Author's note: Sorry, sorry, sorry. I know it's been a while and I don't have an excuse, please accept my apologies and this chapter as compensation for the wait. Hope you enjoy! Italics are for Valka, Bold italics are Astrid
Narrator's perspective
The dragons kept coming in waves, each lasting for about a minute and containing 50 dragons at most. The roared out over the landscape as they all headed in the same direction, and it didn't seem like the flow of reptiles would stop. All species as well. Valka pointed out a group of Nadders and Gronkles flying by, then looked back to see where they were coming from.
"We should follow them, they might be headed into a trap." Valka said, Eret's steely face nodded back.
"Astrid, how good are you at flying? Surely Hiccup must've taught you something." Valka turned back to the girl.
"I mean, like, he told me how to glide, and I managed to take off and fly a hundred metres or so." She looked down and held one arm in the other.
"We might be flying hundreds of kilometres. You better stay on my back. Eret, you're staying here and making sure Hiccup is ok." He groaned and plunked down on his bed.
"I could be useful to you!" He tried to plead his case. Valka turned around and shot him a glare. He sunk away, like a reprimanded child.
The women walked outside, the dragons' roars' quite deafening. Valka ran away from the bunker, jumping into the air. A bright light emanated from her for a few seconds, Astrid shielded her eyes, the light fading away. When she looked back, the large face of a Stormcutter filled her field-of-view. It was maybe 10 metres long, the tail being a large proportion of its length. The scales were beige with blue and orange highlights around the edges of its wings and horns. Astrid took a step back as the beast raised said wings. They split apart, a smaller set of wings now underneath.
Eret watched from the window of the bunker with his shaking head in his hand. "She's such a show off."
The Stormcutter crooned at the girl, its inky black eyes starring at her. It crooned at her again.
Well, get on. Astrid heard at the back of her mind. Wait,she thought, since when could I understand dragons?
Don't worry dearie, you can only understand people of the same descendant line, she heard it coming from the Stormcutter. Valka?
Who else? The dragon lady seemed to be getting a bit agitated by the questions. Just get on and we can follow the other dragons. Valka lowered one of her wings, allowing Astrid to climb up it and onto her back. Hold on tight!
Valka raised her wings and pushed them down hard. Dust flew away from them as they took off. The ground dropped away from them, Astrid nervously peering over the side. She saw the lack of nearby ground and held onto Valka's scales. Ow, not so tight. I need to keep these scales and they're very painful to regrow. Astrid muttered an apology, loosening her hold a bit, but still weary of their height.
It's ok, you're not going to fall. You told me you can glide, so what's to worry about. If you do fall, which you won't, use your wings like parachutes and aim for something softer than hard rock. This didn't exactly reassure her.
Heights aren't exactly my thing. The highest I've flown was with Hiccup over Berk and the forest.
They'd caught up with a pack of Changewings and were flying next to them, luckily none of them seemed to be in an aggressive mood today or Astrid and Valka would have trouble. Astrid peered into the fog ahead, just seeing the stragglers from the group in front of theirs. She turned back and saw the next group of dragons behind them. None of them seemed to be aggressive or concerned about the sudden mass migration. She turned to observe some Changewings in her group. Their eyes seemed glazed over, tongues poking out of the sides of their mouths.
Valka seemed to have noticed their trance-like state as well. Her head kept flicking over to them, wide eyes dating around. She returned her vision forward, still following the dragons. The fog made it hard for her to see, but she could tell they were nearing the coast. The sound of waves crashing against the rocky beaches and cliffs was beginning to become audio, the potent salt and seaweed smell entering the nostrils.
Then Valka stopped flying. Her body shivered, head twitching around, pupils narrowing. "Valka! Valka! Can you hear me?!" Astrid shouted at the dragon carrying her. She gabbed onto one of Valka's horns and began shaking it violently. Valka's pupils widened, body stabilising in the air.
What was that?
Sorry, don't know what came over me
They flew down to the ground. Astrid hoped off Valka's back, landing on the red sand. Valka turned back to human form, head held in hand.
"Valka, you ok? What was that back there?" Astrid placed a hand on her back and helped her sit down.
"I don't know, but I could feel something pulling me in, like it was trying to control me. That's what must be attracting the dragons. It was telling me to forget everything else and come join it. Uh." She pressed her hand to her forehead. Astrid looked up, more dragons flying over, all in the same trance-like state. The hills and fog made it impossible for her to see just how many more dragons were coming. She sat back down next to Valka, who had pulled a flask out of her riding jacket and was chugging it down eagerly.
"Can never get enough of that stuff." Valka said absentmindedly, placing the flask back in her clothing. "Right, now to business." She stood up and gabbed a stick, beginning to sketch something in the sand. "This is the coast," She drew a long wavy line, "I've only been up this far once, and from what I remember it's pretty much all cliffs and caves. Then here is our base," She put a dot in the sand a couple of metres below the squiggly line, "About 250 kilometres away from the ocean. Now we saw the dragons out of our front window, which faces East. And judging from how we couldn't see where they were coming from over the horizon, I'd say the mass migration came from down here." Valka drew a large circle in the ground further below the dot. "And there is only one thing that I can think of that can attract that many dragons over such a large distance, and pleading to all the gods I hope it isn't that."
