{_}
"Get on the deck and move yer asses! These mindless beasts are out for the kill!"
The top deck of the Invicta looked like hell unleashed. Dead bodies were scattered around, stomped on by the living sailors rushing to weapon lockers and portable cannons. Dragon attack came unexpected and caught the whole fleet in the middle of repairing the Vivienne, unarmed and unfit for combat. Vulus glanced at the village, surprised at the sight of Vikings roaring and mauling the Emperor-damned flying lizards with ease.
"Tighten formations! Load grapeshots! Aim for their eyes!" he bellowed, grabbing a musket and checking the barrel. He barely had time to cock the gun before a Monstrous Nightmare landed near the center mast, crushing two other of his men in its roaring rage. He did not hesitate - the musket ball hit it straight between the eyes, the monster collapsing, blood pouring out from the eyesockets. He jumped down onto a platform and quickly descended to the ground, finding himself running towards the stairs leading to the island's higher parts.
"Sir, the cannons will not be ready for a few minutes!" a musketeer shouted to him, crouching beside the remains of a steel barrel, once containing molten slag. "And High Smith Midorus sends his best wishes!"
"Tell the High Smith that the captain has no time for puns!" he shouted back, loading his pistols and the musket he brought along. "Why is the Vulcanus still silent?!"
"The main engine is dead sir! The High Smith is currently working hard to get the bellows moving again!"
Vulus realised what this meant. Midorus got the big gun stuck, thus the whole attack was in favor of the dragons scorching their ships and the village. The grapeshot volley was still in preparation, and muskets and pistols could never stop this madness. He opened his mouth to shout an order to the young man, but a loud shrieking noise broke the hell before the musketeer and the remains of the barrel disappeared in a purple light. He flung towards the charred scraps, his eyes getting filled with tears when he held up a blackened corpse, a deformed musket lying next to it. He could not hold back his tears. He still saw the dutiful face of the young soldier, shouting messages to him and ducking from dragon fire, waiting for his captain to move, to save him and everyone around. He waited for him to bring an end to this carnage.
Rage filled him, such a rage he hadn't felt in a long time. His surroundings slowed down, his heart beating at inhuman speed. He felt his grip tighten on his pistol and sabre, his vengeful eyes woving to end this all and make the dragons pay a thousand times for messing with the soldiers of the Imperium, his beloved men. He knew that the Outcast was coming for him. He saw black shades curl around the stairs and the docks, faint laughter and grim faces pointing at him were visible in the dark fog.
"If I have to die this day, I will make these beasts run for their home." he thought before sprinting up to the village, bursting into the madness of the hellish battle.
{_}
Hiccup was not dead. He did not dare opening his eyes until a few second passed. He slowly stood up, the used musket in his grip, his eyes fixed on the huge body lifelessly lying on the ground. The ball must've hit it straight in his nose as its head had a giant hole the size of his boots. He knew he had no time to spare, but he could not move from the site of the first dragon he ever killed. He failed at Dragon Training, his father rejected him, he was skinny and considered a runt - he thought he could never kill a dragon in his lifetime, which he actually considered short after the increasing number of dragon raids recently.
"I killed a dragon with this thing…" he murmured, nervously reloading the musket which saved his life. Weirdly, for the first time, he defended himself and he was successful. He felt a surge of adrenaline at the thought, but he now feared the unknown warriors more. If this contraption could kill a dragon in a second, what chance did he - the village runt and occasional joke of the year -have against it? He shook off his thoughts when he finished loading the rifle, priming the lock and cocking it. His plan formulated in his head, getting crazier with every second, but he wanted to risk it.
"If it works, then the whole situation will be solved. At least on human parts."
{_}
"Damn these cages! What are they made of?!" Astrid growled when her last attempt to escape ended in failure. She grew more restless with every second, the flames just increasing her anger and - surprisingly - fear.
"It is of no use, Astrid." Stoick said, sitting on the ground, staring in front of him. "He said it is some kind of special iron. Not even dragons can break it."
"We have to get out! Berk is in danger!"
"As will be my men if we let you out."
A dark shape was standing in the shadows, letting out a sound akin to laughter, but much more malicious. As it revealed itself, the blonde saw the same officer who bellowed orders to keep the sailors at bay before leaving the deck and returning with the leader. He wore the same coat as the captain, albeit much more dirty and with less flair, appearing more as a battle-hardened man-at-arms than a fancy soldier. She saw his lips curl into a cruel smile, his eyes gleaming with pure pleasure and humour.
