The passages they now traveled through were much wider than before, allowing four people to walk side by side if they so chose. They were also in considerably better repair, clear of all but a few weeds, the walls free of mold and slime and that strange, eyeball-covered lichen. Stormlight was relieved; she hated cramped places, and those eyeballs were beginning to give her the creeps. She looked around, and spotted a stone hand growing out of the wall, pointing ahead. "Hey!" she suddenly exclaimed. "I know where we are!"

"Yeah," Tamahome muttered. "We’re lost."

"Ha ha. That’s funny," she replied sarcastically. "No, seriously, I remember this place from the movie! It’s the stone maze! I’ve seen that hand before!"

"So does this mean you know how to get through it, too?" Yui asked hopefully.

"Er…no."

Everyone face-faulted, muttering to themselves.

"Hey, I said I know where we are, not where we’re going!" the Listian defended herself. "Just keep aiming toward the castle!" She looked up at the structure, now much clearer than before, and wondered if Jareth was having a good laugh at her expense. Sighing, she hiked her bag over her shoulder, feeling the notebook bump into her back. She knew she’d better start writing soon, or Jareth would pitch a fit. I wonder what time it is, she thought. It’s been…two hours? Three? Let’s see…judging the position of the sun…it’s still sometime in the morning, assuming the sun rises and sets in this place like it does at home… Although it had been at night when Jareth had snatched her, but nothing was normal where the Labyrinth was concerned…

"Oh, there you are! I’ve been looking all over for you!" a high-pitched voice called out of nowhere, making everyone jump in surprise. Stormlight’s eyes widened—she recognized that obnoxious squeal—as her eyes fell upon a little creature flitting around, trailing glittering silver light as it zipped from one person to the next, finally stopping before Nakago and hovering there, iridescent wings whirring softly. "Hello, Nakago!" the fairy called out flirtatiously.

Nakago blinked at the little creature, taken aback. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"What are you?" Suboshi added, eyeing it suspiciously. "Some kinda bug?" He was rewarded with an indignant screech and a handful of fairy dust in the face, making him sneeze so hard he fell over.

Stormlight groaned. "Deedlit! What are you doing here?!" she wailed. "Why aren’t you at home painting your toenails or something?"

"You know this creature?" Nakago asked, eyeing the Listian darkly.

Stormlight growled. "Know her? I created her!" she exclaimed, grabbing a fistful of her hair and yanking. "She’s my good-for-nothing muse!"

"It isn’t nice to call names!" Deedlit scolded, settling herself on Nakago’s armored shoulder and fluffing her hair prettily, much to the Seiryu general’s discomfiture. "I’ve been sent to keep an eye on you," she added importantly. "To make sure you don’t break any rules or get into any trouble. And to make sure that you…" She fixed Stormlight with a Look. "…do what you’re supposed to do!"

"What, is Jareth too lazy to check up on us himself? He had to send a spy?" Stormlight snapped, stalking over to the fairy. "Get out of here, pest! This is all your fault we’re stuck here in the first place! If you’d been doing your job and giving me inspiration like you were supposed to…!"

"I give you lots of good ideas!" Deedlit protested, standing up and stamping a bare foot on Nakago’s shoulder.

"And just how is you taking over the Labyrinth with Jareth working as your personal slave a good idea?!" Stormlight yelled, snatching at the creature, who shrieked and hid in Nakago’s long hair.

"Save me, Nakago!" Deedlit pleaded. Nakago blinked, obviously having no clue how to respond to such a plea.

Stormlight snorted, amused to see the normally unshakable Nakago startled out of his wits. "Leave it to you to fraternize with the enemy!" she muttered at Deedlit. "Fine, hide behind Nakago then. See how long it takes you to annoy him. It’s your funeral, and there are no rules against murdering irritating fairies. I hope he beats your brains out!" She dismissed the fairy with a wave of her hand.

Deedlit’s eyes widened as she gave Nakago the once-over, noticing the dark glare he was giving her in return, and decided that getting her brains beat out was not so distant a prospect. She flew from his shoulder hurriedly, looked around, and then her face brightened as she spotted her next victim. "Hotohori!" she squealed, zipping over to hover before the emperor’s startled eyes. "Hello!" she purred, batting her eyes at him.

"H-hello," he replied, blinking at her.

"My, you are quite beautiful, aren’t you?" Deedlit tittered.

"Yes, I am," came the less-than-humble reply. His companions sweatdropped.

"My name is Deedlit. It’s a lovely name, isn’t it? I’m quite beautiful, too, aren’t I?" She fluffed her hair again.

"Uh…I suppose so," he stammered, looking to Stormlight for help. She grinned at him, crossing her arms in a "you’re-on-your-own" gesture. He sighed.

Deedlit giggled again, before landing on his shoulder and wrapping herself in a lock of his hair. "Mmmmm….soft," she simpered. Hotohori blushed, and Miaka giggled behind her hand as the other Seishi looked on, clearly amused at the emperor’s plight. "I think I’ll stay with you, Hotohori," Deedlit added, and Hotohori looked so horrified at that prospect that Stormlight took pity on him.

