Researching and Quarks Problem

A voice, deep and mesmerizing, spoke up from behind them. The sound filled the corridor. "I wouldn't trust him if I were you?"

The group turned and discovered a large red demon with enormous, majestic black horns behind them, smiling warmly with small pointed canines glistening in the light of his lantern.

"Now that is a bad-ass." Wyldfyre nodded and took a few steps backwards, applauding.

Krystal didn't fail to note that by walking backwards, Wyldfyre put her between the new being and himself. She whispered to her assembled companions. "I'm starting to wonder how many cameos we can expect while we are here."

"Why shouldn't we trust him?" Gerri asked. "I'd trust him more than I trust you?"

"And why is that, sweet child? I have done nothing but warn you to be on guard." The demon brought his hand up to his chest as a wounded countenance removed his smile. "You do know that nothing here is what it may appear to be. All of this is a mere construct to help you perceive that which you cannot comprehend with your meager faculties."

"I must admit, that is the first time anyone has described my intellect as 'meager', sir," Krystal stared at him with eyes as hard as emeralds. "I don't care for your presumption."

"Of course you don't, Fae-creature half-breed, but it doesn't make what I have said any less true." He dipped his horned head to her in deference, scratching the walls of the passageway. "I have been sent as guide for the three of you. The guardian of the Labyrinth is here for his own purposes. Ones that have little to do with helping the Sword of Gerraxia with her quest."

"Don't believe him," Thruck said. "He is well known for his deceptions. I was sent by Jareth to meet you and guide you to his castle."

Hoggle looked at both of the tall monsters before him and spat at the ground. "Blast you, Jareth. Why is everything such a game with you? Look, all of you, I can take you to the castle. We don't need either of em'."

Krystal searched into the demon's face, trying to make telepathic connection. Her mind touched something with vast information and consciousness, more that she had ever touched before. She swooned, her mind overwhelmed with images drawn from a pan-cosmic scale. Her body went pale and ghostlike as she had appeared earlier in her astral form when Gerri first entered Krystal's lab.

Wyldfyre caught her as she began to fall, trying to keep her from collapsing, but she passed through his arms and settled on the ground.

"Krystal," Gerri shouted and rushed to her side.

"I'm fine...I'm not hurt," Krystal said. She laid their for a moment silently as her mind stilled. "If I weren't splitting my concentration to be here and at BADGE HQ as well, that wouldn't have happened."

"I'm glad you think so," the demon said. His grin returned, a smile that clearly not only enjoyed Krystal's hubris but also knew her bravado was false. He waved at a new opening in the passage's wall. "Would you care to join me for tea as you recover?"

"Who do we trust here, ladies? The minotaur with an axe or the... that guy." Wyldefyre asked as he offered a hand to Krystal to help her up while her body solidified. "Neither one of them has a great reputation, so far as I know."

Krystal considered trying to look into the minotaur's mind, but as the intention formed in her mind, the demon shook his head.

"I wouldn't do that, but feel free to try. I shall warn you that touching another mind like my own would be far more harmful to you than you might imagine."

Reading hiis body language, a skill Krystal studied to compliment her telepathic abilities, showed the demon spoke truthfully when he shared his warning to her.

"I'm not sure yet," Krystal said. "Gerri? Any thoughts?"

    Gerri thought on what Jareth had stated earlier.  How her great grandmother simply had to think of an effect to use her powers.  She didn't need to think of a rune or a spell.  Thruk hadn't even offered to take them anywhere when the demon mentioned it.  She looked at Krystal, "Do you think I can do what my ancestor did?"
    Krystal nodded her response.  While Thruk and the demon were arguing.  Gerri closed her eyes and sensed who was lying.  It was the demon.  Thruk was just doing his job because Minotaur never get lost in a maze.  She looked to Wyldfyre, "Do you agree with Thruk or the demon?"
    Wyldfyre shrugged, "I don't know, they both look pretty bad ass to me."
    She turned to the demon, "You, sir, interrupted our conversation and immediately told us not to follow Thruk who hadn't offered to take us anywhere.  Insisting we follow you instead.  One, that was quite rude, and two how did you know we were going to ask for assistance?"
    His jaw dropped.  "Why else would he be carrying an axe?  He obviously wants to kill you."
    "No, he doesn't," Gerri stated.  "You lied from the moment you arrived.  You blocked Krystal from reading your mind.  You even threatened her.  That proves to me who is the danger here.  What do you think, Hoggle?"
    "Sound reasoning to me," Hoggle agreed.  "What do you have in mind?"
    "Banishment," Gerri replied as the green flames surrounded her and in a flash the demon was gone.
OOC (I guess people just want to plagarize the Labyrinth and don't like my original answers for my character.  :( )

