Disclaimer: Still just playing with Rumiko Takahashi's characters.

Chapter 3

Battle!

Kagome, Miroku, and Sango rushed down the hillside, following Inuyasha who had impulsively leapt to join the villagers' conflict with the dragon. Shippo and Kirara scurried after them. They were just making their way across the field toward Inuyasha as he came within range of the dragon. The villagers were, of their own accord, melting back to the sidelines, recognizing an experienced band of fighters and more than willing to relinquish the field of battle to them. Kagome was heading toward the village men, to see if there were any injuries to treat, when a certain piece of dragon lore came back to her with the force of a hammer. She dropped her bag, spinning around to where Inuyasha was beginning his charge against the massive beast.

"Inuyasha!" she screamed, but he was already leaping upward, directly at the toothsome maw of the monster. "It breathes fire! It breathes FIRE!"

Her warning was too late. Like the living flame-thrower it was, the dragon spewed a gout of flame at the half-demon soaring upwards toward it. Inuyasha's red-clad figure was lost in the hot colors of the torrent of fire.

Kagome covered her mouth with her hands. "No." she whispered into her fingers.

"Wait! Look!" Miroku's cry was echoed by the village men, and several of them pointed at a spot just above the dragon, just beyond the flame. Kagome's wide-eyed gaze tracked to where they directed, and her eyes filled with relief. Inuyasha hovered there, unscathed. She could hear his harsh triumphant laugh, and it made her heart fill with a cry of joy. He's safe! Then she realized why -- his coat, made of fire-rat fur. It had protected her before, in just that way. She watched with a growing confidence as Inuyasha swooped down to attack the dragon. Sango and Miroku, ready to leap into action, waited as well, knowing the strength of their companion.

The Tetsusaiga swung down to bite into the dragon's flank, but the beast swooped away from the blade. Kagome could hear a wild laughter from the back of the dragon. It was the rider! She squinted at the beast, and sure enough, she could make out a harness and bridle. How on earth do you harness a dragon, she thought in bewilderment. But harnessed it certainly was, for now that she was watching for it, she could see that it was the rider that was directing the evasive maneuvers of the beast. She dashed forward.

"Inuyasha! It's the rider! If you can take out the rider, the dragon won't evade you!"

"I know that!"

"Okay! Just saying!"

"Maybe I can hit the rider with my boomerang bone," Sango said. Kagome looked at the young woman with approval. That was a great idea! The slim demonslayer called to Kirara, and in a moment, was in the air astride the fire-cat's back. She strove to reach a vantage point away from the beast's snout, but the rider had spotted her, and Sango was unable to get a clear shot. She tried anyway, but had to dodge a burst of flame in reward for her effort. She returned to the group on the ground.

"It's no use. She's too good at using the dragon as a shield and a weapon." Sango was breathless from her quick excursion into the battle. Kagome reached out toward Sango's forehead.

"So I see. You were lucky, Sango." Kagome brushed away a few strands of hair from the woman's bangs, singed into ash. Startled, Sango took a deep breath, then sank to the ground and gathered up the once-again small Kirara in her arms. She pressed her cheek to the cat's head, and whispered her thanks into her furry friend's ears.

Sango looked back up, keeping Kirara in her arms. "The rider was a woman. I saw her."

"A demon?" Miroku asked.

"No, a human, I'm sure of it."

"How is that possible?" Kagome was even more confused. All she knew about dragons -- not much admittedly -- indicated they were incredibly strong. How could a human master one?

The little group stood there for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts, watching Inuyasha striving against the strength of the dragon and the skill of the woman riding it. Kagome could just make out the sound of their voices, high above in the air. She moved closer to hear what it was they were saying.

"Give up? I will never give up!" It was the woman's voice, her words scornful. "I have travelled over every land, and taken my skills from each! I am the Queen of All Magic!"

Huh, Kagome thought, not impressed by the woman's hyperbole. You're the queen, all right; the Queen of Megalomania.

"Whatever! Just shut up and get off that dragon!"

Kagome shook her head slightly. That's right, Inuyasha, match wits with her.

"You are the one who will be shut up! You are keeping me from what is mine! I will kill you and then I will take the talisman for which I have come!" The woman's brash words were followed by a bolt of electric magic, shot from an elaborate wand in her hand. Inuyasha easily dodged the beam , and it was good that he did, for the spot on the ground where it hit smoldered with a sickly smoke.

