Chapter 18
Twin-Sanity Part 2
The Thorston Residence
Neither Hiccup nor Snotlout could find a way to break Snaketail out of the cage that Dagur had thrown her into. Where did the Berserker Chief find enough time alone to do that? Didn't Stoick and Gobber keep permanent tabs on him?
That was why Hiccup, Astrid, and Snaketail were standing in front of the twins' house. Hookfang and the Zippleback had flown away somewhere – hopefully a place where Dagur wouldn't find them. Although Hiccup had sent word to all of the Monster Riders so that they could all meet at Ruff and Tuff's place, no one else had shown up. Arachne had disappeared, Batwings was still with Stoick, and Snotlout was following Dagur like a sheep while Fishlegs was avoiding him like the plague.
"You really think that the twins will be able to get me out of here?" Snaketail asked hostilely.
Privately, Hiccup thought that the sooner she was released, the better it would be for everyone. The girl had quite the temper. "Of course!" he said. "You know how those two are experts when it comes to breaking and entering. In fact, I'm still not sure how they managed to get into Gobber's socks that one time without springing any of his troll traps."
"What Hiccup means is," Astrid summarized, "if there's anyone on this island that can set you free, it's the twins."
"Precisely!" agreed Hiccup. "And that's partly why we're here now."
Gently, they pushed open the door to the Thorstons' residence. When they walked in, they saw a cluttered, yet surprisingly clean, one-room house with a small ladder leading up to the second floor above them, very similar to Hiccup's own home. There was absolutely no evidence that indicated that the infamously-destructive Ruff and Tuff lived there.
The silence was sort of getting to Hiccup. It was likely that Mr. and Mrs. Thorston had left – the house's unusual quietness wasn't the only clue, but there was also the fact that everyone tended to find activities away from Berk to occupy themselves until the Berserkers left town. They were probably on a fishing trip or something. As for the twins…
Hiccup and Astrid both jumped in fright when Tuffnut suddenly swung upside-down from the ceiling and right into their faces. Snaketail's cage clattered to the ground and rolled onto its side, but she managed to get it upright again.
"Whoa, what're you guys doing here?" Tuff asked in his blunt manner, as if there was absolutely nothing unusual about talking to them whilst upside-down. "And why's Snaketail in a cage?"
"Dagur," Astrid and Hiccup both told him.
"Ah, say no more," replied Tuff, wisely.
Putting a hand behind his head sheepishly, Hiccup asked him, "So, uh, can we talk to you for a minute?"
Tuffnut grunted a reluctant answer, then flipped down from his perch and onto his feet. Slightly dizzy from the impressive maneuver, he said dazedly, "Whoa. I really love that part."
"Excuse me," Hiccup began. "Tuff, about King… he and Queen are roaming around Berk right under Dagur's nose. We need you and Ruff to help us get your monsters under control –"
But, he was unable to continue, as Tuff abruptly talked right over him. "Ah ah ah ah ah! No no noooooo thank you! I'm officially out of the monster business! And the sister business. And the… monster-and-sister business. The mis-sis-bis…" He trailed off, tongue-tied.
"What's going on with you two?" Snaketail jumped in, looking up at the male Thorston from her confines. For once, she looked calm.
"Simple," he responded, then grabbed a spoon from the nearby table and held it up for them to see. "Do you know what this is?"
Wondering if this was a trick question, Hiccup hesitated before answering, "A spoon?"
"No, it's our spoon!" Tuff corrected him. "Just like this is our bowl, our axe, and our well-groomed stuffed yak."
He pointed to each item in turn – a bowl that had been resting next to the spoon, an axe that was hanging on the far wall, and a frozen-in-place full-grown yak in the corner that Hiccup had no idea how he didn't notice it before.
"Everything is ours!" concluded Tuff. "I'm sick of 'ours'. Just once, I want something that's mine. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go pack up my half of the yak."
"Where are you going?" asked Astrid.
Tuff turned his back to them, wearing a surprisingly emotional expression on his face. "I don't know… probably to my dark, soggy alone place… not to cry."
Then, he squinted his eyes shut as if trying to hold back tears, and ran out of the house. He was out of the plaza and out of view in mere seconds.
"Dark, soggy alone place?" Astrid repeated, clearly disgusted at the thought.
"Yeah, I really don't want to know," Hiccup replied, shaking his head.
