Labyrinth: Second Coming

Title: Labyrinth: The Second Coming
Rating: NC-17
Mood: Romance
Warnings: Spoilers
Couples: Jareth/Toby, Sarah/Thomas (original character).... and perhaps a few more.
Summary: After 16 years, Jareth is finally overcoming his love for Sarah, and is now focusing on her younger, 17 year old brother, Toby.
Current Status: Incomplete

Author's Note: Labryinth and all of its characters are the property of the Hensons. The Six are property of me, myself and I. And there will still be no singing.
Jareth: Oh, you're no fun.
Emily: I'm plenty of fun. I just have a headache.
Jareth: Then take some aspirin.
Emily: Aspirin is for the weak! I'd rather sit in silent agony.
Jareth: You're not very silent about it, though, are you?
Emily: ...listen, mullet man, don't think for a second I won't write you into a dress.
Jareth: ....yes ma'am. ::sulks away::

Chapter Two: Jareth, the Goblin King

June 7th, 1986

Jareth lied on the floor of the Escher room, trembling and weeping bitterly. "If I hadn't been so weak...," he choked, pushing himself to his feet unsteadily. He grabbed onto a wall for support. "...if I hadn't let her go... Oh, why couldn't she love me...?"
He had never felt pain before, and it was a completely unfamiliar experience. It felt as though someone had torn a hole in his very soul, and he could not begin to fathom anything would ever fill that void. He remembered the look on her face when he had confessed his love for her... It was something akin to disgust... And then she had said the worst imaginable thing. "You have no power over me." New tears filled his eyes and spilled over, and the once proud King of the Goblins covered his face with his hands and wept.

But Jareth did find something to fill the horrible void inside of him... Cruelty. The pain of others. Before, his cruel ways had never really had violence behind them... It was all just a game, and if someone died, well, that was how it went... But now, he swept over his kingdom with murderous intent... All who were too weak or too stupid were murdered, and only the most cunning and vicious of his followers were allowed to remain alive. He purged his kingdom until merely 300 goblins remained... They were his army, and as they bred and grew swiftly (a new generation took only a few months to come about), Jerath soon had over 2000 loyal goblins at his whim. No weaknesses. No cares. Just loyalty to their king.
And then there was the collection... Less than a month after his defeat, Jareth became a common theif (or so his peers said), taking children with no motive whatsoever. He stole six babes... Three female, three male, and raised them to be deft killers. They were his secret service, and they called him 'father'. Their loyalty was unmatched, even though they knew that one would mistake would mean their death. Only sixteen years old, and all they knew was murder...

June 5th, 2003

The six children stood before their 'father', heads bowed. They were dressed in black iron and leather, each carrying a different weapon that Jareth said was based on the their personalities. To Jonas, a great, double edged sword. To Calathia, a huge, iron flail that stood as tall as she did (granted, that wasn't very tall...). To Markus, an axe of enormous size, too heavy to lift for anyone but him. To Olivia, an assortment of daggers hidden all along her clothing, and two katans that, at a distance, made her appear to have knives for hands. To James, a spiked whip that had been known to take off a person's head as cleanly as a sword. And lastly, to the youngest, Sarah, who had always been Jareth's favorite, a very plain looking bow.
"Report." Jareth barked from his throne.
Jonas stepped forward, bowing. He was the oldest of the six by a month, and Jareth always thought the boy rather favored him. He had long, blonde hair that he kept tied neatly in a black ribbon. His appearance was always meticulous. He was not particularly handsome, but he wasn't bad-looking, and his easy personality seemed tow thw the others to him. He was a born leader. "The girl, " Jonas spat, "has summoned her friends back to our plane. She has asked them to help the child, and we have reason to believe they are awaiting him outside the Labyrinth as we speak."
"Kill them." Jareth sighed, rubbing his temples. Suddenly, he paused. "Better yet, bring them to me... I think a punishment would suit them all better..."
"Oh, yes!" Sarah's eyes lit up, her black curls bouncing as she straightened. "Oh, yes, father, something eternal and horrible... Just killing them does get so dull."
Jareth smiled indulgently at his cruel little daughter. "...anything you want."

