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schizoauthoress_libraryTitle: Failure in the Underground
Author: D.L.SchizoAuthoress
Rating: PG
Spoilers: vague DCU timestamp, set after "Labyrinth" (1986)
Warnings: canon typical mind games, weird fae rules
Prompt/Fill: none
Word Count: 1285
Summary: Dick Grayson's first visit to the Labyrinth -- his younger brother has been taken, and he must complete the challenge to rescue Jason!
Note: I gots me some weird ideas about the rules for the Underground, and goblins, and bits of it show in this chapter.
Failure in the Underground
(Several years ago…)
Jareth the Goblin King smirked at him from the top of the stairs.
‘It’s not fair…’ the words hovered in Dick’s mouth, waiting to be loosed by his tongue. It wasn’t fair that he’d fallen into the oubliette – no 'certain death’ seemed to be awaiting him inside the initial room beyond the door, so he must have picked correctly! It wasn’t fair that he’d spent hours and hours wandering the perils of this uncanny labyrinth trying to get his little brother back. It wasn’t even fair that he HAD a little brother… but that opinion had gotten him into this mess in the first place.
“Nothing to say, this time?” Jareth laid one long index finger to his cheek and shook his head, clicking his tongue in disapproval. “And after I came to see how you were enjoying my labyrinth.”
Dick wanted to punch the man in his smug face, right between those mismatched eyes. He wanted to choke him with those fancy necklaces draped around his long, slender neck. He wanted to tear out that pale, wild hair – to put a look on his face that was far different from the self-satisfied smile that the Goblin King was currently regarding him with. He did none of these things. Despite appearances, Jareth was far more than human. And he held all the power in this situation, having kidnapped Jason.
“Enjoying?” Dick repeated. "Am I meant to be enjoying this?“
"I took away the little brother you never wanted, and I’m even giving you a chance to get him back since you changed your mind.” Jareth smiled, but the way he bared his fine white teeth made it seem that they ought to be pointed fangs instead. "My Labyrinth is full of challenges, the sort you go out into the night to seek. Why, you’ve spent hours puzzling through its lower levels! And thank you for clearing out that infestation of urisks by the storehouse. Nasty little buggers say they aren’t goblins and won’t do a lick of work for all the cheese they steal.“
Jareth laughed heartily, but Dick only stared at him. He’d barely heard the chatter about those little goblin-like fae he’d had to fight off earlier. "Hours…?” he managed to say, through a throat tight with dread. He knew it had been a long time before he’d managed to find this narrow, twisting staircase that led upwards instead of down, but… that long?
“Indeed,” Jareth replied, flashing those teeth at him again. "You only have three hours left to find the castle.“ This time, when he laughed, it was the only thing left of him in the passageway, since he had vanished yet again.
Dick cursed and darted up the stairs as fast as he could. He cursed again when he realized that he’d come up on the other side of the castle. Could he have been wandering in its basements the entire time?
His hands and feet practically itched with the urge to scale the walls and leap back through the maze from an elevated position. But the last time he’d tried that, he’d nearly gotten his ankle broken. A golem-like creature made of ivy had come off the wall and snagged his leg, roared in his face, and tossed him back to the cobblestones. He’d gotten the message loud and clear – he was stuck to the ground-level path.
He ran. He ran, horribly aware that the unnaturally bright sun was sinking closer to the horizon all the time.
****
"He won’t make it,” Jareth said to Jason. He sounded as though he really regretted it. Jason glared at him. He wasn’t at all inclined to believe the words of a man who had kidnapped him, dragged him to this strange place, and – when Jason had refused to be docile and cooperative, trying to escape the castle – tossed him into a deep pit sunken into the floor of the throne room. The sides of the pit were absolutely smooth, and even though the grating across the top had wide openings to it, there was no way for Jason to climb up to reach it.
“Dick will come for me. He made a mistake, that’s all.” Jason wasn’t entirely sure that he believed it, but he pushed the doubt away stubbornly. He folded his arms over his chest and asked, “How were we supposed to know that the words would really bring you?”
“He wished you away. He wanted you gone – and that much would be true if the words had held power or been merely an entertaining lie! You are but one of many unwanted children who have been offered up to me, Jason. I know quite well how to recognize them.”
“Shut up!” Jason shouted. "I’m not unwanted! My mom wanted me! My dad wanted me! Bruce wants me! Dick shouldn’t even count!“
Jareth rattled his walking stick against the metal bars. "Oh, but he does. He is your caretaker, and you, his responsibility. And when someone like him wishes away the child in his care, I must answer the summons. That rule is older than I am, Jason. Far older.”
