Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons [COMPLETED]

Chapter 19

One moment, there was a dragon. Next moment, a great flame burst out like a thousand bonfires. A shockwave shot out from the column of fire and spread across the countryside, extinguishing the burning trees. The middle of the island was scarred with a large hole gouged out of it. Houses that weren't immediately reduced to ash were flattened by the shockwave.

Pitch flew through the air and crashed on a sandy beach further north on the mainland. His burns quickly healed themselves, and the pain that wracked his body took only a little longer to fade.

He pulled himself up and panted on his hands and knees. Never had he been brought so low. His whole army, his supposedly undefeatable dragon, his only nightmare—all had been taken from him in a few measly hours. Even that bear would have been obliterated by the blast.

And it's all because of those Guardians, Pitch thought with unadulterated hatred. His fists wrapped around sand. They did this to me. Even when they were gone, they inspired those filthy urchins to rise up against me. And that Sandman . . . Pitch remembered his horse turning gold. He's the lowest of them all!

With a shout of pure rage, Pitch threw the sand across the beach. He sat back on his heels, panting. Then, he realized something. The sand he had thrown was black. Rising quickly, Pitch ran to where the sand had landed. The sand particles were spread far apart, but he could tell that there was darker sand on the ground.

Pitch scooped up more sand with both hands. Closing his hands, Pitch concentrated all his power on the sand. When he opened his hands, the yellow sand had turned completely black. Almost daring to hope again, Pitch wiggled his fingers and twisted his hand over the black sand.

Just as he hoped, a small nightmare stood in his palm. It was the same exact horse; the only difference was that the skin was coarser since it was made of sand instead of ink. The horse pawed at Pitch's gray palm. He gingerly touched one fingertip on the horse's back, and, instantly, the horse burst into the black sand it originally was.

Pitch curled his fist around the black sand and pulled it to his chest. He smiled malignantly. I can work with this.

~

On the beach in front of the destroyed island, there was a feeling of desolation. The island was gone. The nearby land with vineyards, orchards, and farms had been burned. Corona was destroyed. Soft ash fell on the island, the ash growing thinner as it reached the trees on shore.

Merida scrambled to her feet and ran to the water's edge. Her eyes desperately searched the island for any sign of life but were disappointed. No. Oh, Hiccup, no! Tears stung her eyes, and a sob caught in her throat.

A draconic groan came from further up the coast. Eagerly, she ran to find the source of the sound, heading for the people who seemed to be backing away with gasps and murmurs of awe. She nudged her way past them and almost tripped over Toothless. The Night Fury lay splayed out on his side and moaned. No rider sat in his saddle.

For a moment, Merida's heart jolted. Then, she saw how Toothless's wings were covering his legs, almost like he was protecting something. Merida knelt and, with her good arm, shoved the wings over Toothless's back. But there was nothing in Toothless's claws. The unconscious dragon's feet twitched, still trying to save his rider even in sleep.

Rapunzel broke through the crowd just in time to see Merida crying on her knees. She sat next to her friend and enveloped her in a hug while her own tears fell down her face. Jack came up behind Rapunzel and put a hand on her shoulder as he stared stoically at the downed Night Fury.