Continued from the last one! Huzzah!

Star: Okay…. I did not intend that—its supposed to be a very one-sided dedication. But the more I write, the more I am HECKING UP IN THAT RESPECT. And yes! It is is! You were riiight!

Guest: finger guns whoooo! Yeah! That's correct.

Night had almost fallen by their arrival. The bump of her sled against the jagged land having jolted her awake, Aqua sat up with a gasp. She glanced about, not recognizing this section of the Edge, but knowing that it was closer to the wilderness adjacent the main outpost. Utilizing the cover of dwindling sunlight and sea stacks for his approach, Viggo had likely been more careful than she'd ever been in traversing the Edge.

Going through the habit of hiding her mode of transportation with the fallen brush and shoving it beneath a sizable cleft of the Cliffside, the woman straightened herself out. She turned to check on her companion. The trip, for him, must have been spent formulating every plan comprehensible. Now for the game of was he going to even fill her in or not?

Viggo traced a finger over the Dragon Eye; mind plunged deep in thought over the next sequence he'd chosen to follow. Parts of it were a gamble, but what reward came without risk? Gaining even a meager ounce of trust would be a monumental task, no doubt. Technically, it was only Hiccup he needed to sway to his side for the time being. The others were his trusted council, yet not a requirement. Some were susceptible to manipulation in his favor. And by now, the Riders were likely to have encountered Ryker, who preyed on their gullible and thoughtful natures. Nonetheless, the boy was smart, and would see reason before long.

"So have you a plaaAAAAaaAAHHH!" In one move, Viggo drew his sword, hiding the Dragon Eye from view. Barely restrained irritation bloomed on his face.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Nothing particularly alarming entered his field of vision, except for a mortified girl who rarely had a reaction so theatrical to anything. His grip somewhat relaxed, still acutely aware that there were dragons roaming freely on this island, wondering what warranted Aquaria's exclamation.

"Nothing! I—" Her words failed her miserably. She blinked away the expression of stupor and attempted to paint neutrality, "My throat. The seawater must have had an adverse effect on my vocal cords. I apologize." Viggo knew a beautifully created deception when he heard one, and this… was not it.

"Have I ever told you what an abysmal liar you are?" He sounded pained, tilting his head back to pinch the bridge of his nose. It was blindingly obvious, at least now.

"Yes." Many times, "But, you're the one who taught me that skill, so whose fault is it really?" Kicking the ball back in his court, she cleared her throat and shifted awkwardly to the side, "I'm going to go find freshwater." Insisting the first theory to be true.

"Do what you must." Ire broadcasted in his exasperation, the man left her to her own devices, having more important matters to attend to, "And do try not to wander. There may be a use for you yet." It was not merely a statement; it was a demand. Something familiar and altogether unsettling fell over her shoulders like a heavy drape as she bowed.

Once the silhouette of his form faded without a trace into the forest, Aqua's face scrunched so severely, it was a miracle her eyes didn't pop out of her head. "You stupid dragon!" Each hissed word scalded intensely. The Huntress lunged at the creature poking its head out of the thick brambles that ran along the forest floor. Wrapping her tail around the human in delighted greeting, the Night Fury trilled boisterously. "Hush!" Convinced that this dragon was keen on getting them both stuffed and sold for gold, Aqua pushed at her snout, finding her to be much stronger than before.

She had increased in size, no longer able to be scooped up in a single arm anymore—or two arms, for that matter. Sitting back in contentment, the dark amethyst-colored dragon shook her head, smoothly rippling the motion down her wings and to her long tail, curling and twisting in the air. She was approximately half the size of Toothless. Hovering her hand over the Night Fury's ear appendages for a fleeting moment, she dragged the tips of her fingers across the golden scales lining them.

"Right." Flinching her hand back to her side, breaking the trance, Aqua exhaled sharply, "You need to leave. It is not safe." A businesslike command made absolutely no sense to the dragon. With the Shellfire on the offensive, more dragon hunters ready to swarm the island for a hostile takeover, and Viggo traipsing about, this was the least ideal location for the young creature.

