"This is taking so much longer than last time! Are we even headed in the right direction?" Astrid asked me from in front.
"I sure hope so," I replied.
"HICCUP!" Tuffnut shouted. "WE DON'T HAVE ANY WEAPONS! WHAT DO WE DO WHEN WE GET THERE?"
"IF WE GET THERE!" Ruffnut added.
"There will be weapons on the island! The other Vikings are probably there by now," I shouted back.
I thought about Astrid's comment. It was taking a lot longer to reach the island. There was nothing in sight for us, not even fog. No smoke. Just a blank expanse of ocean. I was sure we were headed north. It was just past noon, and the sun was on the left side of my face. That was all I knew. My father had guessed the dragons' island to the north, so that was the way he always went with the Vikings. But even after Toothless took me and Astrid there, I still had no idea where it was. It just happened so quickly I couldn't figure out which direction we were headed last night.
Last night. I shuddered, thinking I wouldn't see Toothless again. "Astrid, we need to hurry," I said. No reply. She was tuning me out when I said that, not unlike about ninety-nine percent of the time on Berk.
"Hey, has anyone seen Snotlout!?" Fishlegs shouted.
"Yeah, he's headed thataway," Ruffnut said casually. "Should we let him go?"
I scanned to my left. Found a small version of Snotlout and his Monstrous Nightmare. They were a good ways from Astrid and me, headed northwest.
"D'ya think he's onto something?" Astrid said.
"Maybe. Let's follow him," I said back. I raised my right arm and motioned the twins and Fishlegs to follow.
Astrid nudged her dragon with her right knee, causing it to turn slightly to the left. I felt something coursing through the Nadder. Its speed increased with a sense of urgency. "I think we're about to find it!" she shouted. The dragon squawked as it picked up the pace even more.
We were almost caught up to Snotlout when he turned around and shouted, "I have no idea what he's on! He just turned all of a sudden and sped up! Does he even know this isn't the right way!?"
I pointed straight ahead. We were headed the right way. A towering wall of fog that looked all too familiar to both me and Astrid was straight ahead.
Snotlout turned back around and shouted, "GEEZ! TURN BACK!" He shoved his knee into the Nightmare's side, but the dragon wouldn't do anything except fly straight. Snotlout and his dragon disappeared into the mist a split-second before Astrid and I did.
I realized Fishlegs and the twins weren't too far behind us when Tuffnut shouted, "I can't see anything! Including Ruffnut, which is awesome!"
"Idiot! I'm right here!" Ruffnut countered. They broke into an argument. I could have sworn that was one of their favorite pastimes, besides Hiccup hunting, especially if there was nothing else to do. I just sighed, not caring about their antics right now.
Astrid let her dragon guide us in the fog. I wasn't sure if the dragon could see or if it just knew where to go. Either way, the Nadder was avoiding everything without any problem. All of a sudden, the dragon squawked and stalled briefly. It hung vertically for a beat and swerved around something I guessed was unfamiliar. I heard a low whoosh on my right and glanced, seeing an intact boat with the Berk crest lodged in the rocks.
"Well, if Gobber and your dad were wondering where their boats went, here they are," Astrid said dryly.
We saw a rocky beach just ahead, where the fog was clearing. Snotlout and his dragon had already landed. We followed suit with Fishlegs and the twins, who were still arguing, about ten seconds behind us. All four of our dragons were breathing heavily, probably from carrying people on their backs and necks. We waited for them to regain their wind before setting off around the island to find the Vikings who were probably here already.
"Which way do you think we should go?" Fishlegs asked.
I looked around. We were standing on the beach staring at a ridiculously steep mountain lodged in the middle of the island. We could go left or right, but that was it. "Um…" I wasn't sure. I took a few steps to my left, as if I could see around the mountain from my new location. I saw more mountain, if that counted for anything important.
I noticed something truly profound was going on when all the sound from the twins stopped. They were arguing about who was the better rider when Tuffnut's eyes widened and focused on something in the distance. To my right. "Whoa, check it out!" he said, pointing. "There's, like, a mass migration going on."
I turned and saw a cloud of dragons a few hundred yards away. They were leaving the island as a mob. It reminded me of last night, when Toothless had miraculously gotten us off this island alive.
