Chapter Eight: The Third Guardian
Slamming into the gargoyle to knock it off balance, Toothless fell to the floor due to
the impact, before quickly trying to recover. After recovering itself, the statue realised
it's sword was missing, and had slid away, evenly distanced between it and
Toothless. Both eyeing the weapon, Toothless dashed towards it before the guard
lept on Toothless, pinning him down, Toothless tried to knock him off his back, but
the soldier used the weight of his body to dig his claws into Toothless' back, causing
the Night Fury to screech in pain. As the soldier lifted his talons to slash at Toothless'
neck, a blue tail suddenly wrapped around its arm and yanked him off of the Night
Fury. The dragon who had saved Toothless was Sisu, who was now trying to claw at
the soldier with her talons. The guard however, did not seem to notice, as after
regaining his footing, grabbed ahold of Sisu's arm, before kicking her to the ground.
Yelping in distort, she turned to see Toothless had recovered. "Toothless! Please, get
my brother to safety!" Toothless looked over and noticed Pengu was still on the floor,
trying to stand up before collapsing in pain. Everyone else wasn't doing much better,
as the rest of their siblings as well as Charizard were locked in battle, with Charizard
seeming to hold his ground better, yet without making any progress towards victory.
Looking back towards the guard, who had his claws lifted once more to slit Sisu's
throat, Toothless began to growl in anger. No, I won't let it end this way. Not this time!
As his back fins began to part, a blue glow started emitting from within, as bolts of
electricity began flickering. Fully extending his teeth, Toothless reared his jaw open,
emitting the same blue glow as the one on his back. Rumbles of thunder could be
heard from outside, and as the sparks of electricity became more frequent and
sporadic, Toothless emitted an ear piercing screech as he fully charged up.
Suddenly, a massive bolt of lightning shot through the ceiling of the cave, sending
debris flying varying, as the lightning struck Toothless. The Night Fury immediately
absorbed the energy, before firing a massive beam of plasma at the gargoyle, who
only had a second to react in shock before the plasma sent him flying off Sisu. Every
dragon in the cavern had to shield their eyes from the light, but as it died down, the
only things that remained were a winded Toothless, panting as the glow faded from
his back and smoke emitted from his mouth, as well as a speechless Sisu, who
remained in the position the soldier had pinned her in, looking at Toothless,
speechless. Upon realising what had just happened, every gargoyle that still lived
broke away from the dragons they were fighting, before leaping towards the walls
and climbing out of the cavern through the hole in the ceiling. Outside of Charizard,
who sneered as they left, every dragon was looking at Toothless in shock, before the
Night Fury suddenly passed out, falling to the floor before Sisu sprung up and caught
him. Looking down at the drained alpha and then back at her siblings, only one thing
was capable of leaving her mouth. "What in the ancestors was that?!"
…
The image in the shadow ether fuzzled, as its connection with the trooper was
severed. For a few moments, silence engulfed the area, with bursting lava bubbles
being the only noise present. Kandkikis stood staring at the crystal, while Sentinel
stood in complete shock, with the soldiers present looking towards their two
superiors in bliss. The silence was broken though when a look of pure rage contorted
over Kandikis's red scaled face, and clouds of drunk suddenly erupted from the walls
of the volcano, startling the soldiers as well as Sentinel. "YOU IDIOT! Kandikis
roared, spinning around and whacking Sentinel in the snout, causing him to fall and
roll over the edge of the platform. The commander managed to grab a hold of the
ledge, but due to the rocky nature of his wings, he was incapable of using his wings
to fly. Kandkikis didn't care about that fact however, as his second had almost ruined
his entire plan. Thus, his actions deserve an equal punishment.
Walking over to the ledge where he hung, Kandikis's shadow lingered over Sentinel
as he peered below the stone commander. Although most of the structure they stood
on had been built on top of the lava, there were still some gaps left at the base, big
enough for a fully matured dragon to fall through into the lava below. Unfortunately
for Sentinel, he was right above one. Kandikis shot a dark glare down at his
subordinate as he dangled precariously, giving his master a confused and somewhat
anxious look. "A solid bath in lava should encourage you to never misuse your
authority again!" Kandikis then stood his talons on top of Sentinel's, fully intending to
make him let go. "I hope you still remember the fact that I don't need you Sentinel,"
Kandikis sneered as he applied pressure to his talons. "You only exist because I
need a military force to enact my will in the realms, and they're usually easier to
command when I have a complacent subordinate!" Sentinel was looking back and
forth between Kandikis' talons in pure confusion now. "But master," he pleaded," you
yourself said that the guardians are the only ones who could stop your plans.
