Yep, that's rigth, I'm finally updating this fic again! It's been a while, I know; I've been working primarily on my other fic lately, and I finally decided to sit down and finish this chapter one day. It's a really long one; it's significantly longer than both the Prologue and the first chapter combined. I really like how it turned out; I hope you do too.
Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD.
Tveir
The hall quieted down as Hiccup stepped on top of his pedestal. Toothless, his dragon, stood alongside him. Both of them were stone-faced. His face scanned the crowd, and once they all had quieted, he spoke.
"Our watchers have heard the horn of the enemy!" he announced. "Our worst fears have been realized! The Imperial Troops, who wish to destroy everything we love and believe in, are at our doors. They come to exterminate our dragons like rats, and they think that makes them better than us. They come to kill our friends, both human and dragon, and enslave our children and whoever is left! But I swear to you all, that as long as I am alive, I won't let that happen! As long as I am alive, I will fight. Tell me- men, women, dragons- will you fight too?"
A deafening wall of cheers and roars rose from the crowd beneath him. As it died down, Hiccup finished his speech. "Then let me tell you the plan. As it stands, we don't have any hope of defeating this army. The best we can do is hold them off while we evacuate. That's what we're going to do. We're going to fight, and then, when the evacuation is done, I'll call a retreat.
"You all know where the Sanctuary is, and even if you don't, then I'm sure you know someone who does. That is our rendezvous point. I know it's not finished just yet, but with the combined help of all of us, we can finish it once we're there. As soon as the retreat is called, get away from the battle, and meet up back there.
"I know this war has dragged on. I know some of you may be starting to lose hope that we'll ever win it. Odin knows I've had my doubts in the past. But now I truly believe that we can take back what is ours, as long as we keep fighting for it. It won't be any easier than it has been, but I promise you; one day our dawn will come!
"Now, get ready. We'll be charging any minute now."
With that, Hiccup leapt off of the pedestal. Toothless followed behind him. As he watched, Ashmore could see their leader hugging Astrid, his wife.
Then, he saw his father approaching.
"Ashmore," Toothless said as he arrived. "Promise me you'll be careful out there. I can't lose another one of you."
"I will if you will," he said.
"I'll do my best," said Toothless. The two dragons touched, muzzle to shoulder, and then broke their contact.
Toothless turned to Flameskull, who was standing right next to them. "Flameskull," he greeted. "Are you ready?"
"I'm always ready to sound the alarm," said Flameskull.
Flameskull was, by and far, one of the loudest dragons in the army when he had to be. For that reason, they had made his roar their battle horn.
"Are we ready to fight, then?" asked Flameskull. "I'm itching to kill me some humans."
"Yes," Toothless replied. "Just… Wait until I'm a little further away, all right?"
"You know… I think I'll back off a bit, too," said Ashmore. He walked over to Samantha. "Hey, Samantha," he said. With a flick of his head, he said, "I think we should get away from Flameskull."
Samantha, who had developed an uncanny ability to tell what Ashmore was saying, nodded. The two of them put as much distance between themselves and the Boneknapper as they could. Toothless went back over to Hiccup.
Flameskull winked at Ashmore, and lifted his head into the air. His jaws parted, and a deafening blast of noise came from his throat. The roar echoed through the hall and out the tunnels that led beneath the earth to the battlefield. Ashmore and Samantha clenched their arms over their ears, but it was still painfully loud.
When the massive dragon finally ran out of breath, he closed his jaws, and the roar echoed away. A counter roar rose out of the warriors, and moments later, Toothless flew into the air and into an exit tunnel. He was immediately followed by countless dragons taking flight.
Samantha hoisted herself up onto Ashmore's back, and drew her sword. "Come on, bud," she said. "Let's go." Ashmore gritted his teeth, and spread his wings to take flight. He flew into the nearest tunnel, and flew all the way through the dark earth, until he came to the end.
The end of the tunnel was normally covered with earth, but the dragons that had preceded him had blown it open. It was now a gaping hole in the ground that spewed dragons and their riders.
Ashmore shot out into the open sky, and soared into the air. He arced over the approaching army, and then pulled himself into a straight glide. He surveyed the land below him, and saw the army charging to meet them. Most of the dragons were in the air now, and were beginning to bomb the Imperials. Now, the resistance foot-soldiers were exiting the tunnels to join the fight.
He rolled to the side as he just barely dodged a volley of arrows. A line of archers in the back of the army. "Let's get them!" Samantha yelled.
Ashmore nodded. "Sounds like a plan!"
Another wall of arrows was on its way. Ashmore darted upwards as they sliced through the air where his body had been. Next to him, he heard a roar, as a purple Deadly Nadder was struck in the wing. She tried to pump her wings and stay aloft, but wasn't strong enough, and slowly but surely sunk to the ground.
"Dear Odin," said Ashmore. "That's it; they're going out, now!"
He folded his wings and entered a dive. The wind rushed past them, and Samantha gripped his saddle and held on for dear life. As they fell towards the army, another volley of arrows appeared. Ashmore spun away, and just barely missed them.
"That was close!" yelled Samantha. "Come on!"
