Chapter Eleven: Second Battle at the Edge


"Understand your mission, Darien?" Dagur asked, looking at her from across the table they set up on the beach.

The camp was lit by a few fires and torches, which dotted the beach. Across the bay was Dragon's Edge, and was dark; not hinting where anyone was.

"Yes. I'll be in and out before they even realize what's missing." She whispered, staring at the rough sketch of a map.

"It has to be in one of these three rooms." Dagur reaffirmed, pointing at one of the circles on the map "Shouldn't be too hard to find."

"What shouldn't be too hard to find?" Ruffnut's voice shouted, causing both Dagur and Darien to cringe.

Darien whirled around to stare their prisoner down. Tied to a tree, Ruffnut just smirked at her "It's the Dragon Eye, isn't it?"

"If I were you, I'd worry more about what we're going to do to you, instead of what we're looking for." Darien growled, putting her hand on her dagger's hilt and drawing it slowly.

"I knew it! It is the Dragon Eye!" Ruffnut shouted, causing everyone to flinch at the grainy voice.

"Aye, I've never had a headache this bad since we've captured her…" Ryker groaned, shaking his head in pain "And I've had Gronckles head-butt meh multiple times. Gag her!"

"Darien, stay focused." Dagur replied, pushing her dagger back into her sheath. Looking back at the map, he added "I'll go around and pull their attention from behind. They shouldn't have any more traps or defenses. While they worry about me and my squad, Darien, you swim across the bay and right to their docks. They shouldn't have any one keeping watch."

"Meanwhile, my men and I will boat across the bay to the beach nearby and start scaling the cliff side. This will be the final assault." Ryker threw in, pointing on the map where he was going to be.

"Great. Now all's that's left is to actually go and do it." Darien replied, nodding at the plan "I'll let you two go first, and I'll leave a half hour after. Give you time to set up the distractions for me."

"Remember…if yeh comeback empty handed, yeh'll be empty headed…" Ryker growled, glaring at her "I don't want this side mission to replace what we're really here for. I still don't understand why yeh want to sneak in there, when we'll be overrunning them before the mornin' light."

"Hey, Ryker. That's my relative you're talking to." Dagur growled, squaring up to him "If you so much as lay a finger on her, I'll make sure to where your rib cage over my armor. Besides that, she brings up a good point. This is a backup plan if we fail to get inside."

"Hmmph." Ryker huffed, turning and walking away "Just make sure this isn't a waste of my time. Or men."

Darien watched Ryker walk away, issuing orders and keeping a few guards to watch Ruffnut, who at this time was gagged to keep her from talking. "Thanks Dagur. It seems his nerves are on edge."

"Well, you are my descendant." Dagur replied with a crazed smile, grabbing a torch from a Hunter's hand "And being very helpful and willing. Something I don't forget. Thank you."

"Heh, don't thank me until I get what we want." She replied with a smile, resting a hand on her hip. The torch light revealed herself. Dressed in a black leather vest, she had removed her banged up chest plate after the whole fiasco of the Dragon Rider's escape. Her pants were also the same black color, with greyish, knee high boots. She had several straps and belts, carrying an assortment of pouches. Her blonde hair was turning into a dirty blonde, due to the mixture of the salt water and constant exposure to the sun. She now had it done up in a ponytail, pulling her hair out of her eyes. She kept the armguard on her right arm, given that it was useful to her in occasions past. "Besides, I've learned to not count the chickens until the eggs hatched. Let's wait to celebrate when we're burning their fort down." She added with a confident smile.

"Right, right. It just makes me so excited to think about the future of the Berserkers!" Dagur laughed, reaching down and grabbing his axe. Shouldering it, he then said "Well, with that said, I'll be on my way. Remember, make sure you check Hiccup's room!"

"Of course. I already have an idea of how to get into it." Darien replied with an evil grin.

Dagur just smiled, turning and walking away.

Darien then looked over at Dragon's Edge. The task honestly didn't seem to be that big of a deal. Get in, look around while the riders are busy defending, grab the objective, and get out. The hardest part of the plan would be keeping the objective dry during the swim back; which she received a special leather backpack to keep it that way. "Should've done this a while ago…" She whispered, gripping her dagger's hilt. Chuckling and shouldering a leather backpack, she then whispered "Look out Matt…a new Dragon Boarder is coming…and there's only room for one in this world."


