Chapter Thirty Six

Aniu could only stare at the battlefield down below in horror. Hiccup, Stoick and Gobber had soon caught up with them when they saw the carnage left behind in Drago's wake. Dragons everywhere were either getting trapped by diving into Drago's trap, or captured with net bolas by his men.

"Oh no…" Hiccup managed to breathe out when Valka suddenly stormed out of the cave and prepared for battle.

Even if we worked together, we still couldn't take on that many men, Aniu thought as she realized just how large Drago's army was. Valka wasn't kidding when she said Drago was a madman. To make matters worse, dragons were clad in armor to suggest they were working for said madman.

"Val, Val. It's alright, alright. We're a team now. Now, what do you want to do?" Stoick asked as he tried to calm Valka down enough for her to see some sense.

"We have to save the dragons," she said in a deadly serious voice. Aniu nodded in agreement, already thinking of a way to stop Drago before things got any worse.

"Aye, you got it. Come on, son. You too, Aniu," Stoick told them as he followed his wife, his expression looking grim.

Aniu grabbed her bow and arrows without a second thought before hopping onto Cybele's back. A sense of dread washed over her as she imagined just how deadly this battle would be. So many dragons were suffering under Drago's rule. And now they were doing as he told, without consideration.

"Let's show this Drago Bludvist what we dragons can really do!" Cybele warbled as she took to the sky. Nina hovered in front of the Bewilderbeast a few seconds before rallying him and the other dragons up.

"Come on, everyone! It's time we fought back and showed them that we won't be captured like wild beasts!" she roared. Even the Bewilderbeast was roused from his slumber, clearly more than happy to join in the fray.

Drago had no idea what he had gotten himself into. Aniu smirked at the thought. He was in for a nasty shock.

…

"Whatever comes, keep hitting the mountain. We need to draw the Alpha out."

Even through the sounds of catapults being fired, and men shouting, Zena was still able to hear Drago's order. She felt a shudder run through her as she imagined what the possible outcomes would be. She along with the other Riders were hiding in the traps awaiting their cue.

"Ready the traps!"

Then she heard the defined gas of a Hideous Zippleback and could see faint wisps of the greenish substance seeping through the metal teeth. She gave Shockwave a firm nod before her Skrill exploded from the trap and started helping the dragons.

Zena's eyes widened when she saw dragons from the Nest flying down to join in the battle. Several of them swooped down to rescue the trapped dragons, others fired at Drago's catapults. She was amazed at how a common enemy could bring them all together.

"Dragon Riders, coming through!" Tuffnut laughed as Barf and Belch fought back.

"Fire!" Fishlegs yelled as Meatlug fired at a catapult.

"Cut. Them. Down!" Drago shouted above the roaring dragons, and seconds later nets were fired at the Riders. One of the nets had knocked Ruffnut off while narrowly missing Barf and Belch.

"Ah! Eret son of Eret!" Ruffnut screamed as she fell. Luckily Snotlout and Fishlegs were able to rescue her, and Zena could see just how happy she was at that. And judging by the look of relief from Eret, he was happy as well.

"Up, girl! To the left, Eret! That's it!" Astrid shouted as they flew closer to the mountains. Then when of the catapults suddenly fired a boulder just above them, causing the massive spire of ice to fall on them. "Look out!"

It was about to crush them when Zena heard the distinctive sound of Night Fury plasma blasts suddenly shattering the ice. Zena's eyes widened in complete shock when she saw Hiccup on Toothless joining them. And flying beside Toothless was Cybele, with a Rider of her own who looked eerily familiar.

Hiccup and the mysterious Rider flew across the sky and set their sights on a downed dragon that was surrounded by soldiers. The Rider on Cybele commanded something in what sounded like Dragonese, and both Toothless and Cybele fired plasma blasts at one of the net launchers, knocking it aside.

Moments later, Stoick and Gobber emerged from the Sanctuary and started attacking the catapults. Skullcrusher cut right through the trigger-line of the catapults and ended up netting the soldiers. Zena had Shockwave fly in low to free the rest of the dragons from their nets, who flew off and assisted their comrades.

Drago's archers were preparing to fire their arrows when suddenly the Rider on Cybele fired arrows of her own. As she did so, Gobber had Grump fly in and clobber them before they could recover. Drago's eyes narrowed with outrage when he saw the two Night Furies circling the sky.

"Dragon Masters," he said in disbelief, unaware that the people of Berk had two Dragon Masters.

Astrid and Zena joined Hiccup and the Rider once they managed to regroup.

"Welcome aboard, Dragon Rider!" Hiccup called to Eret, who looked at the Rider beside him in confusion.

"Thanks," he said after narrowing his eyes. "I think."

"Aniu… is-is that you?" Zena asked uncertainly. The Rider looked at her in surprise before nodding hesitantly. "How did you—"

"It's a long story," Hiccup answered for her, giving Aniu a look of concern. Astrid chose that moment to cut in before things got all the more awkward between them.

"Where have you been?" she demanded.

"Oh, you know… catching up with mom," Hiccup replied nonchalantly.

Astrid and Zena looked at him blankly until Zena finally saw what, or who, he was talking about. Astrid followed her gaze and gaped at the sight of Valka, dressed in her full warrior's armor and riding on the back of Cloudjumper, her Stormcutter.

"Whoa," breathed Eret in amazement.

Seconds seemed to pass before a massive white dragon followed her. The Bewilderbeast. Zena could only gawk at the sight as Valka had Cloudjumper hover in front of the Bewilderbeast and commanded the Alpha to fight for the dragon's freedom.

"That's your mother?" Astrid asked in astonishment.

"At least you know where I get my flair," Hiccup said cheekily.

Watching his mother was breathtaking, to say the least. Zena could definitely see where Hiccup got his flair.

