Hi everyone and merry Christmas. And here is my gift for you, a new and long chapter. Can you believe it's been more than three years since I started this story. Writting it is taking way longer than I expected, but I don't necessarely mind.
Again, I know it's been a long time since I published. Now, I know how hard it is to follow a story who isn't updated regularly and I want to thank everyone who is still there with me. Thank you.
As you may remember, we are now entering the final part of the story. The final battle. It is the first time I write one of those, but I'm confident you guys will at least like it. Honestly, I believe one of the weak point of the third movie is the final battle who is too short, certainly because of time limit. So I decided, for this story, to make a big battle. I kinda love those, especially toward the end of an arc.
Let's see how this one goes. Chapter 41. Enjoy.
Hiccup's POV
I remember when I was younger, like 6 or 7 years old, my father used to tell me stories about the great Vikings warriors. Of course, these stories are always violent and dramatic, scaring me, yet the worlds they described and the adventures they told also made me dream. It took me quite a long time to realize they are only tales. Yet, today, on this very moment, I feel like one of these heroes from ancient times.
I am sitting on Toothless back, himself is sitting on the mat of the front boat of the Berserkers' armada. Despite the number of people and dragons assembled, I have never heard such a silence before. Everyone is silent and still, waiting. A soft wind is blowing but carries with it no sound at all despite the dark clouds. They could mean a storm is about to come, but there is no sign of it yet. It's like the gods themselves ordered nature to stay put. This is something Loki would do, so he can watch the battle without disturbance. I pray for the gods to be on our favor, just like my father who is sitting at the table of the Kings in Valhalla. Turning to look at Berk, I see everything is as we planned.
For the battle, I chose to spread our forces. The Berserkers and the dragons are positioned in front of the village, facing east since it is the direction by which the Hunters are supposed to come. Dagur and Heather are leading their fleet and the majority of the Berserkers warriors while Toothless and I are in charge of our air forces. Astrid, Falla, the dragon riders, my mother, Eret and the A-Team are with us alongside Berk's dragons without humans on their back. This make approximately fifty boats and three hundred dragons. We are the main line of defense. South of the village, Mala is leading the rest of the Berserker forces on her old boats and Berk ships, thirty in total. They are our support unit, and their actions will depend on how the battle goes. With her is Atali and her Wingmaidens adding fifty warriors. Finally, in the village Gobber is waiting next to three hundred Berkians warriors. In case things wouldn't work out, everyone is to fall back toward the village and hold the siege. It is our last means of defense, so we can't risk losing it.
I don't know what Rakkar has planned for his attack, but I remember he is the kind of guy to think like Viggo or me, use strategy more than muscles to defeat your opponents.
-MOVEMENT TO THE EAST, a berserker suddenly screams.
Everyone turns in the same direction at the same moment. I take out my spyglass and look at the horizon. After a few seconds, I spot something. It's a warship. No four, ten, dozens of warships. Even more than that. Sadly, Mala's men didn't exaggerate the numbers of warships, there easily could be a hundred of them. Briefly, I wonder if we stand a chance, even with the dragons and our allies.
-What do you think, I ask Astrid who is sitting on Stormfly on my right also looking through a spyglass.
-It's hard to tell but there must be at least sixty or seventy warships in front of us.
-Only seventy?
Astrid looks at me.
-You find this weird too?
I nod.
-Yes, but I also expected it. Rakkar wouldn't be the kind to just throw all his forces at us. Snotlout, go tell Mala and Atali not to attack yet and come back. Dagur and Heather will soon launch their attack, we follow them like we planned.
Snotlout does as I planned while we hear the Bersekers signal, a small sound horn. I give my own signal and every dragon with a rider takes off. Looking down at Heather and Dagur, I can see them talking. Dagur has his crazy excited face while Heather looks more serious despite a smirk on her face. Dagur is definitely rubbing off on her. Slowly, the Berseker armada advance with twelve dragons toward the Hunters' fleet. Neither slowing down, but not going fast either since they are boats, forcing the dragons to fly slowly too. Soon, both armies will be at firing distance. We get closer, and closer…when suddenly the air is pierced by a high-pitched sound. Just like I thought. Screaming machines. I hope their sound doesn't reach Berk. Luckily, we already found how to counter that weapon. All the dragons currently about to engage the battle have earplugs in their ears, thus why each dragon has a rider to guide them during the battle since they are basically deaf. Looking at Hunters fleet, I recognise it easily since it is one of kind. The Titan.
