Close to the eyes of many but far off within the distance, lies the path for Drago Bludvist to reach the Arcana he seeks and for the Knights to rescue the Empress; for the False Dragon God knows no boundries in the race against time to become what he desires the most in his pursuing conquest of selfish genocide. Know no limits to this pathway of death as it awaits in the end
-Elder Gothi
(A/N: I've been thinking alot about "Shadow the Hedgehog (2005)" and makes me think about how the cool, edgy and awesome things about it like having Guns, Vehicles and the whole Dark Theme added to it. My only issue with the Game is the fact that it wasn't what I wanted it to be, Villains are good and the Story can be fixed but I fucking HATE that you always have to begin at Westopolis EVERY FUCKING TIME you want to take a different path instead of branching off. If I want to make a Shadow the Hedgehog game then I would keep the Guns while adding in the targeting reticle, Vehicles which are mostly from 2006, Black Arms with G.U.N Soldiers and Eggman Robots which are also from 2006 with some classic Badniks thrown in there, Shadow saying Damn and Piss and finally; make Super Shadow playable in regular stages because don't you miss that feeling in the Genesis Trilogy? Oh and Elemental Shields return with their special abilities as well, with the Gameplay being more like Adventure 2's Dark Story and Adventure 1's E-102 Gamma. This is gonna be a longer chapter by the way. Enjoy!)
By the rising sun that edged over the horizon, General Scorpio and the New Riders all stood forth before their path at the docks of Draconia; having been given this news by Jafaris Thornwhip and the Pendulum Guardians. Once they've made contact with the Knights who returned to see them off, they were ready for battle following the New Riders' training at the Dragon's Edge. The General stood atop his Triple Stryke, Eclipser who was bread to dominate moonlit fights as he adopted stealth as his main strategy opposed to it's species normal strategies. A Triple Stryke trained by both Drayko and Scorpio, but given to the General as a gift
"So the Alliance has been formed with the Murderous Tribe. The New Riders from the Dragon's Edge outpost are ready for battle against the Hunters of Bludvist's Army, if we need your help or if we do not respond within the matter of days; Eclipser will alert you to us and you will know" General Scorpio told him
Drayko nodded and went to check on something inside the Main Hall where his bedroom was, it was progress of his "Secret Project" to which unlike the Bangle of Chrono Quicksilver, this one was meant for the Dragons. He returned afterwards and found Throk had appeared, he was looking concerned; "Drayko, the Hunters have attacked Caldera Cay and the Queen's been wounded in their assault; get your Medic's supplies ready!"
"Understood, Mala's not bleeding out on us" Drayko declared as the General and the New Riders took off to the sky
"I wish you the best and greatest of luck in the hunt for the final Arcana, Lord Drayko!" He called out to him as the Knights mounted their Dragons and took off as well, towards the direction of Caldera Cay as Throk went with Raedwit on his Zippleback; as they were heading towards the North and were approaching the retreating shipyard of Dragon Hunter Brigantines, who opened fired on them with their Dragon Root Arrows
The Knights of course outmaneuvered them with their aerial dodges, Toothless especially since Night Furies like him are known for being like this; they immediately returned fired with their Crossbow Shields and sent some of the Brigantines ablaze while some of them escaped. They landed in the Village and saw the destruction caused by the Hunters, who were fighting off the Defenders; the Knights fired away with their Shields at the Hunter's heads to aid their allies while they in return turned their attention to them before running to fight them. It was during this time that an Adolescent Speed Stinger who lived here was running through the forests, just wondering what in the hell is going on here; he jumped over an small fissure in the ground and came over to the edge, where it finally understood what was happening
He looked closer and saw that an Hunter had smacked Drayko toward the ground, which immediately had him sliding off the cliff and running towards the Hunter who was about to strike him down; the Speed Stinger jumped and stabbed him with his barbed tail, paralyzing the Hunter and jumped off while Drayko sent a kick towards his foe's face. Because of the Speed Stinger's interference, some of the Hunters changed their target towards the Dragon; with the Adolescent Speed Stinger defending itself using it's speed, it's tail and to Fishlegs' surprise: It's new Acid Blast that it fired off (A/N: School of Dragons mechanic, even Speed Stingers like him need firepower so let's say they've evolved long enough to have this new power)
"It shoots Acid Blasts now, wonder what else is new about them" Fishlegs' curiosity peaked through as he broke an Hunter's jaw with one swing of Shatterquake
"Acid Blasts eh? So they've become even more deadly, formidable enough with their barbed paralysis tails" Raijah thought to himself
