A fight to remember! This chapter has a lot of action in it, and was BY FAR my favorite one to write. As per usual.
Enjoy!
Chapter Eleven: With Fire and Lightning
Matt sat on a bench in the Great Hall while Heather was applying the ointment to his back. It's been three days since Matt received his new armor from Hiccup, and since then he's been riding almost all three of those days; the exceptions being when Heather made him stop to put the burn ointment on. Astrid also did a few training sessions with him at night, teaching him how to wield a sword. Still not very good at it, Matt was at least able to do basic blocks and strikes.
"Well…your back isn't really healing as fast as it was." Heather observed as she gently rubbed the scarring back.
"I kind of assumed it wouldn't" Matt replied, still staring at the floor. "But I do feel better than before…"
"It's because you're doing something that makes you feel better. Don't tell me you don't feel any pain when you move around." Heather answered, rubbing specific spots with ointment.
"Ok, ok." Matt said with a smile "The back still bugs me, but only when I take off my armor. I can barely feel anything when it's on!"
Heather quickly replied "Are you telling that to me with a straight face?"
"Fine. When I maneuver around pretty hard it bugs me as well." Matt said, lowering his head.
Smiling, Heather lightly slapped his back with her hand, causing him to cringe. "There. All done."
"You're getting faster." Matt replied, slowly standing up from his seat. Turning to look at Heather, he whispered "Thank you. My back wouldn't be where it is without you."
Smirking, Heather then said "You know, it's going to be a bummer when you don't need this stuff anymore. I'll miss you being shirtless."
"Well in that case." Matt said with a smile "You should get in trouble more often. I'll come save you and take a fireball or lightning bolt to the back again and we'll all win!"
Laughing, Heather suggested "Or I could just give you a back rub. Seems to be an easier idea in my head."
Nodding, Matt seconded that with a smile "I'll agree to that. I'm not sure if there is anything left of my back to hit with another lightning bolt."
"You find humor in the weirdest jokes." Heather said laughing. With that, she began to clean up her healing supplies that lay on the table behind them.
Matt looked at Wasatch who was looking anxious to get going. "Hold on boy, I have to let my back dry before we do anything." With that, Matt walked up and began to scratch the dragon's massive head. Almost smiling, the Skrill moved his head up and down, treating Matt's hand as a scratching post.
Suddenly the doors blew open, making everyone in the Great Hall turn to see who it was. Seeing that it was Gobber, they heard him yelling "Berserkers have been spotted! Everyone! Get ready for another fight!" He yelled. This caused a small panic as everyone started to run out of the Great Hall.
Matt quickly ran to where his equipment lay. Starting to put on his armor, Heather ran next to him.
"Let me help you put that stuff on." She said, grabbing one of the leather pads.
"Thanks" Matt whispered, letting her slide it over his head.
Strapping it to another belt, Heather added "Matt, please be careful."
Smiling, Matt said "Who me?" Turning to see her smile at the joke, Matt saw the exact opposite reaction. She was frowning, and her face was written with worry.
Helping him strap on his shoulder plate, Heather said "I'm serious Matt…Please don't do something that will get you in over your head."
Nodding, Matt made some final adjustments to his armor and forearm guards. Grabbing his helmet off the table, Matt walked up to Heather and kissed her. "I promise…as long as you do the same."
"I'll be running around helping the wounded." Heather replied "I'll be fine."
"You better, I won't be around to save you if you do get into trouble." Matt said, turning to walk out the door. Having Wasatch follow him, Matt walked outside to see the entire village running around. Everyone seemed to have a job and was getting it done. He saw multiple catapults being erected, as well as small barricades being put up.
"Well…I guess you better get going then." Heather stated, standing next to Matt.
Nodding, Matt replied "I wish I could be here when everything is normal. I can't even imagine what that's like."
"Nothing is normal here." Heather said laughing lightly "At least that's what Hiccup and Astrid tell me."
Smiling, Matt looked at Heather and leaned in for another kiss.
Putting a finger on his lips, she said "I'll give you another one if you come back in one piece ok?"
Acting like he was thinking about it, Matt said "Nah." Grabbing her, he pulled her in and kissed her.
Taken back by action, Heather then closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him. Holding each other for a while, Heather finally pulled away. "Now get going! I'm sure Hiccup has a plan for you and the other riders."
Smiling, Matt slid his helmet over his head and then pushed the two levers that activated his back and leg braces. Making sure they were stiff, Matt climbed onto Wasatch. Not having to worry about moving his back, Matt quickly strapped himself in his bindings. Looking at Heather, he saluted her good-bye and then urged Wasatch to take off. Feeling the air rush past him, Matt felt the back brace working its magic. If he hadn't had it, he would have been in a world of pain.
Carving left and right, Matt was thankful that he had a few days to practice flying before the Berserker invasion started. Seeing Hiccup and the other dragon riders all gathered at the village square, he guided Wasatch in; to which he landed softly next to Valka. Kneeling down to help him keep his balance, Matt pulled off his helmet.
