Pizzazz stomped a foot and gave a toss of her green hair. "Eric, you're not promoting us! We should have been playing at that party last night!" she almost shrieked, indicating her three other band members, Roxy, Stormer, and Jetta.

"We weren't invited either," answered Riot. He sat on the other side of the room, arms folded across his chest, face a dark scowl. His bandmates, Rapture and Minx, sat beside him, with equally unpleasant faces.

"So what?" snapped Pizzazz. "This is all your fault!" she told Eric Raymond.

The head of Stinger Sound rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. I've got enough problems as it is. Have you seen this?" He tossed a magazine down on the desk, the new issue of "Rock N Roll". "Go on, all of you, have a look," he prompted.

The Misfits and Stingers crowded around Pizzazz as she held up the magazine. On the cover was a photo of a handsome man with pale blonde hair and mis-matched eyes.

Stormer stifled a gasp. Rapture was not so reserved.

"He's gorgeous!" she cried.

"Oh, put a sock in it," Roxy hissed, shoving her out of the way to have a better look.

"New British singing sensation starts Underground Music," Pizzazz read.

"Jareth?" wondered Riot aloud, scanning further down the cover to the name of the new idol. "Never heard of him."

Eric flipped on the radio. "Don't you people listen to anything?"

On the radio a smooth, soft voice cooed, "But I'll be there for you...as the world falls down..."

Eric pushed a button and changed the station. From another pop station issued the same voice, on a different verse. Eric flipped again. The same thing.

"Get the picture?" he asked. His bands nodded. "Well, what are we going to do about it?"

"Sign him!" urged Stormer.

"We already tried that. He just formed Underground."

"Buy out Underground Music," said Riot immediately.

"What if we can't?"

Pizzazz's eyes lit with a dangerous gleam. "Sabotoge."

*****

Cindy Williams had passed around Labyrinth to almost every girl in Starlight House, and they all quoted it incessantly. It was what they were doing just then, as she, Krissie, Ashley, Laura, and Marcy all lay around on the floor of the big living room of Starlight House.

"Through dangerous untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City to take back the child which you have stolen," Ashley intoned.

"For my will is as strong as yours," Cindy picked up, "and my kingdom as great..." She frowned. "I can never remember that line..."

"You have no power over me!" the others told her in unison. They all began to giggle.

"Shhhh!" cried Krissie, turning up the radio. "The song's on again!"

They listened, and were rewarded with the sound of their favorite new song. "I'll paint you mornings of gold, I'll spin you valentine evenings," they sang along.

Ashley sighed. "Jareth's a dream!"

There was a general agreement.

"He could spin me a valantine evening anytime!" Marcy laughed

"What's going on in here?" asked Jerrica, walking in.

Krissie tossed her a copy of the same magazine Eric Raymond had shown to the Misfits and Stingers just moments ago. "Jareth," she said, as if that explained everything.

Jerrica listened to the song a moment, gazing at the cover. Jareth, not Jared. She smiled, trying not to let it show how much the sight of him affected her. "The next big thing, eh?"

Marcy nodded solemnly. "You'd better believe it, sister."

They all went into giggles again, and Jerrica headed off. She wanted to find out more about this Jareth. For business.

As she left, Cindy became thoughtful. "You know, if they ever made a movie of Labyrinth, he'd be perfect for the Goblin King..."

*****

Jareth peered into his crystal, watching the girls...sensitive, lovely Laura strumming her guitar; sweet, easily mislead Ashley; Marcy and her defensive joking, Krissie and her paintings; newly-orphaned Cindy, cousin to his long lost Sarah. And he watched Jerrica. He was intrigued by this woman, by the aura of secrets that surrounded her, as well as the mysterious singer, Jem.

His own masquerade was working out perfectly. He had already launched a career in the music industry, a career which, if this kept up, would turn out to be extremely successful. It should give him enough time to explore this world, uncover its secrets, and turn it on its ear.

Besides, he'd never been a rock star before. He was rather liking it. But first, he realized he'd have to deal with those troublemakers of Eric Raymond's. The Stingers and the Misfits working together would be an interesting combination and a possibly formidable obstacle. However, he had one thing he was quite sure they didn't-- magic.

He caught Cindy's musings about his possible acting career and laughed until tears glistened in his mis-matched eyes.

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