Mystic Dragon Cadets

Aahhhhh!"

Tegan was use to nightmares.

She would get them twice a week. It was worse when she was younger but nowadays they weren't so bad. The Academy therapist said those kinds of thoughts were common in many people, but since Tegan has Narcolepsy she had a higher risk of dying an accidental death.

She blinked and thought it was weird why the screaming was so chaotic. Maybe the other Cadets were playing a game outside? But, the screams sounded more desperate than playful. Thats when she heard a loud thud against her wall and sat up. Sunlight washed over her, but for some reason it felt more like dread.

Tegan got outta bed and slipped on her fuzzy slippers. She was still in her pajamas when she opened her dorm door, blood was smeared on the walls and marble floor. There was a body slumped on the ground and Tegan knew who it was. His hood was down revealing curly hair and a headband.

"Ocean?" Tegan helped him up and noticed his ankle was broken.

"We're under attack!" Ocean whispered with panic.

She sprinted down the corridor as shouts echoed like fallen rain, the terror got louder as they jogged past one of the dragon lounges and stopped halfway down the stairs.

What Tegan saw made her heart skip. Dean and some Cadets were huddled together as mini Omens circled around them. To her left Professor Uma was fighting a mini Omen as fire collided with the creature's watery stomach. From her right a thin ice wall was summoned as Dean kept the monsters away, a mini earth Omen launched itself at Professor Uma and clung to her.

Tegan gently put Ocean down and flew into battle, she summoned her fire sword and sliced it in two.

"No!" said a angry voice.

Behind her the earth Omen struggled in ice chains before being crushed to death, Professor Uma stumbled as a giant hole sat in her stomach. Their Omenology teacher sank to her knees and collapsed as a pool of blood started to form. She was reminded of the strange chalk drawings that Ms. Sinclair did and it made her shudder. Tegan ran over to the woman and cradled her gently, blood dripped onto her graffiti pajamas as Professor Uma coughed. Her professor’s short black hair was jagged and her copper skin looked extremely pale.

Professor Uma finally spoke. "Be safe..."

A rock spike was covered in blood as their professor’s dragon cried out in anguish before turning to stone. The rest of the cadets gathered around as Professor Uma drew her last breath. Groans and sniffles could be heard as Tegan looked up with tears in her eyes. "Nurse's office."

When they arrived it was very crowed. Mrs. Soren and Mr. Snow was helping patch up cadets when a tall boy with pale skin, messy black hair, icy blue eyes, and piercings appeared.

"You had me worried," said the goth boy with bloody hands. He had on tattered clothes and leather boots. "Thanks for saving my half brother."

"Hey big bro," Ocean muttered as two cadets held him up.

Nurse Soren noticed her and Dean holding Professor Uma as she covered a woman with long red hair with a white blanket. Tegan knew who that was and gave a silent prayer for her Kombat teacher, Professor Rayne. With effort they placed Professor Uma on the extra bunk as Mrs. Soren covered her with a white blanket too.

"I don't understand what's going on!” Tegan said out loud. “How are they both dead?”

"For starters the Omens are acting stranger than usual," Mr. Snow confessed. "And theres a huge battle going on outside."

Tegan and Dean raced to the front of the Academy as a group of cadets collided with them. She saw Jen, Lisa and Asha fighting mini Omens, Lisa blasted wind at a fire Omen, Jen blocked an attack from a wind Omen as Asha froze and shattered the earth Omen into a million pieces.

"Girl power," Tegan said to herself.

Lisa swore in mandarin. "Daycare from hell!"

"Sounds like a bad movie," Asha said. "Baby Omens? I never heard of such a thing."

Dean joked next to her. "Looks like they put them down for a nap, permanently."

"Did all the cadets get away?" Jen spoke as she killed the last creature.

"Yes," Tegan confirmed as she jogged over. "You guys were awesome!"

"Thanks," Asha said with a smirk but than remembered something and frowned. "Professor Zephyr was fighting a mud Omen!"