Unfortunately, the Adolescent Speed Stinger was being swarmed; one of the Hunters cutted and lacerated it's right leg but ended up being paralyzed in the end while the rest felt the wrath of both it's Acid Blasts and Drayko's burning sword Inferno. In return for slaying all of the remaining Hunters around the area with the Defenders of the Wing stabbing through them with their spears and slicing them with their katanas (A/N: Because they can be wielded with one hand), Drayko carried the injured Speed Stinger while he and the Knights went off to find the Queen; running through the Island and eventually coming across the surviving Defenders who had set up an Medical Tent, with trails of blood that led them to the Campsite. Throk appeared with them having jumped off Barf and Belch before making a run to where the surviving Defenders were; concerned about the Queen although that didn't mean he didn't help out a little bit
One of the Defenders called them out with Throk leading them inside of the Tent as Mala lied on a bed designed for patients like her and the Empress, her arm was clutching a bloody gash across her stomach that was being treated; Drayko assumed this to be the work of Ryker Grimborn as only someone as vile and brutal like him could wield serrated dual swords made from Oxidized Copper, A.K.A Dragon Proof Metal that isn't so Dragon Proof when it comes to Hotburples. Although Ryker knew this as he knows about Nadder's belly being exposed when firing their spines/spikes, Gronckles being immune to Dragon Root which is why they created Gronckle Iron chains, Night Terrors' reliance on their Leader like the Speed Stingers and just about anything except for Buffalords hating to move from their favorite spot. Mala looked up to see them before giving this bad news to them
"The Dragon Hunters have returned-" She coughed up some blood before continuing as she revealed this next: "The Empress was taken, Krogan's Flyers and Drago's Trappers overpowered us; now we've really done it, betrayed the trust given to us by her" She coughed up more blood to which Drayko wiped away from her mouth and clothing before leaving silently without a word, who was more or less concerned about the Speed Stinger that fought with them
"I don't condone his tendency to help Dragons like that Stinger, but what a selfish bastard" Heather scowled when Drayko spoke of nothing as he left unconcerned
"I'll be alright, he's doing what his mind is telling him what to do; don't blame him" Mala told her, knowing that Drayko always did this at times
"You pest atdend to zee Sbeed Sdinger vo decited to choin in our schtruggle hakainst zee Hunters, I vill haffe zee Gueen's vounds dealt vith in ein schort vile" Arson suggested as the Knights understood and headed outside of the Tent, Heather looked back and joined the others as she was really starting to have some trouble in understanding him. But regardless she went with whatever he was saying and mostly understood because of the Knights knowing what he's talking about
Carrying the Adolescent Speed Stinger from down the pathway of the survivor's campsite, Drayko laid the young Dragon down and walked away; giving this order to Fishlegs and Raijah as he stood by, getting an splint for the young one. "Hold him down" He responded coldly as they did just that, giving Raedwit the split he got from Toothless' satchel and having his hand be soaked in medicine in order to heal the bloody gash on his leg; all while chanting this:
"Mundare vulnere sanies Exhaurire signa cicatrices nostrorum (Drain the signs of a corrupt discharge from the wound, the scars of our fathers, be thou made clean)" He spoke this incantation three times as he stroke across the gash, sprinkling and applying some Ambrosia that Bladehead's cousin from Greece had sent them before wrapping it up and using the splint in order to make sure the broken leg is healed in no time. (A/N: Don't ask about the Ambrosia, Bladehead knows where to get his shit from and that was not from the Gods of Olympus)
Once the Speed Stinger who was now known as Speedy thanks to Raedwit deciding to call him that got up, he felt the pain that was very faint and it was now on the edge of fading away completely; though when he felt his wound, he still felt an nasty pulled muscle that had him mentally hiss. Drayko was leaning against the cliff's wall as Speedy looked at him, and knowing that he owes him more than a debt; he slightly limped over to him and with curiosity shining in his red eyes, he started to rub against him as if he was a member of his own Pack. Drayko in return stroked his snout, making him coo before scratching his underbelly; having him lean in before he caused him to collapse thanks to scratching him underneath his chin, giving the same reaction that Toothless and Stormfly had given him in his final days on Berk. While Speedy got back up, Arson arrived to informed them that Mala's injuries have been dealt with and requires Drayko immediately
"Of course she does, everyone never seems to want the other Knights" Drayko responded with an sarcastic response, which is a rare sight as he wanted nothing to be involved with Hiccup; his previous self since he already hated Berk enough
