Dark Secrets - Alpha and Shadow Part 9 (Includes: The Origin of the Nightfury)

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Alpha Riders, I await your arrival. Nemesis, get ready. Prepare your surprise. This is going to be intresting...

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  "Skorr, I never believed I'd see you again." Wolf growled, and Darki sneered. "Wolf Hofferson. Why did our mom call you that anyway? More like Puppy Hofferson. You always were below me, baby brother. I dragged you around the house, and all you did was yell for that stormcutter of yours. You never changed. How's our sister doing? I hope she's doing fine, with that Shade, oooops! I mean, Night Fury training runt! Hah! The only night fury in the world, that idiot proclaimed! Guess what will be his reaction when he find an army of them here! Oh wait? He won't be here, since he'll be dead! I never liked that name anyway. Skorr sounds stupid. Darki? That's something!" Wolf stepped forward, his face full of anger. "I've changed a lot since I've grown, big guy. I didn't scream, I called for help. I was good competition. And you know what? I got better. You and your stuipd flails. I don't think that you could control a dragon with them." Darki clutched his fists, but spoke nothing.

  I looked at Axtar, and she put her hand to her lips. "Ssh! Just wait." I'm hating these bonds. They feel so itchy! The dragons were trapped as well. Sparklebolt lay sprawled on the floor, an cursed golden binding around her snout, and her body chained to the floor. She snarled, thrashed, and shot lightning, but the guards just kept their distance. Elsa was bound up, her wings tight around her belly. Another muffle around her mouth, and she just looked at Jasmine, either waiting for orders, or pleading for help. Diamond, my best friend, was locked in the same matter, but with a tighter muffle. Darn. They learned from our escape.

  "Jasmine, my queen has been anxious to meet you. Sigh, the things you two could talk about." Jasmine glared into his eyes.  "If it's about me or Axtar's looks, you are a dead man. We can easily kill you, and have energy to spare." Darki stood up straight, and smiled. "No, it's concering... you dragon." Suddenly, a black dragon shot out from the darkness, and pinned Jasmine to the ground. I looked closer... no. It can't be! A nightfury, but coal black and glowing eyes smoky red. It growled, and roared in Jasmine's face. Jasmine, startled, stared into it's evil eyes. It snarled, 4 more appeared behind Darki. Darki smiled. "Night Furies. Hah! Shade Furies more like it. The sons of lightning and death itself. In the beginning of time, our master created them to be her children. The most cunning, and the most destructive umong the 6. They serve the queen herself! Alas, some grew smart. Too smart to betray my queen. They started the race of Night Furies. One day, we will hunt them down!" He slammed his flail on the ground, close to Elsa's face. Startled, she just started at the ball of metal. "Drago was stupid. Using an Alpha Son of Water. You don't get an Alpha Water spawn to fight another! You get a Son of Shadow, a Shade Fury! My master was stupid. He should have known that the fire-sword wielding runt had another." Alpha Son of Water? Sons of Shadow? I looked at the others. They were as clueless as I was. The Night, no, Shade Fury unpinned Jasmine from the floor, and ran to Darki's flank.

My head swirled with weirdness. Ok, first we got captured from evil puppy mole dragons, then we get captured by the guy who killed Hyrith who we then found out was Wolf's brother, and finally, to top that off, Night Furies were desended from the queen we were gonna try to destroy. Well, this is gonna be fun. Darki sneered. "Finally, after this whole time, we capture you. This is gonna be-"

  BAM!

  I quickly turned to the wall. It shook. Darki stared at it, his eyes filled with anxiousness.

  BAM!

  Darki raised his hand. The guards turned their spears and bows to the wall.

  BAM!

  Darki drew out flails. "Hold, you guard..."

  Silence filled the room. The pounding stopped, and Darki heaved a sigh. "Oh well, maybe a herd of Thunderfangs. You all know that they love to roam these lands. Well, lets get going before they do anything funn-"

  The wall exploded. Yep, it exploded. The peices of dark stone rained around us, and Winter, FreezeFrame, a nadder, and a nightmare charged in, mouths filled with fire. Axtar smiled. "Rescue has arrived." I looked at Axtar. I then noticed that she was free. "Wait. How did you get free of your bonds?" She smiled. "Oh, you know, just sisterly love." "Wait. What?" I then turned, and saw a girl dressed in a pink war tunic helping Jasmine fix her bonds around her hands. I stared with confusion. "Who?" Jasimine chuckled. "Axtar's sister, Anna. When we were out in the woods, Axtar noticed something in the bushes, and she left me to see what was behind it. She told me to stay behind. After a loooooong while..." Jasmine looked at Axtar, who finished the story. "I found out that Anna was following us, and she wanted to see if we were ok. Long story short: My sister was sorta stalking me for the entire trip. Now, I'm grateful." Anna smiled. "Hi!" He ran over, and undid Wolf's bonds, then mine, and finally Ak's. Axtar growled, and turned to Darki. "Now, where were we?" Our dragons were free, and they were destorying everything. 

