Three
"This is so not good."
Stormlight quickly tailed the Goblin King to the magical dome, hoping he had enough sense to keep the Seiryu Seishi trapped inside it for awhile. Unless he wanted a real battle on his hands. Considering both sides were loaded with weapons (not to mention no small share of magic), it didn't take a genius to figure out what would happen should anyone escape.
"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 open-mouthed amazement. "Send them all back … erase their memories … no harm, no—"
"My dear, you are making quite the pest of yourself." Jareth shooed her off in the same manner one might shoo a particularly irritating fly. "Go talk to your friend there."
Stormlight's jaw dropped. "Patronize me, will you? We'll just see about that," she growled, snagging Tasuki's tessen from its holder. She ignored the bandit's howl of protest, preparing to beat the Goblin King senseless with it before Tasuki managed to wrestle it from her grasp.
"Crazy chick," he huffed, securing the fan back in its place across his back. "You keep yer damned 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.
He flashed a feral smile 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 with open suspicion. "What … sort of challenge?"
"A race," he replied. "A race against the Suzaku Seishi, whom I have also taken the liberty of bringing here. I do believe you know their Miko…?" He gestured 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 glared, as well, not bothering to hide her clear dislike of the Seiryu Miko.
"For what reason we are trapped in this cage while they are free to wander freely?" Nakago asked coldly, eying the opposing Seishi with disdain.
Jareth's smirked as he regarded the man. "Because, as much as I loathe them for turning my subject against me—"
"I am not your subject, Jareth!"
His smile widened as he continued, "—I realize that they are much less likely to make an attempt on my life than you are. Not that you would succeed, mind you. I simply have no wish for you to destroy my lovely landscaping in the attempt."
Stormlight released a bark of laughter. "If anything, he'd probably just improve it," she muttered, earning a giggle from Miaka.
Jareth shot her an annoyed glance before turning his attention back to the seething Seishi. "I did not jump into this without doing my research, despite what certain people may think." He glanced at the Listian, who in turn made a crude gesture at him, earning an indignant scowl.
"If that's true, then you should also know that with my power, I can break free from this dome with little effort," Nakago growled.
Jareth chuckled, clearly amused as he crossed his arms. "Well. I certainly invite you to try."
Nakago raised an eyebrow as he regarded the Goblin King. Then his gaze shifted until it rested on the men gathered outside the dome, watching curiously. When his eyes met Tamahome's, his jaw tightened. "And perhaps when I am free, I'll finally destroy that wretched boy. He has caused me much more trouble than he's worth."
"Oh yeah? You go ahead and try it! I'll give you such a beating!" Miaka yelled, brandishing a large stick while her Seishi gaped at her.
"Uh, isn't it my job to be yelling out death 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 barked, raising a threatening hand. A blue glow surrounded it, and with a flick of the wrist, he shot a powerful ball of energy at the crystal dome. He clearly expected it to shatter upon impact … which explained why he looked so surprised when the power merely bounced off the wall and flew back again, causing the entire group to yell and duck for cover. The blue sphere ricocheted several times before simply being absorbed into the dome, after a gesture from the smirking Goblin King.
The Suzaku Seishi watched all this with open mouths, 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 in your ability to break free of your cage?" Jareth asked smugly as he crouched beside a highly-embarrassed Nakago, who glowered at Stormlight for daring to laugh at him.
Whereas Stormlight, upon noticing his death glare, promptly shut up. Boy, if looks could kill…
"Well, now that this amusing little scenario is over, perhaps now you are ready to listen to my plan," Jareth said dryly. "I assure you that once you hear me out, you'll be quite willing to play along. Especially once you see the prize I am offering in return."
Nakago rose to his feet, shaking off Yui's helping hand, nearly sulking over his damaged ego. But at least he appeared to be willing to listen. Which was good, because Stormlight was getting bored. She decided it was her turn to do the talking.
"Look," she began impatiently, "like he said, there's gonna be a race, us against you, and the goal is to reach that big castle over there." She pointed toward the Goblin Castle, whose turrets could be glimpsed rising high above the walls of the Labyrinth. "And the prize happens to be your precious Shinzaho and the chance to win your silly little war. Got it?"
Jareth, miffed at having his little drama cut off so abruptly, shot her a brief glare. "There will be, of course, a slight time limit on this. I believe three days should be time 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 afterward."
"Uh, yeah. Sure. Whatever," Stormlight muttered, trying to look innocent. 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.
"Then nobody wins the prize."
"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 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, dearest. 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." His voice lowered to a murmur. "Such as certain people perishing in horrifying and painful manners." He shot Stormlight a look, and she scowled, knowing he meant Tamahome's family, not to mention the deaths of four of the Suzaku Seishi.
"What is he talking about?"
