A single light flickered in the corner of the alley, casting shadows that hinted to the shapes of grotesque creatures of a wide variety, most likely including that of the realm of goblins.

Little feet seemed to scurry to and fro from one trash can to another, but it could have simply been the play of the light. The bulb seemed alive, moody and impudent in its pulsating. The shadows sucked into their corners tightly as the source of the light flew out of the glass covering that had housed it.

The source was a giggling faery. Her silvery green wings shimmered and glowed as she flew about manically, giggling and poking little dark creatures inside their trash can hideaways until they fled from the scene, grumbling and grunting their disagreement over her drunken behavior as they found a new place to cower.

One dark shadow sat still, not petulant but patient. The little faery fluttered cautiously toward it and poked it with her foot. It did not move, but seemed instead to shrink and swell. It did not display the normal protruding appendages of a living thing, and it certainly did not hold the demeanor of an irritated something. Instead of pleasing the faery, this seemed to irritate her greatly. She poked at it grumpily until she finally got a reaction.

The amorphous shadow suddenly engorged and swallowed the little faery whole. Immediately after, the alley was enshrouded in darkness.

Across the way a gang of beings glided down the sidewalks, their hover-skis making no sound as they stealthily slunk into the neighborhood. Those in traffic who had seen them cowered behind their steering wheels, hoping to go unnoticed by the bandits.

They were the Trashlings, their label easily assigned thanks to the burly eskimo-style coats they wore that were made almost entirely of ruffles of gray garbage bags. They were the pack rats of the new land, and, though they had not existed two days ago, they were now on the scene as if they had always been there. They were fast-moving shadows themselves, a blur of black plastic with a tip of a sharp nose to lead as they skated on in search of trash and trouble.

One particularly sharp Trashling named Gleert noticed the cessation of a flickering light in the alleyway. He creeped silently into the area and his eyes went afire, lighting the trash with a glow that was bright and greedy in nature.

He reached his spindly fingers through the bags in search of the something bright and shiny that must have disappeared into the folds of smelly garbage. "There's something bright and light and not of night," his voice chimed in quiet undertones. "Come out wherever you are."

As he moved the trash can aside, he noticed the glob of darkness in the corner. It shrunk from the greater intensity of the light of his eyes, but stayed in its position of yore. "Ah," Gleert continued curiously. "There is also something here that is of night."

The Trashling pulled a glass jar from a deep fold in his coat and unscrewed the lid. Gently he placed the jar over the dark shadow and scooped it up, closing the lid tight before hiding it again in the folds of his clothing. "This will be good to share." He patted his coat gently in satisfaction before gliding out of the alley again. "I think I've found the best treasure yet."


Jeremiah stepped from the shadow of the alley once the Trashling had left with his dark bounty. A large eye peered behind him, glittering in the moonlight as it opened languidly to observe the same scene. It seemed impossible that a man and a large beast could be so completely enshrouded by the dark alley, and as their forms gradually emerged in the dim light of the two moons as it filtered down the alley, it was obvious that it could have only happened with the use of magic, be it their own, or the mysterious presence of the shadow spot that had inhabited the space moments before.

"He has no clue what it is he's found," the deep voice of the creature at Jeremiah's back purred.

"What's more fascinating is that he has no recollection of the changeover." The old man's hand rose to pick at his beard thoughtfully.

"Why are we following these buffoons?" the beast growled irritably.

"We're not following them anymore. They found something interesting for us, and now we can find something else interesting to observe."

"Fickle old fart," the voice insulted with a sparkle of teeth. A pointed tongue licked satisfactorily at a fur-lined black lip. "The damn dark spot is the most interesting thing we've seen all day. Everything else is the same old, same old. Same old moons, same old stories, same old stupid, reckless Jareth of yore. We've seen it all before—too many times, I might add."

"And you say I am fickle, you fiendish femme," Jeremiah spat back playfully as he climbed onto the back of the animal. "I wouldn't make light of the little black blob in the jar, just as I once told you not to make light of the stupid oaf that brought us where we are now," he added ominously.

"Oh yes? Please enlighten me. I know you are dying to."

"That little black hole is the doom we have been seeking. Chaos is inevitable."

The large animal purred a vibrating, machine-like purr. "Chaos? Doom?"

"Let's dig up some more dirt, shall we?" Jeremiah leaned back onto the back of the beast and held her fur tightly as her silhouette rose into the sky and arced gracefully across the bright white of the two moons.