  If Darki ran away screaming his head off, I would be extremly happy. Sadly, he disappointed me. He was holding his ground; swinging his flails at our dragons. Axtar then turned to Anna, and looked into her hand. There was Axtar's lightning dagger. "Wait. Where did you get that?" Anna gave it to Axtar. "Don't ask." Axtar then looked over it, then looked at Anna. "Why is there gooey green stuff on it?" Anna looked at Axtar, and frowned in a angry but playful way. "Waht happened to don't ask?" "HANDS UP!" 5 guards surrounded us, and one of them had my shield. I chuckled. We lunged at the guards, and took our weapons either from the wall, or from the guards. I charged to the man with my shield, twisted sideways, and kicked him in the shins. He buckled over, and I elbowed him at the back of his head. He lay dazed on the floor, and I picked up my shield. "Now, where was I?" I turned, and shot 5 daggers from my shield. Bulls eye. 5 guards lay on the floor, and I twisted to anther gadget. Suddenly, a Shade Fury pounced on me. I faltered, for it reminded me soo much of Toothless. It's mouth then slowly glowed, and I realized that it was going to blast my face off. Nope. Nobody blasts my face off except me. I clicked another button, and 2 rotating blades appeared on the sides of my shield. I swiped it, and the Shade Fury turned to black smoke. 

  "GET THEM!" Darki roared, and thousands of guards and even more Shade Furies poured into the room. It soon became chaos. Ak seemed to have the most of the fun, though. He crackled like a madman, and shot blindness at all of them. They scrambled, and either ran away or tried to wipe their eyes. Axtar growled. "Now for the finishing touch." She shot lightning, and blasted the guards to ash. "CHARGE!"

  Jasmine jumped above the first volley of men, her dagger into her hand. Arrows rained down on her, but she created an ice shield. Turning the dagger into a mage staff, she shot a beam at the ground, and the plants around her withered and died. The ground cracked and a cold breeze filled the air. The guards stepped back, and the plants swirled around her. Jasmine readied her pose. "Get ready for autumn, boys." She then spread her arms out, and they showered around their face. She then turned the ground into ice, and soon, well, anyone want frozen statues? 

  We barreled out of the room, and Wolf casually stepped out. He clicked his staff on the ground. One, then twice, then three times, then the shook it twice. He smiled. "Thunderfangs are around here, eh? TRY THIS FOR A CHANGE!" He swung it around his head, and slammed it on a wall. The walls shuddered, and thousands among thousands of Thunderfangs, Nadders, Hobblegrunts, and some other unknown dragons shrieked, roared, and charged in en masse. I looked at Darki straight in the eye, as the other Alpha Riders surrounded me. Axtar, Anna and Jasmine on my left, Ak and Wolf on my right. The dragons stood behind us, Winter towering over the men, casting a shadow of fear and power. "We all wouldn't really want to fight Darki, but when we do, you don't want to mess with us. ALPHA RIDERS, SEIGE!"

 I twirled my shield in the air, and extended propellers. I smiled. One of the newest inventions, I'm surprised it actually works... hopefully. I leaped into the air, and it lifted me sky high. The main patrol stepped back, and I smiled. Smart people. I hovered, and for some reason, several of the archers raised their bows. I shouted down. "If you don't fire, I won't kill you." Most of the guards lowered their bows, but one man stood alone. "Yeah, how am I supposed to trust you, scoundrel? Men, get back in line! Don't fear this flying idiot." I shrugged. "Fine, I'll keep my word. I won't hurt you... AXTAR!" She heard my word, and charged into the army. One woman army... and most of them toppled over and STAYED down. Good. The rest? Well, they went flying. I love Thunderfangs.