"We were wondering where you were!" Hiccup said, looking at Matt. "We were about were about to send out a search party for you."
"Hey it takes me a little longer to get ready." Matt said, not telling exactly why he was late.
Hiccup smiled and then turned to the rest of the riders. "The Berserkers are coming back. But this time we know they're coming. They won't get the jump on us like last time." Pausing he said "They do have a Skrill on their side, but we do to. We also have the best trained riders in all the world. Dagur won't be able to keep up with us. We can fly faster, climb higher, and fight better than he can."
A small cheer rang from the group. Turning to everyone, Hiccup continued "Everyone, this is the plan. When the Berserkers come in catapult range, you guys start your attack. Burn their ships, take out the sails or masts; I don't care."
"Two questions" Snotlout asked, interrupting Hiccup "Why are we waiting for them to get closer? And what are you going to be doing?"
Matt seconded the question by asking "Yeah, why don't we go attack their fleet now?"
"I don't want you to be shot down in the ocean." Hiccup stated. "If you're shot down here, then we have a chance to get you back in the air or at least to safety. Besides, our catapults can help us destroy their ships."
"Doesn't answer the question of what you're going to be doing." Astrid threw in, standing next to Stormfly.
Sighing, Hiccup looked down and answered "I'm challenging Dagur."
"Not without me you're not!" Matt shouted "That Skrill will chew you up!"
"When Toothless and I were fighting Death Killer, we were on the ground. In the air, it will be a completely different story." Hiccup argued "Besides, I've taken on a wild Skrill before and we both walked away from that." He finished with petting Toothless.
"I'm still helping you." Matt said, staring at Hiccup as if to challenge him.
"Matt…" Hiccup began to say "I need you to help the beach front because your Skrill can hit multiple targets at once. We're going to need that to help the actual battle." Walking up to Matt, he finished saying "The battle isn't between me and Dagur, it's what happens here. I'm distracting Dagur from helping his forces."
Matt leaned against his back leg. Thinking about what Hiccup was saying, he finally said "I understand. I'll help out here and then I'll come help you."
Shrugging, Hiccup said "Make sure everyone can do without you before you leave." With that, he turned to Valka and said "Mom, I want you to hold all the other dragons back. Use them when the beach is being overrun."
Smiling, Valka replied "Sounds like a plan." Putting her helmet on, she yelled "Cloud Jumper! Up!" With that, the four winged dragon took off and headed to the dragon hanger.
"The rest of you, follow Astrid's lead!" Hiccup yelled, getting on Toothless "She'll be in charge."
"Wait. Not me?" Snotlout asked in confusion "Why not me?"
"Snotlout, now's not the time." Eret said, shaking his head.
Hiccup walked Toothless over to Matt as everyone began to take off and fly. Still staring at him, Matt just shook his head. "Matt…please, make sure that everything is taken care of here before you come help me. Assuming I still need help." Hiccup said.
Astrid then answered, walking Stormfly up to Hiccup "Don't worry, I'll let him know when we don't need him.
"I promise Hiccup." Matt said "I'm still not agreeing with the plan, but I'll do my part."
"Thank you." Hiccup said, sliding his helmet on.
With that, a call was shouted "Ships Ahoy! It's the Berserkers!"
"Well timed." Astrid said out loud, looking out to see the white sails with the Skrill emblem on them.
"Everyone in position!" Hiccup yelled, taking off on Toothless.
Putting his helmet back on, Matt urged Wasatch to follow.
Flying alongside Hiccup, Matt saw just how many ships there were. Moaning, he said out loud "I don't remember seeing that many ships before."
"They probably got the rest of their fleet." Astrid replied, flying to left of him. "I'm sure this is the last of their armada."
"I hope so…" Matt said frowning, his helmet hiding his face.
Suddenly a lightning bolt was fired from the lead ship. Barely missing Astrid, she quickly pulled Stormfly to go higher. Staring at Astrid, both Hiccup and Matt looked to see Death Killer flying towards them.
"Here he comes!" Hiccup shouted, stopping Toothless and letting him hover. Matt followed suit, hovering next to Hiccup.
Astrid finished her climb and began to order the other riders around.
"Well Hiccup!" Dagur's voice sounded "How are you doing?"
Not saying anything, Hiccup stared at the approaching Dagur.
"Oh…not really in the mood to talk huh?" Dagur said with an evil smile. Letting Death Killer hover in front of Hiccup and Matt, he said "Matt! I'm shocked that you're even standing, let alone flying!" Laughing, he added "Get it? Shocked!"
"Turn around now Dagur!" Hiccup ordered "We'll beat you and your army this time."
"Well that's where you wrong Hiccup." Dagur replied softly "You won't beat me. Death Killer kind of seals the deal with that."
"Then let's fight." Hiccup said, his helmet covering his emotion "I'll take you down!"
"After you!" Dagur said grinning. Letting Death Killer fire a lightning bolt at Toothless, who easily dodged it, Dagur charged Hiccup.
