Thanks, Ladipretender, my beta, for managing to edit it so fast! It's been a tough week for the both of us!
And also thanks for the reviews! Each one brighten up my day! :D
btw, if you liked the cover, maybe you'd also like to check out my DA page, the link is in my profile.
Previously, Hiccup was trying to teach Stoick about how dragons can actually be good creatures when his father spotted Toothless and tried to attack him. Hiccup defended his best friend, however, he ended up giving away his true identity. Now, an emergency is on the way as Bork's dragons spotted something on the horizon.
Chapter 13
Attack
"Wow, Bork, it's so nice the way you trained your dragons! How can you do that?" Heidi, Heather's little sister, exclaimed in admiration, and the boy blushed flattered. "You must have so much patience! Please, tell me your secret!"
"Thanks. But you're doing great with your Raincutter, Thump. She's responding great with the tips I gave you. I don't have any secret, though. Just patience, I guess. Hiccup once told me he believes I'm better at him than training dragons, but I don't think so. He can sooth any dragon in his way, he's a true dragon whisperer. I'm just the one with lots of time and perseverance." He said in a modest tone.
"Well, these are wonderful qualities too!" She complimented, petting Wodensfang in her arms. Bork thanked her again, still red as a tomato.
They were silent for a moment when Innocence approached and Bork extended his arm so the tiny dragon could land on it. The Terrible Terror screeched lowly as if to say 'I'm back and I have news'. Bork already knew how to differentiate between when the dragons spotted something and when they didn't, so when Patience landed on his head and Arrogance on his right shoulder, the boy was already showing the chart.
The first dragon to arrive pointed with his little paw to the picture of the boat, then, he showed the number ten. But something was weird; he kept putting his paw on it several times.
"That's odd; he has never done it before. He's supposed to show me the number one time only." Bork whispered more to himself, wondering out loud. The dragon just kept looking at him curiously as if to say 'don't you understand what I'm saying?'
"What if he saw more than ten?" Heidi asked, looking at the chart and putting a few strands of her dark hair behind her ear. Bork's eyes widened. Not because he realized his dragons could now multiply, but because of what it meant.
"That must be it! And it means that the Berserkers are near!" He concluded, "Go warn the others, I'll go find Hiccup!"
Bork broke into a run as soon as he informed her; he didn't have time to see her nodding and releasing Wodensfang, who followed his human, flying quickly. He knew where Hiccup was, so he ran directly to the small, sandy shore without giving it a second thought. He managed to make the usual 10 minute-walk in only five. When he got there, he didn't have time to notice anything else, not even the dragon with a forty eight foot wingspan by Hiccup's side or the fact his chief's hood was down, revealing his face.
"Ric! Chief! Emergency!"
"Wow, Bork, Slow down. Breathe a little first" Hiccup said while he watched Bork support his weight on his knees to catch his breath from the run. Only then, did Bork notice that the hood was down and looked confused at his chief, gesturing to it. Hiccup nodded and explained. "He knows now… You could have sent one of your Terrors, you know…"
"Too important… They're here…"
"Who are you talking about? They whom?"
"They!" And then Hiccup understood the meaning of Bork's fragmented sentence. His green eyes widened, concerned and he grabbed his scrawny friend's shoulder to assure his full attention.
"They haven't reached the island yet, have they?" Bork shook his head no while Hiccup took off the cloak and handed it to his friend so it wouldn't get in the way during the flight. "Great. Take all the children, the ones who can't fight and their dragons with you. Your Terrors know somewhere safe, they can lead the way. Take Heidi too." Hiccup directed and Bork nodded before his chief released him and jumped on Toothless, saying over his shoulder, "Dad, go with him!"
"What? But, what's going on?" Stoick asked Bork since his son was already so far up that he and his dragon looked like a tiny black dot in the middle of the pale blue sky. Bork was still panting when he answered.
"The Berserkers. They're attacking again. Only this time they have a lot more ships coming. About five times more, actually. Come with me, we need to take the children to a safe place." He turned to walk back to the village with very quick steps, Stoick following him just as fast.
"What! Nonsense! I'm a Viking. I'm never gonna run away from a fight. Especially when my son is in the middle of it!"
"Are you sure? It means that you're not going to attack the dragons. You're going to fight with them, not against them."