  I jumped down, and turned towards the walls. Or what was left of the walls... all I could see were a bunch of black bricks. Wolf was riding on Winter, and I don't Winter was even trying to destroy the small forts. Winter just beat his wings, and 3 forts went boom. I took a few moments to admire this place. Huge dark spikes protruded from the floor, and they glowed an eerie glow. I then realized they were practically the only light source in the place. Thank Odin it's noon. It was like a ginormous city, and it made Valka's lair look like a shack. Yeah. That was how large it is. If I could explore this place WITHOUT ANYONE KILLING ME, it would take at least 5 months to know where everything was! Then... I realized that we were fighting. How? I almost got shot in the chest. At the last second, and drew my shield, and knocked the arrow away. I twisted to the side, and brought my hand on a man's arm. I kicked sideways, and shot a laser through most of the army. I patted Diamond's side, and he shot spines everywhere.

  Shade furies swarmed us, but Jasmine took care of them. I'm starting to love her thorn shield ability. I couldn't really see anything most of the time, since everything was so dark and black. We fought to the main hall, then to a huge spiked fort? Temple? Not sure what. I was trying my best not to die. "Winter!" Wolf shouted, and Winter landed with a huge thud. "Winter, can you bust open the door?" Anna asked the Alpha Stormcutter, and he looked at Wolf. Wolf nodded, then turned to us. "He says he can't bust it open on his own. He needs us to defend him." The dragons surround Winter, and Axtar half shouting, half stabbing and shooting stuff, told us that the dragons would be the last line of defense. I nodded. "Alpha Riders, circle up! Protect Winter!" 

  It was chaos. Fire and plasma were everywhere, and I could hardly tell a guard, Shade Fury, and a wall apart. It was that dark. Couple of times I could have died, but we held together. Axtar fought from the way left, shooting lightning everywhere. Then we had Wolf and a bunch of dragons protecting the middle and the parts of Axtar's side that wern't defended. I stood next to Wolf's army, using my little tech sheild to fend them off, sometimes using a chainsaw, sometimes a blow torch, and sometimes a death lazer. Anna and Jasmine flanked the far right, Jasmine defending Anna as they either fried, froze, or shached the incoming attackers. And Ak pretty much became a shadowmaniac and blinded everything. I was starting to tire though. It was really exausting. I couple of times I could have fallen if Wolf didn't have my back. 

  An explosion suddenly rocked the battlefield. Anna turned to us. "EVERYONE INSIDE! GO GO GO! I'LL HOLD THEM OFF" Axtar looked at Anna with desperate eyes. "Anna, but-" Anna's eyes sparkled with trust. "Axtar, you need to trust me. I'll fend them off for you. GO!" Axtar looked at her sister, and sighed. We ran in, then I stopped. Something was holding us back. Something radiating fear. Axtar stepped forward, and smiled. "I think we're safe now-" 

  BACK YOU FEINDS! YOU DARE CONSULT YOUR QUEEN, ONE OF THE GREAT 6? I couldn't see the speaker, but I knew that I didn't hear it. It was like my mind was telling me this. I looked behind, and saw our Alpha dragons roaring, and they soon backed away. I turned, and my heart almost broke, seeing Diamond roar, and try to get to me, yet also trying to get out at the same time. It was like his body was fighting himself. I stretched my arm out to him, and he roared. He pawed the ground, but was soon gone. Black tendrils grew and covered the entrance, and I looked up. The light grew brighter, then I saw her.

  Imagine a nightfury with 6 eyes, about 3 times the size of a bewilderbeast (I know. That's BIG), with skin covered in jagged scales and a forked tail. It's body seemed to be smoking black smoke, and her eyes glowed bright red, red mist smoking off it (Yeah. I said smoking. Calm down). I couldn't see any pupils, and I dont' want to find out. Yep. This was the big mama herself. The Shadow Queen.

  Ak whistled. "My lady, for an evil dragon, you look awesome!" Jasmine glared at Ak. "Does nothing ever make you serious?" Ak shrugged. "Not that I know of." Silence. Alpha Riders, it is a pleasure to meet you. I pity that I need to destroy you. I thought we could be friends. This was the beast that killed my friend, and tried to take Berk. And now she's treating us like play things. Anger fumed inside me. "Shade Queen, you tried to take our home, and you took one of my friends. You destroyied cities, including Hyrith's home. What more do you want?" You should feel honored that you made it so far. I've been a bit too merciful. "You know what would make me feel honored, queen? Having your head impaled on a pole." Axtar growled, and the queen just smiled. Axtar. Ah yes, one of the best fighters of the team. You should have learned some respect. I think that Nemesis would teach you a lesson, is that right? Nemesis walked out of the shadows, and looked at Axtar. She drew her daggers, and something made Axtar falter. She drew out her dagger, and Jasmine stepped up. "Axtar, let us help-" Axtar raised her hand. "This is my fight." Lighting sparked over her dagger, and they charged.

