Author's Note: This story began as a prompt over on LJ, and yes, the fic is posted on my LJ account too, by bones_2_be. It was beta'd by alanndra; without these two this story would not exist. For those of you who have read my other stories, this one is vastly different, mainly because there will be SLASH, you have been warned. Also, I will not be abandoning my Gilmore Girls WIP, so do not fear.

Green Blooded Hobgoblin

"You weren't this fond of him when he put you in front of the board for hacking his precious Kobayashi Maru," Bones reminded Jim.

"No, I wasn't. I didn't know him, Bones. And he didn't know me. He was trying to teach a lesson. Again, we just didn't share the same mindset."

"He marooned you on Delta Vega," Bones argued.

"I know, Bones. I was there," Jim responded, his voice vaguely amused. Kirk continued to make his way to the observation deck, knowing Bones would follow and continue his rant regardless of any protestations on Jim's part.

"You're simply going to ignore that? It was mutiny, Jim," Bones continued, his voice becoming louder and more impassioned.

"It wasn't mutiny. I wasn't the captain – he was."

"Tell me you weren't thinking about reporting him for breaking some obscure Starfleet regulation," Bones pressed.

With a sigh, Kirk turned around to face his Chief Medical Officer and best friend. While it was true that Kirk had indeed considered reporting Spock for a breach of Security Protocol 49.09, which governed the treatment of prisoners on-board a starship, he also knew command decisions were not made lightly. Spock honestly believed he'd been making the correct choice for the Enterprise; it was the logical decision. Looking up at Bones, he instantly recognized the determination in his friend's eyes and it saddened him that the two could not seem to work out their issues. Ever since Kirk had announced Spock as his First Officer, Bones had been relentless in his attempts to rid the Enterprise of the Vulcan. Nothing overt, not from Bones, but Kirk knew him too well to miss the Machiavellian planning going on in Bone's mind.

"At the time, yes. I was stranded on a frigid planet and my ship was being sent to 'gather' with the rest of Starfleet, which I thought was a terrible command choice. I know things now I didn't know then."

"Right."

James T. Kirk, Captain of the USS Enterprise had heard enough out of his CMO. Using his strongest command presence, he turned to face his best friend. "Look, Bones. He's my First Officer, which makes him your First Officer. You will treat him as a respected member of the Command Crew of this vessel."

Knowing he'd crossed a line, Bones nodded his head mutely and watched Jim walk away. "Pointy-eared hobgoblin."

"It wasn't just an Earth movie," Sulu told Chekov.

Bones turned toward the sound of approaching voices and gave a tightlipped smile to the young men.

"It vus," Chekov insisted. "Zere is no such fing as a Goblin King."

"There is. It's an old Earth fairy tale. The Goblin King will come and take away someone. Usually a baby. Then the Goblin King will turn that baby into one of his Goblins. If you want to get your baby back, you have to defeat the Labyrinth and make it all the way to the Goblin King's palace," Sulu explained.

"Doctor?" Chekov asked, "Vat do you fink?"

"About the Goblin King?" Bones asked rhetorically. He stroked his chin absently as he pretended to think upon the matter. "If the Goblin King does exist, I would want him to take more than babies off my hands. How sure of the myth are you, Sulu?"

"It's been a while. I could dig up some more information for you, if you're interested," Sulu offered.

"Maybe if you show some evidence of the myth, Chekov will be more interested in believing in your fairytale," Bones offered.


Jareth, King of the Goblins, smiled to himself. On his screen, he watched the Enterprise enter the space near his planet. It was a rare treat to have a Federation ship so close to his planet. They had been in his planet's general area for almost a week, and he found himself helplessly drawn to the ship's inhabitants. Using the inherent magic of his genetic ancestry, he'd observed the actions of many of the ship's Command Crew. His planet's invisibility was a little-known fact. His race was a distant relative of human Fairies; from this side, came the planet's cloaking. The only way to make his planet visible to the naked eye was for someone onboard to be discussing him, or his realm. He watched the small ones walk away from the Doctor. It might be his oddly placed sense of hope, but he assured himself that the Doctor would make a wish of him soon. In order to speed up the process, he decided to assist Sulu in his search for details.

One of the benefits of being created out of myth was his ability to ignore the rules that governed reality. His screen switched to a view of Sulu's chambers. He noted the distinctly human feel of it, shuddered in distaste, and went about his voyeuristic business. Knowing the amount of sleep humans required was substantial, Jareth decided placing the book upon his pillow would be cliché but effective. If anyone had been in the room, they would have seen a vaguely materialized body, as if the transporter had malfunctioned mid-energize.


Weary from Alpha Shift, Sulu returned to his room intent upon quickly falling asleep. He absently changed out of his uniform and into his sleep clothes without bothering to turn up the lights. As he searched for a comfortable sleeping position, he felt something hard and sharp poke him in the face.

"Lights fifty percent."

He lifted up enough to see what had caused the pain. It was a red hardcover book. His eyes widened; it was rare to find an actual book, even rarer to find it in one's bed. Gently, he traced the lettering on the cover.

