Return to the Underground
A Labyrinth FanFiction by Demoscout

~A little note before I begin~

~I started this thread already knowing there there are, quite possibly, more than one Labyrinth Fan Fiction. I had even started a roleplay thread with the same name, but that was a failed project. With this, I will wait on no one and risk nothing. I, also, have not read any of the other fanfics/RPs that exist on Menewsha, but I'm hoping that mine will be original enough to set it apart from the rest.~

~This is not a hangout thread. I do not know much about how things work in the fanfiction section, but I have seen people critique other people's works. Critique is welcome, but talk about anything other than feedback on the story is not welcome~

~Disclaimer~
The Labyrinth is copyright © Jim Henson. Although this is an imagined sequel, some characters from the original story will be used, such as Jareth and Hoggle. I, in no way, claim such characters as my own.


~Summary~
(This was taken from the RP and slightly edited)
The setting is within the Underground, itself. Fairies, hobbits, and Goblins-alike are citizens under the rule of the Goblin King, Jareth. Only Goblins have the right to live within the city at the center of the Labyrinth while everyone else lives within the Labyrinth, itself.

Something has come over the powerful Goblin King. A mysterious entity has possessed him and is using him as a vessel to destroy his own world.

In the mean time, a girl mysteriously appears as if the underground had brought her there for a specific reason. Without words or wonder, the girl slowly walks up to the door to the labyrinth. This is where the adventure begins.
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Introduction

I will never forget that day; the very day she exorcised her power to the fullest. The day...she betrayed me...

The copper morning light had beamed down through the only window of the tallest tower of the Goblin King's castle. The young king was lying in his chair which was always covered with some sort of fabric. Heavy footsteps revealed the chief Goblin, Garbohld, on his morning duty of waking the King. What was not to be expected was the sight of King Jareth already awake.

“My lord, you are awake already?” Garbohld asked in blatant curiosity.

Jareth was fiddling with the tassel which hung from one of the draping fabrics on his chair. The king’s pose was nothing short of aloof. One leg hiked up on the arm of the chair and the other leg drooping down. The two mystical all-seeing eyes were staring into the very threads of the tassel. Once the goblin’s voice had finally registered through Jareth’s ears, the King finally drew his attention towards his chief officer. “Oh what do you want?” Jareth said in an annoyed tone, “I don’t remember calling for you.” The sense of annoyance in his tone had quickly turned to slight anger.

Garbohld stood his ground as he was trained to do and replied to his King. “My Lord, it is but my duty to wake you, first thing, in the morning.” The goblin swallowed big, but tried his best to hide the sound. It was a known fact to never rouse the Goblin King’s anger. “Since you are already awake, I shall relieve you of my presence,” Garbohld stated as he tried to feign a calm composure down the staircase.

It was now quiet again. No voices or clanking of iron and steel could be heard. Jareth turned back into his aloof position and stared out through his window. The warm, yellow, rays graced the king’s slender face and brought a glow upon his mystical eyes. Jareth closed his eyes. With a deep breath, Jareth let out a tender sigh. “What has come over me,” Jareth whispered under his voice, “ever since-since…she left, I’ve had no will to do anything.”

After a brief pause, the King darted up from his chair in a fit of anger. “Curse that girl. This is all HER fault.” Jareth began pacing back and forth throughout his chamber. “I’ll never understand. She asked that I take that blasted child and so I did. I even gave her the chance to find him after merely doing what she begged me to do.” Jareth scowled and turned to a halt and looked into a small mirror that lie hanging on the nearest wall. Only after a few seconds of staring into the mirror did Jareth see Sarah, the one who betrayed him, behind him in his reflection. In a panic, Jareth swung around, but there was no one in the room with him. Mixed feelings began to bubble up inside Jareth’s mind. He longed for Sarah as much as he despised her. He still loved her although he wanted to crush her. For the split moment he had seen her, he had hoped that it just wasn’t an illusion so that he could convince her to stay and rule beside him as his queen.

