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The next chapter will be posted Friday the 11th

Chapter 29

The New Beta

Adoncia's ship had been at sea for one day now. The voyage had started out with the crew, especially Adoncia, tingling with excitement, but it had been only a matter of time before everyone got bored. The excitement of anticipation had gone from being thrilling to stifling to nonexistent. It was not long before Adoncia had already made out with three members of the crew, but had found no satisfaction in any of it. Everyone was just too impatient to get this voyage finished, and Toothless most of all.

Once they had set sail, Adoncia had walked over to his cage and said to him "All right, el lagarto, escucha, por favor! You're going to direct us to your special island, and if you do not, we kill your human. Comprehendo? You will keep your head pointing forward and only turn it when we are to change direction. Remember, your actions will determine if poor little Hiccup stays alive. And don't think you're indispensible either. We might just kill you and force Hiccup to show us the way."

Ever since then, Toothless had been cramped and forced to stay still for most of the voyage. His head was forever pointing in one direction, the cage was too small to comfortably stretch out in, and the bounds around him frequently dug into his skin and itched in places he could not scratch. How he had managed to endure all this while worrying endlessly about Hiccup, he had no idea. His main consolation was that it would not last much longer. He took particular care that the humans would not know that, however, and another source of consolation was to see them bored or impatient. Nobody could really harm him, for the cage protected him from whips just as it protected the crewmen from his claws, and nobody was foolish enough to get into the cage with him. So he could look at them sitting around with nothing to do and feel smug about it.

"Are you sure the two of us can handle this?" Evictus asked Grimm as they prepared to leave the Sanctuary. "Wouldn't it be more prudent to bring some others with us?"

"Relax, Evictus. It's a simple rescue. We fly in, disable the ship, you throw everyone overboard as always, and then we'll free Toothless and help him back home. At worst it'll take ten minutes. There's no need to get anyone else involved."

"Is that Razorwhip traveling with them?"

"The scouts haven't seen it. I doubt it. Drago probably doesn't want to risk using it unless he has to. He's probably saving it for the big battle, as if that'll make a difference!" Grimm laughed. He did not laugh very often, and it sounded like a thunder clap mixed with a gagging human when he did.

"This is rather odd. Normally I'm the one eager for action and you're the cheerless worrywart."

"My old mistress is on that boat. I've been waiting for a long time to send a bolt of lightning through her and that's exactly what I'm going to do."

"And what are we going to do about rescuing the Hatchling?"

"We'll discuss it with Toothless once we get him. Now, shall we?"

"After you, my Beta," Evictus replied with an exaggerated bow of his head and a sweep of his wing.

The main source of concern for Toothless was, naturally, Hiccup. At first Toothless feared they had his human imprisoned somewhere below deck, possibly being guarded by the Razorwhip. He eventually decided Hiccup was not on this ship, though he knew the Razorwhip was. Another source of worry that really disturbed him was that the water they were sailing through at this point was prone to having giant eels in it. He knew this all too well; this part of the ocean was infamous among dragons. These eels were longer than most serpents and as thick as trees. They were the kind of creatures that had become the subject of folklore among humans and they were also among the few creatures that could and would kill and eat a dragon. The fact that only a few planks of wood separated him from them was a very disquieting idea.

If those humans had had any idea of what might be slinking through the water underneath them, they would not be complaining so much about how slow everything was going. As it was, they appeared to have no idea. They got so bored that finally Adoncia announced she would make love to the ship's helmsman on the deck and invited everyone to watch. Toothless had absolutely no desire to see that, so he suddenly turned his head to the right. Thus far he had kept his head pointing straight, so this movement sent a wave of excitement through the crew. The ship was set in motion and as night began to fall they were nearing a small and relatively flat island in the middle of nowhere. Toothless kept his head pointing straight at the island. Right before they ran into it, Adoncia ordered them to stop the ship while she got out and took a look around.

"What is this?" she shouted, "this is not the Sanctuary!"

'Got that right, She-Spaniard,' Toothless thought smugly, 'did you really think we didn't have a plan for this already?'

