The first thing I should say is that this chapter is subject to minor change as my reviewer hasn't gotten back to me. So when she gets back to me with suggested edits, this chapter will be updated and improved.
Elsa's hair, which had come out of its braid, was swept backward as she guided Stormfly back to Dragon's Edge (which was just on the horizon), urging the dragon to go as fast as she could. The younglings could barely keep up, their wings beating rapidly. After just a few moments, Stormfly thudded down outside the domed arena, Copal and Emerald following.
"Hiccup!" Elsa yelled, foregoing formalities as she threw herself from the back of the Deadly Nadder.
"Queen Elsa," Hiccup said, running up to her. "What's wrong?"
"Where's Indi?" Astrid asked.
Elsa tried to calm herself down, yet she felt her eyes starting to moisten. She wiped away a tear that threatened to fall. "We were returning from our allies in Corona when we came upon a dragon hunter ship. We tried to avoid them, but they engaged. Indi was..." She collapsed to her knees, tears streaming down her face. Anna wrapped her arms around her sister.
"Elsa, what happened to Indi?"
"He was shot," Elsa said, her voice breaking. "I let it happen; I should have seen the arrow coming, I could have stopped it."
Brynn's face twisted in fury as she punched a tree, sending the bark flying off on the opposite side. "Let's mount up," Hiccup said.
"Hiccup," Elsa said. "Indi is..."
"Not dead," Brynn said, shaking her head. "He is the strongest of us all and he's been through much worse than an arrow."
"Brynn's right," Astrid said. "I've seen Indi's scars. He's been through more than any of us, physically speaking." Anna helped the queen to her feet.
Elsa wiped the tears from beneath her eyes and nodded. Anna guided her to Toothless, who gently nuzzled Elsa, softly crooning.
"Let's go get him," Snotlout said, punching his palm. The twins nodded in unison. Hiccup grabbed his silver shield with a black and red Night Fury symbol on it and strapped it to his back.
Indi rose shakily to his feet. If the hunger in his stomach was any measure of time, he had been unconscious for at several days. Stepping forward, he looked out of his cell door. He was at the end of a short metal corridor that only had two other cells on it that was located directly to either side of his own. The one to his left was closest to the door to the hall and was devoid of any occupants. However, to his right was a cell, the farthest cell from the door, and it had someone in it; a female, probably about his age or a year younger, sitting in the far corner against the wall. Her blonde hair had silvery streaks in it, giving an almost metallic quality. She had only two pieces of fabric for clothing; one around her waist(creating a makeshift skirt that went to the middle of her thighs) and one that encircled the top part of her torso, covering her breasts, leaving her belly exposed. There were several large bruises on her legs and arms; some looked only a mere day or two old.
He stepped towards her, and she immediately shrank back, her large blue eyes filling with terror. Indi put his hands up and stepped away.
He looked around his cell; the door, bars, walls, and floor were made of the same blasted green metal that the dragon hunters used. On the wall, opposite of the cell entrance, was another door, this one a thick sheet of metal. Indi walked over and pushed on it, to no avail. He slammed his fist hard into the metal, only succeeding in bruising his knuckles. He sat down on the floor next to the bars that divided the girl's cell from his own and and traced a scar on his arm. After some time a woman with red hair that was cut to be level with her shoulders opened the door to the lonely hallway and walked in, her white clean-cut dress a stark difference to the gloomy hall. She carried a clipboard and a metal-point pen. She stopped outside Indi's cell and looked in at him.
"Welcome back," the woman said. Indi said nothing, choosing to glare at this woman. "I've heard a lot about you." She looked over at Indi's neighbor. "Both of you will be inspected tomorrow, so look your best." She turned and left the hall, the loud bang of the metal door echoing.
"Inspected," Indi spat. He glanced over at the female, who said nothing. She simply shifted in her corner, tucking her knees up against her chest. Sighing, Indi took of his leather chestplate and put it beneath his head. He shut his eyes, hoping that this was all just a dream.
After what felt like several hours later, the large metal door banged open, waking him. Indi groaned and sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Looking over, he saw that his female neighbor was awake and fear was imbedded deep in her eyes, which were staring at the four men that walked into the hall. The door swung shut of its own accord. Looking at the men's apparel, Indi could tell that they were dragon hunters. This bent his brow into a hateful glare.
One of the hunters stopped in front of Indi's cell. "Who's this?" one of them said, his voice muffled by his leather helmet that covered his mouth.
"Some new one," another said. Indi snarled in disgust. "Oh, don't worry, my friend. You'll get some entertainment very shortly." The men moved on to the female's cell. The one that seemed to be the leader grabbed the bars, rattling the doors. "Hello, Hannah." The girl-Hannah-shrieked and tried to scramble away, meeting the wall. Another guard produced a ring of keys and unlocked Hannah's cell door. Unable to flee, Hannah spun, swinging a silvery, spiny, snake-like object at the hunters. Indi raised his eyebrows; this girl had a tail! The lead hunter ducked the blow, and Indi got his first good look at Hannah's tail as it hit the row of bars that divided their cells: it was long and fairly thin, yet still quite muscular. The spines, which covered the dorsal side of the tail, were snapped erect defensively.
