Signs

Marco and Lexa found themselves standing in the middle of a deserted street.  It was night, and a cold rain poured down from the sky.  Lexa squinted.  She could just barely make out the outlines of a large building in front of her, surrounded by a high, chain-link fence.  A smaller, white building stood behind that one.
“Is this part of the Labyrinth?” Lexa asked.
“I don’t think so,” Marco replied.  “I think maybe that we went through a portal or something.  Anyway, let’s find out what that building is so that we can get out of this rain.”
“Can you change to unicorn form?” Lexa asked.
In response, Marco shimmered and turned into his natural unicorn form.  By the light of his horn, the two of them were able to read the large sign in front of the building: Maximum Security State Jail.
“A jail?” Lexa repeated.  “Let’s not go in there.  What about that white building behind it?”
Marco and Lexa walked around the jail towards the other building.  As they approached it, they could see that the building appeared abandoned.  A sign on the building read State Institute for the Reclamation of Criminal Types .
Marco turned to Lexa and blew a questioning note on his horn.  Lexa shrugged and replied, shivering, “We might as well go in and get warmed up.  It doesn’t look like anyone’s in there anymore.”  She tried the door, and finding it unlocked, stepped inside, followed closely by Marco.
The two of them stood in a darkened hallway.  Doors lined each wall, and there was a generator in the corner.  Marco changed to human form and worked on getting the generator started, while Lexa walked up to one of the doors and opened it.  She looked in on a room full of comfortable looking chairs, a television, and vending machines.  Lexa knew what all of these things were, because her father had told her all about the technology of his world, and in turn, Lexa had told Marco about it.  A thought hit Lexa, and she ran out into the hall to find Marco.  He had got the generator running, and now he stood next to it, wiping his hands on his pants and proudly surveying his work.  He looked up as Lexa came running towards him.
“Marco, I think we’re on earth!” Lexa said breathlessly.
“I figured as much,” Marco replied, pointing to the purring generator.  “Those things don’t work on Cygnus.”
“How are we going to get back?” Lexa asked.
“We’ll stay here and wait until Jareth comes to get us.  If he doesn’t show up for a while, we can try and find a canal to jump across.  It’s what our mums did,” Marco answered reasonably.  “In the meantime, have you found anything to eat?  I’m starving.”
Lexa showed him the lounge room with the vending machines, and soon the two of them were happily settled on the couch, eating potato chips, candy, popcorn, and drinking soda as they watched TV.  After they had eaten to their satisfaction, Marco and Lexa eased themselves off the couch, feeling full and sleepy.  Marco belched and turned the TV off on his way out.  He followed Lexa across the hall to another door.  Opening it, they found themselves looking in on a large movie theater.
“Hey, cool,” Marco exclaimed, looking around.  “But we don’t really need a movie theater, not when we can watch TV.”
Lexa appeared not to have heard him.  Marco followed her gaze to a large chair near the front of the theater.  This chair was padded and had leather straps attached to it, so that whoever sat in that chair could have their arms and legs strapped down.  Another strap ran across the headrest, and this one had wires attached to it.  Small metal clips were screwed into the side of the strap on the headrest, so that if it was properly tightened, the clips would be about level with the eyes of the person sitting in that chair.
“You know,” Marco began, “that looks a lot like the chair you said they used to torture Alex in, when. . .”  He trailed off.  Lexa looked at him with wide eyes.  Without saying a word, she left the theater and began to try other doors down the hall.  Small windows in the doors revealed that all of the other doors on this floor led to bedrooms, but all of them were locked except one.  This door led to the only bedroom that was ever occupied at this hospital.  A clipboard attached to the wall next to the door read the name of the one person who stayed in this room.  Prisoner #6655321—Alexander DeLarge—Ludovico patient, 2 weeks.
