Two years. The phone calls, the deep conversations, the "forever and always". It was all over in five minutes. Sarah slammed the door to her apartment, threw her keys against the wall, and collapsed on her bed face first. Clutching the sheets in her fists, she started to sob.

"It's not fair!" She shrieked, seething into her pillow.

She couldn't believe her boyfriend had broken up with her over something so stupid. A "professional" career in business or something didn't interest her. She wanted to write books. Fantasy books to be exact. He didn't think that was serious enough to support. A screaming match later, she was left with nothing but shattered dreams and a scruffy childhood friend lying beside her in the dimness.

Tears streaming down her hot face, she picked up the bear and placed him in her lap.

"Oh Lancelot..." she sighed, looking down on her beloved toy, "How did we get here?"

The little bear's black eyes seemed to stare back at her in understanding, but of course he had no answer. He wasn't real. That's what she reminded herself as she set him back down beside her, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

Someone real. That's exactly what she needed.

Need.

Sliding off the bed and sitting down at her vanity, she gazed into the mirror, trying to ignore her disheveled appearance as she uttered the fateful words.

"Hoggle, I need you." She called into the void.

It felt like she waited an eternity before the rugged, kind face of her dwarf friend appeared in the mirror, the reflection showing him as standing behind her.

"You do?" He asked, as he did every time since the first day he visited her Aboveground.

"I do." She confirmed, trying not to sound as desperate as she was.

"What's wrong, Sarah?"

She turned to see him materialized next to her bed.

"You don't go calling me for no reason. It ain't like you. And I haven't heard from you in months." He continued, setting himself down on the unkempt quilt.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I've just been...busy." She acknowledged her neglect, yet another thing to feel bad about. A full-time job she hated, a relationship with a boyfriend who now hated her, and the rift of hatred between her and her family, Toby excluded, hadn't left much time for hailing friends from magical worlds beyond.

"Oh Hoggle, I don't know what's real anymore." She cried out, sitting beside him.

"What are you talkin' about? That's nonsense." He replied, shaking his head.

"That's a laugh coming from you." She mumbled. "I mean I don't know what to do. Nothing is working out like I wanted. I just want to give up."

"Now what kind of talk is that? You don't sound like the Sarah I know!" He exclaimed. "Not the one who made it out alive from The Bog of Eternal Stench, the one who conquered the armies of The Goblin City, and defeated The Goblin King himself."

"Jareth..." Sarah whispered, temporarily forgetting about her problems upon the mention of the conniving ruler. She couldn't remember the last time she thought about him. It had been six years since her adventure in the Labyrinth after all. "What is the king of goblins doing nowadays? Still kidnapping innocent children and tormenting their siblings with horrid traps for his pleasure, I assume." She questioned with no small amount of contempt.

Hoggle's expression changed as he turned away from her gaze.

"Hoggle? What's wrong?"

"All these years, and you never asked about him. Why do you want to know about that nasty trickster anyway?" He evaded her question while fiddling with his hands, obviously hiding something.

"Tell me what's happened, Hoggle." She demanded, not breaking her stare on him.

"You're not going to like it...but alright." He sighed, shaking his head once more before looking up at her, "He's dying, Sarah. Has been for years. Ever since you defeated him, he quit stealing babies. The goblins abandoned him. He lives in the castle alone. No one's seen him in years. Only reason I know he's still livin', is cause the Labyrinth is livin'. When he dies, well...we all do."

"What?!" Sarah shouted, her mouth dropping open. She only thought she saved her baby brother, not destroyed the Underground.

"Time don't go as fast in the Underground like it does here, that's why he's lasted this long. But I don't think it'll be much longer...he doesn't have much magic left." He uttered with finality.

"But why? Why is he dying? That doesn't make sense!" She outburst, jumping up and facing him.

"Because you defeated him, Sarah. No one's ever done that in a thousand years. You were the first. And the last, I'm afraid." He explained, sounding meek and almost scared.

Sarah's features fell, guilt setting in as the situation became clear. "It's all my fault...everything, the Underground disappearing...it's all my fault."

"If it weren't true, I wouldn't have told you. I'm sorry." Hoggle replied, shame in his voice.

Sarah was too shocked to answer, sitting back down.

"Wait..." She began, her eyes widening, "Hoggle, what's going to happen to you? And Sir. Didymus and Ludo? If the Underground disappears..." She was too frightened to finish, Hoggle's sorrowful eyes saying it all. "No! I can't lose you guys! I just can't!"

"Ain't nothing you can do, Sarah." He stated, confirming the awful truth.

