**Needs**

As expected, Toby wasn't too thrilled with the arrangement, but he didn't have much say in the end. Marcus, Nathaniel, and Gabriel suddenly needed a new place to stay and since Sarah was in immediate need of a roommate or three, the opportunity was too convenient to pass up. Toby objected on principle's sake. It made him uncomfortable to have three men his sister didn't know living with her—even if they were his friends. Without going into detail, Sarah admitted to having a mutual acquaintance outside of Toby and the knowledge that the guys weren't total strangers eased Toby's mind somewhat. It made Sarah chuckle to think of her baby brother playing the protective sibling against his own friends. When had they switched roles?

Toby was also out-voted on the manager issue, but he didn't fight that nearly as hard. Sarah had a few more years of "show business" under her belt and he knew she could be useful in that arena. His bandmates had been harder to convince, but once Toby left, she made her case plainly: she did know more about the business, they were to make sure no harm came to Sarah, and if they didn't stay near her, she might never wake up from the magic withdrawal. In the end, the men agreed that, until the Goblin King stated otherwise, Sarah was their manager.

And apparently he couldn't say otherwise for at least thirteen days—well, eleven now.

"Why's that?" Sarah asked as she popped some spaghetti in her mouth at dinner with her three new goblin-human roommates the following evening. Julie had moved many of her things out shortly after Toby had returned to Sarah's room, not even bothering to give Sarah official notice that she was leaving. A simple, 'Bye. Have a nice life. Please don't kill yourself!' was yelled up the stairs as she shut the door and left.

Nathaniel swallowed a meatball and responded, "You wished him back to the Goblin Kingdom. He cannot return until thirteen Aboveground days are completed. It's just the way it is."

"How does that work? The wishing things," she clarified. "Is that how you became goblins in the first place?"

The men shifted uncomfortably in their seats at the question. Finally Nathaniel spoke, "Each goblin's stories is slightly different, however the essence remains the same. Someone made a wish—not necessarily to the Goblin King. In fact, as far as I know, you're the only one to wish for him specifically." Nathaniel turned introspective for a moment as he thought about this. Sarah tapped her fingers impatiently and waved him on, not sure she liked what he was implicating. "Oh. Sorry. So, as I was saying, a wish was made, but no matter who is called upon, His Majesty answers. It's his job, you see, to deal with wished-away children in whatever form it comes in. Much like with you, he offered them their dreams for the child. But unlike you, none of them chose to run the Labyrinth. The child was taken and introduced into the Underground society. We became goblins."

"That's so sad! It wasn't your fault you were wished away! How could he be so cruel?"

The three men exchanged confused looks. "No, you don't understand," Marcus said after a moment. "The children didn't become goblins. We did. Yes, our dreams were fulfilled as he promised, but as goblins. Goblins don't have incredibly complicated dreams. Eat, sleep, and be merry pretty much covers it all. The children were given much better lives than what they received here."

"Why you little monsters!" Sarah quickly covered her mouth with her hand, realizing just how hypocritical she sounded. After all, she had wished Toby away.

But she had fought to get him back.

The goblinmen didn't argue. "Yes, we were monsters. The king is wise—he simply made our outsides match our insides. He didn't lie to us, but things are not always what they seem. Our reward for our cruelty was very fitting. But we have since learned how stupid and petty we were. Being a goblin really puts things in perspective." Marcus' smile was bittersweet.

A dozen new questions formed in her mind, but Sarah chose the one closest to the subject she needed to know about the most. "So, why did he send you three back then?"

Gabriel shrugged. "We were the closest to his chair. Although I suspect there was more to it than that. Nothing is simple with him."

That was an understatement.

Sarah thought for a moment. "When we first met, you gave your ages in vague terms. Is this what you were like before you were goblins? How old are you really?"

Gabriel smiled. "Perhaps similar ages. We long ago lost track of our real ages—goblin minds and all—but the world is a lot different from the world I knew. I do know that I do not look anything as I did before. His Majesty desired that we look attractive to the females here and formed us accordingly." He waggled his eyebrows for emphasis, making Sarah laugh.

