Hey everyone. I know it has been a few months but summer kept me very busy with work and internships and stuff. Now that I am done I was able to get some writing done. I hope you all enjoy it! This is the 2nd to last chapter so we have one more before this story finally concludes! Please read and respond, I would greatly appreciate it!

Chris groaned as he slowly woke up, eyes blinded by the bright sun. He was in chains, with shackles around his neck, feet, and hands all connected in tandem. He looked to his left and noticed Re was splayed out in a corner of a grand hall of sorts across from him. Re's shackles were connected to his forepaws, wings, and neck similar to his son's. So while they could move, they could not move much. Chris slowly went over as far as his binds would let him and whispered loudly to Re. When he got no response, he grabbed a few nearby pebbles and flung them at the dragon, 2 hitting him on the snout. Re let out a low groan as it was enough to disturb him. He blearily peeled his eyes open before he registered where he was, realizing he was in a new environment.

"Where..are..we?"

"I do not know where we are…" Chris admitted as he took looked around and hugged himself. No sooner had they awake did a big voice alert them from their side. Both males turned to see who it was, none other than the emperor himself, cloaked in his tunic with his rather large gut protruding out from there.

"It looks like my pets are awake! Good good. Can't have you dead and lifeless now would we?" the Emperor chuckled.

"Pets..what do you mean your 'pets'?" Chris pressed.

He snapped his fingers and a servant came out with a chalice filled with dark wine. The Emperor took a sip and smacked his lips with elation. "Quite simple really. I have a myriad of creatures at my disposal for my entertainment. But, never in my life have I seen a pair such as you." He came close and crouched down near the two. Re was muzzled but he growled, lashing his tail and wanting to strike. The Emperor saw this and snapped his fingers again, prompting none other than Alastair to come with a spear and whack Chris on the back of the head with the flat of the blade. The human cried out, with Re hissing as the pain mirrored throughout his head, before Alastair came up and pinned the human down, pressing the blade quite uncomfortably against the throat of the human.

"Careful now. You both should be grateful I chose you both to be my favored pets. I mean, it's not everyday that a weak slave like yourself manages to break free of the coliseum and escape. In fact, no person in my lifetime has ever done that before. While your little scene stirred quite the uproar, it was rather entertaining, the most fun I have witnessed in years! And the fact that this dragon seems to favor you, apparently a king where he is from...can feel whatever you feel...this is amazing! Quite fitting for the ruler of dragons to be the pet for the ruler of Rome" the Emperor giggled as he walked around the duo. Re snarled through the muzzle at what was to become of him.

"Oh cheer up you two! You get to live a pampered life full of luxury. Not many can say that!" He got up and turned away from the dragon in his boasting. Big mistake. Re readied his tail and gave a firm crack across the Emperor's rear, much like a whip. The big burly man dropped his wine, letting it spill across the marble floor as he clutched his rear in pain. Alastair witnessed this and barked a command. He quickly used the spear and quickly stabbed the end through Chris's shoulder. Chris quickly cried out in pain, causing Re to hiss in a similar fashion as his shoulder burned, both now crippled with intense pain.

The Emperor turned around, infuriating. He picked up his chalice as the guards went and restrained Re's tail with a weighted contraption which binded the appendage to his body. The Emperor then whacked his chalice hard against Re's muzzle, pulling back and watching with satisfaction how the dragon bled from his nose. Chris grunted as he felt his nose grow numb with pain as he thought he was bleeding as well.

"You know what? I tried being generous to you devil. But now, you forced my hand….Alastair!" The Emperor shouted. "Bring out the cross."

The man nodded and sternly left the palace. "Yes sir Emperor Berengar."

The Emperor gave a sneer gaze down at the dragon. "Not many Emperors are as nice as I am, and you are foolish for not seeing that. However, you shall know my wrath whenever I am wronged." Re growled back, but did feel a pang of fear course through his body. What did the Roman mean by that? Re would soon realize that attacking the Emperor was a big mistake.

The group of 6 went down and were able to fly relatively unnoticed in the cloak of night. The moon was out and casted a light glow. Skullcrusher led them to the Flavian Amphitheater where all the dragons immediately growled, scrunching up their noses as they were overwhelmed with the stench of death and blood.

"What is this place?" Hiccup asked as he dismounted Tenor.

"It is our Roman Coliseum, known as the Flavian Amphitheater. Many Romans flock here to watch men battle and fight beasts of all kind, often to the death, for the amusement of the nobles and Emperor." Kassandra stated as she dismounted Raeya.

Eret looked around mounted atop of his dragon. "Very reminiscent of my days as a dragon hunter, although this is much...much...bigger."

Windwalker sniffed the air but hissed in disgust. "I cannot place Chris' scent, there is too many scents overwhelming me."

All the dragons agreed with her. Kassandra picked up on this and asked Tenor, "What is up with them?"

"We cannot locate Chris' scent...the stench of death is too powerful." Tenor responded.

