A/N: I thought I'd post another chapter for those of you holed up at home and wanting something to do. I hope you're all doing well and staying healthy! I wish you all the best and thanks for reading!

—

Battle of the Bewilderbeasts

Things had escalated quickly while Hiccup, Stoick, and Gobber had been discussing things. Swarms of the sanctuary dragons were soaring over Drago's troops and diving in to defend their home and rescue their kin. But Drago's army of men were taking the dragons down, left and right.

"Whatever comes, keep hitting the mountain! We need to draw the alpha out!" The gruff voice of Drago commanded his people over the chaos. They were downing the nest dragons, capturing them for Drago's army. It appeared as though they had the advantage and Drago smiled to himself, confident of his success. "Ready the traps."

—

Astrid and Fishlegs could sense that they were being moved. They stood, ready to mount Meatlug and take off, as soon as their trap door was opened. Even now, the tiniest amount of light seeped in through the jagged cracks of the closed doors. They weren't entirely sure where they were, but they could hear the sounds of battle outside. Wherever they were, they were prepared to fight against Drago and help whatever people and dragons were being attacked. Drago was the enemy.

"How do you think Ruffnut and the others are doing?" Fishlegs asked Astrid, quietly and timidly, even though there was no way anyone outside would be able to hear them speaking from within the dragon trap, set with Meatlug as the bait to draw in other dragons determined to save their captured kin.

"I'm sure they're in a similar situation as us. They're with one of our dragons and ready to join the battle against Drago." Astrid rolled her eyes as Fishlegs singled out Ruffnut, but wasn't seen as they stood in the semi-dark.

"I'm glad I ended up with you, my beautiful, little princess!"

"What...?" Astrid shot an incredibly confused look in the direction of Fishlegs' giant form.

"My adorable rock-monster." Fishlegs continued in his baby voice as he gave Meatlug head scratches, the dragon eating up the attention. Astrid rolled her eyes again as she realized who Fishlegs had been talking to. She should have known, Fishlegs wouldn't pursue her, not when she was engaged to Hiccup. Maybe if Fishlegs gave as much attention to a human girl as he did to his Gronkle...

The clinking of gears could be heard from outside the trap. "Get ready." Astrid commanded as she climbed onto Meatlug's back, behind Fishlegs. The trap doors flung open and Meatlug took flight as fast her her dinky, little wings could manage. Which, Astrid had to admit, was impressive for how tiny they were.

"Surprise! Yeah!" Tuffnut's voice sounded from nearby, startling an angry Drago. He had thought the Berk Dragon Riders had been killed.

It was as if things had been timed perfectly. As Fishlegs and Astrid flew into the air, she could see all the other Dragon Riders taking flight at the same time as they exited their respective traps. Along with the Dragon Riders was one, former dragon trapper, doing his best to hold on to Stormfly as she soared through the air.

Fishlegs steered Meatlug over to Stormfly, knowing where Astrid would want to go. Eret was struggling to hold on to the Deadly Nadder as they neared, but he saw them coming.

"You really are full of surprises." Astrid complimented Eret before she jumped from Meatlug's back and mounted Stormfly, behind Eret. The former dragon trapper had potential, she knew Hiccup would agree. Astrid figured their current situation was a good opportunity to teach Eret how to fly a dragon and fully realize how loyal dragons were. It was what Hiccup would do.

Astrid directed Eret as they flew, showing him how to steer and work with the dragon they were flying on, in order to fly smoothly and work together as a team. They were doing well and Eret was quick and eager to learn, however, not far into her little lesson, Eret and Stormfly steered them into a corner. There was falling ice everywhere and as they tried to escape, they ended up heading straight for a giant, falling column of ice.

"Look out!" Astrid cried out, Eret joining in by yelling in fear.

An explosion rang out in front of them and when Astrid uncovered her face, she glanced up to see Hiccup and Toothless as they led Stoick and Gobber in a V-formation, toward the ongoing battle. Astrid couldn't express how relieved she was to see Hiccup and Toothless right now. They were good at showing up at just the right moment, and saving the day.

