Hey yall! I am back! I wanna see if I can be fresh and kick 2019 off on a high point. Here is the next chapter! Please read and leave a response to tell me what you think!
Hiccup, Kassandra, Eret rode their dragons over the Greek coastline, staying well clear of any settlements. Re had to admit, it was a beautiful country. With rolling hills, white beaches, and water as blue as Aurora's scales. It was much warmer here than it was on Berk, there was not a speck of snow in sight. The buildings were very different too. They were all made of stone and had massive columns. There were huge amphitheaters and temples, in addition to the houses. Boats of all sizes and shapes came in and out of the harbors. The dragons were flying high enough to avoid being spotted by the humans.
Suddenly Re roared out in pain and lurched to the side as though he'd been hit with something. Hiccup just barely managed to stay in the saddle. Re stabled himself.
"Re what happened, are you okay?" Hiccup asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Re moaned. "It feels like something but me in the gut." He relaxed. Raeya glanced around for projectiles, but there were none.
"But no one was shooting at us," said Kassandra.
"Ah, yes," Re said, a bit uncomfortably. "That's a bit of an interesting story. It wasn't me who got hit, I just felt it." He glanced up at Skullcrusher. "How much father Skullcrusher?"
"We're almost there your majesty," Skullcrusher replied.
"Thank you," Re responded. He turned his attention back to Raeya and Kassandra.
As they got closer to Athens Re told them about sharing his heart with Chris. He talked about what led to it and how it worked. This naturally launched a wave of questions from Raeya and Kassandra. Re answered their questions, and even showed them the scar on his chest. It helped pass the time until Skullcrusher leaded them to a vast city by the sea.
"So you've really got to be careful," said Raeya. "If you die, he dies."
"Yes," answered Re. "Now, I've got a question. What would Alastair want with Chris and Toothless?" Kassandra thought a moment.
"I'm not sure what he'd do with the dragon," she said. "But Chris would probably be sold as a slave." She grimaced. Re hissed.
"That would explain things," he said. They picked up the pace as they arrived at the walled city of Athens. They stayed out of sight and followed Chris's sent to a large house surrounded by olive trees and farmland. A look of recognition crossed Kassandra's face.
"You know this place?" Re asked.
"It's Alastair's house," said Kassandra.
"Chris's smell is very strong here," said Skullcrusher. "He must have been here for sometime.
However, there's no traces of Toothless." They circled the house. Kassandra spotted a blond woman walking about the yard.
"There, that's Alastair's wife, Lucia," she said. "She'll know where Chris went. I'll go down and interrogate her, you guys wait up here." She flew Raeya down and landed in front of the blond woman. She screamed when the Night Fury landed in front of her. She began barking out questions in greek. Kassandra began talking back at her in greek. Raeya kept growling. The two other dragons continued to circle. A moment later they flew back up to the circling dragons.
"They've been transported to Rome, both of them," Kassandra said. "Lucia said she sold many of her slaves to the Romans, to fight in the Flavian Amphitheater."
"What's that?" Hiccup asked.
"It's a massive arena where Romans go to watch men fight and kill," Kassandra explained. "Either they fight each other, or wild animals to the death."
"I've heard of that," Re said. "It's the ultimate arena of death. I've never seen it of course, but I've heard traveling dragons talk about."
"So it's a fighting arena?" Eret asked.
"A big one, but at least they're in the same place, which makes rescuing them a bit easier."
"We should get going then," Hiccup said. They took off again and headed high above the cloud line, and headed for Rome.
Toothless lay in his cage, in the darkness. He was week with hunger. He was never given any food, and only a small amount of water. It was very dark, and noisy. Toothless could hear animals roaring, cawing, snorting, and crying. He also heard the talking of several humans. He didn't know how long he'd been in this place, but it was starting to dive him into madness. The humans treated him like a wild animal so much, that that was he was becoming. By now, all thoughts of escape had left his head. Right now, he just wanted to survive. Escape was near impossible. He was chained all the time, and muzzled. He also still wore the spiky harness around his wings, to keep him from flying. He couldn't fly anyway without help.
Suddenly a swarm of guards gathered outside the cage. They held chains and blowguns. Toothless was muzzled so he couldn't blast them when they opened the door. Toothless charged at them but the chains around his paws only let him go so far. The guards laughed and looped their chains around his neck. More guards came in and unlatched the chains that were attached to the shackles around his paws from the wall. They began pulling him out the door. He tried fighting, but it was pointless. The guards would jab him with their weapons every time, which hurt a lot. They pulled him into the corridor, steering him with chains and pokes from their spears. One man held a gnarly looking whip that had little pieces of glass and metal tied to it. He cracked it against Toothless's flank. It hurt like the world's worst snakebite. Toothless roared in pain. The guards pulled him down the corridor. He kept getting whipped, and every time it made him boil with rage. That mixed with the pain from the whiplashes made his vision go red and bury, like it was when he fought the Triple Stryke. Only this time there was no Hiccup to snap him out of it.
