I struggled with a name for this chapter - thanks Raised by Swans, you saved me (but then, don't you always?).

Thank you to nothingnothingtralala for always finding time in her busy life to be my Beta, for making me laugh and for offering me pancakes. I'm still not telling you how to summon unicorns though, that secret will be forever lost with the missing portion of my email.

Sarah ran until her calves were tight and aching.

After a while she wasn't sure if she was running from something, or towards something. There were so many things to escape, and so much relying on her that it felt like she simply ran to prevent being crushed by the weight of it all. Eventually, when her lungs were burning and she felt that she might pass out if she took another step forward, she leaned heavily against a wall and gasped for air. Her head spun; this could almost all be a dream, everything from stepping out of her car for a birthday dinner mere days ago. She liked the thought that maybe it was all imagined, perhaps she had not been a prisoner of her own luck, then a frightened child with a wish, and finally a besotted girl who was blind to her own folly. It wasn't a dream though, Sarah was sensible enough to see that; she might have once questioned the existence of the Labyrinth, but now as she trod its path again there was no denying either the history or reality. Three days to discover a name, to find her friend Hoggle and to free the children somehow. Her heart quailed at what suddenly seemed an impossible task. Had she been foolish in accepting the Goblin King's game… had she had a choice?

Sarah slid down the wall, exhausted, leaned her head heavily against the cold brick of the maze, and sighed. Was it her lungs that ached or her heart? Funny that science suggested the heart itself had little to do with love and more to do with pumping blood around the human body. Whenever she felt hurt or heart broken the ache sat deep within her chest, suggesting the organ was responsible for a great deal more than any rational reasoning could explain. She was hurt, deeply, so deeply she wondered if she might never recover from it. In her mind she saw her father turning from her as Carl grabbed her and pulled her towards his car. She saw the Goblin King blowing softly on her burned fingers, all the while twisting her wishes to steal children in secret. She saw herself helpless to stop any of it, or perhaps simply too unintelligent and untalented to change what had happened. She felt normal, dismally so. She had once thought her life lacked magic, but at least then she had had luck on her side; now she was surrounded by magic with only a pinch of luck left, and no plan to speak of for the task ahead. The task, however, remained, and she must set herself to it.

Taking a deep breath, Sarah stood and thought about what she needed to do, and then about what she could do, because they seemed to be two different things. She did not know where the children were, if all of them were in the Labyrinth, or even where to start looking if they were. She did know that Hoggle was here… somewhere, all of her friends were, and if she could find them they could help her with her task. The only thing to do was start looking for them.

Grimacing, she looked down at her feet, resting against the wall; she delicately lifted one foot from the ground to examine it. It had been a long time since she'd done much of anything with bare feet, especially running long distances over uneven paths and stunted plant life. The thought made her look around herself for the first time, her foot forgotten, and finally take notice of where she was in the Labyrinth. All she could really tell was that it was somewhere unfamiliar; somewhere she could not remember seeing during her first visit. It was like a huge outdoor corridor; split pavement beneath her, cracked and crumbling. Wild plant life pushing its way through to find the sun, and when failing to do so withering away, or becoming a small mean shadow of the plant it was intended to be. On either side of her were remarkably smooth brick walls, an odd contrast to the upheaval of the path at her feet. Above, the roof was a crisscrossing metal frame. Some portions of the frame still held smudged, broken shards of glass, all of which were choked by thick strands of ivy; most of these seemed to be in various stages of decay. Tiny slivers of sunlight fought their way through cracks in the dead foliage above, reflecting off broken shards of glass and lighting up the passage just enough to make it gloomy, but not altogether unpleasant. Sarah had the odd impression that the plant life was attempting to invade the space, as if the brick and framework were the final frontier of a war between magic made structure, and vegetation.

No, she did not know this place nor particularly want to know it… what she wanted was something familiar: the garden, the maze, or even the bog itself would be a friendly sight right now. Putting her sore foot back down next to its equally aching partner, Sarah raised her head a little and began to move forward; not hopefully, but with purpose at least. Carl had once asked her how her luck ability worked; suddenly she dearly wished she knew the answer herself. She had always taken the luck for granted in a way; it was always there, always active; but now that there was so little of it left how was she to activate it?

