Author Note: Sorry for not saying this before, but this is the first fan fiction I've written so please don't be too harsh; constructive criticism is welcomed. ^_^

Disclaimer: I don't own the Labyrinth as I am not Jim Henson. I bet I could be a good Goblin Queen if I tried though...

oxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Grumbling, Sarah awoke to a stifling darkness. She yelled out, calling for anyone to help her. Panic receded as her eyesight grew used to the dim light of her surroundings, reminding her of the trip down the tunnel and into the underground lake. Almost immediately afterwards she felt the cold embrace of the air on her still damp body. Shivering, Sarah slowly stood up and surveyed her surroundings, trying to figure out an escape route. "Now how am I supposed to get out of here? It's not fair!"

"Nothing ever is, is it?" a high pitched voice replied.

"Who's there?" Here in the dark it was hard to discern from which direction the answer came. Sarah turned around but saw no one there, saw no one anywhere. Then again, here in the Labyrinth the unexpected was to be expected and normal was not a recognised concept. Shrugging her shoulders, Sarah was less surprised when she looked towards the mirror-like lake to find the strange luminescent fish staring at her. "Excuse me, do you know how I get out of here?"

"Of course," replied one of the fish, "Why, straight through that door over yonder."

"It's a bit of a steep climb but it'll soon lead you to the surface," added in another, smiling at her, just like the rest of the shoal.

"Thank you." Sarah was unsure about these creatures; Jareth could have sent them to confuse her and lead her in the wrong direction. But then again, what choice did she really have? She could follow their advice or stay down here in this hole, not an exciting prospect to say the least. Brushing herself off, Sarah turned around and headed in the direction the fish had pointed.

"Wait!" one of them called out. "Before you go, take these. If you should need any help these should do the trick." One of the glowing creatures dove beneath the surface and reappeared a moment later with what seemed to be a string of pearls in its mouth. "Just throw one to the ground and it will smash upon impact. Call out your wish and someone will be sure to answer."

Before Sarah had a chance to reply, the fish tossed the object at her and dived beneath as one with the rest of its shoal, silencing her gratitude on her lips. Instead, she chose to see properly what they had granted her with. At first they seemed like simple freshwater pearls, opalescent and shiny in the dim light of the cave, but as she studied the tiny spheres closer Sarah discovered they were much more intriguing. Minute specks covered the surface, sparkling like flecks of glitter in sunlight, despite the obvious lack of it down here. Sarah quickly pocketed them before turning around and heading in the direction of the exit.

She scrambled against the slimy wall of the cave for almost ten minutes before her hands found a crack in the rock. It was far too straight to be a normal fracture of the rock, far too unnatural. Surely this was it. Following the split, Sarah gently ran her fingers along the wall, careful of not cutting her skin, until she came upon what felt like a door handle. She grasped the slippery handle firmly and twisted, pushing against it as she did so. A stone door gave way with a sibilant screech and Sarah fell forwards into another tunnel. Sure as the fish had said, it was a steep, but what they failed to mention was that said tunnel was barely even tall enough for her to crawl through! Sighing deeply, Sarah got down on all fours and proceeded to crawl up towards fresh air.

It was a long and hard crawl, Sarah having to stop every now and again before carrying on once more. The dark tiny hole was suffocating, pressing down on Sarah relentlessly, claustrophobia quickly setting in. A few deep breaths settled Sarah down, but the damage was done and she was compelled with the need to dash to the surface. Scrambling on, she could see the light at the end of the tunnel, an ominous connotation. Would this be her survival or her destruction? Only one way to find out, whispered the sexless voice. Sarah jumped, having forgotten about her mysterious helper.

But what the voice said was correct, only one way to find out...

Bursting out of the tunnel into sunlight, Sarah shut her eyes tight against the blinding brightness. Shielding her face with a hand, Sarah dared to pry open her lids. Sudden apprehension dawned as Sarah realised it wasn't her hand shielding her face. Screaming, she fell to the side, only to find a short stubby man with a large nose staring back at her. "Who... who are you?" she managed to stumble out.

"I'm Hoggle," the man-creature replied indignantly. "But who are you?"

Sarah didn't like his tone of voice. First he had scared the living daylights out of her and then he had the cheek to question her presence? How dare he! Give him a good kicking, Voice interjected. Heaven knows he needs it... Ignoring Voice's advice was hard, but it had to be done if she was going to get anywhere. "I'm Sarah."

"Ah, so you're the one running the Labyrinth." Hoggle paused to scratch his chin, peering down at her even from his small stature. "Strange, you shouldn't have gotten this far so quickly. Must be a wrong path you've taken." Hoggle's two sentences didn't quite match up and this was what alerted Sarah. Something was off about this... thing... and Sarah wasn't about to fall for it. She could see him fingering a decent sized pouch attached to his belt, a soft clinking sounding from it. Sarah could also see him staring at her wrist, at the plastic bracelet adorning it. Thinking, she decided she'd rather give up her cheap plastic jewellery than never see Toby again.

Toby! She'd almost forgotten that he was the reason she was here in the first place. Stupid girl!

"Hoggle was it? I'll give you my bracelet if you come with me to the Castle beyond the Goblin City, or at least take me as far as you can." Sarah stood up then and brushed her hands off on her knees. Holding out her hand to him, the 15 year old girl looked him firmly in the eye. "Deal?"

The short man thing looked around and hopped from one foot to another, completely unsure of what to do. "Oh alright," he conceded, "but I'm only taking you as far as I can." String at her hand, Hoggle timidly shook Sarah's with his own, grimacing as if he already regretted his decision. Nevertheless, a deal had been made and he couldn't go back on his word now.

"So which way now?" Sarah asked. Since she had fallen from the tunnel, she had yet to see the way forward.

"This way." Hoggle trudged off in front of Sarah to the wall opposite where she had fallen and pressed a large flat palm against the stone. A loud crunching creak resonated about Sarah before a door swung open in the wall. Sarah was amazed by how many walls seemed so solid then turned out to be the way into the next section of the labyrinth. It was still a puzzlement to her though how going 'straight to the Castle beyond the Goblin City' meant traipsing around underground and through tunnels and then stumbling upon hidden doors in walls. So much for straight, there had been more twists and turns in Sarah's path than she dared to count.

And now here she was, staring along a perfectly straight corridor of walls facing nothing other than the Goblin King's Castle. Bracing herself, Sarah took those first steps towards the castle, hoping beyond hope that she would soon get Toby back and that they could go home again, all safe and sound, never having to worry ever again about a certain Goblin King. A certain Goblin King who was always watching her and was mad with fury. How dare she solve his Labyrinth so quickly!

oxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Author note: Wow... I was so surprised to find my inbox crammed full of alerts and reviews when I opened it up this morning! Thank you so much to the people who reviewed! Special mention here for you because you really made my day ^_^

Yuki the Ryuujin No Miko, notwritten, a and n, hazlgrnLizzy. Thank you so much! Cookies for all ^_^