Just then they heard a bunch of shouting and shuffling. They all went on alert and took defensive positions. A few seconds later they were all surrounded by 100 or so armed guards in one large circle, coming from all angles from the arena. Gallus jumped down from the first spectator bench into the main arena and calmly approached, sword withdrawn and pointed at the group.

"You should have stayed back home where you belonged girl!" Gallus hissed.

"And eventually be married to you? Yeah, I don't think so." Kassandra retorted as she cracked her whip, ready to fight. Gallus barked another order and a few soldiers armed their weapons, pointing it at the group.

"Well...outnumbered, in a foreign land, with little to no aid. Is this normal Hiccup?" Eret asked as he took out his short sword and eyed the first enemies he would smite.

"A normal day at work. Just watch out for your occupational hazards." Hiccup nonchalantly answered as he took out Inferno and ignited it. This deterred no one as a main regiment began to move in front of them, slowly lowering their spears and guarding themselves with their shields. Some squatted and thrust their shields outwards while others raised it above their head, placing their shields in the cracks of the formation. Within a few seconds they seemed to have created a large shell of interlocked shields, moving in a large group towards them.

"What are they doing?" Tenor tilted his head as he eyed the group approaching them.

"That is called the Testudo. A shield formation that prides itself on being the ultimate defensive tactic." Kassandra called out as she whipped a few soldiers to keep them at bay.

"We'll see about that!" Tenor cried out as he readied a plasma blast and fired it at the group. It simply ricocheted and bounced off, halting the group for a brief second before they marched on. Tenor pinned his ears in confusion before spitting a few more plasma blasts at the group. He pinned his ears even further in embarrassment as his attacks were futile and the group continued to march on.

"Well...I will...give credit where it's due…" Tenor grumbled.

While this occurred, a few archers aimed their bows and fired a flurry of arrows at the group from their right flank.

Skullcrusher roared and acted as a shield as he stepped in front of the humans, watching the arrows bounce off of him. The rest of the dragons, such as Raeya, Tenor, and Windwalker, all scattered and took to the skies. They swiftly dodged and blended into the night sky. Windwalker could not help but smirk. They were Night Furies; they had the advantage!

"Time to show why we are called Night Furies!" Windwalker cried as she quickly dove and fired a plasma blast at a group of soldiers, sending them flying to the ground.

However, the rest of the attempts from the Night Furies was not as successful. The archers proved to be quite formidable as they kept blocking the Night Furies from building up momentum to power up their plasma blasts. Plus since there were a myriad of archers all firing in their area, they had to change up their flight path and fly sporadically to not get hit. Meanwhile, the riders began their counter attack, beginning to defeat and take down soldiers one by one.

Alastair returned an hour later with his entourage in tow, bearing a large wooden cross. Chris and Re looked at it in confusion, with the Emperor smirking in the background upon his chair.

"I told you that you would be punished." the Berengar remarked as he swirled his chalice of wine.

They then detached Re and Chris from his chains, still bound, and led them to the stairs, right outside the palace. They immediately shoved Re into a cage, still bound before slamming it closed. From there they stripped Chris of his clothings except for his loincloth before restraining him to the cross. He kicked and screamed for them to stop but within a minute his extremities were bound. His arms were wrapped around the cross beam as bound by rope while his legs were tied together at the front. They then attached a metal collar to his neck, adorned with rough yet dull spikes that dug uncomfortably into his skin. The group of soldiers began yelling in unison before grunting with exertion. Slowly Chris's cross was raised, higher and higher, the ropes straining as they tugged at the cross to get into position. Chris whined in pain and discomfort as gravity began to strain his bound arms and legs. Within 1 minute, the cross was upright, planted in the ground. Chris scrunched his eyes shut as the sun hit him fully. He blearily pried them open to take in his surroundings. Both Re and Chris looked on in fear as they were faced across from the other, facing one another.

"What...what are you doing…" Chris asked.

"We are going to see how great that magical link between you two is." Emperor Berengar stated. He made a nod towards Alastair who reciprocated the nod and barked out his commands. Alastair then attached a device to Re's neck. It seemed to be a metal sleeve of sorts covered with long spikes that ran parallel to each other. Alastair then cusped the device before holding down Re's head with his knee before securing the device onto Re's neck, right behind his head. The contraption immediately restrained Re's neck and whenever he tried to turn or move his neck, the spikes running alongside his neck would jab painfully into his neck and head. This effectively kept him immobilized. To make it worse, Alastair then attached the chain that was already connected to Chris's collar, to the back of Re's vice. Re thrashed as he tried his best to move but he froze as he heard his son's painful screams, as with every moment, Chris felt additional pain. Their torture devices were set up to maximize each agonizing sensation the other felt. Not only would one feel the other's pain through their link, but the chain tethering their devices would allow the other to physically cause the other pain through any movement one of them does. It was ironic in a sense as the long, taut metal chain was a physical representation of the magical link that bound their lives together.

"Oh would you look at that, the dragon caught on." The emperor chuckled as he took another sip of his wine.