This 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 man. "It's something—Well, there are certain events that—" She hesitated, 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 due to Jareth's interference," she hedged, "and for that, I suppose, we should be grateful." She shrugged. "That's … about as much as I can tell you."
Mitsukake nodded, looking uneasy.
Hotohori, however, didn't seem as willing to dismiss the subject, and he opened his mouth to speak. No, don't ask. Stormlight shot him a pleading look. You don't need to know any more than this! J, feel free to jump in anytime here…
"Amiboshi!"
This distraction came, not from Jareth, but rather from a startled Miaka, who had 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 twin, more like. She shifted uneasily. Apparently, none of them had met Suboshi yet, and that was a relief. Maybe they had been snatched before he could slaughter Tamahome's family. She could only hope so.
"Amiboshi, you're alive?" Nuriko ran 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's words were cut off by an animal howl of rage as Suboshi hurled himself at them, hitting the wall with a loud crackle of energy and flying several feet backwards. Luckily, Tomo caught him before he hit the ground. The trio stumbled to a halt outside the dome, gaping in astonishment.
"That isn't Amiboshi," Stormlight finished weakly, jamming her fingers through her hair, palm resting on her forehead. "It's his twin brother, Suboshi. And just in case you missed it, he's a little pissed off at the moment…"
"Amiboshi has a twin?" Miaka gaped at the furious boy.
"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, no, we didn't kill—It was an accident! He fell into the river and was swept away! We tried to save him," she pleaded. "I really liked Amiboshi! I never wanted him to die!"
"Liar!" Suboshi howled, finally succeeding in wrenching himself from Tomo's grasp.
"Suboshi, calm yourself," the painted Seishi commanded, holding up a clam shell from which a soft mist drifted. The mist headed unerringly for the hysterical boy, taking on shape and mass as it turned into clinging vines that wrapped securely around his body, anchoring him in place.
"Let me go!" he 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.
"J, do something," Stormlight hissed, smacking the Goblin King on the arm and making him jump slightly in surprise. He glared down 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!"
He heaved an irritable sigh, waved his hand, and the spinning weapons dropped limply to Suboshi's waist. 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 jumping to his feet and glaring sulkily at the Goblin King.
"What have you done?" Tomo gaped at Jareth with 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 huffed. "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?"
"Well, given the fact he just did, I'd say it's not beyond the realm of possibility," she deadpanned.
Jareth chuckled. "My Stormlight is such a clever little girl, isn't she?"
She glared, 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 snapped, brandishing a fist under his nose. "I'm older than most of them are!"
"This is my kingdom. This is my game, and we are playing by my rules," Jareth announced, proceeding to ignore his Listian's ranting. "There will be no power used other than my own. I shudder to think of the bedlam that might come about by setting foreign magic loose in my Labyrinth." He grimaced at the idea.
"I never said we were going to play your stupid game!" Yui retorted, clenching her fists.
He flashed his most charming smile; Yui looked a little dazed under the force of it. "My dear, I don't recall giving you a choice in the matter," he purred. "Although, if you want choices, there are two I will allow. You may participate in this game either willingly … or unwillingly." He chuckled, pleased with his joke.
Stormlight rolled her eyes as she stalked to the dome to face the Miko. "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. Her eyes narrowed. "Are you Miaka's friend?"
"Me? Oh, no!" Stormlight held up her hands and tried to look as innocent as possible. "I'm just a mutual kidnappee, like you. Never seen these people before in my life!" There was no sense in antagonizing the antagonists, after all…
Frowning, Yui 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, voice dark. "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, pal…" Stormlight muttered, then gulped and took a step back when he shot her a black glare, discreetly hiding behind Jareth despite the fact that the dome still separated them.
"Lady Yui, I believe this … Stormlight … is right, and 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 the glare tenfold.
"Dearest, you're cutting off my circulation." Jareth chuckled, gently detaching her. "Whose side are you on, anyway?"
She scowled, blushing. "Old habits die hard," she muttered. "After all, you were my first … um … obsession. Even if you are a pompous, arrogant—"
"I'll be gracious and ignore that…" he growled, shoving her away as she smirked. "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 growled.
"Oh, of course. How impolite of me." 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. 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 yelped, scrambling for cover. "Was this a part of your plan?"
The Goblin King sighed. "Really, now, must you people insist on reverting to barbarians?" he admonished, shaking his head in mock-exasperation. "I had much higher hopes for all of you than that." And he snapped his fingers … which was quite the trick, given he was wearing his usual silk gloves.
"Rekka shie—What the hell?" Tasuki yelped as his tessen vanished in mid-swing. "What the hell's goin' on around here!" He glared around as if it was his teammates' faults that the fan had disappeared.
