Chapter 125

Hiccups POV:

Two weeks have passed since I brought an end to the circus run by Jagged Tooth and in the time that has passed so much has happened despite it only being fourteen days. To begin with Jagged Tooth and his men were dealt with by the defenders of the wing but I kept Jagged Tooth's whip as a trophy from this adventure and it now lay rolled up and framed in my trophy room. As for their dragons, they'd all been tended to with their wounds being healed, their stomachs filled and the dragons themselves now fully trained and settled into the nests. The majority of them joined Scardians group while the speed stingers of course joined the speed stinger pack lead by Speedy and Nita who were happy to help integrate them into their new lives. The egg biter and Gobsucker on the other hand joined my dragons in the stables with the eggbiter who was now named Snapper, due to his habbit of snapping at things,moving into the made boulder classes since it had so many rocks for him to chomp on. The Gobsucker who I'd named Blaster, due to his ability to blast opponents from both ends, preferred the room which was built to be more forested and enjoyed napping in the dead leaves. Finding them jobs to do on the island was difficult but once I realized what their abilities were finding them work was easy. Snapper now acted as one of the lead attack dragons of Scardians pack while Blaster served as a trash disposal due to his ability to eat anything with no trouble. Blasters ability was definitely helpful since before I found him I was forced to burn the trash which would stink up the place for a week but now I had the problem with Blasters ability to use the gas he produces from his rear end to help him speed up and take off, now smelling worse than ever.

The dragons we rescued weren't the only new additions to the island however as after much time Oceanica's egg finally hatched into a healthy boy I'd named Arctic. His mother was overjoyed when I brought her new hatchling into the nest to meet her while the hatchling was just as eager to meet his mommy but not before he frosted my hair a few times. Arctic now spent his days swimming around in the waters with Oceanica keeping a close eye on him to make sure he remained safe and there are times I joined him for a swim since he always enjoyed it when we'd play catches in the water. A week later though he was given a new playmate as the orb like egg also hatched to reveal a turtle like dragon that I learnt was known as a 'luminous krayfin' after I checked out the dragon eye. I gave the little guy the name Lumie because of the line of luminescent spots trailing along his body. Along with that he has four short legs, with the back legs ending in a long flipper and front ones ending in long wings while his body is rotund and his head chunky and short-snouted with a hard-grey shell on his back. He also had a lumpy grey shell on his back with a light blue under side that went up to the underside of his head while the rest of his scales were dark blue. To describe him personality, wise the little guy was friendly, playful, energetic and surprisingly intelligent making him the perfect playmate for little Arcticwho was happy to have someone new to play with. Speaking of hatchlings, both me and my ears are happy to say that Bing, Bam and Boom were now full adults and had gotten their grownup voices so they weren't yelling at random making my ears ring.

Besides that, I'd been working on some new designs for automatons and was able to build two new types of automatons that have already proven to be successes. To begin with there's the 'Gathering Chameleon' which as the name implies is designed to look like a chameleon and designed to gather things, was half as thick as my dad's arm and as long as my arm counting the tail but not counting the tail its only long as my forearm. Their outer shell was bronze in color and made of gronkle iron and bronze mixed together by fusion ore with the second lair in the shell being cranks allowing it to bend its body and tail while the joints in the legs were balls allowing it to easily move them around. The feet like a normal chameleon had three toes each with threads from my arm weaved together allowing the toes to bend with a small piece of latch stone imbedded into the bottom of the toes for easier grip onto things when climbing. The eyes were balls of gronkle iron that could spin around in different directions with a single ball of peer stone no bigger than a pebble in the center of each eye to allow the automaton to see and so I could see what it sees. In order to collect samples, I'd forged a long thin pipe out of gronkle iron to form the chameleons' tongue that it's able to extend with a four fingered claw at the end with each claw having a single joint in the middle allowing the fingers to collapse in on each other forming an arrow head. The tongues claws are then able to rapidly rotate forming a drill that it's able to use to drill into trees, vines, large plant stalks or bee hives.