Up ahead she could see the end of the corridor, and pushed herself towards it anxiously; if she could find an open area she might be able to get her bearings. As she went, she tried to focus on thoughts of Hoggle, half of her hoping that the name he had once told her would pop into her head, the other half trying to conjure him with her mind, hoping her luck would kick in and take care of the rest. She had gained a reasonable amount of speed by the time she burst from the corridor and into a muted grey courtyard, open sky beating down on more broken pavement and pitiful growth. Dark, sick-looking trees lined the circular yard, and in its centre stood a cracked stone fountain which sang a song of water. Thirsty, Sarah approached, and then stopped herself before reaching it with a curse. Even if the water inside were clean, and even if drinking it didn't doom her to eternity in the Labyrinth – and those alone were pretty big 'ifs' – there was no way she could risk possible drugging, dreaming or hallucination; because the risk wasn't hers alone anymore, there were children relying on her, whether they knew it or not.

Of course, there was no way she could go three days in the Labyrinth without water… if it would take a full three days to complete her task, and Sarah rather expected it would. As she considered this, she realised that she was now standing right in front of the fountain, so close her knees were pressed against the curb of the base, and that she could see how clear and inviting the water looked. She didn't know if she'd gone to the fountain, or if the fountain had come to her, and she wasn't much sure she wanted to know, either. It was possible one of her friends could supply water and maybe even food, there was no need to risk anything now, but she worried about finding another supply of clean water in her travels if this were not the case.

As she pondered, the water before her stilled, and she saw, not for the first time today, her own reflection looking back at her. Gone was the mysterious and beautiful woman who had left the day spa; remaining was a wild woman, her dress dirty and torn. Her make up caked and patchy, mascara-blackened eyes and tear tracks down her face, her lipstick smudged across one cheek. Her hair was an uneven mess, savagely knotted, tangles hanging in her face and some glued there with sweat and tears. She felt a mad little giggle tickle her insides; this was what the Goblin King wanted? He was welcome to it, he must be crazy. Reaching into the water with both hands, she began the task of cleaning the mess on her face away. It was an oddly cathartic process, washing her face, so ordinary and comforting. There wasn't much to be done about the dress, but once her face felt clean Sarah leaned back, wiping her eyes, and began running her fingers through her hair to try and regain some sort of control. As the ripples in the water cleared again, Sarah saw past her reflection now, and to the bottom of the fountain. 'Drink me', was chiselled into the base of the stone and was magnified by the water around it.

Sarah snorted aloud. "Not likely," she drawled, "what am I, Alice? Thanks, but no." Setting her hands to her hair again, she almost yanked a handful of it from her head as a loud metallic ringing sounded right from under her. Glancing down carefully, she saw a tarnished coin rolling lazy circles by her feet, until it came to rest up against the toes of her left foot. Anxiously, she looked back to the fountain expectantly. 'Make a wish?' it now read; and Sarah wondered if it was her imagination that the cursive scrawl seemed both cheeky and hopeful.

"Absolutely not," she growled, leaning over the fountain angrily. "I'm not even sure anything came of my last wi-"

"Are you talking to a fountain, Sarah?" interrupted the voice of the Goblin King from behind her, making her jump. "Gone for only fifteen minutes in the Labyrinth, and yet I'm hardly surprised to find you making friends with masonry, your social skills are to be reckoned with."

Sarah pushed her lips together and took a deep breath. "What do you want?"

He smiled. "Yes, I almost forgot with the excitement of our game after all, but there is still the outstanding debt from your last wish."

Sarah gave him a dry look. "As I was just telling my new friend," she drawled, "I haven't seen a shred of proof that you even granted my last wish."