Stoick sighed, a little unsure for a second. It would be something new to be on the battlefield without aiming at the scaly beasts. But he could and would do that. It was for a good reason.
"I can deal with it. I just need my weapons back."
"Alright then, but are all of you going to fight?" Bork asked, grabbing a paper and pencil to write a note without slowing down.
"Of course! We are all Vikings! And they'll do it if I say so."
Bork nodded, finishing his note. "Wodensfang, take this to Heidi." The tiny dragon crooned in agreement and flew away. "The rest of you, get the chest of Berk's weapons back at home, and meet me in front of the Great Hall."
Stoick was astonished at the sight of these dragons obeying so quickly and willingly a boy that was even scrawnier than Hiccup. He was even more surprised to see the five Terrible Terrors on a wooden chest in front of the Great Hall just as the boy told them.
"Bork, I got your message, we still have a little time, thankfully the ships are really slow." Heidi said, approaching them with Wodensfang on her shoulder. "The little ones are already going to that place we hid them last time, I left Thump with them to lead the way. If we hurry we'll catch them."
"Right. You can go first, I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Okay. Don't go losing yourself in the forest."
"I told you that was just one time…" He mumbled, a bit shameful. Bork turned to the Hooligan chief. "Your weapons are here. Don't go slaying any dragons, and now you have to make that clear for all of you from Berk. I got to go, I have an order to follow."
As he informed Stoick, he turned and quickly went into the forest in the same direction that, moments ago, Heidi had. Naturally, the rest of the Hooligans approached as soon as their chief was found.
"Hey, don't you think that guy looks an awful lot like Hiccup?" Tuffnut asked.
"Shut up, you mutton-brain! The chief will hear you!" His sister scolded him and punched his arm.
Stoick followed the teenagers' gaze, already knowing he'd find his son. Hiccup was still Hiccup. The way he walked and gestured his hands and arms, it was just as Stoick remembered. That man not far from him was still his little boy. However, he was different. He had grown. He seemed leader-y and responsible, he was giving orders and positioning people just like Stoick had always wanted and dreamed his son would do. Well, not exactly like he dreamed, because in his dreams there wasn't a Night Fury behind him, though the other Hooligans didn't seem to spot the far away black dragon yet, after all, they were too busy noticing the weird young man that looked like Hiccup.
"By the lack of hood covering his face and the pride on yours, I'd say he told you." Gobber concluded, seeing his prosthetic attachment axe in the open chest by his brother-in-arms.
Stoick nodded, a bit absentmindedly, until he realized what that meant. "Wait, you knew? Why didn't you tell me?!"
"Before yah start yelling at me, I just found out yesterday, in the middle of the night. And he told me he wanted to talk to you himself." Meanwhile, the teens looked inside the chest too, finding their weapons and grabbing them while listening to the conversation.
And that's when it hit Astrid and she yelled in realization.
"He doesn't look like Hiccup, he is Hiccup!" The young man turned as he heard his name and gulped at the sight of the Hooligans, especially when he laid eyes on the pretty blond, who was now armed with an axe, that looked very angry.
"What are you guys doing here? Dad, I told you to go with Bork! This fight is not yours."
"We are Vikings. It's not like we're gonna run away from a battle. Besides, by what I heard, you're gonna need all the help you can get."
"That's true, but…" Hiccup was saying but was cut off by a sudden outburst.
"YOU! You stupid! You didn't have the right to disappear like that!" She yelled angrily and hit him hard on the arm.
"Ouch! Why would you do that?" He asked, rubbing his sore limb.
Astrid was confused, she had mixed feelings. She was indeed glad and relived to see him alive again; she had always blamed herself for Hiccup's supposed death, even though she didn't do anything directly. But at the same time, she felt cheated. Cheated that he was alive this whole time that she was blaming herself, cheated for trusting this mysterious guy so blindly, telling him how he reminded her of that boy she met and letting him take her on a somewhat romantic flight.
"You didn't have the right to cheat me like that! You tricked me!"
"Look, sorry. You can kill me later, right now, I have stuff to do." She huffed. How could he do that to her? And how could she stay mad at him for so long? He looked so handsome and so imposing. So different from the frail boy she last saw, yet so much alike.
