Forgive me, patient readers, for the long delay, but I bring you at last the SCANDALOUS conclusion of The Goblin King’s Revenge. In the last episode (which you can read here), we learned that that infamous Goblin King had left his kingdom to come to Earth. His motives, though unknown, are surely sinister. But mankind has a line of defense against such faerie beings as he: the G.O.B. Squad, a team of super-teens with the power to fight against “Genuine Occult Beings.” Under the guidance of their mentor, art teacher and occult historian Mr. Froud, the G.O.B. squad members have split up to find the Goblin King before he can carry out his nefarious deeds. Meanwhile, team leader Amber Carolinus is suffering from distraction of the amorous sort, crushing hardcore for the new drama teacher, “Mr. Quinn. “ Spotting the object of her affection in the hall after school, she leaves her friend to stalk… er, investigate him.
A reminder about this story – it’s fan fiction, pure and simple, with elements inspired by Return to Labyrinth, but in no way indicative of what to expect in the third volume (out this fall!) or endorsed by Henson. With that said, read the thrilling conclusion after the jump!
Pg. 14
Amber slips through the door in pursuit of Jareth, peeking to make sure she’s not being watched.
SFX
Peek Peek
Inside an empty classroom. A shot of Jareth from behind as he’s speaking to someone at a desk who we can’t clearly see, framed by the cracked open doorway. (Amber’s POV)
JARETH
I was hoping to see you at the tryouts.
SARAH (Off screen)
The…? Oh, the play. Right.
Don’t tell me you were serious about casting teachers?
Shot of Amber leaning against the crack in the door hearing the off screen dialog.
JARETH (off screen)
Serious…? N-no, of course not. I was just… hoping to see you there.
Pg. 15
Another POV shot, only now we can see Sarah. She’s politely brushing Jareth aside. We only see Jareth from behind.
SARAH
Look, you’re very charming, and I’m sure your play will be a hit, but theater just isn’t my thing… not anymore.
Jareth looks shocked, his mouth is slightly ajar. Sarah regards him cooly.
SARAH
Anyway, good luck, Mr. Quinn. Perhaps I’ll come to the performance… for the kids.
JARETH
No, please. Call me—
From Amber’s hiding spot behind the door comes a gasp.
SFX
GASP!
Sarah and Jarah turn towards the sound.
SFX
TURN
A shot of Amber skipping down the hall.
AMBER (Thought Balloon – flowery font)
He’s single!
Pg. 16
Back in the “Workshop.” Mr. Froud is still sitting at his easel, painting. Rob is tired and yawning. Mei Lin is reading the newspaper. Chai is standing behind Mr. Froud, watching him paint.
CAPTION
The Next Morning…SFX (Rob)
Yawn
Amber is standing by the door having just entered. She has totally changed her tomboy look since yesterday, wearing a skirt and putting barrettes in her hair. She has a serious look on her face.
AMBER
Hey, guys!
Everyone turns to look at Amber in disbelief.
SFX
GASP
Rob looks at Amber accusingly, but she keeps her calm composure.
AMBER
What?ROB
Who are you and what have you done with Amber?ROB (aside)
And what’s your phone number?
Pg. 17
Mei Lin is holding up a copy of the newspaper she’s been reading.
MEI LIN
Seen this morning’s paper? “Babysitter Loses Baby – Blames Mutant Bat.”Anything strike you as unusual about that?
Amber cocks her head and quips back.
AMBER
You mean the awful alliteration? Or the fact that it was bumped off the front page by the latest celebrity rehab report?
Mei Lin is angry as she argues with a nonchalant Amber.
MEI LIN
I’m serious! This is the first real lead we have on this “Jareth” guy!AMBER
Yeah, I should totally look into that… later.MEI LIN
Disappearing babies? Doesn’t this sound kinda urgent? As in cutting school urgent?AMBER
It’s just, I’ve got my Drama class coming up, and I don’t want to fall behind…MEI LIN
Fall behind? You paint wooden trees. And since when have you cared about any class, least of all Drama?!