Adoncia swore several times in Spanish and stormed around the island. "That lizard thinks it's tricked me, does it? I'll kill it and wear its teeth for a necklace! And when we get back to Drago, I'll make Hiccup show me were the correct island is!"

'Oh I don't think so!' Toothless chuckled. He spotted movement in the sky and felt a huge burst of relief. The crewmen saw it too, and began shouting and pointing upwards.

A bolt of lightning struck the mast and blew it into splinters.

"Get them!" Grimm the Skrill roared as he flew overhead. But at that instant the Razorwhip burst from the hold and shouted "I challenge!"

Toothless's relief turned at once to horror. 'No, no, no, no! Grimm, why'd you come here, you should have known this could happen!'

Grimm as the Beta could only control a dragon's mind after he had first made eye contact with it. The Razorwhip had challenged him before its mind could be taken. If challenged, all mind control was ended until the battle was won. If the Razorwhip won, it would become the new Beta and have all the power that Grimm had—including the power to order other dragons to show it where the Sanctuary was.

"Why it's my dear sweet Peptio!" Adoncia laughed, "come back to be with his poor and lonely mother!"

Grimm ignored her and eyed his challenger. The large metallic dragon wasted no time and blew fire at him. Grimm responded with a lightning bolt. Both sides missed their targets. The Razorwhip spread it wings and launched itself into the air. Grimm flew higher, keeping out of striking distance. Lightning shot in every direction, and it was all the Razorwhip could do to dodge them.

"Is this the best you could come up with, Drago?" Grimm sneered, "A dragon with scales that lightning is drawn to?" He sent another bolt and blew off the horn on his opponent's nose.

Adoncia turned to her men. "You two load your crossbows and point them at the Night Fury! You men ready the net and bola launchers! Hurry!"

High up above them Evictus the Timberjack tried to take in the situation. Instinct told him to let Grimm handle the challenger while he destroyed the boat and those on it. But he saw the men had arrows pointed at Toothless. If he attacked the Night Fury would die and the Hatchling would never forgive him. Nor would he ever forgive himself.

"But maybe if I capsize the boat—" another bolt of lightning shot through the air and was followed by a loud scream from the Razorwhip. The metal dragon fired again, but Grimm dodged it easily and vanished into the clouds.

Evictus tried to relax as he anxiously scanned the skies. "You can do this, Grimm! Just keep clear of the Razorwhip's tail and you've got it!"

Another bolt of lightning came out of nowhere. It hit the Razorwhip right in the belly and the dragon plummeted onto the island.

"Too easy," Grimm smirked, "now let's get—"

"I haven't lost yet!" The Razorwhip shouted as it got to its feet. "This battle is not over!"

"Come on, give it up! You're no match for me in the air and I'm not fighting you on the ground!"

"You might have no choice!" The Razorwhip laughed as it dodged another bolt of lightning. Grimm turned his head and saw a mass of bolas heading straight for him.

"Grimm!" Evictus shouted, cursing himself for not watching the humans.

"I'm fine, I can do this!" Grimm shouted. He fired more lightning and the bolas practically disintegrated. But the distraction had worked and the Razorwhip shot another ball of flame at him. It got Grimm partially in the head. He began thrashing around in the air. "Evictus, help! I can't see! I can't see!" At that moment a net was shot at him from the ship. The Skrill's wings were pinned against his body and he began falling. Evictus lunged for him but missed, and he plunged into the sea.

Adoncia and the crew cheered while Toothless made yet another attempt to break free, only to have an arrow prodded against his head. But the Razorwhip was confused.

"Where is the power I should have now? I don't feel any different!"

With a roar Grimm flung himself out of the sea and onto the island. "That's because I'm still the Beta!" His electrical powers were ruined by the water, so he charged right for the Razorwhip's throat. Their jaws locked and they rolled around on the ground, kicking, scratching, and biting at every possible opportunity.

