A/N: The finish line is nearly in our sight, and I want to make every chapter count. Let's not waste any time.

(Normal pov— Heart Nation)

Drago Bludvist stood on the deck of his warship, shirtless, and with his sword and bullhook in hand. The war master's hulking body was sleeked with sweat, he was panting heavily, and his messy dreadlocks were done in a ponytail to keep his extensions from getting in his face while he was sparring. Surrounding the war master were the best of his Hands, they had been sparring with their master, by his command, as a means of keeping his fighting prowess keen. Not only that but they were also commanded by Drago to try and take his life, knowing that it was foolish to object or question the war master's word, the Hands did as they were commanded to, they lashed out at Drago, aimed to kill him.

Inhaling sharply, Drago roared as he whirled his bullhook around his head and swung at one of his charging Hands, they backed away from the hook end of the weapon and lashed out at Drago's legs. Lowering his blade to protect his legs, the war master then brutally bashed his head against his opponent's head, they stumbled back, cradling their now heavily bleeding nose. Ducking underneath a battle-axe, the war master bashed his elbow into that warrior's face and delivered a heavy kick to their chest, sending them to crash against a dome dragon trap.

The Wu sisters, formerly Ragnar the Rock's prized assassins, now the newest members of the Hand of Drago, moved as one to attack their master with murderous intent. While Xu and Su moved in separate directions, the left and right, Yuan Wu charged Drago head-on. Snarling, Drago thrust his bullhook at Yuan Wu's head, she slid underneath the war master's oppressive weapon and used her gilded war fans to disarm him of his bullhook and cast it aside. With his bullhook out of his reach, Drago swung his sword at Yuan, but she used her fans to keep him at bay while both Xu and Su could attack from the sides. Having disarmed Drago of his sword as well, Yuan gasped when she was grabbed by the front and then received a ruthless headbutt to her own head by Drago causing her vision to blur and her ears to ring loudly.

Casting her aside, the war master turned to both Xu and Su Wu as they cartwheeled several times before leaping in the air with their ring blades and Kwan Dao at the ready. With a grunt, Drago tucked and rolled right as the two women brought their weapons down the spot the war master had previously stood. Ducking underneath Su Wu's Kwan Dao, Drago then drove his elbow into her gut and then proceeded to land a ruthless backhand across her face, sending blood and spittle to fly out of her mouth while she fell to her knees, cradling her jaw. With a grunt, Xu Wu tried cutting Drago to pieces with her ring blades, but he was able to evade her blades and then seized her by the throat and landed a staggering punch to her face with his abnormal hand. The blow caused Xu Wu to drop her ring blades and try to pry Drago's hand off of her throat, but another blow to her face knocked that fight out of her, and her vision was going black.

Before Drago could land a killing blow, he was stabbed in the side by one of Yuan Wu's war fans, he snarled in pain as she not only drove her folded fan deep into his side but also twisted it as well. Releasing Xu Wu, Drago then lashed out at Yuan, but she backflipped away from the war master as well as landed a heavy blow underneath his chin, he then collapsed on his back with a groan. Pressing her advantage, Yuan sprinted towards the downed Drago with her war fans in hand, she then leaped into the air and was about to sever her master's head off, but he rolled away before that could happen. With a growl, Drago landed a heavy kick to Yuan's face, she dropped her war fans and tumbled to the deck. Reaching for both his blade and bullhoook, Drago raised both weapons and Xu and Su Wu who were just now reaching for their own weapons.

"A fine attempt, but you'll have to do better," Drago lowered his weapons from both women's faces and approached Yuan, who was getting up off of the deck, "your skills as assassins will only prove useful if you are required to lurk in the dark and take a man's life while he sleeps, but as Hands of Drago, you will be pushed to your limit. Each of my Hands was once part of the Mongrel Tribe, they were already imposing warriors, but I took them and made them even better. Nyack, Strong Heart, the head of the Hand of Drago, will make sure any weakness that lingers within you is beaten out of you and that your resolve is as strong as steel," Turning to the Ngbaka warrior, Drago nodded. "Continue their training, work them until they have no strength to continue fighting."

