"This is not good," Stormlight muttered, quickly following Jareth to the magical dome. She only hoped the Goblin King had enough sense to keep the Seiryu Seishi trapped in there for awhile, unless he wanted a real battle on his hands; considering both sides were loaded with weapons, it didn't take a genius to figure out what would happen next if anyone escaped.

"You know, it isn't too late to undo this mess," she suggested once she caught up to Jareth, coming to a halt behind Tasuki, who was staring at the dome in openmouthed amazement. "Send them all back, erase their memories, no harm done…"

"My dear, you are making quite a pest out of yourself," Jareth interrupted, shooing her away in the manner one would shoo a particularly irritating fly. "Go talk to your friend there."

Stormlight's jaw dropped, and then she glared. "Patronize me, will you?! We'll just see about that!" she growled, reaching out to snag Tasuki's tessen from its holder. She ignored the red-haired bandit's howl of protest, preparing to beat the Goblin King senseless with it before Tasuki succeeded in wrestling it away from her again.

"Crazy chick," he muttered, securing the fan back in its place across his back. "You keep yer @$%# hands off my fan!"

"Please forgive my young friend's childish behavior. And I do hope being locked in my dome isn't too stressful for your Miko," Jareth purred, addressing Nakago, who looked like he'd have loved to rip the Goblin King's throat out with his teeth.

Stormlight knew exactly how he felt.

"Who are you, and why have you brought us here?" Yui demanded, straightening proudly and glaring at Jareth.

Jareth smiled, showing sharp canines (which were much like Tasuki's, Stormlight suddenly realized. Were those two possibly related somehow?), and bowed formally. "I am the Goblin King, Jareth, and this is my kingdom, the Labyrinth. I have brought you and your servants here to undergo a small challenge that I believe will be of great interest to you."

Yui regarded him suspiciously. "What…sort of challenge?" she asked cautiously.

"A race," he replied. "A race against the Suzaku Seishi, whom I have also brought here…also against their will, I might add. I believe you know their Miko…?" He trailed off, gesturing to Miaka, and Yui's expression turned cold as she regarded her former best friend.

"Yes, I have the unfortunate pleasure of knowing who that traitor is," she replied coolly. Miaka flushed and looked away as Tamahome wrapped his arms around her and glared at Yui.

Stormlight was glaring at her, as well, not bothering to hide her clear dislike of the Seiryu Miko.

"Is there a reason why we are trapped in this cage while they are free to wander around?" Nakago was asking coldly, eyeing the Suzaku Seishi with disdain.

Jareth's smile was feral as he regarded the man. "Because, as much as I loathe them for turning my subject against me…"

"I am not your subject, Jareth!" Stormlight yelled behind him.

Jareth's smile widened as he continued, "…I realize that they are much less likely to make an attempt on my life than you are. I did not jump into this without doing my research, despite what certain people may think." He glanced at Stormlight, who made a face at him in reply.

"If that’s true, then you should also know that I can use my power to break out of this dome with barely an effort," Nakago was saying arrogantly.

Jareth grinned slyly. "Well, I certainly invite you to try," he replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

Nakago raised an eyebrow as he regarded the Goblin King. Then his gaze shifted until it again rested on the men gathered outside the dome, watching curiously. When his eyes met Tamahome's gaze, his jaw tightened. "And perhaps when I am free, I'll finally destroy that wretched boy," he said impassively. "He has caused me much more trouble than he's worth."

"Oh yeah?! Well, you go ahead and try it! I'll give you such a beating!" Miaka yelled, brandishing a large stick while her Seishi face-faulted.

"Uh…isn't it my job to be yelling out threats?" Tamahome muttered as he rapped lightly on her head with his knuckles.

"That is so chauvinistic of you," Miaka sniffed. "Why can't a woman protect her guy, huh? What's the matter with that?"

"Enough of this foolishness!" Nakago bit out, raising his hand threateningly. A blue glow began to surround it, and with a flick of the wrist he shot a powerful ball of energy at the wall. He fully expected the dome to shatter upon the impact of his power, which might have explained why he looked so surprised when the ball merely ricocheted off the wall and flew back again, causing everyone to yell and duck for cover…including Nakago. The energy bounced off the dome several times before finally simply being absorbed into the walls, after a gesture from the openly smirking Goblin King.

The Suzaku Seishi watched all this with open mouths while Jareth continued to smirk, and Stormlight fell over laughing at the sight of the ever-dignified Nakago yelping and hitting the dirt like a sack of grain.

