Author's Note: So, I just realized that Joy is the Petit Dragon and not the Petite Dragon. In my defense, they mean the same thing, and my spell-check says they're both right. How freakin' lame.

On another note, OVER THREE HUNDRED REVIEWS! I love you guys. :D Sometimes I feel unsure about how good this is, and then I look at it on my author page and all of the doubt disappears.

Basically, my common sense kicks me in the butt and screams, "THREE HUNDRED REVIEWS, YA DUMB ASS!"

But no, seriously, thank you all for reviewing everything and being patient with me. I had no idea my story would get this long or be this popular. You make me feel all warm and cuddly inside. :)

So! In celebration of my twenty-fifth chapter (technically it's the twenty-forth, but including the prologue, it totals twenty-five), EVERYONE GETS A FRANK! *begins handing out franks* I've got green, I've got pink, I've got blue, I've got orange—I've got an assortment of colors!

Dude, if I made frank plushies, you guys would totally buy them, wouldn't you? :D

Mythaven

Recap:

Joey had just made it inside Den when Amarok was there, sniffing him over carefully. "Amarok-!"

"Something evil is here. I sensed it first; the others will be here soon." He stood back and frowned. "What is it? Is it Akuju?"

The blond peeked back outside just in time to see Seto roar in fury and move to tackle the other man only to get flung away and fall to the ground in a crumpled heap, blood beginning to leak from scratches on his torso from the throw. "No, but—I think it's someone even more evil!"

The giant wolf frowned in confusion. "Who could be more evil than Akuju?"

Joey's eyes darkened with anger and pain as he looked up at the wolf again. "Gozaburo Kaiba."

Chapter 24

Seto let out a grunt as he hit the ground again, wondering why—why—he couldn't hit the bastard. No matter what he tried, be it trying to hit him with his own body to throwing his magic around, he couldn't hurt him! Why?!

Gozaburo laughed, and he realized just how much he hated that laugh. "Is this all you've got? You've become soft, Seto. I never thought I'd see the day!" His face twisted into a smirk. "Though I could never expect more from a faggot."

"Bastard-!" The brunet growled. He knew he couldn't win now, unless he outsmarted him. And he knew what could delay any attack from the man, just long enough to give him enough time to make up a plan. "How'd you manage it this time, old man? I thought we'd gotten rid of you once and for all."

The man laughed again—he hadn't realized just how much that laugh could piss him off. "Some brat named Akuju brought me here. Said he wanted me to destroy you so that he could get some 'Golden One.'"

Seto growled loudly, eyes beginning to glow in fury. "Akuju? Again? Wants my mate?"

Gozaburo raised an eyebrow. "Mate? You mean your little bitch? Well, I guess he is ideal for a male whore." When the brunet snarled at him, eyeteeth beginning to extend, he smirked. "I wouldn't mind taking a shot at him myself, before I gave him over to the other brat."

He knew that losing his temper would be dangerous, but he couldn't help it; every single one of his veins was being filled with ice-cold fury. And he was probably reacting just the way Gozaburo wanted him to—because being angry was just as bad as being a stupid beast. As electricity began to crackle around him, he let out a roar that shook the ground beneath him so hard that the leaves on the trees nearby trembled as he surged to his feet. It was his first true dragon roar.

"Se-! Seto!"

Seto blinked slowly, then turned his head, looking over his shoulder in confusion. "…Dame…"

"Seto-! That's just what he wants! Calm down!" His dame was looking at him with such pleading eyes, partially hidden behind one of the larger canines, one of his hands drawn up to his chest nervously. "…Please? B-because Kaii needs his Papa."

The brunet continued to blink at him, but he could already feel his body beginning to warm—his dame had always been good at making him warm.

The blond bit his bottom lip anxiously. "…Seto?"

Seto let out another snarl and turned back to his opponent, wings flaring open threateningly. "You're not taking my dame."

Gozaburo scowled, shooting a glare at the blond watching from a safe distance, then smirked. He only thought he was safe.

The brunet saw the smirk and could easily deduce what he was going to do. He prepared himself to jump to his mate's safety, only to stop and listen in confusion as he heard a sharp clattering sound that was steadily getting nearer. The other man stopped as well, trying to figure out what the sound was also. Hearing that it was coming from the direction of Den, they both turned their attention to it.

Seto paled as the canines began dodging out of the way, and he suddenly realized just who else was inside Den. His fears were founded; the clattering was hooves hitting the stone floor as his kirin guardian galloped toward them. He had a very, very bad feeling about this.

