Yui was awakened from a deep sleep by a not-so-gentle shaking. Blearily, she opened one eye to see two bright blue eyes staring imperviously back at her. "Nakago," she mumbled, groggily sitting up in the squeaky cot she occupied. "What’s wrong?"

"We’re preparing to leave, Lady Yui," the Seiryu general replied quietly. "Come with me, please."

"Already? But it isn’t even dawn yet," she said through a yawn. She glanced over at the two other women sleeping in the cots beside her. "Let me wake them up, first."

"Their companions will wake them. The others are waiting," he replied, urging her out of the cot.

Still half-asleep, Yui grudgingly allowed herself to be lifted to her feet, stumbling along after the tall Seishi as she ran a hand through her slightly tousled—although thankfully clean—hair. It felt wonderful to be wearing clean clothes again; she and her roommates had taken turns the night before scrubbing themselves in the hot baths provided, and Stormlight had lent them some of the extra clothes she carried in her pack, having released Deedlit with promise of certain painful death if the fairy squealed on them.

Now, as Yui followed Nakago down the stairs into the "lobby", where several other figures were gathered, she frowned. Something was not quite right here. The fog was dissipating from her mind, and along with her newfound clarity came the realization that the only Seishi there were her own. Suboshi smiled at her, a small bird perched on either shoulder, but she did not return it. "Nakago, what’s going on?" she demanded sharply. "Where are the others?"

"It is so very early in the morning, I thought it rude to wake them. So while we begin the final leg of our journey to the castle, they may catch up on their sleep," he replied amiably.

"You’re sneaking off without them?! But I thought we were going to go to the castle together!" Yui exclaimed in horror.

"I’ve thought about that, and it really is best this way. It will save us much time and effort if we simply finish this race and procure the Shinzaho for ourselves," Nakago replied, smirking a little.

"You traitor!" Yui cried, backing away from him. "You planned to double-cross us the entire time!"

"‘Us’, Lady Yui?" Nakago sneered, reaching out to her. "You mean ‘them’, do you not? Or perhaps you’ve forgotten which side you’re on."

"I didn’t forget!" Yui snapped, slapping his hand away. "I’ve just changed my mind after finally realizing what a snake you are! You used me and lied to me and turned me against my best friend to suit your evil-minded plans! Go on to the castle if you want to, but I’m not going! I’m not leaving Miaka again!"

"How very like a woman," Nakago replied conversationally. "However, the rules state that all members of each group must be at the castle in order to win the Shinzaho, and I’m afraid that you are still a member of our assemblage, whether you’ve changed your mind or not. You have no choice in this matter, Lady Yui. The good of Kutou depends upon us."

"The good of Kutou, my ass!" Yui snarled, glaring at him hatefully. "Everyone was right! All you care about is yourself! You could care less about the empire!"

"Lady Yui, I’m hurt that you even suggest such a thing," Nakago replied, his face impassive as he reached out and gripped her arms with both hands. "Come now. Dawn is soon to arrive, and we must be off."

"Let me go!" Yui commanded, feeling the first stirrings of real fear within her. "Suboshi, help me," she pleaded, turning soulful eyes to the young Seishi. To her horror, Suboshi merely frowned and turned away, his fist clenching. Apparently he was not willing to risk Nakago’s wrath, even for her. "Even you, Suboshi?" Yui whimpered. "I thought you were my friend!"

"It’s for your own good," the boy replied, although his voice was pained. But he knew his place. One glance at Tomo’s impassive face told her that she would get no help from him, and of course Soi and Miboshi were of little aid. She was trapped, so she did the only thing she could do.

She screamed.

It was a beautiful scream, sudden and piercing and loud enough to make even the most intoxicated goblin start up from their drunken slumber, before it was abruptly cut off by Nakago’s hand slapping across Yui’s mouth. But by then, of course, it was too late, and the scream echoed clear to the upper rooms, where two young women started up in surprise, glancing at each other with wide eyes before looking toward the empty cot where their friend was supposed to be. "Yui!" Miaka cried, sleep immediately dispelled as she leaped from her bed.