Toothless then dove, gaining speed quickly. Dagur immediately gave pursuit, ignoring Matt who was just watching Hiccup.
"Matt!" Astrid's voice shouted above him. "The ships are launching the catapults! Get your head in the game!"
Looking down, Matt saw the rocks flying towards Berk; who were throwing rocks back at them.
Yelling to Wasatch, he said "Time to see how they like getting hit with lightning!" With that Matt stood up straight in his bindings and fell backwards. Wasatch rolled with Matt, causing them both to fall straight down on top of the ships. Letting Wasatch fall a good few hundred feet; Matt lifted his front foot, telling Wasatch to pull up. Pulling up above the first ship, Wasatch fired a lightning bolt out of his mouth, hitting the ship dead center. Fire started to consume the ship, causing the Berserker's to jump off.
Letting Wasatch fire another lightning bolt into another ship, Matt saw the twins spray down a layer of gas to which Stormfly fired at. A massive explosion erupted and Matt could feel the heat from the fire. Ships nearby were rocked by it, some of which their sails caught fire. Smiling under his helmet, Matt guided Wasatch around the fleet, going to hit them from behind.
Meanwhile, Astrid was busy giving orders: "Fishlegs!" she yelled "Have Meatlug eat the boulders they're throwing at us! Fire them back! I want you to stay there doing that!"
"Got it Astrid!" Fishlegs yelled, to which Meatlug caught a boulder and promptly ate it.
"Eret! You and Snotlout help defend the beaches. Focus on the small landing boats." She yelled, looking at Eret who was flying behind her.
"Don't worry! We'll take care of it!" He replied, turning Skull Crusher around.
"He means I'll take care of it." Snotlout shouted, following Eret to the beaches.
Shaking her head, she shouted "Ruff, Tuff, we're going to be taking down the bigger ships. Focus on the ones up in front!"
"Awesome! We get to blow stuff up!" Ruffnut shouted, high fiving her brother.
"It's like my birthday but better!" Tuffnut replied, letting Barf and Belch dive towards the fleet.
"Matt. I want you…to…" Astrid stared to say. Looking around, she couldn't find him anywhere. "Matt!" She yelled, thinking he left to help Hiccup.
Just as she searched for Matt, a lightning bolt fired from behind the fleet. Flying from behind, Wasatch shot at several other ships. Pulling alongside Astrid, he asked "What? Did you call me?"
Smiling, she replied loudly "Keep doing what you're doing."
Smiling, Matt let Wasatch shoot a catapult rock, blowing it up in hundreds of pieces. "I got to let him recharge! I'll be right back!" Matt yelled, guiding Wasatch towards Berk.
Letting Wasatch begin recharging, Matt saw Heather amongst crowd of Vikings, running across a bridge. In her arms was a Viking kid, crying.
Heather held the child tightly to comfort him. Glancing to her left, she saw Matt flying towards her. To her horror, she saw also a boulder smash into the supports of the bridge. With the bridge starting to collapse, Heather lost her footing; falling down a few feet from solid ground. Pushing the kid she was carrying the rest of the way, the bridge collapsed. Falling down, Heather screamed as the rocky sea was coming closer.
Matt quickly let Wasatch dive after her. Falling with her, he reached out to grab her and pull her into him; just as Wasatch pulled up. Even with the brace, Matt's back flared up with pain while he held Heather and as Wasatch regained altitude. Leveling off, Matt finally relaxed his back still burning with pain. Setting her down so that she was standing with him on the dragon, he shouted "I was joking about me saving you!"
"I guess I wasn't!" Heather replied, still a little bit in shock from what had happened.
Laughing, Matt let Wasatch glide to the ground. Letting Heather step off, he shouted "You need to get to cover!"
"I have to help the injured!" Heather shouted back, taking a few steps away.
"Help those that are in cover then, it's too dangerous for you to be running around in the open." Matt yelled back, urging Wasatch to take off.
Leaving Heather behind, Matt turned to see Astrid strafing a ship, followed by the twins. The two dragons made quick work of the ship, turning it into splinters. Smiling, Matt followed the two, letting Wasatch fire at the ships that the twins and Astrid missed.
"Good to see you again!" Astrid called out, finishing a strafing run. "Couldn't stay away from Heather?"
"It was actually her fault" Matt said laughing "She'll do anything to see me again."
Laughing, Astrid never saw a pair of bolas flying at her. Hitting Stormfly in the wing, she began to fall out of the sky; making Astrid hold onto the saddle for dear life. "I'm hit!" she shouted, to which she yelled at Stormfly "Hold on girl!" Stormfly kept on flapping her wing and tried to free it. Feeling a thud, Astrid saw that she landed on a Berserker ship. Jumping off Stormfly, she grabbed her axe off the saddle and stood in front of Stormfly; ready to defend her.
The Berserkers were surprised seeing a dragon crash on their ship. Quickly gaining their composure, they rushed at Astrid. Astrid responded by quickly bringing the axe across a Berserker's shoulder, spinning him around and dropping him. Bringing her axe handle up, she nailed another Berserker in the nose, knocking him back. Facing to her right, she felt herself get tackled by another Berserker. Pinned to the deck, Astrid tried to kick the Berserker off.