As Toothless dived down, the screech of a Night Fury ringing through the air, and blasted a catapult, Stoick and Gobber fanned out and started attacking the enemy on their own. They had a better chance it seemed, since the Dragon Riders had appeared out of no where. Following Hiccup's example and going off on their own, no doubt.

Hiccup was surprised, but also grateful, to see Astrid and the others there. The extra numbers would be needed. He indicated to Toothless that he wanted to curve around and fly up to Astrid and Stormfly. Toothless felt the shift of his prosthetic tail and adjusted his flight along with the movement of his tail fin. Hiccup wanted to unite with Astrid. After years of developing their relationship and flying together, Hiccup and Toothless were masters at maneuvering and flying together as one.

"Welcome aboard, dragon rider." Hiccup greeted as Toothless leveled off with Stormfly, and he flipped up his helmet. He was surprised to see the dragon trapper, but pleased that he seemed to have changed his ways. He was proud of Astrid, she must have gotten through to him.

"Thanks, I think." Eret responded as he nervously looked down at the Deadly Nadder underneath him. Riding a dragon took a lot of courage and trust and Eret looked a little out of his element, but Hiccup was sure that he would come around. He and Astrid would help him.

"Where have you been?" Astrid asked, she had been worried about what had become of him.

"Well... it's a little complicated." Hiccup answered. He was still the only one who knew about his mom's identity.

"Things with you usually are." Astrid gave him a look.

"Yeah, well... let's just say I ran into a powerful ally." As if on cue, Hiccup could see his mother flying in place atop Cloudjumper, the alpha rising up behind her.

"Whoa! Who is that?" Astrid was impressed by this new person. She looked formidable in her armor— so like a dragon— and powerful, with the giant Bewilderbeast backing her up. "Is that a...?"

"A Bewilderbeast. The King of all dragons." Hiccup ignored the question about his mother's identity.

"We never got a look at it, before..." Astrid was referring to their encounter on Berserker island, when Trader Johann and Krogan were trying to get their hands on a Bewilderbeast egg. They had left the egg in the care of the Wingmaidens who had said they knew someone they could entrust the egg to. Could that person have been... this mysterious woman?

"Let's back her up." Toothless took that as his cue to speed up and lead the way. He flew in behind Valka and Cloudjumper, Stormfly taking a place on her other side. Valka, face covered by her mask, pointed her staff and they all flew in together, leading in a new wave of nest-dragons, ready to fight.

The Bewilderbeast blew his ice at a fleet of boats, skewering them and rendering them useless. He continued to use his ice and huge paws to destroy various catapults and dragon traps.

Valka and Cloudjumper led the knew wave of dragons across the line of Drago's troops, effectively cutting through their line and taking a portion of them out. Things seemed to be turning in their favor.

Their optimism didn't last long, however, when the sound of Drago's savage yelling broke through the sound of battle. He was twirling is bull hook and was clearly up to no good.

"Hiccup! What is he doing?" Astrid yelled out her question as Stormfly tried to stay level with Toothless through all the chaos. But Hiccup didn't get the chance to answer, he wouldn't have known how to answer given the chance, anyway.

Boats were displaced and the water rose in big waves as another Bewilderbeast surfaced. It's giant tusks had metal cuffs on them, with hooks for chains to be connected to. It looked dingy and gray. And... for some reason, it obeyed Drago's instruction to attack the alpha.

"Oh no..." Hiccup had not seen this turn of events. He had only ever encountered one Bewilderbeast before, and it had been holed up in the center of Berserker Island, protecting an egg. He hadn't been given the opportunity to see it, although it had saved his life from Johann. Hiccup had figured that they were an incredibly rare and possibly endangered species of dragon, seeing as they were so huge and hard to miss. If there were a lot of them, everyone would have known about them.

The two Bewilderbeasts went head to head, battling for control of the dragons. Whichever one managed to win, would determine the victors of this battle. If they overtook Drago's troops and contained his mind-controlled dragon army, it wouldn't make a difference if his Bewilderbeast won and took control of their dragons as well.

Hiccup wasn't sure what to do and looked over to his mother who was flying in place with Cloudjumper, watching as the two Bewilderbeasts fought. Hiccup couldn't tell what she was thinking because of her mask covering her face.