Third's POV
Rakkar is standing on the bridge of the Titan, looking at their enemies advancing toward them. Looking up, he sees no dragons seem to be affected by the sound of his six Screaming machines currently activated. Sadly, he didn't have enough minerals to make more, but they should be enough for his plan to work. Of course, he knows Hiccup has found a way to counter its effect, but his solution has two downsides. One, it makes the dragons deaf and vulnerable. Two, because of this he can't use it on a large number of dragons forcing him to keep most of the beasts away. Rakkar isn't blind. He knows full well of the alliance Hiccup made with a few other tribes. His army may still be more numerous, Hiccup is not someone to underestimate. After the dragons, the Berserker fleet is the most important threat. This is why separating his troops is the best plan for now. Once the Berserker are no more, alongside Hiccup and his Alpha dragon with a bit of luck, the Hunters will be able to focus on the dragons more easily. Once done, it will be the others turn.
Fenroc walks next to Rakkar, interrupting his thoughts.
-Here they come, the second in command simply says in his ears.
After all, the sound of the Screaming machine makes communicating harder.
-Yes. As soon as they are in range, give the signal.
Fenroc nods and runs toward a higher spot on the deck where the men can see him. Keeping watch on his enemies. He doesn't have to wait long. He then moves his right arms and immediately the artillery of the Titan goes off. Poisoned arrows, spiked bolas and inflamed boulders flies toward the Coalition's forces. Quickly, the order is spread to the other ships through a chain of hunters relaying the signal, creating a real wall of death. A strategy that consists of launching all your projectiles at the same time on your opponent, the numbers of projectiles and their synchronization make them impossible to dodge like an avalanche thus provoking high casualties among the target unless they have solid cover.
Hiccup's POV
I feel my eyes following the gigantic wall of death thrown directly at us. I expected this kind of attack but underestimated the number of projectiles. They almost mask the sky behind them. I didn't want to do this so soon in the battle, but we have no choice. Signaling Toothless with my hand, he knows what he has to do. If Falla were here, they both could do it by combining their blasts, but since she doesn't fly with a rider anymore it would have been too risky because of the Screaming machines. I also signal the other riders and we adopt the arrow formation, a line where the dragons almost touch each other. I can feel Toothless charging his fire inside him. Quick. The wall of death will soon hit us. Finally, at the last moment Toothless release his fire, a powerful plasma blast, creating a powerful explosion which make an opening in the wall of death. Each dragon does the same thing to the best of his/her abilities one by one, creating their own opening in front of our group. In the end, this allows us to cross the wall of death without being injured. Once we all crossed it, I turn to verify everyone is alright. It is the case. I can even see some smiling while others like the Twins, Snoutlout and Gustave scream in joy. However, my own relief is short lived when I see the wall of death fall upon Heather and Dagur ships. The whole front row is touched. Despite not being able to hear much, I can easily picture in my mind the bolas piercing through the hull or deck, the arrow hitting warriors, the inflamed boulders crashing and setting fires on the boats. Heather…Dagur…Please be alright.
Toothless suddenly moves abruptly to the right, dodging another series of arrows. I can feel him growls at me.
-Yeah, focus. Sorry.
I signal the other riders and we split up by groups of three. Astrid and Fishlegs are with me. Our first goal is to take out the Screaming machines. The hunters on the ships keep firing at us, forcing Toothless to execute complex maneuvers to avoid being hit. Him and the other dragons. This make it a lot harder to get close than I thought. Soon, however, I see projectiles coming from behind us and hitting the hunters' ships. It's the Berserker. After the wall of death, the hunters focused on us, allowing the Berserkers to continue their advance and fight back. I can hear Dagur laugh like a madman as he leads his men. The hunters' boats may be a bit bigger, but the Berserkers' fleet still can inflict them serious damages. The closest ships to the Berserkers are now forced to target our allies, giving us the opportunity to break through their defenses.
