Chapter Seven: Different yet similar
Making their way to the peak of the mountain, Pengu led a group over a temple
which sat further down the mountain. While most of the dragon flew over without
another thought, Toothless couldn't help but stop in curiosity. The temple looked
majestic in it's paint, structure and overall design, yet what really intrigued the Night
Fury was what was occupying the area. "Everything alright?" Sisu called out as she
came up to Toothless, using magic to stand in mid air while the rain continued.
Although he was still astonished by Sisu and her kind's abilities, he ignored his
shock to give her an answer. "Oh nothing, it's just…did they really build all of that?"
Toothless pointed down to the humans who resided within the temple, to which Sisu
let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, they're pretty talented, right? They built that temple
not long after we were turned to stone, in memory of our sacrifices for them. Pretty
sweet of them, don't ya think?" Toothless nodded as Sisu continued after the group,
yet Toothless observed for another moment, watching a group of children playing in
the guardian. Incredible how they could even get up here without the help of
dragons. Toothless thought to himself shifting his gaze to a group of gardeners who
had ceased their activity and were watching him in awe. Although, I guess it
shouldn't be a surprise, given the Berkians made very impressive infrastructure
before we came along. Giving one last glance to the humans below, Toothless
followed after Sisu and the others.
Upon reaching the peak of the mountain, Toothless discovered the place Pengu had
spoken about gathering was not a temple nor any type of built structure, but was
rather a cavern within the mountain. Entering through an opening in the ceiling,
Toothless saw that the cracks in the floor were covered in water, which drizzled down
from the leaves of vines that covered almost every wall in the area. Although most of
the area seems untouched by humans at first, Toothless eventually saw what
appeared to be stairs carved to the far side of the cavern, which Toothless guessed
the humans had probably built to access this area. He could see why. The area was
so peaceful and tranquil, he could imagine every human down in that settlement
would visit this area on a regular basis. Of course, the area seemed like it could be
peaceful, if it wasn't for the commotion of dragons that had just entered. The majority
of the dragons including Charizard landed in the centre of the cavern, while a few
including Toothless and Sisu decided to land just on the outside.
The Night Fury guessed that Charizard had spent the time flying informing Pengu
and his siblings about the things Elderess had told him about, particularly in relation
to Kandikis, the invasion of the Hidden World, and other information currently
relevant. After a few moments, the discussions seemed to die down, and upon
looking at the crowd of dragons, Toothless saw that it was disbanding as dragons
went off in all particular directions, with Charizard and Pengu approaching in
Toothless' direction. "Charizard has informed me of what has happened to your
world," Pengu exclaimed before giving a small bow. "I'm deeply sorry for your loss."
Toothless gave a half smile, while shrugging his wings. "It's not your fault Pengu, so
there's no need to apologise." Pengu rose, as he gave a short smile in response.
"Besides," Toothless explained, "there's still a way we can save them, as well as
every other dragon that was turned to stone, right?" Toothless noticed Pengu give
Charizard a glance, which aroused a little confusion in the dragon, before Charizard
nodded. "Correct. But in order to do that, we need to unite all five guardians first,"
Pengu started, before Charizard finished with "To awaken a power that can vanquish
Kandikis and his beast once and for all." Toothless looked at Charizard in confusion.
Elderess never mentioned anything about a power that the guardians possessed.
Pengu saw his confusion, and placed his hand on Toothless' shoulder. "It's not too
important. Basically, once you unite the five guardians, no force of the dark one
should be able to oppose you." Toothless gave a polite nod, yet curiosity about what
this power was still lingered in Toothless' mind. Meanwhile Charizard was shaking
his head, likely in annoyance or embarrassment since Toothless hadn't been told
about that part of the prophecy.
Moving away from that topic, Toothless realised he should probably ask about the
whereabouts of Kumundra's guardian. "So, your sister told me that your entire race
was asleep for 500 years?" Pengu nodded. "We only awakened very recently."