"There has to be! If I messed everything up, I can fix it!" She said in denial.

"The only way to save the Underground is to save Jareth. But I'm just a dwarf. Only a Fae knows how to save a Fae."

She put her hands on her hips, biting her lip as her eyes darted around in thought. "Then I'm just going to have to ask him."

"What? Are you crazy?" Hoggle shouted, jumping down.

"It's the only way, Hoggle. I can't let everyone else die because of me." She reminded, adamant on her decision.

"Sarah! You ain't listening, there's something you don't know!" He raised his voice louder than hers, catching her attention. "You can't go back to the Labyrinth."

"What? Why not?"

"Because Jareth won't let you." He told, forcing himself to meet her confused gaze, "He's the only one who can let you back into the Underground, but there's no way he'd do that. And there's something else..."

"Hoggle?" Sarah asked, a fear worse than before gripping her after hearing the sorrow in his voice.

"The magic is almost gone. Once I leave, I won't be able to come back. Ever. I'm surprised there was enough for this time." He said, hanging his head.

"No." She uttered and turned away, tears coming back to her eyes, "No, no no."

"I'm sorry, Sarah. I'm not much good with words...but I, just want you do know...that you were the greatest friend I've ever had. The best." He stammered, wiping at his eyes.

"Hoggle please don't go!" She begged, spinning on her heel to face him, but he was already gone. Sarah ran to the mirror, his image still there. "No please, don't go! I need you!" She cried, pressing her hand to the cold glass. She blinked, and he was gone.

"Goodbye, Sarah." His voice lingered in a whisper. Then the silence returned. She was alone again.

"No, please no." Sarah choked out through her tears, resting her head on the vanity with her hand still on the mirror. Her step-mother's abuse, losing her relationship with her father, not seeing Toby for months at a time. None of that had hurt as much as this; losing the only true friends she'd ever had.

"Don't leave me." She pleaded, her heart breaking. "It's not fair."

"You say that so often. I wonder what your basis for comparison is." Jareth's words from so long ago echoed in her memory.

"Jareth." She said in realization, lifting her head, "Jareth, it's Sarah."

She had said it louder, gazing into the mirror, but got more silence in return. Gathering her courage, she now would say something she'd never said before. Something she'd never wanted to say before.

"Jareth, I'm sorry. I did what I had to do. I had to get my baby brother back. I know you were just doing what I asked, but...I'm sorry that I messed everything up for you. Just let me back into the Labyrinth and I'll fix everything, okay?"

Sarah searched for the signs that he had heard. She glanced to the window, but only the shine of the streetlights below seeped through the half-closed curtains. She flipped the switch on her vanity lamp, but the bulb clicked on. There was no wind. No owl at the window, trying to break in. No goblins scurrying around her feet. Just the stillness of night. Nothing was happening as it did the last time she called upon him to come. The night he took Toby away.

"Away. That's what I'm forgetting!" She thought,standing with determination.

"Goblin King, Goblin King, wherever you may be, take me far away!" She cried aloud. "I wish the goblins would come and take me away! Right now!"

Nearly a minute she waited in the darkness, and said time passed with no change. Although she was stubborn to give up, the obvious truth remained.

He wasn't listening. Even if he was, he didn't want to see her. The Goblin King was dying, and he didn't want to be saved. She'd truly defeated him. Now everyone she loved was disappearing because of it. It was all her fault.

Collapsing on the floor where she stood, she sobbed in despair.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered, tears falling from her face as she closed her eyes.

Unwilling to completely give up, she forced herself to consider other possibilities. Maybe he wanted to come to her, but was he too weak to answer her call? Could he even hear her? What if he couldn't? The fear of the unknown and all its questions became her only focus. The only thing she knew was that he was running out of time...and so was she.

*A/N: I watched Labyrinth for the first time on the day David Bowie died. I fell in love with both the movie and Jareth The Goblin King. When I heard the lyrics to Adele's "Hello", I had to write an angsty post-Labyrinth story about grown up Sarah and defeated Jareth. The song works for them so well. This won't be a long multiple chapter fic, but there will be five parts in total. I had too many ideas just to do a oneshot. This is my first Labyrinth fan fic, but I think(?) I'm doing good at writing the characters so far, for a new arrival in the fandom.

Also, because I can't post the song's lyrics in the fic due to policy, I highly recommend listening to the song during/after reading, even more when the story's complete. It makes it so much better, especially considering the lyrics inspired me to write this whole thing. :)

Everything belongs to Jim Henson, I own only my fan fic. Part Two (Jareth's POV) coming soon. Thank you so much for reading!*