Re darted his eyes around as he realized the predicament he was in. Chris threw his head around as he tried to somehow break free, but that was causing the chain to jostle, which began slowly pricking and piercing the scales along Re's neck and head were the spikes were. Chris then halted when he heard his father's painful moans.

"Just stop! Please! I beg of you!" Chris pleaded.

"Why? I find this more entertaining." Berengar smiled. He then nodded again at Alastair, who dutifully nodded back before taking out a knife and reaching up to Chris. He then slowly dragged the sharp edge down Chris's shin all the way towards his ankle. He shouted out as he felt the burning pain, involuntary thrashing about, which just aggravated the neck collars of both him and Re's device, just amplifying the feeling. He then heaved as Alastair finished, staring at his father and feeling all the more terrible that he was causing him pain both directly through the chain and indirectly through their link. Re looked up, stifling his growls as best he could. His heart was broken as he had to watch his son get tortured before him and vice versa. Re could not activate his titan wing because he knew that while he could likely break free of his cage and bonds but while doing so, he would likely kill his son as he would be jostling about and pull the chain too far and end his son's life. He was forced to do nothing as that was their best chance of survival, and deal with whatever they did to them. Chris realized that too as he stared at the chain between then before his eyes widened in realization.

"I hope you both have a high tolerance for pain." Alastair said coldly as he begun the torture for his Emperor's amusement.

"We need to retreat!" Hiccup screamed out as he clutched his shoulder in pain. Him and his team were currently partially hiding in one of the tunnels in the arena, using that as their cover to block out a majority of the Roman attacks. They were losing; battling nearly 100 Roman soldiers proved futile. They were only able to slay about a little less than half of them. Skullcrusher and Windwalker were providing the fire as they would periodically fire out of the tunnel before narrowingly pulling back to avoid an onslaught of arrows. They were the last line of defense, also keeping out some of the foot soldiers. Eret, was clutching his side, sustaining a large gash down his side. Tenor was out, having taken a serious blow to his head from a warrior as well as had a few cuts across his back as a few more soldiers took advantage of him being stunned. Kassandra was aiding in the dragons, using her whip to keep the foot soldiers away from them and using a fallen shield to block out arrows aimed at them. However, they were slowly getting pushed back into the tunnel.

"If we get pushed back into the tunnel, we are done for!" Kassandra yelled, covered in some scraps and blood."

Hiccup did not know what to do, except fight. They were pinned down and had no chance to escape. They could not retreat into the tunnel as a narrow space would only prove futile. Suddenly, a loud roar filled the air before a sudden explosion blasted a large group of Roman soldiers currently firing at them before a wall of fire separated the Romans from the Berkians. The two able-bodied humans and two dragons looked up towards the sky to see Drogon diving towards them. Drogon let out a shriek before blasting another line of fire on the group of soldiers, sending them scattering about.

"Drogon?!" Hiccup blurted out.

He then landed before his wall of fire, roaring defensively and protecting the group while the Romans scattered and did there best to try and regroup. However, a deep rumbling could now be heard. Everyone looked around in confusion before suddenly the gates of the other surrounding tunnels in the Colosseum began to creak open. Within a few seconds later, a swarm of humans and animals alike began darting into the open arena, running around with abandon as they tried to escape. This confused the Romans as they were now the ones outnumbered, attacked from all sides of the Colosseum.

It was a spectacle to say the least. Animals ranging from the ordinary to the extraordinary were swarming all around the Colosseum looking for a way out, while some were instead attacking and killing the soldiers. It seemed even the slaves who were kept prisoner were partaking in the slaughter of the Roman soldiers while, naturally, some fled as this was their only chance of escaping not only captivity but with their life as well. The Berkians were huddled into their tunnel watching the sight. They were stunned to say the creatures they witnessed were unlike anything they had ever heard about.

"Never in all my life as a trapper have I ever heard or seen such beasts like these." Eret commented with an almost whimsical tone.

"What...Kassandra, what are they?" Hiccup followed up.

"Well...the Emperor would not only keep humans captive here to fight for his amusement but other creatures as well…" Kassandra stated slowly.

The group of 3 humans and 4 dragons were protected from the carnage by the wall of fire Drogon produced. They witnessed tigers, stripes of orange and white and black cascading down its form, ripping into a group of soldiers; a stampeding grey elephant charge its way through a man and crush its form under its weight like a leaf. They even witnessed a large brown bear stand to its full height before slamming down on one lone man before mauling the screaming Roman. However, it was the extraordinary creatures that captured their attention the most.

"Oh my gods...IT IS REAL?!" Kassandra screamed as she stepped back in a mixture of shock and fear. The rest of the group followed her gaze to discover what she had been eyeing and they too were stunned. A large creature had pawed its way into the arena and was currently eating the flesh of a freshly slain corpse. It had the head of a goat with large sharp horns and a thick brown mane, but had a smooth gold coat of fur. It had the forearms of some type of cat with claws to match as well as having hind legs similar to that of a goat-like creature. However, instead of a tail it was a large long green snake that hissed dangerously as it surveyed its surroundings. But what stunned them most of all was when the goat head seemed to pick its head up, there was another head right below it, camouflaged by the thick mane and revealing the head to be the face of none other than a lion. It roared loudly before going back down to its meal.