Toothless returned the nod before continuing. "If that's the case, you wouldn't
happen to know who the Guardian was in your realm" Toothless thought he could
hear Charizard mumble 'moron' under his breath, but Pengu interrupted by letting
out a small chuckle. "Well of course. He is me." Toothless could feel the wave of
embarrassment hit like a tidal wave. The idea hadn't even formed that Charizard
spoke of Pengu highly because he was a Guardian. As the Night Fury hung his head
in humiliation, Pengu shook his head. "Please, don't be embarrassed. Charizard told
me that your world isn't familiar with our history, so it would be pretentious to expect
you to know everyone and everything about us." Although Toothless rose, he still felt
guilty about the ordeal. He was the king after all. Didn't he owe it to these dragons as
well as himself to become familiar with their worlds and cultures? That way Toothless
could work better with Pengu as well as the other guardians. Speaking of which,
Toothless realised they now had half of the guardians united. "Now that we've found
you," Toothless addressed Pengu, "I believe we should leave as soon as possible, in
order to find the other two guardians." Toothless attempted to deliver his statement in
a kingly manner, yet he couldn't help but wonder if he sounded too cowardly, or
unprofessional. Thankfully, Charizard nodded his head, seemingly agreeing with
Toothless' idea. "The alpha is correct. We should make haste to ensure that Kandikis
cannot trap us in this realm." Toothless smiled, satisfied that Charizard was at least
agreeing with his ideas, until Pengu shook his head. "That is smart. However, I would
like to address my tribe before we leave, in order to prepare them if there's a
possibility of an invasion." Toothless took a moment to contemplate Pengu's request,
but Charizard didn't give him one. "That isn't a strategic decision," he protested. "The
longer we stay here, the more we endanger ourselves as well as everyone around
us." Pengu turned towards Charizard in anger. "They would be endangered if we left
while keeping them in the dark." Before Charizard could argue further, Toothless
stepped in between the two, not wanting the fight to escalate. "He's got a Charizard.
I say very least we let Pengu inform his tribe about the return of the Drunn, given
their history with it." The room fell silent, with Charizard giving a fuming glare, and
Pengu giving Toothless a thankful look. "I'm with the king," a voice from behind, and
as the three turned around, they saw Sisu had walked up to the three, stopping next
to Toothless in front of his brother. Her remark startled him briefly, as he thought only
Charizard and Pengu were still in the cavern following the meeting. He didn't
complain however, as Sisu was taking Toothless' side as the king, which built his
confidence. Seeing he was in the minority, Charizard grunted and walked away.
"Fine. But we must leave by nightfall. The Drunn is more active and dangerous in the
dark." Charizard then lifted into the air flying out of the cavern through the hole in the
ceiling, leaving Toothless, Sisu and Pengu in the cavern alone. As Pengu looked on,
Toothless saw as Sisu hung her head. "Trust me," she whispered, "we know."
…
Toothless could tell it had only been an hour based on the sun's position in the sky,
yet every moment he waited, he kept worrying about the decision to wait longer. On
one hand, Toothless understood why Charizard opposed Pengu's desires, given their
current predicament, yet on the other hand, Toothless couldn't help but side with
Pengu. Besides, it was the duty of a king to side with his people, right? Or were the
needs of the realms and the many dragons that inhabited it more important than the
needs of the few dragons in one realm? Toothless clutched in head in agony, as
every thought he had made him doubt if he was even thinking like a proper dragon
anymore.
