I'm baack! Did you miss me? Of course you did! Look though, it's a faster update, and I think we might be maybe halfway through this story? Maybe a little more? Eh, whatever. Still awesome. Also. I seem to have not made this clear enough, so I'll say it now and add it to the warnings. STORY: MAJOR AU. That is all.

Victor: Thank you, thank you for your continued support. Sorry, but the poll has spoken, Dwalin has won (you'll see a bit of that this chapter). And yes I did see the second Dragons movie! I loved it! It made me laugh and (almost) cry. I don't think I'll be incorporating any of the movie into this story though. Let's just pretend all those events will happen after the end of this story!

Flamers: This. Is. An. AU. It is also fanfiction. Therefore I can do whatever I want with my story! So no matter what you do, no matter what you say, this story is going all the way to the end, and it's NEVER going away! Honestly, if you don't like the story, fine, I'm not trying to make you. Just don't read it, if you hate it that much. Plenty of others like it. I will not address this again.

Rated-T

Warnings

Abuse/torture

Some OOC-ness maybe

I might not get all of their talking entirely accurate so please bear with me

MAJOR AU

DON'T LIKE, DON'T READ!

Things you need to know

"Ereborians speaking in Khuzdul"

Disclaimer-I don't own the Hobbit or How To Train Your Dragon.

Here We Stand United

Chapter 16

The departure from Beorn's was a somber affair. At the break of dawn they loaded their supplies equally divided onto the backs of their dragons, bade Beorn a goodbye, and took to the skies as the sun rose over the horizon. Every downstroke of the dragon's wings carried them all closer and closer to Erebor, farther from the relative safety of the skinchanger's house and towards their own home.

It was a short flight before the Greenwood came into sight. Only, it was not what they remembered it as. The leaves of the treetops were orange with the colors of fall, and now so dense that the forest floor was out of sight. The air was still, and the easy camaraderie among the Company was silenced, no one daring to utter a word or make a sound as they flew over what had become, as Elrond said, Mirkwood. "Darkness grows. What happened while we were gone?" Frodo wondered, gaze somber as he looked over the forest that was once so beautiful, even though no Ereborian alive would admit it.

"Mahal save us. Is this...Sauron's power?" Bofur marvelled, subconsciously urging her dragon to fly a little lower, closer to the trees. Dwalin, sitting behind the toy maker on her Nadder, reached around and steered the dragon back higher into the sky. The forest made him uneasy. Bofur startled, unaware she'd done that, but gave a secret smile and gently patted Dwalin's hand. If she had glanced, she would of seen the glare Nori shot at Dwalin. When, to everyone's surprise, Bofur had tentatively invited Dwalin to fly with her earlier that morning, it had been as good an answer as anyone had needed. Bofur had chosen Dwalin. There was much grumbling all around as gold was passed from hand to hand, many people had taken wagers in Nori's favor and were not too pleased to be losing that gold.

Ori couldn't help but give his older brother sympathetic looks all day. He knew how much Nori cared about Bofur. Now he was dismayed to see the thief slowly shutting down, putting that mask back in place, trying to block out the world and ignore the pain he would always deny feeling. Even Dori had backed off, he ceased to hassle Nori about his lifestyle and everything he ever did. Dori seemed absolutely helpless to support Nori right now, and Ori knew if he tried to bring it up, Nori would just laugh it off. Even if Nori was the type to share his feelings, he'd never share with his brothers.

"Bofur, keep up. We must not linger here, and will not wait for you," Thorin called back, and Bofur urged her Deadly Nadder to fly faster. Everyone knew they were impossibly close, so all day they flew hard towards the mountain, hoping to be done flying over Mirkwood before night fell. A stream of spotted, light and quiet chatter was kept throughout the day, but everyone was wary, since they could all see the darkness that seemed to coil around and envelop a far corner of Mirkwood, as though that was the center of the evil. If memory served, that was the corner where the ruins of Dol Guldur resided.

"How long until we reach the mountain?" Hiccup had asked at one point, asking the question that loomed heavy in the back of everyone's mind. Balin and Thorin debated the question in Khuzdul for a moment, having no true time-frame they could tell the Viking teen, before Balin finally came to a decision, even if Thorin was being stubborn and refused to admit to anything.