"Well, there's only one way to find out." Astrid said while examining the rough drawing.
They continued to fly with the packs of dragons, reaching the coast quickly. The ocean was rough, peaks of white dusting the tops of the deep blue waves. It extended as far as the eye could see in all directions, except for the one they came from. The rocky limestone cliffs plunged down below the waves, crabs getting swept on and off of the rocks. There was a cove along the bottom of the cliffs, maybe two kilometres to their left, where the impenetrable wall of rock slopped down, allowing pedestrian access to the small sliver of beach. But for such a majestic place, the only visible life was the occasional crab and the hundreds of dragons filling the air. But nothing else. What was attracting them?
"Uh, how could my suspicions be wrong?! What else could get all these dragons here?!" Valka shouted as she sat down and hung her legs over the edge of the cliff. Astrid gazed up at the dragons. None of them had the glazed over eyes or the dull expression. They all seemed rather confused. They flew around in circles, as if they were wondering how they got there in the first place. The odd call was heard from the huge group of dragons, like they were asking each other if they knew what was happening.
There was also not much consistency in the species of dragons making up the huge group. Astrid saw a couple of Whispering Deaths, a Thunderdrum, several Scauldrons, the group of Changewings they flew most of the way with and even a Skrill, plus your common Hideous Zipplebacks, Monstrous Nightmares, Gronkles and Deadly Nadders.
Valka turned towards the flock when Astrid pointed out said Skrill.
"Valka, do you know if dragons can communicate with other dragons?" Astrid asked.
"They definitely have the ability to communicate, whether that be sounds to get other dragons' attention or an actual language I don't kn…"
A thundering sound rolled in from the ocean. The sound loud and deep, but piecing the eyes of those who heard it. The ground started to vibrate beneath them, movements spaced apart like foot-steps. All eyes turned to the ocean, only the waves showing. Another roar rolled in, the waves visibly reacting. They dragons lowered their altitude, hovering above the ground. They all seemed to be quivering with fear, eyes wide open.
"What was that?" Astrid kept her body low with her arms out in an effort to stabilise herself.
"I think I know, but gods strike me down if I speak it, should it become true." Valka whispered back, keeping her eyes on the ocean. Another roar rushed in, the air moving with it. Their eyes flicked up the dragons, all the reptiles' pupils narrowing. They straightened up their erratic flight path, all turning in the same direction.
"Uh." Valka collapsed onto one knee, hands pressed to head. "It's real, and it's coming. Astrid we need to leave, now!"
As soon as she said it, a sonic boom reached them. A few kilometres out, the water erupted like volcano. It shot hundreds of metres high, mist forming around the base of whatever it was. A grey and black spiny head breached the surface. It was huge. The spines covered its head, two eyes miniscule compared to the rest of the head. And from its face two giant horns protruded, metal bands attached around them.
"Astrid, that's what I'm afraid of. We need to leave, NOW!" Valka shouted at the girl before transforming into a Stormcutter. Astrid sprinted over, climbing up a wing and sitting on her back. They took to the skies, Valka calling out to the other dragons, telling them to leave.
"FIRE!" A voice called out below.
Then there was chaos.
The dragons trance was broken, each of them flying randomly, trying to find a way out of the flock. Small explosions were heard from behind rocks and from below the edge of the cliffs. Roman style ballistae appeared all around them, nets flying through the air and entrapping any dragon that crossed its path. The rumbling of an engine was heard. A tank like vehicle appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. The canon fired large nets in quick succession, each catching three or more dragons. Two modified machines guns on top began firing. Little pink objects stuck into the side of many dragons, each falling with a thud.
Valka, what out for the tranqs!
Valka turned in the direction of the tank, but not fast enough. A dart hit her side. Her eyes began drooping and her wings started moving slower. Then they fell.
Valka! Wake up!
She didn't respond.
A net hit them, Astrid strapped to Valka's falling dragon body. Astrid ignited her hands, burning through the rope holding her quickly. They were nearing the ground fast. She jumped off Valka and extended her wings.
"Aim for something soft Astrid." She tried to calm herself.
Her gliding was shaky, tail whipping around her back, throwing her balance off. The wind from another roar hit her wings, collapsing one beneath her.
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!" She pulled her wings over her head as she crashed into some long grass. The panicked roars of dragons were fuzzy as she stumbled to her feet. Her vision was hazy, barely making out the last of the dragons falling to the ground. She stumbled backwards, body slumping against a rock.
Just before she blacked out a final through ran through her head.
They had Valka.
Author's note: I hope this chapter makes up for my lack of uploading in a timely manner. But truth be told this chapter was rather tedious to write. I'll usually write the first couple hundred words one weekend, then the next weekend I'll finish it off. But this chapter was spread over more weeks than usual. I don't know why but I found it to be a hard one to get done. Anyway, thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, much appreciated. And a special thanks to Twilight Sparkle for your hilarious reviews. Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter! Please review and tell me what you think.