Viggo Grimborn's camp, Ahch-To - Unknown Regions
Her heart beats heavily in her chest as she walks alongside the man she's been working to meet for weeks now. Now that she's in his presence, having introduced himself in a very cryptic and mysteriously intimidating manner, Heather wasn't quite sure how to react. People like Ryker or her brother, Dagur, were predictable in their own way: at least, she knew how to act and what to say around them to maintain her facade as a Dragon Hunter without much effort.
But around Viggo?
The leader of the Dragons Hunters was another beast entirely when compared with his brother, Ryker. Brains vs brawn. Keeping her intentions as a spy secret from Hiccup, the smartest person she knows, was already nerve-racking enough and it didn't take long before he realized the truth. Already she can tell Viggo is intelligent much like her friend, except he doesn't possess the same kindness that Hiccup does, which makes him far more dangerous.
She'll have to tread very carefully if she wants to have any hope of fooling him.
"My brother's treated you well, I trust?" Viggo addresses her, nothing if not polite.
"You forgave that man," Heather decides to say in reply, thinking back on the moment. "I wasn't expecting that."
Viggo stops and regards her with a cold smile.
"Forgiveness. Not really a sound business practice, now, is it?" he asks in return.
Heather frowns at the question, only to widen her eyes as a sudden scream of agony echoes across the valley. A chill runs down her spine and she swallows the fearful gasp that threatens to burst out.
Viggo carries on as if nothing happened, however, and continues to lead Heather towards the cliff ledge with his hand on her shoulder, his grip gentle yet unrelentingly firm.
"Trust, however, is imperative, Heather," he continues to say. "And, there simply cannot be a traitor among us."
Standing at the very edge of the cliff, Heather stumbles slightly as a small section of rock crumbles beneath her feet. At hearing Viggo's statement her blood then runs cold and she stiffens beneath Viggo's gentle hand, unable to respond.
He knows? H-how?
"A man will never know how far he's willing to go until he steps to the edge and looks down," Viggo comments. "Wouldn't you agree?"
Heather risks glancing back at him, unable to prevent the fear from shining through her eyes.
"Ah, I suppose, metaphorically," she manages to say, and he smiles at her.
The ground beneath her then suddenly gives away and Heather cries out in terror and dismay, sure that she's about to fall to her death; despite all her careful planning and manipulating, everything she's done, she's going to die like this?!
However, before she could fall Viggo catches her with his arm around her waist and pulls her back to safety, away from the cliffside, and Heather gasps in astonishment, at a loss of how to react.
"I've always hated the use of metaphors," Viggo wipes the dust off himself. "Now, down to business. I need your assistance, my dear."
Caught off guard yet again, Heather hesitates to answer at first. She thought for sure that her deception was up, and that he had tried to kill her... yet he saved her? Does he not know the truth? Clinging to the possibility she cautiously responds.
"You do?" she asks.
"Yes. In exposing this wrongdoer who is in our midst," he tells her.
Heather refrains from exhaling in relief, thanking all the gods she knows. He doesn't know!
"Oh, of course," she sighs, crossing her arms and smiling. "Do you have any ideas of who it is?"
"As a matter of fact I do," he nods, his brow creasing in concern. "Over the last few years a few rumors have begun to spread across the Archipelago, whispers of the return of beings who, until now, were thought to exist only in myth and legend. The Jedi."
Heather widens her eyes, not having to act too much in response to his declaration. If she needed any further confirmation that Viggo was aware of Mara's family, this was it.
"The messengers of Asgard?" she asks in surprise.
"Indeed," he confirms. "I understand that you and Dagur have encountered these beings before."
Heather frowns, considering how to reply without giving away too much over her interactions with Mara and, a few years ago, Calder, who apparently was good now according to her friends.
"I- I think so. I wasn't entirely sure at the time," she answers vaguely. "You really think that the Dragon Riders are being helped by Jedi?"
Viggo turns away from her, his hands behind his back, and steps closer to the cliff to look up at the night sky.
"It certainly is a possibility to consider. The myths say that Jedi can influence the minds of those around them. If it's true that gods now walk among us, our spy could be, well, anyone," he states before turning to face her again with a deep frown. "After all, it's been almost ten years since it was reported that a falling star landed on Berk. And of course we all know what rose into the heaven's last year before promptly vanishing."
Heather nods, comparing what he's stated with what she knows to be true, feeling uneasy. How much more could he know?
Maybe she can use this to her advantage though. Differing factions aside, just about everyone on Ahch-To as far as she's aware worship and respect the gods. Given that the myths say the Jedi were messengers of Asgard, any villain would think twice about going against what might seem like the will of the gods.
"If this is the case, that the Jedi are helping the dragon riders... what would that mean about us?" she asks, injecting nervousness into her voice.
"You fear the gods may consider us enemies," Viggo deduces right away.
His gaze is focused on her, completely tense, and she shifts her stance uncomfortably, fearing she may have hinted at too much of her true intentions.
"I can't help but worry," she offers in reply.
Viggo's glare softens and the smile returns to his face, though Heather can't help but feel like it didn't reach his eyes.
"Then allow me to ease your concerns," he tells her calmly. "Dragons are reptiles, after all, much like the great sea serpent Jörmungandr, whom some tales say fathered the race of dragons here on our world. And do you know who is a great enemy of his?"
"Thor," Heather nods her head.
"Indeed. So you see, Heather, if Thor himself considers Jörmungandr and his spawn the enemy..." Viggo trails off in his sentence.
"Then the gods are not against us after all," Heather finishes.
"Thor favors us with every move made against the spawn of Jörmungandr," Viggo declares, smiling.
Heather nods her head and gives a relieved smile that doesn't meet her eyes, her subtle ploy having failed.
"But what would the Jedi be doing then?" she asks him, hoping to learn more.
"Perhaps they have turned against the will of the gods. Or perhaps they aren't Jedi at all, but rather practitioners of dark magic," he speculates, looking up at the sky and sighing before shaking his head. "But alas, I would be a fool if I did not also consider the more practical answer to our problem."
"Which is?" Heather asks.
"My dear brother, I'm afraid," Viggo's expression hardens. "Ryker has always been a bit jealous of the power structure amongst the Dragon Hunters and his role in that hierarchy. That type of ambition can often cloud the mind. And a clouded mind is easy prey for the Jedi."
Heather listens with rapt attention, keeping the smile from her face. It was almost perfect!
"So, you think it's Ryker?" she deduces.
"I'm not entirely certain," he shakes his head in response. "See, your brother claims to know these Dragon Riders well, yet they always seem a step ahead of us. Now, I would never suggest turning on one's own family..."
Heather nods her head in acknowledgement.
"But if Dagur is standing in the way of your, of our success, that is not to be tolerated," she states.
"Couldn't have put it better myself," Viggo smiles at her. "Nor is it tolerable if this wrongdoer is my own flesh and blood. I'm so pleased that we are able to see eye to eye on this, Heather. I was going to ask if I could trust you, but you've made that question unnecessary. Will you see what you can uncover?"
Heather doesn't have to mask the smile that comes to her face and she nods her head eagerly, bringing yet another smile to Viggo.
"Excellent. In the meantime, I'd like you to join me in a most delicate retrieval. But we must keep it to ourselves," he informs her, his expression serious. "Tell me, have you ever encountered a Flightmare?"
"As a matter of fact, I have. And I can even tell you where to find one," Heather states with confidence.
So eager and assured in her position was Heather that she didn't notice the cruel satisfaction which slipped its way into Viggo's smile.
THE NEXT DAY...
Temple Island - Ahch-To
After the Knight Hawk landed and the Jedi disembarked from the ship they made their way up to the steps towards the village and were immediately greeted by a squawking Nadder who came spiraling out of the air towards them.
"Hey girl! Did you miss me?" Mara calls out with a grin.
Zenna squawks and drops down for a landing beside Mara, almost shoving her over when nuzzling her head down for the girl's attention. Mara scoffs and starts scratching the Nadder's neck, causing Zenna to purr in content.
"Spoiled Nadder," she comments.
Ahsoka looks on in amusement and shakes her head.
"She doesn't waste time," she remarks.
"Not at all," Jarik adds in agreement, standing beside her.
They keep going and soon enough spot Cera, Ahsoka's older sister, approaching the family with Talia held up in her arms. Upon spotting them Talia's eyes go wide and she squeals, reaching out to them with chubby arms.
"Mama! Dada! Mawa!" she cries joyously.
Ahsoka grins and moves up to them, snatching the little girl into her arms.
"Hi there, sweetums! How are you?" she taps Talia on the nose and the girl giggles. "Have you been good?"
"Yeah!" Talia rapidly nods her head.
"Did you enjoy your time with auntie Cera?" Ahsoka asks.
Talia sucks on her thumb for a moment then grips Ahsoka a little tighter, pushing her face into her neck.