Several other dragons around them had joined the dive, and they were almost at the ground. Finally, Ashmore opened his wings, pulled up, and shot a fall of purple fire out of his mouth. The dragons all around him opened fire as well. Monstrous Nightmares and Deadly Nadders shot fire at them, and Hideous Zipplebacks spread flammable gas throughout their ranks. The gas ignited, and several archers dropped their bows and screamed in pain.
Ashmore flew back up and turned around, ready for another go. A lot of the archers had been killed by the first volley, but there were still many more. A lot of them had protected themselves with thick metal shields they kept on their backs as well. As they got ready for another dive, more arrows were shot, and then more archers took cover beneath the shields.
"This might take a while," said Ashmore.
"Come on Shade, let's do this!" Blackheart yelled.
The two of them had taken an aerial approach to the combat as well. The archers were filling the sky with their arrows, but Shade was just agile enough to avoid them.
After another volley of arrows subsided, Blackheart looked down and saw rapid movement among the enemy troops, combined with snow clouds being kicked up. He recognized it as something they didn't have; horse-back troops.
"See that?" he asked, pointing down. Shade followed his finger and nodded, then broke into a dive. Blackheart unhooked himself from the saddle, and braced himself.
As the Night Fury pulled out of his dive, he shot a ball of fire in front of the first horse. The beast fell with a whinny, and the two directly behind it collapsed in a domino effect. Blackheart then brandished the hilt of his sword, Fury, drew it, and jumped off of his dragon's back.
He slashed it at the nearest horse, and pushed the soldier off. He then sat down in the saddle, and turned it around, waving his sword at the other enemies. Though they were just as experienced swordsmen as he was, he had the element of surprise, and was able to cut down a few of them before Shade returned.
His first clue that his friend was coming back was the high-pitched ballistic noise cutting through the air, and coming closer. He held up his hand into the air, and felt something grab it and pull. As he was yanked out of the horses saddle, he sheathed his sword as a fire blossomed below him, and as it rapidly shrank beneath him, he reached up to grab onto Shade's scaly paw.
He was grateful for the special armor that had been fitted for him. If he tried to do that with normal armor, his arm would have been dislocated; however, with some tinkering, Hiccup had managed to design armor that held their shoulders in place.
When they were up high enough, Blackheart reached up and wrapped his arm around the dragon's neck. Shade let go of his other hand, and he used it to pull himself back up into their saddle.
"Glad to see all that practice paid off," said Blackheart.
Meanwhile, Misael and Silvermoon had joined the ground troops. Misael lashed out with his sword, while Silvermoon ripped and tore at the oncoming soldiers with her teeth and claws. Blood flowed freely on the once-white snow, and Misael and Silvermoon were covered in it.
Misael hated this. But he kept going because he had to.
With one final lash, he slayed the final attacker, and took a deep breath.
A roar from Silvermoon ended his break, as another group had descended upon them. "Thor almighty," he said. "I've had enough of this."
He turned around and clashed swords with an Imperial. He wasn't expecting one to reach him so soon, and as a result, he was thrown off balance. He teetered, and with another blow from the soldier he fell to the ground. The man loomed over him, sword raised, and Misael braced himself and lifted his own sword.
Then, a quick black shape flitted over behind the man, and he fell in a cloud of blood and screams. Silvermoon stood over him, her claws buried in his neck. She let him go, and held out a paw to Misael.
He took it, and stood up. "Thanks, Silver," he said.
He heard a yell from behind him, and turned around to see yet more Imperials coming after him. Ugh, he thought. Will they just finish evacuating already?
Rosco kept close to Toothless, dodging arrows and bombing soldiers. The head dragon led his own special patrol, and he and Seth had been selected for it this time.
"One more time!" he heard Hiccup yell. "Come on, those archers are almost finished!"
He dived once more, and flew towards the last cluster of archers. With a burst of purple flame, he sent them flying, and with the help of his fellow dragons, the rest of them were killed.
"Alright!" Seth yelled from on top of his back. "We might actually have a shot at winning now!"
But no sooner did he say this, than he heard a faint rumbling sound towards the back of the enemy army. He strained to look, and saw several large, wooden structures moving closer to them.
Catapults.
"Odin help us," said Seth above him.
"Get those catapults!" Toothless yelled. "Before they get any closer!"
All of the dragons nearby turned the direction of their flight towards the advancing catapults. As they, flew, however, each catapult suddenly swung up, propelling huge boulders into the air. One flew directly at Rosco, and only with a sudden roll was he able to dodge it.
Unfortunately, Seth wasn't anticipating this well enough, and he slipped off of his dragon's back and plummeted towards the ground. "Help!" he yelled.
Rosco roared in panic, and dove down to meet him. He swept underneath the Viking and caught him on his back.
"Thanks, Rosco," Seth said, patting him on the head.
Suddenly, Rosco saw a blurred shape falling in his peripheral vision, accompanied by a terrified roar. He turned to see a Monstrous Nightmare falling to the ground, attempting to flap her broken wings. She landed in the middle of a group of Imperials, who immediately drew their swords and plunged them into her body.
Rosco felt sick to his stomach at the sight.
On the edge of his vision, he saw another shape falling much more slowly. He looked, and saw Toothless gradually falling into the flight. The Night Fury flapped his wings, trying to stay in the air, but as Rosco saw, his mechanical tail fin was broken, and it was only a matter of time before he reached the ground.
"Oh no…" he said.