As they stood trying to decide who would be the most likely to lead their group astray or into unnecessary danger, another figure rounded the corner.

                       

Hoggle waved her over and said to her in a stern tone, "Bunnie, what are you doing here? You know Jareth has visitors, and you were supposed to stay in the castle."

The Centurian figure replied, "But Hoggle, I need to gather... who are your friends?"

"Who said they were friends?", Hoggle grumped.

"You never help anyone in the Labyrinth unless you like them, Hoggle.", said Bunnie.

Gerri spoke to the centaurian, "I, my lady, am Gerri Starr. My companions are Krystal Fae...", Krystal curtsied, "... and Wyldfyre.", Wyldfyre grunted and nodded.  "The other two, we have only just met, and only the Minotaur has bothered to introduce himself."

Thruk gave a small snort, and said, "Hello Bunnie, are you well today?"

When the assembled personages turned to where the demonic figure had been standing, he was no longer visible, but his voice echoed in the passageway, "You'll be sorry, mark my wor-...", and faded out before the final word was complete.

Wyldfyre looked at the group assembled and coughed. "Are we going to stand around here all day and shake hands with all the locals? I thought there was a job to be done."

"Is this one of your children?" Thruck asked. "He seems rather impatient and rude."

Bunny nodded as her tail flicked back and forth. "Oh, a child. I love children. Would you like some milk, young man?" She began to rise up on her hind legs.

Krystal's eyes went wide as she put a hand up. "No, Bunny. That won't be necessary."

Bunny's muscles relaxed as a look of disappointment crossed her face. "As you wish. Are you his mother? He looks like he needs a nap."

Laughter spilled out of Wyldfyre's mouth in great guffaws. "She thinks you look like your old enough to be my mom... Oh, I can't wait to tell the league about that one. Ha-ha."

Gerri and Krystal exchanged forlorn glances.  Gerri sighed. "It's not my fault he walked in when he did."

"I don't blame you," Krystal said. She turned and gazed at Wyldfyre over the brim of her glasses. "Look at it this way, every good party needs one expendable member."

"True." Gerri broke into a faint devilish smirk. "Not that we'd let anything intentionally bad happen..."

Krystal shook her head with a bemused grin. "No, of course not. Sometimes you just can't avoid misfortune."

"I hear you plotting, ladies." Wyldfyre let his last chuckle erupt out of him. "I ain't scared."

Thruck and Bunny both had confused looks on their faces.

"If'n your done with your word dancin'," Hoggle said. "The child is right. We had better get a move on. Thruck. What do you think the best way to go is? And don't tell me it is through that place."

"But it is, Hoggle. If you'd just get your nose pierced like me, it wouldn't bother you as much." Thruck plucked a blossoming flower out of the ground and fed it through the ring in his nose. "Now all I smell is daisy."

Suddenly, the ground began to shake. Everyone reached for a wall for support as the rumbling grew and dust and debris fell from out of the cracks in the tunnel. A man began to fade in, covered in sections of  silver armor. Just like Krystal, he appeared with a silver cord, fainter and less cohesive than hers, trailing into the distance behind them. The movement all around them began to still.

"Where is this place?" He asked. "Why am I here?"

His mask and costume his all his features. Krystal tried to sense the thoughts of the new person, but found them mercurial and impossible to connect with. Despite the difficulty, there was an impression of familiarity.

She also sensed an impressive array of untapped power to him, bound in a frightful combination of sources. A matrix of most known energies swelled within him.

As quickly as he appeared, he faded away.

