Fan Fiction / Crossover Fan Fiction ❯ The Fallen Labyrinth ❯ Chapter 2: When Everything�s Dark ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Hi everyone. I noticed nobody reviewed. How sad. Oh well. I'm not posting this for you people anyway. This extra long chapter goes out to the creators of The Fallen, The Fallen's fans, and the various others who've read the story. And I know you've been reading it, 'cause there are more than 200 hits to each chapter. But, oh well. I've changed the way this is going to work out, 'cause my imagination is running wild and someone just gave me a script of the Labyrinth, so I'll be able to work some "past" shots in this. Jareth is getting a much bigger role, and if you actually read thischapter, hinthint, you'll find out how it goes down.

DISCLAIMER: As usual, Labyrinth and all its characters do not belong to me. You'll need to find a Necromancer, have him bring back Jim Hanson, and THEN get the corpse to sign off the movie to you. I, for one, don't plan on doing that (too much work, so little time) so it stands to reason that I will NEVER own Labyrinth. However, the characters from The Fallen are mine, so I'll ask you nicely not to fuck with them, got it?

The Fallen Labyrinth

Chapter 2: When Everything's Dark

By: Ceris Malfoy

A loud pounding on the door woke him. He groaned and pried an eye open to glance at the clock, only to sigh when he found it read 3:00 am. The pounding increased.

“Go away!” he shouted, voice hoarse and muffled with sleepiness. He rolled back over and tried to go back to sleep.

The pounding stopped for a second and then continued, this time accompanied by the door-knob rattling. “Jin! Jin, I had a nightmare. Jin!”

“Go away, go away, GO AWAY!” Still half-asleep and sore and trying to function with a severely bad migraine, Jin completely failed to realize that it was his kid-brother banging on the door, and not his father.

The latch finally gave -it never had been very strong- and the door flew open.

“JIN!” his brother shouted.

The words that Jin next spoke came from an old story that his mother had told him, a story of goblins and dwarves and an enchanting king. He didn't know why he spoke them, but the tingle of...something that flowed through him as he said them awoke something sharp, something primitive within him. That something swirled for just a few seconds before burrowing deep within, waiting.

“I wish the goblins would take you away, right NOW!” he shouted, never even glancing at the figure that broke into his room.

“Jin?” a soft, almost scared question/plea.

A soft, shimmering light that did not belong made him turn around sharply. He could only stare in shock at his little brother, who was flickering in and out of existence.

“Kit-?” Jin asked uncertainly, green-eyes widening as with a cry, his brother disappeared from sight. His heartbeat stopped and his mind froze and time slowed to a standstill. And then everything went fast forward.

Lightning flashed. His lights went out. The TV snapped on. Little flashes of moving creatures that were too big to be mice and too small to be cats. His window slammed open, and Jin cursed as the rain came in. He jumped out of bed, not knowing what as going on, but understanding that whatever it was, someone was going to pay.

Whether or not it was him, remained to be seen.

Jin watched in astonishment as the rain seemed to freeze, each individual droplet hanging in the air. He moved, and found that it felt like swimming through jello. The air tasted stale. A soft purr broke his train of thought, and he whirled around to face his window.

There, against all odds and probabilities, a winged-panther, black as night with intense emerald-green eyes, sat. It was staring at him, seeming to judge him.

Jin had the uncomfortable feeling that this thing knew all about him.

“I am not a thing, Jin, dearest,” the thing said in a distinctly female voice.

“What--?” He broke off.

“What am I?” The creature gave the feline equivalent of a smirk -a brief flash of fangs- and the sound of amused laughter filled the air. “Yes, you'll do nicely.” The little creatures around the room popped out and gave an excited giggle. When Jin whirled around to catch them, everything just snapped back into place.

Jin had the distinct feeling that he'd missed something. “Ummm, I'm sorry if I appear to be rude, but what are you and where is my brother?” He paused briefly. “And why is the rain--?”

The creature stared at him, all amusement gone. “Time has stopped.”

Jin floundered. “…how?” He said at last.