"Alright bud. Looks clear on the north side, wouldn't you say?" Matt said quietly, peering through a spyglass. Wasatch hung above the clouds, staying out of sight until they absolutely had a clear shot at the Hunters. With the night having a full moon, it wasn't hard to see the ground from their altitude.

Wasatch growled, staring below them. Slowly banking left, he took his time in turning around.

"Heh, as quiet as it's been, wouldn't believe that there's an invasion happening, huh boy?" He continued to whisper, looking over to the west side of the Edge. Nothing.

Wasatch growled, starting glide under the cloud cover.

"Woop! Not yet boy…" Matt quickly replied, lifting his lead foot up. Guiding Wasatch back above the clouds, he explained "If I can't see them with the spyglass, chances are they aren't there." Looking towards the east, he then whispered "Wonder if Astrid is having any troub-"

Suddenly a large fireball erupted in the forest, interrupting his thoughts.

"Great. Spoke to soon." He growled, crouching on Wasatch and pulling up his goggles "Low and fast Wasatch! Make 'em sorry for attacking here again!"

Wasatch roared, diving immediately. The clouds instantly lit up with lightning, and the thunder crashed as he did so, signaling that he was raging and charging up. Matt felt the wind rush by as he stared at the ground rapidly getting closer as his dragon accelerated down. He could see the smoke emitting from where he saw the fireball, making him wonder what happened. Wasatch pulled up, skimming along the trees, and letting a trail of electricity follow. Focusing on what was ahead of him, he was surprised when Stormfly flew out of the trees, with Astrid staring at him equally surprised.

"Whoa! Slow down Wasatch!" Matt yelled, quickly banking him to avoid a collision.

"Matt?! What are you doing?" Astrid cried out, watching him circle around her.

"I saw the explosion. Thought you were under attack." Matt explained, finally flying alongside "What happened?"

"Used one of Tuffnut's plans. Heh, crazy thing was, it actually worked!" Astrid laughed, still in disbelief "Dagur and a group of Hunters turned tail and ran!"

"Dagur was there?" Matt quizzed "Think Ryker's here too?"

"And probably Darien as well." Astrid replied, returning her attention to the Edge "Come on. Let's meet up with Tuffnut and see if the Hunters are finally retreating."

"I didn't see anything on the north or west side." Matt explained. Shaking his head, he then asked aloud "I don't get it. They have an army and instead of charging, they're sending small groups and raiding parties."

"I wondered that too." Astrid replied, looking at Matt "But as I thought of why they're doing that, I realized they're testing our defenses, and seeing what their options are."

"I hate those guys…" Matt growled, shaking his head.

The two dragons made it a short flight to the clubhouse, which they easily found Tuffnut staring through a spyglass. "Aggh! Are these guys serious?!" He growled, finally turning to look at Astrid and Matt "They're still coming! Even after all those brilliant ideas!"

"You'll have to tell me what you guys did." Matt huffed, pulling out his spyglass. Sure enough, through his tinted goggles, he saw that a large body of men had rowed across the bay and were organizing on their beach. "Dammit" He whispered, watching them march to the cliffs "They're doing what we were just talking about, Astrid. They're gathering everyone together and charging us. They have to scale the cliff though, which is really our last line of defense."

"Great. So now what?" Astrid asked, looking at Matt and Tuffnut.

"Well, we can try and fight 'em. But that puts us and our dragons at a higher risk of getting shot with those stupid arrows." Matt began to say, brainstorming for ideas.

"What if…" Tuffnut began to say, turning to where the Hunters were coming from "What if we had another brilliant, out of control idea?"

Matt looked at Astrid, who in turn looked back at him. "How has his last few plans held up?" He asked, looking at her quizzically.

"Well, none have failed." Astrid replied with a shrug. Turning to Tuffnut, she then shrugged again with a somewhat forced smile, giving in to the idea of him coming up with plans. "Go for it Tuff. What do we need to do?"