    "What was that?" Gerri asked.  "Where are we going that you don't want to go, Hoggle"
    "The Bog of Stench," Hoggle replied.  "It's worse than it sounds.  If you fall in you won't be rid of the foul stench for a thousand years."
    "Something fouled it up and sits at the bottom of the bog," Thruk clarified.  "I'm sure if someone could retrieve it the bog would be purified back to the nice garden pond it once was."
    "Good luck with that," Hoggle said, "no one wants to stink for a thousand years just to retrieve that."
    "What if we didn't have to go to the bottom of the bog to retrieve it?  What if we could pull it out some other way?" Gerri pondered.
    "Then you would be doing a great service to Jareth," Bunni stated.
    They all began to move forward.  The maze was easy for Thruk to navigate.  He didn't have any problems sensing the way.  Krystal and Gerri were impressed by his innate abilities.  He also seemed to flirt with Bunni a lot.

The group approached a mostly open area from between two enormous boulders.

As they did, the wind shifted, and Krystal muttered, "By Oberon's horns... what IS that... I'd say odor, but that's more of an 'Oh, dear...'."

Hoggle, holding his rather large and bulbous nose with one hand and breathing as shallowly as he could, groaned, "That, my dear woman, is none other than the Bog of Stench!"

Wyldfyre, looking somewhat greenish at this point, cracked his knuckles, raised his hands, and said, "Stand back... I'ma light a match..."

Gerri grabbed one arm and pulled down, Krystal tugged on the other one.

"I wouldn't, Wyld... there is Hydrogen Sulfide in that mist rising from the Bog... or perhaps you'd enjoy living on the moon for a bit..."
Wyldfyre looked at Krystal in confusion.

Gerri coughed a bit and said, "Highly Explosive..."

Wyldfyre looked at the two as he pulled his arms free.

He said in a quiet voice, "I thought..."  
"...nevermind what I thought.", he continued gruffly, "So what ARE we gonna do?"

Krystal looked at the Labrynthians, and said, "Which direction is the center of the Bog?"

Wyldfyre looked at Krystal suspiciously.
"Why do you want to know that? I know you... you're plotting something.", he said.

"I thought I'd use telekinesis and make us a path through to the cause of this... mess.", she replied.

Hoggle shook his head sadly and said, "That's been tried before... if you run out of power... if your concentration slips for even a moment... remember, one drop and you'll reek just like this for a thousand years."

"Gerri...", Krystal said, "this is your quest... what do you think we should do?"

    Gerri thought for a moment when an idea came to her.  "Krystal, do you remember when I healed you?  I used the rune of healing and it worked.  Well, this is a wound to the earth.  Maybe if I used the Rune of Healing here I can remove the foreign object and heal the land."
    "We've tried to use magic before," Hoggle explained.  "It's never worked before.  Of course we were trying to remove the stench not heal the land."
    "Go for it," Krystal encouraged.  "You've done some amazing things with your powers, try it and find out"
    With that Gerri pictured the Rune of Healing within her mind and the green energy surrounded her as she touched the solid ground beneath her the green energy spread out.  She focused and felt around with  her mind until she found something that didn't belong.  she lifted it out of the bog straining with how much power it was taking.
    "Hey she lit a match," Wyldfyre complained.  "Why'd you stop me?"
    "That's not fire," Krystal explained.  "That's her magic energy.  It's not even hot.  Just the form it takes."
    "Oh, that's weird," Wyldfyre stated.
    Gerri continued to concentrate when a rather large ruby shard pulled up out of the ground and muck and headed towards Gerri.  Krystal caught it as Gerri slumped to the ground and caught her breath.  The bog began to change and the smell disappeared.  Hoggle removed his hand from his nose and took a deep breath.
    "You did it!" Hoggle exclaimed happily.  

Krystal did not simply catch the crystal shard, she intercepted it on it's path to Gerri's hand.

At the touch of the shard, Krystal took on a reddish glow as her hair lifted from it's usual neatly arranged bun to stretch directly and fluidly skyward.

The glow took on a more golden tinge as it intensified quickly, becoming nearly painful to look at directly.
Krystal's body seemed to shrink, from its normal 5'8" stature to a bit less than 6" tall.  Wings could be observed sprouting from the back of this new form as the glow faded a bit.
                                         
Krystal took flight and did about 3 spirals in rapid succession around her friends in this new form, landed, and quickly resumed her normal appearance.

