She woke up to the caws of blackbirds and the rustling of dry leaves. Moaning slightly, she raised her head and pushed dark blond hair out of her eyes, looking around warily. Where am I? she thought, frowning. She'd been in her bedroom watching TV, and Jareth had shown up and…

She was abruptly wide awake as she leaped to her feet and took a good look at her surroundings. Dry, flat, barren, with a few stunted trees to break the monotonous landscape, a strangely familiar fountain, thorn bushes…and rising above it all…a wall. A very familiar wall with a pair of large, wooden doors set into the pale stone.

"He wouldn't dare!" she screeched, gaping at the solid formation that seemed to stretch on forever on either side of the entrance. Releasing a moan, she sank down on her haunches. "Or maybe he would…" she whimpered, head drooping.

Several low moans startled her into releasing a yelp and spinning around so fast she lost her balance and landed on her rear. Then her jaw dropped again as her eyes took in what every shred of common sense told her could not possibly be there. Several (or more like seven or eight…) prone figures lay sprawled on the dusty ground, dressed in colorful outfits that looked fit for travelers. Travelers from a certain time and place. Like ancient China. Some of them lay still, but at least two were beginning to stir. "I don't believe this…" she muttered, crawling over to the closest one. When she reached him, she bit back a gasp and her eyes widened.

"OhmygoshohmygoshohmyGOSH! It's him!" she breathed, gazing down into the very real face of Hotohori. "I don't believe this! It's got to be a dream!"

To make sure, though, she reached out to brush a few strands of soft, dark hair out of his beautiful face. An electric tingle shot up her arm at the feel of warm skin beneath her fingers, and her breath caught. It really is him! WAI! She barely refrained from releasing a loud whoop at the discovery. Well, I've discovered it's him…so now what do I do? He probably isn't gonna be very happy when he wakes up, and I can't use a sword to save my life…even if I had one to use…

Her eyes fell on the gilded scabbard resting at the emperor's hip, and she bit her lip. Probably, it would be best to disarm him. At least until she could explain where in the world—or other world—they were and convince him that she wasn't the culprit. She noticed a mop of fire-red hair off to her right, and decided that relieving the hotheaded Tasuki of his tessen might be next in line. She didn't relish being burned to a crisp by a fire-shooting fan…

Cautiously, she reached over Hotohori's body and gripped the scabbard with one hand and the hilt of his sword with the other, preparing to draw it free.

A hand shot out and caught her wrist in an iron grip, and she released a startled squeak as her eyes flicked to his face. Dark, golden eyes were regarding her with a mix of confusion and anger, and the sensuous mouth was set in a tight line. Until he asked, "Might I inquire as to what you think you are doing?" That deep voice, soft and seductive…and as hard as iron. She suppressed a shiver—now was not the time to let her hormones get the better of her—and swallowed nervously as he smoothly sat up, forcing her to rise, as well.

"Um…this isn't what it looks like," she began sheepishly.

"So you weren’t attempting to steal my sword?" Hotohori asked with wry amusement, his golden eyes gazing at her sternly.

She rolled her eyes. "I wasn't stealing it!" she retorted. "Or…well, maybe I was, but I was gonna give it back! I just wanted to make sure I got a chance to talk before you cut me up into itty bitty pieces…"

Soft scuffling interrupted her speech, and she turned her wide-eyed gaze to the other figures, who had finally begun to wake up, sitting up slowly and rubbing their heads.

"What happened?"

This question came from a very pretty man with long, purple hair and large, dark eyes. No wonder everyone thought Nuriko was a woman when they first met him, she thought to herself as the Seishi eyed her with suspicion. He really is as pretty as Hotohori! Well…almost.

Off to the left Chichiri and Chiriko were just rising to their feet, and Mitsukake was sitting up groggily, Tama-neko on his usual perch on the man's shoulder.

"What the @#%$ is goin' on here?!" The sudden, outraged bellow caused everyone to jump, turning startled gazes to Tasuki, who was now wide awake with tessen in hand. He bared his teeth, revealing sharp canines, and glowered through amber eyes only a shade lighter than Hotohori's. "Who the hell are you?!" he barked when his gaze fell upon the Listian.

She gulped and took an involuntary step back, keeping a wary eye on the iron fan he held. Solid iron…so this means that Jareth snatched 'em all sometime after the first failed summoning…although Nuriko is still alive, so it can't be too far into the story yet… Out loud, she replied, "My name is…uh…well, you can call me Stormlight, I guess."

"Stormlight, eh? Well, I don't suppose you know where we are?" Hotohori asked sternly. "We were preparing for a journey, and suddenly a strangely dressed man appeared out of nowhere and threw a some kind of shining sphere, and then…well, I don't know what happened next. We somehow ended up here. I don't recognize this landscape."

