Chapter 1

1940. A year that was nothing but war. Humans knew it as the second year of World War II. The dragons, however, knew it as something far worse.

The birth of the Dragon Hunters.

It started with an attack, then a psychotic break.

And it ends with possession.

~oOo~

Trevor flapped his wings as he chased Brenda around the track, his eyes on his sister. Trevor gave his wings another hard flap and inched closer to Brenda before he was in range. With a deep breath, he released icy water on her wings, instantly freezing them and Brenda fell to the ground, sliding to a stop. Out of the corner of his eye, Trevor spotted the familiar white scales of Aya and he barrel-rolled away from her snow before hitting her with his breath element as well.

Something collided with Trevor’s back and his breath was knocked from his lungs, but he flew higher into the air, resisting the force on his back. He stopped his ascent and let himself fall, his back to the ground. The resistance was gone after a moment and Trevor twisted himself in the air, facing David and flapping his wings to speed up his fall towards his brother and he grabbed him. David struggled for a moment before Trevor opened his wings and pulled out of the dive mere moments before hitting the ground, slowing his speed and dropping David to the ground.

Trevor let his claws hit the ground and he slid to a stop in the grass, grinning. He looked to the Flight Class teachers, waiting for their analysis. Tikimune looked up from the clipboard and tsked, shaking her head.

“Too close on pulling up from that dive, Trevor. You almost ate it,” she announced and Trevor threw his head back, groaning.

“First it was too soon, now it’s too late, come on Tikimune, I can only do so much when trying to get my brother off my back, plus he just had a growth spurt!” Trevor complained and David stood proudly nearby.

August had come and the four Williams kids would’ve been in school at this point. But due to discovering they were dragons a few months ago, they had been attending the Voutneth Academy school for dragons. It certainly wasn’t a typical life for them, already they had gone to the Underworld, dragon hell, and faced the chaos and unholy demons that existed.

“Have you been doing those exercises?” Sonar asked, he stood beside Tikimune not looking directly at Trevor, considering Sonar’s clouded pupils signifying his blindness, everyone was used to him not looking at anyone he spoke to.

“Yes, we all have. But it’s not exactly easy to carry my body weight AND my brother’s on my wings,” Trevor argued. Tikimune opened her mouth to argue, but closed it abruptly and looked passed Trevor. Trevor looked over his shoulder and smiled. He spotted the Academy’s headmistress, Kathey Royals, with her two youngest kids perched on her shoulders. Tyrande and Ayassa.

“Looking good guys. Tikimune, lay off on Trevor, he’s doing his best,” Kathey commanded and Tikimune bowed her head slightly, looking at her clipboard. Trevor approached Kathey and looked between Tyrande and Ayassa.

“You two here to fly?” Trevor asked and Tyrande nodded.

“Mom said we can start learning how, Mr. Trevor!” Tyrande squeaked and Ayassa nodded silently.

“Sounds like fun! I gotta talk to your mom so I can’t help right now, but maybe Ms. Brenda and Aya can help you out?” Trevor suggested. Ayassa and Tyrande nodded with excitement before running over to where Trevor’s sisters stood waiting. Trevor looked back at Kathey and his body began glowing with a soft blue light before he stood in his human form. Shaggy blond hair and light blue eyes, wearing a football jersey, jeans, and gym shoes.

“I need them distracted,” Kathey said, her voice held a touch of venom in it.

“Any news?” Trevor asked, crossing his arms and turning to watch Tyrande hover in the air next to Brenda, watching Ayassa attempt to get off the ground.

“Last outpost that they found was abandoned last night. The scouts lost the Hunters, they had Wind Dragons, they couldn’t stay on them for long,” Kathey explained and Trevor ran his fingers through his hair.

“Damn, that was the last one too, wasn’t it?”

“That we know of.”

Dragon Hunters had been abandoning outposts without explanation, something the team was keeping tabs on. But all leads come to an end, good or bad. This lead had turned bad and they were back at square one. The Hunters were planning something and nobody knew what it was.

“Did you ever figure out who it was that was working with Brokenstar?” Trevor looked to Kathey, her eyes remaining on her kids.

“No. I honestly don’t remember any of the encounters I had during my...let’s just say teenage rebellion at being a Compass Dragon,” Kathey smirked and Trevor chuckled. “I was eighteen, just finishing high school, had a life set up, living like humans did. Suddenly approached by three powerful dragons telling me I’m one of them. It can make even the most rational of dragon do things they eventually regret.” Kathey looked up at Trevor.

“Do you regret the kids you had while this was happening?”

“Not even for a second. They’re my kids, I’d do it all again in a heartbeat just to have them in my life.” Kathey smiled and looked back at Tyrande and Ayassa. Trevor looked at them as well. They were the youngest two out of all fifteen of her kids. Kathey never mentioned any of the fathers that sired her kids.

“Are they Mykau’s?” Trevor asked. Kathey sighed and nodded.

“Yeah. I was hurting after Gemini left and Mykau was there for me. If I had to be honest, I needed an out with the relationship I was in with Mykau. His anger was a danger to everything occurring and sometimes mates just...drift apart. I thought what I had with Gemini was a Soul Mate. Hell even with Kyrus I thought he was my Soul Mate.” Kathey looked up at Trevor. “I’ve seen and experienced a lot in my life. More than a twenty one year old dragon should have ever experienced. Soul Mates are just a superstition, but sometimes you find the one and you’ll never let them go.” Trevor’s mind jumped to Amy, his now ex-girlfriend. Because of his powers, he had to break up with her for her safety.

“Amy and I probably wouldn’t have lasted. She was so busy with college and I would’ve been going to Wyoming, a full ride for a year. Football landed me the scholarship, I would’ve been busy and we probably would’ve drifted apart.” Trevor paused. “Is it easier to be in a relationship with a dragon when you are a dragon?”

“Some dragons would argue that it is, no secrets to be kept, no dangers to worry about. They can be dragons but live the human lifestyle if that’s what they want. I’ve seen some dragons do that.”

“Mom! Look at Ayassa!” Tyrande exclaimed. Kathey and Trevor looked over to see Ayassa hovering about two feet off the ground.

“There you go, Ayassa!” Trevor cheered, clapping his hands with Kathey. Ayassa landed and grinned at her brother. Tyrande landed and bounded towards her when something whistled through the air and hit the ground between the two fledglings. Tyrande skidded to a stop and stared wide eyed at the object.

Kathey’s smile fell and she ran forward, scooping up Ayassa and Tyrande flew up to perch on her shoulder. Trevor started forward and knelt down to observe what was sticking out of the ground. He recognized the thin shaft and vanes of an arrow. Taking adventure gym had its perks. Trevor gripped the shaft of the arrow and pulled it from the ground. The arrowhead wasn’t a simple point, it looked like a shark’s tooth.

“Hunter arrow, that’s a dragon’s tooth,” Kathey explained and Trevor poked the tooth with his finger lightly before spotting a note attached to the base of the tooth.

“Looks like they have a threat,” Trevor observed, pulling the folded note from the arrow. He unfolded it and read it, Kathey reading it as well.

Your end is on the horizon.

“Trevor, take your siblings and my kids and get inside,” Kathey commanded, passing Ayassa to Trevor. Tyrande jumped to Trevor’s shoulder. “Sonar! Tikimune! Fly the perimeter! Not taking any chances with kids.”

Trevor led his siblings inside and they stood in the Mess Hall. Tyrande and Ayassa remained perched on Trevor’s shoulders, the arrow and note still in Trevor’s hands. Aya stared at Trevor’s hands.

“What’s the note mean?” she asked. Trevor looked at her before looking at the note.

“It could be for anyone really,” Trevor started.

“I don’t think so, Trevor. Hunters don’t miss on purpose,” Brenda argued. “It almost hit Tyrande, that’s gotta mean something.”

“A threat towards a fledgling? That’s not right.” Trevor leaned back against a table, crossing his arms. Tyrande and Ayassa dropped from his shoulders and sat on the table.

“Am I in trouble?” Tyrande questioned. Trevor looked over at him and shook his head.

“No, you did nothing wrong. Has your mom told you about Hunters?” Trevor asked.

“They don’t like dragons. They’ll kill us if they catch us...” Tyrande looked at Ayassa. Trevor wasn’t too surprised Tyrande had an understanding of death, the dragon world was unforgiving. Brokenstar and Demise were proof enough. Everyone looked up when the Mess Hall doors swung open and Kathey walked in.

“Nothing. No signs of Hunters, I want everyone on their toes when outside. Eyes sharp, no going out alone. It wasn’t an ambush, just a warning. They probably won’t be happy if we deviate from our normal routines, so keep to your schedules. Trevor, I need you to stay with these two from now on, I can’t watch them and run Voutneth.” Trevor nodded and Tyrande looked up at him. “I need to talk to Malice about getting the griffins out on the grounds for guard duty, you know what you all have to do.” With that said, Kathey walked out. Trevor turned to his siblings, looking at his watch.

“Next class starts in five minutes. There’s nothing we can do about this situation right now, so do what she says. Stay on your schedules until we know what’s happening,” Trevor advised.

“What about you?” David asked. Trevor looked at Tyrande and Ayassa as they watched him with big eyes.

“Guess I’m babysitting,” Trevor chuckled.

~oOo~

Trevor followed behind Tyrande as the fledgling led Trevor through the Academy. Ayassa was perched on Trevor’s shoulder.

“I wanna go fly...” Tyrande whined and Trevor nodded.

“I know, big guy, you were having a lot of fun out there earlier.” Tyrande sighed and Trevor frowned. “You guys follow your mom’s rules to the letter, don’t you?” Tyrande stopped and looked back at Trevor before shrugging.

“With so many of us, it’s easier to follow the rules, then we get more time to have fun.” Tyrande tilted his head. “Why?” Trevor didn’t answer, he only picked up Tyrande and started outside. “But...but...Mom said-”

“You’re not alone, are you?”

“No?”

“Then it’s fine, besides, your mom said not to change our routines. This is part of your routine now, so get to it.” Tyrande and Ayassa’s faces lit up and they ran for the track, Trevor following them.

“Fly with us?” Tyrande requested and Trevor smirked before his body glowed and he changed to his dragon form.

“Can’t keep an eye on you two in my human form as well, now can I?” Trevor hurried forward and pushed off the ground, his wings opening and catching the air, keeping him a few feet off the ground. “Get up here you two, you can do it!” Tyrande got into the air easily, but he stayed close to Ayassa as she struggled to get off the ground. Ayassa made a noise of discouragement and huffed.

“You can do it Ayassa! You did it earlier,” Tyrande encouraged and landed beside his sister. Trevor made his way back to the ground and approached them.

“You’re trying to copy others wing beats, Ayassa. Only you can set your pace to stay in the air,” Trevor advised, remembering the lessons he received from Flight class. Out of all his siblings, he struggled the most with flying, he knew what Ayassa was feeling.

“She copies me a lot,” Tyrande explained.

“You’re her big brother, of course she’s gonna copy you. You know Brenda, Aya, and David are my sisters and brother. I’m the oldest, I know what it’s like for little siblings to copy you, but that’s how they learn.” Trevor nudged Tyrande with a claw and chuckled. “Show her how it’s done.” Tyrande nodded and flapped his wings.

Chapter 2

Impatient snorts passed through the nostrils of a yellow-green dragon perched in a tree. Upon its back sat a man with long red hair tied in a ponytail, binoculars to his eyes and trained on the race track on the Academy grounds. The dragon shifted and snorted again. The rider looked down and dug the metal spurs into the dragon’s belly.

“Calm down, idiot, we’re not fighting, we’re only watching,” the rider commanded. He brought the binoculars to his eyes again and watched the fledglings and adult dragon fly around the track. “Who’s the Water-Ice male?”

Down below, another man with long black hair flowing down just past his shoulders sat on a blue and white dragon with a tablet in his hands.

“That’d be one of the four new dragons that the boss doesn’t know about,” he replied. “Cyrus, we’re gonna get in trouble if we don’t report back soon.”

“Shut it, Aaron. I’m sick of the job as much as you are, but we have to do something. Boss is getting suspicious that there are double crossers among us.” The watcher, Cyrus, lowered the binoculars again and his hand went up to his left upper arm. Black ink formed a tribal design of a dragon head. What stood out was the dragon’s eyes, bright red. “Listen, I know you won’t do anything to get out of this shit, but I will. Be glad you got assigned to me or you would’ve been stuck for good.” Aaron stared at the tablet for a moment before looking up at Cyrus.

“Y-you...you were the leak? You let those scouts know everyone was heading back to HQ? H-how did you...?” Cyrus smirked.