Inside the automaton is a single life stone in the chest allowing it to function with the orders to gather samples and bring them back to me when needed. Besides the life stone there is a total of twelve cylindrical containers in two circles of six with one above the other made of flexible glass with gronkle iron caps that had small holes in the top that can be pushed open and close when there's no pressure on them due to a small spring beneath them. The pipe that makes up the tongue goes down the middle of the body between the containers stopping just above them but can extend to reach the lower ones. When the chameleon begins harvesting samples using its tongue one of these containers is pushed underneath the pipe that would push through the small hole and load up the container with the sample. Along with sap the automaton can also harvest pollen, seeds and when there's a bee hive nearby the honey within it. When it returns to me it climbs up a small stand with two sticks pointing forward at its sides so it could hold onto it with its hands exposing its underbelly. The chest then opens up and pushes the containers with the samples out one by one allowing me to take them and replace them with empty containers. After the first test run I was satisfied with the results and knew it would come in handy in the future since I know more than a few healers who use the samples I took from trees in their healing potions.

After the 'Gathering Chameleon' there's the fish scout which is a fish automaton I designed to scout out sunken ships for any threats or treasures so I didn't waste my time or risk my life on empty ship wrecks and had named them 'fish scouts'. To describe them as expected they looked like a fish in form with an outer shell made of depths sapphire and bronze mixed together using fusion ore with the flaps of their fins made out of water proof leather and the joints the same material as the body. The eyes were made form peer stones shaped into small orbs allowing me to see what the automaton sees when it's in a ship wreck. Inside its mouth is a glow stone allowing it to shine light on dark areas using the mirrors places around the stone so the light would shine a bit brighter. To describe its body though it was the size of a regular fish with small curve patterns on its side with a small button that would push the side up revealing the life stone in it. I'd given it a test run on a sunken ship Kal found when I was out with Tephra on a trip to run tests on the automaton. I was able to sit down in my submersible ship and look out the window as my automaton swam into the ship while I saw through its eyes what the ship held and ended up finding the automaton to be a success and a few chests of gold. It was because of this automaton that I made a modification to my submersible ships' domestic room. I made slots like the ones I used to collect the treasures in the storage hold that could be pulled in or pushed out leading outside into the ocean. The difference was these ones were the size of a terrible terror instead of a gronkel and are to allow me to release the automatons into the ocean to explore ship wrecks. I intended to make larger automatons in the future but I wanted to make sure I really had creating and controlling them down before I did anything else in case I lose control.

Other than that things have been pretty peaceful for me and I was able to get a few nights of nothing but peaceful sleep and taking flights with Toothless for fun like old times. It wasn't all good though since when I first got back I had to explain things to my parents who were not too happy hearing I got myself pulled into another adventure but they were happy to hear it was nothing supernatural. Along with this my mother was happy to find out I'd rescued some new dragons from a life of abuse and eventual execution at the hands of those who abused them. At least the dragons were safe and gave my mom something to keep her busy since she needed to tend to them which kept her from driving me crazy with what seemed to be a never ending scolding. My dad on the other hand was all too happy to pick up the slack on it and kept yelling at me telling me how I was meant to be taking time off from fighting enemies and just relax a bit.

Presently I was with Toothless walking through the bazaar that opened yesterday with everyone enjoying the various carts and stalls of traders who were all eager to sell their stuff to those who came to check out the goods. I was wearing my regular armor with bull flame boots to help me speed up to any problem and my spider pack to carry anything that caught my eye. I also carried my god made weapons in my prosthetic arm just to be safe since you never know what might happen at these things. This time it was not just Berkians though as I invited the Outcasts, Berserkers and the Defenders of the wing after my last trip and they were all eager to see what they could buy. There really wasn't that much in the bazaar that caught my eye since the things being sold were things I didn't want or need but that didn't stop the vendors from trying to get me to buy some of their items since they all knew how wealthy I was. Despite that with my wealth I could buy anything I wanted I preferred to save my fortune for a rainy day when I'd truly need it to pay off some ransom to save someone, help those in need; fund my inventions and other things. There was one thing at the bazaar that I wanted though and that was my favorite snack from Arabia, sugared dates which I now carried a bag of in my left arm as I wondered the bazaar with Toothless at my side keeping an eye out for trouble. It was then I heard someone yelling my name in panic from behind me. I turned to see none other than one of the guards from the palace running at me full speed with a look of fear on his face making me worry about what was going on. I ran up to meet him as he stopped and panted before I asked.

"What's wrong?"