"Hey? You okay?" The voice startled Toothless causing him to jump, but upon turning
around, he realised it was just Sisu again. "Oh. Hey." The Night Fury greeted quickly,
before adding "What are you doing out here?" After their discussion, Toothless had
discovered that one of the tunnels had led to a garden, which sat off the side of the
mountain, with the human temple sitting just below. Toothless had just been sitting
there thinking to himself, which is where Sisu had found him still deep in internal
turmoil. "You've been out for a while," Sisu reasoned. "Figured I'd check to see how
you were going." Toothless looked at her briefly before looking away, trying to hide
the emotion in his face. "Oh. Well I'm fine, thank you." Sisu gave Toothless an
unconvinced look before sitting down next to him, and lowering her head to meet
Toothless eyes. "Yeah, I've heard many unfine dragons say their fine before. You
can't fool this girl." Toothless turned his head, realising she wasn't budging until she
found out what was bugging him. Letting out a sigh, he figured Sisu wasn't a bad
dragon to share his thoughts with. "Well, ever since I became king, I can't help but
feel like I've made the wrong choices, and it's even more so now. Sisu tilted her
head, giving Toothless a confused eyebrow. "How so?"
Looking down towards the temple, Toothless could see multiple humans engaged in
various activities. "Well, in all honesty, it feels like I'm thinking about myself more
than others. From entering myself and my best friend in the race she was interested
in, to keeping that a secret from my wife so she didn't freak out, to even choosing to
save the two over the hundreds of dragons who were relying on me back home."
Toothless hung his head, shutting his eyes in the process. "Hell, I only became king
because of my selfish actions. I only challenged the original alpha to protect my
human friend Hiccup. Not to stop the evil alpha who had killed the former alpha. Not
to free hundreds of our kind from being mind controlled. I only did it because I was
thinking about what I wanted." At this point, Toothless wasn't even trying to hide the
emotion in his voice. "Before the Drunn attacked, I told my wife that I don't feel like a
proper dragon anymore, and this is one of the reasons why. I don't think like how a
normal dragon thinks! I think like a creature with self centred desires!
Sisu was watching Toothless during his exchange with a shocked expression, yet
when Toothless finished, her look changed to one of tenderness. Looking down
towards the temple below, a figure caught her attention in the garden behind the
palace, and upon recognising who it was, the blue dragon gained an idea. "You see
that garden down there?" Sisu pointed. The Night Fury opened his eyes, and looked
in the direction she was pointing. Smiling, Sisu continued. "Down there lives a young
woman named Raya. She's the human who woke me up after 500 years." Toothless
looked at the girl and then back, with a glimmer of confusion yet curiosity in his eyes.
"Well, it turns out a few years back, her kind accidentally awakened the Drunn, and
she needed my help to destroy it." Sisu turned her head away, and gave a sensitive
smile. "However, it wasn't because she wanted to save her entire species. It was
because she wanted to save her father, who had been turned to stone." She then
pointed to a figure standing next to the girl, which Toothless could guess was her
father. "A lot could see that as a selfish motivation, but not me. She wasn't doing it
for herself, she was doing it for her dad." She turned towards Toothless, gently
intertwining her tail with his. "She wanted to save someone else, and that's what
matters, just like how you became the alpha because you were protecting someone
you care for. They both just happened to result in not just the preservation of one life,
but multiple lives. Stopping the Drunn brought back everyone who had turned the
stone, including my brothers and sisters. Defeating the alpha saved your realm from
a tyrant. None of these actions were committed out of selfishness, they were
committed out of loyalty, and devotion to others. Honestly, if that doesn't make a
good dragon, then you've got me stumped."
A brief moment of silence fell over the two, before Toothless gave a small smile in
response. "Thanks Sisu. It's just hard to believe I'm the king of all dragons, when as
of late I've never felt more detached from my own kind." Toothless' last sentence left
Sisu in a sense of disbelief. "Detached?!" she cried. "Dude, have you looked at
yourself lately? I've never seen a more spitting image of a dragon!" She then
proceeded to nudge Toothless in the arm with her own. "You're the perfect specimen!