Bowing his head in understanding, Nyack had the Hands Drago had bested to help the Wu sisters prepare for more training as well as sparring. Meanwhile, the war master himself drove his bullhook into the deck of his ship and sheathed his blade, he then approached a water basin to wash the sweat off of his body. While washing his face, a group of Dragon Flyers, led by Askari's lover, Mkali the Fierce. She rode an apricot and crimson-colored Singetail, like all the dragons in Drago's army, it was affixed with armor. Once Mkali slid off of her dragon, she removed her flyer crown from her head and lowered her face veil, revealing her beautiful face. She approached Drago and then bowed her head in greetings.

"Well? What have you to report?"

Raising her head, Mkali spoke. "We were to find where our enemies have kept the dragons hidden, it's not far from here. However, it's heavily defended by Fang Nation warriors," she then continued. "And we have yet to discover where the enemy is keeping your Bewilderbeast egg. We couldn't linger there, it seems that the enemy has learned how to bond and ride the dragons embedded in their ranks, courtesy of Hiccup Haddock, no doubt."

"No matter. We will regain all of the dragons, those we've had for years, the ones we took from Scandinavia, and especially the ones here. Sentient dragons would make valuable assets, and if they refuse to submit to me, they will learn that I will not be refused," Tossing aside the rag he used to wash the sweat off his face and upper body, Drago then smirked as a plan hatched inside his mind. "Perhaps we can deal our enemies a crippling blow while also taking away one of the thing that is keeping them unified for the time being— Sisudatu."

Pondering her master's words, Mkali inquired. "So... Aten, Serpent's Fang has yet to depart, but you want me and a small group of flyers to take him to Chief Benja's home and capture Sisudatu?"

"Not only that, but Aten will use the same tactic Hiccup Haddock used to turn the Blue Lotus on us— cause infighting among our enemy's ranks," Drago then turned to see Aten approaching, the Egyptian was ready for his task. Bowing his head, he then stood at attention as Drago approached him. "Mkali the Fierce and a small group of Dragon Flyers will be accompanying you, Aten. While you are to perform assassinations, Mkali and the flyers under her command will find and subdue Sisudatu, bringing her here and then use her to summon all the dragons we lost back into our grasp."

"I understand," Aten turned to Mkali. "Come, let us away." While mounting the Singetail and sitting behind Mkali, the Egyptian assassin looked to Drago and nodded. "We will not fail you, master."

"See to it that you don't," Drago said firmly. The war master then dismissed them with a wave of his hand. "Go, do what must be done to weaken our enemies and to strengthen our forces with the dragons we once possessed."

Nodding, Mkali urged her Singetail to take to the sky. The flyers under her command followed her lead and eventually, they were all in the air and then departing the safety the armada provided and ventured back into the jungles of Heart Nation and headed for Chief Benja's ancestral palace.

As Drago watched his servants disappear from his line of sight, he smirked to himself. Suddenly, a powerful surge of hope rushed through Drago's veins, he knew the servants he had sent out were capable. But of course, everyone fails on occasion, but with too much at stake, Drago would not tolerate any failure, for the sake of the future of the Northern Alliance and to ensure his ultimate ambition has come to pass.

The end of their botched campaign in Kumandra was coming to its inevitable end, and Drago welcomed it. He was eager to move on, recoup his losses, and ensure the weaknesses Hiccup Haddock had exploited were turned into strengths. Once every dragon in Kumandra was back in the possession of the Northern Alliance, they would move on.

But before his junta could move on, Drago knew that eventually, he would need to face Hiccup Haddock personally in combat. He had already underestimated him when he first laid eyes on him, but Stoick's whelp had been a thorn that Drago was all too eager to remove from his side. Once the last Viking in the world was no more, Drago knew he would be free to continue his world-dominating conquest with little to no opposition.

The end was coming, Drago would not only seek out those in the Mongol, Slavic, and Asiatic hordes who were highly skilled and accomplished warriors to compete with each other to secure seats in his War Council, those from Carthage and North Africa had already competed amongst each other and the best of them have risen to stand by Drago himself. Once his War Council was secured, his junta would be reunified and focus on rebuilding in preparation for their next campaign.

"One step at a time," Drago murmured to himself. He needed to focus on the present, he could focus on rebuilding his junta once their venture in Kumandra had concluded. "One step at a time."

