Chapter Seven

Ukiah's head was spinning, and not from the blow he took last night. It was from the fact that he met Hiccup without knowing it! On top of that, he had an interest in saving Arrow! Grateful that someone was willing to stick their neck out for his friend, Ukiah silently blessed Hiccup in the name of Odin. With the extreme change in events, his mind was made up. "I'm going to have to die to save Arrow. Not only will it save him, it'll be a spit in the face to Strogg the murderer." He thought resolutely to himself.

Looking at Strogg after being ordered to get his weapons, he so badly wanted to disgrace him in any way he could, at which an opportunity was presenting itself. Spinning around to face the table, Ukiah started to make his way to his gear.

Hiccup stared at Ukiah; he had no idea what he could do to help. "I'm sorry Ukiah, I'm so sorry." He whispered. He couldn't help but feel the same helpless feeling, when he watched Toothless crash into the tail of the Red Death while he was on him. There was nothing he could do.

Astrid was just as torn as Hiccup was. All she could do was stand next to Hiccup and support him in his decision. "Regardless, we get to save somebody, but on the same coin, we lose someone also." She thought to herself. Though Ukiah may have been a poacher, he was kind to them; she never saw him as someone who deserved to die. Besides that, he was someone that she was attracted to, a little bit anyways. The situation was tearing at her so bad, that the only way she could release some of the pressure building inside of her, was gripping the handle of her axe. If it were up to her, she'd try to fight Strogg to get Ukiah out, but she knew that would be impossible. Even if they could get him out, they'd still have to get him to the ship and sail out of Thariin. "Wish I had Stormfly with me…" She whispered quietly.

"I feel like I sent someone to the executioner." Hiccup said softly, pulling her attention to him "I feel so…empty."

"I know, I feel it too." Astrid replied sadly, but still tried to console him "But there was nothing else you could do, what you did was right! We couldn't get both of them, even if we had all the gold in the world! Strogg wants death! That's his only price!"

Hiccup, almost not hearing Astrid, continued to stare at Ukiah who reached the table at this point.

Upon arriving at the table, Ukiah slowly picked up his dagger and lifted it up to reflect the sunset in the sky. The blade looked like fire was built in it. This was it, this was the weapon he was going to use to end his life. Sighing heavily, he then sheathed it over his chest. He then reached for a javelin that was resting next to his quiver. Not like the spear he had at his cave, it didn't matter at this point. Sliding it smoothly into the strap on the back of his vest, he proceeded to strap the quiver to his hip.

Watching Ukiah prepare was killing Strogg. "Hurry it up!" he mumbled to himself, sliding down in his chair in a bored manner. Truth was, he wasn't even bored. He was furious with what just happened. "Hiccup wanting to take what I own, the nerve of the pup!" He thought so loud to himself, that he had to check to see if Stoick had heard him.

Ukiah finished strapping his quiver on, to which he turned and stared at Strogg with a hatred in his eyes. After trying to stare him down for a few seconds, he grabbed a bucket half full of water and walked to a pile of burned lumber at the side of the arena.

"Hurry it up!" Strogg shouted, standing up from his seat "Or I'll have the gate opened now!" That went sour with the crowd real fast, as they booed and shouted at Strogg. Defeated by his own people, Strogg slowly relaxed himself back into his chair; but not releasing the anger building inside of him.

Ukiah proceeded to stomp on some of the bigger charcoal pieces, turning it into a fine dust. Sweeping the black dust into a larger pile, he then poured a little water from the bucket. After mixing the water with the dust, Ukiah picked up a large amount of the black and grey paste. Staring at it, he then wiped it across his face at a diagonal, high left to low right. His traditional war paint. Standing up, and turning to face Strogg; Ukiah silently picked up his crossbow, notched it without taking his eyes off of him, and marched to the middle of the arena. What the crowd didn't know, was that the war paint was a statement to Strogg, not just a fun thing for him to do.