Struggling, she suddenly felt the Berserker pushed off of her. Looking, she saw Stormfly standing over her, defending the fallen Astrid. Her wing was freed and was growling at the rest of the Berserkers who were backing off. Rolling over, Astrid grabbed her axe and stood up. Standing alongside her dragon, she saw out of the corner of her eye Matt standing next to her.
Holding his new sword, he turned to look at her, saying "I freed Stormfly when you were otherwise occupied."
Smiling, Astrid felt wind rushing past her. Turning to see what caused it, she saw Wasatch hovering above them.
"Light up their world Wasatch!" Matt yelled, pointing his sword at the Berserkers. Roaring, Wasatch radiated lightning and shot smaller lightning bolts out of his wings. Striking the deck of the ship randomly, all the Berserkers jumped off the side of the ship.
"Well…I guess I have to thank you again." Astrid said smiling at Matt.
Not looking at her, Matt ran to the rudder of the ship. Pushing on it, he directed to the ship towards the middle of the fleet. "Grab me that rope!" Matt shouted pointing to a coil of rope.
Astrid, seeing what he was doing, grabbed the rope and handed it Matt; who began to tie it furiously to the rudder to hold it in place. Securing it, Matt yelled "Get off the ship before it collides with the others!" Seeing Astrid jump on Stormfly, Matt ran and jumped on Wasatch. Strapping himself in in record time, he urged Wasatch to take off. Flying away from the fleet, Matt and Astrid turned to see the single ship ram and sink three other ships.
Hovering above the battle, Matt said out loud "There's too many of them. We're sinking so many ships but they keep on coming!"
Looking around, Astrid said "We need Valka and her dragons!" Turning to Matt, she said "I need you and the twins to keep the fleet busy. I'm getting Valka!"
"Got it!" Matt shouted, guiding Wasatch into another strafing run. Striking at a ship, Matt flew to the side of the fleet. Staring at the line of ships, Matt then urged Wasatch to strafe them again. Expecting to dive towards the fleet, Matt felt the opposite. Wasatch wasn't going or moving anywhere. Instead, he just sat there and hovered over the fleet. Surprised, Matt yelled "What are you doing Wasatch? We gotta get going!"
Instead of a response, Wasatch started to radiate lightning. Seeing this, Matt yelled "Nevermind! Do what you have to bud! I'm here for the ride!" Responding, Wasatch roared; radiating even more lightning. Seeing small bolts strike the wings of his dragon, Matt shouted "I hope whatever your doing doesn't affect me! I'm still back here remember!" From the island and ships below, Wasatch was looking like a small sun; radiating white light. Seeing the lightning covering all of Wasatch, Matt screamed "Alright Wasatch! Let 'em have whatever your doing!"
The Skrill shrieked, spreading its wings out. Almost instantly a lightning storm descended. Striking most of ships, fire started to light up the wood. The Berserkers all jumped off their ships, trying to miss the lightning and move around the fire that was spreading.
Laughing, Matt saw the lightning recess from Wasatch. Looking at his dragon, he could see that he was struggling to stay in flight. Urging him to glide to Berk, Matt jumped off of Wasatch as he landed. Seeing the Skrill collapse, Matt lifted up Wasatch's head saying "You did it buddy…You saved Berk!"
Nudging Matt's hand, Wasatch shocked Matt, acknowledging the praise.
"Uh…Matt…" Fishlegs shouted above him "Sorry to be Norman the Negative, but look!"
Looking through the smoke covered sea, Matt saw something that sank his heart. The rear end of the fleet was pushing past the wreckage, making way for the beaches. Already the landing boats were already almost on the beach.
"No…" He whispered. He just stared at the fleet that kept on coming. With Wasatch down, Matt was pretty much useless as a dragon rider, but he could still be a foot soldier. Looking at the tired Skrill, Matt whispered "Stay here boy…" Grabbing the handle of his sword, Matt started to run to the beach to join the rest of the Berk Vikings.
As he started to run on the beach, Matt heard Eret shout above him "What are you doing Matt!?"
"Helping fight!" Matt shouted back "Wasatch is exhausted! He can't even fly."
"Get back!" Eret yelled "You'll be killed!"
Ignoring him, Matt picked up a shield from a fallen Viking. Running next to the other Vikings, he extended the blade out of the handle with sparks running up and down the sword. Raising his shield, he rammed into a Berserker.
"Throw his defenses off, then strike…" Matt thought, rehearsing what Astrid taught him. Thrusting his sword out from behind the shield, he felt blade catch something. As he moved the shield out of the way, Matt saw the Berserker he hit twitch as the electricity from his blade shoot through him. Not wasting a second, Matt pulled out the blade and slashed it across the twitching Viking's chest. Looking to his left, he raised his shield just in time to block an axe. With the axe head stuck in his shield, the attacking Berserker moved the shield out of the way and punched Matt in the face. His helmet taking most of the blow, Matt still let go of the shield and fell backwards.