Soumya snorted out some smoke, eyes blazing red, as he hurtled out of the mouth of Den. He was mindless of his still healing wound, as it ripped open and began oozing blood again, but then he was bowing his head, aiming his suddenly imposing single horn at the older man's chest.

Seeing the utter scorn in Gozaburo's eyes, the brunet turned to try and stop him, but the dragon-deer was too angry to listen and continued his charge. Seto could only watch in horror as the kirin was suddenly engulfed in flames.

Gozaburo's eyes widened in surprise as the kirin continued its charge, seemingly mindless of the pain it was in, then tried to dodge, but he was a little too late. Soumya's horn pierced his side, ripping it open and leaving a large, bloody wound there. The flaming kirin snorted, then turned, pawing the ground to get ready to charge again.

It was time for him to make a hasty retreat.

Seto rushed over to Soumya and tried to beat him out, but the kirin merely shot him a bland stare. "Seto, I'm part dragon. A little fire isn't going to hurt." He smiled brightly. "Actually, it's cauterized my wound, which is good news."

The brunet sighed loudly and turned to glare at where Gozaburo had disappeared, then turned sharply as he heard his mate cry out in fear. "Joey?"

Joey was right next to him now, angry tears in his eyes as he reached up to gently rest his hands on the older boy's chest. He trailed his fingertips down to the brunet's stomach, then looked up at him and whispered, "Look what that bastard did to ya, Seto. Why can't he just die and leave us alone, huh?"

Seto sighed, then leaned down to nuzzle his neck. "He's too stubborn to die." He snapped his head upward and scowled, grabbing the blond's wrists and yanking him closer violently. "But I don't want you out of my sight."

The blond gasped in surprise and looked up at him, eyes wide, before he bit his bottom lip and nodded, whispering, "Okay, Seto."

"Good." The older boy dipped his head for a short kiss, then pulled him into his arms and held him tightly, unable to think back on what his step-father had said. 'Joey doesn't look like a whore. He's beautiful. Bastard's just jealous.'

"I can't believe you just did that," Kankana stated, stomping out to them and giving Soumya an icy glare. "I really can't believe you just did that, you bastard! Are you trying to leave my pups without a father?! Hmm?! Hmm!?"

Soumya took a nervous step back, frowning. "W-well, I was just… I-it was Gozaburo, Kankana, a-and I just t-thought…"

"Did you really?" She raised a brow, still glaring, still hopping mad. "'cause I don't think you did! You just barged on out here—you reopened your wound!"

"…The fire cauterized it," the kirin replied, looking down at the ground and timidly pawing it.

"Oh, yay, the enemy's fire burned your wound closed."

It really shouldn't have been funny, and the blond tried his damnedest not to laugh, but one look at the huffy inugami and slightly humiliated kirin had him covering his mouth to try and stifle his laughter.

Hearing this, the giant dog turned her glare on him. "You think it's funny, do you?"

Joey shook his head quickly, laughter dying as soon as it had come as his eyes widened. "No, Kankana."

"I didn't think so." She narrowed her eyes at him, then turned and began strutting back into Den, nose in the air. "I expect you back in Den in five minutes, ready to go home. We're trying another portal." She turned to glare back at her mate. "Are you coming or what?"

Sighing, the dragon-deer trotted after her. "I'm coming…"

Amarok raised a brow and turned his head to watch them pass, then smiled. "Well. It seems she's taking on the role of Mother quite well."

"Yeah, and all we have to do is piss her off," one of the other canines mumbled, but they all turned to head inside as well.

Joey sighed, then turned his gaze to the brunet's torso, watching as sparks began to dance from his fingers and seal the other boy's wounds closed, as if there had never been cuts or scrapes there at all. "I can see bits of Nenne in her, now. Only Mother could be so sweet and kind and then get so totally pissed off that no one's safe."

Seto hummed softly to show he was listening and closed his eyes. "You're getting really good with your powers, puppy."

"Well, a really smart guy told me I could never actually control my powers," the blond replied, smiling mischievously.

The older boy raised an eyebrow, then smiled, opening his eyes to look at him. "Oh? What else did this really smart guy tell you?"

"I don't really remember." The younger teen waved it away carelessly. "I was too distracted by how hot he was t' really listen t' what he was sayin'."

The brunet smirked and leaned toward him. "Was he totally drool-worthy, puppy?"

