Stormlight could do nothing but stare in horror as the sphere of power streaked toward Hotohori, who gritted his teeth and held the Deity Sword before him like a shield, his expression resigned. Stormlight wanted to scream, yell, pound the living daylights out of Jareth, but she was frozen. It wasn’t supposed to end like this! she silently wailed. I’ll never forgive you for this, Jareth! Never!

And then, just as the power was about to strike Hotohori down…it stopped. It just stopped, just like that, hovering harmlessly in midair only inches from the emperor’s pale face. It pulsed once, twice, and then it vanished into midair with a soft poof and a puff of smoke, like a candle being blown out. Hotohori blinked. Jareth blinked.

A deep, crimson light abruptly flooded the room, glowing so brightly that they were forced to shut their eyes against it. The light coalesced into a single, pulsing stream, which immediately surged toward Jareth and hit him with all the force of colliding planets, sending him flying across the room. He hit the far wall and slid down its length to crumple on the floor. Stormlight’s jaw dropped as she stared at the stunned Goblin King. What the…?

"I turn my back for one second, and this is what happens?! Will my children ever learn to behave themselves properly?!" an ancient voice bellowed as a figure suddenly popped out in midair, glaring ferociously down at Hotohori and Stormlight, who proceeded to yell bloody murder and keel over from the shock of being confronted with Taiitsukun’s less than appealing countenance. "Oh, get over it already, you big babies!" Taiitsukun snapped as she floated down to hover in front of Jareth, who was moaning groggily as he slowly sat up.

"Now, as for you…" She reached out to snag Jareth by the ear and haul him physically to his feet. "What’s the big idea, sweeping into my world and stealing away my people to play in your macho, egotistical games?!" she snapped, glaring at the Goblin King, who was attempting to look as dignified as possible in the face of her wrath. "You know there are laws against that!"

"They were interfering with my people," Jareth protested sulkily, gesturing to Stormlight, who looked slightly alarmed.

"You can’t pin this on me!" she protested. "It wasn’t my idea to snatch ‘em, you maniac!"

"Details, details," he purred, smiling at her arrogantly. Then, turning back to Taiitsukun, he added, "You, my lady, are trespassing. I suggest you take your leave while you still can."

"Don’t you take that tone of voice with ME, young man!" Taiitsukun bellowed, brandishing a large paper fan and whacking him smartly over the head with it. "I used to diaper your bottom, just remember that! I can still tan your hide if I need to! Honestly! You young people these days. No respect for your elders. And you’re lucky it’s me that came to collect the Seishi and not Suzaku himself. Or Seiryu, for that matter! If it’d been him, you’d be a smoking pile of ash by now, much as I’m tempted to take care of that job, anyway…"

Jareth, effectively cowed, frowned sulkily and tried his hardest to ignore Stormlight’s shrieks of laughter at the image of him getting his hide tanned by anyone. "I think I like her," the Listian gasped, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes.

"You would," Jareth grumbled.

"Hey! What’s going on in there?"

Nuriko’s head appeared around the corner of the crumbling wall, and he took everything in with one glance; Hotohori—who was still standing, if not a little worse for wear—a rather disheveled Jareth, and Taiitsukun hovering over them all. He raised an eyebrow. "Do I want to know what happened?" he asked wryly, not seeming at all surprised to see the ancient woman floating over everyone’s heads.

"Mommy dearest came to collect her wayward children," Stormlight replied with a grin. "She wiped the floor with Jareth’s ass, too!"

"You don’t say!" Nuriko stepped into the building, followed by the others. Miaka ran to throw her arms around Hotohori, babbling that she was so glad he was okay. He blinked down at her for a moment before hugging her back, but quickly released her upon noticing the look Tamahome was giving them.

"Where’d Nakago get off to?" Tasuki growled, pounding his fist into his palm. "I got a knuckle sandwich with his name on it!"

"Where did Nakago get off to, J?" Stormlight asked, regarding the Goblin King suspiciously. "Did you toss him into an oubliette or something? Not that I’m complaining or anything. That’d be the most sensible thing you’ve done since this insanity started!"

