A/N - I don't promise that this will make sense, but it's the best I could come up with after days of rewrites and swearing to myself. Enjoy (I hope).

Devlin jumped to his feet and lunged for Sarah. It took him a moment to realize that she was no longer holding onto him, in fact, she was nowhere to be seen. Breathing heavily, he let his newly regained powers flow through him. His bones hurt, his mind screamed, but he could feel the magic course through him like a drug.

She couldn't have gotten far, he would show her just how foolish she'd been to try to control him. Her body would submit to his whims until he was exhausted and she was broken beyond help. Then he would show her all the ways he could be just as cruel as her Goblin King. He'd chain her to the nearest wall and she'd watch as he killed Jareth slowly. Then Rialta could claim Sarah's body and Devlin would have everything he'd been waiting for - Sarah and Jareth dead, and Devlin the rightful ruler of this dimension.

"Allo," a voice startled him out of his sordid plans, and he glared at the wall of the Labyrinth. Someone had spoken, but Devlin couldn't see who it was. Peering through the light mist, he took a step closer to the wall.

"Who's there?"

"Down here, you're looking up instead of down," the little voice said, amused. Devlin searched the wall carefully but he could only see a small worm lounging on an even smaller ledge. He had to keep himself together, this place was filled with trickery.

"Jareth, if this is one of your cowardly tricks," Devlin said then stopped as the worm blinked and the mist turned from light grey to red. The temperature rose and Devlin found himself pulling out a crimson handkerchief, mopping his brow impatiently.

"Jareth?" the little worm squeaked, shaking his head. "No, no, no. The king is finding his own path to the center of the Labyrinth. This is your journey, fancy man. And don't you go thinking it'll be a piece of cake either. Why, the Labyrinth is a place of mystery and danger. Not a bleedin' playground for little girls to flirt with a king."

"You're just a worm," Devlin said, amazed. "Does this mighty king think me so beneath him that he sends a worm to taunt me?"

"Well, I was going to offer you some tea, but you can just be on your way and hope you don't get skewered by a goblin spear on your journey."

Devlin wasn't listening. He warily searched for the best path to take before spinning around to glare at the worm.

"Which is the path to the center?"

"Now how would I know that? I'm just a worm, remember?" The worm burrowed back into the wall, but his voice echoed towards Devlin.

"Stay on the path, fancy man. All roads lead to the center if you keep your wits about you."

"Now what is that supposed to mean?" Devlin asked, bitterly. But of course, there was no answer. Devlin quickly ran down one of the many paths before him, pausing only to glance around. Were the shadows moving with him? Maybe Jareth was already nearby, watching him.

He climbed onto a nearby wall and could see the Goblin City in the distance - and the cowardly Goblin King. It would not be a fair fight, but what in life was fair? Suddenly, something hit him from behind and he fell to the ground. He looked at the rock - no, not a rock. It was a head with bright orange hair. Who would throw a head at him?

The eyes opened and Devlin jumped to his feet, kicking the head away.

"Hey, that's mine," a voice complained. A headless body made its way towards him. "That isn't the way we play the game."

Devlin picked up a sharp stick and impaled the body. A few moments later, the stick was absorbed into the flesh and the discarded head bounced back onto the scrawny neck. Devlin backed away, stunned.

"Welcome to your challenge, Lordos. Time to take your head," the Fiery yelled.

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Meanwhile Jareth was angry. Beyond angry really. He was walking quickly down the paths he had helped create thinking about Sarah. She was here, in his Labyrinth. He could feel her. The little fool had no idea what she was getting into being here during a challenge. If she thought this was going to be like the game they had played before, she was in for a rude awakening.

He tried to summone a crystal, then remembered what he'd neglected to tell Sarah - for the duration of the battle, he would be without his powers. He would have an unfair advantage if he'd fought with the power of the Labyrinth backing him. No, this would be an unfair fight in many ways, but when was life fair? Certainly never, if past history was to be believed.

Sarah did not know of the laws, the many twisted rules that he himself had created to protect his realm. He had to find her before the Lordos scum could get his hands on her or worse, the Labyrinth itself captured her. A sudden thought occured to him. How exactly had Sarah entered? He swore under his breath, she would have had to have been holding onto Devlin when he came through the gate.

The Labyrinth only recognized two challengers during a battle. Anyone else who entered uninvited during that time would be seen as a threat to the purity of the challenge. Which was a pleasant way of saying that the Labyrinth would find a way to destroy said uninvited guest unless they could prove they had a valid reason for being there.

Hearing a whizzing noise, Jareth ducked as a spear flew past his ear. So, it was beginning. He would have to keep his wits about him or be turned into the Fire Gang's latest trophy. Everything in the Labyrinth would try to prevent himself and Devlin from reaching the center for their final battle. It was meant to be a test of worthiness, and usually Jareth would welcome the diversion. Usually he would have a plan in place to vanquish his enemy.

