#and it turns out all dragons and riders were just flying in an eternal sky

[razzek]

Absolutely horrible Pern thought of the day I woke up with but which I’ve had in mind for awhile:

Every dragon dies alone and separated from their rider.

We all know that when a dragon loses their rider they go between forever. If they’re lucky, they go with their rider on their back. If their rider dies and they jump between in horrible grief. That’s sad enough. But it gets worse.

At the absolute max, humans can survive without oxygen for maybe five minutes. Most people will be unconscious in about three. We learned in All the Weyrs of Pern that a dragon can hold their breath for about ten minutes, sometimes more.

Ergo, even if the rider goes with them, the dragon will be alone for at least five very crushing minutes before they finally lose consciousness. If the rider has died before they went between, they have ten minutes to deal with it and be in mental and emotional anguish.

(Don’t get me started on Beyond Between. That story makes no sense and was almost certainly written because Anne herself was thinking about her own mortality. If a person could just get stuck between like that there is no reason it wouldn’t be common knowledge among the dragons at the very least. And if you got stuck there after being fatally wounded, that’s not any kind of heaven, that’s what we would call hell.)

[phoenix-manga]

Dream of Rathalos

Grimm couldn't sleep at all. He tossed and turned but the dusty mattress didn't help. With a huff, he shoves away the covers and decides to wait out the hours.

He walked around the dilapidated dorm with a bored look on his face. Sneezing once or twice when the dust tickled his nose.

Then he hears singing? It was faint but the night was quiet enough to hear even a pin drop.

Grimm looks out the window and he sees a familiar ash-blonde head outside.

"(Fraena? Why is she up so late?)" Grimm thinks to himself.

The young lady stood watching the moon with her Palamute, Draken, sitting next to her matching the direction of her gaze.

He can hear her voice humming out lyrics to a song.

Dance, O light across the sky,

Sent to us from heaven.

Bring us hope and show the path,

To all our futures.

He has never heard that song before but it felt sacred with how softly she sang it.

As if there was weight in her tone with each word she sang. Grimm can't help but feel like she's telling him a story.

He closed his eyes, unconsciously tuning out everything else as he put all his attention to her voice.

Shining in the night,

upon wings you'll fly,

hope from the dark,

brightening the sky just like sun.

Grimm almost dozed off if it weren't for him hitting his head on the glass knocking him awake.

"Funya!?" he hissed as he rubbed his sore forehead.

He checked to see if Fraena heard him but thankfully she hasn't and continued singing.

He decided to go back to the room and leave her to her privacy. He wouldn't want to face her ire when she realizes she has an audience.

Grimm tucked himself into the dusty mattress once more.

Our salvation enlightened by you,

O sacred star,

light our way.

He can still hear the voice from inside. Maybe it's due to the broken window that isn't deafening any outside noises anytime soon.

Grimm lets her voice lull him to sleep as his eyelids grow droopy. The song acts as a lullaby to drift him into dreamland.

On scarlet wings,

take our wishes up on your way into the sky,

soaring ever higher.

That night, Grimm dreamed of a red dragon that flew into the bright blue sky. He felt the wind on his fur as it soared over him in mesmerizing circles, almost as if the creature was enjoying its flight.

From atop the dragon, he can make out the figure of a human in the weirdest armor he's seen.

Dark blue and red with a tribal mask on their forehead.

As he watches the two fly so carefree, Fraena's voice echoes into his head, still singing that unknown song.

Beyond anywhere,

beyond the world, to eternity.

He could swear that the dragon and its rider started to fly in his direction but he didn't feel a sense of danger. Rather it felt like they were trying to reach out to him.

Before he could reach out with his paw, he woke up with the sunlight seeping through the cracked window.

"Grimm? Wake up, you're going to be late for breakfast!"

Fraena's voice reached his ears along with the barks of her Palamute.

When he got downstairs, Fraena was her usual self. Her posture was stiff and stern as she quickly set the table while Draken moves the chairs around.

"You alright? You look a bit sleep deprived..."

She looks at him with an eyebrow raised.

Grimm wanted to retort by pointing out why SHE wasn't sleep-deprived when she was playing opera outside. But he decided to keep that thought to himself.

"Hard to sleep with a dusty mattress! I say we get that crow to give us a better bed! My beauty sleep is a basic need, funya!"

"More like we need a new everything... I'll try to talk some sense into him later..." Freana rolls her eyes at his complaints with an amused huff.

She placed a plate of eggs and toast in front of him as they began to dig in.

Grimm says nothing more and began to eat as well. But his thoughts were trying to remember what he dreamed that night.

He knows that he saw something but all of them seemed like a blur.

He'll worry about it later. He needs to focus on becoming the greatest mage ever!

END

[crystalgirl259]

How to Train Your Dragonblood 3: The Dragonblood Alpha Ch3

After Jay and Cole finally got Kai and Rocky to stop their little game of tug and war, they all flew towards the smoke to investigate it. Below them, the trees look like an orange, yellow blur below them and on any other day, Jay would be in awe. But as they flew further into the forest, however, the bright orange and yellow colors became a burned, gray forest. The place looked downright depressing. The trees were devoid of any leaves, standing like sticks among the ashes.

They flew through the burnt remains of the forest until they reached the ocean and saw a large and piercing structure of ice, with large protruding spiky icicles.

As they flew around the destroyed structure, Cole realized that used to be a type of trading post or battle fort. This fort looked like it was once a thriving outpost, complete with docks for ships, weapons, and what looked like cages. Jay really hoped they were for containing livestock and not something else. There were even raised docks for archers to fire. Despite Cole clearly identifying the fort as strong, something had reduced it to splinters and icicles.

At first, they thought it was an Ice Dragonblood, but judging but the size of the blast, it must have been an incredibly large and strong one.

They stopped in midair to take in the sight. Jay turned around to Cole, who shrugged helplessly. They had all seen Ice Dragonblood attacks before, but it wasn't just the ice that was strange. The way the ice shot out from the ocean suggested a Water Dragonblood, but the few scorch marks on the bits of wood exposed made Jay think of a Lightning Dragonblood, or possibly a Fire Dragonblood. Jay could feel Kai's hope through their link, but they both knew not to get too hopeful.

They had been disappointed in the past.

They flew closer to the massive hunk of ice, looping through a ring and around it until the man-made structure became more visible.

"What happened here?" Jay asked in horror, but none of his friends had an answer for him. As they kept flying around, the wood splinters on the ice made it seem as if the ice suddenly grew in the middle of a village. On the muddy ground around the ruins, two dragon-like footprints were seen. They looked to be around the size of the monster from the Dragonblood's Nest from five years ago, possibly even bigger.

"I really don't like this," Kai said through the link as he shook his head and Jay put his hand on his neck in reassurance.

"Easy, baby." He replied, but he couldn't hide his own unease.

"Jay!" Cole suddenly cried when he saw something down in the ice, but it was too late.

"Fire!" A man suddenly shouted from below as a net was launched from a trapped ship and Jay and Kai got out of its range just in time. Even though the couple had managed to dodge the net, Cole and Rocky were not that lucky. The Earth Dragonblood was caught in the net and they fell down. Cole was thrown off from the saddle during the sudden drop. The noirette cried out as he fell, but Kai to catch him in his claws. Rocky landed on the ground and men suddenly surround him, carrying shields and spears.

Rocky struggled to escape or transform, but the net seemed to be made from vengestone, blocking out all of his powers.

As the men closed in, Rocky launched rock spikes from his tail that struck a fallen mast. From behind the fallen mast, a man jumped out to join in the fight. The middle-aged man had messy black hair and sharp, sandy brown eyes with long sideburns and stubble around his mouth and chin. He wore a brown jacket with large pockets on the front and a patch on the right side, tan pants, and a black belt, and carried a brown whip. He was also wearing an eyepatch on his right eye with a necklace made up of large teeth from hunted dragonbloods.

"Watch the tail!" He shouted to the men as he leaped on Rocky and grabbed his snout and head spines, pulling him down. As the men tried to tie Rocky's legs, he grabbed a rope wrapped around his arm that he used as a muzzle when he was suddenly distracted by a loud roar in the sky. As he looked up he saw a red dragon crossing the sky above at blazing speeds. "Is that what I think it is?" He whispered as his eyes widened in shock and excitement.

"STOP!" Jay shouted as Kai flew lower with Cole still hanging from his claws. Cole growled in anger when he saw his friend in chains as he hopped down and ran towards his dragonblood, but was pushed back by the men holding up their weapons in a warning. Jay quickly stepped up, holding a flaming sword that he swung at them. They backed off in surprise and Cole took the chance to grab a random sharp stick from the floor.

"Back again?" The man sneered angrily at them until his eyes zeroed in on Kai, still in his dragon form, snarling and snapping behind them. His eyes widened in amazement as she stood up on top of Rocky, holding his left hand over his sword. "Well what do you know, that is a Fire Dragonblood." He smirked at Kai with a predatory stare. Jay's eyes narrowed as he kept his hand in front of protectively while the dragonblood bared his teeth at the hunters.

There was no way Jay was going to let these hunters hurt his boyfriend.

"Thought they were all gone for good." The man continued, sounding very pleased. "Looks like our luck has turned for the better, men; I don't think the Baron has one of those in his dragonblood army."

"Dragonblood army?" Kai mentally asked. Jay was also curious, but right now they needed to save Rocky.

"Look, we don't want any trouble." He tried to reason with the man but he laughed, mocking them, and carelessly gripped into one of Rocky's head spikes. Cole bristled, but fortunately, nobody saw it. The last thing they needed was a fight with their leader targeting Kai and Rocky still in chains while he and Jay were badly outnumbered.

"You should've thought of that before you stole all of our dragonbloods and blasted our fort to bits!" The man shouted angrily as he pointed to the remains of a structure that were impaled by ice. The other men holler in agreement, but the riders were even more confused.

"Wait, what are you talking about? You think we did this?" Jay asked in disbelief. The man huffed and placed one foot on Rocky's head as he scowled at them in contempt. Cole and Kai scowled right back and Jay gripped his sword tighter.

"Dragonblood trapping is hard enough work as it is without do-gooders dragon riders sneaking in to rescue them!" He shouted angrily, but this just confused the trio even more.

"What do-gooders?" Kai asked, but Jay said nothing as he and Cole shared a look before the ginger-haired man processed the whole sentence and turned around, sheathing the sword.

"There are other dragon riders?" He asked in shock. As far as he or anyone else from Ninjago was aware, they were the only ones who ride and co-exist with Dragonbloods. The people of Ninjago had tried for years to get the other islands to accept the Dragonbloods, but it was a painfully slow process.

"You mean other than your little thieving friend from last night? You tell me! You may have an all-powerful dragonblood on your side but we still have a quota to fill!" He sneered as she stepped down from Rocky and on the floor, slowly pacing in front of his people. "How do you suppose we explain this mess to the Iron Baron?!" The man demanded in rage and his people all shouted in agreement. As soon as he said that name, Kai visibly stiffened.

There was no way that fairytale was actually true.

He could swear he had heard that name before when he was just a hatchling, but everyone believed it was just a scary story their parents would tell them to make sure they stayed as far away from humans as possible.

"Kai? Do you know him?" Jay asked through their link, but Kai shook his head, confusing everyone but Jay.

"Never met him, but when we were little Mom would tell Nya and me of a giant human made out of metal trapping disobedient Dragonblood hatchlings and dragging them to the Cursed Realm to work as slaves in his monstrous forge for all of eternity," Kai explained, barely suppressing a frightening shudder. When they were little and told this story, Nya and her friends thought it would be funny to gather up and scrap metal lying around.

They then used it to make Kai think the Iron Baron was coming for him.

"Does anything you say make sense?" Cole growled, snapping Kai and Jay out of their private conversation.

"He's expecting a new shipment of dragons by tomorrow." One of the men said, looking torn between anger and fear. The man, obviously their leader, pointed his finger at the one speaking and nodded his head in agreement.

"The Baron doesn't take well to excuses." Another trapper wearing a hood added, batted his blade weapon at them.

"This is what he gave me last time I showed up empty-handed." The man said as he pulled down his coat and shirt to show them a scar burned into the front of his left shoulder. Cole, Kai, and Jay looked at each other mortified. "He promised to be far less understanding in the future."

"Look, we don't know anything about a dragon thief or an all-powerful dragonblood or your lunatic boss and his dragon army, okay?" Jay gulped nervously, not noticing as the man faintly nodded and other trappers behind them aim their catapults and crossbows at the two humans and Fire Dragonblood. "Just give us back our dragonblood and we'll go, you very strange hostile person whom we've never met."

"Oh, where are my manners?" He mocked as she bowed down and slowly clutched a knife strapped to his lower back. "I am Clutch Powers, the finest dragonblood trapper alive." He announced as he took the knife out of its sheath with a flourish. He looked up where the men turn a large crossbow. He smirked as he pointed the blade at Kai who growled louder.

"After all, it's not just anyone who can capture a Fire Dragonblood."

"Go jump off a bridge you one-eyed bitch!" Kai roared, even though Jay was the only one who understood him.

"This is my boyfriend Kai; he says we're going, now!" Jay snapped, standing protectively in front of his boyfriend, even though they both knew Kai could handle himself in a fight. All of a sudden, the hidden dragon trappers attacked and Kai barely managed to dodge the hit from the crossbows. At the same time, the men began to converge on them. Thinking quickly, Kai shot a fire blast at the ice above them. A large icicle broke off and fell down, causing the trappers to yell and duck for cover.