"Astrid, take Stormfly and gather the Night Terrors." Tuff began to instruct "Matt, I need you to get my sister! Wait until you see Smidvarg and his gang, that's when you make your move to save her. I'm going to get something to eat."

Matt and Astrid stared at him in annoyance with the last part of his plan.

"What? I'm hungry." Tuffnut defended, shrugging at the stares "Unless, hold on. Are you guys' hungry too?"


Heather peered ahead, scanning the darkness. She didn't know how far Hiccup and the others could have gone, but given that Trader Johann had been able to signal them on such short notice that he thought they could help, he couldn't have been that far.

"Come on girl. I can't imagine they're much further." She whispered, glancing to her left and right. Where were they? Was she even heading in the right direction? Did they veer away?

Windshear suddenly slowed, causing Heather to whiplash at the sudden stop. Windshear just growled angrily at something below them.

"What? What is it girl? Hunters?" Heather asked, frantically searching for what Windshear was seeing. Splash! The sound of something big splashing made her whirl to her right. "What the?!" She cried out, staring at a sleek looking silhouette of a dragon. The tail fins made it look like the dragon was an arrowhead. It looked…sharp.

The…arrow of a dragon simply flew off, leaving where it had launched out of the sea. Heather just stared at it, wondering what she just saw. Suddenly, the cloaked dragon rolled in the air and fired an orange, glowing blast at her and Windshear!

"Look out!" She shouted, pulling back on Windshear's saddle. The orange comet sailed under Windshear, who barely rose up to miss it. "After him!" Heather roared, guiding Windshear to chase after the mystery dragon.

Windshear instantly surged forward, roaring angrily and giving chase to the dragon. Heather kept her eyes trained on it, trying to figure out what it was. Whatever it was, it was fast and agile. Windshear was having a tough time gaining on it, and it would randomly turn and twist at surprising speeds.

"Give it some of your quills!" Heather shouted, seeing the dragon line up in front of them.

Windshear roared as she whipped her tail, sending multiple quills at the dragon; all spread out evenly in a line to ensure a hit. The dragon then bolted upwards, climbing higher and higher just as fast as it flew normally. The quills horribly missed, shocking even Windshear at the dragon's reaction time.

"What is this thing?!" Heather shouted, urging Windshear follow.

Then the sight that took her breath away. The dragon rolled over to go into a dive, catching the moonlight. On its back was a person! She couldn't see details, other than a cloak that was strapped to the rider's back, with a hood over their head.

"What in Odin's name…" She gasped, staring at the sight.

The dragon then dove straight down, an eerie screaming emitting from it. Heather stared as Windshear tried to keep up, only to be left horribly behind. It was the scream that Toothless made when diving at high speeds! Was this thing a Night Fury? It was about the same size as one.

Her question was somewhat answered that it was not, as she watched the dragon dive into the sea, leaving a column of water in its place. Windshear pulled up and hovered above the water, roaring at where the dragon had disappeared.

Shaking her head, Heather simply whispered to herself "How was that a Night Fury? It shot an orange blast at me, not blue. And it obviously swims in the water!" Then the thought that was even more puzzling. The rider she saw. Who was he? Or she? And why'd they attack her and Windshear?

Thinking about what just happened, she then realized she was completely off course. "Agh! Great!" She roared, venting her frustration. She had no idea where south-west, and with the bright moon, she couldn't see the stars to give her any kind of guidance.

Windshear also seemed to pick up on the new predicament, as she forgot about the dragon and glanced back and forth, trying to figure out where to go.

"Hey, wait." Heather said, something catching her eye "Is…that Hiccup?"

Both rider and dragon turned to see Hiccup, Fishlegs, and Snotlout flying straight at them; with Trader Johann riding with Fishlegs. Not only that, but they had a large flock of random dragons tailing right behind them!

"Heather?" Hiccup called out, stopping in front of her "What're you doing here?"

"Trying to find you guys!" She called out, relieved at her luck "The Edge is under attack! It was looking grim when I left to find you guys!"

"Ryker?" Fishlegs asked, staring at her in disbelief.

"Who else would it be?" Heather replied, starting to fly back.

Flying alongside her, Hiccup then asked "What was the situation like when you left?"

