I would like to apologise for how long it took to post this chapter. More than a week ago on the Friday before I had surgery on my ear, and because of that, I was unable to continue writing this chapter as I needed to spend the time to recover. But now that I feel better and my ear is healing nicely, I can finally post this chapter. So now I am back on track. :)

Regardless, I hope you enjoy!

"Can we trust their word?" asked Gobber, standing on Valka's left as he gazed at the mother of the chieftain with concern. "How do we know they haven't set a trap for us? You know how crafty they can-"

"The Berserkers and Outcasts are here to talk, not fight," replied Valka assuringly. "If Dagur and Alvin wanted us captured, or worse, killed, they could have done it by now. But they don't want to. And besides, I made it clear to them not to bring any weapons."

"There's also the fact that they aren't exactly our enemies," nodded Eret who stood on Valka's right. "The Berserkers and Outcasts may not trust us nor be friendly to us, but they are certainly not hostile… but I doubt they'll act the same to us once this plan of ours goes down - if it works of course."

Valka sighed. "It will work, I promise… just follow my lead, and stay by my side, then our friends can come in and do their part."

...Just as the mother of the chieftain had promised; they would meet after two days, and already had those two days passed. On the foggy rocky shore of Dragon Island, the leaders of the Berserker and Outcast tribes, Dagur and Alvin, met up to heed out what the wife of the late chieftain Stoick had to say, yet they were unaware of her husband's passing.

The two chieftains stood with guards on both their flanks in representation of their tribes, and as Valka, Gobber, and Eret made their way closer to them, both Alvin and Dagur too stepped forward, until the vikings of the three tribes atood face to face with one another.

Valka gave nodded at them. "Dagur, Alvin; after more than a year, we meet again."

"That we do," stated Dagur. "I will say, I was hoping to see Stoick himself, but... meeting with the chieftess of the Berkian Tribe is enough for me I guess. Tell me Valka, how's the old man doing?"

"Stoick is no longer with us, Dagur… and I am no longer the chieftess of Berk," quickly replied Valka, gently shaking her head. "Ever since you and your tribes split away from us, times have changed on Berk."

"Hm, is that so?" asked Alvin. "So then tell us, what happened? Is your tribe is finally falling apart? Or is there another reason that you want to give so that you can convince us to ally with you? Surely you can come up with a better excuse than tha-"

"Stoick is dead," Gobber immediately stated, catching the gazes of both chieftains. "He was killed by the raiders… Or well- by their leader."

"Huh, so those beasts that you always nag about do have a leader, yet you couldn't beat them? They're stupid brutes, for Thor's sake," chuckled Dagur. "...Still, if you're no longer the chieftess now that Stoick is dead, then I can only guess that young ol' Hiccup is your chieftain now?"

"Aye, that he is," confirmed Eret, now speaking up. "And those raiders aren't stupid, and nor is their leader. If you really want to know who killed Stoick, then look no further at the cruel tyrant I used to work for. A madman, as Stoick called him..."

The way Eret described the mentioned tyrant as a madman was enough to give Alvin and Dagur an idea as to who the former dragon trapper was referring to, especially since they knew who he was before he joined Berk. There was without a doubt in the world that it was the man behind all the trouble that their tribes went through years ago, when they were at war with the Dragon Flyers and the Dragon Hunters.

"You speak of Drago Bludvist, eh?" asked Alvin. "I thought that pathetic excuse of a dragon-god drowned after what Hiccup did to him."

"Well, he did… but at the same time he didn't," stated Gobber. "And now that he's leading the orcs, he has what he needs to wipe all three of our tribes off the map of Midgard; and that goes for every other tribe we know of.

Dagur crossed his arms, staring back at Gobber with a raised brow. "Why should we believe you? After all the disputes that my tribe has gone through with yours, it's hard for us to even trust you. Plus, this sounds ridiculous. What kind of name is that? An orc? Is that really what you call those raiders?"

"Aye... he has a point," agreed Alvin.

"First off, that's what they call themselves. It's just what it is," Eret responded angrily. "Secondly, while you two continued on with your little disputes over rocks and wood, the orcs have done more to us than just raid us! They took over the Island of Tomorrow, lured our tribe into a death trap, killed our chieftain, and then sailed to the east and west to attack the elves and dwarves! Do you understand that Berk is not the only thing standing in their way!? We've called you here to tell you that your tribes are in danger for Odin's sake-!"