"I sent him back to his world," Jareth replied haughtily. "It was my battle he was fighting. I wasn’t about to let him have all the fun of killing Hotohori!" He winced and rubbed his head. "Although I’m sure if I’d known the old hag was going to show up, I’d have let Nakago have him…"

Stormlight’s brow furrowed and she stepped up to the Goblin King and gazed into his face carefully. "That was quite a hit of power you took. Are you sure you’re okay?" she asked with something that sounded like genuine concern in her voice.

He blinked down at her, obviously surprised at her display of anxiety over his well-being. "Of course, my dear. You don’t honestly think a little hit like that would kill me?" he replied smugly.

"Good!" Stormlight snapped, abruptly scowling, and gave him a hard whack across the arm. "Cause after this little stunt I’m gonna kill you myself!" She whacked him again, and he cringed away.

"So nice to know you care," he muttered, stepping out of firing range.

"I believe there is something else you need to take care of, Goblin King," Taiitsukun stated seriously, holding out her hand. Three little birds fluttered onto her outstretched arm, chirping piteously. "Jareth, I’m sure you know what to do about this." Her tone suggested that there would be hell to pay if he didn’t know what to do about "this". Grumbling slightly, but obviously not daring enough to disobey, Jareth snapped his fingers, and immediately the three birds were engulfed in light. When it faded again, Mitsukake, Soi, and Miboshi were back in their human forms, blinking in surprise and looking around them dazedly. Abruptly, they seemed to realize that they were no longer perched on Taiitsukun’s arm, but were, in fact, standing in midair.

"YAAAAGGGHHHHH!"

The others cringed in sympathy as they looked on. "That’s gotta hurt," Tasuki stated.

"Now, as for you," Taiitsukun began ominously as she loomed threateningly over the Seiryu Seishi. "As there is nothing more I need of you—or have ever needed—I believe it is time for all of you to go back to where you belong." She waved a hand, and in a flash of light, they vanished.

"Awesome! Does this means that we get the Shinzaho?" Miaka asked eagerly. "And how come Yui’s still here? Will she be able to stay with us?" Both girls looked at her hopefully.

"I’m sorry, but she’ll need to return to her place with the Seiryu Seishi," Taiitsukun replied kindly. "I cannot allow Destiny to be changed so drastically. It will take quite a bit of power to set it back on its course as it is…" And she gave Jareth a withering glare. "I will, however, allow you time to bid your farewells before I send you back again," she added, looking at the Miko kindly. "As for the Shinzaho…" She turned to again glower at Jareth, who cringed a little despite himself, and meekly offered the necklace to her. She snatched it from his fingers and huffed. "I think I’ll return this to where it belongs now. Tomite and Hikitsu have been going nuts trying to figure out what happened to it."

Jareth snorted. "Couple of wimps. It was easier than stealing candy from a goblin," he grumbled, then shut up under Taiitsukun’s withering glare.

"Say your farewells now. I will give you a few minutes before I must take you back to where you belong."

"Wait!" Stormlight called, stepping forward. She swallowed. "What will…what’ll happen when they get sent back?"

Taiitsukun’s expression softened slightly; she seemed to know what the Listian was thinking. "I’m afraid that they cannot be allowed to remember anything they went through here," she replied seriously. "To do so would upset the balance of Fate and Destiny."

"They’ll forget everything that happened?" Stormlight repeated, her jaw dropping. "Does this mean they’ll forget everything they learned? What about Yui? I mean…she’s finally come to her senses and now she doesn’t want to be the bad guy anymore…"

"She must be returned. Everything must be as it was before they left."

Yui and Miaka looked at each other with wide eyes, and Miaka latched onto her friend’s arm and glared at Taiitsukun as if daring her to take her.

"Well, this totally bites!" Stormlight complained, glancing back at her friends. "What was the point of all this if they won’t even remember?"

"I’m afraid it is necessary," Taiitsukun replied. "To remember you or anything about you or this place cannot be allowed. The rules governing our worlds have been broken, and must be mended before damage can be done. You were never meant to be a part of this story, Stormlight."

Stormlight sighed. "Make a girl feel appreciated," she grumbled. Then, under her breath, "Guess this means Hotohori won’t remember me, either."