"Well now. Still feeling confident that you can break through my barrier?" Jareth asked smugly as he crouched beside a highly embarrassed Nakago, who was glaring at Stormlight for daring to laugh so openly at him. Whereas Stormlight, upon noticing his glare, stuck out her tongue at him. Boy, if looks could kill…

"Well, now that this amusing little scenario is over, are you perhaps ready to listen to my plan?" Jareth was asking wryly. "I assure you that once you hear me out, you'll be quite willing to play along…especially when you see the prize I am offering in return."

Nakago sulkily rose to his feet, shaking off Yui's helping hand. It was clear to see his pride had been sorely compromised, and he was less than thrilled about losing face before his enemies. But at least now he appeared to be willing to listen. Which was good, because Stormlight was beginning to get bored. She decided it was her turn to do the talking.

"Look," she explained impatiently. "Like he said, there's gonna be a race, us against you, the goal is reaching that big castle over there…" Pointing toward the Goblin Castle whose turrets could be glimpsed rising high above the walls of the Labyrinth, "…and the prize is the Shinzaho and the chance to win your silly little war. Got it?"

Jareth, rather miffed at having his little drama cut off so rudely, glared at her briefly before turning back to Nakago. "There will be, of course, a slight time limit on this. I think three days will be enough for amateurs like yourselves to make it through."

"What? No thirteen hours?" Stormlight asked sarcastically.

"Not this time. I wouldn't want to end all the fun so soon." His smile was positively evil. "This is certain to be interesting, and I do so want you to have good material for the story you're going to write afterwards."

"Uh, yeah, whatever," Stormlight mumbled, trying to look inconspicuous. She really wished he wouldn't mention her part in this whole thing… A thought occurred to her. "What if nobody makes it through in time?" she asked suspiciously.

"Then nobody wins the prize," he replied calmly.

"You can't do that! Miaka needs that talisman!" Stormlight protested.

"Well, there is the other Shinzaho, after all," he sniffed.

"WHAT?!" This explosion came from all people on both sides of the dome. "Are you saying there're more than one of those things?!" Nuriko added shrilly.

Stormlight winced, then nodded. "But they weren't supposed to know about that yet!" she yelled, glaring at the Goblin King, who looked like he couldn't have cared less. "And anyway, they need both of ‘em to summon Suzaku!"

"Calm down, Stormlight. They can retrieve the other one when they return, I'm sure. If anything, I'm helping them along here. You should be thanking me. This way certain events will not happen…such as certain people perishing in painful manners…" His voice lowered at the last part as he shot Stormlight a meaningful look. She scowled, knowing he meant Tamahome's family, not to mention the deaths of four of the Suzaku Seishi.

"What does he mean by that?"

This low question was voiced by the ever-quiet Mitsukake, who regarded Stormlight seriously as he waited for an answer. She bit her lip and looked up at the tall young man. "It's something…well…it really doesn't matter at the moment," she replied after a moment of hesitation, wondering how much to tell him. He was one of the four who would eventually die, after all.

Anime, she thought darkly, can be so depressing.

"Certain…tragedies have been avoided by Jareth's interference," she continued, choosing her words carefully, "and for this much, I suppose, we can be grateful." She hesitated again, then shrugged. "That's…about as much as you need to know at the moment."

Mitsukake nodded in acceptance of her request, although he still looked uneasy. Hotohori, however, wasn't as willing to dismiss the subject, and he opened his mouth to ask another question. No, don't ask! Stormlight pleaded silently. I don’t want you to know any more than this! Jareth, you can jump in anytime here…

"AMIBOSHI!"

This distraction came, not from Jareth, but rather from a startled Miaka, who had apparently just noticed the young man standing furthest away from the group within the dome, glaring hatefully out at the Suzaku Seishi. Stormlight sucked in a breath. Uh-oh. Amiboshi's psychotic brother, more like… she thought uneasily. Apparently they had not met yet, and that was somewhat relieving. Maybe he had been snatched before he could slaughter Tamahome's family. She could only hope so.

"Amiboshi, you're alive?!" Nuriko exclaimed, running to the dome for a closer look. Miaka followed him, her eyes lighting up, with Tamahome only a step behind.

"Wait, guys, that's not…" Stormlight began, but before she could finish, the Seiryu Seishi let loose an animal howl of rage and hurled himself at them furiously, hitting the glowing wall with a loud crackle of energy and flying several feet backwards. Luckily Tomo caught him before he hit the ground. Miaka and her two friends stumbled to a halt just outside the dome, mouths gaping.

