Nadder saw the Red Death blast flames from its gargantuan jaws just as she was turning the corner.
She tackled Night out of the way so he wasn't burnt to a crisp, and the two sheltered behind a post office box until the Red Death had closed its mouth again. The ground trembled as it took a step forward, massive claws cracking the asphalt; nearby, a streetlight crashed to the ground and shattered.
"It's huge," Night gasped.
"No kidding," Nadder panted back.
They peered out from their shelter at the beast again, who was staring down at them with malice in all six of its eyes. The building nearest to them had caught fire, and she could hear people screaming.
"We have to lure it away," she said, staring back up at it. "Get it out of the main part of the city so it can't hurt anyone. Then..." She trailed off, at a loss. What would they do – what could they do? It had to have been at least a hundred feet tall, and three times as long.
It took another step forward, and Night and Nadder had to dive aside just to avoid being squashed. When she looked back up at it, a flash of something reflective caught her eye on the top of the monster's head. Something small, tied around the ridges of its skull, glowing with dark energy.
"Night," Nadder started.
"I see it," he answered. "You keep it distracted, I'll try to climb up there."
She blinked. "How are you – " but he was already up and running; avoiding the dragon's massive claws, he sprinted towards its tail, which was hanging low to the ground. It turned its head to watch him, a growl beginning deep in its throat, and Nadder sprang into action.
She got to her feet and ran out in front of it, waving her arms above her head. "Hey!" she shouted up at the Red Death; its gaze shifted to her, and she stared at it defiantly. "You want my power?" she challenged. "Then come get it!"
Nadder took off running, sprinting as fast as she could down the street. The beast watched her for a second and then lumbered after her, its folded wings hitting the buildings on either side, every step sending signs and streetlights falling apart. There were several cars on the road, some of them still running but abandoned by their owners, and Nadder saw several of them crushed beneath the dragon's feet. She could see Night clinging to the beast's swinging tail, making his way up its spine; so far it didn't seem to have noticed him. She tried to keep it that way.
She skidded around a street corner and took off in a different direction; as she had hoped, the Red Death followed. It lunged forward with one paw and she was just barely able to avoid it, her breath coming in ragged gasps as she sprinted forward. She wove between signs and around corners in an attempt to keep the dragon distracted and confused. She didn't know how long she would be able to keep it up.
High above, she could see that Night had made it all the way to the dragon's neck and was carefully climbing up the spines, reaching for the item that was its source of power. He was so close now, she just had to keep it distracted a little more...
The Red Death turned its head to survey the city, partially crushed and burning, and the movement knocked Night down onto its back. Nadder could just barely hear his startled cry of "Whoa!" and by the way the dragon stiffened, she guessed it had heard him too.
It twisted its head around, but Night had rushed forward again to cling to its neck, out of reach of those horribly large teeth. Its eyes narrowed and it let out a roar of fury, but Night would not let go, and then it began to crouch lower to the ground. Nadder had stopped running and now she could only stare at the beast as it unfolded its massive, leathery wings. With several powerful strokes that sent gusts of wind howling over the streets, the dragon took flight.
It was surprisingly quick for something so massive. It roared again and tossed its head like a horse, and Nadder's heart seemed to stop when she saw a tiny figure falling from the monster's head. No, not falling, she realized a moment later – Night was gliding, his arms spread out and the wingsuit carrying him shakily through the air. She could have laughed. She hadn't thought she would ever be able to see his flight suit.
But he wasn't out of danger.
The Red Death was turning away from Night, and its massive clubbed tail was swinging towards him. With a stab of absolute horror, she watched it collide with Night and send him plummeting down again and out of view.
For a moment or two Nadder could only stand there, shaking and more afraid than she had ever felt in her life, although she would never have admitted it. When she came to her senses again she took off sprinting in the direction the Red Death had flown, even though she didn't have a hope of catching up with it.
"Hey!" she shouted up at it, waving her arms again in an attempt to catch its attention. "I'm down here! Come and get me!"
In response, the dragon roared again, a powerful sound of pure fury that seemed to shake the ground. It let loose another stream of fire across the ground; Nadder dove and rolled out of the way to avoid being hit directly with the flames. Anything flammable along the street instantly ignited, and the air grew thick with smoke. Nadder coughed, peering up at the Red Death. There was a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, and she realized her hands were trembling.
This truly was Drago's strongest weapon yet. Nadder didn't know how they would be able to beat it. She didn't know if they would be able to beat it. She was afraid. For Night, for the whole city, for herself.
Part of her was wondering if maybe this was the end.
Night had been mere feet from the Red Death's power item when it had noticed him.
