Chapter 16: Dynamic to the Max
Hope you're all ready for some Sword and Shield action!
Unsure of what else they could do, Hiccup led the whole team back to their living quarters. The team leader was racking his brain trying to find a solution to this rapidly escalating problem.
Mortem, the most innocent dragonet they ever knew, was being arranged for execution the next morning.
As soon as they reached home, they found themselves greeted by the remaining Pokémon. Eying the four trainers with concern, Amber tentatively asked, "What happened down there? Or do I not want to know...?"
"Exactly what we were afraid would happen," Hiccup automatically told her, slumping against the side of the house. "My father has sentenced Mortem to death."
Crackers gasped, although it sounded more like a squeak. "H-he d-did what?!"
Shaking his head, Hiccup replied, "Mortem's being executed tomorrow morning."
"Bigwings isn't entirely off the hook," added Astrid. "As far as we know, he's just being locked up."
Snivels went to join his trainer, his whole serpentine body as slumped as one could get. "They can't do this," he moaned sadly. "They can't. Mortem's not dangerous!"
"Now would be a good time to call for help," Adhesive hinted, quite heavily, while pointing frantically at the phone the Servine still had in hand.
Muttering a barely distinguishable, "right," under his breath, Snivels unlocked the device in record speed, tapped the Contacts icon, found Ultra Guardians right at the top and pressed it.
"Didn't you say it was Retro Day?" asked Blaze. "How do you know they'll answer?"
"Landline phones are on the short list of devices that aren't prohibited on Retro Day," Adhesive answered automatically. Catching everyone's confused glances, he added, "Long story."
The group waited in silent agony as the line on the other end of the phone started ringing.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
Then...
"Hello?"
Snivels jumped back in surprise at the voice that was coming through, right when he least expected it to. However, he was sure he recognized it somehow.
"Kuro?" he asked cautiously.
"Yes, is there a problem?"
Adhesive silently pumped his fist in victory.
Lifting the phone closer to his mouth, Snivels spoke loudly and clearly, "This is Snivels. Adhesive lent me his phone because of Retro Day. The Red Death dragonet we call Mortem is in trouble, and we need help to save him."
"You did the right thing," the Necrozma praised. "Is Adhesive with you?"
When the Poipole made no move to give an answer himself, Snivels took the liberty. "Yeah, he's right here. Why?"
"He has knowledge of a power you can use to save your friend," was the answer Kuro gave them. "Those Vikings won't hand over a Red Death dragonet that easily. You'll need every asset you can gather."
"We've tried reasoning with them," Hiccup said, almost to himself. "If that wasn't enough, we might have to do something drastic."
There was a relieved sigh from the other end. "You four trainers may want to hear this, so stay nearby. Are the Sword and Shield with you?"
Everyone collectively looked to Escutcheon and Rapier. The two lupine Pokémon were lying down next to the sacks that held their eggs.
Turning back to the phone, Hiccup replied, "If you mean Escutcheon and Rapier, then yes, they're right here with us."
"Alright, listen carefully. There's a special stone somewhere on the island called a Wishing Star. It gives off an energy that enhances and enlarges the power of a Pokémon. Zacian and Zamazenta are among the few Legendaries that can find one. Find the Wishing Star, and you will be successful in your mission. I'll alert the Resistance in the meantime. Good luck."
"Wait, how do you know there's a Wishing Star on Berk?" asked Brandyn.
Too late. Kuro had hung up.
But at least they had an idea of what to do now. And hey had to do it fast, because the day was almost over and the execution was being, well, executed, first thing in the morning.
"You know what a Wishing Star is?" Heather asked, breaking the tense silence.
"Resistance cadet," Brandyn reminded her. "I've learned more from those Pokémon than you might think."
The next question came from Snivels. "Do you know what it looks like?"
"Vaguely," the male blond confessed.
"We should start looking for it, then," stated Blaze, and took several steps toward the forest, clearly intending to start the search without waiting for anyone else's approval.
However, she was the only one who moved. Astrid, Heather and Brandyn had their eyes on Hiccup, who was emphatically shaking his head.
"Not yet," he said firmly, his tone making the Blaziken stop in her tracks. "We need to know where to look. We can't just rush in without thinking. That's what a Viking would do."
Handing Adhesive's phone to Ninjark, Snivels remarked, "He has a point. If we spend too much time looking in all the wrong places, Mortem will be dead before we have the chance to save him!"
The sound of pounding footsteps alerted them to the approaching Zamazenta. "First you need to know what a Wishing Star looks like. Care to do the honors, Brandyn?"
His voice trembling ever so slightly from excitement, the Aetherson quavered, "It's a small, bluish-purple meteoric rock with striking red circles surrounding these bumps that look like backwards craters."