"What...what is that…" Eret gasped.

"That….that...i-is a chimera...I never thought they were real but...I guess, I should not be surprised. I did not believe dragons to be real yet here I am riding and fighting alongside one...but… a chimera is...a three-headed monster with one head of a lion, one of a snake, and another of a goat, lion claws in front and goat legs behind, and a long snake tail." Kassandra explained, still a bit afraid.

To the left Hiccup pointed out another creature. It had just emerged and gave a screech out of its beak-like muzzle, flaring its long, grey-feathered wings and rearing up on its hind legs before galloping. It sprinted quickly before flapping its wings faster, beating them before it took off into the air, circling the sky before vanishing into the night.

"Wow...a Hippogriff, a creature with the front part of an eagle and hind legs and tail of a horse, symbols of the god Apollo. Such a magnificent being…" she explained again.

The onslaught continued for a few more minutes before it all died down, or better yet, when all of the Romans were dead. All was left was a bloody mess of the soldiers they were losing to. All of the magical creatures had fled the arena and it was eerily silent. A shuffling was heard out of a tunnel to the left and everyone turned to it, tense as they did not know what was emerging. However, they were baffled again by what they saw. Serenity was slowly walking out alongside Toothless, both looking quite worn out, Toothless physically and Serenity mentally.

"Toothless?!" Hiccup blurted out as he ran towards his dragon, jumping over the now extinguished wall of flame protecting them a few minutes ago, immediately holding his dragon's head and inspecting him. His wounds were treated but he still looked worse for wear.

"I thought you were staying behind to ensure he would be okay?" Hiccup looked up at the dragon healer.

"I did but...he did not want to leave you behind. I told him to stay and rest but, he said he could never abandon you on your own. So, I addressed all his wounds and flew him back here."

"He is in no position to fight!" Kassandra pointed out as the rest of the group joined.

"We know that but he wanted to help. I wanted to help. So when we were flying above, we saw that you were in trouble. We knew we could not help out in direct battle but Toothless had another idea. We then snuck in from the outside through a tunnel and quickly noticed a bunch of creatures and people locked up like animals in there. We couldn't just leave them there to rot, so, well...we opened up all the gates in this place, activating any and all levers we could find." Serenity explained, shivering in anxiety as she tried her best to avoid the sigh of dead bodies all around her.

Everyone paused at that. "Wait...you and Toothless released all those creatures and slaves?" Kassandra asked.

Serenity nodded, shuddering again as she saw another freshly slain body out of the corner of her eye.

"Wow...if it wasn't for you both, we sure would have been goners." Eret exhaled with a slight nervous chuckle, cut off by a wince. "Thank you."

She nodded uneasily. "Can we please leave this horrendous place?" Serenity begged.

"Yes we just need to find where Re and Chris are." Hiccup furrowed his brow.

"If he is not here then the only place I think of is…" Kassandra's eyes widened. "The palace!" She quickly mounted Raeya.

"What's wrong?" Tenor interjected with alarm as he began to recover from his head trauma.

"Alastair took Re and Chris away from us for some reason which involves the Oracle. If they are not in the pits, the only other place they could be would be the Emperor's Palace on Palestine Hill. If the Oracle is involved, then the Emperor is certainly involved as well. Not only that but the Oracle does not house slaves in her abode. The Emperor took some interest in those two, but I do not know why."

"Oh… I know.." Tenor sighed.

"Spit it out Tenor!"

"It is because of their magical bond." Upon a still confused expression from Kassandra, he continued albeit slowly as his head was throbbing something fierce while his back was sore. "Chris nearly died a few years ago. He took an arrow to the heart and would have bled out if it wasn't for Re making a ultimate sacrifice. He decided to give half of his heart to Chris using magic and saved his life by forever tethering their life forces together. Now they share a lifespan and have combined attributes and strengths, however it is not that simple. Because of their link, they also share the same weaknesses and can feel each other's sensations and memories. If one were to be in trouble, the other would know. If one got stabbed, the other would immediately feel it as if they received the same injury...and if one of them died then…"

Tenor did not have to finish that statement as the rest of the group got the picture.

"Then we need to hurry. Who knows what the Emperor is doing to them!" Hiccup commented as he turned towards Toothless and Serenity, giving the former a head scratch and holding his head once more. "You have done enough bud...but I cannot ask more from you. You are badly wounded and you need to recover. How else are you going to protect me if you don't heal from your wounds huh?" Hiccup chuckled to the reluctant whine of his dragon. "Let me handle this bud. I promise I will return to you." He added before pressing their foreheads together. Toothless gave a small lick in return before Hiccup pulled back.

"Get him out of here and back to that boat and make sure he stays, for both your sake's." Hiccup said firmly to Serenity who quickly nodded.

"Bring my husband and Re back...please." She responded.