Suddenly, Snaketail growled and rattled the bars of her cage. That was when Hiccup remembered that they hadn't asked Tuffnut to get the Grundenson girl out of her tight predicament.
The sooner I see the back end of the Berserker tribe, the better it'll be for everyone, he muttered inwardly.
Meade Hall
The sun was setting when Hiccup ditched Astrid and Snaketail. He tasked them with gathering up the rest of the Monster Riders, and promised that he'd be back to lead them. First, he had to check up on the Meade Hall and see how his father, Gobber, and Batwings were doing.
The scrawny Haddock boy found everyone sitting around the central fire pit in the Meade Hall, the spot normally reserved for tribe meetings and honored guests. Although calling Dagur the Deranged an 'honored' guest was kind of stretching it. In fact, this meeting looked much tenser than those few Hiccup had seen in his life. Batwings, at the far end of the table with the other dragons by his side, was particularly sour.
"Did you take care of that monster problem?" asked Stoick, noticing his son slip into an empty seat beside him.
"We're working on it," responded Hiccup in little more than a whisper.
Just then, Dagur rose up from his seat and grandly held up his mug of mead. He loudly proclaimed, "To death in battle!"
"To yer father!" Gobber replied, mimicking the action.
"To Oswald the Agreeable!" agreed Stoick.
"To peace for another year!" hooted Batwings.
The dragons roared, probably agreeing with all three toasts.
Dagur got the hint. "Fine, fine, alriiiiiiight…" he sighed, and sat back down. "To Oswald! To Oswald! Blah de blah de blah!" He plunged his knife forcefully into his mutton, a look on his face that suggested he had had enough.
"And on tha' cheery note," Gobber said, rising from his seat and holding out a long roll of parchment, "shall we sign the treaty an' send you on yer way?"
To Hiccup's immense relief, Dagur smiled. "Great idea. Let's sign that treaty. Bring us the dragon's blood!"
And the relief was gone.
"Uh, did you say what I thought you said?" asked Batwings. Behind him, Thornado, Newtsbreath, and Torch exchanged nervous warbles.
"Don't be ridiculous," Stoick chuckled, before turning his laugh into a cough. "Your father and I haven't used dragon's blood to sign the treaty in years!"
"Why would that be a problem?" demanded Dagur. Then, he brightened. "Oh, oh, I get it. You don't have to worry about your dragons, of course! We could go hunting for one! Come on, it'll be fun!"
Hiccup shot his father a desperate look, which Stoick returned. Neither of them wanted for any dragon on Berk to meet its end at the hands of Dagur – they liked their dragons, wild or not. Granted, at least it wasn't a monster that the Berserker chief wanted, but still…
What could they tell Dagur? Certainly not that they were uncomfortable with killing dragons.
Then, Gobber came to their rescue. "The problem is, we've killed so many monsters lately, that the wild dragons have all been frightened off! Why, there ain't any dragons around fer two hundred miles!"
His hearty laugh was cut off by the Meade Hall doors banging open. When everyone turned their startled faces toward the doors, they saw that same Hideous Zippleback scuttling in, the one that Hiccup and the Monster Riders had encountered earlier that day. Sniffing curiously, both heads eyed the bewildered crowd of Vikings somewhat nervously.
"Except tha' one," Gobber finished, lamely.
The Zippleback let out a screech and hightailed it out of the Great Hall, not bothering to close the doors behind it.
Dagur's face was like a little boy's on Snoggletog. "A Zippleback! It's a sign, a sure sign! A head for each Chief!" He leapt up on top of the table, unsheathed his Switch Axe, and called to his men, "Tonight, we hunt dragons!"
Hiccup couldn't help but meekly watch Dagur and his Berserkers give chase to the Zippleback. Across the table, Batwings looked torn – conflict dominated his expression, as if he was struggling to decide whether to hide under the table or tear Dagur limb from limb.
"You need to find that Zippleback before they do," Stoick told the two Monster Riders, glancing from one to the other.
They didn't need telling twice. Hiccup and Batwings booked it out of the Meade Hall, Torch and Newtsbreath following them. When they got outside, Batwings mounted Torch without hesitation while Hiccup cautiously climbed up onto Newtsbreath's back. The Hobblegrunt didn't seem to mind, and even nodded when the Haddock boy asked if it would be alright to ride him. The dragons climbed high into the air, heading for the rendezvous point that Hiccup had set up with the other riders.