"For Thor's hammer! Is that a Night Fury?!" Fishlegs asked, being Fishlegs. Hiccup was drawing so much attention for being alive that it took the Hooligans teenagers a while to notice the dark dragon going everywhere the young chief would. Besides, it took Fishlegs a while to guess the species of the never before seen black dragon close to Hiccup.
"Yes. He is. And his name is Toothless. Don't address him as it again, he doesn't like that." Hiccup explained.
"Right, sir." He said, shamefully, and turned to the black beast that was looking at him as if he was raising an eyebrow. "Sorry… Toothless?" The dragon just rolled his rounded pupils.
"He forgives you." Hiccup translated.
"That's amazing! How do you know! Can you talk to him or something?" Fishlegs asked, exited, while Hiccup and Toothless exchanged confused looks.
"No. I don't speak dragonese or whatever language they do. I just know Toothless, that's all." Hiccup said. "I have to go now… Are you sure you guys will fight with us and the dragons?"
"Of course! Why do you ask? Do you think I'm a coward? Because I'm not! I'm gonna beat everyone, with my face!" Snotlout yelled in outburst, proud of himself as ever.
"You know, if you come to think of it, Hiccup was the one who kicked Snotlout's butt when he mindlessly attacked…" Fishlegs speculated out loud and received a punch from the short tempered young man.
"Shut up, Fishlegs! Go mind your own business!"
Ruff and Tuff started laughing. They found that episode quite amusing, and now that they knew about Hiccup, it was even funnier.
"Anyway," Hiccup interrupted them before they could start laughing harder. "The Berserkers are arriving and they're dangerous so be careful!"
"You too, Son." Stoick's voice was low and concerned. Hiccup half smiled and petted Toothless.
"Don't worry about me, Dad. I'll be on a Night Fury." He mounted the dragon and Toothless got ready, just waiting for the click of the prosthetic to fly. "Come on, Bud. Let's kick some Berserker butt." His prosthetic attached to the flying gear and they were soon in the air, just in time to hear the enemy's war cry coming from the shores.
There were so many it was like they were coming from everywhere. They surrounded the village area and were jumping out of their boats so quickly it wasn't possible to count them all. Hiccup and Toothless did what they could in the air, blasting as many ships as possible, but it was hard, since this time there were a lot of Berserkers shooting arrows and bolas at them and they had to keep dodging.
There were a few differences on their side too. Last time, most of the people fought on the ground, now, the finest fliers were in the air too, leaving only the best warriors on the ground with their dragons providing protection and firepower. And although the grounded fighters were skilled, the mounted ones were part of a bigger strategy. They were supposed to not only blast the still arriving ships and draw the attention of as many Berserkers as they could, but they were also supposed to provide aerial protection. Something never experienced before by Vikings.
And the strategy was showing to be very handy and working awesomely. Eret was in the air group and so were most of the teenagers from the destroyed village. They flew closer to the shores to hit and burn all the ships they could so there wouldn't be as many Berserkers fighting on the village grounds. Even with the arrows and bolas flying around them, they were managing to do their job.
Hall was on the air team, and his dragon wasn't the only one hitting things or enemies. The boy improved his shooting arrows skills while flying his dragon and his aim was better than ever, he could hit the running Berserkers on the ground. Like the one who was fighting a weaponless Sten. Hall and his dragon, Freya, landed besides Sten, who was now relieved.
"You're welcome." Hall said, already grabbing another arrow and placing it in the bow.
"Thanks. I owe you one…"
"Where the hell is your sword in a time like this?!"
"It's a long story… I ended up having a problem with it and now…" he trailed off, shrugging. "Anyway, did you make any spare swords?"
"Yes. Of course! Since Hiccup arrived with the news of the Berserkers I've finished lots and lots of arrows and swords. There's a pile of them in the armory and the forge on the 'upper level'. You should have gone there before!"
"Yeah, I know. No need to yell… By the way, what is that thing?"
"A saddle-quiver I designed and made myself." He answered, looking at the attachment to the saddle that held more arrows than the quiver behind his back. "Do you want my sword? I won't need it anyway…"
"Thanks, but I'll just grab this one. It's heavier, yours is too light." Sten said, picking up a big sword lying on the ground from a deceased Berserker. As he rose up again, he saw one of them running up to them from behind Hall, he only had time to yell, "Watch out!" Hall turned and thankfully he had already notched an arrow to be put in the bow, so all he had to do was aim, pull and release. The arrow hit the target precisely. "Are you okay? You seem distracted. Too distracted considering the situation…"
"I'm fine… It's just... I've been thinking… Why are they attacking during the day? They always came at night."
