"We're almost there," Kovak said, turning his head from the cockpit to the teens in the rear of the vehicle. "Get ready."

Naomi's flying van cut through the clouds until a large bean-shaped island appeared.

"This is where Endurance lives?" Hazel asked. "A giant volcano-shaped island?"

"The jungle looks dense," Winona said. "I don't see any village or anything."

"That's because he chose a remote location," Kovak replied, "somewhere where nobody would spy on him and his creations."

A loud explosion echoed in the air, calling their attention. A tower of smoke appeared halfway up the volcano.

"The battle's already started." Naomi pushed the steering wheel forward to descend towards the long C-shaped beach. "Landing in ten seconds."

"We're late," he said with clenched fists.

Haywire's in danger. I need to find him as soon as possible!

They landed on the long and wide, curved beach south of the island. When the wheels touched the mesmerising pristine white sand, Sky took a good look out the window.

Like a step pyramid, but a hundred times bigger, Endurance's towering mountain hideout loomed over Sky and his allies. Enormous palm trees and never-ending, dense vines blocked the view of the dangers that might lie ahead in that jungle paradise. In the distance, dark purple and grey clouds approached fast.

No sign of battle was directly visible. The only proof that something was the matter was the shrill cries and explosions up the volcano.

Naomi parked the vehicle in a discreet spot near the first line of palm trees and dense bushes, which left it partly concealed from view.

When Sky opened the door and stepped down, a horrific, metallic cry of a phoenix echoed in the distance, making Sky clench his jaw and furrow his eyebrows. He stared up ahead, trying to x-ray the dense foliage, looking for clues as to what had happened.

"The ridge up there, on the left side of the island," Kovak told him as he climbed out of the vehicle and stood by his side, inspecting the landscape just as the teen was doing. "That's a suitable spot for some of us to provide cover fire while the rest explore the valley at the centre. Which of your friends has got a good aim?"

"Kenji and Hazel are good," Sky replied, squinting his eyes as he tried to examine the topography further, to no avail. "Damn, this jungle seems impenetrable. I hope we can make our way through."

"There's a reason why Endurance picked this spot, I guess," Kovak said. "Like any good fortress, its characteristics guarantee an easy defence and make any attempt at attacking it a daunting task."

"I see," Naomi said, also staring at the towering mountain as she stood beside them. "I guess his brand-new phoenixes will be expecting us all along the way to the top. They'll put up a good damned fight against anyone who dares to approach their leader, who's comfortably living at the top of the volcano, am I wrong?"

Kovak sighed with his hands on either side of his hips as a confirmation.

"That's not gonna stop us," Hazel said, standing right beside Sky with a smile. She was already armed and dressed to kill (literally), like the rest of the team, and awaiting instructions. The protective gear they had used in the arena at the academy would now shield them in the deadliest battle in their young lives.

A loud explosion thundered in the air as vivid red sparks of fire erupted in a clearing on the left side of the mountain. It reaped loud gasps from all their throats.

"Mrs Evergreen's fleet?" Sky asked, narrowing his eyes at the explosion site. "Or Endurance's new pets? How can we tell who's winning?"

"No idea. We have to get closer," Naomi said, grabbing a shotgun.

"Evergreen was way ahead of us," Kovak replied as he grabbed one for him too. "Being the arrogant fool she is, she must've tried to take a shortcut and fly directly to the top, where Endurance is hiding."

"Hey, I just realised something. We had a safe landing," Charlotte said. "Why has nobody attacked us yet?"

"Are Endurance's phoenixes too busy kicking Mrs Evergreen's phoenixes' and the Elite soldiers' arses?" Luca asked.

Kovak smirked. "Maybe."

"Well, don't waste more time, then," Kenji said. "We have to get moving."

"I couldn't agree more," Sky said. "Grab all the ammo you can. But before we leave, we need some branches and leaves to provide some camouflage for Naomi's van. Come on. I want to save Haywire as soon as possible."

By the time they had covered the vehicle with proper camouflage, the sun had begun to set. More explosions painted the twilight sky even redder.

The faces of Sky's friends turned paler.

"Don't bother yourselves with those explosions," Naomi said, calling their attention over the loud symphony of war. "This is just like any other fight you've been involved in when you defended the Hovering Hive."

"But we're not as many as them," Winona said in a sheepish voice.

"Our firearms are no better than theirs," Charlotte added.

"And we haven't got a single phoenix on our side to help us," Luca said.

