"There. So you don't get any ideas." Ryker said as shoved a Blue Oleander in my face. I coughed as the feeling of my power disappeared. Probably for the next hour.
"So. What's your story?" Dagur enquired as we sailed slowly towards the ship. I sat on the back seat of the dinghy beside Heather, and Dagur sat in front of us. Behind him were two hunters rowing the dinghy, which was more like a small boat. Ryker stood in the front with a knee on the ledge.
"Oh, destroyed village, unexplainable powers, you know. The usual." I said with snide. Dagur sat back up. "What? You're fighting to take over my base and you are currently holding me hostage. S-sorta. What, you think we're going to be booze and buddies?"
"Hey. Shut up." Heather glared at me.
"I want him to keep talking." Dagur said. "Keep going. What's your power like?"
I looked at Heather, then back to Dagur. "Um. Ok? I can shift into any dragon I touch...Uh, well, while my anatomy is 'dragon', my nervous system is not, so I cannot talk to dragons, and I do not feel any of their urges, such as eating fish, mating season, migrating, y'know. But I do seem to still react negatively to Dragon Root. I'm sure you were briefed."
Heather and Dagur just stared at me. "You get all that?" I asked.
"Oh, I stopped listening around, the first part." Dagur picked his ear, looked at what he got, then threw it away. He turned around to look towards the boat. I eyed Heather, guestering behind us. We both turned around on our seats, facing away from the Hunters towards the beach.
"Jackson, what exactly is your game here." Heather whispered, but kept it cruel sounding for safety, or maybe not for safety.
"No, no game. Just, protecting my friends." I whispered back, looking at her.
"You know what will happen right? Should I, you know." She guestered.
"No. I'll be fine." She raised an eyebrow. "I was kind of hoping Hiccup and the others would return by now, or that we could hold you guys off. This is the solution."
"Pretty selfless."
"Thanks, but I'm just looking out for those closest to me."
She nodded. "You know, what happened in your village wasn't your fault."
"Why do you bring that up?"
"Well, maybe your eagerness to protect at any cost comes from what happened at your village."
"Heather, I could have done better, and I could've stopped it." I started. She looked at me sadly. "But," I continued. "I don't blame myself. I blame the person who lit the fuse. Metaphorically and literally."
"You don't know?"
I shook my head. "All I saw was a shield with a symbol, or dragon that I've never seen. I was going to draw it out for Hiccup, but I never got around to it."
"Well do that. Then you can put all this behind you. No more looking out for those closest to you at your own expense."
"Aww, but that's my favorite part." I joked. "Speaking of, you have your backout?" I lowered my voice, glancing towards Dagur and Ryker, who seemed to be having a very heated discussion about what was better, chowder or soup.
"Yes, I have a whole story. If they discover my real allegiance, or if I think they are anywhere close, I will reveal that I am a double agent, spying on you guys by pretending to be spying on them. If that doesn't work, I just slice my way out." She explained.
"Yeah, that part will work." I said sarcastically. We looked out to the sea, towards the Edge. The sky was orange as the sun was rising over the island. I squinted as I looked into the sun, trying to look around it. Heather put her hand on my shoulder. I just sat there. The silence, apart from the crashing waves and the ambient wildlife, was relaxing. I looked at the sun again, hoping with everything that Hiccup and an army of dragons would fly out. Nothing happened. I sat and waited, until the dinghy lurched forwards. A rope ladder was thrown down from the deck of the ship. Ryker grabbed it and started climbing. Dagur turned around towards me and Heather.
"What's this?" He said. Heather quickly took her hand off my shoulder.
"Nothing. Just-" She stammered.
"Look, Dagur, we might be fighting on opposite sides, but we are not enemies." I said. Heather nodded.
"Well, alright. Go on." Heather climbed the rope ladder. I started to try, it would be difficult with my arms tied. "Hey," Dagur said, as we were the only ones still on the dinghy. "I like you. You're tough, and really fun to fight. You and my sister seem to get along fine, and if it has to be anyone, I'm glad it's you." He said.
