Third story of the dragon boarder series. This one is nowhere NEAR the same story as the failed story Repercussions. BUT like the last story, this will not make sense if you had not read at least the second one. The first one is referred to quite often, but you can pass on it (though not advised). You just won't get the inside jokes as much.
Also, I changed the title of the story to The Dragon Boarder and the Slaver. I hope you enjoy this story, because I feel this one is a lot better than what Repercussions was supposed to be.
Chapter One
The wind roared past Matt as he ushered Wasatch into a dive. Even with the cool wind, he kept on sweating in his helmet. This was it. The final lap in the dragon race. Any moment the black sheep would be launched into the air and the race would intensify. Focusing on his balance, he kept eyeing the catapult that would launch the sheep
Glancing over to his left, Matt saw Astrid doing the same thing; waiting to grab the 10 point sheep. Hiccup was below them, ready to pounce as well.
Suddenly the catapult activated, shooting the sheep straight up into the air. Wasatch instantly responded by doing a quick dive to gain speed. Covering his body with lightning, he quickly cut in front of Stormfly; causing her to alter her course.
"Matt!" Astrid roared angrily, as she held on to Stormfly.
"Talk to you at the finish line!" Matt yelled laughing, still staring at the sheep. Leaning backwards, Matt rolled Wasatch over. Reaching out, Matt grabbed the sheep out of the air and pulled it into him. Completing the roll, Matt regained his balance and guided Wasatch to do an air brake. As soon as he did so, Matt saw Toothless fly right past him, trying to turn sharp enough to grab the sheep from Matt. Hiccup stared at Matt with his red face paint on. "Aw come on!" he shouted in disgust.
Matt didn't stay around to retort back. Banking Wasatch around a building, Matt saw Astrid coming straight at him. "Now Wasatch!" Matt roared.
Wasatch immediately opened his mouth and flashed a bright light, blinding Astrid and Stormfly temporarily.
As soon as Astrid eye's recovered from the sudden flash, she turned to see Matt flying straight towards the goal. "No!" She yelled angrily. This was not her best race today.
Matt focused on the black and purple goal that was designated for him. Letting Wasatch get closer, Matt quickly threw the sheep at his goal. Staring at the sheep, he saw something that brought a sudden feeling of horror and anger. Hiccup and Toothless flew in between the goal and Wasatch, catching the sheep mid-air.
"Are you kidding me!?" Matt screamed in frustration.
Hiccup just turned to look at him with a crooked smile "Gotta be faster than that!"
Matt roared in anger and urged Wasatch to chase the black Night Fury. Seeing Snotlout coming on his right, he quickly guided Wasatch into a roll. Feeling his bindings keep his feet on Wasatch, Matt finished the roll and continued to pursue Hiccup.
Astrid was now next to him, urging Stormfly to go faster to catch Toothless.
By the time they were even able to get close to them, Toothless did a quick airbrake with his wings and let Matt and Astrid fly by them. Matt roared in anger as he turned to see Hiccup glide to the goal and throw the sheep in his net.
"We were so close!" Matt moaned, kneeling down and unbuckling his bindings. Sitting down on Wasatch's neck, he pulled off his helmet and let the wind cool his face. Even though he rode with the helmet on, he had black and purple face paint on, matching Wasatch's color. Each side of his face was each said color; with black on the left and purple on the right, split equally on both sides. Letting the wind cool him down a bit, he began to rub behind the Skrill's neck "Well…at least you did good! That was the best maneuvering we've done in a long time."
Wasatch roared in response to Matt's compliment, sending a small jolt of electricity into him.
Smiling, Matt let Wasatch land near the other racers. Lifting his leg over the dragons' neck, Matt landed smoothly on the ground.
"What was that!?" Astrid shouted, marching up to him "I've never seen Wasatch cause a flash like that before!"
Laughing at her frustration, Matt teased "To be fair, you didn't see anything when he did flash you." Answering her question, he continued "Just discovered it! Maybe a week ago? I knew that would come in handy with the races."
"So why did you lose then?" a voice called out behind him.
Turning to see who said that, Matt saw Heather walking towards him. On her shoulder was her dragon, Snatch. Snatch was a Smoldering Smokebreath that they saved. Heather took the time to nurse him back to health and since then hasn't left her side. She was currently training it to help gather alchemy ingredients.
