A/N: Next chapter. It's time for Hiccup and Toothless to shine. I loved writing this chapter, it was such a thrill, and I hope you all enjoy it just as much as I did. Please, keep reviewing. Nothing makes my day like getting a new review. Also, don't hesitate to PM me with questions or suggestions or what-have-you. Realy, don't be shy! I love to have input, it only makes the story better.

Now, onto the part three of Battle with the Green Death!


Chapter Twenty-Eight: Flying


Hiccup couldn't remember the last time she felt so light. Her heart was soaring, a great burden lifted from her shoulders, and she beamed even in the face of the very-present danger of the Queen.

Her dad loved her. She had Toothless back, and her dad loved her. He was finally truly proud of her, and he loved her. She hadn't realized how heavily her father's scorn had hung on her until it was lifted.

And beneath her, Toothless was alive and well, and they flew like they'd never been separated. The welcome feeling of air tearing at her hair and clothes returned, and she gave a great cry of joy as they returned to the sky. More than anyplace else in the world, this was her home.

They shot straight up, gaining significant height so Hiccup could observe the battle. Below them, she heard Astren call out, telling the others that she and Toothless had returned. She squinted down at them. It looked like Fishlegs and the Gronkle were grounded, but mostly unharmed as the brawny girl coaxed her dragon onto it's feet. Astren and the twins were circling around the head of the Queen, and Hiccup tried to see what they were so fixed on. A small shape on the dragon's massive head moved towards the twins' Zippleback, even as they moved toward it. When Hiccup couldn't spot the Nightmare anywhere, she realized that the shape was Snotlout.

C'mon, guys, get outta there quick! She thought. The plan was to get away from the Queen as soon as Hiccup and Toothless returned, for they had the best chance of defeating her with Hiccup's mind, Toothless' speed, and their instinctive ability to fly together.

The shape of Snotlout reached the twins, and the Zippleback zoomed off. Astren followed closely astride his Nadder, but just at that moment the Queen turned towards the blonde boy and his dragon. She opened her gaping mouth, and a horrible whistling noise came forth. The Nadder was stuck in its tracks, unable to make any headway, and Hiccup realized with horror that it was trying to inhale them.

"Quick, Toothless!" she screeched, hands tightening on his saddle. He responded immediately, swooping down towards her friend, and Hiccup automatically clicked the fin in position with his dive. She heard a hiss of gas, and knew Toothless was preparing one of his infamous blue fire bolts. Before she even had time to worry about it straying and hurting Astren, the blue flames shot into the mouth of the Queen, impacting the lower jaw and sending out a sizable shock wave.

Astren was knocked loose from the Nadder, and as it flew away spooked, he cartwheeled through the air. This time, Toothless didn't need Hiccup to speak, he simply reacted. Furling his wings, he dove after the falling boy, and on his back he could feel Hiccup flatten herself against his scales to further cut down on their dragon. He approached, closer, closer, and reached out a paw. The ground flashed underneath them, and Hiccup waited with bated breath.

"Toothless?" she asked, voice tight. "Did you get him?!"

Below her, she heard a breathless laugh of relief, and Toothless briefly ducked his head before he crooned triumphantly. They had Astren.


When he went spinning wildly through the air, Astren knew he was going to die. The Nadder abandoned him, terrified by the close encounter with it's Queen, and he was left to fall to his death. As he hurtled towards the earth, he couldn't control the yell ripping from his throat, and he was just grateful it wasn't too high-pitched.

And then suddenly he was flying, instead of falling, and above him he saw black scales and felt a grip on one of his boots.

He laughed, realizing Toothless had caught him by the foot. When the dragon ducked his head to look at the boy, the Fury grinned with his teeth retracted in an adorable, gummy smile. They swooped forward, towards the ground, and Toothless readjusted his grip on the boy. Now, his front paws each held onto one of Astren's arms, leaving his legs free.

"Astren, can you hear me?" Hiccup called from Toothless' back.

"Yeah!"

"We're going to drop you off on the ground, and then we're taking on the Queen. I have an idea, although it isn't much, but I need you to get everyone in one area, get them out of the way, because I guarantee this isn't going to be pretty. Will you do that for me?"

"Yeah," Astren agreed. Anything, he added silently.

"Brace yourself! And thank you!" she shouted as Toothless soared only feet from the ground and released the blond boy. He rolled to disperse the excess speed, and jumped to his feet just in time to see Toothless and Hiccup race of towards the Queen.