The guards stuffed him into a small cage, continuing to whip him. His muzzle was removed and the cage door was slammed shut. Then the cage slowly rose up towards the ceiling. When it reached the top a trap door in the ceiling swung open, forming a ramp from the cage, to outside. The cage door opened and Toothless ran up the ramp, and into a vast arena. It was oval shaped with a gated entrance on either side. A massive crowd of people sat in the stands that stood high above the arena. The floor of the arena was covered with sand. The bright hot roman sun beat down on Toothless's back like the heat of a furnace. The whole space reeked of blood and death, and it smelled even worse in the heat.
The instant he ran out and the trap door was closed, about fifteen men surrounded him. They were crying swords and shields, and wore bronze helmets. They all wore a dirty brown tunic and leather sandals. They all ran at him with their weapons raised. Toothless, still blinded by rage and pain, attacked them with claws and teeth and flames. The crowd roared with excitement. Toothless managed to knockout several of the men, without killing them. They defended themselves with their weapons. Each time a sword cut him, it only fueled his rage. He slammed his tail into several of them, knocking them off their feet. He then blasted another, who smacked into the wall behind him and collapsed in heap. The remaining men ran at him. One managed to jump onto his back, and tired to stab his neck. Toothless roared and smacked the man with his tail, then threw him off.
He kept this up until there were only two left. Toothless turned to face them, his whole body tense and ready to attack. However, before he could attack one of the men used his shield to knock out the other one. That man fell over and didn't move. The crowed ooohed at this, sounding surprised and impressed. Toothless ignored them and focused on his last victim. He rushed at the last man, still fueled by pain and raged. He knocked the man over and pinned him down with his powerful paws. Then he opened his mouth to blast the man in the face. The crowed chanted something in unison in their language.
"Toothless!" The man shouted to be heard over the roar of the crowd. "Toothless, it's me Chris." Toothless paused. The voice echoed in his head. It sounded familiar. He closed his mouth but still growled and didn't move. The man raised his hand and gently placed it on Toothless's nose. The contact stirred something in the dragon's memory. He snarled and gnashed his teeth, bit didn't bite.
"Toothless, it's okay I'm here to help you," the man said again. "I can help you get out of here, and find Hiccup." Toothless reacted to the name, stopped growling, and loosened his grip. Chris managed to get out from under his paw. He saw up and looked Toothless in the eye.
"Hiccup," Toothless panted quietly. "I remember a Hiccup."
"Of course you do," Chris said calmly. "He's your best friend. He helps you fly." He slowly got to his feet, ignoring the boos from the crowd. "Hiccup really misses you. And you remember Raeya?"
"Raeya," Toothless repeated, still breathing heavily.
"She misses you too," Chris said. Toothless closed his eyes and shook his head. He backed away from Chris. "Come on Toothless, you can break out of this. You're the strongest dragon I know. You can break free, and you can go back to Hiccup and Raeya."
"How?" Toothless moaned. He flexed his wings, flinching when the spikes poked him. "I can't fly." Chris picked up a nearby sword and used it to break the lock that secured the spiked harness. Chris then carefully pulled the harness off Toothless. The dragon spread his wings with relief. The muscles in his wings were very stiff. He blinked and his vision cleared. Chris used the sword to break shackles on Toothless's paws. Toothless looked at him. Chris looked like he too he'd seen better days. He'd lost weight, his skin was sunburned, and he was covered in bruises. He had bloody scabs on his wrists, indicating shackles.
"Chris?" Toothless said with doubt.
"Yes," Chris confirmed.
"You...you lost your memory."
"I did," Chris said, sadly. He looked Toothless up and down. He was covered in bloody gashes and his ribs could be seen under his skin. His saddle and fin were long gone. He also had sores on his paws from his shackles. "What do you say we get out of here, and find you some help."
Toothless groaned with agreement.
"What's going on down there?" Someone roared angrily. Chris and Toothless turned to see a fat man in a luxurious purple tunic and covered in gold jewelry. He glared down from his special box. The crowd in the stands looked just as angry as he did.
"You," the fat man barked, pointing at Chris. "Stop petting that thing and kill it already. I was promised blood." Toothless roared and shot a plasma blast at the box. The fat man ducked as his box was blasted to bits. Then he boosted Chris onto his back and ran across the arena
"Guards stop them!" The fat man ordered. Toothless ran faster as armed guards rushed into the arena.
"Hang on," Toothless called over his shoulder. "I know a way out." He picked up speed. He shot a plasma blast at the floor of the arena where he remembered the trap door was. The trap door collapsed and crated a gaping hole in the floor. Toothless slipped through it just before the guards reached them. The cage had been lowered back down. There were more guards down here, but not quite as many. Toothless jumped down to the floor below. The guards rushed at them with their weapons raised. Toothless barreled through them, Chris slashed at them with the sword he was still holding, blocking the sleep darts that were fired at them. Toothless ran as fast as he could though the dark corridors, using his sonar to guide him. He soon came out into the large corridor that ran the length of the arena above. Toothless turned and ran towards the exit. They fought their way through more guards. Toothless sped through the exit, and came out into the streets of Rome.
