It was a quiet, foggy morning at a lone Dragon Hunter base. The Hunters were busy loading their latest haul of dragons and they had gotten some fine ones, as well. Viggo is going to be quite pleased with this, assuming they can get them to him, that is. Sky Fliers have been a real pain in the neck, lately. Especially that night fury rider. As they were loading up another cage, the razorwhip inside got antsy, causing one of the hunters to slam his axe against the cage to quiet him down.
"Quiet down you mangy beast!" before he could berate the dragon even further, a high pitched whistling filled their ears and made their stomachs drop. Without warning, a plasma blast shot through the air and blew up a Hunter ship, followed by another and another. Soon, most of their ships were up in flames and they didn't even know where it came from. None of them noticed Justin casually sitting on a crate, even as one of them back towards him with a determined look on his face.
"Hey" Justin greeted, catching the Hunter's attention.
"Hey" the Hunter greeted back, on instinct, before realizing who he was talking to. However, Justin slammed his elbow on top of his head, knocking him out. The rest noticed him, but had to dodge several bombs being thrown their way. An archer up on a ledge was about to shoot an arrow, but was startled when another Hunter fell onto the ground next to him. He looked up to see Allison slam her feet into his face, sending him flying. With lightning reflexes, she launched an arrow with a rope attached. She slid down the rope with her bow and landed on top of another Hunter that was about to attack Justin. Another plasma blast sent a group of Hunters flying and made the rest scatter in fear.
"Shall we?" Justin asked.
"Let's" Allison replied as the duo approached the Hunters, who recovered from their shock. However, they quickly fell to the twins' astonishingly synchronized attacks, as per usual, with them sharing a smirk during the fight. People still wonder how they do this so effortlessly, but most wrote it off as a twin thing. As the last Hunter fell, the sound of a hammer strike caught their attention. A Hunter with a large hammer approached them, causing the twins to tense up. Sure enough, a massive dragon called the Catastrophic Quaken slammed into the ground next to the Hunter.
"Oh, boy" Allison muttered. Quakens were very dangerous Boulder-class dragons that can cause shockwaves that can even knock dragons out of the sky. And this isn't the first time Hunters sicked a tammed Quaken on them, before. The Quaken roared at the duo. It then rolled up into a ball and charged forward, intending to run over them. They managed to dodge the attack and Justin pulled out a bomb. Allison nocked an arrow and they two rushed the Quaken. Justin threw the bomb while Allison shot her arrow. The arrow hit the bomb, causing it to explode and blanket the Quaken's face in a blue mist, which disoriented it. With it distracted, Justin threw his boomerang at the Hunter, knocking the hammer out of his hand. As he scrambled to retrieve, Allison charged forward and knocked him out with a spin kick to the temple. Despite the Hunter being down, the Quaken was still hostile. It flew up into the air and the twins immediately knew what that meant. They immediately got behind cover as the Quaken rolled up into a ball midair and slammed onto the ground, sending a mighty shockwave that sent everyone in range flying in all directions. As the dust cleared, Allison saw the hammer and got an idea. While the Quaken wasn't looking, she rushed over and grabbed the hammer. With it in hand, she slammed it on the ground with all her strength. The Quaken felt this and turned to Allison with a docile look. With it calmed, she reached out and placed a hand on its snout, making it sigh in contentment. Justin came out from his hiding spot.
"Glad that's over" he muttered. He heard a thud and saw Toothless had landed behind him. Hicca dismounted.
The last five years have been kind to Hicca. All of her gangliness and clumsy form had grown into that of a beautiful young woman with a graceful build that hid the skilled warrior she has become. She has let her hair grow out past her shoulders with most of it tied into a low bun by a red bow. Two long braids flowed freely behind her right ear. She now wears a black long-sleeved shirt under a black knee-length dress with red trim and waist-high slits on either side, revealing her grey pants and black low heeled leather knee boots. The dress had a black hood and her Skyflier cape was on her left shoulder with the image of Toothless added to it. Around her waist is a leather belt that had a holster for Inferno, a satchel to hold her sketchbook and journal, and a couple of pouches with canisters to refill Inferno. On her forearms are a pair of vambraces with her left one having a built in compass and foldable map while her right one had a holster for a small knife. On her left finger is a gold ring.
