I really don't have time for this, but the thing is the 29th of February is Hiccup's birthday, so I had to write something on his birthday. Sadly it's not a birthday fic, it's just a continuation of this story, but I hope you all enjoy it just the same. Happy Birthday to Hiccup and any other soul born on Leap year. Just his luck that he was born on a day that only occurs once every four years.
Gobber hummed as he and Grump flew along, not knowing what else to do. The Meatheads were originally sailing with Stoick, and when he ordered Spitelout to sail back, they should have started for their own island. Gobber knew he was a few hours behind them, but since he was on a dragon, even one as slow as Grump, he should catch up to them soon. He just needed a plan. Hiccup may be the mastermind on Berk, but Stoick, Spitelout, and Gobber were amazing strategists in their own right. You don't become the right and left hand men to a chief without that ability. Gobber would have to just keep going to the island and hold off the attacking forces until the Meathead's can land of their own shores. It was one heck of a time to have the heir of the Meathead tribe abroad. Thuggory was a good warrior. He knew that the teens absence could pose a problem. They were vikings though. They could work their way around anything.
The Meathead boats came into view and Gobber waved down to them as he flew overhead. They made no sounds that they heard or saw him, and he continued on.
xxx
Spitelout sighed in annoyance. Berk was a little ways off. He really wished they had more dragons. They only brought a few for the 'attack'. He decided on a two wave movement. They would take their best warriors on dragon back back to Berk, and bring along one more to bring back some dragons for the others. Meanwhile the dragons would be the main force to defend Berk. Stoick was counting on him, and even if they didn't always see eye to eye, he was not about to let him down. It would be morning before they would arrive on Berk again, and he only hoped that those who were left behind could hold the island until they got there. He gathered the men together and set out.
xxx
Hiccup looked at the black sky. Night had already fallen. It was the quiet before the storm, he could tell. By his math Dagur should be able to arrive at any time now. He just hoped his father wouldn't be too angry. He did disobey a direct order after all. Suddenly Toothless tensed. "What's wrong Toothless?" Hiccup asked as low as he could. The dragon looked ready to attack, so Hiccup grabbed onto the saddle and held on tight, ready for action. A soft splash reach his ears and Toothless sent out a small echo to see if he could tell what it was. Suddenly his whole demeanor changed. He seemed happy, and cooed to show everything was alright. "Who's there?" Hiccup asked, figuring it was safe to speak out loud.
"Hiccup?" a female voice asked. Toothless thought about shooting a plasma blast so Hiccup could see, but that would give away their position. However Hiccup didn't need it, he knew exactly who it was.
"Ariel?" he asked.
"Why are you out here?" the girl asked, surprised. She had thought she'd have to swim much further to find him.
"First line of defense I guess. I thought you had to go back home." he said. She sighed.
"Yes, she very well does." came a male voice that Hiccup recognized as the crab Sebastian.
"I did go home, but I went exploring again and I heard a man talking about you." she said.
"Me?" Hiccup asked, wondering who it could be. He was pretty sure he had a few good guesses though.
"Another man called him Dagur." she said. Well, we had a winner. "He was talking to a man he called Ryker." she went on to say.
"Ryker? So he's involved with this. I thought it was strange that Dagur would show up to make peace with us after he sided with them." Hiccup mused.
"He said something about a brother wanting DunBroch, and Dagur wanted you. They are attacking your home and here." she said. Hiccup tensed. Berk was defenseless. All their warriors were at sea. "Hiccup, he's terrifying, and he wants you and Toothless." she said, sounding shaken.
"I know. He has for a while now." Hiccup all but groaned. Then he smiled, realizing she couldn't see it in the dark. "It'll be alright though. Thank you Ariel." he said. Now he knew Dagur wasn't working alone. So that was part of it. Viggo wanted the dragons, so if they had the dragons in DunBroch when the dragon hunters arrived, it could get really bad.
"I want to help." she decided.
"No way! Your father is probably worried sick! You have never been out late like this. He'll probably send out the entire kingdom to find you!" Sebastian yelled.
"He's right Ariel." said Flounder, hoping to dis-sway the young woman from trying to fight. Hiccup nodded with them.
"You've done more than enough. We can handle Dagur, I promise." he said. He knew Dagur was something he could handle, he had done it many times before. Viggo however. That man was a wild card Hiccup wasn't sure about. He had already bested Hiccup once, and that was frustrating enough. Ariel sighed, one that Hiccup and Toothless could recognize as a sound of defeat.
"I'll try to be back tomorrow. For now I'll go home." she said. So she didn't give up after all. Toothless tensed again.
"Something's coming. You should go." Hiccup warned. With a splash of water, Hiccup assumed she left. Toothless growled low and Hiccup reached for the dagger he kept in his belt. A rush of wind came overhead, and suddenly Toothless calmed down again. Once again he let Hiccup know the coast was clear.
"Are they here Skull crusher?" Hiccup could only think of a few times where he had been happier to hear his father's voice than now.
"Dad!" he called up.
"Hiccup! What are you doing out here?" he asked, and Hiccup could hear Skull crusher hovering above them.
"Dad, Dagur is teaming up with Ryker and Viggo. They are going to go for Berk too!" Hiccup called up.
"I know he's going for Berk. I already sent Spitelout back. Gobber is going to protect Meathead as well. I came to help you." he said. Hiccup felt a swell of pride for his father. "How did you know that anyway?" Stoick asked after a second. Hiccup looked down, he really couldn't tell his dad that a mermaid told him. Not that he'd believe it anyway.