"Hiccup, what do we do?" Astrid had finally caught up to him and Toothless, now that they were also flying in place. Hiccup watched his mother for another couple of seconds, but she didn't acknowledge them. So it was up to him, then, to make the next call. He had gotten them into this situation to begin with.

"We have to keep fighting Drago's army and freeing the captured dragons. If the alpha wins, then we have to be ready to back him up." Hiccup came to a decision. "Let the others know as you see them."

Many of the people and dragons, on both sides, had stopped to take a look at the epic battle between the two massive and legendary dragons. But as Toothless dived in and his iconic Night Fury call could be heard, it snapped everyone back into action. The Dragon Riders fell in behind Hiccup and they sliced through the reformed line of enemy warriors.

—

Stoick saw from a distance as the battle escalated. He was getting worried. For a moment there, they had had the upper hand. But now? It could go either way. Hiccup's persistence was admirable, but it would only make a difference if the pure-looking Bewilderbeast won. The alpha dragon, Hiccup had called it.

If they lost, things would quickly go downhill. From what Stoick had observed, these giant dragons had the ability to control other dragons. That had to be how Drago was building his dragon army. His Bewilderbeast would take control of theirs if they lost. They would be left defenseless against an army of dragons, some of them their own friends and partners. Either Drago would kill them, or leave them stranded. They wouldn't be able to protect or warn Berk.

They had to pull out. If the alpha won, they wouldn't necessarily need their help anyway. It would have the advantage, it could take away Drago's dragon army. Stoick made up his mind. He had to get Hiccup and lead his people away. They had to get out before things possibly went wrong. He would drag Hiccup out of here if necessary.

"Come on, Skullcrusher. Take me to Hiccup." Stoick directed his dragon companion. The Rumblehorn roared in response and started weaving through the battling, airborne dragons.

Hiccup and the Dragon Riders were making a dent in the enemy line. Some of Drago's warriors started to retreat to their boats, others tried to rally and form a new line of defense. Most of the traps were destroyed, the alpha's dragons mostly all free.

Valka had stopped watching the Bewilderbeasts fight and put her faith in her beloved alpha. He could do this. She saw Hiccup forging ahead and decided that he had the right idea. Best do what they could to get ahead in the war so that they would have an easy win once their alpha came out ahead.

Skullcrusher maneuvered through the chaos very smoothly, despite his bulk. Hiccup wasn't too far ahead. Toothless was taking out a couple more traps and they would occasionally knock one of the armored dragons off course in their attacks.

"Hiccup!" Stoick shouted his son's name as they got closer. Toothless stopped and turned toward him, Hiccup becoming aware of his father's calls for him. "We have to leave!"

"What?" Hiccup shouted back as he and Toothless dodged a net. Getting Hiccup and the others out of here during this chaos would be harder than he thought. Skullcrusher flew closer to Toothless.

"We have to retreat."

"Why?" Hiccup was confused, it didn't make sense to back down now. He temporarily took off his helmet so he could better converse with his father.

"If the alpha loses, then we lose. We don't get the chance to protect Berk and warn our people." Stoick took on a commanding voice that was one not to be argued with, but Hiccup did anyway.

"We can't leave now! The alpha can do this, we can win. I won't abandon them!" Hiccup didn't think is father would leave either, if he knew it meant abandoning Valka.

"Hiccup!" Stoick couldn't take it any longer, he needed to get his son under control before Berk suffered for it. "We leave. Now!"

"You go, then." Hiccup wouldn't relent. He was going to stay and make sure he didn't lose his mother again. "You can even take the others, but I'm staying."

"Gods! Why are you like this?!" Stoick shouted in anger, he was in a tough spot. The longer they stayed, the higher chance they could lose without any way to get to Berk. Why couldn't Hiccup see that? If Stoick stayed, he risked their home and their people. If he left, he risked Hiccup. "A chief protects his own. We have a duty. You are my heir, Hiccup! You have a duty to your people! We can't stay and risk their lives!"

"I can't go! I don't expect you to understand." Hiccup really couldn't expect him to understand, he didn't know about Valka. Hiccup felt trapped. He could understand his father's point, but... he couldn't just leave his mom. His dad had what he needed, he didn't necessarily need Hiccup in order to save Berk.