But he didn't stop there. He kept on running. People quickly got out of his way as he ran as far from the Colosseum as he could. Chris held on tight as they sped passed houses, shops, and fountains. They sped passed the Circus Maximus, not even stopping to admire it. Chris spotted a wide river on the other side of the Circus Maximus that seemed to flow out of the city.
"Toothless over there," he said, alerting Toothless to the river. The dragon altered his course and sped towards the river. More people scattered screaming as he galloped passed them.
"Hold your breath!" They both took a deep breath and Toothless jumped into the Tiber River.
Hiccup and the rest of the search party had flown no stop from Greece. Night was falling as they flew over the Roman coastline. The wind was on their side and carried them most of the way. Skullcrusher announced that the trail had gotten much stronger. The sun was well set when Kassandra announced that they had arrived at Rome's capital city.
"That's the Tiber River," she said, pointing to the wide river that ran though the side of the city.
"Where's this Flavian Amphitheater?" Hiccup asked, looked down at the city. Kassandra looked around.
"That's it right there," she said. She pointed to a large circular stadium made of pale gray stone. It was empty now as all the spectators had gone home.
"How are we going to get Toothless and Chris out of a city this size?" Eret wondered aloud.
"Well it's night time," Hiccup said. "So we should have a better shot at searching the place without getting caught."
"And there's no one in that arena now," Re commented. They headed towards the Colosseum using the night as their cover. They landed in the middle of the arena. The instant Skullcrusher landed he sniffed around. The intense smell of blood, sweat, and death hit his nostrils. He roared in discomfort. The other dragons could smell it too.
"Oh, this place smells terrible," Re grimaced, covering his nose.
"I can't pick Chris or Toothless out from these smells," Skullcrusher said. "They're too strong."
"Then let's look around for clues," Hiccup said. The three riders dismounted and they split up.
Raeya searched one end of the arena. Her sensitive ears suddenly picked up on human voices coming form under her feet.
"Guys I hear something underneath us," she pointed out. Everyone went over to her.
"What do you hear?" Re asked. They all fell silent and Raeya listened.
"That black devil completely humiliated me," barked an angry voice. "It blew up my spectator box, then it got away with that slave. You gave that thing to the arena, so I blame you two."
"We'll find it and the slave your grace," said another voice. "The dragon can't fly, so it should be
easy."
"Good!" the first voice yelled. "You get that thing, and the slave, or I'll through both of you into the fights."
"Yes your grace," a third voice said. They dragons and riders looked at each other.
"It sounds like Toothless and Chris escaped," Raeya deduced. "There's not many black dragons I know that can't fly."
"If they escaped, where did they go?" Hiccup questioned.
"Why don't we get out of here and look for them," Re suggested. "I can't stand the smell anymore." The riders agreed and got back on their dragons. They took off and headed away from the Colosseum. They circled the city. Skullcrusher sniffed the air again.
"I've got them again," he said. He sped off and the others followed him. He led them over the streets, the Circus Maximus, until he stopped at the river bank as there was nothing left to follow.
"So they swam away," Re said. He sounded relieved. They turned and followed the river. "Try calling to Toothless," Re suggested to Hiccup. "He might be able to hear you."
"Right," Hiccup said. He cupped his hands around his mouth and let out his Night Fury call.
Raeya whined a bit at the sound. They paused and waited. A moment later they were welcomed with the sound of a Night Fury's roar. It seemed to becoming from the hills near the river, well away from the city. Hiccup steered Re in that direction, and the others followed.
Back in the Archipelago Tenor and Windwalker woke up from their night on their special island. Tenor sat up and yawned. Windwalker followed suit.
"Good morning," she groaned as she nuzzled against his neck. "We should head back to Berk. Black Widow's probably wondering where we are."
"I agree," Tenor said. He got to his feet and stretched. Windwalker got up and licked a small scratch on her paw. Tenor looked her up and down. She had several cuts and bruises all along her body. Then he looked at himself. He had cuts and bruises too, and some bite marks. They weren't too bad, both dragons had suffered far worse injuries. Windwalker caught the expression on his face.
"Don't feel guilty Tenor," she whined. "It's not like I've never been bitten and scratched before."
"Well you've never been bitten by me," Tenor pointed out. "I'd never be able to live with myself if I ever did." He took a deep breath and relaxed. Windwalker nibbled along his jawline slowly.
"I don't think Serenity will have too big of a heart attack over this," she said as she gave loving tugs on his ear flaps, causing her mate to groan with delight
.
"Nope, it's probably what she's expecting," Tenor said thoughtfully. He nuzzled her back and growled pleasurably. He reciprocated the biting and slowly covered her with a wing. She naturally pressed back and turned to lick at his chest, causing him to shiver and rumble deeply. He leaned against her and covered her more with his body. "...mmmhm...careful now. We don't wanna repeat what happened last night, do we?" He chuckled as he insinuated towards the mating that ensued after their fight.