Now however, he had his mind focused on a young girl who was too impetuous for her own good.

"Sarah," he said aloud. "When I find you, you had better be safe or I'll strangle you myself."

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Sarah made her way through the thickening fog, coughing as it started to choke her. How was she supposed to find Jareth through this mess? She thought back onto what Jareth had told her.

Sarah, my love, summon the princess to you. You are her protector now and she is yours. She has chosen you to be her weapon.

Weapon? How could Sarah be a weapon against Devlin? It made no sense. She glanced over at Rialta who was floating an inch above the ground as she walked. Shaking her head to clear it, Sarah jumped over a fallen log and pushed long hair out of her eyes. Was the fog turning red? She was imagining things now.

"I can't be a weapon," Sarah said.

"Of course you can, you already are. You have truth on your side and a pure heart. The bond we share will only sharpen those traits."

"Why me? Is this bond thing we have because I love Jareth and you love Seth?" Sarah asked and Rialta stopped moving long enough to look at the girl. Long moments passed until Rialta sighed.

"It goes much deeper than that, child. When you ran the Labyrinth, I don't believe Jareth thought you'd actually win. You formed a connection with him that goes beyond bonding. Your magic was released. Your mother wasn't Avian, was she?"

"No, no...but my dad - Jareth said my dad had a bit of magic in him. Could that be it?"

Rialta paused, thinking. "If your father had the right type of power in his family, the Labyrinth could have latched onto it somehow and changed it. You would become more receptive to magic here."

"That still doesn't explain why I can see you, or why you chose me," Sarah reminded her.

"It explains everything, Sarah. You are becoming one of us, even now. When you chose Jareth and his magic claimed yours, it well - it changed what you could do with your power. You could hear me in the beginning because Jareth had given his owl pin to you and the court's jewelry is infused with magic. I tried explaining to Hoggle but he didn't want to hear it. The jewels that the royal family wears are not just jewels. They are the embodiment of the royal magic - a way for them to expand their reach." Sarah gave her a blank stare and Rialta tried again.

"Sarah, the royal family each had a special bit of jewelry made that contained a bit of their power. If they give it to someone, it is because that person is their soul mate and the magic in the jewel transforms the wearer into a complement to the royal. Seth gave me his ring, I became able to speak telepathically to others, just as he could. It helped me to do many things I would never have dreamed of doing, and I am bound to that ring even in the place I am now. Whoever holds that ring has my magic, my soul in their power."

"So as long as I wear the ring, I can see you."

"And protect my soul. Devlin's mental state is unravelling. He didn't hurt me because he couldn't see that I didn't love him - and that is the only thing that has saved me up until now. But eventually he would have known that I did not care for him and I would not be here to tell you any of this."

"You'd be in the Fade then? With Seth? Doesn't sound too horrible," Sarah said, picking her way through the tall grass.

"I would not. I'd be trapped in the place I am now, but for all of eternity. You have the power to send me to the Fade when this is over, because you have a pure heart and I cannot stay in the in between forever. Seth's ring only has enough magic left in it to keep me here a little while longer. If I'm still trapped here when that magic runs out, I'm trapped here for good."

"But how can I help when Seth's magic couldn't?"

"Jareth's pin has a bit of his magic in it and Jareth's powers are a bit more - well, destructive."

"Destructive. I can destroy things?" Sarah frowned and she sat on a tree stump, staring straight ahead. This was too much to comprehend right now.

"You can destroy kingdoms. You can destroy worlds. Not until you are claimed by marriage or by force, and not without provocation, but Jareth's power is now changing you to become more like him. If Devlin claims you, he claims everything Jareth and his family have worked so hard to protect."

"And he'll destroy it all, won't he?"

"Without a second thought."

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The evening sky turned from orange to deep purple. A large moon, seemingly made of crystal, lit up the darkened sky. Jareth moved quickly through the twisting hedges to where he thought the Goblin City hid. Each day that came saw the City in a new place within the Labyrinth. It was never really in the center, it was all an illusion. And without magic, Jareth couldn't sense where the City was.

"Jareth? Jareth where are you?" Sarah's voice came out of the darkness and he almost smiled.

"Sarah, go back," he called.

"If I didn't listen to you the last time you told me that, what makes you think I'll listen now?" she asked. He looked into the trees and saw Sarah standing on a sturdy limb.

"What are you doing up there?" Jareth asked.

A spear whizzed past him again and grazed his arm. Glaring down at the cut, he cursed the Fire Gang.

"Oh it's not the Fire Gang you need worry about Goblin King," a voice taunted. Looking up, Jareth stared straight into the eyes of the insane Lordos diplomat. "I believe we have a battle to wage."