Stoick stood up after watching Ukiah apply the war paint. "Strogg, I'm afraid I can't be here, I need to leave." He said firmly, already turning to walk out. His mind was flashing images of when he faced off against a line of warriors on a beach. All of them had the same war paint; black, angled down from high left to low right.

Strogg, looking like he was staring at a ghost, slowly turned to watch Stoick leave "Yes, I think that would be best." He whispered, his heart thumping. Was this kid…part of that tribe? The one that he stamped out? Without saying another word, he let Stoick run out of the arena the way they came in, right through the back archway.

Ukiah stared at the gate, knowing Arrow was behind the massive doors. Kneeling down on one knee, getting his crossbow in a ready to fire position, he took a deep breath and said the words everyone was waiting to hear: "Open it."

The crowd exploded into shouting and cheering that took both Hiccup and Astrid off guard. The two watched in angst as the giant beam, acting as a bolt for the gate, started to slide to the right. They both leaned forward to make sure they wouldn't miss anything.

BANG! The gate doors were violently slammed open with a fiery sand spilling out of the room and onto the stone floor. A black and brown streak of a dragon flew out and into the chain net draped over, trying to get through the metal links. Everyone gasped at seeing the Night Fury, as it was the first time that anyone saw one. All except for a select few.

Realizing it was useless to fight against the chains, Arrow released an orange blast at a burned out section of seating, out of frustration and anger. The crowd of people nearby dove out of the way as the explosion tore apart the burnt remains. Not satisfied with the fireball burning what was left of the stand, Arrow turned his focus to inside the arena. To the dragon's surprise, he finally noticed a familiar face. Almost in disbelief, Arrow stopped struggling against the chain net and smoothly dropped onto the floor; looking at Ukiah with relief, he flashed his rows of teeth at him.

Ukiah's heart broke when he watched Arrow fighting the chain net; and as he watched his friend start walking towards him with a happy expression, he finally broke down into tears. Extending his left hand out to Arrow, he pointed his crossbow down at the ground. He wished Arrow would send a sand blast at him, just so that he wouldn't have to kill himself in front of his friend.

Arriving to Ukiah, Arrow ignored the extended hand and rammed his head against his friend's chest; growling with satisfaction, rubbing against Ukiah and pushing him back.

The crowd was in a profound silence, only to hear the occasional "What's he doing?" or "What's going on?"

Hiccup was totally in shock. All this time, he thought he was the first and only to even befriend a dragon! Not only that, but that was the dragon he saw that night a few days ago! He turned to Astrid, who was looking just as surprised as he was. "That's the dragon I saw! The spikes and the green eyes!"

"It does look like Toothless…he's built the same at least!" Astrid replied back, staring at the dragon with wide eyes "What is it?"

"I…I don't know." Hiccup whispered, not taking his eyes off the dragon. It was almost like a sharp Night Fury, colored brown and black! And with his experience with it, able to swim! "What are you?" He whispered again to himself.

Ukiah didn't do anything to stop the tears flowing. He just kept on scratching Arrow behind the ears and whispered "I'm so sorry friend…I'm so sorry." Arrow looked into his eyes as if to wonder what he was meaning.

"What are you doing? Fight! Kill it!" Strogg thundered in an outrage, while still standing from his chair.

Turning and facing Strogg with hatred and tears in his eyes, Ukiah roared back "This is Arrow, Strogg, and he's my only friend! I'm not going to let you take away that which means everything to me! You already took my family, my tribe, even my heritage! Don't deny it! You know exactly what I'm talking about!"

Strogg stared at Ukiah, anger vividly showing on his face. This kid knew his history; in fact he just confirmed his suspicions that he was part of his history! Strogg let his blood boil, as he thought he destroyed that tribe so long ago.

"I'm not going to give you what you want this time, even if it means that I die!" Ukiah continued to shout, his heart beating like a thousand drummers on a single drum. Saying this, Ukiah dropped the crossbow on the ground, drew his dagger, and raised it above him. Not wanting to look at Arrow before ending himself, he closed his eyes as he was about to bring the dagger down into his heart.