"Oh, no," Astrid and I said at the same time. We exchanged worried glances.
"What?" Snotlout asked. He looked in the same direction as the twins. "Why are they migrating?"
"They're not," Astrid said. "Dragons don't migrate."
"And just how do you know that?" Snotlout prodded.
"They're leaving because the giant dragon is about to go on a killing spree," I said quietly. "Guys, we've gotta go. Now."
"Back to Berk? That's perfectly fine by me!" Snotlout shouted. He ran toward the Nightmare.
Astrid grabbed him again, gave him a death stare and said, "We need your help. Now."
"Okay, okay. I was just joking! Sheesh."
At that moment, a low, bellowing roar echoed across the island. I saw a few stones on the beach vibrating from the sound. "I think this thing knows the rest of Berk is here," I said. The dragons around us immediately became restless. They shuffled around on the rocky beach, murmuring about their anxiety. But none of them left the ground, which I thought was curious. They had a horde of their brethren not three hundred yards away, but they stayed on the ground, near us.
Without saying another word, Astrid and I climbed onto the back of her Nadder. The rest of the teens followed just as silently. We were about to take off when the dragon warbled at something and spread its wings slightly. There was no tensing for takeoff, no sign we were headed anywhere. We heard another warble come from the air about fifty feet away, followed by a skidding crash. A purple-backed Nadder landed in front of us with several open gashes. They were oozing blood, so whatever happened to the dragon was recent. A long, sharp tooth, maybe five feet in length, was sticking out of its side. The injured dragon stood, wobbled unsteadily and collapsed on its right side, the one with the protruding tooth. The dragon's weight forced it clean through its left flank, bursting the skin in a crimson spray. The dragon's eyes remained open but glassy, leaving us with a chilling image of what we were about to meet.
"Oh, gods, I didn't need to see that," Fishlegs said, and hurled in front of everyone.
I looked at the rest of our ragtag group and noticed that short of being sick, we were all scared out of our wits. Seeing this dragon as a preamble to what was coming only made me think that Snotlout had the right idea of flying back home.
Astrid's Nadder slowly walked up to the dead dragon and sniffed at the fang that was sticking out of the dragon's hide. It snarled and tensed, ready for flight.
"Astrid, whatever happens, trust your dragon," I told her softly. She nodded and tightened her grip on the rope.
The Nadder took off, headed on a beeline toward the source of the roar we had heard. We saw the gigantic dragon topple part of the mountain as it ripped through the rock. The dragon hoisted itself through the mountainside with boulders cascading down its flanks and back. Even though we were several hundred feet away, this dragon was still massive. Probably a hundred feet tall even when standing on all fours and about three hundred feet from snout to tail tip. It was mostly grey with ridges and plates on the back of its head that reminded me of coral. It had several rows of ridges extending along its back and tail, ending with a large oblong-shaped club. We thought dragons like the Nadder, Monstrous Nightmare or even the Night Fury were perfect killing machines. Not anymore. This ginormous beast redefined that idea.
"Oh, yeah," Ruffnut said with a grin. "I want one of those."
The dragon roared at the beach, where we noticed six ships, each with the Berk crest on the sails. The Vikings had already landed and set up several traps, such as sharp stakes pointed toward the mountain. There were several catapults on the boats, launching boulders at the dragon. Vikings were scurrying like ants in every which way, except toward the dragon. Some were trying to get back to the boats in an effort to get the catapults ready. Others were running to either side of the monstrosity, trying to get away.
"HICCUP! MAKE THIS DRAGON GO FASTER!" Astrid shouted.
"I can't!" I shouted back, but I gave it a firm nudge with my knees anyway. No change, except for a squawk.
The dragon planted its feet on the rocky beach just short of the wooden stakes the Vikings had set up. Craned its neck to the left and drew in a gaping breath. A flood of yellow fire shot out of the dragon's mouth, where it either incinerated the boats or violently hissed as it met the water. The dragon swept the flaming torrent across all of Berk's ships, now dooming the Vikings to their unexpected fate. Fear gripped my chest as I realized this dragon was going to kill just because it could. I thought the Nightmare Snotlout was riding didn't show mercy when I was pinned under its foot, but this monster let everyone know "mercy" was not a word. There was no warning at all, the dragon just crashed through the mountain and began destroying.
