This is different than the times on the Edge, even though Krogan changed the game, this was a new problem entirely. We've dealt with those who would risk or threaten the lives of innocents, use tactics to confuse us while attempting to destroy islands, we have even dealt with those who tried to use our fellow riders against us by purposefully endangering their lives. It was old hat by this point, the rules in the Archipelago had changed; people like Viggo and Drago changed them. People became pawns in a life size Maces and Talons game, where everyone, even their own kin was expendable for the profit. It was not a world I wanted to be a part of.
Human greed and lust for power was destroying the tranquility of life in the archipelago and had been for years. Sure, nature must run its course and there will be people who die, dragons who are killed, islands that are reclaimed by the ocean. But that is as Mother Nature demands, not by the whims of a power-mad human with a fetish for gold pieces and death. It boiled my blood just thinking about it and today was no different.
Krogan or no Krogan, these trappers had changed the game. They were in the process of capturing the Doomfang, and they had captured and tied Vern to the mast. A mast, by the way, that was within the Doomfang's line of fire should they lose control of it. It was strategic; purposeful.
Snotlout, the Twins and Fishlegs running point on fleet-wide distractions, the explosions were already palpable as I feel the rush of heat followed by the spray of cool sea water fill the air. They had created an excellent distraction, as they had on the Edge, with countless men screaming from deck and letting loose even more arrows tipped with Dragonroot and dragon-proof chains and nets launching. They had given up using catapults awhile ago, dragons were fast movers and the catapults worked well as siege weapons, not aerial defensive weapons.
The moment the first salvo was unleashed, I could see Astrid, Heather and Dagur dive in and begin to systematically attack different points of the net containing the Doomfang. Dragon proof netting or not, Heather's Razorwhip could slice through literally anything, so Astrid and Dagur were flying on her wing. The net itself was anchored to six different ships, as the Doomfang was a Titan Wing sized dragon, easily triple the size of Hookfang. They were getting shot at as well, but it was much less than the others were.
Eret, my mother and I dived towards the ship where Vern was tied. Barreling in with Toothless, I cleared the deck of the two forward arrow emplacements as my mother and Eret cleared out the stern. There was no sign of the masked man nor Khan, but if this many ships were here then they must be somewhere. They were not the mission though, honestly if we could avoid them entirely it'd be better. I'm not excited about rehashing it out with Krogan.
Skullcrusher takes Eret near Vern as I have Toothless perch on the mast that Vern is tied too. The roars of the Doomfang deafening as Heather destroys another piece of the net.
"Vern? Vern!" I call out as I walk along the mast with Eret hovering beside. My mother flying a low circle to watch over in case we are surprised.
"Vern, wake up damn it!" Eret snaps and I see his head move slowly as I reach him. He was unconscious and severely wounded. One of his eyes had a large knife wound cutting down it and I could see signs of blood on his back where his shirt was ripped.
"Eret, he doesn't look good!" I call out and move to remove the chains only to find it's dragon proof chains. "They've got him tied with dragon proofing! I can't cut through this!"
"Damn it! We'll break the mast!" Eret yells out as I wave my hands.
"That could just cause him to plummet to deck or out to sea!" I exclaim and suddenly hear a familiar and wrenching laugh as I hear my mother above.
"Hiccup! Look out!" She calls out as I feel Toothless grab my back and pull me towards him. A large axe, taller than me, spirals past where I had been standing. Looking down, I see the cloaked figure with his arms crossed on deck. The resemblance, even beneath a cloak, was uncanny. The same as when Viggo had placed that bounty on me and Krogan bested Throk.
"Toothless, take me down there." I say, hopping on Toothless.
"Hiccup. You can't be serious. He just tried to kill you." Eret remarks and I shake my head.
"Stay up here with Vern, I'll see where this goes. Be ready to smash the mast, we'll try to save Vern, I promise." I say and Toothless jumps me down in front of him. He slow claps as I dismount and removes his hood with the same smile. That sociopathic, murderous smile that made my blood boil. I feel my fist clench as my teeth grit, I should've made sure he was dead years ago when he vanished.
"Krogan." I say through gritted teeth and he smiles.
"Hiccup. What a pleasant day to see you. I see you know our mutual friend Vern, and is that Eret up there? Oh, the irony." Krogan begins with a light laugh.
"Why are you here? How did you survive?!" I demand and he shrugs.
"Drago doesn't take kindly to failure but luckily most of his lackies were not up to the task of killing me. I got a nice scar out of it though. I hear you're Chief now, dear old dad died by Drago's own hand, I hear." Krogan says, narrowing his eyes and widening his smile. He's taunting me, and it's honestly starting to work.
"What. Did you do to Vern?" I struggle to say, trying my hardest to not lash out. I was not the same kid I was when we knew each other, I was Chief. I was no Astrid in combat, but I was no pushover anymore, either. The Viking side of me wanted to make Dagur proud and put his head on a pike.