"I believe if we fly through the night, we can reach the mountain by midday tomorrow. If luck is on our side, we may encounter no troubles with the men of Lake-Town, or if luck is against us, we will all be shot down and never reach the mountain. Hard to determine with the men living there," Balin admitted. It was probably a point of worry for Thorin. Some of the men (most of them) had once lived in Dale, and were no friends to the people of Erebor, not any longer. The men of Dale and Lake-Town had blamed Erebor for the troubles they had now, had chased them off years ago, and likely wouldn't welcome them back now.

"Shoot us down? What? Why?" Tuffnut asked, bewildered.

"The men of Lake-Town blamed us for the dragon's coming, and for Dale's destruction. They did not forgive the line of Durin, and it's unlikely they'll be happy to see us," Bilba explained. This simple sentence left the Vikings with a lot to reflect on. The people of Erebor didn't have any way of knowing that hoarding gold within a mountain would draw the attention of a Great Dragon. If what the Ereborians had said was true, many, if not all, people had believed no Great Dragons still lived in Middle Earth.

"You know, if we stop before we reach Lake-Town, wait, and then fly past during the night, we might not be spotted at all," Lydia suggested.

"That will take too long! We must not delay! We must hurry to the mountain and reach Erebor before the Outcasts arrive. Smaug has to be gone by the time Alvin and his Outcasts reach us," Thorin snarled, and Lydia subsided with a grumble. She couldn't help but wonder how exactly they were going to defeat Alvin and the Outcasts, considering there weren't many of them, and they also had to consider they could lose what few people they had when going up against the Great Dragon.

So they flew onward. In all honesty, flying was quite boring. Ruff and Tuff were playing a game called "I Spy" for a while, but soon grew bored with that. Idle chatter flew between the Ereborians and the Vikings, but there was nothing of much interest. They flew at a steady pace all day, only stopping briefly after reaching the end of Mirkwood to eat some fruit and bread that Beorn had given them while Lydia's Scauldron splashed around in the water for a short time before they flew on towards Lake-Town.

The sun was setting as Lake-Town finally came into view, the lake turning red with the blazing light of the sun. At this point, Thorin started urging them to fly faster, wanting to fly past Lake-Town as quick as they could to hopefully avoid being spotted. It was not to be. The Company could faintly hear shouting from below. That was all the warning they got before arrows whistled through the air, and Bofur's Nadder had to do some fancy flying to avoid a boulder fired from a catapult. "Fly! Fly to the mountain! Quickly!" Thorin roared, and the riders urged their dragons to go faster.

"Scatter! We're too big of a target!" Astrid shouted, and for once no one argued, simply did as the Viking advised. The dragons separated, all flying off in different directions. Only one dragon went down, but no one noticed this until they had finally managed to regroup a good distance away from Lake-Town, about a fourth of the distance to the mountain covered, the riders and their dragons hovering over the water, watching each other and making sure everyone was present.

"Where's Ori?!" Dori exclaimed frantically, looking around for his littlest brother. Ori, after giving Dori the puppy eyes, had been flying with Nori on the back of a Monstrous Nightmare. Now both of the younger Ri brothers were nowhere to be found. "Oh Mahal! Someone must have shot them down!" Dori exclaimed, wringing his hands together nervously, eyes flickering around, debating turning back to retrieve his brothers.

"Dori, we cannot linger! Nori and Ori will be fine! We are going to the mountain and your strength is needed. We must press on," Thorin interrupted, his eyes blazing. Everyone shuddered at the look in his eyes. It wasn't quite madness, but it wasn't the look of someone who was completely in their right mind either. "Let's go. You do not want to be left behind," Thorin stated, and then turned and urged his dragon to fly towards the mountain. They all reluctantly moved on, sharing uneasy glances, but no one dared speak against the King, not even his own family. All was silent as they flew across the Devastation, past the ruined and skeletal city of Dale, and then over the next rocky ride, it appeared, the great doors of their ancestors, now sealed, and a hush fell over the party.

"There it is," Lydia breathed as she peered around Frerin's massive head, finally breaking the silence.. The dragon gave a low rumble, as though sensing the importance it held for his rider, and as Frodo looked around his sister's shoulder, he felt like his heart had stopped. Though they had both been young when their kingdom fell, their minds had perfectly preserved the eternal beauty of the Lonely Mountain. It stood tall, proud, and solitary, looking over the Long Lake like a sentry guarding its people.