Logically the best course of action is to dispose of them!" Kandikis's glare grew
darker, as he leaned down towards the dangling commander. "Is that so? Then tell
me commander, have you considered the consequences that may bring to my plan if
successful?" Sentinel glanced away briefly before glancing back. "No sir. Because I
haven't been informed of what the plan is. None of my troops have. You've only told
us that the Guardians are a direct threat towards it!" Kandikis squinted his eyes
before leaning up, stroking his chin with his free talons. "That is a fair point you raise
Sentinel," Kandikis smirked while looking away. "I should be more communicative
with my plans." Without warning, the deranged dragon suddenly swiped at Sentinels
head with his free talons, causing the commander to lose his grip and plummet
towards the bowl of lava below. Although a cry of shock was emitted as he fell, it was
quickly muffed upon hitting the ground as lava engulfed Sentinel's body, his stone
nature causing him to sink towards the bottom. Kandikis knew his troops, including
Sentinel, were resistant to lava, yet it still served as an effective punishment, given
that they could still feel some levels of pain. He would ensure his men dragged
Sentinel out sooner or later. Turning back to face his troops, he was satisfied to see
their stone Drunn illuminated eyes were wide with shock. "The next time someone
disobeys me, I'll make sure they stay down there permanently!" Kandikis swore,
causing the gargoyles to shiver, a rare sign of their fear. "Understood?" Kandikis's
growl resulted in every head he could see nodding in compliance. "Now then, I do
not want the Guardians dead! As annoying as they might be in screwing up my plan,
they are still necessary towards what I desire." All the gargoyles nodded before
running off to return to their posts, and as Kandikis turned back to face the ether, he
sneered as he glanced back at the direction Sentinel had fallen. "Pray for your own
sake that your men did not severely harm Pengu or any of the other guardians."
…
The chamber could hardly be described as a chamber anymore, as the explosion
from the gargoyles and Toothless' mysterious attack had burst the ceiling right open,
leaving debris everywhere. Sisu sat near the middle of the area next to Toothless,
who was still unconscious, yet he had been placed comfortably on a bed of moss by
her and her sisters. Most of the soldiers who had fought against the gargoyles had
gone to watch the mountain from every side, leaving only a few soldiers present.
Outside of that, the only dragons that remained were Sisu and her siblings, who
were tending to Pengu's injury, Charizard, who was sitting on a dry piece of debris
nearby watching Toothless for movement, as well as a few dragons who had
returned after hiding in the caves. Sisu's main focus was mainly on the dragon next
to her though, as she was still trying to pin together what had happened during the
battle. She had never been the most familiar with magic and elemental abilities, but
what she witnessed didn't look like a normal elemental power. Rather, from what
Sisu could see during the skirmish, it looked as if the alpha had been powered by
God Himself.
A thought suddenly occurred to Sisu, and she turned around, gesturing to Charizard
for him to come over. He did so, leaping down while keeping his tail above to not
collide his fire with any foliage or water. "What is it?" Charizard questioned stiffly.
"Has the king shown any signs of waking up?" Sisu glanced back at Toothless "Not
yet," she started before looking back. "But listen. You seem to know more about
magic and titans than any living dragon I have met." Charizard raised an eyebrow
"Was that a compliment," he retorted. Sisu gave a confused look. "No, it's an
assessment," she clarified. Charizard tilted his head, giving the dragoness a side
eye. "Is that so," he observed. "Well then, what's the deal?" Sisu jerked her head
back, unsure if Charizard was being sarcastic, given his stiff tone. Shaking her head,
she pointed towards Toothless and then the hole in the ceiling. "That - blast…
whatever happened to that guy on top of me, it was caused by the king." she
explained. Charizard nodded. "Correct. That was likely a result of Titanus' essence."
