WHO: Peter Petrelli, and Jareth and goblins WHERE: Jareth's kingdom WHEN: Immediately following this WHAT: The first deal RATING: PG STATUS: log; completed
Jareth had always been impatient, but never was he more impatient then while waiting on his goblins to lead in the single man who had vexed him more than any other--more than any human save perhaps that damned WITCH. The hero boy liked to pretend that he was a knight in shining armor, liked to poke fun at Jareth's goblins, but Jareth couldn't imagine that he would hold onto that smug attitude when he was led in by the creatures.
Seeing Peter come in with a mass of the goblins surrounding him was even better than Jareth might have imagined. "I've been waiting on this to happen," Jareth said, somehow miraculously managing to keep from laughing. "On you to come to my world and see who powerful I am here, how much you are stealing from Sarah by keeping her with you. Welcome, human, to my world."
If I get poked with one more spear, I'm going to-- The poke came, and Peter seized the spear in question, twisting it out of the goblin's hands and flicking the creature back with a shove of telekinesis. Peter snapped the spear in his fingers, and dropped it, as though it were a matchstick.
He gave Jareth a bored expression, and looked around the landscape. "Looks like a fixer-upper. And the place is crawling with..." He looked down at the goblins surrounding his ankles. "These guys?"
Peter let out a sigh. "I hope you've got something more impressive than this. Because... between the midgets in costume and the castle in the background, this place is about as intimidating as Disney World. Without Space Mountain."
Jareth's eyes grew wide when the boy stole the spear from one of his goblins and easily broke it. That wouldn't do at all. Thankful that his powers were much stronger here, (this was after all his own domain) and he would not allow someone to undermine his powers here.
He snapped his fingers, nearly certain that the action would be enough to take away the boy's powers. "There, I think you will find that makes things a bit...more hospitable." He'd leave it to the human to figure out what that meant. "I don't think I'd touch any more of the spears if I were you. They tend to be a bit...problematic."
Peter turned to ask just what that was supposed to mean, and his footing slipped. He ended up bracing his hand on one of the goblin's spiked helmets to catch himself, and swore. His head felt empty. Loopy, even.
"Oh, you sonovabitch," he said, and threw himself at Jareth, not caring about abilities anymore, but just wanting to hit the man for this. "You stole my powers?"
Jareth easily stepped out of the way of Peter, even though he allowed the man to get quite close just to taunt him. The obedient goblins stepped between the provoked man and their master, several shoving their spears as a now more valid threat in warning.
"That's no way to talk to a king, Peter," Jareth chided, and several goblins started laughing, anticipating a punishment to follow. "Perhaps you'd like to visit the Bog of Eternal Stench so that your body can match your vile words."
Peter had hit the ground and curled in on himself as the spears descended. The shock of actually being stabbed by a few was nothing compared to the fresh, razor-sharp pain. His healing ability had dulled pain for so long that feeling it so clearly was almost overwhelming.
Peter waited until the stinging had gone down, then pushed himself back up. To his feet. He wasn't going to linger on his knees, not in front of him.
"Already? Man, I thought you'd wait until I was actually getting somewhere, and then throw me in the Bog. It's not much of a threat once you've already been there."
Jareth clenched his teeth, not liking the tone that was in Peter's voice. It sounded suspiciously close to reason and that as the last thing that he wanted when he was gloating. There was something so therapeutic about watching the goblins stab his nemesis, the man who had stolen Sarah's affection, and he didn't want to ruin it by allowing Peter to get the upper hand so quickly. This was his kingdom and he was in charge here, and he wasn't about to let a human talk that away.
"There are worse places than the Bog." Jareth promised darkly. "Places that no one will dare mention save for me. Places that would swallow you whole, powers and all. If you are wise, you will try to avoid those places at all costs."
Peter sighed. "Poor me, shaking in my boots." The dryness in his tone could have turned the Pacific into a desert. "I don't suppose there's a gift shop? They usually have maps. It'd be a lot easier to avoid 'those places' if I knew where they were."
He crossed his arms, sucking in his breath when the movement tugged at one of the fresh stab wounds and trying to cover the moment of discomfort with a bored sigh.
"So, what's the deal now? Off to the castle to wait around and be turned into a goblin? Because if that's the case, I'd rather take my chances in the labyrinth than subject myself to some ridiculous song-and-dance number about the babe with the power. Your goblins might like the whole King Codpiece Karaoke thing, but I'll pass."
