Disclaimer:

Standard disclaimers apply.

The Labyrinth is the property of Jim Henson and its scriptwriters, including but not limited to Dennis Lee, Terry Jones, Elaine May, and A.H.C. Smith. Characters and concept are used without permission and not for product.

Chapter 21- The Jewel of Sahan

"You cannot be serious!" Ardimus said in a loud response to Exvanos's information. His voice made a clear vibration throughout the room and Exvanos realized how excited the Portal truly was.

"Yes. I am leaving now to speak to the council and in the meantime Jareth and the girl are going to make there way in reverse through the Labyrinth to the Fountain of Life to get Sarah back to her world before they pull the plug."

"And how many days do they have on this impossible adventure?" Ardimus asked in an obvious disbelief.

"They have 72 hours before Sarah's life in the human world is void and she is trapped in her world forever." Exvanos answered carefully. Quiet filled the room and Ardimus seemed to think in silence.

"Do you realize…" Ardimus began, still deep in thought, "That every creature in the Labyrinth, everything really-including Jareth's alternate persona, was created from something she had seen in movies, books…basically anything she saw in real life. She was given a stuffed animal when she was 4 by her grandmother Ulna, it looked exactly like Didymus the loyal dog that guards the bridge by the Bog of Stench. You see, he was invented because of things she had seen. Now, after all the years she hasn't visited the Labyrinth more creatures were invented because her world grew and so did the things she saw. Now, as you know, the world is nearly limitless because of it and now she is planning on going through the complicated, unjust and horribly long Labyrinth and meeting head on with all these new creatures and new situations and she is confident she will make it?"

"Revanos, you seem to have little faith." Exvanos said quietly.

"I am saying she is wiser now. She will start recognizing things, start wondering about the creatures. Bretoniol has so much hidden meaning in the Labyrinth and now if she finds everything…it will be like finding herself. Discovering who she is. Is she ready for that?"

"I believe that Jareth will make sure. He is quite intent on saving her happiness."

"Sarah will never find her happiness. Do not you see it?" Ardimus's eyes grew grave and made Exvanos exhale.

"How do you mean?"

"Look at humans. They can NEVER be happy. Sarah was offered everything she could ever want, and look at her…rushing off to be back in reality where she was so unhappy she created this place. Now she wants both worlds? Humans truly do want everything. And…to top it off…does she not realize how grave the danger her brother is in? He is like a spy for the Magistrate of Logic, and yet he has no clue. He does not realize that with his actions, he will be the one killing his sister, not the doctor who pulls the plug."

"I've never heard you speak this way, Revanos Ardimus. I confess it frightens me to hear all of this distaste towards the Queen." Exvanos softly replied.

"And yet it all is true. Sarah has a much bigger problem then dying in the human world. This world is in danger. There are darker forces at work here. We are in danger yet again, and I'm not sure the solution is in the Fountain of Life."

"Thank you for this Jareth." Sarah said as they walked. They had been walking for a few hours now and already she was getting flustered with all the dead ends and turns.

"For what?" He asked.

"For helping me. I know I can't make up my mind and keep asking for things…but I really appreciate this. I'm just not ready to end my life in that world. I have so much more that needs to be done…so much that needs to said…especially to Toby. I did such a horrible thing to him and now look at him."

"How do you mean?" Jareth asked, leading Sarah by hand through a dirty, murky aisle.

"I took away his imagination. Did you truly visit him?" She asked.

"Yes…I tried making him believe again. He was not content." Jareth replied.

"I'm sorry. I've made so many foolish mistakes." Sarah bit her lip in thought and Jareth stopped turning to her. Her hand remained in his and he kissed it.

"Sarah, we will get through this…" But before he could continue a high-pitched voice squealed to them.

"HAY- WHERE YOU GOING?" The voice loudy asked. Sarah turned to see a strange creature with extremely long fingers and wild brown hair. He looked unclean and his awkwardly shaped body bounced with each step as he moved closer to the pair.

"Creature, be gone." Jareth said in a tone that would stop most creatures in their track. Because Jareth was no longer the Goblin King of the Labyrinth, the creature did not recognize him and had no fear toward the stranger.

