Where am I? I looked around the field that I'd ended up on. It looked as if it had been ravenged by conflict with areas still smoldering from fire, bodies strewn about and the air heavy with the smell of smoke, ozone, and death. "It's wonderful isn't it?" My body completely froze in response and I worried as to who I was hearing since it certainly wasn't Varjo. "The power to cause all this beautiful destruction is within your ability. Why even bother fighting it? It is your destiny." "No. That's not true. Destiny is not something that's set in stone. It can be changed." "Hmph. You believe that then you're an even bigger fool then I thought." I then watched as a shadowy mass rose up in front of me and take the form of a dragon whose scales were jet black and dark red with a pair of sinister red eyes. The smile he gave sent chills down my spine, a chilling smile that showed off his razor sharp yellowed teeth. "Did you truly think that he would be the only one? He's not the only one that's taken an interest in you." He came charging at me, leaping as if to-.
"*Gasp* *Pant* *Pant*." I was catapulted upright and awake in an instant, the shock of what I experienced still fresh in my mind. "What the hell was that?" I rubbed my eyes and briefly wondered what time it was and if I should bother trying to go back to sleep. "Dusk?" I nearly fell out of my bed after jumping in surprise. "I apologise for surprising you." "Varjo... did you see...?" "..." "Varjo?" "I did." "Who the hell was that? Was he a previous Shadow Dragon?" "Yes he was. His name is Murdock and he was your predecessor." "Great..." "That was all he could currently do Dusk. It will take time for him to achieve something similar again." "Can you keep him back?" "Yes though there is a limit to what I can do." "I still appreciate it either way." "Do you plan to tell your cousin about this?" "No. They're have enough to worry about regarding me and I'd rather not add to it. Though if something like this happens again then I will tell them." "Very well then." I sighed and wondered why I ended up with yet another thing to worry about. I grabbed my phone and checked the time; 3:39 a.m. I sighed again and set my phone back on the nightstand and laid down in an attempt to get back to sleep. It would be a miracle if I could stay awake during class.
I stood in front of my locker, putting books into my backpack and grabbing my history book out. Somehow I managed to keep from falling asleep in the middle of my classes, though it'd been pretty close in English class. Ugh, Miss Volar could not be anymore dull. Even if I had fallen asleep I doubt I would have been the only one. I yawned as if just recalling it was enough to make me drowsy. It didn't help that I ended up with a rather rude awakening last night, then again I never really got a restful sleep to begin with. "You feeling alright Dusk?" I turned to see Ghidorah walking up to me. "You seemed far more exhausted today." "Rough night." I dismissed. "Alright." I was kinda surprised. I expected Ichi to press me to talk about what exactly it was that had kept me up. "In any case, we had best be going. Would be best to keep from being late." Ni remarked. "True. See you guys after school then." I replied as I shut my locker. History ended up dragging on and my lack of sleep wasn't making things better either. But I was able remain awake throughout, though my brain no doubt flickered between on and off making me miss several things and I'd no doubt end suffering for it later on. I just hope that Godzilla can catch me up on what I missed. It took a great deal of effort to suppress the yawn that came to me and I could feel the temptation to sleep grow stronger. Thankfully I managed to stay awake until the bell rang. 'Finally.' I didn't waste time in leaving the classroom and heading for my locker, with Godzilla having caught up to walk with me. "You okay? You were looking pretty lifeless in class today." "Last night was rougher than usual." "Ah. Want to talk about it?" "I had a... dream of the destructive potential of the Shadow Dragon. It was pretty unnerving." "I bet. You're not alone though. You've got people who'll help ensure that you don't stray." "I hope so." I opened my locker and yawned yet again. "Look who else is yawning." I glanced to my left and saw Rodan walking over. "Yeah. Just sleep deprived though." "What, you didn't sleep last night?" "Tried. Bad dream." "Oh good, you guys haven't gone home yet." Mothra remarked as she walked over. "Something wrong Mothra?" Godzilla asked. "Not exactly but I was thinking how we should meet up, knock our out of the way and do some training." "Sounds good to me Mothra." I replied. "After all, it's only a matter of time until we need use our powers to fight." "Sounds good. I'll head home to fetch Leila, think one of you could let Ghidorah know?" "I'll do it. You guys go ahead." "Alright Dusk, see you guys at the hideout." As the others took off, I sent a text to Ghidorah, informing them of our plan to meet up and added that I was still at school if they wanted to head out together and finished putting stuff in my backpack. My phone buzzed, informing me that I had a new text. 'Sounds fine. Will meet you in front of the school. Ichi.' I returned my phone to my pocket, double checked everything in my backpack, shut my locker and headed for the entrance.