"That isn't Amiboshi," Stormlight finished weakly, jamming her fingers through her hair, palm resting on her forehead. "That's his twin brother, Suboshi. And he isn't very happy to see you, in case you haven't figured that out already…"

"Amiboshi has a TWIN?!" Miaka gasped, staring at Suboshi through wide eyes.

"Apparently he does," Nuriko replied, frowning slightly.

"You MURDERED him! YOU KILLED MY BROTHER!" Suboshi howled, attempting to free himself from Tomo's grasp. "I'll kill you! I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU!"

Miaka gasped, her hands covering her mouth as her eyes filled with tears.

"S-Suboshi, we didn't kill…I mean…he fell into the river! We tried to save him! We didn't murder him, honestly!" she pleaded. "I liked Amiboshi! I never wanted him to die!"

"Liar!" Suboshi howled, finally succeeding in wrenching himself away from Tomo's grasp.

"Suboshi, calm yourself," Tomo commanded, while at the same time holding up a clam shell from which a soft mist was drifting. The mist headed unerringly for Suboshi, then took on more shape as it turned into clinging vines that wrapped securely around the boy’s body, anchoring him in place.

"Let me go!" Suboshi screamed, struggling against the illusion spell, and then the ryuseisui hanging at his waist suddenly began to lift and spin, turning the soft tufts of hair on the ends into spinning disks as sharp and deadly as saw blades.

"Jareth, do something!" Stormlight hissed, smacking the Goblin King on the arm, who jumped slightly in surprise and then glared at her. "Calm him down or something, will you?! Unless you want him to start tearing people apart with those things! You know what kind of damage he can do!"

Jareth sighed, then waved his hand, and the spinning weapons suddenly dropped limply to Suboshi's waist again. At the same time, the vines holding him vanished, and he dropped to the ground with a pained "Uuumph!" He looked around, a rather cute expression of surprise on his face, before he jumped to his feet and glared sulkily out at the Goblin King.

"What have you done?!"

This sudden cry came from Tomo, who was staring at Jareth through slightly wild eyes. "How have you broken my illusion so easily?" he demanded, lifting the shell again. "I shall make you pay for that!"

"Don't bother wasting your energy," Jareth snorted. "I've turned off your power, so to speak. I've taken all of your magic…" He gave pointed looks to both the Seiryu and the Suzaku Seishi.

"You can't do that!" Yui protested angrily.

"Anyhow!" Miaka agreed. Then, turning to Stormlight, "…Can he?"

The Listian sighed. "Well, apparently he can, considering he already did," she pointed out dryly.

Jareth chuckled. "My Stormlight is such a smart little girl, isn't she?"

Stormlight turned on him furiously, embarrassed at being mocked in front of the Seishi, especially Hotohori. "One more ‘little girl’ crack and I'm gonna take a crack at you!" she snarled, brandishing a fist beneath Jareth's nose. "I'm older than most of them are!" She jerked her thumb in the direction of the Suzaku Seishi, who looked at her doubtfully.

"This is my kingdom. This is my game, and we are playing by my rules!" he ranted, turning his attention back to his "guests". "There will be no magic other than my own, understood? Besides, who knows what sort of chaos could come about by allowing foreign magic to run loose in my Labyrinth." He shuddered. "The goblins are trouble enough as it is."

"I never said we were going to play your stupid game!" Yui retorted, clenching her fists.

He smiled at her charmingly. "My dear, I don't recall giving you a choice in the matter," he practically purred. "Although…if you want choices I have two of them for you. One, you may participate in this challenge willingly. Or two, you may participate unwillingly." He chuckled, quite pleased with his joke, and Stormlight rolled her eyes.

"You're just a bundle of laughs today, aren't you," she muttered at him, stalking up to the dome to face Yui. "Look, just go along with this, will you? It's the only way any of us are gonna get out of here," she pleaded.

Yui looked her over. "Who are you?" she asked. Then, with more suspicion, "Are you a friend of Miaka's?"

"Me? Oh, no!" Stormlight hastened to reply, holding up her hands and trying to look as innocent as she could. "I'm just a mutual kidnappee, like you! Never seen these people before in my life, honest!" There was no sense in antagonizing the antagonists, after all…

"Well, okay…" Yui seemed to relax. She turned to Nakago. "What…do you think we should do?" she asked softly. "Can't we fight our way out of this?"

"It would seem that for now, we are trapped here," Nakago replied darkly. "My power has been drained, as much as it pains me to admit it. I am only a normal man now."

"There's nothing 'normal' about you, buddy…" Stormlight muttered darkly.

"What was that?" Nakago asked sharply, shooting her a black look.