"You're the leader, doesn't mean there aren't those who like seeing us in action" Eret stated
"I've seen those people before, half of them are children" Drayko replied, knowing that this was true and to prove that there are those who like at least one of the Knights that was with him; not actually him. Regardless of such, the Knights returned back up onto the cliff where the campsite was and entered the Medical Tent as Mala revealed this to him and the Knights
"Me and Throk saw the Dragon Hunters take the Empress onto their fleet of ships, she's fought bravely and slain a few of her foes; but Ryker overpowered her before taking her as hostage; they're heading back to her Kingdom, do whatever it takes to find Drago Bludvist and rescue Jacqueline. We will not let her blood be shed and misued with the Emperor's Sword"
"May we fight together on the battlefield against this menace, and I should thank you for helping out that Speed Stinger; he's been left behind here on Caldera Cay and he's not looking concerned on returning with his Pack, I'll stay behind and make sure the Queen gets her rest to recover. It shouldn't take too long thanks to your Medic" Throk told them
Drayko understood him and noticed that she had an arrow lodged in Mala's leg, grabbing it before removing the arrow with a spurt of blood and a yelp from the Queen. "Thanks" She held back her pain before letting out a weak sigh, falling asleep afterwards as her minor wounds need time to heal themselves
They proceeded to exit the Medical Tent as Heather heard Drayko say that he was gonna go back to Draconia to do what according to Fishlegs, normally does as a usual tradition of his at night. She only shook her head and concluded that it was just an excuse to forget about what happened that night on that metal ship, it really wasn't something that could be forgotten so easily; it was more like mental scarrings that have severely made his mind bleed out to the brink of madness, a nightmare that's giving him a lifetime of despair. This did not stop her from getting the "Lonely Depressed" feeling and vibe from him that was still lurking with him, as if it was like a curse that was placed onto him. Nevertheless, they mounted their Dragons and left Caldera Cay as the setting sun began to dip behind the ocean of the Barbaric Archipelago; but what lied in wait for them will show just how far they are willing to keep the Empress out of their hands
As the night fell upon the Knights who flew high above the advanced land of Mierviea Vde Rallie, a scarlet flame was enough to get their guard up as Krogan and the Dragon Flyers ambushed them once again in the sky; this time with the Flyer Leader acting as Krogan's second in command. The Flyer Leader happened to look like the rest of his men wearing an brown crocodile like mouth cowl with his nose poking through, an studded helmet with three horns going backwards, spiked shoulder guards, wrapped arms, sapphire blue eyes, Zippleback flesh tunic with black and white wrapped pants and black warpaint across his eyes and on both of his arms to which they both had the crest of Bludvist's Army. His Singetail was an sunrise orange color with red spots and spines. They came out of the clouds and forced their Singetails to fire like always, three of the Flyers came closing in at Drayko while the Knight simply used the Bangle of Chrono Quicksilver to freeze time; "FREEZE!" While his suroundings flashed and turned negative, Drayko made a jump to two of the Singetails and pinched their necks
"You both will feel that in a second" Drayko told the two Singetails he pinched in the necks while he killed the third one's Flyer, returning back to Toothless as he got back into place and allowed time to resume. The third Flyer fell limp and out of the sky as a corpse from the clouds while the other two Singetails fell asleep, to which in return caused the Flyers to also fall out of the sky. Krogan's eyes narrowed as he swung his Axe Chain against Bladehead and swung their weapons against each other, deflecting blow after another but never giving into their weaknesses; the Flyer Leader on the other hand shot Drayko off of Toothless, to which made Raedwit throw his double ended spear towards Krogan. Striking his shoulder before the Illusionist flew downwards to stop Drayko from falling, by having Barf and Belch grab him and throw him back up onto Toothless
Because of what Raedwit had done earlier before saving Drayko from falling, Bladehead took advantage of this distraction and proceeded to land a triple punch to his chest and a double punch to his face before giving him a headbutt. With Maria firing her Arrow towards Krogan's foot, the Leader of the Dragon Flyers took his leave while the Flyer Leader fired off one last scarlet flame towards the Knights' Dragons before taking off
"We must be doing something wrong here, how are we being defeated by him twice?! He's become more formidable by the minute and he still outmatches us both" The Flyer Leader angrily asked. Speculating at their second defeat
"Somebody's given him the Power to manipulate Time itself..." Krogan scowled, believing this because Drayko wasn't this fast before