Back at Marlena's shop, Toby and Jareth spent some time hunkered down on the velvet couches talking about Jareth's past experiences with Sarah. Rattlebeak sat across from them, telling his side of the story, and how the two of them had pitted against Jareth's challenges in search of the Amethyst stone of elfin lore. Toby was mesmerized. He couldn't believe that he had not recalled these adventures, but had dismissed them as hazy dreams. Anything was possible! While he knew he should be distrustful of Jareth for causing these things to happen, he felt instinctively that Jareth was sorry for what he had done and wanted to make things better.

And, deep down, Toby was sort of grateful for the adventure that was unfolding. How would he ever be able to keep this a secret? He couldn't tell anyone, or his mom and dad would call that therapist again, who always talked to him in this crooning adult tone, peeling away layers in search for the seed of Toby's craziness.

It made Toby feel ill every time he thought about her. He wished he could take Jareth to see her, to tell her it was all real, to do a magic trick that would make her shut her mouth and go find her own therapist.

Jareth drew a picture and handed it to him. Toby's face looked back in graphite, with Rattlebeak on his shoulder. In Toby's hands was a crystal sphere. The boy smiled with intense joy and the stars twinkled in the sky outside of the shop windows.

The caravan in the mist had been walking almost two hours, and the sun had not yet set. For many of the travelers, their bodies shouted that it was late in the night, while the sky screamed late afternoon. The humidity of the damp mists had only begun to dissipate, while the lingering discomfort hung wet on the brow of each traveler. Eberon seemed to be having the worst time during the journey, as he had become most accustomed to the soft life of a king, and had long since given up athletic pursuits.

"I wonder if this place is still as it was on the other side," Granen commented circumspectly as he gazed about. "Ha'n't seen no apparitions yet, but I keep expecting them any moment."

"I'm sure they're not much different on this world. Our friends Albert and Wonggu have already spoken of seeing odd things in the mists Aboveground," Sage answered somewhat breathlessly as they all walked up a steep incline.

"We get used to'em," Albert said with a nod. "Not so strange. Much to be learned in the dreamtime. Man can learn his fear and conquer it, to be stronger."

"The Mists are just overblown tales of old, just like most stories," Eberon answered sourly. "Mortals are foolish when encountered by the fae. I don't even see how anyone can get so caught up in those illusions."

Albert raised an eyebrow at this comment and looked to his friend Wonggu curiously, while Sage gave the elf king a sidelong glance full to the brim with daggers.

"Talk like that get you in trouble," Albert mumbled thoughtfully as he put the end of a stick in his mouth to chew on. Wonggu laughed at Albert's comment, as if he knew all too well what the man meant. Soon the two were sharing a fit of laughter, but their mirth ebbed soon.

The scene melted into quiet, with just the sound of footsteps on sand to announce the presence of the travelers. Albert and Wonggu's feet rolled gracefully out onto the ground, familiar and effortless in their movement.


Later that night, Eberon was attacked by a fire-haired harpy. He fell on the ground, swatting petulantly at the beast. Eepwot, Granen, and Mandelbrot burst into jelly-kneed guffaws as they watched the spectacle. Sage bent close to Eberon's side with a smirk on his own face, and put a firm arm on the elf king's shoulder. Eberon shoved him away, but Sage merely became more forceful.

"Eberon! Get a grip! It's just the mists!"

It took Eberon a few more moments of shouting to quiet down. The illusion passed, and he sat still on the ground, pouting.

"I should hope nuthin' real gets at'im, at that rate," Granen blurted with an Celtic laugh.


Claw flew through the queen's open windows of her room. His silver-tipped toes clicked on the marble as he approached.

"Sarah, I have gotten a tip from a citizen that some humans are taking up residence at a shop downtown."

Sarah looked up from a map that she had freshly created, observing how the territories and landmasses of Earth had changed in the transformation. The bird's news brought a smile to her lips.

"Really?" She changed the face of the map to illustrate the downtown area. "Show me."

The bird hung over the map and pointed to a spot with his beak. It lit up.

She couldn't believe it! Right under her nose. She concentrated with great effort, but there was a bright orange haze surrounding the place, and she couldn't penetrate it. Magic, or was it some leftover debris from the changeover?

"Send someone there," Sarah commanded. "Come back and tell me who is there."