"That I can promise you." He grinned before Serenity sent off her and Toothless, watching them slowly ascend before disappearing among the clouds.

"Are you all okay?" Hiccup asked his group. Tenor nodded but growled softly as his head still throbbed. Raeya rolled her shoulders and noted she had no major wounds. Eret checked his wound on his side but just finishing patching it up by wrapping part of his ripped vest around his body to add pressure, stopping the bleeding. Windwalker, Skullcrusher, and Drogon gave growls and grunts of confirmation, signaling they too are okay.

"Nothing we can't handle Hiccup. So chief, how are 4 dragons, 2 Berkians, and a Greek planning to stop the Roman Emperor?" Eret asked with a mixture of determination and a cocky grin.

"I am glad you asked…" Hiccup started off before explaining his plan to the group.

Re and Chris hung their heads as they both finished screeching from pain, their throats dry and prickling with needles. Their bodies were streaked with sinuous ribbons of crimson blood of varying thickness, tumbling down their forms. However the collars and slow torture ensured they stayed alive throughout the whole ordeal.

"My my...you both have high tolerances of pain. I am surprised you both have not begged for the release of death. Not like I would give it to you or anything." Berengar smiled.

The torture seemed to go on for hours and hours; the sun had well set by now. Alastair took turns torturing each individual, making the other watch helplessly as they could do nothing to help each other.

Re was heaving as he currently covered in milk and honey, wounds and all. He did not understand the point of this until he realized he attracted a bunch of insects, especially flies. He tried his best to shake them off but could not stop a few from crawling within his wounds before they eventually left. It was to his horror that Alastair revealed that the sweet smell of the fluids was meant to attract vermin to lay their eggs within his wounds, which would hatch and slowly devour and rot his body. This only worsened as more honey and milk was fed to him and drenched over his mangled body.

Chris on the other hand was not doing so hot either. He was currently being whipped with a similar weapon Kassandra sported. Each passing hour he was graced with a deep new gash, the crack of the whip masked by Chris's choked cries as he body would tense with torment before going limp in relief. Alastair did this purposefully as he had initially released a hungry crow at the start of the torture. It was disinterested at first with Chris but as the human grew more and more weaker, the bird was garnering interest in the now dying animal especially as the scent of open flesh began increasing with each new cut. It took no interest in the dragon as the sweet, sugary aroma emanating from the dragon repulsed it. So, it gradually began picking at one of Chris's wounds across the left pectoral muscle, nipping and aggravating the wound with its sharp beak, much to the vocalizations of the human's protest.

"One more lick Alastair. Then let us see what becomes of them in the morrow." The Emperor dismissed.

Alastair readied his whip once more before aiming it precisely at Chris's head. Re gave a weak moan of protest, using his eyes to beg for the male to stop. However, the pleading was ignoring as the human cracked the whip carefully above Chris's head, hitting his mark as the tip grazed Chris's forehead and splattered a small burst of blood across the wood of the cross. Chris's head slammed against the cross before hanging limply as blood stained his face. His body seemingly went limp with it as he suddenly stopped moving.

Re's eyes snapped open wide, frantically crying out through the muzzle as Chris hung there...broken. Re could barely feel the his son's life force flickering much like a candle about to burn out. Re could not deal with it anymore. He let out a long, mewling whine; a dragon's version of crying.

"Chris...Chrissss...Chris!" Re forced out through the muzzle. Silence.

"Please...answer me…" Re pleaded. Again, there was silence.

"My s-son…Chris, wake up!" Re trembled. Silence answered.

Re snapped his eyes closed before slowly looking up at the stars. "My Lord Draco, please take me instead. Do not let my son die before me. I beg of you have mercy!" Re prayed frantically. His eyes snapped back to his son and they narrowed further in fear. There was nothing left for him to do.

The sound of flapping caught the males' attention unexpectedly. All turned towards the front again and were surprised to see none other than Kassandra, mounted on Raeya. "Brother! Please stop this madness now!" She called out upon her mount, the Night Fury below snarling fiercely. Her eyes widened in shock at seeing the two captive males before focusing back on her brother and the emperor. Alastair bellowed out a command, and a few seconds later a squadron of foot soldiers flanked the dragon rider duo from all sides.

"You escaped? Impressive, but you came all the way out here? For what, a couple of strangers?" Alastair pointed out to the chained captives Re and Chris.

"So this is the girl that was worth all that fuss about?" Emperor Berengar commented with a hauty, vile tone. Raeya growled as she eyed each soldier, growing tense as they were surrounded.

"How dare you side with foreign invaders over your own flesh and blood." Alastair spat.

"These foreign invaders, the Berkians, were more of a family than you ever were. Ever since father passed away, you have not been the man I knew to be my brother. Instead, you were some...terrible, sick man, trying to follow in the steps of our father."

"That was what he would have wanted. All fathers expect their sons to follow their path. You know nothing for you are just a woman, simple as that."

"And ever since father passed you have done nothing but tear this family apart! You even abandoned mother to the streets!"

