Chapter Nine: The strength of Bonds

As his eyes adjusted to the lighting of his new surroundings, Pengu stared in shock

upon realising where he had been taken. The walls reassembled the shape of Mount

Eradicus, although the scolding lava that once filled them had now vanished, with the

only clue of its presence being its smell emanating from below. Instead, he was on

some sort of stone platform being held captive by two stone gargoyles, most likely

living dragons with families of their own, now reduced to blank soldiers powered by a

darker force. Speaking of which, their master was facing away from them, staring at

a giant purple crystal in front of him, before he turned around to face them. Pengu let

out a growl of disgust as who he thought the dragon was became clear.

The gargoyles shoved Pengu to the ground, grunting in response, yet being too

weak to lift himself due to his injury. The snake-like figure of Kandikis approached,

circling him like a hawk. "Well, well, well," he mocked, eyeing his prey. "The almighty

PenguDatu. How ironic is it that all of my enemies are alive to pester me after 500

years?" Pengu spat on the floor, barely looking at Kandikis. "Traitor…You are a

disgrace, not just to yourself, but to all-"

"All your family and species, yes yes," Kandikis mockingly finished, waving his hand

around in an exaggerated tone. "I've heard that many times. But let me ask you

something, Pengu." Kandiks ceased circling Pengu and walked slowly towards the

shadow ether. "Have you ever stopped to think about what species needed, rather

than what they wanted?" Sentinel eyed his master, letting out a small grin, as

Kandikis stroked the ether "Seriously, hundreds of years of fighting, and you never

stopped to wonder, 'why are we losing?' 'Why can't we win this war, if we're so

honourable, and can inspire others to rise up." None of the guards laughed, despite

Kandikis clearly delivering his lines in a sarcastic manner. As Pengu glared at his

enemy, Kandikis turned around, staring Pengu down. "Well, unlike you, I figured it

out. There can never be peace. Not as long as free will exists." He approached the

injured Titan, who showed no signs of emotions outside of pure disgust for Kandikis.

"They need a strong leader, and I am ready to take the first steps." Leaning down, he

whispered in a slithering tone, "Are you?"

Pengu remained silent a moment longer, before growling in the fallen's face. "This

won't' change what happened Kandikis," Pengu assured, as Kandikis's smirk slowly

fell to a frown. "Your fate has been sealed, and the new guardians shall deliv-" Pengu

was cut off once more as a piece of Drunn suddenly formed into the shape of a

blade in Kandikis' hand, which he pressed against Pengu's neck, forcing him to

stand.

"Uh uh uh," Kandkis scolded, as Pengu grunted in pain. "Did you not get the hint, I'm

done listening to your boring speeches." His mocking tone changed as he shifted

topics. "Now, for why I brought you here. Your sister and the Charmander. Old news,

I don't care about them. But that Night Fury, what's his purpose? Who is he?" Pengu

wanted to look away, as he feared the new king may have been one of Kandikis'

most present intrigues. However, he stood his ground, trying to retain his

metaphorical high ground. "He is unlike any dragon I have seen," Pengu admitted,

before adding, "because he is better than you in every way." Pengu and Kandikis'

eyes locked intensely, as Pengu made one last promise to the fallen dragon.

"He will deliver the guardians to victory, Kandikis. You, and your master's defeat is

inevitable." As Pengu finished, Kandikis glared intensely, before easing up, raising

his eyebrow in amusement. "Is that so?" Kandikis challenged, before looking down at

his free talon. "Well you know what they say? Defeat is temporary, but death-" A

blade suddenly formed in Kandikis' hand, which Pengu only just noticed before it

was rammed through the titan's chest. "AAAARRRrrrrghhh!" he roared in pain, as

Kandikis leaned down to look him in the eyes "-IS PERMANENT!" As he finished,

Pengu's entire body was turned to stone, and as Kandikis removed his weapon, the

statue of Pengu fell backwards, emitting soundwaves as it slammed against the floor.

