The flight to Outcast island was the most surreal experience I had in my life. My eyesight was still bad enough so that everything seemed to be glowing. I could see well enough so that I could see Hiccup and Astrid flying on their dragons in front of me. However, they seemed to melt into their dragons and it was hard to see the details that distinguished them from Hiccup from Toothless or Astrid from Stormfly.
I made my way over to Hiccup's side and said softly enough so that Astrid couldn't hear "So ... have you thought up what your going to promote Astrid too yet.". Hiccup looked at me with a dumb expression on his face and then shook his head.
"Well you better think of one quick. I don't want to have survived an Alpha attack only to have Astrid kill me in my sleep." I joked trying to defuse the tension. When he was silent I continued prodding him "I guess maybe I should do it now that I am the leader. I should probably give everyone a rank now so we don't have this kind of confusion. What do you think your new rank should be? How about chief complainer or reckless plan hatcher...". A smile formed on Hiccups face and he banked Toothless towards us playfully cutting us off.
I smiled back at him and said "Seriously, you need to promote someone else other than me. I don't want to know what it feels like to be on the wrong end of a coup.".
"Listen when we get there let me and Astrid do the talking. It's bad enough we have to try and convince Alvin to help us. We don't want him getting skittish because there is a new Nightfury rider." Hiccup said.
"I though you were allies with the Outcasts?" I asked.
"Very new and uneasy allies. I have personally fought him before our truce and he kind of holds a grudge." Hiccup explained.
"Then wouldn't it be better if I talked to him seeing as I never fought him." I reasoned.
"Ya ... that would be a reasonable plan but Alvin isn't really a fan of reason. He is more of a attack strangers on sight kind of Viking" Hiccup replied.
We flew together in silence for a while before I said "So I take it Astrid told you about what our plan is for attack if we run in to the Alpha.".
"Yes but there isn't going to be an attack. We are relaying a message to the Outcasts and then heading back to Berk." Hiccup affirmed in a calm voice.
"Really, you don't want revenge at all? I'm pretty sure your the only one here that thinks like that. Toothless shot himself out of fire after you fell and I think Astrid said something about hunting that thing down." I said.
Hiccup gave a sigh and said "I think we missed our chance there.".
"What do you mean?" I asked unsure of what he was referring too.
"Every time we have come across those two they have either scared us off or flew away. Everything about them, their size, their abilities, their sophistication all suggests that they are holding back. What happens if they don't leave? What happens when their not shooting venom arrows any more? If they choose to actually attack us I don't think ..." Hiccup stated but was interrupted by Astrid.
"Hiccup we are getting close. Now would be the time to practice your charm." Astrid yelled over, directing our attention to the rapidly approaching Outcast Island.
"Alright, remember we will do the talking." Hiccup said to me and I, grudgingly, nodded my head. The island was charred and black from what I suspected were dragon attacks in many areas all around the island. However, there were signs of budding life and small patches of grass and greenery were forming. Most of the structures were forts but several wooden shacks were built or in the processes of being build. Suddenly a boulder flew through the air and me an Starfire barely dodged it in time. I readied myself for more projectiles but none came. We landed in front of the catapult that took the shot and I saw a soldier being yelled at by a large man with a long black beard.
" 'icupp" the bearded man stated "Sorry 'bout that. The troops are very used to shooting dragons on sight and old 'abbits die 'ard i'm afraid. Who is this!".
Alvin pointed at me and Hiccup changed the subject by saying "Alvin we didn't come here so you could meet and greet our newest member. I've come to warn you that a dangerous dragon has come into these parts. It's massive and could crush a boat with two legs. It uses sunlight to disorient, blind, or even set fire to it's enemies. It can control wild dragons and it also seems to have the ability to make existing fires burn out of control.". "And" Hiccup hesitated before letting Alvin in on the next part "... it has a rider.".
"WHAT!?" Alvin bellowed in an accusatory tone "You and your group are the only ones who can ride them dragons. I can't believe that there is another rider unless you trained 'em!".
"I don't know where they came from or how he learned to ride an Alpha like this but I certainly didn't train him. I don't think your grasping just how massive this dragon is. There is no way we could keep a dragon that size hidden from anyone, especially you." Hiccup tried to explain.
