Title: Labyrinthian Park

Fandom: Labyrinth

Parts: 13

Rating: PG-13 for situations and anatomy of goblins

Disclaimer: michael crichton wrote jurassic park and owns john hammond and

those situations, henson owns labyrinth, any other people that appear in

here own themselves.

Summary: Ingen decides to stop working with dinosaurs and play with

fandoms. Listians are involved in different ways as they realize their

beloved fandom is suddenly out to get them. Crossover with Jurassic Park

*********************

An uncharted island somewhere off the coast of Costa Rica

            Through the dark and the rain, the workers struggled to finish the

enclosed area. This was the last of them...then all they had to do was

release the animals. One particularly strong worker climbed up on top

of a steel box and waited as the crane lowered it to the ground below.

            "I'm going to pull up the door!" he shouted, frowning at the abrupt

movement inside. The box tipped and jerked momentarily, but then became

suddenly still. Shrugging, the worker yanked up the metal door...

            Nothing happened. Great, now they would have to coax it out...sighing,

he wondered just what the fuss was about and relaxed his stance on the

door. If he had been smart, he wouldn't have let his guard down.

            Abruptly, the cage lurched, jarring the man enough to fall to the

ground in front of it. Shaking himself, he glanced up into the dark

space of its interior. A hand gripped his leg and he screamed out in

terror...what *was* this place going to be!? Struggling, he tried to

crawl away, but the grip was too strong...that thing wasn't alone in

there! It hadn't looked that awful...

            He was yanked in and from around him other workers jumped down to save

their comrad. Screams pierced the air and after a moment he came

running out, his clothes torn to shreds and thin lines of blood on his

limbs.

            "Close it!!!" he gasped. The order was obeyed, but they didn't miss

the thing's huge orange eyes staring back at them, nor the manic

laughter.

            "HAHAHAHAAHA!!!! Where you going with a HEEEEEAAAAD like that!?"

*****************************************************

Orlando, Florida, USA

            "Now then...you sure you'll be able to pull it off?" Michael Eisner

asked to the employee seated before him. "I don't know how Hammond did

it...but all I know is that we need to know how! Imagine if we could

use that technology on our movies...we'd be unbeatable!"

            "Of course we would! That's why you hired me, right?" the bounty

hunter replied. He looked like any other guy: clean-cut, dressed in

jeans and a polo shirt, but his hard stare gave him away. He was in it

for money, and he would get a lot of money for this job. No killing

involved, nothing that messy. All he needed was to get in, grab some

samples, and get out. And he was already hired there as an employee.

            "Good. You know what to do. Hammond will be expecting you there to

meet his guests...I'll expect you back in three days. Be sure you get

to the boat in time, or else you'll be stuck on the island till the

weekend...don't keep me waiting."

            "I won't. I'm the best."

**********************************************************************

O'Hara Airport, Chicago, USA

            I glanced around and shrugged...this was very strange, indeed. As if

the weird invitation wasn't enough...now here I was at an airport

standing in front of a small plane getting ready to head to who knows

where! All I knew for sure was that I had received quite a formal

invitation to a new theme park or something...

            "Hey! You here for the trip to the park, too?" I turned and stared at

a girl walking towards me who looked very familiar...

            "Yeah, the name's Selah."

            "Lisa...wait a minute...you wouldn't be Ziggy, would you?!" she

practically shouted.

            "Yeah...on the fanfic list...wait a minute...LISA? Lisa the smut

queen?!" She nodded and we laughed. "What are you doing here!?"

            "Same as you, I guess...got one of these in the mail from somebody

named Hammond...any idea what it means?"

            "Nope, sorry-" I turned at someone shouting my name. A very familiar

face was running towards us.

            "Millennia!!! Let me guess: invitation?"

            "How did you know?" she asked, frowning.

            "We got em, too...this is Lisa, from the list. Got any ideas what this

is about?"

            "No, I'm just as clueless as you guys...who's that?" We turned and

gaped at the gentlemen coming towards us...they weren't even gentlemen;

they were geniuses.

            "Is that...GEORGE LUCAS!!!" I practically shrieked.

            "Shhhh!!!! They'll hear you! And that's Brian Henson!" Millennia

added, jabbing me in the ribs.

            "And Brian Froud?" Lisa asked, hands on hips. "What is going on here?"

            "I don't know...but I think we're about to find out," I whispered,

pointing to an old, bearded man that came towards us, dressed in a

white shirt and khakis and sporting a cane. "He looks familiar.."

            "You're right..." they agreed. I turned as still another listian

joined us.

            "Stormlight?" I guessed. She nodded and gaped at the three geniuses.

"Anyone want to tell me what's going on?"

            "No...but now aren't you glad you didn't have to unsub?" I asked,

grinning. The guy came to greet us and gestured for Froud, Henson, and

Lucas to follow.

            "I suppose you wondered why I asked you all here...hello, my name is

John Hammond," he said, smiling as he shook our hands.

            "Wait a minute...John Hammond like in Jurassic Park?" I asked.

            His face darkened slightly. "Yes...that was an investment of mine that

had dire consequences...but this one, this one will be glorious!"

            "Wait a minute...Jurassic Park was just a movie!" Lisa interjected.

            "That's what everyone wanted you to think," he replied, and chills

crept up my spine. We looked at each other uneasily and glanced at the

directors.

            "Now then, you're all here to tour my new theme park!"

            "Well...I can see why you'd want big-name people to see it, but why

us?" Stormlight asked.

            "You'll see...you'll see."

)

Ch. 2

            I stared out the window, wondering where in fraggle's name we were

headed to. All I saw was ocean, ocean, more ocean...

            "So what could he possibly want with all of us?" I asked.

            "That's what we've been trying to figure out," Brian Froud sighed. We

had all been introduced and were now making conversation.

            "Well, let's think this through...I just finished Star Wars...." Lucas

murmured.

            "But Brian and I had nothing to do with that!" Henson argued.

            "Yeah, and why would we be here? The only reason we know each other

is..." Lisa trailed off.

            "Through the list," Stormlight finished. "But what would that have to

do with-"

            "Brian was Hoggle, plus Jim Henson is his dad, Froud did the designs,

and George here produced it!" I cried, triumphant. "So it has something

to do with labyrinth..."

            "Very good...very good, indeed," Hammond chuckled from his seat. "I

suppose I should let you know some of the details. You see, after

Jurassic Park I became very depressed...nothing would encourage me to

go on...then I saw an extrodinary movie..."Labyrinth." I knew this was

the key, this had to be what would attract family audiences, what would

bring happiness back to the world, as well as my life!"

            "But that was just a movie!" Henson countered.

            "So was Jurassic Park," Millennia whispered.

            Hammond ignored her statement. "Yes, I thought that, too, except for

one minor detail...but allow me to introduce you to my niece, who is

also going to get an advanced tour." We turned around as a young woman

in her early twenties got out of a seat and walked towards us, smiling.

All of us promptly let our jaws hit the floor.

            "Sarah, these are the nice people I told you about...allow me to

introduce you to my niece, Sarah Williams."

*****************

            "So, you see, it turned out that the Underground was real, but

destroyed," Hammond was saying, casting a look to Sarah, who merely

frowned. "But I knew there was interest when I found your fanfiction

list...I knew you would want to see this, as well as these respected

men! My hope is that they will fund my new venture, and you will help

to spread the words and help me know if anything is missing or out of

place."

            "But what exactly *is* this place?" I asked, tired of being kept in

the dark. Just then our plane flew over a small island...one that was

covered with lush trees and some sort of complex and buildings...

            Hammond grinned at us before sitting down as the plane started its

descent. "Ladies and gentlemen, listians and honored guests, welcome to

Labyrinthian Park!"

********************************************

            "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I whispered to the other

listians.

            "But it can't be...how would he reproduce any of it!?" Stormlight

asked.

            "I don't know...but he did it with dinosaurs!" Lisa pointed out.

            "Hammond, look, this is all very interesting, but surely you can't be

serious!" Lucas said.

            "Yeah, come on! It was a great movie, and we're all disappointed it

didn't have more of an effect on people, but what is this, really?"

Froud added.

            "I'm telling you, gentlemen: prepare to be amazed!" We stopped our

walk in front of an enormous building and I guessed it must be the

visitors' center. It looked exactly like the castle beyond the goblin

city.

            "Shouldn't this be in the center?" Millennia asked.

            "A minor flaw, yes, but I would rather have guests come upon this at

the beginning of their tour," Hammond admitted. "If you'll follow

me..." he led us past a huge gift shop filled with Ludo dolls, Jareth

T-shirts, crystal balls, and more. Suddenly, we were in the main hall.

It looked an awful like the building in the movie, but instead of

featuring dinosaur skeletons, it held giant crystals suspended on

cables. They were absolutely beautiful...though there was a strange

sense of deja vu in the air. Soon, we had to be moving on.

            "This little film will explain how this place came to be," John said,

sitting down in a chair in a small theater and motioning for us to do

the same. The lights dimmed and slowly an animated DNA strand flashed

onto the screen.

            "Oy vey...you would've thought it would be something less corny this

time!" I sighed.

            "Hi! I'm a DNA strand and welcome to Labyrinthian Park. Before you

start your tour, let me show you how we've been able to recreate the

magic of the move Labyrinth in real life! You see...a few years back

those incidents really happened, leaving the Underground in a pile of

rubble." I glanced over to a slightly embarrassed Sarah.

            "Hey, how was I supposed to know it was real? I thought it was teenage

angst!" she whispered.

            "Let me guess...you're getting a lot of college money to come forward

about this, right?" Lisa asked. She nodded, eyes fixed on the screen.

            "I still don't think there's anything to this, though," she whispered.

            "Shhh!"

            "Now I bet your wondering how we could do this! Well, a group of

miners that used to work for Hammond came across something very

interesting in a group of caverns," the DNA strand said as the screen

featured a view of a faerie fossilized inside a crystal. "It seemed

that before the Underground was destroyed, a new way to prevent faeries

from becoming over-abundant: they captured them in crystals, and over

time they became very well preserved. After contacting Mr. Hammond,

they determined that the same technology used in Jurassic Park, could

be used to bring residents of the Underground to this day and age!" I

winced as a needle was pierced through the crystal and into the

faerie's stomach, extracting a blood sample. Well, they did bite

people...

            "Using the DNA from the blood in the faerie's stomachs, we were able

to bring back all of the residents of the labyrinth!"

            "All?" I asked, my eyes widening.

            "That's right...now I bet you're wondering how we filled in the blank

spots! Well, some did have bouts of amnesia, but we satisfied that by

sharing loads of the list's fanfiction with them, educating them until

they knew everything about their background and behavior."

            "Oh good lord," Stormlight whispered. "Who knows what we'll find out

there!" We started slightly as the seats began to move out of the

theater and into a lab where scientists were busy working with tubes of

chemicals. Hammond pushed a button and the seats stopped, allowing us

to get out and take a closer look.

            "What's that?" I asked, pointing to a form inside a crystal.

            "A baby firey...it's just about to hatch," the female scientist

replied.

            "And you're sure this is safe?" Millennia asked.

            "Quite safe, much safer than the last park! There's nothing here that

could do anyone any harm!" she replied.

            "Wanna bet?" Sarah muttered under her breath. We all gathered round as

the firey began to stretch its crystal prison. Hammond put on a pair of

gloves and gently assisted the little thing. Lucas, Froud, and Henson

were mesmerized, as were we listians. This was just incredible...but it

also had a faint sense of foreboding to it.