(Tail Nation)

"C'mon girl! Give me all that you got!"

Stormfly pumped her wings harder and let out a ferocious squawk as she caught up to the fleeing Dragon Flyers. Hiccup narrowed his eyes as he focused on Askari and his green Titan Wing taking the lead, while the flyers who survived the ambush in Chanthou's throne room were behind him and Stormfly, trying to shoot them down. A fireball flew above his head, causing Hiccup to inhale sharply, he turned to see the flyers getting closer.

"Get him!"

The flyer closest to Hiccup and Stormfly brought their whip down on their Singetail, causing the oppressed dragon to roar in agony. Getting closer, the Singetail's maw opened and they fired a fireball at the Deadly Nadder. Snarling out, Hiccup steered Stormfly down as the Singetail's fireball missed them. While descending, Hiccup pulled out a handheld explosive that was orbed-shaped, he lowered the explosive to Stormfly, and she lit the fuse. Tossing the explosive over his shoulder, Hiccup smirked as the following explosion spooked the Singetail and caused the oppressed dragon to buck the flyer off its back and causing the flyer to fall and be dashed to bloody pieces down below.

Having witnessed the display of explosive power, the flyers closing in on Hiccup and Stormfly broke off and kept their distance so that they could avoid any further explosives. However, the flyers still had their Singetail's fire at the Viking and Deadly Nadder. Thanks to Hiccup's prowess as a dragon rider, he was able to steer Stormfly away from the incoming fireballs. Drawing his shield and using its crossbow feature, Hiccup loaded another bolt and took aim as Stormfly drew closer to Askari's Singetail. However, the head of the Dragon Flyers turned and glared in annoyance at the Viking and Deadly Nadder, he then urged his Singetail to fire from its tail. As the fire came directly at Hiccup's face, he quickly had Stormfly barrel roll, the fire instead struck another one of the pursuing flyers from the rear, sending them to fall to oblivion.

Askari then brought his whip down on his Singetail and steered it towards a ravine gorge, Hiccup had Stormfly loom overhead while also doing his best to finish off the remaining flyers on his tail. Hiccup quickly threw his shield around his shoulders to protect himself from auxiliary flyer archers. Once entering the tight, narrow gorge, Hiccup knew that ridding himself of the rest of Askari's flyers would prove difficult. Turning around, the young Viking could see the remaining flyers closing the gap, their Singetails were ready to fire and the auxiliary archers seated behind the flyers had nocked arrows and readied to let them fly. Looking straight ahead, Hiccup laid eyes on a massive rock bridge above them. A smirk graced Hiccup's face, he then patted Stormfly's crown and pointed up.

"Blast that rock bridge, Stormfly! Now!"

After Stormfly fired a jet of magnesium, the rock bridge split in half and began to crumble down. Thankfully the massive boulders that were once that bridge came down just as Hiccup and Stormfly were over it, the young Viking smirked as the remaining flyers and their Singetails were knocked out of the sky by the massive boulders, and the oppressed Singetails took a beating, but they were now free since their oppressive flyers all fell to their deaths and were dashed to bloody pieces down below the gorge.

With no other flyers left to interfere, Hiccup could focus on getting Raya back from Askari's grasp before he could escape.

Snarling at the fact that Hiccup had killed the rest of the flyers who accompanied him, Askari urged his Singetail to fly faster and close the distance. However, the Viking and Deadly Nadder were getting closer and closer with each passing moment. With his shield in hand, Hiccup switched to his crossbow feature, loaded a bolt, and took aim at his target. He needed to be mindful of where he would shoot, Raya's life depended on his actions, and to lose such an ally and friend would weigh Hiccup down with guilt and self-loathing, and those two emotions were already crushing him down enough as it is. Taking a deep breath, Hiccup pulled the trigger, and the bolt whistled through the air and soon struck Askari's left arm. The man cried out in pain as he ripped the bloodied bolt out of his arm, he looked over his shoulder and gave Hiccup a murderous glare.

"Fire!"