"Keep joking, young man, as the seconds tick by on your only chance to save yourself." Jareth knew that he was lying. He didn't intend to give the human a chance to save himself, but he hoped that Peter believed him. It would definitely be more interesting that way. Seeing the way that Peter sucked in his breath, he knew the young man had to be in pain, and that made his victory in this moment that much more sweet.
"I am fair if nothing else, no matter what Sarah has told you. There is a chance that you could win your way out of this yet, if you be silent and listen for a moment."
Peter didn't believe that for a moment. Jareth was a liar, a manipulator, and a very sore loser. But he was also a pompous and arrogant bastard. Peter wouldn't stoop to groveling - hell, he wouldn't even stoop to casual politesse - but if Jareth thought he had some measure of control, some kind of deal could possibly be made.
Jareth would cheat, of course. But a deal was a deal. Peter knew he didn't have many options available to him. Arms still crossed, he shifted his weight, keeping his lips shut, and raised his eyebrows, waiting to hear the pitch.
Jareth considered the length of time before speaking. Of course, the standard was thirteen hours. He could have wisely offered far below that amount and not tempted fate, or counted on his own ingenuity far too much and offered much more, but thirteen sounded like such a reasonable number, so he decided to stick with it.
"You have thirteen hours to solve my labyrinth, to get to the heart of my castle, and to defeat me. If you manage to do that then I'm sure you will find making your way back to LA is not such a trying task at all. You are, after all, their Champion, I'm sure they're hurting for you."
Having grown up with attorneys and politicians, Peter could smell the number of loopholes in that arrangement. "Thirteen hours. Solve the labyrinth, get to the castle, and defeat you. Defeat you in what way, exactly? I just want the rules clear so there's no concern about anyone welshing on the deal. I expect a King would take it as a matter of honor to follow through with his side of the bargain."
Another point that was being left far too open. "I win, and you restore my powers as well. All of them."
Pausing thoughtfully, Jareth smiled as he answered, choosing to be as evasive as possible in his answers. "If you defeat me, you should be able to have anything that you want returned to you. This deal is, after all, my gift to you. You are quite delicate in this current state of yours and I could easily have you killed." Taking Peter's powers had been Jareth's gift as well, only it was a present to himself.
"So, human, do you choose to accept my deal, or should I have my goblins spear you where you stand?" Perhaps not the most gentlemanly of responses, but Jareth was not a gentleman, he was a king, and a glorified spoiled child used to getting his way.
"I should be able to have anything returned to me? And finding my way back to LA shouldn't be a trying task?" Peter raised his eyebrows. "What's wrong, Jareth? Are you so afraid I might actually have a chance at beating your labyrinth that you can't even agree to some solid terms?"
Delicate, my ass, he thought to himself. If Jareth wanted him dead, he would have given the order by now.
"I would have thought a king as powerful as you would be able to agree on some basic terms. But if you don't have the power to restore my abilities, let alone the power to send me back to Los Angeles, I'm not going to go run the gauntlet for your amusement."
This was no offer. No gift. Jareth wasn't giving him anything for certain but time. Thirteen hours. Just over half a day, with no guarentees that it would change anything.
Jareth groaned, not liking the fact that the human was not agreeing to his plan. He could, of course, have him killed, but that would not make Sarah care for him any more, nor would it be as satisfying as watching the boy fail on his own.
"Fine." He grated out, his eyes flashing in anger. "I would have thought that you would be able to tell that I clearly have the power to restore your powers by the ease with which I took them, but if you need assurances for an event that will never happen--If you manage to defeat me and solve my Labyrinth, I will ensure that your powers are restored and that you are returned to LA, either from my own direct guidance or through the help of one of my goblins."
Peter listened carefully. Those were some pretty direct statements. Jareth must have been getting pretty ticked off. But they would do. He waited a few more moments, however, pretending to consider further. Just to irritate the brat king some more.
But then, he smiled. "Alright. We have a deal."
Jareth nodded, then turned his gaze to one of the goblins. The creature was not as bright as Jareth had hoped, and did not take the opportunity to jab its spear into Peter one last time. Damn it.
"Good." He said, his voice sounding suspiciously like a grumble. "It's a more than generous deal." Jareth's smile returned when he thought of what would happen when Peter failed to complete the deal. His outcome would not be as generous as the deal had been...not by far.
Failure wasn't an option. Not for Peter. He had thirteen hours to get through this, and he was going to make it. There was no alternative. He certainly wasn't going to lose to Jareth of all people.
"See you around then, Captain Tightpants," Peter said, lifting his hand in a wave and starting down the hill towards the labyrinth.