The Truth About Goblin Kings and Jedi

Disclaimer:Standard stuff applies. I don't own anything from Labyrinth or Star Wars. So there.

Mara Jade Skywalker sliced her way feriously through old Imperial databasis. The information she was looking for was important. It wouldn't save the galaxy or the New Republic or even a life. It was only of importance to Mara. She was trying to find out who her parents were and what had become of them. It hadn't been important before. Now, though, with crystals appearing, as well as the sudden urge to kick small, ugly, annoying creatures she'd never seen, made the need rather urgent. The Force was telling her that if she found her parents, especially her father, everything would all come together.

Mara was jerked out of her thoughts by her husband, Luke, coming up behind her. "Come on," he said. "We need to get over to Han and Leia's. We're all watching a movie together, remember?" Mara sighed. "Alright. Just give me a few moments to freshen up," she said, saving her work and turning off the computer. She then headed into the 'fresher. She looked in the mirror as she brushed her hair back and screamed. Luke ran in quickly. "What's wrong?" he asked. "My ears..." Mara said. "They're....they're pointed!" Luke frowned slightly. It wasn't something either had noticed before. "Just wear your hair down," he told her."

Leia opened the door to let her brother and sister-in-law in. "Come on in," she said. "Han's fixing popcorn, and LeAnn and Jaina are trying to hook up LeAnn's VCR to the holo-player." Luke and Mara both suddenly had a bad feeling about this. That was when the holo player let out a little poof. "We're gonna have to take this to LeAnn's house, guys. The VCR and the holo player are non compatable." Jaina said. And so, the group pushed the buttons on their belts taking them to Earth, to LeAnn's house, where LeAnn set up the VCR to her TV again and popped in the movie, hitting fast forward.

"So, what movie are we watching?" Luke asked as LeAnn fast forwarded through the comercials at the beginning of the tape. And there were a lot. LeAnn grinned evily at them. "Only my favorite movie in the whole world," she said. "Labyrinth." With this, Luke and Mara both let out a groan as they sank onto the love seat. LeAnn just chuckled, and the three of them earned odd looks from Han, Leia, Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin. Artoo warbled questioningly at his master. "Artoo wishes to know if there is something wrong with the movie," Threepio translated. "It's a long story," Luke replied with a sigh.

"It all started when, apparently, LeAnn wished herself away, not thinking it would work, and came to me and Mara for help," Luke stated. "We had to go through that labyrinth to save her, including a trip through the Bog of Eternal Stench.." Mara continued. LeAnn rolled her eyes, creating a crystal which, predicably, freaked out Luke and Mara. "You two are missing the most important part. But I think I'll let Tights explain it to ya," she said, tossing the crystal to the middle of the living room floor, where it exploded into a shower of glitter. When the glitter disappeared, Jareth the Goblin King was standing there in all his glory.

Chapter 2

"Ladies and gentlement, I present to you His royal Tightness, Jareth, King of the Goblins of the Underground," LeAnn said. Jareth just placed a hand over his face as if in dispair. "Although, Aunt Mara can call him 'father'," she continued, grinning. "Now then, I think you two need some father-daughter bonding time to get to know each-other and such," she said, producing another crystal that would send Mara and Jareth both to Jareth's throne-room.

Jareth and Mara simply looked at eachother for a moment in total silence. Mara finally broke it. "You didn't look too happy to see me," she said. "What I wasn't happy with is what LeAnn called me. She and the other listians and Puck all call me "Tights" or "His Royal Tightness," HRT for short," he replied. "On the other hand, I was very happy to find you after so long. You look so much like your mother..." Mara was starting to get impatient.

"So what took you so long?" she asked. "And why didn't you tell me the last time I was here?" Jareth sighed. Explaining things to his newly found daughter were not going to be easy. He supposed he'd have to start from the beginning. "It's a rather long story," he said. "Perhaps we should take this to the library. The seats are more comfortable, and we'll both be sitting for a while. Trust me," he told her, leading her to the library.

Once in the library, Mara sat and looked up at Jareth, already getting impatient. The Goblin King sat, trying to decide just how far back in the story he should go. "Where would you like me to start?" he asked. "The beginning would be nice," Mara snapped back. She didn't mean to be rude, and felt sorry as soon as she saw Jareth flinch. But she wanted information, and she wanted it now. She didn't want to wait, when she had already been waiting forty years.

