"Long live the chief! Long live the chief!" Voices ring through my head along with dragons shooting fire skyward. The large number of Vikings standing in front of me cheer as everything around me started to fade away like holograms. My brain snaps back to normal and I collapse to the ground, exhausted. "Simulation complete." An electronic voice announces. "One hundred percent synchronization achieved." I smile, having just finished Hiccup's latest memory. It was the one where he met Drago, found his mother, lost his father, and became Chief of Berk. And best of all, I felt like I was there.
The mechanical arm attached to my waist detaches from me, and projectors switch off. Both sadness and happiness alike filled my thoughts. "Hey." I turn to see Valerie, my half-sister and descendant of Astrid Hofferson, walk up to me. "Nice job in there." she remarks. "Thanks." I reply. "That felt like the best one yet." She raises an eyebrow, curious. "The whole thing or that kiss?" I pause. "Uh… both, I guess." She pats my shoulder. "Come on, there's a new training program they want to show us." I smile and follow her out of the room.
"Come on, dudes. This should be a piece of cake." John boasts at the holographic Deadly Nadder in front of us. Julie, his sister, just rolls her eyes. "Right." Ben adds sarcastically. "Cause how hard can it be to take it down?" "Just look at it! It's just a hologram, bro. Like, like a video game! See?" John jogs up to the dragon, like it's his new best friend or something. But upon reaching it, the holographic dragon swings its head to the side, sending John flying into a wall!
Julie bursts out in laughter while Val lets out a slow whistle. "That's a strong-ass hologram." She whispers in my ear. "Not a video game. Not a video game…" John groans as Ben helps him up. A voice rings out across the chamber. It's the base's administrator, Fiona. "Now that I assume you are ready, let's get started. We'll start out simple."
The Nadder fades away and is replaced by numerous armored soldiers with swords and shields, each one wearing the insignia of Drago's army, a long-forgotten force. Each one shouted out threats, saying that they would tear our heads off, rip out our hearts and eat them, bash our brains in, yadda, yadda, yadda. I take out a small cylinder from my waist and ignite its fiery blade. This weapon, the Dragon Blade, was my ancestor's weapon, which I found in the armory. It was old, but still functional due to Nightmare gel that was recently put in.
I look around and note our weapons. Val is wielding dual pistols (she told me she had spent some time at a shooting range before meeting us), Ben has a pair of hard-hitting power fists, John has some sort of mace-like weapon with green neon lights, and Julie has an assault rifle and two knives. The only team member who's not present is Fred, a genius who hardly fights but instead monitors the action from afar and gives us objectives. I take up a stance and smirk. "Let's do this." I whisper before we all charge.