After what seemed like a minute of fire, the dragon stopped and inhaled again, about to immolate any Vikings it might have missed. There was no way they could escape once the dragon started again.
I glanced at the burning ships, hoping to catch a glimpse of Toothless. I was praying to the gods he was still alive. As we approached the massive dragon, an idea began to take form, but it all hinged on me getting to Toothless. While he was still alive. No Night Fury on the boats, as far as I could tell. But we had to do something about the beast in front of us now.
"FISHLEGS!" I shouted turning back to him. "HIT IT IN THE NECK! YOU GOTTA STOP IT!" I knew with our choice of dragons available, the Gronckle was the only one to pack enough punch with a fireball to stop this thing momentarily.
Without thinking, Fishlegs kneed his Gronckle from both sides and shouted, "NOW!" The Gronckle shot a solitary fireball toward the dragon. I watched it drop slightly before it collided with the dragon in the side of the neck. It stumbled to its left in shock. Only a small flare came out of its mouth, directed harmlessly upward.
As quickly as I could, I shouted, "Fishlegs, break it down!"
"Heavily armored skull and tail made for crushing and bashing! Small eyes, large nostrils, probably relies on hearing and smell! Steer clear of boat!" I looked at the dragon again and saw that it had snagged a boat with its mouth and was ready to toss it to the side, where it saw a few Vikings.
"Okay, you heard him! Snotlout and Fishlegs, see if you can distract it! There are weapons on the boat closest to us! Ruff and Tuff, see if it has a shot limit! Make it mad!"
"ALL RIGHT!" the twins shouted in unison.
As the dragon shook off its surprise, Astrid and I were the first to cross in front of it on the Nadder. Ruff and Tuff were second, Fishlegs third and Snotlout fourth. Snotlout shouted to the Vikings below, "WE'RE ON DRAGONS! WE'RE ON DRAGONS! DON'T SHOOT!"
Astrid and I flew close enough to the ground to see my father and Gobber simply staring upward in disbelief. "Every bit the stubborn, boar-headed Viking you ever were…" Gobber remarked. My father slowly nodded in assent.
I tapped Astrid on the shoulder and pointed toward the boats, which were still on fire. We had to find Toothless. That was the only goal for me. Fishlegs and Snotlout found a few weapons lying on the beach, which previously belonged to other Vikings. I wasn't sure about the Vikings' condition, but Fishlegs and Snotlout would be putting the weapons to use anyway. They scooped up a shield and hammer each and jumped back onto their dragons.
Astrid's dragon immediately banked to our right and swooped over the coastline, giving us a look at the contents of the boats without exposing us to the heat and smoke. We flew past the first boat, which was beginning to list dangerously. Nothing could have stayed on its surface, looking at the tilt. The second boat was still intact with several weapons that were gonna be scrap iron very soon. But still no Toothless. The third boat contained what was left of the catapults. They were beginning to collapse under the strain of so much weight on burning wood. The fourth boat contained a lone black figure trapped in a makeshift prison of three U-shaped bars and a wooden collar. It looked at me and gave a short, desperate roar. Toothless. We found him.
"Astrid, there!" I shouted, pointing at Toothless. Her Nadder banked toward the boat and hovered just as the mast from another boat toppled over, splitting Toothless's boat into two. Toothless shrieked in horror as his pallet went sliding into the water. Just before he met the water, he looked at me pleadingly, hoping I wouldn't betray him again.
The Nadder landed on the beach as I looked toward the monstrous dragon who was still terrorizing the Vikings in front of it. However, Ruff and Tuff flew just barely in front of the dragon, making it shoot a short blast of fire at the Zippleback. The double-headed dragon sped out of the way as the gigantic dragon watched it, like it was an irritating fly to a cat. It was what they did best.
Snotlout and Fishlegs were on their way upward, toward the sides of the dragon's head. They began pounding their shields, trying to faze the dragon. The ruse was working because the dragon had snagged another boat and was ready to throw it. Instead, it just mindlessly crunched the boat to splinters, unable to mount an attack.
