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

Chapter 6

"Feeling a little down are we, love?" Jareth's voice came from the cavern.

"What did you do to him?" Sarah asked without turning.

She could hear the steps he takes behind her as he moves around. Her eyes remain on the suit of armour in her hands.

"I didn't do anything to poor Higgle," he drawled. "You passed your first challenge. That is your first key."

The armour in her hands felt heavier than ever.

"Is Hoggle okay?"

"He will be fine if you are able to finish the challenges. If not then he will just go back to the way he was before. No harm done either way," he shrugged.

She stood then and faced him. He was standing at the far end of the room watching her quietly. Being in such a tight space he still was't far from her.

She held out the suit of armour to him.

"Am I supposed to give this to you?" She asked.

He shook his head. "It's your key. You must put it in the key hole."

"And where is-"

Before she could finish he held his hands out where a large wooden box appeared. For the first time he came towards Sarah in the small space. She let him come to her.

When he was standing in front of her, so close they were almost touching, he held the box out for her to open.

Sarah opened it slowly. She didn't trust Jareth.

After a moment, sensing that there was nothing wrong, she peaked inside. What she saw was just a stand with metal arms waiting for the key.

"Just place it inside," he instructed her.

"What will happen then?" She hesitated.

"Sarah," he teased her, "I can't tell you that. You have to figure it out for yourself."

She thought about it for a moment. Honestly, she figured she had nothing to lose. He wasn't going to hurt her. He had nothing to gain by dong so.

Slowly she placed the armour in its spot. It took her a moment to let go. It felt like she was abandoning Hoggle to Jareth again. Eventually, though, she was able to will herself to let go.

Once she withdrew her hand Jareth slammed the chest shut. A cloud of dust filled her vision.

She coughed and waved her hand to clear the air. When she opened her eyes again she was standing in her classroom at the front at her Professors desk. He sat where Jareth had sat in her dream, staring up at her.

"Can I help you with something?" he asked glancing up from his marking.

Sarah looked around to clear her head. She saw that the students in her class were all engrossed in their books. No one had noticed what had gone on in her head in the last few moments. She didn't know what was real anymore.

"Um, no sir," she said before retreating to her seat.

She didn't have paper to write whatever assignment the others were working on. She thought about asking one of her seat mates if she could borrow a piece but changed her mind. The assignment wouldn't be marked otherwise they would have had more time to work on it. Besides, she had no way of knowing what was reality and what was dream. Jareth had her backed against a wall.

Class ended and everyone besides Sarah handed in her paper. She headed straight for her room. When she walked inside Erin was gone. Her green dress form the night before was thrown carelessly into a basket at the end of the bed.

Sarah threw herself into bed in front of her computer. It was still dead. That meant she was probably still in the dream world. She leaned her head against the bed post. She had only passed one challenge and it made her feel like crap. How bad would the rest of the challenges be?

Just as she was closing her eyes, resigned to wait until the next challenge came to her, she heard a scratching noise coming from the room. She shot up, convinced Jareth had come to mess with her. But in the small room she should have been able to spot him if he had been.

Slowly she got out of bed to look around. But as far as she could tell there was nowhere in the small room where someone or something could hide.

Just as she was about to give up and return to her bed she heard the sound again. This time the sound came from across the room. She looked up but only saw her own reflection in the mirror. Slowly she walked towards it, knowing Jareth's games.

"Alright, Jareth, stop playing around. You could have just walked in, it isn't like I could run away anywhere," she yelled at the mirror.

But instead of Jareth's face inside she saw that it was a furry little fox riding a sheep dog.

"Didymus!" She cried.

"My lady," he bowed. "It is lovely to see that you are well."

"What are you doing in there? You're my second challenge?" She asked.

He nodded respectfully. "But the game is going to be different from now on, my lady. Hoggle's rules were nearly a test to see if you were able to handle what the game was asking. But you were doing very well my lady, better than anyone could handle in such a situation!"

"Thank you, noble sir," she bowed for him.

He grinned from ear to ear. But while seeing him made Sarah feel better his words began to worry her. If the game had changed then it would certainly be for the worse. She didn't know how much she would have to hurt her friends before she could finally be free from the monster.