"You really must watch that tongue of yours," Jareth tsked. "There are ladies present, after all. As for your weapons, since you clearly cannot 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, J? What about him?" She pointed to one of the Seiryu Seishi, who growled low in his throat, exactly like the werewolf he was. Ashitare didn't need weapons to tear people apart; his fangs and sharp claws served that purpose quite nicely.
"What about him?" Jareth asked, uninterested.
"Jareth, that guy eats people! He's a monster!" Stormlight hissed. "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 most pleasant image." She smacked his arm again, and he sighed. "Oh, very well. The werewolf goes, too. I have no wish to risk injury to my subjects, after all, as much as they annoy me." He waved an arm, and Ashitare vanished with a snarl.
"Great. Where'd you put him?"
"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 turned on the Miko like a striking viper. Stormlight nearly doubled over, trying to choke down her laughter. Poor Yui had no idea what she'd 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.
Jareth sighed and rubbed his temple. "Would it not be easier for you to traverse the Labyrinth with a smaller group in order to reach your goal?" he asked reasonably.
She blinked again. "I … I hadn't thought of that," she admitted.
"Hey! Now that's not fair," Stormlight jumped in, unable to pass up the chance to throw that much-hated phrase at him.
He turned on her with a scowl. "Are you trying to get yourself thrown into the Bog?" he snapped, 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 as he danced around, trying to break her grip. She rolled her eyes and eventually let him go, and he sulkily retreated behind a laughing Nuriko.
"I'm just saying," the Listian 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. "You don't get out of this that easily. Remember, you are the reason for this race to begin with."
"Would you kindly leave my part out of this? I'd like to live to my twenty-fifth birthday, if ya don't mind." She cast a nervous glance toward the Seiryu, who were regarding her with dark expressions. "Great. I'm gonna need protectors of my own by the time this is all over," she muttered.
"You have such a gift for exaggeration," Jareth snorted.
She opened her mouth to retaliate, but was interrupted by a soft, "Excuse me, please." Surprised, she looked down to find sweet little Chiriko standing there, gazing up at them shyly. "Is something wrong?" she asked.
"Oh, no. I was just wondering … would it be all right if I went in your place to make the odds a little more even? 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 said 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.
Embarrassed, she straightened up and cleared her throat. "Um … your confidence is flattering, but what makes you think I know the way? I know Jareth, sure. But I've never actually been through his rat maze before."
"Rat maze?" came Jareth's outraged bellow.
She offered a sheepish grin and shrugged. "Look, maybe we should let the kid go," she suggested. "The Labyrinth can be dangerous., I'm sure Jareth'll take good care of him. Won't you, J?" The threatening glance she shot him dared him to say otherwise.
Jareth smirked at her, putting on his most innocent expression. "The very best," he purred. "I'll stow him away in the castle library. The histories of the Underground should keep him busy and out of my hair for awhile."
Chiriko's eyes gleamed with pleasure as he turned a pleading gaze to Hotohori. "Please, Your Highness? I would love to learn of this strange land. I don't know how much use I'd be to all of you, since I'm not very strong, and I don't know this world. I don't want to slow you down."
Hotohori looked at Stormlight. "Is it safe for the boy to go with this Jareth?"
She hesitated, biting her lip before slowly nodding. "The castle will probably be the safest place for him, really. Jareth wouldn't dare lay a hand on him. Not if he doesn't want to deal with me." She leveled a threatening glower at the Goblin King, who merely snorted.
"It's adorable how you believe you pose any sort of a threat to my person." He chuckled, easily sidestepping her halfhearted punch. "In truth, I am simply looking forward to holding intelligent conversation with this young lad. He is, I hear, quite the genius. It will be a refreshing change from the babbling of 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?" the Listian begged.
"So impatient, my dear!" Jareth laughed, then held up a finger in warning. "Some rules to be followed, by both sides," he continued. "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 the wolf resides, to keep him company." His smile was feral. "Not only that, the offending team will automatically forfeit the race, and the opposition will receive the prize by default. Is this understood by all?"
Reluctant nods. Jareth nodded as well. "So. I believe the time for me to depart has arrived. I will be watching you, so don't even think of cheating." His tone turned mocking. "It will be quite interesting to see how the big, strong Sichiseishi survive in my Labyrinth without their magic or weapons to aide them. My dear Listian should indeed have some interesting notes by the time this race is over."
He laid a hand on Chiriko's shoulder, bowed formally to the two groups of Seishi. "I bid all of you good luck and a fair-thee-well. I will see you in three days." And with a puff of glitter and tinkling of music, he and Chiriko disappeared.
Stormlight let out the breath she felt like she'd been holding since she first arrived in the Underground, turning to gaze at the Seishi who were now eying each other with open hostility. She groaned, dropping her face into her hands. "What have I gotten myself into?"