From your claws, your wings, even your teeth man!" The two both laughed at the last
part, before Sisu let out a wishful sigh "I wish I had wings sometimes." Giving himself
a moment to cease his chuckling, a thought occurred in Toothless' mind. "You know,
given what I've been told, I'm surprised you're not a titan yourself." Sisu looked over
at Toothless in confused shock, before letting out a fake laugh in response. "Oh, I'm
nowhere near a cutout for a title like that. Titans are supposed to be the apex of our
kind, the lighthouses to our ships!" Sisu then faced the ground looking almost
sombre as she flicked a pebble away with her talons. "In the grand ocean of our kind,
I'm more like a tugboat than anything." Upon hearing Sisu's claim, Toothless realised
that the blue dragoness was almost as insecure about herself as a dragon as he
was. Yet somehow, she was still able to comfort Toothless about his insecurities
while hiding her own. It filled him with a sense of admiration. Looking back towards
the temple, he figured it wouldn't hurt to chat for a little longer. "So, you have a
human friend too. What's she like?" Sisu looked up at Toothless, who gave her a
toothless grin. She chuckled, and looked towards the temple, sharing details about
her human friend with Toothless.
Charizard had intended to drag Toothless back to the cavern as soon as the rest
Kumundra's dragons had arrived. Yet upon walkin out into the garden and seeing
Toothless and Sisu engaging, he couldn't help but watch in silent intrigue. So far, the
alpha had disappointed Charizard in almost every way. He was much younger, less
confident, and overall acted less like a leader for the dragons he had encountered.
Based on the way he was acting, Charizard thought he would have completely
fumbled his image in the eyes of this realm's dragonets. Despite that, here he sat,
just casually bonding with one of his subjects, one he had known for not even half a
day. It sparked a small dash of hope in Charizard that his leader may not be as
hopeless as he perceived.
Charizard didn't observe for too long however, as he still kept their mission in mind.
"Eh hem!" Charizard coughed, causing Toothless and Sisu to spin around in fright.
The two easened up upon seeing Charizard, yet gave him an annoyed look of
confusion. "The tribe had fully gathered," Charizard explained Pengu's ready to
address his tribe, and I figured I should let you know your majesty" Charizard hadn't
even intended to address Toothless in that tone, yet it just slipped out, shocking both
the fire elemental and the Night Fury. Toothless still appreciated the respect
regardless, giving a nod in response before standing up. As Charizard turned to
head back, Toothless tailed him, with Sisu jumping up to follow behind.
…
As Kandikis concluded observing over the three dragons, a devilish grin contorted
over his face. Not only did he have half of the new guardians together in one place,
but he had an entire realm's worth of dragons with them. "This is almost too easy,
Sentinel!" Kandikis's laugh echoed off the walls, putting his pride on full display.
"Quite so sir. By gathering the entire population of Kumundra's dragons in one place,
the Guardians will have little to no defense once they vacate the mountain." Kandikis
smirk fell to a disapproving scowl. "You're an idiot, Sentinel," Kandikis scolded, as
the Shadow ether began to project multiple stone troops towards the bottom and top
of the mountain. "By cutting the dragons of Kumandra off from their main source of
power, being the water, the guardians and their allies will be nothing more but sitting
ducks." Kandikis turned towards his first in command, with a sinister purple gleam in
his eye. "Now," he slithered, "Launch the attack."
…
Upon re- entering the cavern, Toothless could swear it had grown two sizes bigger,
and the amount of dragons that were present made it seem so. There was almost no
space present in the hall to move around, meaning that Toothless had to practically
squeeze through multiple dragons to get to the centre. Pengu and his siblings were
waiting for the three, with Pengu standing upon a ledge which Charizard stood next
to. Upon seeing the Night Fury arrive, Pengu lowered his head to meet Toothless
height. "Do you want to handle this?" Toothless shook his head in response, to which
Pengu nodded. Although he was being polite, Toothless couldn't help but think that
came off as a bit cowardly.
"Dragons of Kumandra!" Pengu addressed his tribe, causing the crowd to hush,
falling silent. "I have gathered you all on short notice for an important announcement.
The Drunn has returned!" A wave of gasps filled the space, followed by turning
heads and remarks of panic. "But how?" One dragon questioned, before another
added "Didn't Sisu and her human friends destroy it for good?" Toothless saw Sisu
look away while clinging onto her arm. "Does this have to do with the prophecy
brother?" one of Sisu's sibling's questioned Pengu, causing him to nod remorsefully.
