Disclaimers: Labyrinth and anything associated with Labyrinth (except for stuff I make up) belongs to Brian Henson or whoever else owns the copyright by now ^_^; Fushigi Yuugi belongs to the great Yuu Watase (Does best Wayne's World imitation: "We're not worthy!") I own none of the characters used in this story; I am merely borrowing them as I have many times before and I promise to put them all back (Unless Jareth manages to get hold of them, in which case nobody will ever see any of them again.). I do own myself, of course, and I do lay claim to this little piece of insanity that Deedlit has been so kindly beating into my brain for the past few months (excuses herself while she returns the favor…).
They were all gone. Well, almost all of them. Stormlight looked around frantically, hoping that her eyes were playing tricks on her. They weren’t. Almost everyone had vanished into thin air. The only ones left were Tamahome, Nakago, and Suboshi. And Deedlit, who was sprawled out in the dirt, blinking in surprise, after Hotohori’s shoulder vanished beneath her.
"Jareth, where are they?" Stormlight demanded furiously. "What did you do with them?!"
"Calmly, dearest, they are perfectly safe," Jareth assured her smugly. "They have merely been placed in separate areas of the Labyrinth, in smaller groups, to make things a little more…lively."
"Tell me you didn’t put Suzaku and Seiryu Seishi in groups together," the Listian moaned. At his smirk, she glared at him. "You’re just begging for trouble, aren’t you?! The entire group of ‘em together is one thing, but pairing them off? And why are they still here, by the way?" She jerked her thumb toward Nakago and Suboshi, who stared back at her; Nakago impassively and Suboshi defiantly.
"Why, isn’t it obvious? They are to be your partners!" Jareth replied, grinning at her wickedly.
"What?!" Stormlight’s eyes bugged as she stared in disbelief at the Goblin King. "Tell me you’re joking. Please tell me you’re joking!" she begged. "You would not be this cruel to me!"
He merely smiled and crossed his arms. "And what was it you were saying not so long ago about cooperation?" he asked sweetly. "Besides, somebody has to keep them separated from that one over there." He pointed in the direction of Tamahome, who was looking less and less thrilled about this whole ordeal.
"Y-y-you can’t mean you’re actually gonna put these three together!" Stormlight yelled. "They’ll kill him!"
"That, my dear, is against the rules," Jareth smirked.
"To hell with your @*#$ rules!" Stormlight snarled. "You think that’s gonna stop those two psychos from trying to rip Tamahome to pieces?!"
"Which is why you’re here, to make sure they behave." He raised an eyebrow and tsked. "Really, my dear, you’ve been spending too much time around that foul-mouthed bandit."
"And whose fault is that?" she snapped.
Jareth sighed. "Why must you be so difficult?" he asked. "All I ask is for one little favor…"
"Screw you, Jareth! Out of all the Seiryu Seishi, you had to stick me with Nakago and Suboshi?!" she hissed, gripping his arm. "You know how much I loathe them! And you know how much they want to murder Tamahome! It’s deliberate cruelty, that’s what it is!"
He smirked. "I have been generous until now, but I can be cruel…" he quoted softly.
She glared at him, tempted to belt him one right then and there no matter what the consequences were. "Where are the others?" she asked. "Tell me you’ve been kinder to them, at least!"
A crystal appeared on his fingertips, and he handed it to her. She took it reluctantly. "Look into the crystal, and you’ll be able to watch what the others are doing. You have a story to write, after all, and you can’t have it only half-done. That simply won’t do."
Stormlight scowled as she gazed into the crystal’s depths, and almost immediately a picture formed. It was Hotohori, standing in another part of the forest, clearly unhappy with the sudden transition, and just behind him stood… Her eyes went wide, and she wasn’t sure whether to be amused or alarmed. "You…you put…Hotohori…with Nuriko and…and Tomo?" she choked out, having to bite back a laugh despite herself.