"Oh, definitely. Don't be jealous, now!" Joey let out an 'eep' as the older boy hugged him closer and leaned down to nuzzle and nip his neck, growling playfully, then giggled softly. "Seto! Stop it! That tickles…!"

"Psh, you asked for it." Seto leaned back and smiled. "But you're such a cute puppy."

The blond blushed a little and looked away, then glanced back up at him. "We… we should go inside. Before Kankana gets mad again and comes back out t' get us."

The older boy grimaced. "Oh, God, no. After you."

"Scared of a big old puppy dog?" the blond teased, turning to go into the cave. "Never thought I'd see the day."

"Yeah, but that big old puppy dog has a mean bite," the Dragon Master replied, wincing slightly. He still remembered the fight between the Minotaur and the inugami. Needless to say, he never wanted to see anything like it again.

Just as they were about to go inside, the ground shook (causing Joey to fall down), and anguished, furious roars reached their ears. They turned to look toward where the dragons lived in confusion. There had been more than one roar at the same time. Something had upset the dragons.

Kankana was out of Den like a shot, snarling over her shoulder for the Hell Hounds to watch the pups because only an idiot would try to go against a pack of dogs literally from Hell. And then she was gone, like a bolt of red lightning through the trees toward the dragon's valley.

Soumya was out next, not as fast as she was but definitely not walking. "That was Akai and his mates, and the Emperors. If I'm not mistaken, the rest of the dragons will start soon."

The two teens glanced at each other before Seto hooked his arms around the blond and took flight. This earned him a surprised yelp and arms around his neck nearly strangling him, but if he could get to the Blue-Eyes and their mate faster, he wasn't going to waste his time with running. And Soumya was right; soon the area was filled with loud, distressed roars of pain and horror.

When they flew over the valley, they found Akai, Kisara, Aoi, and Shira outside a den dug out of the side of the mountain, heads thrown back as they roared and whined. Genghis Khan had protectively wrapped around the small group of kits looking up at their parents in frightened confusion, keeping them together and safe. Pater had threaded his way through the group of four parents so he was touching each of them in some way, and that was probably the only thing keeping them from running around in a panic. They could also see Persephone's tail peeking out of the den, and they supposed she was in with the eggs that still had yet to hatch.

Landing in front of the dragons just as Kankana stumbled to a stop beside them (she tripped over herself and rolled a few feet, coming to a stunned halt next to Akai's tail), they looked up at the dragons in confusion. They wanted to say something, but were afraid that they'd upset the dragons even more. Luckily, they didn't have to.

Soumya looked up at them and raised a brow, then frowned and looked up at Pater. "What's wrong?"

Pater looked down at him and sighed. "Someone has stolen one of their kits. He looked like a Dragon Master, but he didn't feel like one. Then he took one of the kits and disappeared."

Joey gasped in horror as Seto let out an infuriated growl. "No way!"

"Bastard!"

The blond frowned as he heard a soft, weak, "meee…" Only one dragon made that noise. Noticing a ruffle of leaves, he turned in confusion to look at the bush nearby, then gasped again and rushed forward. "Oh my God, Joy!"

At this, heads snapped to the side, just in time to see him catch the tiny red dragon as it began to flutter weakly, then fall to the ground. …Wait. Red?

Forget soothing sparks; his hands and the dragon clasped in them were engulfed in a bright golden light that had the tiny dragon squealing in pain, but his cries were drowned out by the blond's horror-struck screaming. "OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGod!" Pulling the now fully healed Petit Dragon into a hug, he sobbed. "Oh my God, Joy! What'd they do to you?"

"Kah-eeeee…!" the little dragon whimpered, wings fluttering weakly. "Kaaah-eeeeeee!"

"Kah-ee?" Joey pulled him away from his chest in confusion, repeating the name in his head, before he gasped again. "Kaii! They took Kaii!?" When the tiny dragon nodded and whined, he let out a sob and fell to his knees, holding the tiny dragon close. "Oh, God! No! No!"

Seto pulled the blond into his arms and tucked his wings around him like a blanket, nuzzling his neck softly. "I'll get him back. I promise, puppy, I'll get him back."

Joey knew he meant it, and he most certainly would get their hatchling back, but his mind was already making the connections. Gozaburo would work with Akuju as long as it benefited him. Akuju would be after him until he had Mythaven under his thumb. That meant Akuju would be getting his hands on the poor, frightened little dragon. And he still hadn't forgotten what that evil man had done to a helpless little puppy.

So that could conceivably happen to his baby.