The wind moaned ominously in Jeremiah's ears as he kept his head low to the long-haired mane of the Ingeborg the Fellwit as she arced gracefully over the sky and through the low, rosy clouds. The long iridescent fur on her lanky body was a little wider than sewing thread, smooth and supple. It blew close to her lizard-like body like waves of grain in a field. She had bronze stripes down her back that went all the way to the end of her ferret-like tail. A full mane adorned her perpetually smug lemuresque face, the hair of which was the apparent source of torment for Jeremiah as he kept pulling strands from his mouth in irritation. Her bat wings also had a soft fir on the back that bristled in the wind as they flapped.

"You need to have your hair trimmed," he groaned as he found another long hair in his aging beard.

"Shut up, old man," Ingeborg offered sarcastically with her almost German accent. "I'm not letting you touch it. Don't you know a woman's beauty is trapped in the locks of her hair?"

"Assuming the woman has any beauty to trap in the first place," he replied acerbically.

"You know I despise you," the Fellwit purred with a wolfish grin.

"Hmm," was all the old man offered as he craned his neck over the edge of the beast fearlessly to get a better view. It was apparent that they had such verbal diatribes all the time and had become used to one another. Or even did it for fun.

He held the strap of the saddle firmly and inched to the edge of her wide torso.

"So you see now?" she asked, interested.

"Yes. Their numbers are growing. I wonder what it will be like once she makes a formal move."

The topic of conversation was a light drove of creatures walking purposefully along the plains of the Mid West, with a balance of heavy vehicular traffic on the highway.

"Maybe she already has," Ingeborg stated callously.

"I certainly wouldn't be surprised," he answered as he moved back to his seat.

"You're surprised every time, you old fart," she answered with whiskery snort. "All these years we've been together, you're always surprised when they get the one-up on you. And then—"

Jeremiah's face scrunched up into disgust over an argument that had apparently gotten old many years ago. "I am always on top of it. Yes, my consorts and enemies have gotten the one up, certainly, but I always out-outsmart them in the end!"

"You just finished my point. You always turn it around as if it were your idea. God, you're so predictable." She twitched her large, wet nose unappreciatively. A row of sharp teeth stuck slightly over her pink lip in an overbite.

"Tell me why it is we're having this argument again?" Jeremiah's eyebrows beetled in exasperation. "Besides, we have more important things to deal with."

"Oh yes," Ingeborg said with disdain. "That we do. Always more important things."

"Heavens, I wish I had never agreed to marry you," the old man said with no reserve of loathing.

"You never did, donkey brains. You won me in a bet," the woman replied sniffling. "This joke is old by now." She seemed to be really sad that they weren't married.

Jeremiah snickered under his breath, as if pleased he finally got her to be quiet. Cross-species marriages weren't common Underground, but they did happen now and again, if love could reach across the boundary of biology. Apparently Ingeborg had wished it had.

"She's going to set up her headquarters in the Times building, I am willing to bet," Jeremiah finally mumbled after a long silence. "It's right in the middle of everything. Right in the middle of her favorite stomping grounds. Where all the entertainment industry is concentrated. She can make her best moves there."

"Inner dialogue, meine leibe," Ingeborg blurted.

"I'll speak aloud if I want, shut up you haggard old beast!" Jeremiah spluttered with frustration. "And stop calling me that."

"You like to hear yourself talk too damned much," Ingeborg muttered under her breath.

Jeremiah heard her, but did his best to ignore it. Or at least, he pretended he was ignoring her. It made her more upset in the end, which he liked. "Just take us back to New York so we can do a once-over in Times Square, and see what Jareth and his harem are up to."

The Fellwit turned around silently as bid, but didn't say anything in response. Jeremiah nuzzled his head in her mane and brushed his hands over it soothingly. "Oh, come on Inge, you know I am just giving you hell as always."

Ingeborg purred quietly at his affection and smiled shrewdly, knowing she was always the one to win in the end.


Marlena walked the dreamlands, a purple grass covering the landscape, disappearing into darkness. She sniffed the air, but could smell nothing. She sat in one place, trying to gather herself, watching as people walked through the fields and into the darkness to dissipate. She knew that their journey was fraught with danger, but she could do nothing to help. If she moved, she too would be drawn into the darkness.

Instead she focused on remembering who she was, on where she was. She wasn't sure how she had gotten here, but did know that she needed to continue to hide herself. She created a womb of orange light, where nothing could penetrate, which helped to fight the deep temptation to stand up and walk into the void.

Then something distracted her reverie. The face of a woman, sparkling in purple stars in the sky. An intense penetrating gaze that Marlena had to battle to look away from. She increased her resistance and the magic that would hide her. The stars disappeared.