After he dodged the volley of boulders, Ashmore immediately looked around for his family. Where are they? He thought desperately. He couldn't see Silvermoon anywhere… but she was on the ground today. Was she? Ashmore realized with fright that he wasn't sure. Oh, please be okay…
He saw Shade, flying nearby, only higher up. Relief coursed through him. Now, where's father…
He saw his father soon after, hanging much lower than most of the other dragons. At first, it didn't seem like he had been hit, but then Ashmore noticed the broken and mangled tail fin. His heart leapt in his chest, and he immediately took off for him.
He didn't get far, though. A crushing pain hit his backside, and he lost control of his body. He began to fall.
He tried as hard as he could to regain control of his flight, but his wings couldn't catch any air. His back ached, and his body spun and fell out of control. It wasn't until he had fallen almost halfway to the ground that he realized that Samantha wasn't there anymore.
Panicking, he looked around, dazed from his spinning surroundings, until he finally saw her. He was just able to maneuver himself underneath her, belly up, before she dropped into his arms and he crashed into the ground.
The impact knocked him out of breath, and he could have sworn something cracked. He looked down at Samantha, and saw that she was safe.
He laid his head back, coughed, and released the girl. She gasped, and gave him a hug. "Ashmore," she said. "You saved me. Thank you."
Ashmore flicked his tail in a 'don't mention it' gesture.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yes," he said. "You?"
She nodded, not understanding his speech but rather the meaning of his question. Ashmore gave her a relieved look, and nudged her face softly. He then gently pushed her off, and rolled over onto his legs and stood up.
Pain flared through his body, but he was able to move. He gave Samantha a caring look, and nudged her face. "I'm just glad you're alive," he said.
Then, his grin faded as he realized the trouble they were in. "Look out," he said. "We've got company."
All around them, Imperial soldiers were closing in. "Can you fly?" Samantha asked.
Ashmore shook his head. "I don't think so," he said. "I pulled a muscle in my wing. It'll be a bit before I can fly again."
"Well," said Samantha. "I guess we're in trouble, then." She drew her blade, Pyra, and took a lighter out of her pocket. The blade was a special one that had the ability to carry flame. It had once been her father's blade, but he had died long ago, and had left it to her. She touched the lighter to the blade, and fire erupted from it, and spread over the sword.
"I'm ready," she said, as she brandished the weapon in an offensive position. The soldiers were close now, and they were about to attack.
On the ground, Flameskull was a vicious onslaught to the attackers, a juggernaut that nobody seemed able to stop. The massive Boneknapper crushed, tore, and set his enemies alight. Many tried to take him on, but none survived.
Human filth, he thought. Die like the vermin you are.
As he tore his claws into yet another opponent, he felt an irritating pricking at his tail. He turned his head to see a group of soldiers hacking their blades away at his thick bone armor, hoping to do some sort of damage.
They didn't.
When they finally noticed his gaze, some of them stopped and stared at him in fear, while others swung their swords and axes even faster. He knocked them all away with a swipe of his tail.
In a brief moment of peace, Flameskull surveyed the battlefield. Blood stained the ground, and dragons and humans were fighting left and right. He looked into the sky. It was filled with fire and stone, from dragons shooting at the ground and rocks being propelled from the enemy's catapults. Something caught his eye, and he saw Toothless flying low in the sky. What is he doing? He thought. He's gonna get himself killed!
As he looked on, he saw that the older dragon was flying lower and lower. He squinted his eyes and peered closer, and saw that his tail fin had been shattered. His eyes widened in alarm, and he wasted no time in spreading his wings and kicking off the ground. Some more Imperials appeared, and tried to attack him as he left, but they hit only air. Flameskull turned his head toward them and sprayed a puff of flame at them, before leaving for good.
He quickly made his way over to Toothless, and hovered next to him. "Toothless!" he yelled. "Get on my back!"
He maneuvered himself under the Night Fury, and tried to hold a steady path so Toothless could land on his bony back. But, just as Toothless dropped himself, another massive boulder flew just over their heads. Toothless flipped out of the way, and Hiccup fell off of his back, and the two of them entered a free fall.
"Oh, for Thor's sake," said Flameskull. He folded his wings and dived after them, claws outstretched. He reached Toothless first, and wrapped his claws into the Night Fury's foreleg. As they fell closer to the ground, he reached out and grabbed onto Hiccup's leg. Then, he pulled up.
He thought his arms were going to be ripped out of his sockets. Hiccup wasn't very heavy, but Toothless was. "You… You need to get out more," he said to the Night Fury. "You're heavy."
"Ha. Funny," said Toothless. "Now will you please get me out of this position?"
Flameskull nodded, and with a heave, he swung Toothless up, and felt the smaller dragon's claws catch a grip on his bone armor. The Night Fury pulled himself up, and then looked back down.
With another swing, Flameskull lifted Hiccup up, and Toothless caught the man's arm in his jaws. He pulled him up, and didn't let go until he was safe.
"Thanks," said Hiccup. "Both of you."
"Don't get used to it," said Flameskull.
"Oh, thank Odin," said Blackheart.
Shade shared his relief. He had watched with horror as the catapult had knocked his father, Hiccup, and Flameskull almost out of the sky. He had sped towards them, but with no real hope of reaching them in time; it was only when Flameskull had caught them that he stopped.
