Moments later, Snotlout and Hookfang both arrived back to the clearing, with Hiccup and Toothless in tow. "Oh no," Fishlegs whispered. "Hiccup's not looking so hot." Astrid then went over to where Toothless was touching down.
As Toothless landed on the island, Hiccup fell from Toothless' saddle and collapsed into Astrid's arms. Astrid tearfully looked at Hiccup. Hiccup wasn't looking so good. The color had washed out of his skin, making him deathly pale. Hiccup's eyes had dark circles under them, and his nose had faded to a sickly shade of pink. Moaning, Hiccup nuzzled closer to Astrid weakly.
"Shh," Astrid whispered. "It's okay. Just relax. We'll get through this, I know it. You just gotta keep fighting there. And be strong." The other riders watched silently as Astrid took Hiccup to a nearby boulder. She then had him sit down and rest. By then, Hiccup was breathing in small gasps.
Astrid sighed heavily. "Please, you gotta stay with us, Hiccup," she whispered softly. "We can't imagine what we'd do without you." Sniffing a little and swallowing, Hiccup reclined on the boulder a little.
"Okay, let's move. Quickly now," Astrid said as she headed toward the Buffalord. Astrid then began to fill the cup with the dragon's saliva. As soon as it was full, Astrid quickly ran to Hiccup. The riders then watched and waited with anticipation as Astrid gave Hiccup the medicine. "Fingers crossed," Fishlegs said, crossing his fingers hopefully.
After she had filled the cup with enough saliva, Astrid closed her eyes. "Please," she whispered to herself. "Please let this save Hiccup. I don't want anything bad to happen to him." Then, she opened her eyes again. She had her mind set.
Astrid then brought the cup to Hiccup's mouth. "There," she said. "There you go." Hiccup sipped the liquid slowly. Nothing changed. Astrid was nervous. "Um, guys! Nothing's happening!" she said. "Maybe the antidote takes some time for it to work?" Fishlegs guessed. Hiccup then began coughing with slight, hacking coughs. He was now breathing heavily. "No no no, something's not right!" Astrid said.
"Didn't the notes say that the Buffalord saliva must be green?" Snotlout asked. "It says the green solution will cure the Scourge," Fishlegs said. "'Green solution'. Cure.' That's all I got. Nothing else." "But the Buffalord's saliva is clear," Astrid said. "What is the green solution, even?" "Uh..." Fishlegs started to say, until he began hearing some crunching noises. He looked over and found the twins sitting down and munching on some grass.
"Okay, seriously?" Fishlegs asked. "Hiccup's life is at stake, and you two are eating at a time like this?" "Unbelievable," Snotlout muttered. "You two are just impossible." "Hey, you can't blame me for dealing with stress," Tuffnut said. "A lot of people handle stress differently. This is our way of dealing with just that. Besides, I want to have pleasant-smelling poop like the Buffalord here, okay? So we're just eating what he's eating." "Who doesn't?" Ruffnut added in.
Astrid then noticed something. The twins had green stuff all over their face. "Wait a minute...that's it!" she exclaimed. "What's it?" Snotlout asked. "Fishlegs, you said the solution was supposed to be green, right?" Astrid asked. "Yeah?" Fishlegs asked.
"I think the twins gave us the answer to our situation," Astrid told him. "The antidote isn't green because the dragon isn't eating enough of the herbs!" "Which probably explains why the Buffalord refused to leave in the first place!" Fishlegs concluded. "It needs to be close to its food supply! Astrid, you're a genius!"
"That means we have to feed the Buffalord enough herbs to make the green solution we need!" Astrid said. "I hear you loud and clear. Me and the others are on it!" Fishlegs told her as he ran to join Snotlout.
Astrid the turned to Hiccup. Touching his shoulder gently, Astrid smiled. "You're doing great, Hiccup," she told him. "Just keep holding on."
Hiccup shivered a bit. "Please," Astrid told him. "Do it for me." Sniffing hard, Hiccup nodded to Astrid. Toothless stayed behind and nestled closer to Hiccup.
...
After gathering enough herbs, Astrid and Snotlout slowly approached the Buffalord, careful not to arouse it. "Okay, big guy," Snotlout said. "You've worked up enough of an appetite to kill us earlier. So go ahead and eat up!"
