I hopped onto Tesla and we took off. I noticed a few of the other riders had their dragons as well. We flew over.
"Guys, distract the Alpha! Now that you have your dragons, it'll easier!"
"But what if they lose control again?!" Ruffnut worriedly rubbed Barf's head.
"They won't, just trust them!" (Cliché? Yeah, thought so…) I saw Hiccup and Toothless land near Drago. Drago was reaching for his staff when Hiccup threw his dragon blade, almost stabbing him in the hand. I landed next to Toothless and hopped off, walking up near Hiccup.
"It's over." I said firmly. Drago saw the Alpha looking at Hiccup and I. He smirked, and I didn't have to look to know what he was planning.
"Or is it?" I pulled out my sword and hit it onto the ground, the unique tone causing the Alpha to flinch. At the moment, if the sword somehow broke, I wasn't too concerned. Yes, it meant a lot to me, but I could make a new one.
"Yes, it is." Out of nowhere, a fireball hit the Alpha in the side of the face, causing it to flinch backwards. The rest of the dragon riders had finished retrieving their dragons, and were providing cover fire for us. "It's over Drago, you lose." He stood up, grabbed his staff, and started screaming. Again.
"I will not lose to the likes of you! AAAAAAAH!" He charged and I rolled past him, diving for Hiccup's sword. I closed it and threw it to him.
"Hiccup!" He caught it and ignited it, blocking the staff with the smallest of windows. I charged Drago and kicked out his left knee. He cried as he went down, and tried to hit me, but I was out of there before he could blink. "Hiccup, short and fast!" I dashed in and swiped twice, then retreated, Hiccup replacing me instantly. I let him swing a few times then called "switch". He spun to his right as I brought my sword up to cut at Drago's chest. He narrowly blocked it, breathing hard.
"How are you so strong?! You are nothing compared to me!" I smirked darkly as I took a step back.
"You were trained to fight a big strong viking and win. But you didn't think someone small and fast could beat you, because you think anyone smaller than you is weak. And here's a little something for you to chew on. I'm from the future, and there is no "Dargo Bloody-fist" ruling the world, at any point in history! Which means you will fall right here, right now!" I didn't need to mention dragons never existed either, but details.
"From the future? HA! You think I'm dumb enough to fall for that?!" I narrowed my eyes. That same look again…what is that?
"You will fall Drago Bludvist, and by our hands." Hiccup came a stood next to me. Drago smirked.
"That's what your old Chief said too, and now look where he's at." My face twisted into a dark glare. I slashed my katana through the air in front of me.
"He's right where he deserves to be!" I shouted.
"Correct. He's dead." All I saw was red. Hiccup and I charged him together, throwing him off balance.
"You have no right to talk about Stoick! His was more of a man than you will ever be! He made sure everyone in this village had what they needed! Even if it meant he had to suffer himself!" I knocked his staff out of his hand, then jumped and kicked him in the gut with both feet, my anger giving me surprising strength. He went down on one knee. "You'll only be a tyrant until you meet those standards. And the way you treat others? They'll never loyally follow you. You will never be a true Alpha."
"No!" He started swinging wildly at me, just trying to grab me. I was dodged silently, trying to gain more of a rise out of him. "I am the Alpha! You will all obey me! Or you will fall at my feet!"
"If you're the Alpha, then why do you need the Bewilderbeast? Isn't he pointless if you're the Alpha?"
"Of course I don't need it! I don't need anyone!" He roared. I simply made the hand motion to turn around. He turned and saw the Bewilderbeast staring at him. I backed away as the Alpha took a deep breath.
"MOVE!" I turned and ran towards Tesla and Sting. I leaped when I heard the ice showering down on Drago, along with his final scream. I also heard another voice screaming.
"NO!" I got up and looked over, only to see Valka on her knees, weakly pounding on the ice. I didn't see Hiccup anywhere. My eyes widened in shock and my breath hitched.
"No…no it can't be. I-I just killed him." I fell to my knees. Tesla nudged me and I looked up, only to see the ice glowing bright blue. A sharp whine filled the air, growing in volume. An explosion threw ice everywhere. Tesla threw his wings around me as a shield.
The smoke cleared and I looked up to see Toothless standing over Hiccup, roaring at the Alpha. His back spines were glowing with an ethereal blue color. He looked back to check on Hiccup, then leaped on an ice pillar. He roared again.
"He's challenging the Alpha!" Hiccup was amazed at what was occurring, obviously. Valka ran up to him.
"To protect you!" The Alpha had lost its hold on the other dragons, and when they saw Toothless fighting it, they flew over to hover above Berk. I turned and saw Tesla and Sting standing next to me. My two friends released their breath attacks. Then Tesla looked at me and I nodded.
