Rocky grunts as he tightly ties a bandage over his right thigh. It quickly turns red, but he ignores it. He lets out an exhausted sigh as he grips tightly onto Niether's belt. He stares out to the ocean as moonlight shines down onto them. Raincutter flies beside them.
"We're almost back." Niether rumbles as he glances back.
Rocky pats his dragons neck. "Doesn't matter, we need to get everyone together and head out."
"I know, but-"
Rocky chuckles tiredly. "I'm fine. Worry about me later, we gotta focus on getting back to those dragons."
Niether lets out a worried rumble, but Rocky rubs his neck.
"I grow worried for him." Raincutter lets out a soft chirp.
Soon Wyre island comes into view and Niether shoots off, with Raincutter following behind. They quickly land on the beach and the dragon lets out a roar.
He gets several roars in return, and soon Mulic, Leafwisp, Snips and Spine all land on the beach. They all quickly crowd around the three, all asking what happened.
But Niether roars at them, and they all quickly back away.
"Okay look, a lot of stuff happened." Niether informs.
Snips sniffs the air and looks at Rocky's leg. "You're hurt Rocky."
Niether lets out a rumble. "We had an incident, and he ended up getting hurt, which led to all our captures."
"You three got captured?" Mulic rumbles as he steps over.
"Indeed." Raincutter informs as she shifts her wings.
"Well, what happened?" Spine questions with a chirp.
"We found a lone ship, which was a trap. I got shot, and the dragons got captured." Rocky rubs his burning leg. "But that's not the issue, the Hunters have a massive base near Glacier Island."
"Near Glacier Island?" Leafwisp questions. "How is there a base near there, we are always flying around that island."
"They are hiding just to the north, a place we made a simple miscalculation." Niether informs as he holds out his wings. "But enough talking, we gotta get going! There are dragons still captured there."
"Alright everyone, let's go kick some Human Butt!" Mulic takes to the sky.
Everyone roars as they flies out with Niether and Raincutter takes the lead.
A few hours later, Rocky shiver as snow falls around them. But his leg feels like its on fire. He looks down at his right leg, and sees his bandage all red. He lets out a sigh as he rubs his arms.
Suddenly Niether lets out a rumble as he looks off to the side. "Look at that..."
Rocky looks to the side and sees a Lighting Storm in the distance. Several flashes of lighting go off, and within it a outline of a dragon is visible.
"Stormchaser..." Rocky mutters as he studies the storm.
"Think we have enough time to get her help?" Niether looks back at Rocky.
Rocky goes to answer but a soft crack of thunder echoes. He then shakes his head. "That storm is miles away, it would take to long."
Niether sighs in disappointment. "We could use the help of a powerful dragon."
"I know, but also remember what happened last time we talked to her."
Niether lets out a low rumble.
"Look Glacier Island." Mulic lets out a roar.
"Keep heading to the North." Niether calls out. "When we reach the ice berg collection, we'll be near the Fortress."
"So how big of a fortress are we talking?" Spine calls out.
"Bigger then anything we've come across."
"It's got nearly a dozen towers with Archers, Balistas and Catapults. The whole island is a massive piece of ice, acting as a natural defense. And the island is surrounded by armed ships."
"Sounds like a headache." Leafwisp grumbles.
The group then arrives as a large collection of ice bergs. Niether takes everyone in low and slow as they fly close to the ocean.
"Alright everyone." Rocky calls out. "Divide and conquer! Take out the ships and weapon towers first. Me and Niether will zoom in and free the dragons, while the rest of you keep everyone busy."
"So watch your aim on the ice fortress. I don't want it collapsing on us while we're trying to free the dragons." Niether calls out. "And remember, if you get hit with an arrow, make sure to get far away from the Hunters as possible."
They group weaves between ice bergs until a large island covered in ice appears. Dozens of ships are docked around it and as they approach, horns start to sound off.
"Seems like they spotted us." Rocky points out as he flips up his eyepatch, making his and his dragons vision split.
"Hit hard and fast everyone!" Niether roars as he bursts forward.
Arrows start blotting out the sky as they streak down towards them.
"Power Shot!" Rocky yells.
Niether fires a Power Shot, and it strikes the group of arrows, blasting a the group of arrows away. Then a few comes come flying in, but the two Deadly Nadders fire, burning the nets away.
