Chapter 121: Blackfyre, Enter Stage Left

The Grimborn ship sailed across the ocean, its crew blissfully unaware that they were being followed. Some distance behind them, E.v.e. and Nightstriker flew close to the surface of the water. They had been stalking this particular Grimborn Ship all morning, since they had witnessed the dragon hunters sweeping the forest of an unnamed island for dragons earlier that morning. E.v.e. focused her gaze on the upper deck of the ship- the hunters were still busy clapping manacles on tails and limbs, forcing dragons into cages, reloading ballistae with bolts so long they could practically double as spears. Nightstriker followed her gaze and rumbled, "Raaaar- rhaaaar...", eyes widening in fear and nubs flattening against the back of her neck as they shadowed the enormous vessel into a large fog bank. E.v.e. shifted position in the saddle, and reached forwards with one paw. She rested it on top of her dragons head as a distressed squeal erupted from the deck and floated it across the water. "I know, Nightstriker... I don't like the idea of going up against Dragon Hunters armed with dragon proof axes, dragon root arrows, and who knows what else either..." More squealing erupted from the deck, accompanied by a series of alarmed roars, squeals, and squawks. This was followed by the sound of something large and heavy hitting the deck, and a peal of laughter from the hunters. E.v.e. winced as their cruel, guttural guffawing echoed across the waves. A nearly overwhelming mixture of rage, pity, and grief began to well up- she wanted to kill every last one of the dragon hunters and dump their corpses into the sea... but she knew that she and Nightstriker could only do so much without backup. A cluster of enormous, spire like rocks began to emerge from the fog, throwing jagged shadows through the mist. The laughter on deck suddenly stopped- as if someone had suddenly yanked the needle off of a laugh track. The silhouettes of a motley collection of ship wrecks also began to emerge from the fog. Inhaling a deep breath of misty, tense air, E.v.e. whispered, "Okay, Nightstriker- now's our chance!" The Night Fury began to close the distance between them and the Grimborn Ship as it began to navigate the labyrinth of sea stacks and ship wrecks.

The pair landed on the arm of the rear mast and slowly began to climb down its length. They approached the crow's nest silently- the crew man inside had no idea what was coming. Before he could even turn around, he was knocked out. E.v.e. pounced on the opportunity- she quickly searched his clothing, stealing a small set of keys from his boot. Then, the pair clambered down the mast towards the deck below. They got halfway down the mast before they were spotted. One of the dragon hunters looked up at the rear crow's nest and spotted them. He shouted, "NIGHT FURY!" and raised his dragon proof axe to defend himself. He collapsed under the force of Nightstrikers landing a second later, losing consciousness as he hit the deck.

Other dragon hunters started looking around in confusion, readying their weapons for a fight. E.v.e. unleashed her arm cannon and sprang out of the saddle with a roar. She fired a blast at the deck in front of a squadron of dragon hunters, blasting a flaming hole into the deck and sending the hunters running with a collective scream. At the same time, Nightstriker roared and fired at another squadron of dragon hunters approaching from the opposite direction. They too screamed and scattered as the blast sailed right through the air where they had been seconds before and exploded, raining a shower of embers and sparks all over the deck and the nearby cages. The hunters jumped off the deck, screaming "NIGHT FURIES!" as they charged at the railing. A fresh pair of squadrons charged at E.v.e. and Nightstriker.

E.v.e. inhaled deeply, and bellowed at the dragon hunters, an scream of rage and fury bursting from her lungs as she charged at them, cannon aimed and ready to fire. The Hunters screamed in terror and fled back the way they had come, screaming, "DEMON!". "OUTAMYWAY!", and "LOOK OUT!" as E.v.e. caught up to them and fired. At the same time, her wings shot out and clapped together, prematurely exploding the blast into a burst of fiery mayhem and generating a powerful gust of wind. The gust knocked her backwards and a few feet into the air, simultaneously blasting the whole squadron of dragon hunters- and several more besides- overboard. E.v.e. landed back on the deck with a snarl and charged back in the direction of the other squadron. She almost ran into Nightstriker as she tail whipped the last one into the air and then catapulted him overboard with a second smack of her tail. They circled back to back, looking for more Grimborn attackers. None came. They now cautiously turned their attention to the dragon cages scattered around the deck of the ship.