            With a slight yelp, the firey pushed through its shell and blinked

large yellow eyes. Looking around, it stared at its visitors.

            "Aw...it's kind of cute," Lisa giggled.

            "Yeah...until it burns down the center!" Sarah quipped. Slowly I

reached out a hand and patted the little guy's slightly damp head. He

gave a tiny laugh and suddenly his head began to bounce on and off its

shoulders.

            "Amazing!" Lucas mumured.

            Almost reluctantly we left the scene behind and followed Hammond to

the cafeteria, which was covered with murals of goblins, fireys, and

other inhabitants, including Didymus, Hoggle, Ludo, and Jareth...

            "So tell me, what do you think?" Hammond asked. He looked excited

enough to jump out of his chair.

            "It's amazing, a work of genius...but is it safe?" Lucas asked,

frowning.

            "Of course...but you'll want that proven, so I've arranged a tour. To

the jeeps!"

            We followed John out of the room and outside, but first made a stop at

a very large enclosure with a clear roof.

            "What's that?" Millennia asked, pointing down to the indoor area that

looked exactly like the throne room.

            "Why, it's only the residence of one of our featured attractions!"

Hammond chuckled. "Can't you guess?"

            "Uh...goblins?" Stormlight ventured.

            "No, better!"

            "Fireys!" Froud declared.

            "No, much more regal!"

            "You didn't..." I breathed, my eyes widening. "You're not talking

about...about..."

            "Him!" Sarah squeaked, turning pale.

            "Well, them actually," Hammond answered, smiling mysteriously.

            "What do you mean...them?" Millennia asked, flashing all of us a look.

            "Well...there was a lot of the goblin king's DNA in those faeries and

we couldn't decide which persona to give him...after reading the fanfic

list, I just couldn't choose! So, we made four different versions." He

paused as Sarah walked away to wait down by the jeeps; she obviously

didn't want to hear more, and I'm not sure I blamed her.

            "FOUR!!!? FOUR JARETHS?!!!" A very excited Liz panted.

            "Yes, that's right! One is like the annoying, egotistical king you all

talk about in your visitations and such...the second is the Jareth that

has fallen in love with my niece-"

            "Well that's no fun!" Lisa pouted, crossing her arms. The gentlemen

with us just exchanged confused looks.

            "The third is the Jareth who isn't involved with anyone at the moment,

who has a mischevious side but also a tender aspect, making him the one

you put into all your...more romantic stories..." Hammond continued,

chuckling slightly as Lisa perked up considerably. "And the fourth is

the evil, dispicable Jareth that has no conscience that some are so

fond of writing about-"

            "W-what?!" I stammered. This was way worse than raptors. One of him

would've been enough...but FOUR?!

            "Well, I want the public to embrace all sides of his personality!"

            "Hey, I can't complain about that!" Lisa said, wiping her mouth with

the back of her hand.

            "Are you really sure anything's down there?" Millennia asked,

frowning.

            "Oh, yes...here, let me show you," he pushed a button on a remote he

had and a basket of peaches was lowered via crane into the enclosure.

            "What about safety?" Henson asked.

            "Oh, we're using the same system as Jurassic Park, but we've got magic

on our side! The residue from the used crystals creates a field around

each enclosure that could only be broken with magic."

            "But the Jareths...they have magic!" I argued.

            "Yes, but it's still growing. Besides, they wouldn't want to pass up

their public! The only way anybody could get out is if something

knocked out the security system and they all used their magic

collectively to free themselves, and that won't happen." Our attention

was turned as the crane lifted back up, brandishing a now-empty basket

bearing a note.

            Hammond...

                         Quit with all the peaches!!!!

********************************

Ch. 3

            We were all in sort of a daze as we walked down to where two jeeps

were waiting. This was going to be....something. I wasn't sure what to

think, and I'm not sure the others did, either.

            "Now then, I'll wait here while you take your tour; don't worry, the

jeeps run on a track, but can be driven in an emergency. Have fun!"

Hammond called. We slowly walked towards the vehicles and the man

dressed all in green that waited beside them.

            "RIDDLER?! I don't believe it!!" I laughed. "What are you doing

here?!"

            "Hey, it's work! You geniuses and lovely ladies ready to witness the

magic of Labyrinthian Park?" he asked, grinning. Sarah was already

seated in one jeep, looking like she was having as much fun as sitting

through a hurricane.

            "Yeah...sure, why not!" I agreed, deciding maybe things couldn't be

too bad. "What do you guys think?" I asked, turning to the others.

            "I'VE GOT SHOTGUN!!!" Lisa bellowed, running to the empty jeep.

            "All right...Stormlight, why don't you, Brian Froud, Lisa, and George

Lucas ride together, and Ziggy, me, Riddler, Brian Henson, and Sarah

will take the other jeep!" (Did I mention they were pretty big jeeps?)

Millennia advised, though I could tell she wasn't thrilled at the

prospect of riding with Sarah.

            "Okay, sounds good to me!" she agreed and we piled into our respective

vehicles.

            "So, Riddler, what is it that you do around here?" I asked.

            "Well, I wanted to be in the control room, but Hammond thought I spent

too much time checking my email, so he hired some new guy and put me

here as game warden."

            "Game warden?" Millennia asked, her eyes widening.

            "Yeah...just in case something should happen, but I really doubt it

will!"

            There was a tension in the air as slowly the vehicles began to move of

their own accord and drive down a path lined by hedges that looked like

a pretty good replica of the maze in the movie. Suddenly, we stopped

before two humongous doors, carved like the gates in "Labyrinth." A

torch encased by a crystal stood on each side and a giant picture of

Jareth was at its top. The top border was emblazoned with the park's

name. The gates slowly creaked open, and mist poured out. Sarah

whimpered slightly and I tried to give her a sympathetic look.

            The truth was that I was excited as all get-out!

            Slowly, we entered and all of us were pushing up against the windows,

trying to see what lay in wait for us. We were in the first jeep and I

turned and waved to the others behind us.

            "Hey, check this out," Henson said, pulling a pair of walkie-talkies

out from under a seat.

            "That's so we can communicate with the folks in the other jeep,"

Riddler stated.

            Immediately I grabbed one. "Echo five to Echo one...Han old buddy, do

ya read me?!" I couldn't help it...I was in too jumpy a mood.

            "Very cute, Selah! But if you start singing the Star Wars theme, I'm

throwing it out the window!" Stormlight laughed from over the line.

"George doesn't need to hear your complaints of how you should've been

Queen Amidala!"

            "But I should've-" I frowned as the line clicked off in a hurry. "How

wude!!" I sniffed in a Jar Jar Binks imitation before setting it down.

I was crammed between Brian Henson and Sarah. At least Brian thought it

was funny.

            "Hey, we're coming to the first enclosure!!" Millennia shouted,

pointing out her window. I leaned forward and smushed my nose against

the window. The radio clicked on and began to give explanations about

the fireys that lived there. Nothing moved. Not even a little sign of

life.

            I picked up the walkie talkie again. "You guys see anything?" I asked

hopefully.

            "Nope, sorry...you think Hammond's just messing with us?" Lisa

replied.

            "I don't know...I'm not sure if I wish that were true or not," I

sighed as the jeeps began to move again. The next area was the same

way. No goblins. Nothing. None of the goblins that were supposed to be

wreaking havoc were there.

            "Let's see if we can't get them to show their warty faces," Riddler

was saying, pressing a button on a remote. A chicken suddenly popped up

inside the clearing, tied to a post. Five minutes later, it was still

there.

            "Well...third time's a charm," Lucas said from over the walkie talkies

as we moved to another area. It was as still as the others except...

            "Look, I see something!" I shouted, flinging open the door and heading

into the undergrowth.

            "Selah!!! Come back!!! Millennia yelled, but I was too intent on

seeing what the source of the movement I had seen was.

            "If she's going, I'm going!!! Lisa shrieked, jumping out of the other

jeep. Pretty soon, all of us were out in labyrinth territory. I raced

through the bushes and finally came face to face with...

            "Oh no! You poor thing!" I cried upon seeing a very distressed Ludo

lying in the grass.

            "L-Ludo?" Sarah gasped, kneeling beside him.

            "Sawah? Sawah fwiend!"

            "What is it Ludo?" I asked, frowning at the others who had finally

caught up.

            "SMELL BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!" My frown deeped then suddenly I saw, or

rather, smelled what he meant. A horrid stench was coming from

someplace nearby.

            "What is THAT?!" Stormlight yelled, covering her nose. The rest did

the same.

            "Oh, that's probably the replica of the Bog Hammond put in," Riddler

said, shrugging.

            "He put it too close to the other areas! Ludo here is sick!" I cried,

then noticed Riddler was already on a cell phone and talking to

Hammond. Sighing, I ran a hand through his soft red fur, melting at his

big eyes. He was real...it was all real.

*******************

            Hammond frowned as he hung up from talking to the Riddler. What could

be going wrong?

            "We've got two no-shows and one creature down!" he complained to

Barry, the new computer assistant. Jade, the regular security chief

frowned from where she was looking at a screen. Somehow she had the

feeling that this new summer job wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

            "What could be the matter?"

            "I don't know...but I don't like the looks of this."

            Barry merely kept his ears open, biding his time.

            "Have them come back to the visitors' center...it looks like a storm

is headed our way," Jade informed Hammond. Nodding, Hammond got back on

the phone, not noticing the flood of activity that was suddenly coming

from Barry's computer.

*************************************

                         "Boss says it's time to head back! There's a storm heading our way!"

Riddler said, jumping to his feet. "What do you want to do about him?"

            "I don't like this...I wanna go back right now!" Sarah muttered, a

slight whine seeping into her voice.

            "All right...I'll head back with her. Anyone else wanna come?" I

asked.

            "Somebody's gotta stay with Ludo," Millennia argued, entranced.

            "Yeah...I want to study him a little longer," Henson agreed, and Lucas

nodded. So we decided that Sarah, Lisa, Stormlight, and I would return

and the others would stay to keep watch over Ludo.

            I frowned as the wind began to pick up and dark clouds crept across

the sky. "Let's get going," I advised, climbing in the jeep, the others

right on my tail. It started up and turned around, slowly taking us

back to the beginning.

            "And here I thought this was Hoggle's job!" Stormlight laughed,

inducing giggles from all of us. Well, most of us. Sarah was completely

lost in thought. I really had hoped to tour the park...Riddler had said

it wasn't a complete replica of the labyrinth, but it featured some of

the same things, sort of combining it with the Jurassic Park setup.

Sighing, I watched as the clouds opened up and poured heavy droplets

down onto our jeep, hoping everything would be all right.

****************************

            Oh, this was working out so perfectly...only a few more minutes and

things would be right on schedule. Barry glanced up at John and Jade

who were too entranced by a doplar map on the girl's computer; they

didn't suspect a thing. It would be so easy: shut off the security,

grab a few samples of the crystals, hide them in a bowling ball just

like Eisener had instructed, drive through the park, and get on the

boat on the other side. Best of all, there were no man-eating dinosaurs

to stop him. Who cared what happened after he left; that was their

problem! He would have Eisner's samples and soon he would have lots of

money.

            He loved his job.

****************************

            John Hammond straightened as a very familiar alarm began to sound. No.

No, it wasn't possible. Not again! Not this time...he had taken all the

precautions...

