Four ships sailed across the ocean towards the island that had just appeared on the horizon. A man stood at the helm as his men worked behind him. His bulky figure stood out against the crashing waves in front of him. He wore an armoured breastplate and shoulder pads atop his fur clothes. His head was adorned with a helmet out of which protruded two large horns, one on either side. The man watched the island slowly growing bigger, a vicious smirk playing across his lips.
"Alvin, sir, we're almost within their range." The man, Alvin, turned to see his second in command standing a few steps behind him. A man with a nervous look on his face who wore similar clothes and armour as his boss. His was of a slightly smaller stature but was still bulky none the less.
"Why so nervous, Savage?" Alvin asked the man as he stepped towards him. "We're heading to victory. Today is the day we rid this world of those unnatural beasts. I can feel it in my gut. Today the devils are done for."
"Yes, sir," Savage nodded quickly fidgeting slightly. He would have to make sure he was nowhere near his boss if they lost. "Shall I tell the men to ready the catapults?"
"Aye. And the crossbows too." Savage nodded again and hurried off to complete his tasks. Alvin on the other hand turned back to the front of the boat where he could clearly make out the island in the distance. "Where are ye, devils?" he whispered to himself as his gaze drifted upwards to the skies.
That's when he saw it. The black streak that flew almost too fast to be seen. The only beast he had yet to lay his eyes on. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. The Night Fury. There were two of them. But all he and his men had ever seen were black blurs racing through the clouds.
"They're here!" he yelled loud enough to be heard across all three ships. His men quickly jumped to action. Those with crossbows flanked he sides of the ships aiming at the sky, waiting for a target to appear. Those manning the catapults made sure that they were loaded and ready to fire.
For a while, all that could be heard was the creaking of the boats and the crashing of the waves. Then they heard a whistle. It started of quietly but then it grew louder and louder until it was an ear splitting screech. Then an explosion shocked the men to full attention as the saw the first of the four ships alight with fire. The whistling began again and then men searched for their target.
"Port side!" someone shouted and soon the air was thick with arrows as they sailed towards the black beast. It swerved and doubled back on itself. Then they heard the whistle start again. Except that this time it was coming from the opposite side. Another explosion rocked the sea as a second boat was set ablaze.
"There's two of them!" Alvin called out to his men. "Keep your eyes open and keep this boat heading towards the shore!" The men hurried to follow their leader's orders as they rushed back and forth across the two remaining ships.
In the air, the two beasts flew just above the clouds out of sight. They both knew that the most damage would be caused if the humans below reached the island. If they could contain the fight to the sea, there would be no problems. Their job was to dive bomb the boats. It was becoming increasingly difficult with the amount of ammunition this particular group of humans had. Their aquatic friends were below making sure that none of the humans now stranded in the water floated to the island.
The two looked towards each other and nodded. The smaller of the two dove down in one direction, the air whistling through his wings and tail fins. After a few seconds, the larger of the two dove down in the opposite direction lighting up the fire in his chest and aiming towards the nearest boat before the dumb humans could even guess at what was going on. Once that was done the two beasts sped back up into the clouds hidden from view once again. Only one ship left.
Down below, Alvin growled in anger. This was supposed to be the day. The day he lead his men to victory. But the pesky devils had ruined that for him. Why couldn't they just die?
As he watched his men run towards the approaching black blur and open fire he curiously turned in the other direction to see another shape approaching completely unnoticed. Like the last time it bombed a ship while his men were firing after the other beast which had retreated in the other side. So that's what their plan was. One distracts while the other destroys. Smart, but not smart enough.
"Savage!"
"Yes, Alvin?" His second in command came running towards him with a terrified look on his face.
"Next time ye see one of the monsters, only use half of the men to pursue it. Keep the other half on the opposite side of the ship."
"Are you sure that's wise, sir-"
"Are ye disobeying a direct order, Savage?" Alvin asked narrowing his eyes at the now shivering man.
"N-n-n-no, sir!" he said quickly. "I'll tell them right away!" He raced off and Alvin turned back towards the skies, ready in case they decided to change their tactic.
"I see one!" he heard from his left and turned to see half of his men run towards that side of the boat. The other half stayed on the right and as he turned to see the second beast approaching, they let loose.
In the sky, the larger of the two creatures heard the pained cry of his companion. That was his brother! What had happened? Had the plan not worked? He sped off to see his brother falling towards the sea. He picked up his speed until he caught up to the black shape flailing around in the sky.
