Hey guys, sorry for uploading late, again. I just had a lot of homework and assignments. not to mention PSAT and all that jazz. But anyways, this chapter is twice as long, and since I am barely uploading this at like 2 in the morning, I am really sleepy and probably have some spelling/grammar mistakes. If they are big ones, let me know...
The group all flew silently to the meeting point in silence. The darkness coating their skin and scales respectively. The cool breeze nothing but a reminder that what they were going though wasn't a mere illusion, but a hard reality. After about an hour or so of silent flight, they had reached their destination. They all landed quietly landed on the ground below them.
Although it was dark, Re was able to make out most of his surroundings before they landed. They were on a steep cliff on the side of a tall mountain. Once they landed, they were surrounded with nothing but fog. Below that cliff was a depth so low and so deep, all that could be seen was a cold, grey fog. The fog was so thick, that only the humans could see a few feet in front of them. Across the fog was another cliff that belonged to yet another mountain that only a dragon with the keenest of eyes can make out. In Re's view, all he could see was a thick blanket of grey with the peaks of mountains jutting out like spikes before his descent.
Eyeing his surroundings cautiously, Re stepped closer to his mate protectively, unsure and unused to the shady environment. Aurora smiled a grin of gratitude.
"So, what now?", Valka asked in her calm voice.
"Now, I give the signal", Chris solemnly responded. Chris then scanned his surroundings meticulously, gazing hard at the ground, looking for something. Seconds later, he found two hand sized rocks. He picked them up, one in each hand. He then moved to a flat log a few feet away from him, and started doing something peculiar. He started banging on the log as of it were a drum. His rocks tapped a certain pattern on the dead tree, before Chris stopped.
"Whatever you do, do not move. Whatever you hear or see in the next few seconds, do not move!", Chris said with urgency, "Just stand still".
Suddenly, a volley of arrows came out of nowhere and narrowly missed the group. Everyone was startled and went into defense mode. The group began to move into a defensive circle.
"Stop moving!", Chris shouted to the group
Reluctantly and tensely, did the group refrain from action. Some more arrows came flying towards them. They all narrowly missed the group. The dragons held back their growls and snarls. A few seconds later, a blur could be seen in the fog. The silhouette formed into the shadow of a man. Then, the actual man was close enough that he could actually be seen; it was the informer, the inside man.
The man timidly and nervously took a step forward, not used to the large group of Vikings and dragons instead of just Windwalker and Chris.
The man, wore brown leather armor. Under that, he wore a yellowish/beige tunic with dark colored pants that stopped right below the knees. He had brown moccasins and black leggings. He had leather arm guards that went up to the elbow. He had long, black hair tied back in a single ponytail. He had a round face, almond-shaped, brown eyes and a black moustache accompanied by a small goatee.
He was kind of short for a man. But the dao strapped to his side said otherwise. In his left hand was a bow, and strapped to his back was a quiver full of wooden arrows. He had a neutral expression on his face as he eyed each and every one of the dragons and humans.
Chris held up his hands to show he still did not mean any threat to him. That didn't ease the strange man's nervousness. Then Chris did another unexpected thing that day, he spoke in a foreign language, unheard of by the dragons and the Vikings.
"Bié dānxīn Caito, wǒ bù chūmài nǐ. Zhèxiē éwài de, bù shúxī de rén jiùjìng shì shuí fēnxiǎng wǒmen jíbài sòng dìguó de mùbiāo, yěshì wǒ de méngyǒu", he spoke calmly.
"Nàme, wèishéme bǎ suǒyǒu de rén dōu lái cǐ jiāoliú? Shì bùshì zhēn de yǒu bìyào ma?", the man nervously responded.
"È, shuō lái huà zhǎng, dàn nàxiē lóng de kuījiǎ shì wǒ de jiārén; qíyú de dōu shì tāmen de péngyǒu; tāmen xiǎng gèng duō de liǎojiě zhè chǎng zhànzhēng. Tāmen shì zhídé xìnlài de. Wǒ fāshì, wǒ de shēnghuó hé", Chris reassured.
The man calmed down after that, but that didn't mean he wasn't puzzled. He exhaled the breath he didn't know he was holding in. Everyone was puzzled at the weird language that was being spoken in front of them.
"What, was that?", Re cautiously asked his son.
However, the man was startled at Re since all he heard was growls. Chris quickly picked up on the man's anxiety and held his hands up to him.
"Yào lěngjìng!", Chris asserted.
