1. Eruption
"Yea, of course. Definitely," Hiccup said. Astrid was looking to him for reassurance that all the fighting had come to a close, but he couldn't even convince himself of that. Vigo was gone, Ryker was gone, but his uneasiness was not. Something still felt wrong. Perhaps they had been fighting for so long that he just got used to being on edge? The other riders were presumably safe. Vigo nearly killed Astrid, but that was all over now. He could take a step back, right?
"I should have listened to you. You are our leader. Our relationship can't get in the way of that. It won't happen again," said Astrid as they stood atop the volcano. Hiccup recognized the 'inner warrior' within Astrid, it was both a gift and a curse - tactically speaking. But the defeat in her voice hit him rather hard. Yes, if Astrid had obeyed his orders she wouldn't have been captured, again, but if she hadn't he could have been killed by Viggo.
For years they had worked well as a team, he didn't want to risk changing that. Things would be different now that they were together, but he didn't want either of them to lose themselves in that change. He was a pretty mediocre person, but Astrid was near perfect the way she was.
"Just promise me you won't stop telling me what you're thinking. Astrid, I rely on you. It's what makes us, well, us. Deal?" Hiccup reached out his hand to shake hers. She clasped it with both her hands.
"Deal," and pulled him in for a kiss. The feeling was still surreal. For a moment he felt weightless, as all the burdens in his life dissipated - dispelling his unease momentarily.
There was a sudden gasp and they both turned. Snotlout gaped as he, Fishlegs, and the Twins landed and consecutively said,
"This…"
"Changes…"
"Everything." Except for Tuffnut who weirdly asked,
"Wait, does this mean you're not dying?"
Hiccup and Astrid ignored him and looked back at the other riders - smiling - who ran forward - cheering - for a slightly awkward group hug.
"Bring it in for the real one, Hiccup." Shouted Tuffnut.
Hiccup was unsure as to what they should do next; he had no direction. For months they had focused on stopping the Dragon Hunters, but never gave thought as to what would come after that.
Hiccup didn't want to relive the events that had followed the Berserker war - the days right before their daring journey beyond the archipelago. That time had seen the dragon riders slip away from each other.
Astrid had been the last to go, leaving him merely hours before trader Johann drifted into a Berkian fishing net and changed everything. Would she leave him again? Without the Dragon Riders Hiccup was just that, a nerdy "Hiccup". Did Astrid want to be with just a Hiccup? She didn't before. She had stuck with him for years, as he continued his search for new dragons. In the end though, she had left him.
Would he again be driven to the loneliness and solitude that was his life before Toothless? Indeed, he would still have Toothless for company, but dragons could never replace people - Toothless could never stoke the emotion fire that burned within him the same way Astrid did. No. He was determined to not repeat those years. He would think of something. He could not live with the alternative.
"Okay, gang. Once more around the island. Let's make sure the Edge is secure."
He held Astrid's hand as they walked to their Dragons. Snotlout started going on about some gambling problem. He looked to Astrid for reassurance that Snotlout was the crazy one. She was equally confused.
"For the last time, what are you guys talking about?" said Hiccup. That made Astrid laugh and he felt a little better.
They all mounted their dragons and took off with the sun at their backs. The other riders cheered as they flew off towards the coastline. He and Astrid flew close enough to continue holding hands.
They had only been in the air for about a minute when they heard a rumbling sound. The Dragon's suddenly seemed uncertain, and confused. Hiccup and Astrid were forced to release their hands as Toothless and Stormfly flew apart. The baby Eruptodon croaked loudly from Fishlegs lap, looking behind them. The rumbling crescendoed and there was an explosion; the volcano had erupted.
The sky above was sudden filled with thick black smoke and ash. The morphing black mass was speckled with glowing orange bits of molten rock that began to fall to the earth and ignite the forest.
"That was awesome!" shouted Tuffnut. Fishlegs glared at him, "Ok… slightly less awesome."
"What do we do?" shouted Fishlegs.
"Remember when we were going to vote on leaving the island?"
"Snotlout!" scolded Astrid.
"I've been lit on fire too many times already today!" Hookfang gave a snort of amusement. "Don't even think about it Hookfang" said Snotlout.
"Well," asked Astrid, "what are we going to do?" She was looking to Hiccup now. He would have given a lot to go back and scold his past self for worrying about peace and quiet, it seemed so stupid and selfish.