            "The security system shorted out!!! We're completely without power!!"

Jade bellowed, cursing as her computer screen went blank and all the

lights went out. After a few moments, the emergency lighting came on,

but it was little help to the real problem.

            Grabbing his phone, Hammond dialed the Riddler. No reply. Damn it, not

again!! Now they were out there, alone. Sarah was alone in all of it

again...how would she be able to cope?! Well, at least they still had

magic.

            He hoped.

****************************

            In the complex next to the visitors' center, they smiled. This was the

moment...what they had been waiting for. They each had different

agendas, of course, but they all wanted one thing at the moment.

             Freedom.

            Slowly, a light inside the enclosure began to form, a light that could

only come from magic beings. Suddenly, all around the entire park light

flashed. Then it was gone. And so were they.

========

Ch. 4

            I blinked in surprise as the jeep lurched to a stop in front of the

firey pen. Oh, this couldn't be good.

            "Uh...did someone hit the brakes?" I asked quietly.

            "No." Stormlight whispered. Lightning flashed...or at least, I hoped

it was lightning.

            "What was that?" I asked, biting my lip.

            "Do we really want to know?" Lisa replied, looking just as nervous as

I felt.

            "Riddler, Riddler, do you read me?" I asked, talking into the walkie

talkie. Nothing. "Hammond, Hammond, what's going on!?" Static.

            "UNCLE JOHN, WE'RE GONNA DIE!!!! SAVE US!!!!" Sarah shrieked over my

shoulder.

            I winced and rubbed my ear. He didn't even hear *that*.

            "Oh, this is so not good...this is not fair!!!"

            "Okay, you worked it in! Now if you say it again I swear we will hurt

you!!!" Stormlight stated coldly, not turning around from her postition

in the front seat next to Lisa.

            "W-what's that?" I asked, pointing to the firey pen. The leaves of the

bushes rustled.

            Lisa pointed up ahead to the goblin enclosure. "Hey, where's the

chicken?"

            SSSSSSSSSSSSQQQQQQQQQQUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAWWWKKK!!!!!

            We all gasped as a very distressed fowl ran over the windshield and

across the roof of the jeep. Cackling laughter echoed through the

darkness and thunder boomed.

            "Oh boy..." I murmured, wringing my hands. This is when I needed a

good Bowie song...

            We turned and shrieked as the fence of the firey enclosure burst into

flames and manic laughter echoed through the sky.

            "Do you think...do you think they're..."

            "SHHHH!!!!" I hissed, pointing to the side. A huge legion of fireys

was jumping the ruined fence and pouring onto the road. "Quick, hit the

lights!!!" Stormlight obeyed, sending the entire jeep into darkness.

"Nobody move...maybe they won't notice us," I whispered, remembering

Jurassic Park.

            "HEY LADIES!!!! WHERE YOU GOING WITH HEEEEAAAADDDSSS LIKE THAT!!!!

WE'LL JUST TAKE YOUR HEADS OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Then again...

            "They wouldn't notice us, huh?" Lisa asked raising an eyebrow.

            "Uh...they sound like they mean business," Stormlight gulped as the

creatures pounded on the roof and windows. They didn't seem so adorable

or friendly like they had in the movie. Sarah was curled into a ball

beside me, whimpering as the jeep began to quake back and forth.

            "Relax, they probably won't be able to get in!" I said, chuckling

nervously.

            Two bright orange hands worked their way between the window and the

jeep's edge and pulled it down easily. Man, they were strong little

buggers...

            "Will you STOP THAT!!!? That's worse than her saying it's a piece of

cake!!!" Stormlight shouted. "Hey, where's she going?!" she screamed,

gaping as Sarah flung the car door open and hid underneath the jeep.

            "Oh that's smooth!" I replied, rolling my eyes and reaching for the

door.

            "Hey, There you are!!! We found you!!!" I gasped as a bright red beast

launched himself next to me on the back seat. Backing up, I promptly

ran into another.

            "RUN!!! GOGOGO!!!! GET THE OTHERS!!!" I screamed upon noticing the

looks of horror on Lisa and Stormlight's faces. Nodding, they jumped

out and barrelled down the road. I shrieked in terror as hands began to

grab at my head, yanking hard.

            "LET GO!!!" I roared, grabbing one creature's snout, yanking it's head

off, and beating the one in front of me with it. That distracted them

just enough for me to get out and under the jeep next to Sarah.

            "I think we're safe under here," she moaned. Suddenly, the jeep began

to move very, very slowly.

            "HEY LADIES!!! YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM US!!!!" The vehicle was suddenly

pushed off the road and went off to the side, over an embankment, and

down a steep cliff.

Taking one look at Sarah, I nodded and we both got up and ran for dear

life. Unfortunately, we both headed for the embankment, but were able

to stop right at the cliff.

            "Where to now?" I shouted through the deluge. Things just were not

turning out well. Absently, I pushed strands of sopping wet hair out of

my eyes and tried not to think about my soaked clothes.

            "I don't know! We need someone who knows the territory. "

            "Need some help?" I was able to hear his soft voice perfectly through

the thunder. Lightning flashed and my eyes widened as I made out a

man's form leaning against a tree behind us.

            "Oh my god!!!" Sarah whispered.

            "Shh!!! We don't know which one it is!!!" Swallowing hard, I gathered

my courage, hoping I could be as brave as I was in most of my posts.

"Uh...maybe. Why?"

            "Well, I certainly wouldn't want you two getting lost, and in such

horrid weather. Why hello, Sarah! And this must be a member of the

fanfic list, hmm? Ziggy is it...yes, I recognize you from your

stories!" Well this was all well and good, but it didn't give me a clue

as to which Jareth it was. He was dressed all in black and looked

stunning as ever. Funny, even in the torrents of rain his makeup stayed

in place.

            He chuckled at our stunned reactions. "Come now! You don't think I'm

some monster, now do you?" he laughed, coming closer. Well...maybe it

wasn't so bad, and it would be nice to have some help. "I'll be happy

to help you find your way..." Sarah could stand there and whimper. I

narrowed my eyes and stepped forward.

            "I don't know...why should we trust you?" That got a laugh.

            "Please! You don't think I'm evil, now do you? Me?" Well, he didn't

look that bad, and we really did need help. Putting on a nervous smile,

I shook my head.

            "Good...because maybe you should!!!!" he hissed and suddenly his hand

was clenched round my throat, his eyes blazing into mine, victory

written all over his face. I glanced over to Sarah for help, my eyes

pleading, but she was already running away. "I'm afraid I'm much

different than how you portray me in your little stories...maybe this

will teach you some respect!!!"

            "Let me go you creep!!!" I screamed, raising my knee up to make

contact. He was quick, though, and caught my leg with his, twisting it

away.

            "Oh, if you insist..." he sighed, then cackled. Lightning lit up his

features and I gasped at his eyes...no emotion, only pure, prime evil.

Laughing still, he began to drag me to the cliff.

            "NO!!! YOU CAN'T!!!!!" I screeched, trying to get a blow to reach him.

He now had my hands pinned behind me in an iron grip; he was a lot

stronger than I had thought.

            "Can't I? I know, why don't we find out!" he chuckled, pushing me

towards the edge. Suddenly he was yanked back, and he bellowed with

outrage. I screamed as my feet left the ground and I started to

fall...reaching my hand out, I grabbed onto the edge, hanging just

below the evil Jareth's feet. This couldn't be happening...I was gonna

die, I was actually going to die.

            "LET GO!!!!" he yelled at whoever was trying to rescue me. Looking

back down, he met my eyes and flashed me a cruel grin.

            "If you want to save her, you'll have to do better than, this..." he

laughed, right before a sharp-heeled boot met my flesh. Yelping, I was

forced to let go and started plummeting down...

            I watched the evil king look on with satisfaction before disappearing

into the night. My stomach flipped as I continued to freefall, trying

to make out the figure now at the top...the one who had tried to save

me-

            I looked to my side and stared dumbly at the white owl caught in a

nose dive, headed for the ground below at a break-neck speed. What in

the- Suddenly, though, the air was knocked out of me as my fall was cut

short. Looking around, I realized I was at the bottom of the

cliff...but I was still alive!!!! I gave an ironic laugh and breathed

deeply before realizing someone had caught me. Slowly, I looked up into

mismatched eyes filled with concern.

            "AUUUUGHGHGHGHGH!!!! GET AWAY FROM ME YOU LUNATIC!!!!" I shrieked,

struggling out of his grip and starting to run. A firm hand grabbed my

arm and stopped my nice progress in fleeing. As I was turned around, I

threw a leg out, trying to kick him. It missed, though, and suddenly I

was gently backed into a tree trunk, face to face with my rescuer.

Jareth.

            "Relax, love!!! Calm down! You're safe now!" he murmured, shaking his

head slowly. My breaths were gasps and I looked up at him in panic,

laughter rising even through my terror.

            "Yeah, right!!! I fell for that once, I'm not going to again!!! Let me

go-" I stopped at the look in his eyes; this was definitely not the

same Jareth that just tried to push me off a cliff. Suddenly another

thought filled my mind and I started to panic all over again.

            "Oh lord!! Sarah!!! She's up there with *him*!!!"

            "It's all right...the version that knows how to handle her found her

and took her to safety." I gave him a searching look as he smiled

gently at me. Slowly my breathing calmed and we just stood there as the

rain continued to pour down. So this wasn't the one that was evil,

wasn't the one that was in love with Sarah...as he softly ran a

fingertip down my cheek I realized it wasn't the Mt. Everest of Egos,

either. No, that expression could only belong to one Jareth that I knew

of.

            My heart began to pound as I realized who it must be. Great...this was

worse than any of the others! I had to get away as quickly as

possible...I prefered this version of the character, but not in real

life! It was easier to deal with an annoying Jareth...besides, I was

really not good with any of the emotions Hammond linked this one to. My

experience in romantic entanglements is very little and I've just grown

to accept the fact that most people can't stand me long enough to

develop a relationship. Besides, I'm independent. I could get through

this mess on my own, yeah, that was it! I didn't need some concerned,

partially kind, absolutely gorgeous goblin king that had just saved my

life to help me any more! At least that's what my brain was saying. My

hormones and poor heart were having a field day.

            "Um...uh, look, thanks for saving me. I owe you my life," I whispered,

looking away as he loosened his grip and gradually let me go.

            "Your welcome," he replied simply, his gaze searching my face. "Are

you sure you're all right?"

            "Yeah, I'll be fine. But I've got to warn the others...I guess I'll

just be going-" I stopped and stared, shocked as he began to laugh.

            "Going? Where are you going to go? Your friends have probably already

figured out what happened...they're too far away from here; you can't

do them any good right now. The best place for you to head is the

visitors center. Do you know how to get there from here?"

            Blast it. And I'm terrible with directions, too."Uh...sure!

Easy...it's right over...right over...hmm." I scanned the forest,

trying to spot the enormous building.

            "Well it just so happens that I know the way and would be happy to

escort you there," Jareth replied, smiling softly. I looked at him

warily. "No tricks," he added, a slightly amused look playing across

his face. "But we have to hurry...our magic will be fully developed in

thirteen hours and if you want to stop the Jareth that's out to kill

your friends you've got to get to the visitors center and set up the

security system."

            "WHAT!? KILL!!!!?"

