A/N: Here we go again...

As the Cleaners continued to approach, Sarah jumped up from the ground and rapidly backed away. She desperately scanned the spinning blades for even the tiniest glimpse of ivory, but only shale grey metal met her gaze.

Please. She begged in her head. Please, let him be okay. Let him be okay!

Suddenly, the terrible machine jerked twice, like it hit an invisible speed bump and Sarah watched in astonishment as the drill face dropped forward. She covered her ears at the sound of metal screeching to a halt against stone.

"What happened?!" An angry goblin voice barked.

"I dunno!" A second one griped. "Everythin' was fine until the steerin' went bad. The pedals just stopped workin'!"

"Look!" A third goblin shouted. "The belt's been cut! And there's a screw missing here!"

Jareth! So that's what he was doing!

The sound of a punch echoed through the passage.

"I told ya to tighten it before we came out here!" A fourth voice scolded.

There was some shuffling and then Sarah saw two of the goblins peek their heads out over the top.

"Hey, fellas!" The one on the left called, immediately spotting the girl. "Look what we got here!"

The remaining two harmlessly clambered over the crushed blades and soon all four Cleaners were advancing on her.

There was still no sign of Jareth.

"Yer comin' with us, girlie." The largest goblin ordered, pulling a dagger from his shirt.

Sarah balled her hands into fists and grit her teeth. No way was she going down without a fight.

Before anyone could make the first move, a brilliant flare of light shone from the other side of the broken contraption. It leapt through the air, landing at Sarah's feet.

"What is that?!" The goblins all seemed to demand at once.

The glow diminished, revealing an enormous white wolf.

Sarah instantly relaxed and crossed her arms proudly.

Jareth lowered his head and snarled at the goblins. Darting forward, he snatched the big goblin's knife between his teeth and hurled it to the floor. The goblins huddled together in terror of the vicious animal.

The wolf then began slowly pacing to the right, herding the frightened goblins around Sarah.

Once there was nowhere for them to run but to the False Alarms and the Oubliette, Jareth lunged at the group sending them fleeing and screaming.

Satisfied, he trotted back to the girl with his tongue wagging.

"You goofball." Sarah giggled, scratching the Goblin King's ears playfully, before she carefully followed him as he climbed the now useless Cleaner cart and went on through the Tunnel.

A long while later, the brick channel walls smoothed out into pale, blocks of solid cement.

After a few hundred yards, Sarah saw something moving ahead. Jogging to investigate, she and Jareth stopped abruptly when she saw what they'd come to.

It appeared to be a mirror, but their images were facing the opposite direction.

She waved her hands and even checked over her shoulder. The Sarah in the mirror copied her every motion.

Jareth nudged her thigh with his nose.

Biting her lip, Sarah gripped the wolf's scruff and stepped through the mirror with him. It was like walking through a draft of cold air and it was gone the second it came, for they were standing in a dark alcove. Glancing back again, she saw that the same backwards image was behind her now.

"Wow." She marveled. "I guess the way forward really is, sometimes, the way back."

Facing forwards again, the pair ventured through the shadowy archway into the large, open area beyond.

It was a massive, circular room with a stone walkway leading to a thick pedestal…and something shiny was sitting on its center!

"This is it!" Sarah exclaimed excitedly, sprinting forward, Jareth racing beside her.

They were about half way over, when a high-pitched titter stopped them in their tracks. Whirling around, Sarah paled when she saw Mya hovering above the archway, twirling a lock of hair on her finger.

Jareth growled dangerously.

"Jareth, no." Sarah nervously urged, stroking his back in a silent plea for him to stay near her.

"Oh, darn!" The Fairy Queen mock-pouted. "You beat me here; and with time to spare, too! Well, a deal's a deal."

"Go ahead and make your wish." She offered a little too nicely.

Sarah felt a chill zip up her spine at her tone, but she hurried to the middle of the space anyway.

Nestled on the crown of the pedestal, was the Labyrinth's Treasure.

It was a basket-ball sized crystal and every color of the rainbow was swirling beneath its clear surface like stirred paint. A cloud of glitter surrounded the gem. It was the most beautiful thing Sarah had ever seen…except for one thing…

It was broken.