Sarah. She might have found them. There wasn't much time.


As Leah walked down the hall, she detected sounds from the approaching room that implied something a little different from the hustle and bustle the cafeteria at the Jim Henson Company was probably usually accustomed to. At first, it sounded like a riot. As she turned the corner and got a full view, she saw that she was not far off. A food fight had ensued in the cafeteria, with sundry dishes of a colorful variety being thrown across the room. Food that no chef in his right mind would prepare for a cafeteria line, even for a group of people as notoriously creative as those who had once worked there. Perhaps the one who called himself Rygel had a point.

Those were Muppets for you. Being as completely silly, freaky, and downright floppy as possible.

She almost braved a step into the room, coming to grips with a sudden onslaught of hunger, and just barely missed a rainbow-colored cream pie. She decided she wasn't quite so hungry after all.

Leah turned around and wound her way down the corridors, barely avoiding conversation or collision with several puppet-creatures on the way.

"Don't they ever go home?" she mumbled under her breath as she looked at the continuing chaos in awe. "It's almost nine at night!"

Pepe the Prawn came out of nowhere and jumped onto her shoulder. "A-no. We live here, ya know? It is, how you say, our favorite place in the whole world. And we should know, ya know, bein' the worldly peoples that we are."

"Uh, it's Pepe, right?" Leah asked with a crinkled brow. She was trying desperately to keep everyone's name straight.

"Oh, the President remembers me!" he cooed. "I wonder if dis means I get a promotion, eh?" He wiggled his stringy brows at her manipulatively.

"You know what, I hear that Kermit needs a little help," Leah prevaricated, trying to get rid of the guy as quickly as possible.

"Really?" His little eyebrow arched deeply. "Doin' a'what?"

"Um, there's trouble at the front desk with a three-headed monster... Perhaps you can use your amazing people skills to convince the monster to go elsewhere?"

"Does this monster, eh, breathe fire?" the prawn prodded.

"I don't think so. As I hear it, he just tells bad jokes."

Pepe lit up, and saluted. "I will take care of dis problem and'a prove to you that I am worthy of a promotion!"

"Yes, you do that, excellent!" Leah exclaimed brightly. Her face fell like a soufflé as he left. As much as she loved the adorable fellows, she was getting a little exhausted by their eternal energy.

Finally she ambled into one room of the creature shop where all the fantastic puppets were made for the once famous Jim Henson productions. To her surprise, she was greeted with a room full of human busts; a variety of people, eerily real, in rubber, in clay, and in full-size costumes. It was the most quiet of the rooms in the building she had found thus far, perhaps because all the Muppets had decided that nine at night was a mandatory time for a war in the cafeteria.

She walked around the room and inspected all the "creatures". As she did, she let her thought wander about her current circumstances.

How had she known that these fuzzy little beings were "Muppets"? Well, the answer was simple. She had once been Sarah's shadow, and having been inexorably tied to her, could see all she saw, feel all she felt, know all she thought… And, yet, had the power to keep her own identity amidst the clutter of Sarah's mind and her own mingling. It was strange for her sometimes, because her memories of that time – or rather, Sarah's memories – were often more vivid and precise than those that came after her human transformation. As a shadow, she had a focus that came with not having anything else to do but watch the actions of another. Perhaps it was part of the magic that had caused her existence in the first place. Whatever it was, sometimes it caused her to have a sensation that the past was more real than the present. In that part of her past, her mind could maneuver through what she had seen as if it were a video recording; she could play moments exactly, and would be transported to that place in time if she just closed her eyes.

As time passed, she felt more and more a strange detachment from herself. But she also felt a lot of still-simmering anger over Sarah, and all the stupidity she had seen her pseudo-sister engage in during her adolescent years. Even as Sarah grew as a woman, Leah felt a pang of distrust for that former self, a former self that somehow Leah felt was currently emerging in Sarah's psyche.

In her musings, she hadn't realized that someone was talking to her. A voice from the shadows said, "Kinda freaky, isn't it?"

She got up and turned around to see a young man step forward, holding a limp puppet of a human in his hands. He started toying with it in such a way that seemed experienced. The little wooden man did a happy, elegant dance, then rested again in his hands.

"Oh thank heavens," Leah sighed. "You work here, don't you?"

