Warnings: big, BIG dragon!

The Welder of BlackFire:

Thorn's New Life-The Legend Lives

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Fighting for Life/A Fateful Decision

Thorn began to chuckle. But it wasn't her voice that caused the rumbling that erupted from the burrows of her throat. Her eyes opened slowly, no longer their bright green dye, but instead a crazed blue one, slits of black viciously and desperately holding the insanity in its place, from which it longed to break free from. The Spirit Detectives all stared in shock as she easily ripped through the whip, tearing as though it was nothing more than tissue paper.

"Now, it is my turn," came a deep and wizened voice, which chuckled in glee as it watched the amazement pass over the fighter's faces. The body of the girl began to transform, to shift and mold, the fawny skin becoming shinning black scales that grinned darkly. The long, graceful, fingers became glinting silver claws that shinned even in the dawning light with a deadly sparkle. Her body became longer and more serpentine, twisting and winding into something more snake-like. The nose elongated into a snout and the smile that had graced the full lips turning into a grin, revealing shards of jutting fangs.

They were all forced to take a step back and Yusuke leapt into a tree at the edge of the clearing to stay clear of the giant creature. Its chuckled deepened into a full-fledged laugh as it dug its fore claws into the earth.

The sun had just peeked over the very tips of the trees, making the hide of the great dragon shine brilliantly. Its silver claws glinted dangerously in the new-found light, their tips piercing into the earth and scarring its already marred terrain. Its tail lashed out with impossible speed, snapping the tree that Yusuke hastily discarded in favor of another, much safer one.

"Oh how good it feels to finally have my real shape again!" the dragon cried out to the world as it grinned and laughed. It looked down and its eyes found footing on Kurama's figure, standing in a fighting pose, slackened from amazement.

"So how does it feel to face me once again in my true from, Youko Kurama?" it asked with a smile. The kitsune's eyes were wide with fear and he trembled slightly in the wake of the great creature.

'No, I refused to be intimidated,' Kurama thought, straightening and stiffening his position. The dragon roared in laughter. 'But what can I use to defeat him?'

"What a stupid thought," the dragon thundered. "Even in your true demon form you are no match for me."

"Hm," was the kitsune's reply as he continued to ready himself for an attack.

"But I must commend you two. To weaken my Mistress as much as you have. Those defensive shields drained her. But she knew that the Spirit Wave would destroyed us if she was not able to block it. But now that I am in my true shape, there is nothing that can kill me. I am immortal. I am unstoppable. It is foolish to think that you can defeat me," said the dragon. It paused and tilted its head to its right.

"Spirit Wave!" Yusuke shouted from the air above the dragon. Its grin seemed to dim as it saw the spirit detective aiming his attack at him. It lashed its tail out just as Yusuke shot his Spirit Wave down at him, its tail slapping him in the back with such force the wind was knocked out of him, as well as the light of consciousness. He landed in a heap at the edge of the clearing.

"Yusuke!" Kurama cried as he watched the Spirit Detective fall to the ground.

"I've got it, Kurama." Hiei was grim as he appeared at the boy's side, checking him for damage. Nothing seemed to be broken, but he was badly bruised and seemed to have some trauma to his back and neck, as well as to his head. Had the strike been another few inches higher and he'd surely be dead.

The dragon growled as the attack hit him square between the shoulders and dissipated. He shook himself as though trying to rid himself of an itch before looking over at Yusuke.

"That boy should be proud. He made my Mistress scream in pain. She never feels pain," he said with a sneer. Kurama gapped at him.

"What do you mean?" Hiei asked darkly, looking up from the crumpled body before him and glaring at the Black Blaze. The dragon's sneer grew.

"I feel no pain as long as she lives, Hiei. Which is why I plan to keep her around for a while. When I am in this shape, she cannot control me, yet I have total control over this body. When pain is meant for my body, it is transferred to her and Rose. I feel no pain. That is why I am unstoppable," he said with a sadistic laugh, turning toward the fire youkai, who bared his fangs. "I have been waiting for this moment for many long months! Binding my time until I could overtake them!"

"How could you?" Kurama asked angrily, stepping forward. Another laugh answered his question.