The Goblin King cocked his head to one side and ran a gloved finger across his lips. "You always drive a hard bargain, Sarah," he complained, and reaching across, flicked his fingers across the surface of the water before her. Suddenly, it seemed as though the sun shone full on the water before her, and she had the odd, sickening sensation that her body was being pulled forward as the rest of her strained to catch up. As she shuddered and tried to force herself back from the water, a roaring filled her ears, her eyes were inexplicably drawn to the scene which was now playing out in its depths, and she was soon lost to anything but the images before her.

Bruno tilted his head up as if listening; for a moment he almost seemed to look out towards Sarah, but then he shouted something and a police man appeared by his side. The trickling sound of the fountain roared in Sarah's ears, and then dimmed suddenly, until all she could hear was street sounds in the background, and the two men talking.

"There was a girl as well, have they found her yet?" asked Bruno.

He was dressed as she had last seen him, a dark coloured, high-quality suit. He seemed different somehow, still tense, but not in the same way he had been. His brows knitted on his forehead as he leaned over the police officer before him, who was speaking into a police car radio.

"Sorry Bruno, I know you were looking out for her, but they haven't found her yet. I know you wanted to call us in earlier because she might be in danger, but the boss said we had to wait, so we waited," said the policeman.

"Dammit Jason, you haven't found her? How can that be? What the hell has he done with her?" yelled Bruno.

Jason shrugged. "You know these are the dangers when you go into deep cover, it's tough not to get attached to the company sometimes."

"She wasn't one of the crew," Bruno explained hotly, "she was a victim, a brave girl. The sort of person we do this job for, I do this job for."

Jason shook his head, putting the car radio down. "You can hardly ask Carl now," he said.

Bruno kneaded his scalp with both hands. "She could be anywhere; he might have done anything with her! I was worried because she was so clever, too clever for her own good. I have no idea how she had him convinced she had some sort of special power, but it was only a matter of time until it all fell down and she was found out." Bruno lowered the hand from his head and clenched it at his side. "What if he's killed her, what will I tell her parents?"

Jason looked at his colleague and continued to shake his head. "It's a tough job, we both know that. You have to take the wins we have; we've taken down his whole organisation today, all because he got sloppy after he got entangled with the girl and overreached himself. We saved a lot more kids like her today from a bleak future, but you can't save them all."

Bruno sighed and let his fist fall slack. "Check the other locations again, 'The Sloan', those drug front stores, we might still get lucky. When I arrested Russo he said she'd gone to dinner with the boss, but he may have lied, Carl was alone in the elevator when we found him. If only I could force it out of him," he sighed, "it's almost like the bastard got off too easy." Bruno's shoulders slumped slightly, and he bent to climb into the car beside his partner.

The scene dimmed and Sarah heard the rush of water in her ears again. The sound quieted into a dull hum, broken only by a rhythmic, computer beep.

She was in a hospital room now, lit only by the pale wash of a monitor. In the bed before her lay Carl, or what was left of him, tucked tightly beneath fresh linen sheets. If they had been pure white, as Sarah suspected they were by day, it would have seemed ironic; but night had dyed them the muted green of the heart monitor on the bedside, which only made him look sicklier. The angle of his spine was wrong, even braced as heavily as he was, with a frame around his neck to hold his head in place, his whole body curved in a way which seemed peculiar and unnatural. His legs were gone, Sarah didn't need to lift the blanket to see that much, and one of his arms was wrapped in a cast held straight out from his shoulder, like he was perpetually flagging down a bus. Worst of all he was awake, his eyes dull and cloudy in his swollen face, a sliver of drool hanging from his open, distended lips.

It was only because she turned away from him that she noticed they were not alone in the room, if she truly were in the room at all.

Propped against door of the small space stood the Goblin King, he was watching Carl through half-lidded, secretive eyes. Eventually, he pushed himself up and came over to stand before the bed, looking down at the helpless man like a hungry cat.