"Are you telling me that just a few days ago the only person that could tame a dragon was you and now you are saying that someone else just happens to be able to do that too and we had no idea about them?" Alvin questioned.
"We knew you would be skeptical about this Alvin. That's one of the reasons we came here. It attacked Berk and temporarily blinded several of our villagers and burnt several buildings. We must have had a few spies because a large raiding party is sailing towards us. We have also come to ask you for your help. We need reinforcements against the raiders." Hiccup stated.
Alvin started chuckling for a long time before he said " 'ere I am with the name of Alvin the Treacherous and I'm not the one who is breaking our truce and trying to weasel out of the responsibility for breaking it. Your trying to lure us out to sea and divide our forces. You tell your Alpha rider to come here and start his attack 'cause now any rider flying over Outcast Island get's shot down!".
Astrid started defending Hiccup "Alvin listen to him. That rider shot him and ...". She was interrupted by a screeching roar that I have heard all to much today. We looked up to see the clouds glowing a golden color in the opposite direction of where the sun should be.
"Alvin, please. Get all your men into the caves and extinguish any torches you have burning." Hiccup pleaded.
"You treacherous little ..." Alvin started and advanced towards Hiccup when the gail from the Alpha's downdraft swept over the island. The wind through Alvin onto his back and pushed us down into our saddles. There was no taking off in this.
When it temporarily subsided between flaps Hiccup had Toothless walk over to Alvin and he said "Get everyone into the caves, Alvin!". Alvin looked like he was going to respond but another gust of wind drowned out any conversation. Hiccup then made a 'follow me' gesture and our dragons raced away from the town on the ground. When we got far enough away we took to the skies and got above the downdraft of the Alpha.
"Hiccup we need to get back to Berk" Astrid said while Hiccup was just hovering, looking at the Alpha attacking the Outcasts.
"We need to drive it off. It's our fault that they are not trying to negotiate anymore." Hiccup stated.
"Yep, I've decided, you are definitely the 'reckless plan hatcher'." I scolded him. Before any of us could do anything a Deadly Nadder swooped out of the sky and attacked Hiccup. All six of us were able to drive it off before it did any damage but as we looked at where it came from we saw a pack of controlled wild dragons flying into the area.
"Great ... alright Freya get it's attention and me and Astrid will try to keep the pack off of you." Hiccup commanded. At this point, I was really wondering if I should actually take power from Hiccup so he wouldn't be risking our lives for someone who just dissolved their peace treaty. However I obeyed and flew towards the Alpha. Several dragons tried to intercept me however Astrid and Hiccup took care of most of them but a Gronkle grabbed me and Starfire and took us into a dive. I tried to arm myself with my sword but Starfire fought off the Gronkle before I could unsheathe it. Looking back at my target I saw the Alpha was firing the light from its crest and singeing a group of catapults. When it stopped I could see small flames licking the wood on the siege weapons. There was no doubt in my mind anymore that it was just breathing before when it set Berks buildings on fire when it roared at the Outcasts. The sound seemed to drown everything out. After it was finished there was a slight ringing in my ears. Looking again at the catapults I saw there was nothing left as all the wood had burned up.
"Fire now. There has to be lots of that gas in the air." I said to Starfire. She fired twice at the Alpha and the shots looked normal for the first few feet they traveled. However, as the shots got closer to their target they swelled and when they hit the explosions were large enough to knock the Alpha off balance.
When it turned it's attention to us I yelled "You remember us don't you?". As if it was answering it's crest began to glow brighter as it prepared to shoot it's beam at us. Starfire started climbing and instinctively positioned herself so that her body was between me and the Alpha. I knew what was happening and sunk lower into my saddle and buried my face into Starfire's neck and closed my eye's. The beam hit us but it was useless against the flame resistant hide of a dragon. I opened my eye's when the beam stopped and looked over Starfire's side to see the Alpha. It's rider was completely camouflaged within it's shining scales but I remembered that he sat just behind the head.
"Okay fire at the neck behind the head." I commanded wanting a little payback for all the damage caused to my back and my eyes. One fireball was sent out and headed towards the exact spot where the rider would be. However, the Alpha moved it's head so that the shot flew past it and exploded harmlessly in the air. That made it mad. We flew past it and Starfire was about to turn around to engage it again when I noticed that it wasn't shining anymore and I could see the rider on it's back.