"I don't know...do we?" Windwalker teased as she looked up at her mate with a glint in her eye. He stared down as he picked up on her words and body language. He gave a short growl and soon the two gave into their instincts once more. All kinds of noises were uttered as passion filled the morning once more before an hour later, they laid spent on their backs adjacent to one another. They both were panting and heavily with exhaustion.
"Wow..." Windwalker exhaled with a dreamy sigh.
"Yeah...wow..." Tenor added as he reached over and firmly yet gently pulled his mate closer to him. Windwalker wiggled over and spooned against him, warbling in approval as she entwined their tails and she buried her face against him. Tenor was not shy to reciprocate. Another hour or so went by as they used the time to recharge and groom one another. Soon, they spread their wings and took off, heading back towards Berk.
"You think Re and those guys are back yet?" Windwalker asked.
"I doubt it," Tenor said. "Rome is a good several days of hard flying away." Windwalker's face fell. "But they will be back, I can guarantee that." He gave her an encouraging smile, which she returned. They sped up and raced back towards Berk.
When they got there they found Serenity sitting under the apple tree. She was reading a book, and looked extremely sad. Edelweiss and the three dragonets were asleep in a huddle near the house. Aurora was nowhere in sight. Serenity looked up from her book when the two nightly dragons landed. She looked relieved, but didn't smile.
"You're back," she said. She marked her place in the book and closed it. "You've been gone all night."
"We were making amends," Tenor said. "It started a bit rough." He gestured to the cuts and bruises on the two of them. "But we're okay." He added as he leaned against his mate.
"It's good to see you guys back together," Serenity said. Her eyes weren't focused, as though she was deep in thought. Windwalker turned her attention to the sleeping children. She looked down at Black Widow.
"How are these guys doing?" She asked.
"They're fine," Serenity said. "No major injuries. They're pretty shaken though, they never leave the hospital." Windwalker nudged Black Widow. She woke up and glanced around with fear in her eyes. But she saw her mother, she looked so happy.
"Mama!" She cried. She jumped to her feet wormed into Windwalker's embrace. Windwalker purred and nuzzled her closer.
"Are you okay Black Widow?" She asked with worry in her tone, "Iheard what happened."
"I'm okay Mama," Black Widow said. "Those Night Furies were so scary." She leaned in closer. Windwalker felt her trembling and licked her gently to comfort her.
"You're safe now," she cooed. "I'm sorry that happened you." Black Widow relaxed and the trembling stopped. Tenor looked over at Serenity. She had gone back to looking at her book.
"Are you okay?" He asked. "You don't look very happy."
"I'm fine," Serenity said, without looking up. "I've just got a lot on my mind." Tenor went over to her.
"You're still upset about what Chris said to you huh?" He said quietly. Windwalker looked over at them.
"Why what'd he say to you?" She asked. Serenity took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair.
"He said I cry too much over every little thing that goes wrong," she said. "He said I'm too fragile and delicate to be around dragons." She sniffed and rubbed her eyes. "And I can't keep using my past an excuse to get upset over every thing that goes wrong. I don't know what to do." She let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. She looked back at her book. The two nightly dragons exchanged a glance.
"Well you get pretty stressed out when we fight," Windwalker said. "But fighting is a stressful thing. It stresses me out."
"But you don't go crying about it," Serenity said. "You deal with it like an adult." She sighed. "You're way stronger than me. You all are."
"It's because Chris lost his memory and doesn't remember how strong a person you really are." Tenor nudged her.
"I know," Serenity said. "But he's still right. I'm too weak for this world, and no one wants someone like that." Windwalker frowned. She whispered something in Black Widow's ear. The dragonet looked up at her. Windwalker gave her an encouraging nudge. Black Widow hesitated then flew off and headed for the village below. Windwalker went over and nuzzled Serenity's cheek.
"Serenity, you are not weak," she said sternly but gently. "Just because you get emotional over a bad situation, doesn't mean you're weak. Chris has no idea what he's talking about. It's the amnesia talking, not the real him. You save his life. You saw him with a life threatening head wound and you didn't cry then. You gritted your teeth and patched him up, and you made him better. I was the one who was crying. You are way stronger then he thinks." Serenity hugged the dragon's head.
"Thanks," she said. Windwalker glanced at the book Serenity was reading; It was a book on Rome.
"You must really miss him."
"I do," said Serenity. "I still love him, even if he doesn't love me right now. And I wish I could be helping him. It kills me to be left behind."
"Then lets go after them," Tenor suggested. Both Serenity and Windwalker looked at him.
"Fly all the way to Rome," Serenity said. Tenor shrugged.
"Sure," he said. "We can get there. And I'll bet they will need a healer at some point. You've been to Rome before haven't you?"
"I have," said Serenity. "Years ago, and I've never been inside any of the cities. But I do know the basic geography of it." She and Windwalker looked at each other.
"It sounds like a good idea," Windwalker nodded. "I'm pretty worried about Chris too, and Toothless." Serenity closed the book.