"The beginning was when my father died when I was about 12 and my mother married a non-Fae. His name was Aaron Palpatine, and he was from some planet called Naboo." The name Palpatine went like a shock through Mara's body. Jareth didn't seem to notice, however, as he continued. "Together, they had another son, my half-brother, Samuel. He later went on to become the Senator of Naboo, then Supreme Chancelor, and finally the Emperor who stole you from me, raising you as his Hand."

The truth about her past was finally starting to sink in for Mara, but she waited calmly for her father to finish his story. "About the time Samual became Chancelor, I met your mother, Marissa Jade. She had a power I didn't understand, and could never have. Still, I was quickly falling in love with her. We married without anyone's knowledge and you were born soon after."

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Meanwhile, LeAnn had just finished telling the same story to Luke, Leia, Han, Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin. "When he told me his suspicions and asked me to help him, I did a mind probe on him. Seemed like he was tellin' the truth to me, so I agreed to help him." she said, shrugging. "Only someone who truly belongs there can make it through the labyrinth, unless of course they have help from someone who belongs there. So Jareth and I came up with that whole plan, and that's how all this happened." It was the best explination she could come up with. She just hoped no one started wishing her away. She wasn't interested in yet ANOTHER trip to the Underground just yet. She'd already made too many this year.

Chapter 3

Jareth waited a few minutes while Mara mulled everything over. "Would you like to see more of your ancestral home?" he finally asked. "Along the way I could teach you how to control your magic, including the appearance of all those crystals." Mara nodded. "That is starting to get a bit annoying," she agreed. "Follow me, then," Jareth said, standing, and motioning Mara to come along."

As they walked, Jareth told Mara about the history of the castle, of the labyrinth. "The library, which you've already seen, is rather special. Not only are there books of Fae history and books of spells, but there are books in there that are still being written," he said, proudly. Mara raised an eyebrow at him. "How can a library contain books that aren't completed yet?" she asked.

"It's simple magic," he answered. "And these books, while I don't exactly love every bit of them, each have multiple stories in them. They're the stories written by listians, like LeAnn. Most of hers are quite humorous, actually. But all in all, most of the stories are quite enjoyable. Even I like reading them. Even now, more is being added to most of the volumes," he explained.

Jareth took her around the castle, telling her about each and every room they came to. The kitchen. The dining room. The crystal ballroom. The throneroom. The small office that Jareth used when writing out important papers in the running of the Goblin Kingdom. Then they came to a room that Mara couldn't believe was possible. There were stairs going every-which-way, upside down even.

Jareth grinned at his daughter's confused expression. Nearly everyone was bewildered when they first saw this room. "Welcome, my dear, to my room of impossibilities, also known as the Escher room, so called because its design was inspired by MC Escher's Relativity." Mara nodded. "I think LeAnn had a copy of that in her dorm room at the Academy before it was destroyed during the battle with the Second Imperium," she said.

Jareth raised an eyebrow. "Destroyed? Such a pitty," he said. "Anyway, you have a choice to make, Mara. You can accept your heritage, or you can deny it. If you choose to deny it, we won't be able to see eachother unless you call on me," he told her. He wanted to make sure she understood her options. "If you accept it, however, it means you rule the Goblin City and the labyrinth beyond it when I die. You'll be Queen of the goblins."

Mara frowned. Sure, there were perks to being a Queen, but she also loved her current life. Also, she wanted to talk this over with Luke before she actually made a decision. Jareth sensed her hesitation. "Go ahead and take all the time you need to decide, Mara. Talk it over with whomever you need to," he said. "Just call on me when you've made your decision." And with that, Mara was back in LeAnn's livingroom, looking very dazed.

Chapter 4

Later that night, after dinner, as they lay in bed, Mara told Luke everything Jareth had told her. Luke listened, maintaining great patience through all the details. He could tell his wife had been overwhelmed a bit, because she usually didn’t talk this much. “And I really don’t know what I want,” she finally said, leaning back, forming a crystal. The image it contained was that of the Underground with its huge moon in a cloudless sky. The light coming from the moon made the castle look like something out of a fairy tale.

“You’ve been searching for your parents for a long time,” Luke answered. Mara nodded. “And now that I’ve found my father and know my heritage, it isn’t at all what I thought it’d be like. But it sure explains a lot of things that have been going on, lately, including these crystals,” she said, making the one in her hands disappear. “The Force works in mysterious ways, Mara. I suggest sleeping for now, and an answer will come to you eventually,” Luke told her, kissing her softly. Mara returned the kiss, then the two slept in each other’s arms.