Indi quickly reached through the bars and grabbed the hunter closest to him, before pulling the meaty figure into the metal with a clang! Indi pushed his face close to the bars, growling darkly. "Leave her alone."
Suddenly, the hall door banged open, and the redheaded woman strode in. Indi shoved the male away, sending him to the ground.
"Mister Erickson!" she said, scolding the large man into submission. "Leave the products alone."
"My apologies, Miss Dearing," Erickson said, shutting the door to Hannah's cell.
Dearing shook her head. "Are all the cells and paddocks ready for viewing?"
"Yes, Miss Dearing," Erickson said.
"Good. You are all dismissed." As the men walked out, Erickson glanced back at Hannah. Indi noticed the predatory glint in his eye and made a mental note to punch him in the face. Dearing walked out behind them, looking back at Indi.
Once the door shut, Indi stepped over to the dividing bars. "Hannah." The female looked over at him. "Are you alright?"
The female nodded. "Thanks."
"How long have you been here?" Indi asked, sitting down next to Hannah's cell. She crawled over to him and sat down next to him.
"In this place?" she asked, motioning to the building they were contained in. Indi nodded, and she continued. "About three years, so... it's been a while."
After a moment of silence, Hannah spoke once again. "So, where were you before you came here?"
"I was out with a group of dragon riders, gathering allies to fight against George von Schwicke."
Hannah gasped, her eyes widening. When she spoke, her voice was hushed. "You went rogue?" Indi nodded nonchalantly. "They didn't kill you?"
"They tried. Didn't work. I had friends help me out."
"Who are your friends?"
"I'm friends with a group of dragon riders and a queen who also happens to be a sorceress."
Toothless scanned the water, looking for any sign of his friend. On his back sat Hiccup and the two females that spent the nights in Indi's hut. The light-haired female was in tears, yet every time someone said something about taking a rest, she snapped at them, venom dripping from her lips.
"Queen Elsa," Hiccup said. "We need to go back. He's not here." Toothless crooned in agreement.
"Hiccup," Elsa said. "We have to keep looking."
"And we will," Astrid said, guiding Stormfly over to next to Toothless. "But we have to give the dragons a break." Elsa nodded silently, and the wing of dragons turned around flying back to the Edge.
After an hour of flight, they landed back on the landing area by the stables. Elsa walked to the Clubhouse and strode up to the map that hung on the back wall. She formed a dagger from ice in her hand and slashed at the image of a group of islands with vengeance.
"Elsa?" a voice said from behind. Elsa whirled around, whipping the ice dagger away. It stuck, quivering in the wood just above Anna's head. "It's okay. We'll find him." Elsa said nothing, choosing to storm past the riders, doing her best to keep from bursting into tears.
She made his way to Indi's hut, where she slammed the door. She sat down in a chair and buried her face in her hands. A smallcroon drew her attention to the pair of young Indominus Furies, who were staring at her with large, mournful eyes. Their heads were lowered and their wings drooped. Elsa rubbed their heads, and they took up a spot on either side of the and Emerald each set their head on an armrest. Elsa gently set a hand on each of the white, scaly heads, softly rubbing them in unison.
Indi heard a loud group of people talking, making their way towards the hall they were in. Groaning softly, he looked around, seeing that he had fallen asleep sitting up next to the bars that sat between himself and Hannah. The girl on the opposite side of the bars was also sitting up, her head resting against the bars.
Hearing the metal door open, causing the voices to become significantly louder, Indi quickly reached through and shook the girl's bare shoulder. The girl awoke with a jump and started to pull away, but relaxed when she identified who was touching her. Indi tipped his head in the direction of the voices coming from down the hall, the footsteps getting louder. Hannah nodded in understanding and rose to her feet. Indi got up as well, tipping his head to look down at his new friend: she was about a head shorter than him. He smiled supportively and put his hand through the bars to tuck a strand of hair behind Hannah's ear. He pulled away as he heard the voice of Dearing come down the hall.
"And here we have some of our oldest shifters," she said as she walked into sight, leading a group of people in front of the two occupied cells. "We call these two 'Indi' and 'Hannah'."
"I like this one," a brunette woman said, examining Indi through the bars. Indi raised his chin, glaring at the group. "He looks very efficient."
"Ah, yes," Dearing said, stepping up next to the woman. "It is quite the specimen; one of the first mutants ever made, I believe."
"How much is the starting price?"
"Actually, it's going through retraining," Dearing said. "It went rogue some time back and disappeared. We're lucky we found it."
"Well, what about this one," a redheaded man said, stepping over to Hannah. Indi glanced over at her and saw her starting to cover herself. Indi gave an encouraging nod, and she stood tall. "How well does she operate?"
"Actually, not very well," Dearing said. "The original design was a superb assassin, but it turned out too tame. I personally would consider keeping this one around the house for domestic things." Hannah's tail twitched, and Indi noticed the spines slowly become erect. "But she's far too dangerous for that. You will see why in just a few moments."