"Oh, for heaven’s sake! Deedlit, let the poor man alone! You’re gonna scare him to death!" the Listian muttered.

Deedlit pouted and snuggled in closer to Hotohori’s neck, gripping his long hair tightly. Stormlight frowned and reached to disentangle the annoying pest, but Hotohori’s hand on her wrist stopped her. "It’s all right," he told her, smiling. "She’ll cause no harm."

"See? He can’t resist me!" Deedlit exclaimed triumphantly, while Stormlight tried not to be ill. Hotohori raised his eyes heavenward and sighed.

"Are you sure?" the Listian asked. "‘Cause it’s no problem for me to throw her into an oubliette or something. With any luck, she’ll end up stuck in the same one as Ashitare."

Hotohori chuckled. "Be that as it may, perhaps she’ll be of use to us," he replied.

"Oh, I can be of great use to you!" Deedlit promised urgently. "Honestly I can! This is my home, you know!"

"So you can guide us through the Labyrinth?" Yui asked excitedly.

"That would be cheating!" Deedlit replied disapprovingly. "And King Jareth will not tolerate cheating!"

"So, in other words, you’ll be of no use to us. Not that that’s anything unusual…" Stormlight muttered.

Deedlit stuck her tongue out at her. "Stupid human! I can be more useful than you can!" she screeched.

Stormlight glared at her. "Watch it, you little pest! I created you; I can un-create you just as easily!" she threatened. Deedlit stuck her nose into the air and proceeded to ignore her.

"Perhaps instead of arguing, we should continue on," Soi suggested wryly, looking around. "We are wasting precious time, and we have far to go."

"You’re right," Stormlight muttered. "Let’s just get started again. And Deedlit…you’d better behave yourself, or you’re in big trouble when we get home!"

Deedlit pouted and settled herself more firmly on Hotohori’s shoulder, for once not bothering to reply.

"Okay, so now what do we do, Oh-Wise-One?"

Stormlight scowled, contemplating smacking the I-told-you-so grin off Tasuki’s face as she gazed out over what appeared to be a vast lake. They had taken a final turn in the stone maze…and had ended up standing there. And of course when they tried to go back, the entrance had mysteriously vanished. "This was not part of the movie," she muttered, more to herself than anyone. Where were Alph and Ralph? Or the Door Knockers?

"Of course it isn’t part of the movie, stupid! You didn’t think King Jareth would make things that easy for you, did you?" Deedlit squealed in her ear. She smacked at the fairy irritably, who squeaked and flitted out of reach, taking refuge once again on Hotohori’s shoulder. Which didn’t help her much, as the emperor had moved up to stand alongside the Listian.

"Do you know where we are now?" he asked gently, wincing when Deedlit shrieked and scrambled away from Stormlight’s hand as she tried to snatch her again.

Stormlight scratched her head, giving him a befuddled look. "I…I honestly have no clue," she admitted. "I never even knew there were lakes in the Labyrinth, and of course there are no boats, so we have no way to cross." She sighed, suddenly feeling exhausted.

"It’s growing late," Hotohori said, kindly. "We’ve been walking all day. Perhaps we should set up camp here to rest awhile."

"No, we have to keep going," Stormlight protested, although a break did sound good right about then.

"But we’re all tired, and I’m starving!" Miaka complained.

"That’s nothing new," Yui muttered, earning a glare from both Miaka and Tamahome. She fell silent again.

Stormlight frowned, looking out over the lake again. "There has to be some way to cross it," she muttered. "A puzzle or some kind of riddle. There’s some kind of trick involved in this."

"Let us eat and rest, and we can discuss it," Hotohori insisted.

Stormlight sighed, admitting defeat. "You’re right," she replied. "I guess it’ll have to wait."

"Great!" Miaka exclaimed. "Okay, everyone, we’re setting up camp! Let’s eat!"

"We have to find food, first, numskull," Tamahome replied affectionately.

"Do you have any food stuffed into that bag of yours?" Nuriko asked Stormlight hopefully.

"Uh, not that I’m aware of," the Listian replied, blinking.

"Are you sure you’re not just hiding it from us?" Suboshi asked suspiciously.

"What?! Has anyone ever told you that you are a complete BRAT?!" Thoroughly irritated, Stormlight jerked open the bag and yanked out its contents. "See? Notebook, wallet, pens and pencils, clothes, and…" Her tirade came to a halt as her hand brushed against an unfamiliar, leathery package in the bottom of the bag. She pulled it out curiously, and saw that it was an oiled skin of some kind, wrapped around…something. "What the…?" she muttered, opening the skin.

"HA! See? I knew she was holding out on us!" Suboshi crowed, eyeing the small loaves of bread and the hunk of cheese the package contained, along with a small, wrapped bundle of beef jerky strips, a wooden container of hard butter and a small carving knife; a typical wayfarer’s meal. And there was enough for everyone, by the looks of it.

