Author's Note:

Hello everyone and welcome to another chapter. This one is the breath before the plunge, the calm before the storm and any other such metaphor you'd care to use. In the next chapter the battle will appear as all the various players arrive in different capacities. You also get a couple more very small hints as to what crossover this will become so keep your eyes peeled and try and guess it if you can. Thank you for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.

I own nothing.

Before the Break

Viggo Grimborn was not nearly as in the dark as the Titans thought.

He had many eyes amongst Drago's forces and word of the Titan's plan and the impending arrival of Drago himself had reached him. It had come via a rather convoluted route and so he wasn't entirely sure who'd given the information up initially but he knew that it was genuinely true. He'd also received a coded message from his spy who was still inside the Sanctuary which detailed the slight change to the original plan. Once again his most loyal operative had done him proud and Viggo was happy for the man to take the boy, Hiccup, and leave Snotlout for the Titans. If Hiccup held the same kind of power then he could try and turn the boy to his side and he already had some ideas of how best to do that.

At the moment the Titan's plans coincided quite happily with his so he was content to leave them to their own little schemes. Once their plan began the dragons would be down upon them like a ton of bricks so he was currently doing the rounds of the Dragon Eye making sure that everything was ready for the upcoming battle.

As he expected the airship was fully prepared for battle and all its various bola launchers, ballistae and cargo holds were all loaded and prepped. All of his crew were equally ready and were resting in shifts so the various post were manned at all times. Men saluted as he strode past and eventually he made his way to the bridge.

The bridge had a large window at its front and through it Viggo could see the icy walls of the Sanctuary. It took on an elegant orange hue as the day wound down towards dusk and it gleamed in the dying light. When darkness came the ships would move into position and then the attack would begin marking the start of several plans.

He patiently waited.

In the depths of the Sanctuary Viggo's spy kept close tabs on Hiccup.

Viggo's answering message had informed him of the Titan's plan and ordered him to wait until it began before kidnapping the boy. The spy agreed fully with his master's wish so he simply stayed close ready to act at any moment. He aimed to take Hiccup before the Titan's arrived to take Snotlout, preferably he'd be on his way out of the Sanctuary while they were still searching it for their target. That way he minimised the chances of him meeting the Titan's as he left, it was a lot harder to remain stealthy when you had a captive so if they met the Titans may well see what he was doing and that wouldn't assist Viggo's plans in the slightest.

He also planned to take the boy while there were fewer dragons and other riders around but that would naturally be difficult while the nest was under attack so he would have to time things carefully. If he took the boy just before the attack then he would be less guarded making the actual capture easier, then he could hide until the assault was well under way and then slip out with the boy then. This would mean that it would be far easier to get a hold of the boy but he wouldn't be gone long enough for anyone to notice before the attack started diverting attention elsewhere.

He inwardly smiled. While the Titans were busy wasting time fighting their way through alert and aggressive dragons he'd use the distraction they were causing to slip out unnoticed with his captive.

Aware of the dusk outside he positioned himself ready to pounce on his unsuspecting victim. The time for his move was coming and he knew from prior observations that Hiccup would soon be on his own with no one around to see him being taken.

His eyes fixed firmly on his target he readied himself.

Toothless stood on watch duty alongside Hookfang keeping a sharp eye on the three airships.

Both dragons had only just come onto duty a short while ago and they'd spent much of the day with their brothers. Toothless had been slightly distracted because he occasionally caught an unfamiliar scent while he was with Hiccup, it quickly vanished making the the Night Fury almost think he'd imagined it and when he mentioned it to the others they all said they hadn't noticed it. Regardless it concerned him and he brought it up again with Hookfang.

The Nightmare smiled slightly and joked that maybe he was too on edge because of the airships and was imagining things. Toothless smiled back and agreed and the two lapsed into silence.

Eventually Hookfang spoke quietly and asked what he thought about what was happening to Hiccup and Snotlout.