"How couldn't I? Tell me, if you had been sent into darkness for centuries would you not relish a release? You cannot answer that. You have never felt such a void. But it is not that I do not respect my Mistress'. I do with great loyalty. But when she excepted me in that vault, when she released me from my prison not moments before, she excepted the risk she was taking. And she took them for me. If she were not to fight, to just hand me over, she could avoid all charges against her. But she stands tall for me, and I shall stand tall for her until she bids me to drop to my knees. I will answer to her calls, I will never ignore them. Even if it sentences me to my death," the dragon said, his voice growing older and more regal as he spoke.

"You are willing to die for her?" Hiei asked. The dragon turned his head, letting his right eye look the fire youkai over.

"Yes," he answered simply. "She is my student, my heir, my daughter, and my Mistress in one body. She is the future. She is everything."

"You mean she is the bringer of our destruction?" the silent Shizuru asked. The Black Blaze turned and looked down on her.

"Foolish human, do you not see her? She means your world no harm, although I do not understand why she does not want to rule it. But neither of us are here to destroy this world. Although we both find humans to be a disgusting race. She wants only to become stronger, as do I. We will rule this world only with your fear, not by killing." He smirked. "At least, not killing enough to destroy your race." He turned his head back toward Kurama.

"But now I ramble. Not that it matters. You will die. Mistress has no more Spirit Energy and so she cannot take over this body again. But I will dispose of you long before she regains her energy," the Black Blaze said. He lifted his long tail and slashed it out behind him, making more trees crash to the ground in a mournful thunder. He looked to Kurama and opened his large jaws to take a deep breath. Realizing what was about to happen, Kurama dodged the large blast of fire that spilled from the gaping maw. The fire continued on to feed off the trees that lay behind him, their tongues licking greedily up the trunks toward the sky, blackening it with a potent smoke that made the air stifling to breathe. With a hiss, the dragon turned to where the kitsune had landed. With a grim expression, Kurama flicked his broken Rose Whip at the dragon, making it wrap around its jaws and lock in place due to two interlocking thorns.

'This will give me a few seconds to think. Dragons. Their greatest weakness is a thin piece of armor on the left side of its chest, even with its left arm. Somehow, I need to make him fall backward so I can plant a death seed there or Yusuke can attack it with his Spirit Gun,' Kurama thought frantically. The dragon's jaws broke the vine a moment later, from its lips spilling a snarl. Its glowing cobalt eyes fell down upon the demon below him.

"You are a fool to think you could so much as harm me, Youko Kurama! I cannot die! Black Dragon Claws!" he snarled. He raised his right claw, which flickered an angry navy, black streaking around the silver claws and weaving between the blue. It struck out, but its swipe was too slow and missed Kurama completely as he used his great agility to avoid it. The dragon's head jerked around.

"Now I have you!" he cried. Too late, Kurama twisted around to look behind him. The creature's tail, spiked to a point, rushed toward him.

"Kurama!" Hiei shouted, but it was too late for the kitsune to dodge as the blow hit him full in the stomach. With a pain-filled shout, the boy was thrown against another tree, near Yusuke's. Blood trickled from the side of his mouth as he let out a gasp before sliding to the ground with a large thud. His eyes closed as his chin fell to his chest, letting his bangs obscure his eyes as his body fell limp. But you could see, right before his eyes closed into unconscious oblivion, the fear, yet determination sparking in his green eyes.

Hiei looked at Kurama, but it looked as though he would be fine as long as no more damage was inflicted upon him. He was still breathing, although the breaths were ragged. Hiei turned back to the snickering black dragon, his eyes glaring.

"She was right. You are a bastard. Neither of you deserve to live," he hissed as he turned toward BlackFire. The dragon looked down on him.

"You still deny your feelings? Pitiful. And its a shame, because she denies her own for you as well." He grinned at the sudden expression that shot across Hiei's face. "Not that it matters. I will kill you. I have spared the others just for the prospect of killing you first. But don't fear. They will also die. If it wasn't for you, her first stage of training would be nearly complete. I had only to kill her mother before my entire first stage of training was complete, but you have foiled my plans. Her respect for you, as well as the feelings she has, the stupid human ones, have interfered. If I were to kill you, I would be one step closer to having her as perfect as any could dream. Then I would only have to take care of her mother." Hiei gritted his teeth in anger.

"You shouldn't toy with one's feelings," he hissed, his hand on his katana. The dragon grinned.

"I wouldn't try that. You will only shatter your sword against my unbreakable armor. You should run. I would love to hunt you," he said, his icy blue eyes sparkling. Hiei crouched, balancing on the balls of his feet, ready to skip across the air and make his slash.

