The Crystal: A Labyrinth Fanficiton

- Four -

RECAP

A small smile crept onto Jareth's face. In her eyes, he'd saw that she had accepted her fate. Gently, he took their combined hands and placed it on the Crystal's surface. He stood behind her, his hand on top of hers, holding it to the Crystal, and he began to whisper instructions into her ear.

FOUR

"Open your mind to the Crystal's presence." A soft voice said as Sarah's eyes closed. "Let the Crystal in. Feel the Crystal's power and energy flow through your body."

She felt a warm tingling sensation start in the hand that touched the crystal, and then felt that sensation emanate throughout her body. As this happened, her mind was bombarded with images of the past. A thought bloomed in her mind, telling her that these were the people of the past whose magic and essence were tied in with the Crystals.

First, she saw glorious white beings. Almost angelic. There were many of them - hundreds, possibly thousands. They ruled the land of the Crystal, until the Crystal was broken.

She was then shown two new races. A separation of the angelic beings. One race's appearance made her think of vultures from Aboveground. They had purple and pink bodies, long-snouted faces that resembled beaks, and their very essence screamed of evil. The second race showed inviting and kindly looking things. They reminded her of wise monks, though they too were long-snouted with faces that resembled beaks, they were a peaceful people.

A flash presented a long time passing, and she saw only nine of each race remaining. She saw that the land, once beautiful, had turned dark and barren. There was a humanoid creature, with mouse like ears and the size of a child, that held the long lost shard of the Crystal. He was one of the last of his kind. Through his travels, he found another - a girl. Together the two restored the Crystal and restored peace, the angelic beings becoming one again. They lived on to protect the Crystal with their essence and magic that was taught to them by the angelic beings.

As that scene left, more and more came to play. Always in groups of two, the Crystal's protectors looked over the Crystal until they had passed or stepped down. She saw hundreds of different pairs, and she knew that each had protected the Crystal for thousands of years before their time was over.

Then, the visions stopped on one particular pairing. She saw the Goblin King. Not the sickly one that stood before her here, but the King she remembered from her time in the Labyrinth. A familiar mischievous twinkle in his eyes and a smile on his face. Next to him, she saw herself. A mirror of her appearance now, but her eyes looked older; as if she had grown wiser. She saw the two holding hands and standing in front of the Crystal.

As the last image faded, she saw her hand over Jareth's on the Crystal. Sarah noticed the Crystal's once dim light now shown brightly, illuminating the room and snuffing out the torches' lights. She slowly retracted her hand and turned around to face the Goblin King who stood behind her. When she did, she saw not the face of the man from before she was enlightened by the Crystal, but the face of the man from her youth. He was back to what he once was; sparkling eyes, wild hair, and a wide smile on his face.

For a moment she was a bit confused, thinking she was young again and staring at the fantasy of her youth. Her hand moved up towards his face and touched it hesitantly, as if trying to make sure he was real. Jareth's smile fell only slightly, but he leaned into the touch. "You did it, precious."

Sarah was then snapped back to reality and her hand flew away from his face. She looked around a few times, her head whipping back to the Crystal. She watched the Crystal and she felt something in the back of her mind. She could tell that it was the Crystal's presence. The giant rock was indeed alive, Sarah surmised. She began to laugh and turned back to Jareth. "That was... intense."

"That was only the beginning. By touching the Crystal, you became even more entwined with it. Now, you share magic with the Crystal. You will have to learn how to control your power, but you will come into it in time." The Goblin King began to pace around as if testing his strength. When he seemed satisfied, he stopped and looked to the green eyed woman who watched him move around and smiled widely once again. "As the Crystal's power is restored, we can begin to rebuild the Labyrinth. We can rebuild the Goblin City and regrow the forests. It may take time, but we can do it."

Sarah thought for a moment. She thought about her life in the Aboveground. She thought about her mother, step mother, father, and Toby. She thought about her students, and even the student loans she'd be paying off forever. Her little apartment in Chatham and her coworkers, the romance that had started to brew with the middle school science teacher. After a little bit of thinking of those things, she realized that it didn't really matter to her that much anymore. Of course she'd miss her students. She would absolutely miss her family and her little apartment; but in the grand scheme of things, what was more important? A life where she could change lives, yes, but the lives of what few students she could reach? Or a life where she could change the lives of hundreds, possibly thousands of beings?

After mulling it over in her head, she made her decision.

"Together, then."