"I don't think I've ever understood you!" Stoick was letting his anger and frustration take over. "You risked everything to save your people before, but you won't protect them now? Are you really so selfish and immature?"

"Me?! You know what? Why don't you just disown me again and leave! Then you won't have to feel obligated to take me with you!" Hiccup gave in to his rising frustrations too. He flew away with Toothless and rejoined the battle. Stoick could leave for all he cared. Hiccup was going to do what he thought was right.

"Argh!" Stoick yelled in rage. That hadn't gone how he hoped it would. Hiccup left him no choice, and clearly didn't care what family meant. Stoick had apologized and done everything he possibly could to make up for his past mistakes. Did all his efforts mean nothing to Hiccup?

Skullcrusher gave a questioning rumble at his human friend and Stoick took a deep breath. "It's fine, Skullcrusher. Just my mutinous, disrespectful son. Let's find Gobber. I'll have him stay behind with Hiccup and we'll lead the others back to Berk."

Skullcrusher gave an affirming grunt and quickly found Gobber. It was beneficial to have a Tracker Class dragon, Stoick thought, as they landed. Gobber was contributing to the battle from the ground. His dragon, Grump, wasn't very fast or maneuverable.

"Stoick! There you are!" Gobber bludgeoned an enemy with his war hammer prosthetic, still his cheery self. "How goes the fighting?"

"I don't know." Stoick looked back over at the battling Bewilderbeasts. They were currently locked together by their tusks, having a battle of strength. "It all depends on them."

"I supposed that's true." Gobber followed Stoick's line of sight. "You know what that means?"

"Yes." Stoick's face darkened and his words had an edge to them.

"Should we get ready to leave, then?" Gobber asked his friend and chief. Stoick was grateful that Gobber was thinking along the same lines as him. If only his son could do the same.

"No, not you." Stoick answered, receiving a raised eyebrow and an expectant look. "Hiccup refuses to leave."

"Ah." Gobber wasn't very surprised.

"I can't believe-" Stoick cut himself off and took another breath. He didn't have time for this. "I need you to stay and babysit my stupid son while I lead the others back to Berk, in case things go wrong here."

"Right. I'm back on Hiccup-duty." Gobber joked, but then took on a more sympathetic tone. He knew Stoick would be worrying about Hiccup the whole time. "I'll keep a close eye on him. He'll be okay."

—

Hiccup, meanwhile, was letting his frustrations cloud his judgement. Each maneuver they made became riskier and riskier. Toothless worked with Hiccup, so they could fly in sync, but he was starting to worry. He needed to get through to Hiccup, before they both got into trouble.

Toothless let out a worried coo and tried to fly in place, but Hiccup had stopped paying attention and shifted the tail fin, forcing Toothless into an unsteady dive.

"Toothless!" Hiccup cried out as they barely avoided a flying net. Toothless let out a frustrated roar. "What?"

Toothless roared again and tried to take the lead in their flying, so that Hiccup would be forced to match his movements. But flying only worked for them when they weren't fighting each other for control. The prosthetic tail fin snapped into an odd position as Hiccup tried to compensate for Toothless' sudden change in direction. They lost control and started to spiral.

Drago saw as the Night Fury and the Dragon Master started an out-of-control decent for the ground. This was his chance to gain the upper hand again. "Shoot them down!"

One of the remaining catapults was launched and a net successfully snatched up Hiccup and Toothless, and they fell the remaining ten feet to the ground, landing hard in a heap. Drago smiled. He was finally going to meet this Dragon Master.

Hiccup coughed hard and moaned as he tried to regain his breath for the second time that day. This time, however, there was a greater sense of urgency. He forced himself to a crawling position and reached for his Dragon Blade as he wheezed. Once he had the sword in his hands he placed it against the rope of the net and released the blade, a flame crawling up its length as it was activated.

Hiccup fell forward through the hole in the net, catching himself with the hand not holding his weapon. "I'm so sorry, Toothless..."

Toothless grunted at him. He was okay, mostly just worried about Hiccup's well-being. Hiccup cut through more of the net, releasing Toothless, and just in time too.