"Missed you," she mumbles.
Cera watches the interaction with her arms crossed and heaves a dramatic sigh, rolling her eyes, though there was a still a hint of a smile on her face.
"That's an understatement," she scoffs.
"Not so easy handling a kid?" Jarik grins at her.
"Depends on how you look at it," Cera retorts.
Ahsoka lightly pats Talia on the back in fond exasperation.
"Oh Talia..." she sighs.
During the exchange Mara managed to untangle herself from Zenna, who whines in disappointment but follows behind her like a lost puppy, and moves over to join the rest of the family. She blinks her eyes at the sight of Cera before grinning.
"Hey! Hello! I'm going to take a wild guess and assume you're Cera?" she asks quickly.
Cera looks over at her and opens her mouth to respond but Mara beats her too it.
"Cool. Nice to meet you, I'm—" she goes to say.
"Mara, I know," Cera interjects.
Mara's grin falters and she gapes at her before rolling her eyes and gazing pointedly at her parents.
"Oh, okay. Cool. I guess you've heard of me?" she asks Cera.
"A fair bit," the sorceress shrugs, smiling.
Jarik and Ahsoka both catch Mara's accusatory glare and the former raises a brow, crosses his arms
"Don't look at us like that's a bad thing," he says.
"Thanks," Mara makes a face, then turns back to Cera with her hands on her hips. "So I have a lot of questions for you!"
"I'm sure you do, but that'll have to wait for another time," Cera says in apology, and Mara's excitement plummets. "I should be returning to my order."
Mara grumbles quietly to herself but still manages a polite nod to Cera, while Ahsoka takes a step closer to her sister.
"Thank you for taking the time," she expresses her gratitude. "It means a lot to me."
"Of course. Any time," Cera assures her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
The togruta sorceress gives Jarik a nod as well, which he returns, then steps back and turns away from them with her arms raised. Making a circular motion with her hands she conjures a fiery portal in front of her. Mara's eyebrows shoot up into her forehead and she jumps back in astonishment.
"Woah, what the—?" she yelps.
Cera chuckles in amusement and then walks through, after which the portal vanishes without a trace. Mara continues to gape at where the portal was, pointing at it silently and turning between Jarik and Ahsoka multiple times. Talia simply stares wide eyed at where the portal appeared in pure awe and curiosity.
"Don't tell me you guys can make portals too?" Mara squeaks.
"No, it's not a Force power," Jarik waves a hand at her.
"Seriously, you've got to tell me what you guys were up to!" Mara scoffs, glaring at them.
"We will, don't worry," Ahsoka placates her.
Jarik then stifles a noticeable yawn and, suddenly looking more tired than ever. Unable to help herself, Mara also lets out a yawn.
"Can you wait just a little longer, though? I'm exhausted," Jarik grumbles.
Mara wants to argue but she can't help but agree, now feeling exhausting take hold with all the excitement over. Intense mission to Kashyyyk, long traveling time through hyperspace... yeah, she's starting to feel it as well.
"Okay, fair enough," she mumbles in agreement.
Viggo Grimborn's ship, Algae Island - Ahch-To
Heather raced onto the empty deck of Viggo's ship with panicked speed. She gazed wide-eyed at the fireball that erupted at the top of the mountain as a result of flaming boulders hurled by catapalts: catapalts being manned on the many ships Heather had no clue were accompanying her and Viggo. Heather only feels slight relief upon seeing her friends take to the skies on their dragons, unharmed by the initial volley. The creak of footsteps behind her has Heather whirling around to face the leader of the Dragon Hunters.
Viggo stood alone, his entire demeanor calm and uncaring as he held up a small miniature game piece in one hand, inspecting it with dull eyes. Heather's hands ball into fists as she glares at him, cursing his name and her own foolishness in her head.
"You set this whole thing up," she growls at him.
"He's called the imposter. Some call him the traitor," Viggo doesn't acknowledge her words and instead holds the piece out to her. "I thought you should have it. As a parting gift."
Heather glares at him, but all he does is simply smile in return.
"Pity, really. I had hoped you'd be a better adversary. And after we got off to such a smashing start," he grins, taunting her.
Heather scowls and pulls her axe into her hands before charging at him with a furious yell. Before she could strike him with her axe Viggo drops the traitor piece and nimbly avoids her blow. She swings her axe at him several more times, becoming more frustrated each time he dodges her. He moved with such speed and grace she could barely call it a fight; he was taunting her, controlling the duel without even drawing his sword.
After a few more misses Viggo finally ends the fight by grabbing the handle of her axe mid-swing and forcefully ripping it from her grip. Heather staggers on her feet, unbalanced at being disarmed, and Viggo takes the opportunity to pull her towards him with her axe and restrain her with the handle against her chest. Heather growls, struggling to free herself, but despite being physically far weaker than his brother Viggo's strength was still greater than her own.
"How did you know?" Heather demands.
"I knew from the moment I laid eyes on you. You're no Dragon Hunter, my dear," Viggo taunts her.
"And all that talk about the gods favoring you?" she scowls, pushing against the axe handle with no luck. "Do you really believe that?"
Viggo's smile deepens.
"Dear Heather, you've met the Jedi," he states, his voice become more quiet. "Do you consider them to be gods?"
Jedi village, Temple Island - Ahch-To
Having fallen asleep rather early last night, the family of Jedi also woke up a bit earlier in the day themselves, around the break of dawn. The family was currently gathered around the stone table in the courtyard to eat breakfast.
"So..." Mara starts off.
Ahsoka looks up for a brief moment while helping Talia, who was seated in her lap, to eat her food.
"So?" she asks.
"Have you guys talked to the gang yet?" Mara questions.
Talia grabs at the spoon in an effort to snatch the food from it, and Ahsoka lifts it out of reach.
"The gang?" she frowns in confusion.
"No, I don't think we have," Jarik answers.
"Seriously?!" Mara gapes at them.
"It is a pretty big revelation, y'know," he shrugs in response. "Timing is everything, and we have been rather busy lately."
Mara frowns in contemplation but then nods.
"Okay, fair point," she sighs. "Well, when are you going to?"
"I'm not sure," Ahsoka admits, giving Talia another bite. "What do they do these days?"
"Well, before Dad and I left last time they were fighting Dagur and some Dragon Hunters," Mara informs her.
"Crazy doesn't know when to quit, I guess," Jarik scoffs.
Ahsoka looks between them both with a frown.
"Who's Dagur?" she asks.
Mara gapes at her again and Jarik frowns before sighing in realization.
"You don't...?" Mara starts to say, baffled, then grimaces. "Oh... I guess not. Sorry."
Ahsoka offers a faint smile of understanding.
"Looks like someone else has some stories they need to share," she says with a twinkle in her eye.
"Ha ha," Mara deadpans.
Ahsoka chuckles in response and turns back to Talia, only to widen her eyes in horror as the little girl is in the process of stuffing a huge wad of a napkin in her mouth.
"No, Talia, don't eat that!" she exclaims.
She quickly pulls the napkin from Talia's mouth and she cries out in protest, reaching for it with a scowl.
"I want it!" Talia wails.
Ahsoka groans and steps away with the now crying Talia, making an effort to calm her down. From her position close by Zenna lifted her head up in response to the commotion and chirps curiously before laying back down. Mara looks on in bewilderment whereas Jarik simply sighs, mumbling to himself about babies being a hassle.
"Well... I guess I should probably go let them know we're back, at least," Mara breaks the silence.
"That's fine. If you want to tell them about Ahsoka just try and handle it delicately, would you?" Jarik tells her. "It's not everyday that people come back from the dead."
"Alright, I'll keep it in mind," she says in reply.
Viggo Grimborn's ship, Algae Island - Ahch-To
Hiccup stewed in frustration and helplessness while prowling the deck of Viggo's now abandoned ship, for once at a loss of how to react with a plan going so wrong against the Dragon Hunters. After all that effort to keep the Flightmare out of Viggo's hands and also capture Viggo himself, at the end of the day he never even saw the man. Astrid was likewise worried herself over the fate that awaited Heather and the other dragons Viggo had captured.
The sound of wings beating in the air pulled the pair's attention upward and the rest of the gang flies down to meet them on the deck of the ship.
"You guys find anything?" Hiccup asks.
"No, the fog was too thick. They used it as cover and just vanished," Fishlegs replies bitterly.
"We should've just pulled Heather out, Hiccup," Astrid says in dismay. "I knew something like this was..."
Hiccup walks up behind her and places a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Astrid! She wouldn't have come with us," he gently points out.
Tuffnut and Ruffnut both walk up next, still covered in a spray of glowing blue algae.
"It could be worse. We could've brought the Dragon Eye," Tuffnut comments, and Ruffnut elbows him in the gut. "Ow!"
Hiccup looks at them with a suspicious glare.
"How do you know I didn't bring the Dragon Eye?" he questions.