Toothless remained quiet for a moment, they hadn't actually spoken about it with just each other at all as it only really got mentioned when one of the boys or someone else brought it up. In all honesty Toothless wasn't sure what he thought of it all, it was very concerning but as had already been said it didn't actually appear to be having a physical effect on either of the cousins. The fact that other people seemed to be interested in their apparent power was not a good thought and Toothless often worried about what such people would do to get their hands on his brother and cousin.

These thoughts on both their minds the two dragons kept watch.

In his private chamber the Bewilderbeast was noticing something very concerning.

The darkness that was lingering behind their foes was getting more active. Until now it had been fairly unnoticeable as it skulked out of sight but it was now beginning to get more active and almost excited. He didn't know what plans it held but they were going well if its greater presence was anything to go by. This assault on his home was no doubt connected to the darkness but he got the feeling that not even the humans standing against them knew that it was using them. Something was manipulating Drago's forces from the shadows and he was sure that Drago himself was an unwitting pawn in another's dark machinations.

Now that it was more apparent the Bewilderbeast could sense a lot more about this evil and like the power inside the two boys it was very old, not quite as old as what the boys carried but still from long before their current era. He did not know what it was but it must have something to do with the power that Hiccup, Snotlout and, if Snotlout was right, Drago held. It was becoming clear that this was now far beyond merely the safety of the Sanctuary and he was certain that something was coming which would affect the fates of all involved.

As the dark of night drew in the Bewilderbeast worried about what was approaching.

With the sun setting behind Stoick's ship sailed closer as it was led by the Rumblehorn.

With each passing moment Stoick became more and more certain that he would soon find Eret. He couldn't say what gave him such a feeling of confidence but it was far more than just a vague hope. He also felt that he would discover far more than he thought and that desire helped him press onwards into the unknown.

Guided by a dragon Stoick approached.

Alister was silent as he flew upon Icebolt towards the Sanctuary.

The moment he left the depths of Lava-Lout Island he immediately found Shadow and the Red Death and told them about the voice he'd heard when he recovered the spear. Both dragons agreed with his decision to listen to it and he, Icebolt and Shadow headed straight for the Sanctuary.

Before they'd left the Red Death had warned Alister that there was far more to this than simply the work of Drago and that she felt that this was only the beginning of a far larger fight. She told him that when he reached the Sanctuary and the battle he had to trust his weapon. Its power would not unlock for anyone and such weapons could be very picky about who could wield them, by retrieving it he'd proven he had the will to bear it but he still had to show that he had the potential and the spirit to receive its true capabilities. Only then would he have shown that he could be the warrior worthy of it.

Alister remembered her words but as he got closer to the Sanctuary he began to think about his friends.

He hadn't seen them for five years but he was still worried, were they unharmed? Were they holding out? Were the dragons okay? These thoughts bounced about his mind as Icebolt continued flying, the Skrill was just as concerned and he flew as fast as he could to reach their destination.

Under the light of the rising full moon, they flew on into the night.

Drago gazed out upon the rapidly darkening sea.

They were making good progress towards the nest and he was going to arrive exactly on schedule. As always he thrummed with anticipation at his upcoming fight with another Alpha dragon, he didn't know why but he felt that this one would prove to be a mighty opponent and he relished the thought of facing off against one equal to him.

Not only that but he'd soon have Snotlout back under his control and he looked forward to finding out if the boy did indeed have the same mark upon his hand that he did. He was certain that something great was about to happen and he and the boy were at the heart of it. In a way it made great poetic sense, on one hand you had him the man who took the powers of a Bewilderbeast and could destroy the mightiest dragons alone and on the other you had Snotlout who'd lived with the dragons all his life and was part of a group who called them family. These two radically different perspectives now set to meet once more and this time things would be far more spectacular than five years ago. The boy may not have become the Night Fury Titan then but he still held power and soon that power would meet his own and he was not going to ignore its call.

Pulled by a something he did not truly understand, Drago followed the darkness.

PS-So what is the evil that is working behind the scenes and what great thing is about to be set in motion? I hope to hear your thoughts and I'll hopefully reveal more soon.