"The city is being attacked by strange beings of stone and plants." He took another breath. "The cities guards are having a difficult time fighting them off so the sultan sent me to come and ask you for your help." I nodded and smiled.

"Good thing I carry my god made weapons to the Bazaar incase fights break out between customers and merchants." I mounted Toothless and offered my hand to the guard. "Hop on and I'll drop you off at the palace." He nodded and took my hand as I turned to my parents who were running up to see what was happening. "Long story short, some friends of mine are in major trouble back in Arabia and I need to go help them." They nodded as my father said.

"Just be careful son." I nodded before we took off into the air and through the archto Arabia.

At the speed Toothless flew it didn't take us long to reach the palace where I saw the guards standing ready at the front gates ready to hold back the invading forces. We flew right into the palace throne room with the guard holding onto me from behind while the Sultan looked up at me in shock as we came to land before him. His shock quickly turned to joy as he stood up from his throne before he said.

"Hiccup Haddock it is so good to see you at this time of great crisis." I dismounted Toothless, as did the guard before I said.

"It's good to see you to your highness but I'm afraid we'll have skip the formalities." He nodded.

"Indeed as I did not ask that you come here for a friendly chat."

"I know, the guard told me that the city is under attack by some kind of monsters that the guards are having trouble fighting." He nodded.

"I had to have my children and their spouses hide in the secret bunkers for their own safety." I raised an eyebrow.

"This palace has a bunker?"

"It is not a well known thing and is only used if the city comes under attack." I nodded.

"We'll have to go over this another time since for now I need information on the attacking enemies."

"They attacked this morning from the front of the city, out of nowhere with no warning and my guards have been fighting them back ever since." I nodded.

"The guard you sent told me these attackers are creatures made of stone and plants." He nodded.

"Indeed they are creatures that seem to be made of rock that is held together with vines and other such plants."

"Where are they now?"

"From what I was last told three minutes before you arrived they'd just entered the city." I nodded before mounting Toothless.

"I'll do everything I can to deal with them and protect the people of the city." He nodded.

"Thank you Hiccup and be careful."

I noddedbefore we took off out of the balcony door into the city were the screams of people echoed through the roads as people ran from the front of the city. I urged Toothless to fly faster before any more damage could be done to the city or any harm could be done to the people. When we reached the front of the city where the battle was taking place I was horrified to see multiple guards either lying on the ground or up against walls bleeding from places. The guards who were still standing were barely holding the enemy back and by barely I mean they looked ready to succumb to the strength of the enemy at any second. As for the enemy they looked like stone beings that took on the body shape of a person with a faceless heads that were made from large stones, torsos that were made from rectangular boulders, two arms and two legs both made from rectangular stones with round stones like the heads, all held together by vines and they were all two feet taller than my father. I knew before I did anything I'd have to get those men out of there but before I could think of something I saw one of them about to bring its stone arms down on two guards with one trying to get his comrade out of the way of the strike. Seeing this I quickly released my Storm cutter axe and threw it right at the body of the beast nailing it in what would be the chest sending it flying back into some of the others before my axe rapidly spun as it returned to me cutting off the head of four more of the beasts. All fighting came to a stop as I landed behind the guards while catching my axe as I yelled out.

"GET THE WOUNDED AND UNCONSCIOUS OUT OF HERE!" I then had my axe return into my prosthetic as it took its 'Dragon's claw form'. "I'LL BUY YOU AS MUCH TIME AS I CAN!" I quickly dismounted Toothless. "Help them evacuate the injured bud." He crooned in concern. "I'll be fine, just get them out of here." He growled and nodded before running over to some of the men who were picking up the unconscious as I turned back to the enemy that had begun walking again. "Time to deal with you lot." I released my Anubis khopesh, which seemed to be the best option since I didn't know if these things could reform and with my khopesh then they'd at least turn to sand and with this knowledge in mind I charged at them to begin fighting to protect the city and buy the guards some time.