"Matt and I arrived just as Astrid and Tuffnut ran out of traps and defenses. Ruffnut's been captured, and Matt, Astrid, and Tuffnut are holding the fort down." Looking at Hiccup, she added "I don't know how long they can last."

"Let's speed it up then." Hiccup replied, his eyes narrowing "Let's bring our new friends and let them repay the Hunters for what they did to them."

"Any chance of telling me why you have wild dragons following all of you?" Heather asked, looking back and seeing a Deadly Nadder with deep scars all over it.

"These dragons were attacked and injured by Ryker and his men." Hiccup explained "It's kind of a long story, but we made friends with them and now they're following us."

"You'll have to fill me in after we finish cleaning up the Edge!" Heather replied with a large smile. Then, a lot quieter, said "Hiccup, I need to tell you something…"

"What's up?" Hiccup asked, turning to see her with a concerned expression.

"Windshear and I…when we were trying to find you guys, we were attacked." She explained, looking at him with worry.

Hiccup gasped at the news, which he instantly asked "When? By who, Hunters?"

"No…" Heather whispered, shaking her head "A dragon. One that I've never seen before."

"What did it look like?" He quickly followed up with.

"I didn't really get a good look at it. It honestly looked like Toothless; like a Night Fury." She explained, recalling the recent memory "But that's not all…it had a rider on it." Turning to face Hiccup, she was shocked to see his face pale in the moonlight.

"You…you're sure you saw someone? Riding this dragon?" He asked earnestly. It was a different tone that she ever heard from him. It was nervous, almost scared.

Nodding, she replied "Yeah. The dragon fired an orange blast at us, and sounded like Toothless when it dove into the ocean. It never came back up! At least near us. Honestly, if I hadn't chased it though, I don't think I would've ran into you guys." Then, realizing what she was saying, she added a lot more slowly "As if…that's what they were trying to do…"

Hiccup quickly returned his attention up ahead, saying quietly so that only Heather could hear "We'll talk about this after we help out Dragon's Edge. Right now, keep it quiet and don't tell anyone. Ok?"

Confused at the request, she could only nod. "Sure. I can do that."

"Thank you…" Hiccup whispered, looking forward and urging Toothless to fly faster.

Confused, Heather simply shook her head and followed alongside.


Wasatch let out an angry huff, looking out from under the brush he and Matt were hiding in. It was obvious the dragon was bored sitting and waiting.

"Easy boy. We wait for the signal. Ok?" Matt quietly said, moving a branch out of the way to look from their hiding spot. There she was. Ruffnut tied and gagged to a tree. Four Hunters were positioned around her, all armed with bows and dragon root arrows. Not really a problem for Wasatch, as he was able to chain his attacks. Flipping open his knife, he tested the blade by rubbing it along his finger. Sharp.

Thinking of Tuffnut's plan, he shook his head in admiration. Would it work? Possibly. If it did, they'd instantly have a frenzied army of dragons. Shaking his head, he whispered "Figures one of the twins would have thought of this."

Wasatch then let out a long yawn, trying to be quiet about it. Watching his dragon, Matt couldn't help but let one out himself. "Great. Thanks for reminding me how tired I am!" Matt whispered, lightly laughing. Joke or not, it was a true fact. Both dragon and rider were operating on low sleep. And right after a long trip from Berk. Dawn was starting to show signs, creating a pale grey line in the horizon, not helping Matt feel less tired. If anything, it was a constant reminder that he hadn't slept at all. Shaking his head, he simply thought to himself "I can't be more tired than Astrid and Tuffnut. They've been awake as long as I have and they've been fighting the entire time."

Suddenly, an eerie screech sounded off. The two peered from their hiding spot and saw a massive black dragon emerge, roaring as loud as it could! They could see the army of Hunters on the opposite beach scramble, trying to take cover. The four guards for Ruffnut were all mesmerized at the sudden appearance of the massive dragon. Their backs were turned and exposed to him.

"Go Wasatch!" Matt hissed, running out of the bushes.

Wasatch roared loudly, launching into the air. By the time the four Hunters realized a dragon was behind them, Wasatch was already charging up with lightning. Flying right above the four, he let out an eerie screech and let loose his charge. Lightning spewed from his mouth, hitting the ground and arcing to each Hunter.