Just then there was a huge explosion as fire burned across the blue sky. Everything, this whole situation made Tegan feel uneasy like being caught in a spider’s web. Helpless. The Macabre Season was over, so she didn't understand the increase in Omen sightings.

"Wheres the Principal?" Dean asked Lisa.

Lisa looked relaxed despite the chaos. She thought Lisa would be freaking out about her father's safety since he was an ordinary person. "Council meeting at the Mayor's office."

"Okay. We should check out that ruckus," Tegan pointed past them. "Maybe, Professor Zephyr needs help?"

"We all cant go," Asha explained. "Some of us should stay encase were attacked again."

"I'll go with Tegan," Jen spoke with little emotion.

They flew through the sky and out of the corner of her eye she noticed Jen's mouth twitched with amusement.

"What?" Tegan squinted at her.

Jen shrugged. "I like the new look, maybe we should call you Pajama Queen instead."

"Ugh," Tegan covered her face with embarrassment as she glanced down at her comical Graphic-T. "Thats even worse!"

When they landed it was near the boardwalk as rubble and burned sand sat under their feet. The water was hostile as they noticed a man kneeling in the sand, it had to be their Strategy teacher.

As they got closer Tegan saw that the man's suit was ripped as blood soaked the sand where his left leg and right arm use to be. She gasped when she saw Professor Zephyr's bearded face.

He was singed and pierced all over as wind whistled through his wrecked body. He looked like a zombie as his ribs where exposed, one of his eyes hung out of his sockets, and his throat was burnt.

"My cadets," Professor Zephyr let out a haunting wheeze. "You will face a heavy burden and for that I am sorry."

Thats when the emergency alarms blared through the city as Professor Zephyr slammed into the waves. It didn't take them long to evacuate Timber Moon Mystic Force Academy as everyone gathered outside the castle, Tegan cautiously looked up and down the streets.

"Are they really going to be okay?" Vincent asked nervously. He was dressed in ripped jeans, a long-sleeve shirt with a demon-wolf on it, leather boots, and his Egyptian necklace.

"Your fallen Professors and Mystic Knights should be fine for now," Nurse Soren explained. "They wont decay since they're inside ice tombs."

"Lets not waste anymore time!" Mr. Snow tapped his knuckles. "We need to get to the Emergency bunker."

Tegan and her cadets soared over Black Lullaby City making sure to avoid any Omens if possible. The neighborhood looked like an earthquake had hit the place as flipped cars and lots of debris laid in the streets.

Mrs. Soren was taking this firstclass flight well as Kiba carried her, she couldn't say the same for Mr. Snow who squirmed in the arms of the goth boy known as DeMarco. There was a boom as Tegan looked below just in time to dodge a large icicle, an Ice Omen was fighting someone on the ground. Lisa clutched the Academy therapist who was either sleeping or in shock.

"Shouldn't we...?" Ocean asked reluctantly.

"Some of us," Jen announced. "Its our obligation as future Mystic Knights, follow me if you want to help."

Tegan, Vincent, Asha, Dean and Jen swooped down to lend a hand as a boulder collided with the Omens chest. It took her a minute to realize who it was, Jonah Maverickson. He had on faded jeans, leather boots, a white graphic-t with a cross necklace, and a leather jacket.

Off to the side was Nolan holding onto a woman with wild hair. The Ice Omen sunk as the concrete swallowed the creature like quicksand, thats when a giant hammer made out of stone slammed down on the Omen's head. Pieces of ice were scattered everywhere as half the creature's body remained trapped in the middle of the street.

"Woah!" Dean sounded impressed.

"Sir Jonah," Tegan said without thinking.

The Mystic Knight turned with a mixture of emotions in his eyes. "Hello."

Nolan spoke suddenly as he spun his cane in their direction. "Don't you hear the alarms? Please head to the underground bunker."

"Your Dior," Sir Jonah finally said.

