Jareth and Toby flew over the battleground to get a good scope of where the troops had been placed. It had been a long time since Jareth had been to Central Park, so he conjured a tourist map so he could get the lay of the land. Using a normal scrying crystal, he spied on each battalion so he could see which of Sarah's forces were placed where. It worried him that it was so easy to spy on their activities, as there was no doubt in his mind that the enemy was doing the same.

There was a lot of motion on the ground, and even though it was dark, Jareth could catch odd reflections from the streetlamps off of moving metal objects, but it did not appear that much fighting had begun yet. It soon became apparent that some of the usually stationery pieces of art had acquired a life of their own.

In the southeast corner of the park Benedick was leading a battalion to the arsenal in a surprise attack that had quickly overwhelmed the goblins that had been stationed in there. Benedick set up a defensive perimeter around the building so that the enemy might not get hold of the extra munitions.

Ling worked with a group of magically-inclined creatures, mostly of fae or elf persuasion, in what seemed to be a setup of magical traps within the Central Garden.

In the sheep meadow the guinea pigs and mice convened, setting up camps for sleeping between shifts of fighting.

Ashley worked with the Muppets to secure the Marionette Theater. Granen coordinated the gathering of equine resources throughout the park from the stables, sending Hoggle to handle the carousel in the south—the colorful plastic horses had come to life. At Summit Rock, Vindar and Isabelle scouted the landscape and positioned even more troops and camps. Eberon delegated the small ships at the north of the reservoir to various captains.

A very unusual activity was taking place on the great lawn to the south of the reservoir. Gail seemed to be working with a number of men who had brought several truckloads of equipment. He couldn't guess what they were building, or what it had to do with the battle at hand.

Finally he found Sage stationed at The Cliff in the northwest quadrant, where provisions were being stored and guarded within the blockade at the top. Ludo was working alongside a number of other creatures and beast men, some building blockades from trees, Ludo and others of his special gift calling rocks to form small walls that could help protect from projectile weapons.

He was unable to locate Sarah from his preliminary scouting, though he suspected that she was under the protection of her own magic to further prevent her dark counterpart from locating her.

He bent low to speak to the dragon. "Could you take us down next to that elf?"

The dragon's answer was revealed as he landed where bid. Jareth climbed down and helped Toby to his feet, as well. He approached the head of the dragon. "Thank you for your assistance."

The dragon nodded. "Our resources are at your command, when they are needed. I don't think I need to tell you that you will owe us one at the end of all of this, Goblin King."

"Why does everyone still call me that? I am no longer king of goblins, let alone king."

"You will always be Goblin King. After many centuries, a name sticks. Be thankful you don't have the name my mother gave to me."

"What is that?"

"There is a reason mine does not stick. I don't tell it to anyone." He smirked, then rose into the air, the movement from his wings stirring Jareth's hair. "Until we next meet, Goblin King!"

Sage finished giving orders to a number of soldiers before approaching Jareth and Toby. He hugged them both fiercely. "My friend, it is so good to see you."

"How touching, did I cause you concern?"

"I don't worry about you handling yourself in the midst of danger, it's your own bad judgment that causes me the most concern." Sage smiled broadly despite the nerve-wracking circumstances. He looked closely at the man, taking him in. He was different, wearing a fashion reminiscent of his days as king. A black chiffon top barely baring his chest, perhaps a needless contrivance of attire, as the fabric itself was not completely opaque. The hem of the shirt and the jacket that adorned it fell low, almost to his knees. A belt wrapped around the center of the blouse giving it some billow above the waist. The dark gray jacket possessed a dramatic lapel, and long dark pants fell crisply over black leather boots.

Even if he had not known the man to dress his best when feeling strong, he could have quickly guessed the cause of his wardrobe change by merely glancing at his aura. "You have your powers back!"

Jareth smiled. "That I do. And I am no longer to be plagued by the presence of Kaleb."

Toby let out a happy little yelp. "You didn't need my help, after all!"

"So, you are split from him?" Sage added.

"Well, not exactly, but he will no longer be a concern, at the very least."