            "Calm down! My, but you're jumpy...yes...unfortunately he has an

enormous chip on his shoulder that none of the listians that were

invited are huge writers of his persona in their fanfiction...so he's

out to get revenge. Now do you see why you can't continue alone?" I

sighed and nodded, knowing there was no more room to argue.

            "You're right, I guess...I'm Selah, by the way."

            "I know. Well, come on, then. We haven't got a lot of time." Without

another word he turned and began to lead me deeper into the

undergrowth.

Ch. 5

            Millennia looked up as the rain began to fall. This was not good...it

was too much like-

            Just then, a huge spark of lightning lit the edge of the

enclosures...except that it wasn't lightning. It looked too...magical.

Swallowing hard, she looked to the Riddler and the businessmen that

still surrounded Ludo.

            "We've got to get going...I don't like the looks of this."

            "Yeah...I guess you're right. To the jeeps! Forward march!!!" Riddler

agreed, leading the group to the jeep in front of Ludo's enclosure.

            "Hey, it looks like something's been through here," Henson observed,

bending down to inspect footprints.

            "Yeah...oh lord, are those...*tire marks*!?" Lucas added.

            "They go right off the cliff!!!!" Millennia shrieked. "Oh my

lord!!!!!!!"

            "All right...just keep calm! We'll get to the bottom of this-" Riddler

replied, trying to stay collected as he opened the jeep door.

            "AAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

            "YOU NEARLY GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK!!!!" He shouted at Stormlight and

Lisa, who were huddled in the backseat of the jeep.

            "YOU??!!! WHAT ABOUT US!!!! WE NEARLY GOT RIPPED APART BY FIREYS-"

            "Wait a minute! Fireys? *They* did this?" Froud interjected. The two

wet girls nodded.

            "What happened to Ziggy and Sarah?" Millennia asked, a very bad

feeling coming over her.

            "Sarah was hiding under the jeep, but Ziggy was in it when the fireys

jumped in...we ran to warn you guys, but goblins chased us into the

jeep!" Stormlight explained.

            "There are tire tracks going off the cliff," Riddler stated, frowning.

This was not good, not good at all.

            "Do you think....?" Lisa whispered.

            "I don't know."

            "MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!" Turning, the group gasped as the fireys

returned.

            "Quick, into the jeep!" Henson bellowed. Everyone jumped inside and

watched, astounded as a herd of fireys ran in front of the vehicle.

They paid it no mind, though. In fact, they seemed to be running away

from something...

            "Huh. Guess it's our lucky day!" Lisa breathed. The others nodded,

relishing the quiet and safety of the jeep. Millennia sighed, wondering

what the fate of her cohort in crime was. Slowly, her eyes came to rest

on the glass of peach juice in a cupholder.

            "Riddler...what's that?"

            "Huh? Oh, just a beverage Mil!"

            "Yeah...but look." Slowly, a ripple formed and floated to the outside

of the glass. And another. And another.

            "Do you feel that?" Stormlight whispered. All were still and sure

enough...there seemed to be something very large, or a great number of

something, coming towards them.

            "What's that sound?" George asked, frowning. Everyone listened and

their eyes widened upon hearing...chirping. A huge chorus of jubilant

chirping.

            "Start the jeep. START THE JEEP!!!" Millennia shouted. Riddler nodded

and revved up the engine.

            Stormlight turned around in the backseat and her breath caught in her

throat as the tall grass on the road began to part. "HIT THE GAS!!!!!

GOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!"

            "What-" Henson asked, then stopped, his eyes widening in absolute

terror. It was worse than fireys, worse than goblins...maybe even worse

than an evil goblin king on a rampage.

            It was pouches. A legion of pouches...a whole big bunch of pouches,

and they were free.

            Hundreds of racing goblin pouches began to wriggle as a herd through

the grass and into the road, heading straight for the jeep. Riddler

frowned as the engine died. The pouches were coming closer at an

unbelievable rate of speed...

            "Riddler...what are these things on?!" Lisa shouted, scared out of her

wits, but intrigued, nevertheless.

            "Uh...Viagra? Maybe now's not a good time to be telling you that..."

he admitted sheepishly as a few of the more muscular specimins launched

themselves onto the roof and began tapping impatiently, denting the

metal. Stormlight shrieked in terror as one appeared on the hood and

pounded on the windshield, shattering the glass in a spot in front of

her. Instinctively, Riddler hit the windshield wipers and sent the

pouch flying with an indignant squeak.

            "Punch it, Riddler!!! Let's get out of here!!!" Millennia shouted.

Nodding, he hit the accelerator again and breathed a sigh of relief as

the jeep sped off, into the night.

            "There's still some on top of us...a little bit longer, and they'll be

through!" Lucas shouted, his eyes fixed on the indentations on the

jeep's ceiling that were quickly becoming holes.

            "Blast it! I knew we should've gotten better protection for these

things!!!" Riddler yelled, swerving the vehicle to knock off the

pouches. They flew off the roof, squealing in surprise. Stormlight

glanced out the rearview window and gasped; the herd was still on the

move!

            "Faster, Riddler! Faster!!!" Froud urged, wondering if including that

tidbit of goblinology in his book had been such a good idea, after all.

*****************************

            Sarah groaned and sat up slowly...she knew she had taken off running

after that insane Jareth threw Selah over the cliff...she must have

tripped and hit her head, though, because everything else was a blank.

This was insane!!! She knew something like this could only cause

trouble. *Just like the last time,* she thought bitterly. Blinking, she

realized she wasn't at the edge of the cliff anymore, but in some sort

of an enclosure...underneath a tree, it looked like. She shook her head

slowly, trying to clear away the cobwebs...if only she knew what to do

now! That evil Jareth could be out there, and who knew what the other

three were capable of! *Now I wish I would've listened to everything

Uncle John was saying.*

            "There, there, it's all right...you're safe here. Take a few minutes

to relax but then we really must get going," a gentle voice instructed,

and she inhaled sharply as an arm reached around her shoulders to

lightly massage her neck. It felt simply heavenly, but that was beside

the point...that voice. The voice. *His* voice.

            Slowly she turned to gaze at the king. He smiled slightly in amusement

at her reaction. "Hello, Sarah."

            "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!"

Ch. 6

            I panted lightly as I struggled to keep up with Jareth. The forest

seemed like it was closing in...and the noises didn't help, either.

They weren't sounds of natural, regular forests...they were those of

strange, mythical beats lurking in the shadows. Sounds of fantasy that

I loved to read about, but had no idea how to deal with now. In short,

I was pretty much scared out of my mind.

            "Wait up!!" I pleaded for the thousandth time. And I thought I was in

pretty good shape! "Look, I know we've got to hurry, but I've been

attacked by fireys, pushed off a cliff, and now I'm doing the hundred

meter dash here! I can't go on like this much longer!!" I gasped,

knowing I was whining, but at that point I didn't care. Besides, maybe

that would convince him to leave.

            He stopped and turned slightly, and I knew by his expression that he

had no intention of leaving. Rats. Instead, he merely flashed a bemused

grin.

            "Look, if you're magical, why can't you just transport us to the

visitors center!" I pointed out, wondering if I had been tricked, after

all.

            "Because, my magic isn't strong enough yet. I'm conserving it in case

we might need it again...turning into that owl took a lot out of me."

Ouch. At that I blushed slightly, feeling pretty bad I had opened my

big mouth.

            "I...I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

            "It's okay, dear! I know you've had a hard day," he replied and I

glanced away at his gaze. "And you're right...you need a break." I

brightened slightly at that; I was exhausted. Thirteen hours or no

thirteen hours, I had to rest. Glancing up, Jareth smiled. "Well...this

would probably be the safest spot to take shelter in for a little

while," he stated, pointing at a humongous tree next to where we were

standing. I shook my head vehemently.

            "A tree? No way! Uh-uh!"

            "What's the matter? Afraid of heights?" I blushed and muttered

something. "What?" he asked, putting a hand to his ear.

            Rolling my eyes, I said, "Look, I've never climbed a tree in my life!

I'm climbing-impaired or something! There's no way I'm going to be able

to get all the way up there without magic."

            He chuckled slightly and ran a hand through his damp hair. "Have a

little faith! I'll help you." With that, he bent and formed a cradle

with his hands, glancing up at me expectantly. Oh, this was gonna be

good. Slowly, with a lot of apprehension, I put my foot on his hands.

            "Ready?"

            *No way!* I thought, but nodded anyway. "All right, then. One, two,

three!" I grimaced as he pushed me up and I flailed my arms at the

nearest branch. Instantly, my fingers reacted and held the limb in a

firm grip. Yes!!!! I could do it, I was climbing!! I was-

            "Uh, Jareth? What do I do now?" I asked when I realized I was dangling

in midair, hanging from the tree branch.

            After a little thinking and a lot of work we managed to get up in the

trees branches, hopefully safe from harm. Hey, the Jareth in love with

Sarah was too preoccupied, the egotistical Jareth wouldn't want to rip

his tights climbing, and the evil Jareth...well, I knew there really

wasn't any escape from him. Or the one I was with, for that matter. As

for the goblins and fireys...hey, they would obey the king, so I wasn't

too worried. Sighing, I looked out over the island and admired the

view...it was amazing. Trees, plains, and parts of a labyrinth as far

as the eye could see. I glanced down at myself and winced. Oy, I had

been treated better in my time...I was completely drenched, the sleeves

of the T-shirt I had been wearing had been shredded by the fireys, and

my jeans had been torn from trekking through the undergrowth and

climbing. Oh, well. At least I was safe...I hoped.

            Glancing over at Jareth, I smiled slightly - this time he wasn't able

to keep up a picture-perfect appearance and he was a little

worse-for-wear. Nothing as bad as the way I was, but his hair was

disheveled, his hair and clothes were just as wet as mine, and he had

been scratched up a bit. In short, he looked stunning. I turned my

attention back to the scenery and sighed...I hoped everyone was okay.

Who knew what troubles we all would get into by time this was all over?

            "Don't worry, Selah. It's going to be all right. I won't let anything

harm you." I turned my stare to the goblin king and gave him a

searching look. How in the world did i know I could trust him? Nice or

not, everyone had mood swings! I turned away to stare at part of the

tree-

            "MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!"

            I gasped and shut my eyes, hoping whatever-it-was wasn't too close. It

was then that I heard a softer laughter that was much, much closer. I

glanced up and sheepishly realized that I was holding onto Jareth for

dear life. Feeling my cheeks burning, I started to pull away, but he

drew me back.

            "Everything's fine! I told you I won't let anything happen to you,

can't you trust me?" Normally I would respond to that with one of my

patented, sarcastic as all get out bursts of laughter, but I was

incredibly tired and scared to pieces. Slowly, I considered my options

and decided things could be a lot, lot worse. I nodded and he

brightened, wrapping an arm around my shoulders protectively. Sighing,

I settled down to get a few hours of much-needed sleep. It would be a

lot easier to travel by daylight, or at least that was what I

desperately hoped.

***************************************

            "Any word? Anything?" John Hammond asked, pacing across the control

room.

            "No, sir. Nothing. No communications at all, and I still can't figure

out what kind of a block Barry put on his computer!" Jade replied,

frowing at the Mickey Mouse screensaver that refused to disappear.

            "And he's gone...I should've known better!!"

            "True, but it's done now. Don't worry, we'll think of something."