Clutch too was thrown off his feet.

Jay quickly activated the sword and the flames around it and quickly cut the ropes binding the Earth Dragonblood. With his dragonblood free, Cole, Kai, Jay, and Rocky fly away while Clutch got back up. By the time he was up the pairs were both back in the air.

"You will never hold onto those dragonbloods forever, you hear me? The Iron Baron is coming for them all!" He yelled at the top of his lungs furiously, as he started swinging around the knife. As they flew as fast as they could from the trappers, Jay looked back, concerned at those words...

****************

Back at Ninjago, Jay's friends were all flying around the island, having a playful race amongst themselves. It was just after lunch now and now that they were all refueled and well-rested, the riders and their dragonbloods were looking for anything to pass the time. Right now, that something was racing. Dareth cheered the loudest, currently in the lead, as the others chased after them. As they raced, Plundar and Adam suddenly flew near Ed and Edna's hut.

There Edna was trying to relax, scaring her and the few pigeons and seagulls perched on the porch around her.

The normally calm and sweet Edna grunted and shook her fist at the group of flies, but none of them paid her any mind. In the plaza, Cliff casually greeted the many villagers as he walked towards the forge, hoping Jay would be there. As he maneuvered his way through the crowd, he chuckled when he saw a small group of people either scowling or celebrating at the recent Dragonblood game. A few of them had placed bets to who they thought would win.

Honestly, Cole, Zane, and Jay, if he ever attended, were the only ones who actually won any of the games.

The others were skilled riders and fighters, but they always fought each other instead of focusing on the task on hand. As Cliff entered the forge, he saw Ed working on the grindstone.

"Any sign of him?" The village leader asked when he didn't see his son or Kai in the forge.

"He's probably flown off the edge of the world by now." Ed hummed as he walked next to a Wind Dragonblood in his dragon form and opened the mouth to work on his teeth.

"You sure you want him running the village? You can still delay your retirement." He continued, worried for both Cliff and Jay.

"He's ready, you'll see," Cliff promised as a roar was suddenly heard from outside the forge. Kai and Rocky soon landed with their riders, kicking up a cloud of dust. As soon as Cole and Jay jumped off their backs, the two Dragonbloods returned to their human forms. "Hahaha! Here he is! The pride of Ninjago!" Cliff exclaimed to everyone who could hear, grinning from ear to ear. Dragonbloods aside, his son was becoming more and more like a worthy heir.

Jay quickly took off his helmet and walked towards the two men, with Kai and Cole following close behind.

Rocky would have joined them, but after that close call, he wanted to spend some quality time with his mate and their hatchlings.

"Who finally decided to show up for work." Ed joked lightly as he made a few pretend swings of his hammer as Jay dodged with a smile. Kai and Cole smiled at the casual interactions of the three. Cole had never noticed how close Ed and Jay were but neither did they often banter like that in public. Despite it being five years, it was like a breath of fresh air to see the boy he had been ostracizing still so spirited.

"Sorry, got held up." Jay grinned as he followed his father deeper into the building, dodging any object hanging low from the ceiling. "Hey, um, Dad! Can I have a word?" He asked and Cliff looked positively pleased as he put his large hands over Jay's shoulders.

"Something you're itching to tell me? He grinned as he wrapped his arm around Jay and they keep walking.

"Y-Yeah, not quite the itch you're thinking off but yes." He replied as the Chief grabbed two aprons from a hook that he threw to his son and Kai. Jay put it back on the hook whereas Kai just dropped it on the floor.

"Ah, good man! Now lesson one, a chief's first duty is to its people!" Cliff happily exclaimed as they stopped at a post. From a hook in the wall hang numerous slates inscribed with Ninjago runes and Cliff took the one labeled forty-one.

"Well, can we just talk in private for a-" Jay tried to say but was interrupted as Cliff shouted out the number. People outside were yelling and one excited man was seen jumping up and down and waving his hands.

"It's me, that's me! I'm next!" He cheered as he ran up to the counter as Cliff turned to smile knowingly at his son, who held in an irritated groan. "Okay, okay! I want one of those high sitters with lots of spikes and a big storage compartment." The man squealed in excitement like a child on Christmas Day.

"Absolutely! You got it, sir." Cliff smiled as he wrote down the order and went back into the forge, gathering tools and materials and handing them to his son.

"Dad, this is actually a little more important than building saddles." Jay insisted.

"Yeah, you think you can stop with these little orders and listen?" Kai snapped, only to back off at Jay's glare. Thankfully, Cliff didn't pay Kai's comment any mind.

"Ah, lesson two; no task is too small when it comes to serving your people." He told the ginger-haired man as they got to a table with diverse instruments. Cliff began to look at them and dropped them in a box while Ed got Kai to re-light the forge's fire behind them.

"Dad..." Jay whined as Cliff pushed the box of supplies into his arms and he took it as they started to walk to another part of the forge. As they walked, Jay also grabbed several things that he placed in the box. "I really need to tell you about this new land we came across."

"Another one?" Ed hummed as Zane and Pixal appeared from his right.

"Any new dragonbloods?" The pale man asked in excitement as Cliff picked up a large piece of leather, looking completely focused on his task and unaware of the conversation going on around him.

"We didn't stick around to find out." Jay shuddered at the memory.

"Yeah, these folks weren't friendly." Cole agreed with a glare as Jay and his father stopped beside a big, wooden structure that was meant to represent a dragon's back. Cliff put the leather on it and began to inspect it.

"Aw, really? Your Fire and Earth Dragonblood didn't bring them cheering to the rooftops?" Plundar laughed at the scowls they all sent him.

"No, this was different." Jay insisted as he began to draw the outline of the saddle while Cliff pushed on a level that aligned the leather and the structure that it sat on. "These guys were trappers, dragonblood trappers." He gulped and all his friends seemed to freeze at that. Over the years, especially in the beginning, a few ships would attack the odd Dragonblood that was hanging around near the edges of the island, but when they saw the riders coming in to attack, they quickly fled.

That didn't make it anymore scary at the thought of one of their scaly friends suddenly being taken away, never to be seen again.

Jay often had nightmares about that, as did Kai.

"You should've seen their fort, all blown apart and stuck in giant spikes of ice, it was weird," Cole added, still really confused by it all.

"Do you think it was an Ice Dragonblood?" Pixal asked.

"It's possible, but there was something about how the ice was shaped that didn't look like the work of an Ice Dragonblood." Rocky suddenly said as he walked in with Adam. "There was also damage to the ships and scorch marks on the wood."

"So a group of dragonbloods?" Morro suggested.

"No their leader said it was one, all-powerful Dragonblood that attacked them last night, I've never seen anything like it; and worst of all, they thought we did it!" Jay cried in offense and shock. Sure they had an island full of Dragonbloods and a seeming one-of-a-kind Fire Dragonblood, but even they wouldn't just up and attack a base and risk any lives like that, human or dragonblood.

"You know, you kids are gonna get in serious troubles one of these days, not everyone appreciates this way of life." Ed reminded them all.

"Ed's right, son, best we keep to our own." Cliff agreed as he took the leather and walked over to a table with a giant saw, where he laid it down. "Besides, you have more important uses for your time once we make the big announcement." He smiled as he pulled a lever that activated the saw and rubbed his hands gleefully, thinking of seeing his son taking over as Chief. Jay didn't share his mood and stopped the machine to finally get his attention.

"They are building a dragonblood army." He said in a tone that showed everyone that this was no laughing matter. His serious tone drew the looks of the people waiting outside, and some even subconsciously held their Dragonblood friends and family closer. "Or-Or at least the guy they work for is... uh, Metal Barton or something." He continued, trying to remember the name Clutch told him but failed. As soon as Jay said that, Cliff's eyes widened and he shared a look with a terrified Ed.

"I'll bloody his fist with my face if he tries to take Tox!" Dareth exclaimed as he punched his fist in his hand as the overall mood dove in somberness. Ronin, Shade, and Tox all rolled their eyes at Dareth's declaration, knowing he was all talk. Nevertheless, Ronin shared his brother's determination, as did the others. Before Jay could say anything else, Cliff suddenly grasped his shoulders, pushing him back a step as he forced the ginger-haired human to look at him.

"Baron? Iron Baron?" He whispered in absolute terror, something Jay nor anyone else had ever heard in the chief's voice.

"Uh... Yeah, I think so." He nodded, feeling incredibly confused and uncomfortable with his father's sudden shift in moods.

"Wait! You know him?" Kai frowned, but Cliff didn't answer. He simply had a faraway look in his eyes as he gazed around in thought. There was only one thing to do...

[the-fae-folk]

Are the fae involved in travelling circuses? They always have an air of mystery like the fae so maybe there’s a connection

There was excitement in the town when the circus tents were first spotted in the empty fields behind the old gas station on Fiddler’s Lane just at the edge of town. The tents were a little unusual. Not the simple red and white stripes that one might normally see on circus tents. No, these tents were adorned with every colour imaginable, and a few that were difficult to focus on or remember for very long afterward. The pattern seemed fairly simple at first glance, just vines of colour atop a white background. But the longer one looked at the tents, the more complex and hypnotizing the patterns seemed to become.

The Circus opened in the evening, a few scant hours before the sun was to set. You join in the throng, your neighbors and friends chattering and laughing with excitement, as all of you head into the circle of tents that surrounds an open promenade area in the center. In this center arena a man stood. His skin was dark as the earth and he wore only a pair of silk trousers that shimmered a soft white in the light of the fire he held. There were no flaming sticks, no bottles of kerosene or lamp oil, no specially treated gloves. The man was simply holding fire in his bare hands as if it was perfectly normal. At first the crowd clapped and cheered in enthusiastic bursts as he juggled the flames and made them dance and flash in different colours and patterns. Then they gasped in awe as he actually devoured them piece by piece. Those who had seen fire eaters before wondered at how he didn’t simply put the flames out in his mouth but seemed to be swallowing them whole like a man starved greedily gulps down water.In one of the tents a lady dressed in a long gown of black with a thousand tiny diamonds sewn across it to look like stars and a top hat with black lace beckoned them near. Inside her tent she cracked a whip and from a back entrance came riding a group of ten dark haired and dark eyed people who all wore black and rode upon horses as dark as the night itself, so that sometimes it seemed that horse and rider were a single entity, a living shadow. The tent itself was dark as well, and at first you grumbled about not being able to see. Then the first ride rode to the center of the tent and stood up on the back of his  horse as it  turned and turned in endless small circles in the middle of all. Suddenly a great light appeared and the man on the horse seemed to be holding it up. At first it was very small, like a distant star, then it grew till the audience realized that it was supposed to be the sun itself. You clapped, because in your opinion the sphere of light looked very much like what the sun was supposed to look like in your school books at home.Then the other riders stood upon the backs of their horses. Each rider was a different height, and they all rode at different speeds, so they were scattered across the whole of the tent, circling the sun at the center. The Audience stood around the edge, right up against the walls of the tent. Soon each rider had materialized from thin air a great orb of their own. Planets. First there was mercury, closest to the sun and on the fastest horse. Then came Venus, Earth, and Mars. Beyond them rode the tallest rider on the largest horse. In his great arms he held Jupiter aloft in the sky. His wife came next holding Saturn and its rings. Then Uranus came and Neptune soon after. Last of all rode a child upon a pony. He was the slowest of all, and the smallest, yet he proudly stood atop his pony and held Pluto in the sky.Though they held the planets in their arms, it looked in the dark of the tent as if the celestial orbs were aloft in the abyss of space. Tiny holes in the black interior of the tent fabric were like stars, and for a long quiet moment, filled only with the noises of the moving horses, you feel like you too are adrift in the skies of eternity.Soon enough you make your way to the next tent. This one is less of a spectacle, yet no less interesting. A fortune teller allowed one person in at a time and read their fortune. You had never believed in fortune tellers, but something gave you pause when she told you to beware a girl with eyes like a sunset and the name of Julia. You knew a Julia with eyes like that, and oft you had considered gifting your heart to her. You felt afraid. The fortune teller smiled at you, a smile of knowing. The smile of something far older than any human had any right to be. You left that tent in a hurry.The next tent held a lion tamer. He laughed and cracked his whip as the two lions roared and performed tricks. It was normal enough for a circus, but those lions…something about their eyes felt wrong. They were too intelligent, too angry, too powerful. When you caught the eye of the tamer, you found that he had the same eyes as the lions. For a moment there were no humans at all in the center of the ring, just three lions. Then there only two lions again and one human tamer.Only two tents left. The next held a number of harlequins and jesters. The harlequins, in their brightly coloured checker patterned clothes, would act out stories and exaggerated scenes without words. Music was drifting in from somewhere unseen, but you didn’t mind as it seemed to fit their acting. The stories were sometimes funny, and sometimes sad. But all of them were worth watching. Meanwhile the jesters would simply wander round juggling balls or pins, doing unexpected magic tricks between the harlequin stories, and occasionally utterering a quip that sent gales of laughter among the crowd.You bought a Popsicle before entering the next tent, the woman selling it to you smiled widely as you paid her in coins and wished you well. She had offered you a free one as it was hot, but you had felt it more honest to pay. You heard her offer a free Popsicle to the next person as well.

The final tent held tumblers who seemed to defy gravity itself with their leaps and jumps, with their prancing and dancing, and with their twirling and flying. Graceful like birds, their costumes were sewn with feathers, and their arms were like wings as they soared, their smiles were catching and you found yourself yelling wildly in support of their act.