“I stopped it, of course.”

“Of course,” he agreed faintly. `Is that even possible?' he wondered silently.

“As to what I am, I believe you already know. Deep down in your heart of hearts, buried fast below your soul, in half-remembered stories told by a whispered voice upon the wind….” Her voice trailed off.

Jin paused. “But the stories said that you were a male.”

Anger then, and mind-numbing, soul-screaming power of such intensity, it felt like he was drowning. “They told you the wrong story. You only know his part.” The power died down, and Jin gasped for breath. “But by the time you're done your journey, you'll know the full thing.” The creature smiled dangerously. “We've waited a long time for you.”

Jin gulped. He sooo did not like the sound of that.

“Where is my brother?” He asked again.

“Where you wished him to, of course.”

Anger bubbled slowly within him. “Would you stop speaking in riddles and answer me?”

The creature stretched and as she did, she began to glow. The creature's form stretched and twisted and re-shaped itself until a beautiful woman stood before him. Soft, amethyst and ebony hair cascading to mid back. A sweet, if sharp facial stricture. Full lips, green eyes, golden skin that glimmered with the light of the sun. “I am the Goblin Queen, Keeper of the Wild magic, High Queen of the Unseelie Fae. You, dear mortal, have wished away a child to my world. I have honored your request, and have taken the child.”

Jin snapped angry eyes at her, and sneered. “So you grant wishes made by half-asleep mortals and then kidnap children.” A contemptuous glance. “I demand that you give me my brother back.”

The Goblin Queen smiled a slow, dangerous smile. “I'm afraid I can't do that. YOU made the wish. YOU spoke the words. YOU summoned the power. Not me.”

Jin scowled. “I want him back!”

She tutted softly. “I would watch my tone, if I were you, boy. I've already told you. I can't just give you your brother back.”

Jin growled. “Look, bitch. I've faced down bigger, meaner sonsofbitches than you. You don't scare me, and I'm not letting you take my brother. Give him--!” He gasped as an invisible hands closed around his throat. He winced as it tightened around another bruise, digging painfully.

The Queen's eyes had narrowed. “I told you to watch your tone.” She sneered at him, gestured, and the invisible hands tightened. “Don't defy me, Jin.” Another gesture and the hands released him. “You're no match for me.” She stared at him. You want your brother back?”

Jin nodded, gasping for breath and staring wide-eyed at her.

“Then you'll have to win him back.” She pointed out his window, and when he leaned out, he was astonished to see not the street, but a strange world.

“What is this place?” he asked, turning away from his window, only to realize that his room, his window wasn't there any longer.

The Goblin Queen circled him, eyeing him, a predatory gleam in her eyes. “This is the Labyrinth, the seat of my power. It is raw magic made form.” She turned away and stared at the Labyrinth with masked eyes. “You will make friends and enemies, have fun and enter into extreme danger. It was originally designed to test your loyalty, but now it tests your mind, heart, and soul.” A brief flash of pain. “Everyone who enters is found lacking.” She turned towards him and sneered. “To win back your brother you must meet me in thirteen hours at the citadel in the center of the Labyrinth. If you fail, I keep your brother, and you go home to face the results.” She grinned. “I don't erase the memories of the mortals. They will remember, and they will point fingers.” She leaned in close, close enough for Jin to catch a whiff of her sent -vanilla and something that vaguely reminded him of blood- and whispered, “So I suggest you try your hardest not to fail.”

Laughing, she disappeared.

Jin looked out over the world that he now faced, and sighed. He had a long way to go.

As he started down the clearest path (which wasn't all that clear to begin with), he was unaware of the two sets of eyes -one mismatched and the other an intense blue- that watched him. “I'm sorry, Sarah,” the figure whispered. “I've gotten your son mixed up in this mess.”

“You're apologizing to the wrong person, Jareth,” blue-eyes said from behind him. “This never would have happened if you had followed the rules.”

Jareth shook his head, and sighed. “What's done is done, and I can't go back, can I Kitsuko?”