Shot of Rob and Chai, both holding up a hand like students waiting to be called on.
CHAI
Did someone mention cutting school?ROB
Yeah, cuz we’d totally be up for a little morning recon.
Pg. 18
Amber nervously bites one of her fingers as she looks at Mei Lin.
AMBER
You guys got this one? Perfect! Plus, I’ve sort of got a lead of my own I should follow.MEI LIN
A lead?AMBER
Uh-huh. A real suspicious character. Beaucoup surveillance needed.
Mei Lin holds her head in her hand with disgust.
MEI LIN
Fine…SFX
Sigh…
Amber’s already running out of the room.
AMBER
‘kay, see you all later.
Amber stands in the doorway of the Drama room, her eyes closed as she’s smiling with joy.
AMBER
Hey, Mr. Quinn! I know class doesn’t start for a few hours, but I wanted to apologize about–
Pg. 19
Show the drama room. All the girls in class are there and are dressed to impress. Jareth is surrounded by a few girls who are pressed up close to him. A couple girls are fighting with each other.
GIRLS
Morning, Mr. Quinn!
I brought you a Latte, Mr. Quinn.
I just want you to know, I’m ready to drop everything to rehearse with you.
Hey! I saw him first!
Close up of Amber, her jaw literally dropped from shock.
SFX
Gak!
Close up of Jareth, looking disdainfully at the girls swarming around him.
Close up of Amber staring with a fiery intensity.
SFX
Grr…AMBER (Interior)
All right, this is on!
AMBER (Interior)
Commence operation “In with Quinn!”
Pg. 20
Small establishing shot of the school exterior.
CAPTION BOX
Later that day, After School
Shot of Amber in an empty hallway peeking through window in a door. A sign above the door is a sign that reads “Theater.”
POV shot through the window shows Jareth in his office which is a room connected to the theater. He’s standing by his desk holding some papers.
AMBER (Interior)
How to get in there without being seen…
Close up of Amber looking up towards a grate in the ceiling.
A side shot of the hallway. Amber’s legs are dangling down through the ventilation shaft, flailing. A boy student below her looks up and gawks.
SFX
Fwap fwapBOY (aside)
Um… Need a hand?
Pg.21
Front shot of amber crawling through a ventilation shaft, a look of grim determination on her face. Two mouse-sized goblin creatures are running away from her.
CREATURES (aside)
Ah! The G.O.B. Hunter!AMBER (aside)
Like I care about you vermin right now.
Jareth is alone in his office, his back turned to the “camera.” There’s a window behind his desk that opens out onto a tree-lined courtyard. The window is currently closed. Artist’s note: for this “musical” sequence, feel free to get creative with the design. In any case, it’s definitely not necessary to have full backgrounds for all of these scenes.
A shot of the vent in Jareth’s office wall. We can see Amber’s face behind the vent. This establishes her POV.
Close up of Jareth’s hands clasping at his chest where his amulet once rested.
JARETH
It’s gone?
Pg. 22
Close up of Jareth’s eyes wide with excitement.
JARETH
It’s gone!
A wider shot shows Jareth, his hands near his chest.
JARETH (Singing)
The anchor ‘round my neck has gone and left me feeling free…
…My heart, it beats again for me and me alone…
Jareth throws open the windows and sticks his head outside. A background detail – a passing pigeon looks towards him curiously as he flies by.
SFX
BAP!JARETH (Singing)
The Labyrinth, once my home, by being…
…Belongs no more to me. At last I’m seeing what I can become…
…now that I’m free!
SFX (Pigeon)
Coo?
Pg.23
Jareth, back in his office, faces the “camera,” looking serious. He’s clutching one fist in front of him. His lips are slightly open with a slight sneer.
JARETH (Singing)
No more binding to my will, no more enemies to kill.
No more answering a wish from some ungrateful human git and bending heaven, earth and souls to help the wisher reach their goals.