Wham! He was suddenly hit in the back, and sent sprawling. After rolling on the ground, Ukiah looked up to see that Arrow was growling at him with narrowed eyes. His dagger was sent spinning elsewhere, and he found it lying next to where Arrow stood.

"Arrow! No! I have to do this; it's the only way you can survive!" Ukiah yelled, picking himself up and running for his dagger. Arrow was faster and ran into Ukiah, ramming his head viciously against Ukiah's side and sending him flying again for a second time.

Recovering from rolling on the ground, he sat up and stared at Arrow with pleading in his eyes. "Please…" Ukiah begged "You have to let me do this! For both of us!"

Arrow must have understood, because he looked past Ukiah and glared up at Strogg.

Ukiah, turned to see what Arrow was looking at. Seeing Strogg sitting back down in his chair, he knew exactly what Arrow wanted to do.

"If I can't kill you, and you won't let me end myself… "Ukiah began to say, his voice growing louder for everyone to hear "We'll have to fight the person who put us in this position to begin with." Walking slowly to where his crossbow lay, he then let his hunting reflexes kick into gear. Picking up the crossbow, and whirling around in a split of a second, he aimed right at Strogg's heart and pulled the release.

If he hadn't had years of fighting under his belt, Strogg would have reacted a second too late. Seeing Ukiah draw a bead on him, he instantly shifted to the right, having the bolt that was shot from Ukiah's crossbow entering his shoulder and pinning him to his chair. "Get him!" Strogg shouted in pain, as his right hand put pressure on his shoulder "I want him alive!"

Immediately, guards rushed into the ring while brandishing their weapons and shields. At least two score guards were at the event, to which they all abandoned their posts and rushed into the arena by sliding through the net.

The crowd of people were running out of the arena in a panic, screaming at the top of their lungs as if the guards were after them. The panic of the crowd, the Night Fury or whatever it was, roaring, and the guards yelling at people to stand aside, created a pandemonium. The panic and hysteria in the air was almost hellish. Fortunately for Ukiah and Arrow, the panic slowed the amount of guards entering the arena.

Hiccup and Astrid were also trying to maneuver to the edge of the arena, to see how they could help them.

"Keep close!" Hiccup yelled to Astrid "We've got to see if we can help them!"

"I know that!" She yelled back, a little annoyed at the obvious statement.

Ukiah was unloading bolts at a rate he never thought was possible, and every single one made its mark. He and Arrow were fighting back to back with the table turned over for a little bit of added cover. At one point, one guard leapt over the table and landed in between Arrow and Ukiah. Ukiah drew a bolt from his quiver, spun around, and slashed it across the chest of the intruder. The guard stumbled at the strike, surprised at the speed of the slash. Ukiah refused to let up, as he drew his arm back and then thrust it forward, driving the bolt into the stomach of the guard. He never bothered to pull the bolt back out of the guard, but let him slump down against the table and cry out in pain. Another guard was running to leap over the table, to try and do the same thing. Seeing him come, Ukiah instantly raised his crossbow with one hand, aiming it straight at the charging guard, and sent the loaded bolt flying. The guard caught it in the chest, and launched backwards from the projectile.

Out of habit and muscle memory, he quickly reloaded the crossbow. He turned around in time to see Arrow swing his tail and literately sweep two guards off their feet, and flinging them into the arena's wall. "Good job friend!" Ukiah shouted, whirling around to cover Arrow's back. Three guards then dropped from the wall next to them, which Arrow instantly shot his sand blast into them. The three were thrown against the wall, causing them to slide onto the ground and not get back up; except for the middle guard, who was unlucky enough to be hit directly with the blast. There was no evidence of him being there, other than orange, burning sand.