*********************************************

            Cursing, Barry hit the brake on the jeep he had stolen after sneaking

out of the control room. He was almost there and he would be late! He

hade the samples safely tucked away in that bowling ball, but things

had taken longer than expected. Plus he had lost his map and had to

find the place himself, without the benefit of the road signs that had

been knocked over! And now this! Some creature was standing in the road

and refused to move! Knowing that it could be something potentially

dangerous, he slowly got out and stared at the beast that was standing

nonchalantly in the pouring rain.

            "Halt! Halt I say!!!" The bounty hunter looked in scorn at the fox in

the medieval get-up. He had bested killers, criminals, the creators of

the Teletubbies...he could easily take this guy out!

            "Move it bub! Or be moved!!!" he snarled, reaching a hand out to the

annoying little thing.

            "OUCH!!!" The thing had actually hit him with that stick!! Barry

looked at Sir Didymus in shock.

            "You shan't make me disobey my sacred vow! On my life's blood I have

sworn that none may pass without my permission!" he stated

dramatically, a proud smile on his face. Oh, this was easier than he

thought it was going to be!

            "Well, then can I have your permission?!" he practically shouted, arms

crossed over his chest.

            "Ummmm....yes! Yes you can! Yea verily! Go noble sir, go yonder and

meet thy destiny with pride and courage!" Rolling his eyes, Barry

jumped back in his car and hit the gas, nearly running the little

fuzzball over. Luckily, Didymus had quick reflexes and jumped out of

the way just in time.

            "Hmmph. Not a very noble sir...I wonder why he was in such a hurry to

be off to the Bog, anyway," Didymus pondered, shrugging. He turned

slightly at the squeal of tire brakes and a huge splash, but figured

such a rude person could help themselves out of that predicament.

Ch. 7

            The jeep carrying the artist, the producer/director, the owner of the

biggest puppetry company in the word, the game warden, and the three

listians screeched up to the visitors center.

            "Thank you for riding with Adrenaline Travel Industries: the company

that makes sure your trip is anything but boring!" Riddler proclaimed

as they all jumped out and raced into the center. The green one led

them to the control room where they found a very frazzled Jade and John

Hammond.

            "Hammond, the security's down!!!" Stormlight yelled upon entering.

            "I know I know...thank God you're safe, though...wait a

minute...where's Sarah and Selah?"

            "Well Sarah we know got out of the other jeep before the fireys pushed

it over but we think Selah..." Millennia trailed off. Hammond's eyes

widened slightly and Jade stopped typing.

            "Oh...oh, dear. Well...we'll be able to send a search party out after

this is all over, but first we have to secure the park. It seems we've

been sabatoged."

            "AGAIN?!" Lisa screeched.

            "Hey, you got mad at me for checking my email and you let the new guy

sabatoge you? That's favoritism!!!" Riddler declared.

            "Well, at least we're safe in here," Froud sighed.

            Thump. THump. THUMP. THUMPATHUMPATHUMPATHUMPA THUUUUMMMMPPPPP!!!!!!!

            "Oh no...they've reached the center!" Henson whispered.

            "Who? What?" Hammond immediately asked.

            THUMP THUMP

CCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHIIIIIIRRRRRRRRPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

            "The pouches!!!!" Lucas moaned.

            "ALL RIGHT!!!!" Lisa giggled, jumping up and down. "Oh...uh...I mean,

OH NO!!!!" she corrected upon noticing the astonished faces of the

others in the room.

            "They'll be in any minute if we don't get the security system up!!!"

Jade informed Mr. Hammond.

            "That's the least of our troubles..." he sighed.

            "What are you talking about?" Lucas asked suspiciously.

            "Well...thirteen hours after the Jareths were freed their magic will

be completely developed...and the evil Jareth wants all the listians

who aren't fascinated with his persona dead."

            "Dead???? You mean....DEAD!!! Like REALLY DEAD!!!!???" Lisa shouted.

            "Is there any other kind besides really dead??!!!" Stormlight replied,

starting to panic. "He could get in here!! What are we gonna do??!!!"

            "The only way to set up the electricity on the enclosures is to get to

the security shed and shut down the entire park and restart it.

Unfortunately, it's a good deal away."

            "Didn't it ever occur to you to put it CLOSER after the last time?!"

Millennia practically shrieked, hands on hips. Everyone paused at the

sound of a door being knocked off its hinges and the chirping that

began to grow louder.

            "They're inside!!!" Froud yelled.

            "Quick, this way! There's a shelter in the basement that they won't be

able to get to!!" Hammond yelled, taking off towards safety.

**********

            "So let me get this straight...one of us has to go to the shed,

potentially risking his or her life...or other things and restart this

whole park?" Stormlight asked, once all were inside the shelter.

            "Yes...but I've already got it covered...Jade bravely volunteered to

go and she should be arriving there shortly...we can keep track of her

with these walkie talkies," Hammond replied, gesturing to one in his

hand as well as a few other sets on a far wall.

Adjusting the frequency, he began to speak. "Jade, this is Hammond. Are

you there yet? Jade? Jade...? JADE!!!!??" Only static answered him.

            "Oh good lord...now what?!" Millennia asked, frantic.

            "Now I need another volunteer," Hammond sighed regretfully. "I can't

believe this happened...again...this was supposed to be just a harmless

little get-away..."

            "HARMLESS???!!!" Henson shouted in disbelief.

            "Well...just remember, every theme park goes haywire sometimes."

            "Yeah, but when the pirates of the Carribean shorts out the pirates

don't try to pull the tourists' limbs off!!!" Riddler huffed, knowing

he REALLY should've read the fine print on his contract.

            "Well...who's going to go?"

            "I'll go..." All eyes turned to rest on Millennia. She shrugged. "Hey,

somebody has to! I don't wanna stay here for the rest of my life or

wait for the evil Jareth to come off me!"

            "I'll come with you to watch your back!" Riddler volunteered.

            "How bout protecting her instead of just watching her?" Stormlight

replied, raising an eyebrow.

            "Very funny...now then, there also has to be someone who would be

willing to distract the pouches outside...they have the place

completely surrounded," Hammond stated grimly, knowing that there

couldn't possibly be anyone in the group insane enough to-

            "I'LL GO!!!! OOH, OOH!!! PICK ME!!!! MEMEMEMEMEME!!!! I WANNA GO!!!!"

Lisa immediately answered, waving a hand in the air and jumping up and

down like she was wearing flubber on her shoes.

            "Why am I not surprised?" Stormlight sighed, suppressing a grin. "I'll

go, too...somebody has to make sure she doesn't take any...liberties."

She laughed as Lisa pouted.

            "All right...take these," he instructed, handing stun guns and walkie

talkies to Riddler and Stormlight. "We'll try and guide you to the shed

using these blue prints..." he told them, producing a roll of paper.

"Be careful...and hurry." Nodding, the listians looked at each other

for what could very well be the last time before splitting up and

heading for the surface.

Ch. 8

            Sarah couldn't believe it...this was just impossible!!! And here she

thought her first encounter with Jareth was bad enough...now this! She

tried to glare at him from her position, but that was pretty much

impossible beings that she could only see his back when she craned her

neck really far. Jareth glanced over his shoulder and smiled at the

girl that was slung over it, bound at the wrists and ankles with vines.

            "Put...me...down!!!" she growled.

            "And have you run away again? You'll only get into more trouble.

Sarah," he sighed," can't you see that I'm not going to hurt you? I'm

not out for revenge or anything that you might think. Why can't you

just admit that your opinion of me might be wrong?"

            "BECAUSE YOU TOOK MY BROTHER AND NEARLY KILLED ME-"

            "First things first!!! I only did what I did because you asked...I

don't do that for just anybody, you know." He returned her confused

stare with a wan smile. "And I would never have hurt you...why do you

think I made sure there was a wall that would give when you were chased

by the cleaners, or that Ludo was with you in the Bog, or that even

Heggle was there when you were being chased by the Fireys?"

            "You...you...you planned all that?"

            He nodded simply. "I never meant for you to go back to your world," at

her stare he quickly added, "so hurt and alone. I didn't mean for you

to abandon your imagination, to be afraid to dream. I know it's been

hard, and I'm sorry...it hasn't exactly been a piece of cake for me,

either." The young woman could only think over his words in shock as he

continued on towards the visitors center.

***************************************

            The evil one smiled into the crystal he was holding...oh, this was

going to be sweet. He knew the magical gesture drained him slightly,

but not by much. He was getting stronger with each passing minute.

Now...now, the brat he had lost to the first time was on her way to the

center, as was the listian he thought he had gotten rid of...the

businessmen that dared to call him a mere *character* of theirs were in

the center...and the other listians were all alone in the park. Pity.

Soon, soon he would be rid of them, as well as the other, weaker

versions of himself...If only he could figure out where the third one

was, then things would be perfect. But that would come in time...first

things first. He had a visitors center to get to.

***************************************

            I stretched as much as I could in the tree and blinked my eyes open.

Yawning contentedly, I sighed, then almost had a screaming fit. The

entire tree was surrounded by faeries.

            "Calm down! Shh...you'll scare them away!" Jareth whispered covering

my mouth with his hand. I nodded and he took it away.

            "GOOD!!!!"

            "Shhh!!! They're harmless..."

            "Oh, yeah! I'm so sure..." I retorted.

            "Just watch!" I rolled my eyes and did as I was told...they were

beautiful. Tiny little maidens suspended on shimmering wings floated

all around the tree, feeding on something. I smiled slightly as one

bowed respectfully to Jareth and lighted on his shoulder, kissing his

cheek lightly before fluttering away.

            "Go on...hold out a hand, you'll be all right," he urged me. Frowning,

I wondered if he was just trying to get a laugh. But at his look I

timidly held out a palm. Slowly, one little faerie with hair dark as

night and eyes blue as turquoise stepped onto my open hand and smiled

at me, her wings flickering ever so often.

            "See? They're not so bad, after all. They only bite when they're

scared," the goblin king whispered in my ear, smiling down at me.

Chuckling slightly, I admired the perfect sight I was holding...she was

magnificent...she was something out of a dream...she-

            "OW!!!!" She had really sharp teeth!!! "Hey, you said they only bit

when they got scared!!!" I accused him as the faerie flew towards

something hanging on a branch.

            "Sorry...only when they're scared and hungry." He said, trying to

conceal his amusement and nodded to what the little pixie now was

munching contentedly on. Oh no...oh, this was not a place I wanted to

be...maybe this was a trick!!! I glared at the king as I realized we

had spent the last few hours in a giant peach tree.

            "They're not enchanted, Selah!! Stop looking at me like I'm going to

eat you alive!"

            "But...but...THEY'RE PEACHES!!!" I insisted.

            "Not all peaches in the labyrinth are magic!" he explained. "Go on,

try one," he said, picking off a peach near him and offering it to me.

I was extremely hungry, but I knew better!

            "No way! You eat it!"

            "All right, if that's what it's going to take to prove it to you..."

he sighed before biting into the fruit. He chewed contentedly for a few

seconds...then slowly slumped over, his eyes flickering into his

head...

            "Jareth? Jareth!! JARETH!!!!" I screamed, shaking him, unable to

believe that I had just lost my guide because I was so stupid!!! I

shouldn't have told him to eat it, I should've known the evil Jareth

would set it there to get rid of him, I should've known-

            I should've known he was faking. My eyes grew big as his body shook

with laughter and he opened his eyes, very, very amused at my

expression.

            "Why, can it be that you do care?" he asked, feigning shock.

