Hello everyone! I am back and with an extra long chapter for y'all, it is about 9k and I hope y'all enjoy it and maybe start to forgive me for taking so long. Please make sure to read the end note as there is some information for y'all. Now on with the story!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything in relation to Disney's Atlantis and Dreamwork's Rise of the Guardians and How To Train Your Dragon franchise. I also do not own anything in relation to The Guardian's of Childhood book series.
"A what?" Aster asked not sure that he heard Ombric correctly.
"A dragon. We do not usually deal with the dragons as they live in the archipelago region and don't come to the mainland unless they have no choice. But in the recent weeks this one dragon has been a nuisance and attacking our homes. All we know of the dragon is the size and that it is white." Ombric answered explaining what the dragon looked like.
"Ombric, are you telling me that dragons are real? Because they don't exist except in fairy tales." Aster stated running a hand down his face and giving a look at Tooth, who ignored him and kept studying the tracks on the ground.
"Really? Your going to say that dragons don't exist when you live in a city that was believed to be a fairy tale and a fiancee that can make frost." Tiana declared with a smirk.
"He's not my fiancee. I haven't asked him yet. Anyway there was proof that Atlantis existed, the people not really at least not being alive, and dragons are myths. Something else is attacking the village and made these tracks." Aster replied flushing a little at Tiana saying Jack was his fiancee.
"If I may interrupt, the creature that is attacking us is a dragon and they do exist. As I said before they stay in the archipelago region that that region is protected by magic. It is much like our village and untouched by time. The people that live in that area are vikings and as you may well know, the vikings died out in 1000s so something or someone is protecting that region with magic. So if you can describe the tracks I will let you know if it is the dragon terrorizing us. Though I doubt that there are any other dragons around." Ombric interrupted making Aster and Tiana jump as they had forgotten that Ombric was on the radio and that Aster had kept the transmission open.
"Right sorry, well I guess I can't really doubt you. Though until I see the thing for myself I don't think I'll fully believe." Aster replied kneeling down to get a good look at the tracks.
"You should believe him, they do exist. I remember when I was a child I would always see them and they always fascinated me. Yet as I got older I realized that the once beautiful creatures were being hunted and they no longer were as plentiful as when I was a child. I guess I now know what happened to them." Tooth told them as she stood up and went to sit on a lone stump with her head in her hands.
"Um, Tiana why don't you go be with Tooth while I describe the tracks to Ombric." Aster suggested to Tiana when he saw how upset Tooth was. Tiana nodded her agreement and moved to sit in front of Tooth to talk to her.
"Alright Ombric, so the track is actually very thin, I'm guessing its the tail. With a few lines off the side of the main line like it had spikes off the side of its tail and it looks smooth. No other tracks other than Dagur's and I'm guessing this dragon picked him up because his tracks just vanish."Aster told him describing the track.
"Well Aster it seems that there is another dragon. The dragon that is attacking us has a much larger tail." Ombric told him with a grave tone.
"Well, fuck." Aster cursed.
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"Hey Tooth, whats wrong?" Tiana asked though she felt like an idiot for asking the second the question left her lips.
"Ha!" Tooth barked shaking her head and blinking her eyes clear.
"The person that I consider my son is missing and may be with an aggressive dragon. And its bad enough that he is my pseudo son, he is also my King and I failed to protect him. I've failed him, I've failed my people, my training, and Jack's parents. He could be dead and I wouldn't know. Why was I unable to protect him, I should have never allowed him to leave Atlantis and come to the surface world, this world is nothing but danger. It doesn't deserve him or us." Tooth stated staring down at Tiana.
Tiana didn't really know what to say. She knows that Tooth sees Jack as her son but she had never seen this vulnerable side to her before and it kind of scared her. She was used to seeing Tooth as a warrior, someone that wasn't afraid of anything and was a superhuman. Seeing her this frightened and worried reminds her that Tooth was human, a thousand year old human, but a human none the less.
"Tooth, you did not fail him. We had no reason to believe that he would be in danger at Ombric's house and before you say that you should have known, you couldn't have. And Jack wouldn't want you hovering around him. And I know that you doubt the surface world, I don't blame you, I was part of the surface group that brought them into your world. I was responsible for getting your birds captured and helping in getting your son and future King captured.
I can never begin to understand how that felt and I understand why you don't want Jack to have anything to do with the surface world. But in the short time that I've known Jack I know that he loves people and hes a curious man. I don't know if he can thrive underground, being trapped. He's like the wind, he deserves to be free but I know that he belongs in Atlantis because he needs to lead his people and maybe being up on the surface will satisfy that curiosity." Tiana told her with a small smile at the thought of Jack.
"I highly doubt that this trip will satisfy his curiosity, if anything it'll make it worse. But I know he should be free, but he cant. He has an obligation to our people and he would never abandon that, hes too selfless and loving to ever do that. Its one of the things that I love about him and also hate because it means that he's willing to give up his own happiness for others." Tiana stated with a wet laugh.
"Well at least he has a family and a possible husband if Aster ever proposes." Tiana joked. Tooth gave out a laugh and actually felt much better. Before they could say anymore, Aster was calling them over with urgency.
"Well, I guess we should see what Ombric has told him." Tiana said standing up and stretching. Tooth agreed but before they walked over to Aster, she put a hand on Tiana's arm and stopped her.
