Hello my fellow readers again! Here's another long chapter for you. I really can't seem to write short ones anymore, I am so sorry. But there is a lot happening here and I hope you all enjoy the action you are about to read.
For clarification, italicized quotes are lines of dialogue in Dragonese so only dragons and Hiccup and can hear these lines of dialogue. If you are confused and you have questions, review or DM me and I'll gladly answer.
Also, this chapter may be border "M" rating for some suggestive graphic images but it is brief.
Otherwise, ENJOY! XD
The group had finally reached the end of the tunnel and cautiously looked around the corner. The large cavern with people being directed like slaves was sickening to all that saw it. The constant orchestration of different languages reached their ears, making it extremely hard to focus on what their next step should be.
"How do we get past them?" Snotlout whispered. "There's too many of them and I'm pretty sure they'll notice a large dragon."
North stroked his beard in thought. "The guards are bored out of their mind. Maybe if we can distract them enough to slip past, we can lessen the possibility of being noticed and increase our chances of freeing the prisoners and dragons without having to fight a bunch of guards."
"But how?" Bunny asked.
"Why not a brawl?" Ruff shrugged.
"My dear sister!" Tuff exclaimed. "A brawl would be glorious and fend off boredom in anyone. How shall we start it? Headbutting? Ice throwing? Oh! How about I shove you into one of the crates and set it on fire!"
"We don't want major injuries," Astrid elbowed them. "Besides, you will be needed to help free the prisoners faster."
"How about the prisoners themselves?" Bunny suggested. They looked at him confused, urging him to explain. "The prisoners don't want to be here, so if we can tell them to make a distraction so that we can free them, they may comply."
"But there are too many of them and each speaks a different language," Tooth pointed out. "How are we going to get them to work with us? No one here speaks any of these languages."
"I do," Fishlegs lifted a nervous hand.
"You do?" Snotlout asked as he arched a skeptic eyebrow.
"Yeah. I've read almost every language book and I have been able to speak them fluently. I just haven't needed to until now."
"How many can you identify right now?" Bunny asked.
Fishlegs looked around the corner and listened intently. "I can make out three: French, Arabic, and Japanese. Most of them aren't speaking so there may be even more. The one speaking French is reciting some sort of recipe to himself, I think; the one speaking Arabic is swearing about the cold and ice; and the one speaking Japanese mentioned something about her sick grandfather."
"Do you think any of them would be willing to start a fight?" Tooth asked.
"Possibly," Fishlegs shrugged. "I can definitely ask."
"What do you mean 'ask'?" Hiccup questioned. "You don't intend to just walk up to them and speak to them?"
"That would be the best way to do it," Fishlegs nodded. "If it's just me, I can blend in better. I'll explain what the plan is and once I get approval from them, I will signal all of you to continue towards the tunnel."
"I don't know," Merida shook her head. "It seems too easy and if it's easy, it won't work."
"Go try," Jack nudged the large boy. "If it doesn't work, we'll think of something else."
Fishlegs nodded and nervously entered the cavern. He picked up a small crate nearby and made his way towards the French speaker first and began to speak quietly to him, then he made his way to the other two and spoke to them as well. The group watched him and had no idea if he was successful. There was no signal from him yet and no indication that he seemed defeated. They watched as the three walked towards the far side of the cavern, almost out of their sight, when the Japanese speaker tripped and dumped a whole bunch of frozen fish on the Arabic speaker, who also fell forward and knocked down the French speaker. The three of them then began to shout at each other in their language, obviously not understanding one another, but they began to push and shove each other until they were all on the floor rolling around in a fight.
Everyone watched as the guards left their post and headed in the fight's direction, not even seeing Fishlegs walk back to the other tunnel. "Alright," he whispered to the group. "They are distracted and I spoke with a few of the others. They will keep the guards busy. I told them that when chaos hits, to head up this way and out into the storm and follow the hair on the floor. They looked at me funny but they agreed anyway."
"Way to go, Fishlegs!" Hiccup cheered quietly.
