Ok, as the title suggests, this chapter is necessary, if you want the rest of the story to make sense. So read thoroughly, don't skim. The following chapters, you can speed read if you want.

If Sarah Williams had run the Labyrinth a few years before her actual experiences, she might have had a much kinder opinion of its facilitator, Jareth. After all, a few years prior, Jareth had followed the laws of the Labyrinth, treating it as a testing ground, a chance for the runners to prove themselves, and win the wished-aways back. Had he been a bit unsympathetic to the runners' pleas? Perhaps a touch condescending? Yes, but at least he was fair, though often the runners didn't see it that way, or at least not at first. And he certainly didn't treat a runners experience in the Labyrinth like a game, put on for his amusement. It was merely a learning experience on the part of the runner, nothing more. In fact, the Goblin King was more a keeper of the wished-aways than anything.

The Labyrinth, being its' own master, contrary to Sarah's belief, was the creator of all tests and trials experienced by the runners. The Labyrinth and the Goblin King had an equal relationship, the Goblin King taking care of the Labyrinth's upkeep, and ruling her creatures, guiding and protecting them. In return, the Goblin City was never invaded by bordering nations, greedy for rights to the gateway to the Underground.

The Goblin King himself was granted a degree of the Labyrinth's power, enough to make him one of the most powerful monarchs in the Underground. But this power would prove to be his undoing, because in his power, Jareth became contemptuous of the weak and defenceless runners. And so the Goblin King began taking close interest in the progress of the runners, never directly involving himself; however, as it was forbidden by Law for Jareth to inhibit a runner from their goal. Instead, the Goblin King made suggestions to his subjects that perhaps the runner might need to prove themselves invulnerable to attempts to dissuade them from their task, and take the easy road. There were a few close calls, in which the runner barely made it, but there were no losers yet. That didn't happen until about six months before Sarah ran the Labyrinth.

A young man, 17 years old, wished away his younger brother, who was not even a year old. Now, really, he should have known better, at his age, and it was true, he was rather impatient, with a shorter fuse. Yet, perhaps, if given a chance, he might have improved, or at least be set on the path for improvement.

It was later said to have been an accident, a misunderstanding, but the runner had indeed lost. And the penalty for such a loss was of course, death. A life in exchange for the life the wished-away would lose. It was perhaps both a blessing and a curse that Jareth neglected to mention this to Sarah. The Goblin King was responsible for the dealing out of such punishments, and for the first time since the creation of the Labyrinth, the dungeons of the Goblin Castle were put to use. The Labyrinth erected within itself a memorial for its lost student, both a warning to other runners, and a reminder of what the Labyrinth was, with a promise not to have it happen again.

Life went on, despite this loss. Runners came and went, winning back their wished-aways. Meanwhile, the Goblin King was busy making adjustments to the Labyrinth. The Goblin City had no real army under its command due to the protection the Labyrinth offered. However, Jareth still tried to direct the Goblins into something resembling a militia. No easy feat, given the naturally undisciplined nature of goblins. And Jareth continued to have the Labyrinth creatures attempt to hinder the runners, at first through deception, and later, through threats.

The last runner before Sarah had been a young teenage girl as well, who had artistic skills, and had wanted to become a famous painter when she grew up. She had wished away her two-year-old sister when she had found her in the bathroom, flushing her paints down the toilet. When the parents came home, they found a half empty paint set, but neither girl was ever found. If the Labyrinth had suspicions about this second loss, it was not telegraphed, and nothing was done.

As mentioned before, if Sarah had run the Labyrinth even a few months before, she would have had a much nicer opinion of Jareth. As things stood, her opinion was not appropriate to be heard by children. But Sarah had caught Jareth in a transitional stage. He was opposing the runners, but still made appearances like he wasn't. It was after what Sarah later referred to as the 'Peach Incident', in which Sarah was trapped in a Masquerade ball that things changed. The only Law of the Labyrinth, concerning the Goblin King, was that he was not to detain, deter, or delay a runner in any way. In doing so, Jareth declared himself a traitor, and opposer to the Labyrinth and her purposes. What Sarah didn't know was that as she made it out of the junkyard, through the Goblin City, and eventually stormed the castle, she had not three allies, but four. Without the help of the Labyrinth, she never would have made it through the Escher room in time.