"You know, I did forgive you for what happened I know that you feel guilty and I harbor no ill feelings to what happened. I just hope that you can forgive yourself." Tooth told her patting her arm. Tiana stared at her in shock, she actually thought that Tooth still held some bad feelings for what she had done when she worked for Pitch. In fact she really hasn't actually forgiven herself for her part in what happened seven years ago. Maybe now she can begin to forgive herself.
"Thank you Tooth." She whispered giving her a brief hug before they joined Aster who looked worried.
"Whats wrong Aster?" Tooth asked once more becoming a superhuman warrior woman.
"There may be more than one dragon in the area." Aster told them clenching the radio in his hand.
"What do you mean? What did Ombric say?" Tiana asked.
"I described the tracks to him and he said that the dragon that was attacking them has a much larger tail so that means that this track belongs to a different dragon. So we now have to go dragon hunting." Aster explained.
"How do we track a dragon that can fly and not leave any tracks unless it lands?" Tiana asked already doubtful that they can actually track this dragon.
"Without knowing what kind of dragon this is I cant track it and its been centuries since I've last seen a dragon." Tooth commented.
"So basically we need some luck. Goddammit!" Aster cursed slamming his fist into the closet tree as he paced. Suddenly a loud screech was heard around the clearing making all three wince and cover their ears. Then they heard what sounded like an explosion.
"What the bloody hell was that?" Aster asked gritting his teeth.
"I'm going to guess that it was a dragon. Only thing that could make that sound around here right?" Tiana stated.
"That was definitely a dragon and look! There's smoke a few miles downstream, that must be where the screech came from and that may be where Jack and Dagur are." Tooth told them seeing the smoke that was rising over the tree-line.
"So now we know where the dragon is but how do we know its the dragon we're looking for? And how do we know that Jack is there?" Tiana asked.
"We just have to hope its the same dragon that took Dagur and Jack. The biggest question is how are we going to fight it? I doubt we can take on the dragon on our own, we don't have the firepower."Aster commented taking stock of the weapons that they had.
"Well, we may not have to fight it. If Dagur and Jack are there then we sneak around the dragon and sneak them out. Should be easy." Tooth stated already heading out toward the smoke.
"Um should we be worried that there's smoke because where there's smoke, there's usually fire and where there's fire that means that there is an angry dragon!" Tiana commented looking nervous.
"Maybe one of them tried to escape and it was a warning, I'm sure they'll be fine. If anything Jack would try to play with the dragon regardless of the danger." Tooth stated already picturing Jack wanting to keep the dragon.
"I had the same thought, so lets get a move on before the show-pony gets them killed." Aster replied following Tooth into the forest. Please be okay Jack. We're coming, just wait. Aster thought praying to any Gods that may have been listening to answer his prayer and keep Jack safe.
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"Dagur what are you doing here? We thought that you were dead!" A female voice exclaimed.
"Well-" A deep male voice started before it was interrupted by another deep voice that sounded a bit nasally.
"Also why were you chasing this guy? You almost got him killed, your lucky Toothless was able to grab him!" He stated, a growl accompanying him.
Jack stayed still, not wanting these new people to know that he was awake until he was sure that they were not his enemies. It also seemed that these two new people knew Dagur. He tried to figure out what he was laying down on and it seemed to be some type of fur pelt, he also seemed to be on his side and he could feel some wetness on his lips. He didn't smell any blood so he guessed it may had been some of the stream water that was in his lungs. He could feel some of the numerous injuries that he had sustained when he was in the stream but he pushed the pain to the back of his head so that if he needed to move, he could.
He tried to feel if he had any weapons but he remembered that he had dropped his dagger and was weaponless. But at least he wasn't tied up. He began to see if he could hear more of his surroundings, he tuned out the three voices. He could hear the wind rustling some of the trees and move around freely which meant they were possibly in another clearing, he could also hear what sounding like metal moving around but it sounded like a large amount meaning either there was another person nearby wearing armor and wasn't talking or it was something else. There was also something swishing around the ground but Jack couldn't place what it was.
Just as Jack was about to begin guessing what the sound was, one of the new voices suddenly yelled dragging Jack attention back to the three's conversation.
"You kidnapped him!" The nasally voice exclaimed.
"No! I borrowed him." The second voice stated, Jack now placing the voice as Dagur.
"That's kidnapping! No wonder he tried to get away! His friends are probably looking for him now!" The female remarked.
"Well I was hoping they would help me find Shattermaster and while they took care of me they ignored what I was saying so when this new group came, I knew they could help me and he looked easy enough to subdue. At least until he woke up." Dagur explained though Jack did clench one of his fists at what Dagur had commented on him being the easiest to subdue. The only reason Dagur was able to knock him out was because it was a sneak attack.
"What do you mean? He doesn't look like much. Hes smaller than Hiccup was." The female stated making Jack use all his will to not get angry or show any emotion on his face.
"Hey!" The nasally one cried out though it seems that statement was an old argument.
"He attacked me with a hidden dagger and hes better fighter than I had thought. He also spoke in some strange language that I didn't know. So him and his group are foreigners. Where are we anyway?" Dagur answered.
"He's a fighter? Right, you getting rusty Dagur?" The female teased.