"Yes, well, if the screaming girls at the concert are any judge, I'd say he succeeded," she teased, grinning around her bite of garlic bread.

"And you, Sarah? How do you judge our physical appeal?" Marcus' tone was playful, but his dark eyes betrayed a more serious inquiry, sending off warning bells in the back of Sarah's mind. She may have done a better job of flirting in that van than she had thought.

Placing a slight smile on her face to lessen the sting, she gave him a level look, "Sure, you boys are attractive, but I prefer my men a little older."

Gabriel laughed outright in response, slapping Marcus on the back, and the mood was lightened once more.

After dinner, Sarah sat down at her new computer and began her search for answers. She hadn't had much of a use for the thing until now, but she wanted a jumping off point before heading to the library the following morning. If what the guys said was true, she didn't have much time to waste.

)))(((

"This is a waste of time!" Jareth muttered to himself as he stared into the glass globe balanced precariously on his fingertips. "She's not going to find anything there that will persuade her to make a decision to come to the Labyrinth and there is nothing I can do about it from here!" He stood, crushing the crystal in his gloved palm. It popped like a bubble despite its solid exterior moments earlier and a shower of glittering dust floated to the ground.

The Goblin King continued grumbling under his breath about Sarah and her stupid wishes as he walked the length of his throne room, tapping the riding crop against his thigh. Sarah had taken his goblins to all of the libraries within driving distance in the last week with nothing to show for it. There was only four days left until he could enter the Aboveground again freely. Time was running short.

Merely being near her had boosted his magic to new levels; he could only imagine what it'd be like when she actually returned permanently. "She should never have been able to leave in the first place!" he growled. In frustration he kicked the nearest goblin, sending him soaring across the room to land atop one of the empty grog barrels. The little furball laughed as he experienced a semblance of flying—that one's dreams were easy to fulfill.

It had been foretold centuries earlier that the first Aboveground female to call upon Jareth in his true form would bring him power greater than anyone in the Underground had ever known. He'd kept this prophecy secret, often wondering if it would ever be fulfilled. The promise of unreserved power beckoned to him and he had to claim it as his own.

When Jareth first heard Sarah use his name in the little play of hers as a child, he suspected she might be the one. He had followed her in his owl form, waiting for the day she would need him enough to actually wish for him to appear. He had expected her to turn aside her dreams to face the Labyrinth for Tobias—after all, how could a goblin give him power? He had even anticipated her beating the Labyrinth—she was undeniably strong-willed.

But she shouldn't have been able to leave!

That peach should have sealed her fate in the goblin kingdom. Tasting the magic that encompassed every aspect of the Labyrinth began the process of unlocking the conductor within—he'd felt his enhanced magic even as they danced in her dream—and the extra enchantments he'd placed on the fruit should have made her desire to stay. She should have remained in that dream world, but she was stronger than he'd imagined. She escaped the pull and fled back to her Aboveground home.

For the first year or so after Sarah left, Jareth was able to glimpse the power she would eventually be able to give him through her contact with his subjects. However, when she cut off that brief connection, his magic became stagnant—he was still more powerful than most beings in the Underground, but not complete. He could feel his magic pulsing off her, trying to reach her and slamming against the wall between their worlds. That taste he'd had when dancing with her at the concert had been like a fresh breeze in a stale room. And when he'd been alone with her…

He needed her with him.

And she needed him.

Once she had fully matured into womanhood, with no magic to ripple the waters, the flow within her had gone dormant. Though it was in hibernation, it needed a release and so it fed upon her emotions and waited. Now that it was fully awake, it required regular feeding. Within her she carried a conduit that channeled the greater ocean of magic contained in his realm, but without access to the source, her small river was drying up, sapping every drop it could from her in the process. The "withdrawal" she felt was killing her. Oh, clever woman that she was, she came up with a way to stave off the drain, but that was only a temporary fix. Her inner being would not be satisfied with the measly amount of magic his minions could provide her for long. She needed to return, to be whole once more.