Laying on his back, Matt stared up into the sky with pain running up and down. Brace or no brace, landing on his back hurt him a lot. Looking through his eye holes, he could see the Berserker raising the axe up; ready to bring it down on top of him. Suddenly, Matt watched a hail of spikes fly into the Berserker. Rolling to his side, Matt looked up to Stormfly hovering behind him. Looking down from Stormfly, Matt saw Astrid running towards him. Picking up his sword off the ground, Astrid then grabbed Matt's armor and dragged him away from the battle.
"What in the name of Thor were you thinking!?" Astrid yelled, dropping Matt pretty hard on the icy beach.
"Wasatch was down, so I had to help!" Matt gasped, rolling over to his hands and knees, trying to cope with the burning sensation in his back.
"Matt, you're barely able to fight one on one, let alone on a battlefield." Astrid said angrily, grabbing Matt by the arm and then lifting him up on his feet.
Wincing in pain, Matt's head suddenly snapped up. Staring at Astrid, he asked "What about Valka!? Did you get her? Where is she?"
Shaking her head and smiling, Astrid gestured behind Matt and answered "Look!"
Turning around, Matt saw Valka hovering above the battlefield with Cloud Jumper. Behind her were hundreds of dragons, all roaring and shooting fire at the remnants of the landing boats. The wild Zipplebacks were rolling across the beach on fire, making themselves a buzz saw of fire, while Rumblehorns charged and rammed into columns of Berserkers. Almost immediately the rest of the dragons charged the fleet.
Smiling, Matt looked at Astrid and said "I think we can win now!"
"Think?" Astrid said laughing. Grabbing him, she quickly turned him around and made him face the invading fleet. "We are! We're winning!" she shouted pointing to the retreating fleet.
Sure enough, the fleet began to pull back, at least what was left of the fleet.
"I can't believe it…" Matt whispered "A minute ago, I thought I was looking at the end of Berk."
"What did you do?" Astrid asked "How did you sink half the fleet?"
Gesturing over the hill where Wasatch was laying, he said "Wasatch did it. Basically called all the lighting in the world and used it!"
"How?"
Matt shrugged "I don't know, he refused to do what I asked and ended up having a whole storm under his wings." Smiling, he continued "I think we're just barely scratching the surface with knowing what a Skrill can do…"
Suddenly, both he and Astrid were picked up by Stormfly. Staring up at the dragon, both Astrid and Matt looked down to see a massive catapult rock laying right where they were standing.
"Thanks girl…" Astrid breathing loudly "That was close."
"Right…We should still remember we're on a battlefield…" Matt said slowly, still staring at the boulder. Turning to look at Astrid, he saw something behind her that caught his attention. Starting past Astrid, he suddenly saw a lightning strike randomly in the air.
"Astrid! I need to help Hiccup!" Matt yelled, struggling to get down.
"Stormfly! Down!" Astrid yelled.
Gently dropped down, Matt took off running back to Wasatch. Astrid quickly followed him. Matt had a new panicked feeling. If he saw a lightning strike just barely, Hiccup must be having a harder time than he expected. And he was probably getting tired too!
Running up to Wasatch, Matt was surprised to see his dragon up and walking towards him. Jumping on him, Matt began to strap himself in. "You ok bud? I hate to do this to you, but we need to fly like the wind!" Matt breathed quickly. His back still had pain lingering in at this point.
"I have to clean up the rest of these Berserker's" Astrid said, looking at Matt as he finished strapping in "I'll be there to help as soon as I can."
"Don't worry, we can handle it." Matt said, looking back at Astrid.
Handing Matt his sword, Astrid added "Be careful Matt."
Nodding, Matt took his sword and yelled "Let's go boy!"
Roaring, Wasatch launched into the air. Even if Wasatch was tired, he wasn't going to show it then.
Guiding Wasatch to the lightning that was shooting pretty regularly now, Matt yelled out loud "Hold on Hiccup! We're coming!"
Hiccup rolled Toothless around another lightning strike. Even though Toothless was flying circles around Death Killer, the Skrill was deflecting every shot that the Night Fury threw at it. The electricity almost created a shield around the Skrill. This wasn't the first time that Hiccup and Toothless came across this problem. When they fought the wild Skrill a few years ago, it was almost an impossible enemy to attack. Banking hard left, Hiccup maneuvered Toothless back behind Dagur and Death Killer. Taking aim, Toothless fired another plasma blast at Death Killer. Flipping around, Death Killer shot a lightning bolt at the plasma blast, causing a massive blue electric explosion to occur.
"Sorry Hiccup, you're going to have to do better than that!" Dagur called out "Death Killer, enough playing with them, just kill them!"
Death Killer responded by shooting a lightning bolt at Toothless, barely dodging it by rolling to the right. The Skrill instantly shot a second bolt, then a third! Rolling like mad, Toothless dodged the bolts, each getting closer to their target.