"I wouldn't underestimate him." Dagur growled out before suddenly saying, "Like right now, he's awake and I'm guessing he's been awake for a while." Jack snarled and leap up moving back a few feet surprising the other two people.
"I hate that you keep knowing when I'm awake." Jack snarled getting into a fighting stance.
"Then you should do a better job at hiding that your asleep!" Dagur told him with a crazy sounding laugh.
"Look, lets all calm down. We're not going to hurt you." The nasally voice told him dragging Jacks attention to him. The male was almost as tall as Aster, about an inch shorter, and he looked about 18 years old. He was a handsome lanky man with Auburn hair and green eyes, though not as bright as Aster's eyes. He was wearing some type of tunic with some leather armor and some leather pants though Jack did notice that he had on a prosthetic leg. Just as he had finished seeing who the male was and guessing that his name was Hiccup, he suddenly noticed the large black creature standing behind the man with its wings raised and slit eyes glaring at him as well as baring its teeth at him.
Jack stiffened but maintained his stance, ready to face the creature if he needed to. He quickly reached deep into his crystal and felt that his magic core was a bit low and though he didn't want to use his magic he decided that should the creature attack he will use it. He looked around and saw that there was another creature though this one was completely covered in metal and was silver, this creature also was growling at him and barring its teeth while the female tried to calm it down. The female wore armor that was the same color as the creature next to her and really it even looked like the same metal. She had long black hair that was in a braid on one side, she also had green eyes that were a touch darker than Hiccups'. Dagur was standing behind the creature and seeming to enjoy what was going on.
"Look, we just want to help and apologize for Dagur's behavior. Our dragons wont hurt you." Hiccup told him moving closer to him as well as moving away from the dragon behind him which Jack saw as him getting too close and launched himself at Hiccup knocking him down to the ground with a hand to his throat. Yet before he could do anything else he heard a loud screech, he quickly looked up and saw that the creature had opened his mouth showing a bright purple light. Jack rolled away just as the creature let out the blast. All he registered was the spray of dirt and a voice yelling out, "Stop Toothless, no!"
Jack kept moving avoiding blasts as well as the tail of the other creature who seemed to have spikes on their tail. He could hear that the people were trying to stop their creatures but Jack tuned them out, deeming the as unimportant and not the biggest threat there. He suddenly felt his back slam into a tree and he knew he was trapped. He saw the two creatures approaching him as well as the people. He had no choose and decided to release his magic.
The once calm green clearing was now a raging blizzard with Jack at the eye of it. His eyes were glowing a bright blue and he felt nothing but snow, wind, and fear. He lifted his arms up, he could feel the five lives that existed within his blizzard, he could wipe them out and he had to if he wanted to survive. But before he could bring down the cold that would snuff out those five lives, a voice reached his ears.
"JACK!"
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As Aster, Tiana, and Tooth moved toward the smoke, they heard more explosions and suddenly they felt a bone chilling cold reach them.
"Why did it get so cold?" Tiana asked as she shivered and wrapped her arms around her chest.
"That's Jack's magic. I recognize his signature anywhere. He's in danger. The closest he's ever gotten to this amount of magic was when he created the Ice Cave. We have to stop him!" Tooth exclaimed running in the direction of the cold.
Aster was shocked but he quickly took off after Tooth, leaving behind Tiana, remembering what Jack had told him about the Ice Cave, he couldn't let him feel like that once again, he knows that Jack will regret it if they didn't stop him.
"How do we stop him? How did his father stop him last time?" Aster asked as they ran.
"He used his magic to stop him. He basically subdued him, but we don't have the same magic as Jack. So we just have to pray that we can pull him out but if not then you have to use your magic." Tooth answered never breaking her stride.
"What do you mean?"
"Your magic is basically life and warmth, you may have to melt him down, for lack of a better word."
"What?! Will that hurt him?"
"Maybe but it will be better than allowing him to kill whatever is in that clearing with him." Tooth stated pointing toward the clearing that they could now see, though really it was just pure swirling white. They slowed down to just the edge of the clearing, it seems that Jack was keeping the storm to just the clearing and they could actually see Jack on one side of the clearing glowing a bright blue. Aster knelt down and placed a hand on the ground to try and see if he could sense what life there was in the clearing. He sensed 5 lives and even though they seemed to be sheltered they were slowly losing their warmth even the two lives that should have been able to survive the cold.
"Stay here, I'm going to try and stop him. There's five lives in danger right now." Aster told Tooth who just nodded and stood back.
Aster walked into the clearing and shouted out Jack's name, hoping that may break him out. All it did was have Jack stare at him, he didn't seem to recognize him.
"Jackie! You need to stop, I know your scared and possibly hurt but you don't want to do this." Aster pleaded hoping his words would get through to him.
"They took me! They wouldn't let me go! They deserve this! They need to get punished!" Jack replied his voice echoing throughout the clearing.
"Jack! I know that they hurt you but you cant let them die. That isn't you!"
"Yes it is! Before you this is what I would do, its who I am!"
"No Jackie, it isn't. You may have killed before to protect your people, but then you decided that you didn't want to kill anymore. You told me that! You wanted to do things differently because of your people. So please, stop before you do something you'll regret." Aster told him moving closer to Jack, now he was just three feet away from him. Jack looked conflicted, he looked over his shoulder at where the five lives were. Then he looked at Aster as the glow in his eyes vanished and he dropped to his knees.
