Chapter 18

The Sorceress Returns

She stands a relic of a hateful art

She bears within the blackest heart

Kept aloft with magic spells

A mind of tricks, truth never dwells

Beware her hand and where it lays

Behind it death shall na'er delay

To all of us it felt like a repetition of ill history, standing upon the bluffs and cliffs that surrounded Berk and watching death itself approach like a fluid machine. A grim determination settled over the faces of everyone surrounding me, and I glanced around at our makeshift army.

The team stood together: Hiccup and Astrid to my left, Ember and Camicazi standing to my right, and the others lined up behind us. Today we were joined in addition by four extra team members as well, who had been nominated by their tribes: Heather and her recently bonded Razorwhip named Windshear (something I would come to find amusing at a later date when the third season aired), and Dogsbreath stood near her with his Hotburple affectionately named Bruce. No, I'm not kidding about that name.

Most of us were clad in the suits fashioned from Mysteel and Myscale, those warriors around us who had not been able to be outfitted with the fancier versions decked out in the shiny, less mobile pure Mysteel outfits. All of us wore one thing in common however: the scowls of stoic courage in the face of danger.

"Remember, everyone stay off of their dragons if at all possible until the Bewilderbeast is taken down or out," Hiccup warned. "If he can break through the rider's bond, we can't risk anyone else." He looked at me as he said this, fear along with that famed Viking stubbornness clearly evident in his eyes. He would be the only one on a dragon, riding Toothless as the two of them took on Drago and the alpha. I had tried to convince them otherwise, but the two were determined to be the ones to break the hold. What had been said weeks before had taken root and I prayed nothing broke them this time. They did, however, have me as backup if it was needed, despite my own assignment.

A low roar echoed above us, and we looked up to see Valka glide down on Cloudjumper's back from the mountains. "Gothi and the others are safely hidden," she reported, "deeper in the caves than what you said happened last time. Stoick is also there, with Gobber as a guard. We're ready." We nodded, and faced forward again.

With the Vikings and dragons at least temporarily separated, I had another task as well before we faced off with Jezebel again. We all knew the island, and our enemy only had cursory knowledge from her one visit, so we could fight without having to see clearly.

The first vessels began to enter the bay, and I spotted the massive ripples in the water caused by the Bewilderbeast surging through below them, and I decided it was time. Dropping off the cliff, I morphed immediately into a dragon colored like the dark, gathering clouds above us, my skin etched in subtle swirling patterns, and I raced out over the village and surrounding cliffs.

Much like a Smothering Smokebreath, the Mist Dragon is a creature of stealth and hiding, but it has a far more effective weapon than the smaller Smokebreath. I grinned determinedly, and let out a long, slow breath, releasing a trail of specialized chemicals, immediately from which exploded outward a powerful reaction. The humid air condensed, and a thick, pervasive fog rippled out over the island, covering everything from sight and dropping visibility to almost zero. As I covered the land in mist, it billowed upward as well and out over the bay, cutting off any chance of Jezebel's forces attacking effectively from any distance. As a bonus, I knew the fog would last for upwards of an hour or two without heavy winds, giving us a cloak for a long period of time.

A horn sounded from out in the bay, and I saw the ships enter the fog, heading for the docks. The Bewilderbeast showed himself, rising up out of the water and leaning in toward one ship in particular. Drago appeared, stepping from the vessel up onto the dragon's tusk, and the two of them headed for the village as well, the swarm of enthralled dragons following them high above us in the air.

I dove into the mist, navigating to where we'd gathered, and landed next to Hiccup and Ember again. "Time to suit up," I said, changing again to Night Fury. "Drago and the dragons are on the western side of the village, and the soldiers and their dragons mimics are coming up to the docks. Jezebel is still out in the main fleet somewhere, so I'm going to go find her and give a proper welcome." I looked to Hiccup. "The Bewilderbeast is otherwise first priority, so if you absolutely need backup, call me. We take him out and we can be sure the dragons stay on our side; until then they're a liability we need to avoid."