"Dagur is predictable." he decided to say. He wasn't lying. It was a fact. It just did nothing to answer his father's question.
"I see. Where are the others?" Hiccup winced.
"I uh...left them back in DunBroch." he said. He could just feel his father's scowl.
"I see." yep, he was scowling. "Then we should go let them know what's going on." Stoick said.
"No, I'm waiting for Dagur." Hiccup said. Stoick sighed, it was an annoyed sigh.
"Hiccup, if he really is with the dragon hunters, then one dragon and one boy is not going to be enough to defeat them." he said.
"But with you here we have two dragons and two vikings." Hiccup pointed out, knowing that it didn't change anything. They had a huge disadvantage here.
"Hiccup." Stoick said, in a warning tone. Hiccup knew they were not going to win this one. Toothless nudged him, as if showing he agreed with Stoick. Hiccup whispered something along the lines of 'traitor' but sighing a heavy defeated sigh. He was not going to win.
xxx
"Anything?" Thuggory asked, as he came to relieve Astrid of her watch. Stormfly squawked to show they had not. Thuggory looked up at Killer. He was growing very found of this dragon. Killer looked out over the sea, looking to see if anything is coming.
"This is pointless. We can't see anything." Lord Macintosh growled. He and Furgus came out to check on the vikings as well.
"We can't, but the dragons can hear and smell." Astrid pointed out.
"They are useful creatures aren't they?" Furgus mused. He had always heard negative depictions of dragons in fairy tales. To see them in real life, and see them as kind creatures was a little bit of a shock.
"If that's true, then why are you all out here?" asked Macintosh. Astrid scowled.
"The dragons aren't servants. They are our allies. We will stand with them. Besides, if there is something, the dragons can't talk to us about it." Astrid was surprised that it was Thuggory that had said this. It was amazing the effect Killer was having on the meathead. He was seeing Killer as his equal. She felt bad that he would have to say good bye to the dragon when this was all over, but it was nice to see.
xxx
Dawn was breaking over the horizon, and Meathead island was finally in sight. Gobber could see the ships of Dagur's armada. They were almost on the shores of the island and had began their assault. The vikings were trying to fight back, but even Gobber could see this was a very one sided battle. "Alright Grump, this is your big moment." he said proudly to the dragon. Grump wasn't fast, he was actually one of the slowest dragons there were. That put them at a huge disadvantage. Grump also was lazy, so lazy he could sleep while flying. However Grump had something that the other dragons did not. He was one of the toughest skinned dragons there was, and he was a heavy hitter. Grump flew over the last ship in the line up and spit out a heavy fireball. It hit the ship dead center and began to sink. The outcry from the berserkers aboard caught the other ships attention.
"Oh boy!" Gobber groaned as the first catapult was launched at them. Grump veered to the side, allowing the ball to miss him. The second one hit it's mark however. Gobber grunted as it hit Grumps side and scratched his leg. However both him and the dragon were fine. They set their sights on a nearby boat in the back of the armada. Grump slammed into the side, tilting it up enough that it started to take on water. The vikings on land took the opportunity of the distraction to fire a volley of catapults at the ships in the front. One of the ships sank.
Gobber smiled at the little victory, but he knew he couldn't get too excited. That was three ships down and nearly ten more to go. Too early to get excited.
xxxx
Spitelout grinned as Berk came into view. It truly was a sight to behold. There was the armada that was attacking Berk, but the armada wasn't making any progress. He could see Gothi on a dragon in front, gesturing to a group of vikings on dragons to her left to go for a particular ship. Then she went with the group on her right. They may have took their best warriors out for this battle, but the ones left behind had dragons at their disposal.
"You men, flank them from the left. The rest of you, we're hitting them head on." Spitelout yelled. That would cover the side Gothi didn't attack. The vikings cheered in excitement for the battle to come, getting the Berserkers attention. They could see the horror on the men's faces, the knowledge that the strongest dragons shouldn't be back yet, but they were. "You lot picked the wrong place to attack." Spitelout said. He had to finish this quickly.
xxx
Hiccup and Stoick could see DunBroch come into view, but when they glanced back they could just make out ships behind them. It had to be Dagur and his men. The battle was about to begin. Hiccup looked to his dad, he would not loose to Viggo this time.
Pretty sure this is my longest chapter to date, but hey, like I said, can't ignore the main protagonists birthday. Plus this is a day that we get only once every four years, be a shame to waste it. Anyway, I owe all of you thank you's for staying with me so far! Thank you Cassandra Lilith Mircalla, Chocotaco101, EraticMind, Euge139, KupcakeKrazed101, MrsBellaWhitlock123, Nijirosora, Nomi Rida, Patty 4577, Sanasuke, Schoollie, SidheWolf5, cam285, leslie2132, mystery writer5775, thunder child 14, vampireloversw, wildkat0122, 02FireRains, Childatheart28, DeathOfTheBlackDragon, DuskBlight, Hoytti, Keiri Kurosukara, Kgaiser, The Era Thief, Leafpool16985, Mei1395, TPATFan16, Tigerlilli123, Trtl35462, Yonna9queen, Zharlee, feral creature, foxglove66, iCoaster44, ladipretender, sgtoutz, tzs, guests, anxious one, Dragonsoul, O.o, Nuuuu, Toothless lover, Eeyoreluver84 , Is this a spoon of surrender, AS, H, P, I'm Just Saying, Kppuppys, Rob, and Nijirosora.