Niether zips between the boats as they try to fire at the two, but they miss due to the fast speed of the dragon. He then throws his wings out as they reach the island and Rocky points down to a hole in the side.
"There's the hole!"
Niether shoots down towards it as several arrows fly past him. He does a fast landing and Rocky flies off his back and drop kicks a Hunter in the face. All the dragons in the cages let out happy roars as they see Rocky and Niether.
The Human stands up as he keeps a hand over his arrow wound. He lets out a pained grunt. A Hunter with a raised sword, charges at him from the side, but a Plasma Blast sends him flying.
"Thanks, Niether." Rocky lets out a sigh.
He pulls out his sword as he starts breaking open the cages. Niether uses his powerful jaws to rip the cages open. As Rocky opens up a cage of a Deadly Nadder, several Hunters enter the room and aim their crossbows at Rocky.
But the Nadder roars and pushes Rocky to the side as it fires its spines at the Hunters; hitting their bows. The Hunters panic and run off as the Nadder chases after them.
Rocky lets out a chuckle as he keeps opening cages. The wild dragons quickly fly out of the whole in the wall, and start attacking the fort. Suddenly the entire fort shakes as large pieces of ice fall from the ceiling.
Rocky nearly stumbles over as his right leg shakes. He grits his teeth and looks over to Niether.
"Hurry up Niether, the wild dragons are making the fort uneasy."
Niether rips open a cage holding a Gronckle, and it chitters as it flies out. "I'm doing my best!"
Rocky huffs as he breaks up the latch to another cage, and a Monstrous Nightmare roars as it lights itself on fire. Then is speeds outside and crashes through a large tower.
Rocky runs to the side and stabs his sword into another latch, as a Zippleback roars inside. He grunts as he tries to break the latch, but suddenly several arrows stick the cage.
He looks back as several Hunters charge at him, but suddenly a cloud of gas surrounds them, before a spark flies forward. The cloud explodes, sending the Hunters to the ground.
Rocky looks in the cage and the Zippleback's two heads smile at him. Rocky chuckles as he reaches a hand inside the cage and pets their heads. The two heads let out a happy rumble.
Rocky then goes back to focusing on opening the cage. After a moment a loud thunk rings out and the cage opens up. The Hideous Zippleback then charges out the cage and outside.
Suddenly the entire room shakes as more ice chucks fall from the ceiling. Rocky looks around and finds all the cages empty, he goes to yell as Niether. But a large chunk falls beside him, causing him to fall over.
Rocky grunts as he hits the ground. He looks up as another large chunk falls towards him. Rocky grits his teeth as he starts to stand up, but Niether swoops in and grabs him.
Niether flies out of the cage as the entire room collapses. Rocky looks back as Niether holds him in his claws. He sees a large portion of the ice formation destroyed.
Rocky then yelps as Neither tosses him into the sky, and he lands on Niether's back. Rocky lets out a sigh as he looks around.
Using his and Niether's split vision to get a lay of the land. The entire fleet surrounding the island is on fire. The beach is on fire as Hunters run around, trying to take down any dragon.
Wild dragons fly all about the island, firing down onto the ice fortress. A large chunk of it suddenly falls and lands on several catapults. Rocky chuckles as he pats Niether on the neck.
"Alright bud, lets get in there."
Niether lets out a loud roar as he speeds up into the sky. He flips a few times, before diving down towards the fortress. He does his low pitched rumbling, which makes several Hunters panic as they yell out, "Briskwind!"
Niether then fires several Power Shots. The plasma shots hit a large chunk of ice, causing it to crack and fall. The large chunk falls onto the fortress, taking a large part of it out.
"Roll!" Rocky yells as Niether listens and several arrows fly past them.
Niether takes back up to the sky as several balista bolts fly just past them. Niether then flips back and dives back down towards the island, rumbling again. He then fires off another round, destroying a weapon tower.
Niether then takes up to the sky again as Rocky looks back down. The entire island is on fire as Hunters flee into the water. The fortress itself continues to fall apart.
But then Rocky notices a hole in a chunk of ice, leading straight down into an oil storage. Rocky smirks as he gets an idea. He pats Niether on the neck and he rumbles.
"Ohoho.... That's dastardly." Niether stops and hovers in the sky, looking down to the island.
