A/N: Thanks to everyone who has followed, favorited, and reviewed this story! I'm hoping you continue to enjoy this little tale.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and some of what you don't.


The Blog of HisPreciousThing

November 19, 2011 – 3:59pm

What a day! Getting up early on Saturday was not fun, but it had to be done. Where to begin? First, I used up the last two wishes on the crystal necklace that Jareth gave me. My car may have a lot of personality, but it's not all that reliable. That's why I made a wish that it would get me to the restaurant and back. And I'm not going to meet some strange guy without a little bit of protection. That was my last wish: that we would be safe with this guy. Pretty practical wishes if I do say so myself.


As Samantha watched, the crystal necklace disappeared with a poof of glitter. Blinking, she decided not to think too much about it. If she got too much into her own head, she'd begin second guessing herself. That would only lead to some destructive anxiety that would get her nowhere. Instead, she put on an air of confidence, even if she didn't feel that way at all.

The ringtone on her phone began to play and she pushed the button to accept the call. Immediately, the voice of her best friend rang out. "Good morning, Sunshine!"

How in the hell can she be this perky at this time of day? Sam wasn't functional, herself, until noon. "Morning, yes. Good, I'm not so sure about."

"Aw, come on, Sam. This is going to be a great day."

"If you say so," Sam grumbled.

"Grumpy girl," Becky laughed. "Are you ready to go do this?"

"Yep, I'm just getting ready to leave now."

"See you soon."

Sam ended the call and shrugged on her coat. After saying a quick goodbye to her parents, she left to pick up Andy and Becky. A few minutes later, she was pulling into their driveway and watching as they made their way to the car. She had to laugh at Becky's perkiness juxtaposed with Andy's bedhead. He was still trying to get his hair to lay flat before giving up and pulling a hat over it. Clearly, Sam was not the only one who wasn't a morning person.

Once the three of them were safely ensconced in the car, they headed towards Mt. Pleasant and a man they hoped would have some answers. Sam dug out her Labyrinth soundtrack and the girls sang along to the music. When Andy admitted that he didn't know much about Labyrinth, they gave him a dramatic breakdown of the entire plot. After they had been talking for over an hour without a break, he started to fully regret his confession. Fortunately for him, they pulled up to the restaurant parking lot and he was able to leave the car, much to his relief.

Walking into the diner, the first thing they noticed was that the place was packed. There were people crammed up at the counter and in the booths and tables that littered the room. Scanning the room, Sam noticed a young man sitting alone and reading something on his phone. There weren't any books on his table, which made him stand out from the other singletons.

"Is that him?" Becky asked, pointing at a man now looking back at them with a tentative smile.

Sam shrugged and walked up to him. "Are you Greg?"

"You must be Samantha," he said, smiling.

"Uh, yeah. This is my best friend, Becky, and her brother, Andy."

"Well, take a load off. Let's order breakfast before we get down to business. I don't know about you three, but I'm starving."

The three teens sat down in the vacant seats in the booth. Andy looked torn between wanting to sit next to Sam or next to Greg to ensure her safety. He settled on sliding into the seat next to Greg. The older boy looked at him and grinned, not missing the protective way the kid was looking at the girl sitting across from him.

Yawning into her hand, Sam was relieved when the waitress showed up with four coffees. She looked up to see the name 'Sara' written on the nametag. Unfortunately, this was definitely not Sarah Williams. For one, the name was spelled differently. Also, the woman looked to be in her late 50s with her red hair tied up into a no-nonsense bun.

After giving them a couple of minutes to look over the menu, Sara came back to ask, "What'll be sweatpeas?"

As the four of them gave their orders to the server, Sam studied Greg. He seemed normal enough to her, but so did Ted Bundy to the girls he'd met. The man seemed to be a couple of years older than she and Becky. His dark hair was a little on the longer side, though it didn't look like it was in any particular style; more like he hadn't gotten a cut in a while. All in all, he definitely looked like a regular guy. She just hoped he was just as he seemed.

"How about you, girlie?"

Sam realized that she really hadn't even taken the time to go over the menu yet. Her face broke out into a blush as she went to her fallback, "Uh, pancakes."

"Sure thing, doll."