The puppeteer laughed. "Yeah, I did until this morning. I went on a coffee break, and I was the only one in the break room… Then I finally come out, and the place is swarming with my fuzzy little friends. Can't say I've gotten much work done since then."

Leah looked more closely at him. He was strikingly handsome, but in a laid back sort of way. He had the air of a person who didn't understand the world in the slightest, and didn't really care to. He had everything important figured out already.

She continued the conversation with an easy chuckle. "No way to get anything done when your fellow coworkers are having food fights in the cafeteria."

"Oh, so that's where they all went? It was getting too quiet around here." He put the puppet down and came forward to shake her hand. "I'm Justin. Senior Puppeteer. Senior jerk who has no clue what the hell is going on."

Leah laughed openly, enjoying the tenderness of his handshake. "I'm Leah. I suppose I have been nominated as the CEO for the company. Kermit told me I was, at least. I've been trying to get a grip on things all day now."

"Wow, Kermit?" Justin seemed truly astounded. "I would think he'd be CEO… Though I guess ole Kirmy never totally enjoyed being in the spotlight." He thought nostalgically about that point, as if he had meant something else by it.

"So, this doesn't freak you out in the slightest?" Leah said, arching a brow.

Justin shrugged. "Yes… and no. I always said this company was so obsessed with creating imaginary places and things, someday everyone was going to get exactly what they wished for. Probably the best thing that ever happened to them, at least, in some individuals' opinions. I guess we can't ask them, now." He walked over to a bust and touched the rubber face. "This was Billy…" He looked around the room. "These are all people who worked here, at least, before this morning. And the puppets they were working on…"

"In a food fight?" Leah asked with a smirk.

"I think so."

"The old switcheroo." Leah shook her head in amazement.

"Do you know what's going on?" Justin pressed, mirroring Leah's somber expression with his own quizzical look.

"Not yet. I think I have an idea of who started this, but beyond that, I'm lost."

He looked at her shrewdly, observing her carefully. "You're not from the company, are you?"

Leah gave him a wan smile. "Nope. I lived in Virginia a couple of days ago. But... I'm not from there, either."

He took a minute to absorb what she had said. "So where are you from? Switzerland?"

"Think, 'Magical fairytale land,'" she answered sheepishly.

He looked like he didn't believe her. His shoulders hunched up and his eyes mere slits. Suddenly he shrugged and chuckled. "Okay then." He put his hands in his pockets. "That means you know a lot more about this than I do."

Leah couldn't help but laugh at his effable approach to the matter. "Not a lot, I assure you." She looked at her watch, feeling more than a little twang of nervousness when she realized how many hours had passed in the dark on the situation at hand. "I just wish I knew what things were like everywhere else. I mean, is it just happening here?"

"There's one way to find out," Justin said. He started out the door, and Leah followed at his side.

"Where are we going?" she asked as they maneuvered through the undulating colors of another magical hallway.

"I think… we are going to the community room. If it hasn't changed any."

Within moments they were in a room full of bulbous couches and strange games that were not suited to Aboveground game rooms. It looked like a mini-carnival.

Justin wormed his way past a fuzzy aardvark and E.T., who were playing their own version of ping-pong. He picked up a few fuzzy-ball men with googly eyes from the top of the large television at the back of the room, and pried off the suctioned tentacles of an octopus-like creature. Just as he was about to turn on the television, it sparked on for him. He jumped back in surprise and looked over to Leah, who returned his bewildered gaze.

It only took a moment for the image on the television to resolve itself into something coherent.

"Sarah." Leah's expression was suddenly morose. Justin seemed to instantly catch onto the seriousness of the situation, and held all his questions at bay.

Sarah's face filled the screen, her black hair in stark contrast to the soft brown it usually reflected. Her formerly brown eyes were deep blue, shimmering with the light of magic. The gentle smile that had so often found her continence had faded into a somber stare, piercing and powerfully dark. She looked like a true sorceress.

Her autumn-brown lips parted, and she began to speak.

"Hello people of this new world. It is not your imagination; everything you know has changed. Today, your dreams and your reality are no longer two separate things. I am the Queen of this new land, and I have brought you all what you have most desired, the chance to bring a world of magic into your daily lives, or for those of magic, a chance to live a semblance of normalcy. No longer are these separate ideals."

The magical camera did not flinch from its position; the only hint of location was a night sky, dotted with the lights of what looked like skyscrapers.

"But this change comes with a price. As I am your new ruler, I expect all of you to make a symbol of your allegiance to me. Send a representative of your people to my castle in the New City to declare your loyalty. And do not think you can slip away unnoticed; I have my eye on all things throughout the land, and know of those who might betray me."