He lunged forward to cling to the dragon's neck just as it twisted around, trying to catch him and pull him off, but he was just out of its reach. He began climbing up the spines on its neck again, scrambling upwards until he had reached its head.
Then the giant body beneath him seemed to tremble, and he crouched down to regain his balance as the dragon lowered its head, hunching its massive shoulders. From its sides, two massive somethings unfurled – wings, Night realized a moment later, with a stab of fear – and then the Red Death beat them violently and lifted off the ground.
The force of it was so great that Night was nearly flattened against the dragon's head; they rose into the air so quickly that his stomach lurched. He struggled back to his feet once he was able to, looking around wildly at the city, sprawled out below him. This thing can fly, he thought, almost hysterically. If he had had any doubts before, they were now gone entirely: he knew for certain that this was the most dangerous opponent he and Nadder had ever faced.
The Red Death gave a powerful roar that seemed to echo over the whole land and then it shook its head sharply. Night lost his balance and tumbled to the side; his hands scrabbled at the dragon's rough scales but he couldn't get a grip. With a sharp cry of "Whoa!" he found himself falling off the Red Death's great head.
Spinning through the air, he somehow managed to reach to his sides and snap open his wingsuit, stopping his freefall and sending him gliding forward. The city was still a dizzying height below him, but that wasn't his biggest problem at the moment. The Red Death was turning around, flying back in the direction it had come, and its thick, spiked tail was swinging towards Night. He tried to angle himself to the side to get out of the way, but he had almost no control over the wingsuit – the boy collided with the Red Death's powerful tail and then he saw and heard no more.
When he came to his senses, thankfully only a moment or two later, he was dimly aware that he was falling - do something! his brain was screaming, but his limbs were sluggish to respond. His half-closed eyes were fixed on the sky above him, still brilliantly blue, the Red Death silhouetted against it, growing smaller and smaller as Night grew closer to the ground.
He blinked. The ground. Suddenly he was very much aware that he was going to plummet to his death if he didn't do something, and soon. He forced himself to flip over and spread his arms, so that the wingsuit caught the air again and he shot unsteadily forward, still incredibly fast but at least not straight down anymore. Night glided shakily towards the top of the nearest building, but as always he had little control over which direction he went in; he was aiming for the rooftop, but he realized too late that he was losing altitude too quickly to make it.
He braced for impact, shutting his eyes, but he still crashed through the window with enough force to knock the breath out of him. He hit the floor with a thump and slid a few yards across the smooth floor before coming to a stop.
For several minutes, Night could only lie there, breathing heavily and staring at the ceiling. Something wet dripped down the side of his face, and he realized he was bleeding, probably caused by the hundreds of glass shards that lay all around him from the broken window. He blinked a few times, slowly, and then pushed himself to his feet, his aching body protesting as he did so. He stumbled forward, but as soon as he had taken a single step he nearly collapsed again; he was disoriented and dizzy, his vision swimming disconcertingly before his eyes, but outside the abandoned office building he could hear the distant shrieks of civilians, the roar of the Red Death, the crackling of flames. There was no time for hesitating – the whole city was in danger. He had to go back out there and fight.
Night took a deep breath, spreading his wingsuit – thankfully it hadn't been damaged in the crash, aside from a few small tears that wouldn't affect his flight – and preparing to jump, but before he could do anything, a strange yet familiar feeling came over him. It started at his toes and spread up his body to the top of his head, taking only a moment, but he knew instantly that something had changed. He stared down at his feet – no, foot. One sneaker and one prosthetic. His gaze traveled up his clothing and then he ran his hands though his hair with sudden realization.
He had been un-transformed.
"What…?" he managed to get out as Toothless materialized before him and darted up to hover in front of him. The little spirit's face was uncharacteristically fearful, his eyes wide.
"Are you okay?" Toothless asked anxiously. "Are you hurt?"
Night – Hiccup, that is – stared uncomprehendingly at him. "What did you do that for?" he asked once he had found his voice.
"Are you hurt?" Toothless repeated, almost urgently.
Hiccup blinked once more. "No, I'm fine. Are you? Is something wrong? Why did you un-transform me?"
Toothless didn't answer; he darted around Hiccup, looking him over, checking to see if he really was okay. He let out a small concerned noise as he noticed the trickle of blood running down the side of the boy's head.
Outside, Hiccup heard the Red Death roar again, a low, powerful sound that seemed to shake the ground. "I have to get back out there," he said. "Toothless, transform me!"
"No."
The answer came quietly, but firmly. Hiccup turned around to face him again, his expression questioning. "…no?" he repeated, unsure of what to do. Toothless had never refused him so directly before. "Toothless –"
"It's too dangerous!" Toothless interrupted frantically.