"Gerri,", she admonished, "... did it not occur to you that this might be dangerous to touch?"

Gerri paled for a moment.

Wyldfyre snickered and said, "Hey Krys, ain't you touching it?"

Krystal looked at him and replied,
"One- I am not here in my physical body... my solidity is entirely due to my strength of will.
Two- I am experienced in handling both magical artifacts and morphon-enhanced technology... if I were here physically, I know better than to let it discharge its full power into my body.
I merely used it to fully recharge my energies.
and Three- I couldn't let Gerri be harmed by it, nor you, for that matter."

Wyldfyre looked like he'd never considered anyone protecting him since he'd developed his powers.
"Ohh...", he said in a smaller than normal voice.

Then he shook his head and glared at Krystal, his voice as brag-idocious as ever. "What? Are you trying to say I can't take it? Listen here, Fae-babe, I can take as good as I give."

He snorted and headed across the now stench-free pathway.

Krystal rolled her eyes at his back. "Why are men always so sensitive?"

Gerri giggled.

The rest of the group followed behind Wyldfyre as he made his way through the newly revealed passage. As they reached the first fork, Wyldfyre headed down the left passageway.

Thruk stepped up alongside of Gerri. "We should be going right at this intersection. Should I tell him?"

"Nah," She squished her face, bringing up her pursed lips with a look of annoyance, dismissing the suggestion. "Give him some alone time. He can be so exhausting. He can catch up with us when he is ready." She focused her thought on a guidance rune and a flaming green arrow pointed to the right tunnel.

Thruk lead the group toward their destination. After a few minutes, Wyldfyre panted as he jogged up from behind them. "You could have told me I was going the wrong way."

"You could have asked!" Gerri replied. "Anyways, men don't much like being given directions, now do they?"

"Razzum, frazzum..." Wyldfyre mumbled under his breath, his words unclear but his attitude clear. He walked a few steps further back than the others as they continued on.

After half-an-hour, the passage returned to the open air. Shorter walls stood before them, but in the distance, they could see the turrets of a castle. Colorful flags and banners flowed in a gentle breeze and the sound of courtly chamber music played in the air.

Bunny held her nose high in the air, as did Thruk. She hopped playfully. "Oh, Thruk. Do you think we have made it in time for the ball. I do so love to dance."

"We certainly are, but we wouldn't be allowed to enter. We aren't dressed properly for such an occasion. You know how Jareth is about proper appearances." Thruk shifted his axe in his hands to emphasize his point.

Krystal replied with a grin, "Proper attire, or at least the semblance of it, will not be a problem. Simply describe the image you wish to have projected, and I can produce a glamor to match it."

"Truly...", exclaimed Bunnie happily as she clasped her hands, "... we could attend the ball?"

Krystal eyed Thruk and said to him, "I notice you wear a harness to carry your ax when not in your hands, please..."

Thruk shrugged and sheathed the ax in the harness on his back.  

Krystal then produced an image, not unlike the attire worn by The Beast in the movie.

Bunnie clapped happily... "That's amazing... the perfect outfit for him... but it's merely an image, correct?"

Krystal nodded and replied, "Yes, it is only a projected glamor... I could conjure actual outfits, but we won't need them for long..."

Bunnie grinned, and said, "Please...me next..."

Krystal nodded and said, "Describe the outfit you'd prefer..."

"You better not be planning on putting me is some frilly get-up like that?" Wyldfyre pointed at Thruk turned his head to one side. He faked-heaved onto the ground. "MYUHEH!"

"Like I said," Krystal replied. "I can make your outfit look however you describe. Now, wait your turn. I was helping Bunny."

*****
Jareth walked around the castle courtyard, monitoring the preparations for the ball. He paused at the buffet table, where a vast arrangement of foods from around the dimensions had been set on display. He put a finger into a decorated pudding and dug out enough to taste. Putting into his mouth, he let the flavors play on his tongue. For an instant, the edges of his mouth curved up.