"Aggghhh!" They all screamed, getting both fried and thrown by the electrical blast.

"Wwmmphh!" Ruffnut tried to cheer through her gag, seeing Wasatch hover over the fallen Hunters.

Matt was already there, slashing his knife down the ropes that held her to the tree. Feeling the ropes fall off, Ruffnut pulled the gag out of her mouth, and instantly began to say "Wooh! That was awesome!"

"Yeah, yeah, great. Come on! Let's go help the others!" Matt shouted, grabbing and dragging her to where Wasatch landed.

Another screech sounded, making all three turn to see the massive black dragon break up into hundreds of Night Terrors. They all then charged into the Hunter's army; screeching, clawing, and biting at them.

"I can't believe it…" Matt laughed, shaking his head in disbelief "It…it actually worked!"

"What worked?" Ruffnut asked, staring at the sight.

"We'll explain later. Right now, let's go help clean up this mess!" Matt replied, jumping onto Wasatch. Strapping himself in, he felt Ruffnut climb on behind him.

"So, did you stop her?" She asked, holding onto one of the many spikes.

"Stop who?" Matt asked, letting Wasatch launch into the air. Turning around, he stared at her with confusion.

"Darien! She's in Dragon's Edge looking for the Dragon Eye!" Ruffnut answered, smiling at the destruction and fighting below.

"What?! She's here?" Matt gaped, horrified at the news.

"Yeah, this is also a distraction for her. That's what I overheard at least." Ruffnut replied, not sensing the urgency of her information.

"Wasatch! Drop me off at the Edge!" Matt roared, flying over the battle "Go help Astrid and Tuffnut! Take Ruff with you!"

Wasatch hovered next to Matt's deck, letting his rider jump off.

"Tell Astrid that I'm searching for Darien!" He yelled, watching Ruffnut and Wasatch fly away.

"Wooh!" Ruffnut cheered, either not hearing or caring what Matt said. She was finally riding Wasatch, and she was going to have some fun with him.

Shaking his head, Matt unzipped his coat and tossed it into his room. As he threw it in, he was shocked to see it torn to pieces. His wake and snowboards were thrown on the floor, and his desk and papers were all opened and scattered. Darien was indeed looking for the Dragon Eye.

Flipping his knife closed, he pocketed it as he grabbed his hatchet that was laying on the floor. "This is it Darien. You're in my turf now…" He growled, jogging down a ramp.

Running past Astrid's room, he saw that it too, was torn up, but no Darien was inside. Moving along, he went to the club house, where Astrid had hidden the Dragon Eye in a loose panel. Jogging down the ramp, he froze as he passed Fishleg's room. Seeing the door cracked open, he peaked inside. His blood froze as he saw Darien laughing to herself, swinging a backpack over her shoulder.

Taking a step back, he then readied his hatchet and waited for her to walk out.

"Heh, that was easy…" She whispered, opening the door. Seeing Matt stand there with hatchet raised, her smile instantly disappeared and she froze in her tracks. Her hand immediately went to her dagger hilt, ready to draw.

"Don't." Matt growled, his arm itching to throw the hatchet in between her eyes "I promise I'm faster at throwing than you are drawing that knife."

"Matt!" She quickly said with a forced, cheery laugh; obviously nervous "Wh-what're you doing here?"

"Shut up Darien. Drop your weapon and the bag, and get on your knees. You have no idea how bad I want to kill you right now."

"Oh?" She sneered, raising her hands up slowly "If you actually felt that way, I'm sure you would have already."

"Drop the weapon and the bag." He repeated, his eyes narrowing "That's your last warning."

Darien kept up her nervous smile, saying "Matt…surely we can talk abou-"

Suddenly an eerie scream sounded above them. Both looked up to see Hiccup fly over, followed by Heather, Snotlout, and Fishlegs; with a whole horde of dragons behind them! They all then dove down at the battle below, roaring and screeching at the top of their lungs.

Before Matt could even react, Darien leaped forward and planted her foot right in the leg; again right where he was slashed by Alvin.