I jumped off the Nadder and sprinted toward Toothless, mumbling, "No, not twice. Please, don't take him twice…" I barely reached the water's edge just as his prison capsized into the water and stayed upside-down. He was trapped that way because the bars were too heavy to stay on top of the water. I splashed into the water and dove underneath, trying to find Toothless before it was too late. Opened my eyes and realized salt water burns like crazy on your eyes. Amidst the pain, I saw an upside-down Toothless looking at me with a pleading expression. I swam over to him and removed the muzzle without too much effort. Looked at the collar. No way. That thing was bolted several times over to itself. I couldn't get it open without the right tools. And I knew for sure Toothless didn't have enough time to let the iron rust over. I looked at the chain attachments, where they were bolted to the pallet only one time each. If I could just get both of them off, we'd be in business.
Using the chains to guide my hands up to one of the bolts on the pallet, I worked at the bolt with my left hand, but I couldn't get any strength on it. Too tight. The water was beginning to show a red tint from where the bolt was ripping my skin open.
All of a sudden, the water began to turn from cold to warm as everything went fuzzy. I felt Toothless nudge at my chest before someone pulled me out of the water. I couldn't see a thing from the salt water and the blurriness, but I knew it was a Viking who had just taken me away from Toothless. Again. I had let him down twice in the same day. The Viking almost threw me onto a large boulder on the coastline, knocking enough wind into me to cough. I spat out several mouthfuls of water and gasped, pulling in precious air. A splashing sound in front of me heading toward Toothless's pallet caught my attention. It was my father. He pulled in a quick breath and went under.
What is he doing? I thought. My mind was still too blurry to think of anything except for the fact that Toothless was in danger, not from the gigantic dragon or from drowning, but from the Viking he had nearly killed earlier today. I just watched the surface of the water, waiting for any signal. The pallet shook slightly, and a second later, Toothless rushed out of the water, just high enough to prevent dragging my father along the rocky coast. He dropped him gently onto the beach and jumped onto a boulder, shaking himself off. He looked at me with an intense glare and whipped his head with a grunt.
"You got it, buddy," I said. I jumped off the boulder and ran over to Toothless, my boots squelching with water along the way. There was no time for a hug, no time to apologize. The only time we had was enough time to get airborne. Toothless wanted to end the threat to himself, the rest of the dragons and (hopefully) me. He was interested in killing this gargantuan dragon. But he couldn't do it alone. As I ran over to Toothless, an idea took shape in my mind. The sky was overcast with dark clouds. This was next-to-ideal conditions for a Night Fury attack. The best scenario would have been cloudy night, but we couldn't wait that long. What we were about to do was going to be crazy, just like I had said to Astrid.
"HICCUP!" my father shouted from several yards away. He ran toward us and put his hand gently on my boot. I was mildly surprised Toothless didn't try to bite his hand off or at least growl at him. He just looked at my father, waiting. "I'm sorry. For everything!"
I looked at him, looked down and said quietly, "Yeah. Me too."
"You don't have to go out there, you know," he said. Translation: Don't try what you're thinking about, I thought. Part of me was saying he was correct, that I should stay on the ground. But I knew with Toothless protecting me, we were the only ones who could stop this gargantuan dragon.
I shrugged. "We're Vikings. It's an occupational hazard."
"I-I'm proud to call you my son," he slowly choked out.
To me, it sounded genuine, like he really meant it. "Thanks, Dad," I said.
He let go of my boot, which I took to mean Toothless and I were going to stop this dragon or die trying. I took a quick breath, checked my connections to the saddle and said to Toothless, "Let's go." Without hesitation, he took off.
"HE'S UP!" Astrid shouted. She and the Nadder flew probably too close to the giant dragon, as it noticed and gaped its mouth wide open. The Nadder immediately began struggling to fly. The monster's chest was beginning to expand, which told me the dragon was trying to swallow Astrid and her dragon. Astrid and the Nadder were both panicking, mere yards from the dragon's teeth.
"Get 'im, Toothless!" I shouted. He streaked several hundred feet up and pulled off a turn that surprised even me. Within half a second, Toothless had gone from a full-tilt rise to a stoop with pure grace and speed. I grinned sadistically because this dragon had no idea what was coming.