"Let's go," North beckoned. They all followed him out into the cavern and hugged the opposite wall of the fight. They glanced back and forth between the fight and the tunnel ahead to ensure that they wouldn't be caught. A few of the prisoners did see them but a single finger on the lips from North kept them quiet. Once in the tunnel, they jogged until they reached the split off of tunnels going in several different directions.
"Alright bud," Hiccup nodded. "Do your thing." Toothless screeched down each tunnel and focused intently while the group turned around and kept a watch for anyone that may exit any of the tunnels. The dragon then cooed down the third tunnel and beckoned with head. "Dragons down this way. Let's go Astrid and Snotlout." He hopped onto Toothless' back and put a hand out to Astrid to help her up and then to Snotlout. The other boy took it nervously and jumped up behind Astrid, grabbing her shoulders tightly as the dragon took off into the darkness.
"The prisoners are down that tunnel," North pointed to his right. "Jack, go find your sister and free the other prisoners." Jack nodded as he followed Merida, the twins, and Fishlegs down the tunnel. "Now it is time for us to deal with the Phantom Reapers," North said as he withdrew his swords. "Once they are taken care of, our students will be safe."
"For the children!" Tooth cheered quietly as she pumped her fist into the air.
"Let's stop these dingos once and for all," Bunny nodded as glanced down at Sandy. The short, mute man smiled back and produced two long whips with yellow sand and followed the group down the second tunnel.
Jack's staff glowed a soft blue that illuminated the icy caverns in a calming manner. The group didn't stop to admire the new ability of his staff or the beauty of the caverns they were in, instead they kept a wary eye out for anyone that may sound the alarm or attack them. Fishlegs was the only one who's eyes darted around in a chaotic manner, his eyes trying to take in everything that he could see.
Merida put a hand up to stop them all in their tracks. "You hear that?"
The group stopped and listened. It took a few seconds for the echoes of their steps in the tunnels to fade enough for them to hear low voices at the far end of the tunnel. "Emma!" Jack gasped as he started to fly off.
He was stopped suddenly when Merida grabbed him by his hoodie and pulled him down next to her. "Take a chill pill, Ice Boy. They could be guards." She let him go and took a few steps further as she readied her bow. Looking around the corner, she gasped at the sight in front of her.
An anger began to build up inside her as she tightened her grip on her bow. She could see prisoners being dragged out of cages, their protests falling on deaf ears as they were taken to another room. The prisoners that were still in their cells were crammed in like sardines and she was pretty sure that they would soon become sick quickly in those unhygienic conditions. Cramped space, no privacy, the Reapers doing who knows what to them, minimal food, constant working, and little sleep is a great recipe for mass sickness.
She motioned the other to approach quietly and see what she saw. Keeping her eyes on who she assumed was the main guard, she began to command the others. "Jack, I know ye want to find yer sister, but that will have to wait until we unlock the cells. I will take out the main guard and keep any other guards that show up occupied. Ruff, Tuff, and Jack will unlock the cages and Fishlegs, ye will lead them through the tunnels and out onto the surface. Once there, contact me Mum and tell her to contact the authorities with your location. Keep them all together until the rest of us exit or the authorities arrive. Keep that dragon out of sight if ye can."
With a nod from everyone, Merida raised her bow and pulled back slowly. She adjusted her footing and took a calming breath as she aimed at the main guard. As she released her breath, she let go of her arrow and watched as it glided through the air and landed squarely in the guard's chest. With another nod she motioned the others to proceed and they all rounded the corner and entered the dungeon area.
Merida positioned herself between the prison cells and the area she saw the other guards dragging the prisoners into, her bow at the ready when the other guards came back. Behind her, she could hear Fishlegs talking to the prisoners in many different languages, trying to communicate with as many as possible to lessen the panic so that they didn't make a whole lot of noise. "Follow me," he finished in English as he headed back towards the tunnel they exited. "I will lead you out of here but be as quiet as possible."
A guard noticed Merida through the doorway and began to charge at her but was cut down by her arrow lodging into his chest as well. "Got it!" she heard Ruff exclaim as the ringing of keys echoed throughout the chamber. She heard one cell door open after another and the sound of dozens of feet walking behind her.