“There’s a lot you can do when you offer to stay behind and make sure nothing was forgotten. Especially with an Insect Dragon.” Cyrus patted the dragon’s neck. “Wish I never decided to join the Hunters, this shit is wrong on so many levels.”

“What can we do? Why are we really out here anyway?” Cyrus jerked the metal chain around the dragon’s neck and it dropped from the tree.

“Do you want to be in HQ with that demon working with the Boss?” Cyrus questioned and Aaron shook his head.

“N-no, I really don’t. What was he thinking? W-working with a...a monster...”

“Not just a monster...he’s working with a Wyvern, a special one.”

“Special?” Aaron started going through his tablet.

“Anybody tell you about the Council?” Aaron looked up.

“Council of the Underworld? Aren’t those just boogeyman stories that dragons tell their kids?”

“I wish, man. Boss was around when they were around. They cause a lot of problems, between World War II and the Boss’ attack on Metallic Dragons, it was chaos. Nobody knew if it was the war or the Council that caused some problems.”

“Where are you going with this?”

“That Wyvern is the Council’s dog.” Aaron stared before exhaling.

“O-ok...what are we going to do to get out of this?”

“You got anything personal back at HQ?”

“I only have some clothes and this.” Aaron held up the tablet before flipping the cover over and securing the clasp.

“Does it have GPS?” Aaron shook his head and Cyrus nodded. “Alright, let’s get caught by the dragons.”

~oOo~

Trevor fell back as Tyrande and Ayassa pounced on him, jumping on his belly.

“Gotcha!” Tyrande laughed and squeaked when Ayassa pounced on him. Trevor laughed and rolled to his belly, watching the fledglings play wrestle. It reminded him of kittens playing, heightening their fighting abilities.

The sound of two pairs of wings thumping in the air caught Trevor’s attention and he looked up, spotting two unfamiliar dragons. What made him tense up was the humans on the dragons’ backs.

Humans on dragons? Trevor questioned and he got an immediate response from Kathey.

Hunters!

“Tyrande! Ayassa!” The fledglings looked up at him before spotting the Hunters and ran for Trevor. Trevor stood and the two fledglings slid under him, crouching low. The dragons landed, their eyes pitch black, no pupils. Trevor growled as the Hunters dismounted and stepped forward.

“Where’s Anna?” the red haired hunter demanded. His physique reminded Trevor of himself, clearly worked out, and tall. The other hunter was short and thin. Trevor stared, not answering the hunter.

“What do you want?” Trevor growled out. He looked back when he heard wing beats and spotted Anna.

“There she is!” The red haired hunter exclaimed, holding his arms out. Anna glared at them, making the taller hunter shrink back slightly.

“Cyrus James and Aaron Grimes, coming here with no means of attacking,” Anna stated. The tall hunter, Cyrus, pulled the bow that was slung across his shoulder and he dropped it to the ground. Anna looked down at the bow before looking at the dragons. “What’s up with them? I thought their eyes had green grid lines.” The short hunter, Aaron, pulled out a tablet from the pouch on his hip and he flipped the case open before scrolling through.

“D-does this c-creature l-look familiar?”Aaron stuttered and held up what appeared to be a drawing of a black wyvern with white eyes, no pupils, and had a ring of white runes around his neck. Anna tensed up and she looked to Tyrande and Ayassa hiding under Trevor.

“Anna?” Trevor questioned. He looked at the image that Aaron held up then back to Anna who was staring at her kids.

“Cenod,” Anna responded, looking up at Trevor for a moment before her gaze returned to the Hunters. “Why do you have an image of Cenod?”

“Our boss is working with this thing, he’s pushed the hunting stuff before but this...working with a wyvern with this power is just...” Cyrus trailed off and looked at Aaron. Anna looked to the dragons.

“He’s using his parasites on your dragons?” Anna questioned.

“What’s the difference?” Trevor wondered.

“Normal control over our dragons let’s us literally control them. Whatever we say or train them, they do without question. These things that Cenod put into the dragons makes them more aggressive towards other dragons. It’s worse the closer they are to the boss, Cenod is hiding in him,” Cyrus explained.

“Any powers?” Anna asked.

“Just summoning parasites when we get new dragons under our control.”

“When did Cenod appear?”

“Two weeks ago, got into HQ and had a meeting with the boss.” Anna nodded and jerked her head at the dragons.

“Those two are getting locked up until we know how to get rid of the parasites. What of the control?”

“Wears off after a month, we always re-established the control.” Anna nodded.

“We’re letting them in the Academy? Just like that?” Trevor demanded. Anna looked to him with what could be considered with a raised eyebrow.

“They’re not going far and I’m not giving them my full trust yet. They are Hunters with their leader still alive. Whether they give themselves up and save these two dragons or not, it doesn’t mean I fully trust them.”

“I don’t blame you, Anna. Boss has been giving you hell since your first encounter,” Cyrus remarked. Anna snorted.

“Got that right.”

“You’ve mentioned you had battles with him. Why is he so fixated on you?” Trevor asked and Aaron held up the tablet, revealing an image of a man who looked to be in his fifties, long white hair, gray eyes, and across his face was a series of scars that looked like a three clawed beast scratched him.

“A-Anna did t-that,” Aaron stuttered. He zoomed in on the scars and Trevor looked at them before looking at Anna.

“First encounter I had with him, I was the only dragon to leave scars and escape his clutches for as long as I have,” Anna explained. “Let’s get those dragons into holding cells. Trevor, bring these two to the conference room so the team knows what’s going on.”

~oOo~

“Are you crazy, Kathey?!” Sylark shouted. The team sat in the conference room, Cyrus and Aaron standing near the back of the room while Sylark and Kathey argued about letting hunters stay at the Academy.

“This gives us the advantage, Sylark! You’ve seen their minds, you know they aren’t here on orders of the Leader. Wouldn’t you want the advantage?”

“I would kill them for their actions, Anna. They have killed millions of us over the years!”

“Group hate,” Trevor remarked. Sylark and Kathey looked to Trevor who lounged on one of the couches.

“Excuse me?”

“Lashing out at a group as a whole. Have these two even killed a dragon?”

“No,” Kathey replied, folding her arms across her chest. She glared up at Sylark.

Trevor looked between the two and fought a laugh. Kathey had to be only five feet and four inches. Sylark was about as tall as Trevor, six feet and two inches. Trevor found it amusing from a human perspective the height difference between them.

“You find this amusing?” Sylark snapped at Trevor who snorted a laugh and smirked, shaking his head.

“You know why I find it funny,” Trevor replied, giving Sylark a shit eating grin. Sylark made a sound of aggravation and stormed out of the conference room.

“I’ve never seen him lose his cool like that.” Trevor noted

“It’s rare, but it happens,” Malice commented, rolling a piece of hay in his mouth with his tongue. Kathey snorted and shook her head.

“Trevor, Tyrande and Ayassa are looking for you. You better go find them before you face their wrath,” Kathey announced and smirked. Trevor huffed and swung himself to his feet before walking out, spotting Tyrande and Ayassa standing nearby.

“What are you after, crazy kids?” Trevor asked and the fledglings looked to him.

“We wanna fly in the forest,” Tyrande announced and Trevor raised an eyebrow.

“That’s risky you know,” Trevor argued.

“Not if we stay low to the ground where we can’t be easily seen.” Trevor shook his head and waved the two over to him. He squatted down and rested his elbows on his knees.

“Do you two promise to be very careful? Use all your senses and stay aware of everything around you?”

“We promise, right Ayassa?” Tyrande looked to his sister who nodded. Though, Ayassa paused for a moment before looking to Tyrande and whined. “What?” Ayassa looked to Trevor before sitting back on her haunches and looked to her claws.

“What’s up, Ayassa?” Trevor asked. Ayassa grunted in annoyance and looked between the two before pointing at Tyrande. “What about your brother?” Ayassa warbled and pointed to herself then at Tyrande. “Your brother?” Ayassa shook her head. “Sibling?” She nodded and held up her claws, closing them and opening them again. Six claws, signalling twelve. Ayassa had twelve siblings total.

“You want the others to come with us?” Tyrande guessed and Ayassa nodded.

“Go get em, tiger,” Trevor teased and Ayassa squealed with delight and ran off. “How old is she now?”

“Uh...her birthday is in November.”

“Nine months. You?”

“I’m two.”

“I’m surprised she’s not talking yet.”

“Mom says she’s slower than me or something like that. Have to be patient.” Tyrande looked up at Trevor. “She said I started talking early, before I was a year old.” Trevor hummed and stood.

“I’ll wait outside, go tell your sister.” Tyrande nodded and ran off.

~oOo~

“Sir, we have yet to hear from Cyrus and Aaron,” a Hunter announced to the leader, kneeling before him in his throne. The leader hummed in thought, his ankle crossed over his knee. “Should we send out a scouting party?” The Hunter looked up and the leader nodded. The Hunter bowed his head and stood, retreating from the room.

Why waste your time on two hunters, Garrett? Cenod’s voice echoed in the leader’s mind. Cenod phased out of his body and appeared before him. “What are two hunters going to do when you have a whole army of them.”

“I don’t answer to you, lizard,” Garrett snapped and Cenod launched forward, his foot slamming into Garrett’s throat, pinning him to the back of the chair.

“Listen here, old man. I provided you with a way to push your dragons to exceed their fighting capabilities. You still have your free will. Do not try my leadership because I will possess you. Where do you think my parasites got their abilities?” Cenod snarled.

“Well then, what do you suggest I do? Those two have information about my organization. In the wrong hands, we’ll meet our end quickly,” Garrett said and Cenod released him. Garrett rubbed at his neck and watched Cenod pace.

“You have a point now that you say that. Aaron was your information liaison, was he not?” Garrett nodded. “Alright, they probably went to Voutneth to give themselves up, give them information. Anna and Sylark are powerful telepaths, they’ll know everything in one sitting with those two. Send a team there, take back Cyrus and Aaron as soon as possible.”

“You will show them what happens when I’m double crossed, yes?” Cenod looked to Garrett and revealed his white teeth.

“Gladly.”

Chapter 3

“Does Mom know you’re doing this?” Kathey’s firstborn, Marty, questioned. He was the spitting image of his father, Kyrus, minus his pinkish orange eyes.

“I’m sure she’s aware, kiddo. Let’s fly,” Trevor replied. He was all too familiar with the snappy attitude, David went through the same phase, even if there was an age difference. Marty exhaled and turned to his dragon form, a pinkish-orange scaled Goop Dragon. His sister, light yellow scaled Feather Dragon, Calla, stood beside him, watching. Trevor smirked and looked among all the kids before nodding. “Alright, just stay below the treetops and don’t fly out of the forest. Your mom will kill me if something happens, stay in pairs at least, alright?”

“Mr. Trevor?” Trevor looked down at Comet, a Fire Dragon. “I don’t really have a partner.” Trevor knelt down, looking to Tyrande and Ayassa.

“Can you keep an eye on Tyrande and Ayassa, they are the youngest and I was gonna stick with them, think you can?” Trevor asked.

“Yes, sir!” Comet responded, saluting Trevor before running for the two. They exchanged a few words before Comet and Tyrande pushed into the air, waiting for Ayassa to get the wind under her wings and follow her older brothers. The other pairs had already flown off and Trevor caught occasional glimpses of them as they flew around. Trevor wasn’t sure how some of the breeds could come from a Flower Dragon as one of the parents.

Some made sense, like Marty as a Goop Dragon. His colors were a mix of Anna’s pink scales and Kyrus’ orange scales, being a Volcano Dragon. But then there was the fact of Glower, a rare Glow-in-the-Dark Dragon. Trevor didn’t think they could possibly exist, but the glowing scales in dim lit places was proof enough.

Trevor’s thoughts were interrupted when two of the three adopted kids landed before him. Glass Dragon Storm and Water Dragon Seabed.

“I win, Storm!” Seabed argued.

“No, you don’t Seabed, I won that round,” Storm snapped. They looked up to Trevor. “Who won?”

“Was pretty close, you two would have to do a tie breaker,” Trevor replied. Seabed groaned and Storm grinned before they took off again. Trevor smirked and shook his head at the two siblings. He knew Kathey had adopted for the sake of rescuing them. Protection, rescue, it meant a lot to Kathey at the time. Storm was a couple years away from fourteen, the ripe age of a mature adult dragon.

Trevor’s mind jumped to David and Aya. David still had a couple years as well, but Aya was mere months away before she was an adult. It was hard to imagine that he had only months before his youngest sister was a changed girl.

Trevor drew his attention to the forest, watching everyone. He spotted Sandra and Sorren, twin Energy Dragons. While Sandra had bright pink and purple scales, Sorren had darker toned scales of the same colors. The only kids Kathey had with Gemini. Trevor couldn’t imagine Gemini -or even Kyrus for that matter- give up something like fatherhood for their own selfish desires. What was more important than being there for their kids?