The twins widen their eyes in alarm.
"How did I know you didn't bring the Dragon Eye?" Tuffnut mutters, receiving another round of elbowing. "Ouch!"
Weirded out by their antics, Hiccup nevertheless shrugs it off.
"Yeah. Okay. You're right. I didn't bring it," he admits.
"Thank Thor!" Astrid sighs in relief.
"No kidding. Then Viggo would have had Heather, Windshear, the Flightmare and the Dragon Eye," Snotlout chimes in.
Hiccup grows tense and he widens his eyes in dread, realizing a key detail.
"Which is back on Dragon's Edge completely unguarded," he says in horror.
Dragon's Edge - Ahch-To
After several hours of flight the sun was well up in the sky by now, leveled around mid morning, but Mara and Zenna were in sight of Dragon's Edge. The island appeared as a pale silhouette on the horizon at first, growing larger as they grew closer. At a certain point, however, a frown made its way onto Mara's face.
She first took notice of several ships scattered around the Edge's harbor, though they could've been Berk ships. Mara quickly identified that wasn't the case when she noticed the crest on the sail of the flagship. Even worse, there were dozens of people flocking all over the Edge, people who were clearly not invited.
"You see that, girl?" Mara says, scowling. "That's not cool."
Zenna growls faintly in agreement and the pair shoot forward with a greater burst of speed. Mara takes her lightsaber hilt into her hand and Zenna announces their presence with a loud roar.
"Dragon Rider!" someone cries out.
The invading soldiers scramble around in panic for a few seconds before organizing themselves, a couple of men shouting orders. They rush out with their bows and shields, taking up positions around the base.
Mara pulls Zenna to a stop so they hover above the main group. Mara glares down at them, noting the positions and nocked arrows aimed at her.
"I'll give you gents' one chance to surrender before I start hurting people!" she declares.
Following a second of silence the dragon hunters roar with laughter.
"Consider us frightened, girl!" one of them jeers.
Mara grumbles irritably to herself and rolls her eyes.
"Come on, girl, have a go then! Where's your army?" another one yells.
Mara perks up and grins at them, glancing back with a hopeful, expectant look, though quickly sighs.
"Dang, that would've been perfect timing," she mutters, shaking her head. "Alright, lets do this!"
The Jedi Padawan spurs Zenna into action and the Deadly Nadder swoops down at a group of dragon hunters with a fierce squawk. They release a volley of arrows but Zenna rolls out of the way, Mara using the Force to redirect any she couldn't avoid, and then retaliates with a blast of purple fire. The flames explode amidst the group, sending several hunters sprawling. Another group on the level up above shoot at them, but Mara dismisses the arrows with the Force.
Zenna flaps up in a burst of speed just then to avoid being struck by a flaming boulder which instead crashes into the arena's dome, leaving a dent. Mara grumbles and the pair swoop down towards the offending ship, and Zenna destroyed the catapult with another burst of flame. However, an intense volley of arrows cuts through the air at them and Mara spots them with some alarm.
"Look out, Zenna!" she exclaims.
Mara uses the Force to throw some of the arrows away while Zenna drops down to avoid the rest, only to be immediately met by another hail of arrows. Though they once again manage to avoid most of them, one stray arrow manages to hit Zenna near the bottom of her left foot. The Nadder shrieks in pain and plummets through the air, and Mara cries out in panic.
"Agh! Zenna!" she yells with wide eyes.
Zenna slings her tail out erratically, her spines shooting everywhere with no sense of direction, and the Nadder quickly flaps her wings while squawking and yelping. Thankfully she was able to reach one of the lower cliff ledges on the Edge and crashes into the ground instead of the water, though Mara is thrown from her saddle on the impact. She grunts in pain upon landing but quickly gets back to her feet and rushes over to Zenna, who is sprawled lifelessly on the ground.
"Zenna!" Mara exclaims, dropping beside her. "Oh Force, talk to me girl!"
She looks over the Nadder frantically and spots the arrow protruding from her foot. Mara reaches out and grabs it but then hesitates to pull it out, fearing she might lose a lot of blood if she does.
"Kriff," she growls.
Maybe going solo against large force of Dragon Hunters, in the air and on their own, wasn't the best move.
"Get her, lads!" a Hunter shouts.
Mara whips her head up to see a group of Dragon Hunters rushing over, armed with all manner of weapons as well as a large net. She clenches her teeth in anger and gets up to face them, spotting her lightsaber on the ground close by.
"You guys are done," she states coldly.
"Whatcha gonna do, girl?" one of the hunters taunts her.
In response Mara holds out her hand and calls her lightsaber to her, igniting the brilliant purple blade. The Hunters skid to a sudden halt, gaping in bewilderment at the sight of the weapon, and Mara lunges into action.
Swinging her lightsaber with great speed Mara slices apart the weapons of several Hunters before they could even react and incapacitating them with swift kicks to the head. The others muster themselves and charge with a warcry, but Mara evades their slow, if strong, strikes with ease. One hunter swings his mace at her from behind but Mara ducks underneath it, causing him to hit a fellow hunter instead, and then twirls around with a wide arc of her saber, shouting with fury. The hunter collapses before he could even scream, completely bisected in two, and Mara freezes in place.
She's killed before, it was inevitable whenever she's been in battle against Imperial forces, but something about killing an Ahch-To native feels different somehow. She's startled that she even did it.
Angry yelling breaks Mara out of her thoughts and she backpedals to avoid being struck by an axe. She retaliates with a swift Force push that throws the hunter away and he crashes into two of his companions. Out of the corner of her eye she then spots three hunters ensnaring the limp Zenna with a net, and her vision goes red. Yelling with anger, Mara throws out a powerful Force push in every direction, tossing the hunters away from her, and then dashes at the three netting her dragon. One of the hunters didn't even know how he died as a lightsaber sliced through his torso. The other two whirls around, eyes wide in fright, and Mara furiously throws them screaming into the ocean.
A flash of fire causes Mara to turn as a flaming boulder is sent hurtling through the air in her direction. Gritting her teeth she holds out her hands and the boulder slows to a stop, barely feet away from her. Despite the strain of stopping a large and high velocity object, Mara maintains a firm hold of it for a few seconds, sensing the shock and fear of the hunters, and then throws it back with a roar of her own. The boulder crashes into the side of the ship which shot it, leaving a gaping hole which quickly begins to fill with water.
Heaving deep breaths, Mara turns to face the remaining hunters, who are all staring at her in terror.
"Leave!" she snarls. "NOW!"
The hunters need no further incentive and take off running, scrambling to get away from as if she were a demon. Mara watches them go with narrowed eyes and then catches sight of the fallen hunter. She stiffens, then looks down at the second hunter she killed, feeling uneasy.
"Kriff..." she murmurs, feeling anxious.
She's more than aware of her own temper, but this is on a whole different level. Where did that come from?
Mara shakes her head and sighs, closing her eyes to block out the images for a moment. She'll figure that out later, right now Zenna needs her help.
It didn't take too much longer before the dragon riders returned to the Edge. The first thing they noticed was the obvious sign of it being ransacked; materials and supplies were scattered everywhere, buildings were damaged, and the whole place was just in complete disarray. However, Hiccup also spotted something else he wasn't expecting to see on one of the lower ledges near the water.
"Mara!" he calls out.
He and the rest of the riders angle their descent to land beside the Jedi Padawan, who was sitting in front of an unconscious Zenna. Mara's expression seemed glum and tired, though she did smile a bit when looking up to see the gang's arrival.
"Hey guys," she greets them.
Hiccup and Astrid dismount their dragons first and approach her, prompting Mara to stand up. She surprises the two of them with a sudden hug which they return after a moment of confusion.
"Sorry about the Edge," Mara says.
"What happened?" Astrid asks her.
The rest of the riders dismounted by now and approach them. Ruffnut scowls at Mara and crosses her arms.
"What are you doing here?" she demands.
"Better question, when did you get here?" Snotlout asks right after.
Mara sighs in response.
"Long story, not important right now," she answers.
"Ugh, I hate it when you guys just show up out of nowhere," he growls irritably.
Hiccup frowns in alarm when he sees a bloody bandage wrapped around Zenna's left leg. Upon further inspection he spots a bloodied arrow on the ground beside her; looking around he notices several more destroyed weapons around them.
"Is Zenna okay?" Hiccup asks, approaching the Nadder.
Mara crosses her arms, biting her lip with worry.
"I don't know, she was hit by one of their arrows," she informs him.
Fishlegs walks over to the arrow and picks it up, studying it with a furrowed brow.
"Dragon root arrow," he identifies with disgust.
"Will she be okay?" Mara asks him.
Fishlegs crouches down beside Zenna and inspects the bandage, nodding to himself a few seconds later.
"She will be. Her senses are just overwhelmed by the dragon root," he replies. "She'll be fine once it clears from her bloodstream."