"Go, Hiccup," he murmured after her retreating form, sparing one more moment to watch her swoop away. He turned away, looking wildly around for chief Stoick. He spotted the man by the water, and noticed the Chief was dripping wet, still securing his heavy fur coat around his shoulders.

"Chief! Chief Stoick!" he called, waving and running at full speed towards the older Viking. Stoick looked up, concern and confusion on his weathered face.

"Hofferson's boy, right?" he asked Astren as the teen skidded to a halt.

He nodded in return, slightly out of breath from the dash.

"Hiccup wants us to get out of the way. She has a plan – sorry, Sir, I don't know what it is – and she wants us to clear out, find a bit of shelter if we can," the blonde boy explained.

Stoick frowned, but nodded.

"I'll start roundin' everyone up. Will ye lead them to that little nook over there?" the Chief asked, pointing to a cove by the mountain wall off to their left. "We can't expect to get everyone much further, especially with the wounded."

Astren nodded, beckoning to the nearest warriors. They looked at Stoick for confirmation, and as soon as their leader nodded, the followed the boy, calling their companions with them. Before long, much of the Viking force was trailing Astren (even the other teens, who had landed their dragons and joined the rest of the warriors to get out of Hiccup's way), hastily retreating from the furious giant dragon behind them. An explosion shook the ground, making them move even faster. Within minutes, everyone from Berk was huddled in that cove, watching and waiting as the outcast of Berk took on the mountain of a dragon everyone else fled from.

Snotlout approached him.

"What do you think she's gonna do?" he asked Astren.

"I have no idea. But whatever it is, it's going to be unbelievable," the blond replied. The twins and Fishlegs drew near as well, looking a little scuffed up but overall still in one piece. They had caught on to the conversation, for Ruffnut added,

"After all, it is Hiccup," she laughed slightly, summing up Astren's thoughts better than he could at the moment. His eyes were fixated on the speck that was Hiccup.


As soon as they'd dropped off Astren, Hiccup nudged Toothless towards the clouds. She needed to see what was going on, where the Vikings were. Toothless flawlessly followed her directions, pivoting his body and rocketing skyward, and despite the desperate situation, Hiccup marveled at how perfectly they worked together. She hardly had to speak directions, they seemed to be of one mind. She hadn't realized how much she felt like a part of her was missing until she was reunited with him, and Hiccup swore to herself she would make sure they weren't separated again. That, or she would die trying.

Toothless flared his wings, bringing them to a halt just short of the murky clouds overhead. Hiccup stared at the Queen far below them, trying to figure out a plan. She noted it's wings, ragged on the ends and tucked close to it's body. It probably didn't fly unless it had to, because it would take so much energy to make it's massive body airborne.

An idea sprang to mind. She and Toothless were at their best flying – and the Queen didn't fly much.

"I think we can level the odds, Bud," she told Toothless. He perked his ears back at her, eager and interested. "Aim for her wings, we need to get her airborne."

Toothless looked over his shoulder at her, eyes wide and uncertain. Hiccup suddenly realized how terrible this was for him – taking on the creature that had once controlled him, knowing that they were relying strictly on his flying abilities. His crippled flying abilites. Her heart squeezed painfully in a rush of sympathy.

"Oh, Toothless!" she cried, leaning forward and hugging her companion the best she could around his scaled neck. "I'm so sorry! I didn't even think about how you must be dealing with this. I'm here for you, Bud, and I promise I wouldn't ask this of you if I didn't think you could do it. But they need me, and I need you. C'mon, Toothless, we can do this. Together."

He gave her a gummy smile, and crooned, as if to say, I never said I was backing out. I just wanted to make sure we're in this together.

"You got it, Buddy. We'll always be in it together," she promised quietly, reaching forward and stroking one of his ear fins. Toothless crooned a second time, and then huffed.

Let's do this.

"Dive!" she yelled, giving the command. Toothless grinned, this time with his teeth bared, and his eyes narrowed to slits as he turned his head forward again. Hiccup felt the pacing of his wing beats change, and clicked the pedal in accordance.

They dove, arcing down towards the Queen, gaining speed with every passing second. Toothless furled his wings, bringing them in tight against his body to gain as much momentum as possible. Hiccup flattened herself against his back, squinting to keep her eyes from drying out as her hair and clothes whipped against her skin. She heard the characteristic high, eerie whistle of the Night Fury's dive as they closed in on the Queen. Beneath her, Toothless prepared to fire, for she could feel his neck muscles tightening and bunching. They shot towards the massive dragon, coming closer, closer, closer. Hiccup tensed, waiting for the Night Fury to fire, trusting his timing and aim. Her feet held very still, waiting for the first sign of a change in flight, knowing once he fired they would have to quickly distance themselves from the Queen.