Trevor snapped from his thoughts when he heard a yelp in the woods. He looked around, listening closely. Out of nowhere, all the kids flew from the forest and landed by Trevor, all except Comet, Tyrande, and Ayassa.

“Comet?” Trevor called. “Tyrande! Ayassa!”

“Help!” Tyrande cried and Trevor ran forward, changing to his dragon form as he ran and launched himself over the treetops. He spotted a group of dragon riding hunters flying over the trees, their target locked on what could only be the three unaccounted kids. Trevor hovered for a moment before dropping below the trees and weaving among them, spotting Comet’s red scales through the greenery.

“On your six, kids!” Trevor called. The three skidded to a stop as Trevor approached, watching him. Trevor flailed his wings to stop his momentum, but roared in pain when something struck his back, the pain lingering.

“Trevor!” Comet squeaked and Trevor fell to his belly. Trevor groaned and lifted his head, opening his wings slightly.

“Get over here you three, now!” Trevor grunted. Tyrande, Ayassa, and Comet hurried forward and slid to hide under Trevor’s wings.

Hang in there, Trevor! We’re coming! Kathey’s voice echoed in Trevor’s mind. Trevor gritted his teeth and looked up as the hunters landed. He growled, his breath element bubbling in his throat, ready to freeze anyone that came close to him. Instead, he roared as a hunter stabbed his back with something that he couldn’t see. He felt the kids huddle closer to his sides.

“Get the dual colored ones, leave the red one behind!” One of the hunters commanded. Trevor’s wings were forced up, the thin bones aching as they shoved them away.

“Trevor! Help!” Tyrande wailed as he and Ayassa were grabbed. Trevor grunted as he tried to move, but the pain in his back equivalent to knives left him paralyzed.

“Give the bitch a message, lizard. If she wants her kids back, she can come get them at HQ,” a hunter said and kicked Trevor in the snout before they shoved Tyrande and Ayassa in small cages and mounted their dragons.

“Get up! Help them!” Comet commanded. He crawled out from under Trevor’s wing and stared at his back, mouth open and shock on his face. Comet swallowed and looked to Trevor, who was fighting to stay awake. Comet looked around before his focus was drawn to someone approaching. Through Trevor’s barely open eyes, he spotted pink scales, Anna’s scales.

“Oh Gods, what happened?” Anna demanded.

“Hunters came, Mom...they took Tyrande and Ayassa,” Comet explained.

“Son of a hellhound...” Anna cursed.

Trevor didn’t know what happened next, his vision turned black.

~oOo~

“Shit!” Trevor snapped as a dragon tooth was pulled from his back. It turned out he was hit and stabbed with about twenty dragon tooth arrows. In his state of weakness, he was reverted to his human form and was laying on an examination table in the Med Lab.

“You’re lucky they didn’t slit your throat,” Kathey barked at him. She stood nearby with her arms crossed. “You let my kids get taken!”

“What was I supposed to do with dragon teeth in my back?!”

“You could’ve said no to bringing Tyrande and Ayassa to fly in the forest. Could’ve stayed with them while they flew around.”

“Lemme see a tooth.” Trevor and Kathey looked to the door of the Med Lab and spotted Aaron and Cyrus. Sereph held one of the teeth out to him and Aaron took it, looking it over. “How’s the bleeding control?” Trevor scoffed, he knew that his wounds wouldn’t stop bleeding, the pile of medical sponges by his elbow kept growing.

“Keeps bleeding, slowly but still going,” Sereph explained. Aaron wiped at a tooth before placing it with the others.

“Blood Dragon teeth, he’s got anti-clotting agents in his body right now,” Aaron said.

“That explains a lot,” Sereph snorted and grabbed a bottle from a cabinet and filled a syringe with the liquid before approaching Trevor who tensed up. “Trevor?”

“Don’t like needles...” Trevor mumbled and squeezed his eyes shut. Sereph slipped the needle into the visible vein in the crook of his arm and pushed the plunger. She pulled the needle out and set it aside.

“You’ll be alright. The clotting agent I just injected will take a while to counter the anti-clotting agent, giving me enough time to get these last few removed and stitch you up,” Sereph explained and Trevor nodded.

“Why can’t you just heal him with magic?” Cyrus questioned.

“Trevor lived most of his life as a human, his body is very sensitive to magic, as are his siblings. I could cause a lot of damage to him if I’m not careful. It’s better I tend to him the old fashioned way, stitches and painkillers.”

“Trevor!” They all looked up when they spotted Brenda, Aya, and David standing at the door.

“Hey guys...” Trevor mumbled and his siblings came to his side.

“Are you ok?” Aya asked. Trevor raised an eyebrow for a brief moment.

“Other than getting shot and stabbed with something equal to a knife, I’m good.” Trevor grunted as Sereph pulled the last tooth from his back. She looked over each wound, Trevor wincing occasionally. After making sure everything was cleaned, she started stitching Trevor wounds. “They gonna scar?”

“Most likely.” Trevor grinned.

“Cool.” Sereph finished stitching his wounds and Trevor sat up slowly, his teeth clamped on the inside of his cheek as he did and Sereph started wrapping his torso, Trevor hands clasped together behind his head.

“Avoid changing to your dragon form for a few days. Your wounds will heal quickly if you relax,” Sereph advised and Trevor shrugged.

“Easy enough.” Trevor looked to Kathey. “What’s your plan for getting Tyrande and Ayassa back? We can’t just barge right in, that’s suicide. Can’t do undercover, they’ll know we’re dragons right away, right?” Kathey nodded. “They know Aaron and Cyrus are with us, no way they’ll accept them with open arms.”

“And with Cenod working with them, we’d have an all out war against the Hunters if we don’t take them out when we make our attack,” Kathey added.

“What can Cenod do?” Brenda piped up. Everyone looked to her. “He’s a wyvern, right? He’s just a dragon like the rest of us, so what can he do?”

“Besides the possession and summoning parasites that control hosts, he can become a shadow the way Brokenstar did. That’s probably the only reason Brokenstar was able to do that, Nega Dragons don’t normally have that ability,” Kathey explained before rubbing her face. “Nobody goes outside unless it’s necessary, alright? Can’t have them taking anyone else. I don’t even want to think about what they could be doing to Tyrande and Ayassa.”

“You’re really calm about all this,” Trevor noted and Kathey scoffed.

“Let’s just say history is somewhat repeating itself.”

~oOo~

Garrett stared at the two fledglings in the cage. What better way to bait Anna than to take her kids and use them.

I’ve snatched her kids up before, Cenod mused in his mind. Garrett smirked.

“Have you now?” he asked.

Indeed. Not long after she birthed the Energy Dragons sired by Gemini.

Garrett raised an eyebrow before turning his back to the cage.

“Our mom will beat you and save us!” Garrett spun to the cage and kicked the bars, making both fledglings squeak with fear.

“Shut it pipsqueak. I know exactly what I’m doing, and by the time my plan is complete, you won’t see your mother or your plague of a family ever again.” Garrett glared for a moment before turning and started out of the warehouse.

A bang echoed through the warehouse and Garrett stopped before four cages in the corner. He looked over at the four dragons contained. The cage holding a white and light blue scaled Glacier Dragon had a sizable dent in the bars, the dragon snorting. His whole muzzle was scarred from the chains that wrapped around him to keep his mouth shut. The icicle looking spikes along his back were chipped.

“Let me out you son of a hellhound!” the Glacier Dragon mumbled through the muzzle.

“Like I’m gonna listen to you!” Garrett laughed and walked out. The four dragons watched him walk out before the white scaled Divine Dragon with hints of sky blue on her turned to the Glacier Dragon.

“You’re going to get yourself killed if you don’t calm down, Ractor,” she advised. The horn on her forehead was chipped and her feathered wings have seen better days.

“He’s going to kill us either way Vatuna, it’s not like Ractor’s actions are going to change anything,” the light blue and purple Coral Dragon replied. He smacked his lips before pawing at his tongue, it was rough from the dehydration he was suffering from.

Nearby, Tyrande and Ayassa listened to the four argue, their cages were close to each other. Tyrande tilted his head at them before looking at the other cages, seeing the condition of the other dragons compared to the four in the corner. All the other dragons lay silently, some staring into space, some licking their talons. One was preening her wings. They all seemed to be in somewhat good condition, almost like they had given up hope of escaping. Tyrande looked to the corner again and took account of their appearances.

The Divine Dragon with a chipped horn and badly kept wings, the Glacier Dragon with chipped spikes and scars on his muzzle under the chain, the Coral Dragon who constantly panted from dehydration, and the pink and ocean blue Paradise Dragon missing the feathered crest on top of her head.

“I hope Mom gets here soon, Ayassa. These dragons need help, more than we do,” Tyrande stated and Ayassa whimpered, nodding to him.

Chapter 4

“We can’t just waltz up to the base, they’ll see us from a mile away!” Samual argued with Sylark. The team was in the conference room trying to figure out a way to attack the Hunter base, but nobody could agree on a suitable plan.

“That is not what I was implying, Samual! If we plan a diversion at the front, another team can break through the Leader’s false wall and storm the base from there!” Sylark explained. His finger jabbed at the blueprint on the table that Aaron had drawn for them.

“The Leader isn’t going to join the fight, he’s going to stay in his room with his guard dog and Cenod and we’ll meet a quick end,” Kathey snapped. Sylark and Samual were silent, they hadn’t had any close encounters with Garrett like Kathey had. Her life had been jeopardized multiple times going against him.

There was no easy way to attack the Hunter base, seeing that hundreds of hunters prowled the inside and the outside not to mention the dragons under their control AND Cenod’s control. Trevor leaned on the back of a couch, his wounds still tender, so sitting was difficult. There must’ve been an obvious way in that they couldn’t see. Trevor looked up when the door to the conference room opened and in walked Darkness. A Shadow Dragon of pale skin, black hair, black eyes, always wearing black clothing. He acted as a waiter in the Mess Hall, the only one at that.

Darkness held two trays with various dishes containing snack foods, fruits, veggies, dips, crackers. He set the trays on open spots on the table and smirked when most of the team started taking bits of this and that and shoving the handfuls into their mouths. Darkness looked over at Trevor, who hadn’t moved to grab anything. He moved to stand beside Trevor and watch the scene before them.

“Rejecting my peace offering?” Darkness joked and Trevor smirked.

“They’ve been arguing since this morning. They can’t agree on anything it seems,” Trevor recapped and Darkness nodded, crossing his arms.

“Can’t go directly at them. Sneak attack?”

“Only way in is through the Leader’s false wall that leads to his room, which is suicide. Course, this whole mission is a suicide mission.”

“Vents?” Everyone looked at Darkness. “What?”

“Why didn’t we think of that before?” Samual questioned. He looked to Aaron, who had his hand to his face before grabbing his pencil and drawing out the vent plans.

“I d-didn’t th-think about th-that,” Aaron stammered and he huffed. Trevor noticed Aaron stuttered anytime he was around dragons not under any control. The Compass Dragons had a reputation, Trevor and his siblings, not so much.

“There is the matter of getting to the vents. It would be foolish to go in without access to abilities,” Sylark stated. He had a handful of blueberries and popped a few into his mouth.

“What about Salem?” Kathey suggested.

“That psycho?” Sylark snapped. Trevor never heard Sylark speak that way. The two telepaths looked over at Trevor.

“Salem isn’t always mentally stable. He can be a little...much at times.” Kathey rubbed her face. “It’s the only way we can get someone in there with full access to their abilities and not stick out like a sore thumb. Salem’s pale, but he won’t scream non-human right away.”

“Well, let us test your communication skills, Trevor,” Sylark mused and Trevor looked between the two.

“What?”

~oOo~

The rhythmic banging of metal on metal met Trevor’s ears as he approached the Forge. He hadn’t been near the building at all since he and his siblings arrived at the Academy. Trevor spotted a man at the anvil, shaping a sword. He had very pale skin, like he had no blood in his body. His hair was pitch black, shoulder length and slicked back. He wore a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, black dress pants, black dress shoes, and wore a simple brown leather apron. He looked up when Trevor’s footsteps in the grass caught his attention.

“Well, well. A new visitor, how surprising. How may I help you?” he greeted, setting the hammer down and reaching to undo the knot in his apron. Trevor stepped into the Forge and approached him.

“The team has a mission, they wanted me to ask for your help,” Trevor started, running his fingers through his hair. Salem smirked, showing a hint of sharp fangs. He crossed his arms and Trevor spotted a silver ring with an amethyst on his ring finger.