Hiccup put Toothless into a dive, going straight for the blue ocean below him. Out flying the Skrill, Hiccup pulled up just in time to feel the mist of the ocean that lay only three feet under him. Looking behind him, Hiccup saw Dagur not that far from him.
"He can't maneuver like us…" Hiccup said quietly, watching Dagur pull up a lot sooner than they did. "OK bud, let's teach that Skrill how to turn like a Night Fury!"
Rolling to the right, Hiccup intentionally slowed down to let Dagur catch up. Seeing Dagur a lot closer to them, he then began to weave between the giant rock pillars. Seeing that the Skrill wasn't firing anymore, Hiccup smiled as he continued to weave between the rocks. Leading Dagur by barely making him visible, Hiccup circled a pillar, ending up behind Dagur. Firing a plasma blast, Death Killer only had time to dodge it, not fire an electric bolt. Flying away from the enraged dragon and rider, Hiccup and Toothless kept on weaving between the massive pillars that stood out of the ocean.
Dagur, now was having Death Killer fire lightning bolts whenever he saw Hiccup, exploding rock and removing any obstacle that was in their way. Coming on a small straightaway, Hiccup saw the rock pillar to his right get struck by a lightning bolt. Exploding, the debris caused mad Hiccup deviate from his path. Rolling away from the explosion, Toothless barely missed a pillar that was on his left. Gritting his teeth, Hiccup yelled "That's it! Let's finish this Toothless!" Leading Dagur on another wild chase in between the monoliths, he lost Dagur in a second. After a minute of weaving, Hiccup maneuvered Toothless to do a small flip and roll, heading back where he came from.
"Get ready bud. We'll take them by surprise!" Hiccup shouted "They won't expect a head on attack!"
Bracing himself, Hiccup flew around the pillar. To his shock, Dagur was gone! Looking around in a panic, Hiccup began to fly in between the pillars searching for Dagur. "Ok bud…keep an eye out up front, I'll watch our backside." Hiccup said quietly to Toothless.
After a few minutes of flying in between the pillars, Hiccup said out loud "Did we scare him off? Or did he just…" A thought came to him that caused him to panic. "Come on bud! He's probably heading over to his fleet to help them!"
Urging Toothless to fly above the pillars, Hiccup made a straight line from where he was to where the battle was raging. Barely getting over the cliffs and flying over a snowy plain, Hiccup heard something that made his blood run cold.
"Get them Death Killer!" Dagur's voice yelled.
Not even able to turn around to see where they were, Hiccup saw a flash of white lightning hitting Toothless. Feeling the Night Fury fall out of the sky, Hiccup held onto his friend as he crashed into the snowy ground.
Being thrown off Toothless, Hiccup rolled a few yards from where Toothless landed. Getting his sense of direction back, Hiccup slowly sat up from where he was laying. Covered in snow and his helmet thrown off, Hiccup looked from where he lay, seeing Toothless lying motionless in the snow. "Oh no...Oh no, no, no!" Hiccup yelled, crawling to his friend. Getting near Toothless, Hiccup saw that the dragon was still breathing. "Oh Toothless…" Hiccup said, feeling a hole in heart seeing his friend like this.
"Game over Hiccup!" Dagur's voice shouted behind him.
Anger flaring up in his body, Hiccup turned to look at Dagur who was hovering on Death Killer above him. Staring at the lunatic, Hiccup yelled out of fury, hatred, and even as a last resort "Dagur, you'll never win!"
Laughing, Dagur yelled back "Oh really? Your Night Fury is down, my fleet is pounding your village, I armed my men to specifically take down your dragons, I have to say I can't really see how I can lose!"
Staring helplessly at Dagur, Hiccup dropped his head. He was beat, and now Berk was going to fall…under his reign as chief.
"Death Killer, would you so kindly finish their pathetic lives?" Dagur said quietly, smiling crazily at Hiccup.
Staring at the Skrill as it charged up with lightning; Hiccup threw himself on Toothless, as if to protect him.
Eyes squeezed shut, he heard Dagur's laughter suddenly turn into angry shouts and curses.
Slowly looking up, Hiccup saw something flooded his body with relief. Matt and Wasatch hovering above him.
"That's it Dagur!" Matt screamed, throwing his helmet off "I'm going to kill you right NOW!"
"I bet you'll do as we-" Dagur was cut off as Wasatch slammed himself into Death Killer, knocking Dagur into the snow.
Unbuckling his snowboard bindings, Matt leapt off Wasatch as he pinned Death Killer to the ground.
Landing hard, Matt collapsed in the snow. The pain in his back was excruciating. Fighting through it with the knowledge that Hiccup was almost killed, and the anger that was built up inside him; Matt stood back up, grabbing his handle and extending the blade out and letting it rain sparks from it. Hiccup ran next to him, pulling out his fire sword as well.
"Well…this took a turn of events." Dagur said with anger in his voice. Standing up in the snow, he in turn drew his sword that was strapped to his back. "I'm still going to win Hiccup."
"Tell that to the remnants of your fleet!" Matt replied, putting his sword into a defensive position.