"Now you're just over-exaggerating, muscle boy," sighed Dagur. "What proof do you even have to back this up?"

"They 'ave us, ye bugger!"

The sudden voice of a dwarf boomed out towards them from behind Valka. Through the fog, a short yet muscular figure, armored in fine dwarven plating, came marching in with a taller and leaner figure accompanying him, wearing well-forged elven armor and silk cloth.

Before Alvin and Dagur came the kings of Lightwood and Khaz'ardul; Lornduil and Morgrim. Both the elf and the dwarf gave distasteful looks after what they heard.

Lornduil crossed his arms. "Hmph. These are the two chieftains you told us about? Well aren't I surprised."

"Whoa wait- hold up a minute!" began Dagur, his eyes widened. "I was never told that any light elves and dwarves would be involved in-"

"Oh shut up, will you?" sighed the elven king. "It disgusts me that either of you refuse to believe the truth that these three are trying to tell you. You are more ignorant than we thought."

"And so, we've come tae educate both ye brainless oafs!" stated Morgrim, his words boomed with authority.

With that, both Alvin and Dagur's words were reduced to silence. The two chieftains now felt as if they had no right to argue, let alone to speak their minds, and as such, Valka now had all the room she needed to talk. All she needed was for them to ask but one question...

"...Why did bring us here?" asked Alvin, after a near minute of silence.

Valka smirked, knowing well that this was her moment.

"Well… now that you mention it, let's sit down and talk about it," she said calmly. "We're going to have a long discussion…"

…

"Is that it up ahead?" called out Astrid, pointing towards a lonely peak in the distance. "Is that the mountain Ragnar told us about?"

"Looks to be so," nodded Hiccup confirmingly. "Well gang, I think it's safe to say that we've finally arrived!"

From afar in the distance, a small, isolated mountain stood overlooking the rolling plains with dragons flying over and around it, whilst a lone storm cloud brewed above its peak like birds flocking. To Hiccup, it was clear where they were. The nest of the storm dragons.

"I can't believe it," said Fishlegs excitedly. "We're going to see new dragons! I wonder what classes they're going to be! Some strike classes? Tracker classes? Maybe even mystery cla-"

"Yes Fishlegs, we get it! You're excited to see new dragons!" nodded Astrid, slightly irritated from Fishlegs's constant boast of excitement. "What I wonder is if they'll attack us if we get too close to them."

"They shouldn't," responded back Arn. "The votun are known to fly on them once a year during the Festival of the Aesir. Because of this, the storm dragons came to respect them and many others."

"Well then that's a plus for us," smirked Hiccup. "Now, what say we speed this up a bit? Full speed ahead, gang!"

With a tap of his foot, Toothless immediately sped up as the other dragons quickly followed and proceeded to hasten their flight, but it was not until they neared the mountain that they began to slow down. Now that they were up close, both the dragons and the riders had a better gaze of the towering rock.

They watched as small packs of dragons from multiple dragon classes flew around the mountain, and in scale, these dragons were not small; they were large enough for votun to mount on top, and the thought of it alone was quite astonishing to Hiccup. He continued staring at the storm dragons as he and the others flew in closer to the nest, and to their surprise, they did not mind them…

...But that was until Hiccup and the others spotted the entrance into the nest, and began flying towards it. With that, the group caught their attention.

"Everyone stay close," called out Hiccup. "And make sure to keep it cool."

The way into the mountain was like a large cave, enough for dozens of dragons to flood through at a time, and as Hiccup and the riders slowed their dragons to halt, before landing one by one in front of the great entrance, something out of the corner of their eyes caught their gazes.

"Uhh… what the heck is that?" asked Ruffnut as she pointed a finger up towards a dragon flying down towards them before landing down right in front of them with a swift impact. Upon closer look, they saw that the dragon was a Skrill.

Although they did not make a move against it, the Skrill lightly huffed out air and gave a defensive stance. From what Hiccup could understand in Dragonese, the dragon did not welcome them.

"Turn back, strangers," the Skrill said as it took a step forward. "We do not allow outsiders into our nest. Leave at once…"

Before Hiccup could say anything however, more storm dragons began to appear, all composing of different dragon classes, with some of them being dragons that they had never seen before, and one by one they circled the vikings and their dragons.

