HELLO EVERYONE AND HAPPY 2017! I don't usually ask you guys to read the author's note, but I strongly encourage you to do so this time!
Just kidding. I'm sorry that it was late in the day, but I want to say first of all that this chapter is in honor of the release of Dragons: Race to the Edge Season 4 debut! I already watched it all and let me just say...WOW. So much happened and it has boggled my mind. There actually is one thing I want to reveal, but don't worry, it's not necessarily important to the plot.
Spoiler alert: Apparently, the best way to train a Triple Stryke is to use clicks, kind of like the sounds you would hear on a clicker for training dogs. It distracts them and allows you to get close enough to tame them and train them.
Obviously, Nightshade is an exception, but I will be incorporating it into the story eventually, but in the meantime, let's enjoy another chapter. Btw, I'm well aware that I was planning on having the first chapter of the sequel up by Christmas. Obviously it is way past that time, but I had my reasons and what's done is done. Frankly, after what I saw with the Triple Stryke, I'm glad I waited until now.
MMM- Obviously a few of these questions will be answered in this chapter, and others will not be completely answered until later on.
Guest2- Yup. A baby Skrill. The face of Berserker terror.
You know the drill: I don't own HTTYD, characters, plot, etc. Dreamworks owns their things and I own mine. Enjoy!
It had been a few days since that fateful hatching day of the baby Skrill. It was indeed difficult to figure out how to deal with him at first, but a routine had finally managed to stick and all was well again.
"We're here to train and we're on time!" Tori exclaimed as she and Nightshade swooped down into the arena. Nightshade let out a pleased roar as his rider dismounted.
"Really? No trouble at all with the dragons?" Fishlegs inquired. "Not even with the Skrill hatchling?"
"Well, a little bit…but a bit of dragon nip did the trick nicely. Blyn was even more than enthusiastic to watch him while I'm gone."
"Good. Now you can focus on today's exercise. It'll be a lot to handle," Hiccup warned her.
However, Tori smiled and said, "That's okay. I'm pretty confident I'll catch on fast. I'm ready for anything you guys dish out for me!"
"That's what I like to hear," Astrid added. "Today's exercise is one of my favorites: dragon-trainer combat training."
"Everything except for that…" Tori's shoulders slumped down a bit and Nightshade tilted his head, "…but I guess I need to after what happened with those Berserkers."
The Triple Stryke nudged his rider's arm reassuringly, which she returned in kind. She then looked around and frowned a bit,
"Not that I'm not happy about it, but where are Snotlout and the twins?"
"Yup. It definitely looks like a Skrill was here," Ruffnut stated as the boys were looking through the abandoned campsite the Berserkers were forced to leave behind.
Tents were burnt to a crisp. Parts of the ground were blasted apart, leaving behind only black streaks that could only be compared to a lightning strike. The shores of Evergreen Island was completely scorched with the deadly strikes that could only be accomplished by a Skrill. And a very angry one, at that.
"We're not looking for where it's been! We're looking for where it's at now!" Snotlout demanded, but then grinned to himself.
"I can just see it now: me and Hookfang, flying in with that Skrill for Tori. She'll be like 'Oh, Snotlout! Thank you for catching that awful Skrill! You're the bravest, strongest, most handsome Viking ever!' and I'll be like 'It was nothing, babe. And yeah, I know I'm all three.' She won't be able to keep her hands off of me!"
"Uh, correction," Tuffnut interrupted Snotlout's fantasy and announced dramatically, "The fair Tori of the Korrinston clan of the Hairy Hooligan tribe of Berk, will be thanking me. I'm going to catch that Skrill so it will never lay a harmful hand on her again! Wait, make that a harmful talon!"
Ruffnut groaned at this. Not again…
What was it with Vikings and a pretty face? Maybe this is why Tori kept a hood over her head and her hair over her face…
Ruffnut then arched her eyebrows before interrupting, "Uh guys?"
"Tori obviously would rather be with us, right Hookfang?"
Hookfang growled softly. He couldn't lie he wouldn't mind having Tori around more often. That meant more marinated salmon for him!
"Oh please! Tori's more interested in the finer things of life: destruction. She may not look like much now, but just you wait. Her and Nightshade will be by our side enjoying it all: chaos, pranks, chaos!"