"Watch out, Inuyasha!" Kagome called up to the half-demon. He scowled down at her.

"I can handle it!"

Inuyasha wasn't the only one looking down at her. The sorceress on the dragon was gazing at her too, a dark look on her face, the long coils of her red hair moving slightly in the wind like a living thing.

"I see you, little girl! I don't like little girls, especially little girls in uniforms! Once I get rid of this puppy, I'll take care of you, as well!" Her laughter cackled down to Kagome, who was really starting to be annoyed by this melodramatic self-styled queen. She wasn't able to retort, however, because Inuyasha renewed his onslaught with ferocity.

"No you won't!" he yelled, and dove directly at the woman on the dragon's back.

Kagome watched Inuyasha try to come at the dragon and its rider again and again, each time to have his attack thwarted by the swift maneuvers the beast was able to make. The sorceress' sharply-flung bolts of magic didn't help matters, either.

What can we do? Kagome tried to think. We can't get the crazy woman off the dragon, so we need to be able to immobilize it somehow, or else Inuyasha can't get enough of a swing to cut through those scales! The way it is now, even when he does get close enough, he can only get in a glancing blow with the Tetsusaiga. Kagome looked around, hoping to think of something that would help. Then she spotted it. There, on the other side of the meadow in front of the cave, a tree with a doubled trunk. If we can get the dragon to get stuck in that tree...but how? Kagome frowned at nothing, thinking fiercely. What else do I know about dragons? What else...oh! She snapped her fingers in sudden insight. Gold!

With a plan now bright in her mind, Kagome turned to her companions. "Shippo? Can you transform anything with your powers of illusion?"

"Well...it depends on the size of the thing, I guess."

Kagome quickly scoured the area, while her friends watched in befuddlement. In a moment, she returned to them, carrying a stone about the size of a grapefruit. "What about this, Shippo, is this too big?"

Shippo took the rock from Kagome cautiously, but once he had it in his own hands, he weighed it with a look of speculation on his young face.

"Kagome, what's going on?" Sango asked, too curious to keep silent.

"I have an idea about how we can get that dragon to hold still long enough for Inuyasha to hit it. But Shippo needs to be able to transform that rock in order for it to work."

Hearing that, the fox demon puffed up a little with pride, and his whole attitude changed to one of utter assurance -- or was that arrogance? He looked up at Kagome with eyes bright and eager. "What do you want me to change the rock into, Kagome?"

"Gold."

Everyone's eyes went wide at that.

"How is a rock that looks like gold going to be of aid to us, Kagome?" Miroku asked.

"It's something that I remembered about dragons -- they love gold and treasure of all kinds. In fact, they hoard it, they're obsessed with it. Maybe we can draw the dragon's attention with some fake gold and then Inuyasha can kill it." She looked down at Shippo, who was still cradling the rock in his hands. "Can you do that Shippo?"

"Yeah, but gold is kind of tricky. It won't stay like that long after I let go of it."

"Oh. Hmmmm..." Kagome turned away, thinking hard. She glanced up at the airborne battle. Inuyasha was still holding his own, but the sooner this was over, the better. Suddenly, the sight of their aerial dodgings sparked an idea, and she turned back, kneeling down to speak to Shippo more directly.

"Shippo, I have an idea, but it's dangerous. If you hold the stone until the last minute, then you and Kirara can lure the dragon to where we need him to go. Will you do that?"

Shippo paled, but stood firm. Kirara came up along side him and rubbed him with her head, uttering a tiny determined 'mew'. The fox gripped the stone with a squeeze, then returned Kagome's gaze.

"I- I'll do it. I will!" He closed his eyes tightly and held the stone close to his body, then spoke the phrase that activated his fox magic. In a puff of smoke, the stone transformed into a lump of precious gold, glimmering in the afternoon light. Kirara changed herself too, taking on her full form in a swirl of flame. As Shippo clambered onto her back, Kagome ran as close as she dared to the battle.

"Inuyasha!" she shouted. He barely spared her a glance, but she could tell he was listening to her all the same. "Be ready! We're going to try something to trap the dragon!" She stood there a moment longer, watching the fight. She could hear the sorceress' high, flat voice yelling taunts, and Inuyasha's voice giving back as good as he got in that sarcastic way of his. I hope this works, Kagome thought, as she turned and went back to the others.