"Don't you dare over do it this time." I warned him. He nodded and flew up high above the other dragons. All the other dragons were absolutely bombarding the Alpha with their attacks. Tesla was charging up the lightning sphere and Toothless noticed. He roared at the other dragons and they stopped firing. Then he himself started charging up a final blast. Tesla finished and flew down to Toothless' level. Instead of a sphere simply exploding outwards like last time, he aimed the lightning directly at the Bewilderbeast and fired, with Toothless following suit. The Night Fury and Skrill, natural enemies, worked together to end the fight.
The explosion was devastating, rocking the whole island and knocking most of us off our feet. The Bewilderbeast was actually lifted off its front legs and its left tusk busted off while the other fractured severely. The lightning was coursing through its body, causing it to convulse all over. It pulled away from the shore as Tesla glanced at Toothless, both dragons releasing their loudest roars.
"The Alpha protects his own." Hiccup said. The Bewilderbeast turned away and dove into the ocean. The island itself seemed to cheer in joy when the fight was over. Toothless and Tesla jumped down to land. Everyone was running and cheering while Hiccup was hopping off of Toothless. We looked around at the gathering and reuniting humans and dragons. Cloudjumper came out of the crowd and bowed down to our dragons. I was surprised when Tesla backed up so Toothless was in the front. Toothless threw his head back and roared, all the other dragons joining in. I turned to Tesla and scratched the side of his head.
"You're stepping down?" He nodded and rubbed against me. "You're just too lazy to except all that responsibility, aren't you?" He pulled back and pretended to look appalled. "Oh come here you!" I tackled his head while laughing. Sting ran over and joined in the dragon pile.
"OOF! Sting! When did you get so heavy?!" He pulled himself off of me and glared. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding! …Come're!" I wrapped my arms around his neck. I stood up and looked around at the remains of Berk. Someone placed a hand on my shoulder. Hiccup was standing there with a smile on his face.
"That was quite the show back there Rai. Never thought you had it in you."
"Just shut up and hug me." We both shared a laugh and a hug. I pulled away when Eret walked over. I didn't know the guy yet, but I had the odd feeling that he could be trusted.
"That was some pretty fine dragon wrangling back there. You two would make good trappers." Skullcrusher walked up and nudged him with his nose. I looked over at Hiccup, who nodded at Eret.
"You know…Skullcrusher is going to need somebody to look after him now."
"Me?" The fact that Hiccup trusted Eret with his dad's old dragon confirmed it, Eret really was a good person. He'd just gotten caught up in the wrong crowd. Hiccup nodded. "…I'd be honored." Valka walks up to Hiccup, taking his hands.
"Your father would be every bit as proud as I am." She said.
"Thank you. I'm really glad you're here mom."
"And here I'll stay." Astrid walked up next.
"See? Told you it was in here." She placed her hand on his heart and then pushed the button to release his back fin.
"Ah hahah, still doing that one. That's hilarious…Come're you." He pulled her in for a kiss. I laughed when I saw Gobber put his fake hand attachment (Where does he keep all of those things?) in front of a kid's eyes. Gothi walked up and poked Hiccup with her staff. He looked over and she gestured to the ground. Astrid stepped back to watch, placing her arm on my shoulder to lean against me. Hiccup knelt down on his peg leg as Gothi wiped some charcoal on her fingers. She reached up and made a mark on his forehead, then stepped back and bowed to him. Hiccup stood up as Gobber walked over, and they traded nods.
"The Chief has come home!" Gobber bellowed. The island once again exploded with noise. This time there was no fear. Only joy and celebration. Multiple dragons fired into the air, centering on one point, making a giant firework.
««{{1 month later}}»»
I rolled quickly as a tail spike landed in the ground and jumped up to avoid a small bolt of lightning. Tucking my legs in, I landed crouched, just in time to duck below a tail. I jumped back and sheathed my sword.
"All right guys, that's enough for now." I walked over and petted both my dragons on their heads. They nuzzled me back. We started walking to the large hut the whole of Berk helped build for us. I was ready to string Hiccup up by his good foot when he told me it was a gift. A decent bed under a roof would've worked just fine for me. When I heard a familiar screech, I looked up to see Eret flying in on Skullcrusher. He had actually become somewhat of an older brother to Hiccup and I, helping Hiccup learn the ways of being a Chief; and after learning my story, proclaiming "I Eret, son of Eret! Will teach you the viking ways!". I was shocked and embarrassed all the way to cherry red to say the least.
Eventually, the whole of Berk knew my story, and there were almost daily patrols looking out for anything that might help me get home. Unfortunately, during the excitement and celebrations after chasing off the Bewilderbeast; Drago, somehow having not died after being frozen by the giant dragon and then blown up by Toothless' new Alpha form, had slipped off. We had searched the waters for days, unable to locate him. It's like he had just disappeared off the face of the Earth.
"Rai! You have to come see this!"
"What? What's going on?!"
"That island where Hiccup found you? There's a portal there!"
Chapter 29
Eret and I flew as fast as possible to the island. While Skullcrusher was a fast dragon for his size, he was still slower than a Skrill or a Triple Stryke. Apparently my impatience had taken over my facial features, and it was really obvious to Eret I didn't want to wait to get there.