Alastair paused at that, eyes widening a bit as he was shocked she said that. "Your duty is to your family, as is mine. There was no use for mother since she did not want to remarry. I had to do all the work to ensure our family was still respectable and alive. All you had to do was simple: do as you are told, yet you could not do the one thing that was asked of you!"

"I was never going to bear children for a man I did not love, just so you could be happy!" Kassandra hissed.

"Foolish woman! That is all you are good for. Don't even think you would be fortunate enough to have a husband ever again." Emperor Berengar hissed.

"I'm glad we agree on one thing...I will never have a husband from here ever again! NOW!" She shouted, cueing the signal.

Hiccup and the gang burst out from their hiding places and lunged at the two. Skullcrusher and Eret pinned down Alastair while Hiccup and Windwalker went for the Emperor. Tenor and Drogon dashed over the group and attacked the soldiers, each respectively providing venomous deaths and spraying walls of fire to whoever was too close to them. This forced the survivors to pull back out of safety, shouting at their commander for guidance.

Alastair grunted and groaned as he tried in vain to remove the bulk of the Rumblehorn pinning him down. Eret gave a smug smirk down at him. Emperor Berengar was in the same position as he squealed in angry protest for the Night Fury to release him, however he quickly sealed his lips as Windwalker snapped her jaws dangerously close to his face.

"Did you really think I would come here alone? I truly hope you were not that naive brother." Kassandra commented as she walked up to her brother and set her eyes on him.

"Now please, call off your troops. There needs to be no more bloodshed today." Hiccup added.

Alastair gave a look of shock at the scrawny viking.

"You'd best listen to him Alastair. Let us leave, and there will be no more death today."

Alastair looked all around as all eyes were on him. He was about to utter something when the Emperor screamed out "Well do not just stand there! Attack!" to the surrounding soldiers.

Without missing a beat, the soldiers bellowed out and closed in with their weapons pointed at their enemies. Hiccup and his crew had no choice but to defend themselves. It was hectic and many clashes were heard but given the firepower on the Berkian's side, the battle was becoming one sided. Soon all the soldiers were either dead or fleeing. Berengar was crying out desperately, ordering his troops to stand their ground in vain. Alastair took advantage of the chaos and brought out a dagger and stabbed Skullcrusher's paw, causing the dragon to roar in pain and release him. Alastair scrambled up and ran up desperately towards Hiccup, figuring if he could end the Viking Chief's life, all of this would end quickly.

Hiccup turned just as Alastair charged with his dagger raised. It all happened so fast. In fact, the weapon would have made contact, if it wasn't for Kassandra restraining him. Alastair grunted and looked back as his arm was kept from moving, realizing his sister had ensnared her whip around his arm. She then yelled as she tugged him harshly back and caused him to fall on his knees. Before he could look up he was bathed in the dragonflame of Drogon. Kassandra's eyes reflected the orange flames licking her brother's body, silent she was as she watched him scream and flail about before he collapsed entirely.

All that was left was Berengar, who was now deathly silent as he witnessed the whole thing. Soon, the successful Vikings, dragons, and in between was staring down at the defeated emperor. Berengar's gave a pathetic mewl, knowing he was beat and shaking. His former arrogance gone. Hiccup gave Kassandra a sincere thanks before communicating something to her to translate. She nodded before kneeling and getting right up to the Roman's face.

"You now see the power dragons hold, and how strong the bond between Viking and dragon can be. The destruction here, you caused this. This was merely a small fraction of the strength Berk and Draconia hold. Threaten either again and you will feel the full devastation of our power."

Berengar stared wildly at Kassandra, then back at Hiccup, then back again between the two. He closed his eyes, accepting his inevitable fate. However, he was surprised to feel Windwalker release her hold. He opened his eyes cautiously and stared up with confusion at the group.

"Hiccup, Chief of Berk, decided to spare you pathetic life. He's giving you a second chance; be grateful. Now leave.' Kassandra stated with ferocity as she cracked her whip again. The emperor scrambled to his feet and haphazardly fleed, stumbling about as he slowly disappeared.

Kassandra turned back to the entourage, catching her breath and shuddering at realizing what she had done.

"I just defied the emperor himself and all of his empire…" she started in disbelief.

Hiccup would have responded but a wheeze cut him off. He turned back and realized Re and Chris were still bound.

"Save the debrief for later. Let's make sure these guys stay alive." Hiccup ordered. With precision, Drogon melted the chain connecting the two prisoners with his intense heat. Windwalker flew around and lowered the cross her rider was bound to gently on the grassy patch below it. Tenor and Skullcrusher broke open the cage are was captive in and gingerly dragged him out into the open, adjacent to his son. Both former slaves were barely breathing.

Windwalker whined, crying out softly as she hadn't seen her rider in such a state. He didn't look alive at all. All indications of his body and responses indicated he should be dead. She slowly licked him and laid her head on his shoulder. "Fight my human…you can't give up now. You are free. I'm here...I'm not going anywhere. I shouldn't have left you by yourself when you needed me the most." She whispered softly to him, her voice a bit ragged as her fear was consuming her.

