Back on Berk, Hiccup and the others were in the Great Hall discussing their next move, "Okay, so we know the rogue dragon rider is girl who has Thors' knows how many dragons inside that cave hidden behind the waterfall. So if we somehow gain her trust, she'll help us with the hunters and trappers." Hiccup recapped.
"I'm not sure about this Hiccup, you saw what those dragon did to us the last time." Astrid pointed out.
"For once I agree with her, I'm not going back there!" Snotlout scoffed.
"I know she seemed a bit hostile at first, but she looked more lonely than anything." Zenna stated.
"Lonely? Pfft! No way..!" Tuffnut rejected.
"Tuffnut. The girl said she doesn't trust humans. I can see that with the rescued dragons, but hearing that coming from a human is definitely, not right." Zenna replied with a serious look on her face.
"I agree with our daughter, Stoick." Edgar said turning to Stoick, "The girl said she doesn't trust any humans. The question is why?"
"Something horrible must have happened to her to make her not trust humans at all." Henna said with worry.
"Well then, if we find out the reason maybe we can help her and gain her trust." Hiccup suggested.
"So you want us to go back to the island where a dragon rider who has about hundreds of dragons that see her as their queen, who will attack at the first sight of danger to her or their home, and try to make her come clean about her past?" Astrid deadpanned with a raised eyebrow.
"Do any of you have a better idea?" Hiccup questioned.
The group looked at each other, but no one answered. "That's what I thought. Come on.."
Back in the Sanctuary...
The girl and Shadow were in their living space together. Shadow cooed and nudged the girl in comfort, "I'm alright Shadow... I just don't wanna think about what happened to me..." Shadow cooed at her and the girl gave him a small smile.
"I could tell they wanted to help but... its' too risky to trust humans..." the girl said to her best dragon friend. Shadow curled up around her and the girl smiled and rubbed his head. "Hopefully, that'll be the last we'll see of them..."
Unfortunately, for them, they heard the roars of the Slitherwing guards. The girl sighed irritably, "Spoke too soon..." Shadow and the girl came out of their living space and flew through the cave system and came out of the waterfall and saw the Slitherwings hissing at Hiccup and the other riders again. Shadow landed in front of them and the girl dismounted.
"Easy boys..." she cooed at the Slitherwings. The poisonous snake dragons hissed and backed away from the riders. "What are you all doing here again?" the girl asked annoyed.
"Look, uh whatever you're name is-" Hiccup started but the girl replied with her name, "Aurora."
"What?"
"My name... is Aurora..."
"Okay... look Aurora. I know you said that you don't trust humans but you can trust us.." Hiccup stated. Aurora narrowed her eyes at him, "Sorry boy, not buying it."
"Buying what?" Hiccup asked confused.
"I'm not buying your trust act. If I do, the next thing I know is that my dragon friends will be hurt, hence why I don't trust humans.."
"Are you sure...?" Hiccup asked, surprising Aurora.
"What do you mean 'are you sure'?" Aurora asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I mean.. are you sure that's the reason why you don't trust humans..?" Hiccup inquired. Aurora slightly looked away from him.
"Aurora... what happened to you...?" Zenna suddenly asked her.
"I-It's not important.." Aurora grumbled.
"Yes it is.." Hiccup stated.
"No it's not. I don't need any humans to help me. I have something more.." Aurora claimed.
"Oh yeah and what's that?" Snotlout challenged.
"A real pack..." Aurora growled.
"What's the difference?" Snotlout scoffed.
"We have each others' backs."
"So do we."
"Pack? Don't you mean family?" Astrid questioned making Aurora suddenly snap, "Don't say that word!"
The riders winced at her sudden snap, "What word? Family?" Hiccup asked making Aurora glare at him.
"What happened with your family?" Zenna asked.
Aurora groaned, "None of you would understand what I went though.." The riders looked at each other with concern, except for Snotlout, "Oh please, how bad could your family be?" he scoffed earning a death glare from Aurora. "Oh I'm sorry, I guess you know what it feels like to be sent floating away in the middle of the ocean as a newborn baby!" she yelled at Snotlout, her face bright red with anger.