"Labyrinth."

Knowing he'd find little sleep that night, Sulu opened the book and began to read.

"It's all here in the book," Sulu showed Chekov the next day.

The pair were occupying one of the officer tables in the mess hall.

"Juzt because it iz in ze book, doez not mean it iz true," Chekov argued, refusing to look at the book Sulu had unceremoniously thrust under his nose.

"What seems to be the trouble here?" Bones asked, clearly amused by their bickering.

"Chekov still doesn't believe in the Goblin King. I have the proof right here," Sulu told him. He waved the book dramatically to drive his point home.

"I see," Bones said, holding his hand out for the book.

With a mildly triumphant smile, Sulu handed the book to the doctor. Bones idly flipped through the first few pages before stopping at what he considered the interesting part. He read the passage to himself, a plan forming in his head. At first, the thought was vague, almost like a dream one tried in vain to hold on to upon waking, but then it became solid. As if struck by a Muse and gifted with instant inspiration, Bones had a plan.

"It says," Bones began, waiting – ensuring he had the attention of both young men, "that anyone can ask for assistance from the Goblin King."

"It iz a fairy tale book," Chekov argued. "Of course it vill say zis."

Bones glared the disbelieving youth into silence.

"Now, it also says there are right words that must be said in order for the Goblin King to hear the request. It tells the story of a young girl who listened to the whispers of the goblins who told her to say the right words and they would free her."

"See? Iz just a ridiculous story for ze young girls," Chekov interrupted.

Bones didn't even waste a glare this time before he continued. "The young girl fought the temptation of the freedom offered to her by the goblins. She struggled within herself, knowing she mustn't subject anyone to such a terrible fate. She knew any people taken by the Goblin King would become a goblin themselves. Suffering in silence, the girl endured the torment of her evil stepmother…until one night, when the pressures were too much to endure any further she shouted the words from her balcony window. 'I can bear it no longer! Goblin King! Goblin King! Wherever you may be take this child of mine far away from me!'"

"Did it work?" Sulu asked, eagerly.

A smile touching his weathered face, Bones glanced briefly from one young face to the next before he continued. "The goblins, who heard her cry, sighed sadly to themselves. 'That's not it! Where did she get that rubbish? It doesn't even start with "I wish!"'. Of course, the young girl knew she did not say the right words; she was still undecided in her heart. Frustrated, the girl turned to her baby brother, the bane of her cloistered existence, and whispered, 'I wish I did know the right words to make the Goblin King come and take you away.' Incidentally, those were the right words. The Goblin King had been summoned."

"Did he take ze baby?" Chekov asked, finding himself unexplainably drawn to the tale.

"He did," Sulu answered, bubbling with excitement. "He took the child away from the girl. But, she wanted to get her brother back…so she entered the Goblin King's labyrinth in order to find him. She defeated the labyrinth and the Goblin King was forced to return her brother to her."

"I thought you didn't know the legend of the Goblin King," Bones observed, mild amusement coloring his voice.

"I read the book after Alpha shift," Sulu admitted.

"So, zis Goblin King takes ze babies and turns zem into goblins?" Chekov asked. The three had a shift to report to, and decided to move their conversation to the bridge.

"Yes. He needs them, usually babies, to turn into goblins. According to the legend that is how goblins began…they were the forgotten children, orphans," Sulu answered.

"Ze poor babies," Chekov whispered with a sad voice.

Jim looked up from his PADD when Chekov and Sulu entered the bridge. He observed the intently distracted look on their faces, as if they were trying to puzzle out something.

"Ensign Chekhov?" Jim asked.

"Yes, sir?" the Ensign asked, with a slight jump.

"Is everything okay? You seem…distracted," Jim said carefully.

"Everyzing is fine, sir."

"We were discussing the Goblin King," Sulu offered with a sheepish smile. "We will resume our conversation once our shift is over, Captain."

Jim nodded. He had no idea why two of his officers would spend their off time discussing an old Earth fairy tale, but free time was to be spent however they deemed necessary so long as it didn't break any serious Starfleet rules. He looked around at his Command Crew as they settled into their positions. Spock, behind him at the science station, raised an eyebrow at Sulu's announcement. The shake of his head was imperceptible to most, but Jim noticed. Undoubtedly, the Vulcan found the discussion of such things illogical at any time. A small smile graced the Captain's lips. While he and Spock still had a lot of ground to cover as far as their relationship was concerned, the pair had made great strides toward a deep and lasting friendship.

"Sir," Spock began, waiting for his Captain to acknowledge him.

"Yes, Mister Spock?" Jim asked as he spun his chair around to face his First Officer.

"I detect a new planet."

Jim squinted his eyes in concentration. The expression on Spock's face was nearly one of surprise. Nothing ever surprised the Vulcan – except for Jim's over-active emotions and reckless decisions, but that was a different matter entirely.

"A new planet? New to us or new to the universe, Mister Spock?"

