A/N-A quick reply to a guest review:

King Cringleton-I haven't seen the third season; not everyone has Netflix. Therefore, can't comment on it. I am not surprised they made Dagur a redhead, despite the difficulty of pinning down hair color in season 2, as that is a very common color in the northern parts of the world.

Chapter 13

The Final Stretch

"Don't you think that was a little over the top?" Ember asked as we slipped through the double doors of the Great Hall. I glanced over toward the far end of the fireplace, where a now much more passive Dagur the Deranged was quietly hashing out a new treaty with Stoick. When he spotted us coming in through the doors, he immediately tried to make himself look smaller and focused intently on the parchments strewn in front of him. I chuckled and shook my head. "No, no, I think it was just about right."

We headed over to the kitchen area and grabbed some food from the plates set out, and settled down at a nearby table. Shortly after the rest of our motley crew gathered around the same table, and I glanced over each of them: Ember, Hiccup, Camicazi, Astrid, Snotlout, Ruff and Tuff, Fishlegs, and not least Toothless, who had joined us as always and was lying on the floor, eyes wide in hopes that he could snag something from the table, like a dropped chicken leg. I smirked and nodded, before clasping my hands on the table in front of me.

"Alright friends, I'd say we've gotten pretty fair over the past month or two in our training, what with the hand-to-hand practice and other techniques. Unfortunately I'm also sure any day now we'll be hearing from Queen Insanity. So, every evening, I expect everyone to be at the cove for training, no matter the weather, since we could be forced to fight in anything." To emphasize my point, I jerked my thumb at the snow blowing in through the doors as Sigrid walked in, from the new storm that had settled over the island.

"Also," I continued, "on the weekends we can try to meet at my house during the day, and if not then we'll be in the cove again." I glanced at Hiccup. "Have you managed to collect any more scales recently?" He smiled and nodded. "Actually yeah, a few bucketfuls. Mostly Nadder and Nightmare since they're always around, but I have almost a bucket's worth of Night Fury scales too. Toothless seems to be going through a bit of a phase."

I glanced down at said dragon, who just shrugged. ::Just a lot of old scales, nothing to worry about,:: he reassured. I nodded. "Well, then, good. We need to get working on the scale armor as quickly as we can, a set for everyone in the gang at minimum if we can."

"Armor?" Tuffnut queried. I nodded. "Protection from both fire and blunt instruments," I explained. "But, it's slow going, so Hiccup and Ember, you'll have to try and work on them while I'm gone, since we're the only ones who can." At this point I noticed the devious expression crawling its way onto Tuff's face, as he finally processed what I'd said. "And Tuff? We will give them out only when it's time for battle, and we will store them away at all other times."

The grin immediately flipped. "Aww, come on, that takes all the fun out of it!" he complained. "It's not meant to be fun, it's meant to keep you from dying," Astrid deadpanned, throwing a bare chicken bone at him.

I sighed and shook my head, before looking toward Snotlout and Fishlegs. "And you two: see if you can find time to train extra with Astrid. You'll need every bit of it." I saw the glare the female teen I'd mentioned was now giving me, but I brushed it off, and looked back at the twins. "And you two, get this in your heads now: you need to learn how to deal with each other without trying to kill each other every five minutes, especially since you're both on the same dragon."

"But fighting is what we're good at," Ruff whined. Tuff nodded in agreement. "Yeah, gotta have someone to beat up." "So focus it on the enemy when they get here," I deadpanned.

There was silence for a moment, before Hiccup asked, "So does everyone understand what they need to do?" A variety of agreements were voiced, and he and I nodded. "Alright then," I began, "Hiccup, you know what to do, and I need to get going unfortunately. I'll see you guys tomorrow evening." I stood up and walked toward the Great Hall's doorway, glancing at Dagur one last time and grinning before morphing Shadow, dissolving into the walls and racing home, leaving the bewildered chief with one more surprise.

Thousands of miles away, on the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea, a massive, ornate ship sailed westward. Heading toward it from its destination, breaking the water spectacularly in its haste, was the young sea serpent. He swam up next to the ship and raised his head up just above the deck, facing the figure standing on the planks.

"My apologies, my queen, we have failed in our mission," the serpent said, voice trembling in fear of the reaction. The woman on the ship did not even turn to acknowledge the words, speaking as she faced out to the ocean.

"And where are the other two?" "Dead, my mistress. Ur and the new guardian managed to overtake them with the help of the village she reached, and I only barely escaped to tell you the news with my hlkkkk-!"

The serpent was cut off as the woman turned finally, her outstretched hand squeezing closed as the serpent's throat constricted to match. "You are telling me that three century-old sea serpents that were given power to bend the laws of physics, who were embellished with the abilities of demons themselves, couldn't manage to kill off a single girl with no more than fiery skin and a pathetic dragon boy?!" she screeched. The serpent struggled futilely as the woman pulled him near to her.

In a much lower, more menacing voice, she hissed, "You have greatly disappointed me, and you will be properly punished later. However, we have much work to do now, and you still have a job." Her hand flicked, and the force that followed it threw the sea serpent back unceremoniously, making him skid across the ocean's surface for a short distance.

"Signal my army!" the woman snapped, turning again to face the prow of her ship. "I have wasted too much time already chasing these pests of 'purity', and it is beyond time to end this." She glanced down, and rubbed her finger across the surface of her pendant, an emerald amulet set within her necklace.

"My lord asked for dominion of this world long ago, and it has been a hard fight getting this far. It is far past time to give it to him." She turned to the serpent, who was floating there unblinkingly. "Well, what are you waiting around for?!" she screamed again. "Bring everyone, and send a messenger to the ally we made in the north. We'll need him for his knowledge of the terrain and of the other Viking tribes."

The serpent nodded, turning to head east behind the ship again. "Yes, Queen Jezebel," he said quietly. "It will be as you wish."

Jezebel nodded and fingered the amulet again, staring forward across the Mediterranean to the west. Only minutes later, the patch of sky behind her began to darken, the sound of beating wings filling the air. Ships appeared, stretching across the sea and bearing dangerous cargo. This was to be war, Jezebel knew, and one way or another, she was going to finally end the only other ones who still jeopardized her plans.

A/N-Alright, you got your first glimpse of Jezebel, what do you think? And this is the last short chapter for some time, as we start warming up for the final clash in the next chapter.

Don't for get to review, let me know what you think! And all support is appreciated; each chapter is only getting around 30-50 views total after its release, rather disappointing for this series overall...