"Time Manipulation? Like hell he would, that's not possible unless the Gods were aiding him" The Flyer Leader countered
"He's not being aided by the Gods of Valhalla, someone has given him a item that allows him to manipulate Time to freeze or slow it down; that's what he's using against us. If we're going to defeat him, we're going to have to make him give up the information to his new found Powers" Krogan growled, not entirely sure of weather or not his suspicions are true; but when he finds out how he is able to do such thing no human could do, the Dragon Hunters will use it against them and nobody will stop them. For now, he retreated on his Titan Wing Singetail while Drayko and the Knights flew down to the Modern District below; landing into a short tunnel within street level as the prepared for whatever else lied ahead of them
HTTYD
They walked halfway through the tunnel and were only stopped when a Manticore beast appeared out of the toxic green mist that Blight was always surrounded by. This beast was an Orthrus, a twin headed wolf guarding Geryon's Cattle who was murdered by Hercules (A/N: It's Heracles but I'm going with the Roman name because it's easier to pronounce and it's ironic because Hera hates Hercules) with the horns of a giant sable antelope which were diagonally on the left and right, the underbelly of an Dragon, the tail which appeared to be a living snake wrapped in thorns, hind legs of an horse and the front were talons of an bird. This beast also adorned spikes on it's back and had an pouch of an Kangaroo which carried it's unborn youngling that was murdered before it's prime birth. This beast was known as "Foedissimae" which translated to: Foul Disgrace
"Who are you growling at you damn mutt?" Drayko remarked
"Blight's gotta a new hunting puppy with him, how nice... for us to kill" Raijah added, bringing and igniting his Phoenix Talons
Foedissimae roared and lunged forward towards Drayko first, as it was Blight's nemesis and his first target; the Knight parried it's lunge attack to the side and stabbed it's underbelly with Inferno before slicing along the side, sending a kick to it's left jaw and breaking off some of it's fangs in the process which spurted blood out. Foedissimae stood back up and tackled Raijah next as it used it's tail to bite Dragur, but was stopped when Rose intervened by firing a shot of acid against the Manticore; Maria threw her Axe towards it's right head and chopped into it's neck, gushing and sprouting out a load of blood but this did not stop him in the slightest. Vixen got involved as she dug her teeth into the Manticore's tail, which Foedissimae threw off to the side and tackled Drayko once again. Beginning to maul him before Raedwit stabbed through it's brain with Thunderbolt, sending a uppercut followed by a fireball from Barf and Belch towards it's two heads
This skirmish continued on for two minutes before Raijah slammed it to the ground and slashed it's front underbelly with his claws, creating an X-shaped scar before it kicked him off and got back up. Drayko threw Inferno towards it's front talon and Raedwit shot a Zippleback Grenade towards the burning blade, causing an explosion that the former's sword be blown away spinning in the air and stabbing the ground as it landed. Foedissimae roared and howled into the air before vanishing in the toxic mist, shooting upwards and out of the tunnel as the Manticore returned to it's master; who was none other than Blight himself who watched the whole skirmish between them and the Knights. High above an large building as he stroked his Manticore: "Do not let the Legendary Drayko Ryder outsmart you, as in due time for when Mierveia Vde Rallie falls into our control; you will have your revenge against him, Foedissimae my precious Jager (Hunter)"
Some of the Knights took this break to recover from their wounds thanks to Arson and Vixen made sure to keep a eye out for any sign of Foedissimae returning, once they were done getting their treatments from Arson; they continued forth through the empty barren streets of the Modern District that in which it's buildings happened to be burned and left in ruins, Drayko had never seen such architecture before and had to wonder what Stoick would've gave to live here had he been a better father figure. Valka on the other hand was amazed by the Modern District's look and feeling, but felt like it was lacking spectacle as she wished that there was more to it; but who can she blame since Drago Bludvist turned this place into a total ruin since he's not stopping for anything until he becomes a true Dragon God, which makes him into more of the same: A evil, heartless, tyrannic warlord who's bent on conquering the Archipelago with his Army of Dragon Hunters and so many enslaved Dragons that need her and Cloudjumper's help
It was once they've reached the fork in the road, splitting into two pathways that something was heard. It was one of the Dragon Hunters, it was mechanical and it was a living weapon. This weapon turned around and targeted Drayko, who shot two missiles towards the Knight who side stepped and struck the oil tanks that exploded from behind them; leaving a fiery mess that burned and blocked the road, Drayko and the Knights turned around to see who shot the missile and it was yet another attack by the Dragon Hunters; although this was a New Weapon prototype designed by them and it was a drivable type of weapon known as the "Catastrophic Tanks"