"No turn away Starfire!" I yelled as I pulled as hard as I could on the saddle to turn her away from the Alpha. Everything went white again but this time my vision came back instantly. I turned to check on Astrid and Hiccup but their eye's were focused on the wild dragons so they weren't affected by the flash. The Alpha roared in frustration that we had not been blinded. Starfire seised the the opportunity and fired twice. The projectiles once again swelled in size and made a large explosion on it's wings. After the smoke cleared I could see we had done the first damage ever done to this dragon. It had one decent sized hole in each wing and it started flapping harder to stay aloft. I flew over to Hiccup and helped him with a Monstrous Nightmare he was fighting.
"I definitely got it's attention now so what's the second part of this master plan of yours." I said with the damaged Alpha chasing us.
"Draw it up into the clouds so the Outcast's can get to their caves and then we run." Hiccup said and then banked off to help Astrid. I climbed up and led the Alpha through the clouds. It tried to shoot me with it's beam again but Starfire climbed above it and blocked it with her body. We got close to it at one point and it tried to grab us with one of its forelegs but we dodged around it. We were below it now and just on top of the clouds. It dived after us but, after letting it pick up some speed, we maneuvered behind it. It dispersed the clouds as it opened it's wing but the new holes in them had destroyed there effectiveness and the Alpha was barely slowing down. Hiccup and Astrid joined me above the clouds.
"Now we can go home." He said as we all shared a smile of satisfaction. Unfortunately, gliding just above the clouds is a very bad spot to stay if you are fighting controlled wild dragons. A Typhoomerang pierced through the clouds unseen and bit off Toothless's prosthetic fin. Unable to steady themselves they both plummeted through the clouds. Hiccup apparently got one of his reckless ideas just then because he and Toothless dived towards the Alpha. It was still trying to slow down when the extra weight of Hiccup and Toothless latched onto it's back.
"Come on we have to keep that thing distracted so that it won't shake Hiccup off." Astrid yelled in panic before diving after him. I caught up to her in her dive and she added "Don't damage the wings anymore. It's going to need them to get Hiccup to the ground safely.". I nodded and Astrid and I began to bombard the Alpha's head, underbelly, and tail. We had to take extra care not to hit Hiccup or the wings. I was flying above the Alpha and Starfire just blocked another beam with her body when the Alpha stopped shining again. I directed Starfire to climb so she couldn't look at it and I searched for Astrid. She was in the middle of a dive towards the Alpha when she noticed the lack of shining. She managed to close her eye's in time but wasn't quick enough to cover Stormfly's eye's. It flashed again and Stormfly began bucking and flying erratically.
I could hear Astrid try to calm her "It's okay girl. It will ware off. Calm d-...". She was in the middle of trying to calm her when Astrid was bucked off of Stormfly. Astrid was plummeting to the ground and Stormfly wasn't able to see in order to catch her. Starfire was the only available dragon that could catch her but if I took pressure off of the Alpha Hiccup and Toothless could be knocked off and fall too. Time slowed as I contemplated what to do. Catch Astrid and let Hiccup and Toothless fall. No. Abandon Astrid and leave her to her fate. No. Then it clicked. I think even Hiccup might find this plan reckless.