"Is there a problem with that?" Jareth asked with entirely too much innocence. "He’s so beautiful, after all, I thought perhaps he should travel with someone who would…appreciate his beauty, since he seems to thrive on compliments…" He grimaced like he’d just tasted something sour.
"I appreciate his beauty! Why can’t I travel with him?" Stormlight complained.
He shot her a dark look. "Would you please not insult my intelligence by asking such a pointlessly stupid question?" he bit out.
Now it was her turn to smirk. She looked down at Hotohori’s face again and sighed wistfully. "Poor Hotohori. What have I gotten you into?"
"Oh, calm down," Jareth muttered. "I’m quite sure those two will take good care of him for you." His grin was positively evil.
"Like I said, J," Stormlight muttered, "you are most definitely cruel."
"So where do we go from here?" Suboshi asked sulkily once Jareth left, eyeing Stormlight with contempt.
She returned the favor. "Look, kid, I don’t like it any better than you do, okay? You think you can do better on your own? Fine! You can leave whenever you want. I certainly won’t stop you. In the meantime, I think the first thing we need to do is figure out who’s stuck with who, and see if we can’t come up with some idea of where they are. With a little luck, we’ll meet up with some of them again. Deedlit…" She turned back to the crystal as the fairy appeared at her ear. "Tell me if you recognize any of these places, okay?"
She concentrated, and Miaka’s image appeared in the crystal.
"Miaka!" Tamahome exclaimed, leaning in closer. "Where is she? Who is she with?" He sounded almost frantic with worry.
"Down, boy," Stormlight replied. "She’s with Chichiri…and…" Her eyebrows rose with surprise, and she turned a sly glance to Nakago. "And Yui," she finished smugly.
"What?" Nakago looked less than pleased, and she tossed him a smirk.
"What’s the matter, Goldilocks? Afraid all those lies you told her are gonna come back and bite you?" she taunted. "It’s such a shame! All that time spent turning Yui against her best friend, and now it looks like all your hard work is about to get flushed down the proverbial toilet. Such a pity."
He glowered at her, fists clenching, but refused to rise to the bait. Suboshi looked from one to the other, eyes wide, and said nothing.
"Yui won’t hurt her, will she?" Tamahome asked worriedly.
"No. Thank heaven Jareth had enough sense to stick them with Chichiri. He’s just the kind of person Yui needs to hang around with for awhile. You know, get her away from all those bad influences in her life." She shot another glance at the Seiryu Seishi, and Tamahome looked quite satisfied.
Deedlit flew in closer for a better look. "They’re still in the forest, closest to the stone maze," she announced. Stormlight pulled out her notebook (thankfully dry by then) and made a note of it.
"So…the only ones left are Mitsukake, Tasuki, Soi, and Miboshi," she murmured, writing down the names. The crystal swirled, and when it cleared, the image of those four Seishi appeared. "Okay, so they’re all together…that’s helpful. Deedlit, where are they?" she asked.
Deedlit looked, then giggled. "They’re in Fiery country," she replied with an evil grin. "Near the nesting grounds in the forest."
Stormlight couldn’t hold back a short laugh. "Those poor dears. I wish I could tell them what they’re in for if they meet up with those flaming freaks," she replied, writing it down. "Now…where exactly are Hotohori and company again?"
"Somewhere outside the bog," Deedlit pouted, still miffed at having lost the emperor’s company.
Stormlight stopped writing, her jaw hanging open. "The bog," she repeated. "You don’t mean the Bog, do you? The Bog of Eternal Stench?!"
"Is there any other?" Deedlit retorted. She stamped a foot in midair. "Can we go now? I’m bored!" she whined.
Stormlight slowly stood up, shaking her head, a small grin tugging at her lips as she tried to imagine the trio’s reaction should they stumble into the Bog. She could only hope that the smell would warn them away, but if it didn’t…
"I sure hope Sir Didymus had that bridge rebuilt by now…" she muttered, slinging her pack over her shoulder and starting off down the road again.