Hello there world, hope you enjoy this chapter. That's all I have to say at the start, see ya at the end!

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Hiccup didn't need to hear what his mother was saying as she embraced him in a hug that would have rivaled his dad's to know what she was saying. Meanwhile, Windshear came flying down and landed next to Zahnlos, coming to a stop right in front of the other dragon.

"I'm so glad to see you two are awake and doing ok!" She chortled, causing the Night Fury to blush soft enough that it went unnoticed, the reason now known only by him and his rider.

"Yes, you had us all worried, coming back and immediately passing out," Specter rumbled as he joined the growing group while Unole and Ivar got off his back. The two riders approached Hiccup, Ivar patted him on the back while Unole embraced him. Once Unole had let go of the young man Valka turned to the group.

You scared all of us! She signed frustratedly, which earned her a nod from the other two who turned toward the auburn-haired man teen to see what his response would be.

I didn't mean to scare any of you, we're sorry... Hiccup responded to them. Valka was still noticeably upset, but seeing Hiccup without any injuries helped her to start calming down.

We know you didn't but it still scared us, but you are fine now, yes? Why did both of you pass out? Valka asked her son, starting to look over him for injuries once again. Hiccup didn't respond right away, thinking about how he would explain what had happened as his mother satisfied herself that he hadn't somehow gotten injured between when they arrived back and now.

Zahnlos and I fully bonded.

Did it happen because of your scouting trip? What happened at the nest?  Ivar asked, the most curious about what had happened of the three. At that same time, Windshear asked Zahnlos the same question.

"What happened to you two before you guys passed out?" She asked, concern evident in her voice.

We snuck into the nest and the mystery cave. There are indeed other riders working for the Queen, two females and three males. All were gone at the time but the Queen sensed us and chased us away. Hiccup informed them, giving only general details, enough to sound convincing but not expose how close they came to capture or death. However, both of them told Windshear the full story at almost the same time, taking turns explaining what had happened, which not only slightly overwhelmed the poor Razorwhip but helped to exemplify their new bond with the fluidity of their tandem explanation.

Then why did you two arrive unconscious? Valka asked.

The bonding process took almost all our strength, which is why we were out for some time. That answer seemed to placate their curiosity into the subject. And while Hiccup no longer partook in the draconic conversation, he followed what was being said closely.

So there are other riders working for the Queen? Ivar asked as Zahnlos and Hiccup had made it farther into the nest than they had on previous attempts. Why hasn't she killed them? I thought She hated humans.

Yes there are other riders, and I have no idea why she hasn't killed them but I have a theory, Hiccup responded and the three adults made no move to interrupt so he continued, What if She has let them live as long as they continue to lead the raids for Her? That would explain why the raids have become more effective over the years and why She has tolerated humans in Her nest.

But how? Which side do you think they would take if we were to attack the Nest? Ivar asked, always thinking ahead.

I'm not sure how this works or where their true loyalties rest when it comes to the Queen, but I'm betting if push comes to shove they will care more about their dragons than Her. As long as they aren't being controlled that is.

Zahnlos had just finished telling Windshear everything she wanted to know as the three adults shared a look between them.

Thanks for telling us Hiccup. Now go get some more rest, you look like you need it. Valka signed, stepping forwards to kiss Hiccup on the forehead. Pulling back, she said something to the others and they turned and left, all heading back up to the cave where Penumbra was recovering.

"So what's it's like to be completely bonded with somebody?" Windshear asked Zahnlos.

"The only difference is that I can feel how Hiccup feels," came the Night Fury's response.

"And the same goes for me, being able to feel how he feels almost instinctively; there aren't any words to describe it." Hiccup injected, glancing at Zahnlos.

"I see. Well, you two must be tired, I will let you go get some rest." Windshear said as the two subconsciously drifted together, leaning on one another. They exchanged glances and Hiccup got on Zahnlos. With a quick nod to Windshear, the Night Fury leaped into the air, heading towards their cave to rest.