A group of goblin chefs stood as a group at the edge of the table. Each one of them drew in a long, deep breath and puffed out their chests with pride-

"This isn't acceptable. Not at all!" Jareth waved to a serving goblin. The so-named Goblin King snatched a clean cloth tucked into its apron string and put it to his mouth, spitting the displeasing taste from his mouth. He wiped off his lips against the white cuff of his shirt. "I said fresh raspberries."

"But my lord," one chef stepped forward, the long hair from his ears waving in the slight breeze beneath his tall chef's hat. "They are fresh raspberries. I swear to you, my lord."

Raising his eyebrow, Jareth stared at the diminutive goblin. He stepped toward him slowly. Not just slowly, but painstakingly slowly, which gave the other goblins with the chef who dared to speak time to scatter. "You dare speak and contradict me." He spoke with slightly more volume than a whisper.

"I'd done my very best to follow your instructions, my won...won... wonderful lord," the goblin stammered.

Jareth held out his finger to the chef, a small glob of smashed red fruit on the tip of it. His finger came within inches of the frightened goblin's eye. "And what do you call this?"

The goblin stared at the displeasing ingredient. "It...It...It's a raspberry, most powerful one."

"And?" Jareth asked, irritation clearly dripping off the single word.

The goblin looked confused. He bounced his gaze from the bit of fruit to Jareth's face. "And what, most glorious one?"

"The seeds you fool," Jareth knelt and came eye to eye with his employee's gaze. "I said fresh raspberries. Did I ask for any raspberry seeds?"

The goblin's dark eyes went wide and he bowed his head. "I'm so so sorry. But--"

Jareth rose into the air and promptly kicked the goblin several feet into the air and over the hedge. The goblin squealed with surprise as he flew into the distance. Eventually. a loud thud and groan of pain signaled the goblin had survived his flight.

"Everything has to be perfect," Jareth spun around and pointed menacingly to the rest of his servants. "Now, do it all again, but do it better."

At double-time, every creature in sight went to work. Even the insects flying about the table of food seemed to hear Jareth's order and fled to safer places in the kingdom.

    Gerri saw what Krystal was doing for the others and looked at her costume.  She knew that technically a superhero costume was considered formal attire, but some hosts frowned on them.  She cast another glamour on herself placing herself in a green gown with gold inlay.  She hadn't wore a gown so pretty since her senior prom.
    "Do you have something in mind for Wyldfyre, Krystal?" Gerri asked gleefully.
***
    The elven woman came from around the wall and watched Jareth.  Her long blond hair was shaved on the left side of her head showing her elf ear.  She was wearing a royal blue gown with a silvery sash tied around her waist.  She looked angry, but she always looked angry.  It was the shape of her eye brows that caused that.  Her ice blue eyes pierced right through your soul.
    "That was not necessary, Jareth.  They are trying their best," she stated.
    "It has to be perfect," Jareth clarified.  He didn't turn to look at her.  He began to look at the other dishes prepared.
    "I know how important this is to you," she stated.  "They're here now.  Just outside making preparations to enter the ball.  They rely so much on magic."
    "Why doesn't my magic effect you?" Jareth asked.
    "Because, I'm not magical," she retorted.  "It's why the elves hate me.  Why I'm labeled "The Freak" in their lore."  She mused for a moment, "Should I tell them they're late?"

"Are you done dressing her yet?" Wyldfyre asked as he and the rest of the group sat on the ground. Bunny had taken the last forty-five minutes having Krystal Fae create numerous looks to wear to the ball. None of them suited Bunny, being to short, too long, too bright, too dark, too flouncy, too stiff....

"Almost," Krystal replied as she stretched her fingers. She didn't mind humoring Bunny, but time was passing. Time that they didn't have to waste. She had an idea to weave together two different spells to achieve a result Bunny couldn't contest. Taking a deep breath(which was completely unneeded as Krystal was in her astral form), she used her left hand to invoke a binding to Bunny's imagination and her right hand to create a mutable image.

An elaborate combination of a dress and a draped cape appeared on Bunny. If you stood before Bunny, it made her look very demure, but when looking at her from one of her sides, the cloak draped over Bunny's sides and covered her rear legs. It almost appeared as if the dress had an enormous bustle. "Oh, I do like it, but the dress is a bit too long, don't you think?"