Everyone seemed to be in awe of the beauty of Erebor, staring at the mountain, at their home. "Bofur, lead us to this door," Thorin called, and the purple Deadly Nadder Bofur rode shot to the front of their procession, Dwalin clinging desperately to her waist as the Nadder took a dive to the side of the mountain, bypassing the stone soldiers of their kin of yore. As Frerin soared past, Lydia and Frodo looked sadly at the great stone giants. For eleven long years the statues had kept their lonely vigil, their axes clasped firmly in their grasp to keep any with evil intent from entering Erebor. Eleven years without care, and the guardians of the kingdom were slowly crumbling away. Unfortunately, stone did not last forever.

Lydia followed closely and landed by the Hidden Door. If they hadn't mapped it and didn't know it was there, they would never have seen the keyhole, and would have remained unable to enter Erebor. All eyes were on Thorin as he stepped forward with the iron key. The King looked around, meeting eyes with each and every person, his blue eyes telling stories of what could happen after this. Then, he slid the key into the keyhole. It was very anticlimactic, and then they all held their breath. For a moment, it seemed the key didn't work, but then, with a click and a rumble, Thorin pushed the stone door aside, and they were in.

A wave of air, smelling strongly of rotten flesh and ash, rushed forward to greet them, smacking them in the face with a low moan. "We're in," Fili marveled, voice reverent and eyes shining.

"Alright. Then, you guys should probably wait out here. I'll approach Smaug," Hiccup stated, looking even to his fellow Vikings as he said it. He turned, taking a deep breath, and started walking into the mountain. Toothless padded after him happily, but Hiccup turned to him. "No bud. Stay here," Hiccup instructed. Toothless slouched, giving Hiccup a sad look that Hiccup had to force himself to ignore. The other Vikings exchanged a glance as Hiccup disappeared into the dark hall of the mountain, and then followed him. Balin followed, undoubtedly to give them advice.

Lydia hesitated for a few moments, and then sprinted after them. She arrived just in time to hear the tail end of Balin's speech, "If things start to look bad and you feel like you'd have to kill or fight Smaug, he has a spot on his chest, a scale knocked off. It's his only weak point. Good luck." Then the old advisor gave a knowing smile as he passed her before retreating from the mountain.

Lydia took a deep breath, and then stepped forward so that the Vikings could see her. They looked shocked when they noticed her, but waited patiently for her to speak.

"I want you all to know how much this means to us. But, I won't lie to you. This is probably the most dangerous thing you'll ever do in your lives. A word of advice: when you're down there, Smaug will be awake. I recommend that all of you do not show yourselves. Only three or four of you maybe. When you get down there, Smaug will be intrigued. He's not smelled a Viking before. That will quickly wear off. That's why, before it does, you must challenge him to a game of riddles. Smaug's a Great Dragon, you see, and Great Dragons are clever, clever enough to talk and Smaug is excellent at riddles. If you can best him at his game, he'll let you live. Only the cleverest of you must challenge him. He will let you all work together, as he is very vain and will likely consider it 'evening the playing fields.' Use that to your advantage. However, which of you is not participating in the game, I have a favor to ask. There is a gem there, a jewel that glows from within. It is the Arkenstone, heart of Erebor, impossible to miss. Find it, and bring it to us. When in the hands of the King Under the Mountain, it has…special qualities, if nothing else, makes him rightful King once more so the people would have no choice except to follow him. Find the Arkenstone, and bring it to my 'adad. Good luck, and please, for the love of Mahal, be careful," Lydia stated, and then she too disappeared into the shadows.

*THIS IS A PAGE BREAK*

They had agreed Ruff, Tuff, and Snotlout would be searching for the Arkenstone while Fishlegs, Astrid, and Hiccup challenged Smaug to the game. Hiccup stopped right in the doorway to the treasury, eyes wide in wonder. Lydia hadn't been lying. Gold piles as tall as the ceiling greeted them, shimmering in the dim light and seeming to be alive and moving like a river of gold. As the Vikings tentatively entered the room, they realized that the gold piles were indeed moving, shifting from below, and then the great beast himself rose from the piles, massive wings stretching across the room, gold dislodged from his scales and clinking against other gold pieces like chiming bells, and then the massive head swung around towards them.

"I smell you. Six intruders, entering my mountain. Have you come for my gold?" The dragon's voice was a low rumble, but hypnotizing at the same time. All six of them, caught, had no choice except to step into Smaug's line of sight.