Leah spoke up in Sarah's pause. "The New City… New York?"

Justin looked at her, digesting the idea. He nodded in agreement.

Sarah continued. "This land can be one of order and pleasure, if you stand by me. No longer will your future be dominated by what the gods say you can or cannot have. I have opened up all worlds and knowledge to you; if you bow down to me, I shall let you eat forever of the fruit I have harvested for you.

"If you do not defy me, my love shall be yours until the end of time." Sarah closed with a saccharine smile befitting of tooth-rotting candy. Leah thought with a chill that the smile had been intended just for her.

Then the television shut itself off.

It was at this moment that Leah realized that all the various creatures in the room had become deathly silent, completely tuned in to Sarah's speech. A few familiar faces dotted the room.

Gonzo came forward and tugged on Leah's dress. Leah looked down at him, an expression of deep worry tugging on her brow.

"What should we do?" Gonzo asked in his raspy voice.

Kermit came forward from his position in the doorway. "I don't think she's such a nice lady," he offered. "Maybe she shouldn't be the Queen."

Miss Piggy blustered into the room. "Of course not! If anyone is going to be Queen, it is me. Right Kermy?" She cloyed on Kermit, stroking his fuzzy arm affectionately. His bottom jaw squirmed a bit, unwilling to emit a response.

"No, she is not going to be Queen," Leah said. "She's my sister, and someone has done something to her. If anything, we need to save her from whoever is manipulating her, and put everything back the way it was."

She expected everyone to argue, but they did not. A half-hearted grumble came from the group, and a little chattering back and forth. It was Pepe the Prawn who vocalized their thoughts. "She's'a right, you know. We gotta stop dis thing from happenin', yeah? Everyone gotta be free!"

There was a loud ruckus in response to his pep-talk. The cheerful flopping began.

Leah looked at Justin, who smiled back. "Why not? Let's start a revolution. Makes as much sense as anything has so far today."

Rizzo the Rat hopped onto his shoulder and shouted, "Yeeeeaaah! That's what I'm talkin' about! Do I get a flamethrower? Please?"

Leah laughed in spite of herself. Who knew the turn her day was ever going to take? Only a few days ago, and she had been safe in her apartment, worrying about the next meeting she had with a chemical company that wanted to change its procedures for more environmentally safe ones… Now, that company didn't exist, nor her apartment. And she was planning a revolution with the Muppets, of all things.

Yet, she had indeed had wackier days. Hadn't she?


Jareth stepped back from the television in disbelief. He ran into Ashley, who had been standing just behind him, watching the disturbing announcement from behind his right arm. Toby and the other women were huddled about, too. Didymus was trying to come to grips with the strange technology, and how he could have just seen his Queen come and go from the room so quickly.

Toby looked up at Jareth with big, blue eyes. "She can't. We can't let her do it, Jareth." For a ten year old, he was very grown up.

"I know, I know," Jareth muttered with a wan smile.

Marlena came into the room from the stairway, massaging her head tenderly. "What's going on?"

"Marley!" Ashley ran to her friend and hugged her. "How ya doin'? What happened to you?"

"I don't know," Marlena admitted. "I just got dizzy. Must be the not sleeping the last two days."

Her friends ambled over to her softly. Brenda put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Good to know you're okay."

Marlena looked immediately at Jareth. "That was her, wasn't it?"

"Yes." Jareth had run out of words and felt a knot in his stomach so large he thought he might be sick.

Completely ignoring her own situation, Marlena looked to her friends resolutely. "We have to split up," she stated with a grieved expression. "We have to do it tomorrow. She's onto us. And then, we need to find a way to confront her. She's done something terrible, but I can't put my finger on it yet."

Jeremiah walked in at that moment. "You're right. Sarah's minions are everywhere prying for information. We might even need to leave sooner."

"What!" Ling shot. "Marley, you just passed out, and we don't know why? How can we confront her?"

"She's going to get more powerful with every moment," Marlena said directly. "I can feel her. Especially after that television announcement," she said, nodding at the dead screen. "Everyone that saw that knows about her, and, somehow, her power has grown as a result. With every passing moment, the worlds are going to be more permanently fused together. The surge... And her eyes looking for us. She was the one who woke me up. But she can't see us yet." She looked at Jareth somberly, knowing well that he would be the one most disturbed by what she had to say. "We have to do something now. Even if all we're doing is getting a grip on what she is up to, getting her to talk about something, anything, we have to make the move. We can't wait around much longer."