Hiccup and the others were stunned.
"Y-You were abandoned as a baby...?" Astrid gasped.
"And sent floating in the middle of the ocean..." Henna added in horror. Aurora growled and turned away from them. But Shadow cooed at her. Aurora looked at her best dragon friend and could see in his eyes... he knew she couldn't hide the truth anymore. Aurora sighed and turned back to the riders and their dragons.
"Yes... I was abandoned as a newborn baby by my parents... I hardy remember them anyway, but all I do remember is them and some other people floating out on a boat, me cuddled in blankets and placed a piece of driftwood and sent floating out to sea...
Flashback
Newborn Aurora was whimpered and crying her lungs out as her blanket was becoming soaked and cold because of waters of the Archipelago sea. The sun was beating down on the little newborn baby as she cried and cried, hoping someone would hear her and comfort her.
Her savior turned out to be a dragon. A red and blue dragon was flying over the ocean, the last of his kind, aching for some companionship when his ears picked up some crying. He looked down and saw a piece of driftwood in the ocean with something on it. He flew down to the driftwood and gasped.. it was a baby human on the driftwood!
The dragon looked around but saw nothing but open sea. The dragon looked at the baby who saw him and cooed curiously at him, reaching out her little arms and hands to him. The dragon knew the baby would never survive on her own.. so he did the only thing he could do... he picked her up by her little blanket and flew off with her.
"Shadow was the one who found me... he saved my life. He took me to Dramillion Island where he practically raised me like a parent."
Shadow regurgitated food for baby Aurora who giggled and started eating with her hands. Shadow would curl up around her to protect her from the cold and heat. Whenever Aurora cried, Shadow would wave his tail in front of her and she would try to grab it like a small kitten.
Years went by as Shadow watched Aurora grow and Shadow was right there by her side through it all.
"He took care of me. Feeding me, caring for me and protecting me until I grew and grew... when I was old enough I figured out that Shadow was the only dragon on Dramillion Island, when I asked him why... he looked very sad. I figured that hunters and trappers may have wiped out his kind, making him the last Dramillion.
I promised him that we would find more of his kind, no matter what. From that moment one, we decided to rescue dragons from hunters and trappers to make sure what happened to Shadow never happened to any other dragons species. We discovered this island together and decided to make a Sanctuary behind the waterfall. After that, we began rescuing dragons from hunters and trappers and brought them here."
Shadow and Aurora rescued many many dragons after Aurora had turned thirteen years old and for the next two years that's what the inseparable pair did; rescue dragons and bring them to their Sanctuary. "I always stayed away from humans and only socialized myself with dragons cause they form a pack that has each others backs. No matter what happens."
Flashback ends
"And from that moment on, I never trusted humans..." Aurora finished her story. Hiccup and the others stared at her in shock and awe. Aurora was raised by a dragon...!
"Odin's Ghost..." Edgar gasped. "No wonder you're like this..."
"That must have been horrible for you..." Henna added, wiping a tear from her eye.
"Yes. Which is why I don't trust humans and I don't plan on starting." Aurora growled. "So you might as well stop trying to convince me. Cause none of you have gone through something like that. You all have had much better lives than I did." Aurora added with a growl.
Zenna and Hiccup looked at each other while their dragons cooed in pity for Aurora. Being abandoned by her parents, left to die in the middle of the sea only to be saved and raised by a dragon, no wonder she distrusted humans so much.
"But Aurora..." Zenna started gently.
"What?" Aurora growled.
"You can't live your whole life distrusting humans." Zenna tried to convince.
"Says the girl who has two loving parents and a female Night Fury..." Aurora deadpanned. "Yeah, you're life is so great..."
"Actually, no. It's not. I lost by big brother in a dragon raid seven years ago." Zenna admitted.
"Congratulations, you have some sympathy for me." Aurora mocked. "But you're still not getting me to trust you that easily."
"Aurora, I may not know how horrible everything was for you, but you can't live you're whole life being only with dragons. You need human interaction as well." Hiccup added.