He turned back to the battlefield and surveyed the area, searching for something to bomb. He immediately saw another one of his family members in danger; Ashmore. His brother was stranded on the ground, fighting off countless enemies with only Samantha to help. They were doing well at the moment, but he could tell they wouldn't be able to hold all of their attackers off for long.
He looked back up at Blackheart and roared urgently, gesturing towards them. The Viking looked down, and gasped when he saw them. "Let's go help them," he said.
Shade folded his wings and dove to the ground where they were fighting. He landed in between them, and Blackheart slid off and landed on the ground. He drew his sword and slashed out at a soldier, taking him with the element of surprise.
"Blackheart! Shade!" Samantha said. "Boy am I glad to see you guys."
"Miss me, brother?" Shade asked Ashmore.
"You have no idea," Ashmore replied.
The two dragons turned to the coming onslaught, and bared their teeth and claws. They whirled their limbs through the air, drawing blood and sending bodies flying away. Blackheart and Samantha parried and cut, playing their own part in driving the army away.
In one of the few moment's rest Shade got, he looked around and realized that they wouldn't last much longer if they stayed here. They had to retreat. It seemed Blackheart came to the same conclusion, because he yelled, "Guys! We have to retreat, now!"
"No argument here!" Samantha yelled. "Let's go!"
Before they could do anything, however, the ground began to tremble. Blackheart looked around, trying to find the source of the quake, but found nothing. Instead, off in the distance, towards the Imperial camp, he saw a column of smoke. Something was on fire inside the camp.
Was that us? He thought. How did we get back there?
The rumbling grew more intense, and Blackheart was having trouble staying upright. Suddenly, less than twenty feet away, the ground split open, and rocks, snow and rubble flew out. He jumped backwards, dodging the flying pieces, and stayed low.
He looked back, and saw a massive, brown, serpentine body emerge from the ground. Its long, spiny tail followed behind it and whipped about, as the creatures bulbous head opened and fire spewed from it.
"Whispering Death," Blackheart breathed in shock. He didn't think any were left alive.
The creature flung its tail around, and spewed fire, killing soldiers left and right. Blackheart got on his fours and started crawling away from the threat, but the dragon saw him. He felt a whoosh of air on his back, and rolled out of the way just as the spikey tail embedded itself in the ground where he had just been moments before.
He looked up, and saw the tail swinging back down, and rolled out of the way again, just barely avoiding the tail. It swung back around one more time, and was about to hit him, when a black shape flitted over his vision, knocking the tail away.
He sat up, panting, and watched as Shade wrestled the dragon's tail into submission. The whispering death hissed, and lunged its head at Shade, mouth wide open, going for a kill- but stopping at the last minute.
Shade stared into the creature's white, empty eyes, and roared. The Whispering Death held his stare for a moment, before finally seeming to get the message. It roared back, and Shade let it go. It immediately snapped its tail out from underneath the smaller dragon and spun it around behind him, getting ready to leave.
Blackheart sighed in relief…. Then saw Samantha, standing just behind the dragon, in the path of its tail.
"No!" he yelled out. But it was too late. The tail collided with her, and the spikes caught in her armor. Not a moment later did the Whispering Death take off, and drag her into the air.
"Samantha!" he yelled. He saw Ashmore leap after her and try to fly, but he immediately collapsed back to the ground.
"Odin help her," he said.
The Whispering Death snapped its tail again and she was dislodged. She flew through the air and out of sight, landing far away from them in the midst of the battle.
Ashmore roared in panic and fury, and tried to run after her. "No, wait!" said Blackheart. He sprung to his feet just as Shade ran past him, and jumped onto his dragon's back.
Shade ran after Ashmore, and eventually caught up to him. "Brother!" he yelled. "Stop!"
"No!" Ashmore yelled back. He sprung straight through a group of Imperials, knocking them to the ground. "I have to find her!"
"It's too risky!" Shade yelled. He jumped into the air and flapped his wings, eventually catching up to Ashmore and landing on top of him. The Night Fury writhed underneath him, and rolled Shade onto the ground. Blackheart leapt off the dragon's back just in time, and somersaulted out of the fall.
As he stood up and turned around, the two brothers entered a fierce brawl. Ashmore struggled to get free and go after his beloved human, while Shade was desperate to subdue him. All the while, Blackheart yelled for them to stop, while occasionally battling off a soldier. But they ignored him; they were too lost in their own conflict.
Finally, Ashmore gained the upper hand, and pinned Shade to the ground. The smaller dragon struggled, but was unable to get free. "Please, brother," he whispered. "Just listen to me for a minute."
"I'm not listening to anything you have to say!" said Ashmore. "I'm going after her, and there's nothing you can do to stop me!"
Suddenly, with a loud thwack, Ashmore jerked to the side and fell off of Shade's body. An object swung through the air again and collided with Ashmore's head, sending him sprawling to the ground, clutching his head with his paws.
Blackheart stood over him, clutching his sword by the blade, holding the handle in the ready position to swing again if he needed to.
He didn't.
He lowered his sword, and switched to holding the handle again. "For the love of Thor, Ashmore," he said. "You need to get out of here! You're wounded, and you don't stand a chance in this battlefield alone. Not for much longer."