He caught him between his paws and held him as best as he could until he was back at the island. He landed in an undignified heap on the ground, his brother skidding to a stop by his side. He quickly got to his feet to see people approaching from all sides and locked eyes with one particular person at the front of the crowd. A large man with a similar stature to Alvin who wore a bearskin cape across his shoulders and a chieftain's belt around his waist. In a split second, the black beast had morphed into a boy, eighteen years of age to be exact. He had lanky auburn hair and forest green eyes surrounded by freckles and a small figure that seemed to be the opposite of those around him.
He looked pleadingly into the eyes of the man before turning back to his brother who lay groaning in pain on the ground. He gently scratched the top of his head and whispered something that went unheard by those in the crowd. Suddenly, his brother too morphed into the shape of a skinny teenager who looked much like the first, except for his darker hair and lack of freckles.
The older boy scooped his wounded brother up into his arms and turned to the large man who stood watching the two, his face focused and worried.
"We missed the last boat. It won't be long before they're here. You'd better make sure that there's enough people at the docs." The boy's voiced was confidence laced with sadness as he gazed up into the face of the older man. "I'm taking Toothless to Gothi. Let me know if you need me."
The older man nodded and watched as the two boys disappeared through the crowd to the hut at the edge of the village. He shook his head deciding he would have time to worry later. He turned to the villagers around him who were also staring after the two boys with distraught expressions.
"Alright, listen up!" He quickly got the attention of those around him. "I need one person to take a report to Birger Ingerman."
"I'll go!" he heard a female voice call out from behind him. He saw a girl in her mid-teens step forwards. She had blonde hair in a messy ponytail leaving odd bits of hair sticking out all over her head. She wore a light blue top with a pink shoulder pad on her right shoulder, a yellow skirt and dark blue leggings with brown boots.
"Good lass," the man said. "Go tell your father everything that's happened and tell him to be ready just in case we need him." The girl nodded and raced off as fast as she could. The man turned back towards the crowd of people and ordered them down to the docks. It would be all hands on deck if they wanted to keep the humans out of the village and hopefully off the island.
"Stoick!" He turned around as he heard his name being called. He was soon face to face with a woman with auburn hair and icy blue eyes. Her hood was up around her face but she pushed it down as she approached. "What is this I hear about Toothless getting shot down?" Stoick cringed.
"Hiccup took him straight to Gothi's. I'm sure he'll be fine, Valka." Her look of disbelief showed exactly how he truly felt but right now he needed to make sure no one else got hurt. "At the moment, we need to make sure that those humans don't get anywhere near the village. We can worry about the boys later." Valka nodded and the two of them set off towards the docks.
When they got there, the villagers were all preparing for a fight. Weapons were being drawn and claws sharpened. Stoick and Valka walked straight up to a man who stood with a sharpening stone, sharpening the axe prosthetic that replaced his arm. His leg was also missing and was made of wood. On his head sat the helmet with horns, the same as most of those around him. His blue eyes looked up as Stoick and Valka approached and he scratched his blonde moustache that was braided on either side before greeting the two.
"How are we doing, Gobber?" Stoick asked.
"Well, by the looks of it, the boat that the boys missed was the biggest. It's full to the brim with humans. Everyone's ready though. They don't stand a chance." Gobber grinned and Stoick smiled back. "How's Toothless? I saw him go down. Didn't look too good." That brought the mood down immediately.
"Hiccup took him to Gothi, but I'll go find out after these mutton brained humans have paid for hurting my boy."
Gobber nodded and the three of them quickly set off for the edge of the docks. Once there they quickly made their way to the front of the crowd of angry, armed people waiting for the humans. On the very edge of the docks stood six beasts of varying colours, from red to green to purple. Their spiked tails thrashed back and forth behind them. They stood on two hind legs and propped themselves up by the claws on the end of their wingtips. They had spikes that ran along the edges of their wings and down their spines and large horns protruding from the top of their heads. They were snarling and growling through their many sharp teeth as the boat drew ever closer.
Stoick nodded at the first beast and it nodded back. It let out a roar which the other five answered. Soon they were all firing towards the boat. The sails caught fire and the men started yelling to each other in a panic. All the men but one, who stood tall and proud at the front of his ship staring right into Stoick's eyes. Alvin. He turned away for a second only to grab a large plank of wood and shove it into a man's arms. The man quickly laid it out ready to cross onto the land and soon all the men from the ship were running across the rocks that lined the docks towards where the villagers stood.
