A/N: Hoggle to the rescue!

"Sarah?" A tentative voice spoke from behind her.

Whirling around, she saw Hoggle standing beside the bed.

A brown, wool scarf was wrapped around his neck.

"Hoggle!" She cried out with joy before diving to her knees to hug him tight.

"Oh, Sarah! I'm so glad yer alright!" He said happily, squeezing her in return.

"Did that rat leave you here?" He demanded when she pulled away.

"Yes," she quirked and eyebrow at the dwarf, "but I thought that's what you wanted."

Hoggle lowered his gaze.

"I'm sorry, Sarah." He grunted in a contrite voice. "I didn't mean what I said before. I was glad you were livin' in the Labyrinth, really I was. I just…I don't know…I just don't like him."

"He saved your life, Hoggle." Sarah patiently reminded him. "And, this is just a guess, but I'll bet he saved Ludo's too, didn't he?"

Hoggle stared at her in momentary surprise, before pouting slightly.

"Since when are you so insightful? Alright, yes, he did save Ludo. The big lug was an attraction at a travelin' Pixie circus. The little buggers abused him constantly, so Jareth bought his freedom." The dwarf sighed heavily. "Ok, it's not that I don't like him, it's…well…it's that I don't like the idea of him with you."

The woman was stunned.

"I…yer much more than just a friend to me, Sarah." Hoggle scratched his right ear, awkwardly. "You might think it's foolish, but…in a lot o' ways, I think of you as my daughter, too. I don't think anyone is good enough for you."

Grasping his large hand in hers, Sarah beamed at her Underground friend with tenderness.

"I don't think that's foolish. Thank you, Hoggle. That means so much to me."

Pink dusted the dwarf's gnarled cheeks.

"Er, right." He mumbled bashfully, before changing the subject. "I still can't believe he brought you back here, though. Especially after you two got engaged."

"How is h-he?" She asked in a quietly.

Hoggle shrugged.

"Not exactly sure. Gookie says he won't come out of the library, but it's been rainin' pretty heavy since he came back without you. That's not a good sign."

"So he suffering." She stated to herself, but loud enough for Hoggle to hear.

"Most likely." The dwarf agreed. "He must've decided he was bein' selfish and took you back to yer family so you could have a normal life."

The dwarf crossed his arms stubbornly.

"I still don't like it, but…I suppose he really does love you."

"Yeah…I'm gonna kick his ass."

Hoggle spluttered at her response and expression.

She seemed serene, but her eyes were sharp as flint.

"Wh-what?!" He exclaimed.

"Shh! Keep your voice down." She hissed with an amused grin. "I'm going back, Hoggle."

"You-you are?" He gaped at her. "Why?"

"Because it's where I belong."

There wasn't a shred of doubt in her tone.

"B-but, but what about yer family?"

"They were fine and they'll always be fine, trust me. Hoggle, I have to do this."

Her eyes were suddenly imploring.

"I should've been honest with myself and done it years ago. Without him…nothing makes sense. He fascinates me. He confuses me. He pisses me off until I can't think straight and he makes me so happy, I can hardly stand it. Hoggle, please try to understand."

The dwarf thoughtfully stroked the edge of his scarf.

"I think I already do. How are you gonna get back?"

Sarah rose to her full height.

"That's where you come in."

He paled.

"Me? No, no, no, Sarah! I can't take you!"

"But, you just said-"

"No, Sarah! I mean I literally can't." He hastily explained. "I don't have that kinda magic. Only the fey are powerful enough to bring livin' creatures to the Underground."

"Oh…seriously?"

Sarah plopped down on the chest at the foot of the bed.

"Well, great." She muttered, sarcastically. "That was my only plan. I can't wish myself to the Labyrinth; the island will turn me into a goblin. What am I gonna do, Hoggle? Isn't there any other way?"

The Labyrinth's gardener rubbed the back of his neck, doubtfully.

"I ain't no expert, but…uh…you don't know if you have any magical items lyin' around do you?"

"How about a tehta?"

"A TEHTA?!"

Sarah slapped a hand over the dwarf's mouth.

"Not so loud!"

Uttering a quick, albeit muffled apology, Hoggle stepped away from her grasp only to look at her incredulously.

"How do you know about tehtas?"

"Jareth made one for me. It was a play-script called The Labyrinth. He said it helped me win."

Hoggle was silent for a long moment before an astoundingly soft look colored his features.

"I'll be damned. That's it!"

The glimmer of hope made Sarah perk up.

"What's it?"

"That's how we can get you back home!"

The other bounced on his heels with excitement.

"A tehta's physical proof that yer meant to be in Jareth's life, permanently. If there's a way back to the Labyrinth, that tehta will have the clue!"

Abruptly, he turned away and began rifling through the books on her shelf.

"Quick, where is it?!" He spun around and made to crawl under the bed. "We've got to find it!"

Sarah felt her heart sink.

"I don't know where it is, Hoggle." She said, tugging on his ankle. "It was right here on my vanity when I left, but it's disappeared. I've already looked everywhere for it."

The dwarf scrambled to his feet.

"Now, now let's not panic." He soothed, patting her arm. "Um…you said it was a script, right? Can you remember any of the words?"

She nodded.

"Yeah, I've had the book for years. I've practically got it memorized."