Hiccup laughed. "Of course it's dangerous," he said, shifting his weight from foot to foot – foot to prosthetic, that is. "It's always been dangerous! But it's my job to fight the dragons that attack, to keep people safe – "
Toothless didn't seem to be listening. He pushed against Hiccup, trying to herd him back deeper into the building, with very little success. "Come on, come on," he muttered, mostly to himself. "I'll get you somewhere safe."
"No," Hiccup protested, turning and ducking past him. "You have to let me transform – the city needs Night Fury!"
"Forget about them, they'll be fine – "
"And let Nadder fight the Red Death all on her own? Toothless, you –"
"I can't lose you too!" Toothless cried, and Hiccup came to a halt.
Slowly, he turned around to face him again. The spirit's wings were drooping, his expression anguished. It was a while before either of them spoke, and then Toothless sighed.
"You weren't the first person to have the Night Fury miraculous," he said quietly, Hiccup blinked but said nothing. After another short pause, Toothless continued. "Once, oh . . . over a hundred years ago now, there was a different town in danger, always being attacked by dragons. As such, Stormfly and I were sent out to find two new heroes, two who would protect the city and its inhabitants as the Night Fury and the Deadly Nadder. The one I chose was young, even younger than you, but I knew he had what it took to be a hero – bravery, determination, selflessness. His name . . . " Toothless sighed, as if the memory was painful. "His name was Hickory Haddock – the Second."
Hiccup's eyes widened, but still he stayed quiet.
"For years, he and his partner fearlessly defended the city," Toothless went on, something like wistfulness in his voice. "They were unstoppable together. "But then, one day . . ." He trailed off, his gaze lowering to the floor.
Hiccup's mouth was dry. "What . . . what happened?" he breathed.
"Tragedy," Toothless whispered. "One day, there was a dragon that was bigger and stronger and smarter than anything the two had ever faced, not unlike the Red Death. It – it called itself Furious. The one who was dragonized was Hickory's own father." He paused again, and Hiccup could only stare, captivated by the story, all else gone from his mind. "He and Nadder fought bravely, as they always did. They managed to defeat Furious, so thoroughly that the dragon attacks were stopped entirely, but . . . but Hickory was badly wounded. The dragon's claws had dug into his stomach.
"I didn't realize at first. When he could no longer stand and he collapsed on the ground, I un-transformed him – it meant everyone would discover his identity, but I didn't care. I just wanted to save him . . . but I wasn't quick enough. It was too late." Toothless grew very quiet indeed. "Hickory died that day, saving the town from a dragon attack. Nadder took his miraculous to keep it from falling into the wrong hands, but she never used it. She never used her own again either. She couldn't work without him, just as he couldn't work without her. That was the last time the Deadly Nadder and the Night Fury were seen.
"I couldn't save Hickory the Second." He lifted his gaze, staring straight at Hiccup. "But I can save you. I can keep you safe."
Hiccup didn't know how to respond. Poor Toothless looked so desperate. Finally, he found the words. "Toothless . . . I know you're worried. I know you're scared. Honestly, I'm scared too." He chuckled quietly. "I can't say I'm particularly excited to go fight a dragon the size of a mountain . . . but someone has to." He met Toothless's eyes, green on green. "If I don't fight, people could die. Innocent people, who are even more scared than we are. They have no idea what's going on. They have no idea how to fight this thing. Someone has to help them. Nadder and I have to help them." He managed a small smile. "I'll be fine, Toothless. Everything will be okay. But I can't sit here in safety while the whole town is in danger. I have to get back out there. The Night Fury has to get back out there."
Toothless didn't say anything for a few moments; then he let out a long breath. "When I was trying to find the next Night Fury," he said, "I picked you for the traits I saw in you, the ones crucial to all heroes, bravery and selfless and a refusal to give up, no matter what happened. Later, when I found out you were related to my Hickory, and sharing his name as well – albeit with a ridiculous nickname – I . . ." He paused. "I thought fate was giving me a second chance. A chance to fix what had happened to the last Night Fury. I thought it meant I had to protect you . . . but now I know that's not entirely true. It's our job to protect Berk, you're right. It's just . . . I don't want to lose you, Hiccup."
"You won't," Hiccup promised. "Everything will be okay." The spell of Toothless's story seemed to have broken, and once again Hiccup could hear the battle raging outside. He looked out through the shattered window, at the sprawling city dotted with flames, at the speck in the sky that was the Red Death, high above them. "Now . . . you ready?"
"Of course," came Toothless's response. Hiccup took a deep breath.
"Toothless, transform me!"