Hiccup's eyes suddenly lit up with an expression that was hard to read. He then rushed into the house so fast, one would think he was a Speed Stinger in disguise. When he came out a minute later, he was cradling something in his hands.
"You mean like this?" Hiccup asked, holding out his hand to reveal a small rock that matched Brandyn's description perfectly. "Is this a Wishing Star?"
The blond Aetherson did a double take, a look of pure astonishment upon his features. "Yes, that's it. Where did you find it?"
"In the forest," the team leader answered automatically. "About seven or eight years ago..." He trailed off as he registered the exasperated looks his friends were now giving him.
"You had the Wishing Star this whole time?!" Astrid shrieked, almost as loudly as a Nadder.
"Wait," Buddy said suddenly, "You didn't know that?" Hiccup thought he was joking at first, but the look on the Silvally's face held genuine surprise.
Cheeks tinged pink with embarrassment, Hiccup cast his eyes down at the rock in his hands. "So...how can this help us?"
Chuckling a little, Escutcheon settled himself into the soft grass. "You kids might want to sit down for this," he said.
Kuro tapped a long, black, claw-like finger on his metal desk, eyeing the white landline phone Snivels had called with Adhesive's cell phone only minutes ago.
"Symbiont!" called the Necrozma, and a jellyfish-like Ultra Beast poked his head in through the door.
"What is it, boss?" asked the Nihilego in a warbling voice that sounded a lot like he was talking underwater.
Folding his hands as best he could, Kuro questioned, "Are the Golden Wheels still on standby?"
"They have been since the start of the war," Symbiont said. "You're not thinking of calling them to action, are you? They're supposed to be a last resort, in case all else fails."
Kuro was well aware of the purpose of the Golden Wheels, they had the power to make the entire Multiverse implode. Not that they would want to, anyway. It would be quite a shame for them to destroy the very thing they'd dedicated their eternal lives to creating, and maintaining the balance of.
"Just keep them on standby," Kuro ordered. "Just in case."
"Okay, so let me get this straight," said Hiccup, "There's this thing called Dynamax that increases the Pokémon's size and powers up their moves?" He held up the Wishing Star he was holding. "And this weird-looking rock is supposed to trigger it somehow?"
Escutcheon nodded. "The Wishing Stars, and the power they contain, actually come from a Pokémon called Eternatus. Their cores release excess Dynamax energy in the form of those Wishing Stars."
"But how do we use it?" asked Snivels.
The Zamazenta looked from the Servine to the Wishing Star a few times before suggesting, "You can always try touching it." When Snivels reached out to do just that, he quickly added, "But not here. I'd recommend saving it until the rescue mission."
With that information, their next action was crystal clear to Hiccup. He pulled himself to his feet and told them, "Alright, let's get ready. We might only have one shot at this, so we need to make it count."
When he extended his hand, Heather passed him a map of the arena, but she looked fidgety. Certainly, the knowledge that an innocent dragonet was set to be killed soon wasn't just affecting Snivels to an extent.
"So, what's the plan?" she asked quietly.
"We spread out," Hiccup replied without hesitance, pointing at the map. "Besides Escutcheon and Rapier, Ra and Camazotz are by far the strongest, so they'll be our last resort. They'll wait by the far entrance until someone gives the signal. Heather, you and Ninjark take the left."
"I'll go with Heather," blurted Brandyn, not caring if anyone was going to protest. When the realization of what he said caught up with him, his face turned a very impressive shade of red.
Hiccup didn't have time to question his fellow male trainer's behavior. "Astrid and Blaze will take the right. That leaves me and Snivels to go up the middle." He pointed to where the cages were on the map. "If we're lucky, we can get Mortem out of there before sunrise."
"And when was the last time everything went according to plan for us?" asked Astrid. Her tone was hard to read, was it curiosity or was she trying to make a point of some kind?
They took a moment to fully digest the given orders. It was all or nothing...they'd either get out with Mortem, or not at all. Arceus knew what Stoick would do with them if they didn't succeed in their rescue attempt. What were the consequences they'd be facing? Would the chief consider it a traitorous act and go so far as to exile his own son? That sounded almost as bad as disowning him.
"How soon until sunrise?" a certain Greninja asked.
Hiccup shook his head, not knowing the answer but willing to bet that it wasn't a comforting one. He turned his head toward the direction of the arena, then gazed farther out, imagining that he could already see Mortem in chains, being dragged into the center of the Academy with his father's axe ready to be brought down upon his neck.
"There isn't much time," the team leader them. "Toothless and I will go up there and scout ahead. You guys three stay here until I get back."
Immediately, Astrid took a step closer to his side. "I'm coming with you," she said loyally.
As much as Hiccup's heart swelled at her show of devotion, he had to shake his head and tell her otherwise. "Astrid, I appreciate it, but I need you to be my safety net."
