When Pheda saw New Berk, she felt a wave of dread wash over her, for there was no guarantee that they would be able to save her people. All she could see through the clouds at their altitude were the mountain peaks, but it was more than enough. She turned her gaze to Toothless, and all the dragons pulled up, waiting for his command.
The Night Fury sniffed the air, then looked at his dragons. "It is time. Tidal Class dragons, gather in your regiments around the island. Changewings, gather in the forests, Sand Wraiths and Sandbusters, prepare the beaches for a sneak attack. All Strike Class dragons, stay with me. All remaining Titanwings, surround the village. The rest of you, patrol the island in pairs. We can't have any of our enemies escaping without our being aware of it. Go, go!"
The dragons dispersed, leaving a crowd of Strike Class dragons, many of them Titanwings, behind. About half of the non-titans were Night Lights.
What now? Pheda asked.
"We dive down, starting the first phase of the attack," Toothless answered. "We need to get a clearer idea of what exactly we're dealing with. The other dragons are spread out as backup, and to prevent escapees of our enemies, so ultimately, we're the main force."
Got it, Pheda said telepathically.
"Good. Ready, set, go!"
The dragons all tucked their wings, and dove, emerging rather un-stealthily from the clouds. Pheda clung to Honest's back, then used all her willpower to look at the ships. Her mouth fell open as soon as she did so. Half the fleet of battleships was gone.
Honest! her mind practically screamed. Honest, look at the ships!
She didn't need to - Honest had already pulled up, so suddenly that many of the dragons behind her nearly flew into her. 'What the. . . how? Toothless, half the fleet's gone! Half!'
Toothless' eyes narrowed in suspicion, and he pulled up, causing all the other dragons to stop their dive as well. "That can't be good. It may give us a larger chance of success, but if so many of the ships are gone, then exactly how many New-Berkians are there left for us to rescue?"
Pheda's initial excitement gave way to worry. Toothless was right. While it had first seemed like a miracle, now it seemed like a sign of something bad. An entire half-fleet of ships doesn't just disappear. If they're out there, I'd sure like to be able to see them. It's actually worse with them gone. For all we know, they might be waiting in ambush.
"No turning back now," Toothless said. "We've come too close to give up before we've even begun. No matter where that other half-fleet is, we're not staying our course of action."
The dragons began diving down toward earth again, aiming straight for the empty, ghost-town-like village. They pulled up, gliding just above the roofs of the deserted houses.
Honest craned her head back. 'I'm gonna go lower for you to hop off, Pheda. This is no place for a kid. You may have a dagger, but you don't know how to use it, so you might as well have nothing at all. I've been trained for conditions like this since I could walk, but you haven't.'
But. . . Fine. Pheda slid off Honest's back when she was low enough, landing on her feet easily. Be careful, friend. Be safe.
'I'll be fine,' Honest promised, then picked up speed again, gaining altitude with just a few beats of her wings. 'I will come back, Pheda. Don't worry.'
There were so many dragons at work eliminating the ships that the job soon finished, and the ships were either sinking or deserted. Toothless ordered that the enemy survivors be set free as long as they each took an oath not to attack innocents again, for he sensed that each man had his own family to worry about.
Nearly all the New-Berkians were found on board the ships, including Zephyr, Karda, all the Dragon Riders, and - to Pheda's delight - Grandmother. Zephyr apologized for what had happened when Honest and Pheda had come to New Berk to scout, explaining in detail why she'd done it, and both girl and dragon forgave her. Grandmother, after a happy reunion with her Scuttleclaw, Frostfang, told Pheda all that had happened while she was away.
But even with all the happiness that came with the victory, a cloud of worry hung over all the people, for several of the New-Berkians had not been found, and many wondered if they ever would.