"I have no idea. Maybe Dagur is even crazier than we thought or they ended up missing the time and arrived earlier or later."
"No. He's mad but not that stupid… There's something else. There must be a reason for it."
Sten shrugged. "Or maybe they're so sure they'll win to bother coming at night."
Hall nodded. He could be right. Even so, he wasn't convinced. The Strike Tribe had dragons, after all. Why bother attacking with full force if they weren't going to do it with the advantage they usually had at night? They came after dawn for a reason. Various ones, actually. First, their enemy would be sleeping and would take longer to strike back. And second, it would be harder to be spotted, just like Toothless.
Then, it hit him.
"It's because of Toothless!" Hall exclaimed, almost yelling in realization.
"Excuse me?"
"Toothless is practically invisible at night. Last time they couldn't get close enough to take him out of the sky. They're after Hiccup and Toothless. I have to warn them!" He informed Sten just before he jumped on Freya to get airborne.
Hall tried to warn his chief and watch out for the arrows in his direction, aiming his counterattack from the air. However, when he managed to get close enough to yell some sort of warning, bolas suddenly wrapped around the Night Fury's tail and prosthetic fin, sending both dragon and rider straight to the ground.
Hiccup landed a few meters away and he stood up as quickly as he could with Inferno in his hand just to find Dagur the Deranged, in front of him. Meanwhile, more men were throwing nets at the Night Fury in an attempt of trying to immobilize him; they only stopped when arrows coming from the sky hit them in vital areas.
Toothless started to struggle to break free from the ropes while his human was busy trying to keep his head attached to his neck. Hiccup was a good sword fighter, but unfortunately, his opponent possessed just as much skill.
Flashback 13
"Stop laughing! I'm serious! Will you help me or not? We could have made peace with the dragons but we still have other potential enemies. In fact, all the tribes could now be our enemies, they hate dragons, remember?" Hall said, arms crossed and eyebrows furrowed.
"I know. It's just that I'd never expect that from you. I mean, you always hated sword fighting…" His friend Sten commented.
Sten was the big bulky kind of Viking who was good at practically everything, strong and smart; he just wasn't worshiped in his old tribe because his family was considered weird and they were foreigners. They were pacifists and refused to fight. It was that extreme nonaggression that got them killed in a raid when Sten was very young. He was raised by his grandparents, who died a few months before the village was attacked. Hall related to him since they were young because Hall's father was killed in a raid too, though his dad was a brave warrior. But even so, Hall was looked down at by most people because of his lack of skill and strength. He wasn't as weak-looking or scrawny as Bork or Hiccup, but he was still too thin for the Vikings' standard. The two misfits were totally different from each other, but their few similarities built a strong friendship.
"Yes, I still do, but my life can depend on it, you know… Long distance weapons are okay with me, I can shoot an arrow right where I want from miles away. But if the enemy is too close, I might be dead before I have time to grab a bow…"
"Yeah… That's actually true… But you're fast with the arrows."
"I know. Will you help me or not?"
"Of course. Get a weapon and let's train outside the village. It will be easier to concentrate without people looking."
"Tell me about it…" He mumbled, knowing how embarrassing it would be.
As soon as they got their swords, they walked until they found a high clearing cliff on the east part of the island. Without getting too close to the edge, obviously, they started to train with real weapons, because they were Vikings, after all.
"Are you sure it's not better to use a wood case?" Hall asked, insecure.
"Nonsense. Your enemies won't use it. Besides, I know what I'm doing, so I won't hurt you."
"I don't. And what about accidents?"
"Don't worry, you won't hurt me."
"I know that. It's not what I'm worried about…" Hall mumbled. Despite Sten's parents being very un-Vikingish, Sten was the perfect example of a Viking. Although, unusually smart, he was also utterly strong and skilled at fighting. And completely reckless.
And then, they began. With Hiccup's help, Hall managed to make a sword for himself, a bit smaller and lighter than most weapons, so he could carry and swing it faster than he would a heavier one. So they started training every day at the end of the afternoon. And one night, they had dinner and decided to keep training a little more after eating. Hall was slowly improving, but his body was always sore in the mornings. Yet, he wanted to push himself harder.