Toothless started on his ballistic scream, which was way louder on his back than it would ever be on the ground. As it rose in pitch, his speed increased exponentially, making it look like we were going to plow straight through the dragon. But I trusted Toothless with my life, knowing he had done this several times. He certainly had enough experience with our catapults.
I felt a jarring vibration thrum up through my feet and legs as he unleashed a fireball directly at the dragon's neck, just in front of its shoulders. Toothless immediately spread his wings, and I clicked toe-up to give us more lift to get out of the way. There was a hollow-sounding explosion as the fireball hit true on the dragon's neck.
For the gazillionth time, I had no idea Toothless could pack this much power, as the monstrous dragon staggered about three steps to its right, roaring in surprise. Astrid flew off her Nadder, who crashed into the ground and lay there, eyes open. Completely stunned. It was still breathing though. Astrid was completely helpless a hundred feet up, and if I didn't do something…
"Toothless, get Astrid!" I shouted. He wheeled back around and spied Astrid hanging in midair. Pulled into a shallow dive and flew in a straight line to Astrid. I felt his brain working, knowing where to be to grab her just before she hit the ground. As we approached Astrid, I heard her screaming above the rushing wind. Come on, Toothless, you can do this, I thought.
Astrid disappeared from view as Toothless neared her. His front left leg extended slightly, but I had no idea if he had caught her or not. "Did you get her!?" I shouted.
He looked down just as Astrid shouted, "GO, HICCUP!" He flashed her one of his goofy "toothless" grins. Toothless set her down on the beach and rose higher in the air. I was following his lead, keeping an eye on the gargantuan dragon, who was just now getting its footing.
The dragon brought its front right foot up while looking at the ground. I checked the area where it was going to step, which contained a Gronckle and a trapped Fishlegs. I realized Fishlegs and Snotlout hammering on their shields while on dragons wasn't a good idea. Their dragons became just as dazed as their target. Just before the dragon stomped, Snotlout appeared on the top of its faceplate and struck it in an eye with his hammer. He had miraculously held on when Toothless struck. I noticed the dragon had three eyes on a side, not one. Total six eyes. This ordeal was getting creepier by the minute. Snotlout continued striking its eyes as the dragon missed its spot. The leg crashed harmlessly a few feet away from Fishlegs and his dragon. The Gronckle still wasn't moving, even with an emergency this big. I rolled my eyes slightly in irritation. Fishlegs quickly scrambled out from underneath his dragon and ran to safety. Eventually, the Gronckle righted itself and followed. Astrid's Nadder stood, shook itself off and flew over to her. The Nadder stood protectively between her and the dragon, who was for the moment focused on Snotlout's antics.
The dragon roared as Snotlout was proving to be too difficult to handle on its head. It shook its head violently, trying to dislodge Snotlout, who dropped his hammer but grabbed onto a coral-like protrusion near the dragon's right eyes. He scrambled back up and ran toward its snout shouting something and jumped.
I had seen too many close calls today to keep thinking straight, so I figured Snotlout was a goner. Toothless and I were too far away to catch him. But the twins came out of nowhere on the Zippleback, catching Snotlout in between the dragon's necks.
Just get everyone out of there, I thought. The plan I had forming in the back of my mind was ready to go, because I noticed something new.
"That thing has wings!" I shouted. "Let's see if it can use them." Toothless must have understood what I was saying, because he U-turned again and started into another stoop. He gave his ballistic scream and landed another fireball exactly where his first one had it, opening a large gash in the dragon's neck. The dragon was ready this time, however, and was able to brace itself against the second fireball. It roared in frustration as its wings spread.
"Toothless, UP!" I shouted, pulling upward on the saddle. I noticed the massive dragon wasn't too shabby a flyer. In fact, it had no problem keeping up with Toothless. "Well, it can fly!" I stated obviously. Toothless banked upwards as the dragon had its sights set on us. I heard it suck in a deep breath. Nudged Toothless with my left leg, trying to get him to fly right. Clicked toe-in. He banked hard right just as the dragon launched a stream of fire that nearly reached the clouds above us. I saw where it stopped, noticing the clouds had gotten darker since our arrival.