We are now inside the hunters' fleet, just like I wanted. There are so many ships compared to us it is impossible to avoid every projectile. I see a hunter firing a spiked bola at us. Toothless dodge it and the bolas hit the deck of another hunter ship that was just behind us. Destroying a ballista. I smile knowing my plan is working so far. This is why everyone riders were ordered to fly at the same high as the ships' decks. At this height, the hunters can't fire at us without hitting each other. Giving us more time and space to find and destroy the Screaming machines. Speaking of which, I think the sound of one of them is becoming stronger. Looking around, I see one on the prow of a ship, fifty meters on our left behind another ship. Changing Toothless trajectory, I point it to be sure he saw it too and makes sure Astrid and Fishlegs are still with me. With a spin, Toothless gain back some altitude and I direct him toward the Screaming machine while dodging the arcs and crossbows of the hunters on the deck of the ship separating us from our target. Once we crossed that obstacle, Toothless and Stormfly use their fire to open a path for Fishlegs, allowing Meatlug to destroy the machine before we return to safety between the ships at deck's height.
'Yes, one down,' I think happily.
I try to find our comrades to see where they are and if they're alright, but with everything that's going around, it's impossible. I would need to fly higher to get a good view of the battle, but right now it's too risky. Back to where the Bersekers are fighting the Hunters, I can see fire and smoke as projectiles after projectiles are thrown from each side. Two Berserkers ships ram into a hunter warship, followed by boarding screams. Most boats simply navigate between the hunters' armada, since there are way too many ships to allow some kind of maneuvers. Then, I spot Heather flying out of a cloud of smoke on Windshear's back. The Razorwhip flies straight toward another Screaming machines and, as she passes just next to it, slice it in five with her razor-sharp tail. Heather takes the opportunity to take out a few archers with her double axe along the way before going back to the safety zone between the ships.
'That makes two,' I count in my head. I'm not sure how many of the machines Rakkar built but if I remember correctly what I red on one of the parchments in his secret workshop, the metal he uses is very rare thus he couldn't have made a lot of them. But how many does he have? Fishlegs then flies next to me as we dodge a series of arrows.
-Hiccup. I know Heather is supposed to stay close to her fleet, but she is still flying alone. I should go help her.
I think about it a second before responding.
-Okay, go be her teammate but be careful.
Fishlegs nods before leaving. Now, it is just Astrid and me with our dragons but we can make it work. As we continue to fly between the ships, trying to locate another Screaming machine, we come across Gustave and Silent Sven on their Monstrous Nightmares.
-Yeah, we destroyed one, Chief Gustave tells me as Fanghook spin above Toothless and I before they continue their way.
'Three machines down, and the sound still can be heard. I'm not sure how long we can keep this up,' I think. The longer we stay, the more chance we have to be hit. Though I feel like they don't fire everything they have at us, likely saving some of their weapons for later. Still, what they use is largely enough to end our group. I also don't know how long the Berserkers fleet will be able to hold back the Hunters without the dragons' aid. There is more and more smoke coming from where they're fighting which isn't a good sign in my opinion.
-Hiccup, over there, I then hear Astrid call me.
She points at a boat where we can see a Screaming machine. We are about to go to destroy it when it suddenly burst into a huge explosion, blowing off a few hunters and two ballistae along the way. From the explosion comes out Snotlout and the Twins, screaming happy about having destroyed a Screaming machine.
-Great job guys, I tell them not sure if they heard me before disappearing behind another ship.
'This makes four Screaming machines destroyed. So far so good,' I think trying to spot another one. After a few minutes, Spitelout on his Deadly Nadder followed by Mulch and Bucket on their Hideous Zippleback fly toward us dodging an inflamed boulder. Bucket has one of them planted in his bucket. One second, I'm worried he is hurt but he seems fine. An inch lower and it would have been another story. We really need to find the last Screaming machines and fast.
-Hey, we found one of the annoying machines and we think it's the last one, but it is highly protected, Spitelout screams. We need help.
-Lead the way, Astrid responds. Did anyone see Valka and Eret?
-We saw them not too long ago when they destroyed one machine, Mulch answers.
-I thought thunder was coming, Bucket says. It scared me.