“Well, you obviously know my name, it’s only fair I know yours,” Salem stated.

“Trevor Williams.” Trevor held out his hand which Salem grasped and shook, bowing his head lightly.

“Salem Xavier Vladimir at your service. What is the mission that I’m requested to aid with?”

“We need someone without limited access to their abilities to infiltrate the Hunter base and cause a distraction inside the base so us dragons can go in and attack them.”

“A suicide mission, hmm? I’m aware of the news, but to go to this length to save them without proper aid is foolhardy.” Trevor noted that Salem’s speech was very outdated, the vampire had to be hundreds of years old. “Give me a moment to clean up and I will join you.” Trevor nodded and watched Salem dunk the sword in water before he put his tools away, hung his apron, and grabbed a black vest and a fedora from a hook on the wall. He buttoned the vest and placed the hat on his head before stepping out into the sun. Trevor half expected Salem to shy away from the sun.

“How are you not burning?” The question slipped and Salem chuckled before holding up his hand with the ring.

“Vampires are given special arcane stones that prevent us from burning up in the sun. We choose the stone and the jewelry to embed. I was...married once. Sired four darling children as well. I had grown accustomed to wearing a ring, so I made mine to replace my wedding band. My daughters remain home in my castle on Yamikage, the vampire home planet.”

“What happened to your wife?” Trevor shoved his hands in his pockets.

“Sadly... I killed her and my son when I experienced one of my breaks. That was when Mykau and I were the same.” Salem’s silver eyes glinted in the sun and Trevor knew what he saw. Mykau’s one silver eye, it was from Salem.

“I saw Mykau not too long ago, over by the river.”

“How is he?”

“He seemed ok, a little sad that he was sent away, but he understood.”

“I fear his anger came from me. An immature adult forced to live with an angry demon inside of his mind. It could not have been pleasant.” Salem tilted his fedora down, hiding his face slightly. “I only wish I hadn’t slipped into a break, maybe things would’ve been better for everyone.” Trevor frowned.

“How do you slip into a break?”

“Humans need a trigger of sorts to fall into a psychotic break. I wish it was that easy for me. Should my anger or sorrow get the best of me, I break.” The conversation was dropped when they walked inside and soon came to the conference room. “Hello, Kathey. Sending the inexperienced to request my help now?” Salem chuckled and Kathey turned to face him, smirking.

“He needs the exposure,” Kathey replied and Salem approached the table, but stopped short. He sniffed the air slightly before looking to Aaron.

“Well, this is a surprise. What’s a human doing here?” Salem questioned and Aaron swallowed.

“He’s one of the hunters helping us out, don’t eat him.” Kathey laughed and Aaron paled. “Kidding, Aaron. Salem has complete control over his bloodlust.”

“V-vampire?” Aaron asked and Salem nodded.

“Let us discuss the plan,” Salem offered and he moved to lean his hands on the table and look over the blueprints.

“The best way in is through the vents. As for a distraction, we need to be smart about it,” Sylark started.

“Th-they have a w-weapon stash in the g-generator room,” Aaron advised.

“Seems simple enough, destroy the generators and weapons and they’ll act. Making our work a bit easier” Salem said, grinning.

“Perfect, now for the other issue of this matter,” Kathey started and looked to Trevor. “You and your siblings have no idea how to fight against dragons and hunters.” She looked to Aaron. “Tell Cyrus he’s got a job now, teaching the yearlings how to fight hunters.” Aaron nodded and hurried out. Salem watched him before chuckling.

“He’s nervous around non-humans,” Salem noted.

“He had no choice in becoming a hunter. He chose a Hiertic Dragon as his mount for a reason. They’re natural protectors and only aggressive when needed and that’s only towards real threats. Humans feel safe around them, even without knowing they’re dragons.” Salem hummed in thought.

“If you will excuse me, I must get ready for the mission.” Salem bowed his head and walked out.

“Right. Trevor, get your siblings and head down to the gym, I’ll let Cyrus know to meet you there for training.” Trevor nodded and walked out.

~oOo~

Cyrus thrust the pole at Trevor, the end nicking his shoulder. Trevor groaned and stomped away.

“This is impossible!” he complained. Trevor couldn’t change to his dragon form yet, but he still needed the practice. Cyrus rested an end of the pole on the ground and leaned his weight on it.

“You don’t have to be perfect, not everyone is as skilled as I am. The dragons will be the problem,” Cyrus explained. He looked towards the Insect Dragon that sat in the corner. Trevor looked to the dragon as well before huffing.

“How can you be so sure?” Brenda asked. She sat nearby with Aya and David.

“Because besides the boss, I’m the oldest living hunter,” Cyrus stated, though he hesitated.

“Something on your mind?” Trevor asked and Cyrus exhaled.

“Yeah, but I’m not spilling my guts to you lizards.” He stood straight and spun the pole over his shoulder, bringing it back to his front and held it like a spear. “Who’s next?”

For a few hours Trevor and his siblings trained with Cyrus and his dragon. Halfway through, Trevor stopped due to his back and watched his siblings practice. He pointed out errors that his siblings made and ask questions when they came up. By the end of the session, everyone was exhausted. The Insect Dragon laid, barely able to move.

“Is that what the parasites do to dragons? Push their limit until they physically can’t move anymore?” Trevor questioned as Sereph looked it over.

“It’s a theory,” Kathey replied. She stood nearby with her arms crossed. Malice, Sylark, and Zoymey stood behind her.

“He’s just exhausted, he’ll be alright,” Sereph announced.

“Good time to test that idea you had, Sylark,” Kathey suggested and Sylark nodded. Kathey dropped her arms and looked among everyone in the room. “I want all of you out in case this works. I’m not taking any chances.”

“What is it you plan on doing?” Trevor questioned. Kathey looked over her shoulder at Zoymey who nodded and waved Trevor over to what could only be described as an observatory. His siblings, Sereph, and Malice walked out of the gym, the door locking behind them. Zoymey secured the observatory’s door and Trevor looked out through the glass.

“They think using telepathic abilities, they can push the parasite out. Possession is of the mind as well as the body,” Zoymey explained.

Trevor watched as Kathey and Sylark stood on either side of the Insect Dragon. The dragon lifted his head and looked between the two before screeching in pain and standing, stumbling backwards. He pawed at his head before he started coughing. Something black flew from his mouth and attempted to crawl away and into the corner of the gym.

Zoymey grabbed what appeared to be a glass capsule the size of a microwave from the corner of the observatory and rushed out, turning to his dragon form in the process. He opened the capsule and scooped the gelatinous parasite into it and sealed it. Trevor stepped from the observatory to where Kathey, Sylark, and the Insect Dragon stood.

The dragon rubbed at his face before opening his eyes, now back to the normal yellow-green they were meant to be. He looked at the four in the room with him.

“What happened?” he asked, his voice held a heavy German accent. “Where am I?”

Chapter 5

Sylark and Kathey exchanged glances. The dragon was free of the parasite and hunter control.

“Before we answer anything, let’s have your name first,” Kathey demanded.

“Kafer,” the dragon replied. “And who are you?”

“Anna Dragon, Sylark Freeze, that’s Zoymey Earth over there, and this is Trevor Williams, a student of mine,” Kathey introduced, pointing out those she named before looking to Kafer. “What do you remember?”

“Well...I was hunting, to feed my family. The next thing I know, I’m being attacked by Hunters, thrown into a cage, and...er...what is the word...transportiert?”

“Transported?” Kathey offered.

“Danke, yes, transported to an outpost. Then they had a machine in my face. Everything is dark after that...” Kafer looked to Kathey. “Where am I?”

“The Voutneth Academy in Drake, Michigan,” Sylark replied.

“Michigan? In the United States?” They nodded. “Meine gotter, I’m a long way from home...”

“Can you turn human?” Kathey asked. Kafer glew a bright green before he became human. He had short brown hair, fair skin, and striking green eyes that matched his dragon breed. He wore a simple t-shirt, jeans, and hiking boots. “We should have you checked out, just to make sure you’re alright after dealing with...that.” Kathey nodded to Zoymey holding the capsule.

“What is that?” Kafer questioned.

“That would be a possession parasite belonging to Cenod, a wyvern of pure magic,” Kathey replied. Kafer repeated the name a few times under his breath as Kathey led him out, Trevor following behind them.

“That name sounds familiar...” Kafer mused before looking back at Trevor, slowing his pace to walk next to the yearling.

“What’s up?” Trevor greeted. Kafer chuckled.

“Judging by your manners and your tongue, you are human raised, no?”

Trevor nodded. “I’m the son of a Nixes Dragon, didn’t know until a couple months ago.”

“Are you adjusting well?”

Trevor shrugged. “As well as I can be given the circumstances.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well...” Trevor trailed off, looking at Kathey who nodded. “The Underworld was taken away from Deathbore when my siblings and I arrived. And now we have the hunters to deal with. We only just started learning how to be dragons and we’re already facing big threats.”

“Go big or go home, mein freund.” They shared a laugh and found themselves outside the Med Lab. Sereph looked up from her computer and her jaw dropped at the sight of Kafer.

“He’s free?” Sereph questioned, standing abruptly.

“Somehow, yes. Can you just make sure he’s alright?” Kathey requested and Sereph nodded, pulling on medical gloves and shooed Kathey and Trevor from the room. Trevor stood leaning against the wall nearby.

“She takes her job pretty seriously, huh?” Trevor asked and Kathey looked to him from her pacing.

“It’s all she’s ever known, really. I was still stationed at a temporary home when I met her, Gemini was still in the picture then,” Kathey replied.

“You were expecting Sandra and Sorren, weren’t you?” Kathey nodded.

“Energy Dragons have the ability to absorb the actual life from living things. She was the only one who had knowledge on the matter and she saved my life. She’s been by my side ever since and when I thought of the Academy, she got more than just a job taking care of pregnant females. She’s doing something she loves; helping others.”

“How much does she know about health?”

“Let’s just say she could get accepted for a job at any high-end medical facility and get a lot of money for it.” They looked up when the door opened to the Med Lab, Sereph standing there.

“You need to see this,” Sereph said and Trevor looked to Kathey before they walked into the Lab again and to where Kafer sat on an examination table. “I was checking his eyes and I’ve noticed something...abnormal.”

“More abnormal than yellow-green eyes?” Kathey asked and looked into Kafer’s eyes. Sereph handed her an ophthalmoscope and Kathey looked through it.

“Well, that is interesting.” Kathey turned to Trevor and handed it to him. “Take a look.”

Trevor moved to stand in front of Kafer and he looked through the lense. It looked as though Kafer had green grid lines in the iris of his human eyes.

“Is that...?” Trevor trailed off, looking to Kathey.

“Hunter controlled dragons usually have what we call black orb eyes with green grid lines. I wonder...Kafer, what year was it that you were captured?”

“Nineteen ninety-four...what year is it?”

“Kafer, I was born that year. It’s twenty fifteen,” Kathey replied.

“Scheisse...my family has probably forgotten me...”

Kathey shook her head. “I doubt it, please stay here at the Academy, we’ll help you find your family.”

“How?”

“Technology has advanced a lot over the years. Plus I’m the daughter of Dusk and Dawn, I have the resources.”

“I thought the surname sounded familiar. It’s an honor to be in the presence of royalty.” Kafer bowed his head and Kathey shook her head.

“Don’t be formal, I’m merely of Royal Blood, nothing more. I plan on staying here and protecting the world.”

“Are you not the oldest daughter?”

“I have a twin sister, she was chosen to be the heir. If I take the throne, the world would be in more danger than if I remained where I’m at now.” Kafer nodded.

“I understand.”

After that exchange, Kathey gave Kafer the layout of the rules and led him to one of the boarding rooms while Trevor stayed behind to have his wounds checked. His back was still tender, if not more painful.

Sereph cut the bandages from his torso, pulling the medical tape that held the wads of gauze to the stitches. She looked them over while Trevor chewed his lip to keep from crying out in pain.

“Your wounds are oozing some kind of fluid. I’m gonna take a sample of this, see what it is,” Sereph explained. She took a culture swab and scooped the fluid onto it before putting it on a microscope slide and putting the slide under said microscope. “Just as I thought...”

“What’s that?” Trevor asked.

“Typical bacterial infection. The teeth from the arrows were chipped and cracked in some places for bacteria to hide in and considering Blood Dragons consume blood, they get loads of bacteria in their mouths.” Sereph stood and looked through her cabinets before coming up with a bottle of clear liquid. “I’m going to give you a booster to fight this infection.” Trevor exhaled and nodded. Sereph gave him the injection and wrapped his wounds again. Trevor grunted as he sat up and adjusted the gauze wrapped around his torso.

“Did you think it would be this bad?” Sereph hummed nearby as she washed her hands.