The humans watched anxiously. The Razorwhip had dealt a sharp blow to Grimm's side when the ship suddenly tilted, throwing the humans against the railing on the starboard side.

"What was that?"

"Find out!" Adoncia shouted. A crew member rushed below deck, and rushed right back up shouting "we're sinking!"

Evictus climbed onto the ship laughing, "Abandon ship! Here, let me help you!" He seized the guards threatening Toothless and threw them overboard. He then slashed his talons against the cage, but it did no good. "Where'd they get this stuff?" he mumbled. He swung his tail and sent the ship's pilot flying into the ocean. Toothless thrashed about even more violently. The straps keeping his mouth shut were beginning to break.

By now Adoncia was the only human who had not gone into the water. She had lost the axe when the ship had begun listing, so now she grabbed a crossbow and fired it right into the Timberjack's tail. Evictus reacted at once, but Adoncia dodged his wings and leapt into the sea by her own intention. Evictus made to go after her but he suddenly started swaying and swung his head about in a disoriented manner.

"Toothless, I don't feel good," he moaned, "I feel kinda…" He collapsed on what was left of the ship's tilting deck. On the island Adoncia grinned at the Night Fury, who was growing angrier by the minute as he tried to get himself free.

"Dragon Root Arrows. Quite the miracle weapon, are they not?" Behind her Grimm and the Razorwhip were tearing up the ground as they rolled around on it. Both of their hides were cut in a number of places and blood was all over the dirt and rocks. She reloaded the crossbow and aimed it at Grimm, mumbling "should have done this in the first place, but I thought my chosen dragon could handle it,"

Toothless was frantic now. He twisted and turned over and over and finally the leather muzzle on his mouth snapped—just as Adoncia fired the crossbow. It was a good shot. Grimm collapsed into the ground with a scream.

Toothless roared and spat as much plasma as he could at the Razorwhip. But the Razorwhip was too excited at the chance of victory to back off. At Adoncia's command, it raised its tail, let all the sharp spins protrude from it, and swung it at the Skrill's unprotected neck.

"NO!" Toothless screamed. He readied another plasma shot for Adoncia but the Razorwhip looked him in the eye.

"I am the Beta now. Your mind belongs to me."

It was a horrible feeling he had not felt in years. It felt like his mind was being squeezed and drained by an unseen force. Without realizing it, for his body was beyond his own control now, he bowed his head in obedience to the Razorwhip, who held its head up proudly.

Adoncia looked delighted as she climbed onto her dragon. "Kill the crew," she ordered, "Spare the dragons. We don't need the Night Fury anymore and it can't fly after us, so it can starve to death or drown here. We'll use the Timberjack to lead us to the nest, once it wakes up."

"Yes," the Razorwhip whispered, "I can feel the presence my subject's minds in my head already—all of them ready to bow to me! Night Fury!"

"Yes?" Toothless said in a monotone voice.

"When I summon the other dragons to follow me, you will remain where you are!"

"As you wish, my Beta,"

Adoncia, of course, not could understand this, but she saw her dragon was pleased and that was good enough for her. While they waited for the Timberjack to wake up there was the crew to deal with, but that was easily taken care of.

"Wait till Drago finds out about this," Adoncia laughed as she strolled along the island, "this will be—well hello, there, Pepito! Not quite dead, are you?" Grimm glared at her and feebly tried to lift himself. "I hate those who reject me, you know. My sweet Hiccup can attest to that. And you know what happens to those who reject me? I punish them for it." She raised her axe and cut off the Skrill's head.

"Too bad," Drago said after a very long period of silence. Hiccup was still in the cell and Drago was still sitting nearby watching him like a snake waiting for its bitten prey to die, "that your little scheme with your dragon pretending to be the Beta could not last."

"What makes you think he was pretending?" Hiccup asked lightly.

"Because if he was the Beta, he could have commanded the Razorwhip to do his bidding,"

"Perhaps he's got a scheme of his own in motion."

"I doubt it. Besides, he would not respond when I made the Razorwhip challenge him. As a Beta he would have to. Sorry, Hiccup, nice try, but your dragon's not the real Beta—but I'll wager the real Beta out there would care very much to have him back safe."