Another guard noticed his comrade on the floor and began to charge at Merida as well. She fired but he dodged and she missed. This surprised her for a second but she quickly withdrew another arrow and fired it, this time, compensating for the man's dodge, hitting him in the chest. With a sigh of relief, she glanced behind her to see that the last cell was being emptied.
"There's more deeper in the caverns," Tuff called out from her right.
"What?" Jack turned around.
"Yep," Ruff nodded as she ran up to stand next to her brother. They had both apparently gone down a small tunnel Merida hadn't seen and found more cells. "There's at least a hundred or so cells deeper in the cavern. Each stuffed with people."
"Fishlegs!" Merida called out. She looked at a table and noticed a piece of paper. "Draw them a map and give it to the prisoners. They will have to make their way out on their own. Go help the others free the rest."
Merida suddenly felt as if she couldn't breath and the pain of the icy cavern floor impacting her side. She no longer felt her bow in her hand, a large weight pressing on top of her body, and something wrapping around her throat. Once she was able to focus, she saw a man with red hair and three blue streaks, almost like claw marks, across his left eye on top of her, trying to choke her.
"Did you really think you could free the prisoners without me noticing? Dagur doesn't miss the signs of a prison break!" he bragged as he continued to choke her.
"Merida!" Fishlegs called out terrified.
"Go!" she was able to get out. "I've got 'im!" She had lied. She didn't know how to get out of this one. Now she wished she paid closer attention to Astrid's hand to hand training because she needed that now more than anything. She raised her hand to punch Dagur in the face and, to her surprise, it was enough for him to release her throat. She took the opportunity to sit up and push him back so that she could knee him in the crotch.
As he wailed in pain, she shuffled to her feet and began to look around the room for her bow. She saw it on the far side and began to run towards it but suddenly doubled over in pain. She screamed as she clawed at her head trying to ease the pain she felt. Behind her, she heard a maniacal laugh get closer and closer to her but she paid it little mind as she tried to relieve the pain in her head.
The pain suddenly stopped as her head was pulled backwards by her hair and Dagur's face parallel to hers, only inches from her face. Across his face was a big grin as he looked into her tearful eyes. "Painful isn't it?" he chuckled. "I can do more than just psionic pain, how about I alter some of your memories so that you are in a constant nightmare?"
Merida suddenly saw her family sitting down at the dinner table in her mind. It was decorated for the holidays, one her favorite times of the year, but then her mother began to change. She saw her mother's skin tearing apart as she turned into a bear, who then attacked her father and began to tear him apart. Her mother then turned to her brothers and proceeded to eat them alive as well. Merida sat in fear at the sight of the carnage before her, tears running down her face as she watched her family being ripped from her. She looked up to see her mother now stalking towards her, the familiarity of her eyes gone and replaced by basic animalistic instincts. Mum! No! She cried but to no avail. Her mother lunged at her.
A scream tore through Merida's throat; a scream so raw and powerful that even Dagur was taken off guard. He released her hair, allowing her body to fall forward in exhaustion, tears streaming down her face as she tried to steady herself. "Ye... will... regret... that," she hiccuped unevenly. She saw a sword in the corner of her eye and leaped to reach it, swinging it around at Dagur who blocked it with his own sword.
"Oh? Will I?" he chuckled.
She went to swing again but stopped as the pain in her head started up again and she was forced to drop her weapon. She stumbled back a few steps as she clawed at her head again, screams escaping her lips. She hated this feeling. Merida felt so weak and helpless as her mind was occupied with only one thought: to stop the pain. Through watering eyes, she glared at the man doing this to her, anger now building in a way she never thought possible. She pushed through the pain and grabbed her sword, swinging it at him and making contact.
The pain stopped and she collapsed to her knees in exhaustion. Merida looked up to see Dagur was also on the ground clutching his right cheek, blood seeping through his fingers. He glared at her and charged, screaming manically as he did so until he tackled her to the ground. "How dare you!" he screamed as he wrapped his hand around her throat again.
Merida thrashed against the man but she was so weakened by his psionic attacks that she barely phased him. She felt the pain returning to her head and then saw as a few other memories began to warp in her mind forcing her to scream in protest but unable to have the pleasure of that small release as the hands around her throat stopped her.