"Dank farrik," Mara exhales in relief. "Thanks, Fishlegs."
"Dank farrik?" Tuffnut frowns, bringing a hand to his chin. "What's that, some kind of concoction of yak dung?"
Snotlout wrinkles his nose.
"Dude, that is disgusting," he scowls.
"What? It's an honest question!" Tuffnut protests.
Mara looks around at the group and then the wrecked appearance of the Edge.
"So... you should probably know that some of those dragon hunter guys were ransacking your base when I got here," she reveals.
"Did you beat the living snot out of them?" Ruffnut asks with a huge grin.
"Oh, yeah, you've got to tell! I need details!" Tuffnut exclaims. "I wish I could've seen your purple stick in action!"
Mara frowns and doesn't immediately answer, hiding the grimace on her face. The corpses of the two hunters she killed weren't visible as she threw them into the water, unsure of what else to do with them. She also didn't care to freak them out with such a brutal scene that she had caused on their own turf.
Hiccup eyes Mara with a worried glance, getting the feeling that she wasn't super comfortable with the topic. He'd have to ask her about it later, see if she's alright, but for now there's bigger things to worry about.
"We were set up," Hiccup says, moving the conversation along for her benefit.
"By who?" Mara then asks.
"Viggo Grimborn," Astrid answers with a scowl.
"He's the leader of the Dragon Hunters," Hiccup elaborates, seeing Mara's confusion.
"Huh," Mara mutters with a slow nod.
"Wow, you've really missed a lot haven't you?" Snotlout remarks, scoffing at her with crossed arms. "That's what happens when you vanish on your little side-quests."
Mara eyes dryly, unamused.
"The universe doesn't revolve around Ahch-To, doofus," she retorts.
"Ugh, yeah it does," Ruffnut frowns. "The sky literally spins."
"That happens on every planet, actually," Fishlegs points out in reminder.
Mara rubs her eyes and groans.
"Force so help me..." she mutters. "Anyways, what did the hunters want? You said you were set up."
"It was the last part of Viggo's plan," Hiccup replies, his expression grim.
"Lead us away from the Edge so the rest of the hunters in the armada can stay behind and come after the Dragon Eye," Snotlout adds.
"How did I not see that?" he scowls in frustration.
Mara lifts a brow in surprise.
"Hold on, am I hearing this right? Viggo outplayed you?" she asks.
"Yes, he did," Hiccup grumbles.
"Really badly, I might add," Tuffnut snickers.
"Yeah, thanks, Tuff, really appreciate that," he responds dryly.
"You remember Heather, right?" Astrid asks Mara, who nods in reply. "Since you've been gone, she's been working with a Dragon Hunters as a spy for us. Somehow, Viggo found out and set a trap for us."
"And he has Heather and Windshear," Fishlegs adds anxiously.
"So things are very intense right now," Mara deduces with a frown, scoffing. "Guess it's a good thing I'm back, then, if it's that bad."
Snotlout quietly makes a face at her, annoyed, but Mara pays him no mind. Maybe that's a tad arrogant, she muses to herself, but it's also true.
"We can definitely use all the help we can get," Astrid says in agreement.
Viggo Grimborn's camp - Ahch-To
Ryker Grimborn marches through the collection of caged dragons in search of one in particular, carrying a bucket full of glowing blue algae in hand. Finding the Flightmare's cage he drops the bucket in front of the dragon, who shrieks and bangs at the cage with terrible fury.
"All right, dragon. Dinner time," he sneers.
The Flightmare continues to growl at him and Ryker glowers at it with contempt, glancing back to see his brother approaching him.
"Deadly brute, he is," Ryker states. "If it was up to me, he'd starve. Keep him weakened."
Viggo shakes his head in response, crouching down in front of the dragon's cage.
"Come now, big brother. This dragon is our guest. His value to us is immeasurable. We must treat him well, keep him happy," Viggo says firmly.
He takes the bucket and pushes it inside the cage, allowing the Flightmare to eat.
"The bigger question is, what to do with our other guest," he continues with a sigh.
"The traitor. Whispering Death tunnels. Drop her in. Watch them tear her to pieces," Ryker suggests, scoffing in amusement. "It could be entertaining for the crew. Boost morale."
Viggo frowns and turns back to him.
"I'm not concerned with entertaining the crew. They must stay sharp," he rebukes him calmly. "It's only a matter of time before Hiccup formulates his parry."
Ryker lifts a brow and frowns, eliciting an exasperated sigh from Viggo.
"Counterattack, big brother. Thank Thor he blessed you with strength of body," he grumbles, and Ryker growls at the insult. "Leave Heather be for now. She will prove useful. Almost as useful as our glowing friend here."
As if sensing the conversation focus back on it, the Flightmare snarls at the two brothers.
"And you're certain that the dragon riders will bring the Jedi?" Ryker questions.
"I'm counting on it," Viggo smiles with confidence.
"Why not just attack their island in full force?" he demands, frowning.
"For the same reason that drove Dagur and his forces away," Viggo responds with a firm glare. "While the girl is young and can be outmaneuvered, but the adults have proven themselves far beyond our ability to fight; I suspect even our buyers in the North would find themselves hard-pressed in a confrontation."
Ryker narrows his eyes, still skeptical, but doesn't bother arguing with Viggo as he continues to emphasize his point.
"So no, big brother, we will not provoke them into open war. It would end only in failure," he states. "But rest assured, I do not intend to fail."
Viggo Grimborn's ship, Algae Island - Ahch-To
Mara decided to join Hiccup and Astrid as they flew back to Algae Island to search Viggo's abandoned ship. Though not quite sure what to look for, Mara nevertheless scours through the different rooms and decks of the dragon hunter vessel, directing Zenna to sniff out any potential clues. Despite the three of them and their dragons looking for something, however, there was little at all for them to find. Astrid growls in frustration while standing back up, having crouched down to look through the bars of a cage.
"We've been through this place before, Hiccup. They took everything when they left," she says.
"Looks like it," Mara nods in agreement.
"You ever notice, Viggo never actually puts himself in danger?" Hiccup paces around with a furrowed brow. "He fights with his intellect. Planning every move, accounting for every scenario."
"Sounds a lot like Thrawn," Mara frowns.
"Exactly," Hiccup nods in agreement. "This guy, he's like nothing we've ever faced before, at least on our planet."
Mara crosses her arms, pondering what she knows of the situation with Viggo for a few moments and comparing it to her previous encounters with the cunning Grand Admiral.
"I know I don't have much of the details, but I'm willing to bet that he knew Heather was a spy for a long time," she theorizes.
"How would he have found out?" Astrid asks in dismay. "We did everything we could to keep her tracks hidden."
"I don't know. Regardless, it's clear that he knew she was the traitor and used that to his advantage," Hiccup sighs, shaking his head. "He used her to manipulate us."
"That's exactly how Thrawn found the rebels on Atollon," Mara adds, making Hiccup pause.
"Just like how Viggo pulled us away from the Edge..." he murmurs anxiously.
Astrid looks between Hiccup and Mara, for once feeling completely useless and unsure of any ideas that could help.
"How are we supposed to fight someone who knows our every move?" she asks them.
"By doing the unexpected. Plus, you still have an advantage on Ahch-To that the rebels didn't have against Thrawn," Mara states.
Hiccup looks up at her curiously, sharing a brief glance with Astrid.
"Like what?" he asks.
"Speed and time. Thrawn could muster the Imperial fleet from anywhere in the galaxy in moments. Viggo doesn't have that kind of power," Mara explains. "Orders, messages, ships especially, take time to be delivered, whereas you guys have dragons."
Hiccup widens his eyes and nods his head with a faint smile.
"Meaning we can respond quicker than them," he deduces. "That'll be huge."
"Since when did you become an expert on warfare, Mara?" Astrid asks with a raised brow.
"My parents are war veterans, y'know," she shrugs in response, grinning. "Besides, I like my carefree attitude."
Astrid rolls her eyes and scoffs in amusement. Suddenly, Toothless snorts rather loudly, getting the trio's attention. Hiccup moves over to see the dragon standing in front of a small box, covered with a piece of cloth, placed in the middle of an open cage.
"What you got there, bud?" Hiccup inquires.
He reaches over to pull the cloth off and lets out a faint gasp. Mara frowns at what was revealed under the cloth, instantly recognizing it to be a game of some kind.
"A board game?" she asks slowly, confused.
"Maces & Talons," Hiccup answers.
"You haven't seen it before?" Astrid asks Mara.
"Guess you've never played it while I've been here," she shrugs.
"Huh, sorry about that," she replies. "But, yeah, it's supposed to test future chiefs on their expertise and decision-making during battle."
While Astrid explained the game to Mara, Hiccup studied the game board with a critical eye. There's three pieces on the board; one on the left, one on the right, and one broken in half in the middle.
"By the gods... it's a message," he murmurs in realization.