She outlined the plan for Shippo and Kirara, pointing out the tree with the forked trunks, and then all she could do was step back and let them take over. She clasped her hands anxiously. It's just gotta work!

"It'll work, Kagome, I'm sure it will. Kirara's very agile." Sango unwittingly answered Kagome's fears with her comforting words.

"Sango's absolutely right, Kagome. And Shippo's braver than he thinks he is." Miroku came to stand on her other side, and thus flanked by her friends and their support, Kagome watched her plan play out.

Kirara flew toward the battle, Shippo looking like a little doll on her back. As soon as they were within the dragon's line of sight, Shippo held out the illusory gold. It glittered and shone in the sunlight, so much so that even Kagome and the others could see it clearly from where they stood. The dragon also saw it clearly, that much was certain. It's head swiveled sharply in the direction of the sparkling lure, and it's massive body rolled to follow. The sorceress hauled roughly on the harness, trying to turn the dragon back toward the battle, but the dragon just shivered it's body, like a horse shaking off a fly. As easy as that, the creature dislodged it's master, the compulsion for gold too strong to bear any other distraction. The woman fell the short distance to the ground, unmarked by all, who still watched the dragon's actions.

It tracked the movement of the golden stone unmercifully, and it's wings flapped with an urgency that propelled it forward more swiftly than it had moved before. Kagome could hear Shippo give out a yelp, but Sango had been correct -- Kirara was able to stay just out of range of the dragon's snout. Kagome worried about the monster's ability to use fire -- Shippo and Kirara wouldn't be protected as Inuyasha had been. But perhaps the dragon was too transfixed by the stone to think of it, or too covetous to dare use it's deadly weapon, because no flame shot out to test Kirara's agility again. The cat demon was showing her skill, in any case, keeping the dragon off-balance and focussed on the yellow stone so that the beast paid no heed to it's surroundings. In a moment, the fire cat was near the tree, and then slipped around it, so quickly the dragon had no time to pull up short. It's head plowed through the gap in the twinned trunks, and didn't stop until it's shoulders slammed up against the tree, sending a falling flurry of green leaves to shower it's scaly body. It bellowed, and began to wriggle itself free, but it's neck was now pinched by the trunks, and the scales were stuck deep in the bark. The powerful creature was held fast -- perhaps not for long, but for the moment it couldn't budge.

And it was a moment Inuyasha was ready to take advantage of. The trap had been set and sprung in a short space of time, but he was there at the dragon's head as soon as he saw it was immobilized. He raised his sword and swung down at the thrashing neck of the beast.

"Take that, you stupid creature!" His yell obscured the desperate cry of the sorceress. The Tetsusaiga was able at last to slice through the tough scales of the dragon's hide, and the monster's blood flowed from the wound. Inuyasha prepared to strike again, to hew off the head completely, but he was shoved aside by the frantic sorceress.

"No!" she shrieked. "Don't kill it!"

As soon as the dragon had been caught within the trunks of the tree, Kagome, Sango, and Miroku had rushed closer to the scene. Shippo, exhausted from the fearsome trial of hanging onto Kirara's back and holding out the transformed rock, all while being chased by that awful thing, stayed aloft on the fire cat, his hands gripping her soft fur. No one had noticed the woman scrambling toward Inuyasha.

Now, however, she stood before the dragon's head, her feet red with the dragon's blood. Kagome was just starting to feel a little sorry for her, thinking that the dragon must have been her pet, bizarre though that was. She was wishing they hadn't had to kill it, when the sorceress suddenly pulled a short dagger out from under her belt and slashed the dragon across the forehead.

Wha...? Kagome wasn't sure she had really seen that. Even Inuyasha was startled by the woman's actions, enough so that he made no move to intercept her. The sorceress hacked at the dragon's head, quickly splitting open it's hide at a spot just above and between the dragon's still-open eyes. The dragon, it's lifeblood flowing from the wound inflicted by Tetsusaiga, had no strength to fight it's master's vicious and inexplicable attack. The woman thrust her hand into the cavity she had made, and ripped out a small lumpy globe from within the dragon's skull. She looked at the gleaming thing in her red and dripping hand, and her eyes shone with a mad delight. She turned toward Inuyasha.

