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 Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2014 11:12 pm
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Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2014 1:36 pm
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 "Your eyes can be so cruel, just as I can be so cruel...."
.......¬ J A R E T H ⌐
location:somewhere in the labyrinth
company:random goblin, then none
form:goblin king
mood:unpleasant, surprised
thoughts:"...well that didn't go at all as planned."
Blissfully, silent darkness. Isn't that what one would come to expect from an oubliette, and not from a simple backfired spell? Though something was nagging at his mind in that silent blackness, something that was making his cheek quirk and twitch in the waking world....or perhaps that was just the mindless oaf of a tiny little goblin poking his cheek incessantly with a stick? Either way, he was both grateful and furious with the little bugger, because it was that nagging poking that brought him up out of the pitch solitude of his own mind. One eye opened, and his vision came back to him slowly. The blurred colored shapes of light that first appeared came back into focus painfully slowly until Jareth surveyed himself and his surroundings with a startling clarity. He came to realize he was laying face down, sprawled over a small mound of earth and broken bits of brick from the labyrinth's wall....and staring that pesky little creature dead in the eye. It stared back unblinkingly, and offered his cheek yet one more gentle prod with the end of the stick, which caused Jareth's other eye to open sharply.
"...You insufferable little git, scram! Go on, SHOO! What in the fairying forest do you think you were doing anyw-" Sitting bolt upright and snatching the stick out of the goblin's hand, he swished his hands at the poor thing in a 'shoo'ing gesture and snapped the stick clean in half. Even that much motion was nearly too much for him. He grimaced, noticing a sharp pain in his chest. And that was when his attention was suddenly grabbed by the lack of heartbeat. Pressing his palm flat over where the Pathmaker should have been, he held it there for a moment, feeling for any trace of his sentient heart. When there was none, he sighed in frustration and let himself flop back down, onto his back this time. He stared up at the sky for the longest time, trying to gather his thoughts. He remembered seeing Sarah, getting his heart back, flashes of heated emotion and flaring tempers....he recalled the argument...and the ensuing explosion. But then, where was his Pathmaker now? Closing his eyes, he brought his hands up to his face, rubbing the numbing tingle from it. His powers had never behaved that way before, had never been beyond his control...and Sarah. His face contorted to a scowl beneath his gloved hands. He'd had quite enough reflecting on the cause of his current and rather embarrassing position. Time to return to the castle and fix this mess!
Sitting back up, he ran his hands through his hair, pushing it back off his face, only to have stubborn wisps fall back where they once were. Well it was a valiant effort nonetheless. He got onto his legs, and reached out, placing a hand on the wall for support. Why on earth did he feel so...weak?! Taking a glance up at the star-littered sky, he noticed a pale golden glow beginning to form on the horizon. Zero hour. Daybreak would mark the beginning of 1 O'clock, when the bottom edge of the sun touched the earth. Glancing in the opposite direction, he saw the crystalline moon beginning to set. How long had he been unconscious?! It was midday when he last saw the Underground, halfway between weaving the spell that would trap his dear Sarah back for another game of hide-and-seek. Had he truly been under for that long?! It was a startling idea, even for the smooth, collected King of the Goblins. Smirking, he closed his eyes and... didn't go anywhere. The grin died on his face. He tried again.... nothing. Where were his powers?! "What...?!"
Reaching his hands out, he motioned for the walls before him to part so that he could make an easy and direct flight to the castle. And once again, was shockingly disappointed when the bricks didn't even so much as tremble. This...wasn't good. Why wasn't his world listening to him?! Was it because the Pathmaker had mysteriously gone missing again? Even more put off now, Jareth held a hand out, concentrating with everything his mind could procure. A single crystal rolled down his wrist and around up into his hand and he stared pointedly at it. Well at least all of his powers weren't gone! After a moment, the crystal ball shimmered and revealed himself!-No...the Pathmaker seated comfortably in his throne, staring into a crystal of his own! And what was worse...staring at him! "Of all the impudence! You damnable thing! How dare you?!"