Kandikis glared down at the statue of his old foe, flickering his talons to make the

blade disappear. Sentinel looked at the statue for a moment as well, before glancing

back at Kandkiks. "Shall I dispose of the body, - grrrrk, sir?" Kandiks thought for a

moment as he continued staring, before an idea formed in his head. "No. Leave

him," he instructed before turning towards sentinel, to add on to the order. "In fact,

contact your troops in the Archipelago, and tell them to collect all the dragons in the

Hidden World that were turned to stone." He turned back to Pengu, who's lifeless

stone face gazed into the abyss. "The best way to capture prey is not by brute

strength, but by physiologically." As Sentinel nodded, and turned to leave, Kandikis

suddenly felt a pain in his head, and turned to see the ether was beginning to emit a

red glow. Although his eyes widened for a moment, he shook his head and

ignored it.

…

Toothless had seen some weird places during the years, but this place took the cake.

As soon as he took his first step out of the gateway, he had to stop himself from

stepping off the island they had arrived on. He threw his wings up to balance himself,

shocked by the sight in front of him. The island wasn't extended up from an ocean or

a teeth of sharp rocks, rather it appeared to be floating in the middle of the sky. And

so was another. And another, and as Toothless gazed around, he realised that the

whole realm was just a series of islands floating in the sky. He remained in awe for a

moment longer, until the startled yep of Sisu caught his attention. Turning around, he

could see the water dragon was precariously standing over the edge, swimming her

arms around trying to balance herself. Luckily, Charizard locked onto her tail with his

jaw, and yanked her back before she could fall. Landing on her butt, she put her

hand to her chest, and started breathing rapidly. "Whew! Thanks C. I did not expect

this realm to have floating islands." Charizard was facing away from her, yet turned

his head upon hearing what she said. "First of all, never call me C again. Second,

your shock is not unreasonable, yet your reaction was." Sisu snarky turned her snout

up in response, while Toothless turned towards Charizard in confusion. "Wait a

minute? So you're saying this isn't normal for this realm?" He addressed the islands

by pointing at one as it floated past them. "No," the charizard said, looking at the

islands in both confusion and interest. "This realm is the location of Warfang, home

of the purple dragon." Toothless saw Sisu waving her fingers ominously, causing

Toothless to muzzle a laugh. Charizard rolled his eyes at the two. "Every 10,000

years, this realm sees a massive change at the hands of a purple dragon, yet I've

never read of any change being this drastic." Toothless looked around at all the

islands, trying to think of what his plan was. "Do you think this will affect us finding

the next guardian?" Toothless' question gained a shaking head from Charizard. "Not

if we try the exact same plan as the last realm. Look around and ask anyone if they

know of the purple dragon." A blue blurr suddenly zipped past the two faces, and

before they could realize, Toothless and Charizard saw that Sisu had lept to the

island in front of them. "Well what are you waiting for?" Sisu called. "Let's go find this

purple dragon!" Although Toothless wanted to jump into the air, he stopped himself,

as Charizard shook his head. "No, it will be dark in less than an hour. Our best bet is

to find a sheltered area with water, and continue the search in the morning."

Toothless nodded in agreement. "You've got a the Drunn is as dangerous in

the dark as you say, our best bet is to seek refuge until the odds are more in our

favours." Sisu gave a brief look of disappointment before retaining her usual cheery

smile. "You're right, your majesty." That way we can rehearse our meetings with the

purple dragon." Toothless grinned while nodding in agreement, whereas Charizard

simply expressed his signature eye roll.

Navigating their way through the realms proved easier than Toothless thought.

Although Toothless and Charizard could fly, he thought since Sisu didn't have wings,

it would be harder for her to travel, or at the very least slower. However, the water

dragon managed to leap from island to island as quickly as the other two flew above,

which amazed the Night Fury. He knew dragons like cavern crashers could also

traverse long distances despite lacking wings, yet the way Sisu moved so confidently

without bearing a sweat resulted in Toothless' admiration.

