Haaaa! The battle scene…fun fun fun. A bit of a longer chappy for ya'll. Just cause I love you(; …And the fact that I might not update for a while because I'm going to my aunt (StarBee20)'s house for a few weeks, and I might not update while I'm there. Maybe. I'm not sure. :)
DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN.
Chapter 21
Rapunzel, Hiccup, and the rest of the gang flew over the blue waves, sea spray hitting their faces and wind swirling their hair. Rapunzel sat upon the back of a Deadly Nadder. While nowhere near as sleek and majestic looking as Toothless, Rapunzel was glad to have the ride. The dragon was good at flying, and she tucked her arms around Hiccup. He was in front of her, and once they got to Toothless she would scoot up and take control of the dragon.
Astrid rode a Nadder, as well, Snotlout was astride a Monstrous Nightmare, the twins were on a Hideous Zippleback, and Fishlegs rode a Gronckle. They flew in a triangle formation, with Rapunzel and Hiccup in front, Astrid behind them to the right, with Fishlegs behind her, and Snotlout and the twins on the left.
As the wind whistled past, Rapunzel laughed and flung her arms outwards. Who would've thought that the princess from Corona would be flying on a dragon? And actually enjoying it! No longer was she the timid princess who had been kidnapped. In her place was a girl who knew how to stand up for herself and wasn't afraid any longer. Even with the loss of her hair and all her magic, she felt strong and powerful. It was the most delicious, mobilizing, exhilarating feeling even in the world, and even on her way to most likely be eaten by a gigantic dragon, all she would do was laugh.
What an amazing day.
"There!" Hiccup called, angling the dragon at a downward swoop. The others followed, and Rapunzel caught a glimpse of a small mountain, and it-
Wait.
Oh my goodness.
"Is that it?" she asked, pointing at the huge mountain that now seemed to move.
Hiccup nodded, his lips set in a grim line. "That's the queen bee."
"Hiccup!" Astrid called, leaning towards him. "Your dad's down there! And Gobber!"
Hiccup set his jaw. "Let's go get him!" As the dragons flew, Rapunzel could see Stoick and Gobber positioned underneath the dragon's huge jaw. It opened its cave of a mouth, ready to incinerate the brave but foolish Vikings.
Hiccup urged the Nadder to go faster. "Come on, girl!" he shouted. The dragon tried, but a dragon can only flap its wing so hard and so fast. There wasn't much to be done. Except…
"Snotlout!" Hiccup called. "Can you shoot a blast at that thing? Aim for just behind its head!"
Snotlout nodded, sweat visibly dripping off her face. "Uh, come on!" he ordered his dragon. "Light it up!"
The dragon, almost surprisingly, seemed all too happy to do so. It stretched back his head and elongated it with a snap, sending a fireball careening into the monster's neck.
The monster responded with a roar, throwing back his head in pain. The teens shot away, Ruffnut and Tuffnut narrowly missing being incinerated by a ball of flame from the Green Death, as Rapunzel had nicknamed it.
"Look at us, we're on dragons!" Tuffnut shouted, seemingly barely able to contain his excitement. "We're on dragons, all of us!"
Rapunzel laughed at his elation. How strange, that someone who used to fantasize about killing one of the creatures was overjoyed to be riding one. And yet, it was nice to see how someone could change so quickly.
"Ruff, Tuff, watch your backs!" Hiccup ordered as they swooped around, more fire coming their way. "Move, Fishlegs!" The group flew away, and Hiccup called to the geeky giant, "Fishlegs, break it down!"
"Okay. Heavily armored skull and tail for bashing and crushing," pronounced Fishlegs, studying the dragon and trying to steer his dragon at the same time. "Steer clear of both! Small eyes, large nostrils. Relies on hearing and smelling."
"Okay. Astrid, Lout, Legs, hang in its blind spot. Make some noise, keep it confused," Hiccup told them. "Ruff, Tuff, find out if it has a shot limit. Make it mad."
"That's my specialty!" Ruffnut exclaimed.
"Since when? Everyone knows I'm more irritating, see?" Tuffnut flipped his half of the Zippleback upside down and made garbling sounds. Rapunzel rolled her eyes as Ruffnut made a swipe at her brother. All of those earlier good feelings towards the teen were gone in a second.
"Just do as I told you!" commanded Hiccup, clearly exasperated. "I'll be back as soon as I can!" With that, he zoomed off with Rapunzel to go find Toothless. Who was, hopefully, still alive.
The scene by the water was complete and utter chaos. The ships were all burning, sparks and bits of wood flying everywhere. Each of the vessels was completely and utterly decimated, no hope left for any of them. Rapunzel didn't see how they would manage to find the black dragon, but Hiccup was optimistic. They could barely see into the wreckage, what with all the smoke and fire, but Hiccup was able to spot his bud. "There!" he called, and pointed. Rapunzel saw the black creature on one of the ship's decks. They changed their course, alighting on the deck next to the poor dragon. Hiccup jumped off and Rapunzel slid forward, heart beating quickly.