"Come on," he muttered, tightening his arms around Newtsbreath's neck. "We've got twins to find, and a dragon to save from meeting its end at the blade of Dagur's axe."
Berk Woods, Sunset
Over the tops of the trees, six large shapes raced by like the wind. Anyone in the forest below who turned their gazes up wouldn't be able to tell what was flying overhead. But with all the monsters taking the day off, it could only be one thing – or, technically, group of things.
Hookfang, Horrorcow, Torch, Stormfly, Rilebolt, and Newtsbreath flew in formation, with their respective riders perched atop their backs. Fishlegs, who didn't have a dragon of his own, was taking over Snaketail's job of flying her Grapple Grounder, while the Grundenson girl herself was still crouched in her cage, strapped securely behind Fishlegs so she wouldn't fall off.
"Hiccup, you heard Tuffnut," called Astrid, somewhere off to Hiccup's right. "He said he went to his 'dark, soggy alone place'! That could be anywhere!"
"Not really!" Snotlout interjected, fastening his hands more tightly around Hookfang's horns. "When you hear the words 'dark, soggy alone place', that can only mean one place!"
The narcissist paused for a moment, drinking in the attention that the gang was giving him. His smile was smug, as if he enjoyed keeping them in suspense.
"Well?" he asked.
Hiccup couldn't keep the anger out of his voice. "Why didn't you say something?"
"Why didn't you ask?" Snotlout retorted.
Arachne gave him a glare. "We've been looking for them for an hour!"
"So?" was the answer she got.
Astrid lost it. "If you don't tell us where they are so help me I will throw you off of that dragon!"
"No need to get violent," Snotlout cautioned her, playing it casual. "He's probably at the Lost Cavern. Him and Ruffnut used to play hide-and-go-kill there when they were kids."
Opening her mouth to ask a question, Arachne suddenly reconsidered and closed it again. Apparently, she didn't want to know what 'hide-and-go-kill' was after all.
With that bit of information to go on, Hiccup jumped into action. "We all know where the Lost Cavern is, that empty cavern near Thor's Beach. Astrid and Batwings, you go with Snotlout to the south entrance of the cavern. Fishlegs, Snaketail, Arachne and I will take the north."
In response, Snaketail let out a loud growl. Her limit had apparently come and gone now that she had spent several hours in that cage of hers.
"Let's go, Newtsbreath," Hiccup murmured quietly. The Hobblegrunt let out a chirp and, with his guiding, flew off to the cliff looming in the distance. Rilebolt and Horrorcow followed.
"Follow us!" Batwings called, already steering Torch in another direction.
"Hey!" objected Snotlout. "It's one thing for Hiccup to boss me around…"
Their argument faded into the distance, and Hiccup grinned to himself.
Lost Cavern
The north entrance to the Lost Cavern was quite a ways away from the south entrance. Thus, Hiccup and his companions didn't catch any sign of the others when their dragons landed. What they did see was a massive stone cliff rising at least sixty feet above their heads, with a large opening in the rock right in front of them. The opening was big enough for a Tigrex to squeeze through.
Hiccup, Fishlegs, Arachne, and Snaketail had all visited the Lost Cavern before, and knew how easy it was to get lost if you didn't stick to the main path. The entire cliff was riddled with side tunnels and dead ends, but there was a large chamber in the very center, which was most likely where they would find Tuffnut – unless he had purposely, hidden himself in one of the tunnels. In that case, it would be a lot more hassle to find him.
"Did I mention that I'm afraid of the dark?" whimpered Fishlegs.
"Oh, grow up," Arachne muttered. "That's why we have our dragons, remember?"
Obligingly, Rilebolt let an electric current flow through her scales, making them glow a faint blue. She gave Fishlegs a very self-satisfied look.
Picking up a sturdy stick he found lying on the grass, Hiccup held it up to Newtsbreath and asked, "Could you light this, please?"
The Hobblegrunt gladly granted his request, spitting a quick bolt of liquid-like flame, not unlike that of a Monstrous Nightmare, at the end of the stick to turn it into a torch. Nodding at the Berserker dragon, Hiccup turned back around and led the way into the Lost Cavern.