  At first, I couldn't see anything. Just bright light everywhere. Then, I could make out a blur racing in a circle, and Axtar standing in the middle, shooting lighting in a circle. It then changed into 2 figures fighting, a purpled armored girl fighting a gray blur. Ak yawned. "This is boring." He then took out a chicken leg and started nibbling on the skin. I just stared at him. "Where did you get that?" Ak shrugged. "Wolf had spares." "HEY!" I turned back to the battle. Axtar was fighting the fight of her life. If she made one error, who knows what would happen? Most likely something bad. For a moment, they were apart from each other. Axtar stood at one end, Nemesis at the other. Axtar shouted a battle cry, and shot lighting. Before the lighting could reach her, Nemesis zipped past and slammed Axtar on the chest. She flew, and slammed on the wall. Nemesis stopped running, and slowly walked forward. Axtar was wounded, but she pushed herself back up. She grabbed her dagger, but Nemesis knocked it away. She kicked Axtar in the chest, and Axtar slammed into the floor. She pushed herself again back up, but before she could, Nemesis spoke. "Axtar," She walked around her in a circle, and Axtar pushed herself up, heaving, but glared at Nemesis. "You were always the weak one. You should know that. Do you remember those times? I always beat you, no matter what. I am amused that you even bother... sister."

  Sister. That word hung in the air. Nemesis was Axtar's sister? Axtar stepped back in shock, her voice filled with pain. "No, it can't be!" Nemesis smiled. "Remember the night I left? You should have been grateful, yet you were so young. Only 3 years old. So... pathetic." She ran her blade in her palm. "It was beautiful, to step out of that rat hole, to walk to the boat waiting for me, to get out of Berk. I knew power, Axtar. You would never undersand." Axtar then shouted, her grief fueling her anger. "OUR MOTHER WAS DEVASTATED! SHE NEVER SPOKE TO ME FOR WEEKS! DO YOU KNOW HOW AGONIZING THAT IS?" Nemesis just chuckled. "I know. About as agonizing as a feather." Axtar then went beserker mode.

  She roared, and charged toward Nemesis. She ran, spun, and before Nemesis could react, kicked her in the face. Nemesis' daggers flew out of her hands. Good. The mental lady can't run anymore. The queen chuckled, amused by this sight. Axtar turned, picked up her dagger, shot lightning at Nemesis. Nemesis dropped to one knee, and Axtar stood staight, anger radiating of her. "YOU LEFT US ALONE! WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! OUR FATHER SEARCHED FOR YOU FOR AGES!" Nemesis tried to stand, but Axtar kicked her down. She stopped firing lightning, grabbed Nemesis' leg, and flung her to the floor. "DO YOU KNOW HOW THAT FEELS LIKE? DO YOU?" Axtar walked over, and kicked her rappidly in the chest. Nemesis growled, and I realized that a blur raced toward Axtar. I shouted to Axtar. "Axtar?" She turned, and punched the Alpha Shadow Speed Stinger to the side. Axtar raised her dagger, about to strike. ENOUGH! Axtar fell to her knees, and Nemesis, covered in burns and scars, mounted on the Speed Stinger, picked up her daggers, and raced to queen's side. The queen snarled. I will deal with them myself. She then melted into shadow, and we ran to Axtar. "Axtar, you alright?" Jasmine asked, and Axtar didn't say anything, her expression hard to read. "I will kill her. The queen might have shocked me, but I will destroy Nemesis, and her stupid Speed Stinger." I looked into her eyes. "Axtar, you've done a lot already. Save your energy, we still got a huge dragon to face." Wolf shook my shoulder. "Uh... Diamond Rider? You know that the queen just melted into the shadow, right?" I looked at him. "Yeah, so what?" "I think I know where she went." A shadow cast over us, and we turned. I gasped. A peice of chicken fell from Ak's mouth. The queen, in full shining coal black armor, rose behind us, her 4 wings (Yes, I forgot to mention she had 4 wings) spread out, and she chuckled. Riders, I'm done with your games. Shall we play?