"Now, I shall truly defeat you!" She whipped her head in Kagome's direction, her long red hair following in snaky ropes. "And then I'll crush you, little girl. I shall enjoy it!"

"Leave Kagome alone!" Inuyasha yelled at the crazed sorceress. She only laughed, and pointed the globe at him, held in her clawed hand.

"I have died twice and yet I still live! I have been to every country on this earth, and have mastered countless magics! And now I have the dracontias, the most potent source of occult power known, taken from the head of a still-living dragon! How can you hope to defeat me, puppy? I will kill you and take your pretty magic sword for my collection, and I shall do as I like with your companions! I can't be defeated, never again!" The woman laughed in triumph, her head thrown back, oblivious to the people surrounding her, oblivious to the dragon, her erstwhile steed, discarded and dying behind her.

She's crazy, Kagome thought, a shiver sliding down her spine. Even if what she says about the thing she took from the dragon is true, she's certifiable. Kagome was starting to be very worried about their chances this time, until she felt a faint, familiar tingle. Was it possible...?

"Kagome? Do you feel that?" Sango kept her voice low, out of earshot of the sorceress. If Sango felt something, then I must not be imagining it! Hope flared up in Kagome's heart, burning away the incipient fear. She looked at Sango and nodded. The women glanced at Miroku, and from the look of concentration on his face, could tell he was aware of it, as well.

"Inuyasha! That gem in her hand! It has an aura!"

The half-demon gave Kagome a sharp look, and she nodded, once, definitively. Now that there was an aura available, Inuyasha would be able to employ his full range of attack skills again. His face broke into a grin. Kagome was tempted to label it mischievous, if that wouldn't be so inappropriate. But then, since when did Inuyasha ever concern himself with being appropriate? He must be feeling pretty happy right now!

"Woman, you're dead!" Inuyasha shouted and raised Tetsusaiga over his head. The sorceress sneered at him, and began to mutter some low chant. The blood on her hands began to smoke, the wispy tendrils swirling up to wreathe the globe in her hand with sickly streaks of color. Kagome reached behind her back and pulled an arrow out of her quiver. This was going to end, now!

Kagome nocked the arrow and pulled the bowstring taut. She let her holy power rise up and fill the arrow, charging it and making it a potent weapon. She kept her eyes on her target, the occult gem in the sorceress' grasp, but used her peripheral vision to stay aware of Inuyasha. He shouted out the phrase that triggered Tetsusaiga's Wind Scar, and the whirling power thus unleashed flung itself across the distance toward their opponent. The sorceress likewise hurled her magic at the half-demon, a dark rush of twisting, tangled power. At that very same moment, Kagome released her arrow, watching with satisfaction as it sped alongside the Wind Scar's coiling powers with a pink energy of its own.

The three powers collided and a wave of dizziness swept through Kagome, distracting her for a brief moment. She paid it no heed, however, and returned her attention to her arrow, to see if it had hit it's mark. She could see it quivering where it had struck -- not, however, in the dragon's gem, where she had aimed, but in a paper target stuck to the side of stacked bales of straw.

Supremely confused, Kagome looked around her. The field was gone, as was the dragon's corpse, the villagers, even the wild sorceress had vanished. She stared at Inuyasha, who was likewise looking about him with angry confusion marking his features, and Miroku and Sango, just behind her.

"What happened?" She asked. Why, she wondered, were they now standing at one end of a narrow clearing in the woods? Kagome looked around again, seeing for the first time the people standing along the sides, a dozen or so individuals dressed, not in the medieval kimonos she had become accustomed to, but in gowns and tunics straight out of a costume book. It was like they were surrounded by the cast of a Robin Hood movie. A cast that was staring at her and her friends.

Inuyasha moved closer to the little group, taking up a protective stance in front of Kagome. Over his shoulder she could see a man moving slowly toward them. He was big, and bearded, and undeniably a foreigner. His hands were held out loosely from his sides, palms open and empty, and he was smiling. His eyes were locked on the Tetsusaiga, held firmly upright in Inuyasha's hands. Then Kagome realized she could almost understand what the bearded man was saying. His words were at first a babble of nonsense to her shocked mind, but as she calmed slightly in the shadow of Inuyasha's protection, she began to identify the general sound of what he was saying, if not the meaning. The stranger walking toward them was speaking English!

Kagome groaned slightly. It had to be English? That was one of her worst subjects! How was she ever going to find out what was going on?