And I am back again. One step before the climax. Next chapter's gonna decide it all, probably. I'm trying not to be too lame on that. But enjoy this.

Beta credits to Spyden, of course. Thanks again.

Backs to the Wall

"This is not going to work!" I repeated for what seemed like the fourteenth time that night. No, it was the fourteenth time that night. Or was it fifteen? No, maybe twentieth. And the midget I was trying to convince was pointedly ignoring me.

We were still in the Loki's Field. Alfdis was sent home with the other dragons, Toothless included. I couldn't quite believe my eyes and I was sure he would kill me for this, but the Night Fury reminded me of a cross between a fussy mother hen and an overly-excited loyal puppy. Sure, I was happy to see Sweyn, too, but I was…not so, er, hysterical about it. Leaving that note aside, I believed I have shot enough dirty looks to that big-nosed human that got involved in the wrist dilemma. He would pay later. But as of now…

"Sweyn, listen to me," I nearly pleaded, but dragons do not plead with annoying little humans. "You can't do this! This is madness!"

Half-Pint didn't meet my eyes, instead looking up at the starry sky above, his lips pressed together to form a thin line. In his hands, he held the dagger that he'd retrieved from the cluster of rocks. His legs were crossed, and he was as tense as the bowstring of the weapon he had lying next to him. The bow was several feet away from the dagger, but it was hidden under a pile of rocks so that I hadn't spotted it, along with the quiver.

I looked at his back expectantly, waiting for a response. There was none. He just kept staring at the stars, a wistful look in his eyes. Perhaps he knew that if this failed, he would never have a chance to see them again. He would probably die as dragon's food. That image was way more than just "likely" in my opinion, to be honest. It made my stomach have an extremely unpleasant reaction to the thought as well.

"I don't have a choice," Sweyn said at last, looking at me. A rueful smile was on his lips. "I know the risks, Tempest. I'm not stupid. And I know I will most likely die on this crazy venture. After all, the dragon council had no reason to listen to a little human kid, right?"

"Exactly," I answered, exasperated. "Which is why you should not do it!"

"I can't leave Death Rock, and you can't leave me," Half-Pint pointed out. "There's no other way around." His eyes searched the stars again, looking for some sort of reassurance, I guessed. I looked at him with disdain. He wasn't going to surrender, was he? Not without a lot of pain, some bloody battles and a few burnt-up forests.

I looked at the sky mournfully. It wasn't that I didn't believe in the gods, but dragons had strength of their own to solve their own problems, so we almost never begged for divine help. Of all the years I have walked this world, there was only one time I've asked for help from the gods and that was when my dame was badly mauled. I've begged for some mercy, somebody to prolong her life. The result? A band of Terrible Terror made sure she was nothing more than a pile of gleaming white bones.

Okay, no. I am not going to think that way.

But would they answer now, when it truly mattered? This was a friendship that just wasn't meant to be. The dragons went against it. The humans went against it. Would the heavens go against it as well? I had a pretty good idea regarding that aspect, but I wasn't willing to believe it. So I settled with watching the stars for possibly the last time in my life.

"I didn't want to go home," Sweyn said suddenly, but I didn't glance at him. Instead, I circled my tail around the hatchling and pulled him closer. He leaned against my side and sighed. "I didn't want to give them the joy that I've come back, just so they could lose me again tomorrow." Wise kid. Then he added, in a softer voice, "If I see them, I probably wouldn't be able to leave either."

So maybe I should have kicked him onto a dragon and send him home after all. Get his family to tie him to his bed or something. Problem solved for him. I would be fine.

Silence engulfed us again, weary, fearful and tense. Finally, a single sob that was so small I almost missed it burst out. I blinked in shock, glancing at Sweyn. He was stretched out, looking at the sky with bitter acceptance as he tried to rub something wet from his face. "I don't want to die, Tempest." He issued a sound like between a choking sob and a chuckle as he wiped his tear. "Well, would you look at me? I talked big about striking a deal with dragons and blah-blah-blah, but now I'm crying like a wimp."

My stomach wrenched uncomfortably, but all I could do was wound my tail tighter around him and draped a wing over the little form. He was so…vulnerable. I didn't know he could ever let himself be. Sweyn had never cried in front of me before, and he certainly didn't show any willingness to do so. When I glanced at him again, he was looking at me, and there was real fear in his eyes.