"Your kind is very interesting, miss. We, Imperials, always thought that your kin has no sense of duty nor anything else than berserking and pillaging. Very, very interesting." he said, holding a pistol and a sabre. "So your name is Astrid?"
"Let me out!" the woman cried, her armcuffs tightening as she forced herself to the bars.
"I am afraid that is not possible, unless our beloved captain comes back and decides otherwise, but I doubt he would commit such an idiocy as letting precious prisoners free." Brex said, his eyes rested on a pile of various keys.
"Captain Vulus has gone mad again, sir!" a musketeer rushed in, pointing towards the supposed direction where he came from. "He is at the village center, sir!"
Astrid saw the blood drain from the face of the officer. His grip tightened on his weapons, his eyes now filled with fear and terror. She could not understand what the soldier said, but she knew that it scared the man who had been picking on her a minute ago. The officer shouted something what sounded like an order or warning and sprinted off, leaving the simple musket-wielding man behind. He seemed to be nervous of being left alone with two unknown barbarians, and his hands tightened around the gun.
"Damn these pricks and their cages and all of them…" Astrid hissed through her teeth, her grip on the bars, the armcuffs tightening more.
BAM
The form of the musketeer stiffened, then fell to the floor, blood pouring onto the wooden boards. She fell backwards, her eyes set on the dead body which now had blood pour from its mouth. She lifted her gaze after a few seconds, now set on the dark figure standing in the entrance.
{_}
It was one Hel of a journey, but he made it. He sneaked down to the docks amidst the chaos of the fight between humans and dragons, and now he was standing next to a pile of crates, trying to catch a glimpse of any leftover guards near the ships. Hiccup saw none, so he started walking towards the hulls looming in the dim light. They were weird designs, higher and bigger than their longships, two of them fitted with sails, but two ones, a bit farther, were not. Instead, they had huge wheel-looking constructs set on their sides, one third of those underwater. He wondered how those were supposed to move around when he noticed something glitter on the side of the nearest - and second biggest - ship. He moved closer, his hands feeling the cold metal which served as additional armour on the giant hulls. He looked puzzled, wondering even more how these heavy ships were still floating when a shrieking noise snapped him out. He resumed concentrating on his goal: releasing his father from captivity. He took the rope ladder and climbed up, hurling himself over the side, landing behind a big crate which smelled of metal, the flammable powder and - oil?
He lifted his hands to sniff them, confirming his suspicions of the unknown smell being of some kind of oil, which was black in colour. He wiped it off in his pants and moved closer to a hatch and dived in. He stood up and saw nobody down there, everything pitch black with only faint light coming from the back of the ship. He walked towards it, his eyes getting slowly used to the dark, noticing weird items lying on the floor. He made the mental note to check them out on his way out before diving silently behind a pile of nets when a human figure burst out from the room, rushing to a set of stairs. He got closer and saw a musketeer standing in the center of the room, in his hands the same musket Hiccup gripped right then. He prepared for this moment and lifted the musket, aiming at the back of the target, hoping to hit his heart and kill him instantly. He was breathing hard and had to swiftly calm himself before he pulled the trigger. The musket unloaded, the shot making a nice hole on the man before the body fell to the floor. He walked in, his hands still tight around the weapon.
He could only stare when Astrid was looking at him, sitting in a cage and her hands in armcuffs. He shook his head and went for the keys sitting on the table, quickly figuring out which pair of keys opened the cages and the shackles. None of them said a word, not even Stoick, and Hiccup liked it that way. He was silent because he did not want to alert any guards nearby and he did not even know what he was supposed to say. He released both Vikings from their cages and set their arms free before loading the musket again. He could barely believe he killed a dragon and he now killed one of these invaders - this must be a dream or a nightmare. He did not know which, but he hoped it would end when the first rays of the sun woke him up in the workshop, along with Gobber's loud curses and the smell of coal and iron.
He heard steps closing and he finished with the musket when another musketeer stopped at the door, staring at the three Vikings in the cabin. He turned back and ran out, his voice cutting through the sounds of the ongoing battle around them.
"Intruders!"