Toothless jerked, and a blue fireball burst from his mouth, slamming against the Queen right at the joint from her back to her wings. It exploded, knocking the mountainous dragon on her side and sending out a shockwave that rattled the Nest and rippled through the air. Toothless swooped, and Hiccup followed his movements with her pedals, and together they flew right in the Queen's sight, but with enough distance to keep them safe.

For the moment, that is.

They darted forward, Toothless moving very, very quickly, and beneath them rocky shores gave way to the lapping sea water.

"Where is she?" Hiccup whispered. That had to be too powerful an attack for the Queen to take passively.

Suddenly, she heard a distinct "whallump, whallump" sound; a low, slow beat. The girl peered over her shoulder, and out of the gloom, the Queen loomed. Her maw was open wide, teeth taller than Toothless was long looking for prey to spear, six eyes narrowed and slitted in fury. Hiccup couldn't enjoy the victory, for the sight of the Queen flying and tearing after them, very nearly keeping pace, was more terrifying than she ever could have imagined. Her heart rate picked up, beating painfully against her chest, and Hiccup struggled not to lose her nerve.

"Let's go, Toothless!" she said urgently, keeping herself low against his back.

Without hesitation, Toothless thrust his wings furiously, flinging them forward and winding through the craggy rock pillars scattered about the island. The Queen tailed them closely, crashing straight through the pillars like so much air.

This was going to take some tricky flying.


On the ground, Astren watched as Hiccup and Toothless dove for the Death-Queen, chest tightening with anxiety. Just when he expected them to crash into the massive dragon, Toothless fired one of the infamous blue Night Fury fireballs at the Queen. His eyes widened as he realized that fireball was sending out a shockwave, and covered his face just in time. Dust and debris pricked his arms, and the force of the shockwave made him stumble, but at least his eyes were free from grit. Many other Vikings had not prepared, and were spitting and wiping their eyes as they struggled to get the dirt out of their system. He noticed also that a majority had fallen over from the shockwave, but luckily seemed to be unharmed by it.

"What is she doin'?" A deep voice asked. Astren turned to see Stoick approaching him, the older man's eyes wide in bewilderment. "Ya don't think she's...that she's tryin' to bait it?! To make it come after her?" the Chief asked, fear for his daughter spreading clearly across his face. Both males strained to make anything out as the dust settled.

And then, a light breeze stirred, carrying away the dust and clearing their view. Still partially obscured by the fog, they could see one tiny, flitting shape, and a great lumbering one that followed closely.

"Oh, Gods," Stoick whispered, horror-struck. Astren shared the sentiment, for they both now knew very well what was going on. For some reason – and Astren couldn't fathom what it was, the fear struck into his heart at seeing that great beast flying was nearly paralyzing – Hiccup had deliberately antagonized the Death-Queen into flying after her.

Others were getting to their feet, falling in behind Astren and their Chief as they watched the great dragon chase after the Night Fury. Astren noticed the irony, that all of their fates now rested on the village outcast and the dragon that had once been their worst enemy. Somewhere, he was sure a god was laughing madly at this turn of events.

Astren didn't feel like laughing at all, far too worried to find humor in the situation. He feared for himself, and his friends, and his people, but right now his biggest fear was for that scrawny girl, strapped to the back of a Night Fury that struggled to stay ahead of the Death-Queen. Toothless had to wind around the rocky towers that sprung from the shallow seas, while the massive demon behind him merely smashed through the crags, pulverizing them in the process.

Still, it was a testament to Toothless' great speed that he managed to stay ahead of a dragon hundreds of times his size. Astren had never seen a dragon fly so fast, and suddenly understood why Hiccup had said she and Toothless were the only ones who could really take on the Queen. With Hiccup's crazy, brilliant mind, and Toothless' searing speed, together they might just have a chance.

Astren's hands clenched into fists as girl and dragon swerved sharply, coming far too close to the Death-Queen's fearsome teeth. Beside him, he heard Stoick suck in a sharp breath, while other Vikings gasped in horror.

But Hiccup and Toothless looped behind the dragon, Toothless shooting off another bolt and striking the dragon's wings with precision.

He cheered, and others echoed his glee.

Stoick gave a breathless laugh, which stopped short when the enourmous dragon roared in agony and lumbered around, chasing after the misfit pair again. Out of it's mouth shot a huge column of flame, erupting and expanding in front of it.

"No!" Astren cried in terror, jumping forward. He couldn't see Hiccup and Toothless! Where were they? Could Toothless have survived such a blast of fire? Hiccup certainly couldn't!