Chris rapidly spun around. "Okay, since Kang-Jie here does not understand Norse or dragon language, I will be the only one to communicate with him. That being said, we cannot scare him away. We need him. And since he is kind of anxious around newcomers, especially dragons, please keep all talk to an absolute minimum. In fact, try not to talk at all when he is around. Got it?", Chris announced to the group.
Everyone looked at each other and nodded. Hiccup, on the other hand, still had one question on his mind. "What language was that?"
"That was chinese, my friend. It's a hard language to learn in my opinion, but give or take 10 years, you tend to pick it up", Chris explained. Chris was about to turn around when an idea reoccurred in his head. "Oh yeah, since you are my allies now, you deserve to know what we are conversing about. I will translate our conversation", Chris finished as he turned to face Kang-Jie.
"Qǐng wǒ de péngyǒu, nǐ yǒu méiyǒu shōují dào shénme xìnxī?", Chris questioned.
"I just asked him what information he gathered for us. The other dialogue was just me greeting him and me calming him down", Chris relayed to the group.
"Then what was the whole arrow thing about?", Astrid suspiciously asked.
"That is his way of proving trust. If you can not flinch and run away when you are in potential danger, you prove yourself a strong warrior. Oh, and by the way, his name is Kang-Jie".
"He still looks tense", Eret commented.
"Hmm, all right. I want you all to bow"
"Why?", Ruffnut asked.
"Look, bowing in their culture shows that you respect and are formally greeting the person. Just do it okay.", Chris huffed.
The whole group slowly bowed to Kang-Jie. "Lǜ lóng shì wǒ de fùqīn, shuí qiàhǎo shì lóng de gùxiāng zhī wáng. Lán sè de shì nǚwáng. Yuánhuá, hēisè de lóng shì wǒ péngyǒu de lóng, shuí qiàhǎo shì zài tā suǒzài dìqū de lóng ā'ěrfǎ. Gǔshòurúchái de rén zhàn zài tā pángbiān de shì tā de tóngbàn, shuí shì qiǎohé de shì tā de rén de shǒulǐng.", Chris said while bowing. After witnessing the event, the man lost all suspicion he had for the group and bowed in return. After doing said action, he chatted away excitedly.
"What is he saying?", Hiccup asked confusedly.
Chris chuckled, "He is saying how honored he is to not only dragons bow to him, but to have 3 kings and 1 queen show honor to a lowly man like him, as I have just explained. He said he would've brought honor to his family if they still lived."
Chris continued his conversation, telling Kang-Jie how he was able to obtain the scroll and what lies in it. After he was done speaking, Kang-Jie bore a serious, yet demeanor. Chris changed his facial expressions numerous times. At last, he wore a somber demeanor.
"I can't believe it..", Chris trailed off.
"What happened?", Fishlegs asked worriedly.
Chris sighed in anger,"The Song have captured basically everything on this land. The last and only thing standing in their way, is my nest, my home. So now, they have focused all of their attention and effort on eradicating us".
"So you're saying-", Hiccup began.
"That obtaining the map was a complete waste of time. Because even if they were to have their fuel source got off from them, they can still destroy us? Yeah", Chris seethed.
Chris and Windwalker were visibly shaking, either out of rage or worry. Chris turned back to Kang-Jie, bowed, and thanked him for his services. However, Kang-Jie drew out his sword, light punctured the dirt and kneeled on knee, with his left arm behind his back. "Qǐng ràng wǒ wèi nín fúwù. Rúguǒ wǒmen sǐle, wǒ nìngyuàn sǐ zài nǐ shēnbiān zhàndòu, bùshì zài tāmen de shǒuzhōng", he uttered.
Chris stared at Kang-Jie in admiration.
"What happened?" Snotlout asked, the unsheathing of the sword primarily prompting him to ask the question.
"He-he wants to fight with us now. He would rather die beside us then be a coward", Chris spoke in awe.
Chris spoke his gratitude but had a better idea in mind. After relaying his thoughts to Kang-Jie, the latter bowed in understanding, bowed to the rest of the group, and departed into the fog.
Once the man was out of sight, the dragons began talking again.
"So much for keeping talking to a minimum", Re said to Hiccup.
Hiccup's words got caught in his throat, leaving his mouth wide open. At last, Hiccup just shrugged his shoulders, failing to come up with an explanation.
"What now?", Tenor asked Chris, asking the question that was on everybody's mind.
Chris thought hard about that question. Windwalker and Chris exchanged glances and then they both nodded. "I will give an answer tomorrow morning. Right now, we need to get back to the nest and rest", Chris declared. Soon, all the riders mounted up on their respective dragons and took wing into the night sky.