Every tent had been seen now. It was nearly sunset. A final show was to be put on in the main circle open to the air. A bonfire was lit by the fire eater man, who in the strange light looked as if his very chest glowed from within and his skin could almost be dragon scales.

Circus performers in elaborate and beautiful costumes came and joined hands round the fire. They danced to hornpipes and flutes, to drums and harps. No players could be seen holding instruments, but no one noticed. Round and round they went. The fire crackled merrily in the center, sometimes it flickered blue or green, sometimes white. The ring of dancers was made of shadows, of glowing light creatures, of birds, of beasts, of costumed humans, of monsters, and of angels.You laughed and clapped to the music as they circled. When the sun was at last gone, the dance ended and it was time to go. As you left through the exit you felt the eyes of the players and performers upon you. “You came and you saw,” they seemed to say in silence. “You get to leave unharmed, unscathed. There are not many who could say as much as that. Fare thee well, Human. Good luck.” You shivered as these strange thoughts crossed your mind. It was only a circus after all. Your bed lay in wait for you at home. You would sleep soundly, dreaming of the circus, wondering if you might go again.But the next morning it was gone. No tents, no animals, no performers. Not even a blade of grass was out of place in the field. No one but you remembered a circus ever having been in town, not in years. The only proof you had that a circus had been, and that you had gone to it, was a faded ticket stub that you’d bought at the gates. You knew, somehow you just knew, that one day in the far future, the circus would come for you again.

[schrijverr]

Home of the sky take me to the home of my youth

What if Hiccup left after he saw the red death instead of staying to show how the dragons can be.

This story takes place six years after he left when he has to return to investigate rumours about a rise in raids. He comes face to face with too familiar faces and pains from the past. (11 chapters total)

~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 9

They were loading the ships. Anticipation was rising in the ranks of vikings that boarded the boats. The riders were feeding their dragons and checking the saddles. Hiccup made his last round tugging on straps here and there and nodding to himself. If this went awry it would be his fault and every death that occurred today would be on his hands. He needed this to go well.

“Remember, hit inside the mouth with all the firepower you have.” Hiccup said.

“Yeah, yeah, we’ve got this.” Snotlout said, while slapping him on the back.

“That doesn’t really comfort me, Snotlout.” Hiccup said.

That made the twins giggle and Astrid smile. He still had his sass. Snotlout bushed and turned away mumbling insults under his breath. “Kidding, I believe in all of you, but we need this to go well. If you guys don’t keep the hatchling on the ground, I’m done for, same goes for everyone else there.” he said.

They all gulped. They knew the importance of their mission, but having it spelled out for them just before the battle was nerve-wrecking. From below a voice bellowed: “Were leaving, all aboard.”

“That’s our cue.” Hiccup said and he hopped on Toothless.

They all flew above their assigned ship, with Toothless in front, above Stoicks ship. Soon they were at the fog and Hiccup smiled to himself when he saw some of the vikings scared looks. They all thought they were near the end of the world, but in reality the end of the world was much further away and in the other direction. Not many words were shared in their journey and sooner than expected they were at  the nest. Everyone gasped at the sight of gigantic mountain. Stoick said: “It was always so close.”

Gobber agreed and Hiccup swooped down onto the deck. “You remember the plan?” he asked.

“Of course we do. Don’t underestimate us, we’ll get its attention.” Stoick said and he jumped off the ship.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. In the air he regrouped with the other riders. “Go for the eyes and remember to fire in its mouth.” he reminded everyone again.

“Yeah, yeah, we know.” “Yeah, lets get to the dragon killing.” that were the twins.

The Zippleback moved at that and they immediately went to comfort it. Hiccup smiled fondly, they all had accepted the dragons and when he looked at them he could believe that they could continue this peace. Astrid came up next to him. “You think you can do this?” she asked.

Hiccup look at the vikings beneath him and sighed. He was really scared to be back here and he unconsciously rubbed his left leg. They were almost done with setting up and he turned to Astrid to answer. “I have to, but if I don’t make it. Give this to my dad. He deserves an explanation.”

He handed her his letter and flew off.  Astrid wanted to follow, but the order was called and she was as dutiful as ever. Hiccup had counted on that.

The first stone was launched and Hiccup took a deep breath. It was starting.

----

The walls broke and Stoick climbed the rubble to look inside. He had seen the drawing, but he wouldn’t believe it until he saw. “Fire again.” he ordered.

He saw all he dragons inside and yelled: “Brace yourself.”

After that all hell broke lose, the dragons didn’t attack them, but everyone attacked on instinct and soon they heard a mighty roar. Everyone stopped and the dragons quickly scattered. Above him Singultus yelled: “She’s coming!”

Then the mountain burst open even more and a gigantic monstrosity appeared. The drawing was very accurate and Stoick froze. The dragon got ready to fire and Singultus yelled: “Hide!”

Then it set all their boats ablaze in one big swoop. Stoick was horrified. He thought about what had happened if they had found the nest sooner and had come face to face this without a plan. He hid like everyone else and watched Singultus swoop down and blast it in the face. Its murderous eyes spotted him and the fire followed him. He expertly dodged them and hit it a few times again. He also started yelling and soon the Queen spread its wings and followed him into the dark clouds.

When they had completely disappeared everyone got out of hiding. They looked a few seconds at the exploding sky, but Astrid yelled: “We have a task, lets go.”

“You heard the lady. In the nest we go.” Stoick yelled.

That got everyone moving. They went inside moving cautiously. Singultus had said that it was half the size of the Queen, but after they had seen her that was not a comforting prospect. It would still be the the largest dragon they had ever faced. The teens with their dragons were in front leading the way. Walking through a few tunnels they came in a big room with in the middle a dark shape. Everyone stopped in their tracks.

They got in formation and launched their attack. The riders shot its back and it roared as it woke. It turned around and the vikings ran to it trying to hit it. They would’ve been easy targets, if it wasn’t for the rider distracting it hitting everywhere they could. This went of for minutes that seemed to last eternity until it looked at the sky and roared opening its mouth wide. “Quick, everyone up. Hit in its mouth!”

They started flying up when a voice from above yelled: “Watch out. Take cover!”

The vikings looked up to see Singultus with the Queen hot on his trail. Seeing the big dragon advancing on them everyone panicked and the ran out of the mountain. Stoick, Gobber and the riders were last, protecting the last of the people. They saw Singultus killing the hatchling dragon. When its body hit the ground the Queen let out an outraged cry and her eyes attached on the man who killed her child. From their position they could see Singultus eyes widen in fear. She prepared to fire and Singultus saw his chance. “Toothless, fire, buddy this is our chance.” he yelled.

He was so focused on getting his shot that he didn’t see the Queens tail moving to hit away the rocks above him. When Astrid noticed it was too late. She yelled: “Watch out!”

Singultus looked at her and then above him. He saw the tail come down and watched as the rocks fell while Toothless delivered the final blow. The Queen was prepared to die for the revenge for her child. Toothless shot away trying to get away from the falling boulders. The group could only watch as the rocks hit Toothless’ tail and they went down. Stoick ran to them first. When got to them, just inside the damage area. Toothless was bleeding, tail stuck under a rock. Singultus was bleeding heavily out of a head wound. He was blinking trying to stay upright. Stoick put his hand on his shoulder and asked: “Are you OK?”

Singultus looked at him confused and reached his hand out and asked: “Dad?”

Then he fell forwards.

[spideyxchelle]

Princess Michelle’s land has been invaded. And to save her country she knows what is expected of her, she knows she is set to marry a man she does not know, hardly respects and hates for forcing her homeland to its knees. Affection cannot grow in the face of war. Not even when the face of that war has the most gorgeous eyes she has ever seen. 

[part 1] [part 2] [part 3] [part 4] [part 5] [part 6]

When Michelle had imagined herself on the back of a dragon, she had envisioned herself armed to the teeth in dashing, shining armor with a sword in her hand. The reality of her riding second fiddle to a foreign prince she was being forced to marry clothed only in her dressing gown was far less exciting. Yet, Peter was much warmer than the steel of her imaginary armor might have been and on a cold night holding onto the detestable prince was an effective shield against the elements.

She pressed her frosty nose against the back of his shirt and shivered. He turned his head over his shoulder and tried to catch her eye, “Are you alright?”

Michelle huffed out an icy breath, “Cold.”

“Ah,” Peter hummed. “Yes. It can be a little cold the first couple of times. Don’t worry,” he beamed, “You’ll get used to it.”

The princess faltered at his words. The prince was a dizzying man. All of her life she had been brushed aside and left to twiddle her thumbs in great halls in glorious dresses without any notion of when she would ever be allowed to spring for her freedom. And now, here, he was offering it to her freely. In the form of a dragon. She did not dare let herself hope that maybe, just maybe, marriage would offer her something other than duty. If they could not have genuine affection, or even love, she would settle for dragon riding. “You’ll let me fly her again?” Michelle loathed how wondrous her voice sounded.

Peter laughed into the night air. The laugh could have echoed into eternity or been eaten up by the sky and Michelle would never have known the difference. All she could hear was the pounding of the wind in her ears and the thudding of her heart in her chest. Flying made her feel limitless. Anything and everything could happen up above the clouds. She could be someone new. Even a version of the warrior Mary Jane she had dreamed of as a girl.

“What’s mine is yours, princess,” Peter called out. His goch made a less confident clicking noise. She did not seem to like the notion of being ridden by more than one rider. Peter rubbed a curiously soft patch of scales on the back of her neck which went a long in appeasing the beast. “That’s what the marriage contract says at least,” he grinned.

The princess pursed her lips in irritation, but it did not quite reach her eyes. She was too overwhelmed by the magic of the moment. When he had arrived at her window, and unceremoniously fallen off of his dragon, she had never thought she would be here now, flying among the stars. But when he had looked up at her from underneath her window with his crooked, sloppy smile and offered him her hand with the slightest endearing trepidation, she knew she could not say no. He had a way about him, a charm. She had fallen prey to it when she met him as Parker and it was present again that night.

Michelle let her head drop back and the wind tossed her hair around carelessly. She slowly started to unwind her arms from Peter’s back and she felt him tense. “What are you doing?”

She let her arms open and spread to invite the sky into her arms. The princess felt the wind kiss her fingertips, “Breathing.”

When they landed by a lake after nearly an hour of flying, Michelle watched in awe as his dragon unfurled her wings and contorted her body to let the pair of them climb off of her back with ease. Peter climbed down first and then offered her his hand to assist her. She was so giddy, so alive, that she did not think to sneer or avoid his generosity. Michelle willingly took his hand and when their fingertips touched she felt a magical spark catch between them.

That feeling grounded her still flying heart. She drew her hand away and struggled to climb down without his assistance. Michelle grumbled, “Don’t use magic on me, my lord. That spark was unkind.”

He looked as if he had been hit over the head with a heavy stone, “I didn’t.”

Those words settled between them and Michelle had to remind herself to breathe. He was the enemy. He had invaded her homeland and was holding her people hostage with this marriage. She was a spoil of war and he was not a suitor, he was a conqueror.

Michelle remembered to sneer, then.

She looked away when his face fell from the severity of her disdain. The princess did not have sympathy for people that sought to keep her captive. No matter how charming or handsome they were.

As if she sensed her master’s distress, the dragon showed her fearsome hackles and growled at Michelle. Michelle had forgotten, if only for a moment, that the beautiful, gorgeous creature she had been riding was a terrifying beast. Her heart dropped in her shoes and she stumbled back, away from the goch that took two warning steps toward her.

Peter stepped between his dragon and his future bride. His eyes were liquid iron. He raised his hand to stop his goch in her pursuit. The prince bared his own teeth, a clear display of dominance between dragon and rider, “Karen, down.” The blue-bellied dragon flapped her blood red wings and raised herself on her hind legs. Peter ground his teeth together and snapped his fingers twice.

There was a brief stand off between two forces of nature. And then, the dragon collapsed on the ground and offered her master her belly. He rolled his eyes affectionately and crossed to his goch to rub her belly. “Be nice,” he whispered softly enough that she had to strain to hear him. “You’re not doing me any favors acting like that.”

Michelle took a tentative step toward them both.

Peter turned to look at her and gave her a shaky smile as he continued to rub his dragon’s scaly belly. “She’s harmless,” he tried to reassure her, “But she can be very grumpy.” The dragon clicked in half-hearted displeasure. “Oh, please, you know you can.” She pressed her snout against his hand, knocking it off of her belly, as if to give her master the cold shoulder. Peter smiled.

She gawked at the scene, “She nearly ate me.”

“Please,” Peter snorted, “That is outrageous. Karen would never.”

The goch’s large, opal eyes met Michelle’s and the princess was suddenly not sure if she believed him. There was fire and fury behind the animal’s eyes and something more primal— a need to protect her master.

Peter outstretched his hand to her. It was a clear offer and, although she was terrified, she took his hand. If he seemed surprised that she conceded to his wish, it did not color his features. He guided her hand to the belly of his dragon and rested her hand on a large, blue scale. Michelle could feel the steady rise and fall of the goch’s breath.

She smiled, “Karen?”

Peter’s head snapped to her in surprise, “What?”

“Karen,” she repeated, “You said her name was Karen.”

“Oh,” the tips of his ears glowed red in the moonlight, “Well, I had been calling her dragon lady for the first few months we rode together. And when she chose me, I knew I had to give her a name. Karen was the first one that came to mind.”