Sage hit his arm. "To think, these are the happy days!"

"I would not say I was ever one for pedestrian faerytale endings, but I think I would prefer them to our current reality."

Toby looked around, asking, "Do you know where Sarah is? We couldn't find her."

"Let's not talk of it here." The elf looked suspiciously overhead, then winked at the boy. "But, yes, I can make sure you have an audience with her. I know she is eager to see you both."

The thought of seeing her made Jareth feel oddly nervous. If her darker self had found so much common ground with him, how would he feel face to face with her more peaceful half, the ice queen who had blessed him with a visitation in his sleep so long ago? He had changed so much over the last few years, but even now he was a different man than he had been only a few hours ago.

But he brushed it aside. His worries were only decreasing as the day went on. With Kaleb out of his hair and his powers back, he was beginning to feel quite expansive.

As they followed Sage into the blockade, Toby looked up at Jareth and whispered, "I can't wait to see Sarah... I mean, the other Sarah."

Jareth smiled at him. "No doubt it will be a much more pleasant experience than our last Sarah encounter."

##

Sarah focused the energy inward, gathering it into a dark little ball at her core. She reached a thin hand into the large amethyst, focusing the energy then spreading it outside of her, moving it to radiate from the crystal. With Kaleb and Jareth gone, letting go of Toby and all other ties, she had rid herself of all the distractions that had taken her away from the task of conquering the world.

She had lost much ground in the battle. By taking the fight to her city and taking advantage of the influx of worshipers, her lighter half was diverting their focus to her own ends. But there was still a chance to bring the advantage back to her side by using her overwhelming influence to convert those worshippers into an army.

She knew that her lighter half had to be with her troops in Central Park somewhere, though she still could not see her. She had sent her spies to infiltrate and find the location, but she had to admit to herself that she was frightened of the coming confrontation. She didn't know what to expect from their close proximity. She almost worried that they would simply cancel each other out, like opposing energy fields, or a positive and negative that add up to zero.

It was a foolish worry, but foolish worries were increasingly gathering on her periphery. She hated herself for losing sight of Jareth and allowing him to regain his powers. While she knew he was no match for her, her mouth was sour at the idea of letting him regain his self-worth so easily, for feeling as if he had bested her again.

And Toby at his side.

But again, she focused, and pushed them out of her mind.

She had made a major development in recent hours. The amethyst was starting to speak to her, and she was now starting to understand what it had to say.

It told her secrets. It spoke of power radiating, exponentially increased by the joining of their essence. Only days ago she would have been frightened, horrified, at the idea of losing her identity.

But it was time to end this, to take control of these desperately chaotic circumstances, even if it meant submerging herself.

The amethyst asked the question.

She opened her eyes, perfectly still.

"Yes."

Her eyes glowed purple. Awareness. Power.

None of them were hers, but she was theirs.

She concentrated, and the castle changed shape. Not the slow, gradual morphing that had resulted from her subtle influences and thoughts of the last few days, but a fast, startling ripple of change and growth. The outer walls began to crawl and twist into dark knots and branches, snaking over and through each other in wooden sinews. The gnarled tree of a palace grew taller and taller, bringing the glowing throne room higher, until it overlooked the park in the North with ease.

A pool of water oozed around the base, and the ground cracked and deepened in an ever-wider chasm that quickly filled, forming an immense moat.

If one looked at the water just right, the moat held a reflection of a different castle, in a different land. Sunset City. Only those who remembered would notice it, and those who did were decreasing by the moment.

That was done. Now to the return of her troops.

She transported each regiment to a position on the perimeter of Central Park, groups of forty in a nearly impenetrable formation. They appeared one at a time, disoriented from the change of surroundings. She would send a message to Claw soon to give them their new orders.

And now to the final matter.

She moved from the amethyst and into the elevator. The pain of separation was almost too much to bear, but she managed to find her way to the studio, where Lenore had a camera crew waiting.

At this point, any such physical means of presenting her image was just an affectation, but she continued to play along. It would also give her a chance to rest her powers.