Hiccup nodded in understanding and looked to Toothless. Silent words passed between the two of them, before they both nodded and Hiccup climbed on. A dramatic salute from the boy, and the two were off, disappearing into the fog.

"Cami and I are leading the fight in the harbor, right?" Ember asked. I nodded in affirmation. "And as soon as the dragons are safely with us the two of you go after the ships in the bay. Lead the twins out there were they can do damage freely." I tried to ignore the not-so-silent sounds of triumph that followed from Ruff and Tuff, and continued. "The stone vessels might be a weak point, as there's no way those are at all maneuverable, so if we take them down we might be able to cripple the fighting force. It does mean though that Jezebel has access to more of Aurianna's old relics; we don't know what we're facing due to that."

Ember nodded and brushed her hand against her bow, before grabbing her first arrow and nodding to Camicazi, the two of them heading off and leading a group of warriors down into the mist-covered village below, their dragons gliding as quietly as they could above them.

Seconds later the Bewilderbeast gave out a bellowing roar of anger, and I took that as my cue, hurling myself into the air and streaking toward the bay, looking for Jezebel.

Toothless pierced the fog without concern of running into anything, the high-pitched echolocating shrieks he emitted giving him the greatest advantage in the low visibility. Hiccup couldn't see anything yet, but to Toothless the village-sized outline of the Bewilderbeast stood out clear as day ahead of them. The alpha was already aware of the smaller Fury, and already Toothless could feel the Bewilderbeast beginning to try and probe his mind. The bigger dragon hadn't made his move yet, but Toothless knew it would come and he was determined to stay strong in the face of it.

Suddenly the mist broke open wide in front of the pair, an arena of clear air that had formed as the Bewilderbeast trampled up the cliffs, its rudimentary wings flaring for balance and sweeping the air clean. All four would-be participants in the upcoming struggle locked eyes, and the air stilled for a moment. Drago stood on his dragon's forehead, grinning with a disturbing semblance of knowing something the other didn't.

"I would try to normally say there's a much better means of settling issues than all-out war, but you've already sided with the sorceress," Hiccup yelled over to his opponent. Drago laughed in response. "So, you've come to accept defeat?" he sneered back. "After all, your dragon will not miss twice, the Night Fury's dual gift and curse."

The man didn't get out another word before Hiccup and Toothless both fired. The twin charges fused and exploded against the side of the Bewilderbeast, making it stumble and roar in anger. Drago pointed his bullhook toward the pair, eyes darkening further. "Take the dragon, and kill the boy!" he ordered. The Bewilderbeast shifted its gaze beneath him, focusing on the airborne two almost immediately.

Toothless felt the force slam into his mind, a wave of will stronger than anything natural, and though once more he tried to fight the onslaught, bit by bit he felt his own control slip away, leaving him once more an observer within his own body.

"H-Hiccup," Toothless barely rasped out, glancing fearfully up at his brother, and barely managed to shake his head in warning before his body involuntarily bucked and rolled, trying to throw Hiccup off so the Bewilderbeast could make the Night Fury fire at him.

This time, however, Hiccup knew what was coming and was ready for the fight, having already put Framherja in her holster and locking his grip around the handlebars of the saddle, holding tight so as not to be thrown. This time, he was not going to let go, not going to give up for anything.

Astrid slipped up against the wall of the Gunderson cottage and glanced around the corner toward Valka. The two of them were slowly leading the force that would cover the village during the war, infiltrating their own home and slowly getting into position for an attack. They had already heard soldiers and their twisted mockeries of dragons marching through or flying around the buildings, searching for their enemies, but of course thanks to the overlay of fog nothing could be seen, only heard.

For once, and Astrid was more than thankful, Snotlout wasn't running his mouth, and the usually skittish Fishlegs was as silent and focused as the rest of them, reassured by his personal experience with the protection of the Myscale suit he wore. Slowly, they began to fan out into the upper section of the village, listening to the footsteps of their opponents and keeping out of visual range.

