No Greater Disaster

AN: In this chapter, you'll see just how evil these men are, so be prepared for what lies within. It gets a bit dark.

Disclaimer: I do not own Raya and the Last Dragon.

Chapter 6:

As they waited outside the gate, hoping that their handiwork wasn't discovered and the alarm raised, Pengu had an idea. He believed it might work, but he didn't share it with Raya just yet. Instead, like her, he decided to wait for the rest of their forces to catch up with them.

One of the other soldiers did suggest sending a runner to the army to tell them to approach quietly and to stay within the trees for now. It should have been common sense. It was a stealth mission, after all. Arriving in the dark with the hopes of not being noticed would be useless if they weren't also being quiet. However, Raya agreed, and the soldier who suggested it ran into the trees to tell Tong what was going on.

When the Spine Chief did get there, he didn't seem too happy with the delay. "Why has our path not been cleared?" he asked—though it sounded more demanding than anything.

"I sent a runner to tell you," she defended.

"We received no runner," he informed her.

She seemed confused for a moment before understanding dawned on her. "Oh, Toi. I sent a runner to you to tell you what was going on, but I think he might have gone to warn the other side instead," she explained. She also shared her suspicions she had earlier in the forest, and Tong nodded grimly. "It can't just be a coincidence, right?"

"There is no such thing as coincidence," Tong affirmed. "We must change our plan, but a frontal attack is too risky while the ballistae are operational. We would lose too many men approaching the walls."

"Well, what about…"

Pengu exhaled deeply, his eyes closed, and all sounds around him began to filter out. He had never done this before, but it should theoretically be possible. He reached for the magic within him and called to it.

And it came.

He opened his eyes, a quiet argument between Tong, the chiefs, and Raya filtering in as he looked up to see the first flakes of snow falling. The argument continued for another few minutes, but he didn't care enough about what was being said to pay too close attention to it.

Then, Raya huffed in frustration. "And to top everything off, it's snowing." He looked down to her with a victorious grin, and when she noticed it, she stared at him in awe. "Are—Are you doing this?" He nodded. "But I thought you could only make it rain?"

"Is not snow simply frozen rain?" he returned.

Tong and the other chiefs seemed to be just as amazed as Raya. "This could work…" Raya started. "How heavy can you make this?" she asked him.

His smile grew. "Tempestuous," was his reply, and she snickered in amusement at his smug smirk.

She turned to Tong, and this time, he did care about what was being said. "We can use Pengu's blizzard to follow the original plan," she explained. "We use it as cover to take out the guards on the path. Since it'll mask our position and any sound we make, we won't have to worry about being spotted on the way down. Then, your warriors get in position, and I take a group to one of the sides instead of the back, just in case our traitor told that part of our plan to his buddies inside."

Tong hummed in thought before grunting his agreement. "Take the lead. We will follow."

She nodded, then turned to him. "Pengu, make the blizzard seem like it's coming on naturally. In the off chance that runner isn't actually a traitor, we don't want to alert them a dragon is near."

"By my understanding, blizzards come on quite suddenly," he supplied. "Five minutes should be ample time, yes?" he turned to Tong, but the Chief just shrugged. "But I suggest we go now. Even if they know we are coming, my blizzard will prevent them from seeing us."

"Meaning they can't target us with their ballistae," Raya conceded. "It's your choice, Tong," she told the Chief. "Go now or in five minutes?"

"Go now," he decided without hesitation.

Raya nodded and motioned for her previous group to reassemble—including the eight men that had gone to clear out more of the forest. She turned to him. "I don't suppose I could convince you to stay here, could I?" He shook his head. "Right…Just keep your head down and stay in the back," she ordered him, to which he decided to indulge her some more. He nodded, and within the span of a few heartbeats, the gentle snowfall turned into a raging blizzard.

Raya and a few others opened the heavy gates and ran through. "Keep close to the wall!" he heard her shout. "That way you won't have to worry about falling off!"