"No, your greatness. We've come from across the oceans to see you in all your glory," Hiccup replied. Balin had advised they speak politely to the dragon. It would be unwise to anger him at this point, considering he could, and probably would, fry them in the blink of an eye.

"Really now? Is that why you smell of salt, of far-away lands that not even I have encountered in my many, many long years of life?" Smaug growled, inhaling deeply as he said it. Lydia had warned of this. Soon they would pose the question of a riddle game.

"Of course. We are Vikings, from Berk. We've heard tell of your magnificent talents with riddles, and have come to ask for a game, to have the honor of exchanging riddles and seeing your magnificence before the end of our lives," Astrid spoke up, tripping slightly over her words as she stared up into Smaug's amber eyes.

"Riddles, hm? And what would you ask of me, should you win?" Smaug asked, lowering his head closer to them. The Vikings fought the urge to recoil at the reek of death on the dragon's breath. Smaug inhaled deeply again, and then his eyes seemed to widen. He pulled back slightly.

"Tell me, why do you reek of Erebor, if you have never been here before?" Smaug asked instead of waiting for an answer to his first question. His look was guarded, and Hiccup felt his heart stop beating in his chest momentarily, but then, praise the gods above, Snotlout was quick on his feet. It was actually quite impressive, as Snotlout was normally quite rude, but managed to pose a logical question that would appease the dragon.

"Aren't we in Erebor, your greatness?" Snotlout asked. His tone was not haughty or sarcastic. He seemed to be asking an honest question. Smaug hummed and withdrew from their space, shifting and pacing slightly around the room.

"Your point is valid. Very well. Riddles it is. Let the games begin."

*THIS IS A PAGE BREAK*

Lydia paced, and paced, and paced. Back and forth, dodge Bofur, forth and back, dodge Dwalin, don't fall over the edge, repeat. It felt like hours since the Vikings had entered Erebor, and if there were multiple people searching, they should have found the Arkenstone by now! She hadn't been lying when she said it was impossible to miss, because it was! Lydia had only ever seen the Heart of Erebor once in her life, and she could never forget it. The way it sat above the King's throne, glittering so beautifully.

So enchanting to anyone who gazed upon it, but the Arkenstone was so much more than just beauty. It was the Heart of the Lonely Mountain, it was the King's jewel. To hold the Arkenstone was to hold Erebor in the palm of your hands, to own Erebor, to rule the great kingdom of Durin's folk. The Arkenstone was power, a power that all of Middle Earth sought to claim as their own. But it would never belong to anyone else. It would always be Durin's.

Lydia could remember the one time she'd seen the Arkenstone. She'd gotten to hold it. 'Adad had picked her up in his arms, set her on his lap, and cupped her hands for her, supporting her much smaller hands as the Heart of the Mountain was placed in them. He'd been named King only recently. She could remember as her grandfather, Thrain, who had recently stepped down, gently placed the stone in her hands, and they were both smiling at her. She remembered marveling at the warmth of the stone; the way it felt like it pulsed with life.

In that moment, it was like she was connected to the spirit of Erebor, connected to the mountain and all of the people in it. She felt connected to everyone…

Lydia was jolted out of her thoughts when the mountain rumbled, the ground shaking beneath their feet. "Was that an earthquake?" Oin cried as he staggered to his feet, looking around wildly. He'd been dozing off, and all he felt was the ground rumbling, jolting him back to wakefulness and leaving him disoriented. He put his trumpet to his ear, awaiting a response from someone.

"That, my lad, was a dragon. A Great Dragon," Balin supplied somberly. Lydia stared intently at the entrance to Erebor as the trembling eased and ceased. There was the possibility that this entrance could collapse as well. If that happened, they'd never get the Arkenstone, nor would they be able to defeat Smaug.

Cautiously, discreetly, Lydia glanced around. No one was paying attention to her, or the entrance, they were all clustering around Thorin. With one last glance at her friends and family, Lydia sprinted into the mountain as quietly as any full-blood Shireling. "Lydia!" she heard Frodo scream, but she didn't look back, she just disappeared into the mountain.

Her feet still knew the paths, even if her mind did not. Always in Erebor her feet knew where to go, or where she needed to go anyway, and Lydia paused before the treasury, taking a deep, steadying breath, before she slipped on the ring. The colors were gone, the world was faded, and sound was distorted, but she felt a little safer now. It was a nifty little trinket, this ring, because it allowed her to turn invisible, and she loved it. No one would know where she was, and Smaug would be so busy with the Vikings, she could look for the Arkenstone herself.