Askari's heated command caused his Singetail to release a menacing roar as it whipped its tail back to unleash a fireball at the pursuing Viking and Deadly Nadder. Diving underneath the attack, Hiccup and Stormfly soon find themselves underneath the head Dragon Flyer. Cursing under his breath, Hiccup steered Stormfly away as the Singetail released a torrent of fire from its belly. Hissing in pain as the fire licked his exposed skin, Hiccup thought of a way he could recover his friend before Askari and his Singetail slipped from his grasp. Urging Stormfly to climb back up to the sky, the Deadly Nadder turned to Hiccup and then squawked in acknowledgment, once they were above Askari and his Singetail, Hiccup took a deep breath and jumped off of Stormfly. Now free falling, Hiccup readied his suit's glider and then spread his arms, allowing his glider to help him stay on course.

With a battle cry, Hiccup tackled Askari off of his Singetail once he was close. Thankfully, the two men collapsed on solid ground and away from the ravine's cliff. Both men exchanged blows to each other's bellies before pushing each other away and getting back on their feet. Hiccup then receives a blow to the face, causing blood and spittle to fly out of his mouth, Askari then grabbed a handful of his auburn hair and was about to land another blow, but Hiccup drove his fist into Askari's belly, knocking the air out of his lungs. Hiccup lands repeated blows to Askari's belly and then grabbed his head and then bashed his face with his knee. The blow Askari received knocked his flyer mask off, revealing his face.

Hiccup had to back away as Askari's Singetail descended and unleashed a torrent of flames out of its belly. As the Singetail flew towards the edge of the cliff the two men fought upon, Askari hurled his now ruined flyer mask at Hiccup and sprinted for his Singetail. Swearing out loud, Hiccup recovers and lunges after him. As Askari pitches himself towards the edge of the cliff and towards his Singetail, the flyer cries out in disbelief as Hiccup catches his foot with one hand. Askari's head slams into the rocky surface, hard. A piece of his shoulder pads cracks off and disappears into the depths of the ravine below. He flails, but he cannot drag the vengeful Viking down with him; somehow, Hiccup hauled Askari in like a fish. As soon as the Viking has his prey back on solid ground, he receives a kick to the face, sending him to stumble back.

As the Singetail makes its way up and on solid ground, its maw opens wide, ready to fire at the already downed Hiccup. Stormfly, however, fired a jet of magnesium at the Singetail's face, the intense blast of fire knocks the oppressed Singetail to the side, and Raya, who's bound and still unconscious slips off of the dragon and nearly falls off the cliff. Thankfully, Stormfly prevents the princess from meeting a grisly death by falling from great heights.

Turning back to Askari, Hiccup inhaled sharply and backed away as the flyer lashed out at him with a sword, the blade nearly slicing the Viking's throat open. With a snarl, Askari raised his blade above his head and brought it down on Hiccup, but the young Viking drew out Inferno and halted Askari's blade from making contact with his flesh.

"Die!" Askari seethed out.

Narrowing his eyes, Hiccup broke the blade lock and then landed a kick into Askari's groin with his peg leg, causing the flyer to groan in pain. Stormfly touched down behind Hiccup and fired another jet of magnesium at Askari, back the flyer somersaulted backward. "Fire!" Screaming at his Singetail, Askari runs for his dragon while it stands on its hind legs and releases a torrent of flames from its belly. Despite wearing armor made from the scales of his precious Night Fury friend, Hiccup breathed in relief when Stormfly came to his side and wrapped him in her wings, shielding him from the blazing flames.

"Your efforts to rescue your friend have been wasted, Hiccup Haddock!" Askari laughed cruelly as he then mounted his Singetail and had the large dragon take to the sky. "My master will enjoy breaking Benja's daughter, and he will undoubtedly blame you for losing his one and only child, perhaps even kill you, which would spare Drago from wasting his time dealing with filth like you."

Snarling, Hiccup could hear Askari's Singetail roar and pump its four wings. As he emerged out of the protection of Stormfly's wings, the vengeful Viking watched in horror as the Singetail used their underbelly flames as a means of going at high speeds, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

"NO!"