"I'll get my stuff," she said. "And we should tell Aurora too."
"Where is she?" Tenor asked.
"She's down in the village," said Serenity. "She's filling in for Toothless." She went into the house to get her bag before saddling up both dragons. She put her medical bag on the back of Tenor's saddle. She then packed her tent, sleeping roll, and folding chair sequentially as well as filling her saddle bags with plenty of food, water, and other gear she'd need. Black Widow came back, with Aurora in tow. The queen spotted the two saddled dragons.
"Where are you lot off too?" She asked.
"We are going to Rome to help the others." Tenor responded
"They may need a healer at some point and Serenity is the best there is." Windwalker added. Aurora nodded in agreement.
"Yes, that does make sense. Perhaps you can take one of Toothless's spare tail fins. They might need that too."
Black Widow went up to her mother. "I want to go with you," she whined. Windwalker nuzzled her.
"No, you need to stay here," she said. "Your friends need you." Black Widow burst into tears. "Please don't go away again Mama," she begged. Windwalker pulled her dragonet close and purred.
"We will come back to you," she said. "I promise. I'm not leaving you for good." Black Widow leaned into her mother. "I feel safer when you're here," she admitted.
"I know you do," Windwalker began. "But we have to go help Chris and Toothless. They're in more danger than you are. You'll be just fine." She licked Black Widow comfortingly. "I love you Black Widow, I love you so much."
"I love you too Mama," said Black Widow. She stepped back and turned to Tenor and rubbed against his legs. Tenor nuzzled her. "Please don't stay too long Daddy." She said.
"No, we'll be back in a flash with our captured friends in tow."
Black Widow sighed and went to stand beside Aurora.
"You going to be okay?" Serenity asked. "Looking after these four, and filling in for Toothless all by yourself?"
"It's part of my job. I'll be fine." Aurora shrugged genuinely. Serenity put her book on Rome into her saddlebags, then put on her hat, and mounted Tenor. Aurora laid down beside Edelweiss and the dragonets. The two nightly dragons took off. They stopped at Hiccup's house and got Toothless's spare saddle and one of his spare tail fins before Serenity put them in Windwalker's saddlebag, then got back on Tenor. With everything set they took off and headed southeast towards Rome.
Ahead of them, back in Rome, Hiccup flew Re towards the spot where he'd heard his dragon. The others were right behind him. They flew low over the riverbank. Hiccup kept using his dragon call, and Toothless responded every time. He sounded very close. Suddenly a plasma blast was shot into the sky. Hiccup steered Re towards the source. They found Toothless and Chris hiding in a grove of trees not far from the river. They both looked up when the three dragons landed, and the three riders dismounted. Toothless ran up to them excitedly. He tackled Hiccup to the ground and licked his face happily.
"It's good to see you too Bud," Hiccup laughed. "You didn't think I'd let you get away that easily did you." Toothless barked a laugh and let Hiccup get to his feet. Hiccup now saw Toothless's condition and his laughter faded. "Oh Toothless, what did they do to you?" He said sadly. He examined the wounds all over Toothless's body. They looked deep and painful, and many of them were still bleeding. Toothless nudged him reassuringly.
"He was being forced to fight in the arena," Chris said. "They abused him so much it drove him mad. But I helped him come round, and broke him out of his restraints. Then he got both of us out that arena, and we escaped into that river. I cleaned him up best I could, but I couldn't do much." He turned to Re, who was smiling at him. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you guys." He threw his arms around Re's neck. Re was surprised for a moment, but then returned the hug. He wrapped his wings around Chris and rumbled with relief.
"I'm glad you're okay," he said softly. Chris buried his face into Re's chest, and listened to the dragon's strong heartbeat. Re leaned down, arcing his long neck before resting it gently on Chris's shoulder. Re could feel his son visibly relax upon the gesture. They separated after a few moments and shared a warm smile with each other. Raeya slowly approached Toothless once he separated from his human.
"Are you okay?" She asked, looking at his injuries.
"I'm fine now," Toothless responded. "Serenity will fix me up when we get back to Berk."
"Serenity, why her?" Chris asked. Everyone sighed. "All she does is cry and complain."
"She's a healer," Re reminded him. "The best we have. My big question is, how we're going to get back to Berk since Toothless can't fly."
"Can we work that out after we get some sleep?" Kassandra asked, yawning. "I'm beat." They all looked at each other.
"Fair enough," Hiccup said. They all headed back into the grove of trees. The riders curled up on the grass next to their respective dragons. They fell asleep in minutes.
The next day they woke up to grey clouds and dim sunlight. They got up and stretched their tired limbs. Toothless ached all over. He groaned as he got to his feet. With this new light they could see the full extent of his injuries. He also looked very thin, as though he hadn't eaten in a while. Raeya looked at him sadly.