            "You...you...you....that was cruel!!!" I stammered, causing him to

laugh even more.

            "Will you at least eat something now?"

            "Fine," I mumbled, picking a peach and biting into it...not bad, not

bad at all! Quickly devouring it, I picked a few more for the road and

we quickly climbed down, ready to continue the journey.

*****************

            A short time later we were walking across a large clearing, making

excellent time. I glanced over at my guide and smiled slightly, but

looked away as he glanced back. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all...

            Jareth stopped and held a hand out to me, listening. Frowning, I

concentrated hard...something was coming.

            "Look...it's the migration!" he said softly, smiling.

            "The what?" I asked.

            "Just watch...they're headed towards water." I followed his pointed

fingertip and couldn't help smiling at the herd of miniture dragons

running towards us...they were like the ones the goblin corps rode in

the movie, but these were free!!! There were hundreds of them, all

running as one entity, all running with a fluidity and grace I had

never seen before, all running...

            Directly towards us.

            Jareth grabbed my hand and we took off as the herd approached, slowly

being sucked into it. Dragons appeared on either side as the heard

parted, but some were still right behind us. Running until I gasped for

air, I leapt up and over a large stone slanted in the clearing with

Jareth and ducked underneath. The ground trembled as the dragons

passed, their minds only on getting to water.

            "Amazing," I whispered, truly spellbound.

Ch. 9

            "Ready?" Lisa asked Stormlight, waiting for her cue to run out and

distract the pouches so Millennia and Riddler could get to the shed.

            "All right...just don't bite off more than you can chew," the other

listian replied, then frowned. Good grief, that could be taken out of

context...it almost sounded like something Ziggy would purposely write

in one of her crossovers for a really cheap laugh!

            "Oh, don't worry, I won't!" Lisa laughed.

            "Okay...go!"

            Immediately Lisa sprang out from the doorway of the shelter and raced

into the hall, screaming her lungs out as she belted the words to "Hang

Onto Yourself." Vaguely, in the back of her mind she realized that that

*really* sounded like something Ziggy would write! She didn't have time

for thinking her normal perverted thoughts, though...she was attracting

a lot of attention. Pouches began to peek their...uh, heads out from

corners, underneath tables, everywhere that they had managed to hide.

Upon noticing the female listian, they perked up considerably and began

sprinting towards her, a feat that you have to see to really

appreciate. Believe me, Lisa did. She laughed as they chased her down

the hallways, Stormlight anonymously bringing up the rear with the stun

gun. This was too much fun! It seemed the Bowie lyrics affected

everyone and everything, because as she started up the second verse and

another chorus the pouches began to chirp in harmony (they actually

have really good pitch) and ecstatically increase their speed.

*************

            Millennia and Riddler silently left the center once the pouches were

distracted and headed into the undergrowth. They walked along, all

senses attuned to the environment and the dangers it might hold.

            "Uh...okay, where are we headed?" Millennia asked, frowning as she

scanned the area.

            "Um...let me just ask Hammond..oops."

            "Oops...WHAT DO YOU MEAN OOPS!!!!?"

            "I was so intrigued at watching Lisa and the pouches I sort of forgot

the walkie talkie..." Riddler replied, blushing slightly. Rolling her

eyes, Millennia sighed.

            "Now what are we going to do?"

            "You're going to needs me to gets ya there!" Both listians turned and

gaped at Hoggle, who had suddenly appeared in the path.

            "You...you'd do that?" Millennia asked, suspicious.

            "Of course I woulds! I don't need four Jareths to deal with, now dos

I! Cor, come on! We need to hurry!" Shrugging, the two followed the

dwarf into the forest.

            Sometime later they arrived at the shed which was cloaked in a shroud

of impending doom. Slowly they entered and glanced nervously around the

dark building.

            "Great...how will we know how to turn the stuff on?" Riddler asked.

            "I don't know; we'll think of something," Millennia replied, drawing

closer to him as the darkness seemed to close in. She frowned as she

tripped over something and bent over to see...

            "AUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

            "You know, I think that might be the most-used phrase in this whole

adventure!" Riddler replied, coming back to where she was freaking out

and promptly joined her efforts. For there on the floor lie Jade, limp

and covered with red stains.

            "What happened to her...she's...she's..."

            "She's tied up and can't move!!!" the body replied, inducing more

shrieks from the two listians.

            "Will you cut that out? I'm all right! Geez, get a grip!!!"

            "I've got one...I'm holding Riddler!" Millennia retorted, then forced

Riddler out of her arms. "What happened?" she inquired as she began to

untie the other girl.

            "I was getting ready to flip the switch when a bunch of those brownies

from the stone maze ambushed me with lipstick. Man, have they got a bad

attitude!" she sighed, and the others could see that what covered her

face was not blood but bright red lipstick, probably something from Max

Factor or Avon. "Don't worry, I'll have the enclosures back on track in

no time, now that I'm free!" she said, grinning as she headed towards

the control boxes.

***************************************

            I gaped at the enormous metal fence in front of us; no way was I gonna

climb over *that*! I had done enough climbing to last me a lifetime as

it was...besides, I'm not terrified of heights, but I don't love em,

either. And this was too tall for my tastes (say that five times

fast!). Jareth flashed me a grin.

            "Come on, you've been so brave so far...you can't be scared now!"

Unfortunately, for me that is pretty much all the inspiration I need

to do something really, really stupid. Holding my chin high I followed

him up the fence, trying not to look down all the while. Of course, the

temptation was too great and I had to pause to get a hold of myself.

            WHEEEWHEEWHEEWHEEEEWHEEE!!!!!!

            We looked up and paled at the warning light that began to flashand the

alarm that began to sound...someone was about to turn the power back on

and send enough bolts of electricity through us to light up Cincinnati.

            "Hurry!" Jareth ordered. Nodding, I immediately increased my speed and

flung myself over the fence and started down the other side...

            Then I glanced down and promptly freaked out. Huddling against the

cool metal, I weighed the consequences. Climb down or be fried? Climb

down or get the juice? Climb down or....

            "Come on, jump! You're going to have to jump!" the goblin king yelled

from the ground. I nodded feebley, not wanting to admit that I was

still trying to decide.

            "One...two...thr-"

            "EEEEEK!!!!" I screeched at a warm, nuzzling sensation on my wrist...a

pouch had actually climbed the fence and was attempting to get

friendly! That made the decision much easier; I jumped.

            Unfortunately, Jareth wasn't ready for me and I took a nose dive into

the ground. Well...actually I landed on my back, but you get the point.

Just as I hit, the fence sparked with life and the pouch flew off,

giving a shriek that was almost identical to R2-D2's whenever he got

fried in the Star Wars movies.

            "Selah? Oh, love, I'm sorry! Selah...speak to me! Are you all right?

Is there anything I can do?" Jareth was saying, but I was too stunned

to reply. When I finally started to speak, I immediately clamped my

mouth shut upon noticing a warm, wriggling thing lying on my face that

smelled slightly singed and was heading for my mouth...inhaling

sharply, I reached up and flung the pouch into the bushes. Then

Jareth's questions registered.

            "NO! NO I AM NOT OKAY!!!! THIS IS NUTS! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!! AND NO,

THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO!!! NOTHING, NOTHING AT ALL, TRA-LA-LA,

ABSOLUTELY NOTH-mmmm..." My screeching faded into a surprised sigh as

he suddenly fit his mouth over mine. Well...maybe that was

something.... Pushing him away and raising up slightly, I looked at him

in shock.

            "Jareth! What are you *doing*?! We don't have time for this

and...and.." I stammered as he gave me a grin, his eyes sparkling with

mischief.

            "Now, now...we've made such good time and you deserve another

break...besides, I seem to remember that in this part of the movie the

hero gave the victim mouth-to-mouth and it helped considerably...maybe

I should do the same for you." My eyes widened slightly at his smile,

but that was all I could do. I was stunned, and it wasn't just because

of the fall. Slowly he pressed his lips to mine again and lowered the

rest of me to the ground. Twenty minutes later, after pleasantly

receiving mouth-to-mouth from a most attentive goblin king, I felt

completely rejuvinated. Arm in arm, we continued on to the visitors

center.

Ch. 10

            "Great the power's back on and we can go back to the center! Good

work, Jade!" Millennia crowed as the shed became awash in bright light.

"Now all we gotta do is fix the center's security from the control room

and...why are you looking at me like that?" she asked at Jade's stare.

            "I...I didn't flick the switch...the control panel is on the other

side of the room," she whispered.

            "Then if you didn't...who...?" Riddler's question faded as the three

looked at each other, eyes widening in realization.

            "I did." Slowly, slowly their heads turned to the control panel and

the figure that was leaning casually against the wall.

            "IT'S HIM HE'S GONNA KILL US WE'RE GONNA DIE!!!!!!!!!"

            "Will you stop that?" the goblin king asked, making a face and rubbing

his ears. "It's enough to make one deaf! Now, if I was really going to

kill you, then why would I have bothered to turn on the lights?" The

three listians looked at each other.

            "You know...he has a point," Jade pointed out.

            "Of course I do! I'm much smarter than you give me credit for being!

Now come on, you've got to get back to the visitors center and you're

going to need some help finding it since Hedgewart ran off...and what

better guide is there than me? Besides, maybe I can give you a hand

with that computer system..." he said, a smug grin on his face at their

expressions. Silently, they turned and started to follow their guide.

            "Um...I guess we've found Jareth number four!" Millennia whispered.

            "Yeah, good old J!" Jade laughed, resting a hand on a grated door that

divided the shed into rooms.

            "YYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!"

            "AAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGHHHH!!!!!"

            She yanked back her hand before the firey could grab it. All three

watched in horror as the door was flung open and a group of fireys

started to give chase.

            "RUN!!!!" Riddler screamed.

            "Well? Are you coming or not? I haven't got all day!" Jareth said,

peeking his head back into the shed. "Oh, you're dealing with

them...well, there's not much you can do but hurry. Well? Run!!!" The

listians didn't need any other encouragement; they raced out the door

and into the forest on the goblin king's heels.

**************************************

            I breathed a huge sigh of relief as we came to the visitors

center...finally! And we had made it with time to spare!!! Upon

entering, I looked around ...it seemed deserted. Oh, man...just my luck

everybody had gotten off the island already...

            "Don't worry, they're probably in the shelter down below," Jareth

reassured me.

            "Hey...how come you know so much about this place, anyway?"

            "Do you think I had anything better to do sitting in a glass room

filled with goblins?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. I chuckled and

shook my head; he did have a point. "Just to be sure, though, I'll go

check the shelter and you head for the control room and see what you

can do about the computers."

            "Right," I said, turning to go down the hall. I paused as he grasped

my shoulder and gently pulled me back into him.

            "And be careful...you never know what's lurking in the dark corners,"

he whispered playfully, nipping at my neck.

            "Hey, hey," I laughed. "We've got work to do!"

            "All right...but stay in one piece, hmm?" I sighed contentedly as he

pecked me on the cheek before going down the hall.

            "Definitely." Shaking my head, I turned and started to make my way

down the lighted corridor...at least the lights were working, but now

we needed to get the power for the doors and such up. I was sure to be

careful; I had no idea what all was out there. As I walked past the

cafeteria I paused to get a closer look and laughed. Lisa was there,

contetedly stuffing her face with an assortment of foods laying about.