After Sarah's victory, the Goblin King and Labyrinth were at an understanding. Both understood that they each would defy and combat the other, each time a runner came through. And both knew that a balance of power could not exist. One would prove to be the more powerful, and destroy the other. The Labyrinth, being the source of Jareth's power, should have won.

Unfortunately, Jareth had a back up plan. He had signed treaties with the darker kingdoms of the Underground, and these vile creatures were now granted access to the Labyrinth and Goblin City. Trolls, nymphs, witches, vampires, and others. In return, Jareth was given power, enough power to dominate the Labyrinth, and bend it to his will. And with Jareth in control of her structure, allowing the darkness to taint her goodness, the Labyrinth fell into sleep.

Yet, even with the Goblin King in control, and evil running free, there still remained goodness, for even as you cannot have light without shadow, there cannot be night without the promise of the coming dawn. There was one section of the Labyrinth which remained outside the reach of Jareth's new powers. The Labyrinth's forest was not actually a part of the Labyrinth, merely a by-product of its power. The forest was a safe haven for the good creatures, the original Labyrinth creatures, where the remnants of the Labyrinth's power kept them safe. Those faithful to the Labyrinth, and later, the goblins who were driven out from their city to make room for the new creatures, fled to the forest, and set up fortresses, the Labyrinth's magic helping to shield them from detection. Here they stayed as things outside gradually became worse and worse.

Jareth, using his newly obtained power, grew the Labyrinth to three times its original size, and set about making it impossible to solve. There were fatal traps, so well disguised, that they were not discovered until to late, instruments of torture, designed to wound, disfigure, and even kill. Also, there were powerful monsters, gruesome, vile looking, and able to strike terror into a runner's heart. But even more dangerous than these were the Nymphs and Vampires. For, instead of being ugly and terrifying, they were beautiful, and appealing. They used their beauty to entice a runner from their course, and once ensnared, a runner forgot all else, sinking deeper and deeper under the creatures power, until their time ran out. When the time ran out, if a runner even managed to live that long, they were executed. Whether by death from one of the monsters, or execution, no runner ever made it out of the Labyrinth, and the wished aways were put into slavery, serving at the castle, and once having outlived their usefulness, were drained by the vampires.

Aboveground, the cases of missing children were rising steadily. The police were clueless, there never being any signs of a struggle at the scene, no trace of evidence, nothing out of the ordinary. It was as if the children had simply vanished into nothing. Things were bad for the families, who were torn with grief and worry, unaware of their children's fates, but even worse for those who knew. The Labyrinth creatures suffered and grieved for each wished away enslaved, and each runner executed.

But like the coming of dawn, the good beings were not without hope. There was an old ally of the Labyrinth, who had been gone for many years, away on his own business, unknown to most others. His return would be the coming of a new day. For surely the Phoenix would have the power to defeat the Goblin King? This kept the hopes of the Labyrinth resistance and enslaved humans alive, and their despair at bay. And then, oh finally! The Phoenix was coming back! Each day, the Labyrinth creatures looked to his coming, knowing that each day brought him closer. And one day…despair. The Phoenix, their last hope, had been captured, now held in the dungeons of the castle, until he would receive the same fate as so many runners.

Now the Labyrinth's own and enslaved humans alike took up one desperate cry, pouring all their destroyed hopes into the plea: 'Someone save us! Someone set us free!' Unbeknownst to them, Someone had heard them. And He was Someone who'd had a plan, from before Jareth had been made King of the Goblins. His plans were set, the pieces ready. There only needed one final act, to set His plans into motion.

Dramatic, no? Yeah, you guys don't have to review if you don't want. It won't affect my posting. But if you want to flame, I place the condition that you must provide reasons to support your argument. Yes, like in English class.