Up close, they seemed somewhat intimidating due to their size. However, they made no sudden nor threatening moves.

Soon enough, they were surrounded.

"I won't tell you again, stranger," gnarled the Skrill, this time with further irritation in his dragonly tone. "Fly away, now. We do not want to hurt you."

...Before any words could be said, all of a sudden, the sound of a loud and powerful roar bellowed in the air all around them. It came with a powerful presence, causing the winged reptiles that were surrounding them to back up, before swiftly, and surprisingly, flying off with haste, leaving Hiccup and the group alone once more.

"What the-? What was all of that about?" asked Astrid, baffled.

"I don't know. But from what I understood in Dragonese, that Skrill was not so kind to us," said Hiccup as he gazed around, confused. "More importantly, where did that roar come from-?"

Suddenly it boomed again. The same dragon roar that they heard a mere moment ago filled the air, coming from above, and as they tilted their heads skywards, they saw another dragon heading towards them. However, its appearance was both unique and different. It was larger, bearing longer wings; yet to Hiccup's astonishment, the dragon looked almost like Voltraxion, but with a lighter color of purple, and with feminine horns. Surprisingly, the lad had a positive feeling about it.

As the dragon landed before them with a graceful and gentle dive onto the rolling grass, it bowed its head in respect to young vikings. And out of the blue, it began to speak.

"Strangers," spoke the dragon in common. "I apologize for the trouble my dragons were giving you. Nowadays, we are careful as to who passes by our mountain. News of the orcs and their attacks on the votun has kept our heads low, and we still have problems of our own…"

After hearing its voice, Hiccup knew now for certain that the dragon was a female, and if she was who he thought she was...

"It's all good," he nodded. "I must say though, I'm surprised you can speak in common. I thought only the Three Guardians had the ability to do that."

"Only few dragons can speak in common, but of course, I can speak," chuckled the dragoness. "I am the current alpha of the storm dragons. My name is Velthora."

"Velthora?" asked Arn. "So you're leader of the storm dragons?"

"The very same," she nodded. "And who are you, young strangers? Why do you and your dragons come before my nest?"

"We came here looking for you, Velthora," said Hiccup. "My name is Hiccup Haddock. These are my friends; Astrid, Fishlegs, Arn, Snotlout, and Ruffnut and Tuffnut… we were sent here by chief Ragnar of the Dragonskarn to ask for your-"

"Wait," interrupted the alpha dragon. "Ragnar sent you, you say? The leader of the votun?"

"He sure did," replied Fishlegs. "And it's for something important you need to know about… something we need help with."

A moment of silence followed. Velthora peered out into the open plains behind them and towards the general direction of the Dragonskarn capital, which she could see far off in the distance. She then let out a "hmph" before looking back at the vikings with a curious look.

"Come with me," she answered. "I want to know what you and him are dealing."

…

Although the majority of the storm dragons nested within the vast caverns of the small mountain, some of them preferred to live high atop the tall cliffs of the summit, and this was no exception to Velthora.

At the very top of the mountain, the vikings and their dragons sat down around a large bonfire with the alpha dragon, which she had lit with the use of her lightning. Above them, a soft stormy cloud rolled over, lightly blotting out the sun. To Hiccup and his friends, the shade felt soothing to them.

Velthora gave a satisfied sigh. "Are you all comfortable?" she asked, to which they all nodded.

"We're grateful for the hospitality, Velthora," said Astrid with a smirk.

"It's the least I could do, young one," the dragoness replied as she bowed her head. "Regardless, we should get down to business."

"Very well," nodded Hiccup. "I'll briefly summarize our reason for being here; you see, we came here because of the threat we're dealing with. There's a main concern at hand that Ragnar wants you to know about, and it has to do with the orcish forces that are preparing to amass."

Velthora arched a brow as she bent her hind legs and sat down. "The orcs aren't a surprise to me. We've been facing them for a while now, even as their hold in the east of the Votunheim expands... How is this supposed to be news to me?"

"Well... The thing is, it's not the orcs from the east that we're worried about... It's the orcs from the west that are going to march into Votunheim," replied Arn. "One of Ragnar's commanders betrayed the Dragonskarn, and sided up with the Dark Legions. Their warlord, Drago Bludvist, made him into a lieutenant."