Tenor was having a similar moment with his brother. He winced, as his brother's deplorable state filled him with doubt, worry and guilt. His body was a mangled mess. He hadn't seen such a battered and bloody body ever since his rider Serenity first appeared to them when she was a child. "We are here Re. I'm here and dammit you are not going to die on me. You need to survive and watch our children succeed us. They need you, and Aurora and I need you too." Tenor gave him a delicate nuzzle.

"Come on...only Serenity can fix this now. We need to go." Eret interjected, nodding to Hiccup for confirmation.

The chief gave a solemn nod, "Quickly now. Let's go."

Serenity in the meantime was touching up Toothless' wounds that opened up during the arena. He growled and hissed his displeasure but held still.

"Must it hurt? I thought healing was suppose to stop the pain." Toothless groaned.

"Sometimes pain is a sign of improvement. It tells me you are healing." She responded as she finished wrapping a bandage around his forearm. "Keep off the paw and it will heal."

Suddenly Toothless picked up his head from the deck of the boat, turning his head towards the sky as he heard a contact call. It was Skullcrusher! He roared back, and soon enough the group descended from the clouds. Serenity turned towards the sky and gasp, eyes narrowing in fear. It was Chris and Re but...they were limp in Tenor and Windwalker's grips. She clenched her fists anxiously as they landed gently, laying the unconscious forms of the dragon king and his adopted son before her. She had...never seen this kind of injury before.

"What...what happened?" Serenity stated, her tone shivering as she surveyed the duo.

"They were...tortured through ways I cannot describe." Hiccup reported with sympathetic eyes.

"What is with the honey? And is that...milk?" Serenity questioned as she closely inspected Re and Chris.

"That is...another form of torture in my culture; it is called scaphism. They...cover the victims in honey while also feeding him that and milk repeatedly. It is supposed to make them sick and that attracts insects. Those bugs then begin using them to lay their eggs which would slowly eat away at the two as the eggs hatch and the larvae use their body as a food source." Kassandra morbidly explained.

"How...how long has this been going?"

"I do not know...a few days maybe? It is all a blur from when we all got captured to now. All I know is that they are alive, but I do not know for how much longer."

Serenity gulped before staring down at them both. So many memories from the past and now flashed through her mind. She then bit her lip and clenched her eyes shut, waiting a few seconds before opening them. "Get them to the hull, I will heal them there. I need lots of fresh water and privacy. This will likely take all night." She instructed.

The next few hours were intense. Serenity gave them some herbs for the pain, they still could feel her applying her salves and ointments to them, which did not feel entirely pleasant. Considering that they were tortured throughout the past day or so, every small sensation was registering as painful or overwhelming at the least. The moon was high in the sky when Serenity stepped back, exhaling with lidded eyes. She looked at her two charges and monitored the rise and fall of their chests. Her sigh became that of relief rather than stress as she noted their breathing was shallow, yet stable.

Hiccup had came down. "Are they gonna be okay?" Worry was etched all over his face.

"I think so...but they have to individually pull out of this themselves. It is up to their bodies to be able to recover. But…" she then looked over them with some sadness. "They went through so many hours of torture. They look, empty. Their spirits broken. I do not know what that Emperor guy did but...it worked." Her eyes began to well up with tears. "I'm sorry I gotta go get some air." She stated as she broke off crying.

The room was full of silence as Hiccup awkwardly stared at the two males, laying their motionless.

"They will come to." Kassandra stated as she came down, a sad smile on her face.

"Yeah…" he commented before staring back at the two.

Another minute of silence followed as they both stared down.

"I'm sorry by the way...about your family. I know what it's like losing a love one, despite how...abrasive they can be at first."

"Oh? DId you have a murderous brother who tried to force you into a marriage you did not consent to, tortured your friends, and tried to kill you?" Kassandra pressed with a chuckle.

"Well no...but I do understand losing a father. Feeling your family get smaller and thinking you had to take on everything by yourself. Your dad meant a lot to you didn't he?"

Kassandra's face grew solemn briefly. "He...he was everything I looked up to. He was crazy, but that's what I loved about him. He did not care what others thought of him. He gave me so much hope, and despite me being his daughter he was treating me like an equal, like I was the most important person in the world. He had dreams and ideas to make everyone equal and happy. He talked about women having more rights and their voices heard! Sadly no one liked that idea, not even my own brother. Soon as he came of age he had our father imprisoned where he died in a cell. Our mother was soon gone too as he sold her off to be a slave, never hearing from her again. It was just us two for years, but when I caught whiff that he was going to have me married off to someone I did not even know...I just couldn't Hiccup. That was not a life worth living. So yes, while he was my brother, he was not my family."

Hiccup was silent for a minute. "Well...now you have us. And even if you don't wanna consider Berk your new family, you have Raeya now. She will be more of a family to you than your brother ever was. And if you don't wanna consider her your family then I hope you are good with arguing with a dragon cuz they are more stubborn than Vikings, and that is saying much!"