"My dragons friends are the only interaction I need in my life." Aurora defended.
"Aurora, you know that's not true..." Hiccup said to her with concern.
"Well is a truth that I've come to terms with on my own!" Aurora defended in a serious tone. "I only need dragons as my friends and family; not humans..."
Hiccup and Zenna sighed before their parents came up to them, "Come on son, let's give her some space." "Come on honey, she needs some time to herself..." Stoick and Edgar told their children. Hiccup and Zenna reluctantly nodded before they all flew away from the island.
"Come on Shadow.. let's go inside..." Aurora said in a sad tone. Shadow and the Slitherwings looked at each other in worry before Shadow followed her back inside the Sanctuary.
Inside their living space, Aurora was laying on her bed, thinking what Hiccup and the others said to her. Hiccup and the others seemed nice enough. They rode dragons like her. She assumed they hated the dragon hunters and trapper like her too.
Even with that, she still couldn't bring herself to trust them. Then what Zenna said to her echoed in her thoughts, "You can't live your whole life distrusting humans." Aurora shook her head and decided to nap to take her mind of of the confrontation.
Meanwhile...
Hiccup and the others returned to Berk. "Well... at least we know why she distrusts humans.." Astrid said, looking on the bright side.
"Yes, but now she may never trust us." Fishlegs pointed. "And who could blame her?"
"No one." Stoick answered. "Abandoned by her parents and raised by a dragon. I'm surprised she was as assertive as she was."
"Like a dragon girl version of Astrid." Tuffnut compared.
"Hey!" Astrid whined.
"So... what are we gonna do now?" Zenna asked.
"We just have to bide our time with Aurora. Hopefully, with some time and more visits, she'll start to warm up to us." Hiccup suggested.
"I hope you're right, Hicc." Zenna hoped. "Cause she was pretty confident about being around only dragons."
"I am right... at least, I hope I am..." Hiccup said, hoping his hunch was correct.
After a few hours of resting, Aurora woke up and decided to explore the secret island alone. Walking through the dense vegetation and flora, Aurora was still thinking about what Hiccup and the dragon riders told her. "Can I really go my whole life with only dragons as my family and friends...?" she thought before shaking her head. "Pfft. Of course I can. I did for the last thirteen years, so I can do it forever..." she said with confidence.
Aurora continued walking through the forest until she heard a branch snap behind her. "Huh? Whose there...?" Aurora snapped, looking around.
"Well, well, well, look what we have here..." Aurora looked at a large bush as a large cat came out. The cat sported a short, compact build with powerful running legs, clawed paws, short tail and ears, and a pair of fangs that were razor ship. The large cat was grayish in hue, almost sliver and its pelt was striped somewhat with dark grey stripes and its eyes were vivid teal. "What's a small teenager like you doin out here all alone?" the cat asked her.
Aurora narrowed her eyes at the large cat, "You're a Sabertooth cat, aren't you?" she asked.
"Oh.." the cat mocked. "You know your animals. Congratulations.."
"I thought you were extinct a long time ago..." Aurora stated, confused on how an extinct Ice Age predator could have been here.
"Those other sabers aren't as smart as me. I learned to hunt other prey so I could survive.." the cat explained, walking around Aurora as Aurora kept her eyes on the large cat. "The name is Shear.. what's yours human...?"
"Aurora... what are you doing here...?" Aurora asked.
"I figure any human who can rescue and protect as many dragons as you have must be pretty strong without a pack of her own." Shear stated, having stopped walking and was now sitting in front of her. Aurora's eyes widened a bit, "How do you know about that?"
Shear laughed, "You didn't I noticed the multiple dragons you and that dragon pal of yours kept bringing to this island for the past two years? I'm a cat. I have night vision. And before you say anything, relax. I won't harm you're 'precious subjects'."
Aurora narrowed her eyes at her, "Then why are you being so close to me?"
Shear licked her paw, "Figured a human like you couldn't stay with one kind of animal for the rest of her life, so figured I could join you and your Sanctuary.."
