ka·lei·do·scope

/kəˈlīdəˌskōp/ a situation, pattern, etc. containing a lot of different parts that are always changing.

-Oxford Dictionary


Morpheus took in the mortal before him, furious that one such as her would interfere with his realm.

She had no right to take control of the Dreaming. Destroying it on top of that was unspeakable. It did not matter if this was done purposefully or not, for the consequences of those actions were the same.

Taking his pouch of dreamsand from his cloak, he blew a handful on her before enveloping himself in his cloak, disappearing into the Dreaming.

Encased in an hourglass, the mortal put her hands on the glass walls, eyes large and frightened as the sand from atop trickled down on her, bit by bit. Soon, it would completely engulf her and suffocate her.

The only reason she wasn't dead yet was because he wanted answers.

"Who are you, mortal woman?"

His voice boomed with the majesty and ferocity of a king, leading his soldiers into battle.

Coming closer, he stopped suddenly. Those forest-green eyes were unmistakable. As if he could forget.

Sarah Williams, The Champion of the Labyrinth. This was not someone he could forget easily.

The Labyrinth was not meant to be bested. It was meant to be a place of reflection for one's actions and guide them in the real world as they took charge of their destinies.

Her victory drained much of the Goblin King's power, and by extension, the Dreaming. He had been furious with King Jareth for allowing her the chance to win. He chastised Jareth and temporarily stripped him of his title as Delegator of Dreams as a result.

Defeating the Labyrinth also meant defeating a part of Destiny. This mortal woman had been touched by two Endless realms and the Faerie realm.

Destiny did not retaliate or punish Jareth for her victory, but Morpheus could tell that his eldest sibling was most vexed by the events.

In the back of his mind, Morpheus recalled that Jareth had started a friendship and courtship with her. He could not stop him, nor did he see a reason to.

He paid no heed, for humans and faerie often intermingled in relations of all kinds. It wasn't his business. He did not interfere with the Goblin King's personal life, just as he expected the Goblin King to not interfere with his.

With Sarah destroying the Dreaming, well, he was not going to stand by and let it happen.

"I asked you a question, Vortex."

Sarah didn't understand why he was asking her all of these questions. All her mind understood was that she was dying.

The sand was falling on her and now rising to her chest as she tried to swim upwards. She could not breathe, for that didn't fit with the paradigm of the situation she was in.

She could not answer his questions, even if she wanted to. She could hardly even think of her own name.

"Very well." Morpheus unfolded his arms, hand out and palms upward. "I take no pleasure in taking a life. But I will do what I must to save the Dreaming."

The stars in his eyes sparkled brighter. The fire that made up the hem of his cloak roared as his hands rose, magic and power in his palms. Sarah's mouth fell open in a silent scream.

"Stop!"

Morpheus turned, snarling at the fae king. "You knew, didn't you? You knew that your woman was the cause of the destruction of the Dreaming and did nothing to stop her, just as you did thirteen years ago when she ran your Labyrinth?"

Jareth did his best to not look at Sarah, but it was difficult not to. He was here for her, but he had to focus on Lord Shaper. He allowed himself one small moment of relief that Sarah was not yet dead.

"I did not know, My Lord. I only suspected it to be so."

"Have you no respect for your duties? For your station?" Morpheus continued to chastise him, his voice like a whip, every syllable striking Jareth.

"You knew that she's a vortex. You know what consequences that brings and yet discard them as mere suggestions. You understand nothing."

"I understand nothing?"

Jareth held a crystal in his hand, eyes aflame with red fury. "I understand love and to not see others as mere characters, unlike yourself. When the script in your mind doesn't go the way you anticipate, you give up. Just as you did with Nada, and with any other lover you ever had!"

Jareth knew he crossed a line, but he couldn't help himself.

Throughout the time he had worked with Lord Shaper, they carefully danced around the subject of their personal lives or asking about it with each other. Though Morpheus did not have eyes of white and pupils, Jareth could feel the wrath coming towards him in those pools of stars.

"How dare you?" Morpheus would have slammed his fists on a table if there was one.

"I gave you a piece of my power. Destiny gave you a piece of his, and you let one mortal with not even one percent of your life expectancy come between your duties and our once cordial alliance?"

"My duties?" Jareth taunted back. "Is the Dreaming not your realm and your responsibility?"

He laughed without humor.

"You claim to know so much about duties and the realm, but you know nothing about Sarah. You think she's a vortex, but she's not even that!"