Besides, stopping Vigo and Ryker had been one thing, but saving the island from a volcano? And Snotlout had a point this time. Their valiant stand the past few days had been to keep the Hunters from turning rudder towards Berk. Did they really need the outpost now?
No. He mustn't think that way. Dragon's Edge was where he had grown close Astrid, where the riders had come back together to work like a well lit forge. They had made peace with Dagur here, Heather had even made peace with Dagur here. And now they had bested Viggo and Ryker. The Edge had been a safe haven for them. He was too attached to the Edge, as he suspected the other riders were - even if some may not admit it - to let their home go that easily. They had to try.
Their dragons were still not to keen about all the glowing projectiles ejected by the volcano which gave Hiccup an excuse to stall for time.
"Let's set down over on the beach," he said. "We'll come up with something there."
The flight to the beach was no more than a minute, but it had given Hiccup enough time to start formulating a plan. It wasn't much, but he at least had somewhere to start. He began assigning tasks as soon as they dismounted.
"Alright. Astrid, Snotlout, Ruff, and Tuff," he commanded, "start digging trenches at the base of the mountain to try and route the lava flow out towards the sea. Start on the southeast side to protect the edge. Fishlegs take the baby Eruptodon to the Edge. I don't want to take any chances with him against the smoke, ash, or wild dragons. Once he's safe help the others with the barriers."
Hiccup had sent Dagur back to Berk to fetch Gobber, hopefully he would return quickly. Gobber's expertise in engineering would be valuable, having the extra hands would help too. What happened to Heather he was unsure. Last he had seen her, she had been slicing up Hunter support ships in the bay.
"Look," said Ruffnut, "as much as we love the island,"
"and believe it or not we do" interrupted Tuffnut,
"this thing could stay active for a long time," continued Ruff,
"like much longer than we'll be alive," finished Tuff. There were some slightly astonished looks. "What? We did research on the neighborhood before we voted to move in."
"I know," Hiccup said exasperatedly, "I'll think of something." There was a few moments pause and the other riders were still waiting for him to toss out an idea. They were burning valuable time. The baby Eruptodon croaked again. It was now standing on the ground next to Meatlug.
"Oh Hiccup, I think I've got it!" suddenly shouted Fishlegs. "You're a genius little guy," he told the Eruptodon. "Hiccup, we need to get to the Defenders of the Wing. The Eruptodon stops the volcano on their island, maybe he can stop this one too."
"Yea… but that's not a full blown eruption," said Astrid. "Are you sure the Eruptodon could actually help?"
"It's not like it can get any worse," replied Hiccup with forced gusto. He had similar reservations, but didn't have a better idea.
"Now hold on," interjected Snotlout, "if you're going to ask Malla for help, you need me with you. Queenie and I have a connection."
"Didn't your connection sort of go up in flames?" Fishlegs asked mockingly.
"Almost literally," Chimed in Ruffnut.
"We still have a connection!" shouted Snotlout. "She trusts me, probably even admires me." There was a rumble and more lava rolled over the lip of the Volcano.
"Fine. We don't have time to argue this. Snotlout come with me. Fishlegs, go with the others and help fortify the island. We'll bring the baby Eruptodon back to Mala."
"Right," said Fishlegs. He turned to Meatlug where the hatchling had been standing minutes earlier. "Um, Hiccup. We might have a problem."
"Ugh. We might have a problem or we do have a problem?" asked Hiccup while mounting Toothless.
"We do have a problem. The hatchling, he's gone."
"What?!"
"You lost it!?" shouted Snotlout, half laughing.
"I didn't lose him. He just… wandered off while we were talking. You guys don't think it would try to stopping the volcano by itself?"
"Definitely lost it," concurred Tuffnut, also with amusement.
"Come on guys," said Astrid, "we were all standing here."
"It doesn't matter whose fault it is," said Hiccup exasperatedly. "Fishlegs, find the dragon before it can try doing anything. The rest of you, fortify the island. We'll be back."
"And what if Mala mentions the hatchling?" asked Astrid. Hiccup sighed,
"And what if she doesn't." He looked back towards the others and continued, "All of you; be careful." They nodded, mounted their dragons, and took off.
Hiccup watched Astrid for a few moments as the others flew away. It was always hard sending his friends into danger. Especially knowing that they were loyal enough to follow into just about anything.
"Come on lover boy! Are we leaving or not?!" Hiccup tore himself away and flew off with Snotlout towards Caldera Cay.