"But…" Ashmore groaned. "But Samantha…"
"It looks like she flew back towards the mountain," said Shade. "There will be rebel troops there. If she's still alive, they'll help her. What you need to do is get to safety!"
Ashmore stared at him for a moment, and then gave in. "Fine," he said. "I'll go."
"There's too many of them out here!" Flameskull yelled. "We've got to push back!" As if to prove his point, the umpteenth mini-wave of Imperials ran towards him.
"Come on, just a bit longer," said Toothless. "We need to make sure the evacuation has been finished."
"Well, I think we've given them enough time, to be honest," said Flameskull. "If we stay out here, we're all going to die. And how would they be without you and Hiccup?"
Toothless was silent for a moment, as Flameskull began tearing at the new group of challengers. Finally, he said, "Fine. Give the order."
"Thank you," the Boneknapper said. He swatted one last soldier away, and then lifted his head into the air, parted his jaws, and as loud as he could, he roared, "RETREEEEEEEEAAAAAAAATTTT!"
When he finished, he repeated the roar two more times, and then looked back at the passengers on his back. Toothless and Hiccup both had doubled over, grasping their ears in pain.
"Sorry about that," he said. I'm a little loud."
He turned back towards the mountain, and spread his wings, ready to fly. Just as he was about to take off, however, Toothless shouted something.
"Wait!"
"What is it?" Flameskull asked. "We don't exactly have much time!"
"Over there," said Toothless. He pointed with a paw to a group of bodies lying on the ground. "The body on top… That's… Samantha…"
Flameskull looked over, and saw that he was right. Samantha's body was lying unmoving on top of the pile of corpses.
"Oh no…" he said. He hadn't known Samantha well; he didn't like to associate with humans. But even he knew that she was okay for an ape, and he was good friends with Ashmore. He couldn't even imagine how his friend would feel when he found out.
"We have to bring her body back," said Toothless solemnly. "For Ashmore."
"Come on," said Flameskull. "We don't have time for this."
"Flameskull, that's an order," said Toothless. "We're bringing her back, whether you like it or not."
"Fine," Flameskull sighed. "I'll go get her." He swept his tail over the ground, tripping up some Imperial soldiers and clearing a pathway to the girl's body. As he stepped over to her, he felt and heard the crunching of bodies beneath him as he stepped over the Imperials. Finally, he reached Samantha's body, and gently scooped it up with a paw.
Hiccup, who had no previous idea of what was happening, saw the body now, and gasped in shock. "Oh no…" he said. "Samantha…"
Quickly, Flameskull noticed a gentle rise and fall in her chest.
"Toothless!" he exclaimed. "She's alive!"
"What?" the Night Fury asked. "Really?"
"Yeah!"
Flameskull reached his foreleg up and dropped her on his back. Toothless caught her with a paw, making sure she didn't slide off.
"Alright, can we leave now?" asked Flameskull.
"Yes," said Toothless. "Yes, we can."
"Thank the gods!" Flameskull exclaimed. He spread his bony wings and took to the air with a great flap. Several Imperials tried to catch him with their swords, but they failed.
Another volley of boulders flew through the air, and Flameskull just barely dodged it. Something was different about this one, though. The arc was higher, as if they were aiming for something else…
He watched as the boulders sailed towards the mountain, and impacted the side with enormous thuds.
"Dear Odin," said Hiccup. "They're trying to collapse the mountain!"
"Go faster," Toothless ordered. "We need to get in there to mount up the defenses.
Flameskull nodded, and flew directly to the nearest opening. The battle was just starting to reach the base of the mountain, as small squadrons of both Imperial and Rebel troops clashed swords and axes below him. He landed, shot a burst of fire at the troops, and then bounded inside.
When he reached the main cave area, he stopped, and Toothless jumped off of his back. He looked around and saw many dragons and humans rushing around, unsure of what to do. "Get to the defenses!" he yelled. Hiccup repeated the command for the humans to hear.
Suddenly, the mountain shook again as the boulders impacted the side once more. "I hope the others make it back soon," said Toothless. "We need all the help we can get in here."
"Come on, Rosco," said Seth. "We can make it."
They were flying through the air, dodging the volleys of boulders that were flying. There seemed to be twice as many now; the appearance of the rogue whispering death was causing their enemies to hasten their attack. Some of the boulders were aimed at the mountain, and others were aimed at the dragons in the air.
Seth and Rosco were almost there, but it seemed like the air was being filled with boulders. The Night Fury flipped and dodged and just barely managed to stay alive in the barrage.
Then, the cave entrance was right beneath them. Rosco flapped his wings and dropped to the ground, landing just as a boulder smashed into the mountain where they had been before.
Seth slid off of him, and turned to run. "Let's go, hurry!" he said.
They ran into the mountain, and got out of the battlefield safely. The tunnel was crowded with retreating soldiers, but they managed to make it to the main room beyond.
"Seth!" he heard a voice yell as soon as they entered. "Rosco!"
Seth turned to see two friends of his; Misael and Silvermoon. The four of them met together and greeted each other happily.
"I'm so glad you two are safe," said Seth. "Do you know where the others are?"
"I don't know…" said Misael. "We saw Shade and Ashmore flying around before, but then they disappeared. I'm not sure if they're already in here, or if they…"
Seth gulped. "Well, let's take a look around then," he said. "I'm sure they're in here somewhere.