Hiccup declined to confirm or deny this. Instead he said "If I had a Naga-Raja around I'd have it blast that smug look off your ugly face."

Said face contorted. "And what, pray tell, is a Naga-Raja?"

"It's a Changewing relative that lives in India. They're larger, more snake like, and have much more potent acid. They hunt by spitting at their prey's head, and the acid literally eats through the animal's face and skull. Yes, I'd love to see your face after one spat at you."

"Well you won't!" Drago laughed. "Because no dragon can get you in here and even if that stuff could get through iron—"

"Which it can, in fact," Hiccup interrupted,

"Well even so, you don't have one available or you wouldn't have told me about it. And if you do happen to have one at your Sanctuary, I'll have it soon so it won't help you anyway."

Hiccup again declined to answer again, and instead brought up something that had been nagging him ever since he first figured out how the Czernobog was built. "There's one thing I don't understand,"

"Only one?" Drago snorted.

"Why didn't Adoncia tell you who I was?"

"How on earth would she know? Were you two meeting and sharing secrets on the sly?" he gave Hiccup a knowing wink that Hiccup ignored.

"You're in a very good mood when you've got your enemies locked up," he remarked, "so let me ruin it for you: you got the design for this ship from Adoncia, yes? So why didn't you read through the journal further? There were plenty of notes in there about me and Toothless, you could have easily used them to guess who the Dragon King really was, and yet you only acted against Berk once I revealed myself to them, which implies you only learned my true name then."

"What journal?" Drago asked sharply,

"The one the design for this ship was in,"

"All Adoncia gave me were some sheets of parchment,"

Hiccup sat up more attentively, "She didn't show the journal to you? She kept it to herself? Does that mean, then, that she knew my identity and never told you about it?"

Drago's face contorted again. "I'll be sure to ask her about this the next time I see her." He was shaking with rage. Hiccup almost felt pity for what was coming for Adoncia.

Almost.

Toothless watched Evictus lead the Razorwhip and Adoncia away. The poor Timberjack had no choice in the matter; his Beta had commanded and he had to obey. For a while Toothless just sat where he was, with no thoughts in his head but what his Beta was thinking. Dreams of conquest, pillage, revenge, control, they were as much a part of Toothless's mind now as they were of the Razorwhip's. But at last the Beta moved beyond the limits of its telepathic powers, and Toothless's mind came back to him. It was like snapping out of a stupor; like the sponge of a narcotic had been removed from his nose all of a sudden. He could think again as he wanted to. But he was still stuck in his cage.

His mouth was freed, but his limbs were still chained up, and even if they were not, he was still trapped. Never in his life had he ever felt so alone, so helpless, and so much of a failure. Even when he was stuck in the cove at Raven Point and was trying to come to terms with never flying again, before he had become friends with Hiccup, he had at least been able to move around. But here…he was stuck. He could not get out, he could not save his friends and family, one of them was already decaying less than ten wingspans away from him, he was probably going to slowly starve to death, and while he stood there and starved all his friends, the dragons he had once commanded, would be forced to slave for Drago Bludvist, and all the humans his brother had called friends would all perish.

He glanced at Grimm's corpse. "Oh Grimm, why'd you come yourself? If you hadn't you'd still be alive and they wouldn't have control over our flock now! You just couldn't stay back while others were in trouble and you thought just you and Evictus would have been enough. And you probably would have been if that cursed Razorwhip hadn't been there!" He added bitterly. Overconfidence and compassion, that's what it had come down to, and now they were paying for it. Some would break down and cry, but dragons were incapable of crying. Toothless remembered sadly the time he had asked his brother about why human eyes had that strange ability. He wondered what Hiccup was doing now. Was there any chance Hiccup was enacting some plan that would save them all?

"Enacting a plan without me to look after him?" Toothless exclaimed.