Jen stepped forward. "Yes, we were on our way to the bunker when we saw you in combat. But it seems like you have everything under control."

A light breeze rustled through the trees before becoming stronger, small clouds swirled in the clear afternoon sky as a bone-chilling tornado appeared.

"Come on! Seriously?" Tegan lashed out.

"Run!" Sir Jonah yelled.

They followed Sir Jonah, Nolan and the blonde haired woman who was infact Marcy Sinclair inside a random home. The door was unlocked and the house abandoned, it looked fancy inside as they huddled close together.

"A Tornado Omen is coming," said Nolan. "We should hide until it leaves."

Marcy Sinclair looked like she just woke up after a long winter’s nap, her blonde hair was wild and her gray eyes looked unfocused. She was dressed in oversized sweatpants and a long-sleeve shirt, a black handbag was slung over her shoulder, and chalk dust covered her bandaged palms. Fortunately for Tegan she was able to change into her uniform and not be stuck in her PJ's.

"Why are you guys still in the area?" Tegan asked, trying to fill the eerie silence.

"I'm here to escort Marcy Sinclair," Sir Jonah explained. "Last year, the 12 elites of the G.D.A. told me to locate Miss Sinclair and return with her."

"Why?" Vincent asked what everyone was thinking.

"Prophecy rumors," Sir Jonah answered honestly. “They think that Miss Sinclair can predict events through her art. Something happened and the accident left her unable to summon or so we thought.”

The confession hit Tegan like a truck as she thought back to the disturbing drawing on the shopkeeper's store, people in a pool of blood and tombstones.

"No way!" said Dean as his country accent shined. "Your saying shes psychic?"

"We're not sure," Nolan spoke this time. “After investigating we learned she can only summon her element by using blood magic. The good news is her dragon isn't gone forever because she told us. He talks with her inside her head. We've also been to her house and found her older drawings, but nothing really stood out.”

“Blood magic?” asked DeMarco. “Sounds like something out of a comic book.”

“After studying Marcy Sinclair’s file she needed to be classified,” Sir Jonah shrugged. “Blood Witch is what we decided to call her.”

"I believe," Asha said with such confidence. "In Native American folklore dreams are a way of communicating with spiritual or supernatural forces. Being able to tell the future is a common practice or a gift your born with."

"Have you been inside a Zodiac Nest?" Jen asked.

The question caused Tegan to squawk as heads turned to look at her, by their expressions they thought she was going to pass out or something. She wondered how much Jen knew about the Nests, the Zodiac Nests weren't exactly a secret. How can you keep a giant egg hidden without nobody seeing or hearing about it?

"I'm good," Tegan reassured her friends and forced a smile.

Sir Jonah nodded. "I've been in one, there like dungeon mazes and waiting at the top is the final boss. The reason there called Zodiac Nests is because each boss is a Zodiac animal."

She watched Ms. Sinclair pull away from Nolan as she summoned a weird-looking blade made out of bleeding fire.

“I know Zagreus, I know!” the woman mumbled and jumped around them. She swung the weapon very recklessly and broke a nearby window. A loud gurgling noise came from behind as the Tornado Omen quickly disintegrated. The wind stopped abruptly as sunlight glinted off the glass on the kitchen floor.

"How did she...?" Dean began.

"We should go," the Mystic Knight warned. "Now."

Tegan was happy to be back in the air again as they flew further into the city, 15 minutes later they landed in a grove with a stream and a huge tree. In the water were stepping stones which they crossed and when they got to the trunk of the tree there was lots of moss. The Mystic Knight pulled the moss like he was opening a curtain revealing a gap. Asha was the first inside, it was a hollow tree and at the center was a trap door. Sir Jonah pulled a makeshift rope and the trap door opened as noise spilled out.

Tegan was the third one to go down the ladder and what she saw amazed her, down below looked like a long lost city. Flickering lanterns illuminated the huge purple and gold banner that hung dauntlessly.

"Welcome to Alpha Dragon Bunker 7!" Sir Jonah hollered.