There were many guards on the path, so Raya didn't even bother trying to take each group out without being spotted. Since, technically, they couldn't see the guards, either, until they were within striking distance, that's the strategy Raya elected to take. Ranged attacks were useless, so she opted for close-quarters.

Every time he heard the clang of steel on steel, he always knew that Raya would be fine as she had proven herself countless times before. However, there was always a small part of him that also feared what might happen, as well. He had lost many friends before, and though he hadn't known Raya for long, he didn't wish to lose another.

They made it to the bottom in about thirty minutes, and Tong turned up not even a minute later. "I counted forty-eight, so that means we've taken out more than a hundred of their men before the battle has even started," Raya told the Chief.

"Let us not celebrate just yet," he cautioned her, to which Tong nodded as well. "The hardest part is yet to come."

"Where are the ladders?" Raya asked.

"Being brought forward as we speak," Tong revealed. "Get into position, count to sixty, and then stop the blizzard," the Chief addressed him. He nodded, and three ladders were dropped in front of them.

Raya and her group of twenty warriors grabbed them and headed for the southern wall of the fortress, and as they closed in, Pengu could swear he heard the sound of a warning bell ringing. A glance at Raya told him he wasn't the only one, either. Their enemy knew they were here, meaning they had time to prepare their defenses. Their plan had originally been to take advantage of the chaos caused from a surprise attack, but now that was less likely to succeed. Getting to the main gates would be harder, but hopefully, it wouldn't be impossible.

Despite the lack of light and the whiteout, Raya seemed to know where she was going. They walked for several minutes before she stopped and motioned for their group to halt. She crouched, and the others followed suit. She nodded at him, and he began counting to sixty in his head.

One…Two…Three…

This was it. In less than a minute, the battle would truly begin. This was his chance to rescue Amba and bring her home.

Eighteen…Nineteen…Twenty…

He noticed several of the warriors shiver from the cold winds, and though Raya tried to hide it, he noticed the cold was finally getting to her, too. He moved forward to act as a windbreak for her, and she looked to him with a nod of thanks, placing her hand on his neck in a show of support.

Forty-three…Forty-four…Forty-five…

He closed his eyes and tried to relax, yet the anticipation of what was to come made it too hard. So, with grim resolve, he tensed his muscles as the last few seconds ticked past.

Fifty-eight…Fifty-nine…Sixty…

He canceled the blizzard, and a few seconds of nerve-racking silence passed by before panicked yells came from the direction of the main gate. He noticed a few of their number grow a bit fidgety as the sound of a loud bang and battle cries came from where the battle had just been joined.

However, Raya still held her fist up as a signal for them to wait. Guards were running along the wall towards the main gate to repel the attacking forces, and within a minute, there was little activity from their side. Raya motioned for them to follow her, and they made it to the walls, docked the ladders, and climbed onto the ramparts without meeting any resistance.

In fact, they climbed down and made their way quietly through the shadows towards the sounds of battle without seeing anyone. They just left what appeared to be a training yard and walked underneath the arch of an interior wall when an iron portcullis slammed down, splitting their group in two. And unfortunately, he and Raya were on opposite sides.

Two groups of enemy soldiers—both with spears and shields—appeared from their hiding places, forcing the groups on both sides to press their backs against the gate. Then, a man wearing custom leather armor with a sword on his back appeared on Raya's side with a victorious smirk. "I have to say: When my spies told me the Princess of Heart planned to attack my operation here, and that she was joined by Pengu, the most respected dragon on Kumandra, I was a bit dubious. Yet here you are. It almost makes the losses I will have taken from this attack worth it."

"I take it that means you're Ronin," came Raya's hostile response. He glanced back momentarily to see that she was in a ready stance as were the rest of the warriors on her side. And though he wished to watch what was about to happen next, he had to keep an eye on the enemies on his side of the gate.

"I see my reputation precedes me," came the smug reply.

"Why are you doing this?" Raya demanded. "Why are you murdering dragons?"

"Murdering?" came the stunned reply. "I'm afraid you have it all wrong, my dear. There's no profit in simply killing dragons. But I recently became aware that several wealthy individuals expressed an interest in possessing a dragon of their own. And being the opportunist that I am, I decided to become the one to provide the dragon."