Catastrophic Tanks were exactly like it sounded: Tanks based off the future M1 Abrams Tank that sported two mounted turn table mini-ballistas that fired rapidly and an long main gun. They were mostly modeled after the Dragon Hunter's Brigantines and The Conqueror ship of Bludvist's Army, sporting spikes and durable armor with added scales and spikes from the Catastrophic Quakens and other Boulder Dragons. The tracks were spiked for off road terrain on the environment's ground and was mostly designed after the Main Dragon that it was named after, featuring reinforced breaking wheels to help it move within the tracks and was powered by automatons that allowed it to operate. But of course this meant the Dragon Hunters also forced Boulder Dragons to make it operate properly, it's firepower happened to be hollowed TNT Ballista shaped spearbolts that were dipped in Dragon Root like all their weapons. The mini-ballistas were no different as they fired the usual Dragon Root Arrows. Because this was one of the weapons of Bludvist's Army, it also sported the Catastrophic Quaken as it's main Dragon figure that it was based on. Whenever it fired, it shot out like cannons. Finally, this Tank had at least one driver and four gunners; making it operated by five Dragon Hunters when some are operated by three, although it's brought up to six due to an extra seat by the driver that can allow them to gain some information on what their enemies are up to; the Dragon Hunter's rising bloody fist crest was emblemized on the front like a car emblem and was painted with red bloody marks to signify their pride, with the main gun having red and yellow stripes like their Dragon Root weapons with some oxidized copper on some parts of the weapon
(A/N: I'll explain everything about the "Catastrophic Tank/Dragon Hunter Tank" at the end)
The Dragon Hunter Tank aimed for the Knights and fired off two more Dragon Root Missiles, with the heroes jumping out of the way while the incoming projectiles struck the scenery around them. The Hunters mounted their full auto mini-ballistas and began firing at them, forcing them to run in several different directions; but surely there was a weakness to every weapon that Viggo and Ryker could create, even the most dangerous of weapons that the Dragon Hunters have designed have at least one flaw that would be enough for the Knights to counter against. Such was the case when the Catastrophic Tank turned it's main weapon and fired off another Dragon Root Spearbolt towards the Knights, Fishlegs had suggested that the bottom of the Dragon Hunter Tank was unarmored and that flipping it may expose it's weakness; Meatlug did just that as she consumed the rocks from the wreckage of the ruins and fired off an Lava Blast that exploded upon contact, this caused the Hunter's Tank to tip over to the side but retained it's balance as the Hunters continued firing at them with their mounted ballistas. But when it did tip over, the bottom was also armored
"No, the Hunters thought of everything!" Fishlegs expressed his shock and disappointment
"These are just the Prototypes, they haven't gotten it right yet!" Maria aimed her Bow towards the wheels within the Catastrophic Tank and fired off her Arrow laced with the components to Raedwit's Zippleback Grenade and Stormfly's Magnesium Sulfur. The Nadder Spike arrow sailed through the air and made it's exploding impact in the tracks, the Gronckle Iron wheels inside the track blew right off as the Tank was fully tipped over to the side thanks to the explosion; the Knights proceeded onwards to take out this new weapon by firing at the now exposed Dragon Fire powered automation, the Catastrophic Tank exploded in a rain of fiery wreckage and blood as the Dragon that was forced to operate for the Hunters was freed from it's torment
As Drayko flipped his coin and landed on Tails, he immediately ordered that they seek shelter from the oncoming attacks from the Dragon Hunters; and because of the left path being blocked by the fiery wreckage thanks to the Catastrophic Tank, the Knights took the other path and made their way through the barren streets; overcoming fallen structures, broken up road pavings and running up the highway roads that were leading them to the rooftops. They leaped across to the rooftop and avoided the incoming Dragon Root Spearbolts that were fired at them from the Dragon Hunter Tanks with the Hunters themselves saying things like these:
"We can cut him off!"
"Your resistance means nothing to us!"
"Give up the Dragons, Devil Riders!"
"By order of Drago Bludvist, everyone here is to be executed!"
"Ryker will see to your deaths!"
"Surrender or Viggo will see you suffer much worse!"
"Surrender and Krogan will not let you suffer much"
"Take them out, keep their Dragons alive!"
"Do not resist us, give up the monsters you have with you!"
"Get Grimmel on the frontline, we're not letting them walk away from this!"
