Confronting Drago
The Bewilderbeast's home was under attack.
Armed men were swarming it and cannons were going off, causing enormous chunks of the spiked ice to shatter and fall.
When Lenora and her family ran outside to see who it was that dared to attack the great Alpha's home, Lenora's worst fears were confirmed when she saw Drago's trademark on the attacking ships and the man himself leading an army of men and dragons into battle against the Bewilderbeast's home.
Val looked devastated and then she became determined as she stormed back inside to don her gear and prepare the Bewilderbeast and other dragons for battle.
"Val," said Stoick, quickly, not liking the look on her face. He grabbed his wife's hand. "Val! It's all right. We're a team now. What do you need us to do?"
"We have to protect the dragons," said Val, fiercely.
"Aye, you've got it! Come on, Lenora, Gobber!" said Stoick.
Lenora nodded and with that, the four of them readied themselves for battle.
As they did this, the battle outside raged on. Dragons from the Bewilderbeast's home defended their nest by breathing their fire-breath and snatching up the armed men in the claws. They also fought Drago's armored dragons in fierce wrestling matches and fought against the nets that were fired at them from Drago's giant crossbows.
"Whatever comes, keep hitting the mountain!" commanded Drago. "We need to draw the Alpha out of hiding! Ready the traps!"
As Drago's men obeyed and continued to try and storm the ice fortress, more dragons descended and attacked them within an inch of their lives. Then Drago's dragon traps were readied. As dragons tried to rescue their fellow beasts trapped inside, they themselves were trapped. But then suddenly, one trap began to spew out Hideous Zippleback gas and then it exploded, freeing the dragons that were inside of it.
Ruffnut and Tuffnut emerged from it, cackling and then the other dragon riders came out of hiding and joined in the battle.
Drago was furious. "WHAT?!"
Somehow, Eret managed to not squeal like a little girl as he struggled to stay on Brightscales's back with Aster's help. But thankfully, it wasn't long before he got the hang of it and became comfortable with flying on the dragon's back.
"You really are full of surprises, old friend," said Aster.
"Thanks, pal," said Eret.
Aster smiled and then resumed leading everyone, as he usually did in Lenora's absence. "Now, let's go! Everyone fire on my command! Three…two…one…now!"
Upon Aster's signal, the dragon riders unleashed all manner of mayhem and destruction upon Drago and his forces. Trapped dragons became freed when Smoke spout out a long stream of gas which Sparks then ignited, causing a great deal of chaos. Firewyrm set Drago's catapults and giant crossbows aflame with relish. Puffskin spout out hot lava at the dragon traps and anything else she could hit. And Brightscales flung her deadly spikes at anything that moved.
"Cut them down!" roared Drago.
Snares were flung at Aster and the others, but they were too quick for the weapons.
"Brightscales, lean left!" said Aster, as they narrowly dodged chunks of ice that were broken from the cannon fire. "Watch out!"
They were nearly hit but then one of Toothless' famous never-ever-misses shots hit the spiky ice and blew it to bits, saving them.
Aster felt a wave of relief as Lenora came into view on Toothless' back along with Stoick and Gobber on their respective dragons along with an impossible rider—Lenora's mother.
There was a sharp whistling sound as Lenora and Toothless did a sharp turn and dive before blasting more of Drago's weapons into splinters. Gobber was there to watch Lenora's back as Bonehead blew blazing hot fire at everything he could see and knocked out several of Drago's men with his heavily armored tail.
"Welcome aboard, dragon rider," said Lenora, to Eret as she flew beside Aster. "Decided to take my advice, I see. Good for you."
Eret blushed and nodded under Lenora's praise.
"Beautiful, glad as I am to see you, I've got to know…where the heck have you been?" asked Aster.
"Oh, you know. Just catching up with Mom,' said Lenora, casually.
Aster glanced up and watched in amazement as the Bewilderbeast came up from behind Val and she commanded the mighty beast and all the other dragons that resided with her.
"Holy crap," he exclaimed. "The stories are true? That's incredible!"
Lenora smiled as she shrugged. "Well, now you know where I get my dramatic flair, Handsome!"
"Great Odin's ghost!" exclaimed Snotlout, who'd gone white as snow. "Aunt Valka's alive?! How?!"
"Long story. Tell you later!" said Lenora, as she rejoined the battle.
The Bewilderbeast did not take kindly to his home being threatened. He let out a mighty roar and then breathed enormous shoots of ice at Drago's men. The battle continued to rage on as Hideous Zipplebacks rolled themselves into balls after igniting their gas, causing gigantic balls of fire that scattered Drago's men and destroyed many of the traps before they themselves were trapped.
"Come on, Toothless, show them what you've got, bud," said Lenora.
"You've got it," said Toothless.
Quickly, Toothless swooped down and fired at the traps containing the Zipplebacks, freeing them.
"Attaboy!" praised Lenora.
Then the battle took a turn for the worst for their side when Cloudjumper was trapped in a net. He collapsed to the ground and Val was knocked off his back. Quickly, Val regained her footing and took a fighting stance as Drago laughed evilly at her.
