Hello all! I hope you all like this chapter. I have been stressing out about all the assignments I have this month, as well as a 4000 word paper I have to write. But I figured I could procrastinate that and write fanfiction instead lol. Enjoy and forgive me for any mistakes I made.
The sun was going down the following day when the militia arrived at the bottom of a valley, surrounded by many trees. The local wildlife scattered upon their arrival. The group landed next to a wide, tall cliff. They were all very tired and most of them settled down quickly and knocked out, tired from yesterday's events. The dragon who was carrying the prisoner landed next to Windwalker. Chris then dismounted her and approached him. He picked the prisoner up and heaved him on his shoulder. He then patted the dragon, thanking him for carrying the extra weight. The dragon in turn growled his welcome and wandered off to find a suitable place to sleep.
Chris then placed the prisoner against a tree, and tied him up with some extra rope from one of WIndwalker's saddlebag. He struggled against his bonds and groaned his displeasure.
"Shut it. I'll deal with you soon enough", Chris chastised as he point a finger towards his prisoner.
Even though Chris did not speak Chinese at that time, the prisoner had a good idea what he was saying, and reluctantly bit his tongue.
Chris smiled when his prisoner complied. He then returned to his family and allies, who thankfully built a fire. He settled next to Windwalker, tired as well.
"I must say, you guys know what you're doing when it comes to fighting. I thought I would have to save you guys at one point or another. I am glad you all proved me wrong", Chris complimented to the Vikings.
"We're VIkings. It's in our blood", Snotlout said proudly. The twins cheered in agreement and butted their heads together.
"What's on the agenda for tomorrow?", asked Tenor as he yawned.
"Well, after we are well-rested, tomorrow, I will see if I can pry any information out of our prisoner, Fen-Chi. Once that is done, we will form a plan to take out Gaozong once and for all, and ultimately ending the dragon-Song war", Chris explained.
"So tomorrow the rest of us will basically do nothing?", Astrid pondered.
"You can count grass for all I care. From this point on, we can't do anything unless I get something out of Fen-Chi".
"Well I am going to do something that will benefit the pact,somewhat. And it involves you two", Windwalker stated, looking at Re and Toothless.
Re and Toothless both eyed Windwalker confusedly, then looked at each other, hoping the other had an answer.
"And why do you need us two specifically?", Re asked suspiciously.
"You two are alphas, correct?
Both male alphas nodded simultaneously.
"Well I noticed that you did not activate your Titan Wings during any, specifically the last, of the attacks on the supply camps. That led me to believe either you were really stupid and wanted to die yesterday...or you have not activated it yet".
Toothless looked to the side, embarrassed how an alpha like himself could not summon his Titan Wing so easily like the mountain-nest dragons.
"Do not worry. If you have not unlocked it, it is nothing to be ashamed of. Very, very few dragons can unlock that final stage on their own. Luckily for you two, you have me. Just like I have done with the dragons at the mountain-nest, I will do with you two; I will help you unlock it", Windwalker described.
"I am curious about that. How have you been able to unlock all of those dragons' Titan Wings?", Aurora asked.
"It's a process really. I would explain it now, but I am tired. The reason I chose Re and Toothless is because they are alphas. They are the kings in their own regions. I figured they got that position because they are the strongest, either physically, mentally, or whatever. If they weren't strong, they would not have earned the alpha position. The stronger a dragon is, the easier it is for him to unlock it. Making it easier for me to unlock it"
"I have never heard of a dragon who can unlock Titan Wings", Meatlug commented.
"I understand if you don't believe me now. But tomorrow you will witness first-hand how I do it. If you still don't believe me then, then that's your problem, not mine. Now let's get some sleep", Windwalker said as she laid her head down. Chris lay against her side, falling asleep too. The rest of the Berkians and Draconians followed suit since nothing else could be done until tomorrow.
The next day, everybody was awake and doing predictably nothing. After Chris ate his breakfast, he dragged Fen-Chi across the ground and into a small cave he found while catching is breakfast. The cave was secluded and dim. It had tall stalagmite-like pillars in the cave. Chris tied Fen-Chi to one of those pillars. From the outside, no one could see the pair.
"Alright, I will come out once I gather enough information", Chris spoke. Once he disappeared into the cave, the group turned around and headed off. "Oh yeah, and if you hear anything disturbing, don't mind it", Chris added as he darted back into the cave.
"What does he mean by that?", Hiccup asked Re.
"I believe you know what he means Hiccup", Re replied.
Hiccup nodded in understanding. They all followed Windwalker to a small clearing near a different section of the wide cliff. She turned around and faced the group.
"Alright, everybody except Re and Toothless, please stand back", she announced to the group, with Re translating.