"YOU NOT WHERE YOU S'PPOSED TO BE WALKERS." The creature yelled louder. "YOU WALK ON TRAIL FOR FISH DERBY RACERS."

"Fish derby racers?" Sarah asked looking around.

"QUEEN!" The creature called loudly, and small creatures that were rustling the bushes nearby began peaking out small heads to catch a glimpse. "HIGHNESS." The creature squealed before falling to a knee.

"We have to go, Sarah. We are behind as it is." Jareth calmly reminded her. She bit her lip and did a slight nod before walking past the stunned and gasping crowd that lurked around them hidden in brush and watching from afar.

"That ain't the queen." A voice called out with bitterness. "Tain't no Queen I ever heard of." The voice stopped Sarah in her tracks and turned. She knew the voice and had forgotten about the creature it belonged to.

"Hoggle?" She asked looking around the now crowded path to find him.

"You promised you wouldn't forget about me. You said we'd stay friends forever. Dontcha even care about Ludo, Sarah?"

"I do! I do care!" She nearly yelled. "Where are you Hoggle?"

"That don't matter none. Go do what you want, I'll stay where I've always been."

"Hoggle! Wait, don't leave me."

"Sarah, it's an illusion!" Jareth finally realized what was going on, but it was practically too late. "Sarah, look away!" Sarah began to feel flustered, searching desperately in the crowd for the small creature and the crowd seemed to blur together.

"Hoggle?" Sarah faintly whispered, her head began to spin. When she opened her eyes she was lying on the grass and Jareth was crouched over her in worry.

"Sarah? Sarah? Are you alright?" He kept shaking her and trying to help her regain consciousness.

"Jareth? What was that? I feel so..I feel nauseous."

"It was an illusion. The Labyrinth is doing something strange…it's playing mind games. This will be more dangerous than I thought. You're emotions are coming out in strange ways. You're obviously feeling guilty about leaving all this behind and so imagined that entire conversation up with Hoggle. Just be careful." He helped her stand. "Let's just get through this."

"It felt so strange." She muttered to herself, following Jareth again down the cobbled steps.

"Yeah…well I've spoken to Hoggle recently. He's the gate master and so I spoke to him at Ardimus's mirror."

"Is he upset with me?"

"Hoggle has always been rather stubborn. He'll warm up to you again. Me and him will never be on good terms. I never bothered to acquaint myself to your creatures. Frankly, I was the King and they were my subjects. They are all so impossibly unpredictable…at first it was thrilling, but after awhile that sense of ignorance was almost fearful and, in all honesty, quite frustrating." Jareth explained, still guiding her through the maze.

"Yeah, I remember some of my conversations with those kind of creatures. Always tricking me with puzzles and taking everything I said literally. It was silly."

"Yes," Jareth smiled helping her step over a large tree in their path, "But you found it hilarious. You always liked that childish humor."

"I guess so…I guess I kind of missed it. I was expected to grow up so fast from my parents…and though a part of me wanted to be a part of that world of lipstick, parties and men…I always wanted to hold onto my toys."

"I always found that confused way about you endearing." He said with a smile.

"You're so different than how you used to be." Sarah mused aloud. He only gazed at her, admiring silently the curve of her lip and the striking color of her eyes.

"Well…I had to exaggerate that cruelty to fully play the role. I will not lie though, I did not lie completely. I'm known by most of the fellow immortals as stolid and distant."

"But not with me." Sarah thought, lightly letting her fingers brush against the stone of the wall beside her.

"I trust you." He said, letting his eyes find hers. "I'm not sure exactly why, but I feel like even if you could, you wouldn't do anything to hurt me. We are connected." She paused, realizing that he was completely right. Though she could not explain it, she was attached to Jareth in every way that counted.

"I trust you too." She finally said quietly. He smiled gently and continued to pull her through the paths, moving quickly and loving the way her small hand felt in his.

"I find myself, and can assume many of the other council members feel the same, extremely confused about the rare and unexplainable events that have led up to this meeting, Revanos Exvanos. Can you put some light on such strange circumstances?" Revanos Debranos of Dredol said. The meeting was held, as always, in the Peace Room. The colorful orbs were floating inside the navy blue room and Exvanos was facing the line-up of members. Not all council members were there because many of them believed dark magic was at works when speaking of the mysterious Labyrinth and Sarah, the child who created such a place and was the cause of all the peculiar events.