A large side-shot of Jareth’s face.
JARETH (Singing)
No more.
Not I.
Not Ever.
Close up of Jareth’s with his eyes behind looking fierce!
JARETH (Singing)
I am Free!
A shot from outside the office shows Amber peeking into Jareth’s office window.
AMBER (thought balloon)
What’s he… Is he singing?!
Amber clutches her hands together and tilts her head onto them, her eyes closed, as she fawns over Jareth from behind the door.
SFX
SIGH…AMBER (thought balloon – girly font)
So dreamy!
Pg. 24
Jareth shoots a glance towards the vent.
SFX
GLANCE
A shot from inside the vent of Amber pulling back to avoid being seen.
SFX
VIPAMBER (Aside)
Close call!
Jareth looks out the window towards the courtyard below where we see Sarah walking alone, looking pretty.
JARETH (Singing)
So why then can I not forget this one brunette I barely met…
…whose very name leaves sweat upon my elsewise perfect brow?
Jareth reaches out towards her, a look of longing on his face. Below, Sarah is looking behind her at someone who’s approaching. She’s smiling.
JARETH (Singing)
I twisted time and space to please her…
…bared my heart that I might seize her…
…maker her mine, my slave, my goddess, my true–
A young man, Sarah’s age, approaches and touches her hand.
Insert of the man kissing Sarah on the lips.
Pg. 25
Close up of Jareth’s eyes, burning intensely.
Jareth looks furious. He shakes his fist angrily in an overly dramatic pose.
JARETH (Singing)
What a fool I was to fall for her, to open my walls to her…
…when a thousand worlds were at my call — I could have ruled them all were it not for…
…Sarah.
Jareth is furious. Behind him is a hazy dreamlike shot of Mizumi with her hands hovering over a young Sarah.
JARETH (Singing)
I might have left her but a shell from the water witch’s spell…
…but she broke me first, berated me…
…crushed my will, prostrated me!
Pg.26
Up until now everything that Jareth has been “singing” has been thoughts without balloons. Now Jareth breaks his silence, looking more angry than ever.
JARETH (Singing)
For thirteen Centuries I rule without a heart…
…and the day I get it back, she breaks it
Final close up of Jareth looking positively furious.
JARETH
I will have my revenge.
A shot of Amber’s eyes starting through the vent.
A shot of the desk behind Jareth. On the desk we can vaguely see a plaque with Jareth’s name on it. Motion lines emanating from the plaque show that Amber is zooming in on it.
Zoomed in shot of the plaque to make sure we can read it.
PLAQUE
JARETH QUINN
Close-up of Amber gasping with shock.
SFX (Amber)
Gasp!
Pg. 27
Amber bursts through the doorway into the Workshop. Motion lines surround her. Her outfit is all dirty from crawling in the ventilation shaft.
AMBER
Guys! Guys, we have a problem!
Rob, Chai, Mei Lin and Mr. Froud turn towards her.
GROUP
Huh?
Close up of Amber looking urgent and serious.
AMBER
It’s Jareth! I’ve found him!
Mei Lin looks confused. Amber looks at him, frustrated.
MEI LIN
Jareth?AMBER
You know, the monster we’re supposed to be looking for?
Mei Lin suddenly remembers. Mr. Froud chips in to explain.
MEI LIN
Oh, yeah. Him. False alarm.
FROUD
Turns out there was a mix up among the faerie folk.
Pg.28
Close up of Mr. Froud explaining.
FROUD
The monster that the babysitter saw – the thing that was striking fear into the imps – it was Xar’Wret, the Undying One. Real nasty bugger.
Chai contorts her face to look like a monster and holds her hand, making a hook with her pointer and middle fingers to imitate a proboscis.
CHAI
Yeah, like a giant mosquito with this toothy proboscis that it uses to suck the blood of babies.
Group shot. Everyone but Amber is in a good mood. Amber holds up her hand haltingly.