"Okay, you're doing great. But try to be faster, at night it's more difficult to see, so you have to be twice as careful and twice as fast." Sten oriented, swinging his sword dexterously.
"I'm being as fast as I can… Wait, what's that?"
"Nice try, but I'm not stupid. I won't look."
"No, I mean it." Hall then stopped and Sten had to be careful not to slay his friend unwillingly.
"Don't stop like that, Hall!" He scolded.
"I told you to stop."
"Your enemy won't stop in real life if you ask politely…" His sarcastic tone would normally be irritating, however Hall wasn't really paying attention to him.
"We're not enemies. Anyway, just look. Right there." The smaller one said, pointing to the open sea. In the distance, a few white sails could be seen heading their direction.
"Let's check it out!" Sten suggested, almost jumping in his dragon, but was held down by his friend.
"Are you crazy? We don't know who they are. Let's go warn the village first. On the night of the attack of our old tribe, lots of lives could have been saved if we were warned just a little bit earlier."
"You're right…" Sten mumbled sadly.
They mounted their dragons and flew back, reaching the center of the 'middle level' in a matter of seconds. Luckily, they found Hiccup, Eret and Camicazi leaving the Great Hall at the same time and warned them. It was ordered for everyone to prepare for battle, and the ones who couldn't should hide with their dragons while Hiccup and Toothless flew under the cover of night to take a look at it. They flew very high so they wouldn't be spotted, it was hard to clearly see the enemy, but they got the basics. Twenty ships, around five or six men each, it was hard to tell, and Hiccup also could see the drawing of a Skrill on the sails. It was the Berserkers. And they were coming fast.
Hiccup and Toothless only had time to swiftly come back and inform everyone about it. The sagacious chief decided to bait the enemy. With all of the kids safely in the forest lead by Bork, the rest of the village was supposed to stay indoors and pretend to be asleep. During the attack that killed almost their entire tribe, the Berserkers came deceitfully and started killing when everyone was still slumbering. For some reason, they probably wanted to do the same thing now.
Hiccup also knew that the Berserkers appeared at that tribe earlier, seeking immediate obedience; though it was obviously not going to happen. Then, they came at night. He wondered what their plan was and why they were attacking without the "diplomacy" bullshit first. As if she was reading his thoughts, Camicazi wondered out loud.
"Does that stupid leader, Dagur, want to be famous, by any chance? Gosh, how senseless can he be?" They were sitting behind some houses on the 'middle level' because that was where most of the houses were and was definitely the place where the Berserkers would start the murdering.
"Wait, what did you say?"
"That he's really stupid."
"No, I meant the other part."
"He wants to be famous?"
"That's it. Why'd you say that?"
"Isn't it obvious? We are starting to be noticed, Hiccup. People already heard about the 'tribe of dragons' that lives in the east. I know that because my mom keeps me updated."
Hiccup's eyes widened. "Oh, Thor! That makes sense now! Cami you're a genius! I could kiss you right now!" Hiccup said, not noticing the redness of her face.
"What makes sense?" Eret asked, still confused.
"Everything! First, I've heard rumors the last time I went to Market Day. Apparently, Dagur killed his own father to take control of the Berserkers. I had the displeasure of meeting Dagur when I was very young. He's been a psycho since I can remember. But he was never stupid. He did it all for a reason. He wants power. Doesn't matter how he reaches it. Cami is right, he wants to be famous, he wants to go into each and every village and have its people immediately obey him. He wants to be feared."
"You're saying he wants to conquer the entire Archipelago? Like, be the King of every tribe or something?" Eret asked. Hiccup nodded.
"And he wants to do it by giving examples of what might happen if people don't surrender. Like murdering an entire village… Or destroying a famous village like ours, because we have dragons on our side." Cami concluded wisely and Hiccup nodded again. Everything made sense for them now.
"Do you think they might come with full force?"
"I don't know." Hiccup answered Eret. "I counted 20 ships, but I don't know how many they used to kill that tribe or how strong they are…"
Hiccup mounted Toothless and they flew unseen into the sky, the enemy was about to strike, but he wanted to be the first. Toothless shot a purplish blast with perfect aim, destroying one of the ships and sending Berserkers into the water. That worked as a signal and as soon as the ship was on fire, the people of the Strike Tribe started attacking.