Grinning, I quietly snuck up behind her until I was inches away.

            "YYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!" I howled, but it was muffled

as she instinctively threw a handy pie back in my face.

            "Gee, thanks...I didn't expect such a warm welcome...and by the way,

next time use chocolate," I advised, scraping the lemon merangue off my

face.

            "ZIGGY!!!!?? You're ALIVE!!!!" I looked on dumbly as she laughed and

proceeded to dance around me.

            "Uh, yeah...last time I checked!!"

            "But the tire tracks!!!"

            "Oh, I was out of the jeep by then, but then the evil Jareth tried to

throw me off a cliff-"

            "He WHAT?! King or no king, wait'll I get my hands on him!!" she

growled, and I wasn't sure how to take that, knowing Lisa.

            "Yeah, but the other Jareth saved me..."

            "Which one?"

            "Well, it wasn't the ego-inflated one, and the one that loves Sarah

had already gotten her to safety-"

            "Aw, you lucky bugger! Man, now I wish I would've stayed in the jeep!"

I laughed at her expression. "But man, what happened to you?!"

            "Fireys, cliff, tree, faeries, dragons, fence...yup, that's about it!

I'll relate the whole thing to ya later...what?"

            "You're neck! Good lord...you have what looks like bite marks up the

one side...did fireys do *that*?"

            "What? Let me see!" I said, frowning. She handed me a pie pan and I

checked out my reflection, then gave a deep blush. "Uhh...that would be

Jareth."

            "AW, MAN!!!" I laughed and joined her in the traditional gorging of

the female of the human species after surviving a near-death

experience, or many, as we had. I laughed my head off as she related

her leading the pouches away from the center.

            "I can't believe you came back!" I chuckled.

            "Stormlight made me...she said she'd use the stun gun on me if I

didn't come! She's in the shelter, checking in with Hammond," Lisa

added.

            "Right," I said, plunking myself into a chair. "Man, I'm stuffed. I

guess I won't be needing those peaches, after all!"

            "Peaches? GIMME!!!"

            "Calm down! They're not enchanted, Lisa!" She pouted and sat in a

chair next to me and we laughed and talked for a few minutes, enjoying

the utter blandness of it all. Listlessly, I let my eyes wander over

the murals...they were so well done, they looked almost real...

            "Lisa?" I whispered as I realized one was almost too real...it's

shadow looked like it was moving...

            "What?" she asked, turning, then promptly dropped the layer cake she

was holding. "Oh boy...I think there's only one thing to do in this

situation..." she whispered, trembling slightly.

            "What's that?" I asked, starting to shake, myself.

            "RUN!!!!" With that, we both jumped up and bolted towards the other

side of the room, but he was right on our heels, I could tell!

Ch. 11

            You know, there are times when thinking is all well and good, like

when one is contemplating the meaning of life or trying to decide

whether to get chicken nuggets or a hamburger in their happy meal.

There are other times, though, when thinking becomes less important,

like in algebra class or when one is being chased by an evil, nasty,

vengeful goblin king that must've been on a track team in his youth.

Lisa and I ran without thinking, naturally, concerned only with getting

away. We didn't care where we were headed at all...all we knew was that

it might be just a little bit bad to stay and let the evil Jareth find

us. Now I'm not positive about this, but I'm pretty sure it would've

been a very bad thing, indeed. It was this fear that led us out of the

cafeteria and down a short hall to a room. Rooms, of course, make very

good hiding places, so what happened next shouldn't be considered all

that incredibly stupid, even though it probably was.

            "Quick, in there!" Lisa yelled, pointing towards a metal door with a

circular window. Pushing it open, we paused before entering the

kitchen.

            "Oh, no!!! There's no way out...why were we so stupid!!!"

            "Hey, it's keeping with the theme, isn't it?" she reminded me.

At the sound of footsteps, we both ran down the sides of the two

counters and hid behind the far ends, me on the right, her on the left.

            Slowly the door swung open and the click of boot heels resonated

against the steel. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" a cruel

voice chuckled. "I'm going to find you, anyway, so you might as well

make it easy on yourselves...I'll make it painless...for the most part.

I closed my eyes and automatically reached my hands up to still the

hanging cooking utensils on either side of my head. I swallowed hard as

the whhissshhhkkk of a knife blade being removed from it's holding

block broke the silence. Glancing over at Lisa, I could tell she was

having just as hard a time staying put as I was.

            "I seem to have not been very effective the first time I got hold of

Ziggy...I'll make sure to do better this time...and not make that

mistake with you, Lisa..." I stifled the urge to scream as his

footsteps came closer, closer...looking down I could vaguely make out

the shadow of a man, a knife brandished in one hand, coming alongside

me via the channel between the two counters.

            Bang!

            I turned my head and looked into the eyes of a horrified Lisa. A ladle

had fallen to the floor with a telltale clatter and rolled to a stop

right beside my knee. Jareth wasn't looking at me, though...he was

looking at the direction the ladle had come from.

            "Well, this does make it easier...I do so love the thrill of the hunt,

but there is nothing like finding your prey...watching the fear in its

eyes...striking down and watching the life drain away from it as it

struggles to breathe..." I tilted my head back and clenched my jaw,

trying to think of a way out of this mess. "Now I'll be able to show

you listians what I'm really like..." I bit my lip as he appeared

between us and slowly turned towards Lisa...

            "Ah, there you are! Hello...and goodbye..." he snarled, raising the

knife. Instinctively, I grabbed the ladel, brought it back, and whacked

it as hard as I could into Jareth's legs, over and over a la Sir

Didymus until I knew I had his attention.

            "Oh, so you have a request? You want to be the first to go? I think I

can arrange that..." he softly said, turning to face me. My eyes

widened at his triumphant gaze; his eyes were eating up every part of

my now-vulnerable position. I couldn't move; he blocked the area in

front of me and I knew it was impossible to sneak by him on a side or

between his legs; this Jareth was much too smart for that. Whimpering

slightly, I raised my eyes to meet his again and braced myself...of all

the ways to go, it had to be a knife, the very fate I hated the thought

of. Slowly it came up and a leering smile lit up his face as he started

to bring it down....

            "HEY!!!!" he yelped, jumping into the air. I looked, astonished, at

Lisa who had taken the opportunity once he turned his back to yank his

tights down and grab his rear visciously. I rolled to one side,

avoiding the blade, and crawled up far aisle. At the other end I

stopped as I spied the oven behind the other listian. I met Lisa's eyes

and nodded, and she glanced behind her. We both screamed as Jareth

suddenly appeared between us via magic, his eyes blazing as he

confronted Lisa.

            "You little pervert...too bad you weren't more to my tastes or I'd

find other uses for you..." he snarled, ready to strike. She backed up

into the appliance, pulling herself up by the door's handle, which

pulled the oven door down at the same time. Sitting on it, her

breathing sped up as he came closer to her, bending down slightly so he

could look her in the eyes. Perfect...if he just didn't turn around.

Just as he was getting ready to attack, I leapt ahead, letting my full

weight ram against him, knocking him forward. Lisa immediately sprang

out of the way and Jareth fell into the oven. Automatically, she swung

the door shut and we raced for the kitchen door. Flinging it open, we

raced out and headed to the computer room as fast as our feet would

take us.

            "Do you think he followed us?" Lisa asked me as we reached the door. I

didn't have time to answer, though, for suddenly a hand was clamped on

each of our shoulders.

            "AUUUUUGHGHGHGHGH!!!!"

            "For heaven's sakes, get a grip!" Stormlight laughed from behind us.

Turning, we stared at her, Millennia, Riddler, Jade, and two Jareths.

            "Hammond and the others are in the shelter, trying to contact a

plane," Stormlight informed us.

            "Yeah, and we found the other Jareth," Millennia said, smiling

slightly.

            "And I found Ziggy, back from the dead!" Lisa proclaimed. I grinned as

Millennia hugged me tightly.

            "Don't you ever die on me again or I swear I'll kill you!!!" she

shouted.

            "Translation?" I asked, raising an eyebrow and grinning slightly.

            "She's happy to see you," Riddler said, ushering us into the room. "I

don't mean to be rude, but we've got company coming fast...we ran into

the fireys..."

            "And they invited the goblins," Jade added.

            "And evil Jareth is on the prowl," I said.

            "Well, that can only mean things can't get too much worse, so let's

work on getting the locks on the center working!" Jade sighed, dropping

into a seat.

            "Why don't you let someone with more experience do that, dear?" the

all-knowing (at least he thought he was) Jareth replied, moving her out

of the chair and taking her place. "Now let's see here..." he murmured,

moving the mouse around, trying to get the stupid Mickey Mouse screen

saver to go off. It didn't, though, and he began to get more irritated

by the second.

            "Man, this is the one time when I really need Thor!" I muttered,

clutching the hand of the Jareth that had guided me to the visitors

center. We all looked at each other and gulped...this was the part of

Jurassic Park when things really got hectic...

            Stormlight sighed and leaned against the door of the room, frowning as

the Jareth seated at the computer struggled to control his temper.

            "Come on, do something useful at least!!" Lisa bit out.

            "Yeah, I thought you knew what you were doing!!!" Millennia agreed.

            "Will you SHUT UP and let me think!!!??" he hissed.

            "You shut up!!!" Lisa replied indignantly.

            "Look, there ought to be some way-" Stormlight's sentece was cut off

by a gasp as she quickly moved away from the door. As we gazed through

the other side, we could see the evil Jareth, gazing at us with

unabashed hatred.

            "And what are we doing in there?" he asked smoothly. "Would you be

hiding from me? Well, you don't need to be doing that any longer...in a

few moments you won't be doing much of anything any longer," he added,

chortling evilly as he started to push the door open. Automatically

Millennia and I pushed our combined weight up against the door and the

evil Jareth tsked at our efforts.

            "Now isn't this cute...you're trying to stop me. Well...even though

it's not quite thirteen hours yet, I'll bet you'll be surprised to

learn that....my magic is already getting stronger!" he finished as he

started to push the door open, even though Mil and I were blocking it!

Immediately Stormlight, Riddler and the Jareth that wasn't occupied

with the computer launched themselves against the door to help us out.

Lisa and Jade were gathered by the other Jareth, trying to give him

advice.

            "Try using the codes!!!" Jade protested, making a grab for the mouse.

            "Hey, I said I'm doing it!!!" Jareth shot back, glaring at her as he

clutched the mouse protectively in a fist.

            "What if you turned the whole thing off and restarted it?" Stormlight

suggested, frowning.

            "Hey, is that a Mickey Mouse screen saver?" Riddler asked, walking

over to the computer. "Cool!"

            "RIDDLER!!!!!" all of us that were becoming human door locks yelled as

the Jareth on the other side began to push harder, coaxing the door

open a few inches.

            He was now concerned on suprevising the king at the computer, though.

"Maybe if you-"

            "WILL YOU STOP THAT!? I'M HANDLING THIS!!!!!" Jareth bellowed, forming

a crystal out of frustration and hurling it into the monitor of the

computer. The whole thing blew up and the smoking pieces shot up and

clattered to the floor in a smoldering pile. Softly, the locks on the

door clicked into place and the evil Jareth was pushed back out into

the hall.

            "See? I told you I would fix it!!" the egotistical Jareth replied,

smiling triumphantly. Everyone in the room relaxed slightly and a

collective sigh was heard.

            "Well...at least we're safe-"

            BAM!!