Meanwhile, LeAnn was busy speaking with Jareth. “I’ve yet to reach knight-hood, Jareth. I’m just a senior padawan. I can’t control dreams. I don’t even know if a Jedi Master like Uncle Luke or Master Yoda would be able to do that. Besides, even if I could, I wouldn’t. It’s wrong. And besides, Aunt Mara would feel it in the Force if I did try it.” Jareth frowned down at the young woman before him. “Do you expect for me to do it myself? I can’t. My bond with Mara’s is too strong. She can sense Fae magic.”

LeAnn sighed. Why did Jareth have to keep coming to her every time he ran into a snag in this little father-daughter problem? “Listen,” she said. “Why don’t you just let the Force work? It’d probably be best for everyone involved if Aunt Mara took the path the Force decides to guide her down, and if she’s meant to accept her heritage, her bloodline, she will, alright?” The Goblin King nodded slightly before disappearing, leaving LeAnn to finally get some rest.

Mara found herself on a hilltop over-looking a battle. She realized where she was. She was in the Underground. And someone was attacking her father’s castle. She almost didn’t realize it was a dream, and when she did she willed herself into the throne-room, to help her father. But no one was there. She ran, something, most likely the Force, guiding her to the Escher Room. There she saw two people fighting with swords. One was her father, but the other had darker, slicked back hair, and wore a black coat, edged with purple and silver.

In a flash, Mara drew her lightsaber and, finding she couldn’t use the Force here to aim it at the man trying to kill her father, she started running. As she dared to glance at the two men fighting, though, she saw the second man’s rapier aim straight for her father’s stomach.

Mara screamed aloud, sitting bolt upright in bed, covered in sweat. Luke held her. He had felt all of her emotions through-out the dream through their Force bond, and knew it hadn’t been a pleasant one. After a moment, Mara pushed away and, pulling on her robe, called out for Jareth. The Goblin King appeared immediately, apparently having been asleep himself. He smiled at her. “I take this to mean you’ve made your decision, Mara?” he asked. She nodded. “I have,” Mara answered. “I’ve decided to accept my heritage, all of it.”

After a brief embrace, Jareth handed Mara a crystal. “Just use this whenever you and Luke are ready to come to the Underground. You’ll be transported directly to my castle, unless there’s danger, which there may be. Our neighbor to the west, the Gnome King, has been making threats of war. He’s been after my throne for a long time. If there is danger when the two of you arrive, you’ll be transported to the hill over looking the entire Labyrinth. From there you can will yourself anywhere within the Underground.” Mara nodded slightly, her dream coming back to her, but before she could ask her father about it, he was gone.

Chapter 5

Luke and Mara spent the next week getting ready for their trip to the Underground. There was packing to be done, things to take care of in the organization of the Academy, and plenty of good-byes to be said. And at the good-bye party, there were a lot of tears. LeAnn rolled her eyes as Leia while hugging Luke. “I don’t know what all the fuss is about,” she said. “It’s not like they’re never coming back. They’ll still be back every once in a while to work with the students at the academy and I’m sure they’ll be here often to visit. I mean, after all, transporting between the Underground and the Aboveground is easy.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” Luke said. “I’m sure you go a lot.” LeAnn grinned. “Actually, I do,” she said, producing a crystal. “Hey, Jareth gave me the magic to do what I want. I’m having fun with it while I can and hoping he doesn’t remember and take it away from me,” she said upon receiving a strange look from everyone else. “So just how did you meet him, anyway?” Jaina asked. “You sure you want to hear it? It’s a long story,” LeAnn replied. Jaina nodded, and apparently everyone else wanted to know, as well.

“Well, it all started when I got interested in Labyrinth. I started writing fan fiction for it, and eventually started chatting with other writers. The first one was Norma. Then I met Kim and Melissa and Sara. Eventually, Jessica joined our group. Then Spidey came along. They taught me to believe that everything in Labyrinth was real. That was when I really wanted to meet Jareth. And that was when I was invited to join The List. I joined just in time to receive an invitation to go to the Underground for the annual Villains’ Ball,” she said, looking as if she were describing a dream.