We dived towards the Alpha and when we were close I stood up on the saddle and said "Starfire catch Astrid". I jumped off of Starfire and fell towards the Alpha and Starfire dived below it to catch Astrid. I positioned my body in the air so that the impact would not hurt so much. The wind howled in my ears before my body hit the Alpha's wings. I bounced once and then slid down it's left wing onto it's back. I was immensely grateful that it didn't have spines or I would have been impaled. It took several seconds to get adjusted to walking on it's back but when I did I made my way towards the head. Drawing my sword and adjusting my shield I faced towards the rider. He knew that I was on his dragon's back and had slid down from the head to meet me. It was incredibly hard to see him with my still damaged eye's as the light shining off of his armor camouflaged him against the back of the Alpha. I pointed my sword down at his dragons wing and he instantly responded by pulling out his bow and quickly shooting an arrow at me. I blocked it with my shield and sliced towards him. I cut clean through the bow but he used some of the wooden debris that was once his bow to hit me in the head. I stumbled backwards and he pulled out both of his swords and stood waiting for me to make the next move. I was fighting him so that Hiccup and Toothless could get to the ground safely so I was not going to attack unless necessary. I shot a quick glance back at Hiccup and Toothless to affirm that they were still holding on. The rider watched me as I did that and backed up and rubbed his foot on one side of the dragon's neck. When it started to bank to the right I charged. I went to the left side of the Alpha's back and it began to level out. As soon as my sword clashed with one of his he attempted to attack with the other. I luckily was able to block his attacks with my shield. Suddenly, through no attack of mine, the rider fell back onto the Alpha's wing. The air spilled from it's wing and the dragon banked once again. I wanted to seize the opportunity to end this fight but I heard Toothless growl as it became harder to hold onto the dragon. I fell back it the opposite wing and immediately regretted it. The dragon seemed capable of staying level with me in it's wing even when the rider got to his feet. I rolled further down the wing in order to get away from the rider making swipes at me with both his swords. I got to my feet farther down the Alpha's back and reengaged the rider. Our weapons clashed for several minutes and I began to get tired. My opponent didn't show any signs of exhaustion and yet his swords had made several large cuts into the metal of my sword. Fear began gripping me as I began to realize that I couldn't win this fight. The first instincts rushed into my head. I didn't wan't to die by the sword, I could surrender or run. However, this also sparked a thought in my head that soothed my fear of death. All you have to do is keep him occupied until we touch the ground and then your death will have allowed Hiccup and Toothless to survive and escape. The rider took a hard swing at me and his sword cut most of the way through mine when I tried to block it. With his sword stuck in mine, when he tried to wrench it free my sword broke into nothing but a hilt. I wasted no time and threw the hilt at him, causing him to stumble backwards. With the last of my remaining energy I swung my shield around like a club and forced him back. I was successful at keeping him at bay until my body refused to continue this long after I was exhausted. Then the tables turned and I was backing up and blocking his swords with my shield. After noticing my exhaustion the rider kicked my shield. I landed on my back pinned in the crease between the Alpha's left wing and body. I watched the rider walk up to me in order to give the killing blow but then something dark curtained behind him. I just recognized it as a mountain when the Alpha landed hard onto Outcast Island.
I was thrown from the crease between the wing and the back and I slid down the wing. The Alpha didn't like me there so it retracted it's wing and I flew into the air and landed on the cold rocky ground. The wind was knocked out of me and I just laid there, face first, on the ground. I could here some commotion as the Alpha moved around and I heard some footsteps coming towards me. Then someone was taking the bow off of my shoulders. I grabbed them and used them to pull myself to my knees. Why did I hope for anyone else when it would of course be the rider replacing his broken bow. Starfire landed with Astrid and he quickly retrieved a venom arrow and aimed at Astrid. I pulled down on the bow and made him miss. He knocked me down and put a foot on my chest, pinning me to the ground. The Alpha shot them with a short beam of light and Starfire was blinded. Astrid got off her and charged but the rider nocked another arrow and shot her. I saw Astrid fall to her knees and drop her axe as the venom coursed through her veins and knocked her out. I looked over for Hiccup but I saw that both he and Toothless were pinned under one of the Alpha's back legs. The rider's foot shifted to my throat and I let out a pained wheeze. Starfire heard this and began ferociously searching around to find me. The Alpha moved it's head down and bashed Starfire, sending her careening through the air and out of sight.
"NOOO!" I managed to scream with the heavy boot on my throat. I thrashed with all my energy to get out from under his boot but to no avail. I looked back up at him when I heard the bow tensing again. He pointed it down at me and a second later I felt the pain of the arrow striking my stomach. The force of the hit was nothing compared to the burning of the venom under my skin. I could feel it harass my veins as it spread through my body. As soon as I felt the pain in my heart the next heartbeat dimmed my mind. The boot was lifted from my throat and with another heartbeat the world faded into blackness.
Author's Note: Hey I'm back. Hurray for antibiotics. Thanks for the well wishes. As a way of saying thanks for being so patient here is an extra long chapter.