"Then what is she, all-knowing king?" Morpheus mocked, his voice laced with acid.

Jareth could see Sarah struggling to breathe. She would be fine, at least for now. Lord Shaper would have to kill her with his own hands in order to end her life.

While she was encased in the hourglass, she was safe for at least a little while, even if she was suffering. While imprisoned in such a fashion, she was not a danger to the Dreaming and not a danger to herself.

It would not hold her for long, but hopefully long enough for Jareth to do what he needed to do. It broke his heart to see her suffering, but he had to try to convince Lord Shaper to devise a solution without killing her.

"A vortex is the center of a disaster. It sucks all dreams to itself, merging dreams and reality until the very fabric of existence has been destroyed. Sarah is not a vortex, she is something we have yet to see."

The crystal he had been holding in his hand transformed into a tube of sorts, colorfully decorated. He held it to Lord Shaper, who eyed it suspiciously but took it. He spun it, looking at the ever-changing patterns of divided light.

"There are similarities, but they are different. She is what I would call a Kaleidoscope," Jareth pressed on. "The dreams of others are constantly changing, which then changes the trajectory of the world as people change reality due to the influence from their dreams. No matter how one turns it, the kaleidoscope will not bring back the same pattern it had before."

With a hand, Jareth drew a circle. In that circle, he projected an image of the earth that slowly fragmented into little pieces, reassembling itself incorrectly.

"She does not suck dreamers into one dream like a vortex does. However, she does send broken patterns of dreams to be scattered all over the world, to the point where the universe no longer makes sense. This explains the chaos in the Dreaming's library."

He waved a hand against the image to dispel it.

"Unlike a vortex, a kaleidoscope does not tear down the walls between dreams and reality. Those walls are still intact, though the pressure of such dreams from another dreamer may destroy the mind of another."

Morpheus slowly lowered the kaleidoscope, looking directly at Sarah. "This does not explain how she became so in the first place. I suppose you know why?"

Jareth swallowed. This was the part he did not want to reveal. He could not avoid such a direct question, especially when he had already angered Lord Shaper. "Yes, Lord. It's from her status as the Champion of the Labyrinth."

Morpheus still did not look at Jareth. His grip tightened on the kaleidoscope. "You gave her your powers, didn't you?"

Jareth clasped his hands behind his back to prevent Lord Shaper from seeing his shaky hands.

"As I do all my runners, yes. The power to manipulate dreams in the space meant for them as per our contract."

"Don't toy with me, child," he snarled. "You gave her much more than that."

Jareth flinched as he was called "child." He wrung his hands, an old habit from his childhood whenever he was so worn down, he was unable to hide his emotions any longer.

"Inadvertently, yes. I… I had no idea that if she would win, she would have the power equal to that of a thousand dreamers. I did not anticipate the creatures she gave to life would remain even after her run ended."

"You are deflecting." The tone in Morpheus's voice grew ever so slightly harder. "If that was the issue, we would have discussed it during the temporary strip of your Dreaming powers. What did you give her?"

Jareth did not respond at first.

"It appears you have lost your tongue." The stars in Morpheus's eyes flashed dangerously and his voice lowered threateningly. "I will ask again. What did you give her?"

Jareth, unable to hold eye contact, gazed downward. He was not ashamed of what he gave, only ashamed of the trouble it was causing them.

"I gave her power over myself."

Perhaps, my dear Sarah, Jareth thought to himself, I had no power over you. But you had all the power over me.

Had Morpheus been a living being and not a personification of dreams, he would have turned red in his anger.

"You fool! Now she has power over every aspect of you, including your powers that she knows not what to do with! You know what this entails."

Jareth carefully walked to Lord Shaper, hoping that he would understand. In a show of the deepest deference, he went on his knees, bowing at Morpheus' feet.

"She does not know what she's doing. Please, Lord. Release her. Let us find a solution together. Please."

Morpheus was in no forgiving mood. He had been imprisoned for three-quarters of a century, dealt with his creations gone rogue, needed to rebuild the Dreaming, and much more.

Having a faerie king openly question and degrade him in front of a mortal did not help his mood, especially when that mortal was ruining all that he was working toward.

Still, if he was not so exhausted to the bone, he might have given Jareth the chance to speak some more. He had never seen the Goblin King beg before.

"I do not have much energy left to encase her where she is. If I let her out, she will destroy more Dreamers. Many have already died by her hand. Many more are merely existing as shells of themselves. I must let her out soon, and when she does, I will do what I need to protect the Dreaming. My duty is to the Dreaming, not to one person."