A low growl purred out from the Night Fury, revealing a mouth full of diminutive, sharp teeth. "Why do I even bother?" Striding, in hopes that her current companion would follow, was indeed the correct tactic. All she had remaining was—

SLAM!

Her weapon was drawn, fully extended and held out to her side in defense of the young dragon. "Oh." Came the clever and eloquent response to seeing an enemy she had versed once before. "Round two, I suppose." The Night Fury tilted her head at the meaningless rubbish she spewed.

Clicking wrathfully and announcing the destructive capability of its clamping pincers, the Triple Stryke readied itself for a fight. Territorial instinct, along with this unwanted reunion roiled up the vehemence it so naturally exuded. Its eyes flared dangerously, raring to charge in for a rematch.

The Night Fury at her side reared and slammed her massive front paws against the ground. Dark scales of her chest swelling, the dragon unleashed a purple gaseous beam of flame that scorched the earth at her opponent's feet. Aqua felt her eyes prickle from staring directly at the plasma wall of flame. It was easy to see how uncontrollable the inferno of such a young, inexperienced dragon could become.

Lithe form shooting forward like a serpent, the young dragon slashed at the older one. "No! Wha—" Confusion, and a cocktail of other emotions thrown over an open flame burst in her head. The creature was protecting her. With every ounce of her being, she swiped, catching the Triple Stryke and staggering it. She was less graceful on her landing, and not watchful enough to avoid the braided tail of the larger opponent. A startled yelp tumbled the Night Fury to the floor in a heap, dust billowing in her wake.

An ire that dared to seep into the huntress from every direction as instinct overwhelmed her and took the jump away from her rational thought. Aqua torpedoed at the Triple Stryke, who didn't even see the metal flash of her weapon until it smashed right between its eyes. Her opponent toppled forward, imbalanced from the attack that she had thrown all of her power into. "Touch my dragon again, and I'll be waving your head like a flag on this pike!" Standing between the Night Fury and the Triple Stryke, Aqua cut her weapon through the air for emphasis.

A stream of bright orange flame roared from the dragon, fed up with the pest of a huntress that kept popping up at the worst times. She'd been overconfident in thinking she could dodge its fire. Apparently forgetting the blindness this particular dragon's fire could inflict.

Something slammed into her. Toppling sideways, the woman gasped from having the wind knocked clean out of her chest. Once her companion was safe, the Night Fury hopped off the human swiveled to see a second dragon and second human approaching fast.

Windshear screeched in warning, chasing off the Triple Stryke for its own safety. Her Rider, battle cry ringing through the trees and hillsides, straddled the pristine-haired woman, preventing her from standing. She raised her double-bladed axe high above her head, a pendulum ready to swing.

Spinal nerves tingling up and down her back, Aqua tried to slog in a much-needed breath to her empty lungs. It made it all the more difficult upon seeing who was straddling her hips.

"Aqua?!" The tip of her black braid swung close enough to graze the girl's pale cheek with a tickle. Her axe hand dropped. "I thought you were a hunter." Heather wasn't heavy, but the impact of being knocked down by the dragon was hindering.

"I am." She answered wryly.

"You know what I meant." A smooth turn of her head sent her raven-colored braid flying over her shoulder. "Wait a minute, you came here with Viggo, didn't you? You brought him here." She took the lack of response as confirmation. "I should strangle you." Tired from the brawl against the Triple Stryke, the huntress stayed flat, the shockwaves afflicting her subsiding.

"I think he's actually here to help." If anyone could tear down Ryker, it was his younger brother.

"I doubt he'll be able to do that in a cell." Proudly informing her of the unanimous decision taken by the Dragon Riders, Heather took solace in knowing he was imprisoned. One threat down, one more to go. And Thor knew what else waited to pounce from murky, unchecked corners. Throwing the huntress in with him could have reduced their woes by a whole other person too. A soft mewl next to her by the young Night Fury changed her thought process. "Wait. You're worried." Heather felt the woman stiffen underneath her. "You're worried about your dragon."