"Ah, ah, ah! Temper, temper, my dear fellow. Being angry with me isn't going to get you anywhere." Smirking at his body as the Goblin King stood there trapped in the labyrinth like everyone else, he raised a goblet of white wine to his lips and took a sip before handing it back to the goblin servant that stepped up with hands outstretched to receive. This was going to be an interesting game indeed. Heart vs. Mind...who would win, he wondered? Jareth never should have given him sentience. They would not constantly be at odds with one another. Then again, the sentience was just fine, but the man was so damn stubborn! How was a body supposed to listen to both it's heart and it's mind if both their voices rang so deafeningly loud all the time?
"Yes, how dare I indeed? This is going to be a most interesting game between you and I, Jareth. One that only one of us can win. Are you up for it? Too bad. Oh don't worry, your powers will return in time, but think not to use them to alter your path. It won't work. The Underground is under my control for the time being. Oh don't give me that look, I'm not going to go power-crazy and start rearranging everything just to spite you. This is going to be a fair game. All your friends from that little town are here too. You and our darling Sarah had quite an....'explosive' argument." Puns. Always with the puns. It was as if every creature of the Underground had it coded into their DNA to make puns, clever, lame, dirty, cute or otherwise. Standing from the throne, he took a short stroll down the hallways and up a set of spiral stairs, glancing out one of the balcony windows and surveying the landscape. Rays of shimmering pale yellow sunlight were beginning to spill forth over the horizon, chasing away the blanket of darkness that had covered the land. Everything the eyes could see was bathed in gold light. It was a breathtaking view, one he never tired of, and one that he often would get Jareth up out of bed to see just for the sheer joy of it. The moon was no more than a sliver now, sinking down to hide away from the daybreak. Clutching the crystal in a gloved hand, he held it up to give Jareth a view of the entire labyrinth.
"The rules are simple, Jareth. Make your way here and reclaim me. I haven't left you completely, you see, as you know, things work a little differently here in the Underground. As long as I am here, I can exist both outside of you and within you at the same time...long story, complicated magical sciencey-tidbits, entirely uninmportant. The point is, you're going to need help to find your way home, Jareth...and you're going to need to learn to depend on others, and on me. You used to once. Long before you made me what I am. But by shutting me out, and refusing to listen, you've left me no other choice. I know I've let you down in the past, but I have every confidence you can learn to rely on me again. Good luck, my lost self. " The crystal went dim and he discarded it into thin air. Jareth's scathing glare was both precious and upsetting all the same. He didn't want to have to do this, but it was true. The Goblin King left him no other choice. The townsfolk were set scattered amongst the world like game pieces. And with the coming dawn, it was time to see how each would play.
 Beware...I have been generous up 'til now, but I can be cruel.
You cowered before me, I was frightening.
I have re-ordered time.
I have turned the world upside-down, and I've done it all for you.
I am exhausted from living up to your expectations of me.
Live without the sunlight, love without your heartbeat.
I can't live within you...
"....everything I've done, I've done for you. I move the stars for no-one!"
((OOC: Bah-bah-buuuuuhhhm....! )) |
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Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 9:12 pm
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“No... no.... NO. NO!”
Sarah spun round and round in the ever rising stone walls of the labyrinth. Her memory seemed to be wiped clear of all that had happened to cause this, she couldn’t locate the one that told her what was happening was not supposed to, but her gut, her core told her it wasn’t right. She banged on the stone as it rose higher and higher until the familiar seven and half feet tall bricks stood erect and menacing. Leaning against the wall, her breath came out in exhausted huffs, sending the glittering dust into the air just to be sucked into her lungs. It sent her into a fit of coughing and hacking. Why did this happen? She could remember everything but why this had happened. Did she even have a hand in it? Did she say something to Jareth again to cause this? No... She had been with Jareth in Storybrooke when this occurred, the landscape had faded to be replaced with the Underground and slowly the walls came up in a rumbling, angry mass. Her hands rose to her face to push her hair back, out of her face, and in a blind attempt to control her thoughts. Okay. What happened last with Jareth? Got out of Cora’s locket with magic... reclaimed voice which was even more excruciating than having it removed... returned the Pathfinder to Jareth as soon as we had time alone to argue everything out before ripping him from my chest and pushing him into his hands... Jareth and I fought again.... then this.