Once everybody was a respectable distance away, she beckoned the two alphas to come closer to her. Once they did so, she spoke to them in a firm, yet quiet tone. "I am warning you now. My methods come off as 'extreme' and 'dangerous'. You may not like what I have in store for you. But the reward of being able to use your Titan Wing whenever you can makes up for it in my you both trust me enough? Will you help me help you?"
The two alphas looked at each other yet again, and turned to her, nodding.
"Good", Windwalker smiled. She turned to the rest of the group. During her small chat with the alphas, a number of the mountain-nest dragons had come to spectate what was about to happen, knowing full well how the process works.
"You are all about to witness the change. This male Night Fury, much like myself, is a strong warrior. He too wants to obtain his Titan Wing to summon as he pleases", Windwalker announced.
Toothless was caught off guard and blushed, both by the sudden compliment and that he did not get a say in if he wanted to go first or not.
Windwalker turned to him, "Please step forward Toothless", Windwalker demanded.
Toothless did as he was told and stood in the middle of the clearing with the mountain-nest alpha.
"You will all witness today if he is capable of summoning his inner fire. His internal dragon. Let us see if he can unlock his Titan Wing". As Windwalker finished her last sentence, a group of 4 dragons, all rushed up to Toothless and pinned him down.
Toothless roared and yelped in shock. He struggled against his scaly bonds. The Berkians and Draconians all readied themselves to help the Night Fury. That is until Windwalker stopped them.
"Do not worry my allies. This is all apart of the process. You see, a dragon undergoes the Change differently. It all depends on the dragon himself. Now, if you all truly want to see your friend improve himself, you WILL NOT INTERFERE!", Windwalker scolded.
The group looked at each other in worry, not knowing what to do. They all turned to Hiccup, to see what he thought about his best friend being attacked like this. But surprisingly, Hiccup was no where to be found.
Toothless frantically searched the woods for his rider, struggling vainly to be free. His attempts were futile as he could not find his best friend.
"Toothless, you actually proved to be a challenge for me. You are a strong dragon, I will give you that. You are also very stubborn from what I can tell. I also figured out, that the only way to ever get through you, is through your rider, Hiccup", Windwalker stated as she pointed her wing to the top of the cliff. Toothless traced the direction of her outstretched wing and at the very top of the cliff was Hiccup… being cornered by a dragon!
Toothless growled in anger, furiously trying to break free, only to be restricted even more. The group all went into a defensive mode, moving to rescue Hiccup. But their way kept on being blocked by the mountain-nest dragons.
"DO NOT INTERFERE!", Windwalker shouted. The group got anxious, worried about Hiccup's well-being.
"Windwalker, this has to stop now!", Re growled.
"Trust him. I believe he can do this", Windwalker shot back.
"Tell me Toothless, are you going to watch your rider fall to his death?", Windwalker asked in a mocking tone.
"You leave him alone! He has done nothing to you!", Toothless snarled.
"Stop focusing on me. Focus on saving your rider", Windwalker calmly replied.
"Toothless, bud. I could really use your help right now", Hiccup nervously yelled from the top of the cliff, as he neared closer to the edge. The dragon kept on 'assaulting' Hiccup with swipes of her tail and bites of her teeth.
Toothless wiggled and tossed and turned with all his might but he simply could not overcome the strength of 4 dragons. He stopped fighting for a couple of seconds, panting furiously.
"Has the mighty Night Fury giving up?", Windwalker said smugly.
Toothless gave her a death glare.
Hiccup dodged the incoming attack from the dragon, but doing so caused him to slip and hang off the edge of the cliff by his hands.
Toothless' eyes turned to slits, his need to protect Hiccup was high.
"Toothless. I know you can do it! You can do it, bud. Try bud, please. Do it for me!", Hiccup screamed as the dragon stalked forward.
At the moment, Windwalker activated her Titan Wing, and in less than 5 seconds, she was covered from head to toe in an ethereal blue. She focused her gaze on Toothless, not moving a muscle or blinking. She tensed, focusing intently on the male Night Fury.
Toothless, growled low, and closed his eyes, tensing also. He started to change also.
"TOOTHLESS!", Hiccup screamed as he fell from the cliff, having lost his grip.
A sudden surge came from within Toothless. He felt a wave of pure energy flow over his body. His senses heightened, his body on high alert. He felt time slow down, as he snapped open his eyes just as his rider fell. His scales took on a blue hue as he unleashed a powerful roar and with a burst of strength, knocked all of the dragons off of him. He ran at a blazing speed to the side of the cliff and jumped towards it, sinking his claws into the rock. The scratching of rock could be heard as Toothless vertically ascended the cliff. He jumped and crawled his way to Hiccup. His rider, seeing his dragon companion approaching him, lined himself up to him in free fall. With one last push, Toothless launched himself from the cliff towards Hiccup. he naturally spun himself in the air to line the saddle to his rider. Fluidly, they connected and Hiccup locked his prosthetic into the saddle with a click, and before they could even hit the ground, Toothless opened his wings and quickly did a vertical climb. Toothless did a quick loop before he landed on the ground swiftly. Both rider and dragon huffed in exhaustion. The mountain-nest dragons all cheered the alpha on, proud that he was able to unlock his Titan Wing!