“When dealing with hunters, you expect the worst. At least the dragons have done their part in the past to prevent the hunters from getting a bigger edge on us.”

“You mean the Toxic Dragons, right?” Sereph dried her hands and turned to Trevor, nodding.

“The world is better off without them. I don’t understand it, but they were the closest thing to feral dragons than any other breed I’ve encountered or read about. Next to Wyverns that is.” Trevor raised an eyebrow.

“Wyverns are feral?”

“True Wyverns, not the magical hybrid that Cenod is. I’ve run into them in my medical studies, they’re not what they’re cracked up to be.” Sereph pulled a book from the top of the cabinets that lined the Med Lab and she flipped through it before moving next to Trevor, showing him the page.

It held drawings of a Wyvern as well as medical facts about the dragon subspecies as it was labeled. Trevor ran his hand over the drawing of its skeleton, noticing how its bone structure was similar to a dragon’s, but some key parts were different. Front legs were missing and its spine curved a different way to support the weight on just two legs.

“Just how dangerous are Wyverns?” Trevor asked. He looked up at Sereph who closed the book.

“Think of them as actual animals, constantly fighting anything that moves, even each other. I have yet to meet a real hybrid not created with magic. I can only imagine the mental stability, putting an animal mindset and a sentient mindset into one brain, there’s no telling.”

“Don’t we have that though?”

“We have ancient instinct that has been modified and trained over the generations, we only rely on little base instinct when it comes to that.” Trevor was silent as Sereph replaced the book and sat at her computer again. “Not only have I studied physical medication, I know about the mental and emotional studies too. If you need to talk, Trevor, my door is always open.” Trevor slipped off the table, stumbling slightly. “Take it easy for a while, I gave you the strongest antibiotics I had, they’ll mess with your strength for a bit.”

“Thanks...” Trevor grunted. He stumbled out and started for his room. He didn’t want to feel the effects of the drugs for the rest of the day. But of course, he wasn’t going to have it that easy, especially when he saw Kathey come around a corner in the hallway.

“My office, Trevor,” Kathey commanded. Trevor took a breath and followed her. Once in her office, Kathey shut the door and Trevor braced his hands on the chair in front of her desk. Kathey walked to her chair and sat down, gesturing to the chair Trevor had his hands on. “Sit.”

“I’ll stand, thanks. Back hurts too much,” Trevor remarked.

“And you have drugs in your body that make you loopy, now sit.” Trevor reluctantly sat down, and leaned forward, trying to ignore the pain.

“What do you want, Kathey?” Trevor rubbed his face. “You gonna punish me because I was overwhelmed by dragon hunters and got shot and stabbed in the back? Gonna send me home? You know my siblings aren’t gonna stay if I’m not here.” Kathey stared at him carefully, most likely searching his mind.

“No, I’m not going to punish you. You tried your best to save my kids, but the hunters are trained to overpower adult dragons, You’re lucky to still be alive, they meant for this to happen.” Kathey shifted to pull her hair from its ponytail and retie it. “Cenod is the biggest issue right now. If we fight dragons controlled by his parasites, we’ll take more blows than from normal hunter controlled dragons.”

“So, what? Train against a parasite controlled dragon?”

Kathey shook her head, dropping her hands and crossing her arms. “No, dragons have different combat styles, there’s no way to guarantee we get anything out of a single parasite controlled dragon and have the ability to apply it to others.” Kathey paused. “You know how I mentioned history is repeating itself?”

Trevor nodded.

“I encountered Cenod while I was mates with Gemini. Sometime after Sandra and Sorren were born, Cenod took them and the other kids. I had to search everywhere for my kids before ending up in some kind of shadowy dimension or realm or whatever you want to call it. That battle took a lot out of me, it’s probably why I didn’t remember him.”

“Didn’t Gemini help you?”

“No, he stayed home and protected the kids I rescued. Or so I had believed back then, honestly there was no telling what he was really doing.” Kathey shook her head. “I believed a lot of things in my youth, if that’s what you can even call it at this point. Dragons are considered adults once they reach fourteen. So, Trevor, what do you think about all this that’s happening?”

“Well, I think we need to really think before launch our attack, as you’ve mentioned before. If we don’t prepare to the fullest, we could very well lose our lives.”

“So?”

“So...I think we need more than twelve dragons and a vampire attacking the hunter headquarters.”

Kathey nodded and stood up. “Exactly what I had been thinking, thank you, Trevor. Now go rest before you pass out in my office.” Kathey laughed lightly and Trevor chuckled before standing and walking out.

Chapter 6

Tyrande whined as the banging of metal echoed through the warehouse. Ractor hadn’t given up yet, throwing his body against his cage. Tyrande and Ayassa were only trying to sleep and Ractor was making all the noise.

“Stop...” Tyrande mumbled.

Bang.

“Stop.” Tyrande said a little louder.

Bang.

“STOP IT!” Tyrande snapped, a squirt of water escaped his mouth. He ignored the fact it was the first time he ever used a breath element and glared at Ractor.

“At least I’m trying to get out, fledgling,” Ractor snapped.

“If you stop trying to hurt yourself, our mom will come and save us all.” Ractor scoffed.

“Oh yeah? And who’s your mom? Some Water Dragon trapped in a clan?” Ayassa stood and growled.

“Nnnnno!” she managed to bark. Tyrande looked to his sister before looking back at them.

“Our mom is Anna Dragon,” Tyrande stated, puffing his chest. Ractor laughed, a few other dragons around them that were listening in started laughing too.

“How could a Flower Dragon have a Seaweed and a Wasser Feuer?” a Moon Dragon laughed from another cage. Tyrande looked around before growling.

“You’ll see! She’ll come and save us all! She’ll prove you all wrong!”

“Tch, when hellhounds fly,” a Fire Dragon snapped.

“Uh...Hell Dragons?” a Wind Dragon countered.

“Right...”

Tyrande sat back and looked down at his claws. Ayassa nudged Tyrande and whined before sitting next to him.

“She’ll come...right?” Tyrande questioned his sister and she nodded. “Mom wouldn’t give up on us.” Ayassa shook her head to agree before snuggling close to Tyrande and they both laid down. Ayassa held her breath for a second and Tyrande felt her body warm up. “Thanks...” Tyrande barely closed his eyes when banging echoed through the warehouse again, but it wasn’t from Ractor.

“Where the hell is your mother?!” Garrett yelled, stomping towards Tyrande and Ayassa’s cage. Tyrande lifted his head quickly before standing and putting himself between the bars of the cage and Ayassa. “I’m not gonna say it again.”

“What makes you think we know?” Tyrande challenged. He lowered his head and glared, his nostrils flaring.

“That parasite of a lizard is a telepath! That power gets passed on, where the hell is she?”

“We’re not telepaths! Not everyone gets the power!” Tyrande jumped back when Garrett hit the bars of the cage and Ayassa wailed.

“Lies! Your mother has forty-eight hours.” Garrett stalked off and Tyrande let out a shaky breath. Ayassa trembled and huddled closer to Tyrande. The dragons around them stared.

“You don’t hear about telepaths much nowadays...” someone commented.

“Not since the Pink and Moon War,” another dragon added.

“The Anna Dragon is your mom?” Vatuna asked and Tyrande nodded.

“She won’t give up on me and Ayassa. She’ll come for us and help all of you too. You can’t give up! If we all fight back, we can buy some time.” Someone scoffed.

“Yeah, we fight back, they’ll kill us.” Tyrande looked around the cage before looking at Ayassa.

“Anybody try melting the bars of the cages?”

“No way out if we even could, kid.” Tyrande growled before exhaling. Ayassa whimpered and nuzzled him.

“We can’t lose hope, Ayassa. She’ll come...I know it.”

~oOo~

“This is your backup?” Sylark snapped. The team was meeting in the gym with the reinforcements Kathey had called, two of the four being the older siblings of Kyrus.

“There a problem, Sylark?” Kathey questioned, standing beside Kyrus’ brother, Kano.

“Yes, there is. Why in Kaylano’s name would you call these two?” Sylark pointed to Kano and Kyrus’ sister, Vena. Kathey crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

“My own siblings have their own duties, Moonlight is literally no help to any of us, and Alex is unable to help us right now. Who else was I supposed to call?”

“Ghostbusters,” Aya mumbled next to Trevor who snickered. Kathey looked towards them and laughed. Sylark looked at them confused and Kathey shook her head.

“Let’s get everyone acquainted.” The gym grew silent and Sylark moved to lean against the wall with Malice and Zoymey. The Special Needs and Trevor and his siblings sat in the middle of the gym, it reminded the yearlings of Physical Ed in school. The backup stood on either side of Kathey, Kano and Vena on one side and the other two males on the other. “Those of you who don’t know these four, this is Vena, Kano, Shadow, and River.”

Vena and Kano had vibrant orange eyes, Vena’s were like a cat’s. Both had brown hair and freckles dotting their noses and cheekbones. Both were at least a foot taller than Kathey was. They both wore t-shirts, jeans, and gym shoes.

River had deep blue eyes and every breath he exhaled was a misty cloud like it was cold in the room, but it was a moderate temperature if not at least cool. What stood out most other than the shaggy ocean blue hair was the blue horns protruding from it. He wore a tank top and khaki shorts, nothing on his feet.

Shadow’s appearance mirrored that of Darkness, except his pupils were like a viper’s, glowing bright blue in black irises. He didn’t seem to really be looking at anyone, almost like Sonar usually did. Trevor wondered if he was blind.

“You’re in the presence of three unique dragons that aren’t as common as you would think,” Kathey continued. “Vena is a Volcano Dragon and lion hybrid, River is a Nixes Dragon and horse Hybrid, and Shadow is a Snake Dragon. Yes, Trevor, he is blind in a sense, but like snakes, he uses other senses. Shadow is able to sense auras and magic around him, easier to see magical beings than it is to see humans with no magic abilities.”

“Something like that,” Shadow mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.

“It’s extra firepower at least, that’s all we can manage, I don’t have many connections anymore,” Kathey stated and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Ok, considering how insane the Hunter Leader is, we should probably start planning our attack and strike tonight.”

“What makes you so sure that we shouldn’t just wait?” River asked.

“The leader will grow impatient, Tyrande and Ayassa’s lives are at risk if we don’t deliver what they want. What he wants.”

“You,” Trevor said and Kathey nodded. She looked to Aaron who stood nearby with the drawn blueprints under his arm. He rolled the prints onto the floor and everyone gathered around. “What about Salem?”

“Present.” Trevor jumped and looked over his shoulder as Salem seemed to phase out of the ground, followed by Darkness in his dragon form.

“Did you two plan this?” Kathey asked and Salem dismounted from Darkness.

“If I am to crawl through the vents, I need a means of getting to the vents without being detected. Darkness was a viable option for this mission,” Salem explained and grinned. Kathey smirked and shook her head.

“Least you’re here.”

“I wouldn’t want to pass up an opportunity like this. Amusement and blood. You will allow me to drain these peasants, won’t you?”

“That’s something we have to discuss. I’m sure Cyrus and Aaron aren’t the only ones who want out of the hunter lifestyle. We’ll round up the hunters, whoever surrenders will be taken for questioning. Those who resist, they’re all yours, Salem.”

“Excellent!” he clapped his hands together once. “Where do we begin?” Everyone stood around the blueprints and Aaron held a laser pointer. He pressed the button, pointing the light to the drawing that had extra pages added to it, showing the area around the HQ.

“The HQ is located south of Hamilton in Indiana,” Aaron started, his stutter absent. He pointed the light to each part of the drawing as he spoke about it. “It’s hidden well enough that not many humans would find it easily. They always have guards on the building itself, their dragons with them all the time. They patrol it 24/7, night and space class dragons when it’s dark and everything else during the day.”

“There are two lookout posts at the front of the base, the Boss puts his best archers at those posts and only the best. The best place to access the vents is through the warehouse on the north side of the base. You’ll have to get through one of the warehouse windows then through a vent on the south side of the warehouse. It’s a short crawl to the generator room weapon stash, they use really old generators, hit it enough and it’ll explode.”

“Tyrande and Ayassa are probably being kept in the warehouse. If not, the Boss will have them in his room with his guard dog, a Tech Dragon. If hunters aren’t patrolling the base, they’ll be in the barracks not far from the Boss’ room. When the generator blows, you’ll want to make your attack then, draw them outside. The base is kept at low light, it’s supposed to bother dragons enough to disorientate them.”

“I suggest you all wait by the hills until the generator is down. You’ll be out of sight, but close enough to launch your attack quickly.”

Everyone listened carefully, watching the light as Aaron pointed out the locations of interest and explained the layout. Kathey nodded and looked up.