Nobodies POV:

Hiccup charged at the beings of stone and plants with his khopesh at the ready as one swung its arm at him but Hiccup jumped to the side avoiding the blow. He took the opportunity to bring the blade of his khopesh down on the elbow cutting into it as if it were nothing and turning the stone that formed it into dust. With the stone no longer there the end of the arm fell to the ground severed from the body as the being pulled its arm back up leaving an opening to its leg that gave Hiccup the chance to jump at and slice into the bottom joint. As soon as the blade cut into it the stone turned to dust making the body fall to the ground with the head shattering into pieces when it struck the hard ground. Hiccup smiled at his downed opponent only to be brought out of his thoughts by the ground shaking as three more charged at him but he didn't panic and instead switched his khopesh into his left hand freeing his prosthetic. He raised his prosthetic hand as he swung it in a downward slash while releasing the threads and twisting and pulling his hand in ways to manipulate the threads so they wrapped around the heads and legs of the beings. When they were fully wrapped up Hiccup pulled his prosthetic back making the threads tighten and cutting into the heads and legs causing the beings to fall to the ground with their heads being cut up.

Hiccup didn't get to enjoy this little victory for long four more of the beings charged at him from all sides but this time he stabbed his khopesh into the ground making the ground turn to quicksand. The beings charging at him along with a few others immediately began to sink into the ground struggling to either try and escape the quicksand or reach Hiccup who just stood there smiling as he took note of the remaining beings that stopped at the edge of the quicksand. Despite the amount of them he'd taken down with this attack and his first attack using his axe there were still quite a few of them still standing and waiting for the quicksand to vanish. Hiccup released his spirit bow and reached back towards his spider pack that pushed out a forest arrow, which Hiccup quickly loaded and aimed at one of the beings. He let the arrow fly nailing it right in the chest before the roots sprouted from it and began spreading around its body or digging into the stone destroying it by crushing the stones that made up its body while Hiccup loaded up an earth arrow and letting it fly at another one of the beings. The arrow struck the being in the chest shattering it on contact as Hiccup noticed the beings that were caught in his quicksand trap had fully sunk in. Seeing this Hiccup folded his bow up and pulled out his khopesh blade to begin attacking them head on again.

Hiccup charged across the ground at the nearest one and then dropped to his knees sliding between its legs as he held his khopesh up cutting into the torso as the being tried to grab him. The torso turned to sand before the head and arms fell to the ground shattering on impact against the ground as Hiccup stood back up. One of the beings swung its arm down on him but Hiccup unfolded his eagle shield blocking the blow and sending out a shockwave throwing the being back into one behind it destroying them both. With them dealt with Hiccup switched out his Anubis khopesh for his crystal spear and held it at the ready to face off against the next opponent that he could target. This didn't take long as another one of the stone beings ran at Hiccup who quickly slammed his spear into the ground making it open up with the being falling right in before the ground sealed up crushing the being. Hiccup then turned to face another one of the beings that tried to attack him from behind and stabbed the crystal end of his spear into its torso right before crystals burst from its body making it crumble. Hiccup then turned around swinging the crystal end at another being that tried to get the jump on him scratching its torso before crystals sprouted from the body ending the being. Hiccup looked around for any remaining enemies only to see there were none left making Hiccup let out a sigh of relief as he said.

"Looks like I got them all." He then turned to the city and smiled seeing there wasn't that much damage done to the city. "Well at least there wasn't that much damage done to the area." It was then he remembered the injured guards I saw. "I hope the men will be alright." He then began walking down the street towards the palace to discuss things with the Sultan.

Nightfall

Hiccups POV:

I was out on my room's balcony looking out at the city while going over today's events after we got the greetings and how've you been out of the way when I got back to the palace after taking on those strange beings. I was happy to learn that none of the guards were killed but they were badly injured and needed time to recover from the battle. Once I was assured they were being taken care of I was able to discuss things with not only the royals but also the generals and mystics as to what those things were. After I answered the questions about my fights with those strange stone things we entered a discussion about what to do should the creatures return before some of the guards brought in a stone piece of one of the creatures that had a marking on it. Instead of answering things though the marking on the stone just brought up more questions since it was the mark of a neighboring city that's supposed to be close ally.

I questioned the sultan about this sudden attack and if he and the ruler had any negative feelings towards each other but he just told me they'd been friends for years and had just renewed their peace agreement four months ago. When he told me this I asked him if he'd noticed anything off about his companion but he told me that his friend was the same kindhearted and jolly man he'd always been. Strangely the letters they exchanged stopped two months ago with the messenger he sent didn't return but he assumed it was the work of desert bandits. I knew with this attack there had to be more to it with some sort of dark forces at work but it was then a voice from behind me said.