That caught Aurora by surprise.
"And why should I let you into my Dragon Sanctuary?" Aurora questioned slowly.
"Like your blue and red friend, I'm the last of my kind... except for him..." Shear turned behind her and Aurora gasped, seeing a male Sabertooth tiger coming out of the bushes. The male was was the same coloring as Shear but its fangs were a bit longer than hers. "Figured your place would be nice for the two of us..."
Aurora thought for a moment. She didn't know anything about Sabertooths, except that they were called that because of their dagger like teeth. But seeing that they were the last of their kind, like Shadow, she couldn't leave them alone. "Alright.. you can come... on one condition. You don't hunt my dragon friends..."
"Deal.. your majesty.." Shear scoffed, walking past Aurora along with her mate. Aurora walked behind them and they came behind the waterfall. The Slitherwings rose up and hissed, seeing the two Sabertooths, "It's okay... they're friends..." Aurora stated. The Slitherwings backed down and allowed the Sabertooths to pass.
Following her through the cave system, the three arrived in the Sanctuary. Shadow was the first to greet them and he hissed at Aurora, not liking that she disappeared without telling him first, "Yeah, yeah Shadow, I'm okay. Just found two new friends to add."
Shadow then spotted the Sabertooths and were shocked as were all the other dragons in the Sanctuary. "Relax, we won't harm anyone.." Shear claimed to the dragons. The dragons looked at each other before looking at Aurora for confirmation. Aurora nodded, "They're telling the truth." The dragons nodded, allowing the Sabers to stay in their home.
"You rescued all of these dragons?" the male Sabertooth asked Aurora.
"Yep, me and Shadow rescued every last one of them..." Aurora stated.
"I saw your confrontations with those other dragon riders.." Shear added. "How come you distrusts them? Not that I didn't hear your backstory. Just that even though they want to help you, you keep rejecting them.."
Aurora sighed, "I can't risk any harm to my friends, that's all..."
"So you would rather live alone with only dragons and us rather than living with people of your own kind, dragons and us?" the Male Sabertooth asked.
"Yes..." Aurora said before whispering to herself.. "For now..."
The male Sabertooth shrugged, "Suit yourself..."
Aurora sighed, "Come on, I'll show you two where you can stay.." The two Sabertooths nodded and followed Aurora and Shadow.
Back on Berk, Hiccup, Zenna, Toothless and Styka entered the Academy, "Guys I think I've found a way for us to get closer to Aurora and her Sanctuary."
"Really? What?" Astrid asked.
"We're going to send our dragons over there." Hiccup said, confusing everyone.
"What do you mean, Hiccup?" Astrid asked.
"We know Aurora doesn't like humans, but she loves dragons as much as us. So if we send our dragons over there, maybe she'll see that we treat dragons just like she does." Hiccup explained.
"Hmm.. do you really think that will work?" Fishlegs questioned.
"There's only one way to find out.." Hiccup said before looking at Zenna, who nodded. "Alright Stryka, go on.." Her female Night Fury cooed before she flew out of the Academy and to the Island.
When Stryka arrived on the Island she landed in front of the waterfall and the two Slitherwing guards hissed at her again. Stryka saw Aurora and Shadow coming out of the waterfall, but this time Aurora looked confused, "Hey... where's your rider...?" Aurora asked the female Night Fury.
Styrka warbled. "Back home?" Aurora guessed, earning a nod from Styrka. Aurora sighed, "Well... I guess... since you're alone... I guess I could let you see the Sanctuary..." Stryka warbled and the Slitherwings backed down and let Stryka pass and soon they entered the Sanctuary. Styrka was in awe at the sheer number of dragons in the Sanctuary.
Styrka heard another coo and turned her head to see the Male Night Fury and the female Light Fury coming towards her. Stryka was shocked to see another Male Night Fury. The Male warbled at her and Stryka warbled back. Aurora smiled at the conversation between the two dragons. Shadow cooed, curiously.
Aurora saw how happy Stryka was with the other dragons and seeing how she was with her rider during the last two encounters, she started to think... maybe it was time for some human interaction...