The dragon then approached Astrid carefully. Sniffing the herbs in her hand, the dragon began chewing them. "There, that's it," Astrid whispered. "There you go. Eat up, big fella."
However, Hiccup sensed something was off.
"Astrid," he whispered. "Astrid!" "Hiccup, please rest," Astrid said. "I think we're getting close. So you just relax and let us..."
"Over there! Get the dragon!"
Suddenly, dragon hunters appeared and chased the other riders away from the Buffalord. "What the-?" Fishlegs exclaimed. "Guys, we got dragon hunters!" Astrid said. "Come on!" They ran away as more and more hunters came with weapons and nets. They were here to capture the Buffalord!
"No!" Astrid cried out. "Stop! You can't take the dragon!" But as she charged for the hunters, Fishlegs pulled her back. "Fishlegs! We have to get to the dragon!" she cried. "We can't let you get kidnapped by them!" Fishlegs told her calmly. "You never would have made it."
"Tie it down!" the hunters cried out. "Keep it restrained!" The hunters then wrapped rope tightly around the Buffalord and covered it with heavy netting. "Make sure he doesn't escape!" another hunter said as the others pulled the rope, attempting to move it to their wagon. "Please! Stop it!" Astrid exclaimed. "You don't know what mistake you're all making! We need it!"
"Take him to the ship," a familiar voice ordered.
Astrid turned around and glared angrily. It was Viggo!
"Viggo," Astrid growled. "I should've known." Viggo turned around and found Astrid, still in Fishlegs' grasp. "Well well well, if it isn't the selfless dragon rider herself," he said. "We finally meet. It was so thoughtful of you to save this dragon for us and waited so long for our arrival."
"Viggo, you don't realize what you're doing is wrong," Astrid said. "We came here before you ever did, and if you're thinking of stealing this dragon, hen you'll have to deal with me first! We need this dragon and you can't take him away from us!"
"You need the dragon?" Viggo sneered. "Stupid dragon rider. What ever for?" Viggo then heard a coughing noise, and he turned around. He then found Hiccup lying on the rock, where Toothless and Snotlout kept him company. Viggo laughed as he saw this. "Oh, now this is precious," he said. "Seems your fellow leader is rendered too weak and sickly to help you all. It's too bad that he'll have to be left for dead if he doesn't recover soon."
"But that's impossible," Astrid said. "Hiccup and Fishlegs said there was no more Buffalord anywhere on this island. How did you even find it in the first place? It just doesn't add up."
"Finally, some excitement," Snotlout said, mounting on to Hookfang. Astrid heard Snotlout and slowly mounted Stormfly. The others then followed suit and mounted their dragons as they prepared to attack. Then, they took to the skies to attack the dragon hunters as they attempted to drag the Buffalord away. "Got dragon riders incoming," Ryker informed Viggo.
Viggo smiled. "Launch an attack," he ordered. "Make sure they don't harm our bounty."
Then, the riders began attacking the dragon hunters. "All right! Now we can really blow stuff up!" Tuffnut exclaimed. "Gas it, Barf!" Ruffnut yelled out as Barf released green gas from his mouth and let it wrap around the hunters. "I love it when it goes according to plan," Tuffnut smiled. "Light it up, Belch!" Belch nodded his head and ignited the gas, causing a fiery explosion. Most of the hunters escaped from the explosion; they were relentless. "Spikes, Stormfly!" Astrid exclaimed. Stormfly squawked and growled, shooting tail spikes from her tail and attempting to strike the hunters.
"These guys just can't seem to give up!" Snotlout shouted. "You guys!" Astrid shouted. "We have to make sure the Buffalord doesn't get injured! Only attack the hunters! Just avoid hitting the dragon!" She then faced Viggo. "Viggo, please," Astrid pleaded. "Release the dragon. If we don't get that cure, Hiccup might die."
"I'd like to say otherwise," Viggo told her. "I am aware of my own actions. This dragon here will give us an exceedingly unique bounty on the market. And you, my dear, should have left it alone. After all, that fishing boat was never a suitable place for you, your friends, or your leader. Your leader Hiccup should have left when he had the chance, but he was too sympathetic to leave it." Astrid raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?" Fishlegs questioned. "Tell me now!"
"What do you mean? How did you know about the fishing boat?" Astrid asked. "The deal is, we're simply referring to supply and demand," Viggo told her. "Once I know where to get that supply, I generate the demand." He turned to Ryker. "What do you think?" he asked. "Hmm, knowing that," Ryker told him, "I'd double the price." "I was also thinking triple," Viggo answered, winking.
