"A rebel calls from deep within,

a red wood forest of smiles and kin.

Please take my hand and follow me,

no more tears in your new possibility."

It was a sunny afternoon as Tegan held up a small dodecahedron prism with a quote inside. She was listening to her favorite Punk-Rock band, Blue Dandelion as rainbow sunlight flashed across her face. The quote was from Civil Rights Activist, Martin Luther King Jr. and it was a gift from her best friend Sloan. After putting the souvenir back on the nightstand Tegan exited her dorm.

The Academy was like a ghost town as she walked down the corridor. Its been 6 months since Sloan was taken and by taken she meant recruited. She didn't mean for that to sound so ominous, Nikita "KiKi" Moon was a popular Mystic Knight and Sloan was chosen by her. Tegan passed one of the dragon lounges and noticed a group of Cadets trading Mystic Knight cards. She lingered near the open door and took off her vintage headphones.

"I'll trade you a Kamikaze Vampire card and a Inferno Banshee card for a Snowwhite Princess card," said a boy.

The girl smirked. "Sure, your lucky I have 2 of those."

"Thanks," the boy blushed as they exchanged cards.

When the name Snowwhite Princess was spoken Tegan smiled, she had that card in her collection. The Mystic Knight was a 19 year-old Albion girl with long white hair & stunning green eyes who’s part of the LGBTQ+ community.

"I have that card too," Tegan said. "Do you guys have a Dragon Prince card?"

The boy snorted. "No, but Josh might."

"Hes our friend," the girl shrugged. "He got permission to leave the Academy early this morning."

Oh, the last time she went to a trading shop was a month ago and they were sold out. The owner wasn't sure when they were gonna get another shipment of cards. However, if a person really wanted something they're gonna check all the boroughs in the city.

"Have fun," Tegan quickly left the scene as Patches appeared on her shoulders.

She passed a stained-glass window and saw Cadets in the frontyard playing a game. It looked like baseball but something was strange, there were dragons in the air and small holes in the ground. Patches growled in a curious way and it was kinda funny since Tegan wasn't the curious type. But she saw some familiar faces in the crowd and decided to wing it. When Tegan got outside she heard loud conversation and some shouts as she got closer, a few seemed frustrated.

"Tegan!" said a familiar voice. "Great timing, we need a substitute player."

The voice belonged to Vincent as he jogged over and clamped both hands on her shoulders and smiled. He was covered in dirt, the top of his hair was singed, and his hands were cold.

"Okay 2 questions," Tegan held up her fingers. "What happened to you and whats going on?"

"Nothing serious," Vincent held up his hands in defense. "Just part of the game."

"To answer your other question," Kiba held a baseball bat made out of rock. "Were playing Elementball and one of our players got hurt."

"I get the gist," She crossed her arms. "How do I play?"

15 minutes later, Tegan leaned on second base as she held up her fire shield. She saw a lengthy boy with black mullet hair, tan or olive skin, heterochromia eyes, and wearing a snapback stepped-up to homeplate holding a baseball bat made out of ice. Dean Santiago was a 15 year-old Latino kid and an Omega at the Academy. Hes also pretty good with machines and it's known he has ADHD.

"Get ready for a Home Run!" Dean spoke with a country accent and than said something in Spanish. "Adios."

The pitcher threw a fireball and it collided with the ice bat and broke. Everyone with a catcher's mitt looked up and that was their mistake as Tegan ran. The fireball scorched the ground, but it moved like a jittery rabbit. Fire was unpredictable and she was surprised everyone fell for Dean's misdirection. Tegan saw Lisa parry a bunch of ice shards as her fellow cadet made it to homeplate safely. Doing this earned them a point, the score was now 7-7.

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Thats when something flashed out of the corner of her eye, a strong whirlwind slammed against Tegan's fire shield. A dragon loomed over her trying to stop her from getting to third base. But what actually stopped her was the fireball landing in one of the holes in the ground. Tegan stopped and looked behind her, her teammate Dean was waiting on second base and cursed when he saw what happened.

Asha walked over to the hole and pulled out a makeshift card. It was a little burned, but otherwise alright. The suspense was killing her, she knew it had to be a penalty or boost card. Last time, it was a penalty and they had to have a three-legged player. Tegan had to admit it was funny watching Jen Baker and Vincent Marshall try to run around.

