Chapter Fifteen:
The battle outside was a mess.
Jack managed to dismiss the snow monsters, but the Nightmares had switched sides - sensing that the only darkling left was the Bear Queen herself.
Merida stood in the center of the carnage, fighting off anything that came near her. Mor'du stayed close, creating a barrier that stopped anyone from getting close.
Anyone but Hiccup and Toothless at least.
North and Tooth tried to fly down and attack her, but kept getting distracted by wisps that appeared in their faces and sent them crashing to the ground. Nightmares - now in the shapes of bears and dragons as well as horses - crashed through walls and into the guardians, knocking them around like ragdolls.
Only Sandy seemed to have the upper hand against them, but he could be easily overrun at any moment. Rapunzel gave Jack's hand a quick squeeze before rushing off to help him, conjuring vines that crushed the nightmares while the winter spirit flew up into the air to help Hiccup with the dragons.
Sandy smiled and tipped a dreamsand hat to the spring spirit, who forced a giant flower to swallow a nightmare dragon. Rapunzel yelled as she yanked more vines out of the earth, watching as Sandy's dreamsand whips connected with Nightmares and explosions of golden sand rained around them.
Meanwhile, Tooth and Bunny fought back to back, one in the sky and the other on the ground. North looped above them in the sleigh, swords out as he battled Nightmares.
Bunny yelled and leapt into the air, slashing a passing Nightmare with his boomerangs. As Tooth zipped past him, he tossed his other one into the air, where the fairy caught it and spun into a roll towards another Nightmare.
North yanked on the reins, pulling the sleigh to a stop behind Bunny and Tooth. As a horde of Nightmares started towards him, North pulled two snowglobes off of his belt and slammed them into the ground - creating two portals.
With a roar, North's most trusted assistants - the yetis - came running out, all ready to fight. North grinned, and kept on swinging his swords.
In the air, Jack and Hiccup found themselves surrounded by nightmare dragons. Hiccup and Toothless worked together - fireballs and wind - to destroy as many as they could, but even Nightfuries had shot limits. Which is where Jack came in, a flying tornado of ice.
"On your left!" Jack cried, throwing himself between Hiccup and a nightmare. He slashed down with his staff, cutting the sandy wings off and sending the nightmare towards the ground in an icy crash.
Hiccup smiled and yanked the winds towards another nightmare. The dragon slammed into two more on its way down, showering the rest of the battlefield in black sand.
Little by little, they all got closer to Merida and Mor'du. The Bear Queen pulled out her sword, fighting anyone who managed to get close. She was a tornado of power, and between Mor'du and the Wisps, none of the guardians were getting near her anytime soon.
"Why is this taking so long?!" Bunny yelled to Hiccup as the dragon rider flew by. "I thought she was powerless!"
"Technically she still is," Hiccup muttered. "She's determined - but if we all go in at once, she can't hold out!"
Zooming past Sandy and Rapunzel, Hiccup yanked on the saddle and Toothless banked upwards. They sped above the battlefield, scanning for everyone.
"Steady bud…" He muttered. "And… there!"
Toothless fired his last shot. The fireball blasted a path through the fighting - right into Mor'du.
The demon bear was destroyed in the blast, leaving behind cinders - and a very angry Bear Queen.
"NOW!" Hiccup yelled, and the guardians, Jack and Rapunzel all converged on Merida.
"NO!" The Bear Queen screamed. Blue lights flared as wisps appeared all over the battlefield, and with a scream, more fires joined.
Fire that originated from Merida, spreading fast on the grass and trees, starting from nothing but her power as the air around them grew uncomfortably hot.
"I thought she didn't have any powers!" Bunny yelled.
"I thought she didn't either…" Hiccup whispered to himself.
Authors note: This chapter feels a little short, but the pacing is worth it for next chapter. It's also something I've just realized, that my chapters get shorter the closer to the end. I think that's just how pacing in books work though, where you want to use smaller chunks of the story.
In other news: I'm finishing Omega Project today! Woo! After I finish posting this and Lionhearted, we'll go into that! Now, what do I start writing next: Sunmoone Saga, New Dreams (my huge modern au!) or go and try to outline something else like the pirate or OUAT au?