“I knew it!” Lexa exclaimed.  “This is the hospital where they sent my father to try and cure him.  It didn’t really work, and he tried to commit suicide.  That’s when the government stepped in and shut this place down so that they wouldn’t have to be responsible for any more accidents like that.  We’re in my father’s world.”
“Wherever we are, we should probably stay in the same place until someone comes after us and try to get some sleep,” Marco replied.  “You can have the bed.”
Lexa seemed eager to discuss the fact that they were in Alex’s world some more, but she saw how tired Marco was, and she remembered that he was the one who had been running all day and doing most of the traveling.  She graciously took the bed, while Marco turned into a unicorn and slept on his feet, guarding the door.  Meanwhile, Lexa was lulled to sleep by the gentle sound of the rain falling against the roof.

Alex leaned back in his chair and asked himself for the hundredth time why he had ever let Lara persuade him to come to the conference.  It was the same story every year; all the delegates from the Vampire, Fey, Goblin, and human kingdoms in Cygnus, along with the nomadic Gypsy tribes from the plains, would gather together and discuss peace terms and unity and taxes and exports and all the rest of it.  
Normally Alex never attended these conferences, backed up by the fact that he was not the representative of the Vampire kingdom, but to in order to please Lara, he had agreed to come to this one.  Almost immediately, he had regretted it.  When Alex had walked into the Great Hall where a large table had been set up for the occasion, the leader of the Fey kingdom had taken one look at Alex’s plain white uniform and remarked, “What is this, a pajama party?”  The other Fey delegates with him sniggered.
Jareth, the last person in the world Alex would have ever expected to rise to his defense, looked at the Fey leader.  “Alex is from a different world that ours, and he wears the clothing that is associated with that world,” Jareth informed the Fey.  “I suspect it’s only common courtesy that prevents him from remarking that the ruffled shirt you’re wearing makes it look like you’ve stuffed your mother’s petticoat down the front of your vest.”  
The Fey leader’s pale face flushed a light shade of crimson, and Alex smirked at him and took a chair next to Lara.  
The same Fey leader was now giving a speech about crop failure.  Alex was finding it hard not to nod off.  Not only did he find the lecture exceedingly dull, but Alex had not received a good night’s sleep, having been awakened at the crack of dawn by the disturbing nightmare about Lexa.  He made an effort to stay awake, however, not that he really cared about hurting the Fey leader’s feelings, but he didn’t want to have Lara experience the embarrassment of having her husband fall asleep and start drooling on the table right in the middle of the first conference he attended.
Now Fey boy was rambling on about how the crops were yielding fewer and fewer results, no matter how much unicorn fertilizer they used, or something along those lines. . .
Suddenly Alex sat forward again and raised his hand.  The Fey looked at him, one finely arched eyebrow raised.  “Yes?  Do you have a question?”
“I do.  Are you using crop rotation?” Alex asked.
“No, I’ve never heard of such a. . .”
“It’s a technique farmers on earth use,” Alex explained.  “The reason your crops are failing is because you keep planting in the same area and using up all the nutrients in the soil.  If you rotate the crops around every season, the soil in the old field will have time to recuperate and you’ll be able to plant there again.”
Everyone in the hall was staring at Alex.  “What?” Alex asked.  “Just because I happened to read an article on crop rotation while I was in prison—“
Oops.  Shouldn’t have mentioned that he was in prison, might as well have just charged at the lot of them waving a knife, ranting and raving—
Fortunately, no one seemed to have heard the last statement Alex had made, and his train of thought was lost as a silver unicorn galloped into the hall and transformed into a beautiful woman with long, dark blonde hair.  It was Tony, Marco’s mother, usually sarcastic and light hearted.  But at this moment, Tony had an aura of panic about her.
“The kids!  Marco and Lexa, they’re gone!” she exclaimed.
Alex stood up so fast, he knocked his chair over and it clattered to the floor.  “What do you mean, they’re gone?” he asked Tony.