"Come on, we're almost there!" Shade yelled. "You can make it, Ashmore!"
The dragons ran, and Blackheart sat on top of Shade's back. The combating armies were starting to retreat, and the battlefield was being cleared to make way for the catapults' onslaught. The Imperial ground troops were refocusing their attention on the whispering death that had appeared. So far, they weren't doing a very good job.
Yet there were still enemies on the field, and every once and a while, Shade and Ashmore had to fight them. They were starting to tire out, and knew they had to reach the entrance soon- or not at all.
They were almost there now. There was only one more group of three Imperials standing in their way. Shade and Ashmore both jumped, and quickly took down one. The third one jumped out of the way, and turned to swing his sword. Blackheart lifted his own to block it. He shoved the opponent back, and sliced his armor open. Shade pounced on him next and tore through his flesh, killing him.
The route to the mountain entrance was clear of enemies. Shade and Ashmore bounded towards it, running as fast as they could, until they finally felt the mountain hang over them.
Here, they stopped briefly to catch their breath.
"Come on… We're almost there…" said Ashmore.
Shade breathed deeply for a few more moments, and then nodded. "Alright, let's go," he said.
They turned, and ran further into the cave.
When they emerged into the main room, all was chaos. Dragons and humans were running left and right, desperately searching for their posts- or, if not that, their friends. Some were also wounded, and were looking for someone to help them. They tried to spot their friends- and Ashmore tried to find Samantha- but it was impossible to find anyone.
"Alright," said Shade. "Let's go find father."
"What about Samantha?" asked Ashmore.
"If she's here, he'll know where she is," Shade answered. "Come on."
"Toothless!" a voice called.
Toothless turned to see Stormfly run up to him. His ears pricked up, and he bounded forward to meet his friend.
"Stormfly," he said. "I can't even tell you how glad I am to see you still alive."
"Same to you," she said. "But we've got bigger issues right now. Our soldiers are doing their jobs; the archers are in place at the windows, and our catapults are shooting those flaming balls at the Imperials. But the mountain can't take much more of this, and the Imperial catapults are still going strong."
"What about that whispering death?" Toothless asked. "Is he still attacking them?"
"It seems he's disappeared," Stormfly replied. "Maybe they killed him, maybe they scared him off. Who knows? He won't be helping us anymore, though."
Toothless sighed. "Is there nothing else we can do?" he asked.
"No," said Stormfly. "We have to leave the mountain now. It's lost, Toothless."
"Fine…" he said. He looked over to Hiccup, where Astrid, his wife, was saying the same thing. Hiccup then turned to look him in the eye, and nodded.
"I'll give the order then," the Night Fury said. He lifted his head, and roared as loudly as he could. "Leave the mountain! Retreat!"
The previously chaotic room became even more crazy, as humans and dragons alike ran into the halls of the mountain, desperate to reach the back entrance. Some stopped to repeat his call, but most of them just kept running.
"Let's go, Toothless," said Hiccup. He started to run, but stopped when he realized his Night Fury wasn't following.
"Toothless?" he asked. "What's wrong?"
"My children…" he said. He looked up at Hiccup. "Do you think they're okay?"
Hiccup understood what he was asking. "I'm sure they're fine," he said. "There's nothing you can do right now, anyway. Now come on!"
Toothless nodded, and jumped down onto the floor with Hiccup. Stormfly and Astrid followed them, and they made their way towards the nearest hallway.
Suddenly, another volley of boulders rocked the mountain. This time, it was accompanied by the sound of cracking and moaning all throughout the cavern. Small pieces of rubble began to fall from the ceiling, as the noise only grew louder.
"Run!" Toothless yelled. "The cave is collapsing!"
No sooner did he say this than a huge mound of dirt fell from the ceiling and hit the ground with a loud thud. More followed, and soon, it was all chaos.
Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid and Stormfly reached the tunnel just as a huge boulder fell and blocked off the entrance. Toothless turned around and looked at it in shock.
"Did…" Stormfly panted. "Did the mountain just collapse?"
Toothless nodded, breathless. "I think so," he said.
Shade pounded his body against the newly-formed wall as hard as he could, trying to get through to his friend and brother. But no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't break through.
"Oh no," he said. "Oh, Odin help me."
The cave-in had cut him off from Ashmore and Blackheart. He had spent the last few minutes trying to get through, but it had all been fruitless. The wall hadn't even been dented.
He paused, and slumped against the dirt wall, panting heavily and wondering what to do next. He looked up, and surveyed the area around him. Rocks and rubble lay everywhere, and the ceiling was significantly lower than it had been before. However, there was still enough room to move around, and a pathway led away from him to the outside.
He slowly stood up, and began to walk towards it. He needed some fresh air to think about what to do next. He hadn't even taken a few steps, however, before a group of shadows appeared in the daylight.
Shade froze, and quickly turned around to retreat further into the mountain. Several feet away, a tunnel entrance was partially uncovered. He ran over to it, and tried to squeeze himself through. He would make it, but he would only just barely fit, and would have to take some time to squeeze himself through.
That turned out to be too much. Before he had even gotten half of his body through, he heard human voices shouting behind him. The Imperials had seen him.