"It is not my dragon." Regardless of what may have been blurted moments prior. Hotness inflamed her cheeks. "Were you, by any chance, planning on getting off me anytime soon?" Her hips were warm from the pressure, which wasn't completely unwelcome due to the weather conditions of the Archipelago.

"O-oh." Not wanting to be sidetracked into switching the subject, Heather picked up right where she left off once she let the huntress up. "You came to protect her—you care about her." Brandishing her dagger with an irrefutable precision, the snowy haired girl aimed the point directly at the Rider.

"I will use this." Heather only laughed, boldly adjusting the trajectory of the tip with only a push of her finger. The Rider could accredit it to the time they had spent together or the amount of reformed individuals she had fashioned bonds with—namely her brother, but fear was the last descriptor for her feelings towards the huntress.

Windshear crooned at the affectionate young dragon padding up to her. Long, narrow, rounded ears flattening against her head, the Night Fury rubbed her cheek against the Razorwhip's hide. "Looks like you owe me." Heather shrugged, mounting her dragon.

"I beg your pardon?" The huntress brushed herself off, holstering her weapon. "Where are you going?"

"Oh yes. Beg" Staring down the bridge of her nose at Aqua, the Rider smirked, "I went to help you on the island when you so gracefully got caught in your own trap. And… just now." Regret for inquiring hit hard. "I mean, since we're keeping score." Lightly curling her hands around the grips of her saddle, Heather continued, "If you haven't noticed, we're at war here." Leaving the huntress at large on the Edge was precarious. Though, adding a Night Fury to the mix altered quite a few things. "You two stay on this side of the island. It's safer." The Shellfire's range was vast, but it could not fire past a whole span of mountains. As for the volcano—one issue at a time.

0_0_0

Ryker's assault came sooner than expected, rocking the foundation of the island. Unsettled by the sensations vibrating underneath her home, the young Night Fury warbled in question at her human companion. She had spent the better part of the morning explaining commands to properly hide. The main area of Dragon's Edge was taking massive damage, judging by the aftershocks the two felt on the far side of the island.

When the torrents stopped, she knew that the Riders had taken to drawing its blaze in a measure to delay the outpost's downfall. She beheld the Riders flying out to meet their enemy head on in the distance. Using her arm as a hinge, she quickly swung herself to press against the coarse tree bark as Toothless flew overhead in the reverse direction of the Shellfire. Placing her hand atop the female Night Fury's dark purple head, Aqua kept them both out of sight. Stormfly and her Rider were not far behind.

The Night Fury perked up her golden tail fins at seeing the human start to scavenge for items again. She seemed really partial to leaves. Purring low and deep, the dragon trotted off and returned with half of a flower bush spilling out of her mouth. The human made a funny noise, her lips twitching as she removed the bundle of greenery from the mauve dragon's jaws. Executing a tiny bounce, she repeated the task, only this time; she delivered a wooden tree trunk so large that it tilted her head sideways, tilling the earth it was heaved through.

"Please. Stop." The nimble creature paid no mind, contributing avidly to the pile of gifts. Sighing, Aqua sifted through the procured salvage. Rope, a crooked metal hook, vibrant petals, and some wooden knobs were tucked away for future use. Leather strap flapping in the wind from the Night Fury's mouth, it was dropped at Aqua's feet for appraisal. Whether her human companion would use it to smack her or praise her was out of her claws.

The strap was accepted solemnly, much to the dragon's glee. "Enough." Part of her knew that the longer she spent in the amiable company of dragons; unwarranted sentiment would pierce her heart. She questioned her resolve, which was arguably the most genuine trait she harbored. In stripping away everything she was, there were only scraps of identity to her name. She had sailed through life for years on pride that she was valued as a proficient huntress, resigning to her training to light the way. And in a few months, could it all crumble? No. Squashing the intrusive thoughts into a padlocked box, Aqua heard an impressive harmony of bellowing break the ocean surface.