“I can’t find them anywhere,” Tony lamented.  “I’ve looked everywhere; the meadows, the caves, the castle grounds, they’ve vanished.”
“Nonsense, I sent Lexa to her room,” Alex explained.
“I checked, she’s gone,” Tony replied.
Cursing under his breath, Alex followed Tony outside, where they were quickly joined by Lara and Jareth.
“I’ll check the Labyrinth,” Jareth offered.  “Marco and Lexa often go there to play.”  He changed into a white barn owl and flew off in the direction of the Goblin kingdom.
“Alex, you go with him,” Lara said.  “And Tony, you can go back to the meadows in case Marco and Lexa decide to return back there.”
Tony nodded and changed into a unicorn.  She galloped quickly in the direction of the meadows.
“Aren’t you coming with me?” Alex asked.
“I can’t.  I have to stay and finish up the conference,” Lara explained.  “We need to discuss your malorious farming plans.”
“Malorious?” Alex questioned.
“Yeah.  It’s a combination of marvelous and glorious.  Why say each one separately if you can just say both of them at once?  Saves time,” Lara replied.
“One of these days, you’ll have like made up your own language,” Alex said.  “We’ll call it Larsat.  All the teenagers will be speaking it.”
“Later.” Lara put her arms around Alex.  “Right now, concentrate on finding our daughter.”
“All right, my little devotchka,” Alex replied, kissing her.  He walked out towards the courtyard, and then muttered a spell that Lara had taught him, transforming himself into a bat.  Alex flew vigorously to try and catch up to Jareth.  Together, the owl and the bat traveled to the Labyrinth.
It didn’t take long, because the two of them were flying, and when they finally arrived at the Labyrinth, there was a slight delay as Alex landed outside the wall and changed to human form.  As this was his first visit to the Labyrinth, he began to curiously investigate the tiny pixies fluttering around the clumps of bushes which grew along the wall.  Meanwhile, Jareth had changed to human form and spotted the sparks which Marco had set off.  He turned just in time to see Alex walk closer to a pixie-infested bush and start to lean over it.  Jareth immediately ran over and yanked Alex back from the bush, almost knocking him to the ground in the process.
“Bollocks!” Alex exclaimed, regaining his balance.  “What’s the idea, brother?”
“Don’t go near the pixies,” Jareth warned.  “They bite people on regular occasions, but at this time of year, they’re especially carnivorous.”
“How so?” Alex asked.
“Their magic peaks around this time, and they consume each other to gain more power from eating the flesh,” Jareth explained.  “They would’ve attacked you and started to strip the flesh from your bones.”
“Charming creatures,” Alex remarked.
“Anyway, those are Marco’s sparks over there,’ Jareth pointed.  “I’m pretty sure they’re in the Labyrinth.”
“And how, pray tell, are we supposed to find them in this bezoomny maze?” Alex asked.  “It’ll take forever.”
“Marco and Lexa usually take the pool to the tunnels underground,” Jareth said, more to himself than Alex.  “It’s quicker that way.  They’ll avoid the Cleaners, go through the fake wall, and climb up the. . .”
“Up the what?” Alex asked, hearing Jareth trail off.
“I forgot about the portal,” Jareth muttered.  He looked pale.  “I hope they didn’t go through that.  Well, let’s try looking there first.”
Still puzzled, Alex watched as Jareth pulled a small crystal ball from thin air, twirled it briefly, and suddenly he found himself standing next to Jareth in a small dark room with a shaft in the ceiling and a mirror in the corner.
“There’s usually a ladder that leads to the top of that shaft,” Jareth told Alex.  “I moved it and added this mirror; it’s a new feature I’ve been toying with.  I wouldn’t have had it out if I had known Marco and Lexa would be exploring here.”
“What does it do?” Alex asked, examining the dark clouds in the mirror.
“It’s a portal,” Jareth answered.  “I’ve been trying to find another way to contact DJ’s world.”  