Dean yelled. "What is it?"

"Lucky you," Asha flipped the card over. "Its a boost! One of you can steal a base."

She looked over at Dean and he gave her a thumbs-up, it made sense, he was safe at first base while she was caught in the crossfire. "Thanks mate!"

"Lets wrap this up," Asha gave a know-it-all-smile. "I declare a DreamCatcher Royale!"

"Ooooohhhh!" the crowd hollered.

Tegan stood on third base and slapped a hand against her forehead, she should have caught on sooner. A Dreamcatcher Royale is a Trump card used only when a score is tied.

Kiba whooped as his long blackish-brown hair blew in the wind, his uniform had cuts, and it was stained with mud or blood. "The rules are simple! Choose an animal from Cherokee folklore and battle one on one."

"Even though I called for this duel I'll let the teams decide the fighters," Asha explained.

"I pick Tegan!" Vincent shouted. "She fought an Omen all by herself."

"You want us to pick the Fatality Queen?" said a girl.

Tegan really hated that nickname, it makes it seem like she causes death everywhere she goes. But in reality the only one getting hurt in the end is her. Everyone treats her like a jinx or charity case, well, almost everyone.

"Shut it!" said Jen.

That surprised her because she thought Jen disliked her? But maybe fighting an Omen made the blue-eyed girl respect her a little. Now that Tegan thought about it, Jen and Vincent seemed to be good friends these days.

"I'm fine nominating Tegan," Lisa raised her hand.

There were mutters as she scanned the field of cadets, until a boy with a hoodie approached. His skin was ambiguous. Could he be biracial? He had curly brown hair styled like a k-pop idol, brown eyes, and wore a headband. Tegan recognized this kid and knew he was a Greenhorn.

"I volunteer," Ocean McCoy said with his hands in his hoodie.

"Excellent!" Kiba grinned.

A crowd gathered around her and Ocean as they summoned their folklore creatures. Tegan created a giant Unhcegila out of fire while Ocean conjured up a giant Azebah out of wind, it looked like a cute panda. Her mythical animal looked like a combination of a snake and a ram.

"The duel is over when your creature can no longer fight," Asha made a chopping motion with her hand. "Begin!"

Fire scorched the grass and the earth rumbled as the two mythical beings collided. Tegan's Unhcegila was strangling Ocean's Azebah when the Azebah spun & flipped the Unhcegila onto its back. She watched Ocean’s creature grab her creature by the horns and drag it across the ground. Tegan jumped away as small flames burned the grass, she saw Ocean get knocked over by a strong breeze.

Her Unhcegila spat an inferno as Ocean's Azebah summoned a category 2 windstorm. This Royale was crazy as Tegan and Ocean stumbled over dirt and rocks. She noticed how trashed the yard was getting as Asha and Dean splashed water over the stray flames.

It was around 7:30 at night when Tegan and Lisa sat on the 4th floor balcony of the Academy, the stars twinkled in the darkness. She was covered in bandaids as she bit her lip and sipped her milkshake.

Lisa giggled. "I still can't believe you lost to a Greenhorn!"

"I let him win," Tegan lied and crossed her arms. "What about you? You seem to be over the breakup."

"Yes," Lisa rolled her eyes. "I talked to the Academy therapist."

"I hate to stress you out but its urgent," Tegan slowly said. "Its about the Zodiac Nests."

Lisa sighed. "You're right, I am stressed and that is a problem."

Tegan ignored the sarcasm. "Your father gave a convincing statement. If I didn't already know the truth I would've believed him too."

"They must be desperate," Lisa concluded as she finished her supper. "Half the Alphas were taken without completing The Macabre Days."

"I think we should tell Headmaster Salazar," She confessed.

Lisa's eyes went wide. "Are you insane! If my Baba finds out I snooped through his office he'll send me to farm detention. Those monks are brutal, brutal!”

"I'll take the blame," Tegan explained and stood up. "Snitches get stitches and all that, you won't get in trouble."

"Fine," Lisa grumbled. "What's your game plan?"

"Admit I know about Doomsday and hope he sends me out on a mission," Tegan said.

"When do you wanna do this?" Lisa stared into the night.

Tegan cuddled Patches in her arms as the fire dragon yawned and blew out a ring of smog. "Tomorrow."