"You think Viggo wanted you to see this?" Astrid asks him.
"I think so," he nods, pointing to one of the pieces. "That piece there, that's the Viking King. It's supposed to be me, trying to save the Traitor."
"Who's that, then?" Mara asks, pointing at the opposing piece.
"The Chief of the Marauders. If I had to guess, I'd say Viggo," Hiccup replies, picking up the broken piece in the center. "And this piece? This is the 'Traitor.'"
"Also known as Heather," Astrid states, frowning. "Viggo's challenging you."
"Challenging for what?" Mara asks.
"To play his game in exchange for Heather," Hiccup replies.
"And he broke her piece," Astrid murmurs, becoming tense.
Mara glances between the two vikings with unease, sensing their fear growing. She's almost afraid to ask, but she does so anyways.
"Why would he break Heather's piece?" Mara questions.
"Because the Traitor dies in the end," Hiccup reveals grimly, dropping the two pieces back on the board. "The Traitor always dies."
Jedi village, Temple Island - Ahch-To
A big yawn escapes from little Talia as she lay in her crib, trying to keep awake so she could continue to listen to her mother's song. But sleepiness was slowly but surely winning the battle.
Standing beside the crib, Ahsoka sang a gentle lullaby in togruti, her voice carrying softly around the small hut they were in. She smiles, seeing Talia's eyes start to close, but continues to sing the lullaby until eventually she concludes with the last verse of the song, ending with a long note that fades into silence. Jarik watches quietly at the entrance to the hut, leaning against the doorframe while listening to Ahsoka's song with smile.
"You have a lovely voice," he says once Talia was asleep.
Ahsoka briefly strokes Talia's forehead before she steps back and turns to look at him.
"Surprised?" she asks.
"Maybe a little. But in a good way," he replies.
She smiles, her gaze joyous and yet sorrowful at the same time. Across their Force bond Jarik picks up a faint sense of nostalgia from her.
"It's one of the few songs I remember," Ahsoka murmurs. "Mom would sing it to me."
Jarik ponders the verses she sang, uncertain of their meaning but can recognize the emotion it evokes in Ahsoka, as well as the gentleness with which she sang it.
"It's beautiful," he says.
"You should learn Togruti, Jarik," Ahsoka suggests, smiling at him. "You already know Mando'a."
"Barely enough to pass by," Jarik shrugs in reply. "But you're right, I probably should."
The husband and wife exit Talia's hut and Jarik ponders the song with a curious frown.
"What was the last line in that song?" he asks.
"'Tara sootan koora manera narak.' May the Force bring you home," she says in translation.
Jarik thinks about that and sports a wistful smile.
"Sometimes I forget what it's like to have a home," he remarks quietly. "The Temple was where we grew up, yet it's hard to think of it in that way."
Ahsoka smiles sadly at him but gently grabs his arm, placing her other hand on his cheek.
"We do have a home, Jarik," she tells him. "This is our home."
He looks back at her, sensing her meaning, and smiles in appreciation. The two share a quick kiss and then Ahsoka lays her head on his shoulder. They stand with each other in silence for some time and gaze out at the darkening horizon, the twin suns having dropped out of sight.
Unfortunately the moment wasn't able to last forever, as R5 suddenly came rolling into view with an assortment of anxious beeping.
"Hey, R5, what's wrong?" Jarik asks him, frowning.
R5 beeps urgently in response and Ahsoka furrows her brow while Jarik's eyes widen in panic.
"Oh you gotta be kriffing me," he groans. "Dank farrik!"
He hasn't contacted Admiral Ar'alani.
Viggo Grimborn's camp - Ahch-To
While infiltrating Viggo's base, the group of dragon riders had to bypass a wall of flames created by Typhoomerang dragons. Knowing that there would be a trap waiting for them if they approached the island from the back, Hiccup led the riders through the fiery funnels of the dragon's fire, allowing them to sneak up on the hunters and release the dragons. Following this Hiccup and Toothless quickly flew off in search of Heather and, despite his insistence otherwise, Mara and Zenna elected to follow after him instead.
"Mara, what're you doing?" Hiccup asks when they catch up.
"Take a guess," she replies.
"Look, we have to be careful about this. As unlikely as it may seem, we have to assume Viggo is planning for you—"
"Most likely," Mara agrees, grinning at him. "But something my dad learned from his master is that, sometimes, you just have to spring the trap."
"And if it's meant for you?" he demands.
"Then you'd have little chance evading it on your own," she states.
Hiccup sighs but concedes to her point with a begrudging nod. Suddenly a hail of arrows is sent their way and Hiccup pulls Toothless back with a startled yelp, whereas Mara and Zenna flap higher. Toothless shoots a bolt in retaliation, sending two hunters sprawling.
"Fun," Mara comments.
Hiccup looks further ahead and notices a collection of cages in the distance, one of which was glowing blue.
"Over there!" he calls out. "Let's get a closer look."
They swoop down in the direction of the cages and come in for a landing at the perimeter of the forest. As they dismount, however, both dragons start to hiss and squawk, flapping their wings in an agitated manner.
"What's wrong, bud?" Hiccup asks Toothless.
Mara steadies Zenna with a hand on her snout, but the Nadder still growls and twitches in place. Sensing Zenna's thoughts directs Mara's focus towards a sudden dark presence nearby which makes her cringe.
"There's something here. They can feel it," Mara tells Hiccup, unnerved. "I can feel it too."
Hiccup eyes the dragons and Mara, frowning.
"Can you tell what it is?" he asks her.
"I'm not sure. But it's dark," she replies. "If Heather's here let's get her and get out, quick."
"Alright," Hiccup nods in agreement.
The duo start moving into the camp and the two dragons whine at them in alarm, hesitant to go with them. Despite their insistent, the two dragons wouldn't come any closer.
"Oh, Thor," Hiccup sighs in defeat. "Alright. I'll be right back, Toothless. Don't you worry."
"Same goes for you, Zenna," Mara adds.
The dragons growl at them again but they take off through the camp, bypassing cages full of dragons. At one instance Mara leapt in front of Hiccup with her lightsaber to cut a volley of spines shot by a caged Nadder, and he nods in thanks to her before they continue. Soon they come across the glowing cage they saw from the air and see that the Flightmare is trapped inside, a mechanical muzzle of some sort placed over its head.
"What have they done to you?" Hiccup murmurs in dismay.
"Hiccup," Mara urges him onward.
"I'll be back. I promise," he tells the Flightmare.
They move on, looking through cage after cage, but still find no sign of Heather.
"We'll never find her this way," Hiccup mutters, before grinning. "That's it!"
Mara follows him over to a pulley system, most likely meant to be a catapult, and Hiccup lifts up his shield with the intent of grappling.
"Grab on," Hiccup says, holding his hand out to Mara.
She lifts a brow at him in response and then smiles, the look on her face sending an uneasy chill up his spine.
"Allow me," she replies.
Before he could ask what she meant Mara stretched her arms out and then used the Force to throw Hiccup in the air, making him cry out in surprise. She leaps into the air after him, grinning, and Hiccup manages to focus back on his search for Heather instead of complaining. In the distance ahead of them he spots a cage with something cloaked inside of it, and beside the cage Heather's double-sided axe is stuck in the ground.
"Got her," he murmurs.
Mara uses the Force to soften both of their landings. Hiccup stumbles upon impact, nearly tripping over his feat before Mara steadies him.
"Warn me next time, will ya?" he grumbles.
"I don't get why you're fussing, that was literally your plan anyways," Mara scoffs.
Hiccup rolls his eyes but doesn't argue back and the duo rush over to Heather's cage, where inside a crouched humanoid figure is covered by a cloak. Hiccup wastes no time in breaking the lock with his gronckle iron shield, though as he steps inside Mara pauses in confusion.
"Wait a second..." she mutters.
"Heather, Heather, come on," Hiccup says, not noticing. "We gotta get outta here."
He quickly pulls off the cloak, only to step back in surprise when its not Heather underneath it, but rather a man with dark hair adorned in a black tunic and spiked shoulder pads; sheathed on his back was an intricately crafted sword that glimmered in the moonlight.
"Welcome, Hiccup Haddock," Viggo Grimborn says, pleasantly.
Hiccup gapes at him, baffled, and Mara moves up beside him in anticipation of a sudden attack. Suddenly, emerging from the bushes and foliage all around them are dozens of Dragon Hunters, all armed with crossbows and bows. Mara and Hiccup glance around at the hunters with trepidation and the former hovers a hand over her lightsaber while the latter raises his shield. Hiccup glances at her nervously, both of them acknowledging the fact that Mara's skill and power will likely be their only chance of escaping the ambush.
"Where's Heather?" Hiccup demands angrily.
Viggo calmly gets to his feet and turns to face the two teenagers with a smile.