"So you're leaving me here by myself?" she protested, her voice tight with worry. Hiccup felt a pang of guilt stab him in the chest when he heard her speak like that.
The couple stared painfully into each others' eyes for a second, neither willing to speak, until someone else interrupted.
"Uh, hello," Snivels practically snapped, such was his annoyance. "Whole group of Go-Getters here, right behind you."
Now thoroughly irritated, Astrid turned away from the moment she was having with Hiccup and actually did snap. "Snivs, you know what I meant!"
Blaze folded her arms and replied, "Yes, actually, we all do. And I want to go on record as saying we don't appreciate it."
Although Hiccup got on Toothless swiftly, he hesitated before going out to scout the path to the Academy where Mortem was being held. His worried gaze wandered over to Astrid, who looked more uncertain than he'd ever seen her. She was biting her lip and clutching one arm in her hand, her pure blue eyes fixed concernedly on his face.
"Just go..." she finally sighed, reluctantly.
Feeling a slight flutter of gratitude for her, Hiccup gave her a grateful smile before urging Toothless into the air. The Night Fury shot upwards and unfurled his wings, soaring on the ocean breeze as he gradually became nothing more than a black speck in the sky.
"Be safe," Astrid murmured to herself.
She didn't react when Blaze walked up to lay a hand on her shoulder in a show of support, but she still felt somewhat better at the gesture.
Given that there was still time before their rescue mission was carried out, Snivels decided to use it to try and make himself more familiar with Adhesive's cell phone for the sake of all the future Retro Days that were still to befall on them.
And so far, he had gotten quite good with it. He'd learned all the apps, inside and out, in record time. Now he could play games like Pokémon GO, Titan Uprising, Rumble Rush, and Rise of Berk like a pro.
And then there was the Netflix app.
"Don't go in there," whispered Snivels, clutching the phone so tightly his leafy knuckles started to turn white. "Don't go in there! Don't go in there! Don't go in there!" Then he groaned, "Oh! She went in there! Doesn't anyone know that you're not supposed to enter a shipwreck by yourself in the dark?! You don't even know what could be hiding in those shadows!"
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY PHONE?!"
Snivels literally jumped about a foot in the air, his hands scrambling to keep his grip on the cell phone as he let out a startled scream. Panting heavily, his eyes made out the shape of Adhesive in the fading light, his blue eyes wide with horror and anxiety.
"Oh, my Arceus," sighed the Servine, "Don't ever do that again! You scared the crap out of me!"
But Adhesive wasn't paying attention to him. He was eyeing the small screen of his cell phone. "Race to the Edge?" he asked, horrified. "How'd you already get up to the third season?!"
"It's easy once you eliminate all the filler episodes," Snivels answered in a remarkably calm demeanor.
The Poipole shook his head frantically. "No, you can't be watching that! Who knows what'll happen if any of you guys find out what will happen in the future!" Letting out a gasp, he buried his face in his tiny purple hands. "Oh, Kuro's gonna kill me!"
"I highly doubt that," said a supportive Snivels.
"You don't understand," Adhesive whimpered, "Knowledge of future events leads to a disruption in the balance of the Multiverse, which in turn could lead to absolute chaos and the end of all things as we know it!"
However, the Poipole had a history of being melodramatic, mainly in the Hiccstrid department, so Snivels wasn't really fazed as much as Adhesive thought he would be.
At about that time, Blaze went and poked her head into the room. "Hiccup's returned from scouting, says the path is clear. We'll be leaving shortly." Then she noticed how wide-eyed Adhesive was. "What are you two doing?" she asked with a furrowed brow.
"Nothing," Adhesive said quickly, his voice squeaking a little.
The Blaziken took one look at his nervous expression and left the room.
Hiccup and Toothless had only flown so far – the Academy was very visible in the distance – when they saw the last rays of sun sinking over the horizon. They had to move now, and not a minute later.
They flew right back to the team's living quarters, just in time to see everyone gathering outside in the clearing. The many Pokémon standing at attention lifted Hiccup's spirits a little, seeing how many of his friends were ready to support him and his plan, but he hadn't thought out all the details of possible assignments for so many members.
With a pat to Toothless's muzzle, Hiccup landed in front of the group, sitting up as straight as humanly possible. His voice carried across the clearing with a boldness he didn't know he had.
"The way to the Academy is clear, as far as we could see. But that doesn't mean this will be easy. That place will be crawling with guards, and they won't hand Mortem over so easily. Stick to what you know, and work together. We only get one shot at this, so we need to make it count. Everyone ready?"
Shouts of agreement reached his ears, too many for him to count, but he could hear Snivels's voice above all the rest.
"Let's go save our friend!"