Drago had been watching the entire scene as well, and grinned maliciously when he saw the Bewilderbeast steadily approaching.

"The Alpha! Now we have a fight!" he declared.

The Bewilderbeast gave one look at Drago and fired a stream of ice, freezing a platoon solid.

Valka swung her staff in the air, ordering her dragons to attack. A swarm of Hideous Zippleback's set themselves aflame and began to roll like fiery wheels through the battlefields, scattering soldiers and destroying war machines, but one of them got caught in the trap.

"Come on, Cybele, let's show them what we can do!" Aniu shouted. Cybele swooped in and fired a plasma blast that freed the dragon within seconds. Toothless did the same to a second Zippleback that was taken down by a net, freeing him as well.

Valka herself was still in the air on Cloudjumper's back commanding her dragons to attack in different areas. They had just taken down one of Drago's armored dragons when a net was suddenly wrapped around Cloudjumper, sending him crashing to the ground. Valka was thrown off of him and managed to skid to a halt, until coming face-to-face with Drago himself.

"I've waited a long time for this!" he sneered.

He rushed at her with his bullhook in hand, but Valka managed to block his attack with her staff.

"You cannot take our dragons!" she shouted back, swinging her staff once again. "They are controlled by the Alpha!"

"Then it's a good thing I brought a challenger," Drago said in a smug tone while blocking her attack. Cybele had landed beside Valka and glared at Drago as he started swinging his bullhook and shouted like a madman.

Heavy metal chains began snapping as something under the water stirred. Time seemed to stand still as a creature lurking under the ocean erupted in a cascade of seawater. Aniu's eyes widened in horror as she saw what looked like a second Bewilderbeast standing on the other side of the shore.

This one was different, however. She noticed with dread that it's face was that of an emotionless beast. A creature that had been tortured to the point in which he would feel no remorse to those he hurt. Her eyes narrowed when she also saw that the Bewilderbeast was covered in scars. The chains fell off its tusks and slammed from the iron cuffs.

"Another one?" Hiccup asked in disbelief.

"I was way off!" Fishlegs said frantically as Meatlug flew past them. "That is a class ten. Definitely class ten!"

"How did Drago get a hold of that thing?" Astrid asked.

"I don't care how he got a hold of it," Aniu snapped, her eyes narrowing with fury at the sight. "Drago is going to pay for hurting him."

"No…" Valka whispered, sounding shaken by the sight of the dark Bewilderbeast.

It didn't care whether it was crushing Drago's army or not. Aniu realized with a start that it had one thing in mind: To kill the other Alpha. And to her horror, the other Bewilderbeast was fighting Drago's army on the other side of the island.

Valka suddenly rushed at Drago while he had his back turned, but he suddenly swung his arm back and sent her onto her back. Aniu reached for her arrows and fired one while Drago was distracted, wasting no time in trying to take him down before he could hurt Valka. However, Drago's cloak proved to be tougher than she thought as it blocked her attacks.

He has to have some weakness! she thought angrily. While he had Valka pinned with one boot, he grabbed Aniu by her arm without warning and tossed her into a pile of snow nearby. Cybele's eyes widened as she let out a warble of alarm and bounded over to her side and was about to fire a plasma blast when Drago lifted Valka's mask.

"I always knew there were two Riders," Drago sneered as he prepared for a final blow. "Now that I know the both of you are here, this makes this war that much easier."

He grinned maliciously and raised his bullhook for a final blow. Then, as he was about to deliver the final blow, someone tackled him and knocked him off the ground. Drago looked up, fuming as he saw Stoick helping Valka back to her feet.

"Thank you," Valka said once she caught her breath.

"For you, my dear… anything," Stoick replied. "Aniu, go and help Hiccup and the other Riders," he ordered after helping Aniu back to her feet.

Cybele had flown off with her Rider, but not before Aniu heard an exchange of words between Stoick and Drago.

"You? I watched you burn!" Drago said snidely, eyes narrowing with hate as he glared at Stoick.

"It takes more than a little fire to kill me!" Stoick shot back in defiance as he fought back. Suddenly, he struck Stoick to the ground.

"Stoick!" Gobber shouted as he tossed Stoick a bludgeon.

Valka had rounded on the dark Bewilderbeast to try and stop him from attacking, but her attempts only ended in failure. Aniu glanced down at Cybele warily, already dreading what would happen next.

The Bewilderbeast's were fighting as if their lives depended on it. Both of them were evenly matched, but that didn't help things. Aniu could see that the dark Bewilderbeast was desperate to win the battle, even if it meant fighting dirty.

Come on! Aniu begged silently. You can win this fight; I know you can! She had seen the Alpha win many battles before, and this was no different. Cybele and Toothless had caught up with each other by the time the dark Bewilderbeast managed to knock down the Alpha. Aniu felt her stomach drop with horror when the dark Bewilderbeast drove one of his chained tusks into the Alpha's underbelly.

"No!" she heard Valka gasp in alarm.

No! No! Anger surged within Aniu as the dark Bewilderbeast let out a victorious bellow, and Drago's men shouted in triumph. As the dark Bewilderbeast let out a victory roar, all of the dragons were put under his control.

"We've won!" Drago yelled thunderously. "Now, finish them!"

Aniu's eyes widened in horror when she realized Drago was raising his bullhook at both her and Valka. She was suddenly aware of the danger they were all in. And they had no chance of winning this battle.

AN: Well, I'm glad that people are still reading this :) I actually have been planning a sequel, but it might take a long-while before it's finally posted. I've still got to finish the Paradigm, yet, along with A Different Hiccup. At any rate, big thanks to MMM, grapejuice101 and dracologistmaster for reviewing! You guys are amazing as always :)