Alex knew DJ was a girl from earth that Jareth had taken a fancy to and brought to Cygnus.  She was also responsible for ending the Blood Drought of ’46.  He nodded at Jareth to continue.
“But so far, I’ve only been able to fix it on an aspect of England.  It’s still earth, but it’s in the future,” Jareth continued.  He still had the crystal in his hand, and now he held it up to the surface of the mirror.  “This will let us know where the portal opens, and if Marco and Lexa went through it.”
They waited for a few moments.  Eventually, the crystal began to glow, and Jareth spun it in his hand slowly and studied the surface.
“They both went through, about three hours ago,” Jareth mused.  “Hmmm.  It says something about a prison, milk, Anthony Burgess, the Ludovico Technique—“
“What did you say?” Alex stared at Jareth, a startled expression on his face.
“I don’t know.  It’s just a random list of words describing the world,” Jareth replied, looking over at Alex.
“I know.  It’s my world,” Alex said quietly.
There was a pause.  “Well, I guess that’s all right, then,” Jareth replied.  “At least you’ll be familiar with that world.  Are you ready to go through?”
Alex nodded.  “How are we supposed to get back?”
Jareth handed him the crystal.  “Invoke it when you’re ready.”
Alex took the crystal and stepped through the billowing black mists of the mirror, vanishing into its depths.

The moment Alex stepped through the mirror, he found himself standing on a dark street.  It was nighttime here, and judging by the moisture on the ground, it had rained recently.  As Alex peered through the dark at the building in front of him, he received a bit of a shock as he recognized his old State Prison, and next standing next to it, the abandoned State Institute for the Reclamation of Criminal Types.  Alex couldn’t repress a shudder as he looked over at that building, and as he stood there, his eyelids prickled and his stomach gave an unpleasant jolt.  Memories gave flooding back of being strapped into a padded chair, with clamps holding his eyelids open, forcing him to watch a series of disturbing film clips, as he grew sicker and sicker, until the pain was so intense that he felt he would die, and the worst part of it all was the music playing in the background, beautiful classical music, the Fifth Symphony by Ludwig van, and Alex’s devastation as realized that he would never be able to listen to music again without being in agony. . .
Alex didn’t even realize that he had fallen to his knees on the pavement, as he cradled his head in his hands, his breathing slow and heavy.  Eventually he got a grip on himself, and he massaged his temples and slowly stood up.  None of that mattered any more, the drug was out of his system, he could listen to classical music, and now he was cured in a more effective way than that treatment could have ever accomplished.  All that mattered now was the fact that Lexa and Marco were trapped in this place somewhere, and it was Alex’s duty to find them.
“Righty right, then,” Alex muttered to himself, and he used a phrase he had picked up from Tony.  “Let’s do this thing.”
“You know, I really wasn’t aware that ghosts talked to themselves, were you, Billyboy?” a voice said behind Alex.
The hairs stood up at the back on Alex’s neck.  He recognized that voice, and as he turned around, he saw the last two people in the world that he wanted to see at this time; Alex’s old friend Dim, and his old rival, Billyboy.
“Good evening, gentlemen,” Alex said nonchalantly.
“Well, hello,” Dim replied.  “Little Alex.  Fancy seeing you here, especially as you supposedly died years ago.”
“Bitten by a vampire, were you?” Billyboy added.
“That’s right, and I’ve still got the scars to prove it,” Alex answered.  
“So, are you half vampire now?” Billyboy asked, in a tone that made it perfectly clear that he did not believe Alex.
“Well no, seeing as how you can’t turn into a vampire just from being bitten by one.  That’s werewolves, what you’re talking about,” Alex explained.  “As much as I would love to discuss the whole entire vampire culture with you boys, I’m afraid a have a more pressing engagement.”  Alex stated to walk away from the two men, when he heard the click of a gun being cocked.  He stopped and turned to face Dim again, who now held a gun pointed at Alex’s head.