"Unfortunately yes, Jagan." Toothless saw the brother and his siblings exchange
concerned looks before Pengu continued. "One of our old foes has returned, and
based on what we have learnt, he is hell bent on finishing what he started!" Even
though the panic continued to rise amongst the crowd, Toothless couldn't help but
evaluate how Pengu was addressing his tribe. He sounded so confident, despite
being as fearful as his brother. I should take notes, Toothless thought to himself.
"There is a way to stop Kandikis," Pengu continued, "but in order to do that, I must
rejoin the Guardians and venture outside of our own realm to help find the remaining
Titans." Toothless could feel that part easened the crowd a bit as the noise softened,
before one dragon raised their hand. "But what do we do while you're gone? What if
the humans fall under siege? What if our home is attacked once more?" The
dragon's question reignited the discussion amongst the crowd, as many started
asking similar questions. Pengu lowered his head, letting out a sigh that informed
Toothless he was about to make a decision his tribe would most likely not like. "I
believe for the time being that it's best for everyone to remain here, on this mountain
until this threat is resolved."
As Toothless suspected, the outcry from the crowd of dragons was vast. He could
hear multiple dragons yelling out and questioning Pengu to the point where it
became impossible to hear anything. Sisu, who had been standing next to her
siblings, gave Toothless a helpless look. Meanwhile, Charizard was signalling the
Night Fury that they had to go. Looking back at Pengu, who was frantically trying to
calm the crowd, he knew they couldn't drag him away and leave his home in panic.
This is your chance, Toothless thought to himself. This is your opportunity to prove
what Sisu was talking about. To show that I am a worthy king. Raising a paw,
Toothless signaled Charizard to give him a couple of minutes. The orange dragon
rolled his eyes, although he nodded in approval. Toothless then began to make his
way through the crowd to Pengu and his siblings, where Toothless could see that
Sisu was watching him curiously, unlike her siblings, who hadn't noticed the Night
Fury as thy kept switching their views from the crowd to their brother. However,
Pengu himself did happen to notice Toothless as he came closer, and before he
could ask what the Night Fury wanted, Toothless pointed his wing to himself and
then at the crowd. Following the direction of his wing, Pengu seemed to understand
what Toothless wanted, and stood down as Toothless climbed onto the rock Pengu
had stood on top of.
Every dragon within the hall immediately fell silent, as their concern and panic
immediately shifted into confusion at the sight of the new dragon. The thousands of
eyes staring at the Night Fury didn't bother him, yet he almost spoke with his dragon
voice before remembering to use his new voice. "Hey everyone. You probably don't
know me," Toothless started, before he thought and I don't expect you to, before
swiping that thought away and continuing. "My name is Toothless. I'm the alpha of
my realm, and the leader of the new guardians." Although the room was silent at
first, clearly in shock by what he said, a wave of clapping, bowing, and even a few
roars of respect erupted within the space. Toothless let out a shy smile, as he looked
around and realised the dragons here didn't care who their alpha was, but that they
had an alpha at all. He let out a friendly chuckle in response. "Thank you."
Pengu and his siblings began shushing the crowd so that Toothless could continue,
while Charizard stood by Toothless' side, holding his head high while watching the
alpha in the corner of his eye. Once the room grew quiet enough, Toothless
continued. "Now listen, I understand being cooped up in a confined place doesn't
seem like the ideal solution, but don't think of it as imprisonment, think of it as
security." Toothless could see a few dragons thinking while nodding their heads in
agreement, yet he could also make out some turning to each other and giving
concerned looks. He didn't let this stop him though, and continued. "Back home, my
people were unprepared for the horrors of our enemy, and they fell as a result. But if
you can stand strong and united, then I'm positive that until we return, you will be
able to fend off any forces that threaten your safety."
