Coming down to the last few chapters, so here we go.

Enjoy

Once again, Astrid almost missed the descending doom dropping down on her.

She clung to Hiccup as he directed Toothless towards Valka, whom the pair had just spotted. She had yet to spot them in turn, and they were desperately trying to get her attention, though they were having a difficult time closing towards her. She wasn't staying in one place for any length of time.

It was then that Astrid felt her instincts begin to scream at her.

Perhaps it was a combination of things that touched her on several different senses, each insignificant on their own, but all adding up to create a tangible warning that set off alarms inside Astrid's head. A tiny flicker of motion out of the corner of her eye, somehow separate from the rest of the battlefield. A slight whisper of wind over wings. A feeling of a sudden presence closing in.

She looked up just in time.

There was Stormfly, diving down towards her, Toothless, and Hiccup. Wings folded tightly to her sides, her new armor gleaming in the afternoon sun, she shot towards them with incredible speed. On her back, his sword already drawn, was Erik

Astrid didn't have time to do anything else. She didn't have time to think. She didn't have time to feel the sorrow at seeing her dragon, her friend, forced into such service. She didn't have time to feel anger, at Drago, at Erik, at the dark Bewilderbeast.

She didn't have time to feel guilt for the part she played in doing this to Stormfly.

At that moment, all she had time to do was act.

She slammed her boot down on Hiccup's left foot, which was secured in the stirrup used to control Toothless's tail fin. The pedal tilted precariously, and Astrid felt a responding in their flight. Hiccup let out a cry of pain, and Toothless suddenly plummeted, slewing to the right at the same time.

The impromptu dodge was enough for them to avoid what would have been a devastating sneak attack, and Astrid could feel the whoosh of air as Stormfly's claws slid past her head. She heard Erik let out a scream of frustration as he shot past, then wheeled around to come at them again.

But the dive had cost them, and now Stormfly was lower to the ground than Toothless, and it would take endless seconds for her to regain altitude to close with the Night Fury. But now, after having recovered from a near spiral, Toothless had all the advantage he needed.

Toothless's mouth opened wide, and this time, Astrid did not react quickly enough.

A bolt of purple-white plasma shot out of Toothless's mouth and streaked across the distance separating him from Stormfly in the blink of an eye. It smashed into her side, erupting in a burst flame, briefly obscuring her for Astrid's view. But the blast wasn't a particularly strong one, and combined with Stormfly's armor, it did little more than startle her.

Circled back around.

"No, Toothless, please stop!" Astrid yelled. But the only response she got was a rising shriek. Toothless was lining up a more powerful shot.

If a full power night fury blast struck Stormfly…

"Hiccup, make him stop!"

Hiccup turned to look at her over his shoulder.

"Astrid, I know you don't like hurting dragons, but that-"

"THAT DRAGON" Astrid screamed "IS STORMFLY!"

Hiccup's look turned to one of blank astonishment, and Toothless's mouth suddenly snapped shut. The Night Fury actually turned to look over his shoulder at Astrid, a similar look of incredulity as the one Hiccup wore. The chance was lost, and Stormfly and Erik disappeared into the battlefield.

"H-how…why?" Hiccup stuttered "Astrid, that nadder can't be Stormfly. She would never fight for Drago."

A cold pit formed in Astrid's stomach as she looked back towards the two dueling Alpha's, locked in mortal combat.

"Yes" Astrid rasped. "She would. Because she has no choice. None of the dragons do."

"What do you mean?"

"It's the alpha dragon." Astrid explained "Drago's bewilderbeast. It's just one dragon called the alpha, but their entire species. That's because they can control other dragons."

"How?"

"I don't have time to explain it now. The only way we can help Stormfly now is to take down that other alpha. Come on, let's go!"

"No!" A third voice interrupted. "It's no use. They aren't letting any dragon go near."

Astrid turned her head. There, hovering just a few yards away, was Valka, standing tall on Cloudjumer. Both her and her dragon bore numerous minor cuts and scrapes from the battle, but nothing serious or debilitating. The look in Valka's eyes, however, chilled Astrid to the bone.

Never before had they been so filled with despair.

"Both of the Alphas are keeping all the dragons away. It is a fight for them, and them alone. They don't want any others interfering in their battle for dominance." Valka explained. Though outwardly, Valka was trying to appear calm, Astrid had known her long enough to understand that she was beyond worried.

"There must be something we can do to help" Hiccup cried. "Even if we can just distract it, it might give us the edge we need."

But Valka was shaking her head.

"We can't get near them. The only thing we can do is continue helping our people against Drago's men. The rest-" she gestured to the alphas

"-is theirs to decide."

With that, Cloudjumper wheeled around and dove back into the fray of Vikings and dragons, lending their held where they would.

"Well Hiccup, what are you waiting for? If we can't fight that thing, we'll do what we can to help. Let's go."

But Hiccup didn't move. Nor did Toothless move other than to flap his wings, keeping them in a hover. A long moment passed, but Hiccup gave no indication that he had even heard her.

"Hiccup? Hello… Hiccup, they need our help. Let's go!"

"Astrid. We're going after Stormfly."

"What? Why? Hiccup, there isn't anything we can do for her. The only way she will be set free is if Drago's alpha is defeated. What are you going to accomplish? Have you suddenly learned how to counter dragon mind control!"

"No" Hiccup replied, his voice quiet calm "I can't get through to her, but you can."

"No, Hiccup, I can't!" Astrid growled in frustration. "It is not possible. You wouldn't understand,because you haven't seen just how powerful an alpha's command is. I can't get through to her. She isn't herself anymore. There is no point in bothering."