Michelle could not help it. She laughed. She laughed harder than she had ever laughed in her life. It was a desperately ragged sound, as if she had not laughed in a long, long time and, she supposed, that might have been true.

Peter looked momentarily distressed and, then, he began to smile. It ate his entire face in such a stupid but wonderful way. He was so handsome. This whole arrangement would have been much easier to rage against if he had been ugly. He was more than handsome, he was kind. She was not sure how she knew that about him, maybe because it radiated through every single one of his actions and permeated all of his words, but she knew.

Kindness and savagery should not have been allowed to go hand-in-hand.

He covered her hand that was still resting on his dragon’s stomach with his own, “My god, you’re beautiful.”

Michelle stared at him. She could scarcely do anything else. He was so effective at catching her off guard. He had done it several times in the short few days that had known each other. She wondered if he would spend the rest of their lives catching her off guard. A secret, traitorous part of her hoped that he did.

When she found the words to speak all she managed say was, “Please, stop.”

“Why?” he pressed. Their fingers on the dragon cautiously tangled. It felt like they were crossing a line. Michelle could hear the warning bells of danger blaring in her ears. He was danger. But a louder sound muddled the warnings. It was the uneven beating of her rapid heart.

“I think,” Peter continued, worried and gobsmacked by her very presence, “You are the most singular, most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on. And I swear to you, I will try to earn the honor bestowed upon me.”

“What honor?” Michelle whispered. He was leaning in closer and closer to her. In the glow of the night, the faint silver shine, she could see that he had a dusting of freckles on the bridge of his nose. His time in the skies must have exposed him to the sun. It suited the boyish nature of his features.

He reached his free hand to brush a curl off of her shoulder. The dressing gown she was wearing did very little for her modesty and was so flimsy, so ridiculously ill-suited to the night that she could feel the heat of his hand through the fabric. It was such an intense, consuming moment that she half-expected to wake up tomorrow and see an imprint of his hand on her skin.

Peter trailed his hand down her arm, transfixed, “You, Em. You.”

His words doused cold water over the moment. She drew her hand out from underneath his and took a step back. His eyes were clouded with something dangerous and feral, like a part of him wanted to eat her alive. And she loathed the fact that there was more than a part of her that wanted to let him.

He was the enemy. She kept forgetting. She kept finding herself tripping headfirst into these personal, magical moments. “This is not a marriage of passion. This is a contract. Nothing more.”

Peter took a step toward her, crowding her space and making her dizzy with the mere scent of him. “Why not?” he demanded, “Why can’t it be?”

She raised her hands to shove them against his chest but they collided much softer than she had wanted. They barely pushed him at all. Instead, they curled into the fabric of his night shirt and she relished the feeling of his chest under her hands. He was solid and his eyes were filled with so much longing she felt the earth beneath her feet might not have been steady. “You invaded my home. I am a war bride.”

He shook his head, “No. My god, Michelle, there is so much you don’t understand.” Peter lifted his hands to hold her hands on her chest. She did not fight him. She was too close and too confused to move. The princess was trapped in her prince’s gravitational pull. “Your father, Thanos, he has done terrible things.”

“As if King Anthony is a saint.”

“My father is hard. The law is hard. And I will be a kinder King than he is, but…he is not amoral. Thanos. Thanos would see the world burn.”

Michelle tried to pull her hands away but he held her fast. She snarled at him, “That is my father.”

“I do not tell you this to hurt you. I tell you this because-“ He choked on his next words. Whatever he meant to say, he thought better of it and clamped his mouth shut.

Michelle gently prodded, “You tell me this because…?”

“Because I would have you know the truth.” It sounded like a lie. She knew it was a lie. Neither of them pushed for his original intention. Michelle knew she was not ready for it.

The hands that held hers lifted her knuckles up to his lips and he brushed a singular kiss against them. It stole her breath.

And their eyes caught.

“Michelle,” Peter whispered, “I want to see you. I want you to stop hiding from me in the castle. I want to take meals with you and learn your favorite color. I want to write you poetry that you will no doubt hate. I want to kiss you. Every minute. Of every day.” Michelle gnawed nervously on her lip. “But most of all, I want you to stop hating me for the invasion. I want you to open to the truth about your father. And I want to be your friend.”

She released her lip from between her teeth, “You can’t kiss me every minute of every day.” He looked pained. “But you can kiss me now.”

[margarethelstone]

Dragonfly ‘A’

When your friend writes you some dumb Hiccstrid to make you shut up, but instead of doing this, you decide to turn it into an actual fic.

Based on this conversation with @wilderwestqueen​

Can be found on fanfiction.net as well

“Hiccup”, Astrid said, looking soulfully in his eyes. “I am eternally, utterly and hopelessly in love with you. Let’s wed on the shores of the Edge and fly off into the sunset together, shooting plasma blasts through the wind, all whilst conceiving twelve beautiful children named after every dragon we’ve met on this island.”

“Astrid,” Hiccup said, tears filling his eyes as he grabbed a hold of Astrid’s hands. “I thought you’d never ask. Quick, clasp my chest. Let’s ride Toothless into the night sky and make passionate love in mid-air whilst wearing our dragon fly suits!”

Honestly, she didn’t even know she could raise her eyebrows that high.

“This is insane,” she stated, eyeing him in disbelief. “You are insane.”

The man in front of her rolled his eyes, but didn’t stop smiling nevertheless.

“Hiccup, I am not wearing this.”

“Just give it a try, will you?” he answered her, the excitement still resonating in his voice, as if he hadn’t heard what she’d just said. “It won’t bite, you know.”

“Oh, yes it will. And even if it doesn’t, I’m sure it will be the cause of my misery, injury, or death itself in some other way. Look, I love you, but this is way too much to expect from me.”

“Astrid, just -”

“I’m not wearing the Thor damned flight suit!”

With that, silence fell on the room. Admittedly, Hiccup did open his mouth, but clearly, he wasn’t able to come up with any sensible answer, so he closed it soon enough. He didn’t retreat immediately, but responding to Astrid’s words proved to be more difficult than ever, and thus, after a few moments of frowning and chewing his lower lip, he gave up, and sighed.

“Fine,” he muttered under his breath. “Forget it. Apparently I can’t even make a gift for my betrothed without making a total fool of myself.”

Berk’s blonde Shield Maiden only shook her head, seeing the grumpy expression on her beloved Viking’s face.

Good gods, he was hopeless.

When he told her that morning that he wanted to talk to her, she didn’t have the slightest idea of what it might be about, but then again, she didn’t really care that much. Fairly speaking, she expected him to propose another round of let’s-map-the-entire-world-together-before-my-Dad-decides-to-make-me-Chief thing rather than anything else, however, she was quite as ready to do everything he wanted her to.

Except this.

In her wildest dreams and nightmares, she certainly did not suppose that Hiccup Haddock, the Pride of Berk, her personal husband-to-be would drag her to his workshop, and gift her with nothing else, but her own, brand new Dragonfly ‘A’.

Yes, that was the name.

“Hiccup, listen to me,” she said, trying to sound softly, taking a few steps towards the flustered man. “You know how… sceptical I’ve always been about the whole Dragon Fly idea. It’s frustrating enough to see you using it, provoking some accident to happen every time you jump off of Toothless. What on Earth made you think I would agree to use one, too?”

“I figured that maybe if you ever tried it yourself, you might be more understanding for me and my enthusiasm for it,” he mumbled, still avoiding her gaze.

Astrid crossed her arms on her chest. “Well, I’m not.”

Hiccup finally glanced at her, only to give her the most offended glance he could offer – and yet, his beautiful fiancée didn’t even stir.

“I can see that.”

He looked away as soon as he’d voiced the words, clasping the suit in question in his hands. The blonde warrior couldn’t miss the pain that reflected in his features as he turned his head away, slouching as he did; but even considering the fact that she really didn’t want to see him like that, she still wouldn’t be able to accept his unusual present.

Sighing, Astrid stepped towards the Rider, stopping right before him. She tilted her head, trying to meet his gaze, but it was of no use; Hiccup simply wouldn’t look at her now, no matter how hard she had tried.

“Can you please tell me what it’s really about?” she asked gently. “Why would you want me to use that suit all of the sudden? It’s your thing.”

“I wanted you to fly with me,” came a muffled answer, before Hiccup mustered to look her in the eyes again, and explain himself more openly. “I thought that, well, maybe it would be a nice change. That instead of riding dragons together, we could try to do that on our own. Well, kind of. Anyway, that’s it. You can laugh now.”

The girl stared at him for a while, her eyes wide in shock. How was she supposed to answer something like that? Flying? Together? Was that the romanticism he wanted to put into life now?

She knew that at this specific moment, she should stay calm at all cost – but she couldn’t.

No longer bothering, Astrid burst into the most sonorous laughter, completely taking Hiccup aback.

“What?!” she stuttered, almost chocking on her own saliva. “Hiccup, this is bad even for you. I mean, what’s next, conceiving our children on the backs of dragons? Or naming them after the ones we’ve met so far?”

Hiccup’s cheeks were blushing madly at this point, but she couldn’t bring herself to stop laughing. She pressed her hands to her mouth, trying to muffle the sound, but it didn’t make much of a difference. Hiccup looked awfully miserable, and she knew it was her fault, but could anyone blame her? Yet, she tried once more to calm down, hoping the Viking would not take offence for too long.

She took a deep breath, then another. One more.

Alright, she was fine now.

“Babe, I’m sorry,” she began, praying to the gods she would not start giggling again. “I really shouldn’t have said that. It’s just -”

“It was calling out to be said, wasn’t it?” he responded harshly. “You’re right, you’re absolutely, positively right. The idea is ridiculous, I don’t know what I was thinking whenI decided to share it with you. Must have been drunk or something.”

“You’re never drunk.”

“Well, something tells me I will be tonight,” he drawled. “Not that you would care. I’m just that weird guy with one leg and ridiculous ideas. Why don’t you just turn on your heel, and tell me you don’t want to have anything to do with me?”

“Good Thor, Hiccup, you can be such a child sometimes,” she moaned mockingly. The word child brought the fresh memories to the man’s mind, and now he was blushing again in result. Astrid laughed shortly, and cupping his face in her hands, she made him turn in her direction. “Listen, Dragon Boy. I am eternally, utterly and hopelessly in love with you. I want to have everything to do with you. If you asked me to clasp your chest, fly to the Edge, and marry you on its shores right after we land, I would probably say yes, and never regret it. I am ready to die for you or kill for you -” she paused for a moment, watching how the expression on Hiccup’s face changes, feeling him relaxing into her grip “but I refuse to do neither of those looking like some feral crazy Dragon Lady.”

Before Hiccup had a chance to respond, Astrid stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips on his, while her hands moved swiftly, one landing on the man’s chest, the other on the back of his head, dipped in his luxurious auburn hair.

Hiccup, shocked, didn’t respond immediately, blinking in surprise, and wondering what he should do in a situation like this.

He didn’t want to kiss her.

He really didn’t want to kiss her.

Gods, he always wanted to kiss her.

Restraining himself no longer, he leaned in, embracing Astrid’s waist with both arms, holding her as close as he found possible. She smiled under his lips.

She always did.

When they broke apart, he saw a question in her eyes, but he only shook his head, smiling fondly at her. Her own grin widened significantly, and once again, Hiccup thought that he really couldn’t live without that smile.

He still felt embarrassed by the entire situation, but somehow, he was beginning to accept it. Astrid rejecting his gift was bad. Astrid laughing up the idea behind the gift was absolutely, terribly horrifying.

Yet, the same Astrid expressing her feelings for him so straightforwardly, holding him, accepting him, loving him sort of made it worth the pain.

Astrid snuggled her face into his neck, hugging him tightly.

“I’m really sorry, Hiccup. I shouldn’t have laughed like that, but it seriously wasn’t a good idea.”

“I think I can live with that. I overreacted, too.”

“You know, I don’t mind you wearing that suit yourself, it’s just -”

“It’s not your thing. Yeah, I know.”

He put a small kiss on her hair before the girl raised her head, still not loosening her grip on him.

“Yes. But also… If anything happens to you during those crazy flights, I want to be able to actually rescue you. And I won’t be able to do that if I’ll be falling into the ocean with you.”

Hiccup couldn’t help but chuckle at her words. He gave her another kiss, this time placed on her forehead, and whispered, “You’re quite right about that, M’lady. As you always are.”

“I’m glad to hear you say something reasonable for once,” she teased him back, also whispering, and then raised her brows in anticipation. “So, what do we do now?”

“Well,” Hiccup mused out loud. “Since you can’t appreciate the present I gave you, we must think of something else. Now, as much as I love the idea of marrying you at the Edge’s shore, I’m pretty sure Dad would kill me if I did, and I’d like to be present on my honeymoon. So, that’s out. But… How about a moonlit flight instead?”

“With how many dragons included?”

“I thought about one, honestly. You know, like for the first time.”

“Sentimental again.”

“Is that bad?”

“No.”

“Great,” he glanced at her mischievously. “Ready to grab my chest?”

[berfometalpha]

Legacy of Eternity Chapter 1: The Adventure Begins Part 2

 When the team arrived at the bridge head they saw Kent was furiously punching the air when they saw a white energy field spreading across the face of the bridge.

Rex got down from the transport as one of the troopers were busy contacting the other rebel camps. The troopers reported that Aisha and her party placed a powerful barrier around the capital city preventing the marines or knights from following them. 