"That's why nobody expects us to come here looking for trouble," Sky said. "I'm sure both parties are so engrossed in fighting one another that they won't notice we're here. We'll sneak past their defence lines and the active battle field up the mountain."

Everybody focused their eyes on him as he pointed to the burning part of the jungle, up the volcano. Now that the sky was turning darker, the raging fire of war was clearer.

"Besides, we've got our wits and cunning," Sky added with bright eyes. "If you're not sure you can do this, stay here to guard the vehicle and hide. Now it's the time to back off, if you're too scared."

A hard silence ensued, but none of the people present showed any signs of backing off.

"Okay then. Once we get to the battlefield, I'll look for Haywire," he added. "You keep pushing. Go ahead with the mission. Find Endurance's hiding spot and analyse his weaknesses before attacking. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"What if Mrs Evergreen gets there first?" Hazel asked. "Since Haywire's become so powerful thanks to the Lifebringer, what if she's sacrificing the rest in the battle but she's saved him for the big boss fight?"

Sky frowned and balled his hands into trembling, white fists.

"Let's hope we're not too late," he whispered as he slashed some thick vines with a large knife and entered the jungle, carving a path for his team.

The team soon split in two.

Kovak, Kenji, Luca, and Hazel took a path to the left, towards the ridge. With their long shotguns on their backs and a large knife, they advanced with as much stealth as possible.

Sky, Naomi, Winona, and Charlotte turned right and kept opening a path through the dense jungle towards the battlefield, taking turns with the large knife so that nobody got too tired. At least the trees and bushes covered them, making them undetectable.

It started to rain and hail. Sky looked up at the dense foliage. Thankfully, the wider leaves of these trees work well as umbrellas.

A loud crashing of several trees startled them. Sky's eyes went open wide when enormous trunks rolled down the mountain, blowing up their cover as they wiped out the dense foliage before them in one go.

A dead Thunderbreaker soon followed, rolling down the mountain while pushing vegetal debris with it, leaving the path before them bare. Even the remaining roots of trees and bushes got pulled and dragged down the mountain. Its corpse hit a rock that was as large as the beast's with a loud crack.

"Dear Lord!" Winona exclaimed, putting her hands over her mouth when the beast finally stopped rolling. "The wings!"

Both wings had been torn. Sparks and blood kept coming out of the open wounds.

No sooner had they caught their breath that three gigantic fireballs came crashing down on the corpse. The Thunderbreaker's body was consumed by the flames.

Naomi and the teens shrieked. Taking a few steps back and watching the sky for any other sign of an imminent attack, they remained silent and vigilant.

"We have to keep going," Sky eventually whispered.

"If you walk on, they'll spot you!" Naomi whisper-yelled, putting a hand over his shoulder before he could expose himself. "Look. The battlefield is totally visible now."

The team looked up from a discreet spot.

Amidst the fiery chaos that engulfed the battlefield, the clash between Mrs Evergreen's Elite soldiers and the kamikaze phoenix fleet clashed ferociously with the brand-new phoenixes of Endurance.

Explosions painted the sky in hues of orange and red, the air crackling with the crudeness of war. Kamikaze phoenixes, ablaze with the fervour of self-destruction, soared into the fray, colliding with Endurance's phoenixes in a pyrotechnic dance of brutality. Their ear-splitting cries were louder now that the dense foliage was no more.

In the midst of the tumult, Sky's group, hiding in the shadows, infiltrated the periphery of the battle.

Their eyes darted between the duelling phoenixes and the skirmishing soldiers, their objective clear: locate Haywire. Yet, fate had other plans, as an errant footfall from Charlotte soon betrayed their presence, and they found themselves thrust into the maelstrom.

A group of six Bloodrunners spotted them and changed course. The foul red eyes of those hummingbird-looking monsters gleamed with their never-ending thirst for blood as they rushed to them.

Winona shrieked, but her cries were almost impossible to hear over the cacophony of battle which echoed through the volcanic landscape.

"Run!" Sky yelled.

They crossed the battlefield running, dodging bullets and fire, and earning many stunned glances from some Elite soldiers who didn't expect to see those teens and Naomi there.

The ground beneath their feet trembled with the weight of violence as several Fogthickers and Airsharks clashed against some sleek new phoenixes which resembled lynxes spliced with eagles. The Airsharks' venom was useless, like the fog made by the Fogthickers. The lynx-like, flying creatures were faster and more furious than them.