Jason looked up, and met the Goblin King’s eyes. One eye was the pale, clear blue of a summer sky, but the other was dark as a winter night. The longer their gazes locked on each other, the more those initial impressions seemed to PRESS on Jason’s mind – there seemed to be flecks of silver in that dark eye, moving like orbiting stars. And Jason knew he was looking into the eyes of something that had seen both hearts and stars die.
It was Jareth who looked away, deliberately. Jason sat down hard on the floor, shivering and pressing his hands to his suddenly throbbing temples. Jareth had said the rule he followed was older than he… but Jareth felt ANCIENT.
“What… ARE you..?” Jason asked hoarsely.
“Lonely,” the Goblin King answered. "Lonely and tired…“
His footsteps rang out on the stone, receding as he left the throne room. Jason was left alone with his thoughts – or as alone as one could be in the goblin castle… he still heard tiny whispers from Jareth’s hidden subjects. He moved his palms to cover his ears and closed his eyes, to be left alone in the dark with only his heartbeat.
****
Dick lashed out with a kick, catching the last of the goblin guards hard in the chest. He ran at full speed for the double doors to the throne room and heaved them open wide. The words that filled his mouth this time were not quite his own, springing from that old book of Bruce’s…
"Give me the child!”
Jareth, lounging on the throne, looked at him. And smiled. And said, quite simply, “No.”
The Goblin King reached out one pale, long-fingered hand and rested it in Jason’s dark, unruly curls. Dick darted forward, fully intending to sweep his little brother up from where he sat at the foot of the throne. And the first peal of the thirteenth hour sounded.
Jason stared at Dick, for just a moment, letting him see the hurt and betrayal on his face. Then the second peal rang out, deep and sonorous, and he bowed his head.
“No!” Dick screamed. He reached out for Jason, but his hand felt like it had hit a wall when he was nowhere close to touching the boy. And then he was thrown back as though he’d been hit by an electric shock. Dick wailed again, “No! No, Jason!”
The world came apart to the sound of a tolling bell, and Dick fell into the shattered dark all alone.
*-*-*-*-*
Author: D.L.SchizoAuthoress
Rating: PG
Spoilers: vague DCU timestamp, set after "Labyrinth" (1986)
Warnings: canon typical mind games, weird fae rules
Prompt/Fill: none
Word Count: 1285
Summary: Dick Grayson's first visit to the Labyrinth -- his younger brother has been taken, and he must complete the challenge to rescue Jason!
Note: I gots me some weird ideas about the rules for the Underground, and goblins, and bits of it show in this chapter.
Failure in the Underground
(Several years ago…)
Jareth the Goblin King smirked at him from the top of the stairs.
‘It’s not fair…’ the words hovered in Dick’s mouth, waiting to be loosed by his tongue. It wasn’t fair that he’d fallen into the oubliette – no 'certain death’ seemed to be awaiting him inside the initial room beyond the door, so he must have picked correctly! It wasn’t fair that he’d spent hours and hours wandering the perils of this uncanny labyrinth trying to get his little brother back. It wasn’t even fair that he HAD a little brother… but that opinion had gotten him into this mess in the first place.
“Nothing to say, this time?” Jareth laid one long index finger to his cheek and shook his head, clicking his tongue in disapproval. “And after I came to see how you were enjoying my labyrinth.”
Dick wanted to punch the man in his smug face, right between those mismatched eyes. He wanted to choke him with those fancy necklaces draped around his long, slender neck. He wanted to tear out that pale, wild hair – to put a look on his face that was far different from the self-satisfied smile that the Goblin King was currently regarding him with. He did none of these things. Despite appearances, Jareth was far more than human. And he held all the power in this situation, having kidnapped Jason.
“Enjoying?” Dick repeated. "Am I meant to be enjoying this?“
"I took away the little brother you never wanted, and I’m even giving you a chance to get him back since you changed your mind.” Jareth smiled, but the way he bared his fine white teeth made it seem that they ought to be pointed fangs instead. "My Labyrinth is full of challenges, the sort you go out into the night to seek. Why, you’ve spent hours puzzling through its lower levels! And thank you for clearing out that infestation of urisks by the storehouse. Nasty little buggers say they aren’t goblins and won’t do a lick of work for all the cheese they steal.“
Jareth laughed heartily, but Dick only stared at him. He’d barely heard the chatter about those little goblin-like fae he’d had to fight off earlier. "Hours…?” he managed to say, through a throat tight with dread. He knew it had been a long time before he’d managed to find this narrow, twisting staircase that led upwards instead of down, but… that long?