“You’re coming with us,” Dim said ominously.  Alex had no choice but to go with Dim, looking more amused than scared.  Dim and Billyboy led him into the prison complex and took him into an empty cell containing a bed, a chair, and a music player.
“Recognize it?” Billyboy asked.
Alex didn’t answer.  He did recognize this cell; it was the same one he had occupied during his two year stay here several years ago.  Dim forced Alex to sit in a chair and Billyboy took out some rope and tied Alex securely to it.  Still, Alex looked clam and relaxed.
By comparison, Dim and Billyboy looked grim, as Billyboy took a small bottle of liquid out of his pocket.  He took out a small syringe needle and drew out some of the liquid from the bottle.  Alex watched him questioningly.
“This is the same stuff they injected you with during the Ludovico Technique,” Billyboy explained.  At last Alex began to look worried, and he watched the syringe with a feverish intensity.
“We know that you have access to another world, with magic and stuff like that,’ Dim said, getting down to business.
“Tell us how to get there, or I’ll put the drug back into your bloodstream,” Billyboy continued, lowering the needle to touch the skin on Alex’s arm.  Dim switched on the music player and Bolero, a classical piece by Ravel began to play.
The blood drained from Alex’s face, but his voice didn’t waver as he spoke: “Look Dim, Billyboy.  Do what you will, but Cygnus is no place for scum like you and me.  Only through mere chance and a lady’s favor do I dare even breathe the air of that land.”
Dim looked down at Alex and his jaw tightened as he nodded at Billyboy, who plunged the needle into Alex’s shaking arm.  Just as Billyboy was about to push the tranquil, the door to the cell burst open and a black unicorn and female rider galloped into the room.  Lexa jumped off Marco’s back and turned to face Dim.  Marco knocked the needle from Billyboy’s hand and it shattered on the floor.  He then delivered a soft knick to Billyboy’s head and he fell senseless to the ground as Marco changed to human form and untied Alex.
Meanwhile, Lexa had dodged behind Dim and put him in a choker hold, rendering him unconscious.  She flipped the music off and walked over to Alex and Marco.
“How did you two find me here?” Alex asked, as the three of them walked out of the cell and proceeded to exit the prison complex.  
“We were in the Ludovico Research Center,” Lexa explained.  “They have a camera in the room we were in which shows the inside of your cell.  Its motion activated, so when Dim and Billyboy took you into the cell, the camera turned on in our room and woke us up, and we came over.”  She paused and then added, “I’m sorry I left the castle without your permission.”
Alex said nothing, and they walked down the street in silence.  It was dawn, and the sky was just beginning to get light.
“This is a dobby enough place in the daylight,” Alex reflected.  “I should take Lara here to visit, for like an anniversary or some veshch.”
“Father,” Lexa spoke up, her voice shaking slightly.  “Marco and I would like to become engaged to get married when we come of age, with your blessing.  We’ve both dated other people, and we think we’re right for each other.  Please.”  She waited.
Alex looked at both of them.  “Engaged?  Why I think that’s the best idea presented all nochy, next to my crop irrigation plan, that is,” he added, smiling slightly.  “If you two want to get married, you may do so with my blessing.  I’m sorry as well that I like over-reacted.  It’s obvious to any gloopy fool that you’re staying on the right road, Lexa, instead of going to the other shop like I did.  However, I would appreciate if you do not go through any more strange portals in the future.”
“No problem,” Lexa replied.  They all stood together as Alex pulled out the crystal Jareth had given him.  Before he invoked it, he added as an afterthought, “You’ve also fulfilled the requirement to spend a certain amount of time on earth in order to become Vampire Queen, Lexa.  When you’re of age, you’ll be able to rule along with your mother.”
Lexa looked truly happy at this news, along with the confirmation that Alex would allow her to marry Marco.  She smiled as she stood between her fiancé and her father, and the three of them disappeared as the crystal was invoked, returning them home to Cygnus.