With that, everyone went to mount up.
Well, almost everyone.
Escutcheon and Rapier had insisted for one member of the team stay behind and watch their eggs, and the only one who was willing to volunteer was Fossilwing, the Aerodactyl the team had fought, and befriended, back at the Ice Caves.
Okay, not entirely willingly. Brandyn had to bribe his prehistoric companion with an assortment of his favorite Poké Puffs to get him to comply.
Additionally, the Zacian and Zamazenta were much too large and heavy for any of the dragons to carry them. And they couldn't fly like Ra and Camazotz, so they had to resort to traveling on foot.
The overall trip to the Academy was relatively short, with a few close calls here and there, thanks to the Berkian guards that were patrolling in case someone tried to intervene with the planned execution of "the Great Hideous Beast," as they so eloquently put it.
Ra, Camazotz, Escutcheon, and Rapier waited at the entrance to the long tunnel-like path that led toward the domed arena, just as Hiccup had planned. The rest of the team snuck ahead to take their respective positions, but they couldn't help overhearing some of the guards' chitchat as they went about their rounds.
"Welp, the chief's orders have gone without argument," one of the Vikings grinned, taking his position right beside the door to the arena's largest cage. "How long until the big moment? That monster's giving me the willies."
Briefly unfurling his wings, Toothless let out a quiet growl, undoubtedly registering the words as eagerness and relief towards Mortem's death. Hiccup stood up and extended his arm, waving the black dragon off.
"Stoick said at the break of dawn," said the other guard, his eyes drooping a little from tiredness. "He wants to do it himself, you know. Said he finally wants to make right what the monster's mother did to his boy."
"But what about that Servine?" asked Guard One. "You think maybe he mighta been on to something back in the Hall?"
Guard Two shook his head. "Nobody argues with the chief, not unless they wanna end up on that execution block themselves. Or worse, exiled. There's no worse punishment than being forced to live in shame."
Hiccup stayed frozen in position for as long as he could, trying desperately to ignore the chilling feeling that was cascading down his spine, like someone had just dumped a bucket full of ice cubes into the back of his shirt. He watched Snivels's eyes narrow, focusing directly on the Vikings and their glinting weapons. They could see their friends scooting off toward the sides, waiting for the right moment.
Then the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps reached their ears, and they collectively ducked into the shadows in time to avoid being spotted by Spitelout, who came running into the arena with a determined look on his face.
"Change of plans," Snotlout's father stated to the two guards. "The monster's being executed tonight."
Gasping in surprise, Hiccup clapped a hand over his own mouth, praying silently to Arceus that nobody in the arena had heard him. Had Stoick lied to them about the execution happening the following morning? Not likely. He'd probably moved up the date out of spite towards Mortem's mother.
"Are you sure?" asked Guard One. "I was told it wasn't happening 'til tomorrow."
"He's the chief," Spitelout snapped, "He can change his mind when he wants to. Now, where is it?"
"In here," said Guard Two, pointing at the giant wooden door he and the other Viking had been guarding.
Spitelout unlocked the big doors and opened them just enough to peek one eye in so he could see the chained and muzzled Mortem cowering in the corner with a sad look in his six small eyes. The Viking shut the doors with an echoing *bang* and locked them tightly. "Not one thing gets in or out of that cage until Stoick gets here," he growled threatingly.
He didn't wait to see the guards nodding obediently before leaving them to their job.
Hiccup took one look around the outside of the arena to read his friends' expressions. Snivels was giving Spitelout's retreating form a glare so sharp, it would have pierced his heart like a knife. Astrid's stare was neutral, but Hiccup knew her well enough to know she was doing an expert job of repressing her horror. The Blaziken standing beside the blonde looked disappointed with a dash of spite, Heather had turned so pale she looked sick, Ninjark was wringing his hands vigorously enough to make them fall off, and Brandyn had his head buried in his hands.
"Okay, we need a new plan," Hiccup sighed.
Adhesive flew in right then and there, having been alerted by the sight of Spitelout arriving, and leaving, the Academy in such a hurry. "I'm assuming something bad has just occurred," he said, panting a little.
"They've moved up Mortem's execution date," Snivels said with an angry snarl. "It's happening tonight."
"Oh, joy," the Poipole whimpered. "So, what's the plan for getting past the ugly, smelly guards, fearless leader?"
Hiccup didn't take the time to complain about the 'fearless leader' nickname, his mind working to formulate even a fraction of a solution to this new problem that was staring them right in the face. Finally, a suitable idea clicked.
"Live bait."
"Good idea," was Adhesive's automatic answer before he quickly caught on to the implications of that phrase. "Hey!"
Gesturing with his arms, Hiccup persuaded, "Look, it's simple. You just have to fly in there and create a diversion."