"I don't know how you view me, Tempest," he said, reaching out a hand and putting it behind my cheek horns. His voice was rushed, like he thought he wouldn't be able to say all of it if he slowed down. "But I'm not brave. I'm just too afraid of death to die. I'll take every chance in the world to make sure that I live another day." His eyes shot toward the heavens again. "Funny. If I've aborted this idea right now, then I would've lived in peace and you can go to Berk and everything will settle down nicely. Nobody will have to lose their lives. But…I can't." Sweyn shook his head in confusion. "I don't get it. This is stupid."

Stupid was a vast understatement. Even moronic was an understatement. What we were about to do was so stupid that it probably didn't even have a word to describe it. The whole plan was a shaky one with holes everywhere. The deal wasn't a good one either. There was about as much chance the council would say no as they would eat us – which is nine hundred and ninety-nine out of a thousand. We were standing with our backs to the wall in this.

I glanced at Sweyn again, but he wasn't looking at me. Instead, he was fidgeting with his bow now. But I could tell he saw the problem as clearly as I did. There was no need of words between us anymore. I finally found someone with the same intellectual capacity as I did, and I was about to lose him to a bunch of stupid narrow-minded dragons.

But what am I saying? If he was going down, then I would go down as well. There was no "I" in this matter anymore. Whatever the council's outcome was, it would either free or doom us both. And I couldn't seem to quench the feeling of ill in the pit of my stomach, no matter how hard I tried to.

"Tempest, do you regret this?"

The question caught me by surprise. Sweyn had quit fiddling with his bow and was gazing at me expectantly. I thought about that. Really, do I? Did I like the fact that we were awaiting our doom? No. Did I like the fact that I was sentenced to death by my own people because of a human? Nope. Did I like it that my safe dragon life was interrupted by said human? Kind of.

But do I regret knowing this human?

"No," I said decisively. "No, hatchling, I don't. Never have, never will." Curling myself contentedly around Sweyn, I let my head drop onto his lap and sighed. The salty smell of the ocean, the crashing of the waves and the chilly atmosphere created an odd sense of peace, even if it was just temporary.

I have never wished so much for a night to never end.

0o0o0o0o0

Something woke me at about midnight. It wasn't just a feeling, however. It was a strange, grating noise that somehow sent chills down my spine. I swore I've heard that noise before, but my mind, too befuddled with sleep and darkness, couldn't make out what the sound meant.

Well, I guessed whoever decided to spit a fiery fireball at the pillar six meters from my head helped me to remember the appropriate action in such a situation.

With all the grace of a dragon, I leaped onto my feet at the ruckus, my eyes searching out the misty darkness of the Loki's Field. In the distance, not even fifty meters away, something moved. The "thing" seemed to slither among the tall rock pillars and the carcasses of ships. Quickly, I noted that it was long and lithe – no, it could not have been a Gronkle. Those meatballs could never move without some sort of loud noises.

The sound of a drawn bowstring could be heard under my right wing. I didn't bother to glance down, already knowing that Half-Pint had knocked an arrow and was waiting. His tension could be felt. A light crunching sound signaled that he'd stepped forward. I lifted my wing to give him a clearer view. To be completely honest, I didn't count on Sweyn's eyesight to be able to spot anything but the most obvious of movements. Still, he was a far cry from useless, and it just felt…reassuring, somehow, to have somebody else alerted and ready to fight.

"Dragon," Sweyn whispered. Indeed! Excellent observation, little man! He glanced at the smoking pillar once. "Timberjack?"

"Too destructive," I disagreed quietly, lowering my head. With narrowed eyes, I swept the ground before us suspiciously. The shape had vanished. Resisting the urge to swear, I continued to watch the misty surroundings, trying to find anything unusual, my heartbeat increasing slightly. For some reason, I felt a bit – what was the word? – comfortable? I must be totally mad now, I guess. But I felt I was back in my elements. Fighting, at least, I understand. It gave a little reassurance, a little normality, in the storm of confusion and seemingly out-of-this-world happenings that had been intruding into my usual life lately.

Shuffling sounds returned again, followed by the noise of rocks tumbling down into the sea. As one, we loosed our missiles in that direction, the arrow first followed by the fireball a moment later. There was a howl of pain, but it quickly ceased and silence claimed us once more. I didn't focus on the spot where the thing had just been hit, though, instead listening to everything around me. We might have more than one enemy.