"Good riddance," Jareth snorted, having overheard.

"Shove it where the sun don’t shine, Jareth," Stormlight snapped, glaring at him. "This is your fault! If you had left well enough alone I wouldn’t have met him, and if I hadn’t met him it wouldn’t be so hard to say goodbye! And not just to him! To everyone!"

Jareth muttered to himself and stalked away, and Stormlight kicked a stone out of her way irritably, almost wishing it was his head.

"Don’t be sad, Stormlight," Nuriko told her, coming up beside her. "It was a great adventure while it lasted, wasn’t it?"

"Yeah!" Tasuki agreed, slapping the Listian across the back and nearly sending her reeling. "An’ fer a girl, you ain’t half bad! Ya got spunk!"

"Gee, thanks," Stormlight replied wryly, rubbing her shoulder. "Coming from you I guess I should take that as a compliment."

"That’s about the best compliment you’ll get out of that one, no da," Chichiri said humorously, and she smiled despite herself.

"I’m sorry for all the trouble I caused," she told them. "If I’d known Jareth had something like this up his sleeve, I wouldn’t have goaded him like I did."

"There’s no sense in regretting something that is already done," Mitsukake told her, looking up from where he was healing Hotohori’s injuries.

Stormlight laughed a little. "Even though you spent most of your time as a bird?" she asked.

He merely smiled and stroked Tama-neko’s head, and the cat purred under his touch, obviously glad to have his owner back again.

Stormlight noticed Chiriko standing a few feet away, watching quietly, and smiled at him, realizing that he probably felt left out. "And here is the bravest one of them all," she said, trying to cheer him up.

He blinked up at her in surprise. "Me?" he squeaked.

She grinned. "Yes, you! Hey, you kept Jareth company for this entire ordeal. If tolerating his obnoxious presence doesn’t take courage, I don’t know what does!" she teased, ruffling his ponytail while he giggled and blushed.

She then turned to face Miaka and Yui, who were less than happy with the turn of events. "I won’t forget you! I promise I won’t go back to them!" Yui was saying, hugging Miaka fiercely. "I’ll never let them come between us again, I promise!"

"But how can we stop it, Yui?" Miaka sniffled, for once oblivious to Tamahome’s comforting presence at her back. "I don’t want to lose you again, Yui! I couldn’t bear it! I just got you back again! It isn’t fair!" And both of them burst into a fresh round of tears.

Tamahome looked at Stormlight helplessly, and she gestured at him to step away for a moment. He reluctantly did so, and she laid a hand on their shoulders. "Cheer up, guys. This isn’t the end of the world," she told them, forcing herself to sound optimistic, even though she felt like weeping herself at the suffering she knew they would go through. "If it helps, let me tell you this. Everything works out all right in the end. Don’t worry. I know it does. You don’t lose your friendship. In fact, it becomes stronger than ever when all’s said and done."

"Honestly?" Miaka asked, looking up hopefully with tears shining in her eyes. "Do you really mean that?"

"Hey, have I been wrong so far?" Stormlight asked. "Come on! Trust me on this, okay? You’ll be fine! You just have to…persevere."

"Thank you!" Miaka breathed, throwing her arms around the Listian’s neck.

"But we will suffer, won’t we?" Yui asked quietly. Stormlight sighed. Yui always had been the more suspicious one…

"Yes," she replied, unwilling to lie, although she wasn’t about to admit the whole truth. "There will be hardships coming your way. You will both lose people you care for…" At Miaka’s gasp and her frantic glance at Yui and Tamahome, the Listian smiled and shook her head. "Don’t worry, they survive," she assured her.

Miaka relaxed again, although she looked apprehensive. "There’s no way to change what’s coming?" she asked.

Stormlight regretfully shook her head. "I’m going to let the two of you talk, because I’m afraid it’s the last one you’ll be able to have for awhile." She smiled at them sadly and stepped away, giving Tamahome a reassuring smile. "Take care of her," she told him. "She loves you more than anyone."

"I know," he replied, inclining his head slightly. "I don’t know what I did to deserve someone like her."

She smiled and shrugged. "You were born," she replied simply, and wandered away to let them talk in peace.