Naomi's blood was cold enough to grab her shotgun and start firing left and right. The teens were too shaken by the chaos to react. A badly subdued wincing on her behalf was the price she had to pay to hold her weapon, aim, and fire with enough precision, but her health conditions didn't allow her to make greater efforts.

This is a real nightmare! I've never seen a battle this crazy before!

Luckily for Sky and his group, Hazel and the rest had seen them and were providing cover fire to keep them as safe as they could.

Sky turned to look over his shoulder, panting. The Bloodrunners were hot on their tails when one of Hazel's shots pierced the head of one of them, making it fall awkwardly and accidentally hitting another one on its left with its long beak. It beheaded its partner.

But the rest dodged their fallen comrades and kept on chasing Naomi and the tree teens. Sadly for the Bloodrunners, a couple of dead Neckbreathers, shot by the rain of fire from the Elite soldiers nearby, crashed onto them from the sky above. The Bloodrunners' bodies were crushed and killed instantly.

Sky let go a sigh of relief as he ran.

Wounded phoenixes of different kinds and sizes soared above, wings ablaze, over a large group of Elite soldiers that clashed with ruthless determination against some even more ferocious and bigger Steelvanes. Some crushed their victims with their body parts, while others hit them with fireballs, lava spits, and basalt darts. Too busy in combat to care about those pesky little humans running for their lives, Sky and the rest made their way to safety.

They rushed to hide behind a scorched carcass of a jeep. Basalt darts had perforated half of the vehicle, nailing it to the ground. The gas must've ignited and set the entire car on fire. Now, only an ebony-coloured and foul-smelling chassis remained.

They squatted down there, watching with caution over their shoulders in case they had been spotted. That wasn't the case, so they enjoyed a brief moment of peace despite the unforgiving hail.

"Sorry I got you into this mess," Charlotte said, still panting. Sweat coated her temples and neck, now mixing with the cold rain. "It was my fault they saw us."

Naomi took that chance to open her flask and swallow some pills.

"They would've spotted us sooner or later," Sky said. He took a few deep intakes of air and turned to the rest of them to say, "I didn't see Haywire. Did you?"

"No," Naomi replied while Winona and Charlotte shook their heads.

The air was thick with the acrid scent of burning feathers and the metallic tang of blood. Wounded phoenixes crashed onto the scorched earth, their once majestic plumage reduced to smouldering embers. Elite soldiers, marked by scars and singed uniforms, battled with unwavering resolve although many teammates lay dead on the muddy ground.

Yet, amidst the chaos, a disconcerting absence lingered. Mrs Evergreen remained elusive.

"I didn't see Mrs Evergreen either," Sky said with a nervous tick in his eye. "Maybe Hazel was right. What if she's taken him directly to Endurance?"

His question met Naomi's pitiful stare.

Closing his eyes, Sky strained his senses. Both sweat and rainwater coated his skin as he concentrated. Above the cacophony, he could hear a familiar sonic echo pierced the air.

It's him! That was the unmistakable resonance of Haywire's trademark cry, which made Sky open his eyes wide.

"I hear him!" he exclaimed with joy, his chest puffing up and down with excitement.

A shrill artificial whistle then thundered in the sky. Everybody froze and stared at each other.

"Mrs Evergreen's using my enhanced whistle right now!" Sky yelled in frustration.

The whistle was blown harshly from the pinnacle of the dormant volcano, its powerful blasts of sound echoing with despair, as if someone was in grave danger.

"I don't like this one bit," Sky said with a frown.

"She must be battling against Endurance," Naomi concluded.

"I have to go," Sky said, putting a knee forward to stand up—but Naomi put a hand over his arm to stop him.

"Are you crazy?" she asked with a motherly attitude. "How are you going to approach the top of the volcano without being seen? What will you do when you get there anyway?"

"Cover me," he replied with determination. "Haywire recognised me. Mrs Evergreen can't take him from me. I'll think of something if she tries anything." Then, he turned to Winona and Charlotte, "Can I count on you to protect my aunt from herself?"

"What?!" Naomi said, appalled and frowning.

"I heard and saw you wincing while firing," he replied. "You're not in condition to fight."

"I'm not staying put while you people can die!" she yelled.

"Well, there you go," he replied with a smirk. "Neither can I. So, if you'll excuse me... I have a friend to save."

That left Naomi speechless. Winona and Charlotte nodded at him as he stood up.