Eventually, as the sun began to fade into the horizon and the purple glow of Drunn

could be seen on multiple islands below, Charizard suddenly roared, gaining the

attention of both Toothless and Sisu. He then pointed towards one of the islands,

which upon further analysis, Toothless could see had no trees, yet held a giant lake

and waterfall, which ran off a tall."Based on the way that water moves, I suspect

there must be some sort of cavern hidden behind it." Toothless took a moment to

register Charizard's explanation, before realising what he was saying. "So you think

that should be where we rest for the night?" Charziard nodded. "More like until the

sun rises and it's safe to fly, but yes." With that settled, Toothless quickly flew down

to Sisu, who had perched herself on a tall boulder above the trees, and explained

where they would be sleeping for the night.

The inside of the cavern looked almost identical to how the entrance to the Hidden

World did. Multiple stone spirals extended from the ceiling, while small pools filled

with water from the waterfall lined the entrance to the caverns. However, towards the

furthest side of the cave lay a beach of sand, which was more than enough space for

the three dragons to rest and recharge for the rest of their journey. "I guess this

space can work," Toothless observed after landing on the beach and shaking off the

water from the waterfall. "I just don't fully understand why water would stop any

Drunn or Gargoyles from finding and attacking us." Although Charizard didn't

respond, as he was too busy trying the dry himself without brushing his tail against

anything, Sisu decided to explain instead. "The Drunn is born of unnatural elements,

and since it powers the Gargoyles, so are they." She then pointed towards the

waterfall. "Water is a natural element, so as a result, unnatural elements are repelled

by them, including anything that is tied to them." As Charizard groomed his snout, he

turned towards the two. "Think of it like positive and negative conductors." Toothless

turned towards Charizard in confusion. "Conductors?" the fire dragon shut his eyes

and let out an annoyed sigh. "Dear lord, how primitive is your realm?" Before

Toothless could bite Charizard's match tail clean off, Sisu put a paw on his shoulder,

easing the Night Fury. "Don't listen to him," she assured Toothless, while sticking her

nose up at Charizard. "I'm not too familiar with -" Sisu suddenly gasped, causing

Toothless and Charizard to jump. "Oh no!" Toothless looked at her in concern.

"What? What is it?" Charizard spun around, igniting his tail and baring his teeth. "Are

we under attack? Is it the Drunn or Gargoyles?" Sisu looked at Toothless, placing her

hands on her face in distort shock. "We didn't bring a gift for the purple dragon!"

Toothless shot a confused look at Charizard. "A gift? Is that a normal thing for our

kind?" Sisu turned towards Toothless in disbelief. "You guys don't do that? We give

gifts to others to say 'you can trust me, can I trust you?" Charizaerd's mouth was

hanging open, with one eye raised as he stared, flabbergasted by what Sisu said. "I -

I don't even know how to respond to that." Sisu looked back and forth between the

two, before closing her eyes and shrugging. "Well, guess I'll have to find something

during our trip tomorrow." Charizard snorted before turning away and pulling out a

map of the realm. "Yeah, you do that," Toothless said as he turned away, readying

himself for flight. "As for me, I'm going to see if this little island has any dinner for us."

Sisu nodded, and Toothless shot into the air, flying through the waterfall out of the

cavern.

After nightfall had fully engulfed the realm, Toothless returned to the cavern, splitting

the fall of the waterfall briefly before landing on the beach. Sisu seemed to have

been doing something to the sand in front of her before ceasing after Toothless

returned. Meanwhile, Charizard still had his snout buried in the map he was reading

when Toothless he left, and only after a few moments did he raise his head to see

the Night Fury had returned. "So, did ya find anything?" Sisu asked curiously. In

response, Toothless began to churn repeatedly before the fish he had found exited

his mouth and landed on the floor between them. Sisu jolted her head back, yet

more in surprise than disgust. "Oh. Well… that's one way to collect food". Charizard

on the other hand was much less kind towards Toothless' hunting methods.