“Shortly after receiving the invitation was when Jareth first visited me. He wanted to make sure I was going to have a date and a proper dress. Then he left. My date for the ball was Lucifer himself, though in his guise as Mr. Applegate from Damn Yankees. He and I had fun. He even helped me mess with the vampires that Ziggy had brought. And there was a karaoke machine. I sang a normal song, much to Jareth’s relief, and then Mel sang Who Let The Bog Out, after which a bunch of goblins jumped Jareth’s bones,” she said, giggling. Mara couldn’t help laughing at the thought of a bunch of goblins attacking her father.

“Anyway,” LeAnn continued, “After Mel finished her song, I did my rendition of the Bum Bum Song. Oh, Jareth was mad. And then someone else The Bad Touch. Jareth was even less happy. And then the vampires spiked the peach punch with vampire blood, so half the listians were walking around half-vampire-ized. I almost became vampire happy meal and I would have if I hadn’t managed to get Steve to rescue me. All in all it was an interesting night. Afterwards, in our chats, Jareth would pop in and out. We’ve even gotten him to play truth or dare with us, and during one game we got really drunk.” She finished.

It was at that moment that the Goblin King himself decided to make an appearance. “This seems rather calm for a party where LeAnn is in attendance. Usually, there’s karaoke going and peaches flying.” “I’m afraid peaches are rather scares on Coruscant, Father,” Mara said. LeAnn nodded. “Besides, Tights, my peach sisters ain’t here. And peach sisters do not cause chaos without other peach sisters present.” Jareth grimaced as he was called by that nickname. “Don’t call me that. Please don’t call me that,” he said, trying not to growl. He was rather tempted to tip her head first into the Bog of Eternal Stench.

“Anyway, Mara, I just came to say that everything’s ready for when you and Luke arrive tomorrow. I’ll see you then, alright?” he said, hugging his daughter. Mara nodded, hugging back. “Yeah, see you tomorrow,” she said, just before Jareth disappeared.

Chapter 6

When Luke and Mara arrived in the Underground the next day, however, they didn’t arrive at the castle. Instead, they landed on a hill overlooking the labyrinth. Hoggle was there waiting for them. “I’s afraid I wouldn’t go down there, if I was you,” he said. “There’s some giant worm-like beast attacking the Goblin City. And ‘e’s got one of those lightsaber things you two carry.”

“Don’t worry, Hoggle,” Mara said. “We’ll take care of it.” Luke nodded. “But could you tell us anything about this guy before we go in?” Hoggle nodded. “Well, ‘is name is Willum. E’s always been a bit jealous of Jareth’s power. But he’s also been pretty small up until lately. I guess ‘e’s been plottin’ to kill Jareth for a long time, but just now got the power and enough motivation. Apparently, ‘e gets real mad whenever someone travelling the labyrinth doesn’t come in for tea when he invites them. And Sarah was no exception. But the thing is, Jareth loves Sarah. Took him a long time to get over your mother’s death, Mara, but when he did, Sarah was the one, and it was about 15 years ago that this took place.

Anyway, I guess Willum saw Sarah as ‘is way at getting to Jareth, and when she wouldn’t come in for tea, he just got real mad. ‘E’s been getting more and more powerful over the past years, and finally invaded earlier today. ‘E’s even gotten hold of Jareth’s powers, and claims to be some sort of worm-Fae as well as a Sith Lord.” At this, Luke and Mara looked at each other, frowning. “There’s not just one, then,” Luke said. “Always two there are, a master and an apprentice.” Mara snickered. “Then we’ll just have to kill them both so no more apprentices can become Siths.” With that, she formed a crystal in her hand, using it to transport herself and her husband down into the Goblin City.

What they saw when they got there almost made Luke and Mara burst out laughing. Willum the worm, now Darth Wormy, looked like a blue Hutt with orange hair. The red scarf made him look even more ridiculous. The entire situation would have been hilarious had the giant worm not ignited a bright orange lightsaber as soon as they had appeared. ~Use that magic of yours to make yourself invisible.~ Luke sent through the Force. ~I’ll keep him busy up here.~ Mara nodded slightly. ~Just be careful, Skywalker,~ she sent back. Then she vanished into thin air, surprising their Foe enough that Luke was able to get a strike in.