"Aww, thanks Dagur. I wasn't expecting that. That was really nice. However, no. We just get along. Don't look too far into it." I winked. He glared and pushed me up the rope ladder.
After getting to the top of the ship, welcomed by several armed Hunters, I was pushed towards the lower deck.
"Ouch, Just give me a minute." I said, turning to the now pink sunrise. No one was coming. I sighed and looked down at the dark blue-green sea. I could almost hear the cry of a Night Fury. I did have quite an imagination. I could also hear the Twins, shouting a battle cry. That's weird, of all the things, I remembered the Twins' battle cry. I looked up to the sun again. It was painfully, beautiful, bright, overtaking the Edge. In the middle of the sun were a few black spots. I attempted to look closer, but was only met with pain. The spots grew bigger, and took shape.
The entirety of the Dragon Riders flew towards the Dragon Hunter ship. A grin grew on my face as they grew closer. Behind them was indeed, an army of dragons. I turned towards the Hunters.
"Why does he have to make such a production out of everything? I really hate that guy." Dagur muttered. I opened my hands as much as I could with the handcuffs.
"Do you see that? An army! You guys might want to get the Helheim out of here." I laughed. Ryker growled and rushed me. He swung at me, and I ducked. I might have celebrated too early, the Riders were a few more seconds out. Several plasma blasts and lava blasts shot towards us, but none very precise. I backed away from Ryker's fury as a plasma blast shook the ship. I used the distraction to fake-out charge Ryker, causing him to attempt an overhead stryke. I took the opportunity to kick him in the stomach, right above the diaphragm, winding him and essentially rendering him useless.
"Strength does not a sword fighter make, Mr. Ryker." I taunted. Dagur ran up to me with his axe, laughing maniacally. I struggled to get Ryker's blade out of his hand. Dagur raised his axe, and swung downward. As the axe flew down towards my head, a purple light flew above me. It hit right in front of me, hitting the axe. The plasma blast instantly disintegrated Dagur's axe as it flew through the air. I was hit in the head with a wooden stick.
"Ow." I said. Dagur looked at his useless axe handle, as he was filled with rage. I looked back towards Hiccup. He nodded. I turned back towards Dagur, who charged me. I quickly took a few steps back and jumped over the ledge of the ship, onto Barf and Belch.
"Hey Jackson!" Ruffnut yelled.
"Hey guys. Thanks for the save, let's get out of here." I sat down as they flew off. The rest of the Riders finished the attack on the Hunters, fighting along with the other Dragons. The Twins dumped me back on the beach, and flew away.
"No, wait guys! The hand-cuffs." I trailed off as they couldn't hear me anymore. The attack was finished by the Dragons and Dragon Hunters. The remaining Hunter ships, the one with Dagur, Heather, and Ryker on it, sailed away as fast as they could, being covered by their support ship. I walked up to the Stables to wait for the others.
I woke to midday as the rest of the Riders landed on the stables.
"Oh, hey guys." I said wiping my eyes.
"Jackson you muttonhead!" Astrid yelled, hitting me.
"Ow! What?"
"You can't do stuff like that!"
"Do what? What happened?" Hiccup asked.
"Jackson, subconsciously feeling the need to prove himself in order to be included in our ranks, saw how outmatched we were and took an opportunity, trading himself to the Dragon Hunters in exchange for Ruffnut's freedom, and the immediate ceasefire on the assault on Dragon's Edge." Tuffnut interrupted.
"Jackson!?" Hiccup looked at me.
"What? Astrid, tell me what else we could've done." I said.
"Well, not that." She crossed her arms.
"Astrid's right Jackson, you shouldn't put yourself in dangerous situations like that. It's not safe." Fishlegs said.
"Not safe? Not safe!? We were under a full assault! If you don't want to look at it as a sacrifice, then fine, I was stalling. But that doesn't change the fact that we were that close to losing everything." I said, angry. Everyone was silent for a few seconds.