"Hm. Bad news. She won't be joining us tonight," he says in response before looking at Mara. "And Mara, is it? What a delight it is to finally see the myths come to life."
Mara frowns at him, somewhat cautious.
"Myths?" she inquires.
"Come now, Mara, there's no need to hide what you are amongst those who already know," Viggo states.
She narrows her eyes in response. In him she can sense a man who is absolutely confident in his own knowledge and ability to prevail in any scenario.
Including one where he has to face a Jedi.
Mara decides to enlighten herself and humor him, pulling her lightsaber into her hand and igniting the blade. She points it at him in a threatening manner, though while his eyes widen he gives no other reaction and makes no move to defend himself, neither do his hunters open fire.
"Alright, then start talking, seeing as you know there's no getting past me," Mara firmly states.
Viggo smiles once more and slowly reaches up to draw out his own sword. Mara lifts a brow at him, amused as he takes his sword into his hand. That amusement quickly turns to shock when the gleaming metal of his sword connects with the purple lightsaber. Hiccup gasps, taking a step back, whereas Mara can only gape at the chief of the Dragon Hunters, suddenly reminded of another Ahch-Tonian native who possessed a similar sword.
Viggo slides his sword along Mara's blade, creating a shower of sparks that fly out from the constant contact, and he smirks at her in calm satisfaction.
"Can't I?" he challenges.
Taking advantage of her surprise, Viggo quickly shoves her lightsaber to the side and then kicks Mara in the chest, sending her out of the cage. Hiccup tries to tackle Viggo with his shield, but is likewise shoved back by the stronger man. Mara twirls her lightsaber in hand and scowls, dashing at Viggo as he also moves to attack her.
The two cross blades once more, sending sparks flying, and start to duel each other. Viggo utilizes swift but precise movements with his sword, striking faster than most Vikings could, but Mara was much faster. She parries a strike from him and then twirls underneath his guard, her movement no more than a blur, and disarms the dragon hunter of his weapon before promptly kicks him to the ground.
She's unable to relish in her victory, however, when the dragon hunters all release a hail of arrows from every direction. Mara easily cuts through several with her lightsaber whereas Hiccup uses his shield to defend himself, though not completely as one arrow slips past it and impales his left leg—fortunately the prosthetic, though its broken off by the arrow and Hiccup topples over with a pained cry, losing his shield.
"Hiccup!" Mara cries out in alarm.
Mara jumps defensively in front of Hiccup and slices a few more arrows out of the air. Viggo then gets back up and Mara narrows her eyes at him, reaching out with one hand. Viggo shouts in surprise as he's yanked through the air by the Force in Mara's direction, to which she grabs him by the strap across his torso and holds her lightsaber to his neck. Viggo glances down at it and then up at her with wide eyes, and the dragon hunters yell out in alarm but cease shooting with Viggo in the crossfire.
"Either you let us go, or you're history," Mara threatens him.
Viggo frowns, looking down at the purple blade once more with some unease. After a few moments, however, he chuckles faintly in response.
"You don't threaten, Master Jedi," he smiles at her with confidence. "But if you are indeed genuine then I should inform you that any attempt on my life will result in Heather's becoming history."
Mara glares at him in silence, gritting her teeth in frustration. Nevertheless she lets him go with an unpleasant shove that sends him back.
"A wise move," Viggo states, regaining his footing.
Hiccup grabs his prosthetic leg in dismay, the arrow having damaged the spring and socket which connected the metal to the wood. Mara crouches down to help him stand, her arm around him to offer support, whilst also keeping her lightsaber held out defensively for any further arrow attacks.
"You okay?" she asks him.
"I'll need a new leg," he mutters bitterly.
"Now where were we? Ah, yes," Viggo speaks up after retrieving his sword. "I must say, my friends, that you've far exceeded my expectations. Good on you!"
"So what now, Viggo? You take us prisoner?" Mara demands.
"Why would I imprison someone who could escape any chains made on this world?" Viggo retorts, shaking his head. "As for you, Hiccup, I must say you have proven yourself a worthy adversary. So, as a show of good faith, I'll give you a head start."
Mara and Hiccup frown and share a wary glance with each other.
"Why would you do that?" Hiccup asks suspiciously.
"Because I'm nothing if not a good sport. And if I didn't the game would end here, along with your broken prosthetic," Viggo replies, smiling at them. "And what fun would that be?"
The duo both glare at him suspiciously, but the chief of the dragon hunters only continues to smile at them.
"Be grateful you have Heather as leverage, Viggo," Mara scowls at him.
He doesn't reply, his smile simply widening, and after sharing a look with Hiccup for nonverbal communication they quickly turn and run off as fast as they could, retrieving Hiccup's shield as they did so while Mara deactivates her lightsaber. Without a functioning prosthetic Hiccup hobbles along as fast as he could, grunting in pain from the effort while Mara tries to support him as best as she could, his arm slung across her shoulder.
"Well this is just terrific," Mara scowls. "You weren't joking when you said this guy is a whole different breed."
"I can't believe his sword can block a lightsaber!" Hiccup exclaims. "Just like Calder's!"
"What metal even is that?" she demands.
"Even Calder doesn't know. But it's not gronckle iron, that's for sure," he replies, growling in frustration. "Alright, come on, Hiccup, think! Why would Viggo give us a head start? He knows we have..."
The pair come to a stop when they turn a corner to find the Flightmare standing in front of them, held in place by a pair of dragon hunters.
"...dragons," Hiccup finishes with a sigh.
Mara ignites her lightsaber again and holds it up defensively. Just then both Toothless and Zenna leap out of the trees behind them with fierce roars, spreading their wings and snarling in challenge. The Flightmare growls and thrashes in response, but the hunters maintained a firm hold.
"Thank Thor you guys are okay," Hiccup says in relief.
"There you are," Viggo calls out. "Didn't get as far as I imagined."
They all turn around to see Viggo standing on top of a cage which is covered completely by a large tarp. He gazes down at them with his hands behind his back.
"Game's over, Viggo," Hiccup declares.
Toothless snarls to emphasize his rider's statement and Zenna lowers her head with a snarl, her tail twitching. Viggo shakes his head with a sigh.
"I'm so sorry you feel that way. But if you wish to end this, then I shall make it so," he says, his gaze hardening. "Turn over what you stole from me, what has belonged to my tribe for centuries, and I will give serious thought to letting you and your friends live."
"You're talking about the Dragon Eye," Hiccup realizes.
"Dragon Eye," Viggo replies thoughtfully, his brow lifted. "A fitting name. If you don't mind, I'll use that."
"Did you seriously not have a name for it yourselves?" Mara scoffs. "That's hilarious."
"Maybe to you, it is," he replies, glaring at her now. "But I can promise there won't be any laughter if you choose to withhold it from me."
Mara helps guide Hiccup over to Toothless and he climbs onto the Night Fury's back. No longer needing to support him, Mara moves up with her saber at the ready and Zenna at her side.
"Have it your way, Viggo," Hiccup says. "But don't say we didn't warn you."
Viggo lifts an eyebrow at him and smiles, the sinister look in his eyes suddenly giving even Mara pause.
"Did you?" he replies calmly.
He steps up to the very edge of the cage and then stomps his foot down once, releasing a locking mechanism of some sort beneath the tarp. The cage door then falls open, causing the tarp to flutter, and a bloodcurdling screech comes from within the cage that makes everyone freeze in terror, even the Flightmare.
Mara gasps when the dark side of the Force suddenly rages in her mind, permeating the air. It's the only warning she has before a black Hssiss dragon tears through the tarp in a swift charge out of the cage, headed straight for the Jedi Padawan. Mara cries out in shock but is unable to move fast enough to avoid the Hssiss dragon as it plows into her, snarling and still charging into the forest while dragging Mara with it.
"Mara!" Hiccup shouts in horror.
Zenna screeches in pure panic and flies after rampaging Hssiss dragon, desperate to save her rider. Hiccup spurs Toothless to follow them but before they could do so the dragon hunters open a latch on the Flightmare's muzzle to release a spray of blue mist all over them freezing both Hiccup and Toothless like statues.
Viggo drops down from the cage that held the Hssiss dragon, looking at it briefly with a faint grimace before approaching his adversary with a satisfied smile.
"Impressive, isn't it? The most feared dragon in the world, at my beck and call. To be honest, I expected more from your Jedi friend," Viggo remarks, stopping beside Hiccup. "And you... you and your Night Fury played right into my hands."
Hiccup doesn't respond, frozen in place, and Viggo's gaze falls to his saddlebag. Reaching inside the bag he rummages around for a moment and then pulls out the Dragon Eye. With the device in hand he lifts it up for the Dragon Hunters to see, and they all cheer in triumph. At his signal the group begins to disperse, the two hunters dragging the Flightmare with them, and before departing himself Viggo turns to give Hiccup a few last words.
"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, I've enjoyed our time together. I do truly hope we are able to compete again," he declares.