"Like Drago, I don't have much tolerance for traitors or those that question orders. Vern was the former and the ladder. That eventually tipped my good friend Khan off, who sent for me a few weeks ago. You see, we've had a rough time rounding up Singetails since last time, but I've a new plan." Krogan says simply, his eyes gazing upwards towards Eret and my mother. "That first starts with the death of one Hiccup Haddock and all of his people. I learned a lot from you out beyond, I know not to underestimate you like I had before." Krogan continues in what feels like a written speech or monologue. Apparently, he had taken to Viggo in his methodology.
"You'll have a tough time meeting that goal, Krogan. And you won't escape this time, either." I answer, narrowing my eyes.
"Oh, my. Hiccup, you have grown. Why I almost heard myself in your tone back when I was your age. Well, today you have a choice to make." Krogan says as he smashes his boot to the deck.
Suddenly, Khan and nearly a dozen trappers exit the interior with weapons drawn as Krogan opens his palms wide.
"You can choose to surrender, right now. I'll make your death painless, and will let your friends go free, including Vern. You can choose to fight, which is what I expect. In which case, I will make your death as painful and slow as possible, long enough for you to see the deaths of all your people and dragons." Krogan says and I sigh. Krogan hadn't changed, or maybe he has. He was more like Drago, maybe worse.
"Yeah, I'll be honest. Not a fan of either, so how about option three. We do what we came here to do, you fail, and your associates kill you, then we mop of the rest." I retort before glancing upwards towards Eret. "NOW!" I yell, hearing Skullcrusher roar as the sound of a large tail impacting and destroying a mast is heard. Not the plan I had hoped for, but hopefully enough of a distraction to get out of here and still save Vern. Fight it is.
So far, so good. We had released three of the six positions of the net. One more and the dragon could probably free itself, three more and we ensure it does. Dodging consistent arrow fire, even if it wasn't the bulk, slowed our progress considerably. Dagur had really proven himself and I think Heather had been training him as a Rider, because he knew how to fly in the wing and was more efficient at blocking arrows than I was. Rounding for another pass, my heart sinks as I spot Skullcrusher hovering near Vern and Hiccup and Toothless on deck. As the pass goes nearer, I can see Krogan, and I want nothing more than to have Stormfly single spine shot him, or fly down to Hiccup and be at his side; or, for Thor's sake, both.
Something was going terribly wrong as I spot the ensemble of men exit the hold and partially surround Hiccup before I hear him suddenly shout up. I can see Skullcrusher and Eret do a swift whiplash using the large bludgeoning tail to completely demolish part of the mast Vern is stuck on as it begins to plummet and Hiccup darts to Toothless.
"Hiccup's in trouble!" I shout out as I glance to Dagur and Heather.
"Go! I'll cover Heather!" Dagur commands and I wince.
"No, you can't be on both sides at once. We must get this dragon free. On your next pass, let loose a volley towards the men surrounding Hiccup!" I order and see them both nod as I hear the metal clank of Heather's Razorwhip slicing the fourth next hook and we begin our next run.
An explosion rocks the side of the waters as the twins completely destroy a boat with Barf and Belch's gas by filling the hold and igniting it. That gave me the opening I needed on my next pass as I see Khan level a blade towards Toothless as he's trying to take off. A well-placed tap on Stormfly's neck and she unleashes a single spine shot that nails the sword to the deck, prompting him to look in our direction. Sleuther and Windshear both unload a volley of their own, with Windshear sending a couple well placed spikes towards one of the archers that prompts even more chaos.
I can see Eret chase down the mast as Valka moves in to help cover Toothless as they find clearance to take off without getting pelted with arrows. Starting our next pass, I hear Dagur laugh manically that causes me to look at him as he is holding two arrows in his hands.
"Do you see this?! They actually think they can just shoot arrows at me!? ME?! Ha, HAHA!" He laughs, tossing the arrows down as Heather looks to me and we both shrug in unison. It's taking every iota of willpower to not go to Hiccup's side, but like back on the Edge, we had agreed that it would be business as usual during missions. I hear the metal clank and the immediate roar of the Doomfang as Heather hits the fifth latch and the Dragon finally manages to break free on its own and dives deep underwater.
I see Hiccup and Toothless spiral upwards with Cloudjumper and Skullcrusher close behind, Skullcrusher carrying a large mast. Looking to Snotlout and the others, I wave them over.
"Fall back!" I shout and everyone starts to peel off; climbing high into the sky into the clouds to avoid the reach of their arrows, I pull up next to Toothless and see Hiccup with an arrow in his shoulder. He is struggling to fly Toothless and sees me pull up to him, he shakes his head.
"Don't say it. Just a, ah, flesh wound." Hiccup says and I can see the look in his eyes, he's angry.
Not taking the chance of the hour-long flight back to Berk, we set down on a sea stack about twenty minutes out from the trappers so they can't catch up.