The rest of my mind was occupied with a touch of fear and puzzlement. The fire had lighted our assailant. I recognized the shape and the way the fire glinted dully against those metallic-looking scales. But no – he could not have gotten down from those Ectoplasm Vines I've ensnared him in. Not this soon, at least. Knowing him, though…

"Up!" Sweyn's sharp cry tore me from my thoughts. I glanced upward just in time to see a jet of fire going at us. Jumping to the side along with Sweyn, I barely managed to dodge the missile. No, this isn't time to think, I reminded myself sternly, listening to the telltale beats of a Monstrous Nightmare right above us. This is time to act.

Something rose from the water behind us, and my heart sank as I caught sight of the shape's owner. Oh, no. That could not be. How did they know this? How did they know we were here? A traitor? Could be. Perhaps not Toothless, but one of his friends might – No, that was impossible. They were all human-bonded. They couldn't approach a Death Rock dragon without being mauled first.

Then how, exactly…?

Another landed on a pillar nearby, a dark black dragon that was shaped somewhat like a Timberjack without wings. Not that it needed to have wings, really. It was a Wind-Walker, and this breed somehow could actually run on air. How they did that was nothing short of magic. They never told the others how they did it, though. But their claws were deadly, and they moved with unbelievable speed on ground.

To our right, another dragon landed. It was a Skrill, black as night with snake-like yellow orbs the size of Sweyn's fist glaring at us distastefully, but there was a touch of curiosity in them as well, and they rested mostly on Sweyn, like he could not possibly understand what the heck this thing was. I covered the hatchling with my wing and snarled warningly, fighting the urge to jump him right there and then. His eyes returned to me, and he met my eyes. I didn't look away.

"So it came down to this, fledging," an eerily familiar voice said calmly. "I must say, I am impressed. You managed to evade the hunters this long. I would have been proud had I been your teacher."

If my stomach had been somewhere near my hind legs before, now it dropped all the way to the tip of my tail. I tried not to quiver as the speaker strode through the mist and into view, venom-yellow eyes studying me – studying us – with quiet amusement. He stopped ten meters out of my reach and sat back on his haunches, tilting his head.

"We have…ah –" the old, dark Timberjack gazed at the moon thoughtfully – "about several hours left before dawn. I think that should be enough for you to tell us exactly what is going on here, Tempest?" The use of my human-given name was casual, but it elicited growls of disgust from the other dragons that were surrounding us. I glared back at them if only briefly. My attention was solely on the familiar dragon before us.

I could hear Sweyn's heart beat faster and could smell his fear-scent. So he did have a practical mind. Who knew?

"Well then," Lavabreath said merrily, "can we start this thing before I die of old age?"

Looks like Toothless would find nothing but our carcasses in the morning after all. This hadn't gone as anticipated. If I was going to live through this, I would personally skin the spy who leaked out our hiding place and then crunch his bones in my mouth. Kin-slayer or not, it would be a fitting fate for that sly lizard.

And if I don't, I added to myself grimly, feeling the hungry, disgusted, curious and amused gazes of the gathered Dragon Council around me, unconsciously pressing Sweyn closer to my flanks, I shall haunt him for the rest of my immortal afterlife. Then when he dies, I shall pulverize his spirit until there is nothing left of his pathetic soul.

The first sounded best – I hate waiting – but the second…seemed the most realistic.

Oh, Odin helps us. This is going to be a long and painful night.

Review Replies (and an effing lot of those, too)

Darkdagers: Actually, I ruled out the cave. More of a seashore girl, you know. But the council found our heroes nonetheless, and now they are going down. Stay tuned. I'm trying to think of a creative way to get Sweyn mauled.

Alana-kittychan: Yes, that's true. One good thing - for them.

wakazimaru: Second thought: change that to a "seaside full of bloodthirsty dragons". But they are still bloodthirsty dragons. Stay tuned.

Now to the long-winded folks...

Medicant Bias: Your review is longer than five of mine put together on a good day...But thank you! Yes, gore. I hate sissy writings too. Have some details about battles for once! Not "he stabbed her there and blood spurts out" and call that done. Don't worry, my stories will contain lots of that if I have my way - and I will have my way.

Aye, the gang's back together. And yeah, Hiccup's a little too good with dragons, don't you think? I'm thinking a jealous Sweyn! I intend to get somebody killed next chapter. All hands are pointing at Sweyn. Then Tempest would be all angsty and poof, another sequel featuring the bitter dragon who had lost a rider to her stupidity. We shall see. And I'm considering Hiccup to learn Dragonese as well. It makes perfect sense, after all.