"Oh kriff oh kriff oh kriff!" Mara yelps frantically.
She's holding onto the Hssiss dragon's head for dear life, trying frantically to not slip off and get trampled whilst also evade its ravenously snapping jaws. Mara grunts as the Hssiss rams into a tree in its effort to dislodge her. Gritting her teeth she slashes the dragon with her lightsaber and it howls in pain, throwing her off right after.
Both dragon and Jedi go toppling to the ground, exiting the forest near a plateau by the island's edge. Mara groans, covered in dirt and feeling several welts over her body that'll surely turn into bruises. She painstakingly pushes herself to her feet and looks around for her lightsaber, having dropped it in the crash. An ear-splitting shriek has Mara whirling around to face the Hssiss dragon. Poison drips from its mouth as it snarls and there's a smoldering cut streaked over its head from where Mara's saber struck.
The Hssiss roars and leaps at Mara and she stumbles back, but before it could strike Zenna swoops out of the air and tackles the dragon with a furious squawk. Mara gasps in surprise as the two dragons grapple with each other viciously on the ground, biting and clawing at one another. Frantically, Mara looks around for her lightsaber and spots it several feet away, quickly calling it back to her with the Force. Zenna then lets out a terrible screech of pain and Mara turns back to see the Hssiss chomping down on her already injured leg, twisting to throw her away right after.
"Zenna!" Mara screams in horror.
The Nadder slams into a boulder with a loud yelp, whimpering in pain, and the Hssiss stalks toward it with a snarl. Growling with anger Mara sprints forward and throws out both hands for a powerful Force push that sends the Hssiss sprawling with a startled roar. Mara leaps into the air with her lightsaber raised, but the Hssiss reacts first by spinning around to smack her away with its tail.
Mara groans, briefly dazed by the impact and feeling a terrible bruise forming in her side. Sensing a warning through the Force she jumps away right as the Hssiss dragon lunged for her, tearing through the ground with its claws. Mara backs up and stands protectively in front of Zenna, her lightsaber raised, and the Hssiss turns to face her.
"Come on you overgrown lizard!" Mara shouts at it.
The Hssiss dragon growls and opens its mouth to reveal a red glow in its throat building in intensity. Mara widens her eyes and holds her saber up to block a stream of red lightning which crackles all around her. She grits her teeth in exertion, skidding back through the dirt a few inches. The dragon soon eases up on its assault, seeing it wasn't working, and tenses up in preparation to charge once more.
Just then a bright burst of white hot flames descends from the sky to hit the Hssiss dragon, and it backs away with a screech of pain. Mara looks up in surprise to see the rest of the dragon riders swooping over to them, the fiery burst having come from Stormfly.
"Mara!" Astrid calls out.
"Is that a Hssiss dragon?!" Fishlegs exclaims frightfully.
"Awesome!" the Twins both shout.
Snotlout and the twins swoop down to unleash their own bursts of fire at the Hssiss dragon, which staggers back and roars at them in frustration. Mara steps forward, anxious to join the assault, but another pained whine from Zenna keeps her back. The Hssiss growls and attempts to charge at the downed dragon once more, but is halted by a shower of spikes shot by Stormfly.
Seeing it's outnumbered the Hssiss dragon gives one final screech and attempts to flee, only for a violet plasma blast to shoot out of the forest and explode against its side. Hiccup and Toothless emerge from the trees, the Night Fury unable to fly without Hiccup's prosthetic but still ready to fight.
"Hiccup! Thank Thor!" Astrid exclaims.
"Come on, bud!" Hiccup urges.
Toothless roars at the Hssiss in challenge and its screeches back, opening its mouth to unleash another stream of red lightning. Hiccup yelps and holds tight to Toothless's saddle as the Night Fury leaps to the side to avoid being hit. The Hssiss dragon keeps going, swinging its head in every direction to ward off the dragon riders with lightning. Seeing an opportunity Mara risks dashing at the Hssiss with her lightsaber poised to strike, but just as she was going to stab it the Hssiss stops the lightning and tackles Mara to the ground, catching her completely off guard.
"Mara!" Hiccup yells in alarm.
The Hssiss snarls and tries to bite Mara's head, but she manages to hold her lightsaber up in time for the dragon to bite on instead. However, the poison secreted from its mouth protects it for the most part and the Hssiss continues to push down, struggling to bite her. Mara yells in fright while struggling to keep the dragon at bay.
"Stupid demon dragon!" Snotlout exclaims, spurring Hookfang up for an attack.
"No, stop!" Hiccup shouts. "You'll hit Mara!"
Mara cries out with a hiss of pain as a drop of poison lands on her shoulder, sizzling against her skin.
"Just shoot!" she screams.
Before anything else could happen the Flightmare shoots out of the caves close by in a frantic charge, spraying blue mist at the first living thing it can see. Both Mara and the Hssiss dragon are its first targets and become frozen in place, the former's eyes wide in shock.
Caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the Flightmare, the riders are slow to react and the Twins, along with Barf and Belch, are hit with a spray of mist themselves and fall to the ground.
"Woah! Where'd the Flightmare come from?!" Astrid shouts in bewilderment.
"Viggo," Hiccup says in realization.
Zenna roars in a mixture of pain and fear for Mara, but is then promptly made next target of the Flightmare's mist. The Flightmare then focuses on Hiccup and Toothless next, snarling at them, and swoops in for an attack. Toothless dashes forward swiftly to avoid the spray of mist.
"We need to get it back on its food trail!" Hiccup shouts.
"On it!" Astrid shouts.
She and Stormfly move forward and shoot a few spikes to discourage the Flightmare from chasing Hiccup and Toothless, and it spins to face them with a shriek. Before it can charge Heather and Windshear swoop in and unleash a few spikes of their own to ward off the Flightmare.
"Heather!" Astrid shouts with a smile.
Working as a group now the dragon riders fire upon the Flightmare; Astrid, Heather, Fishlges, and Snotlout tackle with it in the air, while Hiccup and Toothless provide supporting fire from the ground whenever it gets to close to someone. Eventually, cowering under the constant pressure of the opposing dragons, the Flightmare gives one last shriek before flying away across the ocean.
With the threat seemingly over the riders all give varying signs of relief, though a faint, broken growl quickly reminds them of the Hssiss dragon.
"Mara!" Hiccup exclaims.
The group turn to see the Hssiss dragon starting to twitch, its tail moving first while its claws tremble, though doesn't show any sign of movement. The riders rush to save their friend but Heather arrives first, dismounting Windshear and pulling out her axe. Although she hesitates for a brief moment, she steels her expression and lifts her blade over the Hssiss dragon's head before swinging down with a shout, inflicting a deep gash into its neck.
The Hssiss dragon shrieks in agony, its bodily functions returning much quicker all of sudden, and it smacks Heather away. Windshear roars at the dragon and throws it back in retaliation. However, though the Hssiss tries to stand one more time it soon keels over, the axe still lodged in its neck, and gives one last pitiful whine before falling still.
There's silence for a short while as everyone watches the dead Hssiss dragon, unsure of how to react.
"YEAH! That's what I'm talking about!" Snotlout cries. "I knew you were Snotlout material!"
Heather scowls and rolls her eyes. She then walks over to Mara, who finally starts to regain her movement. Her grip on her lightsaber falters and Heather widens her eyes, dashing over just in time to keep the weapon from slipping out and falling onto Mara.
"Agh! Oh kriff... that's so uncool," Mara groans, and Heather helps her to stand. "Thanks for making sure I... didn't stab myself."
"Don't mention it," Heather smiles in response.
"Is that it? Is it all over?" Fishlegs asks.
"Viggo released the Flightmare," Hiccup says, his expression tight and angry. "He's still in the tunnels somewhere! We have to get him!"
"Hiccup, if he released it, then there's no way Viggo's still down there," Astrid says.
"We can still get him!" he shouts in reply. "We have too!"
"There's nothing more we can do, Hiccup! You know he had this all planned out from start to finish!" she argues back. "He's long gone by now!"
Hiccup clenches his teeth tightly and looks around. The dead Hssiss dragon, the freed Flightmare, Zenna injured... and not a single dragon hunter ship in sight, anywhere on the water, especially not with the fog rolling in. His hands ball into fists, his knuckles turning white.
Viggo got the better of him. Badly. And not just him, but Mara as well. A Jedi.
"AAHHHHHH!" he screams.
Everyone present turns to look at him in shock, having never witnessed Hiccup so full of rage before; even Snotlout was at a loss for words. Toothless whines nervously, glancing up at his friend.
Viggo Grimborn's ship - Ahch-To
Within the cabin of his ship Viggo stood behind his desk, pondering his triumph with the Dragon Eye now back in the possession of his tribe. On the opposite side stood his brother, also gazing down at the Dragon Eye, though he did not share the same enthusiasm.