As Toothless finished, the crowd broke out into discussion, debating and evaluating
Toothless ideas between each other. Looking over, he saw that Sisu was giving him
a toothy grin with two thumbs up, while Pengu gave a small bow of respect, which
was followed by their siblings doing the same. Turning over to see Charizard, even
the orange fireball gave the alpha a nod of respect, seemingly impressed by how
Toothless handled the crowd. Toothless grinned in response, satisfied that they were
starting to work together on some ground.
However, the moment was short lived as one dragon raised their hand. "But what if
you don't come back?" The question was clearly genuine, yet the result was still the
same, as multiple dragons started raising questions in concern once more. "Yeah?"
What do we do then?" "What if the Drunn gets you." "We stood united last time, and
we were all stone for 500 years." The questions startled piling on top of the Night
Fury, causing him to just stand there unsure of what to say or do. Sisu was the only
one still looking at him, now in sadness that his attempt to calm her people had
failed. Meanwhile her siblings were trying to calm the crowd, while Charizard
appeared to have focused on something else entirely. In fact, the orange dragon
seemed a little too distracted, almost as if he was trying to decipher a puzzle.
"Everyone please, just remain calm!" Pengu's voice was audible enough for
Toothless to hear, although he wasn't focused as he was trying to figure out what his
partner was doing. Sisu had also set her line of sight on Charizard, before the
orange dragon roared at the top of his lungs. "HOLD ON!" he bellowed, causing the
entire room to fall silent instantly. After a moment of pure silence, Charizard spoke.
"Does anyone else notice the water is missing?" Almost every head began looking at
the floor, and noticed the cracks that water flowed through underneath their feet were
completely barren. "You're right!" A dragon called out, before another added "The
water has stopped flowing!" Toothless too looked around in confusion. What is Odin's
beard?
Suddenly, a huge boom erupted from above, sending shockwaves through the
cavern causing dragons to fall back and for rubble to fall from the ceiling. Toothless'
ears rang, obstructing the noise of the chaos for a few moments. However, his eyes
still functioned perfectly, and looking towards the source of the explosion, Toothless
could see what appeared to be dozens of dragons emerging from the ceiling. Each
one was holding a spear or a sword, and appeared to be almost identical to one
another, as each one was covered from head to tail in corse greyish - brown stone. A
realisation of horror sank in as Toothless realised they looked exactly like the
dragons who had been turned to stone back home.
As the ringing in his ears died down, the cries and shrieks of the surrounding
dragons became audible. "GARGOYLES!" We're under attack!" Realizing the
names of their attackers, Toothless didn't need a second guess to realise who sent
them. Jumping to his feet, Toothless could see Charizard had already recovered
from the blast, and was whacking a soldier in the face with his tail, while shooting fire
into the face of another, causing both to stagger back. Pranee, Amba and Jagan
were doing all that they could to fend off the troops, roaring in pain as a few spears
and swords sliced their skin. Toothless himself could see Sisu had only just
recovered and was struggling to get to her feet. One of the gargoyles happened to
notice though, and charged towards the blue dragon with his sword drawn. Toothless
didn't hesitate, and shot a plasma blast right in the troop's chest, sending him flying
back, startling Sisu in the process. Looking towards the origin of the blast, Sisu saw
Toothless sprint over to her, giving him her arm as he reached down to help her up.
Just as Toothless helped her to her feet, Sisu's eyes shot open. "Look out!" she
cried, causing Toothless to spin his head as a gargoyle lunged at him. Before
Toothless could shoot it though, Pengu leapt out of the haze and rammed into the
creature's backside, knocking it back and landing himself in front of the two. "Your
majesty! Sister! Are you alright?" Sisu nodded. "We're okay brother." Toothless
turned to see Charizard speed over to them as more dragons came to fend off the
gargoyles. "Those are Kandikis' soldiers, aren't they?" Toothless shouted, pointing
towards the sentient statues behind him "Of course they are!" Charazard spat back.
"I told you the longer we stayed the more we were putting everyone in danger!"