"But it could blow this whole island sky high." Rocky looks off to the side as Mulic flies by. "Mulic!"
The Monstrous Nightmares stops and flies right over.
"We need you to start getting the dragons to fly away." Niether informs.
"What are you planning?" Mulic questions.
"We're going to blow this island sky high."
Mulic chuckles as he lights himself on fire. "Leave it to me."
Mulic flies off as he starts rounding up the dragons. After a minute all the dragons start flying away, which the remaining Hunters start cheering. But they all look to the sky as a rumbling fills the air.
They all see Niether and Rocky diving down towards them. Then dragon then fires off a Power Shot and it flies down onto the island, and into a hole in the ice. The plasma strikes one of the oil barrels in the massive storage, and it catches on fire.
Niether quickly dives away as they fly away. A small explosion goes off in the island as some smoke flies out of the whole. Rocky looks back in confusion.
"I thought there would be a bigger-"
Suddenly the entire area shakes as a bright flight flashes. Rocky covers his eye, before lowing a second later as the light does down. He stares in awe as a massive pillar of flames reaches into the air.
Massive chunks of ice fly out into the ocean as the fortress is now destroyed. Rocky laughs as he flips down his eyepatch.
"Just how much oil did they have in there!?" Rocky laughs as he throws a hand up into the air.
The rest of the patrol regroups with the two. Raincutter twists her head back, seeing the massive pillar of fire.
"Well..." Raincutter looks to Niether and Rocky. "I think we got it."
"Woahhohoh!" Leafwisp cheers. "Dragons 1, Hunters zero~"
"That wasn't too hard." Snips points out.
"My wings are a little sore from how hard I was flying." Spine grumbles.
"Good job everyone!" Mulic roars out. "Lets head back and get some rest, the sun raises in a few hours. And we still got training to do."
Everyone starts groaning and complaining.
"I don't want to hear any complaining!" Mulic roars out.
Rocky sighs as he lays back on his dragons, as he rubs the red bandage on his right leg. "That could've gone a lot worse."
"I'd say we got rather lucky." Niether points out. "But let's head back and get some rest." Niether yawns before he smacks his lips. "I'm rather tired."
Rocky lets out a yawn. "Yeah, and I need to get some medicine on my leg."
"How's it doing?"
Rocky grunts as he sits up. "Throbs and feels like its on fire. But not as bad as the first time I was shot. Though makes me kinda miss Heather."
"Ohhhh~"
Rocky punches Niether on the head, making the dragon give a warbled laugh. Rocky lays back on his dragon as he rubs his leg as it throbs. He starts up to the snowy night sky.
Then a couple hours pass as the moon is on its lower arc. Rocky lets out a yawn as he stretches.
"Man, almost home."
Niether rumbles as his eye droops a little. Suddenly Snips and Spine let out a few roars as they sniff the air. Rocky looks back to them.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"I smell something burning." Snips looks to her brother. "Do you smell that?"
Spine sniffs the air a few times. "Yeah, I smell burning as well."
"Look ahead!" Leafwisp calls out.
Everyone looks out to the horizon again and see the horizion lighten up light a candle. Rocky grows worried as he grips Niether's saddle tightly.
"Everyone hurry!"
All the dragons speed off and quickly reach Dragon Isles and they all gasp in shock. Ahead of them all three islands are on fire, with hundreds of Hunter ships all around the surrounding water.
"What?!" Mulic roars in anger.
"We were tricked..." Niether rumbles in horror.
Rocky grits his teeth in anger, then looks at the dragons beside him. "Leafwisp, Snips, Spine, take Mutton and Poultry Isles, Mulic, Raincutter, Niether and I will head to Wyre island!"
All the dragons roar in acknowledge met as they all head to their islands. The three dragons dive in low and fly just above the water as they pass between the ships.
Hunters start to yell about as they notice the tree dragons pass. Arrows and nets fly past the three as they pass between the fleet of ships. But once they reach Wyre island they angle towards the sky.
Rocky flips his eyepatch up as he and Niether glance around. They see dozens of ships surrounding the island from all sides, with Hunters all about the burning island.
Rocky spots Stinger running around the island, stabbing Hunters with his tail. But Stinger stops as his chest heaves up and down, before he speeds off. Niether notices Grandma Drips leading a large amount of Gronckles over the fleet, spewing lava down onto them.