The dragon was following Toothless's every move, keeping only a few yards behind his tail. I knew we were in trouble if we just used speed to try and bring this thing down. We needed stealth as well. I looked at the clouds again. Bingo. "All right, Toothless. Time to disappear!" I clicked toe-up as he banked upwards yet again, flying straight into the clouds. Nudged him with my left leg this time to get him to turn right. The dragon was a few seconds behind us.
I couldn't see a thing in these clouds because they were so dark. This was very good. I just hoped the dragon also relied on sight, not just hearing and smell. I heard the dragon slow its pace to stall in midair, looking around for the Night Fury that had blasted a hole in its neck and gotten away last night. The dragon was holding its position in the air with its back facing us. Exactly the way I wanted.
"Hit his wings," I whispered to Toothless. He dropped to his left and, for the third time today, started into a ballistic scream. He launched a fireball directly at the dragon's left wing. The dragon noticed the bright flash but couldn't react fast enough. The fireball hit true, tearing a large hole in the center of the dragon's left wing. Toothless banked upward slightly and turned right, reacting to a nudge from my left knee. I hoped the dragon wouldn't look this way, hoped its basic logic couldn't keep up with me and Toothless. The dragon turned slightly, keeping its back facing us.
"Again," I whispered. Without starting a ballistic scream, Toothless quickly flew up to the dragon and shot another fireball at its right wing. Another large hole was the result. I gave a small fist pump as I saw the explosion dissipate, noticing holes in each wing. But it wasn't enough. The dragon wasn't struggling to fly yet. We had to get it to struggle before tricking it one final time.
Toothless flew past the dragon, who was turning around yet again. He stalled and fired two more times, one at each wing, in rapid succession. The left wing was the last to get hit, so I nudged Toothless with my left knee. I knew the dragon would turn to its left because that was the last side to get hit. If we could just stay in its blind spot… Sure enough, the dragon rolled to its left and began flying in that direction. Back exposed to us yet again.
Toothless sped into the clouds to disappear again. I heard the dragon roar in anger, as it couldn't find us. Toothless stalled with the dragon's silhouette just barely in view. It roared again, daring Toothless to come out to play. For real. The dragon made a slow turn to its right, coming to face us. "Toothless, up," I whispered, pulling gently upward on the saddle. Clicked toe-up. He flew higher into the clouds without hesitation. We were the ideal team. I told Toothless where to hide, and he provided the muscle of the operation.
The dragon roared in anger again. It was getting frustrated we were playing cat-and-mouse with it, but this was the way I had in mind to bring it down. Slow attrition.
As soon as Toothless broke above one layer of clouds, I knew something was bad. The mist suddenly became particularly thick, and a strong wind current was blowing us straight toward the dragon. Our cover was about to be blown if I didn't think of something. And fast. I noticed the dragon was still facing in our general direction, well, maybe turned a little to our left. So I nudged Toothless with my left knee, hoping to slide around the dragon. I clicked toe-in to help Toothless move, but the wind was too strong. Toothless bleated in panic because he couldn't do anything. The dragon perked and apparently noticed us, because it gave a short roar. It pumped harder with its wings, trying to gain more altitude.
This was it. Time for improvisation. I noticed the dragon was still rising, moving to catch us on a straight line. However, I knew a straight line was the last place I wanted to go. I watched as the dragon's form became larger as we approached it. Closer. Closer. It roared in anticipation. Toothless held steady, waiting for my command. He trusted me with his life, knowing I had something up my sleeve. I saw the dragon pull in a breath. It was ready to incinerate me and Toothless. I whispered, "Toothless, down!" Clicked toe-down. Toothless shot downward, bringing us dangerously close to the dragon. It unleashed a wall of fire which harmlessly burned through the clouds. We were directly underneath the dragon when I realized I didn't even feel the heat from its fire. Toothless was that fast. I clicked to neutral then to toe-up to get Toothless back up. As we reached the dragon's height again, Toothless quickly whirled around, ready for two more shots at the dragon's wings.
The dragon must have seen us dart underneath it, as it folded its wings upward to prepare for a dive. Toothless blasted two more fireballs, hitting true. I nudged him with my right knee, and he banked left into the clouds once more. Those two hits might have sealed its fate, because the wings were folded. It gave the fireballs more skin to tear through.