Stormlight winced. "Well…that’s sorta ‘cause you're not in China anymore," she mumbled. "You've been…er…kidnapped by the Goblin King, and this place is the Labyrinth, his kingdom…"

Hotohori frowned. "I have never heard of a place called the Labyrinth. Is it across the sea?"

Insert sweatdrop. "Uh…not exactly…"

"Hey! Is everybody okay?"

This new voice was female, and Stormlight looked over to see a young girl with brown hair done up in odango, dressed in a brown school uniform, looking around cautiously. Beside her stood Tamahome, an arm around her protectively as he glared around, and Stormlight's jaw dropped. "Oh, great! You brought Miaka here, too?!" she bellowed, throwing her hands up in the air, much to the others' discomfiture; they were staring at her as though she’d suddenly grown an extra head or two. "Get your skinny ass out here, you poofy-haired, tights-wearing pansy!"

"That will be quite enough of those insults!" came the immediate, somewhat disgruntled reply, and Jareth suddenly appeared in a huge cloud of glitter, managing to startle all seven Seishi and their Miko into near-heart failure. He was quite amused about that, of course.

"Jareth…sweetie…what do you think you’re doing? And why are the Suzaku-sichiseishi standing at the gates of your kingdom?" Stormlight asked sweetly through her teeth as she grabbed a handful of his shirt in one fist to drag him down to her five-foot-three level.

His usual smirk appeared. "Why, don't you like my little surprise? Seeing as how you're so fond of these people, I thought perhaps a little jaunt through the Labyrinth might be a treat for you. You've never actually gone through it before, after all, as most of my Listians have," he replied, smoothly untangling her hand from his shirt and stepping away.

"I never wanted to before!" Stormlight yelled, stepping back and crossing her arms stubbornly. "And how could you bring them here? They have nothing to do with this! You're totally gonna mess everything up!"

Jareth gave a sigh that spoke of long-suffering endurance and shook his head slowly. "No matter what I do, it's never good enough, is it?" he pouted. "Really, dearest, I'm only trying to do you a favor here." His face brightened. "Think of it as the inspiration you need to write a truly spectacular story!" he added wickedly.

"Inspiration! I'll inspire you!" Stormlight growled as she started for the arrogant king, only to be stopped by Hotohori's slender hand resting firmly on her shoulder. Surprised, she looked up at him, barely fighting down a blush as his intense golden gaze met hers.

"Please…will you explain to us what is going on?" he pleaded softly. "You appear to be as much of a victim as we are, and yet you seem to know who this man is. And how is it that you know who we are?"

Stormlight winced. "Well…see…it's kinda like…the thing is…JARETH! A little help here?!" She shot the smirking king an exasperated glance.

"What she is so…eloquently…attempting to say is that I have taken you from your world, and she from her world, and have brought you all into my world to undergo a small challenge."

Here Stormlight snorted at that little understatement.

"As for how she knows of you," he continued, choosing to ignore the Listian, "well, you are quite popular and well-known by some people of her world…although just why is beyond me." He lifted his nose in the air disdainfully and gave the emperor the once-over. Hotohori raised a delicate eyebrow and returned the favor, with only slightly less maliciousness.

Stormlight rolled her eyes. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the First International Egomaniacs Convention… She immediately felt guilty for thinking such a mean thought about Hotohori. He didn't deserve that. Jareth, now, that was okay. He was obnoxious. Hotohori's vanity was simply cute. "Look, Jareth, as much as I love watching you flex your ego, might you skip the display and get right to the important part here? These people have a world to save, after all, and I have to work tomorrow!"

Jareth sniffed and crossed his arms. "You are so impatient," he admonished.

"Jareth…"

He chuckled, clearly enjoying himself. "Right. The challenge. Now, let's see…what would make a suitable challenge for the amazing Suzaku-sichiseishi…" His voice nearly dripped with sarcasm.

Stormlight's jaw dropped. "You mean you don't know?!" she replied unbelievingly.

He shot her a sulky look. "I am merely…now how would you put this…‘winging it’? I can't be expected to have an instantaneous plan all at once, now can I?"

Stormlight groaned and slapped a hand to her forehead. "How do I get stuck in situations like these?" she moaned, and was rewarded with a sympathetic pat on the shoulder by Chichiri, who had wandered over to listen in on the conversation.

"You seem to be a little stressed, no da," he said kindly.

"Gee. Is it that obvious?" she retorted, then grimaced. "I'm sorry. That was uncalled for. You're all just as stuck as I am. I'm afraid it's my fault, too," she apologized.

"That's okay." This came from Miaka, who skipped over and smiled at her cheerfully. "I'm kinda getting used to getting sucked into other worlds by now," she added, giggling. "One more certainly won't make a difference."