Kitsuko shook his head. “No, Jareth, you can't.” He, too, observed the mortal wandering around. “Although, hopefully, he'll have his mother's luck.”

“Luck?” Jareth snorted. “You think luck had anything to do with it? Sarah won because she was the One.” He sighed and turned away, wrapping himself in a midnight-blue cloak. “Whether or not this boy is Ananke's One remains to be seen.”

“So the curse is still in effect then?” Kitsuko casually draped his wings over his shoulder.

“Of course it is!” Jareth snapped. “That boy's brother should have been my son!” Regret filled his eyes. “I didn't even get to tell her goodbye…” he whispered.

Kitsuko looked at the past King with no sympathy. He knew the laws, and Jareth had broken most of them. He shook his head. “I must get back. My Queen will wonder where I've gone to.”

Jareth snorted. “You mean to tell me that you still haven't told her I'm here?”

Kitsuko raised a delicately shaped eyebrow, blue eyes sparking angrily. “Do not push the issue, Jareth. You exist here only because Caelestis feels pity for you.”

Jareth nodded and held out his hands in supplication. “I'm aware of this. I've already sent her my gratitude. He eyed Kitsuko. “I meant no offense, Lord of the Winged Ones. I just meant that you are particularly loyal to dearest Ana.”

“Don't call her that!” Kitsuko shouted. He paused and took a deep breath. “You have no right to call her that any longer. She is a Queen, and you will address her as such. It was you--”

“I'm well aware of what I did,” Jareth cut him off, mismatched eyes gleaming as he eyed the center of the Labyrinth... his old home, “and I am still paying the consequences. But I am still her superior, so--”

“Not any longer. She's High Queen now.” Kitsuko's voice was smug, and yet... bitter.

“Ever farther out of your reach, eh Kitsuko?” A wry smile formed on Jareth's lips at the utter irony of the situation. Farther from the one who loved her, and closer to the one who wished he'd never laid eyes on her.

There was a sharp intake of breath, and then a soft, muttered rebuke. “At least I would never have abandoned her so, or cursed her into such a soulless existence.”

Jareth gazed at him. “Oh?” he murmured softly. “Are we so different then? Would you not leave your wife for the chance to hold your dear Queen in your arms, if only once?”

Kitsuko looked away. “Caelestis knows where my affections lay, Jareth.” He said sharply. “Unlike you, I am at least honest with the women in my life. I told Caelestis long before our parents arranged our betrothal that I could never love her.” He looked directly at Jareth, blue eyes blazing with a strange fire. “Tell me, Exiled-One, did you even bother to inform your beloved Sarah that you were engaged?”

Jareth flinched.

Kitsuko sneered. “I though not. We are as different as night and day, Jareth. You believe yourself better than most, but in reality, you are worse. You give Fae a bad name.” He spread his wings and prepared to fly off. “It is because of Fae like you that we had to hide ourselves from the mortals. Goodbye Jareth. May you meet with steel.”

He launched into the sky, ivory wings glistening in the morning light.

Jareth sighed. “High Queen, Ana?” He snorted. “Who would be crazy enough to name you High Queen?” He paused and stared out over the lands of what used to be his Labyrinth, searching hopelessly for one familiar mark, stone, or leaf.

Everything was different. Everything. “Of which court, I wonder? You are too fragile for the Unseelie, and too dark for the Seelie.” He looked up just in time to see a small dot in the sky dive down into the center. “And what do you want with Jin?” His eyes darkened. “What do you want with my son?”

Well? How's that for a twist? I told you the chapters would get longer as the story progressed. but, wait. You'd actually have to READ the bloody thing to know that, wouldn't you?

(breathes deeply) I promised myself that I would not get worked up over this, but as you can probably tell, that plan isn't working too well. So here's the deal. I'll stop pressuring you people to review IF I get five reviews for this chapter. If I don't get five reviews for this chapter, I'm going to put big, BIG "review damnit" signs throughout the rest of this story.

Trust me, it won't be pretty.

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Thank you, and have a great evening.

Ceris Malfoy