“Ok. Salem, Darkness, you two know your part. Get to the warehouse, then the vents. Salem, please have confirmation that Tyrande and Ayassa are alright when you are in the warehouse.” Salem nodded.

“Alright, when Salem gives the word that the generators are down and the weapons destroyed, we’ll launch our attack, hit the roof and the guards on top of the base, draw out the rest of the hunters. While you all do that, I’m going to the source of this madness.”

“You can’t be serious,” Kano snapped. Kathey looked to him with a raised eyebrow.

“Excuse me?”

“The world can’t lose a protector like you, Kathey. Going for the leader is suicide!”

“And why should you care?” Kathey crossed her arms.

“I’m not letting my sister-in-law get herself killed.” Everyone was silent after Kano said that. The Volcano Dragon noticed and he exhaled. “I married her sister, Eshala.” Trevor looked between the two arguing about Kathey’s safety.

“Nobody else knows the Leader like Kathey does, we should let her take him out, at least then everyone’s chances of surviving and getting away will be better when he’s out of the picture,” Trevor argued.

“She can’t just go by herself!” Kano exclaimed.

“You are aware she is the most powerful out of all of us, yes?” Sylark spoke up.

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean she should go against someone who is as screwed up as this human.”

“Do not act like your brother, Kano. Kathey can take care of herself,” Zoymey assured him and Kano groaned in annoyance.

“Fine! But I swear to Kaylano if you get yourself killed you will never hear the end of it.”

Kathey smirked. “And I’m sure Kaylano will help you with that,” she laughed and Kano’s frown turned into a slight smile. Kathey looked among everyone and exhaled. “We all clear on the plan?”

Heads nodded and some replied with “yes ma’am.”

“I need everyone on this mission, but if anyone wants to back out now, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

“We all know what we’re getting ourselves into, Kathey. Pretty sure we’re all with you,” Trevor stated and everyone nodded in agreement.

“Good, everyone rest up. We’ll gather out front at sundown, seven-thirty,” Kathey commanded and everyone walked out, Kano, Vena, Shadow, and River staying behind. “Vena, River, I know you two have been living in the wilds lately. Rest out back near the back fence, River there’s a spring you can sleep in if you wish, just pay respect first, it’s Kaylano’s spring.”

“Understood,” River replied and walked out with Vena. Kathey looked to Shadow and Kano.

“There’s a room available upstairs you two can use for a few hours.” The two nodded and Kathey led them upstairs.

“You worried?” Kano asked.

“About?”

“Your kids,” Shadow replied. Kathey was quiet for a moment before she stopped and faced them.

“I am worried, but I also know they’re smart enough not to piss him off. It’ll be the Leader’s own fault if he hurts those two. And I’ll be sure to deliver the consequences to him.”

Chapter 7

Garrett paced back and forth in front of his throne. The Tech Dragon watching him, its head turning to follow his path.

“Permission to enter, sir,” a voice asked at his doorway. Garrett waved the hunter in and climbed up to his throne and sat down. “The Glacier Dragon in the corner with the Divine, Paradise, and Coral is coughing up blood. Permission to sedate him and see what the problem is?” Garrett groaned and massaged his temple with two fingers.

“No, bring the lizard before me. He’s caused me enough problems as it is and it's time he learned real pain.” The hunter nodded and stepped out. Garrett snapped his fingers and the Tech Dragon stood.

“Volcanic world, no water, no life.” The Tech looked towards the wall beside it and an orange and blue portal appeared. It stepped through and the portal disappeared.

It was only a few minutes before the cage was rolled into the room with Ractor laying unconscious, the tip of his tongue poking out of his mouth. A puddle of blood pooled around his mouth, ignored by the hunters. The Tech Dragon appeared from its portal that reopened and stepped away from it. Garrett pointed at Ractor and the Tech moved to shove the cage into the portal and seal it before returning to its spot beside Garrett’s throne.

“Sir, the rest of the prisoners are all riled up. We think Dragon’s fledglings are the cause of this,” one of the hunters present stated. Garrett pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Then shut them up! We have lances for more than just flying into battle and tossing them at dragons. Make an example out of anyone that gives us problems. GO!” Garrett pointed towards the door and the two hunters that had pushed Ractor’s cage in ran out quickly.

You’re losing it, Garrett. You will make mistakes if you do not keep a clear head.

“You think I care about what you tell me, thing? I do things my way, nobody else's.” Cenod phased out of Garrett’s body and stood before him.

“Don’t be careless, human. You answer to me, with a master that has no remorse for humans. He’ll kill you without a second thought.”

“Do you really think I’m scared of a myth? The Council of the Underworld is just a stupid tale you lizards tell your vermin offspring to make them behave at night.” Cenod crept closer nonchalantly.

“Oh but it is true, Garrett. Agony, Lust, Wrath, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Envy, Pride, they all exist. As does our true master, Ra-”

“Sir!” Cenod stopped short and looked over his shoulder at the Hunter panting in the doorway. “Sir, our generators are down and our weapon stash is destroyed! Dragons have been spotted by the hills heading right for us!.”

“Is Dragon with them?” Garrett asked.

“Sir?”

“Is that stupid pink scaled freak with them?!” Garrett stood from his throne, voice raised.

“Yes, sir, she’s leading the attack.”

“Get every armed hunter on the roof.”

“Garrett, that’s what she wants. To draw your men outside where the dragons have the advantage,” Cenod stated and Garrett glared at the Wyvern, no matter how right he was.

“Who’s on the roof now?” The hunter listed off a few names and dragon breeds. “Get the rest of the armed men inside the entrance, place a few in the warehouse by Dragon’s brats. We’ll bring those vermin in to us, it’s time we end this once and for all, Dragon.” Garrett pulled a special blade from the side of his throne and gazed at the metal.

It was tougher than any sort of metal normally found on Earth. This was a metal found on the planet the extinct Metallic Dragons once dwelled.

“What’s that you got there?” Cenod asked after the hunter ran off.

“Metallic Dragon metal. Can pierce dragon scales. I’ve been saving this beauty for Dragon ever since she escaped me the first time.” Cenod rolled his eyes -not that anyone could tell- and phased back into Garrett’s body.

I know how she fights, let me take control and destroy her for you.

“Be my guest, Cenod. We will kill her, no matter what it takes.” Garrett’s eyes became pitch black, even the whites of his eyes. He grinned at the door to his room and sat in his throne, waiting for his target to walk through.

~oOo~

“You know what you have to do,” Anna stated, looking to Salem adjusting his gloves while he sat on Darkness’ back.

“I will alert you when I have destroyed the generators and weapons,” Salem replied and he gave Anna a kind smile. Anna nodded and looked at Darkness for a moment before the Shadow Dragon phased into the ground and glided across the ground and over the hills.

Anna turned towards the group and sat back on her haunches.

“And now, we wait.”

~oOo~

Darkness phased out of the ground on the side of the base and Salem’s eyes scanned the windows near the top of the warehouse before he dismounted.

“See which window is the best option for us, if you please. As much as I’d love tasting hunter blood, we have to stick to the plan,” Salem requested.

Darkness nodded before phasing into the ground and gliding up the side of the warehouse. Salem pulled a small object from his pocket and flipped it around, revealing a butterfly knife. He flipped it around some more before Darkness’ very slight whisper caught his attention.

“Got it!” Darkness whispered and Salem looked up to spot the dragon on the very end of the warehouse. Salem took a step and was where the dragon stood in an instant. “I always forget how fast you vampires are.” Salem chuckled.

“Assistance please,” Salem asked and Darkness moved to put his front claws on the wall and stretched his neck as high as he could towards the window. Salem climbed his way up Darkness’ back and stood on his head.

“Watch the snout,” Darkness warned and Salem observed the window before using his knife to pry it from its frame. He held it down to Darkness who took the window in his mouth and Salem jumped to perch in the frame of the window, looking around the warehouse. No hunters in sight, and with a deep inhale of the room, he caught the scent of Ayassa and Tyrande.

Salem dropped to the floor and rolled to absorb the impact before he started for the small cage where Tyrande and Ayassa laid. Salem smiled at the sight of the two curled around each other like cats.

“Tyrande, Ayassa,” Salem called softly and Tyrande lifted his head swiftly.

“Uncle Salem!” Tyrande exclaimed quietly and he nudged Ayassa.

“Are you two alright?” Salem asked, Ayassa having popped awake and they both moved to the bars of the cage where he stood.

“We’re ok. Is Mom here?” Tyrande asked. Ayassa looked up at Salem with big eyes.

“She’ll be here to get you two soon, I assure you. She’s not too far, but I have to do something to help her. I need you two to keep quiet, ok? Once their leader is gone, she’ll get every dragon out of here. I shall return.”

“Nnnno!” Ayassa cried and reached her claws through the bars to grab his cane that hung from his hip.

“Ayassa it’s ok, we’re not alone, Mom will be here to save us soon,” Tyrande comforted her and she let go. Salem smiled and knelt down, reaching his hand through the bars of the cage to lift Ayassa’s head by her chin.

“I have to help your mom in her mission, Ayassa. But I promise that she isn’t far, you’ll see her soon.” Salem watched Ayassa carefully before she nodded and Salem stood. “Stay safe.” Salem scanned the wall before locating the vent and started for it. He pulled the grate from the vent and set it on the floor before climbing up.

With Salem’s eidetic memory, a talent every vampire had, he navigated the vents with ease before he found himself in the generator room. He waited for two hunters to walk out, having been checking the generators’ condition. Once the door closed to the room, Salem pushed the grate out and pulled it into the vent with him before he slid out and landed almost silently on the floor. Salem looked around the room, spotting the weapons in an alcove of the room.

“A little bit of black anarchy should do the trick,” Salem said to himself and pulled his gloves off. He shoved the gloves into his pocket and held his palms up, dark balls of magic appears over each hand and he looked to the weapons. He aimed one palm at the weapons while the other aimed right for the core of one of the generators. Salem launched his magic at his targets and held his arm to his face as the generators exploded, spraying sparks everywhere, igniting what was left of the weapons. Salem lowered his arm and looked at the flames that started on the debris. It was almost like the fire could be seen in Salem’s eyes as he stared at the orange flames.

“Hey! What was that?” someone shouted in the hallway. Salem shook his head, fending off the insanity and looking towards the door, pulling his gloves on and pulling his cane from his hip, resting the end on the floor.

Generators are destroyed, as well as the weapons. I’m about to be found, do hurry. Sometime today would be preferred as I can hear my stomach. Salem thought and he felt Anna chuckled in his mind.

Don’t hurt them too badly, Salem. Remember the plan, Anna replied as the door slammed open and lances were pointed at Salem. The vampire chuckled.

“Who are you? How did you get in here?” One of the hunters demanded.

“Gentlemen please, didn’t your mothers tell you not to point sticks at things you don’t understand?” Salem taunted and pulled the top of his cane, revealing a rapier hidden inside of it. “En garde!”

~oOo~

“Move!” Anna commanded. Trevor jumped to his feet and launched himself into the air after the rest of the team. “Focus your attacks on the roof of the base! Scatter!”

Trevor barrel rolled out of reach of some arrows that were aimed at him and he started for the warehouse. With a quick inhale, he felt the sting of cold in his throat and he released his breath element on some hunters aiming at him. The hunters froze in place from their necks down, unable to shoot anymore arrows. Trevor shifted his direction as the hunters’ dragons took to the air after Trevor.

“Someone get these dragons off my tail!” Trevor shouted. Sonar flew up between Trevor and the dragons pursuing him and blasted the dragons away. “Thanks Sonar! Tikimune!” Tikimune saluted Trevor before Sonar dove down towards some more hunters.

“Trevor!” Trevor’s head whipped around to see David being chased by a hunter on a Fire Dragon.

“Hang on, little buddy!” Trevor shouted and started for them. The dragon managed to get close enough to close her jaws around David’s tail. David screeched and Trevor swiped his claws at the hunter, knocking him from the Fire’s back and Trevor snapped his jaws right behind her head. The Fire roared and tail whipped Trevor’s wing, causing him to lose his balance in the air and escape to save her rider.

“Are you ok?” David had regained his wings and was hovering next to Trevor. His tail was bleeding, but nothing too serious.

“I’m fine, go!” David replied and Trevor nodded before diving back into battle. Most of the hunters were frozen or unconscious. Their dragons were dazed and unable to fight. Trevor scanned the battle, looking for Anna, but she was nowhere to be seen.

“She already went after the Leader,” Trevor mumbled before he cursed and flew at the entrance of the base. The team had been hitting the roof and nothing was happening. “They’re not budging, let’s move!”