Stormlight followed quickly, looking out the window in time to see a scuffle as the Seiryu Seishi hurried out of the building, a large, squirming bundle tossed carelessly over Nakago’s shoulder while they nearly ran in the direction of the castle. The Listian swore an oath that could melt rock as she whirled around and grabbed her bag from the night stand. "Those jerks double-crossed us, and they snatched Yui," she growled, unceremoniously bursting into the room the remaining Seishi inhabited. Hotohori started up in surprise, automatically reaching for a sword that wasn’t there as he turned startled eyes to the enraged girl.

"Get up. The race is back on," she commanded, shaking Nuriko and Chichiri awake. Tasuki and Tamahome were sprawled out on the floor, and Tasuki remained there, snoring away, as the other climbed blearily to his feet with Miaka’s help.

"Get up, Tasuki," Stormlight insisted, nudging the bandit non-too-gently with her foot. He continued to snore.

"No use trying to get that one up before the sun rises, no da," Chichiri exclaimed, poking at the bandit. "He’s out for the count, na no da."

Stormlight shot the monk a malicious grin. "Nothing a cold shower won’t fix," she replied sweetly, lifting the clay jug of fresh water sitting on the night stand and gleefully dumping it over Tasuki’s head.

His outraged howl was music to her ears, and she grinned as she quickly made her escape, shoving the jug into Tamahome’s hands on the way out.

Tasuki leaped up, spluttering and cursing and glaring wildly around the room for the culprit. His amber gaze narrowed dangerously when it fell upon the empty jug in Tamahome’s hands, who sweatdropped and immediately shoved the offending object into a startled Hotohori’s grasp. Then, with a nervous gulp, he turned tail and scrambled out of the room, swearing silent revenge on the Listian all the while, with the hot-headed bandit howling at his heels.

Stormlight, in the meantime, watched the show from behind the door of an empty room, grinning maliciously all the while. Ah, revenge was indeed sweet.

No sooner had they left the inn when Stormlight stopped dead in her tracks and said, rather nervously, "Uh…we seem to have a slight problem."

"What now?" Tasuki asked grumpily, still glaring daggers at Tamahome, who remained hidden discreetly behind Nuriko. Apparently Tasuki wasn’t willing to believe whatever explanation Tamahome had given him in regards to the water incident, even though Stormlight herself had admitted to the crime. She smirked. Getting bested by a girl was just too much for his delicate male ego to take.

Instead of answering, the Listian pointed a finger to what appeared to be a growing crowd of goblins, all of them wearing make-shift armor that consisted of everything from copper cookware to rusty bird cages, and all of them carrying weapons of various sorts…all aimed directly at the little band of travelers. Stormlight immediately turned around and began ushering her friends back into the inn, slamming the door behind them and barring it securely. She leaned back against it, thumping her head against the wood. "This is just perfect," she muttered.

"Who the heck are they supposed to be?" Tamahome asked.

"The goblin army, I guess. No wonder we’ve hardly seen any of them. They were laying in wait for us," Stormlight replied grumpily. "I knew Jareth wouldn’t make it that easy for us to reach his castle. He isn’t that generous!"

"They don’t look very bright," Nuriko muttered, eyeing the hoard critically through a shuttered window.

"They’re not. But the fact that they outnumber us by about a thousand to one—oh, and not forgetting the fact that they all have weapons—kind of gives them an advantage," the Listian replied dryly. "They’ve got us blocked in here. And ya know, I find it ironic that everyone else in this inn has mysteriously vanished. Kinda gives me the feeling that the owners and guests knew this was coming."

Indeed, looking at their surroundings now, the others noticed a distinct lack of people in the building. "A setup," Tasuki stated obviously.

"So what do we do?" Miaka asked, frowning.

Stormlight shrugged. "Find a way out of here and to the castle." She sighed. "Too bad Didymus went back to his bridge. We could use his help. And where the heck did Deedlit get off to?" She frowned slightly upon noticing the absence of the little pixie. "Hmmph. She probably got tired of waiting for us and flew back to the castle or something. Lazy little cockroach."