"Well, as you have said yourself Revanos, most of the events are unexplainable. All I can present to you are theories created with the help of the portals and myself using logic and reason. Ask me what you want to know and I will try to help you as much as I can." Exvanos calmly replied. Murmuring was spread throughout the room as the gold scroll scribbled quickly around on the walls.

"Then let's start at this 'Fountain of Life'," Ledouis sneered, "At first it was just a fountain that decorated the gardens near the gate of the Labyrinth…then light came from it and you mused it was a portal of some kind…even you were afraid because it meant someone was trying to get it, or perhaps get out. You had us all fearful of the Magistrate of Logic and warned us of their indirect attacks on us. Was that just a ploy? Then, it was swallowing up the Labyrinth- a most unheard of death for a world…and then it was only a portal created to force Sarah's soul into the Labyrinth after an emergency situation in the human world. Is this all correct? Can you enlighten us more as to the details of this fountain?" The immortals began to shift in an unsettling way. They were always unsettled when the Magistrate of Logic was involved. It was no secret at how Ledouis felt of Jareth and the Labyrinth and so Exvanos did not get upset at the conniving way Ledouis brought up facts…only did a slow nod and began to explain.

"It's fair to say that the Fountain of Life was always very bizarre. The portal was created at an impossible time, for the Labyrinth was dying and every immortal knows that nothing can be created in a place that is dying. I cannot really explain the fountain or the coincidence that right when Sarah was in an accident in the human world it expanded the distance of the Labyrinth and shoved her soul into some sort of strange mirage. It's all very mysterious."

"Mysterious will not be a sufficient answer for us." Ledouis said. Tension fizzled in the air silencing almost all of the immortals present. Whispering erupted and Exvanos felt his patience wearing thin as the council members spoke of evil powers at work and the Crest worlds.

"Silence." Exvanos said with a gleam in his eye. Immediately the room was quiet. "Would it be more understood if I told you that Sarah is a direct descendent and also thought upon as a reincarnation of Sahan." Murmuring erupted again and a few chuckles at such a preposterous explanation.

"Come now Exvanos! There must be a more logical explaination than that nonsense." Debranos immortals again all hushed and listened for a response. Exvanos only looked around at the orbs.

"It can be proven. Sarah has the jewel of Sahan and the leader of her world claims a connection to the human because of this prior life."

"Revanos Exvanos…do you realize that if this were true this….human…would have the key to defeat forever the Magistrate of Logic?" Revanos Hedonius of Geon nearly hissed. All of the

"I do realize this. The human also has a connection to the Magstrate." Exvanos said in a near whisper. The immortals began speaking again all at once in fear.

"Pray, Exvanos, tell us more." A council member said. The others murmured in agreeance.

"The child has a brother who reports directly to a member of the Magistrate. His name is Garriol Fredricks…a doctor."

"Most of them are." Hedonius said quietly.

"This child has too much power." Ledouis snarled. "How could a human possess all this power in our worlds? She is only a human! And now she reappears and we realize that she is a Crest Immortal…the most powerful immortal that was said to have been so Godly that she vanished into the worlds and became a star of her own!"

"I will bring her to you. We will put her to test with the Element Prophets to prove that she once was Sahan of Euphalysia." Exvanos said. "But it will take time. She is now fighting a battle of her own."

"Bring her here, Exvanos and prove her worth." Leron of Burgedy said. All eyes were on the pink orb, as Leron never spoke in meetings, only listened. "If what you say is true, I must believe it. Sawnol once told me a story of Jareth's encounter with a prophet. If this story is true, the Labyrinth is much more powerful than we ever believed."