"We overheard both him and Drago discussing plans for an invasion of Votunheim," added on Hiccup. "They're preparing a legion of orcs and other dark followers to march on the pass leading into the region, and if they make it through, then you, your flight, and the votun will be wiped off the face of this valley."

"I see... And how many are we speaking of here?" asked Velthora, now almost hesitant. "What are they sending at us?"

"All we know is that they're in bringing orcs, but the rest could be worse than that," said Astrid. "Their numbers are in the thousands, and this army alone will be enough to wipe out everything in its path. As such, we're asking you to make a stand with us, Velthora… if both you and the votun stand together and fight, there may be a chance for us to not only kick the orcs out, but also kill Drago's lieutenant. Votunheim will be safe."

"...Will you help us?"

The dragon narrowed her eyes down in thought. Clearly she was thinking, but Hiccup saw in her eyes that she was troubled, as if already having to deal with a problem of her own that was too much to not worry about… and surely enough, that would be the case.

"I would say yes," began the dragon. "But there is nothing I can do to help as of right now."

Everyone's eyes widened, baffled as they asked in unison, "What?"

"Well, there goes that idea down the hole," spoke aloud Tuffnut. "We could've kicked some good orc butt as well."

"You don't understand," Velthora continued as she shook her head. "My flight and I already face problems of our own, not from the orcs, but from a creature that's been terrorizing us for months. A giant known as Gorgír keeps attacking our nest and causing us trouble. He marches here every week, and attempts to smash and break as many of our eggs as possible. If he can, he will beat one or two of my dragons to death… even I alone have trouble dealing with him, and I often end up beaten down."

"I'm sorry, but I cannot help you while this monster hunts my children and continues desecrating our nest…"

At unexpected as it was, Hiccup still felt pity for the alpha dragon and what her flight had to deal with. When having to deal with something that is slowly chipping away at what one has been struggling to build, it can be extremely demoralizing and burdening to deal with…

However, an idea soon dawned upon Hiccup. He thought about it for a minute or so, and as he broke the moment of silence, he asked, "What if we helped you slay the giant?"

The storm dragon's eyes suddenly widened with bewilderment and shock. "What?" she asked. "Are you serious? You can't deal with a jötunn! You're only humans! That monster will pick you up and toss you aside as if you were-"

"We still have dragons of our own, Velthora. And we're no ordinary vikings," said Hiccup, to which Toothless made his way closer to his rider and narrowed his head up to look at her, giving her nod.

"...They may be small, but they have something that no mere viking on Midgard has," said the Night Fury in Dragonese as the storm dragon looked down at him intriguingly. "They've used it in battle before, and it's sent our enemies running for the hills. Trust me when I tell you that Hiccup and his friends are your best shot at taking down this giant."

"Hmm…"

Once more the storm dragon sat in thought of this. Through Ragnar and the votun, she had heard tales about the vikings. How some have the strength to take down the largest of creatures, while others have the ability to climb up mountains and not look back down in fear, while fighting in battles without being scratched. Such the same went for the legendary viking Brann, whose deeds are as famed as his smile.

In her eyes there was a glimmer of hope. Maybe they could help her fight it off?

That glimmer however left her as both she, Hiccup, and the others suddenly heard a distant roar from down below the mountain interrupt them, followed by another, and another, and then again, another. It was quite strange...

Hiccup arched a brow as he looked back at the alpha with a questioning gaze. "What's going on with your dragons? Are they usually like that?"

Velthora did not respond however. She merely made her way over to the edge to see what was going on. Granted, the mountain was not that large, so she could see everything that was happening down below, and what she saw nearly shook her as she spotted a giant figure in the distance, making its way over with haste, and it was then she knew why her dragons were roaring the way they were as they fled into the safety of the mountain. They were afraid.

"He's here…"

Hiccup's brows both rose up as his assumption took over at what she was gazing at. He stood to his feet, quickly running over to the edge next to Velthora as he looked down. He saw below them what she was staring at even though his sight was not as good as hers, and he knew right away what it was, and nor was it good.

It was a giant.

"Oh boy," sighed Hiccup. "Looks like things are about to get real…"