The Dragon Hunter Tanks fired their Dragon Root Spearbolts, one after another and all of them aimed for the Knights; but only succeeded in destroying the ruined and burned buildings that collapsed into dust and smoke, it was only until one of the Tanks struck Hookfang and forced Raijah to carry the Nightmare upon his shoulders. The Scorching Vigilante has grown more than attached to Hookfang and would do anything to have him live until they both go down in the hot, burning desert underneath the scorching sun that shined it's rays upon their boiling corpses. Soon one of the Tanks fired off an heat seeking spearbolt that struck the nearby oil tanks upon the rooftop they were standing on, blowing them off of the building but managing to grapple onto their respective Dragons as they flew to the Cathedral
However as to be expected of the Dragon Hunters, there was at least one of the Catastrophic Tanks that was stationed on the rooftops. This one had it's gunners rapidly fire their mini-ballistas at the Dragons to subdue them first, but the Knights wouldn't have that and formed an defensive Greek Phalanx formation around them all; Rose used her camoflague to hide from the Tank and appear on the wall before firing a stream of Acid with Dragur doing the same from both the front and back sides. This was something that the Tank couldn't defend against as prototypes weren't exactly armored with Gronckle Iron, they were mainly for testing on the field. As soon as the Acid exposed the weak points of the Catastrophic Tanks, the Knights and Dragons opened fire with an bombarding barrage of Arrows, Crescent Blades and firepower of different types; especially the Plasma Bolts as they were half-charged, to underestimate and call a Night Fury weak would be the same to calling Ares/Loki/Hercules/Perseus weak since they have powers and weapons no one could use against them. Frost and Blizzard ran up to the front of the Tank and plunged his trident "Snowblind" through the bodies of the gunners
Bladehead on the other hand started to spin his double ended halberd and have it be charged by Storm's lightning before he tapped into his Berserker Rage, allowing him to throw it like a piercing arrow that sailed through the air and stabbed into the front of the Dragon Hunter Tank. Because of the electrical overload that was infused with the halberd and the damage done to the Catastrophic Tank, it was about to blow up at any moment; especially now as Heather and Windshear struck the automation tank and freed the Dragon forced to operate it. "Get off the Cathedral now!" Drayko yelled as the Knights mounted their Dragons and flew off to a safe spot, Toothless refused to leave and stayed by his side as they both made a run for the edge; firing off one last Plasma Bolt towards the Tank and blowing it up completely
The explosion was so powerful and so deadly that it blew the brotherly duo off from the Cathedral and had them diving off from the collapsing building. Drayko fell onto Toothless' saddle and flew upwards to reach the Knight's current location, while the Cathedral continued to explode and collapse all together; becoming nothing more but a smoking pile of ruins that was set ablaze, especially from the distance as Spitelout watched on from on top of Kingstail. Overlooking the entire scene before taking off back to Berk
"Now I'm really certain that my nephew must know what Berk's planning against him, but they've got bigger issues to take care of for now" With that declared, he flew back elsewhere in Mierveia Vde Rallie
HTTYD
Once everything calmed down and the Knights came from out of the shadows within the dark alleyway in the medium sized square section, they all took this moment to calm themselves and explain some things to Heather; such as the reasoning on why they joined Drayko and what they seek: Maria's seeking action to get her adrenaline flowing through her blood, Raedwit's seeking out an apprentice and power, Raijah felt like he owes a debt to the Nightmare who saved him that day in the desert of his homeland, Eret was betrayed all because a Flightmare escaped and Drago threw a tantrum before sending his Hunters after his ass and he just won't have it, Dragur sought out revenge against Red Death for the murder of his Tribe, Arson simply wanted to be their medic, Bladehead was trying to find somewhere to forge in peace and finally, Frost had his final wish granted to him and besides; he wasn't even a villain to begin with, he got his revenge against the one who left him to die thanks to his severe heat intolerance
"I haven't forgotten my mission to find out if Dagur still lives, the Berserker Tribe must return back to what it was like; even without my brother, none of us can live our lives while Savage rules as Chief. But who ever said he would make a good leader anyways? Dagur at least put some effort when we lost Oswald the Agreeable, let's keep moving and find the Empress"
"If it's Heads" Drayko only huffed through his nose, flipping his coin and landing on Heads like he predicted. Moving on with the rest of the Knights out of the alleyway, walking down the streets with their Dragons until the latter spotted Drago along the Hunters, Flyers and Trappers heading towards the Northwest high above; Drayko immediately ran in their direction with the Knights following him, tailing the False Dragon God without them knowing