^*^One Time Skip Later^*^

It had been a week since the pair had gone on their successful failure of a scouting run and bonded. In that time, they had become accustomed to the after-effects of their bonding and Hiccup had grown stronger in his mental prowess. Not only that but Penumbra had healed up in that time as well. The talk that had been going around about how to end the raids, with the hope of finally ending the three-hundred-year-old war. Try as they did, no plan was put forth on how to kill the Queen that did not involve using the King as the primary method to kill her, and killing outside of self-defense was something the King was very much against. After a lot of back and forth, they finally came up with a plan that would start decreasing the raids and give them more time to think about how to deal with the Queen. Their plan was simple; capture the riders that acted as leaders of the raids. This would effectively cripple the leadership of the nest and hopefully decrease the severity of the raids on the Vikings. It would also weaken the Queen slightly, which would help them when it came to planning her demise.

Ok, let's go over the plan one last time before we leave. Valka signed to everybody after getting their attention. The rest of the group nodded and Valka continued. We need to try and get the riders away from the nest and back to the sanctuary to break Her control over them. We know where their cave is and that the Queen is least observant once the raids have all come back in and finished feeding her so that is when we will strike. No direct contact with any of the other dragons or the Queen unless unavoidable. Get in, grab one of the riders and get out. Their dragons should follow after them if they truly have a bond. The rest of the group, which consisted of Hiccup, Zahnlos, Ivar, Specter, Unole and Penumbra all nodded before everybody readied themselves for the journey. Once they were all set Valka gave the signal and the group took off into the night sky, heading towards the Nest to enact their plan.

Unknown to them, at the same time a very similar conversation was happening in the air of the archipelago.

"We can't keep serving Her...We all have to get out, before something changes..." The rider on the Gronkle said, with the agreement from the other riders.

"We all agree on that point, Earthen, but how are we going to do it? As soon as we try, our brothers and sisters will get ensnared by Her again. Remember the last time that happened?" The Monstrous Nightmare's rider, Blaze, responded, earning shivers from the group as they remembered the last time that they had tried to run away. It had been such a horrible experience for all of those involved that it had cemented their perpetual servitude, and an experience that they would never speak of again.

"What if we went after the raids? You know She doesn't pay attention when She is feeding."

"That might work..." The Nadder's rider, Aqria, said. "Though if we do this, we have to be quiet and fast or she might notice us flying away and force us back." She glanced over at the Zippleback and its two riders, Spark and Boom, who feigned being insulted.

"Why Aqria, we would never think of pranking the Queen just before leaving," Spark said.

"It would be unethical," Boom stated sarcastically, to which the other three riders and their dragons glared at the Zippleback and it's riders.

"Well as long as those two don't do anything stupid we should be fine," Blaze spoke.

"Then after the raids tonight it is." Aqria summed up before they all went their separate ways to "command" the raids.

Each group flew on into the night, blissfully unaware of the others' plans. One planning to try and run away, while the other to kidnap, but with the same end goal. While the Queen's Riders carried out their mission of destruction, waiting for the right moment to escape and be free from the monster that had controlled them for as long as they could remember. The King's Riders flew towards their mission of mercy on those who would seek to do them harm if they were to be discovered.

*^*A Few Hours Later*^*

The King's Riders arrived at the Nest just before the first of the raids returned. They circled at high altitude, waiting and watching.

"Two of the riders have returned, still waiting on the other three," Specter said as they kept circling the Volcano from high above to avoid detection.

"I see the other three coming in," Penumbra stated after about a few more minutes of waiting. They would all turn and see the other three riders on two dragons bringing in the last two groups from the raids.

"Ok, this is it. Once they all enter we wait for a few minutes before diving straight down through the top of the volcano. Head straight to their cave, grab a rider and get out. Do not engage their dragons but if they attempt to follow us, let them." CloudJumper said as the three remaining riders, the Zippleback and Nightmare riders, entered the Nest ahead of their raiding parties. They waited for the last dragon to enter the nest before starting an internal clock to track the time. The whole group waited in the air silently, nobody saying anything. Even though they knew no dragon from the Nest could hear them with how high up they were, they still did not want to take the chance.