Kent had been trying to break the barrier using his fists for the past several minutes but his knuckles were already bleeding bad. 

He looked furiously at the marines asking where are the mages as he ordered to break the barrier. They will arrive in about 30 minutes sir, according to the mages we have here sir this barrier will be impossible to break since Lady Aisha was the one who made it.

“Then get to it... I will not accept idleness from these mages... We have to save them from doing something they shall Regret!” Kent shouted as he slammed his fist to the barrier.

“Commander, Stop you are going to break your arms...” Rex said.

“Rex, good bring Clayton and his railgun we can use it to break the barrier! Clayton get down here and bring your Railgun!” Kent shouted.

“Boss, my Railgun’s out of commission the fuel cell converter is ruptured that’s what I forgot to mention to you earlier!” Clayton replied.

Kent looked furious and extremely frustrated at the situation as he walked away for a bit when Rex and Willow approached Clayton asking if what he told Kent was true.

“Rex, Willow dont get mad but I lied to Kent...” Clayton whispered.

“Clay you know that is insubordination right?” Willow stated.

“I know but have you seen how Kent is right now? If he uses my Railgun... well remember the last time he linked it to his bio-cell reactor...” Clayton explained.

“Ohh... Right... Almost forgot that incident...” Rex said.

“What incident?” willow asked.

It’s a long story and it happened before the rescue operation on Vega... In short we were captured at the 1st legion’s ship the crusader of domination, the first legion thought we were renegades at the time... And we were escaping the ship since they captured the Night Hawk... Kent used my railgun and linked it to his bio-cell reactor core that he made on the fly using his blood. When he linked it into my railgun and it generated enough power to light up 30 industrial cities for 50,000 years... My Hyperburst railgun fired and destroyed an entire ship while we were in it... Though we did survive but believe me... We all agreed that we wont let Kent hold a Hyper cannon class plasma Railgun again! That would be a death sentence for us all!

“That Explains everything... But look Kent really is angry and frustrated... It’s as if he is... Frightened...”  Willow stated.

“True but... Rex should we mention that thing? Lady Charlotte said that we should only mention it unless it is absolutely necessary?” Clayton said.

“Do you mean Blight Taker? that sword is off limits Clay Lady Charlotte has said it herself...” Rex replied.

“This counts as an emergency... Rex I am telling you now... You need to make the call...” Clayton stated.

“Wait What’s the blight taker? That sounds a bit familiar... But What is that any who?” Willow asked.

Rex made the call to The Strike Base Lasting hope which is a massive fast deploying space station/ battleship that acts as a forward station for the Strike Fleet and can defend itself against anything that is thrown to it by any other legion. 

“Lasting Hope this is Captain Rex Crosswolfw from Strike Team Zero-7, i need to speak with Commander Charlotte Sentinel please respond over?” Rex asked.

“This is Lasting Hope Strike Base Commander Charlotte Sentinel Speaking... Rex What’s going on?”Charlotte asked.

“Commander... ““Sigh”“ We need help... Lady Aisha and her party of heroes sneaked out of their room and headed straight for the capital without back up... We confirmed your suspicion Ma’am... Rio swordtaker has betrayed the heroes and nearly killed everyone in the camp... Now we are currently pursuing the Heroes but they had placed a powerful barrier around the capital city... Lady Aisha placed a barrier around the city preventing us from pursuing any further... Any use of artillery would endanger the militants and civilians around the capital... We are out of options Ma’am...Permission to use Blight Taker Ma’am the last time they faced the King they nearly died Ma’am... Kent is really angry and frightened... Ma’am!” Rex reported.

Their was a silence that shrouded the communications line after a brief moment Charlotte told Rex to get ready. Meanwhile inside the armory of Lost hope the Blight Taker was heavily guarded by Class 7 Primal Wolves Champions the Grey Fangs. The Knights noticed the Vault where the Blight Taker was kept as it kept shaking as if a monster was trying to get out. 

Attention to All knights on Deck 7 be advised Blight Taker is awake and is trying to break out of her containment do not try to stop the sword let it out... For the Knight Eternal is now awake... 

The Grey fangs immediately unlocked the vault but by the time they opened the vault door the Blight taker sliced its way through the vault as it spun rapidly cutting through the thick Zennomite hull of the space station as if it was a hot knife on a piece of paper.

One of the knights was unlucky to be passing by the path of the Blight Taker just before it hit the young knight initiate. It turned into a ball of purple light and phased through the ship entering the upper atmosphere in mark 40 speed. 

As it was entering the atmosphere every knight on Ren’veil was alerted to the presence of the sword that devours darkness. as it flew past the Vai’lien sky a group of New Kingdom dragon riders were unfortunate enough to pass by it’s way as nothing will stop her from being reunited to her master.

It easily tore through a dozen dragons with relative easy as if they were a leaf in the wind. The blight taker reached the team’s position in about a few minutes later but as it reached out to the young knight it shattered the barrier as it faded into dust as it collided into Kent. 

The Blight Taker disappeared into his left arm as the barrier fell apart Rex and the others didn’t know what happened.

“I guess we are lucky now that the barrier is gone... I’ll go and start up the APC!” Clayton said.

“Kent, Get aboard now we’re Red lining it to the Capital!” Rex shouted.

Kent looked back to his friends and immediately boarded the APC and flat lined it to the capital city as many marines immediately rallied all their squads pursuing their General. 

As the APC was fast approaching the gate’s of the capital city they had more problems to deal with aside from the barrier.

“Boss Man we have a gate sized problem!” Clayton shouted.

“What now! We are running out of time.” Kent said.

“The gate is closed shut and their are a lot of archers on the wall and they don’t look happy!” Clayton said.

“Big brother... Don’t worry I got this! Now where was it again...” Genji said as he was trying to find something in his pocket.

He pulled out an old world music tape and played it in the APC as it started playing music about searching for a hero. 

“Why do that Genji?” Kent asked.

“To set the mood Boss man Lady Aisha needs a hero and you’re it so lets set the mood and... BIG BRO KICK IT!!!” Genji pointed as Clayton smashed the pedals.

Clayton nodded as he buried his foot on the pedal as the Apc was about ramming speed into the magic infused reinforced Steel gate. 

Genji grabbed the twin rocket launcher loaded with Clayton’s special Explosive rocket worth 50KG worth of compressed High explosives including Liquid Jormite the most volatile and high explosive liquid used for cracking class 3 asteroids. 

“It’s time to make a hero Boss Gen your up! Oh yeah say something cool before you fire.” Clayton shouted.

As arrows began to pelt the APC Genji opened the top door carrying the rocket launcher with a smirk on his face as he mounted the rocket on his shoulders. “Back check done... OKAY YOU FUCKS YOU CAUSED OUR BOSS MAN SOME HEART ACHES SO TIME TO MAKE THINGS GO BOOM!!! WARGH!!! HA HA HA” Genji said as he pulled the twin triggers on the rocket firing both missiles at the same time.

As both missiles flew into the gate causing a massive gate was blown to shreds along with a portion of the walls protecting the gate. As the gate came crashing down the APC jumped over what was left of the gate they somehow made it through as many of the New Kingdom soldiers. 

As they broke through several defensive lines with in the city causing a major distraction where ever they go. 

“Boss we’re almost at the King’s Castle what ever your going to do boss... I mean I know your the man with the plan... OH SHIT!” Clayton as he swerved to the left.

A massive iron golem suddenly appeared slamming into the APC nearly destroying it. After it rolled several meters from the main road colliding into an abandoned house though incapacitated the team was all accounted for at the very least. 

Kent got up as he pulled out the Excalliburst blades from his bio-cyber cell converter slicing the underbelly of the APC. 

As he walked out the knight was greeted with more than 5,000 soldier and 100 Iron Golems. Kent moved his neck slightly as his body re-connected the bones that were disconnected.

“Okay... That’s it... I am Very angry right now... So I am giving you all one chance to drop your weapons... and surrender peacefully before i start cutting off arms and legs? You have 10 seconds to comply...” Kent said as he started to limber up.

As he started to count down his body started to heat up as he started to raise his arms and crossed both blades together and made his approach to the army. 

Those who surrendered he left them alone but those who just disregarded his warning he cleaved off at least one arm or leg or even both arms and legs. 

The 5,000 highly trained soldiers were mere child’s play towards the young knight specially his time in the Hell’s gate. Several minutes later many of the New Kingdom army were either dead because of the dismemberment and immediate cauterization of their wounds through the excaliburst blades or had their heads bashed in by Kent.

“Well At least the boss cleared the way I guess...” Genji said as he rubbed his head.

“How can you... Oh...”Willow said as she saw the carnage her General did.

“Well one thing is for sure he cleared the path ahead... So everyone...GET up... and RUN!!!”Clayton shouted.

“You don’t have to shout Clay... And Yes lets run... Wait... Where’s Micheal?”Willow said.

“Of all the time.. Okay I’ll go with you WIllow Let’s find the little dude... Rex I can’t believe I am saying this but... Take the smart ass and my big brother and head to Kent’s location... He is going to need back up!” Marky said. 

“Understood Marky you two be careful we are not out of the woods yet...” Rex said.

Before the team went their separate ways Clayton stopped Willow for a brief moment with a heavy sigh he told her I’m not like the boss man but Willow... Um... Just watch your back the only one who gets to run you down is me!”

Willow smirked at the sergeant and looked at him with a smile I know you can’t really say some nice things because you got brought up differently but... I Will watch my back... And dont think im letting you go for saying that... I will discipline you later. 

“I’m counting on it... Rex lets go!” Clayton shouted.

Willow and Marky ran to the side streets in hopes to find her brother while Rex and the others followed the path made by Kent leading into the castle. 

“So you and Willow Big bro... NICE!” Genji said with a thumbs up.

“Be quiet lil bro... And yes... It’s nice to have a bitch like her... She is like... Fucking shit stick I cant think of a good word”Clayton said.

“You do realize that you can be a little nicer when talking to her right?  I understand Clay that you want to be a bad ass all the time but you could ease up on the curse words... Im just lucky that you haven’t gotten suspended for sexual harassment...” Clayton said.

“Still you can be a little nicer to everyone else... Like Kent and have you been attending your anger management sessions?” Rex asked.

“Yes... I’ll try to be a little nicer... We are chosen by Kent not because we are friends and all but we put something on the table that makes the team effective in our daily missions believe me if we were put in other teams we would either be dead of in the firing line.”Clayton replied.

“Right Let’s hurry the General must be kicking butt right now.” Rex said as they heard a massive explosion from the upper levels.

The three fought their way through what survived of the New Kingdom army as the explosions were getting louder and louder. They reached the entrance to the throne room or what was left of the main door Rex was about to enter the throne room when Clayton grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back before several blades skewered him. 

“Thank’s Clay I owe you one.” Rex said. 

“You’re welcome you have kids Rex it would be very bad if you got killed Fiora and Korra will be sad my guy.” Clayton said as he pulled out his chain gun.

“Okay then... I’ll take a page from Kent on this one... It’s time to nutt up!” Rex said as he pulled out his pistols.

“Or Shut up!” Clayton and Genji said at the same time. 

The three entered the throne room to see the heroes of Ren’veil were down on the ground badly wounded or incapacitated. 

“Rex over their Kent’s locked blades with the King and that bastard Rio!” Clayton stated.

“Way to state the obvious Clay... Genji check on the heroes Clay with me maneuver 5 Clay!” Rex shouted as he started firing at the two.

Clayton Fired his chain rotary gun to the left where the three were locked blades while Rex fired at the opposite direction hitting Rio on the shoulder while the King used his Dragon-snake cloak to block the bullets giving Kent a chance to break off. 

Kent Jumped back to his surprise to see Rex and Clayton standing behind him while Clayton poured on the pain with his chain gun. 

“Rex where have you guys been?” Kent asked.

“We took a Sunday’s stroll, looking for Micheal... well you know our usual start on a monday...” Rex said.

“Right... enough said captain... We are in trouble these two are drawing power from a massive manna pool reserve somewhere in this castle we have to find the manna conversion crystal or this fight will just drag on forever... Wait Where’s Willow and Marky?” Kent asked.

“They are looking for Micheal I‘m sure they are heading towards our way now.” Rex replied.

Rex pulled out an impact grenade and threw it towards Rio knocking him across the room Kent immediately pointed towards Rio as he had a score to settle with him. Rex, Genji and Clayton were to face off against the King the young knight rushed in delivering a powerful sword swing at Rio. 

The Swordtaker managed to dodge Kent’s sword swing and summoned 3 smaller muramasa blades that bounced off his skin. 

Clayton kept the king pinned with a seemingly endless barrage of energy bullets while Rex pulled out a pair of combat high frequency knives and tried to cut off the King’s hands but the King summoned a legion of undead soldiers that were dealt by Kent earlier.

Genji ignited his plasma blades and cleaved through the undead with relative ease but every time he puts down more and more kept on resurrecting. 

“We can’t keep this up forever Boss I’m running out of energy for my blades...” Genji said.

“Damn it... THAT’S It I AM DONE WITH THIS FARCE!!!” Kent shouted as his body began to unlock 7 of the 49 limiters placed by the Black Queen.

Rio laughed at Kent as he summoned over a dozen Massive muramasa blades and fired them like meteors falling from the sky towards the young knight. Kent grabbed one of the blades and crushed it with his bare hand as his fingers turned into claws and most of his left arm turned into a heavily armored dragon layer scale arm greatly increasing his strength to absurdly outrageous levels. 