Eventually, they were led to Docks of the Modern District and saw that they were heading to an Offshore Fortress that supposedly led the Hunters to the Chalice of Mandragora; not wasting any time on letting them reach their destination, Drayko and the Knights mounted their Dragons once again and took off. Although they flew low and stealthily glided over the ocean, all the way to the Offshore Fortress before landing undetected on the land; silently climbing up to the entrance and entering inside, seeing that the fortress was more of an large complex that was meant for capturing and trapping newborn Hatchlings. The very sight of it all made them just made Bludvist's Army true genocidal Devils, especially hypocrites who claim to be doing this for the liberation of mankind by stripping the freedom and the fun that would and could never lose it's charm. Regardless of such, they went through the several rooms of the Fortress and proceeded on through one of the rooms that had the Knights mount onto a large trolly; leading from the Facility to the Landing Pad on the other side. Drayko leaned back against the wall as the light from the outside of the tunnel passed by and it was mostly dark inside, the Knights made themselves comfortable against their Dragons
Fishlegs brought out his Dragon Cards and looked through them to pass the time. His Dragon Cards were an rectangular shaped pack of cards that provided information to him since Drayko couldn't risk to bring the Book of Dragons in the presence of the Dragon Hunters, especially not the Hooligans. They had the Dragon Classifications with the Night Fury, Nadder, Zippleback, Nightmare, Gronckle, Rumblehorn, Changewing, Scauldron and Grapple Grounder crests on the back; far most latter being the Unknown Class. They were mostly an dark espresso brown and dunmore cream tan color, with the colorful artstyle of the Dragon depicted as it was drawn by Drayko himself. The descriptions were directly from the Book of Dragons and it should be mentioned that one of the Unknown 4 consisting of the Firefang, Blubberwing, Modularhorn and Spikeback had it's name changed; specifically the third one as it was now known under the much more fitting title of "Antlered Modularhorn" Reason for this was because it didn't feel fitting enough and that it's horns looked like antlers. There was also an 5th Unknown Dragon but it was since then revealed to be an Mudraker, due to the Dragons having identical resemblances; most notably: their forked tails
"What are those you've got?" Heather asked
"My Dragon Cards, been working on them for months. Drayko provided the artwork, Raedwit provided the descriptions from the Book of Dragons and borderline art to match the style of the Dragon Classes such as Strike, Stoker, Fear, Sharp, Mystery, Tracker and Boulder for example"
"Fishlegs, they're incredible" She praised
"I know right? Not only do I have their Classes, I've also got their size and speed. All this knowledge right at our fingers"
"How you'd come up with the idea anyways?"
"The Hunters would do anything to keep the Dragon Eye and even the Book of Dragons out of our hands and to themselves like selfish pricks, more like spoiled, misbehaving Kindergartners cheating at a game whom you just had to let them wind in order to shut them the hell up..." Drayko interrupted, scoffing and breathing one through his nose; feeling sympathetic for those who had to deal with that bullshit
"In order to avoid the risks, why not come up with a way to negate that issue?" Fishlegs finished
"This is reminding me of that Card Game you were playing awhile back then" Heather recalled
"The King of Dragons series of board games, they're just like Maces and Talons except Drayko actually plays it; they're created for tactical and strategic planning, but they have a storyline of their own as a Dragon Rider follows the path and conquers the trials of becoming exactly what the name says: the King of Dragons" Raedwit explained
Soon the large trolly transport arrived at the location and stopped, allowing the Knights and their Dragons to exit. Drayko decided to let Heather take the lead again and stayed behind as she led them to the chained elevator, going up for awhile until it brought them to an long hallway; going down through the path before them and entering right through the doors, bringing them to an set of stairs that also led them even further up. To which they climbed up halfway before stopping, letting Drayko take back the lead before continuing the rest of the way up the stairs. Coming towards the door and exiting out as they arrived just in time to see Drago walk back to his twin binded Whispering Death mount, although he stopped and turned slowly to face Drayko and the Knights who have come to stop him; giving a cold unwelcoming and malevolent glare at Drayko especially as he asked: "Well well... what do we have here?"
"Do you have to ask?" Drayko's eyes narrowed as he tilted his head down, asking in cold but dark tone. Toothless snarled viciously with his fangs exposed, growling with hatred against the one man that they both hated more than Stoick
"Hmm... next time then" Drago calmly dismissed
"What have you done with the Empress, Drago?" Heather asked in a violent matter
"That's no concern of yours Berserker, Jacqueline paid the price for her resistance by going into a drug induced sleep thanks to the aerolized Dragon Root. I have other business to attend to..."