"Well…I was going to win. But then…" Matt's voice trailed off. Snatch then flew to Matt and clung to his shoulder.
"I'm teasing!" Heather said laughing "You had it! I was watching and I didn't even see Hiccup until he grabbed that sheep."
"You're not helping me feel better about losing, if that's what you're trying to do." Matt muttered, taking a seat next to Astrid. Scratching Snatch's chin he added "I know I lost fair and square, Hiccup just pulled an amazing move which was the nail in the coffin for us."
At that point, Hiccup landed Toothless next to the group. Jumping off, Hiccup made way to Matt with his hand extended out to him. "That was way too close for comfort! You were just blowing us out of the air with the other sheep!"
Matt watched Snatch then fly off of his shoulder and landed on top of Wasatch, nestling on his back. Turning back towards Hiccup, he replied "Regardless you beat me! I was so sure that I had it!" Matt moaned, burying his face in his hands.
"Hey, you won the last two, it was time for your reign to end!" Hiccup teased, lightly pushing Matt and still extending his hand to Matt.
Looking up at Hiccup, Matt smiled and took the hand. Pulling Hiccup towards him, Matt quickly tackled Hiccup to the ground.
"Ooof!" Hiccup grunted, rolling with the inertia. Grabbing Matt's armor, he quickly rolled with Matt, trying to pin him. Matt then used his braced leg to push himself against Hiccup. Throwing Hiccup's balance off, Matt quickly pushed on Hiccup's shoulders, pinning him to the ground. Hiccup then lifted his leg and pushed Matt off. Rolling onto his feet, Hiccup was surprised when Matt grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back. Forced to kneel down, Hiccup shouted "You got me! You got me alright!" Keeping Hiccup on the ground, Matt laughed saying "Astrid taught me that move."
"I noticed!" Hiccup groaned, trying to get out of the arm bar. Matt then let go of Hiccup and helped him up.
"Hey, you're getting better." Astrid said with a smile, walking up to Matt.
"Just applying what we practiced!" He laughed, watching Hiccup dust himself off "If I can't beat him in dragon racing, I can do it wrestling him."
"You sound a little bitter." Hiccup huffed, finishing dusting himself off.
Without warning, Astrid pushed Matt, throwing his balance off. Grabbing his arm, she kicked behind his knee, causing him to drop onto the ground. Trying to fight back, Matt felt himself pinned to the ground on his chest, unable to even try and get an advantage. Astrid dug her knee into his back, making sure that he couldn't move.
"Gah! Well that was quick!" Matt grunted, feeling the pressure release. Rolling over, he saw Astrid's hand extended. Taking it, he felt himself lifted onto his feet. "I guess I still have a lot to learn huh?" Standing up, he pushed the lever on his leg, deactivating the brace. Feeling a small pain settle in, Matt quickly masqueraded it by rubbing his back, as if that was what was causing the pain.
"Like I said, you are getting better." Astrid said with a smile "You're also getting better with a sword."
"Thanks…" Matt said, trying to rub his back out. Feeling the some of the straps come undone, he turned to see Heather take off his riding armor.
"I got a new ointment I wanna try on your back, you know, to see if we can help your back from scarring any worse." Heather said, setting the armor on the ground.
"Hold on…" Matt said with a smile, taking a step back with his shirt still on "I'd like to wash off my paint first."
"And then you'll sneak away to work on your personal project or go for another ride!" Heather said rolling her eyes.
"What are you working on anyways?" Hiccup asked, walking to a bucket of water with towels near it "You've made yourself pretty scarce the last few weeks."
"Just experimenting…" Matt said, brushing off the questions "I'll let you all know soon enough!" Walking next to Hiccup, he added "I'll be right with you Heather, just give me a minute to clean up a little."
"I'll see you in a bit then." Heather said, beginning to walk away with Snatch clinging to her back.
"I promise I'll be right with you in a second." Matt said with a smile. Turning to Hiccup who was splashing the water on his face to get the paint off, Matt then started to do the same thing. Feeling the cold water hit his face made him shiver. Looking up to say something to Hiccup, he was surprised to see that he was talking with Eret a few yards away.