"On the bright side, the Seiryu Seishi are probably just as surrounded as we are, no da," Chichiri pointed out, trying to be optimistic. "And they’re out there among them, no da. It should slow their process, no da."

"This is true," Stormlight agreed, scratching her chin thoughtfully. "And maybe this distraction could be a good thing. We need to get Yui back from them. I wouldn’t put it past Nakago to slip her some Kodoku or something to get her back under his control." She gave Miaka a sympathetic smile when the Miko shuddered, eliciting an automatic response from Tamahome in the form of a comforting hug. "Not only that," the Listian continued, "but as long as Yui’s with us, even if the Seiryu Seishi make it to the castle, they won’t win."

"But how to get her back, that’s the question," Nuriko said. "We’re kind of stuck."

"So one of us has to escape," Stormlight explained. "And the rest of us will have to distract the goblins so they don’t notice. Well…not that they’d notice anyway, but better to not take chances."

"Better make it two of us going for Yui," Tamahome suggested, "in case something goes wrong. I’ll go."

"And so will I!" Miaka exclaimed determinedly. Upon seeing her Seishis’ expressions, she latched onto Tamahome’s arm possessively. "Yui’s my friend, and I won’t abandon her to them again!" she insisted.

Before anyone could protest, Stormlight replied, "Never mind. I’ll go. We can’t risk something happening to you, Miaka."

"But I don’t want to leave him alone with them," Miaka whimpered. "I don’t…"

"I’ll go with her."

All eyes immediately turned to Hotohori, and the Listian blinked at him in surprise. He stared back impassively, daring anyone to protest, although he knew what was on their minds. He was the emperor of Konan. Keeping him safe was just as important as keeping Miaka safe. "I am no more important than any other one of us," he added quietly, protesting their unspoken thoughts.

Whatever replies that might have been made were forgotten as an insistent pounding abruptly began on the door. Nuriko looked out the window again and exclaimed, "They’re using a battering ram to break down the door! It’s not gonna last long under that force."

"Very well." Hotohori was suddenly all business. "Find what you can to use as weapons. Check the kitchen for knives and such and use them to fight your way through. And protect Miaka at all costs. Stormlight and I will find a way out." With those orders, he grabbed a surprised Stormlight’s hand and pulled her toward the stairs leading to the upper rooms.

This seemed to release the others, and suddenly everyone was springing into action. Nuriko piled several tables against the door to give it more strength while Tasuki and Chichiri headed to the kitchen in search of suitable weapons. Tamahome pulled Miaka as far from the door as possible, while Mitsukake—still in bird form—perched on her shoulder, twittering nervously. Tama-neko had disappeared, as usual, but Miaka wasn’t too worried about the cat.

It was only when the shutters burst from their hinges that Tamahome realized they had forgotten all about guarding the windows. Loud cackles greeted this success, and several hideous-looking faces leered in at the Seishi and the Miko, who shrieked and scrambled back from the closest window. A horrified yell from Nuriko let them know that he had met with similar difficulties, although a vase smashed over the head of the intruders quickly took care of that problem.

"Catch!" Tasuki yelled from the kitchen, tossing Nuriko a broom as he bounded over the counter.

Nuriko caught it deftly and shot the bandit a disgusted look. "You call this a weapon? What am I supposed to do with it? Sweep them to death?!" he complained loudly.

"Quit yer bellyachin’! It was all we could find!" Tasuki snapped, glaring at the purple-haired Seishi.

"Somebody conveniently went and took all the sharp objects from the kitchen, no da," Chichiri explained as he made his own appearance, wielding a shabby-looking mop. "At least we’re not completely defenseless, na no da!"

"This is embarrassing," Nuriko muttered as he shoved the end of the broom into a goblin’s gut and pushed the creature back out the window. "Fighting with a bunch of cleaning supplies! Couldn’t you have at least gotten me a kettle or something?!"

Tamahome, who was holding what looked like a shovel, used the blunt end to knock a small goblin who had managed to get inside across the head, and the other end to pick it up and toss it back out the window. He grinned. "Well, they do have their uses," he replied while Miaka cheered him on.