"Get off of her!" a gruff female voice commanded.
The hands around her throat released and the weight on her body was gone in an instant. Two cold hands grabbed her shoulders and sat her up, her eyes slowly focusing on Jack's blue eyes. "Mer! Are you okay?" he echoed in her ears.
To her left, she could vaguely make out the silhouettes of the twins punching Dagur over and over again until they were satisfied he wasn't going to be a problem for them. She saw Fishlegs run past as a hoard of people followed him down the tunnel.
"Mer! Are you okay?" Jack asked again, his voice clearer now and obviously scared.
The redhead leaned forward and embraced him in a hug, burying her face into his hoodie and just feeling safe there. She didn't care about anything around her at the moment and only wanted to continue feeling the safety he brought with him. She didn't understand why but she didn't care. She didn't know how long she embraced him before she nodded and answered into his hoodie, "I am, yes."
Merida felt him lift her up off the ground and pull away to get a good look at her. She could tell by his expression that she was a mess but his smile made everything seem better. "Let's get out of here. The twins took care of that guy. He's not going to be a problem."
"Darn right," Ruff huffed as she cracked her neck in triumph. "What a creep."
"Preach sister," Tuff nodded.
For the first time in her life, she was grateful to the Thorston twins. They had saved her from Dagur and now she owed them a big 'thank you' but she didn't have the energy to say anything. She was also grateful that Jack took the lead and began to command the others as they made their escape. She leaned on him as they continued down the tunnel but once they reached the location where they had split off, things only got worse.
Merida saw that a figure was forming in the shadows and that there was a sound of sand skidding across the ice. "Pitch," she whispered weakly. She felt herself being pushed into the arms of Tuffnut and Ruffnut as Jack's figure stepped away from them.
"Get her out of here!" he commanded. "I'll lead him away!"
"Jack!" Merida reached out. "No!"
He came back long enough to whisper in her ear, "When you meet my sister, tell her hopscotch isn't a game to play on thin ice." He then disappeared down one of the tunnels and out of her sight.
"Come on," Ruff said as she tugged her towards the exit. "Let's get you out of here."
North led the other Guardians down the dark tunnel slowly and carefully. He could hear Pitch and the others now that they were inside whatever barrier they had created to stop him from detecting them and it gave him a headache. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly for a second and then shook his head to try and shake off the slight pain. It didn't work.
"You okay big guy?" Bunny asked.
"Yeah. Just hearing them after they were so quiet for so long is straining my ability."
"How close do you think we are?" Tooth asked.
"Close," he said.
"Too close," Pitch said behind them.
The group turned around to face Pitch but in the darkness, he was invisible. Sandy approached the location Pitch's voice came from and flicked his whip to snap at the darkness. There was a bright flash of light where they could see Pitch's figure for a split second before everything went dark once again.
"Cute, Sandy," Pitch mocked. "Do you really think that your pathetic attempt at fighting is going to stop me? I have grown too powerful even for you."
"Keep running!" North cried as they continued towards the end of the tunnel. "We can't get pinned in the dark tunnel."
The Guardians continued until they came to an exit, only to see it blocked by the other Reapers. Each grinned vilely at the Guardians as they stared them down. "What do we have here? Trespassers?" Alvin chuckled.
"Punishment is death for trespassers," Gothel grinned. "For you and the students you foolishly brought with you."
North gripped the hilts of his swords tighter, followed by Bunny brandishing his boomerang in front of him, and Tooth gritting her teeth. "You won't be getting away from us this time you wombats!" Bunny threw his boomerang at the group followed by a few homemade grenades, but each was dodged.
"Oh, go suck a carrot," Pitch sighed as he materialized behind them.
"You said I could have fun with them," Mord'u complained.
"Oh, you will," Alvin smiled. "With the kids. Hunting them will be oh, so much fun!"
"Which group is my beloved Flower in?" Gothel asked way too sweetly. "I need to bring her home."
"She's not yours," North spat. "We found her true family. You are one sick woman for stealing her away like that."
"It depends on the beholder," Gothel shrugged. "I did what was best."
"Maybe for you!" Tooth snapped back. She then burst into hundreds of smaller versions of herself and made a beeline for the Reapers.