The waitress left to go put in their orders for them and the four of them sat in silence, awkwardly looking at one another. Sam took a sip of her coffee and tried not to squirm in her seat. This was probably the biggest mistake she'd ever made in her life…well, not as big as saying she'd help the Goblin King find Sarah, but still pretty big. What if this guy was an axe murderer? What if the wish she'd made got all screwed up? What if…

As if sensing her inner panic, Andy asked, "so, uh, Greg. Are you a student here?"

"Yep," Greg said, easily. "I'm a freshman here at Central. I haven't really declared a major, yet, but I'm leaning towards history."

"That's so cool," Becky said, grinning. "I love history."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I think it's important to learn about where you've been so you don't keep repeating the mistakes of the past."

"My thoughts, exactly," Greg said.

Before the two of them could get too carried away, Sam interrupted them by saying, "So, what do you know about Labyrinth?"

If her directness unnerved him, he did his best not to show it. "Let me just start by saying, everything you believe about the world is not as it seems."


I know what you're thinking. Is this guy for real? I can attest that he's completely real and, mostly, sane. After all, I can believe anything now. The Goblin King made it abundantly clear that everything I thought was real was not and vice versa. I feel like I'm in a movie right now. Or I'm through the looking glass, whichever you prefer.


"Humans and fae came into the world together, at the same time, and occupied the same space for the first few millennia. That's where we get many of our myths and folklore from. At some point, however, the two sides began fighting and stopped working together. The humans would hunt the fae and the fae would hit back with a show of power until the ancient gods decided enough was enough."

Sara came back with their breakfast, interrupting their conversation. The teens dug into their food, waiting for Greg to continue his story. He took a quick bite of his eggs and a sip of his coffee before delving back into his tale.

"They gave humans and fae an opposite dimension of reality to command. However, there are places where the dimensions come together to form a sort of alternate reality. Those places are where the magic of both fae and human alike come together. Despite what you might think, magic does exist in our reality. We call it by many different names: intuition, imagination, creativity, prophesy, and so forth. Anyway, this alternate reality can touch people in this reality that have an imaginative and creative spirit. You know, those more in tune with magic, you might say. Jim Henson was one of those kinds of people. He was able to tap into the alternate reality that blended the Above with the Underground and came up with Labyrinth."

"So, he made Labyrinth real?" Sam asked.

"Not exactly," Greg corrected. "The events that took place were always a possibility. These alternate realities can show things that have happened, will happen, or could happen. I'm not sure where this story fits into those three things, but it was always possible. Henson's imagination just ensured that the alternate reality became actual reality."

"Actual reality? That sounds crazy."

"I'm sure it does, but it's true. Extremely creative people, like Henson, have the ability to actually control these alternative realities. The more powerful their imaginations, the more imagination they spark in others, the larger the capability to shape their own reality according to the alternate reality they encounter."

By the time he was finished, Sam noticed that she had finished the last of her coffee. When the waitress came over with a refill, she nodded her head. She needed a lot of caffeine to digest everything she'd been told. Looking at her friends, she noticed the same overwhelmed look on their faces. This was almost too much for them to comprehend.


So, there you have it. The truth behind Jim Henson and Labyrinth. It's perfectly logical and plausible. Now, if one of you could explain it to me that'd be great. I feel like I could spend the next hundred years thinking about his theory and never truly understand. By the time this is all over, I'll either be the most enlightened girl in the world or I'll be living in a padded cell. Hey, why am I selling myself short? I could do both.


"Um, so, you're probably wondering why we're here, asking you strange questions," Sam said.

"You mentioned something about seeing the Goblin King."

Sam sighed. "Yeah, he's sort of the reason why I looked you up. I told him I'd help him find Sarah."

"What do you mean you told him you'd help find Sarah?"

"I started seeing him in the park a few weeks ago. Then, I actually talked to him. He said that he needed help to find Sarah. He couldn't find her because her family moved and he couldn't use magic to locate her himself because he has no power over her. He said a bunch of stuff about how time is not linear and that she's like twenty-five or something. I'm not really sure about all that stuff. I just know that I'm supposed to be looking for her, but it's harder than it sounds."

"What's he like?" Greg asked in amazement.

"Condescending and arrogant," Sam replied.

"And hot," Becky added. "You can't forget hot!"