As soon as she spoke, the bottom of the dress rose an inch, reshaping itself to Bunny's desires.

"I made it so that the image will change as you reimagine what you want. You can decide the color, fabric, everything about it, but it is all an illusion."

"Thank you so much. I love it." A glittering set of dragonfly wings appeared on Bunny's back.

Krystal nodded. "You're very welcome. I will need to keep that new variation in my repertoire. It could come in handy some day." She turned to Wyldfyre. "Now for you."

Leaping to his feet, Wyldfyre stepped over to Krystal and handed her a piece of paper. It has a gallery-worthy design sketch, including a modifyed Phantom of the Opera style half-mask.

The skill behind the artistry caught her off-guard.  "Did you draw this yourself?"

"Yeah. What's wrong, can't you do it?"

"This is lovely." Krystal rubbed her fingers together and created the clothing rather than shaping an illusion. "Viola!"



Wyldfyre took the garments and began to take off what he currently wore as if he were in a locker room, stripping out of his clothes in front of everyone.

"Wouldn't you like some privacy?" Gerri asked, turning her back to him.

Wyldfyre pulled on the new pair of pants. "Why? We've been walking around with a naked Centaurian and Minotaur in a loincloth for hours. You never had an issue with them, and neither of them have my guns."

Gerri wanted to argue, but he did have a point.

Krystal pretended to clean her glasses as he put on his shirt. "Where did you learn to draw like that?"

"Never imagined a schmuck like me had any skills, did ya, babe?" Wyldfyre put on the half-mask. "I've been drawing all my life. No money in it until after you're dead, so what's it worth. We ready to go?"

"I suppose we are." Gerri said. "Let's go to the ball."

As they turned to enter the castle, Gerri turned and paused for a moment.

"We seem to have forgott-... nevermind...", seeing Krystal's outfit change in appearance as she passed through the gate.



They hurried towards the sound of the music and the wonderful smell of the food.

    "Hoggle!" Gerri remembered.  She quickly cast a glamour on him putting him in a golden tuxedo.  "You were trying to get us to forget you, weren't you?"
    "Aw, Gerri, I aint never been to the ball," he admitted.  "I didn't want to be a burden."
    "Don't be silly," Gerri said as she took his arm, "you're among friends."
    The elven woman in the royal blue gown smiled at that.  Gerri, you are so much like your namesake.  She thought.  She turned the corner to greet them.  Krystal Fae seemed to recognize her.  She smiled and with the shape of her eyebrows that made her look sinister.  "Come, come, follow me.  You're running late."

As they entered the enormous, grandly decorated, room, the dancers were mid-stride in the waltz currently playing.

Wyldfyre looked at them unhappily for a moment. He knew how to dance the waltz, but it was not his taste in terpsichorean endeavors.

As the current dance came to an end, Gerri thought she saw Jareth on the far side of the room.  She began to move across the crowded floor in that direction but lost sight of him within a few dozen steps.

Under his breath, Wyldfyre asked Krystal, "I thought everyone in this place were goblins... except us and a few like Hoggle and Bunnie... who are all these people?"

Krystal made a gesture, and Wyldfyre's perception changed... he couldn't say exactly how it changed, but he could tell that things were not as they had appeared.  He found that if he squinted slightly and looked at things using his peripheral vision, he could almost see the crowd as the goblins they actually were.

"You know that in this place, very little is as it appears... I just happen to be trained in how to perceive truth in these cases, the spell will aid you in doing the same...", she whispered back.

Gerri wandered through the crowded dance floor, looking for their host. Several times she spotted him but lost track when one of the crowd bumped into her... it was almost like they were doing this on purpose.

Krystal and Wyldfyre followed Gerri to be sure she was safe, but left the search to her.  This was, after all, her quest.

Just as Gerri was beginning to believe that she'd never find Jareth, signaling this to her companions, she turned again to search but found herself face-to-face with him.

The music began to well up as the next dance began. Jareth smiled and with a gesture, asked Gerri for the dance.