"We meet again," he said, smiling quietly; "don't trouble yourself to get up now. I'm sure you're wondering what you're doing here; it's a rather complicated situation, isn't it? Wishes, after all, are always tricky things. One word out of place and you'll find things are not at all what you expected." He leaned casually against the bed, and absentmindedly started to twist Carl's IV line between his fingers. "You know, you managed to perform the one task I so dearly wish I could," he confided. "You reached out your hand, and you touched her. If it had been anything else, anything, then maybe I could have forgiven you, but you touched her, you… who are nothing. It was like watching something beautiful trodden down, carelessly dirtied by something so low it should not even be able to think of her, let alone reach out its hand towards her." The Goblin King's voice began to rise. "You're lucky I didn't snap it off," he spat. He cleared his throat loudly, and adopted a quieter tone again. "And so Sarah made a wish, a wish which danced around you, accidentally to her credit. But you know, I'm ever so good at finding a loophole in wishes… I've had a fair bit of practice with that sort of thing over the years. Sarah's wish was for a justice balanced against evil, for yourself, and your accomplices, of course. How does one decide an accomplice though, do you swear them in? Is there an official ceremony to join? No, of course there isn't, and so who is to say when one becomes an accomplice. Now our dear girl Sarah: she had dealings with you, and you wanted her to join, oh you wanted it so badly. There was a space for her, and she did good work, so who is to say that she was not already an accomplice of yours? Unfortunately, by her own words, I now had to punish her. Not that she'd performed great evil, but she'd stolen money from the needy, ruined families, endangered her father, certainly enough to… say… damage her in a tragic elevator accident. Such a pity you decided to come along for that ride… and how unfortunate that Sarah wasn't quite done paying for her wish, and that suddenly you were all alone for the plummet.

"I really do feel terrible about that by the way, and that's why I've decided to make it up to you. They say you are brain dead, a vegetable, but no: I've cured you. I've made sure that your mind is working perfectly in there; you're lucid and awake for every second of this. Some people might say I've imprisoned you in your own body, unable to move, unable to speak, but I like to think of it as challenging you to make the best of a bad thing. You'll have plenty of time to get used to it. You're young, a whole lifetime stretched out before you, and despite the inevitable loneliness and madness you're likely to experience, I'm sure there will be good days too… or not."

The loud, rapid beeping of the heart monitor was the last thing Sarah heard as she pitched forward into roaring water and felt the sensation of being pulled forward again, moving too quickly for her brain to catch up. It seemed like it could have been minutes or hours before she found herself standing before the water fountain again, gasping for breath.

She stared at the Goblin King for a long time without saying anything, doubting that words were really necessary between them anymore. Thoughtfully, she reached down and picked up the small coin which was still resting by her feet. He hadn't appreciated the shoes, which was fair she supposed; it had been more of an insult than anything. Despite all that had happened between them, he had granted her wishes. That didn't make the way he had done it alright, but he had been right, she had asked, she was also culpable. There was no way he could fail to understand the value of what she gave him now.

She held out the coin to him, and then remembering he couldn't take it from him, turned his hand over and placed it on his palm.

He cocked a curious eyebrow. "This isn't just a coin, Sarah," he cautioned, "it's a wish."

Sarah swallowed nervously and nodded. "Freely given," she agreed.

He grinned darkly and leaned forward without hesitation. "Then I wish I could touch you," he whispered in a rush, and reached out towards her. He hadn't even taken a moment to consider what it was he wanted most, simply plunged straight in; and as always, his fingers slipped away, just short of making contact.

Sarah smiled. "Freely given, Goblin King," she reminded him; "I can choose to grant the wish or not, just as you have a choice." She had expected him to sulk over this, but he merely gave her a thoughtful sidelong look as he pulled his hand back. Clearing her throat, Sarah glanced back at the fountain, now strangely empty. Being so close to it was now making her feel oddly nervous. When she turned back to the Goblin King he was already gone.

He really has a habit of doing that.

Sighing, she sat on the edge of the fountain and wondered if the gesture hadn't been a mistake. So many things she had done so far had been. When she looked back into the waters of the fountain new words were appearing in the stone: 'Looking for something?' Sarah stifled a yawn.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I am," she murmured.