The deceit of Jareth’s eyes had forced him into a fit of upmost anger. The sky began to turn grey and then black. The anger could no longer be suppressed within the Jareth’s inner self. From the large tower shrieked the loudest scream which anyone had ever heard. The force of Jareth’s voice echoed throughout the walls of the Goblin city and even past the protective walls of the Labyrinth. Everyone, from Goblin to Fairy, had sprung from what they were doing and had their hands pressed against their ears. Try as they might, the Goblin soldiers, in the room below the staircase to Jareth’s room, could not mute the sound even by a little. All around, there were little black suits of armor running around and bumping into each other.

Once the scream had finally ended, the Goblins hesitated, for a moment, to stand up. Light footsteps could be heard coming from the direction of the spiraling staircase which led up to Jareth’s room. The loyal goblin servants began to rush, one by one, towards the staircase; each shouting, repeatedly, “MY LORD!” Before the cries for their master could be heard, the faithful goblins were shot back by an invisible forced which radiated from Jareth. The goblin soldiers and servants rushed towards their fallen comrades and shot a fearful glance towards their Goblin King. Too scared to talk, the goblins all knew that this wasn’t their master but more of a shell to be inhabited by something dark.

Jareth didn’t say a word, but his glance was more communication than anyone needed. His mystical eyes, no longer the way they were, were both of bold onyx and his mouth was stuck in a twisted grin. “So kind of you all to rush for my welcome” Jareth brushed some of his long, blond, hair out from his face, “and such devotion should come with rewards.” A sick chuckle echoed from Jareth’s throat, “However…you will get nothing but death if any of you come near me without my order.”

The hoard of frightened Goblins all shook their heads in fright.

With nothing more to say, Jareth walked up to the stone wall. The Goblin King reached out against the wall, feeling it, and his beloved crystal spheres lie swirling in his other hand. The magic of the crystals allowed Jareth free movement through the wall and into the castle garden. The chilled air was crisp and it stung Jareth's nose with its purity. Jareth gave a scowl and then he noticed something. A strange light had appeared from the distance. For a brief moment, the white light had brought out the brown and blue in Jareth's eyes only for them to plunge back to their soulless black in the light's absence. "I wonder who that could be," Jareth said with a wicked grin.

~I have slightly edited the end of this post since I felt it could use more~

Chapter 1
~The Arrival~

In the brighter side of the area, a worm, named Peebli, was just finishing up his morning stroll. With a gleeful attitude, he sang to himself in order to keep himself in the mood. “Oh lah-de-dah such a wonderfu-” Peebli was cut off when he noticed the blinding light before him. “Well I'll be-” the bedazzled worm said as he tried to shield his eyes. The light had begun to cease and something was forming from it. Swiftly, the worm inched his way towards the girl who had appeared upon a large rock. Once the worm made it to the girl, he cried aloud in his little high-pitched voice, “Miss...missie! Are you alright?”

The mysterious girl opened her eyes, but did not hear the little worm at first. The glow had disappeared, but there was a new glow to the girl's radiant red hair. Golden light from the only open patch of clouds brought out the red in her auburn hair. Light brown lashes concealed the girl's deep golden eyes.

As quick as he could, Peebli inched up to the rock in which the nude girl had resided. “Dearie...” the worm muttered as he looked up.

Everything was in such a daze. It was hard for the girl to keep her head straight, but she looked down and finally noticed the worm. “Oh, I'm sorry. I-” she said before she was cut off by the worm.

“Oh dearie, it's quite alright. I was just worried is all.” With a sniff of his nose, the worm continued, “This be a magical land, but it's not every day that young girls just magically appear from nowhere.” Just then, a memory had returned. “Then again, now that I think of it, you aren't the first but the second.”

“Second?” the fair woman said to herself. “Strange, I don't even know why I'm here or where I came from.” Her voice was as soft as a harp and seemed as if it could charm just about anything. At least it was music to Peebli's ears.
With a raised brow, Peebli asked “What's your name, dearie? Do you have a name?”