"No!"

Jareth boldly grabbed ahold of Lord Shaper's wrist, momentarily shocking him. No one, who fully knew who he was, had ever dared to touch him like this before.

"Lord, I beg of you!"

"Enough." Morpheus extracted himself from Jareth.

"She is mortal, she was bound to die one day. Treasure the memories you have, grieve, and move on. You cannot trade the world for one person. That is your duty."

"Then another should have been chosen in my place!" Jareth stood, coming in between Morpheus and Sarah.

"I would not just let the world fall apart for her, I would destroy the very universe for one last kiss from Sarah."

There was no negotiation. He would always love Sarah. He would always be hers and put her first. He could not stop it, even if he tried.

Morpheus was seemingly unmoved. "Stand aside, Goblin King."

If Jareth thought for a moment that he had a chance to fight Morpheus with and save Sarah, he would have, even at the expense of the world. In that sense, he was still the very same villain that had tempted her so many years ago.

However, he knew that he was no match against the Lord of Dreams. He would die, and Sarah would also die. There was no winning if he went that route.

He swallowed thickly, taking off his horned medallion. The very same that Lord Shaper made from the sands of dreams to signify his station as his Delegator of Dreams.

"No. If you will not leave Sarah alone, then I will also do what I must for her."

Morpheus eyed the medallion cautiously.

"King Jareth-"

"Sarah!" Jareth called to her, holding his medallion.

Tears gathered in his eyes, and he let them fall freely.

"Do not mourn for me long, for you deserve to live the fullest of lives. Thank you for all you have done for me. You have given me the greatest gift of allowing me to love you and loving me in return. I'm sorry for leaving you like this, but I have no choice. I love you from the moon to the stars and an eternity after that."

Closing his eyes, he casted a spell, crushing the medallion with his gloved hand until it turned into glittering dream-sand.

"Thank you for having me, My Love."

One by one, the grains fell to his feet, taking an eternity in the space of a mere second. He unfurled his fingers as the grains dissipated back into the Dreaming.

A white light enveloped Jareth, increasing in intensity until everyone was blinded.

As for Jareth, he found himself standing inside his chambers once more, looking down on his body.

"Are you ready, King Jareth?"

Jareth turned, knowing instantly who the friendly voice was. A small loop was painted under her left eye. He recognized this as the Eye of Horus of the Egyptians.

Her necklace was an ankh, the only shining thing on her as the rest of her outfit was midnight black. She was petite and sweet-looking, with the eyes of a friend and the embrace of a mother.

She was just the kind face he needed.

"Lady Death. It is an honor to greet you." He bowed respectfully. "I suppose, yes, I am ready, but is anyone ever really ready?"

"Usually, not, no," she agreed.

She held her hand out to him as an offering. "It doesn't matter though. I'm here for everyone anyway. I'm here for you."

For a brief moment, he wondered if he should continue on with Death or go back to Lord Shaper. After all, as the Goblin King, he was the Delegator of Dreams, which meant that contractually, he was allowed to stay in the Dreaming until the Dreaming itself died.

He would be able to see Sarah in her dreams, continuing adventures as they could not in life. As he died in the Dreaming, he could exist like that of Lucien or Matthew.

The thought broke his heart.

His Sarah deserved to live a full life. She should mourn for him and move forward. If he stayed in the Dreaming, she would waste her life away by sleeping, losing touch with reality.

With this in mind, he took Death's hand, and off they went into the eternities.


DON'T GET MAD AT ME Jareth will come back. He is actually dead but I promise that he will be alive and whole again by the end of the story lol. Sorry for anyone who hates spoilers but I do want my usual readers to know that I stand by my usual formula of Jareth and Sarah in a happily ever after story.

The part where Sarah is stuck in the hourglass is inspired by the Disney movie Aladdin where Jasmine gets stuck in an hourglass in one of the final scenes of the movie.

Also, the idea of Jareth choosing to crossover instead of remaining as a ghost was inspired by (at least the comics) where Morpheus tells Rose Walker that she can stay in the Dreaming when she dies as she died in the Dreaming. I'm not sure how the whole thing would work, since Hector Hall wasn't allowed to stay. If anyone knows the differences, feel free to comment and tell me but if not, take it up with the man (Gaiman) himself, lol.

Thank you to those who are leaving comments. I appreciate them very much and look forward to reading more!