ROB
Oh, don’t worry. We took care of it. The twins sent him back to the Nether Plane.CHAI
But not before rob left him with a few scars to remember us by.AMBER
But Jareth…
MEI LIN
Harmless.
Far away shot of Rob with his arm over Amber’s shoulder, seen from behind as they walk away.
ROB
So, anyway, what’s with the fancy getup? Did you have a hot date?ROB (Aside)
And how come you’re all dirty?
AMBER
Nevermind. It’s not important…CAPTION BOX (bottom right of page)
The G.O.B. Squad
“The Goblin King’s Revenge”
-END-
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Okay, I know I’m supposed to be hearing David Bowie singing here but I’m hearing a certain song from Les Misrables instead…. What Have I don? / Javert’s suicide.
And this…
‘For thirteen Centuries I rule without a heart…
…and the day I get it back, she breaks it’
That’s just awwwwe.
And so I’m not the only one who sees Jareth’s amulet as representing his possition as Goblin King…
So Jake, any significance in the fact we haven’t seen his amulet at all yet in the manga?
“SFX
“Turn”
Hilarious! I am having so much fun reading this little fantasy/fanfic piece. Thanks for writing this; I have missed your updates.
I also appreciate the non-Henson endorsed bit of insight you gave us into the Ablation hidden here; I had suspected it (and, thereby, Moppet) was some part of Sarah’s livelihood. In RtL, she seems a little less excited about life than she should be. I wonder how she will get that passion and excitement back … Can it Fall already? I am dying for volume three.
I think I like this Jareth better than the one in the manga, where instead of being all mopey for Sarah, he wants to take revenge in that “Get back my honour” kind of way…
Then again, despite being mopey in the beginning, I’m beginning to wonder just how much of what’s happening in the manga is a part of Jareth’s plan…like, did he give up the throne to Toby, to allow himself to go and visit Sarah (and possibly give himself a means to get her back into the Labyrinth/win her back?)
Argh, I can’t believe we have to wait until November for the next volume! It seems so far away >_<
Dude, Kristi I was totally thinking the same thing. He may be mopey, but I also think that everything thats happening is part of some complicated master plan that only Jareth would ever be crazy enough to attempt.
Anyway Jake, I enjoyed your little fanfic. Very funny:D
Holy Phantom of the Opera, Batman! That was quite dramatic and good!
I like the fact that you’ve hidden sneak peaks to the upcoming RtL volumes in Jareth’s song.
If Sarah really was split in two to get revenge, I hope she’s appropriately pissed off about it when she finds out. Glitter, tights and singing be damned. That’s a pretty nasty thing to do.
Jareth is cunning and very clever. The way I figure it, he wanted Sarah back int he worst way and knew he was weakening. He made the deal with Mizumi with two things in mind. If he failed at what he intended to do than he would not belong to Mizumi, the goblin king would. And who did he leave in charge? Toby. Also leaving Toby in charge gives Jareth the opportunity and ability to go after Sarah. I get the impression we’re going to see something of a redemption in Jareth. That out of love we’ll see him do the right thing, such as a colosal sacrifice to save Toby. This just might be the romantic in me that wants to see Jareth and Sarah end up a couple.
Jareth seems legitimately surprised about Sarah not being interested in theatre anymore.
I love the fanfic, one of the better ones, I never liked the ones were they end up together. (No offense to anyone who does;) I have some questions for Jake; what happened to Jareth’s medallion? I thought it was something like a mark of his position; have you ever thought about putting someone like an…uh…advisor(?) in the story and he/she would love irking Jareth and Toby around like an annoying older sister? ;D And the bit about Sarah with a guy and Jareth wanting revenge? Totally wicked!
Thanks for this — these fun little snippets help tide us over till RtL3…
Do we really hafta wait till November?! I thought it was due out in October!
Good story.