Dearing led the group away, and Indi glanced over at female. She smiled and looked at the door behind her. It, along with the door behind Indi, slid upward, revealing a large forested area, surrounded by three concrete walls and a row of bars forming another wall. Peering through her door, Indi saw that Hannah's enclosure was a large dome, created with strips of green metal spider-webbing through the air.
Indi entered and saw that on the far side of the paddock was a viewing area made of glass and metal. Hannah's enclosure had a similar structure on the same side as the one in Indi's. Looking through the bars, Indi saw that the group that had examined them were in the viewing area in Hannah's paddock.
Dearing bent over slightly and opened a grate and her voice came through. "Transform." She quickly shut the grate and everyone watched Hannah expectantly.
Indi watched as Hannah quickly changed. She grew in size, and her skirt and wrappings fell away, as she fell to all fours. Her skin changed from slightly tan to a shiny silver as neck and skull lengthened. A set of batlike wings with barbed leading edges sprouted from her back. Spines appeared on her back and her tail lengthened. A large curving horn appeared on her snout.
Indi gasped as he saw the girl's final form: a silver dragon with many barbs and armored scales forming plates studding her neck, back, and tail.
Hannah took flight and glided around her enclosure with much grace. As she passed by Indi, she shot a blast of sky-blue flame at the top of the metal caging above her. She landed and looked at the people watching her. The people moved their mouths, speaking. They nodded, and moved on, disappearing from view. Indi gave Hannah a thumbs up as the draconian form picked up her clothing from the ground and moved off into the foliage. Indi moved in behind the leaves, concealing himself from view.
The people soon appeared once more, looking through Indi's window. They looked around, searching for the male. Indi snorted and transformed, hidden by the lush trees. He stepped forward, cracking a branch. When he saw someone becoming bored from waiting, Indi lunged out and charged at the window. He stopped just as he was about to meet the glass. He exhaled sharply, fogging the window. When the people began inching closer, he drew back his large, scaly head and rammed the glass. The transparent glass shuddered, but stayed solid.
"It's alright," he heard Dearing say to the people inside, her voice distorted and muted. "This glass has been specially made to resist breaking."
"A necessary precaution, I'm sure," a man said, to which Dearing nodded. Indi snarled and slapped his snout against the glass once more, to no avail. The people started to move forward, interested in him.
Frustrated, Indi roared at the glass as loudly as he could, making it vibrate, before drawing back a large scaly hand and punching the glass, cracks radiating out from the point of impact. The people jumped back, and Indi drew back an arm before slamming his talons through, ripping through the glass. He then punched the lock on the metal door to the viewing area, trapping the humans in with his arm. The people scrambled away to the far corner, away from the door and set of large talons. Indi growled in pleasure, relishing in their fear. He drew his arm out and moved his head to look in at the little snacks with one amber orb. He blinked, feeling the membrane slide across his eye. The people stared at him with terror as he drew back and raised one taloned finger. He dragged his talon on the glass, etching a message with a harsh squealing sound that made the people wince. When he had concluded, he stepped back to examine his handiwork.
In jagged, crude writing, was "I AM THE ALPHA. NOT YOU".
Snorting in disgust at the humans, Indi turned and strode away, his tail swiping through the air, making back to the door to his cell. Glancing over at Hannah, he saw her watching him through the barrier that divided their paddocks. Had she seen what he did? Thinking nothing more of it, Indi transformed back into his human form and stepped inside his cell, before grabbing the door and slamming it shut.
Elsa looked over the bay of Outpost Island, with the two Indominus Furies at her side. A large creature strode up behind her and looked over into the bay. It snorted and the younglings turned to look at who had arrived.
"Keep them safe, Brynn," Elsa said, not removing her gaze from the horizon. The large tyrannosaur growled before walking away, leading Indi's children off to hunt.
Elsa listened as the large footsteps receded into the distance.
"Where are you, Indi?"
Unsettled by the brewing storm on the horizon, she turned to Indi's hut. She walked in, where she saw Anna and Hiccup talking. Toothless lay on the floor, curled up like a gigantic cat.
"Okay, so your sister said that the ship was heading southwest," Hiccup said. "So the closest hunting port that we know of that's in the area was..." He looked at a map with many scrawls and lines on it. "...is in about this area." With a finger, the Viking traced a circle around a group of islands. "I've never been there, but our friend Heather has."
"How far is it from here?" Anna asked.
"I think it's about half a day's flight if this map is correct." Hiccup said.
Elsa spoke as she entered the hut. "When can we leave?"
Hiccup glanced up at her. "I think about mid morning tomorrow."
"Good," Astrid said, leading the rest of the riders inside. "I think someone needs some serious butt kicking."
"Yeah," Tuffnut said. "No one kidnaps our friends but us."
Elsa looked around, a small smile appearing on her face, understanding that these were signs of a mutual alliance.
Hope you guys liked this one, as I sure did. It was really fun to write. Also, how 'bout the human dragon mutant?