The Reapers engaged the Guardians from all sides, Pitch calling on his Nightmares to assist in keeping them pinned. Sandy floated above the group, using his whips to change the mares into dreams and fending off Pitch from his personal attacks. Several times Sandy was hit from behind by Pitch as he focused on saving his fellow Guardians from the other mares but he stood back up and continued to fight, frustrating Pitch with each passing second.
Mord'u charged at North in his bear form. The older man swung his swords, making contact several times but the tough hide on Mord'u just ricocheted the swords back towards North, forcing him to take steps back to keep some sort of stance.
Bunny had taken on Alvin and was hopping around the larger man like a kangaroo ready to fight. "Come on, mate. Show me what you got." Alvin grinned as he continued to stare at the oversized rabbit. Behind him, Alvin's shadow began to move on it's own and move to stand right next to him, also brandishing a weapon. "Oh, bugger," Bunny said wide eyed as Alvin's Shadow charged at him from one side while Alvin charged at the other.
Gothel wasn't having nearly as much fun with Tooth. She transported from one location to another, trying to get away from the swarm of small Tooth's but the young Guardian was able to find her again quickly. Then Gothel grabbed one of the smaller versions and began to inhale deeply, the small hummingbird shriveling up in her hand. Gothel smiled in satisfaction at the mummified creature in her hand.
"What did you do?" one of the other Tooths asked.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Gothel seethed as she reached for another.
Tooth dodged her and flew away towards North. She flew around Mord'u's head to distract him so that North could gain his footing after losing it once again. "Gothel has a horrid power," she tweeted at him. "She killed one of my little ones."
The older man flung his sword upwards, forcing Mord'u's paws to follow suit and leaving the bear open for a large kick to the chest, sending the large bear flying across the room. "What!" he exclaimed in shock. He looked at each of his comrades to see that they were quickly getting swamped and that they all were in over their heads. We were not properly prepared for this. He focused his mind on the others in the cavern, trying to find them and see their progression but none of them seemed to be going well. Merida definitely was in some sort of distress. "Tooth! Go find the students and get them out of here, objective complete or not!"
With a shake of her head, she sent her tiny selves back into the tunnel to find the others. North moved over to Bunny to give him some backup and moved the two of them towards Sandy. "We need to get out of here. Can you make an opening, Sandy?"
With a firm nod, he focused his attention on his hands and shot a large blast of yellow sand ahead of him making a large hole in the wall of mares blocking their path. He motioned for North and Bunny to follow him and the three ran up the tunnel towards the exit.
"They're getting away!" Alvin yelled.
"No they're not," Pitch seethed. If North had looked behind him, he would have seen him slink into the shadows and completely disappear.
Eret clutched his chest hoping that the pressure would dull the pain but it did nothing. His mind still swam with the images of his family and village being torched and slain, images he feared would never leave him alone.
It was his fault, all his fault. He wasn't good enough, wasn't powerful enough, wasn't what Drago wanted and because of his failure, innocents have died. What if it didn't end with his family? How many others had he sentenced to death and not even realized it?
A cold hand rested on his shoulder and gently turned him over. "Eret? What happened? Are you okay?" He looked up and saw Elsa kneeling next to him, her hands shooting up to her mouth in shock as she saw the burn on his chest. "Oh no! What happened?"
"You don't want to know," Eret weakly said. He felt her hand over his burn and a sudden cold sensation as she began to frost it over to give him some relief.
"Who did this to you?" she insisted. "Was it Dagur?"
"No," he shook his head.
"Then who?"
He looked at her and panic began to set in. Drago's words echoed through his mind and he feared that he was looking at the next innocent person that would die because of his failures. "I can't...He'll hurt...Please don't ask again." He turned away from her in shame but her hand still rested on his shoulder.
"Was it the intruders?" she asked.
Eret's head popped up in confusion. "Intruders?" On the far side of the room, he saw several dozen men scrambling about with weapons and he heard one say something about dragons being on the loose.
"Yes," Elsa nodded. "A group of mutants broke in and are trying to free the humans and dragons. Did one of them hurt you? I'll make them pay." She held out her hand and began to form an ice dagger.