To which the Poipole replied, with an uncharacteristically heavy amount of sarcasm, "What do you want me to do? Dress in drag and do the hula?"
Eventually, Adhesive's determination to play a part in Mortem's rescue in one way or another drove him to come up with a decent distraction to keep the guards' eyes off of the doors. They could all hear Mortem's whimpers from outside, and they were not helping their nerves. They'd never felt so tense in all their lives.
For the umpteenth time, the guards glanced up at the sky. Instead of the usual cloud or two, they found an alien-looking purple Pokémon with a nervous smile on his face.
"Hey, you're a wonderful crowd here tonight!" Adhesive forced out, holding an imaginary microphone in one of his hands. "Where y'all from?"
A long, uneasy pause.
"Well, that's great," Adhesive continued, a little less enthusiastically. "Y'know, I used to have an ant farm, but I had to get rid of it because...I couldn't find tractors that small!"
Another prolonged silence. The only movement he got out of the guards was one of them raising an eyebrow in confusion.
"Get it?" Adhesive tried. "Tractors that small?" He got no answer, so he proceeded with the next joke. "The other day, I spilled spot remover on my dog...and now I can't find him!"
Again, no reaction.
"Wow," he uttered to himself, "Tough crowd."
"What is this?" snapped the second guard. "Some kind of joke?"
It would have been funny if the situation wasn't so serious.
"Alright," Adhesive sighed, "I've tried doing things the Hiccup way, now I gotta try the Astrid way."
He didn't give the guards enough time to recognize the implications of that phrase before he launched into a Fury Attack, jabbing at their skin, both armored and exposed, with the nozzle on his head.
Both guards cried out in pain as the long, pointy end pierced them again and again, not enough to break the skin, but the pain it was causing was the near-equivalent to a maniac stabbing them with a dagger.
A good, hard blow to their heads from the Fury Attack knocked them both right out. They slumped to the ground like two drunk friends, eyes rolling in the back of their heads and their mouths hanging open.
Seeing them down, Adhesive promptly stopped his assault. "Well, that was an adventure."
The sound of footsteps brought his attention to his approaching friends, many of whom looked amazed at what had just occurred.
"Excellent work, Ad," Hiccup breathed, running to the door that held Mortem trapped in his own fear. He heard the words, "Stand back," before a taloned fist collided with the mechanism that controlled the lock on the cage door.
There was a *click* and the lock slid out of place, allowing the doors to swing open naturally.
Despite everything Hiccup had prepared himself for, the sight of Mortem's condition made his heart sink.
The poor dragonet had been fitted with a fireproof muzzle that had only three small holes for him to breathe through, and about ninety percent of him was covered with thick, heavy chains. He looked hungry and scared.
This was not a monster.
This was a terrified and helpless baby that needed to be taken far, far away from this heckish prison.
Hiccup didn't know how much time they had until Spitelout returned with Stoick, so he called out for everyone to grab a chain and pull. Hopefully, they could lead Mortem out of the arena before his father arrived to kill him.
A Sobble paced back and forth nervously, waiting for his friends to make it out of the Academy. Compared to the four Legendary Pokémon standing nearby, he looked like a tiny blue bug.
The sound of pounding footsteps prompted Crackers to excrete the water from his internal supply through the pores of his skin, making his camouflage kick right in so he could disappear from view. The other Pokémon ducked into the shadows and watched as Stoick, Gobber and Spitelout marched past their hiding place toward the arena, Brumous and Norward not far behind. They passed right by the hidden Sobble, who remained absolutely still so they wouldn't see him.
The blade of the gigantic axe that Stoick held in his hand glinted threateningly in the moonlight. It had been sharpened enough to slice through the thick skin of Mortem's neck like it were made of butter.
"We have to do something," Crackers decided as soon as the five were out of earshot. "I'm sick of watching helplessly from the sidelines as our friends do all the work trying to save one of our own. I'm a part of this team, I have to contribute somehow, even if it means facing a terrifying, stone-hearted monster."
"Monster is a relative term," stated Buddy. "To a canary, a cat is a monster." The Silvally gestured with his head down the path Stoick had just taken. "Vikings are just used to being the cat."
Crackers looked frightened for a moment before his expression hardened. "I still want to try," he said.
"Then you're first," said Ra, kicking Adhesive's duffel bag over to the Sobble. There were still quite a lot of Rare Candies in it.
"First for what?" asked Xylia.
"You wanna take things to the next level," said the smiling Solgaleo, "Then you go take things to the next level."
By the time Hiccup and the gang had gotten Mortem out of the arena, the three Vikings had arrived to carry out the execution. The four trainers had also taken the liberty of moving the unconscious guards into an empty cage that was adjacent to Mortem's.