    As Gerri began to dance with Jareth, Krystal Fae and Wyldfyre danced back to the wall.  They could not hear what Jareth was talking to Gerri about.  They were joined at the wall by the elf woman in Royal blue and a silver sash tied around her waist.  She made her way closer to Krystal than Wyldfyre.  She smiled, she saw so much of her friend in Gerri.
    "You know who I am, don't you?" The elf woman in blue asked Krystal Fae.
    "Only from historical records," Krystal stated.  "The Fae-re don't hate you like the elves.  What are you doing here, Theresoelae Jhandroelaeji, or do you prefer Futurina?"  The elf woman grinned.
    "Futurina is fine.  Much easier to pronounce than my real name, though you did quite well.  Of course you are of the Fae-re.  I'm here to correct some misinformation.  That tome Gerri is so fond of leaves out what I did to help and save the elves, except when it was necessary.  Then they call me 'The Freak'."
    "I'm aware," Krystal stated.
    "What you are going up against right now on Earth is quite powerful.  You don't know where those shards came from, but I do," Futurina calmly claimed.  "Undo the enchantment on that book that strikes me from Elf history and you will find the story."
    "Why don't you do that?" Krystal demanded.  "You could always just come with us and give the information to the Director directly."
    She laughed, "You know why I can't undo the enchantment.  I have no magic," Futurina glared for a moment.  "I could return to Earth anytime I like, but the elves will never treat me like I belong and humans don't understand I'm immortal."
    "So why doesn't Jareth's magic affect you?" Wyldfyre asked.
    Futurina just smiled at him.  "I see, you're not really here," Krystal remarked.  Futurina gave a slow and slight nod. "So, where are you really?"
    "Closer than you think," Futurina stated.

"Have you gotten out of this what you wanted?" Gerrie asked as she followed Jareth's lead in the dance. She found his skill as a dancer to be impressive, but she refused to allow herself to enjoy the music or the movement. In fact, the thought of punching him square in the nose the next time he opened his mouth seemed like an extremely good idea, if not for the threat of not being allowed to leave his realm should he wish it.

"You judge me harshly, my dear Gerraxia." He cooed, faking a touch of wounded pride.

He continued to lead her through the dance, swirling them about the dance floor as if he were parading her for all people to see.

All around them, Gerri could feel eyes on them. Jareth in control and her following his lead as his other guest peered on enrapt in Jareth's every action. Together they spun left, spun right, twirled, twisted, bowed and dipped. Common custom dictated she obeyed his guidance.

She refused to be his arm candy any longer.

Stiffening her muscles, she planted her feet and brought the two of them to a standstill. She moved her hands into new positions and pressed him to move backward, taking control.

The crowd drew in a collective breath, unnerved by the maneuver.

Their was defiance in his eyes at first. Defiance and surprise, but with the easy of night turning into day, he gave in to her and flowed with her efforts. Within the span of a few short measures of the song, he was smiling, no, reveling in her reversal.

"You are as elegant and strong as I foresaw, Sword of Gerraxia," Jareth said as they danced. "I am pleased you accepted my invitation to join us for the festivities."

He said no more with words as the dance continued, but his devilish smile and extravagant embellishments to the dance they made his mirth well known.

*****
"She shouldn't be doing that," Krystal noted as she followed the dancers on the floor.

"Doing what?" Wyldfyre asked, his mouth full of appetizers from a tray he lifted from the buffet table. "Want one? They're not as good as pigs in the blanket, but they ain't half bad."

"She has taken the lead in the dance from him. You're typical host at such an affair would be most put out by such a display of lack of custom."

"It's a brave new world, babe." Wyldfyre swallowed the food in his mouth. "Who cares who leads anymore. I like it when the lady gets handsy with me."

"This isn't your world, sir. There are cultures which interpret a cough at the wrong time as a slight worth death." Krystal had a concerned look on her face. "Fortunately, Jareth seems to be more forward thinking
than I expected. Keep your eyes sharp."

"I am, but I don't think your enhanced vision gift is working on me right," he said as he squinted. "I keep trying to see the babes naked but I can't get past their clothes yet."

"It's FAE-sight, not X-ray vision you pig!" Krystal exclaimed."

As Krystal sadly shook her head at Wyldfyre's lack of discretion, if not morals, the dance culminated in its finale.