Eret's mind went into overdrive with this new information. He began to weigh the pros and cons of what he was about to do but in the end, he decided it was best to at least try. He shook his head and placed a hand over the ice dagger. "No, they didn't hurt me. Drago did."
"What?" Elsa gasped. "Why? He's one of us. Why would he hurt you?"
"He destroyed my village and family," he admitted, the pain and anger still fresh in his voice. "He lied to me all these years and I lashed out. He controlled me and forced me to brand myself." He grabbed her hands and held them firmly. "I know what I'm about to ask is sudden and it's quite scary and you're probably not ready but for your safety, please, please, please escape with me. If he lied about my family all this time, he could be lying about yours. Give yourself a chance to find the truth."
He watched her blue eyes intently, pleading with his own for her to accept his offer. "H-how? Where would we go?" she whispered.
"The intruders. With them distracting Drago and the others, we can escape. Once free, then we can worry about where we will go."
Eret waited for what seemed like an eternity for her to answer but the wait was worth it. She nodded and smiled confidently, "I trust you."
The three humans couldn't see a thing in the dark tunnel but Toothless' echolocation allowed him to see perfectly. He instructed Hiccup which direction he needed to go and he complied with the correct turn of the artificial tail. "Toothless says that we're almost there," Hiccup whispered to the others.
The group was blinded for a brief second by the sudden light from the large cavern they had entered but once their sight returned, they all gawked in surprise. Below, above, and all around them were thousands upon thousands of dragons of different species. Hiccup had never seen so many dragons, nor heard so many at once and held the bridge of his nose trying to filter out all the noise.
"There's so many," Astrid mumbled as she took in her surroundings.
"There's no way we can free all of them," Snotlout added. "How are we going to free them?"
Toothless glided down towards one of the ledges closest to the exit and allowed the others to get down. Hiccup kept a hand on Toothless' head and patted it a few times comfortingly. "I know, bud. It's hard for me too." He could feel the uneasiness emanating off of his friend and tried to give him some support. "Let's get to work."
Hiccup looked to his right and saw two dragons chained to the icy wall and began to walk towards them. Toothless followed him, Astrid and Snotlout hesitating for a moment but then proceeding. The group he approached noticed Hiccup and snarled defensively, the red Monstrous Nightmare rearing on his hind legs and lighting himself on fire.
"It's okay" Hiccup said in Dragonese as he held up his hands. "We're not going to hurt you."
The dragons took a few steps back and squawked in confusion. The Monstrous Nightmare lowered himself and put out his fire but tilted his head in confusion as well but snarled once again when Hiccup tried to approach. Hiccup took a step back in response trying to gain the dragon's trust. This is going to take a while, he thought to himself.
The two legged dragon eyed him and took a cautious step forward, it's wings still stretched out in defense mode. "How does a human speak our language? That is not possible."
"I've always been able to speak to dragons," Hiccup answered. That really caught the dragon off guard because it jumped back again in surprise. "I promise we mean no harm. We're here to free you."
The dragons rolled their eyes and made sounds like they were laughing. "No human cares about us. We are nothing but tools used for destruction."
"No, you're not," Hiccup shook his head. "You are all magnificent creatures that deserve time in the sun as any other being. You have been controlled to do things you don't want to do. We can live together in peace. I know we can."
"And how would you know? A human only knows how to bring pain and suffering."
"Not true!" Toothless spoke up and stood next to Hiccup. "Humans are amazing, kind, and loving beings. Give them a chance. I have been with this one since I can remember and he has never once hurt me." He rubbed his head affectionately against Hiccup who returned the gesture with a smile and a scratch behind the ear.
The other dragons looked at the two of them in a mixture of confusion and curiosity. "You willingly stay with this human? Why?"
"He's my friend," Toothless said. "Trust him. He can help you."
The dragons still didn't look convinced but Hiccup approached them anyway. He kept one hand up so that they could see he was unarmed and as an act of friendship towards them. His movements continued to confuse them but also intrigued them. After a few seconds of just standing there, his hand a few inches away from them, the two legged dragon closed the gap and placed it's snout in his palm.