"No. I don't run. I will fight you."

"And you would harm Thorn to fight me? I see the hesitation in your eyes," BlackFire rumbled. "And I will kill you with it still there. Your death comes now!" he roared, bringing his right claw up, making the morning sun reflect on its surface. It began to glow, but not as Black Dragon Claws. It was red, even though black still rimmed its edges.

"Internal Fire!" he hissed with solicitude, bringing his large claw down just as Hiei contemplated which direction to dodge in.

The talons lay at least ten feet away, burning into the ground as the earth spit up smoke as it disintegrated. Hiei looked up as a deafening roar filled the air. BlackFire thundered in rage, his wild eyes closing in pain as he backed away.

"No! Mistress! Let me be! Let me finish what I have started!" he cried, his face twisted in agony. He shook his head at the latent source of pain. Some unseen power filled the air. It felt... Like… Kuwabara?

'I tire of this, BlackFire. You and they, both, have jaded me. If not for your constant pestering, I could have taken care of this myself. But I gave you a chance of true freedom, and with it you have betrayed me. Return, or I will be forced to punish you,' came a pained voice through the air.

"Thorn," Hiei whispered, straightening with widened eyes, his voice questioning. But he received no answer to his breathless word.

"No! Mistress! How can you still be awake? You have no energy left!" BlackFire called, his body coiling like a poisoned snake.

'No, I did have energy. Kuwabara gave it to me. Or, rather, I took it from him. BlackFire, you have an uncanny ability to underestimate your enemies. And myself. Will you return in peace?' Thorn's voice was slowly gaining strength, although it was apparent that the dragon was fighting her and she was loosing.

"I will not defy you, Mistress. But give me a moment more of my freedom! I beg of you!"

'It is clear that you will not come in peace. Very well,' she said. Suddenly, the air became thick and slightly foggy with some mysterious blue mist.

"NO!" the dragon snarled in rage. Its body twisted and coiled in hot pain, crashing into trees and snapping them as if they were mere twigs. "I WILL NOT GO!"

'Hiei. I need your help. Grab the medallion! Please hurry! I don't know now long I can hold him,' came Thorn's strained voice. Hiei was frozen in place. 'Please, Hiei!' Hiei shook out of his daze and looked around the clearing, searching for the piece of jewelry she spoke of. Something glittered in the sun near where the group had walked into the clearing. He bolted to it. Sure enough, it was the frozen dragon medallion that she spoke of. He picked it up, looking at it.

Its eyes, they were green.

'Throw it!' she cried, but her voice was barely a whisper. Her energy, Kuwabara's energy, was nearly gone, he could feel it. He looked at the dragon in its pain before throwing the pendant at them. Seemingly involuntarily, the Black Blaze lifted his nose and the chain settled around his throat. He looked at Hiei and snarled fiercely.

"I... will return… for your… soul," he managed to gasp just before his body melted into another shape. In a few moments, Thorn swayed before Hiei. She looked at him, her eyes, which had been nearly glowing in seriousness before, were back to their normal pigment. She gave a small smile.

"Thank you, Hiei. I didn't know what I was getting myself into," she said in a small voice. She stumbled on her feet as she walked toward him. Hiei stepped forward. She stopped in front of him, her breath heavy and her knees shaking in weakness.

"I can't fight you, Hiei. I am too weak. I leave my fate in your hands while I-" but she didn't get to finish as she fell to her knees. She looked up at him and gave a small smile. "I try to recover." With a heavy sigh her eyes closed and she sat back on her heels, her arms drooping to her sides in exhaustion. "Thank you," she whispered. She was asleep. Hiei looked down at her, then over at his teammates.

Shizuru lay draped over her brother in a deep slumber. Thorn must have used the last of her energy to put her to sleep. Kuwabara seemed unharmed with the exception of being totally drained of all of his Spirit Energy. Kurama seemed to have taken the worst of the damage, although Yusuke was roughed up as well. All were unconscious. The clearing lay in ruins, the flames having been extinguished from the trees, which lay in piles of ash. The ground was covered in claw marks nearly six feet long apiece, the grass torn and scattered, broken and laying in puzzled clumps. Trees lay in heaps along the clearing's edge. The sky was still blackened from the smoke, but the sun was slowly plowing its fierce, warm rays through the thick and unnatural clouds. The only thing that was missing from this scene of destruction was the blood. But it was not missed by the youkai.