"Go help the others," he told her.
She nodded, but not before she grabbed his collar and pressed his lips to hers. She let go and flew away, a twisting, writhing feeling of apprehension in her heart.
One last kiss, she thought. It was extremely unnerving.
She flew over to the teens, where she saw Snotlout beating the crap out of one of the dragon's eyes and Fishlegs under the ground, trying to get himself out from underneath a Gronckle. The twins were who knew where, and Astrid was hovering in the general vicinity of Snotlout. Rapunzel joined her.
"What's he doing?" she asked.
Astrid shrugged. "At least it's something, right?" She laughed and called out, "Yeah! You're the Viking!"
Snotlout looked up with a goofy grin on his face, allowing himself to be tossed onto one of the spines on the Green Death's neck. Needless to say, the monster was not to happy over having one of his eyes being smacked.
Rapunzel and Astrid were momentarily distracted by a black creature shooting up in the air.
"He's up!" Astrid called to Ruffnut and Tuffnut, who had just reappeared from behind the dragon. "Get Snotlout out of there!"
"I'm on it!" they answered simultaneously."
"I'm on it first!"
"I'm ahead of you!"
Rapunzel raised her eyes. "Do they ever stop?"
Astrid shook her head. "Not that I'm aware of."
They watched as the (still bickering) twins flew next to Snotlout, who promptly gave a running start and leapt onto the Zippleback's tail.
"Wow, it worked!" Rapunzel exclaimed.
Astrid laughed. "I didn't have much faith in that."
As they flapped away, the enraged Red Death inhaled with a gust of wind, pulling the girls towards his gaping mouth. Regardless of how much they tried to escape the whirlwind, they were being sucked further and further towards the beast. As they approached its teeth, a familiar sonic whine was heard, followed by a blast, and the wind immediately let off.
However, the sudden let up of wind also caused the girls to be knocked off their dragons. They plummeted through the air, falling closer and closer to the rocks. They screamed, voices lost in the wind, and were about to hit the rocks when something caught their feet. They seemed to float, looking up to see a familiar black dragon carrying them. Rapunzel laughed in disbelief, and heard Hiccup ask, "Did you get them?"
Toothless peered at the girls and caught a glimpse of their smiling faces. He returned their happy grins and looked up once again. He flipped the girls upwards and lowered them onto the ground, not even stopping to say goodbye. They flew off, ready to fight and perhaps even die.
Astrid drew in a deep breath. "Go," she breathed, and Rapunzel hesitantly squeezed her hand. It was returned, and the two managed to smile at each other. They were joined in their apprehension, and watched as Hiccup battled the beast.
Toothless shot a blast at the monster, and it flipped the giant over. The dragon paused, then unfolded its massive dark wings. Rapunzel felt sick just looking at them. It rose into the air, clearly intent on having these two undersized little twerps for supper. They swerved into the seastacks, dodging, swerving and turning through each and every one. It reminded Rapunzel of the first test ride, and she could have laughed but for the gravity of the situation. They cheered at his triumph over the maze, the whole crowd letting loose an approving roar. However, the Death continued smashing through the rocks, leaving them all quiet.
The dragon and rider suddenly changed their strategy, angling upwards into the skies. They quickly disappeared into the thick, roiling clouds, only Toothless' fire giving away their presence. It flashed liked lightning, inciting a roar from the dragon, and a stream of flame. It didn't catch them, however, and they succeeded in bombarding the dragon with more shots. Finally, the outraged dragon resorted to spewing out a bombard of fire, spreading it around like icing over a cake. It completely engulfed the clouds around it. No one could survive that…could it? And yet…there they were, dragon and rider, flying downwards, the Red Death quickly gaining. And what was this? Toothless' prosthetic was on fire! Rapunzel's breath caught. Oh no. This was not good.
They continued downward at a steep dive, managing to clear the ash and swiftly approaching the ground. Still, the Red Death was on their tails, and it didn't look like it was going to let up. Even if they were trying to smash it on the ground, it wasn't going to work.
She watched as Toothless suddenly turned around and shot a blast into the Red Death's mouth as it was about to shoot its fire.
To Rapunzel's horror (and relief), the dragon's insides appeared to be…cooking. Holes appeared in its wings and sides, and Rapunzel remembered that day on the small island.
"Not so fireproof on the inside, are you?"
Her boyfriend was the smartest person alive.