Astrid was furious. "I'm gonna tear you to shreds!" Astrid yelled out. "You're a beast!" Brandishing her ax, she charged for Viggo, but Fishlegs and Snotlout restrained her. "A beast?" Viggo questioned. "I'm surprised you would think that, my dear. I prefer the term 'intellectual business man'." "And what do you think you'll do if the Buffalord went extinct for good?" Astrid asked. "Now, now," Viggo said, silencing her. "Let's not go too much into the 'what-ifs'. If you'll excuse us, we have a dragon to collect."
"Move the dragon to our ship!" Ryker commanded. The hunters all nodded and pushed the cart with the Buffalord in tow to their ship. "Stormfly," Astrid ordered. Stormfly roared as she got ready to release her tail spikes. "My dear Astrid," Viggo told her. "You better think twice before you start acting irrationally about stealing our bounty. This dragon will be quite useful." "And what do you suppose that'll do with your profits?" Astrid growled.
"As I've told you," Viggo said, glowering at Astrid. "I run a business. I won't lose my bounty." He then stared at Toothless, who was keeping a close watch over Hiccup as he kept resting on the boulder. "But," Viggo told Astrid, "I'd be more than inclined to watch your poor, fearless leader succumb to his illness. Now you wouldn't want that, would you?" He then stepped closer to Astrid, who looked about ready to destroy him. "Tell me, my dear," he asked. "What's it going to be?"
As much as Astrid wanted to protest with Viggo, she still wanted Hiccup to recover. So it mattered that she had to make the sacrifice.
To save Hiccup.
"All right, Viggo," Astrid said, sighing heavily. She closed her eyes. "You have my word."
Viggo smiled. "Smart girl," he said. "You can take the dragon, for all I care," Astrid told him. "But only under the condition that you let me get the Scourge remedy. I'm not gonna risk that loss, and neither do the other riders."
Hiccup noticed Astrid negotiating with Viggo. "Astrid, no," Hiccup mumbled. "Please. I...It's what he wants."
"Go ahead, Viggo," Astrid said. "You got what you wanted, now you give me what I want." "Now don't be so down, my dear," Viggo told Astrid. "At least I'm going to enjoy the fact that I've finally collected my bounty." Astrid glared at Viggo as she finally headed over to the Buffalord. It had been chewing on its herbs for a long time, and its saliva was finally getting a greenish tint.
The Buffalord then sensed Astrid approached, and uttered a low growl. "No no no, it's all right," Astrid whispered to it. "I won't hurt you." She then began collecting the dragon's green saliva as it dripped into the cup. Once the cup was full, Astrid joined up with Stormfly. "Come on, girl," Astrid told her. "Let's get this to Hiccup."
A few minutes later, Astrid and Stormfly flew over to where the other riders were. She then hopped off of Stormfly and hurried to Hiccup's side. "Bleh," Hiccup mumbled as he felt his breath getting shorter. "Shh," Astrid told Hiccup. "Here you go. Drink up." Hiccup then grabbed the cup and began drinking the saliva. He then swallowed the last drop in a single gulp. "There, that's it," Astrid said.
"Astrid," Hiccup told her. "I...I think...I..."
Astrid then noticed that Hiccup's skin was returning to its natural color. The cure worked!
"Hiccup!" Astrid said as she helped Hiccup to his feet. Hiccup stumbled a little, but he felt his strength coming back to him. He turned to Snotlout, who flinched back in surprise. Smiling, Hiccup gave Snotlout a pat on the back. Toothless panted excitedly as Hiccup joined him. "Hey, bud," Hiccup told him. "I'm glad to see you too." "You all right?" Astrid asked. Hiccup gave her a light kiss on the cheek. "I am now," he told her.
Viggo shook his head. "Now, isn't this touching," he said in disdain. "Now, if you'll all excuse me, I must deliver this dragon to its destination," Viggo said. Then, he gave the signal to the other hunters as they moved the dragon to the ship. As they finally loaded the dragon, the ship began to sail away from the island and out toward the horizon.