She saw Jareth lounging against the far wall, lost in thought as he waited for his "guests" to take their leave of him. Why he didn’t send them away himself, she had no idea, but she guessed he wasn’t about to risk Taiitsukun’s wrath while attempting to.

"So…Jareth, I’ve been wondering something," Stormlight began innocently as she strolled up to him. "If you’re related to Taiitsukun somehow…does that mean you’ll be that ugly when you get to be as old as she is?" Jareth’s surprised expression changed to one of such horror at the thought that she had to laugh. He didn’t even bother to retaliate. Probably he had never thought about it before. Hmmm…I could have some fun with this, the Listian thought evilly. But then, upon taking a look at Jareth’s stricken expression, she decided to take some pity on the guy and not bring it up again.

For awhile, anyway.

"I’m surprised you’re deigning to talk to me after what I’ve put you through," Jareth sniffed, crossing his arms and tapping his riding crop against his side. "Why aren’t you saying farewell to your precious Hotohori?"

Stormlight sighed. "Come on, Jareth! You’re just no fun when you’re acting like a jealous lover," she whined. "By all rights I should be trying to strangle you right about now, but I’m trying to make up, here! Believe it or not, I don’t want you as my enemy!"

"You don’t? Even though I tried to do in your emperor?" he sniffed.

"You didn’t succeed, and that’s the only reason I haven’t shoved that riding crop up your ass by now," the Listian snorted. "Look, I admit that I’ve been ignoring you lately…"

"Damn straight," he groused, ignoring her glare.

"But you had no right to go and mess up these people’s lives just to get at me!" she finished, stamping her foot irritably. "What you tried to do to Hotohori was just downright nasty, Jareth, and I don’t like nasty Goblin Kings!"

"You seem to forget that I am a villain," he huffed.

"No, no, no. Jack the Ripper is a villain. Freddy Kreuger is a villain. Nakago is a villain. You are not a cold-blooded killer! You just have a severe personality complex, is all. Of course, so does Bill Clinton, but that’s another story."

"What are you trying to say?" Jareth snapped. "I have no more patience to deal with you right now!"

She sighed and kicked at the floor. "I guess I’m saying that I still wanna be your Listian, even after all that," she muttered. "Cause as much as I want to, I can’t get you out of my head. You’re my friend, Jareth, not my enemy, and I…care about you. Just…quit acting like such a jerk just ‘cause I happen to like writing about other fandoms besides Labyrinth, okay? I mean, what’re you gonna do next? Kidnap Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask?"

"Don’t tempt me!"

He was silent for a long moment after that, and she finally looked up at his face. His expression was unreadable, as always, and she was about to give up and go talk to the Seishi when he abruptly reached out to pull her into his arms. "Suppose we forgive each other," he murmured in her ear, "and forget that this ever happened?"

"Forget? Now, Jareth, if I do that, I can’t write that story you wanted," she whispered back, smiling a little at his growl of frustration. "If my knowing Hotohori bothers you so much, you shouldn’t have let us meet in the first place, right? He was just an animated character until now." She giggled, and couldn’t help adding slyly, "And now that I know he’s as real as you are…"

Jareth pulled back slightly at that, grinning wickedly as he stared into her eyes. "Maybe I just need to give you the right incentive to forget that upstart," he murmured, and before she could guess his intentions, he had pulled her into a deep, lingering kiss.

When he finally let her go again, she was barely steady on her feet, gazing at him in shocked amazement. "I…I can’t believe you just had the gall to do that!" she sputtered, wrenching herself from his arms. Her entire body was tingling, but she wasn’t about to admit it. She had the sinking feeling that he knew, anyway. "Don’t you ever change?!" she snapped, deciding to go for anger.

"Darling, do you really want me to?" he purred, stroking a finger along her cheek. Then, with a devilish wink, he vanished in a puff of glitter.

"Arrrrgh!" Stormlight stamped her foot hard in frustration. "That…that overbearing, fat-headed, egotistical…male!"

"Did I arrive at a bad time?"

Stormlight whirled around in surprise, and abruptly wished the ground would open beneath her feet, for it was Hotohori who stood there, regarding her curiously. She groaned softly and massaged her temple with her fingers. "Exactly…how much of that…did you see?" she questioned through gritted teeth.