"It is good to see you again Hiccup Haddock." I immediately recognized the voice and turned around as I said.

"Hello Shesha." I looked at the naga who looked exactly as she did when we first met. (AN: Check chapter 55 if you don't remember.) "And what brings the alpha of the nagas up to the surface?"

"I have come to speak with you about those creatures that you defeated earlier today."

"Do you know what they were?" She nodded.

"They were sentinels being controlled by a human queen who stole from us naga."

"And you want me to get what she stole from your people and return it to you." She shook her head.

"No, what she stole was a single rose from my own personal garden which holds nothing but magical plants that when picked must be used quickly for they die within days of being picked so it has more than likely been used by now."

"What's this rose capable of?"

"This rose is a rose of forgetfulness making anyone who smells it not only suffer amnesia but also become extremely suggestible for the first few minutes meaning they shall believe anything they are told for example if I used it on you and then told you that I am your wife and Toothless was the enemy you'd instantly believe me." I nodded.

"Any ideas on what this rose can be used for?"

"There is a great deal of potions that it is a key ingredient in." I nodded. "I warn you of this because of all you have done for not only this land but this world and do not wish to see you fall to some cruel fate." I nodded.

"Thank you Shesha but do you have any information on this thief."

"Only that they know powerful magic concerning nature and that they were the ones behind the attack on this city." I nodded. "Be careful with this enemy Hiccup for there is no telling what they are capable of."

"Thank you Shesha and don't worry I will be careful." She just nodded before slithering back into the room and disappearing as I turned back to the city. "Whoever or whatever this threat is I will find it and I will bring an end to it."

Unknown location

Nobodies POV:

Miles away from the city where Hiccup resided was a neighboring city where the stone beings were created and had come from. This city once loud with the life of its citizens walking through its streets now supported a new form of life taking the form of different species of plants. Different forms of plant life completely covered not only the streets but also the buildings as well leaving very few spots where the stone beneath it could be seen but the majority of these plants may have been beautiful but they were also dangerous for different reasons. Patrolling these streets were the same creatures made from stone and plant life that Hiccup Haddock had fought in defense of the city and its people searching for anyone who was able to escape their creators grasp from when they first took the city.

At the far end of the city looking over it all was the palace that was now covered in green plants and was now the residence of the one in control of the beings patrolling the city. The halls and rooms of the palace were like the outside only with a lighter shade of green with flower pods on the ceilings and wall that glowed various colors such as pink, yellow or purple with these pods providing light for the palace. It was in one of the rooms that once served as a room where guests could be entertained by dancers that the ruler now resided. The room looked like the outside of the of the palace with the walls covered in some sort of bright green moss with the glowing flower bulbs except there was furniture laying on the ground. This furniture consisted of a couch that was built into the wall and gave the appearance of being made of soft moss and a wooden table with a light green hookah resting on with the top of the hookah resembling a blooming lily. As for the table one side pointed to the door and the other pointed to a large window with shutters that were framed with red flowers growing from a vine while the couch faced a large mirror that showed the image of Hiccup Haddock. This mirror was like Akuhei used to spy on Hiccup except it took up the whole wall and its viewer didn't wish to harm Hiccup as Akuhei did. The viewer was also not only the only resident in the room but also the one responsible for the cities current condition.

This person was a woman by the name Hadasa who at this point was lounging on the couch with her head in her right hand and her left hand holding a pipe from the hookah. As for what she wearing, she wore a light green pantaloons with a matching belly dancer top exposing her slender form and stomach with golden headband lowering an emerald onto her forehead while he hair was tied back into a ponytail with different flowers placed in it. She'd just heard what Hiccup had said about bringing an end to the threat and giggled before she said.

"That is where you are wrong my mighty warrior." She took a sip from the pipe of the hookah before pulling it out. "You shall not succeed in this battle and for the minute you step into my city, you shall belong to me and shall help me turn this wasteland into a paradise as my loyal general." She then giggled. "and my adoring lover." She then took another sip from the pipe. "Don't worry Hiccup, I shall be sure to treat you the way a man like you truly deserves to be treated and you'll enjoy every moment of it once you fully accept your place at my side but I know you'll have trouble doing so." She then smiled. "But that's why I stole from the naga's to get a little something to help you accept what shall be your new position in life." She then stood up, placing the pipe on the table before walking up to the mirror that had now zoomed in on Hiccup before she caressed his face. "Rest well beloved for tomorrow we shall meet and our new lives shall begin." With that said she left the room.