"Well, at least it's decorative," he scoffs, turning to walk away. "Useless without the key, but decorative, nonetheless."
Viggo watches him go a few steps with narrowed eyes and then slams his fist onto the desk. Right next to him, a caged Terrible Terror squawks in fright and shoots out a reactionary jet of flame that illuminates the Dragon Eye lens. Viggo smiles in satisfaction as a diagram appears on the wall in all its splendor, prompting Ryker to turn around and gape in astonishment.
"Wait, how did you—" he starts to ask.
"When the Dragon Eye was constructed the locking mechanism was given an emergency release; a filament, that could only be burned away by the glow of a Flightmare," Viggo explains, walking over to the map.
Ryker listens to his explanation with surprise and curiosity while Viggo inspects the diagram laid out in front of him. There were several images on display: different types of dragons, but also artifacts. The location of rare metals, such as what he used to forge his sword, and even inscriptions that reference the tools once utilized by the gods long ago. Viggo lifts his hand up to touch the art showcasing a cylindrical object, famous for its use by the being who was sent here by Odin himself: the Prime Jedi.
"Thanks to our ancestors we now possess ancient knowledge that has been lost ever since the gods last walked this realm," he continues to say, smiling. "And we can thank the carelessness of Hiccup Haddock for this victory."
Viggo turns to face his brother with a hard gaze, his hands balling into fists.
"Should the Jedi choose to challenge us, we will amass an armada of dragons unlike anything this world has seen," he declares, his voice calm with conviction.
Jedi village, Temple Island - Ahch-To
Jarik silently cursed to himself and while rushing to the communications hut, having completely forgotten all about it. He rushes to send out a request for a transmission as soon as possible and then anxiously waits for it to be answered, bouncing his leg rapidly and breathing quickly. After what felt like an eternity he finally receives an answer and the blue holographic image of the Chiss Admiral appears on the desk.
Her hands were folded behind her back and her stance was as firm and proper as ever, but he could tell immediately that she was angry. Her hard expression was even more exaggerated, her eyes were narrowed and her lips were pressed into a tightly thin line.
"I would hope you realize just how lucky you are, Jedi," she hisses at him.
Jarik glowers at her but doesn't give a retort. He honestly doesn't even want to know how close she was to exposing Ahch-To to the Empire, given how long it's been since their last communication.
"A lot has happened lately," he replies slowly and carefully. "It's... hard to explain."
Ar'alani scowls at him.
"Enlighten me," she demands.
"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you," he states in rebuttal. "But for the record, I was rather preoccupied with an important mission. I'm sure as an Admiral you understand all too well that missions don't always go according to plan."
"Then you suggest to me that your skills are not as good as I have been led to believe," she sneers, and he growls under his breath. "But whatever you do in your 'spare time' is not my concern. So, to business. Some rather troubling news has reached my attention, which I am not happy to hear about."
Jarik frowns at her.
"Which is?" he asks.
"Mitth'raw'nuruodo. Where is he?" she demands, her voice deadly quiet.
He goes still for a moment, hesitating to respond right away. Thrawn's disappearance at Lothal is something he and Ahsoka knew would happen beforehand—it was part of their plan for Ezra, after all. But if Ar'alani doesn't know where he is...
Something's gone wrong.
"I don't know," he finally answers.
"You don't know?" Ar'alani replies.
"I don't," he repeats, his voice tense.
The Chiss Admiral's eyes seemed to narrow at him even more, and Jarik tenses up in unease.
"Shan, do not take me for a fool," she growls at him.
"I don't know where he is! End of story!" he snaps at her, more insistent than ever.
He knows where Thrawn should be, yet clearly he and Ezra never made it there. Something must have gone wrong; what that is, he doesn't know. But if Ar'alani finds out that he and Ahsoka had anything to do with this... it won't matter what they intended, she will place the blame on them.
That can't happen.
"My sources will guarantee that your daughter, Mara Jade, was onboard the Chimaera shortly before the Admiral went MIA," Ar'alani declares, a cold smile stretching itself very faintly across her face. "If you do not tell me where he is, then I will have no choice but to inform the Galactic Emperor of your whereabouts."
Jarik glares at her and struggles to control his breathing, shutting his eyes to take a deep breath before responding.
"I don't know where he is, Admiral, and neither does my daughter!" he bites out between clenched teeth. "Yes, she was present, but she was not responsible for his disappearance."
"Then what was?" she demands.
He almost sighs in relief at having the opportunity to direct the conversation now.
"Purrgil," he answers.
Ar'alani pauses, her frown deepening. Jarik can see that she was not expecting that answer.
"What?" she asks.
"During the battle, Ezra Bridger came up with a plan to summon a pod of purrgil that attacked Thrawn's fleet," he informs her, calming down. "From what Mara told me, the purrgil latched onto the Chimaera and took it through hyperspace with both Ezra and Thrawn still onboard."
Not a lie whatsoever. Just a faint omission of some details about the origins of that plan. But the purrgil were Ezra's idea.
Ar'alani continues to stare at Jarik, making him a bit nervous again.
"If you don't believe me then I'm sure you can easily find out yourself in whatever way you gather your information," he continues to say.
"And you had absolutely nothing to do this," she adds, glaring at him.
He crosses his arms over his chest and meets her gaze with a stern expression, challenging her now to question him.
"No," he declares.
She purses her lips.
"If you are lying, Jedi..." she threatens.
"I get it," he waves a hand at her and scoffs. "However, you should count yourself fortunate this happened."
Ar'alani scowls at him, showing more frustration now.
"You are testing my patience," she snarls.
"I'm serious," he retorts. "Mara also told me that when she was held captive on the Chimaera, Thrawn came to visit her with a plea for my help. He told her that the Emperor was doubting his loyalty, and if he failed on Lothal then he requested we take him straight to the Chiss Ascendancy."
Ar'alani falls silent, this time more thoughtful and confused than angry, though there was still a good deal of frustration.
"Did he say why the Emperor doubts him?" she inquires.
"I don't think so," he shakes his head.
Ar'alani looks down with a deeply furrowed brow, pondering the information in silence for a long while.
"If that is true, then the Chiss may very well have a new enemy," she murmurs.
"Maybe so," Jarik sighs.
"I must inform the Aristocra of this," Ar'alani then says, looking back at him. "We will speak more another time, Shan."
Before he could respond the transmission is suddenly cut off, bringing an end to their meeting. Jarik glares at where the hologram had vanished, baffled and annoyed, and can't help but kick the wall in frustration.
"I can see why you don't like her," Ahsoka's voice suddenly permeates the room.
Jarik grumbles under his breath and shakes his head.
"If I'm not careful, I'll might just get desensitized to her threats," he scoffs.
He lets out a heavy sigh and releases his frustration into the Force, turning to face Ahsoka as she enters the hut.
"How's Talia?" he asks her.
"Still napping. Thank the Force," she sighs.
Jarik smiles faintly at her, though his eyes shone with concern. He stands up and walks over to her, placing an arm around her.
"If you need to sleep too, I can manage," he offers.
Ahsoka smiles in gratitude but shakes her head, though nevertheless leans into his embrace.
"My sleep can wait. Fighting T'ra was hard, but it didn't take everything out of me," she reassures him.
Jarik rolls his eyes but smiles back at her.
"If you're sure," he replies.
The Realm Eternal - Milky Way galaxy
In a realm of majesty and wonder, shining as a beacon of light to many in the cosmos, few were ever able to appreciate it as much as its gatekeeper. For millennia he's stood guard, keeping the realm and its people safe under his watchful eye. No enemy could enter the realm unseen to him, and few were as loyal to the throne as he was.
From his position he could see across all Nine Realms, seeing every war, conflict, peace time, and joyous moment. Yet while his gaze could only pierce everything within the boundaries of Nine Realms, that did not exclude other worlds whom his people have influenced over the years through myth and legend. Even now his eye is focused on one such realm, one with a striking similarity to Midgard in years past, and yet is not quite the same. As it does not exist as part of the Nine Realms he cannot always see everything, but if he focuses enough that he can indeed find whatever he were to be looking for.
Approaching him from behind came the sound of footsteps, though he knew they were coming long before they stepped foot on the rainbow bridge. He did not react at first to their approach either, as he does not fear him. He does not need too, especially not when he has pledged absolute loyalty to him.
"Heimdall, my old friend," his visitor greets with a kind voice. "I trust that your watch goes well?"
"As always, my King," the Gatekeeper of Asgard replies.
Odin, the Allfather and King of Asgard, allows himself a small smile as he moves to stand at Heimdall's side, staring out into the cosmos himself.
"That is good, then," he remarks. "I take it you have seen something worthy of my attention?"
"Indeed," Heimdall nods in confirmation.
Asgard's gatekeeper then turns to address his king directly, prompting Odin to face him as well.
"The Sun and Moon have returned to Ahch-To."