Probably not, now that he thought about it. He was probably locked up in a cell again with guards all over, guards abusing him and jeering at him and taunting him and—

The rage Toothless had felt earlier returned with even greater power. He was angrier than he had ever been in his life. Here he was, locked in a cage while his friends were in peril! He had to do something! He began shaking. His whole body was pulsing with power and anger. He could not see it but the scales on his back were starting to glow like purple and blue crystals. He roared louder than he ever had before. He shot plasma blast after plasma blast at the bars of his cage with more firepower than he had ever used before. He pulled and tore his bindings with more strength than he knew he was capable of. The bars bent and broke; his bindings snapped like string, and he burst out of the cage like an enraged lion.

And then he remembered he was still on an island in the middle of the ocean and could not fly.

His excitement and anger left him instantly. What could he do now? He was still stuck on a barren island while his friends were in danger. He was a strong swimmer, that was true, but he had no idea where the nearest islands were and Berk was leagues away. No non-aquatic creature could swim that far without stopping. He would drown or be eaten by eels long before he made it. He might as well have stayed in the cage for all the good his freedom would do him now.

Or maybe not. His gazed turned to the partially sunken ship. He could not hope to make it float again or sail it; that would be impossible for a dragon no matter how intelligent. Still, those planks of wood on the deck were pretty long and if he could just get one loose, he could use it as a kind of raft; something to help him stay afloat in the water. It was a very long shot, he knew. Even if by some miracle he did make it to Berk, he would probably arrive too late.

But the alternative was to stay where he was. Between those two choices his decision was a foregone conclusion. He gave a last, regretful look at the body of Grimm and began to pull at the planks with his claws.

On the Czernobog everybody was bored and impatient. There was nothing to do except wait for the ship to get them to Berk. Drago was watching Hiccup, so in his absence Alvin and several Outcasts started playing a dice game. Dagur sat dully in a corner, looking at them without actually watching. Alvin seemed to be winning all the rounds.

"Odds a-gin!" Alvin laughed, "Pay up!" There were groans as the others handed him their coins.

"You're a rich man now, Chief," one Outcast commented with a smile, likely hoping to stay in his Chief's good books.

"Yeah and jest wait until we loot Berk!" another one said eagerly. "All da mayhem and da deaths and da gold! We'll all be rich!"

"Then we can go home and have some fun with our newest captives!" Another agreed as he put the dice in the cup. "I'll bet odds."

"Same," Alvin said, "Got any in mind, Nosepick?" he asked with a knowing grin and a nudge.

"Roll the dice,"

"Well the black haired one seemed pretty cute."

"Cute and feisty," another said, "she broke me brother's nose,"

"Roll the dice!"

"Which girl was that?"

"Name was Heather, I think,"

"The girl Savage thought was Stoick's daughter?"

"Aye," Alvin said with a perplexed look. "That horn of 'er's bore 'is seal all right, but Stoick's niver 'ad a daughter. Jest the runt we've got locked up below,"

"Roll the dice already!"

They went on with the game and moved to talking about what they would do with their wealth once the battle was over.

Dagur appeared completely indifferent to the conversations, but internally he felt like he had been struck with a hammer.

Adoncia could barely contain her delight as they neared the Sanctuary. After all this time, she was about to discover her beloved Hiccup's greatest secret! The thing he had kept hidden longer than anything else and it was now hers!

"Ah, Mi Amor, if you could only see me now! I wonder what desperate measures you would use to get me to turn around," she smiled at the thought and felt a rush of excitement tingle through her body.

The Razorwhip likewise was equally excited, though for different reasons. It was at last approaching its new domain. Here were the dragons that would tend to its every whim and desire. It called out to them, ordering them to come to the top of the crater and meet it.