LOVED this. :]
I must admit I was a bit disturbed that Jareth’s last name was “Quinn”….the director of my last show had that last name too (although he looked nothing like the Goblin King) ;]
Please update ASAP!! Can’t wait ’til November!
That was cute/funny! I wonder if the plot is at all significant in the direction of the manga. >_>
Speaking of which, what’s going to happen to it now that so many people (including the editor) have been laid off?
Beatrice,
There are definitely elements that might make their way into the book — this “fan fic” grew out of notes for volume 3.
As for the turmoil at Tokyopop, sadly, you are right that the series editor, Tim Beetle, was one of those laid off. Tim played a big part in the series growth from vol. 1 to vol. 2, and he was a good friend — hopefully he’ll still have a hand in helping see the series to completion. The third volume is still on track, and I don’t see that changing as RtL is one of Tokyopop’s top sellers. In any case, the copyright is with the Jim Henson Company, so even if there is a worst case scenario with the publisher, the series should be safe.
That’s a relief, I was wondering too ever since I heard of Tim Beetle’s lay off but I didn’t feel right asking.
Sad about Tim.
Is RtL really “one of Tokyopop’s top sellers”? Whoa! I had no idea…
Last I saw, RtL was hovering around #10 among Tokyopop’s current series. Fruits Basket, Warriors, and Kingdom Heart are up at the top, with Warcraft .hack, Gravitation and a few others doing quite well. Yeah, RtL sells well. Hooray for goblin lovers!
Very inspired fic–quite a bit of fun.
This is just a tiny bit off-topic, but I was wondering if anybody knows if there’s a list of axed titles floating around anywhere. I can’t seem to find one, and there are a few I’m a little nervous about.
Horrible news about the layoffs. I hope everyone knows that their work, at whatever point in the process they were doing it, was appreciated.
Jake, I just recieved an e-mail from Amazon, telling me that the date for volume three has been postponed until December 16!
Please say it’s not so!
no way are you serious it’s been delayed! i was already freaking out about the november date and now i have to wait another month … that’s it i’m gonna go jump off a really tall building. Bury me with a copy of the book :p man… this sucks goblin toes
this is just stupid. remmber this man is elegant and A MAN! he doesn’t go and sing it out loud and the whole thing with jareth wanting sarah to act is dumb. think reality and not some kid comic with dragons and lollipops
not bad!!!!!!!
[...] pass on writing a Jareth song were decidedly silly. Those lyrics actually found their way into the “Goblin King’s Revenge” story, so most readers here have probably alread seen them. The song is decidedly broadway/Disney [...]
Okay, I really do like this fan-fic, but I hope you continue it soon!!!
And I also hope that Sarah and Jareth DO end up together in the end, especially when considering that the prophecy about Toby includes something like: …when prince is cast in dark abyss, the Labyrinth and its rightful heir will be restored by true love’s kiss. (sorry for the non-precision, I can’t find my RtL 2 right now)
Oh, and did I mention that I love the “GOB Stopper” thing?
Very, very awesome Wonka reference, there!!!!
I was really glad that there was a continuation of the movie via manga, but i’m a little startled with the introduction to the G.O.B? Especially with a bunchy of teenage hunters who go to school and yet make less trouble then Toby? I figured the Manga was going to close in on the already known characters and answer questions and move toward an ending. With only 4 volumes adding more characters may add more of a conflict, and less bonding between reader and characters of the play. But then again without the help of Amber we wouldn’t have seen the singing seen with Jareth. With the introduction of the G.O.B. introduces the possibility the story to continue past a fourth volume or at least branch off into a new manga.
Overall, I liked the scene or at least the ending of the scene but I was not too thrilled with an introduction to a new group of characters such as the G.O.B. who provide a different perspective then the already delivered one of Jareth and the world he has come from. Which changes the atmosphere.
By the way, how have the G.O.B. not noticed the absence of Toby? and why hasn’t SARAH noticed the absence of Toby?
this so girly, but cute.
ya know was this a preview of RTL vol 3