Hoggle clapped his hands eagerly.

"Good! That'd oughta do. Recite somethin' from it!"

"Uh, let's see…Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City to take back the child that you have stolen. For my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom is as great…uh, oh yeah…You have no power over me."

She flushed sheepishly.

"How's that?"

Hoggle furrowed his brows in concentration, for a minute, before he spoke again.

"No, that's no good. Isn't there anythin' in there about how you get to the Labyrinth?"

Sarah shook her head.

"All it says about getting there is that you have to say your right words. You have to wish yourself there."

"Not you." Her friend pointed out. "If Jareth made that tehta for you, that's means there's a special way back to the Underground for you and you alone. The clue has gotta be in there!"

"Hoggle, I'm telling you, that all it sa-"

"Come on, Sarah!" He pleaded, cutting her off. "Think, think! Start at the beginning. We'll find it, I promise!"

Swallowing the dry lump in her throat, Sarah recalled the familiar text:

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young girl whose stepmother always made her stay home with the baby. And the baby was a spoiled child and he wanted everything for himself and the young girl was practically a slave. But what no one knew, was that the king of the goblins had fallen in love with the girl and he had given her certain powers. So one night, when the baby had been particularly cruel to her, she called on the goblins for help-"

"Wait!" Hoggle interrupted. "Say that part again!"

"She called on the goblins for help?"

"No, the other thing! About the Goblin King!"

"Um…what no one knew was that the king of the goblins had fallen in love with the girl and he had given her-"

"Certain powers." The human and the dwarf quoted simultaneously.

Hoggle smiled wide and snapped his fingers.

"Ha! Ha! I knew we'd find it! There it is! That's the clue!"

Sarah blinked at him.

"What is?"

"Jareth loves you, so he made you a tehta. Don't you get it?"

He gave her a brief shake.

"He gave you certain powers? Powers that you'd need in order to get to and through the Labyrinth? You already have the power to go back to the Underground!"

A bubble of elation was threatening to burst inside of her, but she bit her lip nervously.

"Okay…but-but how do I do that?"

The dwarf's jaw hung open for a second.

"I…I don't know. But, don't worry! We've got the clue, we can figure this out."

He wrung his hands and paced the room, deep in thought.

"Hoggle…" Sarah whispered sadly after about fifteen minutes of silence.

"Hold on! Hold on! I'm thinking!" He insisted, not breaking his stride.

He then started murmuring to himself.

"Certain powers…a tehta…will is as strong…fallen in love…kingdom is as great…certain powers…love…will and kingdom…"

He stopped short in the span of a heartbeat.

"Sarah? When Jareth proposed to you, what did you say?"

She tilted her head in confusion.

"I said yes, Hoggle. You know that."

"I mean, what did you say specifically?" He elaborated. "What were yer exact words?"

"Oh, uh…I said that I would marry him. I-I said I'd be his wife and queen."

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" Hoggle cheered, jumping up and down in some sort of bizarre victory dance.

"Hoggle, please be quiet! You'll wake up the whole house!" She snapped lightly, grabbing her friend by the elbows to steady him.

He blushed and ceased all movement.

"Sorry, but I've figured it out! I know how you can return to the Labyrinth!"

Sarah's eyes widened.

"How, Hoggle? Tell me!" She begged almost desperately.

"Sarah, you can come and go as you please, because yer the queen!"

"I'm wh-what?" She gasped in shock. "But, I-I haven't married Jareth yet."

"Doesn't matter," Hoggle assured her, "when you actually said the words, it made them true! You said you'd be his queen. Therefore, in the eyes of the Underground, now you are the queen!"

Words are your honor and blood. Jareth and Gookie's voices echoed in her memory.

"So you can go back whenever you want." He continued. "To put it bluntly, cuz Jareth loves you and you were destined to be his mate, he created a tehta which gave you the advantage when you ran the Labyrinth. But the big certain power he gave you, was the ability to become his queen. If you accepted, you'd be able to access this magic at any time."

Nostalgic tears stung her eyes.

Look, Sarah. Look what I'm offering you. Your dreams.

"The Underground will always let you in cuz, legally, yer royalty now."

Sarah took a deep breath and squared her shoulders as a smirk that would give the Goblin King a run for his money appeared across her determined face.

"Hmm…Queen Sarah, Lady of the Labyrinth. I think I like the sound of that."

She then faced her vanity mirror once more. Her fists clenched at her sides.

I can do this. I'm meant to do this.

"Go on, Sarah." Hoggle encouraged with a gentle nudge. "I'm right behind you."

Slowly, and with as much faith as she could muster, Sarah raised her hand and reached for her reflection. The instant her fingertips touched the surface of the glass, the mirror rippled, but not like water, more like smoke.

Yet it somehow remained reflective and confined to the wooden frame.

As she sunk her arm in further, she could feel an open space and cool air on the other side. Casting a thrilled glance at Hoggle, she climbed up onto her vanity and ducked through the magic portal.

The alarm clock on her nightstand read 5:37 a.m.

…13 hours…

A/N: Finally! I've been dying to get this chapter out! Sorry everyone, school and work and all kinds of other junk has just been running me ragged. But, it'll all be over by the end of this week, so I'll have more time to finish this story. Please review! I've missed you guys!