She gulped and took a step back, giggling nervously. She could almost swear a sweatdrop had appeared on her forehead. "Er…nothing. Didn't say a thing," she replied, discreetly hiding behind Jareth despite the fact that the dome still separated Nakago from her.

"Lady Yui, I believe that this…Stormlight…is right, and that the only way to free ourselves of this maniac's control is to obey his wishes," Nakago continued.

"Who're you calling a maniac?!" Stormlight snapped, immediately leaping to Jareth's defense. "You're a good one to talk!"

Again, Nakago shot her a glare that could ignite a forest, but this time she didn't back down, latching onto Jareth's arm protectively and returning Nakago's glare tenfold. "Stormlight, my dear, you're cutting off my circulation," Jareth chuckled, gently detaching her. "Whose side are you on, anyway?"

She scowled. "Well…old habits die hard, ya know?" she muttered. "You were my first…er…obsession, after all. Even if you are a pompous, arrogant…"

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that…" he growled, shoving her back, and she smirked up at him. "As it is, I'm growing bored with this talk. It is high time we started this little game."

"Are you going to release us first, or are we expected to travel through this Labyrinth of yours with this cage over our heads?" Nakago asked darkly.

"Oh, of course. How impolite of me," Jareth replied, smirking. A simple gesture, and the dome collapsed into a shower of glitter, drawing startled gasps from the ones trapped inside. Clearly, Jareth's brand of magic was something new to them. They looked around, not quite believing they were free. But then, as they realized the dome was actually gone, every single one of them swiftly drew their weapons, preparing to attack their enemies. This, of course, did not go over well with the Suzaku people, who immediately prepared to defend themselves by drawing their weapons, and Stormlight suddenly found herself standing in the middle of a battle field with very sharp, pointy weapons aimed at her on both sides.

"Gyaaaahhh! JARETH!" she yelled, scrambling for cover. "Was this part of your plan?!" She glared at the Goblin King, who didn't look in the least put out.

He sighed and tsked. "Really, now, must you people insist on reverting to Neanderthals?" he admonished, shaking his head in mock-sadness. "I had much higher hopes for all of you than that." And he snapped his fingers (which Stormlight couldn't quite figure out how he did so considering he was wearing gloves).

"REKKA SHIE—WHAT THE HELL?!" Tasuki yelped as his tessen vanished in mid-swing. "What the @*#&'s goin' on around here!" he yelled, glaring around as if it was his teammates' faults the fan had disappeared.

"You really must watch that tongue of yours," Jareth replied, smirking. "There are ladies present, after all. And as for your weapons, since you obviously can't control yourselves with them, I've decided it best to remove them, as well. Can't have you all killing each other before the game even starts, now can I? That would simply ruin the fun."

Stormlight tugged on his sleeve. "Uh…Jareth, what about that guy?" she asked, pointing to one of the Seiryu Seishi. Ashitare didn't need weapons to tear people apart. His teeth and clawed hands were his weapons. One of the few benefits of being a werewolf…

"What about him?" Jareth asked uninterestedly.

"Jareth…this guy eats people! He's a monster!" Stormlight snapped. "You can't actually expect he'll refrain from attempting to take a chunk or two out of somebody's liver!"

He grimaced. "Thank you for that…pleasant image," he sniffed. Stormlight again smacked his arm, and he sighed. "Oh, very well. The werewolf goes, as well. I don't want to risk injury to my subjects, after all, as much as they annoy me at times." He waved an arm, and Ashitare vanished with a snarl.

"Great. Where'd you put him?" Stormlight asked suspiciously.

"In an oubliette, where he'll not hurt anyone but the occasional spider."

"But that's not fair!" Yui wailed.

"WHAT did you just say?!" Jareth snarled, turning on the Miko like a striking viper. Stormlight nearly doubled over, trying not to choke on her laughter. Poor Yui had no idea what she just got herself into…

"I…" Yui blinked. "I, uh…said that…it isn't…er…fair of you to take away another Seishi. Now I only have five, while she still has all of hers!" She glared at Miaka, who pretended not to notice.

Jareth sighed and rubbed his temple. "Actually, wouldn't it be easier for you to have less Seishi to travel with, therefore making it easier and faster to traverse the Labyrinth to reach your goal in the end?" he asked reasonably.

She blinked again. "I…I suppose so," she replied.

"Hey! Now that’s not fair!" Stormlight jumped in, absolutely unable to pass up a chance to throw that much-hated phrase at him.

He turned on her, scowling. "Are you trying to get yourself thrown into the Bog?!" he yelled, reaching for her.

