"So, you are the ones herding my unicorns?" The shadow's leader stood high above them. "Dragons, I should have guessed. Once feared bests, now little heroes. I see you've herded them up quite nicely. Well, no matter. You'll just have to take their place. None can overcome my power!" He held a large jewel at them. Bright blue rays flew at them. "That's what hypnotized the unicorns… JAKE! DUCK AND COVER!" Moni yelled. Both dragons covered themselves with their wings and the rays swept right over them. The head shadow scowled. "So, you're not affected by my rays, aye? Once again, not a problem. CRUSADERS! ATTACK!" At that, twenty figures of all sizes in trench coats leapt down upon the dragons. Throwing off their coats, revealing sleek black, gold, and red ninja-like uniforms, the figures ran to attack. Jake and Moni rose up to avoid the first blow. "What the? The Huntsclan is back? I-I thought Rose destroyed them! And whats with the new threads?" Moni didn't respond, but stared at them. The emblem on their shoulder, a gold sword with a red tip, caught her eye. "No…not them! Jake! That's not the Huntsclan!" He turned. "You know these guys?" "Old friends. They're the Chasse Crusaders. Same goal as the Huntsclan, only French-Canadian. I can't tell you how many times I've dealt with these creeps. LOOK OUT!" She pushed Jake out of the way as a red energy blast nearly hit him. However, it brushed her arm. "Moni! You ok?" She rubbed the burn on her arm. "Yeah, I'm fine. But they're gonna pay for that! No one messes with the Can-Drag's friends!" Jake laughed quietly, remembering Beyonce Timberlake. His amusement was cut short when five crusaders attacked. He flipped back. "Five on one? That doesn't seem fair. Lets even the odds a bit!" Suddenly, there were four other Jakes beside him. He was literally beside himself! (Ha! My little joke!). Each crusader chased one of the Jakes until only one was left. "Now that's more like it!" Jake shot a giant fireball straight at the opponent, who leapt back.
Meanwhile, Moni had her claws full too. Every other second, she was basing someone away with her tail, or throwing a fireball.
There's too many of them! She thought while fighting. Finally, there was just one attacking her. He was shorter than the rest, a teenager, but he had more fierceness than the rest of the group combined. His movement was like that of a ninja, swift and strong. However, not even he could defeat the dragon. But the dragon couldn't defeat him. Their fight seemed like hours. At last, they landed, panting. "Had enough dragon?" He huffed. "I'm just getting started! Bring it on!" And he did. But just as he sprung towards her, Moni did a back flip, dodging his blow. However, the tip of her tail caught on his mask, tearing it off. The boy fell back in shock, landing hard on the cobblestone. Every face turned to see what had happened, as if by instinct, they knew it was something terrible. Seeing his torn mask lying on the ground, his eyes grew large with fear. Moni, who was watching the whole thing, stared at him. Those eyes again! It's that boy from the subway! She instantly stopped looking at him, in fear that the eyes would make her loose control again.
Cathan was frantic. He'd broken the most sacred rule of the Chasse Crusaders; never remove your mask. I.. I.. He couldn't even imagine the consequences. Nervously, he looked at the Patron. Never had he seen such hatred in someone. Fury seemed to be steaming from his body. Cathan looked around for some way to hide. An abandoned trench coat lay near by. Grabbing it, he covered his face. He glared at Moni, but couldn't stop staring. There was something about her. Then it hit him. The dragon- girl from the subway! I recognize that claw! How could someone so wonderful do such terrible things? He shook his head.
"Things are getting out of hand. That boy will never fight again when I'm through with him." The Patron whispered angrily. Removal of the mask meant defeat. "CRUSADERS! RETREAT!" He glared down at Jake and Moni. "We shall meet again, dragons. Mark my words, we will have our revenge!" He disappeared into the shadows, along with the others.
"Well," Jake returned to human form. "That was different. Why'd they all freak out over some stupid mask?" Moni returned to human as well. "Its some weird tradition in their family. They feel as if the masks represent their mission to discover and rid the world of magical creatures and the unity of the Crusaders. By removing your mask, especially in front of an enemy, you show weakness, defeat, and dishonor to the Crusaders. It's a pretty big deal." Jake looked at her. "You certainly know your stuff about the enemy!" "You'd be surprised how much research my dragon master makes me do on people like them. 'To defeat one's enemies, one must know one's enemy.' " They laughed at her impression of her dragon master, Judy.
When they checked up on the unicorns, the leader's eyes were back to their normal emerald green. "He's so sweet when he isn't hypnotized!" Moni giggled as he nuzzled her shoulder. "Yeah, but we have one other problem…." Said Jake, stroking the stallion. "How are we supposed to get all these unicorns back to Central Park?"
"I believe I can help with that!" Fu Dog came padding up. "All we gots to do is lead them to an alley down the street. I've used a portal spell leading straight to Central Park. But we gots to hurry. The sun's comin' up and unicorns can't survive on Earth during the day."
The next day, Jake and Moni walked to school together, both exhausted from their few hours of sleep. "Man, I don't know how I'm gonna survive today. If I fall asleep in class one more time, Mr. Rotwood will get another visit from me." "You mean that weird myths teacher? He's the principal too?" "Yeah, and he's just fascinated with me." Jake went on to explain all his troubles with Hanz, including the brachium (is that the right spelling?) incident. Moni then explained all her crazy teachers back home. Their conversation led them right up to the front doors of school. But before going in, Moni stopped and looked around. "You ok?" Jake looked around too. "Uh..yeah, I just got this weird feeling. But I'm sure its nothing." Soon Trixie and Spud met up with them and they all went inside.
"Excellent." A camera clicked from a nearby rooftop. "Those fools! They don't even realize that I know who they are. They make their own defeat much too easy. Yet, that girl seemed to notice my presence. She won't be as simple. If only I could get inside, undercover. Those two must be taken care of, or my plan will never work! If only…." The voice stopped as a nasty grin spread across his face. "I know exactly what to do. My son will have a chance to redeem himself after all." With a horrid laugh, the Patron silently leapt away.
(Author's Note: You ever notice that Moni seems to be able to sense things others can't? Hmmm…. Also, I'm thinking of adding in some Rotwood stuff. Y'all think that's over doing it? Tell me what you think. Thanks!)