“Trevor, no!” Zoymey shouted, but it was ignored as David, Aya, Brenda, Vena, Kano, River, and Shadow followed Trevor into the base.

Chapter 8

Anna dove for the entrance after commanding everyone to scatter. She wasn’t going to wait long, the Leader needed to be defeated. She froze any hunter she came across as she ran the halls. She was about to pass a room when a spine chilling chuckle reached her ears. It wasn’t the Leader’s, she knew his voice, his laugh. Anna took a few steps back and looked down a passageway and spotted the Hunter Leader sitting upon a throne with a Tech Dragon laying beside it on a platform. Anna started forward slowly towards the throne.

“Well hello, Anna,” the Leader said, though it was in a voice that brought Anna’s past memories back to her. Fighting to save her kids.

“Cenod,” Anna replied.

“Ah so you DO remember me! I would’ve thought you forgotten our fun when Gemini was still in the picture. How is the Amethyst Dragon’s son by the way?”

“I wouldn’t know, we haven’t spoken in a few years.” Anna’s eyes flickered to the Tech Dragon that was watching her carefully.

“Such a shame, he always did spark my interest. What with that demon living in him and all.” Cenod chuckled and stood, gripping the handle of the blade at his hip.

“What I want to know is how you managed to convince a dragon hater to work for you. He hates all of them, dragons, wyverns, anything of that sort.” Cenod hummed and looked to the Tech Dragon. “Let’s just say I promised him your demise and the means to do it if he worked for me. Seems like it worked out, now didn’t it? My master will be pleased when he learns you are dead.”

Anna snarled. “You won’t be flying out of here without a fight, Cenod.”

Cenod pulled the blade from its sheath, the white metal shining in the dim light.

“It is you that won’t be flying out of here. Die!” Cenod lunged forward and phased into the ground. Anna looked around, listening carefully.

“You’re nothing but a pest, a parasite, just like your creatures.” Cenod hissed.

“Where do you think my parasites get their powers?!” Cenod appeared and the blade nicked Anna’s shoulder. Anna roared and spun to knock him away with her tail.

Anna grunted and looked to the wound on her shoulder, oozing purple blood. “Where in Kaylano’s name did you get Synthetisch metal?”

Cenod laughed

“He took it from Metallic Dragons during his war with them. Now fight! Where’s that spirit I saw in the Underworld?”

Anna spat ice at Cenod, freezing his legs. “You mean the illusion I was under? Some spirit! I was ready to kill my own teammate!” Cenod swung the blade and Anna pranced back a few steps.

“Oh I would’ve loved to have seen that. But seeing Brokenstar disintegrate was good enough, pity his life ended that way. He wasn’t very useful though, always questioned my motives, unlike Garrett.”

“Garrett?” Anna looked Cenod over, still controlling the Leader’s body. “Never got around to knowing his-” Cenod had jabbed the blade at her again, having freed himself from the ice. Anna grunted and dodged it before snapping her jaws around the arm holding the blade. “-name.”

“Must you finish every sentence you start?” Cenod swung his fist into Anna’s snout, making her loosen her jaw and snort.

“If it annoys you, yes.” Cenod screamed in rage and swung the blade wildly.

Anna blasted him with an earth shot and growled when Cenod phased into the ground as a shadow. “Getting really tired of this shadow magic, Cenod!”

“Good! I’ll annoy you even more! You!” Cenod phased out of the ground and looked to the Tech Dragon. “I want my shadow realm!” The Tech Dragon didn’t move and Anna looked to it before looking back at Cenod.

“He put someone in a digital world already, didn’t he?”

“What’s it to you?”

“Tech Dragons can’t make multiples!” Anna pounced and pinned Cenod by his neck. Cenod snarled before coughing. A black cloud phased out of Garrett and Anna watched it before freezing it in place. She snorted and looked down at Garrett who struggled against her claws.

“Coward!” Garrett screamed, trying to free the arm holding the blade.

“It is you who is the coward, idiot. You never came after me yourself, you always sent your lackeys to capture me. Look how that turned out. You targeted my kids instead and brought me to you. Did you really think I was the same foolish fledgling you encountered years ago? You thought wrong, Garrett.” Anna looked to the Tech Dragon and pushed her mind into its mind, breaking the walls around it and forcing the parasite from it. The Tech coughed and looked around.

“What the—? What happened?” he asked. His voice had some kind of robotic filter to it.

“I’ll explain later, you have a dragon in your dimension, free it please and place that into a small white room.” Anna nodded to the ice holding Cenod in his cloud form. The Tech Dragon gasped in horror before a portal appeared and shoved the Glacier Dragon in a cage out. The Tech moved the portal to consume the ice and he disappeared with Cenod.

Anna looked down at Garrett before picking him up by his throat and dragging him to the entrance lobby of the base and held Garrett up high on a platform. The fighting that had been occurring had ceased instantly when a Hunter pointed her out.

“Anna Dragon has the Boss!” Garrett struggled against Anna’s hold, but to no avail.

“Enough of this! You are all foolish to follow this psychopath! Just because you lose something and dragons are to blame doesn’t mean we are all like this!” Anna shouted, looking at her team.

She spotted Brenda and Trevor standing over Aya who was unconscious and bleeding from her neck. Brenda had a gash on her shoulder, blood running down her front leg. “He wants nothing more than to make you all suffer! Just as he suffered when he was rejected in the army seventy years ago! Throw down your weapons! This fighting doesn’t have to continue!”

Anna watched as all the hunters hesitated before one dropped his lance and dropped to one knee, bowing his head to Anna. A few hunters saw this and followed the first one’s example. Weapons were dropped, knees to the floor, heads bowed. Soon only about twenty hunters remained standing, gripping their lances.

“It appears we still have opposers. Salem, if you would.” There was a rush of wind and in the blink of an eye, those who were against Anna sat with their hands tied behind their backs and Salem stood near one, brushing his hands off.

“Rather foolish, if I do say so myself,” Salem mused and grinned, showing his fangs. Anna scoffed and looked to Garrett who glared at her.

“Gonna kill me yourself, Dragon? Get the pleasure of ending the life of the bastard who made your life hell?” Garrett question. Anna shook her head.

“No, not for my own pleasure. I’m going to end you myself because it’s my duty as the Dragon of the North to protect dragon lives.”

Anna threw him back against the wall and inhaled. Garrett cried out in pain before looking up at Anna as she released her Life Breath over him. Garrett screamed in agony before it grew silent. Anna looked at the spot Garrett sat moments before and snorted. She turned and saw faces of horror on the hunters.

“You are free from him now. Never again will you have to live under his rule, his...psychotic ways. Where are your dragons kept?” A few hunters pointed towards the other hallway. Anna nodded to them before stepping down and going to Trevor, Brenda, and Aya.

“A dragon slashed her throat,” Trevor choked. Anna laid a hand on Aya’s wound. She spoke a few strange words and her claws glew sea green. Right before their eyes the gash stopped bleeding and new scales replaced the opening.

“She’ll need rest, but she’s okay now,” Anna assured them. “I need you to keep an eye on the hunters who surrendered while I see to the caged dragons and my kids.” Trevor and Brenda nodded and Anna turned away and started for the warehouse.

~oOo~

“See? I told you!” Tyrande boasted as Anna freed him and Ayassa from their cage. Anna laughed and looked to the dragons he was talking to.

“Sorry we doubted you, kid,” a Moon Dragon stated. Anna watched him closely as he spoke before their eyes met. “You have strong kids, keep them close.” Anna nodded once and the Moon responded the same way before he walked out of the warehouse.

Almost all the dragons had been freed from their cages, all except the three in the corner. Tyrande and Ayassa stood by them, waiting.

“These are the ones who need help?” Anna asked, looking to Vatuna. “Where’s the fourth?”

“He was coughing up blood, they took him away and we haven’t seen him since,” Vatuna explained as Anna broke the locks on their cages.

“Glacier Dragon with a chain muzzle?” Vatuna nodded. “Stay here.” Anna strutted out, Tyrande and Ayassa jumping onto her back. “So why these four?”

“Did you see the others, Mom? They were fine, they weren’t hurt. Vatuna, Ractor, Comeli, and Ferentar are in bad condition. They need our help!” Tyrande explained and whimpered.

“Alright, alright, relax, I understand. If they want our help, we’ll provide it. All the dragons were told they have a place in Voutneth if they need it. Once the hunters that surrendered are interrogated, we’ll release them and let them stay and go as they please. I’ve caught glimpses, some want to be waiters and we do need the help at Voutneth.”

“That’d be awesome!” Tyrande exclaimed, jumping slightly. Anna smirked and came to Garrett’s room, seeing the cage still sitting there with Ractor laying in it, he was coming to.

“Who are you?” Ractor mumbled through his muzzle. Anna broke the lock on his cage and wiggled her claws at him.

“Hold still, I’m going to melt the chain off,” Anna explained.

“You’re a Flower Dragon, how can you possibly-” Ractor was cut off, Anna let loose a lick of flame and the chain heated up and snapped. “Anna Dragon?”

“That’s me.” Anna looked over her shoulder at Tyrande and Ayassa who waved to him. Ractor smirked.

“Are the other three ok?” Ractor asked and Tyrande nodded. Ractor exhaled with relief and rubbed his muzzle.

“They’re in the warehouse. I need you to bring these two to the lobby. Tyrande, Ayassa, go to Uncle Zoymey, ok?” Ractor nodded and Tyrande and Ayassa dropped to the ground and went to Ractor. “I have some unfinished business with a certain Wyvern.” Anna watched Ractor walk out with her kids before looking around the room and exhaling.

“Did you honestly think I was going to let you go by yourself?” Anna looked back and exhaled. Kano and Vena stood behind her.

Kano was an ordinary Volcano Dragon, though his wings were slightly thinner than the average dragon. Vena’s dragon form consisted of her having coarse fur instead of scales and a mane of sorts on her head, despite being female. She had lion’s paws instead of dragon claws.

“I can’t let you two risk your lives. Kano, you’re the future of the dragons, I shouldn’t have asked you here. Eshala will have my head if something happens to you. Being a Volcano Dragon, you have the ability to use ranged attacks to your advantage. Cenod fights dirty, I’m not putting you at risk.”

“Anna, you can’t be serious,” Vena snapped.

“I am, Vena. I’ve had enough of this moron and I’m stopping him once and for all.” Anna turned away and cleared her throat. “Open the portal, don’t let Cenod escape.”

“I’m going with you.” Anna whipped her head around to see Trevor approaching.

“Oh, no you don’t. Do you want to break your mother’s heart?” Anna snapped. Trevor scoffed.

“She has my siblings, and my father is still alive. I’m doing what I signed up for, protect the world and help you.” Anna shook her head and the portal opened behind her.

“Get your tail in there then.” Anna launched herself in and Trevor followed behind her.

Chapter 9

Trevor squinted his eyes as they emerged from the portal into a small, bright room. He spotted the Tech Dragon standing nearby looking at a shadow flying along the walls. The portal closed and the Tech looked to them.

“He’s been flying around nonstop since he freed himself from the ice,” the Tech Dragon stated and Anna nodded.

“He’s looking for an escape, not that there is one,” Anna stated. “Cenod is a coward unless he believes he has the upper hand. We know his tricks at this point. You should take your leave, friend. You’ve dealt with enough over the years.” The Tech huffed a laugh and shook his head.

“You have no idea.” He turned away from them and jumped through a portal, closing it instantly.

“So what do we do now?” Trevor asked and Anna’s eyes followed Cenod. She snorted and stomped her foot forward, inhaling quickly and releasing flames at Cenod. The Wyvern dashed away from the flames, turning on a corner but failing to transfer himself to the next wall and hit his head on it. The flames engulfed him and Cenod jumped off the wall, flying right at them. Trevor took a stance and thrust his head upwards, headbutting Cenod.

“Stupid dragons!” Cenod snapped as he caught himself in the air. He threw his head back and roared, his parasites jumping from his body and landing on the floor. “I can possess hunter controlled dragons, I can possess you two!” Anna stared at him with a skeptical look on her face.

“You honestly think that’s gonna work when a telepath can easily free a dragon from any means of control?” Anna asked and Cenod snarled.

“My illusions have worked before, they’ll work again!”

“Tch, you had Brokenstar last time!” Trevor snapped and he inhaled, ready to freeze the parasites that sat before them. Anna flapped her wings, moving out of Trevor’s range and let the Water-Ice Dragon freeze the parasites. “Sick of these stupid tricks. Quit being a coward!”

“He doesn’t know how, Trevor. Cenod fights by using others to do the fighting for him. He’s just a parasite like the ones he controls,” Anna replied and Cenod roared with rage and launched himself at Anna.