Aqua ran to the cliff overlooking the sea. She could hear thunderous crashing of the waves as they licked the precipices; barnacles dotted the ledges eked out in the sides of the cavern, given breadth by the high tide that frequently filtered in. A colossal Submaripper faced off against the Shellfire, providing the advantage for the Dragon Riders to gain the upper hand. With the events of the day starting to carve into her memory with startling clarity, the huntress swallowed thickly at the capsizing of Ryker's vessel. A dense coil wrapped itself tight in seeing the vortex that annihilated the fleet of ships at his disposal. The girl hadn't been overly fond of the Dragon Hunter, but had grown used to the consistency of his presence. "Gods…" Her hand muffled her voice. She wanted to help. Ships were swallowed by the depths of the sea as the fighting behemoths fled. The life she knew within the solidarity of an empire disintegrated before her eyes. At least, a chunk of it had been brashly ripped off, leaving an oozing, festered wound.

Fear of unknown origin manifested itself like fingers wrapping around her neck. And so the younger sibling had felled his beloved big brother. The tendrils squeezed in a vice grip. It could not have been a remorseless decision, could it? After the lectures she had received on family from both of them, this was… cruel. She choked—a strangled sound that recapitulated her expendability. Her source of fear reared its ugly two-faced head.

Aqua was not afraid to die.

No, she was afraid of being left alone.

"Viggo…" The name fell from her mouth with such sorrow that the young Night Fury chirped inquisitively. Tipping her head, the dragon made to comfort her human companion, but was cut off by a metal whooshing through the air in front of her face. She hopped back spryly, shoulders lifted and bristling at the attack. "Stay here. Do not follow me!" Her authoritative command bent from the instability in her voice. Of course, the Night Fury shadowed her.

Seemingly out of nowhere, flares mushroomed between the two, separating them. Whirring with alarm, the purple-scaled creature retreated from the partition of flame. She then saw Aqua's strange metal rod pointed right at her, surmising that she had somehow produced the unnatural fire. "You are nothing to me! Do you understand me? I've slaughtered hundreds of you." The huntress shouted over the undulating inferno, pieces fluttering off and sizzling just at her feet. "If I see you again. I will show you the meaning of terror." An acrid sting blurred her vision as the huntress disappeared, ignoring the calls of the dragon.

She had to leave. Getting off this island with its forsaken Riders and their faithful dragons was the best thing for her. The dragon hunting empire could be rebuilt… gradually, but surely, under the right leadership. That would be a discussion for later. First, she had to find Viggo.

The sight she was greeted of the Dragon Riders and Viggo with stopped the blood pumping to her heart, shooting every last drop of it to her legs. A hulking mass of earth at his feet shifted and broke away, sliding into the chasm below. Her ankles could have shattered from the extraordinary power she took off running with, ever fiber of her screaming at an ear-splitting pitch.

No NO NO No no NO!

Apprehension whited out along with any notion of fear. Fight or Flight activated in overwhelming proportions as she ran.

"A-Aqua, what are you doing here? How long have you been here?" Hiccup did not receive any answer as the huntress tore past him. The Riders steered clear of the one-woman stampede up until they registered where she was going.

"Hiccup! She isn't slowing down!" Astrid didn't know if she could describe the concern she felt.

"Oh. MY THOR." He couldn't stop the words from exploding out of his mouth as the mysterious woman fearlessly launched herself off the volcano pit's rim, into the bubbling magma below.

Bits of heated rock, speeding like bullets, pelted her face and clothing as she descended the rough slope. A third of the way down, Aqua threw her hand against the sharp rocks, grasping onto whatever met her hand. The warmth of blood, and burn of friction hit her hand all at once. Nevertheless, she slowed down her drop into the lava. Her teeth clenched as she jammed the heel of her boot into the slope wall, sending a harsh tremor through her entire body. As she came to almost a full stop, Aqua attached her other hand to one of the protruding rocks, twisting her body around to rest her forehead against one of the flatter surfaces of the cliff, the churning colloid below masking her soft pants. She slid down, ignoring the ache in her arms and legs. As she skillfully lowered to another platform, strategically letting go occasionally and switching her dominant leg to guarantee the minimal amount of injuries to her person, she successfully navigated down the steep incline. When she was about eight feet from final sheet of molten earth the huntress leapt from the cliff face, landing with a soft thump.