“Indeed,” Jareth replied, flashing those teeth at him again. "You only have three hours left to find the castle.“ This time, when he laughed, it was the only thing left of him in the passageway, since he had vanished yet again.
Dick cursed and darted up the stairs as fast as he could. He cursed again when he realized that he’d come up on the other side of the castle. Could he have been wandering in its basements the entire time?
His hands and feet practically itched with the urge to scale the walls and leap back through the maze from an elevated position. But the last time he’d tried that, he’d nearly gotten his ankle broken. A golem-like creature made of ivy had come off the wall and snagged his leg, roared in his face, and tossed him back to the cobblestones. He’d gotten the message loud and clear – he was stuck to the ground-level path.
He ran. He ran, horribly aware that the unnaturally bright sun was sinking closer to the horizon all the time.
****
"He won’t make it,” Jareth said to Jason. He sounded as though he really regretted it. Jason glared at him. He wasn’t at all inclined to believe the words of a man who had kidnapped him, dragged him to this strange place, and – when Jason had refused to be docile and cooperative, trying to escape the castle – tossed him into a deep pit sunken into the floor of the throne room. The sides of the pit were absolutely smooth, and even though the grating across the top had wide openings to it, there was no way for Jason to climb up to reach it.
“Dick will come for me. He made a mistake, that’s all.” Jason wasn’t entirely sure that he believed it, but he pushed the doubt away stubbornly. He folded his arms over his chest and asked, “How were we supposed to know that the words would really bring you?”
“He wished you away. He wanted you gone – and that much would be true if the words had held power or been merely an entertaining lie! You are but one of many unwanted children who have been offered up to me, Jason. I know quite well how to recognize them.”
“Shut up!” Jason shouted. "I’m not unwanted! My mom wanted me! My dad wanted me! Bruce wants me! Dick shouldn’t even count!“
Jareth rattled his walking stick against the metal bars. "Oh, but he does. He is your caretaker, and you, his responsibility. And when someone like him wishes away the child in his care, I must answer the summons. That rule is older than I am, Jason. Far older.”
Jason looked up, and met the Goblin King’s eyes. One eye was the pale, clear blue of a summer sky, but the other was dark as a winter night. The longer their gazes locked on each other, the more those initial impressions seemed to PRESS on Jason’s mind – there seemed to be flecks of silver in that dark eye, moving like orbiting stars. And Jason knew he was looking into the eyes of something that had seen both hearts and stars die.
It was Jareth who looked away, deliberately. Jason sat down hard on the floor, shivering and pressing his hands to his suddenly throbbing temples. Jareth had said the rule he followed was older than he… but Jareth felt ANCIENT.
“What… ARE you..?” Jason asked hoarsely.
“Lonely,” the Goblin King answered. "Lonely and tired…“
His footsteps rang out on the stone, receding as he left the throne room. Jason was left alone with his thoughts – or as alone as one could be in the goblin castle… he still heard tiny whispers from Jareth’s hidden subjects. He moved his palms to cover his ears and closed his eyes, to be left alone in the dark with only his heartbeat.
****
Dick lashed out with a kick, catching the last of the goblin guards hard in the chest. He ran at full speed for the double doors to the throne room and heaved them open wide. The words that filled his mouth this time were not quite his own, springing from that old book of Bruce’s…
"Give me the child!”
Jareth, lounging on the throne, looked at him. And smiled. And said, quite simply, “No.”
The Goblin King reached out one pale, long-fingered hand and rested it in Jason’s dark, unruly curls. Dick darted forward, fully intending to sweep his little brother up from where he sat at the foot of the throne. And the first peal of the thirteenth hour sounded.
Jason stared at Dick, for just a moment, letting him see the hurt and betrayal on his face. Then the second peal rang out, deep and sonorous, and he bowed his head.
“No!” Dick screamed. He reached out for Jason, but his hand felt like it had hit a wall when he was nowhere close to touching the boy. And then he was thrown back as though he’d been hit by an electric shock. Dick wailed again, “No! No, Jason!”
The world came apart to the sound of a tolling bell, and Dick fell into the shattered dark all alone.
*-*-*-*-*