Toothless had also gone through some changes. He was noticeably bigger, but not by much. There were a series of plates along his chin. His saddle had been colored black and the apparatus that Hicca used to control his tailfin was upgraded and made smaller with added features to allow him to fly on his own when needed.
(HICCA'S P.O.V.)
I joined the twins while watching Allison pet the Quaken. That's the third time they've unleashed one on us in the last month. It's getting annoying. Thankfully, getting them to calm down and return to the wild is easy to do, so that's a good trade off.
Five years have passed since I came to Heaven's Peak and I couldn't have a better life. I have wonderful friends that don't belittle me, immense respect from my peers, and I'm the factional leader of the dragon riding Skyfliers. And did you notice my wedding ring? Yes, and me and Koryn tied the knot a year ago. It took a while to find and convince a chief to marry us and not say anything to anyone, but gods was it worth it, in the end. Seeing Koryn in that dress nearly made my heart stop for a full minute. I've never been so happy in my entire life.
My training under Bernice also went well. I'm likely as strong as Astrid, now, and just as skilled. Stoick always thought I had no talent as a warrior, but I proved him wrong by becoming a great warrior. He just merely needed to stop being so protective of me growing up. But, no amount of apologizing will make me go back to Berk, now. This is my home, now. I have a loving wife and a sister who respects me. And maybe someday I'll be a mother, but that's for when there aren't anymore Dragon Hunters.
They're still a nuisance even in the five years we've been fighting them. Thankfully, with all the bases we destroyed, things have slowed down, considerably, but more Hunters from krogan's mysterious boss, Drago Bludvist, have been coming in and they have some serious dragon trapping tools on their side. Combine that with Viggo's impressive cunning and Krogan's Dragonfliers and you've got a powerful opponent to contend with. They've made no attempts to attack Heaven's Peak since their last attack and we are much stronger than we were, then.
I've been personally staying out of sight of the Hunters, sticking to bombarding the Hunters from the cover of darkness on Toothless. This is to keep Johann from realizing who I am and getting Berk involved to complicate things. Due to this tactic, Hunters have taken to calling me "The Dark Valkyrie" and I've become the most feared woman in the local tribes, which makes me swell with pride. I never would've thought I'd become such a renowned and feared person in my entire life. Johann still fails to figure out who I am, thankfully.
I return to the present when the Quaken lets out a low growl, but not to intimidate us but to simply show it's content, right now.
"Well, we better make sure this place isn't reused before heading back" I said. Allison nods and directs the Quaken with the hammer. It complied and began tearing the place down in a way only a Quaken can. We all mounted our rides and stayed in the air while it worked. It finished in just a few minutes and joined us.
"Now, we can head home" I said with a smile.
"You do that, I'm going to find this guy a home where he won't be bothered. Meet back at Heaven's peak!" she said and flew off, the Quaken following close behind.
"We better get going. It's a day's ride from here" Justin said. I nodded and the two of us flew off at a causal speed.
(THIRD PERSON P.O.V.)
"DRAGONS!"
It was another normal night in Berk. Dragons were raiding the village and vikings were scrambling to stop them and put out the endless fires they always caused. Thankfully, they got the smart idea of hiding their livestock somewhere at night, so the dragons were having a harder time stealing food, this time around. They didn't give up, though. In the streets, warriors were running forward to meet their scaly foes, but when was walking at a casual pace. It was Astrid.
She's grown in the last five years, as well. Her hair was somewhat bleached and much longer, reaching to her butt, but still retained its braid. However, she now had two braids that were half the length and size flanking either side behind her ears. She now wears a grey short sleeved shirt underneath a, surprisingly, blue dress that reaches to her shins with a waist high slit on the left side, revealing the dark wrappings she uses for pants, a pair of brown boots with leather-bound fur around her shins. She had replaced her old shoulder pads with a pair made out of Nadder scales with a fur-lined hood draping over her shoulders and back. Around her waist is a leather belt with several throwing knives holstered. Strapped to her arms is a pair of metal vambraces that extend to over the back of her hands. In her hand is an axe.
It was as long as she was tall. The shaft was covered in brown leather with gold bands and a dragon shaped pommel. The axe was double bladed, like her old one, but the front blade's bottom was also attached to the shaft and the top at a sharp spearlike point. The back blade was shaped similar to a scythe, though rather short with only a slight curve. The center part of the axe's head was shaped like a roaring dragon's head with the front blade seemingly coming out of the dragon's mouth. The metal was shiny but nearly black with the front blade having fire engraved on it.