Dagur stared at him, not really wanting to believe what he heard. Shrugging, Dagur responded with "If that is the truth, then I'll gladly take your lives as a compromise." With that he leapt at Hiccup and thrust his sword.
Backing up, Hiccup deflected the sword by hitting it with his own. Fire spread shot out randomly as the two swords made contact. Matt then jumped at Dagur with his sword thrust forward. Quickly deflecting Matt's strike, Dagur roared in pain as the electricity from Matt's sword travelled through his and into Dagur's hand.
Because the connection between swords was short, the voltage was a lot weaker than if Matt had actually hit Dagur directly. Still enough though to make Dagur rethink deflecting Matt's attacks.
"That's a dirty trick…" Dagur growled, trying to put feeling back into his hand.
"I learned it all from you." Matt replied, circling behind Dagur "You're the best at being a scumbag."
Hiccup then leapt forward, slashing his sword. Deflecting the blow, Dagur took a step back. Retracting the blade back in the handle, Hiccup then spewed gas out of his sword at Dagur. Shocked, Dagur tried to jump out, but was too late as Matt poked the gas with his sword, covered in sparks. The explosion knocked Dagur flat on his back. Rolling backwards with the inertia, Dagur stood up and rushed Matt by sticking his sword out, aiming for his heart. Unable to deflect the attack due to the lack of experience, Matt threw himself backwards to avoid the sword. Landing on his back, Matt wasn't as nimble as Dagur and just laid there for a second. Trying to control the pain that surged in his back, he quickly rolled over to his knees. Standing up he saw Dagur aggressively swing at Hiccup, who was backing away. Running at Dagur, Matt picked up a handful of snow and threw it into Dagur's face.
Blinded temporally, Dagur swung at random to try and deflect any attacks. Running towards Dagur, Matt then slid under the wild swings and slashed Dagur's leg.
Yelling in pain from being slashed and being shocked by the built in taser, Dagur dropped his sword and fell to his knee.
Rolling away from Dagur, Matt slowly stood up. Staring at Dagur kneeling in the snow, Matt couldn't believe that he pulled that off. Relaxing a little, Matt felt the pain in his back creep up again.
"This time we won Dagur…" Hiccup said, breathing heavily and pointing his sword at Dagur's chest.
"Did you though?" Dagur hissed back, staring at Hiccup's eyes. He then yelled "Death Killer! Help!"
With that, Death Killer smacked Wasatch with his tail, getting free from being pinned. Running quickly to Dagur, the Skrill knocked over both Matt and Hiccup as he ran in between them.
Rolling several feet away, Matt and Hiccup looked up in time to see Dagur pull himself up and start flying to the clouds above.
"I'll bring him down!" Matt shouted, standing up. Just as he did so, his leg flooded with pain. Collapsing in the snow, Matt stared at it with horror. "Why is it hurting now? Why is my brace not working!?" he yelled in confusion
Hiccup ran up to look at the brace. Pulling and pushing the lever up and down, Hiccup looked at Matt and said "The metal rods in the brace are snapped! Death Killer must have done it when he knocked us both over!"
Fighting the pain, Matt called Wasatch over. "I'll get Dagur back here. Give me a few minutes."
"Matt!" Hiccup yelled "Now is not the time to go chase him for vengeance sake. Your leg is killing you, as I'm sure your back is as well! We also need to go secure the island!" Turning to Toothless who still lay in the snow unconscious, whispered "We need to get Toothless some help."
"Weren't you the one who wanted to end Dagur?" Matt asked loudly, still climbing on Wasatch slowly. "Hiccup, if he escapes, then all this was for nothing! NOTHING!"
Looking at Matt, Hiccup just stared at him; unable to argue against what he said.
"I'll be right back…" Matt said softly "I promise!"
Looking at Matt in the eye, Hiccup said "Go. Just don't do anything stupid!"
Smiling, Matt nodded and then urged Wasatch to fly in the sky. Feeling the sudden launch, Matt had to focus on keeping his leg upright. The few activities he had just done with the battle at Berk, fighting on the ground with Berk's warriors, and fighting Dagur with Hiccup; had made his leg extremely tired and weak. Without the brace to help stay the pain, it was all catching up to him.
Wasatch himself was showing signs of fatigue. Slowing down quite a bit, Matt kneeled down and yelled "I'm sorry Wasatch, but I just need a little bit more out of you!" Grabbing his sword, he laid the flat side of it down on the side of Wasatch and shocked him. Roaring, Wasatch started to put a little extra energy to climbing higher, spurred by the stress of the situation.
Flying into the clouds that were beginning to darken with falling snow, Matt quickly turned his head to try and find Dagur. Wasatch was also busy looking for Death Killer. Lightning was lighting up the sky, usually what happens when a Skrill is being active. The clouds were thick to where visibility was incredibly reduced.
Suddenly a bolt of lightning was shot from behind them. Quickly turning, Wasatch absorbed the blast. Firing one of his own at the direction where they were attacked from, Wasatch roared as if to challenge Death Killer
"Don't fire back!" Matt yelled "Just focus on absorbing the lightning!"