The way how they all found out will be posted in WatD: Drabbles when I have time. Now I'm trying to finish this thing for you folks.

Tempest took roughly...three weeks from the time they met until she really accepted him. Their relationship and trust were built more slowly compared to Hiccup and Toothless' is because 1) Toothless is the only one of his kind. I imagine the other dragons (and lesser dragons, no less) would fear him = he has no friends. Tempest lived as a part of a community; she had friends, peers, teachers and such. I don't think she was so desperate to find a friend. Her relationship to Sweyn started out as the same curiosity you might have for a blind cat that just kept living on and dodging traffics. It all snowballed together and here we are.

2) I don't think the movie is realistic in that aspect. Friendships can't be bridged overnight or just after a dance and a drawing. It takes even more time for enemies to be friends. Believe me, I have personal experiences with that. And in the case of Toothless and Hiccup, they didn't start out by a to-the-death cat-and-mouse game where the goal is to gut the human as soon as he slows down. Will you trust a tiger after it tried to kill you? Will you trust a shark after it bit off one of your limbs and makes you crippled? And Sweyn was more doubtful than Hiccup. He didn't want to make friends. He had friends already.

Aside from that, I'd think Hiccup and Toothless had some...special connections. They worked together as a team flawlessly, as the movie showed us. Sweyn and Tempest are not partners of hearts and minds. They just are. Good friends who can understand each other, not born into this world to be soul partners and all that stuff. I don't want to make Sweyn mirror the original pair in every aspect, so as it would be unoriginal for me as the writers and lame for you as the readers. This is my dragon and my rider, and not every dragon/rider out there meets a soul partner.

Yes, the dragon community works like countries. Right now, Berk and Death Rock held the most power in that stand, seeing as the two main dragon nests were there. While Berk dragons have already had enough of being ordered around and were rather unaware that islands surrounding them had dragons that will answer to their commands because there is a Night Fury who defeated the Red Death himself on it, Death Rock council was well aware of this fact. So you could say that Death Rock was a country, but its power makes the other countries' dragons answer to their request for help, forcefully or not. Berk and Death Rock are far apart, however, so war between the dragons will most likely not happen.

I would be jealous too, if a "beast" made my friend laugh and I can't. Wouldn't you? And thanks.

Toothless is happy. Toothless is protective. I am starting to suspect he was actually a she. You can see my drabbles for that (the other series of HTTYD drabbles). And really, Tempest did have a reason to be surprised. But I know a few people who is willing to beg for their friends but too proud to beg for themselves in real life. Lowering yourself for a friend is not that strange or rare. Humans are still capable of that. Why not dragons? Animals are more loyal than humans.

Oh, the pirates will have a counter-attack alright. And they used sneaky techniques to kidnap the two. Hiccup went out for a walk in the middle of the night (for all his wisdom, he couldn't figure out it's dangerous) and they wrapped Toothless into a nice little ball with bolas, drugged him, dragged him onto the boat and called it done. For the Death Rock folks, Alfdis and Sweyn escaped from security, trying to send help to their allies of the south. They got caught, too. That's how.

Can we shorten this up? I have some more reviewers to answer. Sorry. And yes, the main storyline will end in one chapter. There are loose ends to tie up, so expect two or three more.

Strange. The cheesecake didn't arrive at my house - Hey, LUGAR! SWEYN! Give that back! -throws knives at thieves-

Whitefang333: One more chapter now and some more to tie up loose ends. But don't worry. I'm thinking of a sequel. There's no way to tie this whole thing up neatly with only one story.

marmelada: On the boat, they already sorted it out. They got an entire night to do it after all. I'll write the gapfiller and post it on WatD: Drabbles if I have time. Like I said above, tying up the threads left hanging will take some more chapters. The climax is next. Storytelling? Hm. Indeed. But wasn't Tempest already telling somebody her story as she went through this one? She had to be talking to someone, right? And this is it.

just me: Yeah. I need a set of creative substitutes for those human terms of measurements.

Radec: Here's another!

ArcticFox: Well, just don't fall asleep at the breakfast table the next morning :) I'm very glad you liked it. This thing is mainly an excercise at characters than a story at first, but it grew into this. Wow. What the reviewers can do...

So I'm leaving you hanging. Come back in another nine day (hopefully less) and you'll see the rest. No comments. I'm tired. I need breakfast. I skipped breakfast for this. Send me eggs and cheese, you! Or reviews. Lots and lots of reviews.