Before Toothless could respond, Sisu jumped between them. "Now's not the time to
argue! We need to find a way out of here!" Pengu nodded. "My sister is right! We
need to get everyone to safety!" Without a moment to lose, Pengu turned to the
crowd fleeing behind them. "Protect the children!" he instructed. Get to the river! Alert
the people of Kumudra!" Many heads nodded in response as they made their way
towards the exit caverns.
Turning back towards the battle in front, Toothless bared his teeth for battle. "We
need to hold those things off as long as possible for everyone to escape!" The heads
of Sisu, Pengu and Charizard nodded, before the four rushed towards the dueling
hoards of dragons, and leapt into the action. Toothless jumped into the air, blasting a
bunch of gargoyles before landing on top of one and firing more plasma blasts at the
ones around it. As a group of troops rammed through Kumundran dragons,
Charizard rushed towards them, igniting his tail, before curling into a ball of fire and
rolling towards the troops, knocking them out like a set of bowling pins. Quickly
recovering, he slammed two more stone soldiers into the wall, before firing fire from
both his mouth and tail at four behind him. Sisu was leaping on top of gargoyles
before grabbing ahold of one and throwing him at a hoard rushing towards her.
Landing on her feet, a gargoyle swung a sword at her face, causing her to duck while
kicking the troop in the face, before swinging her tail around and whacking him away.
As for Pengu, he was using the horn on his head to ram into multiple gargoyles,
piling them up before halting suddenly, sending them flying into the wall ahead.
Seeing his opponents were down, Pengu tapped into his elemental powers,
gesturing towards the gargoyles determined to end it here. However, instead of
summoning a cyclone to suck the gargoyles out of the cavern away from the
mountain, the Titan was shocked to see that nothing happened. As the troops
recovered, Pengu gestured towards them again, panicking as still nothing happened.
Trying to figure out what was wrong, Pengu glanced around the battle frantically
before setting his eyes on the little geysers above, seeing that water was no longer
flowing through any of them. "Lord help us…" he realised out loud. "hey sealed off
the water!" A wooden pole suddenly collide with Pengu's skull, causing him to
stagger and fall onto his back. The gargoyle responsible towered over Pengu, but
before he could whack his tail into the soldier, he moved out of the way, before
stomping down on Pengu's leg, immobilising him. He screeched in agony, alerting
the dragons in the hall to his distress. "Pengu!" Sisu cried, desperately trying to make
her way to her brother, before she became swarmed with gargoyles. Although he
was being dogpiled by troops, Toothless shot a plasma blast into the ground, causing
himself and all the dragons to launch into the air. Using the opportunity, Toothless
shot towards Pengu as quickly as he could.
…
As the troops view of Pengu's agonised pain displayed on the shadow ether,
Kandikis grinned, pressing his talons together in satisfaction. "What a stroke of
chance.." he slithered to himself, despite Sentinel standing behind. "Not only do I
trap half the guardians and Kumundra's entire dragon population in one place, but
the first face I can properly see suffer is the face of a dragon who forced me to suffer
for 500 years!" Being completely fixated on the crystal, Kandikis couldn't tell his
second was staring in complete confusion, as the troop had his sword drawn to
strike, yet hadn't moved a muscle since pinning the titan. "What is he doing?" The
guardian is right there, perfect for eliminating!" Before Kandikis could respond,
Sentinel used his connection with the Drunn to communicate with the troop. "Finish
him soldier! Complete the objective!" Kandikis spun towards his second and back, in
a fiery outrage. "What? No! Do not listen to him! That is not your mission!"
However, the troop obliged to Sentinel's command, raising his sword to plunge it
through Pengu's heart. However, as the soldier prepared to strike, an ear piercing
screech emitted from the crystal, causing Kandikis and Sentinel to watch as the
statue's vision rose, to show Toothless leaping forwards.
Sorry to end on a cliffhanger for this chapter. Chapter eight was supposed to
be a part of this chapter, but it has already reached ten pages, and I wanted to
get something out sooner rather than later.