The White Tower
This story is rated PG-13 for sexual situations
Chapter 17 - The Attack
Jae almost wished that Kaiba and her mother would never find a potion that would seal her mating scent. Living here with the Unicorns was wonderful -- magical. Taiki stayed with her most of the time, seeming to take a personal interest in her safety.
But it was when Kiri was near that made the time so special. The soft spoken, fair young man was so nice, so handsome -- Jae found herself liking him more each day. But she could not tell if he felt anything for her. The Unicorn was always friendly and polite, but nothing else. Was it because she was a half-Dragon and he was next in line to rule the herd?
Every few days, either Jaal or Kaiba would come by to try a potion and then Bya would try to sense her. None of the potions had worked until yesterday. Jae had dutifully swallowed the iridescent green liquid and this time her father could not sense her. But the true test would be whether another of the Great Dragons could sense her. She would stay with the Unicorns until the Black Dragon reappeared.
She prayed that the Dragon would never show up and that she could stay with the herd forever. Although Zalika never came near her, the other Unicorns were nice and friendly to her, and for the hundredth time, she wished that she had been born a Unicorn instead of a Dragon.
Jae was sitting on the edge of the high crag, the one where she had first seen Kiri, her legs dangling over the edge. Kiri was standing next to her, in his human form, since he believed that being in Unicorn form in the company of a human was impolite. They had been having a fairly meaningless conversation, more to pass the time than anything else, when they heard shouts and looked down. Standing below them was Taiki who was shouting "Look!!!" and pointing behind them. They both turned to the direction that he was pointing and saw black smoke staining the blue sky.
Kiri blanched white and pulled Jae to her feet, "The Castle is in that direction!" Upon reaching the valley, he asked Jae to return to her lean-to and then he and Taiki ran toward the smoke.
High above the Castle, a Black Dragon circled, spewing fire and brimstone with every pass. Bakura's barrier held for over an hour and then it crumbled under the onslaught. The next pass set the Towers on fire.
"We need help!" Kurama called to Bakura. "Create a portal to the White Tower. From there we can go to the Village. Also one to Suzaku. Princess, you must go to Suzaku for your protection."
"No! I will not leave the Castle while it is under attack!" Aara cried, refusing to budge.
"Princess, please. Your power will not work a Great Dragon and we cannot fight effectively if you are in danger." Kurama begged, leading her to Bakura's portal.
Aara looked at the Fox, her eyes full of tears, "It is not right that I flee like a coward. This is my home -- my Castle!"
"Please, I beg you."
She looked deep into his eyes and saw his fear for her and nodded, moving to the portal. "Send back Kyo and Souten and Tennu and whomever else you can find that might have the strength against a Great Dragon." After his Princess had left, Kurama turned to the Dog Demon. "InuYasha, go to the White Tower and from there to the Village. Bring back Hiten. Perhaps Hiten and Souten combined with Aniki might be able to stop the Dragon, but I doubt it."
The Dog Demon did not want to leave the fight, but the singe marks on the fire rat fur clothing he wore had already proven that even the Tetsusaiga was no match for a Great Dragon. He reluctantly went through Bakura's second portal.
"Why is he attacking the Castle? Does he think that we are hiding Jae here?" Kaiba asked Kurama when the Fox stopped to check on the injured guards under his care.
"No, he is demanding to know the whereabouts of the Unicorn herd. Somehow he found out about Keiki and the death of his father, Rhu."
"What can we do against him? Bakura's barriers did not hold for long. And now the Towers are burning. There is no one strong enough to fight a Great Dragon."
"I know. My plants did not last but a few moments against his fire and InuYasha might have been burned if Hiei hadn't pulled him out of the path of the flame. But there is still power available to us. Three Thunder Demons might be able to generate enough lightning to bring him down. Tennu brought down Kyo and Shun; perhaps he can bring down one larger dragon."