It was the fizzing spout of hellfire two inches away that stirred him. The landing had been lucky, and the Dragon eye being within his reach was a testament to that luck. Viggo pushed himself up, a hand flying to his side with an aggravated grimace. Not accounting for the scrapes and bruises sustained from such a height, it appeared his ribs were cracked in more than one place. He was alive. Surrounded by a sea of flowing, living lava, ebbing treacherously towards where he stood. The magma popped and burst at the surface, engulfing anything it came in contact with. Steeling himself, the man outstretched his arm, believing himself to be swift against the unpredictability of the environment.

He was wrong.

A hoarse scream—one he had determined to be his own—tore the heavens as the sweltering liquid splashed onto the left side of his face. The skin blistered instantly, residually burning his palm as he clutched it desperately to the burning flesh. His vision shattered into starlight and fireworks, the Dragon Eye still sitting an arm's reach away from him. He ground his teeth so hard he was sure they would break, attempting to regulate his erratic breathing. Viggo felt his body move on its own accord, staggering back, his orientation shifting for the worse. Agony demolished his threshold, radiating to his other limbs with such clarity that the man almost wished he went into shock.

"Hold on." Her voice shredded his thoughts, wrapping her arms around him securely. A glob of lava splattered at them, prompting Aqua to twist, removing him from the line of fire. Aqua? Had he died? Were demons manifesting themselves as his former charge to drag him straight the Helheim? Or had the fool actually jumped into the depths of hell? Something he determined to be rope fastened around his midsection.

Blinded by pain, his body gave into instinct again, a choked groan ripping from his throat, its crescendo only broken off by his feet leaving the ground. He tried to open his uncovered eye, initially squeezed shut to channel the unwelcome sensations wracking his frame. The distinct momentum of hurtling through the heated air was an odd perception. Their ascent decelerated suddenly, flipping the contents of his stomach.

Was that… a Night Fury? No… Had he reached the delirium level of hallucination, or was Aqua dangling from the grasp of a dual shaded Night Fury?

Couldn't see, too much pain. Hurt. Was he still screaming? The thought received confirmation as he heard his own voice crack, the volume receding as it broke from its sudden use. Gently, his body was leaned against a cold surface, savoring the cool air around him. He heard the huntress speaking in hushed whispers… not to him. His focus was divided, head swimming with nausea.

"No!" That singular shout alone almost made him spasm from the excruciating injury. "The Dragon Eye. You left it!" Speaking haltingly, "You fool—of all the senseless things you've ever done! You can't even begin to comprehend in that head of yours the consequences of your actions!" His voice rose in volume, draining his reserve vitality in a pinch. Breathing heavily past grinding teeth, he tried to press down another sound of pain.

"Forgive me..." She began softly, "...for being a little too focused on saving your life!" Rarely did she raise her voice at him, but the pumping adrenaline demanded some gratitude for her efforts. Arguing with her was not a marathon he was equipped to handle at the moment. Slender fingers gingerly touched the unaffected side of his face, "Move your hand."

"I would applaud you for finding a use for yourself, but…as pathetic—" He cut himself off with a hiss. Gasping as his hand was peeled wetly away from the grotesque, flayed half of his face, the hunter chief succumbed to the murky mixture of blind raging anger, searing pain, and mottled grief.

At least it shut him up… for now.

0_0_0

TECHNICALLY, MY DUDE, IF LAVA TOUCHES YOUR FACE—YOU WOULDN'T HAVE A FACE ANYMORE.

Thank you for reading! And tolerating this nonsense!