Afternoon the next day

Hiccups POV:

Toothless and I were up in the air flying over the Arabian desert ready to take on whatever was controlling the creatures with our only lead being the symbol on the stone of one of those creatures I fought. I was armed with both all of my god made weapons in my prosthetic or in the case of my eagle shield and lion gauntlets, on my left arm while I wore my demon made weapons or kept in my spider pack. We'd left this morning after breakfast and had been flying non-stop ever since hoping to get this threat taken care of sooner rather than later since if we took too long then there's no telling what could happen. It was then Toothless let out a growl bringing me out of my thoughts as I looked ahead at what he was growling at only to see something green in the distance, which was odd since this was a desert so the only type of green should be in an oasis. I activated my eagle eye to get better look only to see a city completely covered in plant life, which was beyond strange since as I said before, this is a desert and the only type of green should be in an oasis. I knew this was the place we were heading for and gave Toothless a pat on the neck as I said.

"We're almost there bud and remember, we've got to keep our guard up since there's no telling what's waiting for us in that city."

He growled and nodded before we flew at the city at full speed making it there in five minutes flat before landing just inside the city past the walls and what we saw was a sight that I found both worrying and beautiful. The entire city was covered in plant life with hardly any space between the greenery with the walls of the buildings being covered in vines, flowers or moss. I admit the sight was beautiful but I knew there was some sort of threat behind this so we needed to keep our guard up as we made our way into the city with me taking out Pirus and Ventus from my spider pack incase I needed to do some gardening in this city. We walked for ten minutes encountering no threats though I did have to admit that this place was a truly beautiful sight and when it was destroyed it will make me feel a bit bad. The strange thing was that there was no trace of any humans or animals in the city, not a piece of clothing, foot print or body to be seen but this just made me all the more worried about the people of this city. It was then we entered a large empty area, which I knew to be the town square but now it reeked of plants and an ambush so I kept my guard up. When we reached the center of the area the sound of rocks cracking and vines snapping echoed through the area as four moss covered piles stood up to reveal the same creatures that I fought yesterday except they were covered in moss. I sighed as Toothless growled and got into battle position as I said.

"An ambush, so predictable." I then readied my weapons. "Let's get this over with."

With that said they charged at us but I turned to the closest one and swung Ventus in a downward slash cutting the torso in two going sideways from the left shoulder to the bottom right corner. The beings body crumbled as I watched Toothless fire plasma blast nailing another one in the head destroying it while making the body fall to the ground lifelessly leaving only two still charging at us as Toothless prepared another plasma blast. Before he could fire it though I held Pirus in front of his face signaling him to hold his fire making him close his mouth as the stone beings continued their charge. I ran at them and dropped to my knees sliding across the moss covered ground with the swords held out until I swung them forward into the legs of the beings when I slid between them making them fall into each other and shatter. I stood back up and turned to the beings that were now a pile of moss-covered rubble before I walked back to Toothless as I said.

"Not much of an attack but I get the feeling this isn't over yet."

Toothless then crouched down growling making ready to fight as I reached him and gave his head a rub after sheathing Pirus but keeping Ventus out. I looked around for any more enemies for us to fight but saw nothing but the plants that covered the landscape so no threats that I could tell. Despite the fact that I couldn't see any form of life besides the plants I couldn't shake the feeling that there was someone watching me. Before I could think of what to do next the ground below us opened up and we fell down into a pit onto a bed of blue flowers that cushioned our fall. I pushed my upper body up to begin getting out of this pit but Toothless let out a small screech before falling to the ground unconscious. Before I could react though I noticed a near invisible blue mist floating up from the flowers and then everything went black.

AN: Well I hate to leave you all on a cliffhanger but if I continued then I wouldn't have as much for the next chapter so sorry that this one was short but please remember to review kindly. Till the next chapter, keep safe during these tough times and be sure to follow the guidelines to lessen your chances of getting Covid-19 as I'd rather get through this crisis with as few people passing on as possible.