Jareth bowed to Gerri and offered her his arm to escort her to rejoin her companions.

He looked at Thruk, Bunnie, and Hoggle enjoying their first attendance of such an event and was amused to note that Hoggle seemed fairly uncomfortable, attempting to tug at the collar of his outfit, only to have his finger pass through the illusionary fabric.

"Ms. Fae...", Jareth said, "... I'd like to thank you for your delightful costuming efforts for my subjects. Bunnie in particular often spends the entire event trying on outfits but is extremely hard to satisfy, as you may have noticed. By chance is there a way to make your little gift permanent?"

Krystal raised an eyebrow in speculation, then smiled and inclined her head. "Consider it done.", she replied.

To the three, he then said, "I'd also like to thank you all for purifying the Bog, if only so that Hoggle will stop complaining about it."

"I see that Futurina has introduced herself, I do hope that Ms. Gerraxia is as comfortable with her as her ancestor was...", he said.

"Hello," Gerri nodded to Futurina with one tip of her head before turning her attention back to Jareth. "But it's time to get to the point of this little adventure you have brought us on. Why are we here, Jareth? Goblin King? When am I going to get an answer?"

"You've already learned the purpose of your visit, sweet child," Jareth said. "Don't you recognize it yet?"

"I recognize that your half answers make me want to punch you in the face!" Gerri rolled her eyes. "Please. Just explain it to me, will you? Please?"

Jareth sighed. "I wanted to open you up to exploring your abilities as the scion of Gerraxia. The sword has been a useful tool over the ages, but it isn't what it once was, now is it?" He pointed to the hand where the ring with the glowing emerald now rested. "You have a great opportunity at this point in time. A sword cannot stop being a sword. A ring will remain a ring until it is changed by other hands. But you, The Sword of Gerraxia, are mutable. Changeable. What has been does not dictate what will be or can be done."

"I know that," Gerri weakly said, confused by what Jareth thought he might be revealing.

"Perhaps, but coming here has helped you explore those opportunities. Seeking guidance to finding a key to allow passing. Banishing a foe back to its home rather than fighting it. Healing a bitter pill that poisoned the world around it." Jareth held up a crystal ball with each described event, showing Gerraxia in action. "Had the stone still have been in a sword pommel, would you have done the same?"

Krystal took a step closer to Gerri. "You do often say a sword is for fighting, do you not?"

Gerri considered his words. "You do know that you could have just told me all of this instead of transporting us here?"

"Where is the fun in that?" Jareth chuckled. "Is it wrong to have desired your company for a time? To have a bit of an adventure? And to discover what you needed to know rather than to have the knowledge told to you? Think on this. You can tell a child that the flame is hot, but will the child understand what that means until they have reached out and touched the flames for themselves. Knowing and understanding are often far more different than most think."

"And is that the only reason for my... our visit here?" Gerri asked.

"No. You were worried about your friend as well. Strange Quark. You wanted to be able to help him, did you not?"

"Yes! Do you know what is wrong with him?"

"Ahhh, I feel I have failed you, young one. Strange Quark is in distress, but distress does not always come from that which is bad." He looked at Krystal and stared her deeply in the eyes. "Before she gives birth, a mother is seen as being in distress, is she not?"

"If you mean while she is delivering the child, yes, there is pain and distress. And in some cases danger." Krystal said with an air of curiosity. "But so far as I know, Quark isn't having a baby anytime soon. Not to say it couldn't happen, as he is...strange."

"Possibilities are endless, are they not? But in this case, no, he is not in the process of creating offspring. And he is not free from danger." Jareth concentrated on a glass orb once again and a red shard appeared within it. "But his current distress could also be a clarion call of great joy as well. Care should be taken, but that doesn't mean that what is happening is evil either."

"You're getting back to the part of half-answers, Bowie," Wyldfyre said. "Are you saying he needs help or not."

"Everyone needs assistance in their lives, more so at some times than others. Be there to aid your friend, of course, but be sure to have clear sight as to what the outcome might be. Fear of the unknown is natural for most species." He looked at Krystal once again. "Concern is not wrong, but do not ignore the potential for good to come from what is unknown either."