Sisu turned back to Charizard, completely puzzled. "Titanus' essence?" she
exclaimed, before giving her own side eye. "Wait? Are you serious, or are you pulling
my leg right now?" Charizard gave an unimpressed look. "I don't pull dragons' legs
except in battle." Charizard retorted, before looking back at Toothless. Sisu looked at
Charizard, surprised he didn't understand the figure of speech. "Titanus' essence is
the definition for a fully matured dragon's power. Upon reaching a certain age or
becoming a Titan, a dragon's abilities can surge in power, creating powerful attacks
like the one we just witnessed. "Charizard pointed his tail at the ceiling, as a few
pebbles fell from the ceiling. "From what I've studied, Night Fury's mostly possess
abilities centred in electricity and plasma, so it would be logical that Toothless'
attacks would be tied to lightning, similar to how my attacks are centred around fire,
and your kind around water." Sisu stroked her chin, both understanding and not
understanding what Charizard was explaining. Charizard could tell, however, and
rolled his eyes. "Let me simplify; Normal dragons equal normal powers. Titan
dragons equal stronger powers. Understand?" Sisu frowned,
rolling her eyes. "Yes sir," she huffed. "Charizard snorted a puff of smoke before
looking back at the Night Fury. Despite being more naive and slightly shy, the blue
dragoness was almost if not just as stubbornly annoying as the Night Fury was. He
was just glad her brother, the actual Guardian, was more sensible and mature.
Speaking of Pengu, the dragon's siblings had crafted a cast made of vines and
moss, which he now wore around the arm he had injured. His brother Jagan was
now supporting him on one side with Pranee stood on the other, yet despite his size,
Pengu seemed to be balancing on his one well enough. Seeing the state the Titan
was in did arouse some concern within Charizard, given that there were still two
titans they had yet to find before they could fulfil the prophecy. Charizard wondered if
Pengu was well enough to travel in his state, but he ignored that thought, realising
there wasn't another logical road to take.
The sun had lowered dangerously fast when Toothless finally came too, grunting as
he rose to his feet. "Toothless! You're okay." Sisu rejoiced as she helped the Alpha
stand up. Toothless smiled, nodding sheepishly. "I guess I am," he observed. "What
happened?" As Charizard opened his mouth, Sisu jumped in. "You saved the day!
Not only that, but you turned into a living lightning bolt in the process!" Charizard
shot a disapproving look at the dragoness, annoyed she had spoken over him.
"Really?" Toothless questions, before chuckling. "I don't remember that part."
Charizard stepped in front of Toothless, causing Sisu to move to the side. "While I
argue that the day hasn't been saved yet," Charizard proclaimed, shooting a look at
Sisu, who stuck her tongue out, "I do agree that that ability you used was a good
sign." Toothless tilted his head in confusion. "How so?" Charizard pointed his wings
at the Night Fury. "Because it means despite my judgements, you do appear to
possess the abilities of a Titan after all." Toothless stood tall, proud that he was
getting some respect from Charizard, before his entire remark fully registered. "I
thought you said you didn't believe I was the alpha." Toothless' challenge, as
Charizard tapped his tail against a pool of water. "I can do both," he expressed, as
steam rose from behind him. Toothless slumped his wings, feeling that so called
respect evaporate.
The Night Fury's attention was suddenly drawn behind Sisu, as he noticed Pengu
limping over, assisted by his siblings. "Oh my gosh, Pengu! Are you okay?" Toothless
question received a weak yet optimistic nod from the green dragon. "Nothing
permanent," he assured. "I'll be back to normal in a few weeks, according to our
healers." Pengu then turned towards his sister, and gave a thankful look back to
Toothless. "I am more than grateful for you saving my sister, your majesty. However,
I am also shocked yet pleased that your powers are just as strong as my departed
allies." Toothless realised he was referring to what had happened before, and looked
back at his tail as he moved in closer. "Yeah, I didn't even know I had that much
power. I mean, I'm not even one hundred percent sure I know exactly how I did that."
Pengu limped over and placed his hand on the Night Fury's wing, wincing a little yet
fighting the pain. "You're still new to everything. Give it time, and I'm sure you'll come
to understand." Toothless smiled yet felt a sense of doubt in the back of his mind.
"I'm sure Charizard can inform you on the full extent of Titanus' essence during the
journey," Pengu proclaimed, smiling towards Charizard. He slumped his wings.
"Sure, but given the amount of time we have left until nightfall, I highly encourage
that we should leave for the next realm asap." Toothless turned towards Toothless in
shock and disgust. "You can't be serious!" he argued. "Can you not see how injured
Pengu is? He's in no condition to be travelling on his own, let alone through realms
of all places." Charizard growled in annoyance as he turned to face the night Fury.
"He won't be alone. He has us." Toothless rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean!
He's not well to continue with us, and he's especially not gonna stand a chance
against those stone dragons!"