Hiccup then noticed the ship sailing away. "No," he said. "The Buffalord...They're taking it away! C'mon, we have to go after them!" Hiccup then mounted Toothless and prepared to take off. But Astrid stopped him short. "Let them go, Hiccup," Astrid told him. "It's not worth the risk." "You let them get the Buffalord?" Hiccup asked. "You're saying we shouldn't go after them?" "You just got better, Hiccup," Snotlout told him. "You think we'd risk losing you to Viggo then?"
"Besides," Fishlegs told them, "they can't go that far..."
...
Meanwhile, the ship was now heading toward its destination. The dragon hunters then hoisted the sails as they began loading the Buffalord into the hull.
"Steady as she goes!"
A dragon hunter then turned to Viggo. "We've secured the dragon into the hull." "Excellent," Viggo told him. "Now that we've collected our bounty, we're sure to be rich in no time. Though it was disappointing to have to take that stupid lass's advice. Then again, she's just like that boy; always resourceful. That's a quality they both share."
Suddenly, the ship began to rumble and shake.
"What's going on?!" Ryker demanded. At that moment, the Buffalord began to burst out of it's cage, attacking the dragon hunters!
The Buffalord began attacking the dragon hunters, inflating its body and releasing its sharp spikes. The dragon hunters began scrambling around the ship, trying to avoid getting hit by the spikes.
"I should've known!" Viggo said. "Release the dragon! Now!"
The Buffalord then blasted fire from its mouth, blasting the ship into pieces. Then, it began to fly back to the island, where the riders where. As it touched down on the island, the riders cheered. Hiccup then walked over to the Buffalord and put his hand on its snout. "You finally decided to come back, didn't you?" Hiccup asked. "Least you made the right decision to stay on your island." The Buffalord purred softly as it rested its snout on Hiccup's hand.
"So Hiccup," Astrid said, "now that you've made a full recovery, is there anything else you want us to do?"
Hiccup smiled. "There is one thing," he said. Then, he whispered something in Astrid's ear. Astrid smiled.
...
Later that night, the riders had ventured out to the sea and flew to where the fishing boat was. They were lucky they had found it still in tact. Astrid slowly placed a tiny basket of flowers on the deck of the boat. Then, she flew back to the other riders.
Hiccup felt bad about the plague victims in the fishing boat, so he had decided to host a Viking funeral to give them the proper sendoff.
"In my eyes, I see my father, my mother, and my forefathers before me," Hiccup said, reciting a prayer for the plague victims. "May the Valkyries welcome them, for they are now gone. They gave their lives, and now they shall be welcomed to the golden gates of Valhalla, where they will take their rightful place in the Table of Kings next to the almighty Odin, for these men have fallen."
Hiccup then turned to the others as he readied his bow and arrow. He then fired the arrow, enveloped in flames, to the ship. The riders then fored their aroows onto the ship as the fire illuminated the ship.
Atfer the funeral, Hiccup and Toothless flew through the night sky, lost in thought. Then, Astrid and Snotlout joined them. "Whatcha doing, Hiccup?" Snotlout asked. "Nothing, Snotlout," Hiccup assured him. "Just thinking." "That's it?" Snotlout asked.
"Also Snotlout," Hiccup told him, "thanks." "For what?" Snotlout asked. "I didn't do anything." "You were the only one to volunteer to help Astrid out when the twins didn't. You oughta be proud," Hiccup said. "Consider yourself lucky I didn't infect you."
"What, that?" Snotlout asked nervously. "I got over that." He then left Hiccup and Astrid alone as he took off back to the Edge.
Hiccup stared at the sky, lost in thought. "Something on your mind, Hiccup?" Astrid asked. "I was just thinking," Hiccup told her, "after all that you and the others had gone through to find the Buffalord, and yet you let Viggo take it, knowing what will come next? I still can't believe you'd do all that for me."
"Come on, did you think I was going to let you die?" Astrid asked. "You're important to me, and to all of us. I didn't want that to happen. Because we all care about you, we can't think of what we'd do without you."
Hiccup smiled and chuckled a little. "And you know something else?" Hiccup asked. "Yeah?" Astrid asked. "I could've done the same for you," Hiccup told her, "because I could never imagine a world without you in it."
Astrid smiled. Hiccup always had a way of reassuring the best for her. Nodding her head silently and smiling, Astrid joined up with Hiccup as they took off toward the Edge on their dragons. Hiccup knew that Astrid always had a courageous fire burning in her, and being saved by her was the sweetest gesture he could ever imagine.