The whistling sound of a Night Fury crossing the air was a relief for the allies, but a dread to its enemies, and the fact that they couldn't even see the awful creature was even worse. It was impossible to tell when and where the next blast would come from or what it would hit. The night was perfect for Toothless. Dagur huffed angrily; he didn't know they had a freaking Night Fury too.
For the moment, Toothless was the only dragon airborne; the others preferred to be close to their humans to protect them, since most of the battle was happening on the ground. Cami was on the ground for other reason too; Shimmer could blend in with the landscape and attack from anywhere.
Some Berserkers got so scared by the sound of the 'unholy offspring of lightening and death itself' that they got disoriented, running from side to side without knowing what to do. Eret took this opportunity to ask his Thunderdrum, Windwalker, to sonic blast them into the air.
Bork's terrible sight stopped him from fighting well. He tried, but he could barely cover the basics, because he couldn't really know the right position to block the attack until it was too late. It frustrated him, however, he found himself useful to lead the children away from the conflict. Heidi and her dragon were helping too, even though she could fight better. They were far away, but they could tell a battle had begun because of the eerie feeling and the low clanging sound of swords heard in the distance. Besides, they could also see the powerful Night Fury's blast against the dark sky.
Meanwhile, a very deranged Dagur knew he probably wouldn't be able to win, so he ordered his men to do the greatest damage they could do. He sent men to tear up the new feeding stations and break the houses too, wounding as many people and dragons as possible in the process. One of them saw a boy with a bow and arrows on the rooftop of a house and had the great idea to set it on fire.
The boy had just turned 15 and although he had begun sword fight training, he wasn't really good at it yet. But shooting arrows was his thing. In fact, Hall was a natural at it. He chose a high place so he could see everything and shoot sharply. And that was what he was doing, despite the darkness; he could identify who belonged to his tribe and who didn't. That is until he realized his house beneath him was on fire.
Hall's house wasn't big, but was high, like Hiccup's house on Berk, with two floors. If it was just him, he wouldn't need too much space because he lived alone, but the dragons liked the amplitude and the boy liked the height. Wood can burn quite fast and when he noticed the flames, he couldn't get down to the window where he came outside.
The roof would soon give in and he had no way but down. He had never been more thankful for the dragon friends than that moment. Without them, he probably would get burned alive right there. His riding dragon was a Hackatoo named Freya and she noticed the peril just in time to lift Hall from there, moments before the wooden construction collapsed.
"You're always getting yourself in trouble…" Sten teased as Hall and Freya landed not far from him and his dragon that was sending a Berserker far away by swinging its tail.
"Oh, just shut up…" He said looking at his house, or what was left of it. Thankfully there was no one inside and he didn't have anything important there, all the designs and projects were on the forge, but he'd have to rebuild everything again. Freya was a very agile dragon, so she could cover up her human while he kept shooting. Until he had the great idea of doing it from the sky on the back of his dragon.
The fire that consumed the house started to grow and illuminate the entire village and even the dark sky, making it more difficult for Toothless to blend in with the night. Even so, Hiccup knew he had to draw them away and fast. Toothless's blasts ended up destroying half of the ships by the time Hall and Freya started to shoot fire and arrows at the Berserkers when the Night Fury got closer to the ground. Sten followed their lead and jumped on his dragon's back, Calder to help them.
It didn't take too long after that to make the remaining Berserkers run away like cowards and almost leave a very frustrated and yelling chief behind. Dagur jumped on one half torn up and burnt boat just in time to depart.
The Strike Tribe could have gone after them and blasted what was left of the fleet into the middle of the ocean to drown them. However, that was not Hiccup's style of fighting. If the enemy was leaving, he didn't have to do anything else. His tribe was safe and that was what it mattered. Even if he knew the troubles his decision would cause him, he probably wouldn't change it anyway.
So, guys, what din't you think of the chap? Hope you all liked a lot and don't worry, the story won't finish so quickly after the Berserker's attack.
I know I gave the OCs some more appearances in this chap, but I hope you all liked them anyway.
Please leave your thoughts of the chap for me in a review!
Maybe you guys can help me reach 107 reviews? (the same number of favorites when I posted this chap)
Itban Fuyu