Every head in the room was now looking at the arguing dragons, who were
illuminated by the growing flame on Charizard's tail. "Well what do you suggest we
do, your majesty? Pengu's this realm's guardian! We can't just replace him!" Before
Toothless could fire back, Sisu stepped in. "Yeah you can. The role of a guardian can
be passed on to another Titan." Both Charizard and Toothless turned to stare at the
dragoness, while Pengu was looking down, thinking to himself. "She's right,"
Toothless agreed. "You said it yourself. Whenever I challenged the original alpha and
became king, I took on the role of a Guardian. And Elderess said that your kind has
been training dragons for generations. Surely that means you've been passing on
the role as well." Charizard placed his paw on his face, scrunching it knowing
Toothless was right. However, he suddenly opened his eyes when he gained an
idea, raising his head to tower Toothless. "If you believe that, then why don't you
choose the next guardian." Charizard declared. He intentionally spoke loudly so that
every dragon in the area could hear him. "Even though you're new to all of this and
don't know who in this room is a titan, the decision should be yours, since you are
our king." Toothless could tell Charizard was challenging him, but he didn't want to
give a reaction. Instead, he played along. "Very well Charizard. I will choose the next
guardian, if it's okay with Pengu." He turned towards the injured dragon, who
seemed to see through Charizard's act as well, nodding in approval.
As Toothless looked across the crowd, he started to realise the worrying truth to
what Charizard had said. He didn't know any of the dragons in this room, not well
enough to dictate if they were worthy of being a guardian or not. He barely knew
what made himself a guardian, so how was he supposed to believe in someone else,
when he couldn't believe in himself. Wait a minute, he thought to himself, fixating on
that last point. Why does that sound so familiar? He then remembered the dragon
who spoke very similarly about herself, and upon realising, he knew who he wanted
to choose as the next guardian. "I've decided." Toothless announced to Charizard, as
well as everyone else present. "I think the most worthy dragon to join the guardians
is Sisudatu."
The room fell silent outside of the noise of every dragon's head turning towards Sisu,
who stood in shock from what the alpha had just said. "M-me?" she managed to
utter. "You want me to be a guardian?" Before Toothless could respond, a ball of fire
exploded from Charizard's tail, causing dragons behind him to duck. "You can't be
serious!" he protested, receiving a glare from Toothless, soon being joined by Sisu. "I
am," Toothless declared, before raising his wings high. "Is there a problem with
that?" Smoke steamed out of Charizard's nostrils before he shut his eyes and
calmed himself. "She can't be the guardian. I've read all about Pengu's siblings, and
he's the only titan in their family." Sisu hung her head, thinking Charizard was right,
before Toothless spoke up. "Yes she is. You and Elderess said that a Titan is born
through actions of power, selflessness, or courage. Based on what Sisu told me, I
think she displayed all of those attributes when helping to bring her kind back." Sisu
lifted her head towards Toothless, who glanced over and gave her a warm smile.
"He's right," Pengu collaborated with Toothless, limping over to his sister. "Sisu, from
the moment we were taken, you not only managed to free us, but you managed to
end a multi century war between the people of Kumudra." He smiled down at his
sister, who looked down in doubt.
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I'm cut out for something like this," she wrapped her tail
around and held onto it with one of her paws. "I didn't create the dragon gem, I just
tuned it. I didn't bring you guys back, Raya and her friends did. I don't even know
why you chose me out of all of our siblings." Pengu gave his sister a sympathetic
look. "You don't need a sister. We know who you are, and we knew you had the best
chance of saving our world then, just like the king, as well as I believe you are fit to
become a guardian now." Sisu looked towards her brother, and then back at
Toothless. "You really think I can do this?" she questioned. Toothless nodded. "Of
course." Pengu chuckled, gaining confused looks from both Toothless and Sisu. "If
you don't want to go, we can always send someone like Jagan." Sisu chuckled, and
Toothless could see a purple dragon behind Pengu giving a confused yet sarcastic
look. "You guys know I'm standing right here, right?" Amba laughed, and bumped
into her brother. "Don't threaten, bro. We still love you." He glanced down at her,
flicking his tail. "I still feel patronised."
