Chapter 12:

This is the chapter where things begin to look up. And don't worry, there's lots more dialogue in this one! Consider it my New Year's gift to you guys.

Mortem watched in horror as the giant ice chunk crushed the chief, and a pang of guilt struck him. Had he done that? Had he caused the giant chunk to crush Stoick? Maybe if he hadn't been attacking Tyranno...

Feral had also seen the ice fall, and she knew for a fact that it wasn't Mortem's fault. But Mortem was a very insecure dragon. Convincing him that it wasn't his fault wouldn't be easy. Especially when it involved someone's well-being.

Mortem slowly lay down in front of the remains of the nest, and lowered his head to the ground. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed a Night Fury curled protectively around something. It didn't take long for him to realize that it was Toothless, but his depression and guilt prevented him from helping the black dragon.

Toothless was dazed, but very much alive, and curled protectively around his rider, who in turn was clutching his son close to him. The Night Fury slowly unfurled his wings to reveal an unconscious Hiccup lying on the ground, with Hic curled up in his arms. Toothless's eyes widened in alarm, and he urgently nuzzled his friend, hoping for some form of response. Hic felt the dragon's gentle probing and hesitantly opened his eyes to see the unconscious form of his father holding him close. His own eyes widening, Hic clambered out of Hiccup's arms and leaned in close to his face.

"Daddy?"

There was a groan, and Hiccup's eyes opened. His vision faded in and out of focus before he realized who was looking down at him.

"Hic?"

The next thing Hiccup knew, Hic was hugging his neck and sobbing into his shoulder. Hiccup hesitated before he embraced the small boy. "It's okay, Hic, I've got you." Hic's sobbing increased in volume, and he pushed himself closer to his father's body, seeking much-needed comfort from the madness that had occurred.

Toothless hesitated before he folded his wing over the two humans, providing his own comfort against the madness that was Drago Bludvist. But it did not last long, as Tyranno soon gained control over the Night Fury, and Toothless promptly left his friend to serve the new Alpha. Hiccup watched helplessly as his friend left. His attention turned back to Hic as the small boy continued to sob into his father's shoulder. There was a loud sorrowful warble, and Hiccup turned to see Mortem lying on the ground, wounded and depressed. Hiccup slowly got to his feet and stared at the giant dragon in confusion. His eyes suddenly fell on the giant chunk of ice, and remembered that Stoick had been there to push him out of the way. Realizing what the dragon was thinking, Hiccup ran to meet the goliath.

"Mortem!"

The dragon was unfazed by the sound of his name, as he cast his eyes downward in embarrassment and guilt. Stopping only to set Hic down on a nearby rock, Hiccup soon reached the giant scaly creature that was his adopted son. "Mortem, listen to me, it wasn't your fault! It was the Alpha. You'd never hurt him." But Mortem was barely listening. There was no possible way that Stoick could have survived that, and they both knew it. "You're not a killer, Mortem," Hiccup said, trying to hold in his tears, "You didn't kill him. It's not your fault..." Mortem refused to look at his father, his warbling growing deep and even more sad. Breathing heavily, Hiccup leaned against Mortem's scaly hide as tears streamed down his cheeks. "You're not a bad dragon, Mortem." Pressing his forehead against the scales of the giant dragon, Hiccup finished his plea in a whisper.

"You're my son."

The Dragon Riders, including Astrid and Valka, watched the scene unfold before them. Draco and Camicazi hid behind their mother's legs as they watched their father try to reason with their brother, their hearts heavy with sadness and fear.

Feral was lying nearby, next to the lifeless body of her father, mourning for the loss of the two great leaders.

Mortem remained unresponsive for the rest of the day, watching with a heavy heart as the Riders dug out the lifeless body of Stoick the Vast with Gobber and Eret's assistance. His depressed state worsened when he saw them ship off the body in one of the remaining boats, and set it ablaze with flaming arrows. Turning away from the cremation of the chief, Mortem found himself face-to-snout with Rex.

"Why are you so sad?" the young heir asked innocently. Mortem sighed. "This is all my fault. I was only trying to help Feral avenge her father. I never should have." "But then what would have happened?" Rex asked. Though he wasn't nearly old enough to begin training for Alpha, he was smart enough to know that Mortem hadn't been the cause of Stoick's downfall. And he also knew that if Mortem hadn't tried to help Feral, things might have turned out worse than it was already.

Feral heard her son speaking, and realized that he was right. All they could do now was find a way to stop Tyranno and Drago from taking over Berk. They had left for the island hours ago, and there was no doubt they were more than halfway there by then. Leaving the body of her father, Feral stood up and walked over to Mortem. "We have to stop Drago before he destroys Berk." "But how?" Mortem asked. They had no other dragons to assist them. Even Toothless and Stormfly had left. "I have a plan," Feral said confidently, "But we need to work fast. The longer we take, the more time we give Drago to take over." Mortem sighed before sitting up on his haunches.

"I'm in."

By the time that Feral had laid out her plan, Hiccup had already led the other Riders back to Berk on the backs of the baby Scuttleclaws. The Nadder-like dragons were too young to obey anyone, including the Alpha, giving them an advantage. Mortem pointed out their absence shortly after Feral had finished explaining her plan. "We'll help them later," she said, "All we have to do is gather the troops."

A faint blue glow was visible on the inside of the rocky cave, which quickly got brighter as a glowing dragon made its way out of the mountain that was its home. Its eyes immediately fell on the dragons that had woken it up from its slumber. "What do you want?" the Flightmare asked in a grumpy tone of voice. "We need your help to fight Drago Bludvist," Feral said. The Flightmare hesitated before nodding.

"Consider the great Glowwyrm in!"

The Speed Stinger pack was out hunting again that night when a giant figure blocked their path. Looking up, they saw Mortem gazing down at them. "Think you guys can lend me a few helping talons?" he asked. The Lead Stinger stepped forward. "On one condition," he hissed, "You help us find a new home." "Only if you promise not to harm any of the humans on Berk," Mortem said. The Lead Stinger hesitated before nodding.

"Deal."

"We need your help, Mr. Smokebreath," Rex said to the leader of the Smothering Smokebreaths. The small, purple dragon shrugged. "What's in it for us?" he asked. "You can use the armor of the battle dragons to make a new nest," Rex suggested. The Smokebreath thought for a minute before nodding.

"You've got yourself a deal."

Thornado was woken up from his sleep by a deep warble. After making sure that Bing, Bam, and Boom were still asleep, he went to check out the entrance to their cave. He noticed Mortem standing over him, and asked, "What out you doing out here so late?" Mortem shrugged.

"Care to avenge an old friend?"

The Screaming Death stretched out on the cliff that overlooked his island home, yawning widely. Just before he could relax his coils, he noticed a whole group of dragons, including Mortem, Feral, and Rex; looking up at him. Without hesitating, he smiled.

"I'm in."

"Okay, everyone," Feral said, "You all know the plan. Smoke and his brothers will provide cover, while Glowwyrm and Albino do the distraction. The Speed Stingers and the Thunderdrums will be the backup, while me and Mortem are the front line. If anything gets past us, they'll have deal with Thornado and the Pack. Any questions?"

Glowwyrm raised her wing. "Besides anything that has to do with your food supply," Feral added. Glowwyrm quickly lowered her wing. Feral nodded.

"Then let's do it!"

Better? I certainly hope so! Don't worry, dragons that are loyal to a different Bewilderbeast should be able to ignore Tyranno's hypnotism. Though I'm not entirely sure. Please leave a review, and I'll get back to you.

That rhymes!