Astrid drew her axe in one hand, and her engraved sword with the other, slipping across the path and sidling up alongside the house she knew belonged to Hoark, listening to the soldiers who'd broken inside in their search. It was time, and with one nod to Hiccup's mother, the signal rippled out through their ranks. Astrid turned and opened the back door, meeting the first soldier and taking him down without a sound and a single swipe of her sword before letting out a chilling war cry and spinning into a blur of blades and well-aimed kicks.

All around outside, Astrid's cry was echoed by the other Vikings as they met their own targets, blades ringing out against each other as both forces, armed variably with forged steel and Mysteel weapons, took the first swings, the battle truly beginning in earnest.

Adrenaline pumped into Astrid's veins as she flayed out the invaders she faced in the house before running out the ruined front door, following the village paths she knew like the back of her own hand and appearing seemingly out of nowhere in front of another startled mercenary.

This man was different however. He carried an air of unnatural confidence, and was decked in a differently styled outfit as if he were a general or leader of similar rank. He also bore a vest upon which were embedded a series of small stones, each one pulsing with a faint, unsettling light.

As Astrid took in this new surprise the man spun toward her, a great Mysteel blade sliding from its sheath at his side and carving through the air toward her. Astrid shook herself out of the trance and went into a ready stance, her own blade catching the much larger one and spinning it out of the way as her axe arced through the air toward the man's neck.

The weapon never connected however, despite the man being completely open for attack. As the blade reached within a few inches of the man the gems on his vest reacted, exploding with light and a ripple of energy instantaneously surrounding him, a reddish glow flashing at the point of impact from the axe blade. The sharp edge was unharmed, but suddenly forced back as if Astrid had tried to strike granite with a rubber mallet, throwing the warrioress off balance.

The man grinned as he brought his sword back up, reveling in the look of shock on the shield-maiden's face. She was familiar with the idea of force fields; Hawken used them on occasion, but this was the first time she'd seen it on anyone other than the boy or Jezebel.

"What, never seen a barrier field in action before?" the general taunted. "What a pity, you can't do a thing to me. The reverse, however…"

There was no need to finish the sentence as he twisted the sword up and jabbed it at Astrid. She broke out of the shock just in time to deflect the attack, rolling to gain some space and whistling sharply. A roar sounded from above the two of them as Thorn revealed herself, showering the man with fire. The field blocked the flames themselves as the man leapt out of the way, however Astrid caught notice of him also yelping in pain as the air around him superheated, a red rash forming across his cheek and neck. She grinned herself now, knowing there was a way yet to beat even this protected adversary.

The dragons couldn't be ridden, not yet, but as long as they had their own minds still they came in to help, and Astrid signaled her Nadder to fire again, point blank. This time the general didn't have the space to move in time, and the flames poured around his flaring field for several seconds, the air within rising to an unbearable degree and painting severe burns across his entire form. Seconds later the man fell, rendered unconscious. Astrid smiled in triumph before leaping out of the way of an attack behind her and spinning to gut the unprotected soldier with her axe as he stumbled from the overshot lunge.

Another pair of mercenaries came around the corner, and Astrid turned to confront them but Thorn took the shot first, nailing both of them to the house behind them with a pair of spines. At that point, the two Berk residents were feeling rather okay about the state of things, and turned to move deeper into the village. Snotlout and Thuggory would be along the edges, Valka had taken a route into the heart of the village as well, and somewhere in the fog Bertha was leading her troops through as well.

Then, Astrid looked up to see Thorn falter in her flight for a moment, a squawk of fear released before the Nadder disappeared from view in the fog above. A chill ran down Astrid's spine, before a burst of magnesium fire streamed through the air next to her and the roar of the Bewilderbeast echoed through the mist. The warbling, audible part of an Alpha's power rent the air around Astrid, and at that point she knew. Crossing her blades, she recalled the tip she'd been told months before about taking out dragons without killing them, and as Thorn came by again Astrid rolled to dodge the hail of spines that came at her and then leapt up, catching her Nadder's leg and swinging herself into the saddle, just long enough to hit the weak spot.