"HICCUP!" Stoick bellowed, staggering forward,

But then, small black wings swooped over the far side of the fire, and Astren thought it looked as if Toothless had managed to avoid the Death-Queen's flame entirely. He squinted, and sure enough, there was a little speck of green and brown on Toothless's back.

"She's alive!" he shouted, and Stoick looked at him, fear ebbing slightly to confusion.

"But that devil is still chasin' after them. How are they goin' to fight it if they can't lose it?"

As if Hiccup had heard her father's concerns, she and Toothless turned skyward, fleeing into the clouds. Astren held his breath as the Queen followed them, and gasped as they narrowly evaded another eruption of fire. His heart clenched as they disappeared into the dark clouds, as Hiccup vanished from view.

Keep her safe, he pleaded to whatever powers might be listening.


It wasn't working. They couldn't shake the Queen enough to get more than a cursory shot at her wings. She was too big, too fast, and even though Toothless matched her speed, it wasn't enough to gain an advantage. Hiccup was beginning to panic, and she could tell Toothless was worried too. He was the reason she was still alive – when the Queen had first loosed her flame, Hiccup wasn't expecting it, and if Toothless hadn't been aware and barrel-rolled out of the way in the nick of time, she would be roasted.

Think, Hiccup! She told herself. She let Toothless take over flying, letting her feet respond automatically to his changes and flick the pedals accordingly. Instead, the girl devoted her focus to a plan. They had the Queen in the air, but it wasn't giving them the advantage she was hoping for.

What are Toothless' best weapons? His aim, and his fireballs, of course, she listed. But we can't use them as well as I would like yet. His speed, also, but that alone isn't enough. He frightens Vikings, but that has no effect on the Queen. He can sneak up, but that only works and night, she frowned, scanning the skies. Sure the clouds make the day darker, but it certainly wasn't enough—

OH! She thought abruptly. We just need to disappear. It's not dark enough right now, but inside the clouds..!

"Quick, Toothless!" she cried. "The clouds, they'll hide us!"

He gave a short roar in response, and raced for the clouds, Hiccup pressing the pedals to allow him a vertical assent. The Queen flew after them, and her difficulty changing directions gave them just a little bit more of a lead. Hiccup pressed her chest against Toothless' back, trying to cut every bit of resistance possible.

Toothless growled in warning, rolling to the right as a plume of fire shot through the space they had been in moments earlier. Hiccup clutched the saddle for dear life, tucking her face against Toothless' scales to shield herself from the scorching heat, and silently thanking him for saving her life – again.

The flames continued, the Queen able to hold her fire for far longer than Hiccup was happy about. Unable to help Toothless, the girl just held on as tightly as she could and struggled to endure the heat. They weren't in the flames, but they were close, and Hiccup knew if she didn't shield her face and hands as she was now, the heat would scorch and blister her bare skin. She was thankful for the thick woolen tunic and leggings that protected the rest of her body.

Seconds seemed to stretch longer as her eyes remained closed, and she wondered how close they were to the clouds. The heat was getting near unbearable, the suspense tearing at her courage, but she just had to wait it out and trust Toothless to keep them safe.

Hiccup was about to cry out as the heat built, but suddenly it vanished, and a split second later cool, damp air soothed her heated clothes and skin. She pulled away from Toothless ever so slightly and opened her eyes. They were in the black murkiness of the clouds, hidden from view. The Queen's fire-breath must have given out just before they reached the gray mists.

She could breath a little easier, and heard Toothless catching his breath. They were pausing to regroup and prepare for what was going to be their one and only chance to defeat the Queen.

Hiccup assembled a haphazard plan in her mind. They could outmaneuver the giant dragon, that was clear. Toothless' fireballs weren't enough to kill her, but they did hurt the Queen's ragged wings. If they could combine these two skills, it might be enough to get the Queen to self-destruct.

"Get her wings, Bud," she whispered, quietly as possible. Not far from them, she could hear the Queen thrashing around in the fogginess of the clouds, unable to locate them.

"Alright, let's go," she added, gritting her teeth. Toothless ears flattened against his skull, and they surged forward.


A/N: GAH I CANNOT BELIEVE I FINALLY MADE IT TO THIS POINT. IT'S THE START OF THE FINALE NEXT. AHHHHHHHH!

Anyway. So yeah, I've had ideas brewing in my head for these next few chapters for a year and a half now, almost two years. Lots of drama, different POVs and such coming up. I hope you've enjoyed the story so far, and that you keep reading and reviewing. Read on my friends! (And don't hesitate to PM me!)