This fic is a sequel to my previous HTTYD story, The Last of the Lightning Keepers. I highly advise that you read that one first, otherwise parts of this won't make any sense. Please read & review!
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the HTTYD franchise, and I just wrote this for fun. Azura Rain and all other original characters are mine, and please do not use without my express permission. Also, this is an AU set some time during Defenders of Berk, so this version will differ considerably from what happened in the actual show.
Chapter 1
Outcasts
Dawnstrike and I had begun to settle into normal life on Berk. No Outcast attempts on my life, no Alvin to try and kill me and Dawnstrike: life was pretty good. Until I almost fried the village of course...
"Look out!" I shouted at Hiccup and the other riders. Lightning shot out of my hands and hit the side of the cliff where Astrid had been moments before. We had been flying outside of Berk on a patrol, just Hiccup, Astrid, and I. The Outcasts weren't really a problem anymore, but there were still the Berserkers and wild dragons to watch out for. "What are you doing?!" Hiccup called to me over the crackling sounds that my wild powers were generating. "I don't know!" I shouted back. "I can't control my powers!" Over the last few weeks, my sporadic attacks of uncontrollable lightning had become stronger and more frequent. I couldn't control my abilities, and when that happened, I was a danger to everyone around me. However, none had been as bad as this one. Dawnstrike dove as more lightning flew from me to strike unsettlingly close to Hiccup. "Hiccup, Astrid, go! I can't risk hitting you!" Hiccup shouted something back that was lost in the howling winds, as Toothless and Stormfly fled from the artificial storm that I was causing. "Go Dawnstrike!" I cried as I desperately tried to keep the volts away from the trees far below. It was just what we needed, an electrical forest fire near the village. We flew towards one of the small coves that was near the sea stacks where I couldn't destroy anything or hurt anyone. Halfway there, my attack stopped, and the lightning dissipated. My hands would still spark occasionally, though, and they were tender from the amount of electricity that had coursed through them. Several small burns were scattered on the tips of my fingers and palm.
When we reached the cove, I saw a small boat with a skull on the forepeak that looked suspiciously like an Outcast boat. Circling around, we landed on the cliff above, and I peered over the moss-covered edge. There I saw... my old master, Savage! Carefully I inched closer. "You need to... she has to... taken alive...Alvin wants," Most of the conversation was carried away by the wind, but the part about Alvin. He was still alive?! But I torched the guy good. Or so the other riders told me. I sort of blacked out after Dawnstrike and I shot out of the ocean where we had been left to drown. Those few minutes were a missing part of time, and it annoyed me to no end. But I had regained consciousness after landing near Aleah and Annabeth, so that was good. Thunder crackled in the distance, obscuring the last part of Savage's words. I gritted my teeth as my old master ordered the guards to return to their ships. Anger rose inside of me, a snarling beast that begged to blast the man who kept me as a slave for ten years. Kill him, my brain whispered. You can avenge your parents and your village and keep Hiccup safe. I shoved those thoughts away, unwilling to accept what the monster inside my head was saying. Denying the truth of what it said. Over the past year, I had grown… close, to Hiccup. I wouldn't let myself admit it, but I had feelings for him. Like all men, the object of my affections was oblivious. And I would like to keep it that way. After all, he was happy with Astrid. Who was I to stand in the way of that. I shrank back from the cliff edge as Savage glanced up at where I was hiding, scanning the top of the cove for watching enemies. Just then, my hands chose that moment to spark into the wet moss I was kneeling on. "Ahhh!" I cried. Savage and the other Outcasts looked up, and started to search around, grasping their weapons nervously. I had seen enough; now I needed to leave without being caught. I had no doubt that the 'she' Alvin wanted alive was me, and I did NOT want to be a slave to Alvin again.
On Berk, I slid off Dawnstrike, who was panting hard from our frantic flight here. "Hiccup! Alvin... Savage... in a cove... by the sea stacks," I babbled. "Slow down, slow down. What's this about Alvin?" Hiccup asked. I pulled myself together. "Savage and a few other Outcasts were in a small cove by the sea stacks. I heard them talking about Alvin. I think he might still be alive." Hiccup's face blanched white, and he quickly mounted Toothless. We flew together to the cove. Unfortunately, we were too late. The Outcast ship was gone, but there was still a small piece of paper laying on the sand. It was a map of Berk with spots marked in red ink. I picked it up, fear leaving a foul, bitter taste in my mouth. As I stared at the paper, it became obvious. The places marked were the places I was most often. I swallowed hard, my mouth suddenly dry. "I think that Alvin is out to capture me again. See, this is where I live, and there's where Dawnstrike and I fly most often." Hiccup's face grew serious. "If he is out to capture you again... if he captures you, Alvin will have all of your power. And with it out of control like it is right now, he could use it to destroy Berk."