But then the their eyes land on the Vanquisher. Where Sigewulf is standing at the front of his ship. He looks up to the sky and spots Rocky and Niether.
"Aww, I was wondering when you'd two show up!" Sigewulf calls out with a wave. "Did you like the little diversion I sent you two on?"
Rocky growls in anger as he pats Niether's back. "Get him!"
Niether roars in anger as he dives down towards Sigewulf. Raincutter and Mulic roar in confusion as they watch the two dive.
Sigewulf smirks as he grabs a Warhammer from a Hunter beside him. He lifts it up and slams it into the deck of the ship. Suddenly a low roar echoes about, shaking the island.
Niether's eye goes slit as he rolls to the side as something massive shoots out from the water right in front of the Vanquisher. Nieter zips off to the side and Rocky looks over in horror.
"What in Thor's name is that..."
The dragon is massive in size, making every dragon tiny in comparison. One of its most notable feature is, perhaps, the long tendrils that extend from under its jaw, somewhat resembling a beard. This feature is similar to that of other sea dragons, like the Sliquifer and Shockjaw. Its body is snake like, deep purple in color, and made up of many coral-like overlapping plates. It has a curved nasal horn and bright yellow eyes. Unlike most dragons, the Purple Death appears to have no wings, possibly because it can't fly due to its size and weight.
Niether rumbles as he looks over. "That thing is huge!"
"Purple Death..." Rocky mutters.
Sigewulf laughs like a madman. "You like it Rocky, The Serpent of Ragnarök! I've captured it, and now it will be the very beast that will destroy these islands and be your end!"
Sigewulf slams his hammer into the deck of the ship, before pointing up towards Niether and Rocky. The Purple Death lets out a low guttural roar, which shakes the surrounding air, causing most dragons to panic.
But Niether roars back in defiance, which seems to anger the massive purple dragon. It rears its head back, before breathing a massive stream of fire towards them.
Rocky leans forward on his saddle as Niether flips to the side, barely managing to avoid the stream of fire. They dive down towards the island as the Purple Death bites towards them, but Niether rolls out of the way.
Grandma Drips flies past them, with Mulic and Raincutter to her side.
"Rocky, Niether!" Grandma Drips roars towards them. "Focus on the big dragon, we'll deal with the humans!"
"On it!" Niether roars in return as he takes back up towards the sky.
"Alright, let's see what we can do now, eh." Rocky pats Niether on the neck.
The Purple Death roars as at the two as they fly high in the sky. Niether flips back and dives down towards the Purple Death. He then fires off a Power Shot which strikes it right in the face; causing a large explosion.
Rocky and Niether laugh, but stop as the smoke clears to show the Purple Death completely unharmed. But said dragon roars in anger and breaths fire towards them again, Niether roars in panic and swiftly banks to the side, as some of the fire licks off his wings.
Rocky covers his face as the heat from the flames in intense. But then he notices Niether rumble in pain and he looks over to his wing, and sees part of it scorched.
"You good?" Rocky asks in worry.
Niether flies around the Purple Death as it turns to them. "Just a.... little burn. Nothing to worry about."
Niether turns to the side and spin as he flies at the Purple Death, rumbling as he does. He fires off a couple more Power Shots, and they strike the dragon in the neck.
But as the smoke clears the Purple Death is unharmed. Rocky grits his teeth as he pulls back on the saddle, making Niether take higher to the sky as the Purple Death roars at them.
"Just what is this thing?" Rocky questions as Niether dives to the side as a massive pillar of fire flies past them.
Down below Sigewulf laughs as he watches Rocky take on the beast.
"There's nothing you can do Rocky!" Sigewulf yells as he points his hammer up to him. "This beast is the Ultimate Dragon! A bringer of destruction and death!"
Suddenly the boat beside him explodes as Grandma Drips and several other Gronkles fly over head. Sigewulf grits his teeth in anger and yells as his Hunters.
"Take those darn Gronckles down!"
Up in the air Niether circles high above the Purple Death. Rocky hums as he looks over the dragon.
"If the scales are impenetrable, aim for the eyes!"