"Aster, I'm sorry." He whispered before he suddenly collapsed causing Aster to rush and catch him.
"Oh, Jackie. I know." He whispered back, glad to have his love back in his arms. The storm died down and Aster took the time to use his magic to melt as much of the snow as he could as well as warm up the five lives that he sensed though he still had no idea who they were. Once he was sure that they were fine, he looked down to see what ,if any, injuries Jack had. He had some dark bruising as well as a few cuts, possibly from the stream, and he had a cut in the back of his head. Aster heard some footsteps approaching them, he carefully laid Jack down and turned to face whoever was coming toward them but they just pushed him aside.
"Oh! My poor Sweet Tooth!" Tooth exclaimed bringing him into her arms for a strong hug. Aster picked himself up and huffed out a sigh, but before he could tell her anything, he heard the sound of metal as well as a screech. He spun around and saw that the five lives that he had sensed were actually three humans and two dragons who did not look happy.
"Stay back!" Aster snapped moving to block Jack from their view, not trusting these people especially with Dagur among them.
"He just tried to kill us!" Dagur shouted looking furious while the other two just looked wary from behind the two dragons.
"You kidnapped him! Your lucky he didn't kill you!" Aster responded with a growl.
"Well-" Dagur started before he was hit in the stomach by the female in their group.
"I apologize for his behavior and I think that we all need to talk." She stated with a glare toward Dagur the other male agreed.
"Very well. We will talk but only if your dragons move away." Tooth suddenly spoke moving to stand next to Aster. The black dragon seemed to understand and gave out a growl before the other male placed his hand on his head and soothed him.
"We agree if the dragons can stay in the clearing, they won't do anything if we tell them not to." The male agreed. Aster and Tooth agreed just as Tiana burst into the clearing completely out of breathe.
"I'm here." She exclaimed trying to gain back her breathe. Then she noticed what was going on in front of her, she stiffened and reached a hand down for weapon when Tooth yelled at her to stand down, that they were at a truce.
"While we talk to them, we need you to take a look at Jack. Make sure that he's okay." Aster told her passing her the pack that carried their medical supplies as she walked toward them, still keeping an eye on the dragons.
"Of course." Tiana replied kneeling down to take a look at Jack.
The male gestured for them to sit down at a set of logs around a wet fire pit, it seemed that he was the leader of their group. Aster quickly dried up the logs so that they wouldn't be wet and cold when they sat down. Tooth remained standing behind Aster, looking calm and collected though Aster could see the tension that filled her body. The other three sat down and their dragons sat on the other side of the clearing though Aster knew that if they sensed danger they would be at them in no time.
"Um, well let me introduce ourselves. My name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third of Berk. This is Heather. And you obviously know Dagur." The male, Hiccup, told them introducing each person.
"My name is Aster Bunnymund. This is Anna, also known as Tooth. The young woman over there is Tiana Kaur. And the young man over there is Jack." Aster replied, not wanting to mention where they were from.
"So I realize that this is a very awkward conversation so if you have any question you can ask them." Hiccup told them not entirely sure what they should talk about.
"Fine, why did that bloody bastard take m- Jack?" Aster asked.
"He misguidedly believed that by having, Jack, that he will get help in finding his dragon Shattermaster. They got separated when he triggered a trap that would have killed my friends and me. We believed that he was dead but it turns out that we were wrong." Hiccup explained glaring at Dagur though Dagur just ignored him.
"There are more dragons! Ombric said that there was only one dragon and now there's four out there?! He said it was rare to see them outside of the archipelago region." Aster exclaimed to Tooth exasperated that they had to deal with dragons now which he still hasn't fully processed.
"How do you know about the archipelago? You people aren't from there right?" The female, Heather, asked them confused by what they said.
"Ombric, the village leader that Dagur escaped from with Jack, told us about the region since we found some tracks up the river that we thought belonged to the creature that was terrorizing the village. Turns out it didn't and I'm guessing it belongs to the metal dragon." Aster answered not sure if they knew about the magic that guarded the region.
"Her name is Windshear. We came to this area because we heard about a dragon that was terrorizing a village and as we were investigating we saw Dagur and Jack. Jack fell into the stream so Hiccup and Toothless, the black dragon, grabbed him while I grabbed Dagur." She replied letting Aster know how they found Jack.
"So I believe that we're all here for the same reason. To find the dragon." Tooth stated loosening up a bit as she sensed that they weren't dangerous.
"So that's why you guys are here? To find the dragon? Whats you plan?" Hiccup asked with a slight frown.
"Well we didn't really have a plan. Our friend informed us that his village was being attacked by something and when we got here, he still didn't tell us what it was. They were suppose to let us know what the creature was at dinner but then Dagur took off with Jack so that put a stop to helping our friend. We only found out it was a dragon when we asked Ombric about the tracks we found. But we may just go with the original plan which was to kill the creature since it keeps harassing the village. Soon someone was going to get killed and its better to prevent that." Aster answered curious to why the other male seemed upset.
"I'm sorry but I can't allow you to kill this dragon. I understand that it has been harassing the village but it wouldn't do that for no reason. Not all dragons attack out of nowhere, and we help dragons. We can help to relocate it so it doesn't bother the villagers." Hiccup told him.