Windwalker approached the two, smiling proudly. "I knew you could do it!"
Toothless' eyes turned to daggers as he glared at her. "What on Earth were you thinking?! You could have KILLED MY RIDER!", Toothless seethed.
"Hey bud, calm down. I wasn't really in danger", Hiccup soothed from atop of Toothless.
Toothless turned his head to him, half-mad but half-confused at the same time.
"Chris talked to me about what was going to happen today and asked if I would be okay with this. I agreed, only if no one got hurt. So, if you did not activate your Titan Wing, one of the mountain-nest dragons would have easily caught me. Sorry bud for scaring you", Hiccup explained as he rubbed Toothless' neck.
"Tell me Toothless, what did you feel when you saw Hiccup feigning for his life?", Windwalker asked.
"I wanted to rip your throat out for making me watch my rider almost die today...But I was furious at myself because I was helpless. I could not get to him-protect him", Toothless exhaled sharply, still fuming about what just occurred.
"Would you say you were at your lowest point?"
"...Yes. I care about the man a lot. The affection you feel for Chris is what I feel for Hiccup. Don't tell me you wouldn't feel rage for watching someone block your attempts at saving the one you care about", Toothless said.
"Trust me, I don't blame you. I need you to remember that Toothless. I need you, for your sake, remember this day. Specifically, remember the adrenaline you felt when you almost lost the one you love. It is a sucky feeling but it is crucial. Whenever you want to summon your Titan, remember that feeling of almost losing him. Let the need to protect consume you. Let it guide your body. Do not deny the power, accept it. Basically, when you have the feeling, the mental assurance that nobody is going to die on your watch, that is what you should feel when you are about to summon your Titan Wing. It's the feeling you experience when you want nobody to mess around. Can you do that Toothless? Can you retain what I just taught you?". As she said that, he Titan Wing deactivated.
Toothless just stared at the female Night Fury for a while before he finally exhaled and nodded.
At that moment the group swiftly approached the three, all bearing looks of worry and anger on their faces.
"How dare you endanger our ally", Re growled at Windwalker.
"My king, I can't believe I am saying this, but I am fine. Hiccup is fine. Nobody got hurt"
"I know. The method sucks. But that is the only way I can solidly know they completed their part of the transformation", Windwalker said.
"What do you mean 'completed their part'?", Tenor asked.
"I don't know, but ever since I unlocked my Titan Wing, I felt different. I felt like I could do more, in a sense. Not just have boosted fire power, reflexes, and strength. I felt...different. After living with my Titan Wing for a year or so, I figured out I can do something extra: I could unlock other dragons' Titan Wings as well"
"How so?", Belch asked suspiciously.
"Well, think of the ability to use the Titian Wing as a flowing river. That river always has two logs blocking the water from flowing. When dragons are under extreme pressure, given the circumstances, they could lift the first log. But most dragons only have the 'strength' to lift only the first log. I am able to help dragons 'lift' the second one. I have some kind of gift, okay. I somehow give him my power and transfer it to him, giving him that extra strength needed to 'lift' the second log. That's also why my Titan burned out already. But, for some reason, Toothless didn't need my power. It's like he has unlocked his Titan Wing before", Windwalker replied.
"I have. I was in a similar situation. Hiccup was about to get hit from an ice blast from a Bewilderbeast and I shielded him. I was sick and tired of him being a bully, and him hurting Hiccup crossed the line. And somehow I was able to unlock my Titan Wing", Toothless commented.
"That explains it. You are stronger than I thought you were. I am glad you changed my opinion about you."
"I don't know if I should be insulted or not", Toothless remarked.
Before Windwalker could reply, Chris approached them, covered in blood.
"Oh my, Chris are you okay?", Aurora asked, worried.
"Don't worry it's not my blood, it is Fen-Chi's", Chris brushed off.
"What were you able to get out of him?", Astrid questioned.
"Well I am pleased to say that Gaozong is planning to meet with his ranking officers, at a village not far from here, in a few days time. It is almost perfect really. We can take out all the leaders of the Song dynasty all in one attack!", Chris exclaimed.
"So now, we can plan a good surprise attack that will surely catch them off guard!", Tenor added.
"Exactly"
"Chris, where is Fen-Chi? What are you going to do about him?", his dad asked.
"Let's just say no one will need to worry about him escaping anymore", Chris replied casually.
Everybody got the hint. The rest of the day, they talked about the structure of the Song army and discussed how it would be best to attack Gaozong and his leaders. Knowing well, that they all were one step closer to winning the war.