Astrid was now one of Berk's finest warriors, due to her training as both a warrior and a blacksmith that rivaled even Hicca's skill in the forge. She was stronger and a much better fighter than she was five years ago. Her guilt over Hicca's disappearance hasn't wavered, though, and she will not rest until she's found. Until then, she uses her feelings to fuel her defense of her village. A Nightmare charges at her. Normally, only the most skilled and experienced Vikings are willing to fight them, but Astrid has proven herself worthy of facing such a beast. With a roar, she jumped forward and brought down her axe onto the Nightmare's left horns, cleaving them clean off in a single strike, thanks to both Astrid's strength and the quality metal of the axe. The Nightmare immediately retreated, shocked that it's now two horns lighter.
A Gronckle barreled at her, but backed off after receiving a slash across the face from the scythe blade. A Nadder attacked, but received a punch to the face. Astrid then jammed the pummel of her axe into the gut of another Nadder, nearly making it cough up its lunch. The shieldmaiden kept up this vicious dance, the endless years of training showing in her surprisingly fluid movements, effortless weaving in and out of attacks and retaliating with shocking force even some adult Vikings don't have. Despite such exertion, Astrid didn't feel winded, her endurance also having been improved by her blacksmith training. This kept on until morning, when the Dragons finally left, empty handed this time.
Villagers gave her looks or nods of respect as she passed them, but she gave them no mind. She was in her own world, wondering how to start her search for Hicca. As much as she wants to stay and defend Berk, her aching guilt won't go away, no matter how much time has passed. She needed to find Hicca and, somehow, make it up to her for all the things she's done to the young girl, even if it kills her. She had reached the square where the other teens were talking. Well, more like watching Snotlout boast about himself and they just tune him out. Astrid did the same, not even acknowledging him as she passed. Thankfully, Snotlout had learned that he shouldn't test her patience, mostl for fear of his own safety.
She came up to the forge, where Gobber was hammering away. She came back to reality in time to have Gobber greet her.
"Top of the morning, Astrid. Good work, last night. Those poor beasts never knew what hit 'em" he said, not stopping his hammering.
"Thanks" she said, unenthusiastically, not caring about how many Dragons she's beaten.
"Oh, by the way, Stoick wanted to speak with you and your friends, immediately. He should be up in the Great Hall" Gobber said, catching Astrid's attention. Without a moment to lose, she rushed up to the Great Hall with her friends in tow after passing them, a second time. When they arrived, they probably had to pick their jaws up from the floor after what he said.
"You want us to go out and find Hicca?!" Snotlout asked in disbelief, incredulous that the chief wanted her found. Astrid, on the other hand, was internally ecstatic. Finally, an excuse to search for her!
"Yes, Snotlout, I do. It's been five years, but I doubt a girl as crafty as her is dead. Now, I don't expect you to bring her back home. She left home on her own terms, after all, so she obviously won't want to come back. I just want you to find her and make sure she's alright. If she's willing to come back, then that's fine" Stoick explained, pacing around the hall. These past years have been easy on Stoick, even with the loss of his remaining daughter. Dragon attacks have been less frequent and resources have been plentiful. He still wants to know if she's still alive, but it's no longer his top priority, now. He's come to understand she likely no longer considers Berk her home and will never come back, willingly. And that's fine. Hicca's a smart and resourceful girl, so she'll likely have made a living for herself, by now.
"But, why now, when you could've sent us out at any other time in the last five years?" Fishlegs asked.
"I've had more important matters to deal with, Fishlegs, such as making sure Berk stays standing after each attack. Now, the recent lack of Dragon attacks provides an opportunity for you lot to begin searching for her" Stoick replied. The Ingerman accepted the answer.
"And how are we going to travel to wherever Hicca is? Sprout wings and fly there?" Tuffnut asked.
"Trader Johann has been kind enough to allow you to sail with him on his ship, under the condition you help out with the ship" Stoick replied. There was only one question left and Astrid was the one to ask it.
"When do we leave?"
(HICCA'S P.O.V.)
We touched down at one of the landing areas and dismounted. As I turn, I spot Heather there, waiting for us.