            "What was that?" Stormlight asked, her eyes widening.

            BAM!!! BAM!!!

            "Ummm...." I replied brilliantly.

            BAMBAMBAMBAMBAM!!!!!

            "It's the vengeful Jareth...he's hurling crystals into the door!" the

Jareth that had saved my life exclaimed. "Quick! Into the

airvents...it's the only way we can get out!!" Great, that was all I

needed...more climbing.

            We all hurried to scoot a chair underneath a vent and the helpful

Jareth jumped up, opened it, and climbed in. "Next?" he asked, sticking

 his head back out.

            BBBBBBBBBAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!! Suddenly, the door buckled and

burst off its hinges.

            "ME!!!!!" all of us answered simultaneously, not waiting for the smoke

to clear away before we bolted up the chair and into the vent system.

            "It's no use hiding...I'm sure to find you!" the evil Jareth laughed

as he watched us hurry to get away.

Ch. 12

            We slowly made our way through the ventilation system, crawling slowly

towards the main foyer of the visitors center. It was pitch black

inside the tunnel and the sounds that were coming from down below

didn't help my imagination, either. It sounded like the fireys,

goblins, and some pouches had gotten loose and were having a high old

time. Swallowing hard, I struggled to keep up but still not run into

Millennia, who was in front of me.

            Clunk.

            I heard Stormlight inhale sharply from two sections behind me.

            "What is it?"

            "The tile I'm on just moved," she whispered.

            "Let's hurry it up!" I advised. Silently, the others agreed.

            Clunk....

            I turned slightly at Lisa's muffled gasp, but was then distracted as

the tile I was on at the moment raised up slightly, then settled back

down.

            "Probably just some fireys goofing around," I said nervously.

            CLUNK!!! I gave a sharp screech as Millennia was suddenly thrusted up

and the evil Jareth's arms appeared, holding her above his head as his

face appeared through the hole.

            "Or not!" he answered, laughing as he suddenly dropped the tile and

Millennia. She screamed as the tile fell through the hole, and her with

it.

            "Hang on!!" I yelled, thrusting myself forward just in time to grab

her wrists. I cringed as her fall was stopped and my arms were yanked

slightly. "Okay, I'm just going to pull you up here..." I trailed off

at her startled look and suddenly she started to slip through the hole

and me with her.

            "He's pulling on me!!!" she shrieked.

            "Somebody grab my legs!!!" I shouted desperately. Lisa obeyed and

Stormlight behind her. "Okay, on three! One...two....-"

            "Three, Three!!! THREE!!!!!" Millennia yelled as another violent tug

brought her further away from safety.

            "You heard her! PULL!!!!" I bellowed before we yanked hard. She came

up with a jerk, but she managed to turn enough to bop the evil Jareth

over the head and knock him back down before he could do anything.

(heeheehee...yes, I love puns!)

            "Come on!!!" Jade yelled from behind us. Quickly, we picked up the

pace. Suddenly, though, all of our tiles began moving up and down. We

gasped and yelled, but all we heard in response was crazy laughter.

Deciding to try and ignore it, we moved on a few feet, but suddenly

everything underneath us gave way.

            Screaming, we tumbled onto the giant crystals that made up the display

of the front foyer. I looked up at Millennia, who was on the giant

center crystal with me.

            "What now?" I asked.

            "Now, I get my revenge!" a voice behind me whispered and I watched as

Millennia's eyes widened in horror.

            "Not yet you won't!!" the Jareth that had saved me yelled, swinging

the smaller crystal he was on to hit ours. As they met he jumped over,

taking advantage of the force of the hit that knocked a crystal out of

the evil J's hand. He quickly got him in a headlock and motioned for us

to get off. Nodding, we turned to run, but fireys began pouring onto

our crystal, as well as the others that held listians.

            "Now what?!" Stormlight yelled from where she and Riddler were sitting

with a couple of goblins that were chasing a chicken, swinging the

sphere at a high rate of speed.

            "I'm slipping!!!" Jade yelled from her sprawled position on her

crystal. I tried to reach her, but a firey blocked my way.

            "Hey ladies!!! I guess we finally get to play!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!"

Millennia and I screamed as the firey came closer and suddenly

lunged...

            Lisa suddenly leapt to Jade's crystal and grabbed her hand, pulling

her to safety. Our attentions were turned as all three Jareths engaged

in a fist fight, wrestling over the surface of the crystal Mil and I

were on!

            "YEAH!!! WOO-HOO!!! GOGOGOGO!!!! COME ON, KICK HIM!!!! TEAR HIS TIGHTS

OFF...GO FOR THE JUGULAR!!!!" she bellowed.

            "Don't you have something useful you could be doing, like cowering in

terror?!" the evil Jareth yelled.

            "Why yes...yes I do!!" Lisa answered, suddenly grinning before placing

two fingers in her mouth and giving the loudest whistle I've heard in

my life.

            "And that's supposed to help...how?" the egotistical Jareth

complained, dodging a crystal that the evil one had tossed at him.

Suddenly, the center began to shake slightly and I turned to regard

Lisa carefully.

            "Lisa...what did you do?" I asked.

            "I just enlisted in some help!!" she laughed as the rumbling grew

louder and we began to move up and down slightly.

            Everyone turned as the far wall suddenly gave way and a huge herd of

pouches rumbled into the building.

            "CALVARY, ATTACK!!!" Lisa yelled, and the pouches immediately shot

through the air like missles and began taking out fireys and goblins

left and right, knocking them to the floor and poking out the

occassional eye.

            Chimes began to sound, and I knew the Jareths on our side had only a

moment to use their now-full magic before the evil one could use his.

            The evil Jareth looked up to see what the fuss was about, and the

other two were able to take him by surprise. Each producing a crystal,

they threw them at him, and when they hit they exploded in a burst of

magic, trapping him in the giant crystal we were on.

            "JUMP!!!" the helpful Jareth yelled and Mil and I happily complied,

along with the other listians who were on other spheres. A handy pouch

sailed through the air and hit the cable it was suspended on, sending

the giant globe to the floor and rolling out the door.

            Running after it, we headed through the door just in time to see it

roll into the ocean with a huge splash. Soon it was submerged.

            "Well...that's that, I hope," Riddler said, panting slightly.

            "This should improve matters..." the Jareth next to me said, clenching

a fist. "That made the crystal shrink...and if I'm not mistaken I think

it just rolled into an underwater volcano near here...we shouldn't be

hearing from him for a long, long time," he sighed with relief.

            "Cool, can I go back and watch the pouches now?" Lisa asked.

            "NO!!!!!" we all replied, already heading for the landing platform and

the plane that was hopefully waiting for us.

Ch. 13

            "HAMMOND!!!! Let's get this baby airborne!!!" I yelled as we barrelled

for the plane.

            The founder of Labyrinthian park turned and regarded us with relief,

as did Froud, Henson, and Lucas who were standing beside him.

            "You're all right!!" he laughed. "Jade! I was worried!!! And Selah,

good!! Well, I guess we should be going..."

            "You think?!" Stormlight quipped.

            "Wait a minute, what about Sarah!?" I asked.

            "What about her?" a familiar female voice asked from behind me.

Turning, we all gaped at the sight of a very contented Sarah Williams

in a very contented Jareth's arms.

            "But...but..." I stammered.

            "He explained things to me after he saved me..." she told us, giggling

slightly as her Jareth started to kiss at her neck lovingly.

            "Looks like he did a little more than that," Lisa said, grinning.

Sarah blushed and looked to her uncle for help.

            "Sarah has decided to remain here with her Jareth and rule the

creatures that are already in existence...they'll make sure no one

finds out about this place and I'm sure they'll be very happy

together," Hammond said, smiling.

            I nodded, relieved that that little matter was taken care of. Then

another problem dawned on me. "What are we gonna do about them?" I

asked Hammond, gesturing to the other two Jareths.

            "I'm not exactly sure..." he murmured.

            "Shouldn't we just leave them here?" Brian Henson asked, shrugging.

            "NO!!!!" Lisa and I yelled at the same time.

            "Well, they are people...sort of," Stormlight said, grinning wickedly.

"They're not like the creatures of the labyrinth,"

            "Since we write about Jareth on the list all the time and in

visitations...couldn't we just take them with us?" Riddler asked,

shrugging.

            "They could be the guardians of the list, take shifts visiting

people...act out the visitations we've written for so long," Millennia

suggested.

            "Sounds good to me!" Jade said.

            "Yeah, let's take them with us!!" I agreed, turning to Hammond.

            "Yeah, can we keep them!!! Puh-lease!!!??? They're so cute!!! Can we

keep em, can we can we can we?!!?!?!?!" Lisa asked, bouncing around

Hammond.

            "Well, I suppose so! All right, everybody on the plane!!!" Hammond

said, gesturing to the aircraft laying a few yards away.

**********************************

Epilogue

             I tiredly leaned against Jareth and sighed as I glanced out the

window. Things had turned out all right, after all...I smiled slightly

as I watched the egotistical Jareth and Stormlight debating something,

each becoming more frustrated by the minute. It was good to be going

home. Hammond had assured us that he wouldn't try any more "theme

parks" and we had all talked Henson, Froud, and Lucas into considering

bringing Labyrinth to big screen once again. Yes, everything had worked

out and now things could go back to normal...

            I frowned and sat up as my gaze reached Lisa. She looked just a little

too happy...

Slowly, I got up and crossed over to her seat.

            "What's up?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "What did you do?"

            "Who me?" she asked, giving me big, innocent eyes.

            "Yes you!! Come on, what did you do?" My head turned sharply at a

muffled noise. "Lisa...was that a chirp!!!?"

            "All right...but keep it quiet!!!" she whispered, then lifted her feet

off of the small steel suitcase they had been resting on. My eyes

widened and I stifled a laugh.

            "How many?"

            "Umm...at last count I think it was a dozen or two."

            "A DOZ-a dozen or two!!!" I laughed, switching to a whisper upon her

insistent stare.

            "Yeah...and you'll never guess what I heard Hammond telling Froud!!!

This was just the display island...they did most of their breeding and

stuff on another island.."

            "So?" I asked, starting to feel nauseous.

            "Some of the Jareths didn't work out...something about mutations...so

they converted some of the parts to more pouches..." she giggled

quietly, an excited gleam coming into her eyes. "Just think...a whole

island run by pouches, and *his* pouches, too!!!"

            "And fireys, and goblins, all with genetic mutations," I pointed out.

I had read and seen Lost World and didn't know if I even wanted to

think about what could be there.

            "True...but man! Wouldn't it be fun to-"

            "No, NO!!! Absolutely not!!! You've got your harem...unless it's

absolutely necessary, we're keeping mum about this, you understand? Not

a word!!" I told her.

            "He said that some were raised from day one on nothing but Viagra,"

she said, licking her lips.

            I raised an eyebrow. "Okay, okay...I'll keep quiet, I'll be good...for

now!!" she added, grinning.

            "That's all I ask," I said, sighing as I collapsed into my seat.

            "What was that all about?" Millennia asked me, peeking her head over

the seat back in front of me.

            "Nothing, Lisa just wanting a big cut of the movie deal that Lucas is

giving us for this adventure..." I sighed.

            "Okay, I don't care as long as someone good plays me!!!" she laughed.

            Shaking my head, I laughed as she settled back down into her seat.

Well, things would go back to normal as much as was possible on the

list...for now, anyways.

The End

*******************************************************