"Yeah, I guess," Sam said. She'd definitely thought he was hot at first. Then, though, she'd gotten to know him better. "Anyway, it seems pretty important to him that we find her."

"Wow!" Greg said, his excitement evident in the animated way he was talking. "Everything is starting to finally make sense. In fact, my group was actually just talking about how we suspected that there was a problem with reality. You see, when Henson created Labyrinth, a hole was probably created in reality. This allowed our reality to fully mix with the reality where the Underground is located. That's how the Goblin King was able to meet Sarah and pull her through our reality and into his. It has happened before, but not on such a large scale. Most of the time, these small holes can close on their own. But this one continues to grow as creative people like us keep the story alive with things like fanfiction. The hole in the fabric of this reality and that of the Underground will continue to get larger until it finally destroys them both altogether. If this happens, there could be serious repercussions to all realities."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Sam asked.

"I'm saying it would mean the end of the world as we know it."

"And I feel fine," Becky mumbled under her breath.

Sam kicked her friend under the table. "That's what I thought you were saying."


All of this is very interesting, but it still doesn't get us any closer to finding Sarah. Now, though, I've learned that this is more than a matter of locating the champion. It involves the fate of this whole reality and all the other ones, too. Thanks a lot, Jareth! I almost wish I was as ignorant about all of this as I was before I saw the Goblin King in that park. At least Greg had some thoughts about what we can do and where we should look.


"Is there any way to fix the hole?" Becky asked.

Greg looked at her with a furled brow. "I can only think of one way to fix the hole. You'll have to find Sarah Williams and convince her to return to the Underground. Once both of those realities have merged, the hole should close."

"Easier said than done," Samantha moaned.

"I'd agree with that," Greg replied. "But that's really the only way."

"Then again," Andy interjected. "This could be a bunch of bullshit."

"Could be," Greg conceded. "But then, why would the Goblin King want to find Sarah so badly?"

"Because he loves her?" Becky guessed.

"Well, there's really only one way to find out for sure," Sam said. "We're going to have to keep looking for Sarah. Thanks, Greg. Let me give you my number. If you think of anything else that might help us find Sarah, text me."

"I'd be happy to help," Greg said, handing his phone to Sam so she could input her number into his contacts. She punched in her info and gave it back to him.

"How do you know so much about the Goblin King and Labyrinth?" Becky asked.

"My grandma, Colleen, is Irish. She was born and bred on the old tales. Once, a few years ago before she passed away, she told me a story. She said that she used to have a sister. Now, up until this point, we'd always been told she was an only child. She goes on to say that no one remembers her sister, but her, because she wished her away to the Goblin King when she was a girl."

Leaving the check, the waitress began clearing the plates. It was obvious that she was hoping that this table would make room for a new group with a new order. Still, they weren't quite done. Sam asked for more coffee and was given a refill with a smile. The rest of the table and shook their heads at a refill. Sam gulped down her coffee and reached for the check, ready to pay so they could finish up and let someone else take their spot. It was still pretty busy in the small diner and a line was forming out the door.

"Here, let me," Greg said, taking it from her. "This has been the most entertainment I've had in forever."

Sam shrugged and gave him the check. "We'd better get back home. I still have to find Sarah and I don't have a lot to go on."

"Well, if it's any consolation, I've always believed she lived in the New England area. At least, that's what the consensus of the folks in the Underground Crystal believe. No one's really set out to look for her before."

"Thanks, that could be incredibly helpful," Sam said.

The four of them made their way out of the restaurant. Before walking back to his dorm, Greg said, "Good luck, you guys. I'll ask around. If I find out anything that could be helpful, I'll let you know."

"Thanks," Sam said.

"Yeah, thanks," Becky echoed. "It was nice to meet you, Greg."

"Same," Greg replied.

Sam noticed the blush on her friend's check and grinned. She began to pull her towards the car, while Andy shook the other boy's hand.

"Bye," she called over her shoulder.

"I'll be in touch."


This is so much to process, but I'm glad I'm not alone. I can't imagine what I was doing thinking I could do this by myself! Well, we're leaving to get home. Andy agreed to drive so that I could take a break. After everything we've been through, I don't think I could handle driving on top of it. Well, home we go to figure out what the next step will be.

TTFN


A/N2: There you have it. What did you think of this chapter? Please drop me a review and let me know.