“‘Ello again. Come back for some tea, ‘ave we?” asked a familiar chirp of a voice. She looked back to the wall to see a familiar worm in a scarf. She slunk down to his level with a welcomed smile. “No, not exactly. Tell me, do you know if the King is in the castle?” The worm seemed to think for a moment before gazing up at her with a smile. “Last I ‘eard, he was in the Aboveground looking for you miss. But if you’re here, the king must be, too, eh? She nodded in agreement. There was that rule that Sarah had to be with Jareth to be in the Underground; something about safety from what she could recall, or something like it. Standing again to face the opposite direction, she moved forward slowly to see if the gap was still in the wall. It was Fortune that smiled down on her when she discovered it still existed. She took the turn she hadn’t before and ran down through the path, taking turns and exits she wasn’t familiar with. She’d be damned if she didn’t try harder this time. She had taken the Labyrinth for granted a few times before, but this time it would be different. It wouldn’t happen this time or ever again if she had a say in it.
- - - - - - - - - -
About an hour later, Sarah was further into the madness that was the labyrinth, but no where closer to the castle. Jareth was still gone, and hadn’t made him self appear before her to tell her what her crime was this time. She was taking a break in one of the cleaner, refined sections of the maze beside a fountain. It reminded her of where she met the wise, old hat man and she wondered if he was still alive with his sarcastic hat. The water was clean enough, but didn’t dare touch to drink it. Instead, finding her magic still present with her, she drew forth a hiking backpack. Of course, if she knew she could do it, she would just press her self through to the castle already, but the last time she had used that much magic she had passed out for a little over a day after the defeat of Cora.
She examined the contents that she had specified when drawing conclusions and summoning it into being. A liter sized canister of fresh spring water, better suited clothes that she would change into soon including shoes, meal bars so that she wouldn’t starve (although she could get away with making a Big Mac appear before her if she really wanted to conjure it), and an iPod with headphones. If she was going to be doomed to being in here again, she’d have entertainment better than the fireys’. Her clothes changed within a second, her old ones exchanged their places in the backpack. Slinging it over her shoulders she wondered why Jareth still hadn’t shown up. Conjuring a crystal in traditional Underground flair, she stared into it, looking for Jareth. Instead, another face emerged, identical to its master.
“Pathfinder? she asked in a surprised register. A familiar smile chuckled at her from the crystal globe. He explained what was going on, why he had done what had been done, the game between him and Jareth, and his rules for her. He couldn’t technically strip her magic, but here he could limit it just as he could limit any other’s in the domain that weren’t natives of the land. She frowned as she knew well enough that technically her heart was a native even if her body was not, but she nodded as he finished his explanations. “Okay, I accept what’s going on, but why bring the others into it? I can understand Jareth and I, but... never mind. You have this all sorted out for whatever ends your trying to get to. I’ll leave you to your vices. Just tell me where Jareth is.”
The crystal faded and she cussed. As she did, the true king of the Labyrinth and its spoils appeared. He fussed at her for cussing him out and what not. She cut him off. “No offense, but shut up for one minute. Just one. We can talk more about it when we reach each other. Where are you?” He explained his general location to the castle and about where he thought he was. She frowned, she was on the other side.... But what if Pathfinder allowed her this much of a cheat in the game? How weak would it leave her if she wasn’t trying to escape but rather jump from one side to the other? Throwing the crystal away from her she opened a portal and on the other side... Jareth. The portal started to close quickly, her own magic wasn’t concentrated enough to keep it open. She ran through, and effectively knocked over Jareth in the process. The portal closed and dropped into a crystal again. From within she heard Pathmaker both congratulate and condemn her. “No more magical freebies,” she sighed.
....Such a pity.
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