Of course, Astrid wasn't the only one who suddenly noticed the tables turning. Ember screamed involuntarily as a shot of fire rocketed past her head, her hair glowing orange in response to the increased heat. She whipped around and spotted the ever-so-slight ripple in the air she'd been trained to detect, the one that told her the attacker was Orha. Now they had their own dragons along with the soldiers to deal with.

"Cami!" she yelled, the other warrior the only one close enough to see. The blonde turned to her, and Ember pointed to the fog above them. Flashes of familiar golden scales also appeared, and Camicazi's eyes widened at the realization. Ember pointed to the base of her neck between her shoulders, before grabbing a blunt arrow and drawing a bead on Orha. When he flashed into visibility to fire again, she dove out of the way and spun when his back faced her, firing at the weak point.

Ember's arrow hit home, and her friend screamed in a sudden shot of pain before collapsing to the ground, out cold. "Take them out of the fight; they'll be up again in ten minutes or so!" she called to her partner. "Hopefully the Bewilderbeast can be dealt with by then!"

Cami nodded, before leaping out of the way as a soldier and his "dragon" came flying by. She swung her sword up and carved through the creature's rider, before facing her own dragon, Stormfly, anticipating the Mood Dragon's attack and leaping up her snout, cartwheeling down Stormfly's neck and driving the pommel of her sword between the dragon's shoulders. Muscles locked in pain and the Mood dragon, too, dropped to the ground.

"We need to get them out of the sky first, and then worry about the soldiers!" Cami said. Ember nodded in agreement and turned, racing through the streets with the Bog Burglar heir right behind her, slamming her hands to the ground and freezing a group of soldiers in her way before leaping up and grabbing ahold of Fireworm, the Nightmare targeting her own rider hiding along the edge of the village below. Ember climbed up to the Nightmare's neck and fired the blunt again, point blank. Fireworm seized up and ember leapt to a nearby roof, sliding down to land in front of a shocked Snotlout.

"She's alive, just unconscious," Ember reassured, answering his unspoken question, before disappearing into the fog again. Halfway into the village she almost ran into Valka, who was facing off Cloudjumper. "Ember, good you're here," the older woman said. "I need a distraction; the second he leaps I can bring him down." "You know about the pressure point?" Ember asked. Valka snorted. "I lived with them for 19 years; I know most of their secrets at this point."

Cloudjumper took to the air and the two split apart as the Stormcutter released a vortex of flame. Ember whistled and twirled her bow, gaining the dragon's attention, and Cloudjumper dived in her direction. Valka took her chance and leapt from behind, her staff catching Cloudjumper's wing and giving her purchase to vault onto his back. Then she slammed the flat of the staff tip between his shoulders, and the Stormcutter dropped, plowing across the dirt and flattening a pair of soldiers who had come up to take out the Vikings as they were distracted. Ember drew a Piffleworm arrow and loosed it, finishing them both off with one shot, before turning to Valka.

"If the Bewilderbeast isn't dealt with we'll just be fighting a downward battle," she breathed heavily. "I hope Hiccup and Toothless knew what they were doing."

She was standing on the ship in the middle of the fleet, the flowing robes and deceptively haughty appearance from before replaced with a tight shirt and cut pants that looked like they'd been woven from metal along with a leather vest studded in gems, and pockets and sheaths were scattered across her entire outfit no doubt filled with nasty surprises.

I stayed hidden in the fog, having kept the grayish colors on the Fury shape to stay blending in for now, and then came in low across the water. Gliding silently, I arced upward and rolled over the ship's rail, preparing a fireball. 3…2…1…

SCHEWWW! BOOMMM!

A flash of angry orange light erupted as the flames flared out around the sorceress, and when the smoke cleared she still stood there, unmoved and completely unfazed.