Grumbling to himself, Fishlegs picked up Snaketail's cage and followed behind with Arachne by his side.
"I wonder if the others are hating this as much as I am," the Ingerman muttered.
Meanwhile, in the southern portion of the Lost Cavern, the second team was entering the tunnel. Armed with their own torches, they progressed in single file, with Batwings at the front, Astrid sticking close behind, and Snotlout bringing up the rear. Their dragons kept close to them in case their riders encountered any kind of danger.
"Hey Astrid," Snotlout began, flirtatiously. "If you get scared and want me to hold your hand, it's okay."
Snorting to herself, the Hofferson girl silently made the decision to shut that arrogant boy up for good (or at least until tomorrow). Putting a false smile on her face, she turned around and replied, "Sure, Snotlout."
Glancing back at Hookfang, Snotlout grabbed the offered hand in his own. He whispered to his dragon, "Hey, it's as soft as I thought it'd be."
That's when he realized he was actually holding onto the tail of a very skeptical Stormfly, who had her brow raised at him. Snotlout yelped and let go of her tail, and the Deadly Nadder warbled with laughter as she followed Astrid deeper into the tunnel.
Hookfang used his muzzle to roughly push Snotlout after them, rumbling in his own amusement. Nice try.
It wasn't long before Hiccup and his company made it through the tunnel. At one point, Fishlegs had nearly gotten lost (Horrorcow wasn't the most attentive dragon ever), but Hiccup and Arachne managed to pull him and Snaketail back on track.
When they emerged from the main tunnel, they found themselves in the Lost Cavern itself, a massive chamber dominated by a gigantic boulder that sat right in the middle of it. The ceiling was twenty feet above Hiccup's head – so far, in fact, that the light from his torch didn't reach it. However, the flickering light did stretch far enough to illuminate half of the cave, turning the boulder bright orange. And sitting in front of it was…
"Tuff, there you are!" exclaimed Hiccup. "And King is with you!"
Indeed, it was Tuffnut who was leaning on the boulder's hard surface, with his Teostra curled up at his feet. King must have come to this place knowing that his human friend would eventually come. Or it might have been out of safety. Maybe King knew the danger that Dagur presented, and had come here to hide.
"Oh, it's you again," the Thorston boy muttered, and stood up from where he had been slumped against the boulder. "How long are you gonna keep following me?"
Hiccup opened his mouth to reply, when suddenly, another voice rang out from another part of the cavern.
"Ruff, there you are!"
"How long are you gonna keep following me?"
Arachne's eyes widened. "Whoa, was that an echo?"
Just then, Snotlout's head poked out from the other side of the boulder. It was followed by Astrid's, Batwings', and finally Ruffnut's, who looked none too pleased to see them. Surprisingly, Queen the Lunastra was with her!
Well, that's one problem down, thought Hiccup.
Tuff hit the roof. "What're you doing in my dark, soggy alone place?" he demanded of his sister.
"No way, this is my dark, soggy alone place!" she retorted. "And I'm not sharing it with you!"
Their elder dragons shared an uncomfortable glance, and backed away from their respective twins.
Silently, Batwings gestured to something behind him. His Typhoomerang flew up to perch on top of the boulder, and spat a bright stream of fire up at a stalactite hanging from the ceiling. The loud *whoosh* of the flames was enough to quiet the Thorstons, and the long, pointy rock formation that it struck started to glow with heat. Hiccup threw down his torch, no longer needing it.
"Guys, please, listen!" the Chief-to-be shouted, desperately. "We need your help! There's a Hideous Zippleback in real trouble out there!"
Taking a second to consider, Tuff finally crossed his arms and told him, "I'll go. But not with her." He pointed at Ruffnut.
"Yeah," Ruff proclaimed. "I'm not going anywhere with her either!"
"Wait, what?" Tuff stammered.
Before they could start another argument, Batwings butted in. "Enough! You don't understand, you two. You both have to go! Can't you put your sibling rivalry aside for long enough to save a dragon's life?"
The dragons surrounding them all agreed in a series of growls and warbles.
But the twins wouldn't have it. They glanced at each other with what seemed like bewilderment, then scowled at each other and stubbornly turned their backs.
Hiccup sighed. "Look. Ruff, Tuff, like it or not, you're connected to each other. And the two of you are each connected to your monsters, just like with me and Sightless. Without you, King and Queen were running free on Berk under the noses of the Berserkers!"