Tears began to stream down Astrid's cheeks at her own angry proclamations, and she found herself shaking. In saying those words, she was forcing herself to admit that, should the battle go ill, Stormfly might be lost to her forever. Despair found its way into Astrid's heart at that thought, despair stemming from cold, hard facts. Facts grounded in experience, knowledge, and the damnable doctrine of the world.

Astrid didn't want to believe it. But that made it no less true.

"Believe me, Hiccup. If I thought there was hope, I would try in a heartbeat."

Hiccup was silent for a long, long moment, a moment where Astrid blocked out the sounds, sights, and smells of the battlefield. His gaze drifted off across the battlefield, then back to Astrid's eyes.

"You showed me that with help, you can beat the Valkyrie. Stormfly needs your help to find herself also. How is that any different?"

Astrid began to reply. There were several possible arguments she might have used, based on what she had learned by spoken word or by experience. She could provide numerous examples of times when she had seen dragons try to resist the commands of an alpha, even with the help of others, and yet still fail.

But all the arguments Astrid might have made fell dead in her throat. She started to speak several times, but stopped in each instance with a short choking sound.

Because she wanted to believe him.

Perhaps she was letting emotion cloud her judgement, but she didn't care. Hiccup had dangled a hope before her, a tiny ray of hope, and like she said, she would take it to get Stormfly back.

"Alright" Astrid said "you said we need her to remember herself. Any ideas?"

"You know her better than me. I'm all ears."

Astrid thought for a moment. And then it hit her.

"Hiccup, which of these saddle bags do you keep all of your drawings in?"

The battle between the two alphas was nothing short of titanic.

It didn't even look like living creatures as much as it looked like two mountains that had uprooted and decided to fight each other. Whenever they clashed, it shook the ground, shook the water, shook the very air which surrounded them. Every step of their gigantic feet tore massive gouges through snow, stone, and ice, and the swipes of their tails and tusks smashed anything in their path to tiny pieces.

They were pretty much oblivious to the amount of collateral damage they were causing, though fortunately they were far enough away from the main battle that they were not crushing the troops from either army. Only those who were unlucky enough to be blinded by the pain of their wounds, stumbling around senselessly, ever came close to the dueling titans.

They were crushed in short order.

The battle continued on ceaselessly, with neither of the Bewlidereasts asking for, nor giving any, quarter. They seemed almost to be mirror images of each other, tusks locked together, straining to push the other back, both of their faces twisted into ugly snarls of rage.

But the fight was not an even one, and eventually, it began to tell.

The Bewilderbeast of the Sanctuary was indeed a magnificent specimen, even among his incredible species. Healthy as any dragon in the world, it seemed as if he would be more than a match than any dragon who served under Drago, who would be trained by way of abuse and deprivation of basic needs. And certainly, the Dark Bewilderbeast was no exception, as anyone could tell. After all, the color of its scales was not a natural cover, but a testament to its lack of health.

That fact gave the defenders hope. For a time.

But when it came down to it, the Alpha of the sanctuary was no fighter. Oh, yes, his sheer size made him an incredible force on a battlefield of any scale, and his ability to dominate nearly any dragon made him all but unstoppable.

Drago's alpha was not like other dragons.

With the advantage of size and dragon control stripped away in this particular fight, the Alpha of the Sanctuary was far from invincible. It had been a long, long time since he had gone up against anything that provided a challenge for him, and he had grown a little too complacent over the years. His skills in battle that had served him well when he was younger and smaller were all but forgotten.

Drago's alpha had been forced to learn those fighting skills. Every day of its life, over and over, they had been drilled into him, preparing him for this day, this very moment.

The moment when it would become the undisputed king of all dragons. The Dark alpha thought it was time to end this little game.

With a heave of effort, the dark alpha surged backwards, unlocking his tusks from those of his counterpart. He moved back enough so that his feet splashed back into the water, then surged forwards with all his considerable might.

The two alphas butted heads, but the advantage of momentum gained Drago's gave him a slight edge. He shoved the other alpha the point where it's front legs were forced completely off the ground. He kept pushing on his now unbalanced opponent, and the alpha of the sanctuary felt its rear paws begin to slide.

The white alpha tried to dig his claws into the ground, but the damage had already been done, the advantage gained. The Dark Alpha kept pushing, giving his opponent no chance to recover. The pair, locked in a new clench, they were pushed back towards the sanctuary, faster and faster.

The slide ended with a thunderous clash as the white alpha was smashed into the sanctuary.

Chips of ice the size of spears went flying in every direction, and a cloud of smaller ice crystals rose up in a blinding curtain that blotted out everything.

And the white alpha tumbled to the ground, onto its side.

It cried out one more time as the dark alpha's tusks speared through its now exposed belly.

Then, it was silent.

Astrid had a plan.

It might not have been a great plan, or a well considered plan, but it was a plan. It was a plan to get Stormfly back, as unlikely as that seemed.

Then she saw the alpha fall.

Astrid turned cold from head to toe.

When she saw the gigantic white form lying still in the snow, a sense of profound grief hit her square in the stomach. The alpha had been so much a part of her home for the past decade that she had come to think of him almost as a feature of the landscape. That is, an unchanging, eternal part. He had been there long before she had, and she had firmly believed that he would have been there long after she had gone.

But that had suddenly come to a sudden, shocking end.

Astrid clutched the piece of rolled up parchment tightly in one hand. The sudden end of the alpha meant that if their plan did not succeed.

Then Stormfly would be lost forever. Along with every other dragon in the sanctuary.

It was time to find her brother again.

So, there we are. I know you guys have been waiting patiently for the sequel, and I am just as eager to start sending it out to you. I don't want to rush the end of this story though, so I am asking for a little more patience. Thank you all.

Review, follow, and favorite, and as always, have a good one.