"Much larger! That Dragon is almost the size of the Castle itself!"
"We must not give up hope! Help is on its way."
"Why don't we just tell him where the Unicorns are?" asked one of the injured guards.
"Never! We have sworn to protect them." Kurama growled. "We do not go back on our word!"
InuYasha went from the portal and through the mirror in minutes and soon brought Hiten back with him. Bya joined them and soon after the three of them appeared in the main hall of the Castle.
"Bya! Thank you for your help! I have sent for Kyo and perhaps you two can distract the Black Dragon while the Thunder Demons bring up their power." Kurama said, and then turned to Hiten. "Aniki is in the South Garden and Souten is on his way."
"I will find Aniki and ask that you send Souten to me when he arrives." Hiten called as he broke into a run toward the Gardens.
The other portal hummed faintly and then Kyo, Souten, Tennu and Toya stepped out of it.
"Thank you all for coming! Tennu, do you think you can bring down Rye?" Kurama asked.
"No. I barely had enough power to stop the smaller dragons and Rye is nearly three times as large. Toya and I will serve best putting out the fires."
"Good idea!" Toya ran up to the South Tower while Tennu took the North.
Souten went to find his father and Aniki, while Kyo and Bya went outside to transform to their Dragon forms.
"Be careful!" Kurama warned. "If he gets a hold of you, you will not survive."
"I know that. He is larger than Rhu, who almost killed me." Kyo said ruefully. "I don't want a repeat of that!"
"Just distract him to give the Thunder Demons time to charge up."
Kyo nodded and then transformed into his Red Dragon form with Bya quickly following. The two Dragons took the sky and screamed a warning to the Black Dragon, hoping to draw him away from the Castle. Rye answered and went after them; his speed incredible. One mistake and one of the smaller Dragons would surely die!
While the aerial display went on in the sky above them, the three Thunder Demons went through the side gate of the gardens and now stood on a nearby hill, charging up their power. Dark clouds gathered in the sky above them and static electricity filled the air. Thunder rumbled, announcing the storm gathering its power, and sparks of light could be seen flashing in the clouds.
"They are out in the open!" Bakura exclaimed, and ran out the door and toward the hill before Kurama could stop him. If the Dragon saw them, the trio would not have a chance!
On the other side of the Castle, Kyo and Bya were desperately trying to buy time while avoiding Rye's jaws and claws. His fire could not harm them; their scales were fire-proof, but he could tear them apart. Rye was very old and much more experienced than either Kyo or Bya and seemed to know exactly which way they were going to turn next. Bya was already bleeding from a torn wing, which had slowed his flight down considerably. They could not stay airborne much longer.
Suddenly, a huge bolt of lightning slammed into the Black Dragon. He screamed in pain and fury, and the two smaller Dragons quickly flew away to safety. Now it was up to the Thunder Demons. More lightning bolts hit Rye, lighting up the sky with their power. The Dragon was in pain, but he was not stopped and he quickly flew high above the clouds where the lightning, which had to travel downward, could not reach him. And now he circled the sky looking for the source of the attack. With a shriek that echoed in everyone's ears, he folded his wings and dove through the clouds in a freefall -- directly at the Thunder Demons.
A scant hundred feet above the ground, he leveled off and flamed out white-hot fire, scorching the entire area black. But Bakura had reached the Thunder Demons in time and his barrier held under the assault.
The Black Dragon landed and screamed into their minds, "Where are the Unicorns??? If you do not give them to me, I will burn all of Otherworld!"
"No! Don't harm them!" Came a voice from behind him. Rye twisted his huge head around and saw two young men standing on the road, one fair and one dark. "Why do you want the Unicorn herd?"
"I only want the sons of my father's killer. The Unicorns named Kiri and Taiki."
"Then you have found us. I am Kiri and this is my brother, Taiki. Do what you want to with us, but let Otherworld alone."
"As you wish. And now, you will pay for my father's death!"