The childrens' playroom was a huge, stone thing full of their playthings... Unlike normal children, there were no dolls or books to be found, only instruments of torture, each more gruesome than the last. It was where they brought their captives, tormenting them until death or insanity, and sometimes beyond. Of course, beyond the playroom was the anteroom, from which the doors to all of their bedchambers led. Dark oak coated the floor and rich tapestries covered the walls. Huge, furry rugs were found here and there on the floor, and the room was full of bookshelves and over-stuffed chairs and couches. Jareth had spared no comfort for his wards. After all, once he had complete control of all the Faye Plane, (the faeries, the centaurs, the unicorns, the ocean-dwellers, the angels and the demons), they would all have domain over the kingdom of their chosing.
Now, the six were given a chance to relax and talk amongst themselves. Jonas was lounging in an arm chair, one leg thrown over an arm, reading a book that was too worn to make out the title. Markus and James were locked in a game of chess, and the girls were quilting and chatting.
"Oh, Sarah, that's awfully lovely, what you're quilting...," Calathia crooned. She was always the sweetest of them... She acted as a mother to them all, though Jareth often complained she was far too soft.
Sarah was busy stitching an elaborate rose with a little faerie in the middle of it. "Well, I want to govern the faeries, you see...," she murmered.
"You? Govern the faeries?" Olivia snorted. "I doubt you could control that bunch..."
Sarah narrowed her eyes. "You talk big for someone who only narrowly escaped a beating last week."
Olivia flushed, but said nothing more. She had been late to a rather important meeting, and Jareth had been livid...
"...can't we just have a peaceful conversation for once, girls?" Calathia sighed.
"You stay out of it!" Olivia snapped, now angrily picking at a knot.
James shoved the chess board off its table and stood, biting his lip.
Markus stared up at him blankly. "...what on earth would you do a thing like that for, James?"
James glared at him. "You're cheating, you rat."
Markus blinked up at him, his expression quite genuine. "I am not."
"Of course you are! How could someone with the intelligence of a troll beat me?"
"...because I'm better than you."
Jonas couldn't help but chuckle... Markus had an awful habit of being brutally honest. A crack sounded through the room. James had backhanded Markus again, who was rubbing his cheek. Markus just sighed and righted the table, then began resetting the chess table. "Go ahead, Markus...," Jonas smirked. "Hit him back. He deserves it, don't you think?"
The girls had given up all pretense of quilting and were now watching the scene with interest. Markus, so slow to anger... They all wondered when James and Olivia would push him too far.
James laughed, "He won't hit me! He's too much of a coward, aren't you, Markus?"
"He won't hit you because he'd kill you in just one hit, James." Sarah smirked, standing up. "He doesn't want to kill you, so he'd rather just ignore you."
James turned to glare at her. "It's not your business, Sarah!"
"I'm making it my business, James..." Ambitious, spoiled little Sarah... "You shouldn't treat him like that."
"She's right, James! You bully him so much!" Calathia protested.
"Oh, let them alone, Calathia!" Olivia rolled her eyes. "Markus needs to grow a pair, and James is only acting like that because that bastard that calls himself our father won't give us anything better to do!"
Jonas and Sarah both turned on Olivia, glaring. "Don't you dare speak of Father like that, Olivia." Jonas growled, his hand moving to the hilt of his sword.
"...there's no need for this on my account..." Markus murmered, standing and dusting himself off.
"Oh, don't flatter yourself!" James scoffed.
Calathia stamped her foot. "Stop it, all of you! We never get a chance to rest anymore, and I want to enjoy it! Isn't it enough that you can take out your petty little frustrations on traitors, instead of on each other?! We all love Father, and we should all love each other!"
"Oh, of course, we all love Father, but do you really believe he loves all of us?" James smirked.
Olivia nodded. "It's obvious who his favorites are..." The two looked meaningfully at Jonas and Sarah.
"So what if he likes us better? We're not the ones who always make trouble." Sarah smiled sweetly.
"...if you all did as you were told instead of flying off the handle or being too soft, maybe he'd treat you just the same." Jonas smirked.
"Shut up!" Jareth snarled. The six jumped and turned to face him... They had not been aware of his arrival. "Fighting amongst yourselves like common dogs! I thought I raised you better." All the color had left his face and his jaw was clenched. "Who started this?"
"Well, you see, James..."
Jareth held up his hand to stop Jonas. "I want the person who started it to confess."
James stepped forward, refusing to bow his head. "I did. Markus was cheating, so I threw the board down and slapped him."
"Why did you slap your brother?" Jareth glared.
"...because he's pathetic." James spat. "It's annoying... He won't stand up for himself."
"He shows a lot more strength of character than you ever have, my temperamental child." Jareth smirked. James set his jaw defiantly, but looked away from Jareth's hard glare.

Jareth surveyed his children quietly, willing the rage inside of him to melt away. It was only normal for rivalry to break out between them... Jonas and Sarah were so ambitious and loyal, while Calathia and Markus would gladly take anything tossed their way, too kind and sweet to protest. James and Olivia, on the other hand, were the ones that worried him. Out of the six, they were the least controlled. Their tempers flared easily and violently, and Jareth was reaching the end of his tether with them. They were cunning, though... Cunning and untrustworthy. Jareth often wondered if it was a mistake to let them stay alive.
"...the next person to start one of these petty little spats will find themselves in the bowels of the Labyrinth." he sighed, coolly, before turning on his heel and leaving the room. "Markus, follow."
Markus trailed in his father's wake silently, head bowed as they walked.

"Am I in trouble, Father?" Markus murmered softly.
"Of course not." Jareth rested his hand on the boy's shoulder and squeezed softly. "But you will be if you don't learn how to fight back against James."
Jareth seated himself in his throne, and motioned for Markus to sit at his feet. The boy readily obeyed, and Jareth fondled his dark hair gently. "...what am I to do with you...?"
"I'm sorry, Father...," Markus sighed.
Jareth leaned and tilted his chin, kissing his lips softly. Now that he thought about it, Sarah was the only woman he had ever been attracted to in the least. He smiled to himself as he broke the kiss. Perhaps it was time to teach his sons a new loyalty... Markus was staring up at him with his watery, dark blue eyes. "Father...?" he whispered.
Jareth smiled softly. No, he could not spoil such lovely creatures like this. "...go back to your antechambers." Markus stood and walked to the door hesitantly, and Jareth sighed deeply. '...better to save the boy from myself than have him hanging around here.' Besides... There were better things ahead. "Oh... tell your brothers and sisters to go ahead and kill the girl's old friends. I'm no longer in the mood for torture."

Markus stopped at the door and watched him quietly, but his father was staring into his crystal now. Markus tilted his head to the side, quite confused as to what had just transpired.