashya, we must fly from this place at once, ma Nénette!"
Just as soon as everything had began, it had all ended again when the sun started to emerge from behind the moon. Jareth looked at his decimated Labyrinth and started to believe that Torok may have been right about Sarah's curse, despite what Jeremy Eden had told him about the Goblin Queen's awakening. The Goblin King attempted to remove Sashya's grip from Sarah as Sarah's left hand flew up and grappled his arm tightly. Sashya jumped back as Sarah pulled Jareth close to her.
He was a breath away from her lips as the whole room seemed freeze in shock. With her eyes still closed, Sarah asked softly with a smirk plastered across her face, "Was it good for you too, Darling?"