Ukiah sent another bolt across the arena, catching a guard in the leg as he was falling down from edge of the arena. Sweating due to the stress, he again reloaded his crossbow. Every guard that he killed or crippled, two more would appear! Seeing one guard sprint at him head on, he raised his crossbow and aimed at the charging guard. Slam! A force hit him from his right. Landing roughly on the stone floor, he looked up to see that a guard had hit him with his shield; the guard smirked at Ukiah, knowing he surprised him. Out of reaction, Ukiah raised the crossbow and fired from the ground. The guard's smirk disappeared as a bolt seemed to grow out of his neck. Launching backwards, he fell onto his back dead.

Dropping the crossbow, Ukiah rolled onto his knees and drew his dagger. The blade sang through the air as it was pulled out of its sheath. Ukiah never fought with a dagger before, at least in combat like this. But now, he didn't have much of a choice. Guards were coming more frequent as the crowds dissipated, and he needed a way to hit fast. He wasn't focused on ending his enemy's lives, rather just removing them from the fight. Something came over him, making him lunge forward from his knees. He stuck his blade out and slashed the ankle of a guard charging at him. Rolling onto his feet, he quickly backed off from the approaching guards. His blade ready and raised, he waited for the next one to come after him. He had no idea what was happening, or how he was fighting with a dagger; but he felt like he knew how to! It was as if he had done it a hundred times before. The closest thing he had to a sword fight was when another hunter tried to take a deer he killed. Even then he just aimed his crossbow at the thief and told him to back off.

Two guards moved to his right, and a third to his left. Ukiah, oddly understanding what to do, stepped to the left to meet the lone guard. The guard swung his mace down at him, trying to push him back to the other two behind. Ukiah simply side stepped the strike, letting it fly by. Grabbing the arm of the guard to keep him exposed, he then drove the dagger into the side of the guard and then pulling it out like lightning. Letting the guard fall, he whirled around and stared at the two guards advancing on him. One had a spear and a shield, and the other simply had a sword. Gritting his teeth, Ukiah wished he hadn't left his crossbow on the ground.

The guard with the spear then thrust it forward, which Ukiah did another side step. He was always quick, but how was he able to know what to do?! Grabbing the extended spear, he then rammed the other butt end of it into the stomach of the guard, making him crumple over in pain. Not wasting the moment, he then dashed forward at the guard with the single sword. Seeing Ukiah come at him, the guard then did an upper cut slash to keep him away from the recovering guard. Ukiah barely rolled out of the way, hearing the sword whistle by. Completing the spin, he then leapt backwards as the guard swung the sword back down.

Barely landing on his feet, Ukiah then bounced forward, right before the guard could get the sword swinging back up. Ukiah watched the shock on the guards face as he drove the dagger into the exposed chest. Yanking out the dagger, he ran past the guard that was struggling to stay up on his feet. Running, he quickly picked up the crossbow that he left. Again, something came over him, almost like a sixth sense. Swinging the crossbow full force, he rotated around and smashed a guard in the face. How did he know that someone was behind him?! Whirling around, he saw a group of guards, about twelve of them, regroup at the end of the arena.

Arrow was busy as well; swinging his tail, he swept a number of guards off their feet again, and then head butting one that was trying to jump on him. Shifting his body to the left, Arrow shot out his wing, pounding two guards in the face, dropping them instantly as the spikes slashed across them. Suddenly, a weight dropped on his back. A guard had actually got on Arrow and was trying to pin him. The enraged dragon instantly began rolling on the ground, bending his head to try and get the bold Viking off his back. Making sure his spikes were puncturing his attacker, Arrow kept on flipping on his back. After the third roll, the Viking had enough and let go, to which Arrow quickly grabbed him with his mouth and throw him into two others. Swinging his tail again, making contact with a few more guards, Arrow roared challengingly, sending a small group of five guards backing off.

Hiccup and Astrid were amazed as they watched the two take on what seemed to them to be an army.

"Come on! Let's help them!" Astrid shouted, wanting to jump in and fight alongside. Poacher or not, Ukiah was someone that trained a dragon, and that automatically made her want to join the fray to help.

"No! I have a better idea." Hiccup promptly replied, turning around and jogging towards the gate that led to the arena "Let's get the gate open for them! Give them a way to escape!"

