Note: All rights go to the real creators of the Labyrinth. I don't own any of this. Tis but a fan fiction.

Chapter 5

Sarah opened her eyes lying in bed once again. Very slowly she turned her head to the side to see that things were just as they were when she had gone to class before. Erin was still asleep in her bed. Her computer was sitting open at her feet, the screen blank, not responding.

She knew better than to try to make it work. If Jareth had returned then he would have taken her friends away from her easily. If she could beat him then maybe she could get them back. She just had to win at a game where she didn't know what to do.

She got out of bed and headed for the bathroom to get ready again. Game or no game she still had to go to class.

Before she left she couldn't help but try one last time to get her computer to work. Nothing happened, just as she had suspected.

With a sigh she stepped out into the hall. She moved out backwards so that she could close the door quietly behind her. There was no point in waking Erin up.

As she turned around she was shocked, although she thought she shouldn't have been, to find that she was not standing in the dorm hallway. Instead she was standing in a dark hallway.

The space around her door was illuminated brightly to make it look like a hallway in her dorm. But instead of lightbulbs she found oddly bright candles attached to the wall like torches.

She figured it must have been part of the first challenge.

For a moment she stood stunned. She hadn't expected Jareth to start the game so soon. There should have been enough time for her to wrap her head around the idea and come up with a game plan. But that was probably Jareth's plan all along.

Hesitantly she tried the door. Locked. Knocking didn't help. Even if Erin were to wake up it was unlikely she would be able to hear Sarah from where she was.

Reluctantly she peeled away from the safety of the doorway to make her choice. Left or right. The way she saw it there was no difference between the two. In the past both paths led to the same conclusion if you knew how to take them.

Sarah hoped she still remembered.

She took the torch from the wall to guide her through the darkness. Trying to put on a brave face she went off alone to the right, just as she had done on her first visit to the Labyrinth.

It didn't take long for her to come to her first turn. She took it gladly, remembering how little chances she got before to turn on her first try. When the floor began to slant downwards she put a hand on the wall to steady herself.

As she continued down the hall she noticed that the walls began changing. Slowly rough edges began to replace the smooth surface until the walls became cold and damp.

A quick check with her torch confirmed that she was entering a cave. Up ahead of her she noticed that there was a light that she hadn't noticed before due to her own torch.

She rushed towards it, hopeful to be out of the darkness. But when she got to the room where the light was coming from she saw, with horror, that she was standing inside what appeared to be an oubliette.

Years ago she had stood in one almost exactly the same. The candle Hoggle had lit was still sitting on the table in the centre of the room. The skylight where she had fell through was there, closed as well. She wondered if she opened it if she would see the helping hands again. The only thing missing was Hoggle.

Sarah looked around for a moment, wondering if she had gone the wrong way. Behind her there is a scratching noise.

"Who's there?" She called before she could stop herself.

"Me…" A horse laugh echoed around her.

She turned around to see Hoggle standing in the light of the candle. A smile grew on her face.

"Hoggle, you're here!" She rushed forward to pull the dwarf into a hug.

"Yeah I am," he huffs.

"How did you get here? Jareth said that you guys wouldn't be able to help me!"

At that Hoggle took a step back, looking away. Sarah knew that look. It was the coward in him coming out. She hadn't seen it in two years. Not since she was in the Labyrinth last.

"What's wrong Hoggle?"

"Well," he took a few steps away form her, "I'm not here to help you. I'm kinda… the challenge."

Sarah blinked. "What?"

Hoggle turned ten shades of red. "Jareth told us all that we only have to get you to admit all of your feelings for us if you wanted to pass the test."

"What is that even supposed to mean?" She demanded.

Hoggle took a seat on the floor to try to explain it to her.

"You see… He seems to think that you've been havin' some trouble with you emotions since you came to the game-"

"Even if that were true it would be his fault!"

"I know," he told her, "but thems the rules. To pass the challenge you have to figure out what emotion I represents for you."

"Emotion?"

"Yep. Says you must figure out what we really mean to you."

Sarah scoffed. "You mean the emotions he thinks you mean to me."

He shrugged. "Like I said, I don't make the rules."

Sarah paced. The game didn't sound so hard but she still found herself feeling uncertain. What was he playing at?

She stopped.

"Okay, fine, I'm here so I guess I have no choice but to try to finish this. So let's see… What emotions do I feel for you?"

He straightened up to give her a better look at him. She giggled at the effort.

"When I look at you Hoggle I feel…" she paused for a moment. "I feel brave and courageous."

Around her two lights sprung to life. She gazed at the blue flames that floated around her and Hoggle, a circle of fire keeping them together.

"Keep going. I think it's working!" Hoggle urged her.

"Okay," she had to think, "um, I feel happy? And a little bit of pity. Betrayal…"

Another couple of lights go on and Hoggle's face falls. Around them flames danced in a circle leaving only one place left.

"What am I missing?" She asked.

Hoggle's eyes were focused on the floor. "Don't know nothin'."

"How can I be missing something? That's everything I think I have ever felt for you! You're my friend. Of course I would feel good emotions for you."

But still there was one light left unlit. She thought hard. Maybe once she had been curious about him, when they had first met. But even then she knew he would be a part of the game. She felt very rushed for time and no words could come to her that she could think of.

"I don't know what to do Hoggle…" She said, tears in her eyes.

He perked up a little, putting on a brave face for her. "You can do it, Sarah, you always do. Don't worry about my feelings. We're friends, just like you said. You have to win this game!"

She thought harder.

"Maybe I felt a little angry when you betrayed me. I was angry a lot of the time. But I was mostly angry with Jareth at the time! It wasn't just you!"

The final flame burst to life. Hoggle smiled but in his eyes Sarah could see sadness. The flames, suddenly moving, began closing in on Hoggle. Before Sarah could react Hoggle disappeared in a white glow.

Sarah gasped. She rushed forward to try to help him but it was too late. Where he had once stood was nothing more than a small figurine of a suit of armour.

She picked it up and weighed it in her hands. It was about the size of her hand with a flat bottom as though it was meant to sit on a shelf. Judging by the weight of it she suspected it was made of something more expensive than plastic.

She held it tightly in her hand. Hoggle was her armour. And she wasn't going to let his hard work go to waste.