"This village is filled with intellectuals, they have no experience fighting and no real defense against enemies. So this dragon is attacking the village for no good reason, we cant allow it to continue. Back at our home we would not tolerate it." Tooth replied informing the group of the village.
"Well in that case, maybe the dragon is running from something. As the village ruler told you, dragons don't come out this far so something might have happened to them. They may be injured so at least allow us to investigate and see what type of dragon they are and what is wrong with them." Hiccup replied hoping to change their minds.
Aster and Tooth turned to each other and began to discuss what they should do in Atlantean.
"What do you think Tooth?" Aster asked keeping an eye on the others who now looked confused.
"I still want to punch that bastard Dagur. But if they can remove the dragon without harming it, then I would approve of the plan. I watched dragons when I was a young girl and they were some of the most magnificent creatures I had ever seen. I was heartbroken when I discovered that they were being hunted, it seemed like blasphemy. But on the other hand, if the dragon kills someone it will be on our heads. Perhaps we should allow them the chance but we should help them, as well as ask Ombric what he thinks. It is his home." Tooth answered also keeping an eye on the group.
"I agree with the punching Dagur but we cant now. Alright, we'll radio the others and see what they think. I also feel bad about killing a dragon, I mean I didn't even think they existed and it seems wrong to kill such a creature." Aster agreed.
"Alright, we are going to contact Ombric and see what he thinks since it is his home. But me and Tooth do not want to kill the dragon so we will help you to find and relocate the dragon." Aster informed them.
"Okay great. So how about-" Hiccup started happy to collaborate together when Dagur suddenly butted in.
"Can we talk about the yak in the room? What in Hel's name is he?" He shouted pointing at a now awake Jack.
"Jackie!" Aster cried out rushing over to help Jack sit up. "How are you feeling?"
Jack slowly got up, he had a pounding headache and everything seemed a bit fuzzy. The last thing he could clearly remember was falling into a stream. He felt his breathe leaving him when he was suddenly pulled into a tight hug. He let out a groan and tried to focus on who was hugging him.
"Aster?" Jack murmured still trying to figure out what was going on.
"Oh Jackie, I'm so glad your okay. Please tell me your okay?" Aster whispered not letting go.
"I'm fine Aster, whats going on? What happened?" Jack asked pushing away, only to be pulled into another hug this time with Tooth.
"Whats the last thing that you remember Jack?" Tiana asked after they had pulled him away from Tooth and she had gotten her own hug.
"Um, I was fighting Dagur then I fell back into a stream. Then nothing though I remember feeling cold, which I don't think I've ever felt before. How did you find me?" Jack answered still very confused.
"Well Jackie it wasn't easy. I'll tell you what happened but I need you to stay calm." Aster replied, waiting until Jack agreed before he explained to him what had happened. He calmly let him know what had happened and once he told him what he had done, Jack started to panic.
"What?! No, please tell me I didn't! Please tell me I didn't hurt anyone!" Jack exclaimed worried he had caused someone's death.
"Its okay Jackie, no one was hurt. You stopped yourself. Now let me introduce you to a few people that you may have meet." Aster told him helping him stand up before leading him to where the other group was, they appeared to be arguing.
"Jack, this is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third, leader of this group. That is Heather and you already know Dagur." Aster introduced the three though they all looked tensed. Which was understandable but he hoped Jack wouldn't take it to heart.
"Hello. I apologize for what happened. I lost control. I was not in my right mind. I hope you can forgive me." Jack stated with a small bow, he could see that they feared him, and he did not want to be feared. The three shared a glance but then the tallest one, Hiccup, moved forward. He actually remembered that Hiccup had tried to be friendly.
"We accept your apology. I could see that you were scared and I understand that. I mean, who wouldn't be when you wake up to two random strangers and the guy that kidnapped you. As well as dragons." Hiccup replied with a nervous chuckle raising a hand to shake Jack's.
"Dragons?" Jack asked confused as he also raised his hand to shake Hiccup's. Suddenly something large jumped between them forcing Jack back against Aster. The thing that had jumped between them was a dragon.
Jack remembered seeing it before but now that he was less scared he could actually register more of the creature. It had beautiful black scales and when Jack looked closer at it, he saw that it was wearing a saddle along with what looked like a red prosthetic fin tail. Within the seconds that Jack observed the angry dragon, Tooth had jumped in front of them holding a blade within each hand, ready to fight the dragon, and Hiccup was trying to pull the dragon away.
"Toothless stop! He wasn't doing anything!" Hiccup cried out, trying to pull back the massive reptile.
"Back away dragon! I will not hesitate if you try to harm him." Tooth stated fully prepared to fight.
"Stop! Tooth, stand down!" Jack ordered moving away from Aster who tried to stop him.
"Jack-" Aster and Tooth both started to say before Jack suddenly jumped over both and landed in front of the dragon.
"Hi, I'm sorry I almost hurt you. I know that you don't trust me, but please let me make it up to you." Jack stated calmly looking straight into the dragons magnificent slit green eyes. The dragon looked surprised but did not back down. Jack raised a hand toward the dragon and looked away. He remembered when he had first tried to ride Tooth's birds that they were weary of him and it took time to earn their trust. He also knew to never look a larger animal in the eye and to not show fear. So he took a chance because he knew that this dragon was just protecting his friend, he just had to show he wasn't a threat.