Taking one more deep breath, Lydia stepped into the treasury, and was immediately in awe of the piles of golden arching towards the ceiling, filling the massive room. She'd nearly forgotten this beauty and splendor of her family's wealth. It was beautiful, wonderful, and for a moment there were stars in her eyes. Then she shook her head and prowled further into the room, gently placing her feet on the loose gold, skirting the dragon and the six Vikings still playing riddles with him.

"Up, up, up it goes, yet never grows," she heard Smaug growl. The Vikings muttered amongst themselves for a moment, and then Tuffnut replied confidently,

"The mountain."

"Correct," Smaug sighed and growled at the same time, curling around one of the stone, carved and decorative support beams of the mountain. "Very well. Give another riddle," Smaug said, and Lydia finally tuned them out and walked quietly around the treasury. Smaug was obviously becoming quite irritated with the fact that the Vikings hadn't lost the game yet.

Smaug growled again, and Lydia flinched, risking a glance towards the players. Smaug was stumped by whatever riddle Ruffnut had proudly delivered, and as Smaug shifted again, Lydia's eyes lit up as her gaze fell upon the glimmering white-blue gem peeking out from amongst the piles of gold a few feet away from her. It seemed to call for her, and she threw caution to the wind, racing as fast as she possibly could. She fell to her knees beside it, and carefully, quietly, scooped the Arkenstone up into her hands, cradling it, smiling softly at the glowing gem that was warm and cool at the same time. It was just as she remembered.

Then she stuck the gem in her pocket and made for the exit. She had to get to Thorin, had to give him the King's jewel; it was rightfully his, after all.

"The Arkenstone," Smaug growled, and Lydia froze, fearing he'd seen her with it, even though it was impossible since she was invisible. "You have not been here before, so why do you know of the Arkenstone? You have come to steal it from me; you've come and offered your aid to those wretched, cold-hearted, greedy Ereborians." It must have been the answer to the riddle. Smaug rumbled, and Lydia decided she wasn't going to take any chances, bolting for the exit to return the Arkenstone to her 'adad.

Smaug inhaled deeply, and his eyes flared as he caught a fresh whiff of living Ereborian flesh. His head snapped to where he'd last seen the gem, and howled when he saw it gone, "Thief! Lying, treacherous, greedy Ereborian thief!" Following his nose, Smaug scrambled across the gold after Lydia.

Lydia bolted from the treasury and shot off down the stone halls of her ancestors, even as Smaug crashed through the doors behind her. Lydia fought back a scream as she ran as quietly as possible, knowing and taking comfort from the fact that Smaug only knew where she was by hearing and smell. Lydia ducked into a small passage just as a stream of fire shot past her. Lydia let out a squeak and hurried off down the small corridor. She had to get back to the entrance! Hopefully the Vikings had gotten out while they could, have raced to the entrance, and the others would be coming after her soon.

"Hey ugly!" a voice echoed down the corridors, reaching Lydia's ears, and the Ereborian princess froze. That was Snotlout's voice! What in Mahal's name was he doing? "Can't catch me you overgrown Fireworm!" Snotlout shouted, and Smaug's roar of rage echoed all throughout the mountain, forcing Lydia's to cover her ears at the way it echoed. Snotlout's scream bounced off the walls in a similar way, and after much sounds of scrambling and Smaug's razor claws raced away from her, Lydia dared to peer out the corridor. Nothing and no one was in sight, and so finally she raced towards the Hidden Door, taking off her ring and pocketing it as she was finally met with fresh air.

Everyone was gone. Only Frerin stood there, waiting for her. With a sigh of irritation, Lydia placed her ring back on her thumb and dashed back into Erebor, Frerin lumbering after her, following by smell.

Wow long chapter. I got a little carried away there. See, I was going to end I at the point after everyone realized Nori and Ori were missing, but that would be mean, so I ended here. Is that mean too?:)

Anyone, I'm sorry to inform you all that I go back to school on Monday, so updates will be few and far between once more. At least I don't really have writer's block anymore, so I can keep working on the chapters. Um, yeah, I don't know when you'll get the next chapter...sorry?

Anyway, review!