Her stubbornness was destroying her. With her went his source of power and he would not let that happen. Pacing the floor, the Goblin King formulated a plan. He could tell that Sarah was attracted to him; drawn by his power. He would use that. He would seduce her; make her believe that he loved her. He only needed to get her to ask to return—then she'd be his forever.

"Your Highness! They're at the entrance to the Labyrinth! It's begun!" The yell broke out through the cacophony of Jareth's throne room, the last phrase spoken as an echo through the squat goblin's helmet as his face shield fell with his agitation.

The Goblin King kept his face impassive as he nodded curtly to the messenger. His kingdom stood between the only portal to the world above and the Underground. It was Jareth's job to keep that portal sealed against undue pressure on both sides and it was for this purpose that the Labyrinth had been created. A not-so-secret rebellion had been building over the last century made up of those who felt the portal should be opened for all to go through. It appeared the rebels were done planning and were finally on the move.

A crystal appeared in Jareth's hand without conscious thought and he looked in on the entrance of his Labyrinth. It was different than the one that Sarah had used, as it should be. The rebels had begun his Labyrinth on the opposite side where members of the Underground began their quest to enter into Above. This side was fraught with challenges for those who possessed magic and the Labyrinth would not admit any who were found unworthy. Sarah made it through the mortal side with relative ease because, although she had challenged the Goblin King, there was no maliciousness in her actions. She may refuse to admit it, but she thrilled at the adventure she had been given and the Labyrinth responded kindly to her.

The rebels would not be so lucky.

A wicked smile crept on to his lips as he watched the battle taking place with the sirens. The myths of Above would place these women (if one could call them that) as beautiful musicians of the sea. In actuality, although attractive to the eye, they were hardly women, and the ear-piercing screech they made could not be called music by any standard. Only those with very powerful magic could create a spell to block out the noise. Those not powerful enough must try to navigate around them with their hands over their ears in a feeble attempt to deaden the sound, though even with that as a help, the men would be left with a migraine for days following their meeting with the gate's guardians—if they managed to survive. Without the support of their handmade earmuffs, even the most powerful wizards fell prey. And the landscape made sure that they were deprived of their hands at every opportunity. Jareth watched as roots rolled out from beneath the surface and wrapped around the ankle of one of the more dimwitted soldiers. Instinctually the man held out his hand to brace himself for the fall and was dead before he hit the ground, blood trickling from his ears to pool beneath his chin. One of his companions practically sprinted over him in his cowardly effort to put as much distance between himself and the sirens as possible. That one would probably get away, but even as Jareth watched, dozens of rebel soldiers fell to the first of the many traps inlaid in that section of his Labyrinth.

No one individual could stand up to Jareth's power, but united…

Time was of the essence. The war had begun. He could only hope that the Labyrinth rid him of a good chunk of their army before they made it near the Goblin City. And that Sarah stopped her foolishness and came back where she belonged before his whole kingdom was destroyed.

He needed her.

.

.

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A/N – Several of you asked for more Jareth—well, your wish is my command. I happen to enjoy writing him and he will play a starring role from here on out. So…what do you think of my take on the goblins? Also, I know the whole "Sarah being prophesied" thing has been done before, but this time, Sarah was not prophesied to be the love of Jareth's life so I hope it is unique enough for you. I try not to rewrite what others have done since they usually did a better job anyway!

This chapter carried a lot of information in it. Let me know if you have questions and if enough of you are confused, I'll take a stab at rewriting this…although Jareth will have to explain things to Sarah a little more fully on down the road. It makes sense to me, but I know the whole story! :-D

As always, thank you so much for taking the time to review! You make me smile and your reviews give me encouragement to keep writing. And, hey, if you want to give me another challenge, I'm up for it! I've enjoyed the challenges so far! :-D

Happy reading!