Everyone struggles to avoid rushing Hiccup's shoulder as he holds up his hand, dismounting Toothless. "New rules. Krogan is alive, and just as ruthless as Drago was, if not more. The last couple years hasn't been kind to him and he's become a menace with one goal; my death." Hiccup says, struggling internally. I can see his eyes twitching slightly and growing red as it seems he is fighting off tears.
"Hiccup, we need to get that arrow out." Heather says before I can even say anything, I'm still partially in shock I think, and she saw it. Hiccup just shakes his head.
"No, tend to Vern. I'll be fine. We need to free him of his bindings and get him to Gothi as soon as possible. Mom, fly ahead and warn the Aux riders to be on alert and let Gothi know we have Vern in dire need." Hiccup says, waving off Heather's attempt to approach him as I dismounted Stormfly and made my own way over.
"Hiccup." Valka starts but he holds up his hand.
"Please, mom, just do it. We'll have more time for questions later." He says and I see her shoulders drop. Something Krogan said or did must've really gotten under his skin, he wouldn't let us tend to his wound; he wouldn't even let Valka. Valka simply nods and jumps on Cloudjumper and takes off.
"Hiccup." I say softly, approaching him and as he raises his hand to wave me off like he did Heather, I take it in mine and step closer anyways. "Not how this works." I say softly and he sighs.
"Okay, what, in the name of Thor, happened?" Snotlout demands as I help Hiccup walk over to Vern. "Hiccup has a flipping arrow in his shoulder!" Snotlout exclaims as I glance back to him and shake my head softly.
"Eret, is he still alive?" Hiccup asks as we get closer.
"Barely. He won't survive the trip tied to this mast." Eret answers and Hiccup nods.
"Fishlegs, did you pack any Changewing Acid?" Hiccup asks
"Of course! I always come prepared. We'll need to be careful." Fishlegs says, hopping off Meatlug and shifting through his saddle. My eyes barely leave Hiccup as I see him fighting a wince. "Stand back, okay, carefully, right here. Just enough to burn through." Fishlegs says, talking to himself as he drops the acid on the part of the chain where the mast is. Still true to its effects, the acid burns through like yakbutter and Hiccup nods.
"Okay, let's get him onto Skullcrusher, and be careful of his back." Hiccup says as Heather and Dagur slowly roll him over. There is an audible gasp from everyone as we see what looks like dozens of lash marks with crusted over blood layered across his back.
"He was lashed. That's absolutely barbaric." Fishlegs exclaims.
"Such is the age of antiquity. Such a form of corporal punishment, the likes of which we have not seen in ages! I mean, I'm all for wanton destruction. Blood, fire, death, you know, the fun stuff. But that's just in poor taste." Tuffnut says as Ruffnut nods.
"Okay, guys. Not helping. Can you two and Snotlout circle the area and make sure we haven't been followed?" Hiccup says through a wince.
"Of course, sticking me with the twins. Again. I'll remember this, Hiccup." Snotlout says as the twins laugh, and the trio take off. Hiccup sighs, shaking his head.
"Let's secure him to Skullcrusher so his back won't be under any undue strain. Maybe he can still survive this." Hiccup says, looking to Dagur and Heather who nod, helping him up on Skullcrusher as Eret helps steady him.
"All set, brother." Dagur says and Hiccup nods.
"Dagur, Heather. I appreciate your help. If you two have the spare time, I'd like to see you both back on Berk tomorrow so we can hash some things out." Hiccup asks and I nod, smiling to Heather.
"We'd love to have you." I add as Heather and Dagur look at each other and nod.
"I think I'll come back tonight, if that's okay." Heather says and Hiccup smiles.
"Absolutely. Dagur?" He asks and Dagur shakes his head.
"I was only gone for the day; I need to talk to my acting chief about what to do. I'll be back tomorrow." Dagur answers climbing back on Sleuther.
"Thanks for helping today, brother." Hiccup says and Dagur nods and smiles, taking off. "Fishlegs, you and Heather take Eret's wing on the way back." Hiccup says and glances to me. "Astrid, you'll—"
"I'll be flying Toothless. I'm not going to let you fly in your condition, sorry, no veto on this." I state and his expression softens into a smile as he nods and shrugs.
"Okay, fine. Fair enough. Fishlegs, make sure the twins and Snotlout are following." Hiccup adds and he nods, the trio of them taking off. Now alone, I pull Hiccup close and hug him tightly.
"We're going to talk when we get home, something got under your skin, didn't it." I ask softly and he nods, letting loose a shaky breath. He had been playing the strong, tough Chief; like Stoick the Vast, but the encounter with Krogan obviously hurt him more than just his skin. "Let's go." I say, planting a soft kiss on his lips and climbing aboard Toothless with him holding onto my waist. Stormfly flying in my wing, we take off and follow the others to Berk. This was certainly going to be a challenging few months.