Not thinking much of it, Matt was about to splash another handful of water on his face when he overheard Hiccup saying: "Another one? That's the third fishing ship this week!"
"I know, but none of them came back and they're way past due!" Eret whispered back.
"Alright…I'll check out the island that they were supposed to fish at, you get your crew ready and set sail. See if Skull Crusher can't track them." Hiccup replied, a serious tone setting in his voice.
Matt quickly acted like he was still washing the paint off when Hiccup came back to the bucket. Using one of the towels that were next to the bucket, Matt wiped his face off. Seeing Hiccup finish scrubbing his paint off, he asked "So…what was that about?"
"What was what about?" Hiccup replied casually, reaching for the towel in Matt's hands.
"Come on Hiccup. Who's missing from their fishing trip?" Matt said, opening up the conversation. Handing the towel to Hiccup he added "I couldn't help but over hear what Eret told you."
Sighing, Hiccup quickly rubbed the remaining face paint off with the towel. Setting it next to the bucket he finally said "Fine. We've had three fishing boats disappear. We have no idea what happened or what's going on. At first I thought it was a dragon attacking them, you know, being territorial and such. But the other two ships were supposed to be fishing nowhere near where the first attack was."
"Wait…you think someone is attacking them?" Matt interrupted, a look of concern over his face.
"I-I don't know…" Hiccup said, staring at the ground. Looking back at Matt, he said "I was going to check the last spot where the fishing ship was supposed to be. See if I can't find any clues you know."
"Well…let me get my gear back on." Matt said, walking to where Heather had laid out his armor.
"Wait, Matt!" Hiccup said, running next to him "Maybe it'd be best if I went alone. You know, to show that Berk's chief isn't concerned. And able to handle the problems."
"Hiccup." Matt said with a smile "Two brothers going for ride isn't alarming, it's natural." Laughing slightly, Matt added "Besides, I need to do something around here if I'm going to live here. I'm jobless really! I can't run the blacksmith shop, I can't really farm or raise crops, I definitely can't fish, and between Astrid and Fishlegs, I'm just a tutor at the academy! The only thing I'm good for is helping you with your duties as chief." Buckling the armor on, he continued in a more serious tone "Please Hiccup…let me help you. I'm useless here doing anything else."
Hiccup stared at Matt and then sighed. Grabbing Matt's helmet that was resting on a table, he shoved it into Matt's chest. "Suit up. We'll have to go tell the girls where we're going."
Matt smiled as he slid on the helmet. Facing Wasatch who was sleeping, he said loudly "Come on Wasatch! We finally got something to do!"
"I knew you were going to leave after the race." Heather huffed, staring at Matt with her arms crossed. Watching him climb onto Wasatch she added "You never know when to slow down for a little bit, do you?"
"I'm really sorry!" Matt said apologetically, strapping himself into his bindings. "We'll be back tonight and then I swear I'll be with you however long you want!"
"Sure…just like the last 5 times you said that." Heather said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. Walking up to Matt, who was looking down on her, she smiled and pushed the lever on his leg to activate the brace.
Feeling the brace stiffen up, Matt smiled and took off his helmet. Leaning forward, Matt went down for a kiss, only to be splashed in the face with water. Recoiling back, he stared at Heather who was laughing.
"You know…I should have expected that." Matt said dryly, trying to wipe the water off and dry his face.
"You missed some paint." Heather said, justifying her action "Just trying to help you."
Before Matt could say anything, Hiccup and Astrid rounded the corner. Astrid was obviously in a bad mood when she saw Matt standing on Wasatch. "So why does Matt get to go?" Astrid said, glaring at Hiccup.
"Uh…well…" Hiccup stammered "I just want it to be two people. Besides, I need you to watch over the academy today."
"Fishlegs can do that!" Astrid breathed loudly "Knowing your luck, you're going to find the Screaming Death again! Or something like that!"
"Astrid!" Hiccup replied with a frustrated tone "We're just checking the location of the last fishing ship. Even if we find something, we're going to come right back! I honestly don't need Matt either!"
Astrid stared at Hiccup, still angry that she couldn't come. Looking at Matt, she said "This better not be a regular thing. So help me if it is!"