"I'll go see if I can find us some food," Re offered. He took off and flew towards the river. They others followed him on foot. Toothless limped with every step. Both Raeya and Hiccup walked beside him in case he fell. They made it to the river a few minutes later. Re soared overhead looking for fish. Toothless laid down when it hurt too much to walk. Hiccup gave him water, which restored his energy. Suddenly there came a wizzing sound and everyone felt a sharp prick on the back of their necks. They wobbled and fell down unconscious. Chris whipped around to see Alastair and Gallus approaching them with a massive army. Another sleeping dart hit Chris in the neck, knocking him out as he crumbled to the ground. Alastair was watching Re flying overhead at the time, and be came quite interested when the green dragon roared in pain as Chris got shot in the neck. The dragon suddenly fell towards the ground as Chris fell over unconscious.
"Traitors, intruders, and escapees all in one morning," Gallus said. "This must be our lucky day."
"And it appears that what ever happens to this slave," Alastair said, nudging Chris's head with the toe of his boot. "Affects that big green beast. This could work to our advantage." He turned to the army behind him. "Cease them, and go retrieve that big one out there." The army proceeded to follow said instructions.
Tenor, Windwalker, and Serenity flew towards Rome nonstop. They flew high above the cloud line to avoid being seen, and so Tenor could get his bearings using the stars. They'd been flying for about three days. Serenity had been on long trips like this before, and was quite used to it. The flight was going smoothly besides that. They all told stories of when they were younger to pass the time as well as current topics; Serenity discussed her previous travels, Windwalker retold her war stories, and Tenor talked about his life before Re, Aurora, and him ran their kingdom.
"So do you think you'll keep on traveling?" Windwalker asked, as they flew over the Mediterranean Sea. "Even after Avalon becomes queen?"
"I'd sure like too," Serenity said. "There's still so many places I haven't been."
"And you'll still be a healer?" Windwalker asked.
"Of course," said Serenity. "I'll never give up healing. Since I don't fight, it's the only way I can be useful." She looked at the two nightly dragons. "What will you guys do?" They looked at each other.
"We plan on going back to Mt. Vulcan," Windwalker thought, "I think Tenor wants to move his observatory out there. But I don't know. If there is anything I know about life, it's that it always surprises you."
"It'll be fun," Tenor jumped in. "Perhaps you can come live with us Serenity. You and Chris...I mean, us 4 seem to come in pairs: You and Chris are mates, so are Windwalker and I, Chris is Windwalker's rider, you are my rider, etc. We never seem to have one without another." Serenity smiled.
"Yeah," Windwalker agreed. "I don't think you're too fragile or delicate to live with dragons."
Tenor glanced over his wing at his rider. "I don't think so either." Serenity blushed and scratched him behind his ears. He purred at her touch.
"I hope Chris gets his memory back," Serenity said. "So he'll remember how much I love him."
"He will. It may take a long time, but he will remember. So don't give up on him. He needs you the most right now and he does not know it." Windwalker explained.
"I won't," Serenity said. She glanced ahead and spotted a wall of storm clouds heading towards them. "Storm ahead." She could hear the clap of thunder.
"We can get through it," Tenor grunted. "It's the fastest way." Windwalker nodded in agreement.
They headed into the storm. They stayed close to each other, using their sonar to guide them and to communicate. It grew dark and windy. Serenity pulled a rope out of her saddlebag and tied herself to the saddle, so she wouldn't get blown off. The rain fell so hard that it was getting hard to see, but they kept pressing forward. Lightening struck all around them, followed by loud thunder. Both dragons kept their senses sharp. They flew well out of the ocean's reach, but they still got drenched by rain. Windwalker pulled slightly ahead of Tenor so she could stay in his sight. They could faintly see a small row of mountains through the rain ahead. They headed for it, battling the wind and hounding rain. All of a sudden a bolt of lightening flashed out of the sky and struck Windwalker right on her back spins. It covered her whole body, lighting her up like a Skrill. Then next second, she vanished with a roar of surprise.
"Windwalker!" Tenor cried, panicking. "Where are you? Can you hear me?"
"I can here you, I'm okay," came Windwalker's voice. However neither Tenor nor Serenity could see her.
"Where are you?" Serenity called. "We can hear you but we can't see you." A moment later Windwalker suddenly rematerialized in front of them. She flew strait for a moment, then fell towards the sea. Tenor swooped after her and managed to catch her tail in his talons.
He groaned under her weight. They began to descend rapidly towards the land below. He pumped his wings to remain airborne."I need to find a place to set her down," he called out. Serenity looked around trying to see through the rain.
"There, I can see a mountain right over there," she pointed. She steered Tenor towards the dark mountain that loomed at her through the dense rain. She steered them towards the very top where she could see a large opening. It wouldn't keep them out of the rain, but it would have to do for now. Tenor flew into it and set Windwalker down, then landed. Serenity dismounted and ran over to the other black dragon.
"Are you okay?" She asked. "What happened?" Windwalker sat up, looking a bit dazed.
"I'm not hurt...I don't...know what happened. The lighting hit me, but it didn't hurt. I just disappeared, but I could see you guys still." She took a minuet to catch her breath.
"So the lightning turned you invisible?" Tenor tiled his head in confusion. "Instead of hurting you."