A jagged crack had sliced the treasure in half and a thick, vermillion-red substance was bleeding through the seam.

Refusing to be deterred when they were so close, she took a deep breath.

"I wish the Goblin King had his magic back so he could restore the Labyrinth."

Nothing happened.

Swallowing the dry lump in her throat, she tried again.

"I wish the Labyrinth was fixed.

Silence

"I wish the spell on Jareth was broken!"

…

"I wish Mya and her fairies were back in the Inner Lake!"

…

"I wish everything was back to normal!"

…

"I wish-"

"Anything wrong, dear?" Mya questioned haughtily.

"You!" Sarah raged, facing the queen. "Why isn't it working?!"

Mya clutched her heart in exaggerated innocence. "I assure you, I haven't the faintest idea."

"You're lying!" The girl snapped. "You did this! It's not fair! You cheated!"

The fairy threw her head back and laughed so hard the room quaked and a few thorn braches sprouted from the floor and curled over the walls. Then she grew eerily calm.

"You still haven't figured it out yet, have you?"

"Figured what out?"

"Silly human," Mya sneered, "I didn't break the treasure and I didn't break the Labyrinth, either. You did."

Sarah froze.

"Wh-what? No I didn't!"

"Oh, yes you did! When you uttered those six wonderful words!

You have no power over me.

Sarah's heart pounded loudly.

"See, you didn't just beat Jareth." The Fairy Queen gleefully explained. "You rejected him. Rejected him, his kingdom and his heart."

Look what I'm offering you. Your dreams.

Sarah stared at Jareth.

His ears and tail drooped.

She shook her head.

No. No, it can't be true!

"And what happens to a heart when it's rejected?" Mya asked cruelly, tapping the treasure. "It breaks!"

Sarah swayed on her feet, she felt sick.

"That's why the Labyrinth broke." Mya cackled. "Because you broke the heart of its king! Don't you see? Jareth's heart is the Labyrinth's Treasure! Jareth is the Labyrinth! The most powerful being in the Underground and he fell in love with you!"

The girl gaped at Mya's words.

"How-how could he possibly be in love with me?"

"Oh, I think you know exactly how," Mya smirked, "if you think about it."

But what no one knew, was that the king of the goblins had fallen in love with the girl.

Sarah gasped in horror.

"Too bad you forgot all about it during your initial quest." My shrugged indifferently. "You were just so swept up in your little heroine fantasy, you confused your handsome prince with the proverbial dragon! You tossed poor Jareth and his feelings for you aside like old shoe."

"Obviously," the fairy gestured to the thorns and the treasure, "he didn't take it very well. So you see, you're the reason the Labyrinth is dying, it's your fault all of your friends are gone. You, you, you!"

Sarah fell to her knees as tears blurred her vision.

"Oh, don't be sad!" The Fairy Queen arrogantly cooed. "I'm actually doing this place a favor. Such a magically gifted realm should have a strong monarch that won't be so easily tempted by the wiles of a selfish, stupid and immature little girl. Well, since your wish didn't work, I guess there's no point in prolonging the inevitable. You lose."

She clapped her hands and Jareth let out such a painful howl, Sarah violently flinched.

"He only had seconds left," Mya grinned, "so make your goodbyes brief; and thanks for everything, Sarah darling!"

Sarah frantically crawled to Jareth as he collapsed with a whine.

"Jareth!" She wailed as tears streamed down her face. "No! Please, no!"

She ran her hands all over his prone body. His breathing was becoming less and less frequent.

She finally pressed herself against him and wept helplessly.

"Jareth…" she choked out between sobs "I'm…I'm so, so sorry. I didn't…I didn't mean to hurt you. I didn't know!"

With all the strength it could muster, the wolf lifted his head and licked her cheek. His head then dropped to the ground with a weak thud.

"Jareth," the girl cried in a broken whisper as she watched the life gradually fade from the Goblin King's eyes, "I love you."

She buried her face in his fur.

She was barely aware of a loud crash and a piercing shriek stabbing the silence around her. She felt heavy all over, yet strangely at peace.

With a whimpering sigh, she let the warm blackness envelop her.

A/N: Stay tuned for the conclusion!