Jeremiah walked into the room from the fire escape, startling everyone in the group except for Jareth, Toby, and Marlena. Didymus gradually lowered his staff from where he had instinctively put it at the ready.

"I think that's a smart move," the older man replied sagaciously. "And I know where she is now."

"Where?" Jareth asked, more than a little disturbed by the convenience of the old man's entry.

"The Times building. Ingeborg and I flew by, and it's starting to change, moreso than anywhere else. It's turning into a sort of castle." He looked at Jareth somberly. "It's not going to be easy, but now is as good a time as any to start." He looked to Marlena. "If you and your friends can get something out of her, perhaps Jareth and I can stay here and continue our search for the remaining elements of the spell that will separate Jareth from his shadow, so that we can kill Kaleb before he controls Sarah anymore to her detriment, and ours."

"Kill!" Ling was in a tizzy.

"I never agreed to kill anyone," Marlena said with purpose. "I know that this Kaleb might be capable of that, and might well have turned Sarah into a person capable of killing, but we have to find another solution."

Jeremiah beetled his eyebrows and gave Marlena a penetrating glare. It was obvious that he was only used to being challenged by Ingeborg. "Very well, but if it comes to it, we kill him. If you can find another solution, then so be it."

"How are we going to get into the Times?" Brenda asked suspiciously. "It's not as if she is going to let us in the front door."

"You're right. There are no longer any doors," Jeremiah answered. "But you can take my Fellwit, Ingeborg. She will bring you to one of the windows that are higher up on the structure."

Marlena clenched her jaw at the notion of flying. She was deathly afraid of heights. "Very well. If that's the best we have, then I suppose it will have to do." She swept her hair from her face and looked at her friends. "I know everyone here has seen an increase in their abilities, so I'm hoping it will provide us with whatever protection we need. I suggest you gather whatever things you'll need for a day's trip. Who knows what will happen when we get there." She bent low to face Toby. "You stay here with Jareth, Toby. He can help you learn the spell if he finds it." The boy nodded dutifully.

"What shall I do?" Didymus asked hopefully.

"You stay with Toby," she answered. "It will be your duty to guard him, Sir Didymus."

Didymus saluted dutifully. "Yes, Fair Maiden! It would be a great honor!"

Toby smiled at the hound and scratched him under the chin. Didymus almost protested against the beastly implications, but the good scratch got the better of him, and he started twitching his leg in satisfaction. When he realized what he was doing, he abruptly stepped away from the itch relief and stood at attention.

"What are you going to do?" Jareth asked Jeremiah.

"I'm going to help you look for a spell, of course. Marlena, you do have a library, don't you?"

The other women filtered to the back rooms of the store to find needed supplies, or just get a grip on things. Marlena sat down to rest, nodding at the man from her position on the couch. "Perhaps you should talk to Gail, though. She has an extensive library."

Gail heard her name and came back out from the storeroom. She eyed Jeremiah for a moment before answering, "Yeah, you can use it. Just... be careful with my things." She seemed to mean something else by her statement, but it went no further than a general implication of mistrust. Jareth found it interesting that the woman didn't trust Jeremiah, either.

"Certainly," Jeremiah answered, pretending as if she hadn't said anything out of the ordinary. He turned to Jareth. "I will gather my things and meet you out front. Perhaps your friends can help us arrange some other form of transportation?" He nodded to them purposefully as he too headed to one of the back rooms. Gail watched him with a slanted brow before returning to her own business.

"Toby, do you know how to call a cab?" Marlena asked the boy with a voice softened by distress.

Toby knew well when grown-ups were trying to get rid of him, but he acquiesced because Marlena was obviously so stressed. "Yeah, just look it up in the phone book and call. I did it for my mom and dad a couple times."

"Could you do that for us?" she said with a smile.

He smiled back sweetly and insecurely. "Sure." With that, he started to jog to the kitchen. He motioned for Didymus to follow.

Jareth sat next to Marlena. "Are you sure you are alright, Marlena?" He put a comforting hand on hers.

The woman sighed. "I didn't want to worry the others. But, I really don't know that I'm doing so well."

"What happened earlier?" Jareth tried to sound as soothing as possible.

Marlena met his gaze with weary eyes. "I don't remember a whole lot, but I do know that I'm not from this world. I now know that I am from yours." Her words came out in a trembling whisper.