"Where did those slug-brains go off to now?" Spitelout asked, irritated at the guards' unexplained absence. "Don't they know they're shift's not over yet?"
Gobber flashed him a look that said, Does it really matter?
Above the arena, everyone had crouched down low behind the stone-carved throne Stoick had sat in to witness Hiccup's confrontation with Hookfang, the shadows of the night providing the extra effect they needed to hide from the angry Vikings.
The chief flung the door to Mortem's cage open with a *bang*. All four trainers, their Pokémon, and even the Red Death dragonet sat quite still, listening intently.
Silence...then -
"Where is it?" demanded Stoick. "Where is the beast?!"
"It was right in there!" said Spitelout furiously. "I saw it with my own eyes!"
There was a swishing noise, and the *thud* of an axe. The chief seemed to have swung it into the cage door in anger.
"Hiccup," he whispered huskily. "He's the only one who could have pulled it off."
Taking this as their cue to leave, Hiccup grabbed at one of the heavy chains and tugged it with all his might. For someone of his size and stature, it was a near impossible task. Still, it had the desired effect - Mortem took a step in the direction in which the chain had been pulled.
They could always come back for Bigwings. Getting Mortem out of there was their number one priority.
But, as per usual, just when it looked like they were home free, something had to go wrong.
Two big guards stood blocking the way, crossing their weapons to forbid them from passing by. "Where do you think you're going?" one of them growled.
All they got in response was a frightened whimper from Mortem.
A blue ball of water suddenly hit Guard Three in the head, dousing his greasy hair. A slim, blue lizard with an odd haircut materialized from the shadows and Sucker Punched both guards in the face. As if that wasn't enough, a white, red and black rabbit kicked Guard Four in the back of the head with his strong legs and a light green monkey knocked Guard Three out with the two sticks he kept in his hair.
Defeated, the two guards fell to the ground with a *thump*.
Snivels squinted at one of the newcomers. "Crackers?"
The Drizzile gazed at the Servine through his hair and winked.
A large white lion and a giant purple bat came rushing in. "Let's get Mortem out of here!"
They didn't need to be told twice. The noise had attracted the attention of the three Vikings in the arena, and who knows how mad Stoick would be if he caught them.
Moving unnaturally fast with all the chains still on Mortem, the team barely made it halfway out when the sound of pounding footsteps warned them that there were more guards heading their way.
"We're trapped," muttered Hiccup. He unconsciously reached into his pocket and pulled out the Wishing Star. "Now's as good a time as any to give this a try."
Stoick was running the fastest. He had no desire to let such a horrible monster escape under his nose. "Get back here, you great hideous beast!" he bellowed, almost loud enough for the dragonet to actually hear despite the distance between them.
Suddenly, a humongous seed came flying in, planting in the pavement in front of the chief, from which erupted a giant green mushroom. Skidding to a halt, the only thing that a befuddled Stoick to utter was, "What in Odin's eye?"
"LET THE DRAGONET GO!" shouted a booming voice.
The Vikings look up, up, up at a gigantic Pokémon that stood more than fifty feet tall, glowing faintly with a red aura. A trio of red clouds circled the space above the Dynamaxed Snivels's head as he spoke. "IF YOU WANT TO SEE A REAL MONSTER, GO LOOK IN THE MIRROR!"
There was a *thud* as a totally shocked Spitelout fainted, in a very undignified manner I'm pleased to say.
But this didn't seem to shake up the Berkian chief all that much. Instead, he narrowed his eyes with determination and ordered, "Hand over the beast!"
And then, the gigantic Servine leaned as far down as he could without falling over. "OH, YOU WANT HIM?" he called down tauntingly. "COME AND GET HIM, SHRIMPY!"
All at once, the Dynamaxed Pokémon scooped up the chained dragonet with his tail and fired another giant seed at the arena. It crashed right through the door to one of the cages, and Bigwings came flying right out a moment later. Satisfied, Snivels turned toward the exit, easily making it out in five giant steps.
"You know," said Astrid as she and Blaze mounted Stormfly. "I can think of quite a few situations where we could have used this." Like the battle on Dragon Island, she added in her thoughts. How different would that have turned out if we had Dynamax? Or Mega Evolution? Would we have defeated the queen sooner?
...Would Hiccup still have his leg?
"Believe me, I was thinking the same thing, too," Hiccup replied.
The whole group collectively took off on their dragons, following the Dynamaxed Servine toward home.
But their problems weren't done for the day.
With a might war cry, every abled warrior on Berk came running towards the Dynamaxed Servine, weapons raised high. Then a pair of lupine Pokémon came charging in, brandishing their sword and shield to keep the angry Vikings at bay. A green blur sprinted up the middle, slicing through the Vikings' wooden shields with her Leaf Blade and knocking them off their feet wither her branch-like tail. Next came a large blue amphibian, who slammed his fist to the ground, making it quake with tremendous force.
