Caveats And Cliches (A Labyrinth Fanfiction)

Chapter 3: Reading Between The Lines

It is just like the first time, one moment we are in the alley, the next we are in a sandy, scrubby treed, desolate looking landscape. I can see an outline in the distance that looks like the walls of the Labyrinth, but they are shrouded in mist, so I can't tell for sure. Jareth stares solemnly in the same direction for a moment, then turns to me.

"Sarah, I need your help."

Well, this is new. New, but not totally surprising. I knew there had to be some reason for his visit.

He seems to be waiting to see if I will get angry about being back in the Underground, or if I have some objection to the idea of helping him. The truth is I'm ecstatic to be back. I have thought about this place so much, drawn so many conclusions, I'm bursting to find out if I'm right. The possibility of discovering even more mind bogglers has me wanting to wriggle like a puppy. But I am a trained professional, so I make a vaguely reassuring gesture and say,

"How can I be of service?"

Jareth is visibly relieved. "In order for you to understand the difficulty, I will have to tell you more about the Underground." He starts walking in the direction of the Labyrinth and I keep pace at his side.

"My kingdom is only one of many. Each is ruled by a monarch, but all of us answer to a council that governs over the entirety of the land. Recently, the son of a council member was abducted while on a stay in my kingdom. I need you to help me rescue him from his abductor."

Oh sure, that sounds completely logical and harmless, except for it doesn't make any sense! My forehead wrinkles in confusion.

"What? Why me? The council must be providing you with vast resources to apprehend the abductor. Not to mention, I must be the least qualified person to help with an investigation here." I gestured helplessly to the landscape around us.

He stares at the ground, not answering for a moment. His serious demeanor is really throwing me off. Either he has changed a lot in the last seventeen years, or there is more to this abduction than he is letting on. Work brain is leaning toward the latter.

"I haven't informed the council of the abduction." He finally says.

I'm shocked. Jareth hasn't informed the boy's own parents of his disappearance or asked for the assistance required to find him? Panic brain wants to scream at him, but work brain takes over again.

"I'm going to need you to explain why you made this choice." I say with perfect diplomacy.

Jareth stops walking and sighs. He can't seem to meet my eye. There is way more going on here than he has said.

"His abductor has given me an opportunity to retrieve him- unharmed- with the stipulations that I am able to solve and overcome the intricacies and obstacles he has created to prevent me from doing so; and that I do not seek aid from the council, or any of the neighboring kingdoms."

"Still, couldn't you have made them aware of the situation..."

"I'll not risk his safety!!" Jareth nearly shouts.  Realizing his tone, he softens. "He is...a relative...of mine."

All the surprises of the evening must have slowed my deductive nature, because I stare at him in silent confusion for several seconds before finally figuring out what he is trying to tell me. Realization hits me like a freight train and I lose all composure.

"You're saying..."

A very unprofessional grin spreads across my face.

"that your.."

The giggles start creeping into my already unsteady voice.

"...baby brother...has been kidnapped, and you must go on a mysterious journey through the Underground to bring him back???"

I double over and wheeze with laughter. I crack up so hard there are tears in my eyes, and it takes me a full minute to get control of myself. Even then it is hard to keep the occasional snicker from escaping. Jareth is not amused. He tolerates my cackling for a moment then stalks off, huffing. I stumble behind him for a moment, then catch up and sneak a glance at his face. Open irritation with a side of disgust. It only makes the situation funnier.

"Oh, come on!" I say, giving him a companionable shove.

"You didn't really expect me to hear that and not laugh, did you?"

He sighs resignedly, and finally meets my eye. I sober quickly, there is pain behind his look. I feel a tinge of guilt; I know what it is like to be in his position. We walk in silence for a few minutes.

"So, soliciting help from me, that was like a loophole, huh?"

He gives me a small smile. "Well, it doesn't hurt that you have become a modern day Sherlock Holmes."

"Oooo, a literary reference!" I tease, smiling at the ground.

"We have books here as well, from many spheres."

"That reminds me, I have some questions for you." Welcome back work brain.

"The Underground isn't some fantastical realm, this is like an alternate dimension?"

"Correct."

"So, I'm guessing you don't actually change children into goblins."

This earns me a chuckle.

"The goblins are natives of this sphere, and it's really rather rude of you humans to call them that."

"Oh...what's the name for them here?"

Jareth looks as if he is trying to repress a smile.

I roll my eyes. "It's 'goblin', isn't it?"

He chuckles again. "Yes, but we still consider humans to be rude."

I can't help but smile at this weird banter. And getting some of my long held theories confirmed is really exciting.

"Ok, the crystals, I know they aren't magic, so what? Super advanced cell phones?"

Jareth considers this. "It's more than that, comparable to a supercomputer. There's also an organic component to it, the crystals grow here, so they can be programmed to interact with our surroundings...
That's how I control the walls of the labyrinth." He adds after a moment.

I contemplated this. It is pretty amazing. "The crystals are grown, then programmed like computers... you don't get your energy from the yellow sun, do you?"

Jareth frowns at me.

"No comic books in the Underground? Fair enough. But seriously, something I haven't been able to figure out, why is it called the Underground?"

"It's sort of like a simplified directional reference."

"Could you be more specific?"

"Imagine that all the spheres, or dimensions, are stacked on top of each other. If your world is the third dimension, then our's is the fourth, we are therefore "under" your dimension."

My eyebrow lifts involuntarily. "I'm no theoretical physicist, but that can't be scientifically accurate at all!"

Jareth glances over at me, that mischievous twinkle in his eye. "It's kind of a joke."

My eyes must pop out of my head.

"Curiouser and curiouser."

I mull this over for a bit, then decide I don't know enough to contemplate alternate dimensions. I notice that we are getting close to the Labyrinth and return to the business at hand.

"Has the abductor informed you of the first challenge?"

"We must complete the Labyrinth."

"Complete the Labyrinth? How is that even a challenge for you?"

"Because it is not my Labyrinth."