"Yeah, I can't explain it," Windwalker answered. "But that's what happened." She glanced up at the storm. "When this rain stops I'll go back out there and see if I can make it happen again." She made herself comfortable. The ground felt so warm that she didn't need to heat it up. Tenor laid down beside her.
"Are there any other surprises I should know about?" He asked, sounding amused.
"If there are, you'll be the first to know," Windwalker smiled. She laid her head on Tenor's shoulder, which prompted Tenor to rest his head atop hers. Serenity sat next to them.
"Maybe you'll be able to do that too Tenor," she said. Tenor suddenly looked doubtful.
"I don't think so," he said. "I'm only half Night Fury."
"You should try it anyway...just to find out. But lets get some rest first." Windwalker encouraged
Serenity yawned and laid down beside the dragons on the warm rocks. Windwalker covered her with her wing, to keep the rain off her. They fell asleep.
Back on Berk, Astrid flew Stormfly in circles over the village. They kept any eye out for danger. They were flying over the apple tree, and spotted the young Draconians huddled under it. They still looked very scared. They were completely defenseless. The only adult that was left to look after them was Aurora, as the rest of their family had gone to Rome. Aurora was a powerful dragon, but she still had a lot to do filling in for Toothless. An idea suddenly came to Astrid, and she flew down to the tree. Stormfly landed between the tree and the house. The dragonets glanced up with frightened eyes.
"Hey, how are you guys feeling?" Astrid asked. She dismounted and approached them.
"We're okay," said Avalon in a small voice.
"You know, Aurora and I could really use your help in looking after the village," said Astrid. "At least until the others come back. The dragonets exchanged a glance.
"Are you sure?" Avalon asked. "You're village is so scary..."
"You'll be fine," said Astrid, reassuringly. "No one will hurt you, and you don't even have to split up. I know you guys are scared, but this will help keep you safe because there will be more adult dragons around. Also it'll help you develop your leadership skills Avalon, for when you become queen." Avalon considered and exchanged another glance with her friends. They seemed to like the idea.
"Okay," Avalon responded "As long as we don't have to go into the woods alone."
"No you don't," said Astrid. She got back on Stormfly. The dragonets got to their feet, Edelweiss mounted Black Widow. They followed Astrid and Stormfly down to the village.
They landed in the crowded plaza. Aurora was talking with Cloudjumper and Hookfang. They glanced up when Stormfly and the dragonets landed where they immediately noticed the dragonets glued to Stormfly's side.
"Hi Mama," whispered Avalon quietly. Aurora went over to them, and nuzzled both her dragonets. "You guys feeling better?" She asked.
"We're okay Mama," stuttered Apollo, timidly. Astrid dismounted.
"They've agreed to help us look after the village," she said cheerfully.
"Oh, wonderful," chirped Aurora happily. "What a great idea." She smiled gratefully at Astrid.
"I figured it would help them," Astrid said. "As well as help us."
"Yes," Aurora agreed. "I'll keep my eye on them naturally. But I won't solve all their problems, to encourage them to rely more on each other and you guys. I'll see how they do."
"Who knows, maybe one day Toothless will be asking Avalon to fill in for him," said Astrid. "She'd like that I'm sure," She nuzzled her dragonets again.
"I'll take them around and find them little things they can do," said Astrid. She headed out of the plaza with Stormfly. The dragonets hesitated, and looked up at Aurora.
"It's okay," the queen encouraged "Go on." The dragonets turned and ran after Astrid and Stormfly. Aurora couldn't help but smile a bit with relief
Back on the mountain, the storm had passed. There were still grey clouds in the sky, but the wind and rain had stopped, and the sun was up. Serenity sat up and crawled out from under Windwalker's wing. She got to her feet, stretched, and glanced around at the place they had landed. Since it was light now, she could see that the were in the bottom of a large crater. Looking at it, the crater seemed very familiar. This prompted Serenity to climb up the least steep slope to the top of the crater. This caught the attention of the two dragons as they work up. They soon flew up to the top of the crater as Serenity reached it. At the top they could see for miles; they saw the ocean, and the land spread out beneath the tall mountain while other smaller mountains seemed to ring around it.
"Guys, I know where we are now," Serenity said, sounding nervous.
"Where?" Tenor asked. Serenity took a deep breath. She pointed to the land below.
"Down there used to be the city of Pompeii," she said. Windwalker looked to where she was pointing. But there was no city, just piles of grey rock. "I don't see a city," she commented
"Exactly," said Serenity. "It was hit by this volcano." She gestured to the tall mountain. "Guys, meet Vesuvius. The world's most famous volcano." Both dragons looked around at the volcano.
"This is Mt. Vesuvius?" Windwalker doubted, awestruck.
"Yes. It was once just a normal mountain, until one day it blew its top."
"And destroyed the town of Pompeii," concluded Tenor.
"Not just destroyed it," Serenity furthered. "But completely buried it. That's why you can't see it anymore." The two dragons looked back down at the area below. After a while they went back into the crater, since it was warmer in there. Serenity then ate breakfast of bread and an apple.