Adoncia could see the massive flock on the cliffs and was stunned. The estimations they had made for how many dragons were here had been low. Why, there were so many dragons—it looked like thousands from her position—she thought she could probably conquer the world herself without Drago's help! Anybody could with so many dragons fighting for them! But she drove the thoughts of out her head. She was not out for conquest. Drago could have his revenge and his stupid dreams of controlling the world, she cared nothing for that. What she did care about was enjoying herself. All her life everybody had told her she was steeped in sin from birth. Many had urged her to lock herself away in a convent and spend a lifetime repenting. And she had rebelled. She wanted to indulge in the things that amused her. She had worked with her father to seduce and blackmail for the excitement and intensity of it, to play a dangerous and illegal game that made the heart race, and to see those foolish young men humiliated. And in this current line of work, she was getting all of these things and there was great promise of more to come.

The Dragons on the cliff were perched completely still and silent. The Razorwhip landed in their midst and commanded them to bow to it. Adoncia waved her hand impatiently. "Enough of the formalities, let's get on with it!" She kicked the Razorwhip hard in the side, "give the order!"

"I will give the order when I choose to!" the Razorwhip snapped, as though Adoncia could not understand it, "And I will—"

Adoncia whipped out her axe and hit her mount very vigorously with the flat side of it. "Ahora!"

"Oh, fine! Now then, we're leaving this place at once—but first! Destroy this island. All of it. Turn it into a smoldering wreck that can never be lived in again! And as for any dragon that cannot fly or is too young to serve me…kill them all."

The dragons bowed their heads in obedience.

Toothless knew almost from the moment he slipped into the water that this was hopeless. The wooden plank would keep him floating, but it was still many leagues to Berk. Even if he somehow got there in one piece, he might flop onto the beach and die from exhaustion. But he kept going. It was better than doing nothing at all.

He held the plank in his front paws and kicked hard with his back legs and tail. It was a method he had seen his human use a few times when they had gone swimming. It kept him afloat, but just barely. The waves frequently rose up, sending him sliding down in various directions and typically not the one he wanted to go. Salt water splashed into his eyes and made them sting and whenever he breathed through his mouth seawater flowed into it. Most dragons, including Night Furies, could tolerate drinking salt water, but it was still a very unpleasant feeling to have so much water shoot down your throat at the same instant.

Toothless frequently scanned the skies for help of any kind, and at times he went under to look for Scauldrons or fish. He was starving, and snapped at anything that came his way, which was not much. In fact, he invariably felt that he was hungrier after eating each straying or careless fish than he had been before he had caught it. Still he ate, to keep his strength up if nothing else. And he needed his strength. It was difficult clinging to that plank and even harder propelling it through the water in the direction he wanted to go. His forearms were cramping up and his neck and chest began to ache. He tried to stay positive at first, but inevitably the difficulties he was already encountering and the great distance he still had to go were driving his thoughts to complete despair.

'This is really the end, isn't it?' he thought hopelessly, 'honestly, I never thought I'd go like this. Always hoped Hiccup and I would just retire, find a nice island and just die on the beach one day while watching the sunset together…or more likely a catapult would get a lucky shot and then we'd just quickly fall to our deaths and everything would just go black. I never thought I'd die alone out in the middle of the ocean trying to swim to find my human.' He suddenly screamed at the heavens, "Oh, Great Dragons, is there nobody out here who could help me?"

At that moment a giant eel raised its head out of the water.

"Except for you," Toothless groaned.

Consternation had ruled Berk not long ago. Now it had been usurped by pure and unabated fear.

The day before, despite the uneasiness everyone had felt for losing Hiccup and Toothless, and the new ship Drago had, the Vikings had adapted. New plans had been made to wait for Drago to come to them, and they had been busy preparing for it. Even without Hiccup or Marva, they still had seven dragon riders and six dragons, and it was expected that more would be arriving from the Sanctuary soon. This very day it was hoped. The Dragon Riders were all suited up. They had wanted to get going as soon as the Sanctuary flock arrived.

But the expected dragons never came. Something else completely unexpected happened.

Snotlout was out flying as evening fell. Everyone was expecting the Dragons to come and Snotlout, losing patience, had taken to the air to watch for them. He was just gliding around scanning the horizon when without any warning Hookfang went crazy. He spiraled around in the air, ignoring a screaming rider, thrashed around like a raving boar, threw Snotlout off his back and into the ocean, and then flew away westwards.