Frantically, he sped up the process, and slipped through the rocks. It was too late, though. The soldiers were hot on his tail, and they were small enough to slip through the hole.
Up ahead was a corner. He turned around it, and crouched on the other side, waiting for the soldiers to catch up so he could take them by surprise. Their footsteps grew closer and closer, and he tensed up, before finally he pounced.
There were five of them. He shot a fireball into their ranks, scattering them apart. Two of them were blown away so quickly that they hit their heads on the rock walls and were knocked out instantly. He buried his claws into the bodies of two remaining soldiers, and killed them quickly afterwards. Only one left.
He whirled around to face the other soldier, only to see that he had already regained his balance, and was pulling something out of his armor. It was an eel. Shade tried to stand his ground, but every instinct he had was screaming at him to back away.
It's just an eel, he thought. Stay focused!
With one swift movement, the soldier tossed it at him. Shade lost control over his body, and wheeled backwards, crashing into the wall and falling to the floor.
A foot stamped onto his body, holding him down. A voice spoke.
"Hello there, Shade," it said. "It's been a while."
Wha…?
He knew that voice. It was impossible for him to forget.
But how…? He's dead! This is impossible!
He looked up, at the helmet-clad head of the soldier standing over him. Although he couldn't see his face, he knew who it was all the same.
The man slowly lifted his sword, and pointed it down at the Night Fury. "Fitting that I'm the one who takes your life," he said. "Don't you think?"
Blackheart ran through the tunnels and hallways as fast as he could. He wasn't even try to escape the mountain; he just wanted to find Shade and Ashmore again.
The three of them had been separated by the cave in. Luckily, a tunnel entrance had remained uncovered in Blackheart's area, and he entered it. He didn't even know if the others were alive, but he didn't think about that- he wasn't going to leave until he knew their fate.
He took another corner, and stopped dead at the sight before him. Shade was lying on the ground, and an Imperial soldier was about to drive a blade through his heart. He quickly unsheathed his sword and charged forward, holding it in the air, getting ready to swing.
The soldier must have heard him coming, because he whirled around and brought his blade to meet Blackheart's. Using this distraction to his advantage, Shade slipped out from underneath the man's foot, stood up, and backed up down the hallway, past another hall. He opened his mouth wide and tried to produce a shot of fire, but he couldn't; he was all out of shots.
"Go, Shade!" Blackheart yelled. "Run while I distract him!"
Shade hesitated, and Blackheart thought he was going to stay anyway. But the moment for a surprise attack had slipped away, and Blackheart saw something on the dragon's face that he never saw in a situation like this; fear. If Shade was afraid of one soldier… than this was something far worse than Blackheart imagined.
Suddenly, the cavern rocked again, and more rocks fell from the ceiling, blocking Shade off from him.
Dear Odin, he thought. Help me.
Blackheart lifted his sword again and tried to strike another blow, only to have it parried once again. It was then that the Imperial finally spoke.
"Hello, Blackheart."
He recognized the voice, and suddenly he knew why Shade had been so afraid. He lowered his sword a bit, and stepped back in shock. "No…" he said.
The Imperial grabbed his helm and removed it from his head, exposing his face and revealing who he truly was.
"Waldorf," said Blackheart.
The face of his once friend-turned-traitor stared back at him. He had aged quite a bit, and he now had a thick, bushy brown beard to go along with his wide moustache, but it was him still the same.
"You… You're alive," he stuttered.
"Yep," said Waldorf, chuckling. "And I feel great. Well, not so great now, seeing as I let your pet get away. But I'll catch up to him, just as soon as I'm done with you. Oh, and by the way, it's General Waldorf now."
He swung his sword again, and Blackheart side-stepped away from it while raising his sword to parry the blow. "But you were dead!" Blackheart yelled. "I saw it with my own eyes! Seth killed you! He stabbed you right in the heart!"
Waldorf tapped his chest just next to the space where his heart was. "Nope. Missed by about a centimeter. It was a good try, though, I'll give him that."
Fury filled Blackheart's chest, and he lashed out, trying to go for a killing blow. Once again, Waldorf blocked him, and tried to form a counter attack, which Blackheart just managed to avoid.
"What do you want from us?" Blackheart demanded. "Why don't you just leave us alone?"
"Well, I have a job to finish!" said Waldorf, as he swung again. The more they tried this, the more they failed; it may have been years since they last met, but they had fought many times together when they were young, and they knew each others' fighting styles too well. They were evenly matched.
"WHY?" Blackheart screamed in a fit of rage. "WHY? ISN'T IT ENOUGH THAT YOU KILLED NICO? ISN'T IT ENOUGH THAT YOU KILLED YOUR OWN DRAGON?!"
"No," said Waldorf. "It will never be enough. Not until you're all dead."
Blackheart snapped then. He saw red, and the only thing he registered was the overpowering desire to bury his sword in Waldorf's flesh. He swung as hard as he could, aiming for the Imperial's head, but before he could hit it, the other man brought up his sword, and the two blades met with a loud clang. Waldorf shoved his sword out of the way, and then brought his own about in an arc, burying it deep in Blackheart's side.
The Viking screamed in agony, and his legs gave out. Waldorf removed the sword, and blood began flowing freely. Blackheart slumped to his legs, and slowly leaned against the wall of the cave. When he could finally speak through the pain, he whispered, "You were… his friend. He trusted you… and you killed him. How… could you?"