She laughed and grabbed Tasuki to use as a shield, who immediately went into his whole "girls have cooties" spiel. "Get 'er off me! Nuriko! Tamahome!" he howled, dancing around, trying to break her grip. Stormlight rolled her eyes and let him go. He glared at her, retreating behind Nuriko, who was laughing openly at him.

"I'm just saying," Stormlight continued sweetly, "that if you take one of their people away, you should take one of ours away, too. I'll be more than happy to volunteer to sit this one out…"

Jareth smirked. "Nice try," he replied. "But you don't get out of this that easily. Remember, you're the reason for this race to begin with."

"Would you quit saying that?! I'd like to live to see my twenty-fifth birthday, if ya don't mind!" Stormlight shouted, casting a nervous glance to the Seiryu Seishi, who were looking at her with dark expressions on their faces. "Great! I'm gonna need some Seishi of my own by the time they're through with me…"

"You have such a gift for exaggeration," Jareth snorted.

Stormlight opened her mouth to retaliate, but was interrupted by a soft, "Excuse me, please." Surprised, she looked down, and saw that Chiriko—who had barely spoken a word until now—was standing there, looking up at them shyly. "What is it, Chiriko?" she asked. "Something wrong?"

"Oh, no. I was just thinking…would it be all right if I went in your place to make the odds a little more even?" the boy suggested shyly. "I wouldn't mind waiting, really. If it would help us get through more quickly, I mean."

"Chiriko, thank you for your offer, but it will not be necessary," Hotohori replied quickly. "I'm certain we'll do fine as we are. After all, we have Stormlight to guide us through." He gave the Listian a charming smile that made her blush, despite her poor attempts not to.

Embarrassed, she straightened up and cleared her throat. "Uh…and what makes you think I know the way?" she asked. "I know Jareth, yeah, but I've never been through this rat maze before."

"Rat maze?!" came Jareth's outraged bellow.

Stormlight grinned and shrugged. "Look, why not let the kid go?" she continued. "I'm sure Jareth'll take good care of him…won’t you, J?" She shot the Goblin King a threatening glance that dared him to say otherwise.

He merely smirked at her. "The very best," he purred. "I'll stow him away in the castle library. I'm quite certain the histories of the Underground will fascinate him."

Chiriko's eyes gleamed with pleasure. He turned to Hotohori. "Please, Your Highness?" he asked. "I would so love to learn of this strange land! Perhaps I can even learn something that will help. I don't know how much use I'd be, since I don't know this world, and I wouldn't want to slow you down…"

Hotohori looked to Stormlight. "Is it safe for the boy to go with this Jareth?" he asked.

Stormlight hesitated, then nodded. "He won't hurt him. Not if he doesn't want me to deal with," she replied.

"As if that is any sort of a threat," Jareth snorted. "In truth, I simply am looking forward to holding conversation with this young lad. He is, I'm told, quite intelligent, after all. It will be a refreshing change from brainless goblins and mewling brats."

"Then it's settled. Ashitare rots in an oubliette for awhile, Chiriko goes with Jareth, now can we please get this show on the road?" Stormlight begged.

"So impatient, my dear?" Jareth laughed, then held up a finger in warning. "Some rules to be followed, by both sides," he added seriously. "Though this challenge will be difficult, it can be overcome by working together. And petty violence is not acceptable, which, I'm certain, will be a challenge in and of itself for some of you…" He cast pointed looks at both Nakago and Suboshi. "Should any of you willingly kill or maim any member of the other team, the perpetrator will be immediately tossed into an oubliette. Perhaps the one where Ashitare is residing, to keep him company." His smile was feral. "Not only that, but that team will automatically forfeit the race, and the opposing team will receive the Shinzaho. Is that understood by all?"

Reluctant nods. Jareth nodded as well. "So…I believe everyone knows the rest. So now it is time for my departure. I will be checking up on you, so don't even think of cheating. It will be quite interesting to see how the big, strong Seishi survive in my Labyrinth without aide of magic or weapons. Stormlight, you should have some interesting notes, indeed, by the time this is over." He laid a hand on Chiriko's shoulder, and bowed formally to the two groups of Seishi, who were staring at him uncertainly. "And now I bid all of you good luck, and a fair-thee-well. I will see you in three days."

And in a puff of glitter and a tinkling of music, he and Chiriko disappeared.

Stormlight let out the breath she felt like she'd been holding since she'd first arrived, turning to gaze at the Seishi who were eyeing each other suspiciously. She moaned, and now a sweatdrop did appear as she hung her head.

"What have I gotten myself into…?"