Hiccup fell to his knees while huffing and puffing in despair, he felt tears swelling in his eyes at the fact that he failed his friend. Grasping two handfuls of his own hair, Hiccup could hear the voices of those he lost, though these phantoms of his loved ones were far darker— they were violent manifestations that wreaked havoc on him on the voyage to Kumandra, tormenting him with the choices he made that led to where he is right now. These dark phantoms would tease Hiccup with the life he once knew, prying into his mind and then ruthlessly attacking his most vulnerable emotions— regret, shame, self-loathing, and loneliness. Many times, Hiccup believed these dark phantoms of those he lost would drive him to end his own life, but despite the poison and cruelty they whispered in his ear, Hiccup knew his purpose in Midgard was to avenge those he lost.

"It shames me to think that you're my son. Not only did you blatantly disobey me and sentence Berk and its people to death, but you are responsible for the death of our very culture," the enraged voice of his father fills his ears, his tone full of shame and hatred.

The young, angst Viking does his best to stay focused, to push back the sting of resurging anguish through these phantom's cruel words. But this dark phantom of his father... refuses to be so easily ignored. It stands by Hiccup's side, wearing the face of his father, he's in his chief's attire, and his crimson hair is out of its usual ponytail and messy. It speaks with his father's voice, but its words are false and dripping with venom.

Hiccup forces himself back on his feet, he approaches Stormfly, who gives him a worried look. Murmuring words of reassurance against the Deadly Nadder's crown, Hiccup takes a moment to soak in Stormfly's affection as she presses her head against his chest while snorting softly.

"Failure is what you excel at, boy. You were born as a failure and you spent fifteen winters as a failure," it continued to stab Hiccup with its words. A cruel laugh suddenly parted from the phantom's mouth. "Here you are, wallowing in failure once again. Do you think you'll make a difference here? How will you avenge us when you can't even look after your friend?"

Frowning, Hiccup spoke lowly. "You're nothing but a bad memory," he didn't even bother facing the phantom. "You're not my father."

"True," it says while brandishing a cruel grin. "After all, he's dead. Because of your insubordination and your pathetic, dogmatic optimism for seeking to reason with a genocidal madman."

Hiccup flinched as the phantom circles around him, as did the rest of those he held close to his heart. "Why can't you follow the simplest orders, huh?" A phantom wearing Gobber's face glared at him, raising his fist in anger. "You and your resolve to prove that you can change the mind of a madman is what killed us all, you stupid boy!"

With his brow furrowed and his hands clenching into fists, Hiccup inhaled sharply. After exhaling slowly, he mounted Stormfly and prepared to fly away from the dark, perverse memories of his loved ones.

"I told you myself that there's no talking to Drago," a phantom wearing Valka's beautiful face spoke, her tone full of rage and resentment. "Do you remember that?"

Hiccup then urges Stormfly to fly back to Heart Nation. Still, the phantoms follow and torment him.

"Surely you remembered that, yes?" The phantom of his mother continued to press him. "I told you that we must protect our own, and instead of listening, you cast aside my counsel and tried to reason with a monster who knows nothing of reason."

"I was wrong," Hiccup seethed through gritted teeth. "I... I was wrong."

Barking out in laughter, the phantom of his cousin then drove a blade of cruelty between his ribs. "Of course, you were wrong, Useless. You never do as you're told, and look what happened to our people and the Viking people as a result of your stupidity. We're all dead!" Hiccup fought to keep the dam that held his tears at bay, he wouldn't allow it to break. "Your father should've tossed you over a cliff as a babe. Had you died, none of us would be dead!"

"No!" Hiccup's exclaim frightened Stormfly, the Deadly Nadder turned her head and squawked out in worry. Hiccup, however, was not paying attention to the concerned dragon he was riding on, he was face to face with the trauma his cousin inflicted upon him when he was a boy. "It doesn't matter whether or not my father killed me as a babe, Drago Bludvist would've come to Berk eventually and still kill everyone there for refusing to join him. Your words are nothing more than a ploy to crush me with guilt further—"

"Ah, guilt! Yes, you are guilty, Hiccup. You're guilty of disregarding your chief when he gave a clear order not to seek out Drago Bludvist. Ask yourself, why would Stoick the Vast be so terrified of Drago Bludvist? Instead of heeding the words of an elder who knows and has seen what men like Drago are capable of, you brush aside the counsel of a man who died pointlessly," the phantom of Fishlegs appeared by Hiccup's side, continuing to torment him with guilt. "Your father died in vain. As did we all! You came to this new world to make a difference, to avenge us. Well, your efforts are nothing more than a pathetic means of relieving yourself of the guilt and regret that weighed you down the moment you saw what Drago and his followers did to Berk and all of Scandinavia."