"I hope you didn't think I'd be completely unprepared for something like that," she snickered, slowly turning to face me as I hovered over the deck. A pair of gems were flickering on the vest she wore, almost in tune with the fading field around her. "I underestimated you last time, and I don't intend to make the same mistake twice." "Neither will I," I snapped back, folding my wings and dropping to the deck.

Seeing that I had no visible weapon in my grasp, Jezebel immediately unsheathed a series of small daggers and sent them flying in my direction, the air rippling behind them as they were propelled by black magic. My arms came up reactively, energy rippling out from them as well and exploding in sparks and smoke as the knives collided and were thrown back haphazardly. Not missing a beat I clenched both fists, spears of light exploding out through them as a pair of Mysteel swords materialized in my grip.

"I have a lot of new tricks up my sleeve," I said. "You'll find it hard to catch me without some preparation." I swung the blades, metal singing through the air as they both turned into a blur to the human eye. To some concern of mine, Jezebel did not even flinch as I came at her, and when the swords neared her I found out why. Both blades hit the field and I felt them fly backward from the propelling force, the same orange light blazing as before. I staggered back from the sudden reversal of direction, eyes narrowing, as the sorceress smiled.

"Takes a lot more than that to break through a force field, you should know that by now," she tutted, drawing her own sword. Mine dissolved again, as did I, black wings flaring out before fading into a semblance of smoke, and Jezebel swung straight through me as I went fully Shadow, sinking into the cracks and silhouettes cast on the ship.

Black ropes reared up around Jezebel and entangled her legs second later. The field could stop physical objects, but to pure dark matter and energy? It was laughable, posing little protection and far easier to get through.

Jezebel grabbed one of the tendrils and yanked, her hands radiating magic, but unlike last time I wasn't pulled right out of the shadows. I felt the tug, and some odd, vague pain, but I had learned to ground myself, digging into the shadows and gripping the cracks and irregularities they filled around me.

We were at a momentary standstill. I was putting most of my energy into ensuring Jezebel couldn't run, and she couldn't pull me into a vulnerable state either, but she wasn't completely defenseless. Moments later I felt a stabbing pain, as Jezebel had managed to slide out a small dagger from one of her pockets, and through her power had formed it to match my state, driving it into one of the shadow ropes that were wrapping further around her. I jerked the tendril away, allowing only a moment of leeway, before sending up more of the ropes and binding her arms and hands so that she couldn't move. Much, at least.

"I can stand a lot of pain now," I hissed, my head forming in front of her out of the shadows. "You should know that after last time as well." Jezebel grinned, despite the dagger she'd jabbed at me now being held up to her face. It was inside the field, so there wasn't much to stop it from being driven forward, yet the witch still held some secret.

"Personal pain, yes," she admitted. "But the real weakness of any of you so-called heroes is in others. Anything can be thrown at you and you'll endure it until your last breath, but go after your friends, the ones you love, and though you may fight valiantly at first watching them suffer and die will make you crumble, eventually."

That's when I noticed the buzzing feeling at the back of my mind. The last time I'd felt it was during the battle at Dragon Island, when the Bewilderbeast had broken through to the bonded dragons. I grimaced and shook my semi-materialized head, glaring at the witch.

"You really think that the same trick will work twice?" I hissed, bringing the dagger a little closer and leaving a line of blood on her cheek. "The people here are a lot stronger than you think. Even if the dragons are lost they still know how to fight, and they will no matter what comes their way. We aren't a people who will give up."

Jezebel started to say something else, but I was done talking. I turned and brought the dagger down toward her neck, hoping to catch her off guard. I honestly didn't expect it to end that easily, and so I wasn't surprised in the least when the air warped and the weapon slid off to one side, and I began to feel a pressure build as Jezebel began to attempt shoving the shadow ropes off herself with unseen power. A sudden burst of magic, and the shadows (and me, by extension) were thrown off completely, and I retreated back to prepare for another attack.

When the knife had slipped, however, it still managed to do some damage. I rematerialized, grinning, as Jezebel pulled out a sword from the scabbard at her side, completely unaware of the cracked and now useless mineral upon her shoulder.