"Fly ahead, I'll join you when I get there!" He called over the wind.
"Are you sure?!"
"Yes! Now go!" I hesitated for a second, then nodded and urged Tesla to move faster. Luckily, Sting could keep up just fine. I saw the island growing on the horizon, and my dragons went at Sting's top speed, not wanting to leave him behind. We circled the island, and spotted Hiccup and the others. We ducked into a sharp rolling dive and I hopped off of Tesla when he landed.
"Hiccup!"The new Chief of Berk looked up from his conversation with Astrid.
"Rai! Good, you're here."
"Where is it?" I was both nervous, and excited. There was a possibility that I could go home…but there's also a possibility I'd never see my friends again. Hiccup and Astrid had their dragons light up torches, Astrid handing me one. I raised my eyebrow as I took it.
"It's in here." They led me into a hidden tunnel, leading down and curving slightly. It wasn't exactly a small tunnel either. I mean, the three of us couldn't stand side-by-side, but it wasn't so small that we had to walk sideways. I noticed that despite the torches, the rock walls of the tunnel still seemed to be pitch black.
'What type of rock is this…?' I ran my hand over it. It had a surprisingly smooth texture, especially for rock, almost like someone polished it. Eventually it expanded into a huge cave. I froze at the entrance. There, sitting in the middle of the cave, was the thing that brought me here.
The portal. I couldn't move as I stared at it, all of those feelings from when I first saw it in my memories a few months ago resurfaced tenfold. It was almost like someone was in my head, forcing those feelings onto me. But this time, there was a voice with them.
"You'll lose everyone and everything you have ever loved." The voice said.
'What? Who are you?' I thought in a panic.
"You can't protect anyone, not even your loved ones."
'That's ridiculous! I can! I have!'
"You cower and hide behind a mask, not showing anyone your true self."
'To protect them! They don't need to see the real me…'
"You want what everyone else has, but you won't admit it. Not even to yourself."
'Because I hate it! I hate feeling like that! It disgusts me!'
"Your family and friends were never loyal to you."
'That's-!' My vision wavered and I felt myself sway on my feet.
"You couldn't care less what happens to others, as long as you get what you want."
'That's not true! I care about my friends and family more than anything!'
"Weak."
'I am NOT!'
"Alone." I felt sweat running down my face, but I couldn't move to wipe it away.
'No! I have my friends!'
"Abandoned."
'No!'
"Ignored."
'I am not!'
"Worthless."
'Stop it!' Frustrated tears began to build in my eyes.
"Angry." The voice almost seemed to taunt me with that one.
'I'm asking you. Stop it!'
"Hateful."
'No…'
"Coward."
'Please…stop…' I couldn't help it. My mind began to shut down.
"Powerless."
'I'm…'
"Insignificant."
'I…just stop…'
"Invisible."
'…just…'
"Scared."
'JUST STOP! ENOUGH!' I screamed in mental agony.
"Unloved."
I was hyperventilating, staring a thousand yards away. I couldn't move, I couldn't think. Hiccup moved in front of me, blocking my view of the portal.
"Rai?! What's wrong?!" His voice snapped me out of the frozen state.
"…G…Get a-awa-y…" My eyes looked like they were about to pop out of my skull, my skin had turned white as bone, and I was shaking uncontrollably. Him and Astrid led me back into the tunnel, turning me away from the portal. They helped me sit down against a wall, and stepped aside, gently whispering. I couldn't seem to get a hold on my body, mentally nor physically. My subconscious was able to pick up on parts of their conversation though.
"…What hap…standing…"
"I don't…fine one…just froze…"
"What do you think…I've never seen…"
"I wish I…" They walked over and knelt next to me.
"Rai?" It was Astrid. Or at least, I thought it was, "Rai, can you hear me…?" I did the best I could to nod, but my head barely moved. Apparently, it was enough to be noticed, and she nodded herself. "We're getting you out of this cave, okay?" I didn't even respond. Those thoughts and emotions were still running through my head. Nothing feel real at the moment. I didn't even feel the movement as Hiccup and Astrid hauled me out of the cave. Not even my eyes shut as light blinded them.
"What ha…"
"…wish I coul…"
"…To Berk…checked out…" I numbly noted my body was hefted, and my air left my lungs as I was dropped on something. I felt a sharp jolt of gravity and then a steady up and down motion.
I just let myself fall into unconsciousness, my last memory was of that steady bobbing motion.
Serious chapter is serious, but this AN is worse.
Unfortunate news, tomorrow we are burying my grandmother.
I don't know if this will affect updates (not that they've been consistent, lol) for a while or not, I figured I'd let everyone know, just in case.
Still, enjoy the story and, please, don't let my mourning ruin your day. I post on here to bring others some semblance of happiness, whether it's joy or laughter or whatever!
Laugh, dang it!
~Silverleone