When the Thorston siblings were definitely paying attention, Astrid continued in Hiccup's place. "We can get you another spoon, another bowl, another stuffed yak – but you know that we can't get you another King and Queen."
Ruff and Tuff considered that.
"What does this have to do with the Zippleback we're after?" Fishlegs asked.
That was a good question. Hiccup was only trying to get the twins to stop fighting, and convincing them to help them round up the errant Zippleback was next on his to-do list. He shook his head at Legs, showing him that he didn't have an answer.
Fortunately, Arachne did. "Imagine that the Zippleback that needs your help was your monsters," she told the twins. "Would you work together to save King and Queen?"
Successfully, the little Philston girl got through to Ruff and Tuff. With that kind of image in their heads – their beloved Teostra and Lunastra being chased by hostile Vikings – they knew how severe the situation was.
"You think they got that?" asked Snotlout.
As one, Ruff and Tuff turned around to face each other again. In an act of cooperation that stunned the Monster Riders, they simultaneously spat in their hands for a messy handshake.
"You got a deal," affirmed Ruffnut.
"You know, I spat a little more in my hand," Tuffnut smirked.
"Yep, they got it!" Batwings answered.
"Okay, let's go, we're out of time," blurted Hiccup, the words coming out in a bit of a rush.
Tuff raised his hand. "Why is this so important anyway?"
Leaning against the wall idly, Snotlout enlightened him. "The Berserkers are hunting down a Zippleback in order to use its blood for ink."
There was a shocked silence. The Thorstons were horrified, and the rest of the Monster Riders were stunned at Lout's insensitivity.
"What?" growled Snaketail, rattling her cage. "Is that not what's happening?!"
Berk Woods, Nighttime
The moon and stars were already out by the time the Berk Monster Riders arrived on Berk, riding far larger beasts than before.
Sightless let out a giddy scream as he powered through the wind, happy to be flying with Hiccup once more. Behind him were the other monsters, all of them just as eager. They soared over the woods, which was nearly black in the darkness. Even though it was hard to see, that didn't stop the Monster Riders from scanning the ground in hopes of finding the Hideous Zippleback.
"There they are!" Hiccup suddenly called.
Indeed, there was the lime-green dragon amongst the trees, making its way into a clearing that was painted silver by the moonlight. It seemed to be moving in quite a hurry – and the reason for the Zippleback's urgency was revealed little more than a moment later, when Berserker soldiers burst out of the foliage to ambush it. They tossed bolas and hurled ropes, tangling the two-headed reptile up so thoroughly that there was no way it could move.
"No!" cried Tuffnut, over on King's back as usual. "They're gonna kill Barf and Belch!"
Everyone gave him confused looks, but it was Fishlegs who asked, "Barf… and Belch?"
"They come around our house every so often," Tuff explained.
"Mom and Dad like them," added Ruff. "Barf and Belch are a nice dragon, really."
"And they're gonna kill them!" Tuff repeated, sounding like he was about to panic.
Hiccup swiftly silenced him, then gestured for the Monster Riders to follow him. They ended up landing their monsters in the forest, just far away enough from the clearing so that the Berserkers wouldn't find them, but close enough for them to see what was going on.
"What are we doing?" hissed Arachne. "I thought we were saving them!"
"We can't risk being spotted by the Berserkers," Batwings hissed back, but Hiccup could tell from the way his muscles tensed that the Siren privately agreed with Arachne.
Stoick, Gobber, and Dagur suddenly emerged from the woods, approaching the downed Hideous Zippleback. Dagur shouted with wild excitement, instantly drawing his Switch Axe and sprinting for its still form.
Hiccup couldn't make himself watch what he thought was going to happen next. He closed his eyes… and heard the sound of metal clashing against Stygian Zinogre scales.
Indeed, Stoick had drawn his own Switch Axe and blocked Dagur's swing, preventing him from getting to Barf and Belch. For that, Hiccup felt a swell of relief well up from inside of him and manifest as a breathy sigh.
"How dare you?!" Dagur was shouting.
"How dare you?" Stoick retorted evenly. "We're supposed to slay this dragon together, and that's what we'll do – in the arena, where killing is traditionally done."
Although Dagur looked at the much older Chief with disgust that was, quite frankly, childish, that expression didn't last very long.