"Ok, I get it. You made the tough call." Hiccup said. "Let's put this whole thing behind us, and make sure it doesn't happen again, and, Jackson, since you've been feeling left out, I promise on behalf of all the Riders, to include you."
"Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me." I said. "Also, I have some news from Heather. She has a way out, so she's safe. She said that she thinks her and Dagur are pretty close to meeting Viggo. With her we can draw him out." I said.
"Perfect." Hiccup said.
"Another thing," I put my hands together. "I need you guys's help in finding out who torched my village. I haven't got around to drawing the symbol, but I think I should focus on that now."
The Dragon Rider's nodded.
"Good idea. Everyone takes some time to relax, meet in the clubhouse for dinner, where we will try to identify the emblem that Jackson saw." Hiccup said.
Everyone went their separate ways to calm down after the battle. I went to my hut to sleep.
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I woke up as it was getting dark and headed to the clubhouse. Astrid, Hiccup, and Ruffnut were already there. Hiccup was playing Maces and Talons with Astrid while Ruffnut was preparing the meal.
"Hey guys." I said as I came in and sat down.
"Hey Jackson. You have that drawing ready?" Hiccup asked.
I hit my forehead. "Oh, right. Sorry I completely forgot."
"It's no problem, you needed a break. We all did. In fact, I may have an idea on what shield you saw." Hiccup said as he moved his piece. "I'll draw it out for you."
I nodded. Fishlegs walked in, followed by Snotlout, then Tuffnut, all arriving in the span of a couple minutes. I was finishing up some hit improvement designs, when Hiccup walked over to me. I was in one chair on one side of the table, while the rest of the Riders were on the other side, so we could talk.
"Jackson, we think that the Berserker Tribe attacked your village. That's Dagur's tribe. He's done things like this before." Hiccup said.
"You mean, I was this close? I had Dagur! I was right there!" I stood up and turned.
"We're sorry. Here's the symbol." Fishlegs handed me a shield with a Skrill on it.
I looked at the shield, then back at the Riders. "Uh, guys, this is not the symbol I saw." I tossed the shield like a frisbee and Snotlout caught it with a grunt. "Come on, give me more credit than that, I know a Skrill when I see one. I mean, I haven't seen one, but you know what I mean."
"Oh, we just thought-" Astrid started.
"Look, let me just draw you guys the symbol. I think that will be easier." I said. I grabbed a parchment and a pen and started drawing. The dragon I saw had a long body with spikes all over it. It wasn't a Whispering Death, however, as it lacked wings and its head was like a Monstrous Nightmare's. I drew it and handed it to the Riders. Their eyes widened. They all looked at each other, and the paper.
"What? You guys know this one?" I asked.
"Uhh, Jackson, would you sit down?" Hiccup asked nervously. I sat down.
"Oh man! I did not see this coming! This just keeps getting better and better!" Snotlout started laughing. Hiccup clamped his hand over Snotlout's mouth.
"Jackson, this is from Berk, it's the Berk crest." Astrid said carefully.
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"What-? What's the problem with Berk? Is it strong?" I asked. I didn't see the problem.
"Well, ehhh…" Fishlegs scratched the back of his neck.
"Jackson, my father is Stoick the Vast. Chief of Berk." Hiccup said. I suddenly felt sick. I tried to think, but it hurt my head.
"Wait- you're, Berkians? But… my village…I don't...I don't know what to do." I said. The Riders tried to comfort me.
"Maybe you should just forget about it." Astrid said.
"I can't do that Astrid. Think about what I would do. I need to see Stoick." I said, getting up and heading for the door.
"Uhh, ok. But, Stoick is my father, so maybe don't kill him?" Hiccup stepped in front of me.
"He destroyed my entire village."
"I'm sure there's an explanation." Hiccup said.
"Name one." Everyone was silent. "Alright then, so I'll just ask Stoick." I walked out.