"So you're the Dragon Master." A deep, menacing voice said from behind the two downed friends. Hiccup spun around and faced Drago. Hiccup's helmet had fallen off when they landed and Drago was allowed his first look at the face of the one who was meant to oppose him. "Stoick must have been so disappointed."

Hiccup flinched at his words. Yes, he supposed his father was likely very disappointed in him. Toothless growled from by his side, not liking this man's words. He stood at Hiccup's side, ready to protect him if necessary.

"What are you doing here, boy? Protecting the enemy? Chief Stoick fought the dragons. You shame him by taking their side." Drago sneered at Stoick's heir. This was Stoick the Vast's one and only son? This pathetic child inherited the throne of Berk?

"Chief Stoick is a friend to dragons and so am I." Hiccup finally spoke up.

"Is?" Drago had left Stoick and many other chiefs to die in a fire. "Stoick died."

"No, he escaped. He survived and leads Berk today." Hiccup informed him.

"Really? Then he will watch as I prove him wrong and destroy Berk with the very dragons he claimed couldn't be controlled."

"Dragons don't need to be controlled. Berk is a sanctuary for them, we live with them in peace."

"Peace, with dragons? They're monsters."

"No, they aren't. I thought that once, too. But they are amazing creatures who can bring people together."

"Or tear them apart." Drago replied ominously as he removed his prosthetic arm. Hiccup recoiled, he hadn't even noticed that Drago was an amputee too. "You see? I know what it is to live in fear. To see my village burned, my family taken. But even as a boy, left with nothing, I vowed to rise above the fear of dragons and liberate the people of this world!"

"You think that excuses your actions? That you're the only person with a difficult and tragic past?" Hiccup grew defensive. He had been through a lot too and he never used it as an excuse to hurt others.

"I don't expect the heir of Berk to understand."

"Oh, really? Berk was at war with the dragons too. I watched my village get destroyed nearly every other week. My mother was taken by dragons when I was a baby. The war almost took everything from me, I even lost a limb." Hiccup indicated his prosthetic foot and Drago looked down on it for the first time. He hadn't noticed Hiccup was an amputee either.

"So then you should know." Drago spoke in an enticing voice. "We're the same."

"No, we're not." Hiccup couldn't be convinced, he held firm. "I don't let those tragedies define me. I don't let them control my actions. I had a choice, back then, and I chose to save my people and initiate peace with dragons. You claim you want to liberate the people of the world? But instead you took the dragon's place as the world's next enemy."

"Watch yourself, boy." Drago growled.

"You became the very thing you hated! Even the dragons have compassion."

"Argh!" Drago lashed out with his weapon and Hiccup threw himself to the side, managing to dodge. Toothless growled and swiped at Drago, but missed.

"Dragons aren't what you think they are." Hiccup kept talking as he used his sword to block another blow. "They're loyal and loving creatures!"

"They're monsters!" Drago was using his anger to fuel his blows, rather than skill.

"You're the monster!" Hiccup parried. "You use dragons as an excuse to conquer people! All you're after is power and control!"

"I'll be sure to conquer your people first." Drago brought his weapon down in a flurry, backing Hiccup against a wall of ice. Hiccup did all he could to block each blow, but Drago had the superior strength and it was getting harder to keep up with him.

Drago suddenly paused in his attacks when a loud, dragon-like groan reached their ears. He looked over his shoulder and saw as his Bewilderbeast skewered the alpha with his tusks. A smile touched his face and his eyes lit up. He had won.

Hiccup was shocked and dismayed. The alpha lost. He was dying... Hiccup wasn't allowed more time to contemplate what had happened as he reacted on instinct, barely blocking another blow in time.

Toothless had been circling them, skirting the edges of the one-on-one fight and growling restlessly. He hadn't wanted to get in the way of Hiccup's attacks and blocks and knew that he was talented with a blade. But things were going too far and Hiccup was failing. It was time for him to intervene. A part of his mind registered his alpha fail, but he only had eyes for Hiccup's safety. He wouldn't lose his brother too.

Toothless saw his opening and pounced. Drago was knocked backwards, his weapon sliding across the ice and skidding to a halt a few feet away. Toothless pressed his giant paw against Drago's chest, his claws digging into his protective clothing. He growled threateningly.