'Five Screaming machines. How many of them do they have,' I think. We follow Spitelout not without difficulties thanks to the enemy projectiles. Going around the ships rather than above them doesn't help us either, but we finally reach our goal. Spitelout points toward the middle of a ship where I can see a good number of ballistae and a lot of hunters protecting the machine.
-Okay, like we trained for, I shout while telling the other the attack plan through hand signals.
After all, Astrid originally trained them with the same tactics we use which Gustav continued using (hopefully). They all seem to understand, so I order Toothless to go faster. The closer we get, the more the number of projectiles increase. Doing a barrel roll, Toothless fire a series of plasma blast on the hunters, opening a way for Astrid and Spitelout. They take out two ballistae, but Stormly isn't fast enough and a bola is thrown right at her and Astrid. Luckily, Toothless saw it too and, with another plasma blast, destroy the bola before it can hit them. Astrid immediately counterattacks and destroy the ballista where the bola came from. A strong explosion then hit the deck, forcing the remaining hunters to retreat. This is Mulch and Bucket work. They fly straight to the Screaming machine, leaving a trail of gas behind them. Once it covers the machine, they ignite it, creating another strong explosion. Then the sound stops, replaced by the movement of the dragon wings, the screams of warriors, the crackling of fire and the noise made by the weapons. We did it. We destroyed all of them.
I can't restrain a good scream of happiness. We got rid of one of the most dangerous things the hunters could throw at us. Behind me, I hear the others are cheering too.
-Great job guys, but it's not over, I say dodging another boulder. Let's fall back and regroup. Then we will remove the earplugs on our dragon.
I don't want to remove them now, in case there was a trap and more Screaming machine are ready to…well scream. Getting away from the fleet is easier than getting in. We quickly find ourselves close to the line of battle between the Hunters and Berserkers. There is so much smoke, and a lot of ships are on fire Now that the Screaming Machines are off, I can hear the sounds of fighting and screams of pain as a boulder crashes somewhere while I spot some Berserkers throwing hunters off their boat. They are holding for now, but they can't win this fight. Not alone.
-Does anyone see the other riders, I ask looking around.
One by one, we see the three other groups fly out of the Hunters' armada and toward us like it was planned.
-WATCH OUT, I then hear Astrid shout.
Turning around, we just have the time to see another boulder coming right at us before we dodge it. A sparky blue fire then hit the place where the boulder came from, destroy the catapult and certainly hurting a few hunters too. It came from Windshear. She and Meatlug are flying toward us with Heather and Fishlegs on their back. We all regroup farther behind the line of battle where we are safe.
-Hiccup, we did it. The disorienting sound is gone, Fishlegs says happily.
-And none too soon, Heather adds. Things are getting out of hand for us here.
-I know, but now we can call upon the dragonnery, I say as we remove the earplugs from our dragons' ears. Toothless, time for the signal.
The dragons shake their head, seemingly happy to be rid of the earplugs. Toothless then fire two plasma blasts high into the sky.
Third's POV
Dagur, with one axe in each hand, is standing on the deck of his personal ship despite the smoke and fire that surrounds him. The air is almost unbreathable, but he's still breathing heavily. Five lifeless bodies of hunters lay down in front of him alongside bodies of his own warriors. Hiccup wouldn't be happy to see this, but oh well too late and not really any other alternatives available. Some of his ships have been boarded, but his men were able to stop the hunters from taking control of them. The artillery, however, is another story. While the Berserkers' ships have received lots of damage, the Hunters only received half in return. Most of Dagur's warriors on his ship have already retreated to the stern of the ship, but as chief Dagur refused to fall back so soon. His brother-not-by-blood is counting on him. It's been years since Dagur has let his destructive and crazy side out so much. If only his dragon could be here, it would be perfect, but they had to stay on Berk because of that weird sound made by some hunters' machines. At least, that stupid sound is gone. It was really unnerving.
Suddenly, a dozen hunters jumps out of the smoke and surround Dagur before he can escape. Dagur looks at them with a creepy smile.
-So, who's next? I don't have all day you know.
However, his antics don't destabilize the hunters.
-You should have fled with your men while you could, one of them retorts. We are honored to be the ones to kill the Berserkers' chief.