"Jackson, wait. Sleep on it. In the morning, we will all go to Bern and get answers." Hiccup said. I nodded heavily and walked out. I laid on my bed, trying to sleep. I couldn't. I needed to see Stoick. Outside was wet and dreary. I opened my door and peeked out. A dim light came from the clubhouse. The rain was falling heavily as the winds picked up. I shifted into a Night Fury and took off to Berk.
I flew into the storm, lightning and thunder everywhere. I kept flying, trying to use the map I had from the Edge. I cleared the clouds as an island came into view. It was Berk. I flew to the top of the mountain as a Changewing. I knew Gothi had helped me get better, the Riders told me. I owed her, so I landed on her hut's balcony. She was sitting outside, mixing some medicine. She saw me coming and grabbed her stick.
"Woah, don't do that." I said as I shifted back into myself. She looked at me. "You recognize me? You helped me heal. Thank you." I said. She just nodded. The Riders had mentioned she didn't talk much. "I'm looking for your Chief. Stoick? Where is he?" I asked. She started drawing in the sand. "I'm sorry, I don't speak that. Just, where is he?" I asked again. She pointed with her stick. Down to the village. "I was afraid of that. Alright. Thank you." I jumped off her balcony and shifted into a Changewing again. I landed behind and hut and shifted back. I walked out into the town. Many people were coming and going, in trading stands, hauling food, or supplies. I walked around a bit. I saw a one armed, one legged viking yelling at some people. He did look vast.
"Just put it over there! No Gunner! That way. Yes. Alright now get your hands off my scrap." He yelled as the Vikings who were moving his pile of scrap iron out it down and left.
"Excuse me?" I asked. He turned around.
"Oh, hello. I didn't see you there. You're new around here, just move in?" He asked.
"Ah, no. I'm here to see-" I started but he put his arm around me and cut me off.
"Well I'll be happy to show you around. I'm Gobber, the local blacksmith. That over there is the Great Hall, that's the docks, that's my hut, and down that way is the Berk Dragon Training Academy. The chief's son and his friends run that. They train dragons!" He said.
"Yes, I saw them already. Look, I want to know where-" he cut me off again.
"Oh! The Dragon Riders are here? Where are they? I could use their help with some scrap-" he started but this time I cut him off.
I pulled out my sword and pointed it at him. "Where is your chief!?" I yelled.
"Right behind you." A booming voice said. I turned around to see Stoick. His title of 'the vast' didn't do him justice. He was a massive viking with a huge beard.
"Stoick the Vast." I said turning around. I lowered my sword, but he put his axe up. I raised my sword again.
"If you're going to be causing trouble, you're not doing it on this island." He said glaring at me.
"It's not trouble I'm looking for." I said, narrowing my eyes. "We can do this here, or somewhere else." He paused for a minute.
"Great Hall. Five minutes. Me and you." He said, using his sausage like fingers to point at me and himself. I put my sword away and headed to the Great Hall.
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Hiccup woke up the next morning dreading what Jackson will do.
"Come on Toothless. Time to face the music." Hiccup said. They walked out of their hut and headed over towards Jackson's hut.
"Jackson? Hey, I wanted to talk." Hiccup said into Jackson's door. No answer was given. Toothless went around back and looked into the window.
"He's gone." Hiccup said, realizing where he went. "Oh no. He's going to get himself killed!" Hiccup quickly ran to Toothless and flew away. Toothless growled in disagreement.
"What? I got my money on Stoick. No way." Hiccup continued to have a conversation with his dragon as they flew towards Berk. "Well let's hope we don't find out."
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I sat in the Great Hall in front of the fireplace. The front door flew open with a bang. I stood up, expecting Stoick. Instead, Gobber and a few more older vikings walked in. They stared at me as they walked towards the table.
"Gobber? Other scary looking vikings? Where's Stoick? I thought we were going to settle this here." I said as one of them gestured for me to sit down. I sat.
"He will be here." Gobber said. "On the other hand, why are you here?" I started to protest, when Stoick walked in. He had an attitude that commander the attention of the room. He slowly walked over to the table and sat down, shaking the table.