When she looked to the fountain again, the last word of the sentence had changed, and Sarah's heart stuck in her throat.

'Looking for Hoggle?'

She couldn't speak, she merely nodded to the words and her own reflection nodded back. Now she watched as the letters were erased and new letters rose to replace them.

'Look closer.'

Despite herself, she did. Leaning forward slightly, she gazed into the water as if it held all the answers. No visions rose from the water this time, no Hoggle, and wearily Sarah slumped on the edge of the fountain, already bone weary and with so little accomplished. And then, from the corner of her eye, she finally caught the reflection she had missed. Not her own, or the sun on the water, or words from beneath, but the reflection of the stone carvings above her which made up the decorative portion of the fountain. She felt her stomach twist as she raised her eyes to meet them, little dwarves holding cups and vases, spilling water into the base below them. One especially stood out; his face angry and slightly taciturn, a bag of treasures at his side, a once-plastic bracelet on his wrist.

Look closer.

It was Hoggle.

So... Carl's fate comes out. Was it a bit rough maybe? Well, I have no regrets, death was too good for him.

Hello to my guest reviewers on this chapter *waves* I love my lurkers. For those of you who guilted me, oh look it's a new chapter (totally worked.) Anyone waiting until April for an update, SURPRISE! If you don't check back till then I hope I can have a couple of chapter up for you *fingers crossed*

Thanks as always for all your lovely reviews (they power these chapters, seriously) and even for those of you who don't review, but have favourited/followed (you know who you are... and so do I... mwahahaha) I really appreciate your support.

Wudelfin: I'm going to say beast, definitely beast. Maybe you'll have a chance to find out soon... or maybe not *wink*

Honoria Granger: Of course you qualify, I hope you've used it well if you're not still hanging on to it. If you haven't, might I suggest a wish involving really tight pants, serenading and glitter *grin*

Aleta Wolff: Yes, the escape and the chase! I think you'll like this new chapter and we have some fresh Jareth maliciouness (but let's be honest, Carl deserved what he got!)

Obsessive360: I did have to rewatch the movie recently just to reassure myself that Sarah never actually called Jareth by name, if she had it might have blown my whole idea out of the water (phew, lucky!) This name business can only get trickier - look forward to it! Also, I don't think there is such a thing as 'too much' children's television - no judgement here :)

Kaytori: I think love is a funny thing, the last thing I want is for Sarah to seem like she's got beaten women's syndrome! Certainly a relationship where there is fear, or where both sides are not on equal footing, is not a healthy relationship (I have some time to work on those evils here); but people can't just stop feelings because they suddenly become unpleasant. In a way I'm a big advocate for the whole 'love and hate have more in common than you'd think' spiel. I don't think Jareth lied so much (especially since for story purposes he can't), he said she'd be 'okay', which is really a very broad term if you think about it. By the same reasoning I could say Carl is now 'okay', because he is still alive and has a chance at a future - however bleak and miserable that might be. He didn't tell Sarah she 'would be happy', or 'everything would turn out the way she wanted it', so I think I'm still safe due to the vagueness of the term 'okay'.

Nit pick away dear, I always appreciate feedback, and I take criticism very well. I like to hear what people think about how the story is progressing, and seriously consider how I can use these reviews to better present future chapters (my story outline is, after all, very loose and open to improvement). I love hearing how people feel about the current situation the characters are in, and about how they are reacting to their predicaments, especially since I'm sometimes too close to step back and look myself. Thanks for pointing out the error in the last chapter too, I'll fix it up right after I post this one, and thanks for reviewing as always!

Atlejo3: Wow, it's exciting to be on the end of a comment like that, especially since I myself have been dedicated to obessions on FF before, now my story is someone elses indulgence, that makes me happy! Don't worry, this story will continue until it is finished, I'll be half mad until it has moved from my mind and into everyone elses! Thanks for praising my ideas as well, sometimes I worry I've put a few to many quirky rules in the mix and it might be troublesome for everyone to keep up with the latest element, so it's nice to know they're not weighing people down :)