"But... The whistle not only harms phoenixes; it will also harm you, Sky," Naomi replied with worry etched in the wrinkles on her face.

"I'll find a way to rescue Haywire. Don't worry," he said and left in a hurry, leaving Naomi's hand in the air.

As the battlefield continued to writhe in flames and fury around him, he pressed forward, his fast feet fuelled by concern for his best friend.

Sky ascended the balding, steep volcanic slopes, each step a grapple with the unforgiving terrain despite the thin foliage of the bushes there.

From the ridge on the left side of the battlefield, Hazel, Kovak, Luca, and Kenji still provided much needed cover fire. Soon, Naomi, Charlotte, and Winona joined them to help Sky reach the top without interruptions.

At the zenith, amidst the roaring winds and pelting hail, Sky looked down at the centre of the crater—a desolate, rocky valley with dunes of straw and branches which resembled a gigantic nest—and discovered a heart-wrenching scene.

Half a dozen chicks from Endurance brutally murdered right after hatching.

Sky's eyes widened in shock. They were just babies. Innocent babies! They could've been freed—like Haywire. What was Mrs Evergreen thinking?!

Endurance was mad on account of that ruthless act. His massive body was as tall as a skyscraper, but he moved with ease and amazing speed as he attacked Mrs Evergreen, who mounted the Blue Ranger. He resembled a fat eagle with vivid red plumage, but with hedgehog spikes all over his head and the back. A long peacock-like tail fanned behind him with blinding lights coming from the rounded tips.

Damn, those tail feathers make it hard to see if they're aimed at me! Sky put a hand over his eyes for a moment, until the feathers aimed in a different direction as they chased Haywire and Mrs Evergreen, on the Blue Ranger.

Haywire, shackled by a cruel prong collar that spurred him to obey, flew in circles around Endurance in a hesitant flight while two armies of menacing phoenixes attacked each other in the air.

Haywire! Oh dear...

But then, Mrs Evergreen gave him orders to attack through a tablet she had attached to the Blue Ranger's nape. The device seemed designed to give commands and control the war operations from the comfy position on the Blue Ranger's back. 

His awkward and clumsy flight was interpreted as a sign of hesitation, and he was rewarded with an electric shock delivered through the prong collar.

But then, an Airshark knocked Haywire over with its sharp talons, forcing the electric communication to break somehow when he spiralled down, crying. 

Sky gasped in horror.

Two tiny metal parts sprung from his dear winged friend's ears and got lost in the fury of battle.

Sky narrowed his eyes. What was that?

Despite hurting, Haywire willed himself to fly upwards again and regain balance. But Mrs Evergreen blew the enhanced whistle, making the poor beast whine and fly erratically. 

NO! Haywire! The whistle is hurting him. Damn, she's a monster! He glared at the older woman with clenched fists and displayed his canines.

Mrs Evergreen suddenly turned her face in his general direction, inspecting the landscape as if something had caught her eye.

Sky rushed to a secure spot near the action, but not too close so that nobody could see him. Hiding behind some thick branches, he analysed the situation while nobody had still spotted him.

What should I do to save Haywire? And why didn't she wince in pain when she blew the whistle? Nor did the Blue Ranger and the other phoenixes that she's sired. This smells fishy.

Suddenly, an enormous hand with calloused fingers landed on his shoulder.

Sky gasped and turned immediately, with a pale face and an open mouth. His long, green-tipped fringe moved like a whiplash over his eyebrows as he did so.

A tall, bulky man in a dark hoodie stood before him. Halle appeared behind him, approaching in a hurry and panting. Both wore ragged clothes with burn marks.

Mom?!

The rain and hail hit the man as hard as they hit everybody else, but no pain or cold registered on any of his features—especially when he took off his hoodie.

Dark blond dishevelled wavy hair. Green eyes like Sky's. Prominent cheekbones. A square jaw. And the warmest smile he had ever seen in his life—one he had missed for years.

Sky's eyelids went up, just like his eyebrows. His pupils dilated, and he stopped breathing altogether because of shock.

"Nice to see you again, Sky," his rusty but jovial male voice said. "I've missed you, son."

Hello, my sugar cubes!

Alistair Falcon is BACK. With Halle! 😲

Stay tuned!

XOXO

Mar

*NOTE: PLEASE, READ THE A/N AT THE END OF CH.1 if you feel the need to know about the differences between this story and HTTYD. Thank you.