He cocked his head at her. "How much do you think I saw?" he asked in return.

"Don’t play games with me, Hotohori. I get enough of that from Jareth!" she complained. "For your information, he kissed me, not the other way around."

A delicate eyebrow shot up. "He kissed you?"

She blinked at him. "You didn’t see?"

"No."

Stormlight looked at the wall and wondered how many hits it would take to knock herself unconscious.

"I came to say goodbye," Hotohori began delicately. "Taiitsukun will be returning soon, and I didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye to you."

She turned to look at him, her heart suddenly pounding in her throat, and forced a smile. "It’s been some fun, huh?" she replied. "I’m gonna have one heck of a story to write after this!"

"I’m sorry I won’t remember any of it," he told her in a low voice. "I’m sorry I won’t be able to remember you."

Her smile faltered for a moment, but she pasted it back on again. "Don’t worry!" she replied cheerfully. "I can remember for the both of us! That’s enough, right?" She bit her lip, unsure what to say next. Good-byes, she was coming to realize, were very difficult to say…

Abruptly, several frightened shrieks—followed by the thwack of a paper fan over certain heads—warned them of Taiitsukun’s return, and Stormlight felt a sinking. It was time to go back. She fought back tears and straightened up, giving Hotohori an overly-bright smile and sticking her hand out. "Well, it’s been a blast! I’m really glad I got to know you, Hotohori," she announced cheerfully. "I’m gonna miss all of you, ya know? Tell everyone I said good luck, okay?"

Hotohori gazed at the proffered hand, then glanced up at Stormlight’s face, noting the overly-bright sheen of her eyes and the way her lips trembled ever-so-slightly. Smiling softly, he took her hand, and then abruptly pulled her into his arms, locking her in a tight hug. She squeaked in surprise, going stiff for a moment, before slowly relaxing in his embrace. "I was expecting a handshake, but this works, too. How can Miaka possibly resist this?" she murmured amusedly, causing him to chuckle.

He slowly released her and stepped back, resting his hands on her shoulders and regarding her fondly. "You are quite a girl," he murmured. "I think I will miss you."

She smiled back. "No, you won’t," she reminded him. "But thanks for the compliment."

He bowed to her formally, gripping the hilt of his sword, his eyes reflecting his sadness. As he turned to leave, however, she ran to walk beside him, gripping his sleeve. "You won’t remember this," she whispered to him, "but I want you to know that you do find an empress. Her name is Houki, and she is kind and sweet and she loves you with all her heart."

He stopped and turned to stare at her. "Is this true?" he breathed.

She nodded. "I know how much you wanted it to be Miaka," she replied softly. "To be honest…I always wanted it to be Miaka, too. You love her so much…" She sighed wistfully, then seemed to shake herself out of it. "But I think that…with Houki you finally find your peace. You have a son, too, you know. His name is Boushin." She smiled up at him again. "He’s beautiful, just like his father."

"A son," he repeated, his eyes shining with moisture. He gripped her hand gently. "Thank you," he whispered.

She shrugged. "Hey, what are friends for? Now get going. Taiitsukun’s getting impatient." She gave him another smile, then stepped back and watched as he took his place among the group. "Have a good life, guys," she told them. "It’s been fun. I won’t forget you."

A red glow began to surround the little group as they bid their farewells, and slowly they faded into it until there was nothing left but sparkling dust and a few red feathers floating to the ground. Stormlight didn’t hold back her tears as she watched them vanish from her life forever, although her gaze was solely fixed upon a pair of golden eyes. And although she couldn’t be sure, she thought maybe that pair of golden eyes was fixed upon her, in return.

When the light was gone, the Listian sighed and looked around, wondering what on earth to do next. Where was Jareth when you needed him, she wondered grumpily. Abruptly, a wave of exhaustion hit her, making her lose her balance and stumble a few steps. "Now what?" she muttered, feeling her eyes slip shut of their own accord as she began to lose consciousness. Struggling to stay awake, she braced herself for a painful fall, but it never came. Strong arms were abruptly around her, pulling her into a warm embrace, and then she knew nothing more.