Jareth tried hard to get a grip on her words. "You mean, you remember that you are from the Underground?"

She worked hard to fight back the tears, and nodded her head. "More than that. I think I had a husband... and... and a son." She said the last words with a harsh finality. "I don't remember anything about them. I just know that I was wrongfully separated from them."

"Great heavens," Jareth gasped. The notion made him awkward. What did you say to someone who had been without memory for so long, then came face to face with the heartache of an unfinished past?

"I don't want them to know, Jareth. I love them, they are my friends... But this would be too distracting for them. Right now they worry about my health. But, if they know this, they will worry about more than that. And we can't afford it right now."

Jareth nodded somberly. "It will be between us, for now." He squeezed her hand tightly. "Are you sure you want to go with them? You could stay here with us."

"No, I think I need to be there. I'm not sure why, but I do." She rose from the couch and started to walk up the stairs to her room, to get dressed in something warmer. She looked back at Jareth and smiled thankfully, glad to have a confidant.

Jareth got up and put on his coat. He found Toby's hanging from the coat rack and held it aloft as the boy entered the room again. He felt like an adopted Uncle.

"We're going to Gail's house?" the boy asked as he put on the downy jacket.

"So it seems."

Jeremiah sat in the storeroom with a look of amazement on his face. "It couldn't be. Of all places, to think that she is here of all places." He was trying hard to come to terms with the words that Marlena had just shared with Jareth.

"This just gets more interesting with each passing moment!"

Gail escorted the men out to the cab and handed them a sheet with directions to her house. "It's a little ways out, but you'll have a better chance of finding what you want there."

A cell phone rang in her pocket to the tune of "Modern Love," and she pulled it out, putting out a finger for them to wait a moment for her to take the call.

"Oh my God, I am so happy to know you are okay," she breathed into the receiver. "Where are you?"

She walked away from the cab for a moment. "Look, just stay at the studio, there's a lot of funny stuff going on—" She paused and chuckled to hear the reply on the other end. "Yes, funnier than you. Can't you take anything seriously?... I guess not, then." She waved to the impatient rhino-like cab driver to hold his horses. "Look, I'll call you back later, I'm just glad you got my message. I'll explain more later. Bye!"

She hung up the phone and walked back to the cab. "Sorry about that. Look, you guys just help yourself to anything you need, just be careful with my book collection. There are some very old specimens in there. Call me at this number if you need anything." She pointed to the cell phone number on the paper.

As she closed the cab door, she waved them good-bye. "Good luck, fellas."

Jareth was squeezed between an old man, a little boy, and had a talking fox in his lap. "Thanks," he muttered with a bitter sense of irony. It was going to be a long cab ride. And he needed a bottle of wine.

The women all made it up to the top of the roof, and were face to face with the sleek Fellwit, Ingeborg. They were dwarfed by her dragon size, and obviously uncertain of her clever grin. "Well, ladies, we don't have all night! Let's get down to this adventure, shall we?"


Sarah walked off the set of the shoot and began to disrobe, not caring for who might see her. An unrealistically slender and androgynous twig of a fae slipped from behind the clothes rack. His eyes were endless and he wore a pinstriped suit with a red tie.

In lace underwear, Sarah raised a casual brow at him. She instantly sensed something strong in him.

"I'm Pook," he introduced himself without ado. "I'm going to be your public relations manager and agent. I'm going to help you capture the hearts of the people."

Sarah brushed back her long black hair and took him in. "And why couldn't I do this myself? What's so special about you?"

"I specialize in illusions, M'Lady. You have the power to execute them, and I am the master of them. Together, you and I can achieve great things."

Sarah chose a slinky number from the rack and thought his offer over, wondering what he wanted in return.

"My first recommendation would be to go with that more casual dress over there," he said certainly, pointing. "And all I want is leave to do my job all over this land without hindrance. And maybe a place at your side. Don't worry, I have my own office in San Francisco."

She acquiesced and pulled the other dress off the rack. "It couldn't hurt. Show me some of your handiwork."

He smiled, showing a row of sharp teeth. "I already have. What makes you think I'm harmless?"

She liked him instantly.

"You have enemies, my queen," he added. "You should do something about them soon."

"And what would you suggest?"

"An interview with the Rolling Stone, to start off with. By the time you are done, I assure you, your new castle will have practically built itself. All you have to do is plant the idea in the minds of the people. Their fantasies will be the bricks and mortar."