"He meant nothing to me," Waldorf replied. "He never did."
"We were your… friends," said Blackheart. "How could you… betray us?"
Waldorf chuckled lightly, and then knelt down, pressing his face right in front of Blackheart's. The wounded Viking tried to reach for his sword, but Waldorf stopped him with a boot on his hand. "Don't you see?" he said. "I never was your friend. I was with them the whole time. They've been around a lot longer than you think. We've always been there, ever since the beginning of the Golden Years, waiting, planning, getting ready to strike. My job was to infiltrate you, so that when the time was right, I could get them inside and exploit your weaknesses. And if that meant pretending to be friends with one of those monsters, then so be it." He pressed his face even closer, and grinned. "So yes, I killed my own dragon, and your dragon's brother. And you know what? I enjoyed every last second of it."
All sorts of emotions flooded Blackheart's mind. Fury, confusion, disgust, grief, even disappointment- and that was just the tip of the iceberg. But he pushed them all away, and asked the only question that mattered to him anymore.
"Why? Why are you doing this?"
Waldorf pulled his head away a bit, and shook his head. "Blackheart, Blackheart…" he sighed. "I wish things didn't have to be like this between us. We could be great partners. Nobody would be able to stand against us! But alas, you've thrown your lot in with them. But what you don't realize, is that they're filthy monsters! They're impure, and they're everything that is wrong with this world. They must be exterminated. That is why I am doing this."
Blackheart was starting to become delirious from blood loss. He knew what Waldorf was saying, but his mind couldn't make any sense of it. "Why…?" he whispered.
Waldorf sighed. "Because it is the will of the gods," he said. He lifted his sword, and readied himself to bring it down and end Blackheart's life.
Like Shade and Blackheart, Ashmore too had found his way into the cave's tunnels. But he was having a much harder time finding his way around. Frantically, he searched every hallway and every room he could find, but he was unable to find even a trace of his friend and brother. He was about to give up and regroup with the others, when he heard something in the distance. A voice was speaking from just around the corner. He could barely hear it over the sound of the mountain groaning around him, but he could hear it just the same. Cautiously, he walked over to the corner and turned around it.
"Because it is the will of the gods," he heard the voice say. He saw the figure it belonged to, and saw that they were holding a sword up to Blackheart. Then, he recognized who it was.
No… he thought. It can't be…
It was Waldorf.
The memories came back to him then. Memories of the village of Berk burning to the ground, and the corpse of his mother staring up at him. The body of his brother, Nico, his face twisted by fear, anguish and betrayal. And then, a fury like none other he'd ever known rose up inside him.
"WALDORF!" he roared. At that moment, he didn't care that Waldorf was such a good swordsman that if he made one wrong move, he would die. All he wanted was revenge. He ran forward, and before Waldorf could move his sword to meet his new foe, Ashmore's teeth had fixed around his right leg, and his fangs were penetrating the skin. Using all of his strength, he whipped Waldorf into the air, sending his sword flying, and brought him smashing to the ground. He tossed him through the air, whipping him about like a rag doll, until finally he'd had enough, and he tossed him at a wall, where he fell to the floor and lay still.
Ashmore turned to Blackheart then, and found him lying still in a puddle of blood. He sniffed the body, and found a gaping wound in his side. That was as far as he looked. It didn't matter to him whether Blackheart was alive or dead; he was getting him out of here. The dragon gripped the man's armor with his teeth and hoisted him onto his back. Once he was secure there, he turned and bounded away, searching for an exit.
Through the mountain's tunnels and hallways he ran. The only thing in his mind was a determination to get out. When they had been building the base, they had built a number of emergency evacuation tunnels all around the mountain's perimeter. Ashmore was heading towards the closest one.
When he finally arrived, he emerged into the air. The battle hadn't yet reached this side of the mountain, yet with the rebels retreating, he knew the Imperials would be here shortly. They had to leave, and fast.
In the distance, he saw the shapes of running humans and dragons, but he ignored them. He wouldn't be able to get to them in time, and even if he did, it wouldn't matter; the army would be scattered anyway. Instead, he focused solely on the task of running straight ahead. He didn't let anything distract him.
Until, that is, he heard his name being called.
"Ashmore!" a voice called from nearby. Ashmore turned his head in the direction of the shout, and saw his friend Misael running down the hillside. He quickly shifted directions, and ran towards the human, scooping him up with his jaws and placing him on his back when he reached him.
"Dear Thor," he said. "What happened to Blackheart?"
Ashmore didn't answer. He just kept running. On his back, Misael began applying first aid.
He finally stopped running when he had completely run out of breath. Then, he stopped, bent over, and began taking deep breaths.
Misael finished attending to Blackheart's wounds and then turned around on Ashmore's back to look at the mountain. For the past few months, it had been their home. It wasn't a permanent home, but it had been a home nonetheless, and nobody had expected to see it go down like this.
"Odin help us," said Misael.
The base was gone, and they were separated from the main rebel army. They had no idea what had happened to their friends, or even if they were still alive. They had survived the battle- but they were now alone.
Well, let me know what you think! It might be a bit before I put up the next chapter, but I will put it up eventually; you have my word. Until then, I bid you adieu.