"To the arena!" the boy proclaimed, and led his soldiers off. Two of the men towed the distressed Barf and Belch along behind them, ignoring its pitiful gurgles.
Then, something remarkable happened. Stoick and Gobber turned around for once last glance at the clearing they were leaving behind, and their looks went straight to Hiccup. Their eyes actually met. But before he could give away his concealment, Stoick followed the Berserkers with Gobber close behind him.
When the clearing was at last empty, the riders and their monsters felt no regret in leaving their hiding spot. They stood fully exposed to the moonlight, confident that there were no enemies around to hide themselves from.
"The Chief isn't going to let them kill Barf and Belch, is he?" pleaded Ruffnut.
"He won't have a choice," Hiccup replied sadly. "Not unless we can't figure out a plan…"
"I have a plan!" boasted Snotlout. He puffed out his chest, stuck his finger in a random direction, and shouted, "Annihilate!"
Snotsnarl opened his jaws and belted out a roar that knocked Lout's helmet off of his head. The Jorgenson grimaced and gave the Tigrex a pained look, which he met with a satisfied one.
"Or not," Batwings said, dryly.
"Actually, that could work!" exclaimed Hiccup, a plan coming into existence inside his head. He hurriedly relayed it to his friends, and they agreed – it could work.
Before they could mount their monsters, though, there was still one order of business to attend to. Hiccup took Snaketail's cage from Fishlegs' hands (which the Ingerman boy was only too glad to give up), and held it out to Tuffnut. Snaketail snarled at him and bared her teeth, making herself look even more feral than her tangled hair and dirty clothes suggested.
"We're going to need you and Ruff for one last thing," Hiccup told him.
"No problem!" he claimed, and easily undid the lock.
That was when Snaketail pounced on him, and his horrified scream of "Oh, I am hurt! I am very much hurt!" rang out into the otherwise tranquil night.
Berk Monster Academy
The mood in the academy was grimmer than it had been since Berk's dragon-killing days.
Barf and Belch were tied down in the center of the arena, surrounded by Berserker soldiers. Gobber was off to the side, and Stoick and Dagur were standing side-by-side with their Switch Axes at the ready. Ringing the outside of the arena were the villagers, all murmuring amongst themselves uncertainly.
"According to the treaty," announced Gobber, his voice carrying clearly, "the killin' of the dragon must be –"
"Bored!" interrupted Dagur. "I get the head on the right!"
He raised his Switch Axe and advanced, and the dark purple scales lining it gleamed in the light of the moon. Frightened, Barf and Belch gurgled quietly and tried to retreat, but they were pulled back into position by the Berserkers.
"I'm putting an end to this," muttered Stoick, advancing as well. His voice was too quiet for anyone but Gobber to catch it. "If it means war… then it means war."
But it never came to that.
Dagur's blade was high above his head, and he was about to bring it down for the killing blow, when all of a sudden…
"MONSTER ATTACK!"
No one would admit it out loud, but privately, the Berserkers felt their blood run cold when they heard those words.
First to appear was Snotsnarl, climbing down the long chain that supported the wire netting over the arena with unusual dexterity. He poked his head through the net and let loose with a classic Tigrex roar, the sound of which threw the Berserker warriors into a panic. From his vantage point at the edge of the arena, Snotlout – hidden from Berserker eyes – gave his monster the signal to 'annihilate'. Snotsnarl let out a growl before blasting the ground below him with an unfathomably large roar.
"What in the name o' Valhalla is goin' on?" demanded Gobber.
But Stoick already had it figured out. "Gobber! Monster attack!" He nudged his friend for emphasis.
"Oh, right yeh are," the blacksmith said in realization. "Monster attack! Everybody outta here!"
On Astrid's signal, which she gave from her own hiding place, Batwings opened the gate. At once, Blackhawk, Heatray, and Twinhorn burst into the arena, wings spread dramatically. Venomwing and Mocktalk screeched as they plunged down through the net to lend their assistance. There was no sign of Sightless, though – he would be saved for last.
Hiccup, Astrid, Arachne, and Fishlegs took their positions, hiding behind the wooden boards scattered around the edge of the arena. After making sure they could get a clear view of their monsters, and that they hadn't been spotted, they went through with the next phase of their plan.