Stormlight’s jaw dropped. "I swear this wasn’t in here before!" she stuttered. "Honestly! I-it just appeared!"

"Are you sure about that?" Tasuki looked doubtful.

"Oh, sure! I carry bread and cheese with me wherever I go! You know, just in case some power-hungry goblin king decides I need a little vacation in a giant rat maze. It never hurts to be prepared, after all!" Her voice was practically dripping with sarcasm.

"Well, no matter. At least we’ll not starve," Hotohori replied hurriedly as he took the package from her. "I’ll slice the bread and cheese awhile. We can probably drink from the lake. The water looks clean."

"Looks can be deceiving in this place," Stormlight muttered, glaring at her bag. Hmmm…a magic bag. Will wonders never cease? I’ve got one guess as to who’s responsible for this, she thought sardonically. Just in time to make me look like a moron in front of the others, too. Gee, J is so nice to me…

Gratefully, everyone found a place on the sandy beach to rest their feet, and Stormlight plopped down beside the water, dipping her fingers in. She frowned, studying the shining droplets on her fingers. They didn’t look dangerous… "Hey, Deed! Is this water safe to drink?" she called. "I mean, it won’t like…turn us into frogs or anything, will it?"

"Animals drink from here all the time," Deedlit replied importantly. "It’s perfectly fine! Don’t be such a worry-wart!"

Stormlight rolled her eyes. "Why does this not comfort me?" she muttered. "Well, I guess I’d better test it to make sure. No need for all of us to turn into frogs!" She dipped her hand in again, coming up with a small puddle, and cautiously sipped at it, squeezing her eyes shut as she waited for the change to come. When nothing seemed to happen, she opened one eye cautiously and looked around. "Am I a frog yet?" she muttered.

"No," came the amused reply as Nuriko sank to his haunches in front of her, "but you looked like you were in serious pain for awhile there." He handed her a hunk of bread and cheese along with some dried meat and grinned at her.

"Har dee har," the Listian sniffed. "I risk being turned into a frog for your sake, and you’re making jokes."

Nuriko chuckled, reaching to take a handful of water himself. His face lit up when he sipped it. "Hey, this is good water!" he exclaimed. "It’s so fresh and sweet!"

"As long as it isn’t filled with magic," Stormlight replied, taking a bite out of her cheese. She made a face. "If he’s gonna treat us like pet mice and make us run through his rat maze, can’t he at least give us fresh food?" she complained. "This tastes like an old sock!"

"At least we won’t starve," Nuriko replied, sitting next to her with his own food and taking a healthy bite. "You know," he added after swallowing, "this is a really pretty spot. I’d love a good swim in that lake."

Stormlight shuddered. "Along with heaven only knows what else," she replied. "Anything could be living in that water. Water Sprites, Mermaids, Kelpies…" She shrugged. "They aren’t particularly fond of humans, either, or so the stories say."

"I’ve never heard of any of them," Nuriko replied.

"Not surprising. You’re from a different world."

"So how do you know so much about my world?" Nuriko asked. "Have you been there before? I mean, I always thought Miaka was the first one to come over—besides the other two Miko before—but maybe I’m wrong."

"No, I’ve never been there. I’ve just…heard about it…and it’s really too complicated for me to explain. You wouldn’t know what videos are, anyway." Stormlight shrugged and smiled. Nuriko looked at her curiously for a moment, then shrugged as well and took another bite of his meal. He supposed that when she was ready to tell, she’d explain everything.

They ate mostly in silence, relishing the cool breeze that drifted in off the lake. The two groups had split themselves up again, Stormlight noted with amusement. The Suzaku Seishi were sitting in a huddle on one part of the beach, about ten or so feet where she and Nuriko sat, and the Seiryu Seishi lounged a good twenty feet away, talking among themselves. Apparently they weren’t willing to let go of their mutual suspicions just yet. Which was okay, she supposed, so long as they remembered not to kill each other.

She choked down the rest of the bitter cheese, finished off the bread and meat, then scooted closer to the water to wash off her face and hands and take a long drink. As she was bent over the water, which was rather deep for being so close to shore, a dark shape began to form beneath her, wavering and growing larger at every moment. At first she thought it was just a fish, but when it kept growing, taking on more form, her eyes grew wide as she realized it was anything but a fish. She hurriedly scrambled back, yelling loudly when the lake suddenly exploded, sending up a cold spray into her face. Wiping the water from her eyes, she heard the alarmed exclamations of the Seishi behind her, and looked up…and up…and up…a pair of long, slender black legs, a powerful, coal-black chest and long neck, topped by a dainty, graceful head, from which angry, red eyes glared down at her. A long, wild mane of silken black hair glittered with diamond droplets of water, and the breathtaking Kelpie lowered its head until it was eyeball-to-eyeball with her.

And it did not look particularly happy to see her…