I heard the dragon roar again, but this time it was different. The dragon's expression was turning from anger to manic. And I knew we had to be careful about this. I had seen a Deadly Nadder turn manic several years ago during a raid on Berk. Nobody had any idea what caused it to happen, but people still have nightmares about it to this day. The Nadder literally had no control over its movements. Its eyes were bloodshot, and it was making short, erratic movements, hopping from place to place, screaming and throwing tail spikes and white-hot fire in every direction. It didn't matter whether there was a target nearby. It looked like it was having a massive seizure. Blood was pouring from its mouth as it whipped around because it had bitten through its tongue. Several Vikings were either injured or killed within five seconds of seeing that dragon. Not even a Monstrous Nightmare went near that thing. Eventually, someone wisened up and told us to stay clear of the Nadder, where it eventually collapsed in exhaustion over a cliff. We were pretty sure it drowned that night.
The dragon roared in the same tone again, that higher-pitched, almost tinny ring. My heart rate quickened, remembering that horrendous night with that Nadder. I took a few breaths and realized all we had to do was wait it out. Just let the dragon kill itself from exhaustion. No problem.
Except for one thing. The twins hadn't found its shot limit, because the dragon pulled in a massive breath. It spewed fire in all directions, making the sky turn a brilliant yellow. The fire burned through the clouds, giving Toothless and me a view of the dragons' island, at least a mile below. The dragon stopped with the fire and pulled in another breath. Started blasting again. Random directions, no rhyme or reason to its movements. The dragon tried to roar and shoot fire at the same time, resulting in a bizarrely high-pitched gargle and broken streams of fire. I watched it from a distance, knowing at any second, the flames could come sweeping in our direction. I had to be ready to tell Toothless quickly enough to avoid getting torched.
From my right, the flames quickly moved toward us. I shoved down on Toothless's saddle, yelling, "DOWN!" Toothless dropped, but I felt a faint shock roll through his tail. I didn't want to look, but I had to. If it was what I thought, I'd have to figure out a way to trick the dragon. Since it was in a manic state, I figured that wouldn't be too hard.
I glanced back and saw a few small flames licking at Toothless's prosthetic tail fin. Not good, I thought. "Oh man. Time's up!" I shouted. I needed just enough of a window to get the dragon's attention and make it follow. I knew Toothless could dive with or without his tail fin. Changing directions, however, would be problematic.
I nudged Toothless with my right knee and clicked toe-in to get him to turn left. He flew exactly where I wanted. No hesitation, no second thoughts. We were headed straight for a point just in front of the dragon's face. The dragon noticed Toothless veering toward it and turned toward us with a massive roar. I saw it too and pushed Toothless with my left knee, making him edge right. Just far enough away from the dragon so that we wouldn't get impaled.
The dragon took the bait and gnashed at the air where we had been just a few milliseconds ago. "Come on, is that all you got!?" I shouted. Toothless drove the point home by stalling and launching a fireball at its forehead. The dragon screamed and lunged forward, ready to end our little game once and for all.
Except I wasn't gonna end it yet. As soon as I saw the lunge, I shoved Toothless's saddle down again. He broke into a steep dive as I plastered my chest to his back. I glanced backward and saw the dragon break through the clouds mere yards from Toothless's tail. It chomped at the air, telling us it still had murder on its mind.
"COME ON, BUDDY! JUST A LITTLE LONGER!" I shouted. Toothless bleated in fear as he pumped his wings toward the ground, trying to get at least some distance between him and the dragon. But just like it had showed earlier, the gargantuan beast behind us proved it was a keen flyer. It didn't matter whether the direction was up or down.
But I noticed something. Or rather, a lack of something. Sound. My mind was tuning out the rushing wind on its own. I was totally focused on the dragon without even knowing it. On my game. In the zone. Listening. I stole another glance backward and saw the dragon still following close behind. Turned forward and noticed the dragons' island getting larger by the second. We had to finish this now.
"HOLD, TOOTHLESS." He held his dive steady, no wingbeats. I wanted the dragon to see a stationary target. Needed it to take the bait. Just one more shot, buddy, I thought. I had no idea what a Night Fury's shot limit was. Didn't care. All I needed was one more.