He then interlocked the Excaliburst blades into the Skull breaker swords and charged towards Rio. Kent’s original strength which could be compared to 600 tons of force per swing when one of the 7 discipline limiters are removed. 

The Discipline limiter that was removed was his Rage when removed his strength, speed, reaction time by 5,000% though it increases his power for a short time without it’s counter discipline limiter the Discipline of Serenity to maintain Rage mode will increase the risk of Kent going berserk the longer he maintains rage mode. 

Kent’s left eye changed into a dark red as he entered rage mode he grabbed one of the muramasa blades mid-air and threw it back towards Rio. Though he was barely able to dodge it in time the blade throw was able to destroy a massive section of the throne room wall. 

Rio didn’t even bother to look back as he charged at Kent with an upward swing followed by a spin kick and double slice combination attack. Kent dodged the double slice countering his sword swing by throwing his Skull breaker sword like a boomerang before it could return to Kent. He followed up with a three punch combination with a reverse ax kick with a rushing upper cut directly to Rio’s jaw and kicked him in the chest sending him flying towards the throne.

He slowly walked towards Rio seeing fear in his eyes overwhelmed the Sword taker and summoned blades left and right trying to push Kent back to no avail.

The young knight walked towards Rio grabbed him by the neck and raised him up Kent was slowly crushing it with a satisfying smile on Kent’s face as fangs started to appear.  

Kent smiled seeing  Rio struggle and beg for mercy since he couldn’t break his grip. Rio summoned more blades that tried to strike Kent but the blades were merely bouncing off his skin.

“Mer...cy!!!” Rio pleaded.

“You said a long time ago... that you will Kill my champion... that you can kill him with one swing of your sword... You boasted your strength to Kent... Though he didn’t do anything... But I wanted to snap your neck... From the start... But... My Daughter would never forgive me for such... Instead I will leave you with a parting gift...” The Dark voice said as he raised his right hand towards Rio.

He slowly pierced Rio’s soul barrier the Dragon that took over Kent snapped off Rio’s legs and right arm and took away most if not all of his sword skills and gave it to Kent as Punishment for his arrogance.

“What.. did you... DO!!!” Rio asked.

“As punishment for killing the children of Ren’veil and selling them to those wretched dark gods... I took 

“Kill ME!!!!” Rio shouted.

“Not even death can save you From me Human... but I shall Gladly oblige your request... For my Champion of course... And one more thing... The one eyed Knight will not save you this time around...” The Dragon said as he snapped Rio’s neck and ripped him in half and threw the corpse off the edge.

Oh well... good riddance to bad rubbish... Now then to deal with the King... But first... a change of pace... The dragon said when he turned to face the King but he returned  Kent to his sanity and reviving the discipline of rage. 

Kent remembered Killing Rio which brought him great satisfaction though most if not all of his memories were still a bit hazy but he remembered throwing Rio off the edge of the throne room plummeting to his death. 

“Wait, what happened... Ugh... my head... Wait no time to be dizzy... We have a battle to win!” Kent said out loud as he picked up his Skull crusher swords and regrouped with Rex to fight the king. 

He turned around to see Clayton flying towards the young knight as he Grabbed the Promethian Gunner’s collar and shoulders catching him before he was sent out the hole Kent made earlier.

“Thank’s boss man you saved my neck back there! By the way where is the bastard Rio did you do him in?” Clayton said as he got back up. 

“Yeah... It was oddly satisfying to be rid of that retarded man who boasts consistently of his power and courage... What a pathetic display of his status as a Hero no less.” Kent said as he cracked his neck.

“Well good riddance to that piece of filth boss man...”Clayton said.

“GUYS I DONT MEAN TO INTERRUPT YOUR TALK BUT... HELP!!!!” Genji shouted as he was barely holding back the King’s relentless sword strikes.

“Right... sorry Genji... Clay... Remember that one move I really hated?” Kent said.

“Oh you mean maneuver 69.1?” Clayton asked.

“Yeah, Lets do It I still got one in the tank!” Kent replied.

Clayton smiled as he grave Kent some active grenades giving them to Kent as he grabbed him by the shoulder and threw him towards the king, The young knight immediately threw three of the five grenades at the King making him dodge as he got closer Kent ignited one of the grenades and threw it right in front of the King which he was able to knock out the air.

Kent was locked blades with the king as he pulled out of the last grenades Clayton gave him and stuck it towards the King and kicked him away. The grenade exploded but that was no ordinary grenade a proton plasma grenade.

“That should have killed him right?” Clayton asked.

“Well if not I am calling bullshit on that big bro!” Genji said as he got back up.

“Well that was a proton plasma grenade... one of Clay’s special explosives... That should be enough to kill him... Right?” Kent asked.

“It should be enough boss man that grenade is the same thing I used to blow up the armory back at Dawn base... oh shit!” Clayton said as he felt a chilling tap on his shoulder..

“SO IT WAS YOU WHO BLEW UP MY ARMORY YOU ASS!!! I was building my new Exo-frame suit... ““Crying”“ It took me 2 years to build that frame and it just melted in seconds...” Kent shouted.

“Guys the battle is not over yet! We got a king sized problem...” Rex said as he reloaded his pistols.

As the King stood back up when most of his body was torn to shreds by the Plasma grenade which Clayton quoted that he shouldn’t have survive the impact from the Grenade alone.

“Hey you fucker Just drop dead already! that is just cheating.” Clayton stated.

“I dont think this counts as Cheating my friend... Lady Arra said before she got knocked out since he is still wearing the pendant of Life he is drawing from the massive manna reserve underneath the castle and using the life energy to heal himself... Now that I think about it... that does sound like cheating...” Kent replied.

“Yeah boss man that is utter Bullshit it’s like some weird writer is making our opponents ridiculously overpowered so we can drag this along then another player comes in kicks ass take names and then chew bubble gum... What an Ass move narrator!” Clayton said as he broke the 4th wall.

“Seriously my friend... You are talking utter nonsense and stop 4th wall breaking Now is not the time to break walls now is the time for the Action Clay!” Kent said as he disengaged the Skull breaker swords.

“Still this is utter bullshit Boss man!” Clayton said as he fired his chaingun at the king.

The king raised his hand stopping all 600 bullets at once and threw it back to the team. though they were able to barely dodge in time. The King then sat back on his throne laughing at the efforts of the team.

You dare to come to my world... Stopping my right to rule and cleanse this beautiful world of all imperfections... and you even have the audacity to stop me... well then... Let’s see if you can stop THIS!!!

The King said as he started to absorb more and more life energy had begun to seep from the ground and went into the King’s body as more and more tendrils went into his body the bigger and more monster like he became. 

A few minutes later he became more than 45 feet tall with more horns sticking out of his body than can be counted and his sword mutated into a demonic blade and revived the dead soldiers into death knights.

“Well we are in trouble... unless someone can pull out a trump card or something like... Right now?” Clayton said. 

“Wait I just remembered something... Rex what was that purple light that fused to my left arm?” Kent asked.

“Oh yeah how could I forget... I requested Lady Charlotte to send the Blight Taker relic sent to you... Kent did you get it?” Rex stated.

“Wait THE legendary Blight Taker... The same Blight Taker that if she gets angry will turn her wielder into a deathly puppet THAT BLIGHT TAKER?!” Kent asked.

“Yes the same thing... That was our only chance to save those kids... We will buy you some time figure out how to summon the sword from your arm! Genji Clay Formation 3!” Rex said as he started shooting the king.

“Okay then... Time to meditate...”Kent said as he kneel down and cleared his mind. 

Kent was brought before the Temple of the soul where he could commune with his own persona and other personalities. Before he could take a single step the young knight was dragged out of the temple and into the Phantom void. 

The Phantom void according to ancient legend this is the only realm that the Blight Taker maintain’s for it’s wielder should the Warden of the Blight taker judge the wielder true then she will allow the full might of the Blight taker to it’s fullest potential.

So you are the new Knight that dares to summon me? The warden said.

The warden waved her fingers at Kent forcefully dragging him towards her forcing him to sit across a coffee table. 

I sense fear in you... Good are you afraid of me... young one? Well... you should be... The Warden said as she was about to snap her fingers and turn Kent into a Undeathly puppet. 

Before she could snap her fingers their was not a single ounce of desire or lust for power and others inside the knight that wielded 

“Interesting... unlike my previous wielders who searched for power... you on the other hand... Despise it as if you want to throw it all away... Very well I will lend you my power for now... Let us see how far will you go... tell Charlotte my regards for me child...” The Warden said as she snapped her fingers again.

Kent was snapped back into reality when he saw his team was getting beaten down as Clayton was literally throwing rocks at the king’s Face. 

“WAIT this is!” Kent said as he saw a bright blighted light emerged from his left hand.

Kent stood back up as he saw the blight taker emerged from his left hand in the form of a long single blade sword. The warden sent a message to her wielder saying I reshaped the Blight Taker into a form more... comfortable to your specifications and skills... Use the power I am letting you borrow and prove to me that you are worth of the Role of the Eternal Knight... 

Then we shall talk again... 

Kent looked at the blade as it roared out of hunger for the blood of the guilty he was eager to feed the blade though his left hand was still shaking after suffering internal damage when using Rage mode. 

He had no other choice but to push it beyond it’s limits as he placed himself into a quick draw stance. After a brief moment of concentration his left eye started to bleed the pupil turned black while the retina turned red in color.

He didn’t had time to think Kent unleashed his skill called provoke luring the king towards Kent. 

“That’s it you ignorant bastard... Come here... just a little more!” Kent whispered as his left arm veins were exploding.

“NOW!!! SHADOWFIRE COMBINATION ART... BLIGHT MOON QUICKDRAW... BLOOD VIOLET PETAL DANCE!!!” Kent said as he disappeared in flash of black light.

After a brief moment Kent emerged from behind withe the Blight Taker drawn as beautiful heart shaped petals began to fall around them. The Blight taker was drawing the blood of the king into it as it finished it’s dinner Kent turned to his team to check on Rex who was shoved into the wall and Ben who had his body stuck to the floor. 

The King looked at the one who killed him as he said one more time before his body turned into black petals I shall... Return... 

“Don’t count on it ass wipe!”Kent said as he threw the Blight taker hitting the King in the head.  

The Blight taker turned the blade into a massive jaw as tendrils began to dig into the king dragging his soul out of his dead body. He struggled to get away but the Blight Taker is a place no soul on creation should ever go to as the blade already devoured 4 dark gods already and hundreds if not millions of demon class champions. 

Let your sins burn you for all eternity... Repent for all the souls that you had wronged... Repent for you shall never know peace... Repent knowing that you had sacrificed your people for your own gain... I Warden Kyrisu of the Blight Taker judge you to Eternity of torment... Know that you shall never escape from me... Not even your gods can save you now!

The Warden said as she burned her message into the Kings soul as he struggled to maintain connection to his body as he got devoured by the Blight Taker. 

It’s over isn’t it... Kent thought to himself as the sword returned to his left arm he then checked on his friends and got them all out safely though they all suffered some form of injury.  Marky and Willow along with Micheal and the rest of the Strike team Zero Dawn made their way to the throne room to aide their leader.

The Knights immediately secured the throne room before Kent could take a breather he checked on Aisha and the others. 

Before he could approach Aisha he knelled down to check on her if their was any injuries but his arm started to feel as if a thousand needles were piercing the insides of his left arm. 

Fenris immediately ignited his Plasma knife and cleaved Kent’s left arm and tossed it aside as it exploded sending no more than a thousand miniature Muramasa blades flying in all directions hitting most marines who were busy aiding the other heroes.

Though they were okay but are in critical condition the knights removed the lodged blades from the mariens and carried them to safety. 

Fenris immediately applied first aide to Kent’s Arm but nothing seemed to force or provoke the regeneration protocols of the Virus inside his body. 

“Damn why isn’t it working!” Fenris thought.

He could hear laughter echoing in the throne room as it sounded familiar Did you think that I’ll die that easily you cocky prick... Now Look at what you did to me!!! Now I’ll kill you and become the king and become immortal! 

“Rio is still alive!” Rex said as he coughed out blood.

“Lily get Rex Kent and the others out of here we shall taker care of this!” Fenris said igniting his Vibration plasma claws. 

“Okay, Fenris kill Rio for Kent!” Lily replied as the medical teams carried the heroes and the injured team out of the king’s castle. 

The Iron wolves began searching the throne room for Rio as one of the Iron fangs (a special team made for the strike team that specializes in drop assaults and heavy type close quarter combat and siege warfare is their main specialty) as they searched the throne room they found the dismembered remains of Rio sword taker who clung onto life using the muramasa’s manna stores. 

“Master Fenris look... The bastard is still alive... Ha... and he had the gull to call our lord a monster... Let’s kill him right now!” The younger Iron Fang stated.

 “Wait... I have a message from Lady Aliyshia before we kill him.” Fenris said as he took the recorder.

Rio, I was already aware of your treachery when you said my Father of all people abandoned Angel city to it’s fate... I knew you were a traitor... and you had the gull to keep comforting my daughter... I cannot believe you... I guess that’s why your sister looks down on the Sword Taker clan...You all had abandoned your duty in search for greed and power... I hereby announce the annulment of the arranged marriage between the sword takers and the Ayekawa Clans... you are on your own... I will announce the betrayal personally so no one will even bother to work with the Swordtakers anymore... This is payback and revenge for my people of Angel city... 