"You are the first human to touch us without trying to hurt us. If the Night Fury trusts you, I trust you."
"You break that trust," the Monstrous Nightmare added. "I will personally kill you myself."
"Sounds like a deal to me," Hiccup nodded as he smiled at them. He then looked down at their feet to observe the chain keeping them grounded. "Why haven't you melted the metal and escaped?"
"We have tried. All of us," the two legged one answered. "It's made from some sort of fireproof metal. They have the Razorwhips' tails shackled with it too because they were breaking us out constantly."
Hiccup looked closer at the locks and tried to think of how they could free them. "Astrid," he called, motioning her to come forward. "It's okay. Just reach your hand out straight and show her that you mean no harm." Astrid hesitated but walked slowly forward, Hiccup gently taking her arm and guiding her closer to the dragon. He watched as she smiled at the dragon and the dragon responded by placing her snout in her hand, like she did for him. "See the lock? Do you think one of your weapons could either pick it or break it?"
Astrid looked at it for a moment and then nodded. She created two thick swords, the act causing the dragon to flinch away in fear. "It's alright. I'm using them on the lock," Astrid assured. She inserted the swords and moved them around a bit until she heard a click and then the clanking of the chain falling to the floor.
It took a second for the dragon to register what had just happened but then leaped into the air and did a few backflips before landing back on the ledge and nuzzling Astrid. "You're very welcome...um...does the dragon have a name or do I give her one?" she asked Hiccup.
Hiccup clicked and grunted a few times, eliciting a response from the dragon. "Her name is Stormfly, she's a Deadly Nadder."
"You are very welcome, Stormfly," Astrid giggled as she scratched the dragon's skin.
Snotlout cautiously approached the Monstrous Nightmare with an outreached hand like Hiccup and Astrid. It wasn't as instant as the other two but he got the same reaction from the dragon and chuckled to himself in triumph. He then walked over to the lock and bashed his head against it, breaking it apart and the chain also falling. The dragon looked at the chain and then back at Snotlout, also getting a nuzzle of thanks from the dragon.
"His name is Hookfang," Hiccup informed.
"That is an awesome name," Snotlout grinned as he patted the dragon. The Monstrous Nightmare shoved his snout under him and tossed him in the air so that he landed on the dragon's back. "What is he doing?"
"He's going to take you to some of the other dragons to begin freeing them," Hiccup explained. "Try and free as many as possible."
Once Snotlout and Hookfang were up in the air, he turned back to Astrid to see she was beginning to climb onto Stormfly's back as well. Once she was comfortable, she leaned down and handed Hiccup the swords in her hands. "Take these. Unless you have a key somewhere."
"If I did, I wouldn't have had you create these to begin with," Hiccup chuckled. He turned to Toothless and asked, "Do you know what a Razorwhip looks like?" Toothless shook his head.
"They are sleek and long," Stormfly informed. "They look like they are made from sheets of metal. They are usually kept away from the other dragons in poorly made cubbies in the wall to deter them from trying to save each other. Check the far side and you should find them. They are the only ones with clamps on their tails."
With a nod, Stormfly took off and Hiccup mounted Toothless, heading to the back of the cavern. It didn't take long for them to find the honeycomb wall with the sleek and shiny dragons chained inside. The two were roared at as they approached one of the Razorwhips but after a brief conversation, Hiccup was able to get close enough to release the clamp on the tail and the chain on the dragon.
With the Razorwhip loose, Hiccup watched as it began to use it's tail to slice through the chains of the other dragons. Soon, with the help of himself, Astrid, Snotlout, and the freed Razorwhips, dozens upon dozens of dragons were now freely flying around the large cavern. Not as many as he would have hoped by any means but it was a start.
He would have kept going if a tiny version of Tooth didn't fly up to him and began to talk to him in a panicked state. "We have to leave now! We are outnumbered and overpowered. The Reapers have won this round."
"But we haven't even gotten a quarter of these dragons freed," Hiccup motioned with his hand.
"I'm sorry," Tooth nodded sadly. "But we will try again another time. If we stay much longer, you may not be able to help them later."
Hiccup looked around glumly at all the dragons still chained up and roaring to be freed, the sound breaking his heart. "Alright. Let's go, bud."