Astrid gestured for Blackhawk to attack. Although the words 'spine shot' weren't spoken, Blackhawk remembered what the signal meant. The Yian Garuga screamed and whipped her tail out from nowhere, throwing several poisonous spikes at one Berserker and forcing him to retreat.
Another warrior was advancing on Heatray. Thinking fast, Fishlegs gave the signal for 'hug'. The Berserker tried to run, but the Gravios enthusiastically pounced, and crushed him underneath her weight.
There was no way Twinhorn could coordinate herself without Snaketail to help her – just where was that girl? Hiccup didn't know, but he did know the signals that she used to get her Diablos to attack. Getting Twinhorn's attention, he gave her the signals for 'tail swing', 'tail combo', and 'horn attack'. Several lashes of the tail and slashes of the horn later, Twinhorn sent her Berserker assailants scurrying.
In the midst of the chaos, Gobber located Dagur and held him away from the fight. He yelled convincingly, "We must protect our honored guest! Flee while you can!"
But Dagur was having none of it. "Run if you want! Dagur the Deranged doesn't know the meaning of the word 'flee'!"
The teenaged Chief rushed forward with Switch Axe at the ready, too bloodthirsty to think of a strategy other than running blindly into battle. It was to Mocktalk he ran, who was surrounded by Berserker men. As if that wasn't bad enough, Batwings was having trouble finding a good position to signal the Qurupeco.
Arachne, though, did some quick thinking and got Venomwing's attention. She gave the snake wyvern the signal for 'poison spit', and watched as Venomwing swooped down upon Dagur and bombarded him with the toxic liquid. Luckily for Dagur, he avoided the projectiles and scurried away.
Only then did Wings settle himself, fluttering behind a wooden crate directly opposite his monster. Silently, he did the signal for 'dance'. Mocktalk understood and sprang into action, flaring his tail out and beginning his jig. By waving his rear end from side to side, following an invisible beat that only another Qurupeco would hear, he swatted the Berserkers away from him one after the other. More Berserkers rushed him, but at that moment he spun around with a hop and flared out of his wings. The tips of his wings struck the Berserkers and sent them flying.
"When we take out our foes, we do it with style," Batwings muttered to himself, letting out a laugh.
At this point, Barf and Belch had shaken off the ropes binding them and began to fly away. But luck was not with them, as a few Berserkers took note and hastily lassoed them. The two heads screeched in distress and began their struggles anew.
That was where Ruff and Tuff came in.
Dagur heard the Zippleback's cry and charged toward them with an insane battle cry. Out of nowhere, King and Queen plunged to the ground and reared onto their hind legs, yowling loudly and spreading their flammable powder in an intimidating show. Dagur, though, was not impressed, and readied his Switch Axe for the kill.
"Queen, powder!" whispered Ruff, moving her hand away from her mouth as if blowing a kiss.
Understanding, Queen gave Dagur a few powerful flaps of her wings, blowing a wave of flammable material toward him. He stumbled and coughed, his vision enveloped by a sea of red.
"King, spark!" murmured Tuff, clicking his fingers.
King opened his mouth wide and snapped his jaws shut. His fangs ground together to produce a spark, lighting the powder. It exploded outwards, a wave of fire that launched Dagur into the far wall with a yell of pain. Burnt and bruised, he picked himself back up – but if he was thinking of going for the elder dragons, a crack of Venomwing's whip-like tail made that impossible.
The Berserkers moved in toward the new threat of King and Queen. Grinning to themselves, Ruff and Tuff gave them the signals that they had practiced a while ago, this time working perfectly in sync. Their controls worked like a charm, allowing their Teostra and Lunastra to dispatch their attackers one by one.
Barf and Belch were free again, and, spotting a clear path in the midst of all the fighting, waddled toward the exit. But Dagur, who had been cursing Venomwing for throwing him across the arena, saw them. His Switch Axe had been lost when the Remobra attacked, but a stray spear caught his eye. Giving a yell, he threw the spear with perfect accuracy at Barf and Belch, not wanting the dragon to leave alive.
And this was Sightless' cue.
A powerful scream blasted through the melee, halting the Berserkers in their tracks. They indeed recognized that feared sound, the cry of the offspring of contagion and plague itself. Sightless leapt out into the open with a swish of his cape, catching the flying spear in his jaws. It snapped between his teeth with the barest of bites.
