Heir of the Labyrinth

Chapter 12: Here we go again

The next morning, Jareth Jr. woke up feeling particularly mischievous. The dance-off had been a rousing success—so much so that even the goblins were still talking about it, reenacting his dance moves with the grace of... well, goblins. Which meant lots of falling over and accidentally knocking each other unconscious.

-"*Heh*," Jareth Jr. smirked, watching from the window as a group of goblins attempted to twirl like he had the day before. Predictably, one goblin spun too hard, careened into another, and they both went flying into a nearby barrel.

Jareth Jr:
-"They really do have their own kind of charm."

But even as Jareth Jr. watched their chaotic antics, he felt the itch for something bigger, something even more chaotic.

He turned and gazed into one of his crystal balls, watching the Fireys bouncing around in their usual state of disorganized bliss, somewhere in the far corners of the Labyrinth. An idea began to form in his head. He tapped the ball lightly, and the image shifted, revealing the goblins once again, trying and failing to build a ladder out of soggy bread for some reason.

Suddenly, a wicked grin spread across Jareth Jr.'s face.

-"What if," he muttered to himself, "I brought the Fireys and the goblins together? I mean, *what could go wrong*?"

In his experience, when goblins and Fireys were involved, "wrong" was just another way of saying "exciting."

-"*Right*," he declared, grabbing his jacket and twirling his crystal ball into his pocket. "Time to see what happens when you mix two of the most chaotic creatures in the Labyrinth!"

---

It didn't take long for Jareth Jr. to round up the goblins. Most of them were always looking for something to do—or more accurately, something to mess up. He found them in their usual places: under furniture, stuck in walls, or buried under piles of junk that they had somehow managed to collect in just 24 hours.

-"Alright, goblins, listen up!" Jareth Jr. clapped his hands, getting their attention. "Today, we're having another competition."

At the word "competition," the goblins perked up immediately, eyes wide and gleaming. Goblins loved competitions, mainly because they involved running into things, throwing random objects, and causing all sorts of accidents that could later be blamed on the nearest piece of furniture.

Jareth Jr. smiled. "But this time, you won't be competing against each other. Oh no, this time, you're going up against the Fireys."

There was a pause. One goblin raised his hand. "Uh, is it going to be dangerous?"

Jareth Jr. sighed. "You'll find out soon enough."

Without wasting any more time, he raised his crystal ball and summoned the Fireys. In a burst of red feathers and fur and errant body parts, the Fireys appeared, landing in the middle of the goblin courtyard with their usual chaotic energy.

-"Woohoo! We're back, baby!" the leader Firey cackled, flipping through the air and launching his own head at one of the goblins, who caught it and stared at it like it was a new toy.
Jareth Jr. waved his hands for silence, though it took several minutes for both the goblins and Fireys to stop throwing random objects (and themselves) at each other.

-"Alright, here's the deal," Jareth Jr. said, standing in the middle of the now thoroughly disorganized courtyard. "We're going to have a *series* of contests. Goblins versus Fireys. A battle of chaos! Winner takes home bragging rights and, of course, the ultimate prize..."

He paused for effect. The goblins and Fireys leaned in.

"... *the golden chicken*," Jareth Jr. finished, pulling out a glittering, gold-painted chicken statue that had once been part of his father's more "eccentric" décor.