"I've waited a long time for this!" said Drago.
"You cannot take our dragons!" snarled Val, as she met the blows of his spear with her staff and then kicked him. "They're controlled by the Alpha!"
Drago gave Val a smug look. "Then it's a good thing I brought a challenger!" And with that, Drago roared and waved his spear around.
From up above on Toothless, Lenora gasped in horror as she witnessed a second Bewilderbeast, black and grey with giant shackles on his tusks, emerge from the sea near Drago's boats.
That's the powerful dragon Eret was referring to. Oh, no. If Drago's Bewilderbeast defeated Val's, then there was nothing stopping Drago from stealing the dragons and all would be truly lost. Lenora silently prayed that the white Bewilderbeast would defeat the black one.
"No…no…no!" cried Val, horrified.
"Come on!" commanded Drago, as he turned his back to Val. "Take down the Alpha!"
Val quickly got over her shock and began hitting Drago from behind with her staff. But Drago just knocked her down as easily as one would swat a fly and then Val was pinned beneath Drago's booted heel. Val looked scared as Drago prepared to strike the final blow but then he was knocked several feet away with one swift punch from Stoick.
When Drago rose up from where he'd landed and saw that his attacker had been Stoick, the man he thought he'd killed eight years ago, Drago was furious.
Stoick helped Val to stand.
"Thank you," said Val, with a loving look in her eyes.
Stoick returned the loving gaze. "For you, my dear, anything." Stoick's face became cold and hard as he swung his battle hammer in his hands and prepared to fight Drago. He had an old score to settle with the dragon conqueror. "Val, do you think you can stop the Bewilderbeasts?"
"I can ," said Val. She freed Cloudjumper and got onto his back. "Come on, Cloudjumper!" And with that, they took off to stop the battling Alpha dragons.
Stoick then let out a battle cry and began fighting Drago with everything he had. It was high time Drago paid for what he'd done—to the tribe leaders and their heirs that he'd killed, to the dragons he'd tormented and to Stoick's family for the pain he'd caused.
"You!" growled Drago, as they dueled. "I watched you burn!"
Stoick dodged a blow from Drago and glared. "It takes more than a little fire to kill me! And I'm going to make you pay for what you did to my daughter and ensure that you never again threaten my family!" Stoick began punching and kicking the living daylights out of Drago.
Meanwhile, Val's efforts to stop the Bewilderbeasts from fighting were turning out to be fruitless. And worse still, though the white Bewilderbeast fought bravely and with all his might as they butted heads—quite literally—the black Bewilderbeast got the upper hand. The black Bewilderbeast grabbed at the white Bewilderbeast's throat with his tusks and pinned the white Bewilderbeast down before finally killing it.
Lenora gasped in horror and felt as though the world had ended as she watched the black Bewilderbeast take control of the dragons with one great and powerful roar.
Drago had a smug, satisfied look on his face. "We've won! Now, finish the Stormcutter's rider!"
Not every dragon had been placed under the black Bewilderbeast's control, which allowed Stoick the chance to try and save his wife with the help of Skullcrusher. Cloudjumper's tail was frozen in ice by the black Bewilderbeast and then she was knocked down. Stoick leapt off of Skullcrusher and saved Val's life by catching her and cushioning their fall into a pile of snow. Then the situation worsened when Aster tried to rid the world of Drago once and for all by coming at him from behind with an axe, only to be knocked off Brightscales when the Deadly Nadder was placed under the black Bewilderbeast's control. Aster landed painfully in front of Drago.
As Drago approached the now disarmed Aster with his blade in hand and prepared to end one of the obstacles between Drago and Lenora, Lenora became desperate enough to try her insane plan.
"Stop! Drago, stop!" cried Lenora. Quickly, she concealed her betrothal necklace from Aster beneath her clothes and put on the one from Drago as Toothless landed in front of Aster and she slid off the Night Fury's back. "DRAGO, STOP!"
Drago froze in his tracks and stared at Lenora in stunned disbelief as they looked upon each other for the first time in eight years. "Lenora? Angel Light, my love, can it really be you?"
Lenora nodded. "Yes, it's me, Drago. It's Lenora, your Angel Light."
Drago dropped his spear and then he held Lenora close with his good arm. "I've missed you."
"And I you," lied Lenora. She swallowed painfully as she pulled apart from Drago's embrace and looked into his eyes. "I'm so, sorry. Please, listen. I was wrong to refuse you all those years ago. I know it's no excuse, but Drago, you need to understand, when you made that proposal, I was young and scared. I thought I was in love with another and I wasn't ready for marriage or such great changes in my life. And when we fought, I didn't know what I was doing. I was just a child acting out of fear. But there hasn't been a day that's gone by that I haven't regretted what happened between us or that I haven't wished I could see you again. Please, forgive me."
Lenora's words were both lies and truth. She had regrets over what happened with Drago, and she had been a child afraid and unready for marriage back then, that much was true. But she didn't regret refusing Drago and nor had she ever wished to see him again. She only regretted what her past with Drago had led to and almost cost her and her people.