Everyone arrived back at the nest quietly, as to not disturb the sleeping dragons. Chris showed them to some extra caves they could occupy for the duration of their stay. After everybody settled down for the night, the drifted off to sleep. The Draconians, minus Chris, had their own cave; Valka, Hiccup, Astrid, and their dragons had their own cave; and Skullcrusher, Barf and Belch, Meatlug, Hookfang, and their respective riders had their own cave as well.
After an hour, Chris and Windwalker slowly and quietly flew out of the cave, failing to disturb Chris' family from slumber. They silently flew into a tunnel that led out of the mountain nest.
They landed on the sparring ledge where Chris first met his parents. Chris sat down, dangling his legs over the ledge. Windwalker plopped down next to him and let out a sigh.
Both of them just sat there, staring out over the forest, listening to the calls of the night. It was a good 15 before Windwalker broke the calm silence.
"Why can't we just have a simple life? Why can't I just settle minor disputes like other dragon alphas?", Windwalker complained.
"Because you, my friend, are special. Though right now, it may seem like you are special in a bad way, it will go in your favor soon enough", Chris soothed.
"You know, after listening to what Kang-Jie had to say, I can honestly think of no battle plan, no strategy that can turn the tide in the war. Even if we were to take out their main ingredient of Huo Yao; even if we were to take out Gaozong in one swoop, I don't think we can prevent the inevitable", Windwalker replied glumly.
Chris turned to face his dragon companion, a shocked look on his face. "Don't tell me you are giving up. Don't be pessimistic. We can do this", Chris started.
"I am not being pessimistic. I am be realistic. I am weighing all the choices I have, all the consequences. And nothing seems to work in our favor"
"How does taking out Huo Yao and Gaozong not work in our favor?"
"As naive as this may sound, I am worried about the little things right now. I just don't want to get my hopes up. Both of us know very well, no matter how successful we are, it will always come at a price. I just… I just don't want to lose anymore people. I am tired of seeing death every week. And now that you brought your family into this, I don't want to be responsible for their deaths. I don't want to be the cause of their misery"
"Look, I know it sucks, okay? War is never a good thing. The repercussions are even worse. I know that I shouldn't be asking you this, but suck it up and face it head on. We can either go down swinging or not putting up a fight at all".
Windwalker sighed, "I can only hold in so much…"
"...and that's okay", Chris said, holding Windwalker's head in his hands. "Nobody is expecting you to be perfect. It is totally fine to let it all out once and awhile. In fact, I am surprised you haven't done it in front of me before. I mean, can I not be trusted? I thought we were family", Chris stated, looking away from Windwalker.
"We are! We are! You know I love you. I would do anything for you. It's just that i didn't want to overwhelm you with my feelings. I didn't want to push you away with all the problems I have encountered in my life. I-"
"Well that's unfair. You comforted me when I first missed my family all those years ago. You were the only one who consoled me and told me to raise my head high", Chris chuckled.
"Life sucks, Chris. It sucks so much and I hate it. I-", Windwalker could not finish her sentence, as she broke down and warbled sadly onto Chris shoulder. For the first time in her life, she let it all out. All of her pent up stress and worries flowed out of her and into the night.
"Shhh. It's okay Windwalker. I love you, and I will always be there for you. Don't you forget that", Chris assured as he hugged and patted Windwalker absolutely.
Windwalker continued moaning and groaning in despair and pain. Chris just tightened his grip around Windwalker all the more. Then the duo just sat there. Windwalker inhaling and exhaling ragged breaths as Chris pressed his head into Windwalker's neck, hugging her tight.
After what seemed like an hour, they finally broke their hug and rested their heads against one another.
"What would I do without you", Windwalker sighed.
"Go crazy probably", Chris laughed.
"But seriously, what are we going to do?"
"Well", Chris exhaled, "I have an idea. Although you would absolutely hate it"
"Considering our options, I am kind open to anything right now"
"Well, I was thinking the only way to ensure victory for us, was to take out their Huo Yao supply camps and Gaozong at the same time. If we were to not do it concurrently, we would surely lose, considering that the enemy would become suspicious and fortify their defense to defend the other we chose not to attack."
"Okay…"
"Since the supply camps are so numerous and massive, it will take a lot of people to help destroy them. And realistically, it will only take one person to kill Gaozong…"
Windwalker's eyes opened wide at that comment. "Oh no no no. If you think for a second that you will go in there alone… No, out of the question", Windwalker stated.