Like me, she's definitely grown. She's kept her braid, but it's now longer than it was before. She's changed her outfit to a black short-sleeved hooded shirt, a brown leather vest, grey pants, and brown boots. She has three belts around her waist with one of them holding her prized horn and she wears a pair of shoulder pads, bracers, knee pads, and a skirt made out of Windshear's scales. The shoulder guard on her right shoulder is longer and has two additional layers on top and the bracer on her left arm is also longer and layered. Connected to her left shoulder pad is her Skyflier cape and on her back is a unique custom axe.
Heather had taken up warrior training sometime three years ago and proved herself a natural at combat, quickly mastering her talents and became an immensely skilled and powerful warrior. Her already insane strength had been furthered improved and now she knows how to best use it in a fight. She's still the same sweetheart of a sister I know, but now she's much more confident and edgy, for lack of a better word.
"About time you got back. I was starting to wonder if you got lost in the clouds, again" she said with that teasing smirk I've come to view as her trademark. I really love flying on Toothless and that tends to make me forget about the time and I got lost a few times. Heather's never let me live it down since the first time. I just roll with her jabs, since she never means anything harsh about it.
"It's always good to see you, too, sis" I said, giving her a hug. Thankfully, she's gentle when she does it, so she doesn't accidentally break my spine.
"I take it another Hunter base is gone" she said as we separated.
"Yep, fifth one this week, in total" I said with a smile as the three of us casually walked towards the courtyard. That's when we ran into Zippy.
She's gone through a bit of a growth spurt, though not by much, and has restyled her hair into a rope-braided side bun. She now wears a black top with a single elbow-length drape-like sleeve that exposes her shoulder and bicep on her right arm, and a pair of dark blue pants. Around her waist is a belt with a white dress-like cloth. The front reaches to her knee while the back reaches to her shins with a split halfway down the middle. She wears a pair of metal shin guards, but still remains barefoot. She still has her arm wrappings, but now has the same wrappings on both arms.
"Greetings, Hicca and Justin. Did you have a pleasant trip?" she asked, politely. She likes to stay overly polite, even if she's more confident than before. Combined that with her soft voice and accent and it's utterly adorable.
"We did, Zippy. Say, do you know where Koryn is?" I asked.
"In the tavern, I believe. She might be waiting for you, Hicca" Zippy replied. I nodded in confirmation.
"Well, I better go. See you guys, around" I said and ran off to the tavern at full sprint. I am not making my wife wait any longer than she has to. I spot her standing outside the tavern. She immediately spots me and runs as fast her dress lets her. I wrap my arms around her waist once she is in reach and twirl her around before bringing her in close.
"You finally come back to your lovely wife, have you?" she said, intertwining the fingers of her left hand with mine.
"I'll always come back, Kor. Even if you don't want me to" I said and pulled her into a deep kiss. No matter how many times we do this, this always sends sparks through me. That's how I know she's my one true love. I don't know how long we stayed like that, but when we did part for air and just stared into each other's eyes.
"Come on, there's a dance going on, today, and we ain't leaving until we have one dance, together" she said, eagerly pulling me towards the tavern. I didn't put up a fight and was content of letting her drag me around. I said this before, but I'll say it again. Leaving Berk was the best decision of my entire life. I don't care what Berk says. I don't care about what Stoick says. I don't care about what anyone says. This is my life now and this girl is my wife and I love her. And I will protect her from whatever harm that comes our way.
This is my vow.
(THIRD PERSON P.O.V.)
Johann was busy on his ship when Astrid and the other times arrived.
"Ah, Mistress Astrid. I take it you're ready to embark on our journey?" he guessed without even turning around.
"We're ready when you are" Astrid said. Johann smirked internally, satisfied everything is going according to plan. Soon, he will have the King of Dragons and not even Drago Bludvist will be a threat to him.
In the Deep Forests, things were unusually quiet. Normally, the air was filled with constant sounds of raptors communicating with one another, but none were heard. In fact, many raptor packs were far from their usual territories, most of them clumped together near the walls surrounding their home. Various raptor species were either fighting amongst each other or keeping to themselves. It was obvious they were trying to run away from something. That something remained in the cave it called home, but it did let out a loud roar to warn any potential challengers to stay away.
Sorry for the abrupt deletion and rewrite, everyone. My mind was scrambled around by that sequel, but I think I got my bearings this time around. So, let's officially start off this sequel! Feel free to leave suggestions!
Also, what do you think is lurking in that cave?