—-

On higher ground, Stoick was preparing to leave. He had gathered the Dragon Riders —and one out of place, former dragon trapper— and they were all begrudgingly readying to follow him back to Berk.

"At least let me stay." Astrid couldn't stay silent any longer.

"No." Stoick was not in the mood for arguing.

"Hiccup is my future husband, I want to stay and support him." Astrid decided to play the marriage card, but it was the wrong move.

"You want to support Hiccup?" Stoick turned to her, a glare on his face. "Then stop encouraging him and his crazy schemes! I thought you were supposed to be the level headed one, yet you have encouraged him and taken his side all day. You disobeyed my orders. You're as mutinous as he is!"

"Stoick..." Gobber tried to be the mediator as he often did between Hiccup and Stoick. Astrid looked stricken. Stoick had never spoken to her like that before.

"No, Gobber." Stoick's words stopped Gobber's protests. "We've been chasing these children around all day long and now we're in the middle of a battlefield. It's time to go home and take care of our people. No more arguments. No more disobeying orders. The next person to question me will see punishment for treason!"

"Sir..." Fishlegs, unexpectedly, was the next to speak up.

"What did I just say?!"

"I'm so sorry!" Fishlegs held up his hands, but then used one to point behind Stoick. "But look..."

Stoick turned around and looked. Immediately all of his anger was replaced as a feeling of dread creeped through his body. Hiccup and Toothless were downed by a net and Drago was coming up on them. They all watched with concern as Hiccup faced off with Drago.

"Oh no." Astrid gasped at the sight. She gave Stoick a quick glance before acting. She wouldn't abandon Hiccup, she wouldn't leave him. She mounted Stormfly and took off.

Stoick was startled into action and was about to follow Astrid's lead, but then a loud roar of distress rang out. Stoick's attention was drawn to the Bewilderbeasts. The alpha had lost the fight. It had been struck by a fatal blow and the ground shook as he landed with a crash.

Stoick sighed. He was too late. They were still here and the alpha had lost. He could try to leave with Skullcrusher before the other Bewilderbeast took over, but... Hiccup was fighting Drago. Stoick couldn't, he wouldn't leave his son now.

The victorious Bewilderbeast roared loudly, displaying his dominance, and all the dragons went still. Stoick, Gobber, and the Dragon Riders watched as their dragon's pupils narrowed to slits and they took flight. The Bewilderbeast had taken control.

Stoick looked back down at the scene of Hiccup and Drago. Toothless had the devil pinned. Maybe there was a chance, then. "Let's get down there."

Gobber, Eret, and the Dragon Riders followed Stoick at a brisk pace.

—

Valka cried out in dismay as she witnessed her beloved alpha fall. He was their leader, their protector. He was dead. "No..." Valka removed her mask, no longer worried about her identity in her sudden grief.

Cloudjumper cried out too, his heart full of sorrow for his leader. He continued to fly in place, not knowing what his rider wanted to do. He could hear her sniffles and could sense her sadness. He cooed. He was sad too, but he wanted to be there for his friend.

A deafening roar of victory sounded and Cloudjumper shook his head as his vision suddenly blurred and darkened. His flight staggered for a moment.

"Cloudjumper?" Valka's voice sounded concerned. He tried to respond, to reassure her that he would protect her, but he couldn't. His thoughts were fuzzy and he couldn't concentrate.

Cloudjumper roared in frustration. He was losing control. He could feel the new alpha seeping into his mind. He shook his head again. If he was going to lose control, then the last thing he was going to do was get his Valka to safe ground.

"Ah!" Valka cried out as Cloudjumper took off. His flight was jerky and uncoordinated, but he was determined to find safe ground for his rider.

"Stormfly!" A voice cried out. Valka glanced to her right and saw the young blond who had been frequently by Hiccup's side, struggling with a Deadly Nadder. She was going to fall and they were too high up.

"Cloudjumper, do this one last thing for me?" Valka knew what was happening, the new alpha was taking control. She stroked her dragon's scales affectionately as she spoke. "Save that girl."