"Aerolized Dragon Root?" Raedwit angrily asked, tilting his head down
"According to Ryker, it's what they use to transport captured Dragons for their little Dragon Fighting sport; the Champion was a black and golden Triple Stryke, but he's not there anymore. Someone freed him and it's definitely not the work of you-know-who" Heather explained secretly, Raedwit nodded
"Feed them all the information you want, that means nothing to me. I, the Dragon God and your future nightmare even in death will not stand by idly while you lurk in the shadows of the Archipelago that I will conquer in due time. You will meet your fate and you will know the true fear and power that I possess in me"
"Like you would ever conquer our home, let alone to be a God to rule us like the tyrant you are" Valka spat out
"You will not live long enough to track us down, I and the rest of the Dragon Hunters will make sure of it"
Without another word, he mounted his twin Whispering Deaths and fired off a double concentric ring of fire against the Knights; forcing them to dodge by jumping out of the way before flying away with Drayko throw Inferno against Drago's Prosthetic Arm like armor, piercing through before the victim threw it back at him. Inferno struck the ground as Drayko reclaimed it and looked on before turning to another entrance before them, walking to the door and entering through; the Knights followed soon after as they exited the Landing Pad and entered back in the Facility. Now that it was clear that Drago had done something to the Empress, they've got to make sure that they get to the Chalice of Mandragora first; as they know that Jacqueline will be alright
They'll rescue the Empress in no time and when that time comes, Drago Bludvist will be no more and the Dragon Hunters will thrive no more in their prime. For now, it's time that they leave the Offshore Fortress...
The Catastrophic Tanks was an idea that I planned on adding in when the Draconia Wars began outbreaking horizon between the Knights of the Dragon Riders and the Dragon Hunters, they've got plenty of new toys and weapons to use against the former and they ain't planning on sharing anytime soon. But with new weapons that the Hunters come up with, the Knights are bound to come biting and striking back with newfound weaknesses; besides the Dragon Hunters and Bludvist's Army, I know it's Drago's Army but I'm calling it Bludvist's Army because it sounds cool, have desgined and built machines for combat and for murdering these innocent Dragons. But also: the Dragon Hunters, Dragon Flyers, Dragon Trappers, Dragon Divers, Dragon Marauders who are the desert version of the Hunters and Bludvist's Army in this Fanfic are the same people because they're an United Faction altogether. The Dragon Hunter Tanks are just prototypes but they will be better next time
BTW I was looking at Dragons: Titan Uprising and I figured that there was a new Villain of the Dragon Hunters faction who were known as the notorious "Dragonroot Company" and just so happened to be that Savage the Staunch as he is now called for being loyal has broken out of Berserker Island's prison and became apart of the Dragonroot Company. In the original version of Curse of the Emperor's Sword, Dagur kills Savage in a happy and sadistic way just to save Gustav; I've decided to change that and have him be locked away before he eventually breaks out and takes one last stand against the Knights as he is one of The Warlords, an Villainous Group who are after Toothless and led by Drago which you will see next Chapter. No, they're not meant to be an Organization XIII clone; they're there because I want to give you an insight on what they're planning
Besides the reason I said they're after Toothless is because: Grimmel the Grisly, that's why. You can believe his bullshit about hunting down every Night Fury to the edge of extinction, but deep down you know that's all full of lies and that Toothless is NOT the last of them; no matter what Dean DeBlois tells you, it's bullshit. Remember this suggestion: Don't like it, don't read it. Otherwise, Feel free to Review and Until we meet again next time; I shall return...
TheLegendaryBlackDragonKnight
P.S: Dean Deblois is a great man, I have no disrespect for him. It's Grimmel the Asshole that I have disrespect for, fucking thin chinned dickhead. I know it was Drago who did this and when Drayko kills Drago, he's gonna savagely, gruesomely and brutally beat Grimmel to the bloody death pulp by staving his head and smashing his skull until it caves into itself right in front of his own Deathgrippers and Luna (Light Fury) which I should mention that only his son calls her that while Drayko just calls her by her species' name. I know it's a spoiler for an future story but that's what happens when you're a hypocrite who wants genocide and imprisonment on all Dragons, but you USE them for your own selfish desires and liberation. Grimmel deserves what will be coming to him in the future. For now, it's Drago Bludvist who will be getting the justifiable death for all the Dragons he has hurt...