"Absolutely not." Charizard turned his nose off, seemingly disagreeing with Sisu

while simultaneously refusing Toothless' haul. "Not only is that unhygienic on so

many levels, but that fish alone contains nowhere near the proper amount of calories

required for a dragon's intake." Toothless and Sisu just stared at Charizard in both

confusion and slight annoyance, with expressions that sarcastically read 'seriously?'

"Well, it's the only thing I could find on this island without travelling to another,"

Toothless commented, unenthusiastically. "So take it or leave it." Upon hearing this

comment, the fire suddenly dragon stood upwards, startling Toothless. "Wait a

minute?" Charizard roared in annoyance. "Are you seriously telling me you didn't

even leave this island?" Toothless spread his wings open in response. "Well you

yourself said the Drunn was more active at night, and that it was repelled by water,

so I thought I'd take the simplest solution." Charizard eyed the Night Fury down

warningly. "The simplest," Charizard challenged, "or the easiest." Toothless

immediately knew what Charizard was implying, and it stung more than a nadder

barb through the heart. Squinting for a moment, the Night Fury's scales began to

glow. "Well excuse me for not realizing I'd be accommodating for the pickiest eater in

the Archipelago, or any world for that matter!" Charizard's eyes suddenly shot open

in rage, with his tail bursting into flames. Before the two could engage however, Sisu

stood in between the two. "Listen guys, I think it's fair to say you both made a

mistake, right?" Sisu's claim caused the two males' anger to dwindle and morph into

confused looks at the dragoness. "Clearly Charizard should have told Toothless what

food he was after, and Toothless should have probably asked one of us to come and

help him recover dinner." Sisu expressed an awkward grin, clearly trying to

de-escalate the situation. Thankfully, Toothless realized Sisu was right for not

wanting the group to fight, as further tensions would without a doubt negatively affect

their mission. Nodding in agreement, Toothless looked toward Charizard, who rolled

his eyes as his flames died down. "Sure. Whatever you say," Charizard subsided,

before turning and walking away "I'm still not eating that." Sisu turned to Toothless

with a cheeky grin on her face. "Welp, that just means more for us, right?" Within a

split second, Sisu managed to fling a piece of fish into the air with her tail, before it

fell right into the dragoness' mouth, snapping it shut. As she licked her lips, Toothless

chuckled.

Toothless was chewing on some fish when a loud grumble echoed through the cave,

causing the Night Fury's head to perk up in alert. He saw that Sisu had resumed her

activity with the sand, yet had ceased upon hearing the grumble as well. Looking

back at Toothless, the two gazed over towards Charizard, the fire dragon still nose

deep in his map, seemingly mapping out their way to warfang. The two's staring

caught his attention, and he raised his head towards them. "What's wrong?" he

asked, sounding more annoyed than concerned. Sisu made up for his concern in her

facial expression. "Ummm, when was the last time you ate?" Sisu's concern for

Charizard barely shifted his facial expression. "Not important," he replied bluntly,

before returning to his map. Sisu let out a sigh as she hung her head, gaining a

sympathetic look from Toothless. Swallowing his fish, he trotted over to Sisu, who

noticed him approaching, and quickly shifted from a frown to a smile. "Don't worry

about him," Toothless addressed Charizard. "If he wants to be a grouch and starve,

that's his own choice." Sisu's smile dropped, as she looked towards Charizard in

melancholy. "Realms are hard to understand." Sisu's comment was sombre rather

than humorous, yet Toothless treated it as the latter. "You bet," he chuckled. "The fish

here are all weirdly coloured, and don't even get me started on the realms." Sisu

turned towards Toothless. "That's not what I meant," Sisu explained sadly, causing

the Night Fury to sigh. "I know. Look, I know it's hard to explain, but the realms were

closed for a long time. Not everything is the exact same as they were beforehand."

Sisu turned towards him in denial. "That can't be the problem." Toothless rolled his

eyes, starting to feel a bit annoyed. "Why does it matter?" he growled. "What's

important is trying to save our friends and family." Toothless turned away quickly, as

Sisu looked at him, feeling both confused and a little hurt. "It should matter to you.