Memories were proving hard to reach for the girl's head was still foggy. Nothing was known concerning before her arrival in this strange land of talking worms. “I...I don't know.” she said simply.

“Hahah!” Peebli exclaimed, “Well, you're going to need a name, now. Hmm, let's see...” The girl tilted her head to her side and had this strange, bewildered, look on her face. Her cheeks, blushed with a hint of rose, and her amazing eyes had given the worm a most fruitful idea. “Why, I'll call you Sarah.”

“Sarah...” the young woman echoed to herself, “What a pretty name.”

Peebli smiled in a most humble manner. “Yes, dearie, that it is. The young girl who first appeared here, questing through the labyrinth...her name was Sarah.” The wind was strengthening a little and getting heavier little by little, but it was not entirely noticed at first. Peebli continued, “You sort of look like her and you give off the same fairness as she did. I think this name is most suiting to you.”

The girl looked to her left and finally noticed the enormous labyrinth which sat in the distance. “Sarah...” She, then, looked back down at the humble worm. “I like this name. I think I shall keep it.” Sarah said with a smile.

“Well now that we got that settled, we need to find you some clothes and a place to stay.” The clothes option would not prove to be too easy for the two of them were in the outskirts and there would be nothing more than rocks and dead trees. Peebli inched off into the trees to find some leaves to sew together with his stingy web. “Now don't run off dearie!” The worm yelled in his little high-pitched voice, “I'll be back with something to get ya by.”

Once the worm disappeared, a small crystal orb had rolled up the hill and made a slight clank against the rock which Sarah sat. Peeking over the rock, Sarah noticed the crystal and reached down to grab it. The orb had shined brilliantly with the help of the bright rusted-yellow light from the sky. Sarah had begun to notice a starry sky developing within the crystal when a large shadow had emerged from the hill.

Sarah was still preoccupied with the small crystal orb. It shined brilliantly and the young girl felt as if she were peering into the universe, herself. Only when she began to hear footsteps did Sarah finally turn around to see who was approaching her. The sun was right in her line of sight which made it hard to actually see who the thin, black, silhouette was. Only when the Goblin King made it to the rocks, did his image become clear.

“Well well, now what do we have here? It seems my crystal had lost its way and made it to you.” The tall, eccentric, man knelt down before the large rocks and struck a sharp glance into the young girl’s eyes. “Where have you come from? I have ruled over this land since the beginning and not once have I ever seen you before.” Jareth said in a soothing tone.

Despite the soothing calm to the man’s voice, Sarah felt a presence of warning in his gaze. She couldn’t explain it, but his eyes had erased any ounce of comfort that his voice would give. Sarah just sat there, trying to find the words to say, but coming out with none.

The man rose to his feet and, rather than looking up at the girl, peered down at her instead. “I am ruler of this domain. It would be wise for you to answer me when I ask you a question.” Jareth said in a more cold tone of voice.
“S-Sarah…my name is Sarah,” the girl finally whimpered, “I don’t know where I came from, or how I got here, I just…woke up here.” Her golden eyes narrowed and looked down from the intimidating tyrant’s gaze. All of the confusion had returned to the girl. For a while, the little worm had made her feel welcome and helped erase such confusion. Now, the dilemma of her own origin simply would not let her be.

It…it can’t be. Is this coincidence or…fate? Jareth thought to himself. The girl before him was not the one who had betrayed him, but there was a small resemblance present in her. That look of confusion, that feeling of being lost all over her, reminded him all too well of his previous meeting. The floodgates had opened again. Memories were returning to haunt the Goblin King and he struggled to maintain his composure. Grasping his head, and with heavy breathing, Jareth looked up at the red-haired girl one last time before disappearing into the shadows that were forming around him.

Sarah sat there, speechless, and staring endlessly into the woods. “What just happened?” she muttered to herself.