Just as he finished saying that, another lightning bolt shot from under them. Quickly moving himself, Wasatch absorbed that one as well.
"How are you that quick!?" Matt asked surprised, trying to regain his balance. crouching down on Wasatch so that he didn't have to stand on his leg as much, Matt began to scan the sky. Snow was falling a lot heavier, adding to the difficulty of seeing anything.
Suddenly a roar sounded above them. Looking up, Matt could see Death Killer and Dagur diving on them.
"Watch out!" Matt yelled, trying to maneuver Wasatch away from the diving Skrill.
Too late to do anything, Death Killer landed on Wasatch. Biting into Wasatch's back, he started to pull him down.
Matt his balance as he fell with Wasatch. Grabbing one of the many spikes, Matt tried to control his body. Looking at Death Killer, he shouted "Get off of him!"
Not even hearing Matt, nor would he listen, Death Killer kept on biting into Wasatch's back.
Extending the blade out of his handle for a third time, Matt slashed at the Skrill. Getting a clean cut across the face of Death Killer, Matt saw blood start pouring out of a straight line that was in-between the eyes.
"Death Killer!" Dagur shouted in horror, seeing his Skrill bleed.
Letting go of Wasatch, Death Killer started to control itself from falling any farther. Shaking its head in pain, the Skrill roared in agony as it hovered in place.
Matt then focused his attention on Wasatch, shouting "Come on buddy! We just need to land! Come on Wasatch! You're done after this!"
Wasatch slowly extended his wings, catching himself and letting him glide towards the island. Matt turned to look at the Skrill's back. He could see multiple holes all along his Skrill's back, as was a small chunk of flesh missing near the center of his back. Blood was everywhere along the back, making Matt sick to his stomach.
Gliding slowly and pretty low over the snowy plain, Wasatch finally folded over. Crashing from a good 10 feet above the ground, Wasatch slid on the ground for a good 20 feet. Matt was carried the entire way as he was still strapped to his wounded dragon.
That was the last straw for Matt's pain tolerance. Pain started to flood every part of his body, but his back and leg even more so. Letting out a long agonized moan, Matt laid on his back in the snow unable to move. Finally feeling the pain lessen a little, he slowly reached for his bindings that held him to his downed friend. Matt gasped at the strain he was putting on his bad leg from just moving it a little. He started with the binding on his right foot, which came off fairly simple yet painful. Breathing for a minute, he then reached for the one on his left foot, also being his bad leg. Struggling to move the small latch that released his bindings, he looked up to see that it was completely jammed. Resting his head in the snow, Matt closed his eyes. Even if he had all day, he wouldn't be able to get out of it without someone's help. On top of that, the leg was at the point that it was riveting with a sharp pain and he couldn't move it even if he wanted to. "That's why my doctors wanted me to stay off of it…" Matt muttered to himself.
Looking helplessly at Wasatch, Matt saw the blood dripping out of the many wounds and seep into the white snow; turning it to crimson red. "Wasatch…" Matt whispered "What did I do to you? What did I make you do?" The snow was falling harder now, already starting to put a small layer on top of Matt. Laying there for a few minutes, which felt like hours, he heard someone running up to him. Twisting his head in the direction of the sound, he was relieved to see that it was Hiccup.
"Matt!" he cried, kneeling down at where Matt lay. Brushing the snow off, he asked "What happened!?"
"I'm fine Hiccup." Matt said with a forced smile, trying to mask the pain. Gesturing to Wasatch he said "It's Wasatch that I'm worried about."
"This is perfect!" A voice shouted above them "The very two that I wanted to kill are next to each other!"
Closing his eyes, Matt cussed. Opening his eyes and turning to where he heard the voice, he saw exactly what he thought. Dagur with an enraged Skrill with a red slash on its face, blood dripping from its chin..
"Death Killer would personally like to deal with you Matt." Dagur said angrily. "I did at first, but he was the one that was directly affected by you."
Before either Hiccup or Matt could answer, a streak of fire formed in between them and Dagur.
Looking up in shock, Matt and Hiccup saw all the dragon riders, hovering above them.
Without saying anything, Dagur turned Death Killer and flew into the storm; disappearing from their view."
Not bothering to chase him, the dragon riders landed and ran to Matt and Hiccup.
"What happened!?" Astrid asked, picking up Hiccup and hugging him.
Running his fingers through her hair, Hiccup replied "Dagur's a better rider than we expected…He…He beat us pretty good."
Staring at Hiccup, Astrid asked "Where's Toothless?"
Hiccup pointed in a direction and said "Over there. He's unconscious. He took a solid hit from Death Killer."
Matt was listening on the conversation, still laying in the snow when he suddenly felt a sharp pain shoot up his leg. Looking at his leg, he saw Fishlegs and Eret trying to unjam his binding. Between the relief of being near friends, the anxiety of almost losing his dragon, and the pain in his leg and back; Matt slowly slipped into a deep, dark world.