Chapter 7

Having dispatched with Darth Wormy, Luke and Mara both ran into the castle. There stood a tall woman with black hair and pale skin. Her black robe made her look even more pale. The woman’s eyes seemed to glow a dark red, like blood. Beneath her lay Jareth. The Goblin King seemed to be unconscious, and the woman stood over him, red lightsaber glowing brightly, poised to kill. Mara rushed forward, blocking this new threat’s swing towards her father’s body.

~Luke!~ she cried out, through the Force. ~Go out to that giant slug’s body and get my father’s pendant. It’s the source of his power! ~ Luke did as he was told, dashing outside quickly. As soon as he caught a glimpse of the Sigel, he attempted to draw it to his hand with the Force. Only after seeing it wouldn’t work did he remember what LeAnn had told them about only Force messaging working in the Underground, and nothing else. “Sith…” he muttered, running over to pick it up by hand. It was only now that he realized just how much he had relied upon the Force.

As he ran back inside, he could see that the battle between Mara and the woman who could only be described as a Sith Witch was becoming quite heated. He tossed the pendant to Jareth, who caught it and, putting it around his neck, was up much faster than anyone could have believed. “Darth Sarmonia! How would you like your own oubliette, eh?” he asked, forming a perfect crystal. He then threw it at her, Mara ducking out of the way just in time.

As soon as the Sith Witch was gone, Mara and Luke both shut down their lightsabers, re-hooking them to their belts.

Chapter 8

“I suppose,” Jareth stated as he put the sigel back around his neck, “that you would like to know just why those two were attacking me.” “Hoggle told us.” Luke replied. Mara nodded. “He said that overgrown worm was a bit jealous of your power and wanted to take over the kingdom,” she added. Jareth shook his head. “There’s more to it than that. Much more. I’m afraid that Hoggle only knows the basics. Sit down. This may be a long story.”

The Goblin King and the two Jedi sat, Jareth on his throne, Luke and Mara on seats he had made appear with magic. “It all started a long time ago,” Jareth started, “before you were born, Mara. That Sith witch’s real name is Sardanna, and she is your mother’s cousin. When Marissa and I married, Sardanna became very jealous of her cousin’s new, much higher position as a queen, even if it is just of the goblins.

Sardanna was also Force sensitive. However, from her envy, hatred developed, and she was lead down the path of the dark side. She studied with my brother, though after he took on an apprentice of his own that wasn’t her, she began studying in private. Over the years, she has grown more powerful, even at 63 years of age. Finally, about a year ago, she met up with Willum. He was Force sensitive, as well, and very angry with me. He wasn’t just jealous of my power. Many generations ago, it was his family ruling the Labyrinth, not mine.

Last night, Sardanna managed to steal my sigel. She gave it to Willum, who had become Darth Wormy, and he used it to grow to the size he was when the two of you arrived.” Jareth looked at his daughter and son-in-law as he finished, waiting for response. “Was it Sardanna that killed Mother?” Mara asked. Jareth nodded. “She did so shortly after you were born, hoping to get Samuel to notice her so she could take over Darth Vader’s place as his second in command.”

Prologue

The week after the defeat of Sardanna and Willum was filled with celebration, partially because the kingdom had been saved, and partially for the coronation and official recognition throughout the courts of Mara as Jareth’s daughter and princess and heir to the goblin throne.

Jareth continued to rule for many years, which allowed Mara and Luke to be free enough to face other enemies and defeat them, as well as to care for their son, Ben, who was born during the Yuzhan-Vong attack.

Jareth finally married Sarah shortly after Ben’s birth, and while Mara had difficulty bonding with her step-mother, who was younger than she was, Ben took to Sarah as his grandmother immediately. Jareth and Sarah even had another daughter, Donnatella, Donna for short, and Mara doted heavily upon her baby sister.

Shortly after the war with the Vong, however, Jareth was hit with iron while he and Sarah were visiting Mara and Luke on Coruscant with baby Donna. He died, soon after, and Mara and Luke became the new King and Queen of the Goblins, alternatively ruling the Labyrinth and running the Praxeum on Yavin IV for the rest of their lives.

A/N:Alright. You all knew this was coming. But quite honestly, this will be short and sweet. Basically, MAJOR thanks to Kim, who gave me the names Sarmonia, Sardanna, and Donnatella. She gets a 1,000 peach salute from me for that, as well as 1,000 lightsaber salute. She’s a true lifesaver, and if it weren’t for her, I never would have been able to come up with the names so I could finish this story. Thanks, Kim!!