"Begone! I refuse to hear more of your poisonous words!" Hiccup screamed, panting heavily.

The phantom smirked cruelly. "Oh, I think not. After all, the best is yet to come."

"He's right. I have a bone to pick with you."

Inhaling sharply, Hiccup then turned to his right and saw Astrid, her beautiful face was twisted with fury, resentment, and shame. "Why, Hiccup?" It then demanded with a firm tone. "You had everything a man could ever want: love, respect, family, and a future with the woman of your heart's desire. Why did you throw that all away trying to prove to your father that you can change the mind of a stone-cold murderer like Drago Bludvist?"

The tears that Hiccup fought to hold back soon burst, streaming down his cheeks like a waterfall. Sobbing bitterly, the last Viking in the world bowed his head in shame as the cruel, vile phantom of his betrothed loomed over him. "You, oh great Dragon Master... the catalyst of Ragnarök, are nothing but a scared, weakling who will die in failure here," the phantom laughs cruelly as it continues to twist its blade inside of Hiccup. "Your story ends here, and no matter how hard you beg the gods to help you or how you depend on your new friends to lend you aid, it doesn't matter. When you fail to avenge those you lost, you will not join them in Valhalla. Instead, you will languish in Helheim, you will suffer from your deepest regrets and from the Hel-walkers that will take great pleasure in making you suffer." Raising his head up to look at the phantom, it grins maliciously at Hiccup. "Why not take your life? You have no chance of defeating Drago Bludvist. Your talks of peace and coexistence did nothing and your prowess as a warrior pales compared to the butcher of the Viking people. Give up. Take your life, and be done with your sad, pathetic life."

"NO!"

Stormfly came to a stop, roaring out in worry to Hiccup, who swung at the vile phantom that wore the face of his betrothed. Panting heavily and trying to regain his breath, Hiccup waited for more phantoms of those he loved to drive the blades of poisonous words into his mind, no such attacks came. Running a hand through his hair, Hiccup eventually regained himself and looked into Stormfly's beautiful eyes, which were full of concern for him. Caressing her neck, Hiccup shook his head. "Don't worry girl, those you and I both lost are inflicting pain on me. And in a way, I deserve that pain, that harsh reminder that my actions have led us here," lowering his head, Hiccup reached for Astrid's betrothal pendant around his neck and stared at it. He held it close and released a shaky breath. "It's easy for me to blame Drago and his junta for the loss of Berk and Scandinavia, but... I too had a role in our home's destruction, girl. My pursuit of peace made me too zealous; I ignored my father and mother's warnings about Drago, I believed that he would be like those I've encountered in the past and eventually became allies with them. But what good does that do us now?"

Stormfly crooned softly, Hiccup could see the sadness in her eyes, and it made his guilt and regret grow tenfold. Not only did he disregard the safety of his own people but also the dragons who lived on Berk and in Scandinavia.

Hiccup knew that before he faced Drago, he would need to mend his psychological wounds, because if he did not, then he would be in a truly vulnerable position; Drago would use his regret and loss against him, goad him into foolish action which would lead to him being killed by the madman. If he died, he would not find himself reunited with his loved ones in Valhalla.

"Come on, Stormfly, let's head back to Heart Nation," while steering the Deadly Nadder towards Heart Nation, Hiccup looked back to where Raya had been taken and where his trauma and regrets had haunted him rather violently. He had already lost everything, but now, he had friends and companions once again, and Raya was the first person he met in this new world, she saved his life multiple times, and she was like a sister to him. "Hold on, Raya. I'll come back for you. Kumandra will find you as a unified people. Stay strong and be brave."

There was a subtle shift in the air that Hiccup had experienced before throughout his life, a sign from the gods, the end of his story in Midgard was drawing close.

And when his end did come, Hiccup would make sure that his name would be spoken of long after he was dust and bones, and he would ensure that his place in Valhalla was secured.

A/N: Eleven more chapters left! Just a heads up, things are gonna get dark, hectic, and emotional. Stay tuned for more!