Matt only smiled, knowing how mad the two girls were. At that point, Snatch flew by and landed on Heather's shoulder, hissing at Matt. Staring at the Smokebreath in disbelief, he then said "You're mad at me too!? What did I do to you?"
"He's always on my side. You know that!" Heather teased. Taking a step back, she then added "Get going. The sooner you leave, the sooner you get back."
Smiling, Matt put on his helmet. Looking at Hiccup, he said "After you!"
Hiccup quickly kissed Astrid and jumped on Toothless. Sliding his helmet on, he let the dragon launch into the air.
Wasatch quickly followed, flying right next to Toothless. Facing Hiccup, Matt gave him a thumbs up, as if to assure him that everything will be fine. Hiccup nodded and then returned his attention ahead of him.
Also relaxing, Matt leaned on his brace; allowing his body to rest from standing all the time. Seeing that they had a long flight ahead of them, Matt began to sing quietly to himself a Linkin Park song. One that he thought helped him out the most; Breaking the Habit. Almost instantly he laughed to himself when he started to think about the song. Even though he was more than happy to stay at Berk, there were parts of his old life that he missed. Including the music. As well as a hot shower. Shaking his head, he couldn't believe that he that it was 6 months since his decision to stay.
A lot has happened since then. For one, his back was almost completely healed. The only thing that even showed that his back was burned were the scars that were left behind. Looking like someone took a knife and carved pieces out of his back, the injury looked a lot worse than what it felt like. Also, since Hiccup was busy with chief duties, he helped Astrid out at the academy; whether that be teaching new recruits about dragons, to making sure that the dragons around the island behaved. Matt loved having something to do, especially since it was something he loved with a passion. Now that he was helping Hiccup, he knew that he was finally settled in Berk as a resident.
And then there was Heather. Since he stayed, not only did he care about her, but he knew that he loved her. Smiling to himself, he quietly whispered so that even Wasatch couldn't hear him "Man…I really need to step up my game and help her out a little more. Shoot! Just be with her more." Since she officially moved to Berk, Heather essentially became an apprentice to Gothi; trying to learn more about the art of healing. Even since the time she helped Matt's back, she was improving a lot with her knowledge. She even began to learn how to help dragons and any injuries they might have, which was helpful when Snatch was found.
Smiling, Matt retuned to the present and the matter at hand. Even though this was a serious issue, Matt was glad to be able to help Hiccup. Looking at his friend, and now who he calls a brother, Matt just kept on smiling. He was so grateful that he was able to be with his ancestor; the one that should've been in the history books. Finishing his reminiscing, Matt stopped leaning on his brace and kept on following Hiccup to their destination.
"Well…I guess we can rule out the option that it sunk." Matt said sarcastically, jumping off of Wasatch and landing on a sandy beach. Pulling off his helmet, he clipped it to his saddle and then turned to look at the wrecked ship.
Arriving to the area where the ship was supposed to be, it didn't take Hiccup and Matt long to find it crashed on the beach of a small forested island.
"I guess that's a good thing." Hiccup replied, equally thick with sarcasm. Gazing at the boat, Hiccup just shook his head. "I'm pretty sure that a dragon wasn't the cause of this, but keep an eye out for burn marks or something dragon related."
Matt walked over to the wreck and climbed onto the deck of the vessel and began to move debris out of the way, trying to get to the cabin of the ship. Hiccup observed the massive hole that was in the side of the ship, trying to figure out what could have done it. Looking away from the hole for a second, Hiccup shouted "Any luck getting inside yet?"
"Give me a second!" Matt shouted back "A beam fell across the door." Trying to move the massive, wet lumber, Matt quickly pushed a lever on his armor and felt his back stiffen up. Even though his back brace was meant to help him recover from being electrocuted, Matt found other uses for it; such as lifting heavy objects. With his back supported, and a few grunts, Matt quickly moved the beam away from the door. Dropping it on the deck of the ship, Matt pulled the lever to loosen his back. Opening the broken door, Matt quickly saw a mess inside the ship. It honestly looked like a battle took place in it.
"Anything?" Hiccup's voice sounded "I'm going to come in through this hole and try to meet up with you inside."