"Guys?"
"You said chaos twice!" Snotlout exclaimed.
Tuffnut scoffed, "Of course I did! The pranks will double the chaos! Use your head!"
"You guys do know that none of that won't happen unless you capture the Skrill, right?"
The Viking boys turned to Ruffnut and replied, "Duh!"
"We're working on it!" Snotlout said. Behind the two and their dragons, the target dragon herself perched down on the boulder. Her electric blue eyes narrowed at them and her teeth were bared, but still did not make a sound and avoided all except Ruffnut's notice.
"Yeah, no offense sis, but we need peace and quiet to work. The best way to catch a dragon like this is to catch it by surprise," Tuffnut smugly reasoned.
Next to the mother Skrill, another dropped down next to her without a sound, this one looking just a bit bigger and more vicious. It was mainly a dark violet with black dominating its head and its spine. Its underbelly was an impressive stormy gray as were its wings. The pupils of its golden eyes narrowed dramatically, letting out a soft hiss at the Vikings.
Snotlout and Tuffnut had stopped immediately at the sound, slowly looking behind them. The two Skrills growled loudly, sparks dancing off of their bodies. They slowly turned back around to face Ruffnut, their eyes wide in terror.
"You know what, I just realized I have no equipment," Snotlout tried to cover up his fear, but to no avail was it hidden.
"Perhaps we should leave and go it," Tuffnut said before turning back to the Skrills. "You two just stay here, get comfy. Are you comfy Mrs. Skrill? And I can only assume you're Mr. Skrill-"
The blue-hued Skrill snapped her jaws, hissing while the male Skrill reared up with wings spread out as it let out a shriek.
"AHHH! Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Snotlout chanted as he mounted Hookfang, taking off as fast as they could.
The two Skrills had not taken off after them just yet. The male Skrill looked to the female and roared before taking off. She growled softly before doing the same, following the dragon riders closely.
Blyn hummed as he knelt at his bed, stroking the Skrill hatchling's head with two fingers as it slept. Tori must have given the small dragon too much as it had been sleeping for a few hours now.
"You know, in case your mom doesn't actually come for you, you're gonna need a name."
The dragon hatchling purred deeply in its sleep. Suddenly a series of small sparks danced off of its body, slightly shocking Blyn.
"Whoa! You really sparkled just now," he said, rubbing his hand to soothe the numbness. "Hmm. Sparkle…nah, too girly. How about…Spark? Yeah! I'm calling you Spark!"
Spark merely growled in his sleep, rolling over onto his side squealing slightly in content. Blyn grinned and scooped him up, running as fast as he could to the Academy.
Meanwhile…
Tori grunted as she tucked and rolled away from Meatlug as she attempted to 'hug' her. The other riders, along with Toothless and Nightshade, watched on at the exercise. It was quite simple: Fishlegs ordered Meatlug to hug and Astrid told Tori that the goal of the exercise was use any method to avoid getting hugged for as long as she could…
"AH!" she screamed as she grabbed her shield and smacked away Stormfly's spines that were aimed at her.
…while also avoiding Stormfly's spine shots.
"Astrid, I think just Meatlug would have been fine for Tori. She's just starting out with combat," Hiccup commented.
"I think the challenge is good for her. Besides, she's doing better than the first six times."
Tori panted as she got up, eying both dragons as they circled her and she did the same. Meatlug looked ready to pounce and Stormfly's spines were ready to fire. She could never take her eyes off of them, and she couldn't let herself stop moving, at least that's what Astrid told her.
"Tori! Tori!"
"Huh?" Tori looked towards the entrance of the Academy, though that was her downfall.
She yelped as Meatlug tackled her to the ground, licking her face with great enthusiasm. Stormfly stood next to her squawking as Astrid came to her side.
"You did good, but never let anything distract you. That's where you failed."
"I'll keep that in mind," Tori felt the weight of Meatlug lifted from her and sighed in relief. Nightshade's tail encircled her under arms and stood her back upright. "Thanks, Nightshde."
Nightshade grunted as she patted his snout. He then turned to Blyn along with the others as he excitedly announced,
"Guess what? I came up with an awesome name for the Skrill! Say hello to Spark!"