"A Gore Magala!" exclaimed Dagur, excitedly. "They do exist, after all!"
Then Hiccup appeared, playing his part in the grand deception. He drew his Hunter's Dagger from its sheath and held up the curved blade so it gleamed in the moonlight. "Back you… you fiend, you! You'll not harm my friend Dagur!"
He threw out his shield arm as if to block Dagur from harm. The impact forced the older boy's head away, so he couldn't see Hiccup give the signal for 'virus blast'.
Dagur looked back just in time to see the inside of Sightless' mouth glowing darkly, and a screech building in his throat. Hiccup, in a show of mock bravery, tackled Dagur to the ground just as a ball of black fire was launched at the wall behind them. It exploded into black mist, and the virus began to spread slowly around the arena.
Now, the Berserkers had begun to flee, unable to stand against the might of the attacking monsters. Dagur opened his eyes, and was horrified at the sight of his brave men being chased away like they were nothing.
"Go Dagur!" yelled Hiccup. "Save yourself!"
Playing his part well, Sightless screamed and pounced on Hiccup. The skinny Haddock boy pushed the Gore Magala's claws away with his shield, groaning with the effort.
"You owe it to your people!" he cried, voice laced with strain.
It was too much for poor Dagur. The air was full of the roars of monsters, and wherever he looked, there was a snarling Tigrex or Diablos or Gravios advancing on him. No, this was all too much. If he stayed, he and his men would perish.
The straw that broke the yak's back was Snaketail. From her spot right outside the exit, she leapt on Dagur's back with a primal shriek of fury, clawing at his shoulders and his cheeks while her tangled brown hair got into his face. It would take the wild Grundenson girl some time to recover from her time in that cage. She hissed and screamed like a maniac Yian Kut-Ku as she tried to bring Dagur down, until she was finally thrown aside.
"Berserkers, to the boats!" the young Chief yelled over his shoulder, and started to run.
"Wha' about the treaty?!" Gobber called after him.
Hesitating for one split second, Dagur ducked under Snotsnarl's harmful roar and called back, "Consider it signed!"
And just like that… it was all over. The monsters calmed down, and Hiccup's friends came out from their hiding places. There was no noise except for the faint sounds of the Berserkers running to their ships.
Nervously, Hiccup regarded Snaketail. She was lying on her back with her arms and legs spread around her. Her hair was all over the place and her jaw was slack – she must have hit her head when Dagur threw her off of him. The Chief-to-be hoped that she'd be back to normal when she woke up.
"Good work, son!" congratulated Stoick, heartily clapping Hiccup on the back. "I hope we don't see much more of Dagur the Deranged from here on out."
"I hope so too," his son sighed.
"I still think Dagur's cool!" Snotlout said haughtily.
The Thorston twins smirked at each other and simultaneously signaled Queen and King. The explosion sent the Jorgenson boy into the far wall, knocking him out.
Hiccup smiled as the twins, their monsters, and the Hideous Zippleback that they had saved all bumped heads affectionately.
While most of the gang laughed, Batwings stayed quiet, preferring to stare at the open gate through which the Berserkers had fled. Hiccup noticed his silence and turned to face the Siren, watching him lightly graze the cut on his neck with his claws.
"Dagur's your archenemy, isn't he?" Hiccup asked. "Back when Arachne asked that, while we were searching for that Najarala –"
"I was about to tell her, yes," Batwings confirmed. "And it isn't only me who hates him. His dragon is against him as well, but is in no position to do anything about it."
The Siren fixed his blue eyes directly on Hiccup's green ones. Hiccup drew a quiet breath – despite knowing Batwings for months, it never ceased to amaze him how perfectly human Batwings could make himself appear. Such were the Loki-blessed powers of the legendary Sirens.
"When Dagur and I meet again," he promised grimly, "I will avenge this scar. One way or another, I am going to destroy him."
But for now… the Hooligans could enjoy another year of peace. And, ironically, it was all thanks to the monsters.
The Wiki describes the Hobblegrunt's fire as an "ethane expectorant", and it's supposed to be sticky like a Nightmare's fire.
Original episode, coming in the next chapter! Last time this happened, Snaketail had to find her rampaging Diablos a mate in order to quell her hormonal rage. What'll happen next?
Give some reviews! Don't be shy about guessing what happens in the next chapter, either.
Next time: Monster Lovers