After about two more hours, Stryka flew back home to Berk and entered the Academy just as dawn was setting on the horizon. "Hey Stryka, did she let you in?" Zenna asked her dragoness.
Stryka nodded and warbled happily.
"Looks like she let her in." Hiccup smiled. "Guess I was right."
"Perfect, so now we send just one of our dragons at a time to the island to help her see that we love dragons as much as she does.." Astrid stated. Everyone else nodded.
Over the next few days, the group sent one of their dragons to the island. The only one who couldn't go was Toothless cause he couldn't fly without Hiccup to open his prosthetic tail fin.
But nonetheless, Aurora could see that Stormfly, Barf and Belch, Hookfang and Meatlug were treated very well by their human riders.. maybe as well as she could care for them.
Aurora sat on her bed after Hookfang left for Berk, thinking. Shadow came into the sleeping space along with Shear and her mate, who she found out his name was Scar. "Something on your mind?" Scar asked.
"Just thinking... those dragons are awfully happy with their human riders... and maybe... I could... try to interact with humans too...?" Aurora said nervously.
"There's a first time for everything." Scar said with a smug voice.
"You never know what'll happen with human interaction until it does." Shear added with a smile.
"Yeah... I guess you're right..." Aurora said before she and the others heard a distress roar. "What the-?" Aurora and her friends exited the living space and saw, "The blue Nadder again?"
Yep, it was Stormfly and she was distressed by something. "Easy girl... easy girl..." Aurora cooed at her, calming her down, "Now what's wrong?"
Stormfly nodded towards the cave system. "Something must be wrong at those humans home." Scar suggested. "Very wrong."
Stormfly nodded and in agreement. Aurora looked at Shadow and they both nodded, "Right, but if we're going into battle we'll need some back up. Rosethorn, Venom, Melody, Harmony, Skydancer, Skyspike, Flare, Blaze, Mist and Spark, Bolt, Blitz, Midnight, Snow!"
After she called the thirteen dragons came forward.
Rosethorn and Venom were both Triple Styrke dragons but Rosethorn was pink and red with three pink, red and white colored tails while Venom was brown and yellow with brown, yellow and dark brown tails.
Melody and Harmony were two of the three Death Songs that attacked Hiccup and the others the first time they came to the Island.
Skydancer and Skyspike were both Deadly Nadders but Skydancer was orange and blue while Skyspike was purple and yellow.
Flare and Blaze were both Monstrous Nightmares but Flare was red with black stripes on his back while Blaze was a mixture of magenta and yellow.
Mist and Spark were a Titan Wing Zippleback, a larger version of Barf and Belch with a blue-hued green base color with darker splotches over its body and wings. They both have a a yellow nasal horn and blue leaf-like spines on their necks and back.
Bolt and Blitz were both Skrills, but Bolt was light purple with grey markings and white underbelly while Blitz was grey with blue markings and blue underbelly.
Midnight and Snow were the same Night Fury and Light Fury that Stryka met before.
"Alright gang, something's wrong in this Nadder's home and we're going to find out. Ready?" Aurora asked, earning a roar from all of the dragons. Aurora then mounted Shadow, "Aright then, lead the way Nadder." Stormfly warbled and flew out of the Sanctuary with Aroura and her band of dragons following behind, "Hey don't forget about us!" Shear and Scar called as they leaped onto Mist and Sparks back.
Following Stormfly, the group made it to Berk and Aurora gasped at the sight. The place was being attacked by a large flock of Singetails! But these Singetails were ensalved, wearing chains on their mouths and being forced to attack.
The dragons that were on Berk were being trapped in nets while the people were being restrained by the some men. "Singetails, huh?" Aurora said to herself, "Bolt, Blitz?" The two Skrills growled with glee before they charged in and blasted some of the Singetails, shocking some of the men. "What?! How'd two Skrills get here?!" a flyer exclaimed.
"Skydancer, Skyspike, spine attack!" Aurora ordered and her two Deadly Nadder friends fired their spines at the men forcing them to jump off of their Singetails.