"Let's deal with this like real warriors, shall we?" I drawled, morphing back human and letting my two swords materialize again. Jezebel shrugged. "You can't land a blow on me," she replied nonchalantly, "so you'll lose sooner or later." "You put way too much faith in that knickknack of yours," I shot back.

Jezebel didn't reply, but she did draw out a second sword to match me and stood at the ready. Tension in the air built up thick enough to cut with our blades, but neither of us moved to take the first shot. We stood, sizing each other up, as the war raged on the shores nearby. Screams of dragons and soldiers echoed, and further off I heard the roars of the Bewilderbeast. Directly around us great weapons of stone and fire were being aimed and shot deafeningly toward the hidden village.

Suddenly, a daring soldier flew by on his mockery of a dragon and attempted to take a shot at me with the bow he held. I spun and released a bolt of electricity, the man and dragon screaming as it connected and short-circuited not only the vest the man as wearing but also both their nervous systems, sending the pair crashing into the water beside the ship.

Jezebel took the distraction and lanced the tip of her sword toward my midsection, but I was ready for the move. Both of my swords came down and crossed, catching her blade. I spun my arms and turned to wrench her blade away. Jezebel stepped back in time however and removed the weapon, before swinging the second down and around. I parried, swiping my other sword in her direction and up, but was turned away as her first sword slammed my blade to the deck.

Immediately however Jezebel was forced to duck as I swung with my other hand, the blade swiping over her head and turning to come back for her neck. This time, she didn't lean back fast enough, and the tip sliced into the front of her vest, the broken gem sparking pathetically as what little energy inside tried and failed to produce the barrier field the witch was relying on. Jezebel's eyes widened in surprise for a moment, before they hardened and narrowed again in anger. I grinned.

"You don't have the skill needed to fix it either, do you?" I taunted, my split tail rising up and two more Mysteel blades appearing in the grip of each tip. My opponent snarled in response, and sent her blades spinning.

Nigh-indestructible metal clashed against its equal at a speed to make the air itself scream. Thrust and parry, swipe and backlash, uppercut and counter; for all my speed and more numerous blades Jezebel still had her 900 years of experience over me. Every move I made she managed to dodge, and her every move I blocked. Equally matched, the only way either of us would lose would be if one tired, or there was a distraction worthy of our attention.

That distraction came quickly enough, but it affected both of us. The buzzing in the back of my head suddenly disappeared, and a collective roar of defiance from hundreds of dragons echoed across the island. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted two things: a group of dragons flying down and away from the Bewilderbeast and heading our direction, followed shortly by riders from the island, and in a clear patch of fog the Bewilderbeast that was attempting to ground a Night Fury and his rider.

That's where things went wrong.

Valka and Ember were both back on their dragons and in full attack mode, strafing the ships with fire and trailing Camicazi right behind them. A Mysteel arrow flew just barely past Jezebel's face, forcing her to back up and attempt defending herself from the dragon riders, and this gave me a near-perfect opening. I nearly took it too, before I heard Hiccup scream, and Jezebel's taunt came back to me.

But the real weakness of any of you so-called heroes is in others. Anything can be thrown at you and you'll endure it until your last breath, but go after your friends, the ones you love, and though you may fight valiantly at first watching them suffer and die will make you crumble, eventually.

Hiccup and Toothless had separated, Hiccup tackling Drago off the Bewilderbeast and dragging him to the ground, but now he was in the direct line of fire from the alpha, and Toothless was just too far away to take him out of danger.

"HICCUP!" I screamed, garnering everyone's attention as I leapt into the air. But if Toothless couldn't reach Hiccup in time, there was no way I could when I was half a mile away.

Time slowed as the Bewilderbeast fired, Toothless just barely grabbing Hiccup as the blast collided with both of them, slamming hard into and cratering the ground in front of a laughing Drago.

A/N-The first of several action chapters, hope you're ready...and I know, terrible me for leaving you all on another cliffhanger, but it's what I do.

Don't forget to review!