"So what do I have to do, Didymus?" She asked hesitantly.

He looked somber. "The King believes that you are not ready to hear the hard truth of what is real. His words were quite harsh. To finish the challenge you must simple tell the harsh truth."

"That's childish!" She cried, "He wants to hurt me in such an awful way because I beat him?"

"It would seem so," he hung his head.

She threw her hands in the air. "Then maybe I don't want to play his stupid game!"

"Don't say that, my lady," Didymus rushed, "If you refuse to play the game then you will lose! If you lose then you will certainly be unhappy by the King's side."

Quickly she covered her mouth with her hands. She had almost forgotten that she had agreed to those conditions. If she didn't play and didn't win then she would be stuck with Jareth until he grew tired of her. As much as she would have liked to think it wouldn't take long he had followed her two years after they had first met.

"Okay," she said slowly, "This doesn't feel much like a game. All I have to do is talk to my friends. Where is the challenge?"

Didymus shook his head. "I do not know, my Lady. Perhaps it is not a game in the end. Perhaps there is another angle. The only way to know for certain is to play by the rules and get to the end."

"You're right, of course," Sarah sighed.

All the while they talked Sarah was aware that Didymus hadn't moved anything but his head. He had been completely still watching her, as though frozen in place. She wondered how he had gotten into her mirror.

"Okay, so all I have to do is tell you the truth? That shouldn't be too hard."

She thought for a moment, finding the right words in her head. When she had her thoughts in order she spoke.

"When I first met you I thought you were a bit of a jerk. You were standing in my way when I was in a hurry and wouldn't listen to reason…"

Didymus moved then, stepping out of the mirror onto the floor in front of her. He looked shocked.

"I'm sorry!" She said, thinking she had insulted him.

"No, my Lady! There is something wrong with me… I can't seem to move…" He told her, his voice unsteady.

"What? Are you okay?"

"I must be fine. But you must go on, quickly. I fear that this is not a good sign."

Sarah panicked, scrambling for words. "Okay, um, you started fighting Ludo, in the swamp, and I thought about hurting you to make you stop-"

Out of nowhere Didymus drew his sword. Without warning he lunged forward towards her. Luckily she managed to throw herself out of the way before he could do any damage. But he was quick. Before she had a chance to regain her composure he bounced off of Erin's bed and lunged for her again.

"What are you doing?!" She screamed.

"I do not know, My lady! I cannot control myself!" He cried.

She dodged him, holding her pillow in front of her as a shield. She could see in his eyes, filled with fear, that he was telling the truth. Something, or someone, was controlling him to attack her.

"What can I do?" She asked.

"Try and finished what you were saying," he lunged at her legs throwing her off balance, "Maybe it will stop me."

"I thought," she hit him with the pillow and tried to pin his small body to the ground, "that you were working with Jareth. When I got on that bridge it collapsed beneath me. But you tried to save me, even though you didn't know me."

She got on top of the pillow with Didymus underneath, struggling to keep her balance while pinning him without hurting him too much.

"So many times I wondered how you were helping our team. You were wild and didn't listen or understand when I needed you to do something that may have put me in danger."

He thrashed around under her, his teeth snapping at her hands where they held him down.

"But in the end, when we got to the castle, I realized that all you were trying to do was help. In the Labyrinth, where you lived, helping meant something different and you were trying your best for my sake. You helped me even though you had nothing to gain from it. You're my friend and I don't want to fight you!"

Suddenly he stilled. Sarah breathed heavily from the fight, on guard in case he was just trying to throw her off. But when there is no movement for a few moments she slowly moves off of the pillow.

She removed the pillow slowly. Under it she found that Didymus has disappeared, just like Hoggle had when she had faced his challenge. And just like with Hoggle there stood a small statue in his place.

A sword, just like the one Didymus always held, laid on its side. She picked it up and cradled it in the palm of her hand.

"Thank you," she whispered to the item.

With the sword tight in her hand she stood and turned towards the door. She strode quickly towards whatever lay beyond, ready to face Jareth again.