"Be careful!" Matt shouted back, stepping over a barrel of spoiled fish "It's like a war zone in here." Stepping over a broken chest, Matt saw something that caught his eye. Kneeling down, Matt moved some debris in the chest and found that it was still full of gold and other valuable materials, such as carved wooden figurines, small gems, and a seashell necklace with a dragon tooth in the center of it. Picking up a few pieces of the gems, Matt saw another item that caught his eye. Standing up, Matt stared at a sword sticking out of the wall. Pulling it out, Matt stared at it in confusion. It wasn't anything like the swords in Berk. Instead of a long, straight edge, it was curvy; almost like a wave was running down it on both sides. For some reason…it looked familiar to him.
"Find anything?" Hiccup asked, climbing over some crashed barrels.
Nodding, Matt replied "A few things actually." Looking up at Hiccup, he tossed the sword to him and said "It looks like it was deliberate. I don't remember when our fishing vessels carried long swords like that, let alone any of our men having swords like that." Letting Hiccup observe the sword, he then added "But whoever did this, wasn't after loot or supplies." Gesturing to the fish all over the ship, he continued "They'd have taken most of the fish! As well as some gold and these little gems." With that, Matt showed the gems that were in his other hand. "What do you make of it? I want to say another tribe is behind it, but it doesn't make sense with why they'd leave all these goods they could have used."
"Well…it is deliberate. That's for sure." Hiccup replied, lowering the sword "And I think I know who's behind it. Or at least know someone who might know who's behind it."
Matt's head snapped up, staring at Hiccup. "What did you find? How do you know? Do you think it's Dagur?"
Holding the sword back up, Hiccup explained "No it's not Dagur and here's how I know; this sword. This style is made by only one island." Rubbing his hand on the flat side of the blade, he continued "It's an Outcast sword."
Matt looked at Hiccup with shock on his face. "But I thought we had an alliance with them! Why would they attack us?" Hundreds of thoughts were running through his head, but the most fervent one was when Alvin cut his leg 6 years ago. That's why the sword looked familiar.
Shaking his head, Hiccup replied "I don't know. I do hope to find some answers though."
Looking down, Matt thought of something. "So…why did they leave the sword?" Pointing to the wall that it was left in, he added "I found it in the wall, as if it was left there on purpose. Do you think that's like a message or something?"
"No." Hiccup replied simply, starting to walk out of the ship. "This sword has a crack down the center of it. If it's used in a fight one more time, it would shatter. They probably left it thinking it would go down with the ship."
Following Hiccup, Matt then asked "So…are you headed to Outcast Island?"
"Well…yes and no." Turning to Matt, he then explained "I'm going to have you and Astrid go."
"Why me!?" Matt cried, shock riveting through his body. "You know exactly how I feel about Alvin! About Outcasts in general!"
"The exact same way I felt. But I'm over it, and you can too." Hiccup replied simply, walking out of the cabin "Hopefully Alvin isn't behind these attacks. I don't want to be fighting the Outcasts again."
"Ok, ok, ok, ok…" Matt began to argue "Let's say that Astrid and I go to Outcast Island. What are you going to be doing?"
"Searching for our missing villagers." Hiccup replied, stepping onto the beach "If it is Alvin, I want to try and get a jump on him and get them before he can do anything with them."
"Why don't you want me to come with you!?" Matt asked with desperation in his voice.
"You wanted to help me right?" Hiccup asked, turning to face Matt.
Taken back by the question, Matt answered "Of course!"
"I need you to go with Astrid in case they try to do anything to get her. You and Wasatch are weapons!" Hiccup said, grabbing Matt's shoulder "I don't think they'll do anything, but just in case, I want Astrid protected by my best rider and his Skrill."
Hearing why Hiccup wanted Matt to be with Astrid, he just looked down at the beach. After a few seconds of silence, Matt looked up at Hiccup and said "Fine. I'll go. But Astrid's going to have to be the one talking. I'll probably lose my mind if I try too."
"I'll agree to that." Hiccup said with a smile "Thank you Matt. I feel better about sending Astrid there with you than anyone else. Even my mom."
"Well…let's get going then." Matt said with a sigh. Helping Hiccup was turning out to be not as great as he expected it to be.