"Who's the safety net now?!" Xylia the Sceptile proclaimed, leading Palus the Swampert in for another attack run.
Before she could, though, it seemed as though someone else had other ideas.
A beam of bright light burst from above the clouds, raining down upon them as an almighty voice boomed, "ENOUGH!"
The white creature reared its head as high as it could, then plunged straight down, slowing drastically before landing gracefully onto the ground. Its golden wheel gleamed like real gold in the light, and it was balanced on the tips of its equally golden hooves.
"Arceus," breathed an amazed Adhesive.
As if on cue, several other beings rained down from the heavens. Many of them were white like the first, but a few of them were as golden as their wheels.
One of the golden Arceus came to rest beside the first, and the pair nuzzled each other's head affectionately before the white one addressed everyone present.
"This has gone far enough," said Archon, but not to Team Go-Getters. "Even a blind man could see that poor dragonet is no danger to anyone who's not a fish. Release him at once, or we'll have no choice but to have you face the combined Judgment of the Golden Wheels."
Instantaneously, all the Vikings discarded their weapons and scrambled back into their homes.
Stoick, who had just arrived, stood dumbfounded at the sight of such a magnificent Pokémon.
"That goes for you, too, chief," Archon commanded with a glare.
The still-giant Snivels lowered his tail to the ground so Mortem, who was still in his restraints, could climb off, just before the effects of the Wishing Star wore off and the Servine shrank back to his normal size. "We know you hate to admit when you're wrong," he said. "But holding a grudge against a harmless dragonet? That's low, even for you. Whether you like it or not, what happened on that island happened, and you can't change it no matter what you do. All of this chaos around you? It's all because you wouldn't listen. Again. Look at him" - he pointed to Mortem - "Does that look like a monster to you?"
Sighing, Stoick let the axe fall from his hand. "No," he admitted. "It doesn't." Then he trudged away without another word.
A few Multi Attacks from Buddy was all it took to get Mortem's restraints off. The Red Death dragonet spun around in a circle, delighted to be free. The Silvally locked eyes with his father and whispered, "Thank you."
Archon gave a brief nod, then turned to Astrid and said in amusement, "Nice pendant."
Unconsciously, the former Hofferson reached up and grasped at the golden wheel pendant around her neck that matched the one on the Arceus.
"Before I forget," said Hiccup, "How did you change the pendant?"
Archon gave a half-hearted chuckle. "Even omnipotent beings like ourselves don't fully understand the extent of our powers, young hero."
With that, the whole group departed into the sky, the blinding light disappearing along with them.
The whole team ended up sleeping until noon the next day. They were all awake until late last night making sure that Mortem and Bigwings were okay, and even later anxiously discussing what was awaiting them in the Viking village.
Eventually, they had to go out and face the world.
And face it, they did.
There was another meeting in the Great Hall, and this one had gone very much better than the last.
"In light of the recent events," Stoick had announced, "We have all agreed that the dragonet known as Mortem is not a threat to our community. He may go wherever he wishes on Berk, so long as he is being supervised."
"And?" Snivels had prompted.
After a sigh, the chief had added, "And I am sorry for everything that I have done."
That was an hour ago. Now, the entire team had gathered to see Escutcheon and Rapier off. The two Pokémon had already packed for their journey back to the Ice Caves, their eggs tucked safely into the satchels the two Warrior Pokémon had brought them in.
The unasked question Hiccup had had since he first learned of the eggs buzzed around his head like a pesky bug as he stepped toward the two. "So, where are the mothers?"
"There are none," Escutcheon said quickly. Most likely, he'd had that answer prepared from the beginning. "There were, though. Our wives laid them shortly before we went into battle against a powerful Shadow Pokémon. We won in the end, but both of our wives died of their wounds. Rapier and I only had each other for comfort, and though we never fully got over it, we eventually realized that we loved each other more than we ever loved our wives, so we married. And now we're going to be fathers together." He leaned down and nosed some of the eggs.
Slowly, the gears in Hiccup's head started to turn as he registered what the Zamazenta had just said. When Escutcheon told the team that Rapier was his partner, he had assumed that he meant they'd been partnered for the mission. But now he realized just how mistaken he was.
"So, you mean..."
"Yes," said Escutcheon with an unembarrassed smile. "Rapier is my husband."
The two female trainers stared at the Zamazenta as though he'd grown a second head. They were too stunned to process exactly what they'd just heard - until the impact of his words dawned on them all at once, and they opened their mouths to scream in unison.
"WHAT?!"
In contrast to the girls' cry of shock, Brandyn spoke calmly and informatively.