Niether rumbles with a nod and spins as he dives back down towards the Purple Death. it roars up at them as it breaths fire once again, but they roll to the side. Niether fires off a Power Shot, and it slams into one of its eyes.
The Purple Death roars in pain as its head snaps back, making it stops firing. Rocky laughs in triumph as they fly past it, but suddenly one of its claws rack towards them.
Rocky and Niether panic and try to dodge, but the claw slams into them. Sending Rocky flying off and towards the ocean, while Niether uncontrollably flips through the air.
"Niether!" Rocky yells in panic as he flails is arms.
Niether roars in panic as he reorientates himself and tries to fly down towards Rocky, but the Purple Death bites at the dragon. Niether roars in anger as he flies back and fires another blast towards the Purple Death's eyes, but he misses.
The Purple Death lunges at Niether, making the dragon take high up to the air. Niether looks at Rocky in panic as the human falls through the air, and he lets out a loud roar.
Rocky yells as the ocean comes up quickly, but right before he hits a dragon grabs onto him with its talons. Rocky takes several breaths as his heart beats rapidly. He then looks up to see a blue Deadly Nadder.
"Vane?" Rocky questions.
Vane tilts his head down at Rocky and gives a small roar. Rocky gasps in shock and horror as several arrows stick out of Vane's neck, and one sticks out from his right eye.
Vane squawks as he throws Rocky into the air and he lands on Raincutter's back as she passes. Vane then flies beside the Stromcutter, and she looks to him.
"You look rough." Raincutter points out.
Vane grunts and moans in pain. "The Hunters came out of nowhere... Got the drop on us."
"And the babies?"
"We got them hiding in Grovel's tunnels... I uh... I managed to get the three kids in there, but the Hunters found us as I did. I managed to fight them off, but not without injury."
Raincutter grumbles as she looks towards the fleet, then back at Vane. "Get yourself somewhere safe for now."
Vane shakes his head. "No, I'm done running. I'm not losing anymore family. This Hunters want my home, they'll have to kill me for it."
Raincutter smirks as she nods. "Then take on the ships, Rocky and I will take on the beast."
Vane roars as he flies down towards the ships, and joins a group of Nadders. Rocky pats her neck as he mutters.
"Seems like Vane isn't running." Rocky laughs as he watches a good portion of the fleet surrounding the island on fire. "But come on girl, Niether needs our help."
Raincutter roars loudly as she turns and flies towards the Purple Death. As it breaths fire towards Niether as said dragon roars loudly at it. Raincutter open fires onto its back with a long fire breath, which catches the Purple Death attention.
It roars loudly as it swings its claws at them, but Raincutter shoots up into the air. Rocky stands up and jumps off the side of Raincutter, and lands on Niether's back as he swoops past.
The Purple Death roars as it looks between the two dragons. It then rears its head back as it sucks in air. The dragons roar in panic as they get sucked towards it.
Niether flips backwards and fires a shot towards its mouth. The blast flies through the air and slams into the inside of the Purple Death's mouth. It roars in pain as it stops sucking and stumbles to the side. Making the entire area shake.
Niether and Raincutter circle around as they watch the Purple Death rumble in anger. Rocky yells as he throws up a fist, making Niether and Raincutter yell.
Rocky looks down to the fleet below, watching dragons fly about, getting shot down, but their allies grab them mid air and fly away. Ships catch on fire and explode, as others fire catapults and ballistas towards the flying dragons, several getting shot down.
Rocky then notices a catapult fire and the rock fly straight towards Grandma Drips.
"NO!" Rocky yells in horror as he turns his dragon.
Niether roars in panic and he dives down towards grandma Drips, and he fires a plasma blast. But the Purple Death suddenly moves and its body blocks the shot.
Rocky and Niether watch in horror as the rock slams into Grandma Drips and sends her crashing down into the beach. A massive sand cloud kicks up as both Rocky and Niether yell in shock.
Every nearby dragon roar in panic as they all go into a frenzy.
"Drips!" Mulic roars as he dives down towards her.
"No..." Rocky stares down in shock as the sand cloud dies down and he sees Grandma Drips unmoving.
"Look out!" Raincutter yells in panic.
Rocky looks to the side, just as a rock flies in and slams into Niether. Niether roars in panic as he flails through the sky uncontrollably. Rocky holds tightly onto Niether's saddle as the two fall through the air.