Anna barreled away from Cenod and flew towards Trevor. She looked over her shoulder before Cenod dropped onto her back, his claws digging into her back between her wing joints. Anna screeched with pain and fell to the floor.

“Anna!” Trevor yelled and pounced on Cenod, colliding with him and knocking the Wyvern off of Anna. Cenod adjusted his wings and landed on his feet, growling. Trevor got to his feet and snarled. “Are you alright?”

“No,” Anna whined. “I can’t move...” Trevor groaned in annoyance and Cenod chuckled.

“Did Anna never tell you of her one weakness?” Cenod questioned. Trevor raised an eyebrow. “Did you never see that scar on her back?” Trevor narrowed his eyes.

“You regret not bringing backup now?” Trevor snapped. Anna moaned and Trevor rolled his eyes.

Your ego is bigger than an old football teammate of mine. Trevor thought and Anna scoffed.

“So, Trevor,” Cenod spat Trevor’s name. “What do you plan on doing now? A yearling with little experience in battle against a creature of shadows, illusions, and possession? Hardly a fair fight.” Trevor growled before looking up.

“Hey! Tech Dragon! Reinforcements please!” Trevor shouted. Cenod scoffed and shook his head in disappointment. Trevor took that moment to let loose his freezing water.

Cenod screeched as his wings froze to his back and his feet were stuck to the floor. Trevor whipped his head around as the portal to the dimension appeared and Malice, Sylark, and Zoymey flew through. Malice and Sylark landed on either side of Trevor while Zoymey landed before Anna. Cenod looked between Malice and Sylark before baring his teeth and becoming a shadow.

“Oh no ya’ don’t!” Malice snapped and flew after Cenod. Sylark rolled his eyes.

“I suppose that will suffice as a distraction for the moment,” Sylark said and looked to Trevor. “Are you alright?” Trevor nodded. “Good. What did he do to her?”

“Talons to some scar on her back,” Trevor replied and Sylark exhaled.

“I will be having a talk with her later.” Sylark turned his attention to Malice chasing Cenod, who was now solid. “Do not let your guard down against him, Trevor. Cenod is craftier than Anna gives him credit.”

“Shut up, Sylark,” Anna mumbled and Zoymey chuckled nearby. Trevor smirked before turning his head to follow Malice’s pursuit of Cenod.

“Are we really just going to stand here and talk?” Trevor asked to which Sylark gave his rare smile.

“No, we are not. Do the honors, Trevor,” Sylark offered, gesturing towards Cenod and Malice. Trevor looked to Sylark and grinned.

“Gladly.” Trevor flapped his wings and launched into the air in front of Cenod. Cenod made a sound of surprise and attempted to phase into the wall, but instead collided with Trevor. Trevor’s teeth made purchase on Cenod’s throat before they collided with the floor and Cenod threw Trevor off. Black ooze fell from Cenod’s neck and Trevor spat the same stuff from his mouth.

“You’ll pay for this!” Cenod screeched.

“Ugh, disgusting,” Trevor complained and spat again.

“What makes you believe that you will defeat us, Cenod?” Sylark asked, coming up behind the Wyvern. Cenod growled, the sound gurgled.

“Master Agony will stop you, even if I can’t,” Cenod gasped.

“The Council was sealed away centuries ago, how could he possibly stop us?” Malice asked.

“Hold your tongue, Malice. Anna faced Cenod in the past. Did you overlook the runes on his neck?” Sylark pointed out. Trevor turned his attention to them, the light pulsed slowly with a red light.

“But the image Aaron showed us...” Trevor started.

“Was of Cenod before Agony returned to full power. He has returned. They all have.” Cenod grinned before coughing. “It appears your magic is abandoning you, you can hardly stay together.” Cenod snarled before attempting to get away, only to have his body frozen by Sylark.

“My master will end all of you, you’ll see!” Cenod snapped as Sylark approached him.

“I grow tired of this battle. We will be ready for anything, Cenod. For now, you can join Brokenstar. Malice, if you would.” Sylark started away, gesturing to Trevor to follow. Trevor watch Sylark as he walked by before following him. The room was filled with Cenod’s shrieks as Malice used his Life Breath on him.

~oOo~

“Foolish,” Sylark remarked as Sereph patched up Kathey’s back. They had returned to the Academy as the moon had reached its peak in the sky. The battle had taken a toll on everyone, wounds and exhaustion. Sereph had spent hours tending to those wounded and sent them all to bed.

Per Tyrande’s request, Vatuna, Ractor, Ferentar, and Comeli were staying at the Academy now to recover from physical and psychological wounds that the hunters dealt to them. Sereph had taken care of what she could in the short amount of time she had. She left Kathey and Sylark for last, knowing something went wrong during their mission.

“I don’t need a lecture, Sylark,” Kathey mumbled. She barely had any energy to argue with the elder Ice Dragon. She rubbed her eyes, trying to fight sleep, she was glad Ayassa started sleeping through the night on her own, but after the kidnapping, she planned on stealing Tyrande and Ayassa from their beds tonight and keep them with her.

“You cannot act so rash, Kathey! If what Cenod says is true about Agony and the rest of the Council, we cannot be stupid about our choices. What if they succeed in reviving their own master?” Sylark pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly annoyed.

“They won’t get that far. I won’t let them.” Kathey slipped off the table and pulled her shirt back on before starting out. She reached the door, but was stopped.

“Anna.” Sylark spoke in a somewhat softer tone. One that someone would use with someone they cared about. “This team needs you. Please, do not do something that will end your life. This is not the first time you dove into danger headfirst without thinking about it, but you almost lost your life. We cannot afford to lose you if the Council is back. It takes four Compass Dragons to seal them away. We cannot do this without you, and you know very well Zoymey cannot lead this team on his own.” Kathey stood in the doorway, silent. She exhaled and looked over her shoulder at Sylark.

“He’s not alone, Sylark. He has you.” With that said, Kathey walked out without another word.

~oOo~

Morning came and everyone was still exhausted from the mission. Trevor didn’t even bother getting dressed, he was still in his pajamas as he sat at breakfast, still half asleep. He held his head up with a hand, but was barely keeping his eyes open. He jumped slightly when a steaming mug came down in front of him. He looked up and smiled sleepily at Darkness.

“You all look exhausted. Thought some natural tea would do the trick, this stuff will wake you four up in a snap,” Darkness stated and patted Trevor’s shoulder.

“Thanks,” Trevor mumbled and grabbed the mug, taking a sip. Trevor was never one to drink coffee or tea, but this drink was to his liking and its warmth flowed through his body, waking him up.

“So what do you think we’ll be doing today?” Brenda asked, sipping her own tea.

“Well, from what everybody’s been saying, this Council is a big deal, we’ll probably be training until someone comes and attacks us,” Trevor guessed and took another sip.

“You’d be very wrong, Trevor.” The four siblings looked to see Kathey approaching the table. “That mission took a lot out of all of us. The Academy has a day off, no classes today so enjoy it. I want you four to finish your classes as soon as possible so you can focus on the team and not studies. Enjoy your day today.” Kathey smiled and started for her table.

“In that case, I’ll be in the griffin stable if you three need me later,” Trevor stated. He looked around for Darkness in the room, but spotted someone different.

One of the now Ex-Hunters taking a table’s orders. She scribbled away on the notepad, giggling at something someone said and she replied to the remark before heading to the kitchen.

“Was that a hunter?” David questioned.

“Ex-Hunter.” They looked to Darkness standing behind Aya. “Quite a few wanted to make it up to the dragons and help however they could. Kathey hired them to work the kitchen and Mess Hall. Certainly helps me out big time. Breakfast burritos today kids, what do you want?”

Breakfast passed rather quickly. Trevor ate his fill and went upstairs to get ready for the day before heading out to the griffin stables. Malice told him the stalls needed cleaning so Trevor got down to work.

Trevor always found something mindless like chores to be rather soothing, especially after an exhausting mission like the one they had. The griffins had all been released into the field -except Thunder, who was placed in the indoor riding arena- and Trevor got to work mucking out the stalls. Other than the stables smelling like a birdcage that hadn’t been cleaned in three weeks, it wasn’t too bad. Trevor had finished mucking three stalls when his cleaning was interrupted by a sweet voice, one that made his heart skip a beat.

“Hello? Anyone home?” Trevor looked up from his cleaning before leaning out from Roselia’s stall, spotting a woman with flowing blond hair wearing jeans, flat shoes, and a tank top.

“Over here!” Trevor called, waving to her. She spotted him and jogged over.

“Hey! Trevor, right? Kathey told me you were out here. I’m one of the Exotics, Vatuna,” she explained.

“One of the dragons we took in from the Hunters? Nice to meet you,” Trevor greeted. “I’m a little gross right now, might be best not to shake hands.” Vatuna waved it off.

“Don’t worry about it, I’m not too formal about meetings. So this is the griffin stable?” Trevor leaned his weight on the pitchfork and nodded.

“Yup, it’s one of my favorite places to be. What brings you out here?”

“Well, I never got a chance to see a griffin up close before. Think I could maybe...?” Trevor chuckled and leaned the tool against the wall of the stall.

“I have to warn you, they really like dragons.” Trevor started out of the stall and towards the door leading to the field.

Chapter 10

Screeching echoed through the chamber as eight pairs of red eyes watched the end of Cenod. Talons drummed on the armrest of a throne before the owner of the talons intertwined his fingers together and hold them at his beak.

“What kind of lame defeat is that?”

“Silence.”

“No seriously, what kind of fight was that? I thought you said he would stop them?”

“I said quiet!” In the firelight, a humanoid bird creature stood, his talons clenched into fists at his sides. The wings protruding from his wrists twitched in annoyance. His feathers were pitch black, accented with red. He wore a purple tunic and slacks with a purple scarf and collar around his neck. Black gloved hands slid across his shoulders before arms wrapped around his neck and a pale face appeared at his neck.

“Agony dear, do relax,” the female requested, her sharp fangs gleamed in the light of the fire.

“Not now, Lust,” the bird, Agony, stated, shoving the vampire away from him. Lust fell into the throne to Agony’s left and pouted. She adjusted her large breasts barely covered by the shirt she wore. She crossed one knee over the other, clearly displaying her...assets.

“I must ask what you plan on doing now, Agony,” the elf on Agony’s right asked. He wore black and gold armor adorned with sea green jewels. He wore a sea green cloak as well. His long blond hair was tucked behind his pointed ears.

Agony returned to sitting upon his throne, his eyes on the pool in the middle of the circle. The liquid that flowed in the pool was as red as blood, showing the spot that Cenod had once been, but was now nothing. He looked among the rest of the Council as they watched him patiently. All except the Troll, Sloth, who slept soundly in her throne. Agony rolled his eyes at her, he never understood how she could sleep anywhere. One second she was watching Cenod’s death, the next she was fast asleep.

“Do you all have your minions together and ready?”

“Of course, dear,” Lust swooned.

“Mhm” the orc mumbled. He looked to Sloth before kicking her leg.

“Wah! Yeah mon! Let me sleep...” Sloth exclaimed before falling back asleep.

“Let’s do this!” the goblin cheered, flipping a coin on his thumb.

“Aye, lad,” the dwarf stated, sipping his ale loudly.

“As I’ll ever be,” the werewolf snapped. He folded his arms and glared at the pool, not looking at the others.

“Ready as always, Agony,” the elf replied. He flipped his hair and grinned. Agony smirked and leaned forward, looking at the pool as the image became distorted and changed to reveal a black and white dragon flying over a forest.

“Then it’s time we put Operation: Nightmare into motion,” Agony stated and he stood. “You all know what you have to do should Nightmare fail. Do NOT fail our master like Cenod failed me.” Agony looked to the werewolf who looked up at him. “Make sure you influence that dragon the right way, Envy. Play into his hopes, not your own.” Envy nodded, grunting as he did.

“What of the Marauders?” the goblin questioned.

“There is a reward in it for them should they succeed. They are much like your namesake, Greed.” Agony chuckled and stepped away from his throne towards a swirling black portal. “Keep watch on our friend there. Should Nightmare fail, proceed to the next operation. Should the next fail, move to the next. We cannot fail Master again.” The Council nodded and Agony stepped through the portal. He came to a grassy plain with a few hills. He looked among the life around him before crossing his arms. He lifted a hand after a moment, an orb appearing and showing the Archangel Dragon in it.

“Apologies, Archangel, you will prove useful in our quest.” Agony snapped his other talons and watched as Archangel was bombarded with dark magic. The dragon fell to the trees and disappeared beneath the leafy canopy. “Now to begin preparations for battle.” Agony cracked his knuckles before holding his hands out, summoning portals that released Demonic Hellhounds and other demons.

“Master Rakasa, we will not fail you again.”