At that, Pengu turned to face him with a snarl. "You torture and enslave my kind for no other reason than greed!?"

Ronin seemed unmoved. "What other reason is there?" he shrugged, unconcerned.

"You're a monster!" Raya snarled.

"Monster?" he chuckled. "Hardly. I'm but a simple businessman." Just then, a guard whispered something to Ronin, and he nodded at his underling. "One who has other matters to attend to. If you'll excuse me…" he bowed mockingly before walking away. But he stopped after a few steps. "Do what you can to keep the dragon alive," he addressed his men. "He's worth a rather sizable fortune, after all. Dispose of the rest."

Raya growled in pure anger at the retreating form of their new adversary while the enemy troops on both sides began to close in. Pengu looked around almost frantically, trying to find a way out of this predicament, when his gaze was drawn to a small hole on Raya's side of the wall. A cauldron sat on top of the wall between the hole and the edge of the wall and was tilted ever-so-slightly towards the edge of the wall…right where the enemy stood. Next, he noticed a torch on the wall right next to Raya.

Hoping beyond hope that the cauldron was actually full of what he thought it was, he called out, "Raya! Look up!"

Without questioning, she did so, and her gaze landed on the same thing his had. Sensing their imminent doom, the enemy troops rushed them on both sides, but Raya was quicker. She launched the mechanism built into her sword, striking the cauldron's release lever, and spilled its contents onto the charging enemy. Raya grabbed the torch and threw it onto the oil, igniting it, and resigning those caught within the flames to a gruesome end.

Pengu's attention was brought back to the troops on his side now that Raya's side was taken care of and ducked just in time to dodge a spear that would have hit its mark. "Hold them off; I'm on my way!" Raya called. The Spine warriors on his side of the portcullis held their shields up and braced against the onslaught of incoming enemies.

Pengu watched, pressed as close to the portcullis as he could, helpless to intervene. And just when he thought it was over, the portcullis started to rise. Raya and several of the warriors that had been on her side jumped off the wall behind the enemy troops, and just like that, the tides had turned. Now under assault from both sides, they quickly crumbled, and within a couple of minutes, every enemy lie slain.

The blood of the fallen soaked the muddy ground, and Pengu grimaced in disgust, doing his best to shake his paws clean. "Come on! We need to get to the main gates, now!" Though they had lost a few of their own, they still had a job to do. If they didn't open the main gates soon, Tong's group might not make it.

They all but sprinted towards the sounds of battle, and once their destination came in sight, Raya wasted no time in jumping into the fray. The Spine Warriors followed suit, and with their unexpected attack from behind, they took advantage of the soldiers' momentary panic to take out a good chunk of the center of their line. "Pengu! The gate!" he heard Raya yell out.

He looked to the gate and saw that it was secured by a large wooden bar. Once that was gone, he could open it from the inside, letting their troops in. The only problem would be getting there, but fortunately, he had yet another trick to show off. There was still a light snow falling, and he happened to be one of the few dragons who knew how to run on snow.

With a mighty leap and a few more bounds between snowflakes, he launched himself over the enemy line. He shoved the bar off and immediately ducked as an arrow embedded itself in the wood right where his head had been. Seeing what was happening, many of the enemy troops abandoned their fight with Raya's group in favor of attacking him and resecuring the gate.

However, it was at that moment when another strike from the battering ram hit the gate, throwing it open, and Spine's warriors flooded through the opening without pause. And Tong was front and center, a furious battle-cry announcing his arrival. "Secure the walls!" he ordered, and a contingent of warriors went to do just that. "The rest of you, press forward! Show them the fury of a Spine warrior!"

Knowing they were doomed if they continued to fight here, the enemy troops routed and fell back to a more defensible position: the keep. Those that had killed the enemy archers on the walls took up their bows and rained fire upon the retreating enemy, killing a large number of them.

As the enemy retreated, shouts of victory rang out, but Raya's voice cut through them. "This isn't over yet! We still have to secure the keep!"