Stormlight smiled back. "Well, when you put it that way…" she replied, then added, "It's nice to meet you, Miaka."

Miaka looked confused. "How do you know my name?" she asked.

Stormlight felt a sweatdrop coming on. "Er…it’s kinda hard to explain…" she stammered, scratching her hair. "Let’s just say I keep…uh…well informed."

Miaka looked confused, but she didn’t pursue the subject.

"As fascinating as this conversation is, might I have your attention back here, to me?" Jareth's voice cut in snappishly.

Stormlight rolled her eyes. "Oh, I'm so sorry for ignoring you for more than thirty seconds," she retorted, not the least bit cowed by the annoyed expression on his face. "So have you come up with a decent challenge yet? I'm sure we don't want anyone dying of old age here…"

Jareth's expression turned sly as he regarded her, and she felt a sinking in her stomach. She knew what that look meant, and she could tell by the wary expressions of the Seishi that they were more than halfway to figuring it out for themselves. "As a matter of fact, my dear," he purred, "I have come up with a perfect challenge for all of you, and it involves…this." And he held up his hand, which flashed with light. When it died, she saw that he held an elaborate, golden necklace that flashed with the fire of precious gems.

"What is that?" Chiriko, the youngest of them, asked curiously.

"Curse it," Stormlight hissed softly, immediately recognizing it. "You guys don't know what that is yet?" Then she realized that they wouldn’t. Nuriko was still alive, after all, and it had been his death that had allowed them to find it in the first place.

"It looks like a necklace," Hotohori exclaimed, frowning slightly, and Stormlight sighed.

"That, my friends, is the talisman you're seeking," she explained in a weary tone. "That's the Shinzaho."

The startled exclamations were music to Jareth's ears, and he grinned as he took in their shocked expressions. "You are absolutely right, my dear," he replied. "This is the treasured item they so desperately seek to save their kingdom, or empire, or whatever quaint little name it’s given. This will be the reward at the end of the challenge."

"What challenge, Jareth?" Stormlight asked through gritted teeth.

"Why, a race of course," he replied, as though it should have been the most obvious thing in the world. "A race against other opponents through my Labyrinth. The first to reach my castle will win this little beauty here, and you will all be sent back to your perspective worlds. Simple as that."

"You wish us to race against each other to reach the same goal?" Tamahome questioned suspiciously. "It doesn't seem to be that difficult…"

"There's something he's not telling us," Stormlight quickly intervened. "It's never simple where he's concerned. Go ahead, Jareth. Tell us the rest of it. Who will we be racing against? It can't be each other; there's no point to that since we're all on the same team anyway. Or do you plan on only releasing the winner back to their world and keeping everyone else here?"

"Why, I hadn't thought of that," Jareth said with well-feigned surprise, and grinned at the expression on his Listian's face. "Don't worry, dearest. I have no intention of keeping any of them here. I steal only children, remember?"

At this, little Chiriko's eyes widened and he attempted to hide discreetly behind Mitsukake's long tunic. Jareth noticed and shot him a toothy grin.

"Then what are you planning to do?" Stormlight continued, searching Jareth's face for answers. There was something not quite right about this… "Who are we to race against?" she demanded again, a nagging suspicion hovering in her mind.

His smile was positively feral. "Why, who would be more appropriate than the ones they already race against in their own world?"

There was a sudden, deathly silence, and in that time the air suddenly began to glow, forming a large, glowing dome a little distance from the group. Within the dome, shadowy figures began to form, growing in size and shape until seven individual characters could be distinguished, laying on the ground in much the same way the Seishi and their Miko had first appeared. Then the glow faded, and the figures could be clearly seen.

"Oh no," Miaka whispered, her face going pale as her eyes fell on another young girl laying closest to her, with short blond hair and a uniform exactly like her own.

"The Seiryu Sichiseishi…" Stormlight murmured, turning to Jareth with wide eyes and pale face. "No. Jareth, you can’t do this! You have no idea who you're messing with!" she protested. "Please…stop this before…"

"My dear, this is my game, and I can do as I please," he interrupted with a cold smile. "Your friends need a good challenge, and what could be more perfect than the very ones they're attempting to defeat in the first place? Don’t you agree? You know how I do so love irony."

"No, I don’t agree!" Stormlight snapped. "You send them back right now, do you hear me?!" But she was cut off by Jareth's finger covering her lips. The people within the dome were beginning to stir, and Jareth nodded firmly, quite satisfied with himself.

"Time to greet our newest guests," he proclaimed regally. "Come, my dear, we mustn't be rude, now." He strode toward the dome, and only Stormlight heard his final words as he left her side.

"Let the game begin…"