"Peace comes at a sacrifice Windwalker. Sometimes we have to make the hard choices"
"Well what if we don't have to choose the hard choice? You answered it yourself; I would go crazy without you. We have a bond unlike anything else. If you were torn apart from me, I… I just wouldn't have a reason to live"
"But I know you Windwalker. After all the hardships you have faced, you have proven to not only me, but to others that you are a strong dragon. In fact, you are probably the strongest dragon I know!", Chris exclaimed.
"But I can't lose you Chris. You mean a lot to me. After losing my family, after being betrayed by Syrik…. I just can't. Please…", Windwalker begged.
"Windwalker, I know I shouldn't have asked you that question. In fact, I would be thinking the same thing you are. But think about it, really think about it. It's either you save one or thousands, possibly millions."
Windwalker gazed into her rider's eyes. She didn't want to admit it, but Chris was right. She just sighed yet again and rested her head against Chris. "Just promise me one thing: we will cross that river when we get to it".
Chris sadly smiled, "Deal".
Unbeknownst to them, they were being watched. A certain black dragon with only one tail fin silently observed them. Toothless frankly did not know what to make off the situation. First off, his sensitive ears heard the light flapping of Windwalker. His curiosity and suspicion of the two got the best of him, and followed them on foot until the opening. Then, he decided to blend in with the shadows and watched the scene unfold before him. 'What happened to Windwalker's parents? Who is Syrik, and why would Chris want to sacrifice himself? Is it worth it?', Toothless pondered. He simply figured he would have to ask at a later time. He turned around carefully and went back into the tunnel toward his designated cave. However, he didn't see the leaves to his right and lightly stepped on them, making a faint crushing noise with his hind paw. Toothless tensed, 'Aw crap'. He didn't have time to finish the thought as something strong and sturdy tossed him across the ledge and pinned him down.
Before he could roar out in surprise, and a pair of arms kept his mouth shut, as well as two scaly arms pressed down on his windpipe. Cut from air, Toothless could only thrash around in the struggle.
"Stop fighting now. Or would you like to be the second Night Fury I have killed", Windwalker spat with venom.
Toothless stopped struggling for two reasons: 1) he kinda owed it to them, considering the fact that he did eavesdrop on their private moment. 2) he wanted to know what in the name of the dragon god, was Windwalker talking about.
"Windwalker stop", Chris commanded. Windwalker, with much struggle, pried herself off of Toothless's throat, and let me sit up and regain his breath.
Toothless coughed as he sat up. "You are really trying my patience you insolent, naive-", Windwalker said harshly.
"What my friend is trying to say here, is why were you spying on us?"
Toothless looked down at his paws, feeling guilty.
"I swear to Draco, if you do not answer-", Windwalker fumed.
"Honestly, I came to apologize for earlier today. Really I was. I saw a glimpse of you flying out of the trunk, so I thought it would be a perfect time for me to apologize to you. Then you and Chris had your moment...and my curiosity got the best of me", Toothless replied, looking at Windwalker with soft eyes.
Windwalker on the other hand, simply boiled further. "Well let me just say, that after what just happened, you will never get to say your apology, nor will I accept it. How dare you! You are suppose to be an ally. That doesn't give you the right to do whatever the hell you want! You are very lucky I am not kicking you and your group out of my nest! Seriously, this was something personal, between me and Chris, and you just had to ruin it. How would you feel if someone did that to you and Hiccup?! You would be pissed, right?", Windwalker scolded.
Toothless just sat there, listening to Windwalker's beratement. As much as Toothless did not want to admit it, but she was right.
Windwalker got right in Toothless' face, golden orbs met green orbs. Toothless felt the dead stare of Windwalker, boring into his soul. "How about this, if you swear not to bring up anything that has transpired this night, I will not kill you and banish your group from my nest. Deal?", Windwalker threatened.
Toothless stared at Windwalker for a couple more seconds, before he hung his head low. "Deal" ,he said ashamedly.
"Now get the hell out of my sight", Windwalker stormed.
Toothless turned around and made his way into the tunnel. Before he enter the mouth of the tunnel, he turned around one more time and gave Windwalker a sad look before he silently dashed in the tunnel.
Windwalker exhaled and turned back to Chris. The latte just shrugged his shoulders. "What are you gonna do?", Chris asked rhetorically.
"I have a few options in mind", Windwalker growled, flashing her teeth.
"Well, promise me you won't kill any more dragons until after we win the dragon-Song war. You need to focus on this, okay?" Chris optimistically asked.
Windwalker closed her eyes and breathed out. She opened her eyes and nodded. Then, Chris mounted Windwalker, and they both took off into the trunk of the Mountain Nest, with nothing on their mind but sleep.