He held out the hatchling, who had finally awoken from his nap and squirmed in Blyn's arms. He especially became eager when he spotted his 'mother' and desperately wanted to be with her.
"What? No, no, no! Blyn, I told you that dragon isn't getting a name!" Tori scolded her brother, crossing her arms as she continued, "You know that the mother will eventually find him and when she does, we probably won't see him again anyway."
"That's a bit harsh, isn't it Tori?"
"I can't help it, Hiccup. You know it's true, though. I just don't want to get attached to the hatchling of a dragon that could tear Berk apart to get him back."
"I get it, and I understand you don't want another bad run-in with the Skrill, but you know, this could be a great opportunity for you."
Tori turned to him, more confused than ever before, "How do you mean?"
"Tori, you've done fantastic with your training so far. Honestly, it looked as if you weren't afraid of dragons to begin with, only that one encounter with that one dragon still leaves you frightened."
The eldest Korrinston furrowed her brow, now catching onto Hiccup's intentions. She shook her head, "No. You can't be serious, Hiccup."
"I am."
"What exactly are you guys being 'serious' about?" Fishlegs asked, starting to feel just a touch nervous.
"Tori, for your final test, I want you to confront that Skrill and tame it if you can. After that, I guarantee your fear will be gone once and for all."
The entire arena went silent at the command. Fishlegs and Astrid's expressions were of absolute shock, completely surprised that Hiccup would ask that of her. Tori's face looked like she, for the very first time, wanted to defy the order. Hiccup, however, remained firm with his decision. There was no changing his mind.
"AAAAHHH! WE DIDN'T DO IT!"
The riders and their respective dragons turned their attention to the sky, seeing Snotlout and the twins diving down towards the Academy. Being startled at the noise, Spark screeched and jumped out of Blyn's arms and right onto Tori. His talons dug deep as she fell to her backside, her back against the stone wall.
"What? What didn't you do?" Hiccup asked as Hookfang and BarfBelch landed. Though, he had to admit that he didn't need to ask as most likely they would find out soon enough.
"Uhhh…" Snotlout and Tuffnut looked at each other.
"Well, I can tell you what we may have or have not done," Ruffnut said. "We may or may not have gone to Evergreen Island so that Snotlout and Tuff could catch the Skrill to impress Tori…"
Everyone turned to the two boys with disapproving glares as they smiled sheepishly. Ruffnut then continued,
"…and we may or may not have found not only the mama Skrill, but also the papa Skrill, too. And they may or may not have been really mad and followed us home."
"You led that Skrill here?!" Tori exclaimed, looking completely pale as snow.
"No. We led those two Skrills here," Tuffnut held up two fingers before whispering to his sister, "Maybe the next lesson for Tori should be in listening. And counting…"
"That doesn't matter right now," Hiccup said, climbing aboard Toothless' back. "What matters is that we have two angry Skrills coming for their baby. We need to be ready in case they decide to get destructive. Tori, you need to get up there, too."
"What?! Are you out of your mind, Hiccup!?"
"On most days," Astrid smirked.
"Tori, if all they want is their baby, we need to get Spark up to them before they have a chance to get near Berk. You're the only one of us that he trusts enough to hold still."
"Uh, Hiccup? I think we're too late…" Fishlegs whimpered a bit as he pointed to the sky.
A massive flash of light exploded in the sky followed by a loud boom that shook the Academy. A large cloud of smoke filled the arena, but most of them could make out the dome covering had a large hole. Perched on that hole was the familiar shape of a Skrill, though it couldn't be determined which one.
Tori coughed violently trying to get the smoke from her lungs and as the smoke began to clear, she felt the vibrations of the Skrill dropping down into the arena.
"Yup…that's the mother all right," Blyn stated.
The blue-black Skrill threw its head back with a piercing shriek and electricity running along its body. All the dragons cringed at the noise and even the other riders had to cover their ears.
The most unusual (or maybe not so unusual) reaction of all was the one that came from Spark.
The Skrill's shriek had indeed spooked him, but once she was finished, he jumped onto Tori's knees. He threw his head back and let out a cry of his own, though not nearly as loud or piercing.