You're the king. Shouldn't you try to look after everyone under your rule? Likewise,

shouldn't they trust you as a result?" Toothless glanced back at Sisu, before shutting

his eyes and sighing. "Trust isn't as black and white as you think Sisu." Sisu tried to

read the Night Fury, trying to understand what he was referring to. "How do you

know?" Reopening his eyes, Toothless looked into the eyes of the innocent

dragoness standing next to him, before looking down at the sand below him.

"A few years ago, when my society still lived amongst humans, there was this man

who wanted to rule over all dragons. My friend's father said he was a madman, but

Hiccup wanted to try and change his mind." Toothless paused briefly. "I thought we

could do it. I trusted we could do it, since he managed to change the minds of both

his father and his tribe." The determination in Toothless' voice stalled, as he

remembered what actually happened.

"Yet, when we finally confronted the man, he used his dragon, the alpha, to control

me and…"

Toothless had to stop himself, as the floodgates of painful memories began to pour

into his mind. Sisu could tell this was hard for him to recall, and guilt and sadness

fully engulfed the dragoness' face. "You don't have to continue Toothless. I don't

want you to-"

"No," Toothless interrupted. "I wanna do this. I have to do this."

He then took a breath, and continued, as the water dragoness looked towards him.

"When his dragon took control of me, he ordered me to kill Hiccup. I didn't have a

choice, yet before I fired, his father ran to save him." Toothless clenched his teeth,

hanging his head towards the ground. "It was only after I was freed that I realised

what I did," he cooed, shutting his eyes to prevent tears from escaping. Sisu on the

other hand didn't care about hiding her emotions, as tears started flowing down her

face, as she listened speechless at the Night Fury's story.

A moment passed, and Toothless took a breath."We trusted each other with our

lives, and it resulted in me taking one that was important to him." Toothless stared

glumly down at the ground, feeling nothing as his emotions had been completely

drained from his memories. Taking a moment to wipe her face, Sisu walked over and

sat right next to Sisu, placing her talons on top of his paw, as she entwined her tail

with his.

"Yet he was still your friend, because he knew it wasn't your fault." Sisu encouraged,

causing Toothless to look up at her. "Maybe his father chose to defend him instead of

attacking you because he knew it wasn't really you." Before she continued, she

paused, looking down at the ground as a realisation began to set in. "Maybe trust on

its own wasn't what you needed, but the bonds that you formed strengthened the

trust that you received."

Toothless took a moment to consider what Sisu was saying. He understood where

she was coming from, but she hadn't seen what Toothless had. "Not every dragon is

as open as you are, Sisu." Sisu looked back at Toothless, before expressing a small

smile. "Maybe not, but give him time Toothless," Sisu referred to Charizard, turning

towards him ."I'm sure after he gets to know us, he'll open up a bit."

He could tell she wasn't as sure as herself here as she was back home, yet she was

trying her hardest to uplift the Night Fury, while standing by her own judgments. It

was confusing. No dragons Toothless had ever met acted in such a way, and yet, he

admired that. "How do you do it?" He questioned the water dragoness. "How do you

talk so positively about things when it seems impossible?" Sisu hung her head,

watching the water from the waterfall flow into the pools in front of them.

"Practice I guess. Our parents were killed during the war, leaving us to look after

each other." As she spoke, she continued to fiddle with the sand, and as Toothless

watched, he realised she had been drawing lines in the sand, two bigger than the

other five. "We went through a lot of struggles, both out in the battlefields and within

our family. But, despite how many hardships we had, I always remembered what I

had, keeping them as a reminder to lighten the darkness." Although tears had

ceased running down Sisu's face, one that lingered on her cheek finally concluded its

run, as it fell from her cheek and landed in the sand.

Toothless trail of sight followed, and remained aimed at the sand following the tear's

impact. Listening to what she had said, Toothless couldn't help but feel guilty. This

whole time, he was only trying to fulfil the prophecy in order to save his own world.