"I would say new to the universe, Captain, but that is an improbable statement. The planet appears to be old, ancient by Standard years. It, however, did not appear on my radar until moments ago."

If it were possible for the Captain's grin to become any wider, it did. He could barely believe his luck. They had been sent out past the planet Oruits to see if there were any inhabited planets beyond the Federation's newest ally. No one thought there could be a planet so far away from the more centralized planetary systems. They were wrong.

"Mister Spock, see what kind of readings you can gather from the planet. I want to know if it has any inhabitants. Scan the atmosphere and see if you can offer me any visuals of the planet."

"Right away, Captain."

The whole bridge waited, a ripple of excitement traveling through the crew. It had been quite a while since they had encountered anything new. Their most recent missions had been diplomatic or simple milk runs. For the crew of the Enterprise those were necessary, but frankly unacceptable.

"The atmosphere appears to be similar to that of Vulcan II, but the topography is closer to that of Earth. I have been able to capture an image from the planet's surface," Spock informed his Captain.

"Put it up on the screen," Kirk ordered.

Chekov and Sulu gasped as the image came into focus on the screen.

"It's the labyrinth!"

"Ze Goblin King castle!"

"Mister Spock?" Jim asked.

"I am unfamiliar with the references offered by both Lieutenant Sulu and Ensign Chekov."

"Well?" Jim prompted, his captain voice coming out.

"Sir," Sulu said as he spun around to face the captain, "Earlier Chekov and I were discussing the Goblin King myth because of a book I found in my bed. Chekov was unconvinced about the myth's truth, and I was trying to convince him that it was in fact true. The image on the screen looks like the picture of the labyrinth that leads to the Goblin King's castle."

"Chekov?"

"Is true, sir."

"Where is this book now?" Jim asked.

"Doctor McCoy had the book during breakfast this morning, Keptin," Chekov answered.

Jim nodded. "Kirk to medical bay."

"Bones here," Bones responded.

"You're needed on the bridge."

"I have a sickbay to run, Jim."

"Bring the book."

"For the love of all – "

"Bones! Bring the damn book! Kirk out."

No one said anything. No one dared to breathe. It was a rare occasion that the captain lost his temper with their cantankerous Chief Medical Officer. After several, long, tense minutes, the doors to the bridge slid open.

"What in the name of God is that?" Bones asked as he saw the image on the screen.

"That's what we're trying to figure out, Bones," Jim answered dryly.

"Here," Bones offered the book to Jim absently. His attention riveted to the screen.

"Sir?" Spock asked, "Why are we searching for answers in a book about myth?"

"Spock," Jim said, "The planet didn't exist until minutes ago, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"And the image on the screen comes from the planet?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then, explain to me how an image from a planet that simply appeared can also be in a book about a myth?"

Spock stood from his chair and walked to where Jim was holding the book. He took the book from Jim's hands and quickly read through the tale of the Goblin King and the girl who beat his labyrinth. There, in the middle of the book, was an illustration which appeared to be an exact depiction of what they were all seeing on the screen.

"This is highly illogical, Captain. I can offer no explanation."

"Are you telling me that the planet – " Bones pointed to the screen, "is the planet of the Goblin King?"

"I'm not hearing any competing explanations," Jim responded, hardly believing it himself.

"I told you it was real," Sulu told Chekov.

"There must be a logical explanation. There is no evidence that the image in the book and the image from the planet are in any way related by anything other than coincidence. Perhaps whoever wrote the book had been to this planet and thus drew their inspiration from it."

"I think," Jim began, "the planet may be what started the Goblin King myth."

"Captain, you cannot be considering their theory seriously."

"Think about it, Spock. You yourself told me, and I quote: 'once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth'. While it is impossible for these two pictures to be the same thing, there is no other explanation."

"Making a decision based on such unfounded theories is not an advisable course of action, Captain," Spock argued.

"I am open to a better suggestion, Commander," Jim responded, using a forceful version of his "Captain" voice.

"We must take the time to gather more information from the surface of the planet. It is not logical to make a decision based upon so few facts, sir," Spock continued.

"And when you pick up an image of a goblin, will you believe the book and the planet are related? Or will you still need time to gather more evidence?"

"I think a verified image of a native inhabitant would be sufficient evidence to support your theory, Captain."

"Well so long as Commander Spock thinks an actual sighting would suffice," Jim retorted.

Bones watched the two bicker. It amazed him that Jim would endure such blatant disrespect on his own bridge. He was the captain, and if he thought the planet was based on some myth in a book, then it was captain's prerogative to think so. He thought that perhaps the Vulcan would add some stability to Jim's rash decisions, but instead it seemed that the Commander was intent upon undermining the captain's authority at every possible moment.

"If it is the planet of the Goblin King," Bones muttered, "I wish he'd take away the pointy-eared hobgoblin."

"Captain, I fail to understand – "

Jim blinked a couple of times. Jim blinked several more times.

"Spock?"

The Vulcan was gone.


Alright, there you have chapter one of this seriously muse crack fic! Let me know what you think.