Cloudjumper shook himself again and veered to his right. He would do his best to honor Valka's request. There was a painful pressure in his head as he fought for control, but he endured. As the pressure increased he made one last effort. He threw his head up, surprising Valka as she lost her balance and was launched into the air. He caught her and the girl with his inner set of wings then spiraled toward the ground, his outer wings slowing their decent.

At the last moment, Cloudjumper wrapped his second pair of wings around the fragile beings and landed on his side. The all-consuming blackness clouded his thoughts and his vision as he lay there, stunned by his landing.

Valka pushed the wings aside, she knew they didn't have much time. She loved Cloudjumper, but knew that he wouldn't be in the right state of mind once he came to. She grabbed the blond girl's wrist and pulled her to her feet. The girl seemed frantic, which Valka found odd. She seemed so level-headed and in control before. So Valka took the lead and decided to continue holding the girl by the wrist as they put distance between themselves and her poor, beloved dragon.

"Wait... wait!" Astrid shook her head as her jumbled thoughts came back to her.

"We must find a safe place." Valka kept leading her.

"No!" Astrid dug her heels into the ground and pulled her arm back. "I need to get to Hiccup!"

"Where's Hiccup?" Valka turned to the girl and Astrid was finally allowed a view of her face. She still had no idea who this woman was, but she had saved her life and Hiccup had told her she was an ally.

"He's facing Drago." Astrid informed her. Valka's expression changed to mirror Astrid's look of concern and worry.

"Stop!" Hiccup's distressed voice gained their attention and they both started running.

—

Drago looked up into the furious eyes of the Night Fury. He was pinned, but he was confident that it wouldn't be for much longer. His Bewilderbeast had roared in triumph, he was about to take control of the other dragons.

Sure enough, before Toothless could do anything more, he could feel a somewhat familiar pull in his mind. It was like the Queen, but far stronger. He squinted his eyes and shook his head, letting out a growl in discomfort.

"Toothless? What's wrong?" He heard Hiccup's concerned voice from beside him. Toothless faltered and Drago took the opportunity to push the Night Fury aside and get to his feet. Hiccup took a cautious step back. "What did you do?"

"I won." Drago leaned over to pick up his weapon. He raised it in the air and twirled it to gain his Bewilderbeast's attention. "It's time you witnessed true strength. The strength of will over others. In the face of it, you and your dragons are nothing!"

Toothless was shaking his head again and pawing at his eyes. He was losing his balance and swaying as he moved. He roared in frustration as he fought the pull. But when Drago pointed his weapon at the Night Fury, the Bewilderbeast focused all its attention on him and he couldn't fight it anymore. His mind went blank, everything was dark, and he had no control.

"Toothless...?" Hiccup backed away from his friend, even though all he wanted to do was go to his side. Drago pointed his weapon at Hiccup and he knew things were about to get bad.

Toothless raised his head in a movement not unlike a puppet. His pupils narrowed to slits as he backed Hiccup closer to the wall of ice behind him.

"Toothless, it's me. It's Hiccup. Your friend... your brother." Hiccup spoke softly at first, hoping to be able to reach his best friend. Drago chuckled as he watched. The boy would learn not to trust dragons.

"Toothless!" Hiccup couldn't help it as panic began to rise in him. Toothless was baring his teeth and growling. "Snap out of it, this isn't you!"

But Toothless didn't falter in his approach. He kept stepping forward, threateningly, his back arched and his tail lashing from side to side. Hiccup's breath caught in his throat at the sight. Toothless had never threatened him like this before. He would never... but he was and it broke Hiccup's heart.

"Please, Toothless. Stop." He would not lift a finger against his beloved dragon companion. He would take the hit if it meant that Toothless would make it. He knew it wasn't Toothless' fault, but it made his heart ache nonetheless.

The familiar sound of a plasma blast being charged reached his ears and Hiccup knew what was coming. He couldn't help the fear that had taken hold of him. It felt so wrong to be afraid of Toothless. "Stop... Stop!"

"Hiccup!" Hiccup's eyes darted to the side as he saw his mom running toward him, Astrid trailing behind. Oh no, things were about to get really bad.

"Hiccup!" Astrid's desperate voice echoed Valka's.