I closed my eyes, listening for any sign from the dragon. I heard it grunt in realization. I just had to hear one more sound. I knew once I heard it, we had about two seconds to finish the job. But for Toothless, a couple of seconds was about an hour longer than necessary to pull this off. I paused, listening, hoping the dragon would make one move. I tightened my grip on the handles in anticipation. Wait for it. Wait for it…
I heard the dragon pull in a breath and immediately shouted, "NOW!" Toothless whirled around in midair with all of his strength, took a quick breath and shot a massive fireball straight into the dragon's open mouth. It must have taken a lot of effort, because the grunt he made was almost as loud as his ballistic scream. I felt his chest contract violently with his effort. Time slowed almost to a standstill, just like the night of the dragon raid over a week ago. I watched the fireball on its track toward the dragon's open maw. As it passed the teeth, the dragon's mouth was illuminated with a dull blue glow.
Time sped up again as the dragon realized what happened too late. It shut its mouth around the fireball just as it met the back of its throat, creating what might have been the loudest muffled explosion ever. The force of the blast dislocated its lower jaw with two loud cracking sounds. The dragon tried to roar in pain, but only a smothered moan came out because its jaw was left hanging at a sickening angle. Dark crimson blood poured out of its mouth and the gash from Toothless's first salvo, falling upwards because of the speed we were traveling at. The dragon instinctively spread its wings to stop its descent. But thanks to the havoc that Toothless and I had wreaked, the wind simply tore its wings further. It sounded like when leather rips from trying to support too much weight. Its wings tore through within two or three seconds, turning this dive from a chase to suicide for the dragon. The dragon's flight stabilized just enough to fly a little more horizontally, but the dive was still inescapable. Just like I had wanted.
Toothless contorted his back and wings to right himself. I pulled up on his saddle, trying to get him to level out his flight. Clicked toe-up. Toothless tried to pull upward, but couldn't bank fast enough. I shot a glance backwards and saw the dragon tumbling forward in the air. The remnants of its wings told me only one thing: this was gonna be a horrific crash landing. "COME ON, TOOTHLESS! YOU CAN DO THIS!" I shouted in emergency. We had to get away from this dragon and land somewhere away from all the chaos. Where I could fix his tail fin, where I could help the rest of the Vikings organize a trip back. We had to land somewhere so that we could get home.
As Toothless finally bottomed out, the dragon passed us on its descent. I knew it was gonna flip over once it crashed. All three of the eyes on its left side had that glazed-over look. It was either dead or it realized its death was imminent. The dragon plowed headfirst into the ground. It exploded, sending rolling flames and debris in all directions. This explosion was different from the ones I was used to from dragons like Zipplebacks or a Night Fury. This was a low, hollow whoosh, more like a continuous blast rather than a single event.
I clicked toe-out and nudged Toothless with my right knee. He shrieked in horror as I felt no change in our flight. I looked back just in time to see the charred remains of his prosthetic tail fin detach and land on the rocks.
"No, not now!" I whispered to myself. But I had to stay calm and guide Toothless out of this mess. I had let him down once today, and that was one time too many. "Come on, buddy! Stay with me! Just a little bit longer!" I shouted. Toothless was flying in desperation, hoping somehow he could get us away from the explosion. But straight flight was our only option. I thought we were flying high enough to get away from the flames as they rolled upwards, but the heat was searing through the air. I spied a small section of clear beach in front of us. If we could just keep our sights on that…
I gulped. The dragon's tail bounced on the ground, bringing the club-like appendage airborne. Right in our flight path. I clicked toe-up reflexively and yanked upward on the saddle. Hoped Toothless would spread his wings and slow down just enough to let the tail fall back to earth. But Toothless had no control over his flight. "NO! NO!" I shouted.
Toothless reared up with a screech to try and absorb most of the impact, but a second explosion occurred, flipping him around just before he met the tail. Pain wracked every joint in my body as I was thrown from the saddle, snapping the leather straps holding me to Toothless. Something crunched when my back flattened against the dragon's tail. I couldn't shout. Couldn't do anything as I watched the dragon's fiery carcass recede slightly then enlarge. I fell headfirst straight downward, about to meet the same fate as the dragon we had just tricked.
The last thing I saw before I blacked out from pain was a desperate Toothless, framed against the dark clouds, straining to reach me.