"Mist and Spark, gas them!" Aurora ordered and the Titan Wing Zippleabck roared and flew towards the large flock of Singetails before Mist unleashed his flammable gas around them all and Spark ignited it, sending the men off of the Singetails, setting them free and they flew away.
"Hahaha, take that, you stupid humans!" Shear cheered.
"Yeah baby!" Scar added.
Two more Singetails flew towards Shadow and Aurora, "Shadow, plasma blast!" Shadow unleashed his plasma blasts at the Singetails and some of them fired back at him with fireballs! "Watch out!" Aurora called and Shadow dodged it before blasting them back with fireballs.
"Melody, Harmony grab the men and get them off the Singetails!" Aurora called and Melody and Harmony picked the men off of the Singetails backs and threw them into the sea.
"Flare, Blaze you do the same thing!" Aurora ordered and Flare and Blaze fired at some of the other ensalved Singetails and Blaze rammed a few of them sending their 'riders' into the water and setting them free.
Stormfly roared in fear, "What is it girl?" Aurora looked and saw some of the large men holding, Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Henna, Edgar, the twins and Stoick. "Midnight, Snow, Shear, Scar, wanna take them?" she asked.
"I'd thought you'd never ask." Shear smiled before she and her mate leaped down from Mist and Spark and landed beside Midnight and Snow. They growled at the men holding the group. "Another Night Fury!" Hiccup gasped. "And who are the large cats?"
"How about we save you first and then we explain?" Shear suggested before she pounced on the men holding Hiccup. The men panicked at the large female cat as Shear pinned him to the ground. Shear got off of him and he ran away in fear. Scar snarled at the other men while Midnight and Snow fired plasma blasts at the men, making release the others and run away.
"Rosethorn, Venom, you know what to do!" Aurora called as Rosethorn and Venom were using their tails to grab the men off of the other Singetails and threw them in the water, freeing the Singetails. "Alright..!" Snotlout cheered seeing Aurora and her dragons beating the bad guys. Stormfly flew down her her beloved rider, "Stormfly, oh I missed you girl.." Astrid cooed.
Melody and Harmony worked with Scar and Shear to free the trapped dragons and they joined the fight against the Singetails and the bad men. The leader, who had dark, olive toned skin male with black hair and goatee. He's rather thin but has a muscular upper body. He also wears a dark green tunic with a red snakeskin-like shirt with light red outline to make it resemble more like a chest plate, silver bracers on his arms, light tan pants with a belt buckle of a brand insignia, and silvery blue boots, and who rode a larger Singetail saw that this battle could not be won. "This isn't over! Enjoy your last final days..!" the man declared before he and his remaining soliders flew away from the island.
The Berkians cheered loudly as Aurora and her dragon friends landed on the ground. "Aurora, thank the Gods you came so fast." Hiccup said.
"When I saw this blue Nadder again panicked, I knew something was wrong, so I rounded up a few of my friends and we came to help."
"And you came just in time." Stoick said. "Berk would have been taken over by the Dragon Flyers if you hadn't shown up."
"Dragon Flyers, is that what they're called?" Aurora asked.
"Yes, as you saw their evil dragon riders who force dragons to do their bidding for them and to attack." Hiccup said grimly.
"But amazingly you defeat them with your dragons and the Singetails' natural predator, the Skrill." Fishlegs said with relief. Bolt and Blitz warbled happily.
"You and your dragons are a formidable force." Edgar smiled, hugging Serpent.
"Indeed you are." Henna added, hugging Serpentine.
"Thanks... and... I thought about what you all said and... I think its time.. I'd try and interact with humans now..." Aurora stated.
"Really?" Zenna asked.
"Yep." Aurora nodded, earning a smile from everyone.
"That's great..!" Hiccup exclaimed happily and went to hug Aurora but, "Ah ah ah, take it slow with me, alright.. Hiccup.." Aurora stated.
"Oh right..." Hiccup said awkwardly. "Hehe.."
"Oh Hiccup.." Zenna sighed playfully. The other chuckled at his antics.