"Sarah…mom says I should start saying my goodbyes." The weak horse of a whisper came from the sobbing child beside the bed. "I don't really wanna…cause I thought you said that we were gonna go on that road trip." He wiped away a few tears and rubbed his nose on a tissue that was held tightly in his hand. Though he tried, he couldn't stop shaking and when he spoke his words were on each inconsistent and fast paced breath. "Remember, you promised? You said after you got a good job we were gonna go to…gonna go to California. You said we'd…we'd go away…and see Disneyland, cause dad never has time or anything." He kept crying and clasped tightly onto her hand. "My doctor says I should be mature. He said I need to tell you that I love you and to know you'll always love me. But what I really wanna say to you…Sarah….what I want to say is that if you could wake up…it'd really be good. I had a dream and I met this weird guy named Exvanos…he told me I could save you….that you were in the Labyrinth. I know it wasn't real and my doctor said I want to believe you're there because that means…that means you're still alive. Just please wake up Sarah…you promised me…and I want another movie night. I love you big sister." He let more tears fall before breaking into a sob. He froze when he felt the heavy weight of a hand on his shoulder. The ring on the hand was recognizable as the black diamond his doctor wore.

"Dr. Fredricks." He sobbed, "I don't wanna say goodbye."

"Tobias…let her go." The doctor whispered. "You have to hope for the best but expect the worse."

"Doctor...what if she wakes up though? You never know!" Toby began shaking with his deep sobs.

"Tobias…I am here to comfort you. I have advised Sarah's doctor to terminate life support sooner. Tomorrow morning I find will be a better time…that way you and you're family can begin to move on. This is a difficult situation." He said softly. Toby looked up to the doctor with horror. At that instant a loud slam startled them both as Sarah's mother stormed in angrily. In her hand was clutched tightly was papers and her cold gaze went right away to the doctor beside Toby.

"Hey…ASSHOLE, you keep your advice where it's needed and stay the FUCK away from my daughter!" She yelled, jabbing a finger into his chest. He calmly looked down at the finger and waved it aside.

"Toby…I believe Mrs. Williams needs to have a word with me. If you'd please just…"

"No…let your patient hear what you want to do with her sister….Toby, instead of waiting a couple days he wants to give up and do it tomorrow morning!" Her gaze fell to the silent little boy beside the bed. "Toby…don't you understand? He wants to cut ANY chance Sarah has at waking up!"

"You think she'll wake up?" Toby asked.

"Well…I hope she will. I believe she could. I believe in miracles! Toby…this isn't right…we can't move ahead of schedule."

"We have to hope for the best but expect the worst. I don't want to be let down when she doesn't wake up." Toby quietly said.

"Yeah, but why push forward? Why not wait until the designated date?" She asked, tears falling over the brims of her eyes.

"Because it's causing stress on all of the family." Toby answered. The doctor kept his gaze on Mrs. Williams with a sly smile. Mrs. Williams blinked in disbelief.

"Toby…I can't believe you…" She nearly whispered. She blinked away a few more tears before looking back at the doctor. "You may have this child brainwashed, but I will use whatever force necessary to make sure you have no say in this decision." And with that she walked away.

"I'm so tired Jareth." Sarah whispered. "We've been walking all day and we aren't even half way. We keep passing creatures and there are no goblins…I mean…when do we get there? I just want to sleep in a bed!"

"Perhaps you'd like to hear a story?" Jareth asked. They had entered a building under the pretense it was a shortcut because of a very fat and hairy creature called Lor. Now they were moving through gray tunnels and ignoring the wailing of birdlike creatures called Zigadors.

"I always loved hearing your stories." She mused, tightening her hold on his hand.

"Well this one is more strange. A lot more unanswered questions and mysterious endings. It's about a prophetess immortal of the Crest Worlds. Her name was Sahan."

"Sahan…" Sarah said the name and felt a strange tingle.

"Yes…she held a beauty inconceivable to man."

"What are the Crest Worlds?" Sarah asked. Jareth frowned at himself for forgetting to change names.

"There are many worlds…you know only of the human realm and the Labyrinth…but there are many. Millions to be exact. There are weak worlds created by the imagination, those are called the Bell Worlds. They last for a few years and are only visited by most humans in dreams or other such visions. The immortal worlds are called The Eternal Worlds, they are worlds that came into existence by strong powerful forces and can only be destroyed by force of opposing natures. The Crest Worlds are the holy worlds…very few make it into them and some are never heard of. Humans can only dream to be allowed into them and immortals must prove themselves worthy. Immortals that live in the Crest Worlds rarely leave them and look down upon the Eternal Worlds. They protect all the worlds, though, that believe. Anyway- "

"Wait…what is a prophetess?" Sarah asked, completely engrossed in the story.