"I forgave you long ago," said Drago, softly. Then his eyes darkened with anger. "But how can you have betrayed me by becoming engaged to that pathetic worm and siding with dragons after what those devils did to me? How can you have become the great Dragon Master."
"It's complicated, Drago. Please, try to understand," begged Lenora. Actually, it's not complicated, but I doubt you'll understand that. "What I did, what I've become, it was never to hurt you. I did it to help Berk survive. The war between dragons and humans was destroying both sides. I couldn't let it continue. I'm not as strong or as intimidating as you are, this was the only way I knew to protect my people without losing anyone else I cared about. And as for becoming engaged to Aster, well, what other choice did I have? I thought you were dead. You fell into the sea and you never came back for me. How was I supposed to know otherwise?"
Drago's face softened and then he pressed his face into her palm when she placed her hand upon his scarred cheek. She knew that he'd forgiven her and was no longer angry, for which she was glad, for it meant she might still have a chance of ending this peacefully.
"I love you, Drago. Always have and always will," said Lenora, softly as a tear rolled her cheek. It was a miracle she didn't choke as she spoke her lies, for they tasted bitter and she wished the earth would swallow her up then and there for it. But if this was the price she had to pay to stop a war, then she would gladly pay it. "I just didn't realize it until it was too late. Refusing you was my biggest mistake. But we can change that now. We can be husband and wife. I will go with you now and be yours, body and soul, forever. If you still want me, that is."
I can't believe I'm hoping for this, but please say yes! Please! This had to work. Otherwise, Lenora was going to have to resort to a drastic measure that she'd been praying she wouldn't have to take.
"Of course, I still want you, Angel Light," said Drago. He slid an arm around her waist and pulled her in close to him. "That'll never change. Whatever you wish for, I'll grant it."
Lenora felt relieved that Drago believed her and decided to ask for just one thing, but first she needed to know some things. "Then before I make a wish, help me to understand what you're doing. All this loss, all this destruction and for what? To become unstoppable? To rule the world? Drago, I know what dragons did to you, what they cost you, but you need to understand that until Red Death was vanquished, they had no choice in doing what they did. Now that she's gone, there's no need for either side to be dominated. We can live in peace."
Drago softly laughed and shook his head. "No, you're wrong. Peace is never an option."
Oh, crap. Lenora could tell she was losing him and had to act quickly. "Then why a dragon army? Why make them work for you if you despise them so much?"
Drago grinned. "Well, you need dragons to conquer other dragons."
There was truth in Drago's words but also lies, Lenora could tell. "Or maybe you need dragons to conquer people, to control those who follow you and to get rid of those who won't." Just like you did eight years ago when you slaughtered the tribe leaders and their heirs and my father.
Drago squeezed her shoulder affectionately. "You always were a clever girl, Angel Light."
By now, Lenora's heart was pounding so hard she thought it might beat out of her chest and she was trying her hardest not to show her fear.
"Drago, I'm willing to go with you," said Lenora. "I love you. But we can't live like this. I want to live a life with you without so much death and destruction. Please, if your word means anything to you, if I ever meant anything to you, then prove it now by stopping this attack, spare these people and let us leave here in peace. We'll stay away from Berk and never return. And I can show you another way of living with dragons. I'll have no ties to my past. Fulfill this one wish, my love."
The words Lenora spoke felt like splintering chicken bones stuck in her throat, but she said them as it was the only way of making peace. If this worked, if she could leave this place with Drago without further loss and destruction, then Lenora could do what had to be done without risking the wrath of Drago's men and dragons.
For a moment, Lenora thought that Drago might fulfill her request but then a terrifying look that she knew all too well, crossed his face.
"Oh, you shall have no ties to your past and we will leave this place together, but not in the way you expect. If you're to truly be mine, heart and soul, then I must rid this world of him! Now let me show you how to live with dragons, Angel Light!" said Drago. "No dragon can resist the Alpha's command, so he controls the Alpha controls them all! Witness true strength, Lenora, the strength of will over others! In the face of it, this pathetic maggot is nothing while I am everything!"
Drago let out a terrible roar and then the Bewilderbeast let out its siren song. Toothless cried out in pain and thrashed about, trying to fight it before he finally fell under the Bewilderbeast's spell. When Toothless lifted his head up, his pupils were tiny slits and he was no longer in control of his own actions. Toothless then began stalking towards Aster to kill him as Drago grabbed Lenora's arm and began dragging her away.
"NO!" cried Lenora. This is all my fault. This is all my fault. If she'd just done what had to be done, this wouldn't be happening. Now she had a choice, stop Drago or save Aster. Unwilling to let the love of her life die at her best friend's hand, Lenora chose the latter. "ASTER!"
Acting fast, Lenora grabbed her knife and cut Drago's hand, causing him to cry out in pain as he released her. Lenora then ran as fast as she could and then shoved Aster away as Toothless' plasma blast hit her square in the chest and then she fell to the ground and took her last breath.