The mother Skrill's eyes landed on her baby, growling before approaching Spark and Tori. Spark was curious about this strange creature. It looked like him, a lot like him, but he knew without a doubt who his mother was.
Tori felt her heart about to burst out of her chest and her breathing had risen. Nightshade, sensing his rider's distress, hissed and unfurled his tails. The Skrill's head snapped right to him, her eyes narrowing before continuing towards her baby.
"Nightshade, stay back! Everyone stand back!" Hiccup ordered. "The mother isn't giving us a reason to attack. Not yet."
Spark chirped as he came snout-to-snout with the larger dragon. Everything was still and quiet as the female Skrill bumped her snout against Spark's, a small burst of electricity jolting her baby. Spark jumped a bit at the sensation, but then started jumping and squealing in delight before bumping back, sending his own shock.
The mother Skrill hissed softly as she grabbed her baby gently with her jaws, setting him on her back. Spark merely sat there, enjoying the feel of the electricity coursing through his true mother's body.
Now came the moment that the riders and their dragons became most tense. The Skrill shifted her attention to Tori, stepping closer until the Viking was pressed against the wall.
"Hiccup…" Tori whispered out, still not taking her terror-filled eyes away from the Skrill as she pressed her snout to her stomach. She kept completely still as the Strike class dragon moved her snout all along her body, sniffing and taking in Tori's scent.
"What's it doing?" Astrid asked Hiccup, keeping her voice low to prevent startling the Skrill.
"I don't know," Hiccup's voice was at the same volume. "Fishlegs, you don't think that this Skrill actually remembers Tori, do you?"
"It's hard to say," Fishlegs replied, he also being confused at the situation. "Then again, Skrills aren't Strike class dragons just for their speed. I wouldn't doubt that it was smart enough to at least see Tori as something familiar."
Spark didn't seem to have any trouble with the Skrill, he sniffing along her back while feeling the tough scales on her hide. After what felt like forever, the Skrill pulled its head back and eyed the Viking over. The mother Skrill screeched before grabbing Tori's tunic in her jaws, jerking her up with a yelp.
"NIGHTSHADE!" Tori cried out as the Skrill turned swiftly to leave.
The Triple Stryke roared as he charged forward, all three tails lunging forward towards the Skrill. The first two tails missed, but then the third hit its mark.
Tori grunted in pain as she was thrown to the ground as was Spark. Meanwhile, the mother fell to the ground, glaring and hissing at the riders and dragons.
"Good job, Nightshade," Hiccup said. "Okay, guys. We need to move this Skrill away from Berk before the venom wears off."
However, before anyone could make another move, a flash of lightning struck at the dome…or they should say through the dome and right in front of the mother Skrill. The larger male Skrill now stood protectively in front of his supposed mate.
The rest of the dragons jumped back, snarling and growling at the intruders. Looking around, the Skrill saw they were clearly at a disadvantage. They would need to retreat and rest…for now.
He jumped up, gripping his talons on the mother Skrill's sides, pulling her up and out of the arena.
"They're…leaving?" Snotlout asked incredulously as they flew out of sight into the clouds. He then regained his composure and yelled up at the sky, "Y-Yeah! You better fly off! You mess with my woman, you mess with the Jorgensons! Don't worry, babe. You've got nothing to worry about with me here."
He turned to see a happy, grateful expression on Tori's face directed at him…in his head. What Tori's expression was really filled with was the very face of true fear, emphasized by the way she shook and the heavy breathing that was dragged from her throat.
"Tori…? Are you okay?" Hiccup stepped towards them, only being stopped by Nightshade's coiled tail. Toothless growled lowly before catching the expression of the Triple Stryke: nowhere near threatening and even a little sad.
Nightshade approached Tori, purring softly as he nudged his rider's chest. To his surprise, Tori threw her arms around his snout, burying her face into his while still shaking violently. He could feel wetness coming from her face, so he did what he felt he needed to do.
He closed his eyes, laying himself on the ground with his rider and companion. He let his tail wrap around him and he covered Tori with his wing as some sort of comfort. At that point, that's all he could really offer, and Tori couldn't have asked for anything better.