All heads then turned to Charizard, awaiting a response. Seeing he was in the
minority, he let out a long groan. "Fine. If that's your choice, then so be it." He turned
away to fiddle through his bag. "Let's just get going before it gets dark." Toothless
grinned in victory. "He's right," Pengu agreed. "Day and night cycles are pretty
identical between realms, so you'll want to find refuge as soon as you reach the next
realm." Toothless nodded, as Charizard pulled out three transport crystals out of his
bag, before smashing them against the ground. Instantly, a blue gateway formed, as
a view of the next realm became clear. "Whenever you two are ready." Charizard
urged, presenting the gateway with his wing. Toothless turned towards Sisu, who
was looking back at her brothers and sisters. Seeing the look on her face, Toothless
felt a stab of sympathy in his heart. He understood what it felt like leaving her home
and family behind, with two strangers for that matter. He walked up towards her, and
placed a hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to,"
Toothless assured Sisu. She looked at her siblings, before Amba ran forward and
embraced her sister in a hug, which Sisu accepted. They stood there for a moment,
before the two parted, and Sisu turned towards Toothless, with a new look of
confidence on her face. "I do," she assured. "I trust you guys." Toothless nodded, but
as Sisu went to join Charizard, Toothless couldn't help but see the faces of Light fury,
Stormfly and the others smiling at him in his mind. He stood strong though, showing
no signs of remorse. Looking at Pengu, the titan and his siblings gave one last bow
of respect to their king. "Good luck." Pengu wished, before Amba added, "Please
protect our sister." Toothless nodded, making a promise to them, as well as his
friends in spirit "I will. I won't let any harm befall her." he assured, before turning and
heading for the gateway. As Charizard stepped through the gateway, Toothless
followed with Sisu close behind. I want to save my home, but I'm not going to let
anyone else get hurt along the way.
As the gateway closed behind the three Guardians, Pengu looked off, wishing the
best luck for his sister and her companions. As he did so, Pranne walked up to his
side with a concerned look on her face. "Brother, I know you understand more about
the Guardians given your history, but was it right not telling our sister the truth about
the prophecy?" Her question gained confused glances between Amba and Jagan,
who were unaware of what their older sibling spoke of.
"It's better this way," Pengu assured, before looking out at the drawing sky. "Besides,
I have no doubt Elderess will reveal the truth once the time comes." Although as
Pranee looked, away, Pengu couldn't help but feel a stab of guilt from the lie he just
told. In all truthfulness. He was just as concerned about Elderess' prophecy as
everyone else, and hoped that the former guardian knew what he was doing.
A sudden boom of light from behind Pengu and his siblings caught their attention,
and as they turned around, they were shocked to see another gateway was
materializing behind them. As the figures who created it stepped through however,
Pengu could only stop and pray to the ancient titan wing. 'Please old friend. Do not
lead my sister and the guardian astray. Our fates depend on it.'
…
After concluding his observation over the Guardians and their allies, Kandikis ceased
the transmissions in the shadow ether, as he stroked his chin with great intrigue.
"Sooo, the mighty Pengu has relinquished his title of Guardian to his sister?" He
chuckled to himself as he turned to face Sentinel. "What an unbelievably
incompetent decision!" Sentinel had only just dragged himself out of the volcano's
lava, so he was still drenched in the molten substance from head to toe. "Isn't she-
uugh - the one who - grrrr - defeated your Druun before?" Sentinel's words kept
being muffled by spots of lava caught in his throat, which were either dripping out
slowly, or cooling within his body. Kandikis rolled his eyes, annoyed at both his
second's unprofessional appearance, as well as his braindead remark. "Pffft! Such
an exaggeration." he declared, waving his hand away. "All she did was dissipate my
pet, temporarily, after her entire kind was consumed." Kandikis spun around amiing
sure his tail and robes moved almost majestically. "She didn't even use her own
magic to do so," Kandikis scoffed, looking towards the shadow ether. "Hardly a
victory I would relish."
An image of the three guardians united so far materialised within the crystal, as
Kandikis clawed its surface, navigating his claw around the dragoness' neck. "No,
she will be easy to deal with, the real dragon that intrigues me is Night Fury." Upon
speaking, he guiding his finger towards Toothless, glaring at him intently. "What is
your story? Why are you so different from any other dragon who has crossed my
path? " Kandikis pondered for a moment before the sound of a gateway opening
echoed from the bottom of the chamber. Before long, a gargoyle arrived at the top
before Sentinel, bowing towards him and his master, who barely noticed.
"Lord Kandikis! We have retrieved the target as you requested." Grinning in
anticipation, Kandikis mimicked slicing the Night Fury's throat with his talon, before
the image faded, and he turned to face his trooper.
"Bring him forward."