I gulped. "Stoick the Vast. Chief of Berk. Leader of the Hooligan tribe. Father of Hiccup Haddock-" "What do you want, son?" Stoick interrupted. "Just, let me finish. Father of Hiccup Haddock. Invader of my tribe. Killer of my people! Destroyer of my village!" I started raising my voice higher. The other vikings tried to calm me down.
"Woah, woah, there boyo, calm down! What are you talking about?"
"Don't accuse us of such things!"
"No need for yelling."
Stock stared at me. I stared back, trying to be unflinching. "Son, you need to explain." He said. Everyone calmed back down. I took a deep breath and sat back down.
"I lived on an island with my tribe, until a group of vikings attacked and destroyed my village." I was purposely vague as I explained. "I was on the other side of the island, so I was the only survivor. I found a shield with a symbol I've never seen before. This symbol." I handed him my drawing. He took a painfully long time looking at it.
"We need specifics, son. What island? What tribe?" He asked.
I took a deep breath. "Sleipnir Island. McMichael Tribe." The room fell silent. The vikings looked down. I stared at Stoick. "So you do know."
"Eye. I know." He said sadly.
"What…Happened" I said with shaky breaths.
"Several years ago, we Berkians were at war with the Berserkers and the Outcasts. It was a dangerous war, both sides gaining ground, until we won not three years ago. We allied with the Outcasts against the Berserkers and won. At least, that is what is known. Around the time that the Outcasts and Berserkers both came to power, the McMichael tribe was asked to join the war. Sleipnir island was crucial ground, able to spy on either tribe's islands. The chief met with me, Gobber, Alvin, and Dagur. We had a peace summit to decide the allegiance of the McMichael tribe. It was a hard day. We fought hard in our favor, but Chief Hagan the Harbinger voted with the Outcasts and the Berserkers." Stoick said.
"Hagan? As in fire? He was the harbinger of fire?" I asked.
"His original name was Jaeger. On his island he was a peaceful hunter with his people. When he sided with the Outcasts and the Berserkers, who called themselves Ragnaroks. We had to stop them. Otherwise, we would have lost the war."
I thought for a minute. "In time of war, people do what they deem necessary to win."
"Thank you for understanding." He started.
"That doesn't mean that it was the right choice. Why the entire village? My family? No prisoners!?" I raised my voice.
Stoick sighed. "Look, we've all done things we regret. My soldiers were restless, and I gave the order to overtake the town. They started wreaking havoc." He paused. "I didn't try to stop them."
"You…!" I was at a loss for words. "Do you enjoy the relationship with your son?"
"Yes. Of course. What are you getting at?"
"I just want you to remember that you robbed me of that. Imagine if someone did that to Hiccup. What would you do to that person?"
"I am sorry. I was a different person back then."
"Yeah, well I don't care if you've changed or not." I said. My hand was shaking, I was so mad. He just looked at the ground. "If we're done here, I have a village to burn down." I said, looking at the other vikings. They looked at eachother cautiously.
"Relax. It was a joke. I'm not as heartless as your chief." I said, starting to walk out.
"Jackson, wait. Do you need a place to sleep tonight? I have an extra bed and I owe it to you." He asked.
"No. Never. I have a hut, back on Dragon's Edge."
"You? You got a hut on my son's island?"
"Your surprise hurts me. Yeah I got a hut."
"What dragon do you ride?"
"Look, I'll stay for the afternoon, but then I'm leaving." Hiccup burst through the door with Toothless.
"No, dad don't kill him!" He yelled. Toothless gave him a 'seriously?' look. He took a minute to survey the situation, then lowered his hand.
"Hiccup!" Stoick walked over to his son and crushed him in a hug.
"Hey, you ok? What did you find out?" Hiccup asked.
"We'll talk later." I turned to Stoick. "Oh yes, we will talk."
Hiccup looked between us, questioning the situation. I walked out of the Great Hall as the door slowly closed behind me.