"Aggh!" He roared, dropping to his knees. His leg shot lightning like pain up and down his leg. Almost like needles were pricking his bones. The worst part was, that it wasn't going away like it usually did. It kept on shooting pain up and down.

Darien then bolted away, running up a ramp and away from him.

"You're dead!" He roared, pushing himself to stand up. Raising his hatchet, he aimed and then hurled it right at her.

"Gah!" She cried out, the hatchet burying itself into her shoulder. Cutting the strap of her bag, she held onto it with her good hand. Though a lot slower, she kept on running away with the hatchet still in her, now towards the cliff side where the battle was taking place.

Limping because of the hit he took, Matt chased after her. Even with his handicap, he was moving a lot faster than she was. "Come here Darien! Let's finish this once and for all!"


"I love the smell of Zippleback gas in the morning!" Snotlout roared, letting Hookfang lay down a stream of fire along the beach.

Between the Night Terror's freaking out, the wild dragons taking revenge, and the dragon riders hitting specific targets, it seemed to be a battle that was lost before it started. Ryker's men were running around, trying to take cover on an exposed and open beach.

"Hold your ground! Shields up!" Ryker roared, jumping back from where a wild Nadder shot its spines "Archers! Shoot down the bigger dragons! Those with swords, deal with the Night Terrors!"

No sooner had he said that, a lightning strike blasted one of his men next to him. Horrified, Ryker looked up to see Wasatch rocket above him at incredible speeds.

"No! You did it wrong!" Ruffnut shouted, shaking her head angrily "I said the big guy! Hit the big guy! I thought you were a sharp shooter?"

Wasatch growled angrily, shaking around in the air and making jerking movements.

"Whoa! Whoa-Aaaagghhh!" Ruffnut shouted, getting bucked off the dragon. Falling through the air, she was suddenly stopped as Barf grabbed her out of the air.

"Welcome back sis!" Tuffnut replied with a smile, watching Barf flip her over his head and onto her saddle.

"Man, now I know why Matt straps himself down." She huffed, staring at the Skrill that went for another strike "Can't stay on that wild thing for nothing!"

"I agree sister. Shall we continue our raging, havoc wrecking fun?" Tuffnut asked, smiling at her.

"We shall!" She quickly replied, forgetting about Wasatch "Let's get 'em!"

Astrid landed Stormfly right on top of a couple Hunters, who just stared up at the angry Nadder. Smirking at them, she then felt a force slam into her from behind, forcing her off Stormfly. Rolling with her attacker, she kicked them off and sprung to her feet.

Shocked, she stared at Dagur who was already starting stand from where he landed. "Oh, Astrid!" He sang maniacally, grabbing his axe from off his back.

Astrid quickly drew her axe, scowling at the crazed Viking.

"How's the arm? I was hoping it would need to be amputated…" He taunted, grinning evilly at her.

Letting her anger pump her, she roared as she charged him. Acting like she was going to swing her axe from side to side, she then launched into a somersault. Dagur raised his axe, ready to bring it on top of her. Her somersault threw off his timing, allowing her to plant both feet into his chest and launch him. Using the inertia of the kick, she landed on her feet and sprinted at him, swinging her axe in a fury of swipes and slashes. Dagur was forced to jump back with each strike, unable to defend from the onslaught.

Astrid quickly spun around, extending her arms out as she was about to bring it right into his side. At the last possible second, Dagur raised his axe to block the strike. The force of the hit was so powerful, that it knocked his axe clear out of his hands! Astrid wasted no second on her advantage. With the top of her axe, she pushed into his throat and against the cliff wall, pinning him in place. "Well, well, well…tables certainly turned, didn't they?" She teased, flashing her confident smile whenever she had the upper hand. Dagur just gulped, realizing he helplessly lost to her.

Heather banked a hard right, giving Windshear a perfect shot to fire at a small boat trying to get away. Windshear's fiery blast easily ripped the wooden planks apart, sinking it instantly. "Come on girl! Stop that group of 'em over there!" She shouted, pointing to a number of Hunter's trying to row away. That's when she saw Wasatch scream right past them, letting loose a miniature lightning storm. The group of men instantly scattered, with a few unlucky ones that didn't move as quick.