They zoomed up the back of the burning monster's back, attempting to outrun the flames. It looked like they were about to make it, but soon their views were obscured by an explosion of ash and fire.
oOoOo
"Hiccup?" Rapunzel called, worry twisting at her stomach. "Hiccup?" She raced through the ash, clouding her vision and blovking her from finding the teen. "Are you over here?"
The world was white, like it was in the middle of a snowstorm. Ash swirled around, and the broken bits and pieces of ships and weapons lay cluttered around her feet.
Where was he?
She peered through the ashes, and her heart leapt into her throat when she saw a black lump. Praying it wasn't who she thought it was, she raced over to it and quickly kneeled beside Toothless.
"Oh, Toothless," she breathed, reaching out to caress the beast. He opened his eyes and moaned. "It's okay," she whispered. "It's only me."
The dragon whined again and made to open his wings, unfurling them to reveal a motionless, battered, and bruised Hiccup.
"Hiccup!" she exclaimed, scrambling on her hands and knees to him. She gathered him in her arms, limbs shaking.
He was cold. So, so cold. His skin was as white as the ash circling around her head, and when she reached her trembling fingers up to feel his pulse, she felt nothing.
"No," she whispered, "no, no no no!" She sobbed once, unbelieving. She did the only thing she could think of to do, even though she knew it was hopeless. "Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine, make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine-" She was unable to continue, tears clogging her throat. She sobbed again, gathering his chest to her own. His head fell back, hair waving in the slight wind.
No. This could not be happening. Hiccup didn't die. Hiccup was the only one they really needed. He was the one that kept them all together, who knew what was going on and how to plan. He was the goofy, lovable, stupid, amazing teen who was only now just starting his life. He couldn't be dead!
She needed him.
An animal-like sob tore through her throat, ripping her heart to shreds. She cried into his chest, too grief-stricken to even conjure tears.
This wasn't happening.
"Hiccup! Hiccup!" she dimly heard Stoick call, but paid no heed. This was all his fault. If he hadn't been so stupid, so war hungry, she'd still have her amazing Hiccup. She'd never forgive him! Never!
And yet, when she heard him approach and say his broken, "Son," something within her melted. She couldn't keep Hiccup from his own father. The father who was certainly feeling remorse now.
He kneeled, and she allowed him to remove Hiccup from her arms. She did, however, keep a tight hold of his cold, white hand.
"Oh, son," he whispered, emotion clogging his throat, "I did this."
The other Vikings seemed to be cheerless, as well, bowing their head. Astrid seemed about to cry.
"I'm so sorry," Stoick apologized in a whisper, tears rolling down his cheeks.
With that, Rapunzel's heart completely melted into a puddle. He really was sorry. How could she stay angry at this broken, beaten down man. She pressed Hiccup's fingers to her mouth, silently kissing the bruised hand. It was all she could do in the moment.
It was a sad spectacle to see. A ring of grieving Vikings surrounded a grieving man, girl, and dragon, and a dead boy.
Through the ashes, the only sound that could be heard was the occasional cough or sob. And yet, after a moment, a young, thin voice could be heard.
"Heal what has been hurt,
Change the fates' design.
Save what has been lost,
Bring back what once was mine…" Rapunzel's voice caught as a tear dripped down her cheek.
"What once was mine."
She bowed her head, not seeing the tear slowly roll off her face and drip to Hiccup's palm. It slowly traveled to his wrist, where if anyone had been watching, they would have seen it literally dissolve into his skin. It disappeared, then suddenly reappeared again in the shape of a golden flower. All raised their heads and watched in astonishment as light swirled around the trio, enveloping them in a haze of gold and yellow. The small flower on his wrist grew into a large one, and the light in the air made Hiccup's skin appear flesh-colored again, warmed his skin. It slowly disappeared, leaving them all in wonder.
Suddenly, a movement on Hiccup's wrist caught Rapunzel's attention. She felt it again to realize it was the last thing in the world she expected it to be.
A pulse.
Stoick tore off his helmet and placed his ear on Hiccup's chest, right above his heart.
"He's alive!" he exclaimed in disbelief. "You brought him back alive!" He hugged his son to his chest as the crowd burst into cheers and rejoicing.
Rapunzel sat back in disbelief. Alive? Her hair was gone…the magic was gone! She smiled, happy tears pricking at her eyes. Maybe there had been a little left, after all. Just enough.
Stoick placed a hand on her arm. "Thank you," he said, "both of you, for saving my son."
Rapunzel could only grin as Gobber came over. "Well, you know. Most of him," he amended his statement.
Stoick and Rapunzel both looked at what Gobber was talking about. She turned around and was promptly sick.
So, was that okay? I really haven't been getting as many reviews as usual, so please tell me what you thought! PLEEEEEEEEASE!
If you do, I won't run you off the road once I get my permit 'cause I just finished driver's ed(;
I LOVE YOU!