InsaneJournal

Day One - In the Beginning
Who: Jareth and everyone!
When: Day One, early morning
What: The King addresses his court
Where: City of Illusions, town center
Rating: Anywhere from G to R, I suppose
Status: Complete


In the beginning, everything was nothing. There was a void, black and endless. In one split second, that changed. Where there had been nothing but blackness, the vaguest shape of something began to take form. At first, it was impossible to tell what, since there was still very dark. Slowly, an area of the void began to lighten, and something could be seen to move through the dim light. Before there was more than light and dark, he was there shaping the world.

The King of the Goblins and former Ruler of the Underground looked around at what he had done, little though it appeared to be. He laughed, and it was the first sound ever heard in that place. The light continued to build, and he liked that and encouraged it. For many seconds, almost a full minute, he was very busy. He could feel others coming from the strange Planet that he had escaped. He must be ready... buildings sprung into existance, and grass, and a forest around the edge of the town. He was very guided by the place he'd been before, but also by the first Underground that had been destroyed.

Things were still shiny and new, almost not quite formed, when the first of them arrived. He supposed he'd dragged them along with him when he'd done battle with the Planet, but he wasn't worried. They wouldn't know what was going on. In the blink of an eye, they were there. Cathal, Gabrielle, Faith Lehane, Mercy Thompson, Giselle, Severus Snape, they all popped into being. The surge of energy this brought was incredible, and the lines of the city he had created, which had been hazy and indistinct, firmed into a more solid state.

Jareth searched, then, through all of the worlds that he could reach into with all his millenia of practice. Before a full ten seconds had passed since the arrival of the first ones, those from Mirage, more were brought to stand beside them. Cimorene, Helena Campbell, Hermione Granger, Jack Harkness, Jack Sparrow, Robin of Locksley, Rose Tyler, Schuldig, Steerpike, The Doctor, Willow Rosenberg and Yaten Kou. There was no rhyme or reason to his selections. He simply grabbed those who interested him and took them.

Before long at all, in fact, before even five minutes had passed since he had first walked the void, he had a decent sized group. He would bring more, but later. For now, he had a doubtless very confused court to attend to, and it wouldn't do to keep them waiting. With a gesture, he stood in the very center of the group so they tended to form a circle around him. With a slight twist of his mind, he made himself appear to sparkle, to seem taller than he was, to get their attention.

"Welcome to the Underground." His voice rang out clear and strong through the clearing in the center of the town. "I am the King of this place, and I've brought you here. Some of you will be familiar with this process, as it has been done once before. For some, this is the first time. You will be glad to know it will also be the last." Through some trick of his illusions, he appeared to be looking at each and every one of them, though of course, that should not be possible as they were all arrayed in a circle around him.

"This is your home now. You will not be leaving." He snapped, and in front of each person hung floating in the air two things, a key with a number clearly inscribed on it, and a book. "This is what I shall give you. A journal, which I shall leave to you to figure out, and a key, which is to the room you have been assigned." As he spoke, an orange/red sort of light began to fill the sky to the east. Soon, the sun broke from the horizon and began to rise, casting light on what had largely been in shadow before.

The buildings, each and every one of them, were hung about in gauzy fabrics of all colors. Tents and pavilions were in abundance throughout the area, and from somewhere not so far off, a horse could be heard to snort to itself. It was the City of Illusions in it's Ren Faire guise, which Jareth had seen while on Earth and which had struck his fancy. "This is your home." He repeated. "I have made this city for you to live in. There are only a few simple rules. You may not attempt to kill each other. You may not leave. You may not attempt to go into another's room uninvited. It's quite simple, really."

Jareth didn't pause, didn't give anyone a chance to speak, or even really think through what he had been saying. "For those of you that would not be satisfied with simply existing here in this city, there is a choice. Brave my labyrinth." He gestured toward a wall, high and thick and imposing. A large gate, easily wide enough to drive two buses through, hung open. "If you solve the labyrinth and get to my castle at the center of the structure, you will be rewarded." He paused for just a moment. "Perhaps even with your freedom." He didn't specify further than that.

"That is all. If you have any questions, any of my servants will assist you." He snapped once more, and a short, funny looking goblin scuried up. "Of course, you are welcome to ask me in person... but only if you solve my labyrinth first." As the last words came from his mouth, he was already fading from sight. Seconds later, he was completely gone, leaving those he had brought in a strange sunrise in a completely new world. The goblin, however, remained, looking at the group impassively.