"Well I'm going to go see if I can turn invisible again," Windwalker said as she stretched. She turned to Tenor. "You should come try it too." Tenor looked around at the surrounding crater.
"All right." Tenor shrugged. Windwalker looked at Serenity.
"You should wait here," Windwalker pointed out. "I want to try it without a rider first."
"Okay, just don't go too far," Serenity said. "Vesuvius feels very quiet now, but it is still active."
Both dragons nodded in agreement and took off, flying away towards the sea.
They flew over the mountains, keeping Vesuvius well within their sights before they circled over the coastline. Windwalker took a deep breath and activated her titan wing. Suddenly electricity covered her whole body. She glowed even brighter, then she shot forwards and vanished with a clap of thunder. Tenor looked around trying to figure out where she was.
"Windwalker!" He called.
"I'm here," came Windwalker's voice from right beside him. "I'm okay." She reappeared unscathed and beamed with excitement. She tried that a few more times, until she got the hang of it. Tenor watched in amazement. Soon she flew down and hovered next to him.
"Now you try," she grunted with determination. Tenor hesitated, then activated his titan wing. His scales glowed with his red lightning pattern as he began to charge up. He thrust his wings back and shot forward. However all that happened was he broke the sound barrier, given the fact a concussive sound rang out. Frustrated he tried again, and the same thing happened. He could not turn invisible, no mater how hard he tried. Disappointed he flew back up to Windwalker.
"I can't do it," he groaned sadly. "I'm only half Night Fury." He turned and flew back to the campsite with Windwalker beside him.
"Well if it means anything, you certainly make up for it in other ways...ways that certainly make me happy and pleased to consider you a full Night Fury." Windwalker teased.
Tenor pinned his ears back with a blush and pulled back to fly right beside her. He spread his wings as wide as he could and Windwalker mirrored his movements until they touched wingtips. Windwalker turned toward him and gave a high pitched churring noise of some sort, and Tenor warbled back deeply. A few minutes later, they landed in the crater where Serenity was waiting for them.
"How'd it go?" She asked.
"I can turn invisible, but Tenor can't," relayed Windwalker. Tenor sat on his haunches looking really disappointed. Serenity hugged him.
"I'm sorry Tenor," she said softly. Tenor hugged her back. Windwalker nuzzled him.
"You're still a great flyer, and great fighter," she complimented. Tenor smiled, and felt slightly better. After a few minuets they all separated. Windwalker looked at Serenity.
"I now what to see if this still works with a rider."
"All right," said Serenity. She mounted Windwalker and they all took off again.
They flew back up above the volcano. Tenor hovered to watch from the side. Windwalker activated her titan wing again and Serenity clung onto the saddle.
"Hang on," Windwalker warned. She enhanced her titan wing. Lightening covered her spins and extended across her body before she suddenly shot forward and vanished. Though she was expecting it, Serenity still received quite a shock when the dragon vanished beneath her. Tenor flew along side them.
"I can still see Serenity, but not you," he spoke. Windwalker reappeared again. "Oh well, it was worth a try," she grunted.
"I might have something to help make that work," Serenity mentioned. She steered Windwalker back to the volcano, and Tenor followed. They landed in the crater and Serenity dismounted. She went over to Tenor and rummaged through her saddlebags. After digging for a few seconds she pulled out a roll of what looked like fiery red cloth. She unrolled it and shook it out; It turned out to be a cloak made of what was clearly red dragon skin.
"Where did you get that?" Tenor asked.
"Changewing Island," answered Serenity. "Unlike most dragons who malt one scale at a time, Changewings malt similar to snakes and lizards where large patches of skin fall off."
"So that didn't come from a dead Changewing?"
"Thankfully no. I am surprised I still have this." chuckled Serenity. She put the cloak around herself and she seemed to melt into the rock behind her, disappearing entirely.
"Cool. That will defiantly come in handy if we have to break those guys out of a Roman prison."
Serenity took the cloak off and just held it in her hands. Windwalker then came over and joined in on the conversation.
"What if we find them and one of them is too injured to make the journey back to Berk?" Windwalker asked.
"We bring them back here," Tenor answered. "It's high up, and I'm guessing no human will want to come in here."
"If it hasn't erupted between now and then," Serenity commented. With everything said, Serenity mounted Tenor and the group took off and flew out of the crater.
"Hopefully we'll be able to find them," Tenor said, with a bit of worry. "Rome's not a small village."
"We'll find them," Windwalker replied with vigor. "One way or another, we will find them and rescue them." She sped up and Tenor followed. They left Vesuvius and headed up the coastline towards Rome.
Well well...I hope you all liked the chapter! I know it has been awhile but I still plan to keep this story alive. I know some or all of you may be frustrated but let me just say life has a way of knocking you down and making sure you stay down...doesn't mean I can't escape and write out a few pages of material and enjoy myself! Big thanks to Serenity Dragonrider for helping me with this chapter!