Astrid had watched from the village with astonishment and rushed to get onto Stormfly, only to have the dragon charge past her. She watched in confusion as the Nadder flew away after Hookfang. Nor did she go alone. Astrid heard a loud noise and got out of the way just in time as Meatlug came barreling towards her and took off. Right behind Meatlug were the other dragons, their Riders right behind them. The Dragons all shot into the air without their riders and flew away.

"Meatlug come back!"

"Barf!"

"Belch!"

"Midnight, where are you going?"

"Shamrock! I know you don't like me much, but if that's what this is about, I'm sorry for shouting at you for what you did to my drawings of Astrid!" Gustav screamed, before realizing what he had just said out loud.

A crowd had gathered by now and watched the sky with increasing dismay. At first, Astrid had thought maybe Hiccup had somehow summoned the dragons to join him. Perhaps he was making some kind of grand entrance for his return, a grand entrance she swore she would clobber him for. But nothing happened. The only person who showed up was Snotlout, who at last emerged from the ocean soaked to the bone, shocked, cold, and outraged that his dragon had ditched him like that.

"I thought Hookfang and I had something special!" he whimpered he wrapped a towel around himself. His words, silly though they might have sounded to those nearby, oddly summarized how the Dragon Riders were feeling right now.

Members from every tribe scanned the sky for what felt like hours, but no dragons came. And all that anyone could do was to try and figure out what had happened without the slightest bit of success.

"Ah knew they were gonna do it," Mildew shouted repeatedly as night fell. "Ah knew it! Jest come in, eat our food, and then de-sert us at the last min-it! We're all dead now, all be-cuz of them dragons and that boy 'Iccup!"

He shut up when Stoick finally threatened to feed him to the next dragon that came by, but his words had left their mark. Nobody really wanted to listen to him, but it was hard not to wonder if he was possibly right.

"So," Snotlout said loudly that night after a cheerless meal, "we're waiting for a madman to come and attack us, he's got a big indestructible ship, our dragons are all gone, and we've got no way of getting more."

Fishlegs was leaning on the table with his face in his folded arms, "That summarizes it very succinctly,"

Spitelout shook his head bitterly, "this is bad,"

"No kidding, Dad,"

"We've lost all we had," Ruffnut said glumly,

"It makes me feel sad," her brother agreed,

"Why are you guys speaking in rhyme?" Fishlegs asked without altering his position or even looking at them.

"To lighten up the mood—or is this a bad time?"

"It might be sublime,"

"But seriously, Fishlegs, at the moment, I'd say humor is all we've got left," Ruffnut added bitterly.

"Now that we are bereft—" Ruffnut hit her brother in the nose, "all right, I'll stop it!"

At last Spitelout stood up and gestured for Snotlout to come with him. They went outside and made their way back home. "Well, dad, if you've got any ideas, now's a good time to tell me,"

Spitelout just looked up at the sky and shook his head angrily. "Them dragons got us inta this mess, them and 'Iccup. Why couldn't that boy have jest died years ago?"

"You know, I used to wonder that myself," Snotlout laughed, hiding his horror of Spitelout's wish, "but nope! He always clung to life somehow! But seriously, dad, blaming Hiccup won't help us now,"

"No it won't," Astrid had caught up to them and for once, Snotlout did not try to flirt with her. "I just got done with a meeting with Stoick and the other Chiefs,"

Spitelout was indignant, "Why weren't we invited? We're 'is family—the only true family 'e's got!"

"That right there is exactly why you weren't invited—he thought you'd spend the whole time insulting Hiccup and not contribute anything helpful,"

Snotlout jumped in to prevent an argument, "so what's the plan, Astrid?"

"The same as before, only no dragons are to be counted on now,"

"No kiddin'" Spitelout grumbled,

"And because we've got no dragons now we can't mount a rescue," Astrid added bitterly.

Spitelout kicked a rock and stomped away. Snotlout ran after him shouting something. Astrid ignored them and walked to her own home feeling considerably dejected and not at all reassured by the news plans.

