Okay, we've reached the end of this very twisted story. The end may be a 
bit of a shocker to you folks and it's certainly grisly. I must admit, the 
idea horrified me when I first thought of it, but it really was the perfect 
way to wrap things up. 
-Bamfy

Wayward 6/6

	Jareth dutifully gathered up the ashes of his wife and daughter, 
and buried them in the garden behind their little house. This is where they 
had been most happy, this is where they would rest for eternity. Next he 
went inside the house for one last look. There was Elenora's sewing basket, 
clothes that needed mending waiting for her return. Lorana's toys were 
scattered in front of the hearth, as if at any moment the sprightly child 
would burst through the door to find them waiting. He disturbed nothing. 
The empty house had taken on the sanctity of the tomb. Head bowed, tears 
falling from his face to spatter the rough-hewn floor boards, he left the 
little house and walked away down the dirt path that lead to the nearest 
village. Once he was out of sight of the cottage -home to only memories 
playing forlornly in the dust- he vanished, leaving Earth behind forever. 

	The Goblin King awoke from his reverie to find himself still 
standing before the window. The storm that had earlier menaced the horizon 
had broken, bringing torrents of frigid rain down upon his grey world. An 
arch of blue lightning shot across the sky, followed by a low growl of 
thunder. He supported his head on one thin hand, staring out at the 
brutality of the storm which made such a wonderful backdrop to his memories.
He gave a bone-weary sigh and turned away from the window, pacing across 
the room agitatedly. The air around him was humming like a live wire, and 
he knew it was not due to the storm raging outside. Something was going to 
happen tonight, he felt it in his soul. 
	He had returned to the Labyrinth, this time as it's king. He 
remembered that his heart had grown cold. He'd become cruel and merciless, 
things he'd never been before...the thought that for a time he'd taken 
pleasure in torturing those who were forced to face his Labyrinth made him 
ill. He had become like Lars, unable to take pleasure in anything but the 
torture and subjugation of others. But something had changed that, as well. 
He'd become someone else after the girl, sable haired Sarah, strong willed 
Sarah to whom the world was always unjust, had solved his Labyrinth. 
Something in her eyes had reminded him terribly of Elenora, and for a time, 
thirteen brief hours, he allowed himself  to entertain the idea that he 
could keep her there with him. But that wasn't to be. What would a young 
girl like herself, full of dreams and promise, want with the dead shell of 
a man? He'd let her go and it seemed that shortly after that, people 
stopped calling upon him. The Underground grew steadily darker, more 
colorless. The goblins and other creatures vanished. He was left alone.
	Suddenly, a blast of light appered in the center of the dust-veiled 
throne room. Jareth covered his eyes as the light caused scorching pain to
burst through his head. His sight had never quite recovered from the damage 
they'd recived when Elenora had been killed. His left eye, in fact, 
remained almost sightless to this day. 
	When he recovered he looked to the part of the room form which the 
blast had originated. Laying crumpled in the middle of the room was....for 
a moment, his couldn't comprehend what he saw. Bright copper hair tumbled 
over the figure's slender shoulder to mix with the dust on the floor. He 
knew her, knew this body, it's curves and slender limbs, it's milky 
complection. It was Elenora. After so long, she'd come back somehow. He ran 
to her side, lifting her gently. She murmured something then turned her 
head to look into his eyes.

And the illusion shattered. 

The girl who stared at him had eyes like a cat, green and gold. He cried 
out and pulled away like he'd been burnt. He saw now that her hair was dark 
as a raven. She was also much shorter than Elenora had been. She was some 
sort of monster who'd tried to trick him.....another demon masquerading as 
his departed wife in an attempt to take his power, his kingdom. With the 
shriek of a madman he hurled an orb of intense white light at the terrified 
girl. It enveloped her in an instant and she was gone, leaving only ashes 
to join the other 'dust' on the floor.
	The castle's lord was back at the window, already forgetting what 
had taken place an instant before. Another demon come to taunt him, he'd 
sent it back to the nether-realm it'd come form. They always came, trying 
to trick him, but he was no fool. He always saw through their disguise in 
the end, though the held the forms of young women up until their deaths. 
But they never fooled him. And he never showed them mercy, despite their 
pitiful pleas, entreaties that seemed to issue from the lips of young girls.
The demons were crafty, but he always won in the end. He looked back out at 
the raging storm, sinking into his memories yet again.

Epilogue

Somewhere in the darkness between worlds, Lars laughed. It rang cold and 
empty, the laugh of a tyrant. He enjoyed watching his son- Jareth, the Mad 
King. He laughed gleefully and lept about in his dark realm whenever one of 
the girls from Earth used The Words. He'd made sure that tiny bit of The 
Underground lived on in the memories and lore of Earth, it proved....
entertaining. Jareth always mistook them for Elenora. When faced with the 
cold truth, that they were only lonely girls who had sought escape through 
a fairy tale, his mad mind convinced him they were demons. 

Jareth burned them alive. Every last one. The floor of his throne room was 
their crypt, guarded by a lunatic who did not realize his own madness, and 
never would.

Fin