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Everything was silent. No one made a move as Toothless suddenly stopped growling and looked at the young man in front of him with a hand stretched out and head down, he was suddenly reminded of Hiccup when he was younger. Toothless saw that this person had been scared and trapped, so he reacted like a trapped animal and Toothless couldn't fault him for that. So he lowered his head and bumped his head against the young mans hand making him jump, Toothless let out a chortle as he pulled back and looked at the young mans shocked face. The young man gave out a laugh and reached out to pet Toothless, apologizing once again.
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Everyone else was in a state of shock. Aster had almost had a heart attack when Jack had placed his hand out toward the dragon and he would've pulled him back if he wasn't so close to it. Hiccup, just couldn't believe that Toothless had actually let Jack touch him let alone pet him. Tooth was furious with her King, how dare he put himself in danger again!
"Um, I guess Toothless likes you." Hiccup commented stunned.
"I guess so. So that's you name. Toothless. I like it. Your such a good dragon." Jack crooned scratching under Toothless's chin, who just purred and closed his eyes. Then Jack head the sound of metal once again and as he looked to the side he saw the other dragon. They really were completely covered in armor, it actually seemed to be their normal skin.
"Hello. Whats your name?" Jack asked quietly not wanting to startle the dragon. He could see that they were a bit more cautious.
"Um, her name is Windshear." Heather told him, still surprised by what had transpired.
"Well you are very beautiful. I love your armor, I kind of wish my armor looked like that." Jack told her still petting Toothless, because even though he wanted to pet Windshear he could tell that she would not appreciate that. Windshear actually seemed to like the compliment and stood up taller.
"I think she really liked that." Heather said with a laugh. Everyone was now relaxed since the dragons were now calm, well almost everyone, Tooth was still tense.
"Jacksonkadash! Never do that again! You don't know these creatures!" Tooth growled out.
"Its fine Tooth. It was all just a misunderstanding. Now I believe our new friends had some questions." Jack told her before he moved to sit down on the log though Aster sat next to him with a hand at his back.
"Right, yes. We wanted to know how you were able to create the blizzard. That shouldn't be possible." Hiccup stated, also sitting down with Toothless who was lying down with closed eyes.
"We come from a place where magic is common place. Our magics all relate to the elements and seasons, my magic relates to winter. And I am currently the only winter user. My father was killed a few years ago and he was my teacher. When I'm afraid and not in my right mind, I can lose control." Jack explained though Aster and Tooth tried to stop him. They didn't know these people and they couldn't understand why Jack would give out this information. He doesn't trust new people, why would he do this?
"King Jack! You can not tell them about this! We do not know them or trust them!" Tooth growled out.
"I agree Jack. We don't know anything about them other than that they have dragons and they are from somewhere that is protected by a barrier. We don't even know if they know about the barrier." Aster stated shocked over what Jack was thinking.
"I understand your worry. But we can trust them. The Voice told me that we can. And that they know more than they're letting on. Toothless has a saddle and prosthetic limb because of Hiccup. Hiccup helped to create that and give him his flight back. Hiccup lost his leg because him and Toothless were protecting their home. He is actually currently fighting against an enemy that is capturing dragons and hunting them. His people have their own dragons and they live in harmony. They live how I pray our people will live one day." Jack explained as a slip of wind caressed his hair and cheek along with a light voice whispering something in his ear.
"What voice? The one from before? How does it know all this?" Aster asked remembering Jack's odd behavior from before.
"Yes, the same Voice, and I don't know how they know, they just do. They said they've seen him and his friends, they're called Dragon Riders. They also train dragons, we can trust them Aster. We can trust the Voice. They only want balance." Jack answered before smiling back at the increasingly confused trio.
"Alright Jack I trust you. If you trust this 'voice' then I trust it, though I wish I could see them." Aster stated giving Jack a brief hug.
"Very well, we will trust your judgment Jack. But we really must contact Ombric, I'm sure he's worried about us." Tiana replied moving to go let Tiana know what was going on as she had been busy putting everything back and informing Porc on the situation.
"I apologize for us using our original language. I'm sure its a bit confusing." Jack apologized once more giving them a disarming smile.
"Uh, that's alright but where are you from, and how do you have magic like the Gods?" Hiccup asked falling into an analytic tone, his hand twitching for his charcoal and paper to write all this down. Dagur just looked a bit disturbed especially considering that he had kidnapped someone with magic.
Jacks eyes flashed and narrowed, "Unfortunately I can not tell you. I may trust you Dragon Rider but my people come first. I allowed you to know why I was able to do what I can because you could not use it against us but knowing where I come from can harm my people especially if your enemies Viggo and Ryker discover what you know. So I can not take that risk."
"How do you know about Viggo and Ryker? We never mentioned him." Heather asked now, more suspicious.
"I did tell him about Viggo but I never mentioned Ryker. I have no idea how he got that information." Dagur stated also getting suspicious.
"The Voice told me. They told me about your adventures and what happened to cause you the loss of your leg." Jack explains.
"What Voice? How do they know about that?" Hiccup asked.