"It's more common than you'd think. Some creatures find love in others of the same gender, or identify themselves as the opposite of their birth gender and go through a lengthy transition. It's astounding just how many transgender Marill you can find in this archipelago alone."
The Aetherson then directed at the two Warrior Pokémon, "Good luck. Not just with work, but your eggs, too."
Escutcheon opened his mouth to respond, but was rendered speechless when he noticed what Rapier was doing.
The Zacian leaned his head down and allowed the sword to slip out of his mouth. Landing on the ground, the weapon shrank into a much less grandiose form that was mostly covered in rust, but had some faded blue standing out among the dull color.
Rapier changed, too. His armor lifted away to reveal messy, azure fur, long matching coral red braid-like fur bangs, and a body decorated with multiple scars and scratches.
Now free to speak without the interference of a held item, the Zacian smiled at the four trainers and said, "We look forward to working with you more in the future." Then he leaned his head down and took the Rusted Sword in his mouth, instantly changing back into his Crowned Sword form.
A half hour later, the whole team was back at their living quarters, adjusting back to their usual daily schedules.
If you could call them usual, anyway.
Snivels was adding a dozen or so fish to the already-giant pile of seafood for Mortem and Bigwings to guzzle down to their hearts' content when he overheard a certain Poipole nerding out.
"I can't believe I actually got to witness a Pokémon Dynamaxing!" Adhesive exclaimed as he scanned through the photos app on his phone. "I wish I could have gotten picture of it!"
"What are you doing, anyway?" Snivels asked, trying to sneak a peek.
"Choosing a new wallpaper for my phone screen," the Poipole replied before his expression turned grim. "By the way, this is for you." He handed the Servine a pamphlet.
Seeing the urgent lettering on the front, Snivels pulled Adhesive to the other side of the clearing so they could speak in private. "What is all this? A-a mind erasing, future event coverup? I mean is all this really necessary?"
Adhesive shrugged.
"Wait a minute!" Snivels said suddenly, scanning the written words. "It says right here in your silly little pamphlet that if a counterpart founds out about the future of the canon timeline, then everyone who's been made aware has to have their memory erased, to preserve the balance. Adhesive, I don't have a counterpart in the canon timeline!"
Now the Poipole looked nervous.
Snivels sighed, "I know, I know, it's a technicality. Listen, I don't want you to get in trouble, but I also do not want my mind erased. I know that Splice is supposed to be a professional, but there's always a chance he might accidentally erase the wrong memory, or make me forget something really important by mistake. So, what do you say? Can we keep this a secret?"
Adhesive took the pamphlet back from him, read it over, then smiled. "I don't see why not." He then lowered his phone to show the picture he'd pull up on screen. "So, what do you think of this one?"
It was a Hiccstrid kiss, of course, but they were both dressed in snow-white wedding attire and wearing crowns made of flowers and branches and other plant material.
"I think it's perfect," said the Servine, smiling like there was no tomorrow.
Near the house, Flare jumped into a backflip and landed perfectly on his feet. "Look, guys!" exclaimed the Raboot, "I'm much more athletic now!"
"Believe me, we've noticed," was all Crackers said before he flipped a cracker into his own waiting mouth. His timidness as a Sobble had been replaced by the natural laziness of a Drizzile.
Trommel, meanwhile, was honing in on his species' natural percussion skills. The Thwackey was using his two sticks to alternate drumming on a rock and a tree stump, and he was really getting into it, too.
The three Galar starters weren't the only ones examining their new evolved forms. Palus and Xylia were impressed with themselves, too.
"Looking kinda tough, huh?" asked the Swampert as he flexed his arms. "Nice and strong! Not that I'm trying to brag, though."
"I don't want to brag, either," said the Sceptile, "But I feel really, really cool."
Ninjark was suddenly there, draping an arm around his girlfriend. "Cool and pretty," said the Greninja, "I like that combination."
Apart from the rest of the group, Hiccup was leaning against the side of the house, staring up at the sky. He heard footsteps approaching, and came out of his thoughts in time to see Astrid stand beside him and place a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"Can I ask you something?" she asked him concernedly.
He nodded. "Of course."
"Do you ever wish you still had your leg?" Astrid asked, shifting a little.
Hiccup instinctively gazed down at his prosthetic. It was true, he had wished he still had both legs intact quite a few times since he found out he'd lost it. But he had also thought about all that he had accomplished since that day, and he knew exactly how to answer her question.
"I used to. But I wouldn't change what happened to me one bit. I can travel a lot further with just one than I ever could with both."
His answer made them both smile.
Secrets can never stay hidden. But no matter how out of control things get, you know you can count on those close to you to hold you up and help you through it all.
Because friendship is one thing you can keep forever.
The whole family's back together for Christmas! Happy holidays, everybody!