As crazy as he may be, Dagur isn't careless. Alone against a dozen opponents surrounding him, he won't last long. But if they think this will stop him, then they don't understand what berserker means. Going full speed. All out, all the time. Unleashing a loud Berserker battle cry, Dagur charge berserker style hoping to create an opening to get out of the circle while taking one or two hunters with him. He manages to knock out the first man he comes across, but he is immediately attacked by another one on his left. He parries his attack and push him away before turning to his right and stopping a third attack. He knocks out the third hunter, but the others keep attacking him. Despite all his wild attacks and the fact he takes out two other hunters, they keep pushing him until one finally disarm him. With a punch on the jaw, Dagur ends up his back on the floor, surrounded again with two men keeping him down.
-You're lucky we received the order not to take prisoners, one hunter says.
Dagur tries to move but the grip of the two hunters is too strong. One hunter raises his axe, ready to strike when suddenly something hit him. It then hit the two hunters holding Dagur, freeing him. A dragon then land in front of Dagur and let out an angry roar at the three remaining hunters. It's a Triple Strike, Sleuther to be more precise, Dagur's dragon. Sleuther capture a hunter with one of his tails. The other two run away in fear while Dagur stand up.
-Oh yeah, that's my boy. You can run you cowardly rats, but we'll get you eventually.
Dagur then turns toward his dragon as Sleuther sniff him.
-You came just in time partner.
Above them, Dagur can hear the roars of hundreds of dragons flying and attacking the hunters. He then looks at the hunter that was abandoned by his comrades. This moment briefly reminds Dagur of his time with Shattermaster. He deeply regrets how he acted while Fishlegs was healing his first dragon after the Gronckle got seriously hurt, like it was nothing, and that they drifted apart after he bonded with Sleuther. He took him time before realizing his mistake. He apologised by making him his ring barer at his wedding, at least they are still friends. This was an important lesson for him, one the hunters obviously don't care about.
-I would choose my friends better if I were you. One year ago and I would have you burnt to your toes while I watch with a snack. Now get lost and don't come near us ever again.
Sleuther growls at the hunter to make sure he understands the message before throwing him into the ocean. He then signals Dagur to climb on his back, which the man does happily. The battle is far from being over.
Toothless's POV
We stay with the other high in the sky out of range of the battle while, under us, hundreds of dragons begin their attack on the Hunters. Most of the roar their congratulations and encouragement when they pass under us. The wing is now flowing in our favor. If things continue like this, we may be able to win this battle. We take the opportunity to rest a little and let our fire recharge a bit. I then see Falla flying toward us.
-Wow, I can't believe you guys managed to destroy all the machines so fast, she says.
-We're the Dragons riders, so you better believe, Hookfang responds proudly.
We all look at each other. Hookfang isn't wrong. We did a pretty good job down there.
-Look at this, we then hear Tufffnut says as he looks at the battle. So much rage, so much destruction. To think we just contributed to it.
It's true we rarely saw something like this. Now that the dragons have joined the fight, the fire and smoke are spreading to the Hunters' armada. The first three lines of ships of both sides are so intertwined it is difficult to make out who is who. The rest of the fleets continue firing. I can only imagine what it must be for the humans on the ships. The humans, not the hunters.
-Yeah, if the stakes weren't so high, I'll be cheering with all my heart, Ruffnut adds.
-You all did a great job, Hiccup intervenes, but it's too soon to pat our back. The dragons and the Berserkers still need our help, so we continue as planned.
-You heard him, let's get to it, I say to the other dragons. And remember, no useless savagery like slowly burning flesh or playing around. We're better than this. A hunter attacks you, neutralise or kill him quickly and move on.
I can see Hookfang, Barf and Belch and even Falla are a bit disappointed, but they nod with the others nonetheless. Hiccup says something similar to the humans and though the twins complain they accept it too. I know he still doesn't like the idea of killing, and honestly neither do I even if I will when necessary unlike him. This is the best compromise he accepted, and I don't see any problems with it, neither did the other chiefs. In the heat of the battle, everyone is focused on the fight, but Hiccup was worried about when things start to calm down. This is why he imposed this rule as chief of the Coalition. He was glad to have received this position in the end.