"I'm not sure who they are but they see everything. They're everywhere, we've all felt them, even heard them but we don't listen. Ever since I've come here I've been able to hear them clearly and the more I spend here, the more I can connect with them. I know it is hard to understand and that you have no reason to trust me. But I also know that you trust Toothless and his opinion, if he trusts me, then you trust me." Jack answered sneaking a hand down to grasp Aster's hand, hoping that the Voice is right.
Hiccup glanced down at Toothless, who was currently trying to catch a leaf that was twirling around his paws. Toothless felt Hiccup's eyes on him and turned toward him.
"What do you think bud?" He asked, knowing that even though Toothless looked like he wasn't paying attention, he was. Toothless tilted his head and seemed to be listening to something before he gave a nod. "Alright bud, I guess we trust you Jack." Hiccup stated.
"Hiccup, are you sure? We still don't know everything about them and we don't really know how they know all of that information about us. We just have to trust a Voice?" Heather asked keeping a hand on Windshear.
"She has a point Hiccup." Dagur stated.
"I trust Toothless and I trust Jack and his friends. I don't know why but I believe him and trust him. So we should probably head over to the village so that we can speak with this Ombric. And see if we can figure out why this dragon is attacking." Hiccup explained moving to shake Jack's hand, now that Toothless won't attack him.
"Thank you for the trust and yes. We should head out." Jack agreed shaking Hiccups hand.
"Ombric says he'll have food ready for us. I let him know what was happening and he said he'll explain everything that was going on when we get back." Tiana stated moving to join the group after putting away her radio.
"Alright, well I guess you guys can use your dragons to get to the village and we'll meet you there. Dagur can probably guide you to where the village is." Aster said still uncomfortable around the dragons and Dagur.
"Actually I think I should go with them. The others may know that they're on their way but they still may not trust them even if they do trust easily. And this way we can get there faster." Tiana suggested thinking that Aster could make his tunnels faster without having too many people and she didn't think that Aster wanted these three to know about his power, even if Jack did trust them.
"That should be fine, she could ride with me and Toothless." Hiccup offered though he was still trying to wrap his mind around what he had learned. He also couldn't help but keep glancing at Jack, he was so curious about the young man and he really couldn't help it. Though when he glanced at the boy once again, the tall male, Aster, saw him and frowned moving a little bit in front of him.
"Well, Tiana if your sure, I don't see why not. Though I am jealous that your going to be able to ride a dragon." Jack stated with a grin moving forward to pet Toothless who had moved toward Jack.
"Well maybe after everything, me and Toothless can take you out for a ride. I'm sure that Toothless will love that." Hiccup offered smiling at the interaction between Toothless and Jack.
"Perhaps but that will depend on what happens at the village." Jack answered scratching Toothless under his chin though he did frown a little when he swore he heard Aster give out a huff. He swore he even saw Aster try to make himself bigger but he figured that it was just in his head.
"Well we better head out. Are you sure you all will be able to find the village from here?" Heather asked climbing onto Windshear with Dagur.
"Yes, we will be fine. We'll meet you at the village as soon as possible." Tooth stated still keeping a hand on one of her blades, still wary of the group and their dragons.
"Alright, so we will see you soon. We will wait for you at the village." Hiccup told Jack as he helped Tiana onto Toothless.
"That's great, mate. We'll see you there." Aster stated moving Jack away before he could answer. Hiccup looked confused but accepted it and took off, joining Heather in the air and soon they were gone. Once they were gone Jack pushed away from Aster and glared at him.
"What was that about?" He asked annoyed that Aster actually moved him away and didn't allow him to answer.
"What do you mean love?" Aster asked distracted as he started to concentrate on making a tunnel to the village. For a second he felt some resistance but then it was gone. He figured that he hit the village barrier but since it disappeared, that must mean it recognized him or at least his magic and was allowing him in.
"You know what I mean. Moving me away and not letting me answer Hiccup. Why would you do that? He wasn't doing anything and he was being civil." Jack answered as Tooth wisely moved away, she knew why Aster was acting this way and she didn't not want to get in the middle of it.
"Don't know what your talking about love. I just want to get us to the village so that we can take care of the dragon issue and so Ombric could check you out." Aster stated though he was also hoping that once the dragon issue was taken care off, Hiccup and his friends would leave. Though he wasn't sure what he had against the young man. He seemed kind, and a real leader, and he obviously cared about dragons but seeing him interact with Jack and Jack interacting with him, even trusting him enough to explain his power, left him with a sour feeling. He didn't really want to explore what that feeling was and seeing Tooth avoiding them meant that she knew at least somewhat, what he was feeling.
But, he pushed all this out of his mind and began to picture the tunnel to the village and once he had it perfectly planned with no risk of any cave ins, he tapped his foot opening the tunnel up.
"Alright, this should get us to the village in no time." Aster stated proud of having made a tunnel so easily outside of Atlantis.
"Well, I'll see you both at the other end." Tooth told them before dropping down into the tunnel and taking off.
"After you love." Aster offered waving a hand to the tunnel. Jack frowned but he couldn't help but be proud and amazed with Aster's powers. So he jumped down into the tunnel to finally see what Aster's tunnels were like.
The tunnel was a little bit taller than Aster and wide enough that him and Aster can walk next to each other if a bit tightly. It was also a illuminated, he thought that it was going to be dark but it was softly lit by a few small plants that glowed a light blue and green. There was also some plants and roots spread out throughout the tunnel. As Jack observed the tunnel, Aster dropped down closing the opening.