"Hmph" She growled, seeing that Hiccup's idea was better than what she was thinking "Fine, but when we get it open, let's help them out!"

Hiccup turned to her with a smile, saying "Fine, I guess I'll follow you're lead on that then."

"Come on, let's hurry and get it open then!" She said urgently, starting to move towards the gate entrance with Hiccup. With the guards busy with the rouge dragon and prisoner, the gate winch was completely un-guarded, making it easy for them to start raising it. Astrid stayed on defense, while Hiccup turned the wheel; struggling a little of course. Looking through the gate, he watched the two continue to fight.

Arrow just finished head-butting a guard, when four guards rushed him. He quickly tackled one of them that was in front of him. About to finish the guard, he felt the other three jump on top. Forgetting the guard he tackled, he roared in anger as he tried to roll, claw, and bite the three. As he kept on trying to throw the guards off, two more leapt on him. One slammed his head down onto the stone ground, and began to furiously wrap a rope around his mouth. Spikes or not, he couldn't get them off! Struggling to get back up, he was finally pinned completely.

"Arrow! No!" Ukiah roared angrily, watching Arrow get taken down. Seeing a single guard raise a sword, he quickly sprinted at the man, doing a somersault to dodge the strike. Rolling onto his feet, he ignored the guard and bolted towards the pile of men on top his friend. Just as he was about to drive his dagger into one of them, he felt something slam into him with the force of a large yak. "Gah!" He shouted, stunned completely at the blow and rag dolling across the ground. Gasping for breath, he struggled to get up onto his knees. "Aggh!" He cried out again, getting kicked in the side. Only able to roll onto his back, he looked up at the face of one of the Champions; Harze.

"Brat." Harze spat, watching Ukiah get hefted up by the vest by two guards. He was quickly stripped from his crossbow and javelin. His dagger was knocked out of his hand from being slammed. "You've doomed yourself and the dragon." At that, he slammed his shield into Ukiah's stomach.

"Gah! Aaaoooohhhh…"Bending over in pain, Ukiah coughed in pain. If he wasn't held up by two guards, he would have fallen over completely. "One of us was doomed before we even started this…" He hacked out, trying to suck air in "Guess we both decided to go out together."

"Leave me alone with the brat." Harze ordered, walking towards Ukiah "Get the wounded out of here. Take them through the prisoner's tunnels."

The guards promptly let go of Ukiah, letting him struggle to stand by himself. They then hustled to a few others who were moaning in pain.

Harze kicked Ukiah in the side a second time, toppling him over again. He then dropped his axe and kneeled down, pressing his knee into Ukiah's back and pulled on his hair; forcing him to look up. "Then watch your 'friend' die."

Forced to look, Ukiah stared at another Champion. It was Malke, and he was standing over the tied down Arrow. He had his axe raised over the dragon's head, smiling evilly at Ukiah. "No!" He screamed, trying to get out from under Harze. The knee dug deeper into his back, causing him to arch it even more. Believing that he was going to watch Arrow die, Ukiah stared with fear in his eyes. Not his friend. He couldn't let him die!

Malke's evil expression suddenly turned to horror, confusing both Ukiah and Harze. "Harze! Behind you!"

Harze immediately leapt forward, letting go of Ukiah. Completing the somersault, he whirled around and saw what Malke was warning him about. Standing next to Ukiah, helping him up, was a blonde haired girl. Her axe was sunk into the stone ground where Harze had Ukiah pinned.

"You…you helped me?" Ukiah breathed out, shocked at seeing the girl pull him up.

"Name's Astrid." She answered, pulling her axe up and readying it "Let's get your dragon back and then we'll talk."

Realizing he had an ally, Ukiah quickly scooped up Harze's axe and stood at the ready.

Harze and Malke also stood by each other. Harze kept his shield close to him, while Malke twirled his axe in one hand. Circling, both duos prepared to receive each other, knowing only one pair could win.