Joy squealed in pain as the blond's grip tightened around him and hurriedly wriggled out of the boy's hands, quickly flying to hide behind Genghis Khan and peek over at him cautiously.

The blond's hands tightened into fists, and he slammed them down on the ground angrily. "Bastard! Bastard! I'll fucking kill you!"

The Dragon Master leaned back and frowned, rubbing the younger boy's back as he punched the ground violently and wondering what Joey had done to ever deserve this sort of pain. Surely he hadn't done something so horrible to merit any of this.

Kankana winced, then limped quickly toward the cave. "Everybody hit the deck!"

This only earned questioning stares from the dragons, until the Golden One let out a pulse of magic so strong that Seto was forced back, landing about six feet away, and all of the dragons were knocked off their feet.

Joey covered his face and began to sob even harder, so angry and frustrated he just absolutely wanted to die.

Another pulse of magic nearly sent the dragons skidding away. As it was, Seto let out a grunt as he was thrown into Soumya, and both tumbled to the ground in a tangled, painful heap.

Akuju was going to hurt his baby, just to get him. And it was all because he'd mentioned Kaii when he was trying to calm Seto down. It was all his fault. All his fault. Akuju would—

Standing up suddenly, Joey let out an infuriated roar that could send chills down anyone's back—even the dragons. His eyes glowed a bright golden color, and it appeared as if a slight golden aura was forming around him. "Akuju! I don't know how, but I know you're watchin'! I'm gonna find ya and I'm gonna KILL YA!" he shouted, trembling with rage, as he accidentally loosed another wave of power. "I'm gonna kill ya slow, too! Slowly and painfully! I am not an ex-thug for nothin'!" Letting loose one last wave of power, he turned and stormed away, golden aura growing brighter.

Seto growled and tried to stand, but his muscles were screaming in protest. Once he did get up, however, and stumbled in the general direction that his mate had gone in, he was intercepted by a decidedly mean inugami. …At least that's what he thought she was currently.

Kankana frowned and stood in front of him, not even snarking that he was so weak currently that he had to grab onto her for support. "This must be something he does alone. Releasing power like that, he could accidentally kill you."

"I don't care, damn it, just let me—" the brunet began, trying to go around her, but then he was stopped by her stern look. "…What?"

"You would really make him suffer knowing that his uncontrolled powers killed you?" she asked softly, narrowing her eyes, and was pleased to see the brunet turning his gaze away. "The best you can hope to do while he's like this, Seto, is to take care of that bastard Gozaburo." She frowned in frustration, a small whine escaping her throat. "I was gonna go down to Hell and torture him a bit after you guys were gone, too. Cerberus owes me."

"And you snarl at me. A pregnant inugami going down to Hell—humph!"

She scowled. "Shut up, Soumya."

Seto sighed, then winced as he stood up straight, without her help. "Fine. But if I kill Gozaburo before he kills Akuju, I'm not going to just wait for him. I'm going to him."

The inugami waved a paw in dismissal. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. As long as you're happy, yada yada, all that shit. No, seriously, I don't care as long as you kill Gozaburo so that I can go do unspeakable things to him in Hell."

"…Because it's all about you," the brunet hissed, scowling.

She raised a brow. "I will mock him and make him feel very, very small."

That seemed to placate the Dragon Master, as his face relaxed into a neutral expression, and he shrugged. "Make him feel more worthless than dirt and I promise I won't be angry."

"Yeah, yeah. The dirt beneath the dirt."

"I would like to come with you," Pater stated, leaning down to be face to face with the brunet.

Seto scowled again, crossing his arms. "Why?"

The dragon narrowed his eyes angrily. "Because Gozaburo is not a Dragon Master; he is impersonating one. And I imagine that he is crunchy-delicious."

Despite how creepy that statement should have been, the brunet could only think of it as poetic justice. Gozburo had stolen his kit, so he would be eaten by an Emperor. Served him right for pissing off the dragons and stealing his baby. …He could only hope that he the other man was crunchy-delicious. The thought of his step-father being eaten was somehow appealing to him.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Why yes, this chapter is shorter than the others. …But not by much. Like five hundred words less. I just really wanted to get this chapter posted, and that seemed like a good place to stop. Well, a good place to me. :D Not for you guys, I'm sure. I'll respond to all of your reviews (last chapter's and this chapter's) later. I'm currently too lazy and nursing my wounds. My right wrist, my left bicep, and my left knee. I'm deeeeeeead. XP