E.v.e. approached one cautiously, and peered inside. A strange synth- a large male with yellowish green fur and holes all over his body- no, his suit- lay seemingly unconscious on the floor of the cage. He kind of looked like Springtrap- but not Springtrap. Additionally, he had strange tack- an oxidized dragon proof bit sat uncomfortably in his open mouth, nestled firmly behind the back pair of molars. This was attached to a chain made out of the same material, which draped itself over the sides of his head and neck. Additionally, he also wore a leather saddle, which fitted snug over his back. Tall, sharp spines jutted out through holes in the saddle. A crude, but sturdy looking prosthetic jutted from one arm, its sharp metal claws splayed over the metal flooring just inside the door. Freaked out, E.v.e. took a step back, and rifled through the stolen keys. She carefully slotted one into the lock, and turned it.

With a sharp click, the cage door opened, and E.v.e. stepped back, removing the keys. She moved on to the next cage. This one was several orders of magnitude larger. A Crimson Goregutter was squashed into this one. It looked as if it had been forced into a crouching position, unable to properly stand up or turn around. E.v.e. unlocked the cage and swung the door open. The Goregutter looked up as E.v.e. freed it from its cage, and cautiously crept out of it. She stepped off to one side as the dragon charged towards the side of the deck and leaped into flight. E.v.e. moved on to the next cage and prepared to free another dragon from captivity.

E.v.e. gradually whittled down the unopened cages until there were only a few left. As she approached the last group of cages, she noticed something odd. Most of the cages held dragons, as she had expected, but a few seemed off. She squatted in front of them, perplexed. They contained large, spherical eggs, which faintly glowed blue in the foggy atmosphere. Unsure what dragon they were, E.v.e. gently removed them from their cages, and built a makeshift nest for them, deciding to return and pick them up later. She now turned her attention to the cages which actually contained dragons. The largest cage held a colossal Monstrous Nightmare- a melanistic Titan Wing, which watched her curiously as she approached the cage and inspected the lock. This lock was different from the rest- it had a series of rotating cylinders with runes carved into the notched surface... and no obvious keyhole. Cursing under her breath, E.v.e. began to pick the lock, turning a cylinder around one rune at a time. With a harsh click, the cylinder stopped moving and began to visibly vibrate. E.v.e. moved onto the next cylinder, keeping a close eye and ear on it. Click! She started working on the third cylinder. It wasn't long before she had figured out the combination of runes required to unlock the cage. The door swung open... and the Monstrous Nightmare stood up, blinking at her rescuer as she swung the door open. The Titanwing slowly walked out of her cage, extending her neck towards the E.v.e. Probe. Tentatively, E.v.e. extended a paw towards the Monstrous Nightmare, and gently rested it on her snout. The Titanwing began to purr- a deep, rumbling, affectionate purr. Smiling, E.v.e. purred back, and walked down the Monstrous Nightmares length, giving her a comforting nuzzle. Their tail tips remained twined as E.v.e. unlocked the remaining few cages, releasing a Short Wing Gronckle, a Broad Wing Timberjack, and a Tiny Tooth Flamewhipper. The former two dragons flew away, like most of the others, while the baby Flamewhipper scampered towards E.v.e. and leaped up into her arms. Surprised, E.v.e. carried the hatchling back to the now waiting Titanwing, and Nightstriker, who was sniffing the newcomer out of curiosity.

A lone dragon hunter stumbled out of the fog, shaking his head and mumbling something about keys. Without a word, E.v.e. tossed the keys back at him. They landed at his feet, and the dragon hunter looked down at them, suspicious. The strange synth emerged from the fog a moment later, eyeing the dragon hunter, who nearly fell over as he groggily retrieved his keys. E.v.e. clambered up the Monstrous Nightmares back, settling just behind her head, and, gripping a horn in one hand and the Flamewhipper in the other, ordered, "Fly!" The Monstrous Nightmare and Nightstriker took off at the same time, flying away from the prow of the now run aground ship as the stranger scooped up the injured dragon hunter and took off, flying in the opposite direction. It was only as they were leaving the ship graveyard that E.v.e. noticed that Nightstriker had stolen several Grimborn weapons, and was presently struggling to carry a bow, a crossbow, a quiver full of dragon root arrows, an axe, a spear, a hammer, two swords, and a dagger in her mouth- and a strange weapon- a clumsy combination of axe, sword, and mace- in her paws. She shook her head and used her tail to start loading the pilfered weapons into Nightstrikers saddlebags as they set a course for the Berk Dragon Academy, where Astrid was waiting.