“Their you have it... you don’t deserve this Relic... Ill make sure that I will find another person worth of it... I’ll take this first then you lot can murder him!” Fenris said as he took the Muramasa Pendant from Rio’s neck.

Fenris showed it to Rio and stole it from the Swordtakers the other Grey fangs began to mutilate Rio to the point he was not even recognized. 

As the battle for Ren’veil finally had drawn to a close the rising sun had finally came to greet the Knights of the Strike fleet. As Fenris took off his helmet and approached the edge of the breach. 

He sat down as he took out his kanteen of alcohol and raised it high Cheers to our brothers and sisters... Let your memories be the seeds for tomorrow! Hail to the fallen! Fenris saluted as many of the Grey wolves followed Fenris and drank from their Kanteens in celebration for Ren’veil shall have a new and better tomorrow that starts today... 

[thelastifntdragonrider]

No Cannon Shall Sink This Ship

Summary: A collection of one shots of alternate ending, alternate episodes, and headcannons. 

Newest oneshot: Defenders of the Wing, Part 2, alternate episode. Mala says she’ll kill Hiccup and the dragon riders, Hiccup falls into the volcano, and everything goes downhill from there.

Link: on Fanfiction.net 

Defenders of the Wing, Part 2, Alternate episode

"Your people are going to die for what you've done, but first, Hiccup, I'm going to kill you myself."

Hiccup pressed his back against Astrid's, his heart beating hard in his chest. "Wait," he said quickly. "Yes, this is my fault-"

"Hiccup, it's not your fault, it's Viggo's-" Astrid tried to say, but Hiccup held up a hand to stop her.

"-But it's not my friends' fault. They are good people. They follow me just as your people follow you," Hiccup said, taking a tentative step forward, ignoring the extra spears pointing straight at his heart. "You can't punish them for doing something that I asked them to do."

"Hiccup, don't!"

"Enough!" Mala commanded, grabbing Hiccup by his shoulder and shoving him to his knees. "You have done your last evil, Hiccup."

The volcano rumbled and lava exploded from the heart of the volcano, showering down around them. "Mala, look out!" Hiccup yelled, pushing Mala out of the way and let out a scream as the lava landed on him. He took a step back in surprise and shock only to find his foot meeting thin air. For a moment, he met Astrid's eyes and she could plainly see the pain and terror written in Hiccup's gaze before he fell into the roaring lava.

"No, Hiccup!"

There was a terrified yell from Hiccup and a large shadow zoomed past everyone as Toothless shot into the volcano after his best friend. Astrid threw off the soldier beside her and rushed towards the edge, not caring who got in her way, just fighting to get to Hiccup. The hot rock burnt her hands as she looked over the edge into the heart of the volcano. She looked just in time to see the insignia of the Night Fury sink into the fires of the volcano.

"Hiccup! Hiccup!"

Hiccup Haddock III - son of Stoick the Vast, the pride and heir of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe of Berk, the Dragon Conqueror, the Rider of the Night Fury - was gone.

--/-/--

Hiccup had fallen plenty of times. Countless of times: falling off of Toothless when they were first learning how to fly together, the terrifying plummet when the Red Death's tail hit him, tripping plenty of times when he lost his foot after the battle with the Red Death, crashing when he started to design Dragon Fly and failing plenty of times in the war against the Dragon Hunters.

But every time that he fell, he knew that he could trust Toothless to come and catch him as he fell.

This time, there was only air between him and the fire. No Toothless, no Dragon Fly, nothing.

Hitting the ground was an unpleasant surprise. All the air was driven out of his lungs and Hiccup thought that he couldn't find it in him to scream, but a loud scream ripped out from his throat as the pain from the lava burns registered. The leather of his armour was on fire, slowly burning into his skin. With a desperate yelp, Hiccup yanked off all of his amor and threw it as far as possible from him, still swatting at the fire remaining on his tunic. He wasn't sure if it was the heat or the pain that caused tears to roll down his cheeks as he watched the rest of his armour sink into the lava.

Darkness was crowding at the edges of his vision as he heard the telltale roar of the Night Fury. A second later, Toothless landed beside him, nosing him worriedly, but Toothless's actions just caused pain to erupt all over his body and the world turned dark.

--/-/--

Astrid opened her eyes to darkness, finding her and the other riders back in the same prison they were in earlier that day. Everything came back to her in little snippets: going up to the volcano, Mala accusing them of treason (again), and getting knocked unconscious with the darts again. Groaning, she sat up, looking around in the shadows, mentally checking off the riders.

Heather. Snotlout. Fishlegs. Ruff. Tuff...

"Hiccup!" Astrid yelled out desperately. "Hiccup!"

Her shouting roused the other riders, but still didn't bring the one person that mattered to her.

A hand landed on her shoulder and for a moment, she thought that it could've been Hiccup's hand, but instead of HIccup's warm hand, calloused from many years working in the forge, it was Heather's slender hand that gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Astrid," Heather said, her voice void of her usual hard edge, "I'm so sorry."

"I never told him," Astrid whispered, her eyes searching the stars, wishing that she could see the familiar silhouette of the Night Fury somewhere up there.

"Told him what?"

"How much he meant to me. How much I... how much I thought he was more than just a hiccup. I didn't tell him how much I trusted him I didn't tell him... how much I love him."

"You said 'love' present tense not 'loved' past tense," Heather said, her green eyes searching through Astrid's blue ones.

Looking away, Astrid sank down to the ground. "'I can't imagine a world without you,'" she whispered. "That's what Hiccup said to me. I never thought that I would have to live in a world without him. There was never a scenario that he wouldn't be able to get out of. Even if his first stupid plan didn't work, he always had a next crazy plan. Every time he was in a life-or-death situation, I could do something to save him. I could threaten every Outcast, Berserker or Dragon Hunter, I could search through every island in the Archipelago, I could do SOMETHING to save him, but this time... he's just gone."

The riders fell into silence, Astrid's words echoing through the prison. Nobody said anything until a shadow fell across the prison and in unison, they looked up to find Mala looking down at them.

"What do you want?" Astrid snarled, her hands fisted by her sides.

For a moment, she didn't say anything as she threw a couple rations of food down to them. "We have contacted Viggo and we are trading you for the Great Protector tomorrow at first light."

"Do you think that it's going to be that easy?" Fishlegs asked from beside Astrid. "If Viggo was able to trick Hiccup on more than one occasion, this is going to be no simple hostage exchange. There's no way that Viggo and the Dragon Hunters are just going to hand over the Eruptodon."

"Silence! This is the only way I am going to save my people. you WILL co-operate!"

Mala turned to leave, but before she could, Heather called out, "Wait, Queen Mala."

"I thought I bid you silence."

Heather took a step forward. "Hiccup was our leader. He saved your life. Please allow us to send him to Valhalla in the ceremony that he deserves."

Mala surveyed them with her cold glare, her expression unreadable.

"Please," Heather said again, "If you let us do this one thing, we will not protest any more. We just want this one thing. Let us honour Hiccup once more."

At long length, Mala said, "What do you need?"

--/-/--

Hiccup woke up to a cool breeze against his cheeks.

That and the sticky spit of one Night Fury.

Cracking open his eyes, he smiled as Toothless warbled happily at the sight of Hiccup's eyes. "Hey, bud," Hiccup said weakly. "How long was I out?"

Toothless bounded over to the edge of the trees where they were hidden and pointed down the hill with his nose, making excited noises. Shakily, Hiccup stood up and joined Toothless over looking the beach below them where he could see Mala leading the other six Dragon Riders towards a boat.

"Come on, bud. Let's go save them."

--/-/--

A little while later, the six dragon riders stood on the shore, holding arrows as a boat drifted out to sea.

"The greatest dragons and gods cry for the boy who has fallen today. We ask for the safe passage of your newest einherjar, that he may fly into Valhalla and live for eternity in peace that he has brought to his people. May he hear the songs that we sing, the songs of him, our great Chief."

Astrid pulled back the string of her bow and let the arrow fly through the sky. Beside her, the rest of the riders lifted their own bows and shot a flaming arrow to the boat as well. The sparks from the fire floated up to the sky as if they could join the stars too. Through the smoke and fire, she thought she saw a Night Fury carrying a rider out into the wind.

--/-/--

It was still dark as Mala's ship, carrying her tribe, the Dragon Riders and herself, sailed into the sea for the rendezvous with Viggo. The two proud ships met in the waters, their leaders waiting for the other.

"Return the Defender of the Wing," Mala commanded. "We have your people."

"They are far from my people," Viggo said, "and I have to extend my deepest gratitude for taking care of one Hiccup Haddock."

Mala gave no reaction, only extending her hand again. "Give us back the Defender of the Wing."

Viggo curled his lip. "No."

She snarled back at him, "Give us back our dragon, You foul monster!

The dragon riders saw before anyone else did. Up in the masts, a Dragon Hunter raised a crossbow. On the deck, Viggo raised his hand and immediately, Astrid leapt forward.

"No! Astrid, don't!" Fishlegs yelled, but she was already leaping forward.

She knocked Mala onto the deck of the Dragon Hunters, the arrows flying over their heads and immediately, there were axes at their throats. Astrid looked up to find Viggo there, his sword pointing straight at her.

"Surrender."

They had no choice, but to raise their hands.

--/-/--

The Defenders of the Wing and the dragon riders were tied up on the deck, while Astrid and Mala were on the upper deck, a little way away from Viggo who was talking to one of the other dragon hunters.

"Why did you try to save me?" Mala asked, quietly as not to allow the dragon hunters to hear them speaking.

"I didn't want to, trust me," Astrid growled. "I would've let you rot in Viggo's hands."

"But yet, you saved me."

Astrid looked away, hating the tears that were welling in her eyes. "You never knew Hiccup, but Hiccup is the kind of leader that would do anything for his family, friends... and allies. Hiccup would've saved you. So I did too."

Mala studied her for a second, before slowly speaking, "That's..."

"Noble of me? Kind of me?"

"No, that's very... Hiccup of you," Mala said, her voice soft. "He must have loved you very much."

Lifting her eyes up to the horizon, Astrid sighed, catching the sight of the last star in the sky fade away as she whispered, "Yeah. I did too."

The sun's first rays bled over the horizon, just as the Night Fury whistled through the air, carrying his best friend into battle and everyone heard the loud cry of, "Viggo! This ends now!"

"Hiccup!" Astrid yelled in happiness. Hiccup's upper arm was wrapped in bandages, the ends of his hair (most noticeably his braids) were singed, and he wasn't wearing his armour, but despite all of that, Hiccup never looked better to Astrid. Behind him, the other riders' dragons followed him.

"Hookfang! Meatlug! Get the riders! Stormfly and Windshear, get Mala's tribe! Barf and Belch, light up the catapults!" Hiccup yelled to the dragons and immediately all of the dragons burst into action. "Toothless, let's go get Mala and Astrid."

The two landed on the ship, directly across from Viggo, Mala and Astrid.

"Hiccup Haddock the Third."

Toothless growled, but backed down as Hiccup gently patted his nose, turning around and bounding to somewhere else on the ship, followed by Stormfly. Turning his attention back to Viggo, Hiccup held up Inferno again, holding the flaming sword between him and Viggo. "Viggo. Let go of Astrid and Mala"

"Before I even consider that, let's talk about the treaty," Viggo said, his voice light.

"You know what Viggo, I have thought about the treaty," Hiccup said, setting down Inferno.

"Good. Good. Then are we going to sign?" Viggo asked, holding up the map.

Hiccup smirked. "There is one thing that makes us different, Viggo. To you, everyone can be expendable, but to me, all of the dragons on this side of the line matters. I will not sacrifice the lives of the dragons on this side of the line for the peace for the people and dragons on this side of the line. I will not sign this treaty."

In one move, Hiccup sliced the map in two with Inferno, sending it up into flame. Viggo stared at burning pieces of paper and Hiccup felt a bit smug that he managed to stun Viggo for a bit.

"Hiccup. You know this means war."

"I do."

"I thought you were smarter than this."

"Oh, I am. I am smart enough to realize that the lives of my riders are worth so much more than whatever you are offering," Hiccup said, stepping away from Viggo. "Oh, and by the way. If you ever touch my Astrid ever again, I will kill you."

Before Viggo had a chance to reply, Hiccup retracted Inferno's blade and Zippleback gas billowed out from the other end. The gas exploded into flames, knocking Viggo off his feet. Hiccup rushed towards Mala and Astrid, cutting through their bonds with a quick slice with Inferno.

"Hiccup!" Astrid leapt into his arms as soon as he freed her. "You're alive!"

"Not now, Astrid, I'll tell you everything later," Hiccup promised. "For now, Stormfly!"

Stormfly swooped out of the sky, squawking happily at the sight of her friend. "Stormfly! Let's go!"

Hiccup turned to Mala and said, "Come on, Mala, let's go."

"I can not fly on your dragon, it's against the law," Mala said quietly.

"It's not on my dragon," Hiccup said, turning around, "It's on yours."

The deck of the ship exploded and a dark shadow zipped out of the explosion, followed by a large Boulder Class dragon.

Astrid gasped in amazement. "That's..."

"Defender of the Wing. The dragon that protects Mala's tribe," Hiccup said as he helped Mala onto the dragon before jumping onto Toothless. "Now, let's go."

The three dragons took off into the sky. "Dragon riders, retreat!" Hiccup called. "Back to the island!"