-Okay, we've been here for at least ten minutes, Hiccup says certainly counting the time in his head. Time to move.
We're about to dive when the sound of a horn reaches us. It came from Berk. Looking at our island, I don't see anything wrong.
-Oh my Thor, look at this, Eret then screams.
Looking south, we see Hunters' warships, a good number of them sailing directly toward Berk. They are too far for us to be able to count them, but thanks to his spyglasses Hiccup tells us there must be at least twenty of them. But before we can react, a second horn sound is heard. This time, it's Falla who see the reason. North of Berk, several lightning illuminates what seems at first to be a huge flock of birds. Except it is not birds. They're dragons, a whole colony and if the lightning are any indication, the first one is a Skrill. Please, not them. Anything but them. We are all so shocked by this twist that we don't know what to say. Astrid is the first one to speak.
-This isn't good, she says. All the Berserkers and dragons are already occupied and now this, from both different sides.
-Oh, what do we do, what do we, Fishlegs starts panicking. This wasn't planned and we can't fight so many enemies on different fronts.
-We must stay calm, Heather intervenes. We knew Rakkar wasn't just gonna launch a frontal assault, but those dragons. Who say they are enemies?
-We know they are. I recognise those type of lightning. It's the wild colony led by the Skrill, Valka says which I confirm with a half-growl half-whine sound. Fishlegs is right, we can't just disperse our forces. Son, what do we do?
Everyone, humans and dragons, turn to look at us. Myself look at Hiccup. I tried to hide my apprehension, but I don't think it worked. Hiccup looks down at me then the others, his mouth opening but no sound coming out of it. He is as shocked as us. One moment, we had good reasons to hope, but now it seems like we are doomed.
Third's POV
-Rakkar, Fenroc screams as he runs on the deck of the Titan.
From there, he sees the ships in front of them being attacked by Berk's dragons and the Berserkers' fleet who have launched a counterattack. Most of their ships engaged against the Berserkers are now burning. A few dragons manage to reach them and open fire, creating two explosions not far behind him. However, the Titan's artillery take them down quickly. It wouldn't have made any difference anyway, since the Titan was reinforced by Rakkar just like the smaller boats they tested during their first fight with the Berkians in the West. This time, the alloy used is even stronger. Sadly, Rakkar didn't have enough material to reinforce other warships and chose to build his machines that were, in the end, useless.
Fenroc finally finds Rakkar giving orders to two hunters.
-Rakkar, Fenroc says as the two other hunters leave, approximately a hundred is coming from north led by a Skrill according to our men. I think it's that colony that attacked our outposts.
-I know.
-Then what do we do? If these dragons attack us from the side while our troops are focused on the Berkians and their allies, we could suffer heavy cost. I'm calling back Agor.
-NO, Rakkar shout glaring at Fenroc. This isn't necessary. Even if I didn't count on their arrival, I was prepared for this scenario and already gave the orders to move the back of the fleet to face North in defense position. Thanks to my scout, I know these dragons and Berk are enemies. This could play in our favor. No matter whom these beasts attack first, us or Berk, Agor will continue his attack by the south.
Fenroc blink, having not expected Rakkar to already have planned this. But before he can ask why he wasn't aware of this part of the plan, an explosion strike the closest ship on their left. Rakkar then speaks again.
-Now is not the time for questions. I need you to push forward the attack with the next three lines of ships including the Titan. Tell the middle ships to stop the enemy from advancing and those on the left and right to sail forward. We need to break their formation and surround them. The rest of our fleet will follow closely to offer protection against the dragons. GO!
Suprise, it is a multi-chapter battle. Though you probably guessed that.
Well, what do you guys think. Looks like the battle isn't going to take place in just one place with more than two sides. I hope I will write it alright.
The part about Shattermaster wasn't planned originally. At the begining, I wanted him to be present. Then, while writting this part, I discovered that in the game Titan uprising, his fate is explained. Some may consider it canon, other not. I decided to include it here, because why not. In my eyes, it give an explanation that the series didn't give us so I'm okay with it.
So as always, please don't hesitate to give me a review or something. This is really important for me.
The next chapter won't probably be here before one or two months. Until then, take care.