  The queen's mouth glowed bright blue, and I knew what was going to happen next... "EVERYONE TO THE LEFT!" Everyone jumped left. I jumped right. Didn't really make a difference. The queen turned, and snarled. I'm certain you'll love this one. Dark mist swirled around her, and when it cleared, stood the queen, but smaller, around the size of a stormcutter. She hissed, and lunged. I tenced. Readying into a stance, I braced for my next move. "Come on, big gal. Show me the red of your eyes." The queen rushed, but before she could, I pressed a button. A huge white sheild net spread around us, and the queen slammed into it. She howled, and she lept back, her body steaming. Curse you Diamond Rider. Alas, your tricks won't last long. Smoke then curled around her wounds, and they instanly healed. Ak sighed. "Oh come one, that's cheating!" Wolf looked at Ak. "There are no cheats in war, just tatics. And frankly, I hate hers." Axtar growled. "Lets see her try this, then! EAT THUNDA!"

  Axtar shot a large jolt of lightning, and the queen roared. It shocked her from all angles, but they don't seem to be doing anything. THE LIGHT! GET IT AWAY FROM ME! Jasmine turned to Axtar. "Let me assist you on that." She raised her dagger at the queen, and it turned into a staff. The orb glowed, and a huge expanse of light flashed at the queen's face. The queen roared, and I fired up the net, and to room was covered in bright light. The queen boiled with heat, and she started to vaporize. THIS IS NOT THE END, ALPHA RIDERS! The queen then smoked, and disappeared. "Ha ha! We got her!" The team high-fived, yet something was holding me back. Her death... it was easy. A bit too easy... SO LONG! HYRITH WAS STUPID! HE CAN NEVER DEFEAT ME! Something slammed us on the ground, and the queen took of into the sky, swarms of shadow dragons around her. YOU SHOULD NEVER UNDERESTIMATE ME! I AM THE CREATOR OF SHADOWS! I CAN CHANGE FORM, AND I CAN CREATE ILLUSIONS! FOOLS! ONLY ANOTHER LIKE ME CAN DEFEAT ME, AND THEY ARE IN SLUMBER! ARMY! TO BERK! FINISH THIS CONQUEST!

  "No no no!" I fell to my knees. We were too late! I stare at the swarm, my mind filling with failure. I looked around. The palace slowly vanished into black mist, but I didn't bother. "You said something about exploring this place, Diamond Rider?" Ak looked at me, but I said nothing. Jasmine looked into the distance, Axtar running as fast as she could, shooting lightning at the army that was only about the size of my hand from where I stood, Wolf sighed and walked back. I'm sorry Hyrith. We couldn't make it in time. "Hey guys!" Anna rushed up to Axtar, our dragons bounding behind her. "So, did I miss anything?" Axtar didn't turn to her sister, her head low. "Nothing." Anna just didn't believe her. She put her hands on her hips. "Nothing as in nothing, or nothing as in something?" Axtar sighed, and turned to her sister. "Fine. We have another sister. Nemesis." "Wait. WHAT?" I turned to Wolf. "What do we do? The army is on it's way, and see how fast they traveled? We can never make it in time! Berk's gonna fall!" Wolf looked to the sky, but said nothing. Diamond cooed, and rubbed his head under my arm. "We're lost, Diamond Rider. We can't make it." Jasmine put her hand on my shoulder, and then Wolf turned around.

 "We need to have hope. We finish what Hyrith started." Axtar and Anna turned around. Ak, for once, said nothing and just stared. "For our family. For our homes. For Berk. For Hyrith. For justice. For everything. We will finish what we started. We will avenge the fallen. Hyrith, Ami, the Golden Isles, and all the fallen villages that the Shadows took and crushed without mercy. WE WILL WIN THE WAR!" Wolf pumped his hand in the air. Winter roared, and shot a beam into the sky. "WHO'S WITH ME?" Jasmine smiled. "I will stay by your side no matter what. I hate it when my friends fall. Me and Elsa are in." Axtar and faced Wolf, a smug expression on her face. "I've got a few things to say to the queen, and I'm certain she won't like it. Night and day, me and Sparklebolt will be at your side. Plus, I got a speedin sis to deal with." Anna wraped her arm around Axtar. "Whatever my sis goes with, I'm in." Ak smiled. "Gimme something to kill, and I'm in." I smiled. This is what friends are for. "Diamond Rider? How bout' you?" Wolf turned to me, and the words came out of my mouth. "When I met Hyrith in the Golden Isles and I fell into a swamp, he told me this. "When a warrior falls 3 times, he gets up 4 times." He then stretched out his hand to help me. I slapped it away, and we laughed. Today, I will be that warrior. The queen's been messing with me for far too long. Failure is a trial for another chance. I will use it. FOR BERK!" I pumped my fist into that air, and the dragons shot at the sky. Wolf then turned to us. "Fine, it's settled. So, what's the plan, warriors?"