"A prophet is someone who had contact with the Divine. They serve as the messenger and are wise. They are intermediary between the Divine and immortals. Because she was of the Crest World Euphalysia, she would never have contact with a human. She came to immortals with the wind and spoke to them of things that needed change. She had warned the Council of the Magistrate and the battles to come. I had spoken to her only once."

"You've met her?" Sarah asked.

"Yes, only once. I was permitted into the world because I was told I needed philosophy. I didn't handle my brother's death well-"

"You had a brother?" Sarah asked.

"Yes, I did. Sawnol of Meridian." He replied coolly. Sarah yanked her hand away from his and sped up her pace.

"Sarah, what's wrong?"

"You know everything about me, and I didn't even know you had a brother! How can you call that trust? Completely one-sided. I let you in, or better yet, you let yourself in to everything about my life and you never even told me that you had a brother?" She began mumbling to herself in anger and walked past him.

"Sarah…this is childish…do you want to hear the story or not?"

"I'd rather not. In fact, I don't want to hear anymore from you. Obviously you only tell me what you want me to know."

"I would have told you if I found it important…I didn't realize you cared to know about my history."

"Well, it should be common sense that I know barely anything about you or what you are!" She groaned and stopped against the wall. He moved toward her and kissed her deeply. She began to feel weak and closed her eyes, her arms sliding around his neck for support.

"I'll tell you whatever you want to know. Ask me anything and I'll answer it. Don't ever question my loyalty to you or our trust. We are connected." He sternly said against her lips. Her eyes flicked open and she looked at him. He felt as though she could see into his soul.

"Jareth," She breathed with a sigh, "God I've missed you." She pushed her lips against his again tightly, their tongues wrapping around each other in a dance. She felt out of breath and need clogged all thoughts of time and necessity.

"Sarah…Sarah…stop. I must tell you the truth." Jareth pulled her hands from his face and looked into her eyes. "You are so beautiful." He said.

"How are we connected?" She asked, her hand reaching to touch his cheek again.

"We met once…long ago. You told me to open my heart. You told me of a girl that would enter my life and open my eyes to the world. You told me that this girl and I would create a world of our own. You're name was Sahan."

"Don't be ridiculous…"Sarah whispered. "What do you mean?"

"Sahan became so taken over by holiness that it was said she evaporated into the wind and became part of the Divine. However, it was not true…she was destroyed by the Magistrate. When the Labyrinth was created and I was entrusted with the pendent I had no idea why I would be presented with such a strange new world…a world that was in the Eternity Worlds instead of the Bell Worlds even though it was created by a human…that is truly unheard of. Many immortals wanted to control the world but none were permitted past the Great Hall, only me. I did not even want the duty…I wanted to stay miserable in the World of Nye, but it was so strange. Why were we connected? Why did you trust me? Why did I wear the pendent?" He looked down at his ring. "This jewel is of Sahan…the crimson red with dark outer lining and crystal diamond shapes on the exterior. How would a human come to possess this? I questioned. Than, it came to me…you were once Sahan."

"No…it can't be…I mean, my personality isn't even…"

"Sarah…you are powerful. You have created this magical and mighty world and you are only a human. You have contorted time and dreamed up new places. You are practically an immortal."

"But I'm not…I'm a human…which is why I'm going back."

"Yes…but you will never be happy."

"Jareth…let's get to the Fountain. I need to get back. I don't know why, but suddenly I feel this urgent sense that I need to be moving. I need to get there before it's too late."

The room is dark and lit only by candles. The flicker of the candlelight danced on each grave face of the members.

"Members of the Magistrate, we are in severe danger." Jadouin said. "Sarah has discovered the entity."

"Yes, what of this immortal? We must destroy him." A member spoke up.

"However, we cannot attack. Remember the last time we tried breaking into the human's world?" A member whispered.

"We only created an escape for the human when her soul escaped."

"The soul is still attached to the body."

"Not for long." The voice belonged to Dr. Fredrick who now stepped forward. "If all goes according to plan…and it will, we will successfully cut the tie from Sarah's body and separate her soul forever." And with that, a smile spread across his features.