Less than a week ago she had felt like this was the beginning of something great. That night where Hiccup and Toothless vanished they had taken all of her hopes with them except the hope of rescuing him. Now things had gotten even worse and she could not explain why or figure out what to do about it. She already missed Stormfly, was worried about her, was outraged that all that time training with her now appeared to have been wasted, was even more outraged that someone had taken her, for she would not believe that Stormfly had left voluntarily, and was more than worried about the future of Berk, of her family, of herself! Dear Odin, now she knew how Hiccup had felt the evening before they had left to look at that monstrous ship. She felt as though all the worries of the world were now on her shoulders.

Her parents were inside. Olaf had been at the meeting with her and was informing his wife about the new developments, and he was not very happy about them by the sound of it.

"So we still sit around and wait for them to come to us!" he fumed, "I didn't like the idea to begin with and I don't like it any better now!"

"Olaf, do you really think we'd have a chance against that ship?"

"I'm not afraid of a single ship! And that's not the point; the point is we are completely surrendering the initiative! An army that stays on the defensive forever will end up surrendering! We're letting Drago choose the time and place to attack us, and all we're doing is sitting around in endless suspense waiting while he makes his own plans! And now we've lost the dragons! Good gods, I thought Hiccup came back to help us, not leave us in the lurch like this!"

"Don't go blaming Hiccup for this!" Astrid shouted from the doorway, "Why is everyone so eager to blame him? He could be dead for all we know!" She stormed off to her room, leaving her father stunned at the outburst.

She sat down on her bed and looked out the window. There was the faintest sliver of a moon shining outside now. Her mind drifted back to that night of star gazing at the Sanctuary. It seemed like a lifetime ago once, and now it seemed like a millennium ago.

What in the name of Odin was happening? What in the name of Odin was going to happen?

The Sanctuary was exactly what the Razorwhip had ordered it to be. A smoldering wreck. Smoke from the burned foliage and destroyed nests rose over it, making it look as it might have during the island's eruption days. The cliffs were now jagged, broken, and in many places crumbling into the sea, or into what was left of the lagoon. Pathways and trees were wiped out as if a landslide had gone through them, and in many cases this was exactly what had happened.

Every cave had been collapsed, smashing whatever happened to be inside it. The objects in the King's own room had been burned, at the special demand of Adoncia. The inventions that had survived the most intact had been turned into scrap metal; the ones that had survived the worst were indistinguishable from the remains of other things. The room that had sheltered Astrid received no special treatment, but was, like all the other rooms, turned into a giant pile of rubble.

Hundreds of dead dragons, most of them infants, were littered around the base of crater or buried under the great wreckage. Almost none hatchlings had had a chance. Sometimes they were ignored and merely left underneath outcrops that were then collapsed on them. In other cases they had been deliberately killed by other dragons, sometimes their own parents. The dragons committing the act had no idea of what they were doing—such was the power over their minds that the Beta had. They killed and destroyed with no more thought than they would if they were killing fish.

"Drago would love to hear the screams of those little ones," Adoncia said. She was enjoying it too. "See what it's like to be alone and abandoned and mistreated by everyone else while still a child? Too bad you lot are too weak to survive like I did," She turned to the Razorwhip, "all right, this has taken long enough. Let's get going!"

The Razorwhip called out and the flock followed. Aside from Adoncia and the new Beta, none of them realized they left behind what was left of their home, a home they had spent years in the making of, and yet had destroyed it within a few hours. Forgotten was any sense of loyalty to the man who had helped them build it. Forgotten were his ideas for peace and coexistence with humans. None of them realized they had murdered their own children and left them buried under rocks or lying for the seagulls to scavenge. None of them knew that a group of six dragons were coming to join them and that another dragon far away on the ocean was trying to join them. None of them were aware of where they were going or why they were going there. All they knew was the Beta had ordered and they had obeyed.

And the Sanctuary and its weaker inhabitants had paid the final price for their obedience.