Kassandra smiled and looked down at the two again. "Dragons...are something else." She traced her eyes back up to Hiccup. "Thank you for showing me how great friends dragons can be. I never knew, believing them to be vile creatures yet... they are so magnificent!"

"Yes they are. And the bonds we craft with them are stronger than any blade, and as solid as mountains!"

Re suddenly shifted and released an exhausted groan. Kassandra and Hiccup backed up and gave the king some space.

"Re you are awake!" Hiccup exclaimed

"How are you feeling?" Kassandra asked.

"Like I died…" Re then growled softly as he tried to move. Hiccup immediately came over and held him down a bit.

"I don't think it's best to move. Serenity just worked on you and Chris. You need to rest." Hiccup then patted his neck.

Re looked unfocused at Hiccup before his eyes narrowed and went over to Chris laying beside him. His eyes softened before hanging low. "Okay"

He then closed his eyes and tried to get some more rest. "I think it's best we don't disturb them any further." Hiccup confessed to Kassandra. She couldn't have agreed anymore. Both moved to head back up to the main deck.

"Kassandra" Re called out.

The woman froze and turned around. She was confused, and a bit nervous as to why he called for her.

"Thank you, for saving my son and I."

"Oh I, um, you're welcome. But I mean, Hiccup was the one who planned this whole thing. He was the one who organized a search party and led us to Greece and Rome, who defeated my brother and the emperor." She then hung her head in shame.

"If it wasn't for me, you all wouldn't be in this situation. I'm the one who ran away from home. I am the one who caused Chris to suffer amnesia. I'm the who caused Toothless to be captured. I'm the one who caused you to be tortured, and all of us captured. I caused so much pain and misery, all because of me." Kassandra clenched up in anger and disgrace.

"Yes, that is all true. But you made up for it all. Ever since you first arrived, you strived to become a better person and you atoned for all your wrongdoings. Not only that but you were the most important person to our rescue. Hiccup would not have been able to travel in the right direction without your guidance. You knowledge of your homeland was crucial to saving us, and essentially defeating the Roman Empire. You also redefined your own destiny and what others expected you to do. Our success, is because of you Kassandra."

The Greek woman was speechless. Her lips trembled a bit from all the emotions welling up within. She turned to Hiccup to see what he would say but all he had was a warm smile.

"Could not have said it better myself." Hiccup added.

Kassandra sniffled a bit and wiped away the tears thrilling to spill in her eyes. She released a few shaky breaths and chuckled uneasily.

"You all m-make it sound so much better." Kassandra stammered. "Thank you."

She then went back up stairs for some much needed air. Hiccup gave a pat once more to his ally before following a few seconds later.

"Thank you too, Hiccup." the dragon whispered

Hours had passed by before Chris had awoken in the middle of the night. He gave a groan before trying to shift around.

"Do not move...you need to rest."

Chris opened his eyes and looked up to see Re next to him. "A-Are we captured again? Where is…"

"Shhh, we are fine. Hiccup and the others rescued us. We are on the way back to Berk."

Chris went quiet, not responding. Re thought he was resting but after a few silent minutes he heard some sniffling and shaky breaths.

"What's wrong Chris?" Immediately Re's parental instincts came out, disregarding his own health at the moment and scooted closer to him.

"I'm...I'm so sorry, for treating everyone the way I did. I did not mean...to cause so much trouble." Killian sniffled.

Re's heart broke. "None of this is your fault! Do not dare to blame yourself for any of this!"

"I'm scared, father"

Re's eyes instantly widened. Father? Did Chris remember who he was?

"You called me...father? Do you remember who I am?"

Chris sniffled and nodded. "I remember when those men were torturing us. I saw him ready his whip before it struck me. I thought I was going to die. But then, things started flowing back into me. It's still spotty, but I can remember who I am, where we were, where Berk is, who you are. I remember feeling so powerless to stop those guys who captured and tortured us. I felt so...weak."

"I am the one to blame for this...I could not protect you." Re forced out through a growl.

"You did everything you could."

"No...you could have died! I could have done more! I could have lost you Chris! I can't...go through that again."

Chris's eyes widened at his father's confession.

"I lost you once already all those years ago. I couldn't save you then and I did everything in my power to find you but I couldn't. I tried accepting you were gone, but even then I did not want to. It was a hard 10 years without you. If it wasn't for the rest of our family, I don't know how I would have lived on. But now you are here again, by the grace of the gods and I cannot lose you a second time. Please understand that." Re snarled which tapered off to a whine.

Killian was silent for a bit before he closed the distance and hugged his father's head. Re growled again before pressing back into his son's embrace. "I'm here now father. I am alive, and I am not going anywhere anytime soon. I may not remember everything, but I remember how much you care for me and I am grateful for that. Thank you."

Re gave a choky exhale followed by a nod of understanding. He visibly relaxed after a moment, slowly stretching out a wing to cocoon his son against his warm embrace. It seemed that was all they both needed as soon enough they were out, getting some well deserved rest after such a difficult journey.