Stoick turned to a man who stood behind him. His blonde hair and beard blowing in the breeze and his blue eyes quickly locked onto Stoick's. "You're up, Thorston." The man nodded and quickly morphed into a red beast that crouched low to the ground with suspicious looking eyes, large wings and spines down the length of its body and tail. He had horns on his head out of which protruded vine like antennae. In the blink of an eye he had disappeared from sight. Stoick turned back towards the advancing men who were suddenly either thrown back or covered in green acid.
"Changewings!" Stoick heard the men call out. He smiled to himself as he watched some run in terror. He then turned towards the rest of the crowd.
"Everyone! Any you can, pick up and drop back into that ship and Keep them back away from the village! Now, let's show them why they should never invade our island!" He was met with a combination of cheering and roaring as all the men, women and beasts around him raced off towards the humans. He turned to Valka who stayed standing beside him. "Stay in the sky and help those who need it."
"What are you going to do?" she asked him, concern in her voice.
"I'm going to take care of Alvin." She nodded and took a step forwards, turning back slightly.
"Stay safe. For me and for our boys." With that shapeshifted into an owl like creature and spread her four wings, taking to the sky. Stoick watched her for a second before he turned his attention to searching for Alvin. He saw him not far away, wrestling with a Changewing. He quickly ran over and pushed them apart, gesturing for the beast to leave, which he did.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't Stoick the Vast. Chief of the unnatural." Stoick turned to see Alvin standing there, a smug look on his face.
"Why are you here, Alvin?" Stoick asked. "My tribe and I have made no move against you or your people. We only wish to be left alone."
"What you and your people are is wrong. You shouldn't exist. Men and dragons, together, as one? It's not right. And I intend to make the world right again." Alvin pulled out a sword from its sheath that sat on his belt. Stoick mirrored his actions with his axe.
"You can't win this one, Alvin. You only have one ship left and most of your men are either dead, wounded or on that ship waiting to be shipped off. Leave now and you can leave in peace." Alvin scoffed and charged. He and Stoick met in a clash of metal.
Each of Alvin's swings was blocked as Stoick stayed on the defensive, biding his time. It wouldn't be long until all the other men were dealt with. Soon Stoick saw the other villagers out of the corner of his eye had started to surround them.
"Give it up, Alvin," Stoick growled. "It's over." Alvin took the moment to notice that he was surrounded and the anger on his face deepened. He was about to lash out at Stoick when he was snatched up and heaved into the air by Valka in her dragon form.
"This isn't over, Stoick!" he called out from the air before he was dropped into the boat along with his men. The beasts that were in the sea then began slowly pushing the boat away from their island.
Valka landed and shifted forms as the crowd around them erupted in cheers and happy roars. All around them the villagers were happy to have ridded themselves of the horrible humans who tried to destroy them. As they began to celebrate Stoick and Valka took off in the opposite direction, towards the healer's hut on the north side of the village.
Once there they pushed the creaky door open to see a very short, old woman crushing some herbs into some water and helping the boy who sat up on the bed to drink. Beside the bed, the elder brother sat with his hands running through his hair in worry. He turned when he heard the door open and nodded to the two as they entered.
Valka was immediately at the healer's side and grabbed a hold of the boy's hand. His eyes cracked open slightly and he smiled softly.
"Hi, Mom," he muttered coughing slightly.
"Oh, Toothless. What have I told you about being careful?" The boy rolled his eyes.
"I'm fine, Mom. Really." He earned a glare from the healer and gave a slight shake of his head, hoping his mother wouldn't notice. But she did.
"Something's wrong." Toothless opened his mouth to deny it when Hiccup jumped in.
"Just tell her, Tooth."
"What's wrong?" Stoick emphasised. Toothless turned to look at his father with slight panic in his eyes. He sighed and hung his head in embarrassment.
"I lost a tailfin." The room went eerily quiet. A pin could have dropped and he sound would have echoed through all of their ears.
"You what?" Valka's face was pure shock, as was Stoick's. Hiccup's head fell back into his hands as he went back to running his fingers through his hair.
"When I was shot down. They managed to hit my left tailfin. I'll never fly again."
So, I finally got around to starting my next story. I think this is the longest chapter I have ever done.
I would love feedback to know if you guys like this and whether I should carry on or not. Please let me know. Unlike my last story, I'm going to try to make every chapter as long and detailed as possible.
So please let me know! Thanks!