"Wait…where's Matt?" She asked, seeing the Skrill was riderless. Looking around the battlefield, being unable to find him, she quickly flew to the twins and asked. "Ruff! Where's Matt?"

"I dunno. He just muttered something about stopping Darien and then jumped off." She replied, shrugging at the question.

"What?! And you never told any of us?!" Heather cried out angrily "Where did he jump off at?"

"Back at his room." Ruff shouted, riding Barf and Belch down into a strafing dive.

"Come on Windshear!" She shouted, urging her to fly towards Dragon's Edge. Her heart racing, she could only imagine what he was thinking. And maybe even doing. Flying over the cliff, she gasped as she saw Matt chasing Darien on the grass field towards the cliff. He was limping horribly, and in obvious pain; but Darien looked even worse! Flying right above her, she saw exactly why. Matt's hatchet was sticking out of the back of her shoulder. Landing Windshear in front of her, Heather leaped off and cut her off. Darien stopped, freezing at the sight of the growling Razorwhip and axe wielding rider.

Matt, though limping, leaped forward and tackled the frozen Darien, pulling her down and pinning her. 'It's over Darien!" He roared, pulling out his hatchet from her.

"Agh!" She cried, vividly flinching in pain.

Rolling her onto her back, he then leveled the hatchet at her eye. "Give me one God damn reason why I shouldn't kill you right now! One reason!"

"Matt!" Heather shouted, running to him.

"Get back Heather!" Matt roared, not taking his eyes off of Darien "This is between me and her. Not you, not anyone!" Darien's eyes were filled with fear and shock, not knowing what he was willing to do. She's seen him mad, even a little crazy; but not outright ruthless and murderous!

"I'm going to count to three, and you better have a reason why I should let you live. If not, then I'm going to carve you out…" He growled softly, pushing his knee into her stomach. His eyes were black with anger and hatred, extinguishing any hope she had for mercy.

"One…" He counted, glaring at her.

"Matt! What's wrong with you?" Heather shouted, also staring at him in shock and horror.

"Two…" He kept going, not even acknowledging Heather's shocked cries.

"Matt…" Darien whispered, her body starting to quiver.

"Three…" He refused to let up, now letting the hatchet blade rub down her cheek, cutting it slightly.

"Because I know what the end plan is!" She shouted, giving in to her fear.

"Keep talking." He ordered, not taking the hatchet's blade off her cheek

"Ryker isn't the man in charge! He's taking orders." Darien cried out, seeing that Matt relax a little bit. At least temporarily.

Matt stared at her, glaring into her fear filled eyes.

"He has a brother! I haven't met him yet, but he's called Viggo! Viggo Grimborn!" She kept on saying, staring at Matt helplessly.

Heather, hearing this news, gently rested her hand on Matt's shoulder. "Matt…we need her alive. This is obviously something we need to know more about."

Breathing hard, Matt could only stare at her. Pulling the hatchet away from her face, he then punched her in the cut shoulder.

"Gaggghh!" She cried, shutting her eyes and gripping her shoulder in pain.

"That's for hurting my friends." Matt growled, raising his hatchet above him "And this is for me."

"Matt!" Heather shouted, reaching to grab his arm and stop him.

Swinging down, he bashed the handle of the hatchet into her head, knocking her out.

"Matt…" Heather whispered, realizing what he was doing.

"I shouldn't have given her the chance…" He whispered, struggling to stand up with his leg throbbing "I should have just killed her…"

Heather quickly grabbed his arm and helped him up. Throwing his arm over her shoulder, she supported him as he stood up. The sun was now peaking over the ocean, creating a brilliant view as the rays of light blended with the smoke from the battle. Walking him over to the edge of the cliff, they looked out to see two remaining ships sailing away. The rest of the riders were celebrating the victory, with the wild dragons and Night Terrors joining in the excitement.

"It's over Matt…it's over." Heather whispered, bearing him up.

"Heather, you should know this. It's never over." He quietly whispered, watching the few ships disappear into the horizon.


Well, there you have it! Another round of chapters. As far as the story itself goes, we might be...halfway? Maybe? Hope you're enjoying it so far! And again, thanks to all those supporting it and reviewing it! It means a lot to me! I cannot say that enough!

-Dustnblood