Niether tries flapping his wings, but he can't manage to orientate himself. The two then crash down onto the beach and Rocky goes flipping and slams against a rock.
He yells in pain as he grips onto his right leg, blood seeping through the bandage.
Niether grumbles as he slowly stands up and looks around, his world all blurry and dizzy. He watches as dragons get shot out of the sky, and crash down into the ocean or the beach.
He then looks to the side and sees Mulic looming over Grandma Drips still form as he panics. Then Niether looks back and sees Rocky hold his leg in pain as he yells.
But then a shadow looms over Niether as he looks up and sees the Purple Death looking down onto him. But then past the Purple Death, Niether sees Sigewulf staring out at him with a sadistic smile.
Niether's chest starts to heave up and down in anger. His eye goes slit as his vison clears up, but it starts to turn red. Suddenly the white markings on his body start to glow brighter and brighter.
Niether then takes a deep breath and looks up to the Purple Death as he roars as loud as he can. A roar of defiance, anger, sorrow, and a roar of challenge. The white markings on his body glow brightly as they spark with energy.
The Purple Death growls, before roaring loudly down at Niether. it goes to breath fire down at him, but Niether fires a blast into its eye. The Purple Death rumbles in anger as it swipes a claw at Niether.
But the Briskwind lunges back as fires more shots at the Purple Death, causing it to stumble back. Niether then runs up to the edge of the beach as his mouth glows a bright white.
He continues to fire several more Plasma Blasts at the Purple Death. But it just roars in anger and breaths fire down onto him. Niether covers himself with his wings as the fire consumes him.
After a few moments the Purple Death stops firing as it rumbles. But then another plasma shot shoots out from the smoke, and strikes it right in the eye, causing it to blow up.
The Purple Death stumbles back as it roars in pain. The smoke dies down as Niether lowers his scorched wings, but his markings still glow brightly. The Purple Death, bleeding from its left eye, glares down at him.
Niether gives another roar of challenge as lighting sparks around its body. The Purple Death roars in challenge as well, as it stomps its hands onto the beach and tries to bite Niether.
But Niether roars as lighting sparks around his body, before forming into his mouth. Suddenly Niether fires a Power Beam mixed with lighting. The beam slams into the Purple Death's face, causing it to fall backwards and slam into part of the Vanquish Fleet.
Niether stops firing as the Purple Death slowly gets up and roars in pain. Niether gives another loud roar of challenge, and the Purple Death just roars as it dives under the water, taking a few ships with it.
Niether gives a roar of triumph as he stares out to Sigewulf in challenge, smoke pouring from his nose.
Sigewulf starts in shock as he looks back, and watches the Purple Death swim away, before it disappears fully under the water. He grits his teeth in anger as he looks out to his fleet, most of it on fire and sinking.
He then yells in anger and turns around. "Order a retreat!"
"Sir?" A Hunter questions.
Sigewulf grabs the Hunter and throws him off the ship. "DON'T MAKE ME REPEAT MYSELF!"
Sigewulf throws his warhammer to the side. All the Hunters on the ship start running about. One Hunter pulls out a large horn and blows into it. The horn rings out, as a few moments later more horns ring out.
Niether huffs in anger as he watches the ships slowly retreat. The glow of his markings slowly die down as he then lets out an exhausted huff. He hears a grunt beside him, and he glances to see Rocky limp up to him.
Niether rumbles in worry, but Rocky just pats his neck. The two watch the fleet sail away as Rocky holds his leg in pain, and Niether folds his burned wings.
The two then hear some sorrowful roars to the side. They look over and see a large gathering of dragons. Rocky quickly climbs on Niether's back as they trot over.
The dragons move to the side to allow Niether to move past them. They then stop as they see Mulic and Raincutter standing over a still Grandma Drips. Rocky slides off Niether and quickly runs over, ignoring the flaring pain in his leg.
He stops right a few feet away as Niether trots up behind him. Mulic looks at them and gives a low pained roar. Rocky slowly walks up and puts a hand on Grandma Drips hide and his eye widens.
He then leans forward and rests his head against her. Niether walks up and lets out a sad warble. He then lays down next to them as he lets out a few whines.
More dragons start gathering around, letting out confused roars. But everyone just lowers their head in silence.
7-25-2026
5000 words