--/-/--

"Maybe I judged you wrong, Hiccup Haddock," Mala said as the dragon riders got ready to leave her village. "Your dragons did tell the truth in the trial. I apologize for not trusting you and the dragons."

"I would've not trusted me either," Hiccup said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm just glad that everything worked out okay in the end."

Mala nodded and finally gave Hiccup and the riders a smile. "Good luck on your travels, Dragon Riders. If you need our help, we will come and fight for you."

"Thank you," Hiccup said with a smile in reply.

"No, thank you, Hiccup, you saved my life, my village, my dragon. Thank you," Mala said. She gave Hiccup and the riders a deep bow and the rest of her tribe followed her suit.

Hiccup smiled and looked around at the other riders. "Come on, let's get back to the Edge."

--/-/--

The sight of the Edge was a welcome sight. All of the Dragon Riders celebrated that night. Hiccup was so distracted by the celebrations that he didn't notice that Astrid had slipped away.

"Come on, Bud, let's go find her," he whispered to Toothless as he managed to slip out of the party as well. It didn't take long for them to find her, standing on the beach, looking up at the sky. Hiccup gestured for Toothless to stay back as he approached Astrid as quietly as he could with his uneven legs.

"I can hear you coming, Hiccup," Astrid said with a sigh. "You don't have to pretend that you're actually sneaking up on me."

Hiccup laughed and came to stand beside Astrid. "I guess I should know better than to sneak up on you too."

Astrid smiled, but the smile faded off her face a moment later as he gaze returned to the ocean in front of her.

"Astrid, what's the matter?" Hiccup asked, placing a hand on her shoulder and turning her to face him. It surprised him to see her blue eye filled with tears. "Astrid..."

"I thought you were dead."

Astrid's voice was so soft it took a moment for Hiccup to understand what Astrid said. "Oh, Astrid... it's okay. I'm still here."

Suddenly Astrid surprised Hiccup by throwing her arms around his neck, nearly knocking him off balance. "You were dead!" Astrid said, her voice raising into a sob. "I thought you were dead! I thought that I would never be able to tell you all of the things that I've wanted to. I thought that I wouldn't be able to tell you how much I love you. I thought that I wouldn't be able to because I thought you were dead!"

"It's okay, I'm not. I'm here and I'm never going to leave you behind again," Hiccup promised. "I'm right here." Hiccup gently lead Astrid over to a fallen log and helped her sit down, kneeling down in front of her. "Astrid. You know how much I hate these braids, right?"

Astrid raised her hand to tangle in his hair, stroking the singed ends. "What happened?"

"The lava burnt off my braids," Hiccup explained. "I was running back to the Edge when I realized they were gone. Even though I hated them, I needed them back, because wearing them was carrying a part of you. Astrid, I'll fight Thor before we're separated again."

Astrid laughed shakily and leaned back far enough to look Hiccup in the eyes. "Really?"

Hiccup smiled back, holding up his finger, and Astrid raise her finger to mirror his. "Promise."

Tears were still running down Astrid's cheeks, but she smiled, leaning her head against Hiccup's chest. "Thanks, Hiccup."

"For what?"

"For everything else."

Hiccup laughed, wrapping his arms around Astrid tightly. "Anything for you, milady."

[admittedlynotspartacus]

“Game of Thrones” Season VII: Episode 2 - A Foreign Invasion is Underway

Guys. Sam's acne treatment. The fury of Freddie Mercury. BARACK. AND MICHELLE. Y'all stepped it up. Let's talk about it.

DRAGONSTONE

Lightning. Thunder. And then, in the uppermost window of Dragonstone - THERE’S A LIGHT.

It’s D-Baby. She’s doing her usual thing of staring moodily out of windows of castles which she’s decided to post up in instead of, you know, TAKING THE THRONE. But then P-Dinky is like, “We’re not gonna stay here long.” And we’re all like -

But before she ducks outta here, she turns to Varys and does a dramatic recitation of his Wikipedia page and opens up the library on him without mercy.

Luckily, he passes the test with flying colors and receives a full fucking pardon when he’s like, “I listened to Robert. I listened to your daddy. But you’re the voice of the people, so ya know what -?”

There is no time for revels though, because Melisandre has warped back here and is notable for being the only lady who didn’t get the memo about wearing black this season.

Anyway, she starts spewing her usual “Prince That Was Promised” shit. And D-Baby’s like, “But I’m not a prince!” And Michelle is all, “WELL TECHNICALLY, IT’S A BAD TRANSLATION THAT ACTUALLY MEANS ‘PRINCE’ OR ‘PRINCESS...’”

And we’re all like...

While at the same time being like, “Like, what is gender, amiright?”

#TheRealPrinceThatWasPromised

WINTERFELL

So Melisandre’s told D-Baby and co. about J-Snow, and they’ve dispatched a raven summoning him. But Sansa smells fish and is like -

But we’re all at home like -

And meanwhile Davos is still like -

KING’S LANDING

Cersei’s with a bunch of Tyrell bannermen giving a really inspirational speech about how they shouldn’t back D-Baby that basically boils down to -

And they’re all like, “Yeah but dragons.” And Maester Frankenstein is just like, “Don’t worry guys...

And we’re all like, “Ohmigod I wonder what it is!!!!” And he takes Cersei down to the dragon lair to show her and we’re like, “Ohmigod we’re gonna find out this episode!” and then he whips the cloth off it and it’s A... giant... crossbow...

And at first I’m like, “Well, now wait a second. Maybe crossbows don’t exist yet in this world.”

Aight, N.V.M.

OLDTOWN

One time I went on a 7 hour kayaking trip and didn’t bring sunscreen to reapply. There were blisters. There was pus. And yet it was not one percent as bad as what has happened to poor Daddy Mormont, who basically looks like this -

Sam thinks he can cure him, but National Treasure Jim Motherfucking Broadbent is like, “You know not the ways.” Even though Sam has clearly risen up the ranks so much that NTJMB and he are already like -

NTJMB is even asking Sam for thoughts on his new book about the last six seasons of the TV show we’ve been watching. And Sam’s like, “I don’t like the title.” And NTJMB is like, “What would you rather call it?” And we’re all thinking -

And he doesn’t. Yet. Instead he goes to Daddy Mormont and he’s like -

Except less chill because he’s got a paint chipper, some rum, a hope and a prayer.

What follows is the grossest Thrones scene since Grand Maester Pycelle farted last year. Because Sam’s gotta get all this shit off Daddy Mormont by morning, but Daddy Mormont can’t scream. And there’s A LOT OF THIS SHIT ON HIM. So it basically is a combination of -

and -

DRAGONSTONE

The gang’s all here and they’re all pissed at D-Baby. Yara’s like, “We gotta attack NOW!” Mama Sand is starting a #NeverLannister movement, and D-Rigg is just like, “Hey, member Margaery?”

And then P-Dinky - remember him? He used to be the best character? - actually gets to talk and he’s like, going on about how Cersei is going to win banner-men over by appealing to their nationalism.

So in honor of Made in America week, he’s not outsourcing their plan to attack the cities around King’s Landing. Until he gets to his own home city and he’s like, “Dothraki and Unsullied, you dudes are taking Casterly Rock.”

Everybody’s V impressed at his sacrifice but also that D&D actually fucking let him drive a scene, so they’re all like -

Except D-Rigg still seems a little huffy, so she and D-Baby have a private conversation where D-Rigg is basically like, “You’re standing strong and tall. You’re the bravest of them all. If on courage you must call, then just keep on tryin’ and tryin’ and TRYIN’. Be a lion.”

And D-Baby’s just like -

And then. My dear dear friends. It’s just Barack. And Michelle. Alone. Barack’s headed out, Michelle is staying behind. It’s now or never.

And Barack just starts on his usual -

But Michelle is not having it. She’s like, “THIS is the moment.” 

And then she’s like -

And then she fucking just goes for his pants but he’s like, “Stop.”

And she’s like, “Yo, lemme at that D.” But he’s all, “You don’t understand. Six inches forward and five inches back, I got a - I got an angry inch.” And she’s just like -

And suddenly, it’s just like ASS! BOOBS! ARE WE GONNA SEE HIS STUMPY-STUMP OHMIGOD I HOPE NOT!

And then she lays back like -

But instead he’s just like -

And we’re all just like -

WHEREVER ARYA IS

Arya is full of reunions this week, because at first she’s eating at this inn when who should pop up but fucking HOT PIE! Also revelation that Hot Pie totally looks like Dustin from Stranger Things.

Oh, he FOUND the chocolate pudding. He found it so hard. So they’re like chilling and she’s like - 

When Hot Pie acts like the greatest GPS ever known to man and reroutes her to Winterfell by telling her the Boltons are dead. And just like that -

But first reunion #2. Because we get some creepy POV shots on Arya camping in the woods, plus some growling and snarling. And her horse is acting CRAY. And I’m thinking, “Oh fuck. Ed Sheeran and his bros are back to fucking rape her, QUICK TURN IT OFF!” But lo and behold - it’s a bunch of wolves! Which is still bad until one is like -

But it’s not gonna eat her or catcall at her, because it’s her old wolf, people! So Arya is like, “Come with me, Nymeria.” But Nymeria is like -

and she peaces out. Leaving Arya alone to be like, “I see the same sky through my eyes as you see through yours, but we’re worlds apart. Worlds apart.”

WINTERFELL

More RuPaul - Michelle Visage shenanigans as J-Snow finds out about the dragonglass on Dragonstone and is like, “I’m going.”

But Sansa still smells fish and is like -

Which then gets everyone to turn on J-Snow, so he’s just like, “You know what? Fuck this. You be queen.”

But of course Sansa’s just like -

Meanwhile, Littlefinger is still being a creep.

THE SEVEN FUCKING SEAS

All right, so here we are with the fucking Sand Snakes.

Yo I know, I know, but spoiler alert they’re gonna die soon, so it’s all okay. Just first, we have to listen to them have one more dumbass scene where the One Who Showed Her Boobs is like -

And Whale Rider and The Other One are like, “Mama! Mama! Mama!” And I’m just like -

But then we go to Yara and Mama flirting while Mama like Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’s Theon into getting them drinks. And then she’s like, “Aren’t you gonna protect your sister?” And she starts like getting close to her and touching her legs. And then she literally says, “A foreign invasion is underway.”

But alas, the invasion is cut short, because the ships are being attacked! And it’s like fire! Storming! UNCLE FREDDIE MERCURY!

And lemme tell ya, he is READY TO GO. It’s just like axes and blood and stabbing. And we’re all like -

And I’m especially like, “Uncle Freddie Mercury, find the Sand Snakes. Kill them.”

But Yara finds The One Who Showed Her Boobs first and is like, “Yo, I’m still trying to fuck your mom. Go protect her.” And The One Who Showed Her Boobs is just like, “Got it.” But the other ones aren’t so lucky. Because first he comes for Whale Rider.

And then without missing a beat he goes for The Other One!

And then Freddie’s backup boys find Mama and The One Who Showed Her Boobs and Mama’s just like, “Kill us. Get it over with.” And again, I’m just like -

But of course, it’s Game of Thrones and we can’t have too much of a good thing.

Anyway, it’s full-on Yara vs. Uncle Freddie Mercury time, and meanwhile there’s still these like mystery fire cannons shooting off.

But THERE’S NO TIME FOR LOGIC! Yara’s about to get her throat slit when Freddie’s just like - “LITTLE THEON!!!”

And Freddie’s like got an axe to her throat, and Theon could just like... run at her? I guess? And do something? And then Freddie LEGIT Virginia Woolf’s him. Like -

And Theon’s just like -

BOOB COUNT: 1 BODY COUNT: 2, plus a lotta extras in that last scene (Rest in Eternal Misery Whale Rider & The Other One) EPISODE GRADE: A-

SER POUNCE’S STRAY THOUGHTS

I just don’t believe for a second Varys is going to stop conspiring behind people’s backs just because Daenerys made him swear an oath.

After so much hype about this Prince that Was Promised prophecy, it was just a BAD TRANSLATION? I dunno, guys.

I gotta say it, I was Team Sansa for such a long time, but she’s being quite the killjoy this season. And there’s nothing I hate more than being on Team Jon. That said, nothing she’s doing is really stupid. She’s being rightly cautious, but because we know Tyrion and D-Baby aren’t trapping them, it’s creating an interesting conflict for us.

Dickon joins the latest Thrones characters recast over the season break. No more Cormac from Half-Blood Prince.

They love saying “the wars to come.”

I’m so not about Diana Rigg dying, but I fear it is coming.

So just to be clear, the plan was to use Yara’s fleet to transport Ellaria back to Sunspear and get the Dornish army. But now, the fleet has been taken (right?) and Ellaria has been abducted. So none of these armies are technically in the control of Daenerys anymore.

Emmy campaign for Barack please.

So I think it’s safe to say that we can add another Samwise-Samwell parallel in that at the end of all this, Sam will document all these events into an essentially in-world Song of Ice and Fire book.

I’ve loved this Arya plot this season. I thought for sure she was headed down a path into ice-cold vengeance biddy, but this rediscovery of her early days is really lovely and unexpected.

Maisie Williams is so good.

Do we think Littlefinger knows about Jon’s parentage?

It seems as though Yara is still alive.

Two Sand Snakes down. One (and Mama) to go. But you gotta figure Cersei’s gonna take care of them next week. Dreams really do come true.

NEXT WEEK: Freddie Mercury is the champion, Casterly Rock invasion, and J-Snow and D-Baby together at last. Will they fuck?