Tong nodded and motioned for his troops to form up, and they slowly marched up to the keep. Pengu followed from behind, not knowing what else to do other than to keep his head down like Raya asked him to earlier.

However, as they entered the keep's courtyard, something caught his eye, though he couldn't tell what it was from this distance. The column halted upon Tong's command, and he saw Raya step forward. She looked behind her and motioned for him to join her.

He did. And what he saw shook him to his core. There were three cages immediately in front of them, and the dragons within looked half-starved and feral. He could see no intelligence left in the eyes, only a desire to kill. They kept slamming their bodies against the cage gates to try and get to them, but that wasn't the worst part. Several more dragons lie dead in a pile on one side of the yard.

They heard a door open somewhere, and Pengu growled in pure hatred when he located the source. Standing atop a balcony overlooking the courtyard was Ronin, his hands clasped behind his back. "I took the opportunity to relocate most of my merchandise, but as you can see, I had to liquidate the rest upon your arrival," he said.

They saw Ronin nod, and the portcullis that separated the Keep's courtyard from the rest of the fortress slammed shut. Pengu, Raya, Tong, and ten other warriors became cut off from the rest of their forces as the remaining enemy troops came out of hiding and engaged their army from the rear. "And what purpose did that serve?" Raya questioned him. "You just separated yourself from your troops."

"And yet you are the ones trapped," he returned, smirking victoriously. Then, his smirk fell, and he called out, "Open the cages!" A loud, metallic clank rang out, and the doors of the three cages started to open, the feral dragons within doing all they could to squeeze out as quickly as possible. The others began backing away nervously, and even Raya seemed fidgety. "I've decided to return these three to you," Ronin declared. "Though I should warn you: they are a bit bitey." He chuckled. "And with that, I take my leave." He reentered the keep just as the cage doors became wide enough for them to squeeze through.

They launched forward but stopped several meters away and began pacing back and forth, studying them, trying to decide who to kill first. "Subdue them," Raya ordered. "Don't kill if you don't have to."

"No," he argued, and everyone turned to him in stunned surprise. "I know not what horrors they faced, but their minds are gone. If you wish to save them from further torment, end their suffering."

Before they had a chance to ponder his words, the three feral dragons roared their challenge and sprung forward to attack. Two lunged for the warriors on either side of their small line, and the third lunged straight for Raya. Pengu didn't hesitate to tackle that one and sink his teeth into her neck.

He vaguely heard screams of pain over the feral dragoness' furious and pained growls, but he couldn't focus on that right now. He was bigger, and she was half-starved, so he pinned her easily, breaking her neck with an audible crack.

He looked up to see five of their number dead or wounded, and Tong and Raya finishing the other two. No one spoke, expressions of pain and sadness at the deed they were forced to commit. He was likewise sickened by what he was forced to do. Not only was he forced to kill, something he absolutely detested, he was forced to kill one of his own.

Victorious shouts came from the other side of the portcullis, and he looked to see that their forces had also been victorious. "We are victorious," Tong said grimly, "But the cost was high." The Spine Chief knelt beside the body of the dragon he had killed and bowed his head. "We were too late to save them."

Pengu glanced at Raya and noticed she was on the verge of tears. How hard must it be? To be considered Kumandra's Dragon Protector and be forced to kill one…

He recognized the one she had killed, too. It was Zaran, the other dragon Amba had left with. But if he was here…

Keeping a lid on his panic, he rushed over to the pile of dead dragons, every single one—including the three they were forced to kill—had their horns cut off, and looked at each of them in turn. Most of them he didn't recognize, and the one he did wasn't the one he was searching for. He breathed a sigh of relief, though he also began to despair.

If Amba wasn't here, where was she?

AN: And the main antagonist reveals himself at last. Ronin is heavily inspired by Viggo Grimborn, an antagonist from the HTTYD series Race to the Edge. However, the two aren't carbon copies. There will be differences, and this is not a crossover. The next chapter will focus on the aftermath of this battle, so...

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22