"Ready to go mate?" Aster asked already moving down the tunnel leaving Jack behind, he really didn't want to talk.
"Aster, whats wrong?" Jack asked quietly following behind him.
"Nothing Jack, I just want to get to the village, help North, and go back to our lives in Atlantis." Aster answered keeping his arms crossed and not looking back at Jack.
"Do you really want to go back?" Jack asked quietly coming to a complete stop. Aster heard Jack stop, so he also stopped and turned around to see what why he stopped. Yet as soon as he saw Jack, he was shocked by what he saw.
Jack was holding himself tightly and he was looking at the floor. He looked as if he was getting ready for bad news and like he was dreading Aster's answer. Did he think that Aster wanted to say on the surface?
"Of course I want to go back Jack. I love being in Atlantis and I wont ever leave you. Atlantis is my home now, I cant abandon it." Aster told him but his answer just seemed to make Jack hold himself tighter. That didn't seem like the answer Jack wanted.
"Jack, do you not want me to go back to Atlantis?"
"I don't know if I want to go back." Jack replied quietly with so much guilt in his voice.
"What? But Jack, your the king! Your people need you!" Aster exclaimed, unable to comprehend why Jack would want to stay here on the surface.
"I know that they need me! But, I feel like I need to be here, I want to learn more about my abilities and I want to know more about our history. I think that we've learned all that we could back home and maybe the rest of our history could be found up here. Look at Ombric, he survived what wiped out most of our kingdom. What if others survived? Aren't we obligated to find them? They've already been abandoned for hundreds of years and I don't want to abandon them again.
I also need to know what the Voice is. I don't know if the surface world is just enhancing my powers and allowing me to reach more into my magic or maybe the surface world still has magic. The dragons are an example of that, and so is Ombric' village. What if there is more magic in the world than we thought, the people of this world are just blind to it. I wonder what would happen if I bring my people up here, maybe they'll be happier. They would be able to feel real sun, grass, the ocean, and everything that we don't have. It isn't fair that I get to experience all of this wonder and they don't. I can describe everything that I have experienced to our people but they will never experience it for themselves. What kind of King can I be if I cant make them happy?" Jack explained pacing around.
Aster had no idea that Jack was holding all of this in. He knew that Jack felt this back when they faced the Kraken but he had no idea it was this strong. He couldn't disagree with too much of what Jack was saying, he even felt like his magic was getting stronger now that they were on the surface.
"But Jack, your people are happy-" Aster started before he was interrupted.
"They don't know any better! They are happy being in that confined space because they don't know that there is more out there for them. I cant lie and tell them that there is nothing special because there is, there are better things out there but they will never experience that because they are trapped underground and I cant free them." Jack stated grabbing Aster's hands.
"I understand love. And I don't want to say this, but there is nothing we can do. We can take them from the underground but they would have to abandon their city, their history. Unless we can bring the city with us, that can never happen." Aster replied pulling Jack into a tight hug. Jack let out a small cry, everything that had happened in the last day just caught up with him. The terror that he felt when he was taken, the fear of him wanting to abandon his home, and the fear of him losing control hit him making him cry uncontrollably. All his confusion hit him and he couldn't stop.
Aster was shocked when Jack started to cry but everything that happened had to be trying to anyone. He understood that Jack must be emotional right now, so all he could do was hold him and be there for him as well as comfort him as much as he could.
"I'm here, love. I'm here."
Okay, so I hope y'all enjoyed that. This chapter was very difficult to write for me because I had a plan in my head that I dont think came out how I wanted it. Hiccup, was pretty hard to get in his head, I was so surprised. I thought I would be able to get him done easily but I dont think I did. I will try more in the next chapter, Heather and Dagur were difficult as well, mostly because I dont know them that much. I have never read the books by the way so everything I know are from the tv shows and movies, so I apologize if I did not do them justice.
As for the other information, I realize that some people may not be able to ask me questions and allow me to answer them in a timely matter, so I was wondering if you all would be interested in contacting me through twitter? I made one that is my named after my username, ElektraVamp05 is the name so you guys can follow me on there and maybe reach me more easily.
Reviews:
YellowMiki98: Thank you so much for reviewing and also for pointing out that mistake that I made in the first few chapters so thank you so much! I hope that you enjoy this new chapter!
Saphira Winters: Thank you so much for reviewing and no, I have not abandoned this story and I am so sorry for the long wait, I hope this chapter makes up for it!
Guest: Thank you so much for reviewing and I am so sorry for the long wait and I hope that you enjoy this new chapter!
Victtorya-siempre eterna: Gracias por todo que has escripido! I am so happy that you are enjoying the story and sorry if my Spanish writing doesn't make sense, I can speak Spanish but not really write it very well. I really hope you enjoy this chapter!
Angeldragonqueen: Thank you for reviewing and I appreciate what you wrote and if I'm being honest I even perfer my first story too though I do like what I have planned for this one. I hope that you enjoy this chapter!
So that is all the information I have for y'all and I will begin working on the next chapter as soon as possible. But I am going on another trip soon to San Antonio for about a week, from June 30th to July 6 and I will take my laptop so that I can continue to work so no worries. Anyway, please leave a review or comment, it would really help me stay motivated. Till next time! Bye!