Hiei looked down at the young woman that sat before him. She looked extremely tired sitting there, her breath unnaturally quick and her hair plastered to her forehead with sweat that smelled strangely of dragon blood. With the gentlest of hands, he picked her up, laying her against his chest as he began to walk, making sure not to touch the silent sword.

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Authoress' Note: another chappy! Yays! ^_^ actually, I've had this ready for about a week, but I had to wait for reviews and then I just didn't post it because I was working on the NEXT chapter, which is nearly completed! ^_^

Shizuru: damn, why'd you put me to sleep? I wanted to watch Hiei kick that sorry dragon's butt.

J: ^_^' that comes in later. But its for the same reason that Thorn didn't let the dragon kill everyone. She like's ya'll. Then again, who couldn't? ^_^ aww! Hiei, yer so sweet! -looks around- Hiei?

Kurama: ahh, he left. Said he had to go talk to his agent about something or other about out of characterness.

J: -pout- aww! He's gunna miss the exciting next chapter!

Yusuke: -whispering to Kuwabara- I think that's the point.

Reviews:

SilverKnight7: lol. No preview? Aww, but that's no fun! Hehe. ^_^ here's yer update!

Tomboy: lol. ^_^ glad you seem eager. And yes, this is basically the final show-down. But, unlike most show-downs, stuff happens after this! ^_^' err… it wasn't her braid, it was the necklace she had at her throat. ^_^ lol. Here's yer update!

Miyako14: lol. -yawn- yeah, I need a nap. I swear I haven't gotten more than eight hours of sleep for the past four days. It really sucks. ^_^ I have this cute -sarcastic- little black rings around my eyes. Lol. Yeah, can't wait 'til Monday and another WHR ep. And New Inuyasha is on in april! Yay!

baka-chibi-puffs: -blush- thank ye. I must admit, it's not half as bad as I originally thought it might turn out. ^_^. Err… please don't strangle me? Besides, Hiei might beat you to the punch. Hehe. Yay! B-C-P is off probation! Yay! I SO have to see the Tournament endings. -pout- I'm jealous! Lol. ^_^' err… here's yer update. Don't kill me.

Hiei's1girl: here's yer update! ^_^ lol, yeah, just a little low right now. I majorly need to save up for more bribing tickets for the Detectives! Lol. 0.0' wow. I need to get one of those….

Teaser:

Images flashed through Thorn's mind. It was dark. Black and shapeless. The way they all seemed to find comfort in. Rose stood to Thorn's left, her dark green eyes heated in anger as she glared at a form across from her. BlackFire stood to Thorn's right, respective, yet persuasive, his deep voice growling coaxingly as his tail twitched. Thorn sat on a bench between them, her arms and legs crossed and her eyes closed as she both listened and ignored. Another battle was to ensue. This one would determine when the next step of her training would occur, and how it was to be executed.

"Mistress, please, hear me out," BlackFire said sweetly, his tail low and his voice consoling to Rose's fierce temper, which struggled within her to cool its vicious flame. "It is important that you not get distracted from our goal. Hiei is a distraction. He must be taken care of."

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J: so what's up with Hiei? Is he going to take Thorn to Koenma's as instructed? Maybe he's actually gunna follow instructions! ^_^

Kurama: and I have a big part in the next chapter as well, of course.

J: how did you know that?!

Kurama: ^_^' why, um, you told me of course.

J: like hell I did. Jerk. Prying into my computer files will get yer ass kicked in my stories.

Kurama: ^_^' umm, yes, well, please review. Once again, J-san has forgotten about the disclaimer, so this goes for all the times she has forgotten that she does not own us. She owns only the three characters shown in the teaser. ^_^ have a nice day!

J: kurama! What ELSE did you put on my computer?! Don't think I don't see all this downloaded music on here! Yer on to type yer story and that's it!

Yusuke: ohh, this should be good.

Kuwabara: I've got twenty bucks on J-san that she'll beat Kurama over the head with her magic spoon.

Yusuke: yeah, well I bet that if she doesn't get reviews she kill everyone and refuse to post Kurama's story, which is looking pretty good.

Kuwabara: you're on!

J: reviews are appreciated and loved! Hopefully, with more sweet-snow Hiei'll come back, due to he found the stash and now its gone! ^_^ Thank ye!