After a few minutes had passed, all the dragons could feel the influence that She sent out decrease to an almost unnoticeable degree. That signaled that the time to strike was now. In a single-file line, the dragons stopped their circling and banked hard into a vertical dive at the mouth of the volcano in which the Nest was located. Their riders followed their lead and adjusted themselves accordingly for what was about to happen.

Being three Night Furies and a Stormcutter they were quite fast in the dive. The group zoomed into the nest, sticking near the walls as a precaution and as soon as they reached the level of the other riders cave, one after another they broke from formation in a perfectly time split so one pair was going in as another was exiting the cave. This allowed them to grab and run as fast as possible. They had expected to need to quiet the other riders somehow so they couldn't shout out for help, but that oddly never happened. The only noise they made was a short grunt when grabbed but other than that they stayed quiet. It was in this manner that the King's Riders extracted the Queen's Riders in only a few short minutes before they were once again flying high above the ground, only this time away from the Nest.

"Hiccup, we have company," Zahnlos said as he took a glance behind them. Instead of turning his head around Hiccup used his new ability to see through Zahnlos's eyes to see a small group of four dragons flying after them that he normally would not have even noticed.

"Hey bud, I think I saw saddles on them. Think they could be these riders dragons?" Hiccup asked his dragon while looking down at the blonde-haired female that was rather unamusedly hanging from Zahnlos's claws.

"Most likely. I don't think the Queen would only send four dragons after us to get Her riders back." Came the response from Zahnlos. Hiccup looked up and around at the other three dragons flying in formation and the people hanging from grasped talons. None of them were fighting back, but none looked particularly happy to be there.

"Agreed." Hiccup said before actually turning around to look at the four dragons following them. The other dragons were slowly gaining on them as the group was only flying at cruising speed instead of their max speed. This allowed the four dragons to catch up if they flew as fast as they could. Hiccup turned back forwards but stretched his mind out so he could connect with the dragons gaining on them.

Masking his presence, he felt for the emotions coming off the dragons and what he felt was something he had become familiar with; it was a combination of fear and longing. Fear for their riders and a longing to be with them once again away from the Queen. Hiccup had felt that same thing, but on a much deeper level, for Zahnlos during the early stages of their bond whenever they were away from each other for longer than five minutes. As time went on the feeling subsided as they both learned how to deal with it when they were forced to be away from each other for long periods of time.

Hiccup retreated back into his own mind and shared everything he had learned with Zahnlos.

"What do you think we should do bud? Tell the others and decide what to do or don't tell them and keep flying?" Hiccup asked his friend as they kept flying along.

"I suggest contacting the dragons that are following us and telling them what is going on so that they don't attack us when they catch up," Zahnlos said, causing Hiccup to glance back at the dragons chasing them while thinking it over.

"That's a good idea Zahnlos, keep us flying straight I'm going back there." Hiccup told him before laying down atop the Night Fury and stretched his mind back to the four dragons following them.

"I know you must be afraid but there is nothing to fear." Hiccup said to all four at the same time. The response from the dragons was a mix of questions about who was talking to them and what were their plans for their riders. Hiccup put to bed those questions real quick while at the same time infiltrating their minds to clear them of any lingering influence of the Queen.

"Fear not, we wish no harm upon your riders or you. As a gesture of goodwill, I have removed your connection with Her so you might live your life free from Her tyranny." Hiccup said, which got an overall pleasant response from them.

"Then what do you plan to do with our riders?" The Nadder asked him, clearly the leader of the group.

"Simple, we plan nothing. All we wanted to do was remove you and your riders from the influence of the Queen." Hiccup responded. That surprised the dragons as they had expected a more dastardly plan for their riders as that was the fearful story that the Queen had put in their minds.

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So there is something of importance that happened in this chapter and how do you guys think this went? And yes, y'all finally get to see the gang, but they are not the gang y'all know and love from the movies.

Semper Fi,

Thearizona