Toothless roared loudly. "We're leaving. We will be back." The freed dragons looked in their direction and saw the Night Fury motion over to the Deadly Nadder and Monstrous Nightmare with humans riding on their backs. "Follow them!"
Hiccup and Toothless waited until all the freed dragons were out of the cavern before following suit, both flinching as the cries from the remaining dragons tore at their gut. Hiccup didn't have long to feel forlorn as he felt a rope being wrapped around his body forcing him to lose his balance and fall off of Toothless' back. "Toothless!" he called out, getting a loud roar in response.
He felt his back hit the hard cavern floor and he was sure he dislocated his shoulder or cracked a few ribs but that didn't stop him from trying to wriggle free from his bonds. Two large boots appeared in his line of vision and he looked up to see a large man with a scraggly beard. The man bent down closer to Hiccup and grinned as he lifted the boy off the ground effortlessly with one hand.
"So, you're the one that controls that black dragon," he said. "You'll pay for what he did to me."
"Who are you?" Hiccup asked.
The man's face contorted into an angry scowl. "I'm Alvin the Treacherous, you little runt. Your dragon blasted me square in the chest and now I have burns that are still healing."
"Too bad he didn't blast your face. It may have improved it."
Alvin gritted his teeth and slammed Hiccup against the wall in anger. "You are in no position to be sassing me, boy."
Hiccup shook his head to try and clear the ringing from his ears and shrugged. "I do have a tenacity to not know when to keep my mouth shut when in a sticky situation."
"No kidding," Alvin snorted. "You're going to be an invaluable asset to my boss when he finds out what you can do." Alvin stopped for a second as if trying to recall something. "You can control dragons right? That's how you ride that black monstrosity."
"No," Hiccup shook his head. He was trying to keep a calm, brave face in the presence of the giant man but inside, he was panicking; screaming for help. "I just got lucky with him. I use my sarcasm to annoy my enemies until they just let me go."
"Nice try, runt," Alvin jeered. "My boss will get the truth out of you." He tied a gag around Hiccup's mouth and pulled him closer to him. "So you can't call your dragon buddies for help." He then proceeded to swing Hiccup over his shoulder like a sack of flour and began to run down another tunnel.
Panic began to settle deep in Hiccup's bones and he struggled helplessly against the ropes. He hoped and prayed Toothless and the others got out safely and that they weren't being imprisoned once again. He continued to kick and squirm at the thought of Toothless being chained up like the rest of the dragons and used to terrorize people into caving to the Reaper's plans.
"Stop squirming, boy," Alvin grunted. "There's no escaping me."
Hiccup felt the man's arm begin to constrict around his body, forcing the air out of his lungs, and another wave of panic washed over him. He struggled even harder against Alvin but his vision began to go black due to the lack of oxygen in his body. His limbs felt heavy and he felt his body lax against his captor as he tried to stay conscious enough to look for a way to escape.
He glanced up to see Stormfly speeding toward him and with a flick of her tail, several spikes flew from her tail and towards him and Alvin. The large man tripped and dropped Hiccup only to be buzzed by the Nadder as she grabbed Hiccup with her talons, flying away from the man at top speed.
Once in a larger area, she flung her feet forward and tossed Hiccup in the air, allowing him to land perfectly on her back just in front of Astrid. "Hiccup!" she exclaimed as she cut the ropes binding him. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," he replied after removing the gag from his mouth. "What about Toothless? I didn't see him after I was shot out of the saddle."
"He's already on the surface. Hookfang picked him up and took him the rest of the way. The other freed dragons are also out," she explained.
Hiccup sighed in relief at the news and smiled. "Thanks for coming back for me."
"Of course. We've got each other's backs."
Stormfly shot out of the final tunnel like a bullet from a gun barrel but instead of there being nothing but snow and ice whipping around them, they saw a clear night sky with shining stars and a crescent moon. "The Razorwhip must have freed the Snow Wraiths," Hiccup commented. "Quick, let's get out of range in case the Reapers try to shoot us down."
Things are definitely heating up. Who's excited? I know I am! Please review. I love seeing your excitement too. See you next chapter!