Hotohori and Stormlight were facing problems of their own. They had reached the upper level and were now staring down through the window of Stormlight’s former room at the swarm of goblins milling below them. The sun was rising now, casting its deep red light over the city and its occupants, giving the creatures an almost hellish glow. "There are so many," Hotohori exclaimed in awe. "And you say all of these were once children?" He looked horrified at the thought.

"Afraid so. Most of them, anyhow," the Listian replied grimly. "But now isn’t the time to think about it."

"Of course. We have more worrisome problems." Hotohori leaned out the window and looked upwards. "The roof isn’t too far up from here," he added. "We need to get onto it somehow. Maybe we can escape notice if we travel by rooftop."

"It seems a little risky. Not all the houses are in as good repair as this inn is," Stormlight pointed out. Besides, she added silently, shuddering, I really don’t like heights…

As if sensing her thoughts, the emperor turned to her and met her eyes. "I won’t allow you to fall," he assured her gently. "Trust in me."

She blinked at him, then slowly nodded, and with a smile he stepped up onto the window ledge and leaned out to grip the edge of the roof—which curled upwards slightly in an almost whimsical fashion—pulling himself up with ease. Stormlight took a deep breath and followed, hoping she was strong enough to do so. She wasn’t extremely light, after all, and pull-ups had never been her strong point in gym class.

She gripped the edge of the roof and took another deep breath, pulling herself upward enough so that she could get more leverage on the roof with her arms. Even so, she still found herself scrabbling for a decent hold, and might have slipped if Hotohori hadn’t gripped her arms and pulled her further up until she could get her legs over the side. "Thanks," she gasped, standing up carefully on the rather steep roof.

"You’re quite welcome," he replied as he edged his way toward the closest goblin hut, scooting crab-style as it was safer than standing up. She followed him, trying not to look down. The last thing she needed now was to panic at the height and freeze up.

"At least nobody’s noticed us yet," she said, trying to lighten the mood. It might have worked, too, if a crudely-made arrow hadn’t chosen that moment to zing past her ear, missing her face by an inch. She squeaked in shock and froze, just as a shout rose up from below them. "Eh…okay, I take it back," the Listian squeaked as she dared a peek over the edge, seeing that several of the goblins were now looking in their direction, and pointing arrows at them, to boot. "Awwww, come on, fellas! Play fair!" she complained loudly, dodging another arrow and nearly unbalancing herself in the process.

"Might I suggest we make haste?" Hotohori exclaimed nervously, eyeing the rooftop before them. "We’ll have to jump across. Luckily, this one seems to be relatively flat."

"Well, that’s loads of comfort," Stormlight muttered.

"Excuse me?"

"Eh…never mind. Okay. Well…um…I guess there’s no going back now, huh?" she replied, giving him a wry glance. Another arrow zinged by, taking a small slice out of Hotohori’s hair on the way. He looked shocked as he picked up the shorn-off chunk. "My hair!" he exclaimed in outrage, glaring wrathfully down at the offending goblins.

"Don’t worry, nobody’ll even notice it," Stormlight hastily assured him, half-fearing that he’d leap off the roof after the goblin. "Come on, we have to get to Yui!" She tugged anxiously at his arm, and he reluctantly conceded.

The goblin house was no more than five feet across from the inn, although it was a good deal lower than the inn’s roof was, and Hotohori took a running jump—rather a dangerous thing to do on such a steep, slippery roof—and leaped into the air, sailing through a hail of arrows and small spears and landing on the other side unscathed. He rolled a few feet to break his fall, then stood up and gestured for Stormlight to follow him. She managed to calm her erratically pounding heart enough to get to her feet. Then, she also took a running jump and leaped from the roof of the inn, not able to hold back a short scream as five feet of empty air appeared beneath her. In another moment, though, she hit solid wood and rolled, laying sprawled out on her back and panting for breath. Hotohori’s face appeared above her, and he was smiling impishly. "Now, was that really so awful?" he teased gently.

She shot him a withering glare. "If you weren’t my favorite Seishi, I’d slug you for that remark," she retorted, standing up and brushing herself off.

Hotohori merely smiled.