He was looking after his own, but now Sisu was his own. And her family, and

Charizard, along with every dragon in the realms that the prophecy was meant to

save. From that moment, Toothless realised that he couldn't just passively ignore the

dragons in these new worlds. He turned to face the dragoness "Sisu," Toothless

started, gaining her attention as she faced him "I promise you, as long as the wing

fills my wings, I will not let Kandikinis or the Drunn harm a single dragon in your

realm or any other." Sisu smiled, not requiring further proof. "Thank you," she replied,

before adding with a cheeky grin, "your majesty." Toothless rolled his eyes nudging

her with his wing. "Maybe when this is over, we could build up some more of these

bonds you speak of, figure out why your siblings chose you to save the world."

Sisu's grin altered into a polite yet doubtful smile. "It's been 500 years," she claimed,

looking up longingly at the rushing water. " If I haven't figured it out by now, I doubt I

ever will." Toothless followed her line of sight, before grinning slyly. "Technically it

hasn't been 500 for you." Sisu turned towards Toothless, glaring at him as he tried to

hold back chuckling. "Oh shush you!" Sisu exclaimed, playfully swiping some sand at

the Night Fury, causing him to laugh as he used his wing as a shield.

Unbeknown to Toothless and Sisu, Charizard had halted his evaluation of his map,

and had been listening to the dragon's talk. At first it was purely out of annoyance, as

they were distracting him from his train of thought. However, as he continued to

listen, his irritation started to subside. He realised now why the alpha was the way

that he was, and the hardships that had shaped his realm. Still, Charizard wasn't

willing to become an open flame of emotion like the two, but he was glad they were

connecting, despite Toothless previous neglect against the prophecy. Seeing this

caused Charizard to reflect on his attitude towards the Night Fury. He didn't know

why his realms crowned him as their king, but clearly they as well as Sisu and her

tribe saw something that he couldn't.

…

Later that evening, rain was ravaging the sky outside, and the only light present

outside of the occasional lightning strike was the fire of Charizard's tail. Toothless

and Sisu had long fallen asleep, with Toothless curled in a ball, and Sisu laying

around him in a circle. Charizard was using the light of his tail to map their course,

but as another flash of lightning illuminated the entrance, Charizard had finished

mapping their route for the day ahead. Rolling up his scroll, he decided he too should

get some rest, pacing around on the sand before slumping down, curling his tail

close for warmth. As he closed his eyes though, a small whimper echoed through the

cavern, causing him to lift his head up. Looking around, he heard another whimper,

helping him find the source of the noise. The storm outside was causing water to

blow into the cavern, showering both the Night fury and the water dragon. Charizard

guessed that the wind combined with the water was causing the dragoness to shiver

from the cold, and another whimper emitted from Sisu confirmed his suspicion.

Although annoyed at first by her weak appearance, he sighed, guessing she wasn't

as trained as her brother. Standing up, he walked over to where the two dragons

were sleeping, before laying down close yet not next to them. Raising his tail above

them, he ignited it softly so that it grew enough to provide enough heat to offset the

rain. Sisu's whimpering ceased, as a small smile appeared on her face as she

easened back into her sleep. For a brief moment, a small but noticeable grin took

shape along Charizard's jawline, before shaking it away, and closing his eyes to

doze.

…

As the fire dragon succumbed to his sleep, a small figure emerged from behind one

of the rocks. He had been hiding behind it all day since the three dragons arrived,

and now that they were all asleep, this was his perfect chance to escape undetected.

However, the figure did the opposite, approaching the three in curiosity. Looking at

the three, his mind began to race with questions, wondering where they had come

from, and why they looked so…different. His attention was quickly drawn to a bag

that the fire dragon had next to him, which seemed to have some sort of map

sticking out. Gently pulling it out to not disturb the group, the figure placed it on the

floor, unravelling it in the process. His eyes widened upon seeing where they were

going, and looking back at the group, a single sentence left his mouth; "What do you

want with me?"